As the wind blew through my hair, I once again took my surroundings in.
Truly relishing the impossibility of it all, I looked around.
Buildings that went as high as the eye I could see. Pipes flowing with bright liquids. Children floating around the city as if they were birds.
It truly hadn't sunk in that I was in a new world.
Although I was in a new world, some things never changed.
Many people looked at my wrist with disdain. The huge tattooed 0 was a disgrace in this world.
"Don't look at him, sweetie," a mother whispered, loud enough for me to hear. "Those Pathless bring about bad luck."
Two Stage 2 city guards passed by. One of them deliberately bumped into me.
"Watch it, null," he spat at me.
Most children in this world had awakened a path. The main source of magic in this world.
About 90% of the population had awakened their path through a Path Trial. Something that came to an individual while they were asleep. Each one unique, each one rewarding a different path.
So for me to be Pathless, made me worse than a beggar.
I shook off the glares and continued down the road. Opening the orange envelope I peered in.
There lay a stack of golden notes. Similar to a bill in my previous world yet with a different face.
Drello Argentum the IV lay atop each bill. The 8th king of this continent, Arinia, and the creator of the currency system.
Each bill was intricately laced with carvings and glowing with magical signatures. Most likely an anti-counterfeit countermeasure.
I ignored the bills and reached in to grab the notes and pictures.
As I continued strolling I looked at the photographs of the artifact.
It seemed as if they were a thick bronze pair of glasses with intricate wiring and bolts placed all across.
The lenses seemed like polarized glass from Earth, and there were many intricate carvings laced on them.
These seem quite conspicuous.
I decided to piece my thoughts together
From what I observed when I was in the shop, Regiran seemed hard of hearing.
When I knocked on the door there was no response and although I dropped coins on purpose he showed no reaction.
He seemed to have.. some past with his last apprentice. Why try to hide her?
He seemed to be a Stage 1 Path user. Not conspicuous enough to make enemies. Yet his security seemed to be very.. excessive.
A thief of this caliber going after a lowly shopkeeper.. Although the artifact was powerful..
The thief could possibly be one of the potential investors. Wanting to keep the prototype for themselves, hiring a thief of a high path to steal it.
I'll first look into the most glaring person. His apprentice.
After entering the building and climbing three flights of stairs, each step creaking.
I realized my door had a new nice art piece. "PATHLESS DON'T BELONG" was so elegantly displayed in bright red paint.
I packed the envelope into my bag and opened the door into my office.
In my office I started to really notice how poor it was. Papers were slung everywhere. Empty instant noodle containers formed a small mountain in the corner. A wall covered in red string all leading to.. Nothing.
My desk was a folding table found in an alley and my chair groaned when I sat down.
Did I weigh that much?
I turned on the computer, which looked like it had better days.
After swiping some rejection letters off my desk, which probably weren't important.
Probably.
I simply searched "Melissa Harden Ivory Tower."
No results.
Then "Melissa Hardren artificer."
Again nothing.
She doesn't have a public record?
Could Regiran have possibly lied? Maybe she goes under a different name?
I'll need to look into this later.
I filed that thought away and continued my search.
I pulled out another note from the orange envelope.
Private Viewing Session - Veridian Lens
1-12-2042
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Location : The Back Room of Regiran's Artificery
Looking at the date it seemed to be about 8 days ago, or about 5 days before the theft.
I scanned the page again focusing in on the names
Attendees:
Councilman Gerard Thorne
Magistrate Helena Cross
Merchant Lord Varian Treylow
Lady Cordelia Treylow
Authentication about these attendees were performed by a distinguished member of Crass City Collector's Guild.
If the thief was one of these individuals why wait 5 days before striking. Why wait 5 days when things could change in an instant. Things didn't line up.
I moved on to the next document out of the orange envelope. The security layout.
To be honest when I scanned the layers of intricate symbols, arrays, and matrices none of it made sense.
This was beyond my pay grade.
Actually, probably beyond my Earthling comprehension.
Although some basic information about the magic system entered my brain, that was all it amounted to, just basic information.
Again I turned to my computer and did a basic search. "Regiran Voss theft report."
A few results popped up, one caught my eye. A basic police report filed 3 days ago. "Artifact theft, value estimated 500+ GA, case assigned to Crass City Detective Division, investigation still ongoing."
Something's not right. A theft of this magnitude should be more major news.
I scrolled down the site. My eyes shot open.
The owner states he has hired 3 investigators before contacting the police. Each of them has gone MIA. Their details are redacted for privacy.
MIA? They just went missing? This.. Doesn't make logical sense.
One could be a deserter after he realized it was an impossible case but three. Three meant it wasn't a coincidence, something was making them go missing.
And I was going to provoke whatever was doing that.