There wasn't much they could do about letting the rogue get away. Ronan didn't feel like chasing him down. As strong as he'd grown thanks to his heritage allowing him to re-run the tutorial seven times, taking on an entire organisation of people prepared to kill him didn't seem like a smart idea.

On the other hand, by heading back to their base they risked being tracked. The rogue might have had a skill that let him do so, or someone back at their headquarters could have one.

Ronan mentally cursed the system for not having a directory of skills he could search through. That way he could figure out what other people might have in their arsenal.

The shadowy evasive skill had really caught him by surprise. Mostly because it let a guy who was about half his level dodge his most powerful skill combination.

"Well, there's a silver lining to this," Keith said as they walked back down the street.

"Oh really now?" Ronan retorted with unrestrained sarcasm.

"Yes, you arsehole. Look over there." Ronan followed Keith's finger, realising what he'd been talking about.

Just beyond the street, only visible thanks to most of the buildings being flattened wrecks now, he could see a stretch of sand and stones that went about six kilometres along the side of the street. It was a thin stretch of land, abruptly ending at the exact boundary of the sector.

Ronan walked right up to the boundary, frowning as he reached out a hand. When he looked outwards, it was as if the city continued as normal, but the illusion was broken by the street it created being split down the middle by half a beach.

His hand just… stopped as it reached the boundary. It didn't hurt or feel weird, but it refused to move further. The image didn't even ripple.

"That's plain wrong," he said, pulling his hand back and shaking it a few times. "I guess that means the river might still be here? Only it seems to be in a different sector. This sort of helps us orient things, but not really. Guess we should head back before those goons come looking for us."

"Definitely," Keith agreed, looking around nervously.

"Relax. I don't know how far their headquarters is but it should be at least half an hour before they head out to find us. If they even bother." Ronan's response did nothing to ease Keith's nerves, but he nodded anyway.

As they made their way back, Ronan read through the kill notifications from the two of Lord Rockmore's men he had managed to take out. They didn't amount to much.

You have killed [Randolph Cragg - Human Fighter Lv.19] and [Aron Fields - Human Thief Lv.29]!

Experience has been split among your party members!

Party Experience Bonus has been applied!

+6 Bronze Credits

+232 Copper Credits

+4 [Perception] Mastery

+3 [Stamina I] Mastery

+1 [Leadership] Mastery

+1 [Mana I] Mastery

+2 [Spear I] Mastery

+Spiked Club Lv.12 (Common)

+Brute Band (Common)

+Iron Shortsword Lv.23 (Common)

+Thief's Lucky Charm (Common)

+Elite Shard Lv.21 (Mind) (46% Consumed)

+Ring of Dexterity (Common)

The elite shard was the only worthwhile gain, though with a little under half of it gone already and the low level it wasn't that incredible. Don't spit at free money, Ronan, he chided himself.

The ring did what it said on the tin. Plus one to dexterity, so he slipped it on his left pinky finger, confirming the boost with a glance. The brute band was the same concept, but boosted strength by one instead. It wrapped tightly around his left wrist, still working despite the goblin bracers already being there.

The weapons didn't really match his style, but he kept them anyway. They were in decent condition. The thief's lucky charm was probably the best of the loot, giving him a flat plus two to luck.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The stat itself didn't seem… all that impressive so far, but free stats were nothing to scoff at, no matter where they ended up. With the loot organised, he returned his focus to their surroundings.

"Get anything nice from the guy you killed? Jason I think it was?" he asked Keith.

Keith pointed at his earlobe, where a pendant earring that looked like a silver teardrop now hung. "Plus one to intellect," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you certainly need it," Ronan quipped, earning himself a fierce glare from Keith. "How does that work? Did you just stab it in or does the system just… slip it on?"

"Second one. It felt a little odd going on, but I barely notice it now. Free stats, right? We can worry about style when we're more spoilt for choice," Keith snorted, looking down at the rags that their suits had become.

They retraced their exact steps to get back to their base, so when they turned a corner and came face to… tails with a sleeping fox, Ronan and Keith almost shit themselves.

Most of the foxes no longer posed a threat to them, thanks to their increased levels and combat proficiency. One glance at the floating tag over this one made them trip over themselves to get back behind the building they'd walked out from.

"That was definitely more than three tails. Did you read the whole tag?" Keith asked, breath hitching in his windpipe as he spoke.

"Tags, you mean," Ronan replied, making the colour drain from Keith's face. I just gained an extra two luck, so why the hell did this happen!? he inwardly cursed the system.

Before throwing himself back out of sight, he'd managed to read both tags floating above the sleeping fox. They put Magriz'al to shame.

[Vulparis the Trickster - MINI BOSS]

[Five-Tailed Fox Lv.51]

"I mean, it was definitely sleeping. We could try to sneak past," Ronan muttered aloud.

"No way, dude. Knowing our luck it wakes up when we're right by its mouth for it to conveniently snap us up for dinner," Keith replied, shaking his head in vehement refusal.

"Well, what do you suggest, mister tactical genius?"

"Find another way home, duh!"

Ronan glanced up at the sky. Less than an hour before night fell. "There's no time. Besides, there's no guarantee any other route would be safer. If there's one level fifty-one miniboss here, there's sure to be more out in the city."

Keith growled in frustration. "Why do you have to be right all the damn time? Fuck. Well, one sneaky bastard got away from us today, so it's only karmic justice for us to pull the same thing off." Apparently convinced, Keith began to creep back towards the fox.

Ronan chortled at the man's antics before following after him. They had no stealth skills, masteries, or traits to speak of. This was going to be pure natural talent.

Every second seemed to stretch agonisingly slowly into the next. With every step they took, Ronan and Keith glanced at the fox, fearing it might be their last.

To tell the truth, Ronan knew that even if everything went disastrously wrong, he wouldn't be dead for good. His heritage was neat that way. However, he wasn't quite ready to give up on this life yet.

With the addition of the half-consumed mind shard, he might be able to reach the first realm of mind cultivation. Despite the risks, he at least wanted to make the most of this opportunity in case it didn't crop up again in the next… iteration.

Hopefully cultivation works in the same way as mastery and skills. If I need to go through that painful crap all over again, every time, I'll trash the Chronos Clan grounds in revenge, Ronan thought to himself.

A stone slipped underfoot. Ronan kicked out to stop his ankle twisting too far in the wrong direction. His toe smacked another loose pebble, sending it flying towards the fox.

His heart leapt into his mouth. He froze on the spot, watching the pebble fly. It seemed to travel in slow motion. It thunked against the ground, the sound seeming to boom louder than a plane taking off. The fox didn't move an inch.

The pebble bounced a second time, quieter yet still feeling like it drowned out every other noise except for Ronan's pounding heart. It fell short of the fox's sleek fur coat, clattering softly as the last of its momentum faded.

Neither of the two men moved for another few seconds. Their gazes were locked onto the fox's head. However, it continued sleeping. The only movements were the gentle rise and fall of its chest and the occasional twitch of its snout.

You have gained insight! +1 [Stealth] Mastery

The sudden notification startled Ronan so much that he nearly gasped out loud. In the end it was Keith who clamped a hand over his mouth, preventing a disaster.

After that, they managed to edge their way around the rest of the fox's hulking form until they were clear. Ronan glanced back at the floating name tags. Then his eyes went wide as he felt an eerily familiar sensation.

Is it… cultivating!? he inwardly exclaimed. The sensation wasn't identical to what he remembered of his body cultivation session, but he could see the occasional stream of energy flowing from the air towards the fox's head.

"What the hell are you doing!? Let's get out of here," Keith hissed, tugging on Ronan's arm.

"Wait a second, I need to watch this. I might be able to learn how it's cultivating its mind. I have enough shards, so this would be perfect," Ronan replied. His hushed whisper couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

"Seriously? Right now? Motherfu–" Keith looked ready to unleash a lot more curses but bit his tongue and joined Ronan instead. Even he knew the value of this experience.

After thirty seconds, Ronan's eyes went wide once more. "I've got it!" Keith looked as though he'd just been told his cancer screening came back clear.

"Let's get the hell out of here. You can explain it to me when we're safely tucked inside that building site."

Despite his elation at figuring out the fox's mind cultivation technique—or at least he believed he had—Ronan was no fool. "Lead the way, Keith-o. Another successful day of adventure draws to a close! Excited for tomorrow, buddy?"

The scathing glare he earned in return could've withered even the healthiest of flowers. It wasn't enough to kill his celebratory mood, though.

Unnoticed by either of the two men as they beat a hasty retreat from the fox, Vulparis the Trickster cracked one eye open to stare in their direction. Its lips peeled back, flashing two rows of pearly white fangs in a twisted grin.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.