Alex walked out of the academy—he didn't go to find Scarlett, as they had already shared a kind of farewell before the test. There was nothing left to say. His steps carried him toward the marketplace district, the midday crowds buzzing around him like a restless tide.
Three months of selling potions to nobles inside the academy had earned him a small fortune, nearly ten thousand gold coins. Enough to reach Elarion through the teleportation gates, something he couldn't have dreamed of before.
These gates existed in every town and the capital, though villages lacked them. Travel costs five hundred gold coins at a minimum, and up to a thousand when crossing vast distances. Alex immediately set aside fifteen hundred coins to cover travel expenses.
This left him with roughly eighty-five hundred coins leftover, from which he would spend around eight thousand on supplies for his mission.
Magic scrolls, weapons, potions. Basically, anything that he thought necessary for accomplishing an assassination mission.
And he had to make haste, after all, his time was limited to when the news of the test placement reached the masses, since a commoner in the top spots would certainly catch attention.
He moved quickly.
He bought five magic scrolls, all focused on stealth, each costing seven hundred gold coins. Then he purchased rare potions for infiltration and escape—ones that slowed his heartbeat, lightened his weight, sharpened senses, and more.
He also got some more sets of herbs to make more mana and healing potions. He didn't know what he would need to face, but he would rather be overprepared.
He also picked up tools for delivering poison—needles, darts, and thin syringes that could pierce through fabric unnoticed. Every detail mattered.
Alex was walking into unknown territory, and while the Alderfell's mansion could be easy to find, actually finding Bren was another thing altogether.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, Alex had spent seven thousand coins. With his inventory secured, he headed to the teleport gate hall. Guards lined the entrance, armored and alert—not to prevent locals from fleeing, but to guard against whatever might arrive from the other side.
"Destination?" a guard asked.
"Elarion," Alex replied without hesitation.
"Show your ID. I'll register you and issue a one-month stay permit. You may apply for citizenship upon arrival, or return when the month expires."
Alex handed his ID over. The guard scribbled his information onto a document and handed it back. Name, age, and where he came from—simple enough.
"That'll be five hundred gold coins."
Alex paid and stepped through the portal. The sensation mirrored the principal's teleportation during the midterm exam—a brief distortion, then a sudden shift.
He appeared in Elarion instantly.
'This really is convenient,' he thought. A journey that could have taken weeks by foot or carriage took seconds.
'I think my second element would be space once I reach tier 2,' Alex concluded.
He had now selected two of the three elements he could add on tier 2: Healing and space.
That only left one more space, but Alex stopped thinking about that — he first had to survive the following week or two.
The guards on the other side examined his permit and required him to sign a magic pact.
It was his first one that he ever signed.
Breaking a magic pact had consequences that varied by the grade, from constant agony until the pact was completed to the outright death of the person who broke the pact.
In Alex's case, the pact would make him feel unbearable pain if he didn't leave the capital's confines before a month was due.
'I won't be here that much time either way,' Alex thought as he signed it.
His first task was securing lodging. Elarion was vast—majestic even. Capitals housed anywhere between five hundred thousand and over a million residents.
The architecture towered above anything he'd seen in small towns: marble columns, floating lanterns, sprawling plazas lit by crystalline mana lamps. Alex moved through the crowded avenues like a fish out of water, wide-eyed despite his mission.
He needed to do something before his mission truly started: find Bren Alderfell.
As he walked, he mulled over possible approaches.
'Ah! The answer's been here all along.'
Why search blindly when the city's people could lead him straight to his target? Bren's reputation was infamously bad—asking questions wouldn't seem suspicious, especially if he posed as a shady courier.
He pulled on a hooded tunic and approached a passing woman—young, elegant, and likely familiar with nobles.
He specifically aimed for a pretty lady to ask, assuming she would be the most informed about a creep who leered after pretty ladies.
"Excuse me," he said quietly. "I'm looking for the Alderfell mansion. I was assigned as a courier to deliver potions to Bren."
The woman recoiled with visible disgust.
"Ugh, what's that creepy dude up to now? Look, man, the Alderfell mansion is on the west part of the city, but you'll probably find Bren in some pub or inn, fucking a hooker or some girl he coerced to sleep with him, now please leave me alone."
'Holy shit, does he have a reputation!' Alex thought at the sight of the girl's visible disgust.
"Thank you. I won't trouble you further," he replied, slipping her a gold coin.
She stared at the coin in disbelief.
'Who the hell gives a full gold coin for common knowledge?'
Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. He had lifted his head to look at her eyes out of habit—so she caught a glimpse of his youthful face.
"Aren't you a bit young to be doing… whatever this is with Bren?" She asked curiously
"I have a family to take care of. Farewell," Alex said quickly and walked off.
'Well, morals don't fill stomachs after all,' the woman thought, understanding him, and pocketing the coin.
Alex headed west and chose a modest inn, renting a room for two weeks under the name Marc. Once settled, he began combing through taverns and bars, searching.
He searched for hours, moving from street to street, pub to pub. Bren was nowhere to be found.
Just as he was about to give up for the day, he spotted him.
'Here you are, fucker,' Alex thought, eyes sharpening, looking at him without so much as a blink.
The hunt had begun.