First Stop

After the fifth day of traveling along endless woodland roads, the surroundings started to show traces of human activity. Seeing this, Leylin ordered his assistant to bring out the map again.

'So, what do we have?' -Leylin asked, as he stretched his muscles for a bit.

[The most proximal human settlement is Grey Stone City. It's only 800 meters from your position, Doctor.] -Aralis informed.

Leylin looked at the indicator on the map provided by Aralis in his mind.

'Hmm. This place is still too close to Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. There may be a gathering point for Magi nearby, but it is still far too risky for me to sell my potions.'

It took him less than 15 minutes to be right in front of the city's gates, albeit his carriage was hidden behind a small cliff.

[I don't think there's any actual Magi here, Doctor. Maybe a level 3 acolyte at best.]

'Be that as it may, I can't enter town looking like this.' -Decided the Farlier heir, as he used the Transfiguration spell on himself, creating a grey mist that covered his body.

This spell was capable of altering his physical appearance, voice, etc. Hiding his magic energy signature, however, was something out of his current reach. Nonetheless, as he grew as Magus, so would the Transfiguration. Meaning that it would be a handy spell to have in his arsenal no matter his power level.

Moments later, Leylin could be seen again once the mist dispersed. His appearance had changed completely, making him unrecognizable. He even threw the ashes of a particular insect on himself, which had the unusual property of eliminating the scent of any organism. This implied that he could not be identified or tracked by any non-magical means.

With the Transfiguration, Leylin's original youthful appearance had now become rather mature. Coupled with thick eyebrows and big eyes, he possessed a very common-looking face. His clothes had also changed into weather-beaten leather armor. The cross blade hanging on his waist buckle also looked older, and his crossbow resembled to have seen better days.

Leylin originally had a tall stature and had well-defined muscles. His body was already that of a fit adult before the change. Looking at him now, he seemed like a skinny yet experienced soldier.

As he approximated the city's gates, a guard stopped him before granting him access. Leylin stated that he was a mercenary, and nonchalantly handed the man a bronze coin, which he knew for a fact was the entry toll thanks to the information provided on the map he had bought. He was let through without having any trouble.

Leylin currently rode into the streets of the city. He saw commoners on either side of the streets avoiding him in fear. When they looked at Leylin, their gazes held both a huge amount of fear and envy as they nodded in respect. They instinctively knew he was at least a preparatory Knight.

[The development of this Grey Stone City does not seem to compare to even one of the small towns from our previous life, Doctor. I estimate that at most, there are only around 10,000 inhabitants within.] -Aralis observed.

As for its standards of living, it left much to be desired. The streets were made of yellow mud and riddled with coarse sand. A slight gust of wind would cause yellow dust to swirl in the air. Most of the people on the two sides of the road were malnourished and only wore crude grey or brown garments that even had a lot of jagged holes in them.

Along these streets were several fences enclosing cattle or sheep. Some small-sized livestock was even running around freely. The odor from the fresh layer of manure continually pervaded the atmosphere, with no sign of dissipating.

'Look at this dump. I wouldn't even want to burn it to the ground in case the smoke was toxic.' -This was Leylin's first impression of Grey Stone City.

Not wanting to stay on the streets any longer, he decided to go straight for the best inn this mediocre place could offer.

To say 'best' is relative though. The inn where he stopped had the name Wine and Sword, and as its name implied, it was frequented by many armed people. Not all of them seemed law-abiding mercenaries, however. Some of them were even loudly discussing their exploits in banditry.

'What I wouldn't give for some action right now. This literal shithole of a city has me on edge.' -Leylin thought, as he got down his carriage and went through the door that led into the lodging area. According to his information, this was the only hostel in town. Hence, it was to be expected that prices were somewhat steep.

But something like paying 90 coppers for a 4-day stay including horse keeping was a laughable matter to him, who had hundreds of magic crystals on him right now, as well as thousands of gold coins.

The receptionist was a fat greasy man that made Leylin want to burn him alive just for breathing so close to him, but he did not want to use magic so soon and blow his cover.

Right before he could be taken to his room, a very annoying voice was heard: "Look at these gorgeous mounts. Such fine horses! This fur color; this build! They are definitely more valuable than the battle horses in the city lord's manor!"

Glancing outside the window, Leylin's brows furrowed. His horses seemed to have stirred up some trouble. His lips curled downwards into a sneer as he turned around and quickly left the inn. Within his mask though, he was jovial.

Several local hoodlums were surrounding his black horses and sizing them up. Their gazes were marred with greed as they gazed at the spirited horses and the chests on the carriage. One of them was actually in the act of impatiently untying the reins.

"Is there a valid reason why you are bothering my horses?" -Leylin strode over and bellowed sternly. He looked rather intimidating in his leather armor and his blade hanging from his belt.

But apparently, these poor souls were not thinking clearly. One of them, a cross-eyed hoodlum, shouted at him: "That is undoubtedly the horse that I lost yesterday; how come you have it?! You stole it from my family, didn't you?! You damned thief!"

This gang of crooks thought that even though Leylin was an armed soldier, he wouldn't be able to take on their whole gang.

"That's right! Capture him and bring him to the public security office!" -The others raucously interjected.

The surrounding citizens surreptitiously loathed what was happening, but nobody had the guts to step forward in defense of what was just.

"Let's go, men! He's alone!" -The cross-eyed bandit drew a dagger from within his robes and led the attack.

Leylin just shook his head. As the hoodlum was about to reach the Farlier heir's neck, the latter just sidestepped the blade and put the attacker in a stranglehold.

"Argh, that hurts! Let go of me! My brother-in-law is a public security officer, he won't let you get away with this!" -The cross-eyed man wailed in pain.

"Oh really? Then I am sure he will have enough money to pay for your coffin." -Leylin serenely declared as he grabbed the criminal's head with one hand and place the other on his shoulder.

In one swift movement, he separated the head from the body, spine and all.

Every bystander gasped at the sight and sound of that horrific scene, and the hoodlums just stared with eyes filled with the most terror they had ever felt.

"This honorable Knight will let you go with only a warning this time, lads. Don't make the error of seeking revenge, unless you want to be a burden to your family just like him. These are hard times to be senselessly wasting money on funerals." -Leylin threw the blood-leaking head at the criminals, as an amiable smile drew itself upon his face.

None of those present, bystander or criminal, dared to make a move. In their eyes, that man's grin was that of a devil's.

"I did not want to spill blood gratuitously today, but if you'll insist." -Leylin waved his hand mockingly, as he blitzed two other criminals and slashed their eyes with the dagger the cross-eyed man had tried to use on him.

Everyone gasped once again, as the blinded hoodlums rolled on the floor, crying desperately.

"Two more down, three to go..." -As Leylin said that, the remaining would-be thieves immediately ran as fast as their legs could carry them, praying to the heavens that the devilish knight would spare them.

Watching those crooks scampering away and trying to hide in the shit-covered alleys of the city, Leylin just chuckled warmly as if he had been told a joke by a little kid.

Then he approached the blinded hoodlums and crushed their skulls under his boot, his smile still plastered on his face.

Afterward, he cleaned his sole on their clothes. Finally, he returned to the inn. Any bystander had long since scattered by now.

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"My most respected and noble lord. Is there anything I can do for you?" -The receptionist had put on a more humble and serviceable attitude since he could hear and see everything that had happened from the counter.

Leylin couldn't help but inwardly smirk. He had truly enjoyed that brief moment of entertainment, and his mood had recovered slightly from having to spend a night in such a sorrowful place.

"Bring those chests to my room, put my horses in the stable. I also want you to feed them, and replace their horseshoes. Nothing but the best quality, is that understood?" -Leylin said as he tossed a silver coin at the receptionist.

"Certainly, my lord. Now, if you'd follow me." -The fat man nodded vigorously and led with his hand.

The receptionist intentionally took Leylin to a room at the very back of the building, which was the furthest from the tavern. He took out a key and opened the door.

A ray of golden sunlight shone through the window into the room. The bed was in the middle and the bedsheets on it seemed to be very clean. There was a blue vase on the bedside table with some unknown wildflowers in them.

[I won't lie: I honestly thought this would be worse than what they gave you at Death Beach Camp.] -Aralis noted.

'So did I.' -Leylin was pleasantly surprised.

"This will do. Now go and follow my instructions. You will answer for my chests with your life." -Leylin nodded before glaring daggers at the receptionist.

"W-Worry not, I will personally carry your luggage, my lord... Here is your room key..." -The fat man respectfully handed over a brass key as he bowed his head.

Leylin took the key and sent the receptionist away to take care of his requests. Soon enough, his chests were at his door carefully placed on top of each other.

He ordered the chests be put next to his bed and then ordered a steak and a beer to be sent to his room. After he commanded the receptionist not to disturb him under any pretext, he locked the door and placed additional privacy and locking charms on it.

As he closed the wooden door, he found the room's noise cancellation effects to be rather good. The uproar coming from the tavern we greatly reduced.

[Your actions today were a little too eye-catching, Doctor. I know you didn't have a choice, but Grey Stone City is too small. The activities of any stranger will definitely arouse unwanted attention.] -Aralis warned.

'In this, you are mistaken.' -Leylin was not impressed by his assistant's rebuke.

[How so?]

'I did have a choice. I could've killed everyone, but didn't. Haven't I showed my good faith to these idiots already? If anything, they should be grateful for my presence in this dump of theirs.' -Leylin mentally shrugged.

[Aren't you being a little too cynical right now, Doctor?]

'Nonsense. If you are referring to the fact that I could've chosen not to kill anyone, that would simply not do. These chimps are animals. Low-thinking creatures guided by instinct and emotion. Had I not murdered a few of those trashes, who knows who else inside the tavern would've gotten any funny ideas? Or have you forgotten the type of characters having drinking bouts a few meters from here?'

[Hmm. That actually makes sense.] -Aralis conceded.

'Plus, I enjoy killing people as much as the next guy, so there's also that.' -Leylin chuckled lightly.

[But Doctor, what about 'them'. I have detected energy waves of Spiritual Force closing in on the city since an hour ago.] -The A.I. pointed out with concern.

Leylin sat on his chair.

'For now, we remain observant of any suspicious occurrences. I will investigate discreetly in the following days. Be assured though, Aralis. I will not be taken by surprise should it be in my hands to prevent it.' -Leylin's expression turned solemn, as he brought a piece of the piping hot steak that he ordered to his mouth.

'Fuck. This food is terrible. I'd rather eat dirt than this atrocity.' -Leylin frowned as he spat out the piece of meat. Then he gulped down the beer in one go.

'I will meditate now. Be on the lookout and do not disturb me.' -He commanded to his assistant.

[Very well, I'll hibernate in the meantime.] -Said Aralis as a beep could be heard inside Leylin's head.

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Outside Grey Stone City, in the air the scorched woods, a green-colored winged creature suddenly swooped down.

"Doris has finally caught a whiff of the enemy's scent... And this is where it ends." -The green tree sprite Doris retracted its wings and stepped onto the ground behind a cliff with a puzzled expression.

At this point, the green forest sprite no longer had the same appearance as before. Previously, It had merely been the size of a human child. However, Doris was now as big as an adult woman.

Moreover, the originally pretty face now had layer upon layer of warts marring it. It looked extremely repulsive. Its mouth was filled with fangs, and its tongue constantly flickered like a snake's. Its body now had many creases, as well as some strange-looking scales.

Originally, forest sprites were a kind of living creature that represented extreme beauty. After the mutation, no one would pin Doris as a sprite.

The creature let out a yell filled with hatred: "Human! You won't be able to escape!" -It suddenly spread its wings and flew in the direction of the city.

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In the next four days, Leylin had remained in the shadows, not letting anyone see him minus a select few.

Currently, Leylin had changed into black robes and pulled up the hood to cover his face as he jumped out of the window.

In a gloomy and dark alley, six shady individuals were waiting for his arrival.

"My lord, you're here at last." -A few hoodlums, upon seeing Leylin's black robes, immediately came forward to receive him.

"How is it? Have there been any strange happenings around Grey Stone City?" -Said a hoarse voice from under the black robes.

"I'll speak first, I'll speak first! In a nearby village, my Auntie Sofia's cow gave birth to a two-headed calf. The others all said that it was cursed!" -This hoodlum had pushed the others away so he could have Leylin's attention.

The Farlier heir simply nodded his head and tossed a pebble at the hoodlum, piercing his skull and killing him instantly.

"I do hope that you are not wasting my time. My patience is quite limited." -Leylin raised his tone a bit, making the other hoodlums tremble.

These were a bunch of homeless youngsters that Leylin had contacted in the past two days. They were extremely convenient for gathering news. Under the temptation of money and the threat of violence, these hoodlums were quick to be faithfully reporting all the news happening in and around Grey Stone City. Nonetheless, whenever one of them tried to lie to Leylin or feed him useless intel, they met their end.

"O-Of course not, my lord! I have something truly interesting for you! A man named Hugo and his son have recently disappeared in the nearby woods while they were out hunting. Traces of a beast have been discovered at the scene, along with some kind of strange green fluid..."

"Speak clearly and this gold coin is yours." -Leylin was obviously interested, and he brought out a shiny golden piece to which the hoodlums seemed to be drawn.

The skinny red-haired youth gulped down his saliva: "This is news I just heard this morning. In the mill beside Messi Village, a few corpses were discovered at sunrise. All the blood had been sucked dry. Everyone suspects this to be the work of a vampire. The city lord even sent several Knights to investigate!"

[Did he just say... Messi?] -Aralis could not believe it.

Leylin forthwith asked for the exact location and realized that the area was very close to where he had last erased his tracks using the insect ashes.

He nodded his head once more, but this time he tossed the gold coin to the youth in a way that would not kill him. After listening to the rest of the not-so-important news and paying his informants accordingly, he vanished from the alley.