Five hours later, Ezra opened his eyes to the bright glow of white power crystals illuminating his new room. He was still in bed, and a maid was washing his burning forehead with a damp cotton cloth soaked in healing waters from the Fountain of Erelor.“Wh…what happened?” Ezra tried to get up, but the pain in his head was so unbearable that he could not sit up straight. “Argh…my head!”“My Lord, you should not try to get up. Your body needs time to heal. Rest for now, and let me take care of you,’’ the maid replied. “Where is everyone? How’s Lady Tanya? Did she get hurt?”Before the maid could answer, there was a knock on the door. She got up and opened it.Tanya Gressil stepped into the room and immediately inquired about Ezra’s health. “How is he doing? Still feverish?”“He is doing a lot better, my Lady,” the maid replied, stepping aside to allow her to take a look at Ezra. “Lord Ezra is still weak, but the fever has gone down. He should recover with rest and some good warm meals.”
The exhaustion from being drenched in the Magic Rain and then healed with sacred magic gradually took its toll on Ezra’s body, and he soon fell sound asleep. When he woke up six hours later, it was half past midnight and the maid had dozed off beside his bed.Tanya had ordered her knights to stand guard outside Ezra’s door to ensure he would not try to attempt another sneaky escapade. However, thanks to the special item in his inventory, Ezra did not need to use doors to get in and out.Slowly lifting his blanket, Ezra put on his jacket and slipped into his boots. Careful, not to disturb the maid, he walked toward the only window in his room and pulled out the last teleportation scroll in his inventory.“This is my final scroll. Let’s make it count.”“Are you sure you do not want to keep the last one for sticky situations?” Marlin asked.“We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I can’t miss the chance to register for the tournament,” Ezra replied and unfurled the scroll
The big blue tent with Magaravia’s royal flag fluttering from its pole was right in front of Ezra, but the flaming ring separated him from his goal.Most D-level Gunners would have no difficulty surmounting this little obstacle since they could activate their Magic Flight skill to fly over the flaming ring. Ezra however, was yet to unlock this crucial skill since he had only recently reached D-level.Without the ability to fly over the hurdle, the next option was to use teleportation scrolls. However, Ezra had used his last teleportation scroll to sneak out of Verdant Gardens.“You seem troubled, my dear Lord,” Marlin taunted. “Perhaps you can try asking that blood mage to assist you. He seems to be quite good at utilizing portals and he also has a knack of getting you out of sticky situations.”“I do not need any help. I can do this on my own,” Ezra said, clenching his fist and narrowing his eyes on the tent. Even though the flames looked menacing, he was not prepared to back down.Ez
This was the first time Ezra had registered for an important tournament after his arms had healed. He still remembered the last tournament he had participated in had ended disastrously with his elimination in the very first round.Now was his chance to finally sweep his past away and prove himself in front of the crowd. A victory over here would not only win Ezra the support of the commoners, but also help him build ties with potential allies.With the registration complete, Ezra was now officially enrolled to participate in the opening duels on the first two days of the tournament. This information was conveyed to him by another sparkling display in which King Reginald Aubrey, the reigning king of Valaria greeted him.“Is that the king?” Ezra asked, taken aback by this unexpected encounter.But Marlin quickly corrected his mistake. “His Majesty is probably sound asleep inside his palace. The magical projection you see before you is merely a pre-recorded message. But don’t worry; you m
Out here on the deserted streets, Ezra had no one to watch his back except Marlin, and without his body, the old Gunsmith could only do very little to assist him.The City Guards and patrolling Longmans had all left to secure the palace premises, leaving behind a handful of volunteers to guard the city streets. However, Ezra was so far away from the residential areas that he could not call for help. And even if he did manage to catch someone’s attention, there was a slim chance that anyone would put their life on the line to fight the Shadow Lurkers in this blinding darkness.Since Ezra had never encountered these creatures before and none of the texts on monster hunting or dungeon raiding ever mentioned them, he had no idea what to expect.Looking around cautiously, Ezra spotted five pairs of green eyes and clusters of white, needle-like fangs sticking out of their mouths. Since most of the street lamps were flickering unsteadily, he could not make out their other features.“What are
Setting his eyes on the next street lamp, Ezra took a deep breath and touched his Lunar Howl medallion to summon his Spectral Companion. The White Wolf leaped out of Ezra’s medallion and howled to the waning moon, its ferocious battle cry drowning the shrieks and screeches. Even though the Shadow Lurkers were beings of darkness, the Dire Howl ability frightened them, causing them to panic and scatter.This brought Ezra just enough time to sprint through the darkness and reach the next street lamp. Once he was there, he caught his breath and surveyed his surroundings again. The next three street lamps were placed at twenty-foot intervals, alternating between the right and the left sidewalks. It created a hazy mirage of light and shade, with only small patches shaded by the trees. Ezra took another deep breath and broke off into a run, crossing the dimly lit path running between the sidewalks. Since there were no cars on the road, it was safe for him to sprint ahead without looking
Ezra had pinned his last hope on the dimming lights of Quentin Square, but as the last crystal lamp powered down, he realized he was in great danger. He immediately turned back and looked behind him, desperate to find another safe zone.But the street lamps behind him had already turned off and the ones in front were flickering rapidly, their power crystals almost on the verge of returning to their dormant state. Ezra looked around him, hoping to find a house or an inn on whose doors he could knock to escape the clutches of the Shadow Lurkers, but this part of the city had no residential buildings, and the only concrete structures flanking the road were the statues of Valaria’s old kings and stargazing courtyards with open roofs.There were open parks in the distance, and a couple of car repair shops, but not a single soul was stirring at this late hour, and none of the stores had any lights on.Ezra could hear the Shadow Lurkers chittering in the darkness and in the dim light cast by
Now that Ezra was back in his room again, he had time to think about his next move in peace. Taking part in the tournament and winning allies was only one of his many objectives. However, his main goal was to kill Lord Wilhelm and his son and reclaim Aranor.Ezra pulled out the Mirror of Replication stored in his inventory and tried to use it to write a message, but it was badly cracked down the middle and fogged up so terribly that he could not even see a glimpse of his own reflection.“Where are you, sister? I hope you are alright,” he sighed.Marlin sensed the defeated tone in Ezra’s voice and jumped into a conversation. “You still did not tell me what you wrote to her during your stay in that cell.”“I told her that the Morelises had organized a coup and they were trying to kill her. I also told her that father and I had managed to flee Aranor and would contact her again when the time was right,” he replied. “It was the only way to keep Aurelia away from danger. I did not want to