"We're here."
I said as I looked at the large walls of the capital of the Drisica Kingdom.
Unlike the last time, this time the scene was different. The walls were heavily guarded and the defences had been fortified.
I had stopped the van about three miles away from the city. The eyes of Arcana were amazing, they could see things that normal eyes can't even begin to decipher.
'If only my hearing was just as good too.'
I could even see the lip moments of the guards and soldiers near the city walls, but I couldn't hear it, neither was I a good lip reader.
'Well, at least I can see what they're doing.'
"The walls have been fortified, it'd be hard for us to sneak in."
I said as I looked at the people seated behind me.
"You can actually see the walls from here?"
Jane asked, surprised.
"Not just the walls, but also the people guarding it."
I replied, half proud of myself.
"Woah, that's amazing, man."
Francis exclaimed in awe.
"What do you think? I became like this from a human for nothing?"
"Wait, you were a human??"
Jane was the first one to react to the information. Of course, I couldn't guess the fantasy she was currently building up in her head.
"Of course, I was a handsome human at that."
I said and transformed myself into my human appearance.
"This is how I look as a human."
"...are you sure you aren't some lost prince of the elves?"
"Do my ears look pointed to you? Or you forgot that I am from another world. There are no elves in my world!"
"No…I mean you look….so fine."
Diane said in a low voice. I didn't know what was going on with them, but I decided to ignore it. We had a mission to complete.
"Anyways, focus on the mission. Do any of you know transformation? Or disguise? Anything should be fine."
I asked. The people of Drisica Kingdom had already seen my disguise, and even if I tried a new one, there wouldn't be much change in my overall characteristics. I had a better idea instead.
"Umm. I am an archer… I have stealth skill, but not disguise. My stealth is weak too, it's just good for confusing the enemy during combat for a short time."
"I am a knight, I don't even have a simple stealth."
Diane and Elexis replied and the others shook their heads too. Others except one.
"I know disguise magic."
Ali replied shortly. Even his brother and sisters gave him a look as they didn't know.
'Of course, royal kids. They barely have any bond amongst themselves if they aren't from the same mothers. Tsk tsk.'
I clicked my tongue but still told Ali to go ahead with his disguise.
And to my surprise, this guy had a disguise skill that left mine in the dirt. He completely transformed from wimpy looking vampire to a musclehead vampire.
'His skin colour didn't change.'
He still looked pale, but seemed much healthier than before.
"How long can you maintain this disguise?"
I asked. I needed it to be at least long enough that we could easily pass through the gates. We needed someone to legally enter and get the door to open up, so that we could sneak in.
There weren't any NPCs or players passing through the city gates due to all the hassle happening inside the Drisica Kingdom.
"I can maintain it for an hour, but after that. I'll need time to recover my mana."
Ali said seriously. I could understand the amount of mana consumption it must take to become so buffed. An hour was already plenty of time. Not to mention he had completely changed his facial features too. I bet even his own parents won't recognise him.
I took out an alchemy pen and drew a simple alchemy circle.
After that, I exchanged some gold for a wealthy merchant's outfit, the size of the buffed Ali, and various types of spices.
'".....you know alchemy?!"'
Everyone exclaimed in surprise. I simply nodded my head and gave the clothes to Ali.
"Dress up, you'll be a spice merchant who has come to directly trade with the king. All the spices here are rare, so they should at least allow you in."
I said as I threw the merchant clothes to the pale prince.
Ali went inside the van to get changed and everyone was still looking at me like I was some kind of monster.
'Well, I technically am a monster, but still.'
"What else are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Wasn't your class related to daggers?"
It seems like our princess Jane had done some research on me, but not enough I guess.
"Yeah, I can use a dagger and I am an alchemist. That's about it, I think?"
I lied through my teeth. There was no need to entertain the little princess, she'll find out what I am if she sticks together.
"Anyways, how are we going to get in?"
Francis asked. After all, till now, it only seemed like the plan was depending on Ali to sneak in. Obviously, he couldn't do the job alone.
Just then, Ali came out, dressed in the merchant clothes, still looking as handsome as ever. He had a huge arabian turban tied to his head, giving him the vibes of an arabian merchant.
"Doesn't look half bad, huh?"
I commented as I looked at him up and down. He was looking like a merchant, so all I needed to do was explain the rest of the plan to him.
"Well, my mother is from the western deserts. I have her characteristics."
Ali replied simply.
'Man, this emperor sure knows how to gather a harem.'
Tobias' had people from around the world in his harem. Of course, one could also look at it as him being capable enough that women from all around the world ended up marrying him, or becoming his concubine.
"Now, just go ahead and take the stuff with you. Convince them that you are a merchant and that your spices are something that they need."
"What about you guys?"
Ali inquired, since it still wasn't clear how we would get in.
"Don't worry about us and focus on getting the door open. We'll join you on the other side of the wall."
"Well, if you say so."
Ali stopped asking anymore questions and took out a giant lizard out of his pet inventory. Climbing on its back, he departed for the walls.
***
"How are we gonna get in?"
Diane questioned Shura. Looking at his current behaviour, it was as suspicious as it could be. If someone told her that Shura was sending Ali to his death, she would believe it.
"Now, now, everyone, hold each other's hand."
"..."
Everyone looked at him speechlessly before giving their hands to him. Since they had already come so far, they wanted to see things through.
Elexis and Gomchul were the first ones to hold Shura's hand, followed by Francis, Jane and Diane who held each other's hand.
"Alright, if anyone lets go of their hands, don't hold me accountable for whatever that happens to you afterwards."
After Shura's threatening words, he used stealth and everyone disappeared on the spot.
"Holy!"
Francis exclaimed, almost letting go of Gomchul's hand, saved by Gomchul's tight grip.
"Watch out prince, you don't want to be left behind, right?"
Gomchul said in his heavy voice.
"What happened?"
"Are you a magician too?"
Diane and Jane asked in surprise, while Elexis was oddly calm about the situation.
"No, no. Of course not. It's just one of my skills. Now, let's go and catch up to Ali—Err, Prince Ali I mean. Remember, don't let go of your hands, or the stealth will disappear for that person."
Shura warned one last time, and then counted to three before he started running towards the city walls.
20 minutes later.
As everyone was basically a superhuman in Shura's real world standards, they easily travelled the short distance in 20 minutes, even when everyone was holding back their speeds.
About 200 meter away from the wall, they halted and saw prince Ali, disguised as a merchant, talking to the vigilant guard captain. After some talk back and forth, the guard finally let down his guard and rubbed his hand shrewdly like an old merchant.
He commanded the guards to open up the gate. When the gate opened, Ali took out two pouches of spice and gave it to the guard captain whose eyes were basically shining looking at them.
'Let's go.'
Shura whispered and just like that, the group passed through the gates even before Ali. Seconds after Ali passed, the gates immediately closed.
"Keep walking, don't react. Meet us at the Dawn Inn."
Shura whispered into Ali's ears, who flinched for a moment before gaining his bearing. He walked straight towards the market square, pretending not to hear anything.
At the Dawn Guild.
Shura and the gang had undone the stealth in an empty alleyway, and Shura had made everyone wear casual clothes that would blend in with the people of Drisica Kingdom.
Even though the gates were closed and it was impossible to move in or out of the city, the city was pretty much infected by all this as the residents and the players of the city moved about. There weren't as many guards patrolling the area, so they could just use hoods and masks to move around without a care in the world.
After doing some simple disguise, the group blended in with the crowd and reached the Dawn Inn.
"Give us your biggest room."
Shura said as he placed a hundred gold coins on the receptionist's counter.
The receptionist, a short man with a face full of pimples, looked back at the three girls and just two guys, and smiled with his rotten teeth.
"Hehe, don't worry boss. We have the best room and best privacy. The room has sound proofing, so don't worry about anything."
The shrewd receptionist said with a creepy grin, imagining all the things Shura and the gang would do inside the room. He greedily collected the gold that was thrown on the counter.
The girls glared at the receptionist shortly, but didn't say anything. After that, Shura left with a word that a merchant would come here, and that the receptionist should guide that merchant to the room.
For some reason, the receptionist's face looked like he couldn't believe there was another guy coming.
'Tsk! These guys sure know how to enjoy themselves.'
The receptionist clicked his tongue in jealousy, unaware that he had let the city's most wanted criminal, aka Shura, stay in his inn.
***
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