Even though I could barely move my exhausted body after such a tiring fight, I forced myself to walk some distance away from the gruesome battlefield before I settled in a nearby tree's crown for the night.

I had no doubts that the whole area would soon be swarmed with countless monsters, fighting over the remains of the small host they sent after me, and I needed to quickly leave the area as I had no more energy left to fight.

But then, unable to sleep despite my intense fatigue, I simply lay in my makeshift shelter, staring at the stars above.

'Ah, what a mess...' Everything was going so perfectly until just two days ago... 'Wait, it was only two days ago?' I silently wondered.

It felt like an eternity back when I enjoyed a good dinner in the mansion, seeing everyone's happy smiles. Especially Helga's...

I clenched my fist as an unquenchable anger began filling me up. 'I hate those damned nobles and their wicked intrigues!'

But before the anger could overcome me, I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

'I need to let go of such thoughts, or I would never be able to sleep at all.' I reminded myself as tomorrow promised to be an equally challenging day as today and I needed as much rest as I could get.

The following days will perhaps be even more difficult as I must find a way to cross the border unnoticed.

Thus, I cleared my head of all unnecessary thoughts, yet the sleep still didn't come. 'Ah, and I also want to find out more about those protective pendants...'

Today, I finally figured out its limits, but that also filled me with even more questions. I realized that there seemed to be multiple grades of these things, as Jenny possessed a much weaker version than both the Magistrate and the young Captain had.

This, of course, raised even more burning questions. How are they being made? And who makes them?

I heard the Magistrate mentioning the Sun god, so perhaps they come from the church of light...

Anyway, I have to find out more about them as I have a feeling I will have to face them a lot more from now on.

I sighed, staring at the softly shining moon's crescent. I lay there for hours, but somewhere during that time, my tiredness finally overcame my agitated mind, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, shortly after sunrise, I continued through the Jagged Rocks, and after a few more hours of traversing the rugged terrain, I noticed the area becoming flatter and flatter.

Shortly before noon, I finally emerged on the extensive plateau, which was Ereneth's main farming area located at its western borders.

I sighed in relief as this meant I had at last left the city of Ereneth behind me, and it wouldn't be long until the border.

I promptly turned north, walking across the vast green fields and the well-maintained roads between them.

The fields were seemingly endless, and I was still trapped between their vibrant colors when the night hit me.

Noticing a light in the distance, I sneaked along the nearby road, approaching a small farming hamlet.

I wondered for a moment if I should risk it and try to ask for lodging for the night, but in the end, I decided not to and rather chose to settle in a nearby hay rack, hoping to be on the road before anyone noticed me.

When I opened my eyes the following morning, I let out a displeased grunt as I was hurting all over. I blinked a few times, wondering where I was for a moment, but then I remembered and quickly jumped out of the hay rack, cautiously looking around.

Luckily, nobody had noticed me yet, and my powerful magical aura seemed to keep all farm animals a generous distance away from me.

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But since they couldn't access their primary food source, they were loudly giving away their displeasure, and I realized it would be only a matter of time before some farmer would come to check what was happening.

Thus, I quickly exited the pasture without wasting a moment, jumping over the small fence and returning onto the road while I tried to walk off my sore muscles.

'Ah, what would I give for a soft, warm bed!' I sighed as I resumed my long journey westward, and after a few more hours of walking, I finally hit the main highway.

I cautiously looked across the wide cobblestone road, but I couldn't see anybody, and most importantly, there were no signs of a coming patrol, which made me smile broadly, and I exhaled in relief.

'Finally, some good news...' I had no idea where I was as this was the first time I had ventured so far, but I figured I couldn't be too far from the border, so with renewed determination, I started walking west.

***

'What a sight...' I stared in amazement at a wide river cutting through the countryside in the orange glow of a setting sun.

I finally made it to the border. Yet the biggest challenge still awaited me. The aforementioned river was the natural border between Ereneth and the neighboring region of the Kingdom, and I had to somehow find a way to make it across.

A lone massive wooden bridge ran across the span of the river, serving as the only convenient crossing point in this area.

Before the bridge along the highway stood a long line of carriages of all sizes and shapes waiting for their turn to be inspected and to pay the toll.

From my short observation, I discovered that the bridge was heavily guarded on both sides, and my chances of getting across unnoticed were all but nonexistent. Thus, my only option left was to either swim across or create a makeshift raft.

I shuddered with the thought of jumping into the turbulent waters, but I was slowly beginning to realize it was probably the only option to move across unseen.

I could potentially freeze a portion of the river and then use the resulting iceberg as a makeshift raft. But a large piece of ice floating atop the river at the precipice of summer would be a dead giveaway of something unnatural taking place.

And even though I was planning to make it across during the dead of the night, I had no doubts they must have patrols along the shores, too, so doing this would be extremely risky.

Thus, after waiting some more before the sun disappeared entirely behind the distant horizon, I took a deep breath before plunging straight into the dark, cold waters below.

After submerging under the river's surface, I was immediately gripped by an intense cold feeling, and I noticed my body growing numb.

I swam, battling against the river's current with all my strength. Still, it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the river's tremendous power.

At this point, any mundane person would already be drowning and frantically gasping for air. Yet I wasn't alarmed by this in the least, as I had expected something like this to happen. Thus, I never counted on my own strength in the first place.

Instead, I focused inward, gathering my essence before sending it into the surrounding water, and I used water manipulation to create a current of my own.

Then, I propelled myself across like a human submarine, emerging on the other side not even two minutes after I entered the river.

'I made it!' I donned a victorious smile as I waded through the shallow waters on the river shore.

Firstly, I cautiously looked around but didn't see anyone; thus, I quickly settled behind a nearby bush, promptly generating a funnel of hot air to dry my drenched clothes so I would not become sick.

Although I wasn't sure if I could even become sick in the first place. Still, I didn't want to risk it, so I meticulously dried myself before continuing.

Carefully avoiding any signs of life I detected with my magic sense, I moved away from the road and into a small forest between the fields, where I decided to settle for the night.

Surrounded by towering trees, I made a small fire to keep me warm, and while taking out some of my supplies of dried meat for late dinner, I pondered about what to do next.

I knew that simply escaping into another region of the Kingdom didn't mean I was out of the woods.

Although the local soldiers wouldn't be actively looking for me, there were still the bounty hunters and roaming witch hunters, so I needed to keep low and not bring any attention to myself for the time being.

Still, I can now also move a lot more openly, not having to be constantly afraid of being spotted by a random traveler along the way... as long as I have a good cover story, that is.

'I need a new identity...' I realized. However, I wasn't any good with coming up with some elaborate backstory, not to mention I still didn't know much about the outside world to not make some glaring blunder that would instantly give me away.

Thus, after a while of thinking about it, I came up with the easiest and, at the same time, the most believable solution to my problem - assuming the identity of a nameless orphan.

'Hmm, but I still need a new name...' I wondered.

But then I remembered the late leader of my guards, who too was a nameless orphan before making a name for himself.

'Alright! From now on, I'm going to be... Jorn the orphan!'