There was a growing sense of unease in Alex's chest. Since he had communicated with the bone necklace, he had seen things that made him anxious about moving forward with the camp's plans.

He had learned from the Earth Trial that his will alone wouldn't be enough to make progress. No matter how strong he became, he could always be overwhelmed by a multitude of lower-level warriors or by other kingdoms and empires with their own high-level warriors and the means to train more.

There was an urgent need to train more warriors, and it was ironic that Alex possessed the key to training more Ashen Knights but couldn't initiate anyone else since this energy was exclusive to humans. Both sides had lost an essential card in this world - humanity had no unique class, and Alex had nothing with which to train new warriors.

However, he wasn't without hope. From the petite Lunaria and the necklace, he had received fragments of a technique to unlock another way of training, an improved version of the universal life force. It diverged in that it required specific resources from the Iretar forest and was much stronger, almost on par with Ashen Energy. This new technique, called the "Forest's Sigh," was like Ashen Energy in the sense that it could be improved over time by future practitioners, though Alex didn't yet have a complete understanding of it, nor did he know where to find the necessary resources.

Nevertheless, he had a way forward. This technique presented a path to strengthen his faction, especially since they had decided to stay in the forest. Having a class tailored to this environment would be a significant addition in Alex's mind.

Alex set aside his concerns and focused on the few remaining matters in the city, as well as getting accustomed to the greatsword he had been given. The only thing left was his armor, which he was just a step away from obtaining. The person in charge had offered to deliver it immediately, but Alex decided to let them finish their work, as he didn't plan on returning to the city soon.

In other parts of the city, things weren't going so well. Rhenar had become the talk of the town, and everyone was eager to find out what was happening and whether they could benefit from it. However, the spotlight was soon stolen by another person.

"My lord, my lord, you must wake up. There are matters to discuss," the butler burst into the room.

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The marquis sprang up at the abrupt noise on such a calm night and grabbed the sword lying nearby. When he could make out that there was no one else and that it was only his butler, a growing frustration overtook him for interrupting one of his few peaceful nights of sleep.

"What's going on? Why are you barging in like this in the middle of the night?" the marquis said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"My lord, Princess Ley is in the city. She arrived no more than 5 minutes ago unannounced," the butler said, his face showing signs of nearing a panic attack.

"But what in the world are you talking about? Where are you getting such nonsense?" the marquis said, annoyed.

The butler understood his lord's frustration and simply repeated the information. "My lord, this information is reliable. It comes from the tutor of your eldest son, who had seen the princess in person before. He even double-checked the situation by going to the port, and there is indeed a ship with the princess's flag."

A tremendous headache began to invade Rhenar as he listened to his butler. Questions were piling up, and there was no one to answer them. The first thing Rhenar did was to check the calendar and all the documents and letters from the imperial council, as well as the empress's decrees. If he had violated something and they had sent an imperial princess to fetch him, then he was probably finished.

When he finally cross-referenced all the deadlines and his orders, realizing he hadn't broken any of them, his mind shifted to the next possible cause: corruption. Perhaps one of his employees had cut corners on their tributes or other previous work. He started a process to summon all his officers, both civil and military, to demand answers.

As the marquis's villa went into a frenzy, with all the servants running constantly to fulfill his orders but unaware of what was happening, the information was sealed tightly, and the surroundings of the villa, as well as the city's high officials, began to learn about the arrival of the illustrious guest. Everyone started their own internal and external investigations.

No one dared to disturb the princess that night, and since she hadn't called anyone, the key players remained in suspense to find out what was happening. Information began to spread quickly through various channels, and even the other city-states began holding emergency meetings in the middle of the night.

Of course, all of this was of no concern to Alex and the gnolls. He had received the news that the armor would finally be delivered in the afternoon, so they had gone out to meet Liev to say their goodbyes. While the gnolls finished preparing the carts and the Fheres, who had grown accustomed to the gnolls taking care of them and refused to let anyone else from the villa approach them, Alex was in high spirits.

In the early morning hours, the silence was finally broken. Some nobles from the Elven Empire of Kellenar were summoned by the princess to the villa serving as the official embassy for the empire in the city. Kellenar was known as one of the superpowers of the continent, and though it was far from this place, it could still project its power to this corner.