After making himself familiar with the surroundings, Akira decided to find an inn and stay for the night. So, like how every normal person would do, he found a local thug, knocked him unconscious, and read his memory to learn the unwritten rules of this city. Incidentally, he also found a good place to crash for the night.
Leaving the unconscious thug lying in the dark alley, Akira walked out and headed towards the inn he had just learned about. It was a simple, two-storey wooden building located in a quieter part of the town.
He stepped inside, the bell above the door ringing softly. The main room was relatively quiet, with only a few locals drinking at the tables. The innkeeper, a middle-aged man with a sharp look in his eyes, looked up from the counter as Akira approached.
"I need a room for the night," Akira said, his voice calm behind his dark mask.
The innkeeper looked him up and down, taking in his masked appearance and quiet presence. Knowing the unwritten rules of the town thanks to the thug's memories, Akira didn't wait for questions. He reached into his pocket and placed a few silver coins on the counter—slightly more than the regular price, a small bribe to keep the innkeeper from asking for identification.
The man's eyes glinted with understanding. Without saying a word, he swept the coins off the counter and handed over an old iron key. "Second floor, last door on the left. Nobody will bother you."
"Thank you," Akira replied.
He took the key and walked up the creaky wooden stairs. Finding his room, he unlocked the door, stepped inside, and locked it securely behind him. The room was basic—just a bed, a small wooden table, and a window overlooking the street below—but it was clean and private.
But just to be extra careful, Akira traced fingers in the air and began drawing a few abyss runes that would create a barrier that would isolate this room from the surroundings, along with a defence barrier that would protect him from any sneak attacks.
The dark, ancient runes glowed faintly for a second before vanishing into the walls, ceiling, and floor. Instantly, the faint noise from the tavern downstairs cut off completely, leaving the room in pure silence. With both the presence-isolation barrier and the automatic defense barrier active, no one could sense his magic, listen in, or attack him while he rested.
Finally relaxed, Akira took off his mask, setting it lightly on the small wooden table. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and pulled out the tracking map from his storage ring.
He unrolled the parchment across his lap. In the dim light of the room, the blue dot marking Grammi's location was glowing bright and steady. Now that he was on the mainland, the signal was much better.
Looking at the location Grammi was in and calculating the distance from here, Akira realized he would have to travel continuously for another three days to reach her.
'Three days if I go on foot or use normal transport,' Akira thought, rubbing his chin as he stared at the map. 'Even if I fly, taking the direct path might risk running into the empire's stronger mages or military patrols.'
He rolled the map back up, stored it away safely, and lay down on the bed. He had plenty of magic power, but there was no need to rush recklessly and blow his cover now that he was deep in enemy territory. Taking three days to move carefully through the towns while gathering more information about the Alvarez Empire seemed like a much smarter plan.
But just in case he should find a perfectly reasonable method to travel to the place Grammi is living. Hmm, maybe there would be a caravan heading towards somewhere near there. If there is, he could probably catch a ride with them.
But for now, let's just sleep. Closing his eyes, Akira let the quiet safety of his barrier wrap around him and fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow morning, his journey across the Western Continent would officially begin.
….
Early in the morning, Akira left the inn and began to wander around the city to find a ride to take him to a city that is near where Grammi is living.
After wandering around for a while, Akira couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. He quickly realized that this small town had no major transport routes or caravans heading anywhere near Grammi's location.
It turned out that because the Alvarez Empire was structured around strict military sectors, movement between regions was heavily controlled. Smaller border towns like this one only had local supply wagons moving to neighboring villages. Any long-distance transport required official clearance or was strictly reserved for military supply lines.
Leaning against a quiet corner near the main market, Akira crossed his arms beneath his cloak.
'So much for taking a peaceful caravan ride,' he thought with a faint sigh.
Well, it seems he would just have to fly there. He could only hope his transformation and stealth skills were enough to fool the Alvarez Empire's detection methods. Changing into an eagle seemed like the best option. That way, he could fly extremely high in the sky where most ground-based detection methods wouldn't catch him.
Deciding on his next move, Akira immediately went into action. He activated his sensory magic, spreading his awareness through the surrounding forest to search for a wild eagle or falcon so he could use his Predator skill and replicate its form.
It didn't take long. A few miles deep into the woods, his sensory magic picked up the sharp, rhythmic heartbeat of a large mountain falcon resting near the top of a giant tree.
Moving like a ghost through the thick foliage, Akira closed the distance in seconds. Before the bird could even sense his presence, he extended his hand. A dark, shadowy aura extended from his palm, wrapping around the falcon instantly and pulling it inside his predator space.
A moment later, the flat, monotone voice of the Great Sage echoed in his head.
"Notice. Target captured. Analyzing structure and physical properties... Analysis complete. Form 'Mountain Falcon' acquired."
Akira smirked beneath his dark mask. With a quick thought, he activated his transformation magic alongside his Abyss runes and illusion skills. His body shrank, his dark cloak vanished, and sharp, feather-covered wings spread out in place of his arms.
Within seconds, Akira took off from the tree branch, soaring straight up towards the clouds as a common mountain falcon.
He climbed higher and higher until the town below looked like a tiny dot on the ground. Up here, in the cold wind and thin air, no ordinary guard or detection device would ever notice a single bird flying through the sky.
Once he reached a high enough altitude, Akira stopped flapping his wings and glided smoothly. Looking down at the land below, he spoke to the Great Sage in his mind.
"Great Sage, help me navigate to the location where Grammi's life signal is coming from."
[ Command received. Calculating the shortest flight path... Route established. ]
And so, with his mental GPS activated, Akira flew straight toward his target, Grammi.
Moving in his falcon form made the long trip much easier. He didn't have to rest much because his magic consumption was very low, and whenever he got bored, he could simply swap control with the Great Sage to take a break. Flying high above the clouds, he sped over rivers, large forests, and busy empire cities without anyone below ever noticing him.
By the afternoon of the second day, the landscape beneath him began to change. The busy towns and green plains faded away, replaced by steep, rocky mountains and quiet valleys.
The flat voice of the Great Sage echoed inside his mind.
"Notice. Approaching target location. Life signal detected 5 kilometers ahead inside the mountain valley."
Akira narrowed his sharp falcon eyes, looking down through the thin clouds. Hidden between huge rock walls in the middle of the quiet valley was a small, peaceful village.
******
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