Step to paradise

The city at night was no longer noisy, but there were still a few groups of adventurers gathered in the taverns, the sound of laughter mixed with the smell of strong alcohol and burnt wood. He walked quickly through the night market that had gradually disappeared, with only a few stalls with candles about to burn out.

The darkness thickened as he turned into a small alley. The sound of shoes hitting the stone floor echoed slowly, mixed with the drops of water falling from the old eaves. The cold seeped between the damp walls, carrying a musty smell mixed with the scent of moss.

Stopping in front of an old stone wall, he reached out to touch the rough surface, feeling the deep carvings inside the stone. A faint amount of mana still fluctuated inside, but with his understanding, it could not be hidden.

Flauros gently closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, allowing each stream of mana inside his body to gather at the tips of his fingers. A faint red light flashed at his fingertips, spreading along the magical lines hidden in the stone.

The seemingly lifeless wall began to react. The ancient inscriptions, which had faded over time, seemed to have been awakened. They glowed brightly, dark purple light running along the intricate carvings, like living blood vessels.

The mana in his body was sucked in, stretching every vein. Flauros clenched his teeth, his palm pressed against the inscription, feeling the fierce resistance from the seal.

Trying to break the inscription directly with mana without the person who created it was extremely risky, so it was natural that it would be difficult.

BOOM!

A powerful shockwave bounced back, pushing him back a bit. But Flauros did not falter, he increased the flow of mana, forcing the inscription to accept his intrusion.

The wall shook, and small cracks began to appear on the runes. The light flickered, as if struggling between opening it or continuing to resist.

Flauros clenched his fist, using his willpower to force the last of his mana into the spell.

BOOM!

A gust of mana exploded, blowing away the surrounding dust. The last of the purple light dissipated, leaving behind a large crack running along the surface of the wall.

Then, like a curtain being torn apart—

The wall gradually faded, revealing a deep passageway into the darkness.

"Phew…"

"That should be enough, huh…?"

Flauros couldn't help but be startled. He thought it was a teleportation formation, but he had misunderstood its usage principle.

'It seems like I've rewritten its spell, why did it explode directly...?'

...

'Forget it, let's quickly go inside and leave. It'll be tough if the night patrol finds out...'

Flauros didn't hesitate. His figure quickly passed through the hole in the wall, immediately taking advantage of the darkness to hide himself.

The night air was cold, and each gust of wind blew by, causing his cloak to flutter slightly. Flauros quickly regulated his breathing, retracted his aura, making himself invisible to those sensitive to mana.

A cold gaze swept across the surrounding area. There were no patrolling guards nearby, at least within his range of vision.

Slap!

His feet landed lightly on the roof of a nearby building, not making any noise. Flauros crouched low, running along the roof tiles, taking advantage of the darkness to avoid being detected.

In the distance, the magical lights from the pillars lit up the street below. Laughter, the sounds of drunk people, and horse-drawn carriages passing by blended into the night air of the main city.

But Flauros had no time to enjoy the scene. He moved at a fast but careful pace, his eyes always looking forward, focusing on the road leading to the city center, where he needed to go.

As he moved, he noticed a very small fluctuation of Mana and Manas in the surrounding space. Both in the sky and on the ground, it seemed that the main city's night patrol had arrived, and they were quite agile.

Flauros immediately stopped on the roof tiles, holding his breath for a moment. He could feel the extremely small but steady magical fluctuation spreading in the surrounding space.

Not only on the ground, but also in the air, there were also Manas and Mana, the royal knights and sorcerers, patrolling using sensing magic to detect any suspicious people.

"That's fast. These guys aren't bad."

He frowned, thinking inwardly. The traces of the previous battle were still there, but more importantly, the amount of Mana from the negative emotions he absorbed was not much, which was a fatal weakness if he was forced to fight right now.

Hide... or quickly escape from the patrol area?

Flauros looked around, his mind constantly turning to find the best solution.

Just below was a dark alley, and the ancient buildings stood close together, creating enough gaps for him to take advantage of the darkness. In the distance, there were several main roads lit by magic lamps, where more people were passing by.

Can't be reckless.

Flauros took a deep breath, gently retreated a few steps, took advantage of the tiled roof structure to drop down behind, and landed in a courtyard hidden in the darkness.

From here, he could take advantage of the city's structure, weaving through the blind spots within the patrol's sensing range.

Although it was said that the night was quiet, there were still a few people walking on the pedestrian streets and alleyways.

'Quickly blending into the crowd is the best way right now.'

Flauros quickly weaved and blended into the crowd.

Flauros blended into the crowd, his steps calm and leisurely as if he had nothing to do with this raid.

The drizzle had not yet stopped, the magic lights on both sides of the street cast down, creating a humid and gloomy atmosphere, but not enough to stop those who were searching for someone.

Royal soldiers and knights ran past, their armor gleaming in the dim light. The hurried footsteps, the sound of robes flapping in the air, mixed with the bustling noise of the street.

Some of them even stopped to observe, their sharp eyes scanning the crowd as if searching for suspicious people.

Flauros kept his calm demeanor, standing near a small stall, pretending to look at the items on display.

When a royal wizard passed right next to him, he felt a strong flow of mana, but the man just passed by and continued walking straight, not noticing anything unusual.

'Good, very good.'

What he used was a forbidden magic, no ordinary wizard could sense. Although wizards would leave traces of Mana in their veins when they changed their element or even their magical skills, he was different.

He had bet his life to perfectly remove them from every vein and Mana flow in his body.

Beside him, a group of merchants and travelers were still chatting normally, as if they didn't know that the city was being heavily patrolled. Flauros curled his lips slightly, then continued walking, blending into the crowd, away from their inspection area.

Where the royal wizard couldn't see clearly, Flauros secretly smiled. The red eyes flashed for a moment and then disappeared. That guy seemed to sense something, turned around to look, but saw no one. The crowd was still there, without any difference.

Throughout the night, Flauros moved relentlessly, dodging the patrols that dotted the city.

The dark alleys became the ideal escape route. He weaved through the small paths, his footsteps light and silent.

Every time he sensed the mana from the patrols, he stopped in time, blending into the shadows or blending in with the sparse crowd that still wandered the night.

As the sky began to turn a pale blue, Flauros finally escaped the area with many guards. The main city was slowly waking up, the main streets bustling again, the atmosphere gradually becoming less tense.

He slowed down, blending into the crowd as the citizens began to prepare for a new day. The light from the magical street lamps faded as dawn broke.

Carts rolled along the cobblestone streets, the scent of early bread stalls wafted through the air, and soft cries of wares came from the market streets.

Though he was somewhat reassured, Flauros's body was still tense. He needed a place to prepare his weapons, or at least find a place to recover fully before continuing his plan.

But first, he needed to find a blacksmith's shop.

The sky was still a pale blue-gray, dawn had not yet broken, but the main city was already starting to stir.

Flauros walked through the small alleys, away from the central area where patrols might appear. Despite having been on the run all night, he still couldn't relax completely.

Soft cries of wares came from the early stalls, a few merchants packed up, the guards changed shifts, and the magical street lamps gradually dimmed.

He gently pulled his cloak over most of his face, his eyes silently scanning each shop. A leather worker was preparing his tools, a bakery opened early, and the scent of baked bread wafted through the chilly air. But what he needed was not those.

Flauros walked quickly through a cobblestone street, his eyes quickly stopping in front of a blacksmith shop deep in the corner of the neighborhood.

A red fire from inside shone through the crack in the door, and the sound of hammers hitting metal echoed in the quiet air. A muscular blacksmith was checking a row of shiny blades placed on the shelves.

'Found it.'

He thought, moving closer.

Flauros entered the blacksmith shop, and the space was immediately filled with the smell of molten metal, coal ash, and forging oil. Swords, daggers, and armor were displayed on wooden shelves, some of them still lightly smoking, showing that they had just been completed not long ago.

After the loud banging of the hammer, a deep voice spoke from inside:

"Stranger? Want to buy something or order something custom?"

A large man walked out, his shaggy beard covered in coal dust, his muscular arms covered in scorch marks from the hot metal. His sharp eyes scanned Flauros appraisingly.

Flauros did not beat around the bush, took out a storage ring and a few lumps of raw metal with an unusually dark color from his cloak, and placed them on the wooden counter:

"I want to forge a new set of blades and reinforce some equipment with this."

The blacksmith squinted at the items on the table, picked up a block of metal, and tapped it lightly with his finger.

Clack!

A low sound rang out, his expression slightly changing:

"Black silver? Not easy to find... Did you get it from the black market?"

Flauros just kept silent, his cold eyes not revealing much. The blacksmith snorted lightly, shaking his head:

"This thing is not simple, to forge it requires additional auxiliary alloys. Do you have them or should I take care of it myself?"

Flauros took out another small bag from his storage ring, opened it, and revealed some magical silver powder, crushed meteorite fragments, and a black iron ingot.

"Is this enough?"

The blacksmith stared for a few seconds, then chuckled softly:

"Hah, an interesting guest. Alright, but the price won't be cheap."

Flauros threw another small bag onto the table, filled with gold coins.

"Do it quickly. I'll come back later."

The blacksmith glanced at the bag of gold coins, his eyes flashing with satisfaction but also with a hint of caution. He knew that people who were willing to spend such a large amount of money were usually not commoners or nobles, or people who were best left alone.

He picked up the bag of coins, felt the weight, and nodded:

"Okay, then I won't ask any more questions. Come back in a week, or sooner if you're lucky."

Flauros nodded slightly, his eyes calm as if everything was within his calculations.

The blacksmith lowered his voice, his eyes carrying a bit of caution but still maintaining a professional demeanor:

"It doesn't matter who you are, but if it involves the royal family or their hunting dogs, it's best not to drag this old man into the water."

Flauros just smiled faintly:

"You just need to do your part well, there's nothing else to worry about."

The blacksmith snorted lightly but said nothing more. He gathered up the materials, muttering something about how to process black silver and the special alloys Flauros had brought.

"Alright, now go away. I need to focus on my work."

Flauros said nothing more, turning to leave the forge

The blacksmith sighed softly, his rough hands clenched the money bag for a moment, then put it down on the table. He placed both hands on the cracked wooden table, his eyes looking sternly at Flauros.

"Listen, kid. It's not that I'm curious or trying to make things difficult. But in this Ozone Empire, the most important thing isn't money, it's saving lives."

He leaned back, glanced out at the deserted alley, his voice low but full of vigilance:

"Why do you think people like me, blacksmiths, merchants, and innkeepers never ask too much about customers? That's an unwritten rule. In Ozone right now, the political situation is more chaotic than ever. The royal family is divided, the nobles are fighting in secret, and the forces in the dark are just waiting to pounce and tear each other apart."

He snorted coldly, tapping his fingers lightly on the wooden table:

"This Empire is like a wounded beast now, everyone wants to tear a piece of meat. Adventurers, mercenaries, assassins, spies are all flocking in, and people like me have only one way to survive: Don't get too deeply involved with anyone."

Flauros still kept a calm expression, his eyes cold like a smoldering fire in the night.

"I understand that rule." His voice was calm, without any wavering. "And I don't need you to get involved with me. Just complete what I asked for, the rest is none of your business."

The blacksmith looked at Flauros for a long time, finally picked up the money bag, and smiled faintly.

"Alright, then I won't ask any more."

He took the storage ring and the metal, quickly checked it, and nodded, muttering to himself about how to process it.

"Good, I won't let you down. Now go, I don't like people watching me work."

Flauros didn't say anything more, just nodded slightly and turned to leave. His figure gradually blended into the thin morning mist, disappearing among the maze-like small streets of the main city.

It's not that he didn't know about the Ozone Empire's situation, it just didn't have much of an impact on him.

He wasn't a hero, nor did he have the leisure to mess around and mess with it like a kid around 18-20 years old that year. The lesson of betrayal made him not want to get involved with any empire or anyone who needed help.