I walk out of the inn I was staying at, feeling refreshed and clean. I had visited a bathhouse, gotten my cloak washed and patched up, a new pair of clothes that weren't as scratchy, and got a good night's sleep under the warm comforts of a bed. My hair was tied up into a neat little bun.

After doing all this, my funds were at a grand total of zero, both the coins I got from Jarso and the ones I stole from that man's pocket all depleted.

Banking existed in this world, but all money was physical, and a sizable chunk of people decided to keep their fortune within their homes rather than keep it with a bank.

Which means a lot of these homes I’m walking past could yield some absolute moneypots.

Though am I going to get away with not feeling bad about doing that? Unlike a bank, where contracts state that everything is paid back if things are stolen, there were no safeguards here, and I would just ruin a random person’s life.

I guess I could look further into what that Iquen organization is. That was one of the things mentioned when I was interrogating that woman. Since it's revenge, I won't feel too bad about it, and they can't be particularly great people if they're trying to enslave random villager in the countryside. While I was staying at the inn, I asked about the Iquen thing, but nobody had a clue as to what I was talking about. Which meant that they are either extremely small and niche, or they are an underground, crime oriented, organization.

Or I could have gotten unlucky with who I asked. I also admit to myself.

"But if they are a nefarious organization... that means I'm going to have to go for another little information gathering session again." I begin talking to myself, trying to internalize my plans to memory. "And I have a feeling asking random strangers on the street isn't going to cut it this time. So now... Where's the shadiest place in the city?"

Guess this well groomed appearance won't do me any favors here... As I walk through a slummy area to the edge of river Ror, various people cast suspicious looks at me. Many of them were living in closely knit communities of makeshift tents. Something I was very familiar with, having spent lots of time around the homeless community in New York.

If I get mugged here what are the chances that that random burglar knows something about what I'm looking for. I watch something… I’m assuming an individual disappear into the shadows to my right. Well, I'm making myself a pretty open target right now; I wouldn't really be against it happening. I slide on my mask as the thought cross my mind.

But right now, I need to actually do something concrete instead of just some wistful thinking. Which is why...

I turn the corner to the left, walking down a flight of stairs into a dimly lit alleyway. There was a mug symbol marked on the map in this alleyway, despite my illiteracy I could easily guess what that meant.

A shady area of town, plus a bar where alcohol makes mouths loose.

This combination almost always means information that I'm not supposed to know, and if that gets some eyes on me, so be it, the more attention, the more opportunities.

I open the door, exposing a rowdy interior of laughter and drink. The air reeked with booze, and I could definitely smell urine coming off something.

That being said, I had a decision in front of me. Do I sit at a table for hours on end, doing nothing, hoping to catch a glimmer of conversation that may or may not be relevant to what I wanted to know?

Or do I try a little bit more of a direct approach. I walk up to the bar counter.

"Ain't you look a little young to be drinking son? If you're not careful you may end up like one of these fools." The bar attendant says.

"I don't drink, always found that stuff nasty," I sit down at the counter." Sweetest thing you have without alcohol please and thank you." I say.

"Coming right up." The attendant leans down and grabs three separate bottles from underneath the counter. "Oh forgot you don't want alcohol." He mumbles before putting one of the bottles back.

He pours both bottles into a single glass and slides it to me. It was a pale bluish color, nothing I've ever seen back home. I lift up my mask up to my nose and take a sip.

"Damn, what is this flavor called?" I say, surprised by the unique taste. It tasted chalky, like the stuff you use to write on boards... But in a really damn good way.

"It's... just a canstasia bean pulp, don't tell me you've never had some before right? How did you grow up?"

"From where I came from we had chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint, coffee and many more. The ecosystem is almost completely different." I say, pretty much used to the cultural shock at this point.

"I recognize coffee and chocolate... But I can't say that I know what the other three flavors are, cocoa beans are extremely rare around here though, if you export that stuff from your homeland you could make millions easily."

"Really! Chocolate exists in this world?!" I say excitedly.

"In this world?" The bartender asks, confused.

"Mmh, I came here from a different world. I am neither Ankudo nor Tetsudo." I state in a semi-serious way, curious to his reaction, really no point in hiding it after all.

"Wow... I am serving quite the individual right now." The bartender says hesitantly, put off by my tone, unsure if I was just messing around or being serious.

I smile at his confused look. "Man, you are easy to talk to... too easy." I finish the rest of my drink, "So I'd like to apologize in advance, but I came here today with an annoying goal in mind. Do you know anything about the Iquen organization?"

The bartender looks at me surprised for a moment before closing his eyes.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear what you just said and give you a second chance. I'm only warning you once, do not fall into this hole, whatever you're planning to do, please pay for your drink and then leave."

"What's your name?" I then ask.

"It's Ilmn." He says.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Sorry about this Ilmn, I didn't bring any money, I was not expecting to need to use any today."

Ilmn closes his eyes once again after I say that, knowing exactly what my next sentence would be.

"So, I want to ask you again, whether you know anything about the Iquen organization or not."

...

Ilmn sighs.

"Please take this outside." Ilmn looks up and says as two armed men slowly approach up to me from the back, their hands resting on their hilts. "Blood really doesn't mix well with drinks."

One of the men grips my shoulder painfully and drags me off the counter. I begin stumbling backwards as they guide me out the door.

"Guess I got lucky today." I mumble to myself.

"See you in 10 minutes." I then shout at Ilmn.

As we enter the alleyway, I hone all my Anku into my eyes, sensing for the perfect opportunity to strike. Their length of stride, their balance, constantly fluctuating as they put one foot over the other, their eyes, flicking from one object to the next. I feel the arm gripping my shoulder tense up.

"How old are you boy?" One of the men unexpectedly starts talking.

"I'm... I think I'm around 17 to 19, not completely sure." I answer hesitantly.

"Damn, my son is around your age... Then let me ask you... Why are you walking around asking about what the Iquen organization is? Who told you about us?" The hand on my shoulder gets even tighter.

"Are you guys going to tell me?"

"No, we're going to kill you if you stay curious about it."

"That's a shame, cause until I get enough Doons to meet Dr. Huley. You guys better get comfortable with me." I cringe a little bit at my one liner as I wrench his arm off my shoulder.

I hone in on his sword like a hawk as he raises his arm, already having predicted the movement. My leg shoots out like a bullet, slamming the flat of the blade into the wall with enough leverage to snap it in half.

Feint... Then strike. I then step in with enough violence to cause him to raise arms in defense on reaction, which allows me to grapple him by his shoulders and arm and slam him to the ground.

Then almost instantly I whip around with my fist, twirling right into the second man's jaw with unexpected speed, causing him to stagger and start falling.

Without losing my momentum, I swing around once more and send the heel of my my foot right underneath his armpit, really causing him to fall down. Then, as the first man begins getting up, I run over and simply stomp on his head.

"Easy." I say breathlessly. "Alright I'm getting used to the feeling again." So... I guess now I just gotta wait for one of them to wake up.

I lean down and begin searching through both of their pockets, some cigarette looking things, some pieces of candy, keys, coins... Which I stuff into my pocket, and finally, I open up a crumpled piece of paper. It was a detailed map of the city, various X marked locations dotted the paper, and there were some lines of scribbled Anto script alongside it as well. Nice, these must be their hideouts. I shove the paper into my pocket without much thought and look at the two fallen men.

... I guess I got time. I quickly start walking back towards the bar. Opening the door, walking through the tables, until I was back at the bar counter.

"How much do I owe for that drink?" I ask Ilmn, who was staring at me surprised, open mouthed, as I walked in.

"Uhh, uhh, 3 Diins." He says, which is the bronze colored one... I dig through the coin pouch and set down the coins.

"Thank you for your service." I say as I walk back out of the bar.

I look back down at the ground, and then two men were gone, just like that.

I begin rubbing my face with annoyance. Of course, of course, I'm in a weakened state, and I'm fighting against two people with the power of Anku, of course they wouldn't go down that easily.

So where did they go? Did they just run away?

I evaluate the situation for a couple more seconds.

No... I have a feeling that they didn't. And if I were in their position right now, I know exactly what I would do.

Which means... My best bet would be to try to start running right now. I think to myself as I take sprinting off from my position. I don't want this mask on any longer than it needs to be anyways.

Instantly, the two men run out of the shadows trying to catch up with me, but ultimately fail as I turn the corner and disappear into the streets.

Nice! I was right, they were about to try to follow me.

It was dark, I had camped out underneath a bridge next to the river, recovering from the usage of my mask until the sun had set. There wasn't a better time out there to do my work.

I hear a wet sloshing sound, then look down at the ground, where I had stepped on a puddle. I then look into the clouds, strange, did it rain recently?

I scan the building up and down. It was very plain, two stories, brick and mortar, some blacked out windows, sandwiched between a long row of buildings of the exact same build, nothing about it that would make it particularly stand out.

I jiggle the handle to the door very lightly, confirming that it was locked.

Now... Let's hope that lock in this world work the same as modern locks. I insert an L-shaped metal pin into the keyhole, twisting it to maintain tension, then I set another pin. I close my eyes and focus all Anku into my hands, amplifying my sensations tenfold.

I tap each pin upwards delicately, until I could feel the vibrations of the pin setting into their correct locations. Tap, tap, tap, tap, done.

Right?

I try twisting the door, but the handle still doesn't budge.

Why does... I check the pins once more, ensuring that they were in their correct positions.

Strange... I did everything correctly.

Wait a second... I take out the two pins, letting the pins fall back to their original positions and prick one of my fingers with the sharp point of one of the pins, before inserting it once more. I forgot that I knew how to do this now.

The hell is this mechanism? As my blood seeps into the metal, allowing me to fully sense the layout of the lock, I realize that this was completely different from what I was used to.

Cyclic unwinding strands, what is this ball for? Is this even made of metal? Shit... I can't lie this would be pretty interesting to figure out, but I'm not here to learn about locks, time to brute force it.

I try twisting the metal bars away from holding the lock in place with all my power, but with the amount of Anku I inserted into there I couldn't manipulate the metal an inch.

I take out the pin once more, then hold out my finger tensely, sucking the vision and hearing away from my eyes and ears, Anku pooling into my blood.

"This better be enough..." I murmur to myself as I re-coat the needle in in blood and stick it inside once more. Managing to fit nearly 30% of my total Anku into that tiny droplet.

Once more I try wrenching the metal bar in half, the bricks holding the lock into place begins to crack as I do this. I watch incredulously as the stone then bursts open, revealing a tiny black piece of metal that held the entire thing in place. Somehow remaining completely intact.

Almost a third of my Anku and I couldn't break this tiny thing... That was my full goddamn power too! Since I had to sacrifice my senses.

It takes a second for me to realize that I could now walk in. I cautiously hold the door open ajar and step through the front entrance. Immediately detect a presence clumsily moving around inside.

Whoever this is... They are not very good at being quiet. In fact I didn't even need to use my Anku to detect them, they were shuffling around like a hyperactive rabbit. I could hear them with just my ears.

But... I put my hand down on the ground and concentrate. Looks like there's only that single person here, so...

I rush through the door and barrel straight through a bunch of boxes. I hold my hands wide open in preparation to grapple them to the ground.

"Ah!" First I heard it, the yelp of a girl.

Then I saw it, her staring right at me, her palm open wide, pointed directly at me.

Then I felt it, a great chill washing over my body.

Then I noticed it, I couldn’t move, my body had been frozen into place, encased in a chunk of ice.

Then I realized it, who the girl that was clumsily moving around was. I look at her hands, tiny trails of water streaming off her fingertips around like they were fingernails, eventually condensing into ice, creating a beautiful gradient across the air.

I look up at her face, a chilled mist coming out of her mouth with every breath.

It’s another damn Tetsudo.