The encounter

Ed woke up in the morning and along with Suika and Raikou, headed downstairs. It was time for him to leave the city.

When Ed got down he spoke with Eric and his wife while saying his goodbyes. He didn't see Alice anyway to just as he was about to ask about her she came out of the kitchen.

"Uhm please take this I made it this morning!"Alice was holding a basket that was filled with all kinds of sandwiches. She made extra for Raikou and Suika too, so it must have taken her a long time to finish.

"You didn't have to bother yourself about such things" Ed was happy about her gesture.

"Please come to visit us again! You'll always be welcome here" Alice was happy during Ed's stay here since he would always chat with her and she could play with Suika and sometimes Raikou. She was sad that her new found friends were about to leave.

"I'll be sure to visit you whenever I can" Ed smiled and reassured her.

After finishing his goodbyes, Ed left the inn and Alice walked with him to the city exit. She asked him if he was going to be using a carriage somehow but he told her Raikou was better.

He noticed she was about to cry so he patted her head. "Don't cry we'll definitely meet again" Alice looked better but she still cried in the end. He had left a deep impression on her; after all, he saved her life. Which teenage girl didn't dream of such a thing?

Ed finally left the city and Alice kept waving at him until she could no longer see him, then she returned to the inn. She still had work to be done.

Ed summoned Raikou after getting far enough and rode him. He told Raikou the directions he needed to know and closed his eyes and continued with his KI training. He was already able to levitate high enough in the sky and gather enough energy to form a KI ball. If Ed had focused only on one thing, he would improve at a much faster rate. However, he was trying too many things at once which caused him to slow down.

Ed had estimated that he would get to the next big city in a day of travel. He also estimated that he would be able to hide his KI in a day. This ability would be useful to him when he is using a disguise since hiding ones QI is an ability only people who broke into Heavenly Establishment or a handful of Earth Establishment ones. This would guarantee him that no one would recognize him by his cultivation level.

After half a day of travel, Ed got Raikou to stop for their meal. He had hunted enough cow monsters so he didn't have to worry about running out anytime soon. Ed decided to try and remake the sandwiches he ate yesterday. He grounded the meat and made beef patties. After that, he fried them and started making a sauce with some green herbs and spices. It wasn't near as good as the one he ate but it was still acceptable.

The trio continued their journey and stopped only after sunset. Ed started making his chainmail armor; he started by transforming the iron ingots he bought into iron rings. This cost him most of the night as he decided to finish making them this day. After he finished making them, he started welding them together with his Fire magic. He also infused those rings with his KI as he was making them so as to be even more durable, this also served as KI control training.

Ed finished making his chainmail armor after sunrise. He went to sleep with Suika and Raikou who kept him company during the night.

After waking up, Ed continued his journey. This time, however, he wasn't riding Raikou, he was using his Spectral Shadow Steps while using KI to boost his speed. His speed wasn't comparable to Raikou's full speed, and nowhere near his lightning clad mode, but it was still insane. No Knight Establishment could reach such a speed other than Ed who was defying common sense.

Ed could keep up this state for about an hour before running out of KI. However, this training helped him overcome a barrier in KI control as he now could hide his KI and manipulate his power at will. It was faster than he thought, but it was a welcomed surprise nonetheless.

Ed rode Raikou as he was recovering his KI. He noticed from his map that there was less than 50km to reach the city they were going to stay at.

"Raikou we're close to the city so you can get back in my shadow now"

"Woof!" Raikou followed Ed's advice and went into his shadow. As Ed was walking on the road to the city, he noticed, not too far away, a carriage being surrounded by people that had weapons. The carriage was guarded by soldier looking men. Ed guesses that they were being attacked by bandits.

'I guess it was about time for me to encounter bandits in this world' Ed knew this world wasn't a peaceful one and he would be meeting danger everywhere. He decided to wait and see what was going to happen before intervening. If the soldiers could handle it he wouldn't appear before them. It was better to stay away from trouble.

However, he soon found out that the soldiers were actually mercenaries as he heard them talking.

"We're not going to waste our lives here fighting some bandits. Let's move away everyone." The one who spoke was apparently the leader as everyone followed him. Ed found it weird that the bandits let them leave without obstructing them. They moved closer to the carriage when a girl who looked as old as Ed came out. She was carrying her sword and apparently ready to fight the bandits.

Ed checked the map and noticed that the bandits were not red colored, this meant they might be targeting the girl specifically.

Ed decided to intervene since the girl wouldn't be able to handle so many bandits alone. He had scanned her and she was only a King establishment. The bandits were all Knight or King Establishment, rather strong for a bandit group, so she couldn't fight them alone.

"Raikou I'll be distracting them while you come out of the woods and chase them away" Ed instructed Raikou to act in such a way since he didn't want to defeat those bandits. Only scare them away. They weren't targeting him and he only wanted to save the girl.

"Let's move!" Raikou came out of Ed's shadow, Suika who was riding on his head, jumped out twice as if encouraging him and they started their plan.