First Insight

Lu jumped. He reached the top of the wall. Fortunately, it was a thin kind of wall without a walkway for guards. It was meant for defense against the occasional beast stampede. But Mura was far from any frontlines and in the middle of a country that hadn't seen war since its founding.

But the jump to the wall from the nearest house had still been enough to leave Lu panting with his hands on his knees. And the wall was tall and smooth enough that he couldn't descend it safely other than by Moonlight Strolling again.

'Shit.'

Lu spat on the wall to get rid of the slimy saliva stuck in his blood-tasting throat. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose as she straightened up and looked at the ground.

Basking in the moonlight, his senses grew sharper. The sounds of barking dogs and the steps of armored soldiers were closing in.

'Even the City Guard?'

He really shouldn't dally.

Lu looked at the ground. He felt fortunate that his First Insight was what it was.

The First Insight about his Blessing, the first level of comprehension, came about when he took a trip to and fro the city the night after he played with his Blessing the first time.

Unable to contain himself, Lu played around and used his Blessing without regard—like a child.

As he lay panting like a rabid dog in the grass, wet from the nightly dew, Lu realized something. He could hardly walk, and he hadn't been much perkier before he Strolled the last time. But he still felt like he could do it. He was never too tired for a Moonlight Stroll.

That was his First Insight. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but the First Insight rarely was.

Hector's First Insight for his Blessing, Sharp Blade, was that a sharper edge cuts better. And Margie's First Insight for her Blessing had been that a strong grip makes for a better Grab.

Compared to those two, Lu's was a little unclear. It also wasn't flawless.

Lu had already used his Blessing enough to make him bone-weary. But he was never too tired for another Moonlight Stroll. So, after taking a deep breath, he jumped off the wall and transformed into a flash of light before reappearing in the grass outside the city.

His throat and mouth filled up with a thick, bloody scent, and his chest and entire body ached. But he was out of the city, albeit on the brink of passing out from exhaustion.

That was the only drawback of his First Insight. It had no regard for how tired it would leave him.

Still, now was no time to rest. Lu might be outside the city, but there were watchtowers in the corners of the wall. He was clad in dark clothes, but he could still be spotted. He made sure he still had his bag with all the treasure he picked up before jogging sneakily toward the forest.

Finally, inside the forest, Lu took a rest. No one should know about his Blessing. They might suspect the ability to leave the city, but without any way to confirm, they will search the city first. Considering how they established a witch hunt moments after Lu left Mencer's room, they wouldn't leave a stone unturned.

Lu afforded himself a moment's rest as he looked through the night's haul.

The first thing he looked through was the box. It was a simple but well-crafted wooden chest that was small enough that he could carry it with one hand. But it was still big enough that it would be easier to carry it with both.

It had a lock, but it was fortunately unlocked.

Unfortunately, however, there wasn't much interesting in it. A few gold coins—the first Lu had ever seen—a seal belonging to Mencer Lito, a stack of important paperwork, and what appeared to be a woman's necklace were all that he found inside the box. It didn't even have any secret compartments.

"Well, that's boring."

With the seal, he could probably commit fraud if he hurried. But Lu wasn't interested in that. It would also reveal his trail. The gold coins were nice, and the necklace looked valuable. Lu stuffed them separately while putting the seal and papers back into the box. He would have to find a place to store them since he couldn't keep them all with him.

Lastly, he looked at the book.

At first, Lu had thought Mencer was mixing his training with a novel or something. But the format was strange, and the title was even stranger.

"'Green Acres and Grey Skies'?"

'Some sad love story?'

Lu opened the soft-cover book that was made from a rough but flappy material.

"'Introductory Water-Grade Essence Condensation Art'? What the fuck is that?"

Lu looked at the book in confusion.

***

At Longhorn Fox Inn, the best inn in Mura city.

"Our apologies, Young Master. We were unable to track down the thief."

The captain of Mencer's guards bowed so deep his head was at the same height as his knees.

"Keep looking."

Mencer waved the guard out of his room with a stern face of suppressed anger.

"Young Master…"

"What?"

"Was…"

"Yes, my mother's necklace was inside the box. I want it back."

Mencer turned around and walked over to the broken window. He looked out over the city with his hands gripped tightly behind his back.

"And that thief is going to pay."

"At least the rest of it wasn't that important. You never use your seal, and the condensation art was just a copy. We do need the documents, but I can just remake them. And I might have stashed the rest of the gold somewhere safe."

"Good. Where?"

"You know that perfume you don't like?"

"Yeah?"

"I replaced most of it with the gold coins wrapped in paper so they won't make noise."

"Mmh."

Mencer found it hard to focus on Baryt's words when his mother's necklace was still in the hands of that bloody thief.

"Oh, what's this?"

Mencer caught something shimmering on the window at the edge of his vision. He might have lost his mother's necklace. But he had, in return, gotten the thief's.