Second World

Chapter 1576 1576. Camouflaged Mana

Another day passed. Jack was still inside the forcefield cell. What he had been doing was trying to mask his mana with the mana controlling the forcefield cage. He was doing the same thing he had done to the Chalice of Blood every night. He was trying to fool the mana from the rune diagram into accepting his mana as a part of itself.

If he was able to insert enough of his camouflaged mana, he could exert control over the forcefield, just like how he created the small slit a day earlier. To open a hole large enough for him to escape, he would need to gain greater control.

In the first few hours of his captivity, he had tried brute force. He might not be able to use skills, spells, or tools, but he could still move and manipulate mana. He had tried using all his sword arts to break the wall. Most failed. Only the Nine Yin Phantom Sword was able to penetrate the forcefield wall, but the hole it created was too small. That hole also quickly closed afterward.

Maybe if he could use the Nine Yin Abyssal Finger, things would be different. But he couldn't, so he had to make do with what he could.

Luckily, he had enough practice with the Chalice of Blood. He had learned how to camouflage his mana. All he had to do was study this forcefield's particular mana and adjust his mana to imitate it. It was sort of like adjusting the frequency of a signal.

His problem at the moment was he couldn't test how effective he was. He felt that he had camouflaged enough mana to control a sizable part of the forcefield to let him out, but he would need to be sure before he gave the command for that. If the hole wasn't large enough and he failed to get out, Evil Janus might detect his intervention on the forcefield the next time he came to visit.

"How are you doing?" Good Janus asked from his cage. After seeing the small slit Jack produced yesterday, he had become hopeful of a chance to escape.

"I don't know… I think I should be able to make a big enough hole already, but I can't be sure. The only way to know is to test it," Jack answered.

"If you fail, my other twin will find out."

"I know. That's why I am in a dilemma."

"Well, you have to try it sooner or later… Unless you think you can improve further."

Janus was right. He had to take the risk or else they wouldn't be going anywhere. It was better to be sooner rather than later. If Evil Janus successfully became an eternal grade, they would be in a whole other level of trouble.

"I will practice for a few more hours, then I will give it a go," Jack said and resumed what he was doing.

*

Later that day, Evil Janus came to visit again. His grade was still the same. Jack also didn't sense any change in his mana intensity. This meant he had not taken any more victims yet, which was a good thing. Still, if Good Janus' estimation was correct, they didn't have much time. Evil Janus only needed another one or two more victims.

Evil Janus didn't make any conversation. He was not a chatty person. He rarely talked during his time in the room. Only when his captives asked him something that he respond. That was even if he deemed the questions were worth responding to.

After checking everything, Evil Janus left the room.

Good Janus turned to Jack. His eyes asked if Jack was ready.

Jack didn't respond. He simply closed his eyes and placed his hands on the forcefield wall. He did as what he had been doing these past few days. His mana crept into the forcefield and slowly made themselves a part of the cage system. He spent one hour doing this. Once he felt that he was ready, he sent the command.

A slit several times longer than the last time appeared in the forcefield wall. Good Janus' eyes were wide again. It was as if someone had cut the wall and produced a long gash.

This slit then widened. It was vibrating as it did. It was as if there were two opposite forces at work. One was trying to push the slit to close. Another was trying to force it to open wider. At the moment, the one with the open command seemed to be winning. The process was slow, though. It became even slower as the hole became wider.

Jack's forehead was sweating from the exertion. Janus saw that the opening was wide already enough for a person. But if Jack tried moving, he might lose control and the hole could close before he managed to leave.

Jack seemed to be aware of that, he continued to make the hole bigger.

The hole opened a bit wider, then it stopped. It appeared that this was the limit of his current control. Jack didn't try to dash for the exit. He used the safer method. Thankfully, he had the Hundred Synchronous Thoughts. With one thought maintaining focus on keeping the whole open, his other thought moved his body.

He slowly moved one of his legs out through the hole. His eyes were still closed. He was entirely relying on his mana sense to move. He then moved half of his upper body out.

Janus was holding his breath. He wondered if Jack lost his concentration at this moment and the forcefield closed, would Jack be sliced into two? Although he was curious about the answer, he prayed he didn't have to find out.

Someone might have heard his prayer. Jack slipped out of the hole without an incident, leaving his hands still in contact with the forcefield. The hands then slowly moved to the edge of the hole. When they were near the edge, Jack pulled them out with lightning speed. The hole abruptly closed then.

"Phew…!" Jack exhaled a relief as he dropped to his butt.