Plotting an assassination wasn't on my isekai bingo card, but Byrne was a huge question mark that I wasn't going to leave unchecked. The System Avatar told me Byrne kept his runeweaving skills even after parting ways, and it was also safe to assume that his scientific knowledge had given him a massive mana pool with access to the Fountain. Byrne was a Scholar, which meant he had decent detection skills, access to mana barriers, and offensive mana manipulation. I couldn't discard the fact that Byrne most likely had access to natural magic on top of his System skills.

The carriage wheels rattled against the wide cobbled path. I couldn't tell if the houses in the wealthy district were made of marble or a different white stone. Each house had a unique shape with hanging gardens and small vineyards. Unlike other walled cities, Cadrians seem to have little regard for space. It was hard to put it in words, but the wealthy district was 'wide' and 'open'. The houses didn't lean over the others like they were fighting for space. There were no shadowy spots for water to accumulate.

The carriage slowed down.

"It seems the bridge is undergoing repairs, Lord Clarke," the coachman said.

I looked forward on the road. The stone bridge was suspended in the air, and the stream parted in two while the builder crew replaced the foundations. Along the canal, a line of old men watched the crew work. If I had to guess, the old men were high-level merchants, craftsmen, and veteran soldiers lucky enough to have formed ties to nobility.

The carriage detoured a few blocks south, crossed the inner wall, and entered the eastern market. Everything was the same as the day I arrived at Cadria. Rows of vendors hawked their wares, and shoppers fought for better prices. People moved through hanging bridges over the street. Elevated wood platforms hosted even more stands and booths.

The street was packed to the brim, and the carriage moved at a snail's pace.

"I'll get off here. Wait for me in Farcrest's Alchemists Guild Branch," I said.

"As you command, Lord Clarke," the coachman replied, pulling the reins and stopping the carriage.

I jumped over the guardrail before the coachman could climb down the carriage and deploy the retractable stairs. I smoothed the fall with [Minor Aerokinesis], and an old man yelled at me for disturbing his cloak. I ignored him. With the selection exam around the corner, I had little time to spare. I got lost in the crowd, letting [Foresight] guide me through the sea of people.

Like the rest of Ebros, the city was mostly made of humans, but there were a considerable number of gnomes and beastfolk. Half-elves weren't completely uncommon, although I only noticed a handful of pureblood elves. Orcs and half-orcs were somewhat rarer, which was logical considering the distance between the capital and the northern frontier, where orcs were more common. Harpies didn't even bother walking the streets. Instead, they soared into the sky above the rooftops.

I made a mental note of the things I needed.

I approached a small forge in the street corner, somewhat away from the human sea that was the market. [Foresight] allowed me to guess how much the owner was trying to overcharge me. When the old blacksmith realized he wouldn't fleece me any time soon, he offered me a five percent discount. Although I only intended to get a grasp of the local prices, I still bought a bag of nails and a few small iron discs with a high enchantment threshold. I had only a vague idea of how to prepare for my eventual encounter with Byrne, but I knew I would have to do a lot of enchanting, and iron was a great material to test enchantments. High-quality items had higher enchantment thresholds, so I couldn't spare any expense if I wanted to increase my survival rate.

I walked down the market, wondering about my next step.

As far as I knew, Byrne was still a Scholar regardless of the exotic skills that made him the supervisor of the Arcane Circle. My main goal was to counter his mana manipulation. Unknowingly, I had already developed the greatest weapon against a spellcaster: the MDBC ammo. If I could give [Mana Exhaustion] to Byrne, I would render his offensive and defensive capabilities useless.

A small handgun would have been the perfect weapon, although there was a reason I didn't bring one with me: it was too eye-catching, efficient, and hard to explain. I needed something more discreet, something that could pass as a regular, harmless item to an unsuspecting onlooker. Bows, crossbows, and daggers were probably off the list. As much as my encounter with Byrne could end up in a combat to the death, I would prefer to have the option to neutralize him and ask questions.

"What would Ilya say?" I muttered. "Probably a quote from Sun Tzu."

Unlike all my previous opponents, Byrne was the closest thing to a mirror matchup. My [Mana Mastery] was stronger than my elemental skills, so it was safe to assume Byrne's [Mana Mastery] would be enough to counter my [Minor Pyrokinesis] and [Minor Geokinesis]. However, I had a crucial advantage over a regular Scholar. Speed. As powerful as mana manipulation was, Scholars lacked any movement skill. Byrne, in particular, probably lacked Lv.6 [Swordsmanship] and [Light-Footed].

In close-quarter combat, I had the absolute advantage.

Now, I needed to figure out how to maximize my chances of getting there.

"Lord Clarke?"

A tired voice called my name. I turned to find Osprey and Willow, halberds in hand, patrolling the market. Their shiny armor made them stand out from the crowd. Osprey wasn't any less exhausted than the first time we met. His shoulders were hunched forward, but even with that, his head protruded above the crowd like he was a tree. Willow didn't seem any less energetic, her gnomish smile covering her face from ear to ear.

"Osprey, Willow, it's good to see you well," I greeted them.

"See? He remembers us!" Willow said in a good mood. "How did your meeting with Astur go, mister?"

Osprey was appalled, probably because Willow wasn't using the proper formal address. It might be just a hunch, but I was starting to understand why Osprey was Willow's companion. Maybe he was there to control her. I grinned. One way or another, I had made it clear that casual talking was okay with me from the first moment.

"Thanks for asking, Willow. That meeting didn't go as expected. I got recruited. I'm an instructor at the Academy for the remainder of the year," I admitted.

The gnome girl seemed amazed.

"Where is your escort, Lord Clarke?" Osprey interjected before Willow could say anything.

"I think I just found it," I replied.

Osprey gave me an apologetic bow.

"Lord Captain's orders. Nobles must have an escort at all times."

"Let's go, then," I said.

I continued my shopping trip with the rattling noise of Osprey and Willow's armor right behind me. If anything, their presence helped me traverse the crowd. As I was dressed like a commoner, nobody could tell I was 'important' at first glance. My good mantle had been shredded during my fight with Red and his lackeys, so I was back to my old simple attire.

"There are stores in the inner wall more suitable for an Imperial Instructor, Lord Clarke. May I ask what you are looking for out here in the… people's market?" Osprey asked.

"I'm planning a murder," I replied, looking over my shoulder with a mischievous smile. Using designer clothes to dress for murder would be a massive target on my back. I needed something more standard.

"Oh? Who's dying?" Willow asked, suddenly invested in the conversation.

Osprey smacked Willow's shoulder.

"Lord Clarke is joking."

"Of course I am," I said. "Who is the best tailor in the eastern market?"

Osprey guided me into a parallel street. There were still a lot of people circulating, but not as many as the human sea on the main street. The stores were more humble, but still leagues above what one could find in Farcrest. Not five minutes later, Osprey pointed towards a store with a hand-drawn hanging sign—a green swallow threading a needle.

Osprey opened the door for me, and Willow entered first.

I wasn't expecting to be announced.

"Attention, mosslickers! Lord Clarke decided to bless your booth with his presence. Try not to disappoint him."

Two gnome women dressed in green dresses turned around, startled. One was old, with streaks of white hair and wrinkles around the mouth. The other was a young blonde gnome, probably not much older than Ilya, but much shorter.

"Stop fooling around and return to work, Willow," the old one said.

"She's not fooling this time, Isolde," Osprey said in a tired voice despite it being barely past noon. "Please be respectful to Lord Clarke. He is a legitimate noble."

The gnome woman cleared her throat and smoothed the wrinkles in her dress.

"How can a humble tailor serve you today, my lord?" she asked with a deep bow.

I looked around the shop. Calling it humble didn't do it justice. Every shirt, jacket, and pair of pants seemed top-notch quality. Compared to what you'd find in Farcrest, this was leagues ahead. Even by modern Earth standards, the colors were vibrant, and [Foresight] ensured me the stitching would last at least two generations of Clarkes.

"I need a good tunic, shirt, and breeches. I will also need leather gloves, a mantle, and a cloak. Everything in black and without markings, if possible," I said as my eyes went through the cabinets and racks.

Stolen story; please report.

Osprey gave me a worried look, but Willow quietly told him it was probably winter fencing clothing.

"Lord Clarke wants to go unnoticed among commoners, perhaps?" the older clerk cautiously asked.

"Lord Clarke went unnoticed among commoners for decades until the Marquis decided to make him a thane. Then everyone started to make a huge fuss about him," I jokingly replied.

The clerk giggled.

"I understand, my lord," she said, dropping into a curtsy so exaggerated that it bordered on parody.

I knew I passed the gnome vibe-check.

Isolde handed me a few garments and guided me into the fitting room. Unsurprisingly, shopping for clothes was much more entertaining in a magical world. As I tested different tunics, the clerk told me that the same five tailors supplied every piece at the Green Swallow: the owner and four of their apprentices. No two garments were identical, but their uniqueness wasn't enough to track them back to the store. I could tell the apprentices were trying to make 'something'. If I had to guess, they were well above Lv.25.

This time, however, I wasn't trying to make a fashion statement. I needed a high enchantment threshold, so I used [Identify] on each garment Isolde handed me. I couldn't help but smile as Osprey and Willow patiently waited by the sidelines as I examined the clothes. They must've thought I was a picky buyer.

After a while, the younger clerk had a sizeable pile of clothes on her arms.

Exquisite Murkhog Glove. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 2100.

Exquisite Murkhog Glove. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 2100.

Quality Brammel Cloak. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 1300.

Quality Brammel Tunic. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 1200.

Quality Skeeth Belt. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 900.

Simple linen mantle. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 600.

Simple linen shirt. [Identify] Enchanted threshold: 300.

Simple linen breeches. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 300.

I couldn't find mantles, shirts, and breeches made of any special material, so I had to settle for regular ones. Not that it mattered. The most important parts were the gloves and the outer layers.

The blonde gnome hopped on a stool and took my measurements to adjust the fit of the garments. I watched as she cut the fabric with the tip of her finger, and then made it whole again with a pass of her hand. The girl was a Mender.

"Would you like something to drink while Young Milly adjusts the fittings, Lord Clarke? We have Selka tea and Red Moss infusion," Isolde said.

"Red Moss sounds good," I said.

Osprey gave me a confused look. He hadn't moved from the window since we arrived.

"Are you sure? Only gnomes like Red Moss infusion. It tastes like muddy water."

Isolde returned with a steaming cup and invited me to sit at the coffee table in the corner of the room. The infusion smelled like freshly brewed coffee. I was starting to understand why gnomes called each other 'mosslickers'.

"What about me, Issy?" Willow asked, looking at my cup with prying eyes.

"You are not a customer, Willy," Isolde mockingly replied. "If you want to be treated like a customer, actually buy something."

I zoned out from the argument between the gnomes and blew the steam from the cup. It smelled like Green Moss tea, although the contents looked like proper black coffee. I took a sip. It also tasted like Green Moss—almost identical to coffee—but there was something different about it. I took another sip, and my body felt electrified.

The System prompt violently popped in front of my eyes.

You have obtained Caffeinated Lv.1. Temporary.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Holy mother of insomnia, this is strong," I muttered.

"Told you it tasted like muddy water," Osprey pointed out.

"Muddy water? More like the elixir of the gods," I replied, downing half of the cup despite the infusion's temperature. My class had enough Endurance to protect my entrails against hot liquids.

Isolde offered me another cup and I couldn't help but accept.

By the time Young Milly finished the adjustments, I was the proud owner of six stacks of Caffeinated, and my hands were starting to tremble.

"You have a good eye, Lord Clarke. If I'm not mistaken, you picked only pieces sewn by the master," Isolde said.

"I have a good eye for things, but not so much for people, I fear," I replied, thinking about Janus and Holst.

"Can't blame yourself. People are usually more complex than cloaks and shirts."

I paid for the garments, and Isolde put the money inside an enchanted coffer. Maybe it was the caffeine, but the runes appeared on the surface of the lock even without straining my mana sense: User-Activation-Force-Bind-Reinforce plus a Recharge-Instantaneous core to power up the enchantment.

"There are two silver pieces too many," Isolde pointed out.

"That's for the service and the coffee," I replied.

Isolde and Milly walked me outside and said goodbye with a well-practiced curtsy.

"You have a way with gnome ladies, if I may say so, Lord Clarke," Osprey said when we left the Green Swallow behind and returned to the main street.

"I've been spending a lot of time in a gnome colony lately. Once they feel a hint of gnomehood in you, the rest is easy. They will treat you like you are family," I replied.

"And here I thought you didn't have a good eye for people…" Willow pointed out, getting away from Osprey before he would slap her shoulder. "... Lord Clarke."

The tall man massaged his temples.

"The fact you added 'Lord Clarke' at the end of the sentence doesn't make it any better, or grammatically correct."

"Come on, Oz, Lord Clarke is one of us. A mead-drinking, soup-sipping, rib-nibbling gnome ally, unlike the other nobles that probably just eat… I don't know, whatever nobles eat."

Osprey looked even more tired than usual, and my caffeinated [Foresight] told me the man wanted the day to end already.

"Where next, Lord Clarke?"

"My carriage is waiting for me."

The guards escorted me through the market and left me at the entrance of the branch of Farcrest's Alchemist Guild. Osprey bowed, and Willow waved her hand as they continued their patrol. The effect of the caffeine would fade after some time, so it was better to start working while I felt energized.

The aides recognized me as soon as I entered the building. Being one of the two Prestige Classes in Farcrest had advantages, but it was still strange to me that everyone knew my face.

"Can you arrange a private room for me? I need a peaceful place to study."

"Right away, Lord Clarke," the aide replied.

I was guided to the second floor, past the guildmaster's chambers, and into a study with a window into the lateral alley. The room was an old library in disuse that doubled as a storage for potion crates. Most of the crates had Farcrest's black wolf printed on the side. A few had Elincia's white rose. I couldn't help but smile.

Across the street was an old building without windows. The place was perfect. Nobody had eyes on me.

"I must not be disturbed. Not even by the guildmaster. Understood?"

"Naturally, Lord Clarke," the aide bowed, putting the key on the table. "If you need anything, I will be downstairs."

I summoned a mana hand and locked the door as soon as the aide left. Then, I opened the package with my purchases and arranged them on the table: gloves, cloak, tunic, mantle, shirt, breeches, nails, and metal discs. I grinned.

My main goal was to neutralize Byrne, not kill him. The best way to do it was to drain his mana until he was no longer a threat. I examined the table. The Murkhog Gloves had a mana threshold of 2100, which meant I could engrave a full-power Vampiric rune on them. If Byrne had as much mana as I did, I would need the extra power.

The MDBC bullets had a weakness, though. If the target had too much mana, shooting it would be like trying to empty the sea with a bucket. The mana drain's effectiveness depended on the target's total amount of mana. It was safe to assume Byrne's pool wouldn't be drained so easily.

On the bright side, I had experience draining mana from my opponents.

I pulled my sleeve up and examined the old scars from my fight when the Lich possessed a Chrysalimorph's body. It was reckless, but I had been forced to runeweave on my own flesh to survive. The memory of the pain as the mana flowed through my body sent a shiver down my spine. Back then, I had a shallow grasp of runeweaving. I still did, but I knew a lot more runes.

"Let's get to work," I said.

I needed to get close to Byrne to drain him, so I needed concealment.

Simple linen mantle. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 600.

Simple linen shirt. [Identify] Enchanted threshold: 300.

Simple linen breeches. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 300.

Kili had taught me that the secret to a perfect disguise was layers. [Mirage] and [Silence Dome] could make me invisible to the senses of low and mid-level combatants, but I was still channeling System mana underneath the camouflage. Byrne would detect the channeling through my skills.

I summoned the [Rune Debugger] and wrote an Insulation-Reinforce enchantment. Even at maximum strength, the enchantment didn't surpass the 300 points of Mana Threshold. The area turned green.

After two years of studying and testing, I realized many runes had unintended effects. The Bind rune could glue things together if underpowered, or assign an owner to the enchanted item if fully powered. Insulation also had two interesting secondary effects. Usually, Insulation served to prevent mana exchange, but it also offered a low-level protection against magical attacks. The third effect was the one that interested me the most. Insulation also made enchanted items invisible to detection, much like lead blocked X-rays.

I wrote the runes and fed my mana to the circuit until it closed.

Reinforced-Insulated linen shirt. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 300/300. Status: Stable.

Reinforced-Insulated linen breeches. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 300/300. Status: Stable.

It would be a shame to under-enchant the linen mantle, so I added a low-power Dampen rune. Dampen was one of the runes I had found on Ilya's Cooldown Bow. It absorbed kinetic energy, making the material more resistant to bludgeon attacks. It didn't work as well at stopping piercing attacks. I hypothesized it was because of the relation between energy and impact area, but I wasn't entirely sure. The Cooldown Bow was still an enigma. My gut told me the enchantment had some juicy tier III runes I was still too inexperienced to learn.

Finally, I added a Bind rune to complete the enchantment.

Protection mantle. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 600/600. Status: Stable.

I nodded, pleased with the results.

Kili's skills had inspired me. There was an extra layer of camouflage I wanted to test, so I summoned the [Rune Debugger] again. The Insulation rune concealed my mana, but there was another way of tricking detection skills: mimicking the mana signature of the environment. Mana was everywhere. Mages loved places with a high concentration of environmental mana because they could use it to replenish their reserves by meditating. Alchemists hated environmental mana because it seeped into their ingredients and ruined their yields. I could use it to hide in plain sight.

Using the Absorption, Detect, Resonate, Echo, and Release runes, I started to design an enchantment that copied the exact signature of the environmental mana. The [Rune Debugger] turned red and yellow for an hour, until I came up with the right combination. I tested the enchantment in the iron discs, and it seemed to work. When I closed my eyes and activated my mana sense, the discs were almost invisible against the background mana.

Finally, I added the base Insulation-Reinforce enchantments and the Bind rune so only I could activate them.

Protection-Stealth Brammel Cloak. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: Enchantment threshold: 1200/1300. Status: Stable.

Protection-Stealth Brammel Tunic. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: Enchantment threshold: 1200/1200. Status: Stable.

The fact that the Brammel Cloak was under-enchanted hurt my perfectionist soul, but I wasn't comfortable adding a low-power Fire rune in case it messed with the stealth enchantment. I didn't want igneous mana where it shouldn't be.

All that was missing was to enchant the gloves, but there was a huge problem. In contrast with my stealth attire, offensive enchantments would shine like stars in the night sky. If I wanted to pass unnoticed, I needed to add the stealth enchantment on top of the Vampiric rune.

Exquisite Murkhog Glove. [Identify] Enchantment threshold: 2100.

I cursed. Two thousand and a hundred points of threshold wouldn't be enough to fit a full power Vampiric rune, a Release rune, and the Stealth enchantment. I leaned back on my chair and closed my eyes. As if by caffeinated magic, the solution appeared behind my eyelids in an instant. The rune of Red's flail. Couple.

"2100 points won't be enough, but 4200 might be," I muttered, stretching my back and grabbing a bunch of nails and iron discs. I needed to experiment.

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