Skill Hunter 2: A LitRPG Adventure by Noct

Author:Noct [Noct]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AETHON
Published: 2026-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

50

EXECUTION GROUNDS

Wisp ran ahead of Ike. She deliberately let her footsteps resound so Ike could follow her without being able to see her. When they drew near people, she walked softly again, only to run off once more when the people passed. They swiftly left the dungeon behind, racing up toward the surface of the castle.

Ravens circled in the sky. The stench of iron swirled in the air, mingling with a heavy, damp rot.

Ike grimaced. “Oh.”

“Yeah? Do you see what I was smelling now?” Wisp asked.

A stone platform stretched before them. The platform was raised above a small, empty courtyard. Blood stagnated on the surface of the platform. The wind stirred the congealing blood. The deeper pools rippled gently. Bodies hung from spikes at the platform’s edge.

Not far from the platform, a series of cages and a silent line of people in chains waited. A man walked toward the platform. Wearing all black and hefting a giant axe over one shoulder, he had the slow stride of a man returning to another day’s hard work. He loomed, easily two feet taller than anyone in chains. Muscle bulged and rippled over his body. His biceps were the size of melons. His thighs bulged against his pants. Each step echoed in the silent square.

He's huge. Ike gaped. How on earth do you get that big? Tall, big, anything?

The enormous man climbed up onto the platform. Blood splashed around the soles of his boots. Lifting his hand, he gestured the first person in chains forward. The guards around the chained people gave them a push. They stumbled forward, then caught themselves. At the stairs to the platform, they looked around, as if searching for a way out. The guards closed in on them. The person moved again, reluctantly approaching the platform.

Ike drew close to Wisp. “We’re on a time limit. See anyone kingly? Or queenly?”

“I dunno. You’re a human; you tell me,” she whispered back.

Ike froze. His mind went back to the dungeon. Holy shit. Did we leave them down there because Wisp doesn’t know what a queen or king looks like?

Wisp giggled. She nudged him. “Your face looks amazing right now. I’m joking, just joking.”

Ike rolled his eyes at her. He lifted a hand to his eyes, shading them against the sun. The king and queen would be powerful, at a guess. These cities aren’t ruled by bloodlines, but by power… if they’re anything like my home city, anyway. Which means they’re probably in the cages, not just in chains. After all, I already sensed the iron bars with suppressive powers down in the dungeon. It’s not much of an extrapolation to figure out that they could use that same technique on a cage. That already narrowed it down pretty significantly. There were only a few cages.

Ike scanned the cages one by one. All the mages within wore ragged clothes, their finery stripped away. Filth stained their hair and skin. Not a single one had the bearing of a monarch.

He tilted his head.

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