The bell on the doorway chimed as Sol exited the weaponsmith with a new hammer and spear crafted by one of their apprentices. The weapons were of simple common rarity, but he bought them to practice with the passive and active skills related to other weapons.

After meeting Chloe and buying the spatial ring, Sol went to a few other shops, buying clothes, some tools, and a quiver with some arrows. Although Sol bought arrows and weapons to try out new skills, it was unlikely he would find a good time to do so. He couldn’t go to the guild training grounds to practice, because it was open to the public, so that option was immediately crossed out. The only option Sol could think of was heading out of the city to a secluded part of the forest, but after receiving the warning from Trevor, he didn’t believe isolating himself and giving the rookie kidnappers an ideal time to strike a good idea. Luckily, the skills gave him a basic understanding so he could sufficiently use any weapon if needed, but it's one thing to have the knowledge and muscle memory crammed in your body and another to actually use it and feel it for real.

As Sol left the market district, he looked upwards and saw the evening light spread through the sky. It seemed his meeting with Diana and shopping took longer than he thought. He was about to head to the inn until he realized that he hadn't really explored the nightlife of the city.

‘It should be fine, I can’t stop living just because of a warning. Besides, there's probably going to be a lot of people out and about, from what Trevor said they disappeared without a trace.’

Not wanting to be held back by fear, Sol decided to stay out tonight just to see what this city had to offer. Back in Initium, the town had a rather lackluster nightlife with the most popular activity being drinking and on the rare occasion festivals. He was curious about what was different in this big city.

…

Crunch

“Wow! This is really good! Can I have another?”

A big bearded man gave a hearty laugh as he handed Sol another fried dough stick the man called Porra.

“Sure, but don’t ask how it’s made. It’s grandpa’s secret recipe.” The man said and gave a small wink.

Sol nodded and took another bite and savored the rich cinnamon flavor. He then paid the man for the second Porra before continuing his walk.

‘I guess this is what they meant by the city never sleeps.’

Originally, Sol thought there were going to be at most two or three more activities to do at night in the city, but he was very wrong. Just from what Sol had seen, there were theater plays, colosseum matches, art exhibits, and even a night market which was where he was currently at.

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As he walked through the market, he saw a lot of unique goods imported from other nearby nations. From fine elven woodworks and jewelry to even orc weapons and materials that were somehow smuggled across the border without being caught by the orc soldiers. Sol didn’t buy any of the items though as none really interested him. He did overhear from one of the merchants that there was an auction held every month that had really unique and interesting items which did pique his interest, but he didn’t have the funds to even attempt buying something from there so he gave up on the idea for now.

By the time Sol realized it was already well past midnight. Thinking it was a good time to call it a night and head back to the inn, Sol began to make his way past the busy streets. Even at this late hour, many people crowded the market district and some were even just beginning their night activities.

As Sol left the market district, the crowd of people started thinning until fewer and fewer people were in the vicinity. At first, Sol didn’t find it odd until he noticed that it was completely barren; there weren’t even guards patrolling the streets and although he was knowledgeable of the city patrol routes he found it weird he hadn’t seen a single guard in the past 5 minutes.

‘Am I overthinking it?’

Sol scanned the area with [Mana Perception], but with the limited range of 30 meters, the most he could see was the mana signatures of people in their homes. It was also hard to differentiate if they were hostile or not so he could only question whether his gut feeling was wrong.

‘I probably am.’

It was then at that moment that Sol let down his guard that they struck. A blood-red blur jumped from the roof of a far building as they dashed towards him. Sol wasn’t even given a chance to react before the red figure threw a bag of red powder that covered his entire body.

Once hit by the powder, Sol finally reacted and took out his Warhawk’s Talon from his space ring to strike back. The red figure hopped 10 feet back, exiting Sol’s range with his sword, but he didn’t let that stop him. Sol activated [Ground Shrink], instantly closing the distance with what appeared to be a single step but was a powerful singular burst of speed and used [Crippling Strike], targeting their legs to prevent them from escaping.

Though Sol couldn’t see their expression behind the red hood they wore, he knew they would be surprised by his instant attack. But as fate would have it Sol ended up being the one surprised as when his sword slashed their leg, it went through as if it was made of sand. Some of it even flew and got in his eyes confirming he wasn’t imagining it.

The red figure moved like the attack did nothing to them and instead of following up an attack, kept its distance. It watched Sol like a wolf stalking its prey, walking around him waiting for the opportune time to strike. Seeing that they weren’t escaping nor attacking, Sol took this chance to use [Analysis] on them.

Name: Alex

Race: Human

Talents: [Gathering]

Level: 6

HP: 100

MP: 30

Str: 6

Vit: 10

Agi: 8

Int: 3

Wis: 3

Talent Skills:

[Herb Preservation] Lv 4

Passive Skills:

[Foraging] Lv 5, [Pathfinding] Lv 2

While [Analysis] did show him the results, he instantly knew they were a complete fabrication. The opponent must’ve had some kind of skill or item that deceived the results. Not able to get any more insight from [Analysis], Sol was left with either getting it from their mouth or simply getting away while he could. He also doesn’t understand the purpose of the red powder they tossed at him in the beginning but from the fact they seem to be waiting for something he assumed it was some sort of poison. Luckily it seemed the level 8 [Poison Resistance] from the Immunizing Belt had done its job perfectly as Sol didn’t even feel its effects.

The enemy might’ve had more tricks up their sleeves but from what Sol had seen so far he liked his odds.

“Now then. Are you ready?”