Chapter 200: We Got Swindled

It wasn’t that much of a surprise that they couldn’t find a suitable shelter in the hour they had until night.

They did make some good distance though. Reinera’s physical enhancement skill was surprisingly sustainable for long distances, especially when she had access to natural light.

It wasn’t like his uncle’s sun affinity which was restricted to sunlight, but it was able to use all sources of natural light. That meant the moon and the stars apparently as well.

I can see why their bloodline ability is so sought after now.

Julius ended up having to dig them a big hole in the middle of the plains. He did have a tent in his storage ring, but he didn’t like the idea of being so exposed at night. Their tent would literally be the tallest thing for miles around.

It took more mana than he felt comfortable with, but since there were two of them, he had to make it larger than he would if it was just himself.

After he finished digging out the hole, he used a large tarp that he bought a while back to cover the top. He also set up some enchanted rods that Kyle insisted he get.

The rods would supposedly dissuade any monsters from approaching. According to Kyle the man who had been selling them severely underestimated their actual value.

Once they got settled in, Julius brought out some of his food to share with Reinera. The moment the girl saw the food, she perked right up and practically salivated all over it.

“I always questioned why you had so much food on hand at all times, but now I am deeply appreciating your foresight,” she mumbled through a roasted leg of meat, fat dripping from her fingers and splattering on the compact dirt.

They finished up and after such a long day, as well as a satisfying meal, Julius watched as Reinera passed out on the mat he rolled out for her. Her quiet snores filled the empty hole.

He didn’t do such a thing. While he had been getting a good night’s sleep every day for a while now, he didn’t want to take the chance tonight. He had gone without sleep for weeks in the past, so a night shouldn’t hurt him that bad.

Instead, he used the night to meditate on his Spatial Concept and cultivate toward Tier 3.

His Concept meditation was a bust, which was unsurprising. But his cultivation proved fruitful.

Tier 3, much like Tier 2 didn’t require that much input from the person. It was a natural process that almost every person would inevitably get to. However, for people who challenged themselves and improved, that process went by much quicker.

Still, there were things he could do to expedite his advancement. Getting to Tier 3 required one to assimilate their entire existence together. That meant his soul, core, and body had to be properly aligned.

One way, which was the simplest, was to channel mana from his core throughout his body and then back into it. This action could be hard for some, but after some practice, it would become natural.

The most difficult part of advancing to Tier 3 was undoubtedly the soul aspect of it. It is where most people find themselves stuck. This is where Julius had an advantage. He had already touched upon his soul many times in his reckless training and eventual recuperation.

[Soul Tempering] helped a lot on this end. The skill didn’t just temper his soul, but he found that his aura was similarly affected. Which made sense, his aura was a representation of his soul. It was why control of one’s aura made advancing much more seamless.

He didn’t know exactly how close he was to advancing, but he felt he wasn’t that far away from it. After all, another method to advance was to experience challenges, kind of like forging yourself through fire. And if there was anything he had been doing for the past year, it was challenging himself.

For now, he would just have to be patient and wait.

Unfortunately, patience wasn’t exactly one of his virtues.

***

He barely noticed when the morning arrived. He had been playing around with [Spatial Perception], making sure that nothing snuck up on them, and also to see if there was something he could use to learn a Concept.

Reinera quickly awoke afterward.

They enjoyed a quick and easy breakfast, shoving pastries and coffee down their stomachs before packing up and leaving their makeshift hole.

It was pretty chilly in the morning air, so Julius made sure to keep a small barrier of heated air around Reinera. He didn’t need one, since he could just infuse some directly whenever he wanted.

They traveled along the boring plains for hours. They did see a few creatures along the way, such as a herd of bison-looking monsters. However, the monsters didn’t care much for them and didn’t bother them.

It wasn’t until the later afternoon that they finally saw something. Just on the horizon, was what looked to be like a town.

Julius watched as this made Reinera almost cry for joy. While Julius had been fine with constantly running for hours on end, it was obvious she had not been. While her enhancement skill was really good and she never had to worry about running off of mana in the bright sunlight, it would seem that her body wasn’t used to such intensive running.

On top of many breaks, Julius had to infuse some life mana into her occasionally to help her keep going. So when she finally saw an end to her suffering, Julius saw her run toward the town with such speed that it shocked him.

He had to push himself to keep up with her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

***

When he caught up with her, he grabbed her shoulder gently.

“You might want to use that necklace of yours to change your appearance,” he said once she was paying attention to him.

He saw the look of realization bloom on her face and her face flushed at her potentially thoughtless mistake. She quickly activated her disguise and he watched as her brilliant silver hair and bewitching features toned down to more subtle beauty.

While they were at it, they took the time to change out of their Goldencrest uniforms into more subtle clothing.

Well, his new outfit was subtle. Reinera’s was still a very expensive-looking outfit if you knew what to look for. The black cloth had a brilliant glimmer to it and showed all of the telltale signs of being made from higher quality materials.

“Better?”

He gave a non-committal shrug. “Better than before at least.”

They approached the walls of the town with a much more calm pace. At first glance, he was a little surprised at how different this town already was from Heston. Unlike the awe-inspiring and impressive city walls of the larger city, this town’s defenses weren’t pristine.