Chapter 18 - Outside the walls

Zack considered what he should do, but in the end, he decided to compromise. He would keep fighting goblins, but he would climb the wall as well. He would have to head to their territory directly, and their city was supposed to be somewhere in the south, but that much information was enough.

After returning to his temporary apartment, Zack went to sleep and then woke up around two hours before morning. He was planning to leave before sunrise and then return after sunset, but then he realized that he would need food and water.

"I guess I can endure a day without them… I will just focus on reaching level thirty as soon as possible," Zack thought.

As Zack left his apartment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. It seemed like fate was determined to throw obstacles in his path, hindering his plans at every turn. The weak rain that had fallen during the night still lingered, a persistent obstacle that showed no signs of letting up.

With a resigned sigh, Zack pulled up the hood of his jacket and set off toward the city walls. He knew he couldn't let a little rain stop him, not when he had a mission to accomplish. But as he activated his Instantaneous Movement skill to move to the wall, he quickly realized that the rain would be more than just a minor inconvenience.

Zack hurtled through the empty streets in an instant, his surroundings blurring into a dizzying haze as he moved at breakneck speed. But instead of the smooth, seamless transition, he was used to, Zack felt like he was being bombarded by a relentless barrage of tiny projectiles.

It was as if he was being hit by countless pebbles along the way, each raindrop feeling like a sharp sting against his skin. While seemingly harmless on its own, the rain became a formidable obstacle when moving at such incredible speeds.

"At least the leather is resisting all this," Zack thought.

Zack saw some guards moving around the place when he reached the walls. They were on high alert, so they were doing their job properly. Still, that made things difficult for him. Those guys were supposed to have good tracking skills, so they will probably sense Zack moving if he uses Instantaneous Movement or Speed Hack. 

In the end, Zack decided to use both… he climbed the staircase that the guards used as soon as possible with Speed Hack. When they noticed his presence there, he used Instantaneous Movement to jump over the wall in no time… then he realized that he was going to endure a fall of fifty meters. He didn't know if his current Constitution would be enough to prevent any real damage. Out of reflex, he increased his Constitution by twenty points, and when he landed, he felt a very annoying pain at the soles of his feet.

"I guess my planning skills need some work…" Zack thought and then looked around. "So, this is the world beyond the walls…"

Zack's memories of the world beyond the city walls were few and far between. He had spent only a handful of days outside the walled cities, and during those times, he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings. 

Despite this, Zack could see now that the world beyond the walls was a vastly different place. Nature had reclaimed much of the land, even more than in the destroyed cities. Dense forests sprawled where once there had been bustling neighborhoods, and towering mountains loomed where skyscrapers had once stood.

It was a landscape devoid of human presence, a wilderness untouched by the hands of man. In some ways, it was beautiful, with lush greenery and crystal-clear streams stretching as far as the eye could see. But in other ways, it was eerie, with an unsettling sense of isolation that seemed to hang in the air like a heavy fog.

Without wasting time, Zack used the remaining time of Instantaneous Movement and then began to head south using the only road that he could find around. There weren't many obstacles there, so even in the darkness, he moved without hesitation. 

Still, it didn't take long before he had to take a break since he soon heard some grunts in the air… he saw a small shadow flying in the sky of some four-winged monster. 

The creature wasn't that big, so Zack didn't feel any danger… it just made him think that was the first thing he found outside. Before long, Zack couldn't use his skills anymore. He grabbed some nails and then began to walk. After all, he needed to be ready for anything that might appear on his way.

"Despite being a world of monsters now, it sure seems peaceful," Zack thought.

Nothing happened in that short window, and Zack could soon use his skills again. Without wasting time, he used Instantaneous Movement as much as possible. With each use, he crossed fifty meters instantly, and since he could use it three times per second, he could cross three times that. He could be even faster if he didn't check the path ahead.

In the end, Zack stopped when he found a crossroad… the streets were well-maintained, so he imagined that he would find other monster territories there.