We were almost at the destination — Thalindor, a rich coastal trade kingdom.
Thalindor had a huge territory bordering the sea, so it did a lot of trade in sea goods. The sea wasn't well explored: for a long distance from the coast no land had been found, and flying continuously that far was difficult. A powerhouse might try, but there was no guarantee there were no powerhouse monsters. At least one was known — it lived to the southeast side of the continent: the Leviathan.
We had four continents.
One was the one we were roaming in — the biggest.
The second lay to the southeast of this continent; the closest distance between their lands was around a thousand kilometres, and the Leviathan lived in that sea.
The third lay to the southwest of our continent; the closest distance between lands there was only fifty kilometres.
As for the fourth, nobody even knew about it in this world .The novel only mentioned that there was a fourth continent but said it had no life — not even monsters. Nothing was said about its size. So no one must have gone there, right? No — only one being had been capable of going: the one who created the Nature Force of Teleportation. Aside from that, nothing was known.
Well, let's leave these small things.
Our next Nature Force was in Thalindor kingdom.
We soon reached a city named Gravenmere. From the city the sea was covered in fog and looked like a large lake. I took a room at an inn and finally decided to leave the city to go toward where I would find my reward. It was deep inside a forest on one side of the city. The city had the sea on one side and the forest on the other — or you could say the forest lay on one side of Gravenmere and the sea was on the other. We started our travel.
---
After Adrian and the Claw found the Omniscient:
In the duke's luxurious office, the duke sat looking out the window. The door was knocked.
"Come in," the duke said, still looking out.
The butler entered and bowed. "Master, the one looking for Relliks has come."
"Bring him in," the duke replied.
The butler bowed and left. The duke turned to Edward, who stood like a statue. "You know what this means, right?"
Soon the door knocked again.
"Come in."
The informant said, "We found the sky dog. It was in a grave. And next to it there was another grave — it was Sir Relliks's."
The duke nodded. "Leave."
The room returned to two people. The duke sighed. "He was a good talent. He could have grown stronger than you."
Edward replied, "Luck is also part of talent. A person capable of becoming the strongest in the world dies at birth — what use is such a person?"
The duke laughed. "You sure are harsh. Trying to hide your anger?"
Then the duke said, "This farce has gone on long enough."
He called the butler. The butler entered and bowed. "Master, do you need something?"
"Summon the vice-captain of the knights," the duke ordered.
The butler bowed and left. Edward frowned. "Isn't this too much? Sending SS-Rank for a brat."
The duke replied, "I am going to finish this game now. He can treat it as a vacation or a hunting game, however he likes."
Soon there was another knock.
"Enter."
The vice-captain of the knights entered and bowed. "Master, what are your orders?"
The duke asked, "You know the Lewin merchant family?"
The vice-captain nodded, puzzled. "Yes, master. Do you need something from them?"
"Bring me the head of Adrian Lewin, current head of the Lewin merchant family. Take ten knights with you — S-Rank and A-Rank."
The vice-captain nodded. "I will bring you the head soon."
He left. Edward's frown deepened. "Ten knights? This is a big movement — many will notice."
The duke said, "His Majesty was not happy when I visited him. In the priority list you know what comes above."
Edward sighed.
---
I started searching the forest like I had inside the mist forest, but here there was no mist and this forest was not as large. I found the target within a day.
The movements there made me nervous. There were six people — six knights — and, if I was not wrong, one of them was the original holder of this Nature Force. I couldn't fool him; he came knowing something valuable was here.
What to do now? For anyone thinking I should fight — that wouldn't work. This guy was SS-Rank and the others were, I thought, A-Rank.
---
Garreth Stonewall (the original holder) — POV:
I went to a ruin and found that something ancient had been placed here. What exactly I wasn't sure of, but it must be an ancient treasure or that Nature Force I'd heard of.
If it was a Nature Force I would grow exponentially stronger.
If it was an ancient treasure I would still benefit immensely.
I said to the knights I brought, "Everyone, I am going inside. Keep watch. No matter who comes, don't let them in."
They replied together, "We will do as you command, Sir Garreth."
I nodded and entered the ruin.
---
I told the Claw members, "Can you hold off those knights? Don't worry — they aren't knights of this kingdom, so it's fine."
Raven replied, "We are escorts, not your henchmen."
I was speechless. Then I said, "Five platinum coins. They aren't that strong and you don't need to kill. What do you say?"
I knew by now they realized something inside was important, so I increased the money to an amount they couldn't refuse.
Emma said to Raven, "Let's do it. We'll earn more than we do annually."
Raven sighed. "Okay."
I grinned. The Claw members started clashing with the knights. Meanwhile I watched the ruin from afar and teleported as far inside as I could see. I appeared a few meters from Sir Garreth Stonewall.
Garreth was shocked. "How did you get here?"
I grinned. "In the world or in the ruin?"
I hoped he wouldn't ask world, or I'd have to lie.
Garreth said, "Well whatever — leave now or die."
I replied, grinning, "Well, why don't you make me?"
Sir Garreth Stonewall grinned and nodded. "Well, if you wish to."
He moved while covering himself with aura. I teleported away as soon as he reached my position. He was shocked and frowned.
Now I knew he couldn't hurt me, but I also couldn't hurt him.
He would realize that soon and then leave me and rush inside.
That's what would have happened — except I had visited the market when I reached the duke's city and found an illusion device in a magical device shop.
What it did was simple: after I charged it, it formed a magical energy around me that looked like an aura. It gave the illusion that I was powerful. If I didn't attack him, he would think my attacks were weak and I would try to target his vitals, giving me time.
---
Sir Garreth Stonewall — POV:
This brat was so young yet he avoided my attack. I didn't know how — was it teleportation? Teleportation usually needs time to prepare. Maybe the previous one had been prepared already. But this couldn't be — he hadn't had the time. So how?
Don't tell me it's a Nature Force. This kid is lucky.
Well, let's see how far his luck goes. I attacked again, covering myself in aura, but he disappeared again. Now I was sure he was teleporting. Maybe he was S-Rank or SS-Rank; his aura looked strong. He hadn't attacked yet, so maybe he couldn't — perhaps he was S-Rank and needed to target my vitals. If so, I couldn't give him an opening.
I attacked again and he teleported away, but I was prepared and changed direction, attacking his new position. He teleported again.
Alright — let's gather what I know. His aura is good, so he is either S-Rank or SS-Rank. He can teleport. He hasn't attacked yet, which might mean he can't. Maybe he needs to strike the vitals. In that case I must kill him; if I try to enter carelessly he will use the opening.
So I attacked again and he teleported. This time the wall of the ruin was close and my leg got a little stuck — not enough to stop me, though. I stood horizontally on the ruin wall and jumped. My jump launched me parallel to the ground as I rotated and targeted him. He teleported again.
I stopped myself with the support of the ground and in the process left huge scars on the dirt. I attacked again, this time with an aura slash that I focused all around. He would dodge my slash and teleport; then I would strike wherever he appeared. That's exactly what happened — he teleported to avoid the slash and I quickly found his location. He was behind me at a little distance — maybe he guessed my plan and tried to teleport into my blind spot. But I noticed his presence and moved as fast as I could. I almost reached him — he survived, though.
The event proved I could reach him. He wasn't as fast as he thought. This went on for a long time. I thought maybe I was wrong — maybe it was a slip. It had been over two hours. I tried my final gamble. I threw hundreds of slashes in every direction and then prepared myself.
He teleported many times and avoided everything flawlessly, without a scratch. My heart grew cold. But still I would try once more. He was teleporting and I saw a opening , I remembered the first time I saw him surprised.
"You are not invincible, you bastard," I thought.
I slashed. The slash cut a small wound through his finger. It made me smile.