Goal

"Another fugitive, tsk."

"Technically no, that was just a mark of suspicion. They're only monitoring him. Poor guy probably just got caught up in something that was over his head."

"Whatever it is, he's pretty stupid to leave the city. He's just asking to die. He hasn't even stepped out of the Third Dimension yet but he wanted to survive outside of the City Walls? Who do you think he'll fall to, an Invalid or a beast? Let's place some bets."

The guards spoke as they pleased. To them, it was impossible for Leonel to hear them from so far away. And, even if they knew he could hear them, it was highly unlikely that they'd even care enough to stop. 

"Well, what's his alternative? He probably couldn't find a place to stay and he was probably stupid enough to come here with a one way ticket. You think someone like him could even afford a ticket back to his own world?"

Leonel smiled bitterly. That was true, he had no way back to Earth for now. Though, that wasn't because he couldn't afford it.

Unlike Earth, Terrain had teleportation pads. This meant that Leonel didn't need to enter a Zone to earn a Tier 9 Black reward to go back. He just had to pay the appropriate fee. 

There were only two issues with this: first, he needed Earth's coordinates. 

This was simple enough, he could just ask the dictionary about it. 

The second issue as much harder to deal with: he had to actually be allowed to leave. 

Even though no one had ever said anything about his travel being restricted, the teleportation pads were still owned by the cities. Just like he could be rejected from entering their hotels, he would be stopped from using their other services as well. 

As for why people who apparently couldn't stand his guts would stop him from leaving, that had an explanation as well… No one wanted to be complicit in the escape of a 'suspicious' entity. There was no way they'd help him. 

The guards laughed amongst one another. 

"Still, who do you think those fugitives they're looking for are?"

The guards fell into silence. All of them looked toward the rookie that asked such a stupid question as though they couldn't wait to skin him alive. 

The rookie, seemingly realizing he said something wrong, lowered his head. He didn't even mumble an apology, hoping that no one acknowledged what he had just asked. 

They all knew that Terrain was currently in a state of turmoil, a crossroads of sorts. Some wanted to ensure their world reached the Fifth Dimension while others felt that doing such a thing was useless. 

As though the internal conflict wasn't bad enough, there were people pulling strings from the background… and it could be said that those who were pulling these strings were quite invested in ensuring that Terrain abandoned its chances of becoming a Fifth Dimensional world. 

Leonel found the sudden silence of the guards to be quite interesting. It seemed as though this was another open secret everyone was aware of but didn't dare to speak of. 

"Anyway!" The rookie tried to change the subject. "I heard that another power suffered a loss at the hands of the Sword Monstress."

The guards looked at the rookie weirdly. 

"What kind of name is that supposed to be?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not the one that came up with the name. I hear she's a woman and a monster, so they call her the Monstress. They say she's built and looks like a gorilla and wields a three-meter-long sword, thus Sword Monstress."

The guards looked at one another all simultaneously sent a kick toward the rookie. What a lame story. 

Leonel shook his head and left. They weren't talking about anything he was interested in any longer. 

**

A long while later, the road Leonel traveled along began to grow less and less well kempt. 

It slowly became narrower and less paved. Soon, weeds and grasses began to spring up all along it. 

By now, Leonel had left the range of the city. Anyone who was hoping to reach the City Gates within the next half hour before closing had long since passed him by. It was safe to say that he was fairly alone at this point. 

Soon, the flat land began to turn into a forest that quickly grew in density. 

After reaching this point, Leonel entered a state of high alert. 

On his way here, he had crossed two groups heading toward the city. But, both of them had had individuals he felt could squash him luck a bug. If it wasn't for his rags and his weakness, there was no telling if he would have been robbed and killed or not. 

This told him two things. 

First, this meant the Fourth Dimension was a completely different animal. Leonel didn't know why he didn't feel the pressure of this world, but he knew that he couldn't underestimate it just because of this. 

Second, Leonel realized that having such powerful people in your midst was practically a necessity if he wanted to travel through this world… 

Of course, Leonel had one advantage: his Internal Sight. 

He could trust it in most cases and dodge danger before he even reached it. After Crystallizing his Spirit Pressure, he could see up to half a kilometer away even in this Fourth Dimensional world. Back on Earth, his range was easily over a kilometer. 

Leonel could only hope that a half kilometer and his instincts were enough to keep him safe. 

After he traveled a decent enough depth, Leonel began to sink into the ground. 

'… It takes more Force now..'

Leonel frowned, but he could only keep pouring his Force out. He had already been aware that multiple things would be more difficult after coming to a Fourth Dimensional world. He could only accept it. 

Soon, Leonel's head had disappeared from the surface, completely vanishing. 

He had one main goal in mind. He had to finish his Force Crystallization and complete his Tenth Node. Only then would he had some more assurance in staying in this backwards world.