Smoke cloak

"I think that's enough, you two," Alex uttered as he stared at each of the two opponents in turn.

Charles and the guard both stared at Alex with dumbfounded expressions. As the reality sank in—that the man before them had appeared out of nowhere and casually deflected their fierce attacks with nothing more than a backhand, and that during the entire encounter, they hadn't even sensed his presence—a palpable fear began to take root on their faces. It dawned on them that if he had wanted to, he could have effortlessly killed them instead of merely stopping their attacks.

Pleased with the deterrence his actions had caused, Alex nodded before releasing their weapons—well, if they could still be called that. During his intervention, the guard's sword had shattered, while Charles's fire spear lost its shape and collapsed, dispersed by the gust of wind Alex's hand had generated.

In any case, thanks to his arrival, the worst had been prevented from happening. Most people here didn't know it, but Alex had just averted a catastrophe.

Focusing on Charles once again, a frown appeared on Alex's face under his smoke mask.

Feeling the attention of the man he recognized as the one who had rescued him from the Night base, Charles felt a cold chill run through his body. The man's aura was too intimidating!

Alex, on the other hand, couldn't help but curse that young noble, seriously wondering how someone could be so dumb.

Eidross was a city where the guards, civilians, and presumably the city lord all hated nobles to the bone and didn't even try to hide it. What would happen if a group of nobles showed up and harmed one of their guards because he forbade them entry to the city? No, in fact, Alex sensed that Charles didn't attack with the intention to wound his opponent but with the intention to kill.

If he wasn't trying to maintain his mysterious persona right now, Alex would have beaten the crap out of that idiot! How could a noble act without considering the consequences of his actions? What good were all the lessons he had been taught from a young age if he ignored them?!

What Alex didn't know was that right now, Charles and those following him were actually on edge after barely surviving several days of hell. Though even if he had known, Alex would have still found the young man's actions idiotic. The problem was that his actions could have cost not just him, but hundreds or maybe thousands of lives.

If Charles had killed the guard, there was a good chance that the other guards or even the civilians would have retaliated, and at that point, the group of nobles would have been finished. If it had ended there, Alex might have accepted the outcome, but it was clear that the families of those killed wouldn't stand by idly. They would demand justice, and things could easily spiral out of control.

The emperor might have ordered against attacking Eidross, but in this scenario, even he wouldn't be able to stop the nobles from seeking retribution, unless he was willing to risk the political stability of the entire empire. In such a situation, Eidross could very well end up completely devastated. The city was already a thorn in the side of many nobles, and given such an opportunity, they wouldn't hesitate to do everything in their power to see it razed to the ground.

It was just speculation on Alex's part, but he felt strongly that such a chain of events was highly likely. And judging by the expressions of the young noblewoman with cyan hair and the guard who had tried to prevent the fight, Alex wasn't the only one who sensed that disaster could have been just a breath away.

It was worth noting though that Alex didn't jump to stop this current fight from happening because of the goodness of his heart or because he was some selfless hero. Well, a part of him had once been like that, though looking at how Jack ended, perhaps being a selfless hero wasn't all that rewarding after all.

Ultimately, the reason why Alex had rushed here, leaving the warm embrace of his naked sister, after he noticed the commotion was for selfish reasons. He wanted those young noble men and women to tell their families that the one who had rescued them was Arcane, so those families might become grateful to him and favorable to his organization. If those noble youths were to die here, how would that happen?

As Alex was thinking about his next course of action, he felt a powerful aura approaching the city gates, coming from the center of the city, and was forced to look in that direction.

Seconds later, the others also sensed the aura coming towards their position and glanced in the direction the owner of that aura was coming from. As they watched, a man with short, pale brown hair and skin as pale as that of vampires strode out of the city, walking in their direction with a calm and dignified gait.

The man wore armor similar to that of the other guards, hinting at his profession, but his armor was much more refined and seemed to be made from a stronger material.

'Mid-level five,' Alex assessed the man's level as he approached, 'he seems dangerous.'

"Captain!" all the guards in the surroundings, even the one who had been about to fight it out with Charles, saluted.

The newcomer gave a short nod in acknowledgment and was about to say something when he stopped and glanced at Alex, a frown quickly appearing on his face. 'He has no presence at all,' he thought, looking at Alex with wariness.

Seeing the wariness in his gaze, Alex chuckled inwardly, 'That's unnerving, huh?'

The reason the captain that just couldn't sense Alex's presence was the result of his newly created smoke technique that he called: Smoke cloak.

During the past few days, he hadn't spent all his time training his body; he had also dedicated time to study and improve his smoke manipulation, and this new technique was one of the few things he achieved.

This new technique was, in fact, very simple. He just coated the entirety of his being in smoke, and that was it!

Since Alex couldn't be detected inside smoke due to his sovereignty, if he coated his entire being in smoke, no one could sense him. Furthermore, because he could alter the shape, volume, or even texture of smoke, thanks to his sovereignty, all Alex had to do was shape his smoke into the appearance of normal clothes.

However, for the technique to remain effective, Alex needed to be constantly coated in smoke; even an inch of exposed skin would make his presence detectable. This was a minor drawback compared to the significant advantages the technique provided.

Despite its ability to completely shield Alex from being sensed, the greatest benefit of the smoke cloak was that it prevented anyone from gauging his level. After all, how could one assess someone's level if they couldn't sense their presence, even when standing right in front of them?

Thanks to this technique, Alex's future opponents would think twice before engaging him. The inability to sense someone's level generally suggests that the person is of a significantly higher level. Therefore, many might overestimate Alex's true strength, assuming he is stronger than he actually is.

This was exactly the situation with the captain of the guards. Unable to detect Alex's presence or level, he was clearly wary and somewhat apprehensive.

"Who are you?" he inquired after a moment.

"Oh, no one special," Alex replied coolly, "just someone who stopped your subordinate from doing something foolish."

The captain frowned upon hearing Alex's response. "What happened?" he asked the guard whom he deduced Alex was referring to.

The guard's eyes flickered with hesitancy, but eventually, he relayed the events, though he had little choice in the matter.

After the guard finished his explanation, the captain nodded and turned back to Alex. "From what I understand, you aren't with this group, correct?" he asked, pointing to the young nobles.

"No," Alex answered curtly, "I was in the city when they arrived."

The captain nodded and retrieved a sheet of paper from his space ring. After reading it, he looked at Alex again. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to leave with this group," the captain said.

Upon hearing this, Alex frowned beneath his mask and asked, "Why are you asking me to leave as well?"

Given what the guard had told him, Alex was certain the captain recognized that his intervention had likely prevented a catastrophe. Yet, instead of expressing gratitude, the captain was requesting that he leave the city?!

"We're just being cautious," the captain explained honestly. "You seem too suspicious, so we don't want to take any risks."

At this excuse, Alex's anger flared, and his expression darkened.

"Are you fucking with me?!"