As the ruined city moved at its pace, Alex practiced his sword art and routine exercise. It was something he had to do every day in order to improve.

Some say that monsters like Alex are given everything from birth, making them complacent. For Alex, however, that wasn’t true.

Alex had lived a life where he had nothing and talent didn’t mean much. There, no matter how talented you were, a single bullet was enough to end you.

Alex knew what struggle was—something compulsory to become stronger on the knight’s path.

Many teachers in the academy tell students to struggle, but not many can actually do it.

“Phew…” A turbid breath left his lips as Alex finally relaxed.

Crack

His gaze turned to the floor of the room as he sighed. ‘I guess this is the lowest damage I could do,’ he thought as he saw the whole room, from the ceiling to the corner of the room, filled with blade marks, even though all he did was train barehanded.

Alex’s speed was so fast that the crackling of wind and the pressure of his strike—even with his power output minimized—was enough to leave marks on the debilitated room.

[Well, you can pay the innkeeper some meat, and that guy wouldn’t care if you destroy the whole inn,] interjected Sophie, causing Alex to chuckle.

‘True,’ he said before he took out the communication device.

With his exercise nearly done, Alex had decided to call Zahara and Mira.

As he pushed his mana into the device, Alex moved with methodical precision. The device rang as his bare hands pressed against the worn wooden floor, the creaks blending with his steady breath as he lowered himself and pushed up.

Sweat glistened against his skin, despite the chill in the air, his muscles tensing with each repetition. Normally, he wouldn’t sweat, but with his strength lowered and the exercise’s intensity increased, it was possible.

But the exercise was not all going through his head.

For some reason, he had been feeling a strange sense of crisis since yesterday. The reason for him pushing his body like this was because of that.

He had wanted to wait for a while before, but now Alex had decided to go straight to search for Lilia. What was he even waiting for?

The plot wasn’t the same anymore, so his waiting for the ‘right time’ wasn’t the right thing to do.

The ‘right time’ might not be the same anymore.

In the plot, Lilia was supposed to plan her abduction. She was being forced to get married to Lucias—which she didn’t want to—so she decided to run away.

But things weren’t like that right now. Unlike the plot, she wasn’t yet being forced, yet she decided to do all this.

Now, even though it was supposed to take some time—around a week—for her to reach this ruined village, she was already here.

Alex knew that things had gone according to Lilia’s plan. Being calm and collected was one of her key traits. So, he was sure that every move of hers must have a reason behind it, but his plans were now falling apart.

Alex had decided to wait for Lilia’s followers, who must have already noticed his presence, to approach him as Keryu did in the novel, but not anymore.

He didn’t want to do what Keryu did because he wasn’t in a situation similar to Keryu.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t recall there being any creature like the one Barbara had told him about.

What could be hiding deep within the ruins that even peak Star Connection Realm warriors couldn’t see coming? He exhaled sharply, pushing himself off the floor for the last time before sitting back on his heels.

As he wiped the sweat off his forehead, Alex’s gaze finally returned to focus as he heard a voice.

“Alex?” Zahara’s gentle yet confused voice was heard, carrying warmth even through the device.

“Huh? Yes,” he blinked, realizing he had been too deep in his thoughts. “You picked up already?”

“Yeah, I had been calling out to you for a while,” replied Zahara. “Did you rest at all?”

Her question came in suddenly, but Alex could guess why she asked that. He met her last night in the dream space, and he was sure that she had felt his unease.

Alex hadn’t told her what was happening here because she had asked him to do it when Mira could hear it, but she had still noticed it.

Now, with his not responding to her for a while, Zahara was sure that Alex was thinking about something again.

A small smile touched his lips as he heard the concern in her voice. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “But things might get a bit hectic here.”

Before he could continue, another voice—softer, hesitant—cut in. “Did something happen to Lilia?” Mira’s tone lacked the ease of Zahara’s but carried its own weight of concern.

Alex hadn’t used the video call function. They couldn’t see each other, but he could imagine their expressions without seeing them.

He knew they could do the same, so he sighed. “The problem is that I don’t know.”

Splash!

After splashing some water on his fashing using a small water cannon, Alex continued, “She was brought here earlier than I expected.”

“Wait—brought?” Zahara’s voice cut in, clearly bothered by the term ‘brought’.

Alex had told them that it was all Lilia’s plan, so shouldn’t Alex use ‘came’ instead of ‘brought’?

“Yeah,” wiping the water off with a towel, Alex continued, “She was brought here. Unconscious and bound.”

A sharp intake of breath came from Zahara’s side. “That… could it be part of her plan too?”

“That’s what I believe as well,” Alex nodded, his tone contemplative. “I believe she knows what’s happening in the academy, so she improvised her plans.”

“That’s… so like her, I guess.” Zahara’s sigh was heard. “She probably did this to mislead those who could track her down to this point.”

Alex didn’t say anything in response, as he really hoped that this was what was happening, but the problem was that he couldn’t be sure.

“There’s something more… right?” Mira suddenly spoke, her voice hesitant yet certain.

Alex paused as he heard her words, and so did Zahara. Mira rarely asked important questions like this, so they were surprised, but Alex soon replied. “The vampires are involved,” his voice turned serious as he added, “and some more things that I’m not certain about.”

A long silence followed. The gravity of the situation was elevated by folds.

Both Zahara and Mira could tell that things were again going out of Alex’s calculations, but for some reason, they felt relieved.

It was as if someone who looked too perfect to them now seemed like a believable entity. They felt like they could reach Alex and help Alex—something that didn’t seem possible before.

“Should I come over?” Zahara was the first one to speak, supportive and determined.

Mira, on the other hand, pursed her lips. She wanted to ask the same thing, but she knew that she would just become a burden.

Alex leaned against the worn wall, glancing toward the narrow window, overlooking the city’s crumbling streets, smiling warmly. “Both of you are already helping me, though.”

Zahara sighed softly, her voice filled with unspoken emotions. “At least call James and the beasts there. I will feel safer with them by your side.”

Alex hummed lightly. “I’ll see what I can do. But for now, I—” He suddenly paused, his senses sharpening.

“Alex?” Zahara’s worried voice came through.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze locking onto the shadows outside the inn. “I’ll have to take care of some rats, lurking around for a while, trying something funny.”

He had noticed them for a while, but believing them to be Barbara’s goons, Alex let them be. It was their area, so keeping an eye on him was pretty normal.

Now, however, things changed. They weren’t just keeping an eye anymore.

A small silence followed as Zahara and Mira heard his words before their voice came. “Be careful.”

That was all they said, but there was worry in their voice. Of course, not for long, as Alex’s confident reply somehow calmed them.

“Always.” With those simple words, Alex ended the call.

Exhaling slowly, he rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders as he stepped toward the window. The morning might have been quiet, but his day was only beginning.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep