When Kaizen noticed the figures approaching the shore with their lamps, he knew what he had to do.
After recovering from the initial shock of the fall, Kaizen thought rationally, dove into the lake, and swam at intervals to a part of the shore that looked more like an outlet from the city sewer than a beach, where he managed to pull himself out of the water. Even though he was panting and shivering with cold, he didn't allow himself to stand still for a moment. He immediately looked around and officially entered the city after jumping over a wall, and he soon saw that the city was a labyrinth of narrow streets and dark alleys, where magical merchants and mages of various races mingled in an atmosphere that was fun and tense at the same time.
There were dwarves, humans, halflings, drow, and even tieflings, all speaking to each other naturally. This was a multiracial city.
Kaizen hid in the shadows of the corridors and watched the movements of the city with fascination. He had never been in a place like this before. Soon he heard high-pitched whistles echoing nearby, so he hid behind a pile of wooden crates in one of the narrow alleys, not knowing what it was.
A moment later, he heard a fast whistling sound cut across the sky above the alley where he was hiding. He looked up and saw mages in black robes flying on broomsticks. These men appeared to be wearing military uniforms and were talking to each other with worried expressions on their faces. Then he heard two of these military mages land on the street he had just passed, which was right in front of the alley where he was hiding.
Kaizen shuddered and concentrated on controlling his breathing as much as possible, not even daring to look at the street. He could hear them whispering among themselves, discussing how such an intruder could have disappeared from the lake so quickly.
"Where could he have gone?" asked one of the mages. The black hood covered most of his face. "He can't have gone very far."
"Yes, he can't have just vaporized," replied another mage. "Let's look near the shore the other time. Maybe he got into the sewers, or maybe he left a trail."
Kaizen remained silent, trying to blend into the surrounding shadows as the mages continued to search for him.
After the mages left, he knew he couldn't stay there for long, or he would be found within minutes, with the entire city on alert like this.
With that in mind, he opened the system interface and clicked to log out. He had already been playing in the pod room for many hours, and he intended to log out as soon as he arrived in this city.
[Do you want to log out? YES/NO].
That's all I want to do right now. Kaizen thought and immediately clicked YES.
[Are you sure you want to disconnect from Rise Online? YES/NO].
[Disconnecting Kaizen's user...]
[...]
[Unable to disconnect. The reasons are
- User is too close to monsters.
- The user is in the middle of an action event.
- The user is not in a safe area].
In a way, Kaizen knew this would happen. Before logging out, he had to find a safe place, that's how RO worked. But where would he go? He was stuck in the City of Tears, with mages hunting him at every corner. Moreover, he was certain that he was the only player in the entire city, since he was the first to obtain the key to the Mage Tower. Once again, he was all alone.
"Seriously, I need to stop getting into these problems without a group to help me." Kaizen said, massaging his temples from stress.
He was aware that as a solo player, his options were much more limited than those of a party or guild. However, he wouldn't trade the fact that he could evolve faster than anyone else for a few friends, because he would have to share XP and money.
As the flying mages approached their position in the sky, Kaizen had an idea.
Kaizen opened his inventory and began scrolling down the list of items without stopping, looking for the one thing he could use to distract the military mages. His fingers stopped only when he found the icon of the glass vial of purple liquid, and he clicked on the icon for that item. His fingers closed around the vial containing the strange liquid as it materialized in front of him.
This was an elixir he had purchased from a traveling alchemist long ago, which promised a powerful disorienting effect when ingested.
Before drinking this liquid, Kaizen dried his clothes with the heat of a fireball. It would be useless to try to fool the mages with wet clothes. In addition, he took the Grimoire of Curses he had obtained long ago and tied it around his waist to match the appearance of the people of this city.
Finally, all that's left is to drink the liquid from this disgusting phial. Kaizen thought.
And without exaggeration, the liquid in this vial really did have an alien appearance, as it was slimy and disgusting at the same time.
Kaizen frowned at all the muscles in his face as he turned the vial over and tasted it. It was simply horrible. Nevertheless, he swallowed it without blinking until the last drop.
After the liquid went down his throat, he didn't feel anything for the next few seconds, which made him shake his shoulders and make an expression of relief, but it wasn't long before he felt his whole body heating up, his mind going crazy, and a system message appearing in front of him.
[You have taken the tainted elixir. The effects of nausea and dizziness have been applied].
A five-minute timer appeared in the upper right corner of Kaizen's peripheral vision. This was the time he had to act like a drunk in order to avoid the suspicion of the mages who were looking for him.
Yes, no doubt, this was not the kind of plan one would expect from Kaizen, but he could not find a more efficient alternative.
He didn't know if the state he had created with this elixir would be enough to allow him to walk quietly through the streets without being suspected, but the debuffs in the elixir were really very strong and made him feel like he was drunk.
"Argh... This is terrible." He grumbled as he stood up and felt the whole world suddenly turn to the left.
When he reached the street, he staggered towards a nearby wall, almost falling to his knees on the ground. The dizziness he felt helped him stay in his drunken character, for without it he knew he couldn't make it, and as the mages flew past him, Kaizen began to mutter a few disconnected words as he walked, mostly mutterings of disappointment in himself for using such a foolish plan.
He just wanted the mages to think he was completely drunk, that's all.
After a little more than two minutes of walking, some mages spotted the drunk from above and decided to investigate the situation. So they came closer and landed on the ground a few feet in front of Kaizen, watching him with suspicious eyes as he walked down the street until his inevitable encounter with them. If he took another path, it might mean he knew something or was afraid.
However, the mages had no idea that the drunk they were watching would simply fall to the ground like a ripe fruit a few meters before he finally reached them.
One of the mages, a man with a long white beard, approached Kaizen, reached out his hand, and touched his face with glowing fingers. Kaizen's eyes were closed, pretending to be unconscious, but he could feel the mark on his chest warming a little.
The mage muttered something to the other, and for a moment Kaizen thought he had been discovered. But then the mages climbed back on their broomsticks and flew away.
Kaizen breathed a sigh of relief and stood up a minute later. It was humiliating for someone like him, but he knew he couldn't fight an entire city of mages. He wasn't strong enough yet, so all he could do was mentally curse the shaman.
With his head spinning, Kaizen dragged himself away from the lake area and blended into the crowd of NPCs walking the streets. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he walked slowly, getting used to the difficulty of keeping his balance.
As Kaizen got deeper into the heart of the City of Tears, the side effects of the debuffs began to wear off.
Soon, Kaizen began to notice more and more how incredible the center of this city was. If the racial mix had been impressive in the suburbs, it was even more so in the center.
The streets were narrower than in any other city Kaizen had ever been to, even New York. In fact, the entire architecture of this city was unlike anything he had ever seen before. All the buildings were made of gray stone with detailed decorations of pure silver. The roofs were high and pointed, often decorated with colorful flags.
The sounds echoing through the streets were also unique. Kaizen could hear the murmur of incantations and spells coming from inside the establishments, while mages in colorful robes rushed through the streets, oblivious to the presence of this dazzled stranger. Some wizards were flying through the sky with magic broomsticks, leaving shining traces of magic behind, others were carrying fascinating creatures on their shoulders.
The smell of incense and mystical herbs permeated the air above Kaizen, making him feel like he was in a nightclub.
As Kaizen moved through the city, he saw signs of magic everywhere. Luminous fountains spewing colored water, walls covered with ancient inscriptions, and trees glowing like the moon.
The City of Tears seemed to be a fascinating place, but also a dangerous one.
Even Kaizen felt threatened as he passed a group of mages dressed in head-to-toe black, each with a symbol embroidered on the back of their clothing.
Yes, he knew that he could not hesitate for a single minute in a strange land, even now that he had managed to escape from the authorities of this city.
When he finally spotted a tavern that looked so old that it seemed abandoned, the sound of music was still coming from it, so it must be open. And if Kaizen was lucky, he might be able to find a room to rent for the night and finally get some rest.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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