Edward trained on a tight schedule for the week, cycling through physical exercises, aura manipulation, and meditation. He could have continued to train but he had to return to Gobéliard before Leyla spread the runes booklets. Their diffusion would threaten the status quo the big families were imposing on Gobéliard, preventing anyone to reach their height. There is no way they would tolerate that from happening and they would try to stop the runes’ knowledge from expanding.

Edward was betting on the chaos that would ensue to take care of Quintus, the Vega family master. Edward wasn’t strong to challenge all of the families by himself. But defeating Quintus was in his capacity. Hopefully, by then the predator of the other families would realize that he was standing on their level and give up on chasing him down.

Edward wouldn’t challenge the other families’ hegemony directly, but this would happen naturally with the rise of new challengers. The main advantages of the families were their rune knowledge, and their heads being at the predator level. With this level of power, they could directly seize control of Gobéliard, and Cornelius had to bow to their whims. With Edward as a new neutral party at the predator level, Gobéliard’s laws would become fairer. At least, this was the situation Edward was hoping for.

Edward walked back to Gobéliard, choosing to do it at night to stay unnoticed. He wanted to give Quintus a nasty surprise, there was no need to disclose his return until he confronted him. Since Edward didn’t know where the masters of the three main families were currently residing in Gobéliard, he chose to hide his aura, lest one of them recognized him or decided to investigate from whom this powerful aura was coming. His eyesight was developed enough that the night wasn’t bothering him in the slightest even without using his aura to sense his surroundings.

He didn’t approach the city from the gate, which was closed at night anyway. Instead, he skirted around the city, so that he was coming from the side, neither from the forest nor the ocean. This was the place where the security was the most relaxed. However, there were no places to hide, the city surroundings had been cleared of all trees and bushes. Edward had hidden his aura, but he wasn’t invisible, guards could still spot him if they looked at the right place.

This would be problematic for someone else, but now I can simply brute force this. “Rèng khwāmrĕw” he muttered before tapping in his acceleration power. He reached the walls in a blur within seconds and then simply teleported to the other side, appearing safely inside the city without anyone the wiser. He couldn’t help but snicker at the ease at with which he had infiltrated the city.

He heard some muffled noise from the wall, his acute earing enabling him to hear what was going on.

“Huh, did you see that? I think I saw something moving?” one of the guards asked.

“Where? I didn’t see anything,” his colleague replied.

“I’m not sure, over there I think,” he said while gesturing at the area Edward had come from.

“There is nothing you must have been dreaming.”

“Maybe, all those monsters’ attacks are getting on my nerves.”

“The expedition came back not long ago. They may have lost some members but they did exterminate the Lusus naturae and their nest. Things should be calm for now.”

At least they are doing their duty conscientiously. Edward thought. From what I heard, teleporting monsters are not exactly common in this area.

Edward walked into the city keeping his aura hidden. Now, how will I meet will Charles and company? I’m stupid I didn’t even think to give them a meeting point. If I were them, I would go to the adventurer guild, that’s where all of our reunions happened in the past. However, I don’t want other adventurers to recognize me.

As Edward was wandering within Gobéliard, he noticed that the city was far from empty even though it was the middle of the night. Lights and the loud buzz of conversation were coming from the taverns he was passing by. In front of such a bar, he remarked a beggar waiting for a generous soul to give him some money.

Gobéliard wasn’t a poor city, but it was inevitable that there would be some beggars. In a world filled with monsters, it was too easy to lose everything you possessed. One trading journey that ended poorly, a fisherman giving up his boat to escape Murlocs, a farmer getting his farm destroyed by Lusus naturae…Bad luck could be enough to end one’s life.

Edward stopped walking. I can’t go to the adventurer guild, but I can ask someone else to keep an eye on it. See if Charles’ group is there and report it to me.

“Hey,” he greeted the mendicant. “Do you want to earn some coins?”

“Do I look like someone who has too much money?” The beggar grumbled. “What do you want from me?”

“Could you keep an eye on the adventurer guild, see who comes in and out and report it to me? I can pay you one silver coin per day.” Edward could offer to pay him a lot more than that, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

The beggar’s eyes gleamed with surprise. “Aye, I have fallen low, but this is still something I can do.” Then he squinted his eyes in wariness. “Payment up front for the day.” Street life wasn’t nice, and Edward wouldn’t be the first guy trying to exploit a beggar for his own profit. This wouldn’t be the first time someone promised him something only to back off once he did his task.

Edward shrugged. “We got a deal,” he told him while giving him a coin. “Let’s meet at this spot every evening starting tomorrow.”

Edward booked a room at the tavern for the week. It wasn’t anything luxurious, but at least he had his own room with a bed. He didn’t even feel particularly tired. He hadn’t paid attention when he was still an awaken, but now that he was at the predator stage, the decrease in his sleeping need was flagrant. With just four hours of sleep a night, he still felt refreshed. That’s why he chose to spend the night on meditation to increase his mana instead.

The next day, Edward set out, his first destination was a tailor shop to buy more concealing clothes. There was no point in hiding his aura if anybody who knew him could recognize him. He came back from the shop with a big sailor coat and a light scarf covering the bottom of his face. The weather wasn’t particularly cold, but seamen had to be well-equipped to deal with tempests. No one liked to be water drenched, especially when it could lead to a cold or worse.

Now, unrecognizable, Edward walked leisurely inside Gobéliard street. The beggar he had hired would keep an eye on the adventurer guild, but he wanted to take the city temperature. He followed some people listening to their small talks, or sometimes simply leaning against a wall near a tavern, listening to the discussions. News about the expedition’s return against the lusus naturae had spread. Although the operation had been a success, people weren’t at ease.

The adventurers had a few losses, and there were rumors about a demon able to tear awakens to shreds with a simple wipe of its claws. They must be talking about the big one I took down. People knew there were dangerous monsters in the wilds, but having a confrontation with one this close to the city was worrying. No one liked to know such a dangerous beast was roaming freely in the surroundings.

Moreover, the Lusus naturae expedition had happened not that long after the Murlocs’ one. Monsters growing so numerous that action had to be taken twice in a row was concerning. The locals were quoting their own experiences. The Lusus naturae and the Murlocs weren’t the only monsters that had grown more prevalent. Harpies’ attacks had also intensified lately. People were talking about the surge and worrying about what the next months were holding for them.

I guess Cornelius and I are not the only ones worrying about the monsters’ growth. My vendetta against the Vega family won’t help, only adding instability to a concerning situation. However, sharing the runes’ knowledge should help the city a lot more than losing a predator. Especially in the long run.

It was while he was strolling on the side of the street that he encountered a situation. A small crowd was gathered blocking the way in front of him. Shouts could be overheard on top of the clamor. Edward made his way through the bystanders, with his strength a seemingly casual push was enough to liberate the way in front of him.

Now able to see what was going on, Edward couldn’t believe his eyes. A familiar man escorted by Vega family guards was berating a merchant. He was blaming the latter for selling rubbish and asking to be reimbursed for a sum that was completely over the top, worth several times the value he had purchased. Normally, the merchant would have discarded him, but it was difficult to do so with the pressure of the Vega family against him.

Am I dreaming or is that Carlson? I knew it. The Vega family shouldn’t have known about me this soon without someone from Agripin telling them about me. Of course, it had to be Carlson. Who else but this scum would do that? Edward still remembered when the latter wanted to appease the Bloodmaws by throwing sacrifices at them. Naturally, sacrifices that he would have chosen himself, which would basically be anyone opposing him.

Edward was seriously tempted to kill him right here and now. Ending this poor excuse of a man before he could do another misdeed. However, this would blow his cover, so he reluctantly restrained himself.

I’ll spare you for now. But I’m not letting you go. I already did once and you came back to bite me in the ass. Seriously, being such a jerk, killing you would be the best thing I could do for everyone.

After the altercation, once the merchant had to ruin himself to settle down Carlson’s ridiculous claims, Edward discreetly slid a gold coin into the merchant’s purse. It was more than enough to reimburse the merchant but Edward had money to spare and felt sorry for anybody having to deal with Carlson. He then hurried after Carlson in order not to lose him. He wanted to know where the latter was residing, although, from his entourage and clothes, it was probably at the Vega family mansion.