Roger crouched in the grass, watching a lone goblin pass by.
The goblin carried a crooked wooden stick, its sluggish steps making it look more like it was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods rather than patrolling.
Perhaps because the goblins in the Cliffside Mountains had been mostly wiped out, Roger had climbed the mountain for half the day before finally encountering this single one.
Waiting until the goblin's back was turned, Roger darted out of the grass and thrust his sword into its back.
“Points +15. Balance: 6,815.”
Roger stared at the pitiful number on his panel, wondering why it was so low.
He squatted down and flipped the goblin's corpse over, but found no twisted tattoos or bone chains on it.
Perhaps because the source of the goblins' abnormality had been eliminated, the system's point evaluation for these green-skinned creatures had reverted to its baseline.
“Forget it. Staying any longer is just a waste of time,” he muttered, wiping the blood from his sword onto the goblin's ragged clothes before standing up.
Since lone goblin grunts could no longer yield many points, he planned to take another look at the nest. If nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he would head straight down the mountain.
As he approached the nest's entrance, voices drifted from ahead. Roger immediately found a concealed spot to hide and poked half his head out.
Two men stood guard near the entrance. They wore no noble crests, and their weapons were straight swords hanging at their waists, their hilts completely unadorned.
One of them leaned against the remaining wooden post of a watchtower, arms crossed, his tone laced with impatience.
“I heard the higher-ups are sending more people to search? But we've already turned the inside upside down. There's really no need to do it again.”
“Just guard this place. It's none of our business.” The other man sat on a piece of rubble, running a whetstone along his blade. “I heard the people sent from above brought a magical device that can track the vessel's whereabouts. They should arrive today.”
“A magical device? The price of one of those is equivalent to several years of income for a freeman. The higher-ups are really willing to spend a fortune.”
“After all, if we want to know where the vessel went, we can only rely on that. We've searched for so many days and found nothing. It's impossible to find it without a magical device.”
“Can it also find Sargon's whereabouts?”
“Probably not. Apparently, this kind of magical device can only detect traces left within ten days. Sargon has been missing for longer than that.”
After listening to their conversation, Roger hurled two fireballs.
Caught completely off guard, the two cultists were knocked to the ground by the fireballs. Roger cast Windwalk to rush forward, drawing his Fine Steel Sword to finish them off one by one.
The blade sliced into their vitals cleanly and swiftly, leaving them no chance to scream.
“Points +200. Total: 7,015.”
Roger shook the blood off his sword and returned to his hiding spot, waiting for about ten minutes.
No footsteps or shouts came from deep within the cave, and Scout's Eye detected no new targets. Only then did he stand up, step over the two corpses, and enter the cave once more.
Following his memory through the passages and forks, he arrived at the core chamber once again. The layout here was exactly as before, but there was not a soul in sight.
Roger did a quick sweep, and after confirming there were no newly added items or documents, he turned and left.
These cultists had probably left only a skeleton crew to avoid contaminating the scene with too many people.
Or perhaps other patrols were in the vicinity, and he had just happened to miss them.
Confirming there were no new clues, Roger left the cave. He didn't go far, instead finding a concealed spot to lie in wait within the dense forest near the cave entrance.
He still remembered what the cultist guarding the entrance had said:
“The people investigating the vessel's whereabouts will arrive today.”
About half an hour later, five figures appeared at the edge of Scout's Eye's field of vision. Roger lowered his body, using the trees as cover to creep closer to them.
Four of the five wore chainmail and carried melee weapons, split into pairs to scout ahead and guard the rear. The fifth person, protected in the middle, held a short staff in one hand and a dark leather suitcase in the other.
Roger guessed that the suitcase likely contained the magical device, but he didn't strike immediately. Those escorting such a device might be elites, and he might not be able to defeat them in a straight fight.
As long as he snatched the item, it would be a victory.
He first opened the system shop and searched for the keyword: disguise.
Several entries popped up on the holographic interface, and his gaze locked onto a moderately priced option:
【Name: Mask of a Thousand Faces
Quality: Fine
Description: Once equipped, this mask can simulate the appearance of any humanoid creature and alter the wearer's aura. Duration: 6 hours. Cooldown: 12 hours.
When simulating an appearance, the wearer must envision the target's facial features, skin tone, and facial proportions in detail. The mask will automatically adjust based on the concept.
Cannot simulate individuals whose body size exceeds the wearer's.
Exchange Cost: 1,800 points】
“Points -1,800. Balance: 5,215.”
Roger pressed the mask onto his face. It adhered automatically upon contact with his skin, its edges blending perfectly with his facial contours. He closed his eyes, recalling the appearance of a former college roommate.
Only after he had transformed into his college roommate did Roger raise his right hand, electrical sparks flowing over his Rune Ring.
A bolt of lightning sliced through the air, bursting into a blinding glare against a magic shield.
No system prompt sounded. Roger took advantage of their delayed reaction, casting Windwalk to weave through the forest. Angry shouts echoed from behind:
“After him!”
Two of the guards quickly split up and gave chase.
Roger twisted his upper body and fired a fireball at the guard on the left.
The guard raised his shield to block. The fireball exploded against the shield's surface, but he didn't retreat even half a step. Not waiting for him to recover his stance, Roger activated Flash Step. The moment his foot hit the ground, his body turned into a blurry afterimage, slipping through the narrow gap between two trees.
The guard on the right lunged with his sword toward Roger's landing spot. Just as Roger stabilized his stance, the opponent's blade slashed out from the bushes.
Iron Wall activated just as the blade was about to touch his body, parrying the sword away. Taking advantage of the half-second window bought by Iron Wall, he shot a second fireball, hitting the opponent's thigh dead-on.
The guard grunted, his steps faltering visibly after being hit in the leg.
Under the guards' cover, the mage raised his staff, the gray crystal at its tip glowing with a white light. Several wind blades shot out simultaneously from the tip, tearing through the air as they flew toward Roger.
Roger activated Windwalk the moment the wind blades were released, darting to the side. The wind blades whipped past him, slicing into the tree trunks behind him and shearing several trees in half.
The guard on the left rushed before him, sword raised high, delivering a heavy downward slash. Roger sidestepped to dodge, his Fine Steel Sword already unsheathed and slashing toward the guard's wrist.
The force of 【Unbalancing Strike】 transferred from the blade to the opponent's bracer. The guard's arm was jarred outward, and his body stumbled back two steps.
A translucent blue hand materialized in midair, snatching the guard's longsword and delivering it into Roger's hand.
Roger didn't stop to admire his handiwork. He activated Flash Step again, his body turning into an afterimage as he slipped between the two guards, combining it with Windwalk to charge straight at the mage in the rear.
The mage retreated in a panic while the remaining two guards rushed forward to intercept, sealing off the front from both sides.
Roger used Windwalk to bypass the front, then used Flash Step again to close the distance to the mage.
The mage's staff glowed with a blue light, but Roger gave him no such chance. He slashed his Fine Steel Sword toward the staff, executing Unbalancing Strike once more.
The next second, the staff flew out of his hand. The mage lost his balance and fell backward.
At the exact moment the mage fell, Roger grabbed the suitcase and, with a thought, stored it in his system inventory.
Then, before the four guards could close the distance from different directions to surround him, he pulled out the Short-Range Teleportation Amulet from his waist.
A white light flashed, and Roger appeared on a tree a dozen meters away. Re-activating Windwalk, he leaped continuously across the tree canopies, quickly vanishing behind the dense layers of leaves.
Angry roars from the guards and curses from the mage echoed behind him, but Roger didn't look back. He traversed the treetops swiftly, not stopping until the pursuers had completely vanished from his field of vision.
He recycled the captured longsword to the system, earning 400 points, then took out the suitcase from his inventory and pried it open.
Inside, it was lined with dark blue velvet. Resting in the center of the lining was a palm-sized circular metal disk.
Fine rune arrays were etched onto the surface of the disk, and in the dead center of the array was a silver needle floating within a miniature mana field.
Engraved at the bottom of the disk was a small line of text: “Mercury Workshop.”
Roger used Appraisal on it:
【Name: Trace Tracker
Quality: Fine
Description: By collecting residual magic traces of a target, its current direction can be tracked. The effective tracking period is within ten days after the traces are generated. Traces exceeding this time limit cannot be recognized.
Recycle Points: 1,500】
After browsing the panel, he stored the metal disk back into his system inventory. He didn't recycle it for now, thinking it might come in handy later.
Rate on N.U.
