7 days ago.

Alex had finally received his armor, and it was just as he expected. He had participated in the conceptual design of it, made some adjustments, and it turned out exactly like his old Ashen Armor. However, there was one more addition to be made. Unlike the armors available in the Earth Trial provided by the system, in Glamoria, nothing was this convenient. It was now up to Alex to complete the ritual and link his armor with his Ashen energy. Again, it was a process that should ideally be conducted by a senior, and Alex was beginning to understand the hierarchy of this world, where the upper classes controlled specific methods or knowledge at some point in a warrior or mage's development.

With everything in order, he decided it was time to return to the forest. When he tried to bid farewell to the Marquis, he noticed that none of his high-ranking staff was present, nor was the translator. He couldn't even leave a verbal message for the employees, so he simply opted to leave.

Although under normal circumstances, the guards wouldn't have allowed Alex's caravan to leave without confirmation from their lord, the persistent presence of the Marquis's children finally gave him the green light to depart.

Alex had noticed that the city was in turmoil, and while in normal circumstances, he would have contacted Liev to find out what was happening, he was in a hurry to leave. He quickly reached the city gates, where some guards tried unsuccessfully to explain that his legal matters were in order. He finally left the city.

He was in good spirits, as he could now begin the long list of tasks he had pending, and nothing could interfere with his excellent mood. That was until a drake appeared out of nowhere.

This drake, unlike its more imposing relatives, lacked majestic wings and the ability to breathe fire. Its figure was robust, with scales of a dark green color that reflected the sunlight in a peculiar way. It had a head with small horns and intense eyes. Along its back, sharp dorsal spines stood out. Its claws were strong and sharp, perfect for the earth, and its tail ended in a point with venomous spines that pointed backward, ready for defense. Despite its inability to fly, its presence was majestic and threatening.

Alex stared into the drake's eyes and could see a hint of madness but also a slight plea. While for the rest of those present, it was nothing more than the destruction of all the wagons traveling out of the city and probably the loss of their lives.

Although the travelers around him abandoned everything and began running towards the city without knowing why the guards were not reacting to such an imposing creature, Alex, on the other hand, got off the wagon to interact with the creature.

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When the drake saw the human approaching, it let out a loud threatening roar that left the surroundings in deep silence. With the roar came a whisper in the breeze that somehow became more proficient at being read.

"Do you want me to leave before you lose your sanity again, huh?" Alex spoke to the drake with a calming voice.

The guards who were guarding the creature and knew of its previous behavior saw the human talking to it and approaching the drake, and immediately thought he was finished, soon to be a human pulp, and it would be their unfortunate task to collect it.

However, the reality was different. The drake lowered its head and exhaled vapor from its nostrils, lay down on its side, and made a gesture with its head.

As surreal as the situation was for the guards, it was even more so when the human advanced and began patting and touching the drake, occasionally asking it questions. The spectacle lasted for about five minutes until Alex finally pulled something out from somewhere in the drake's abdomen.

When Alex removed the needle from the drake, it began to squirm and make sounds like a pig in a slaughterhouse before finally becoming still with a faint breath.

From the guards' perspective, the human had done something to harm the drake. It could even be dead, so they quickly drew their weapons and surrounded Alex. In response, the gnolls got off the carriages with weapons in hand to encircle the guards.

The situation began to spiral out of control, and the fact that the two groups couldn't communicate only made the situation tenser. At a certain point, Alex decided there was no way out of this with words and wrapped the needle in a handkerchief so he could draw his greatsword. He could feel that more guards were approaching, and soon it would be impossible to escape.

Alex charged forward, determined to take down a guard with his first blow. But just before he could strike, a person, an elf, positioned themselves between them and deflected the blow with their own sword, catching Alex off guard.

Alex's greatsword struck the ground and slightly unbalanced him, but he didn't waste time. He immediately lunged forward to push his opponent with a shoulder strike.

When the exchange began, both groups exchanged blows, and while Alex's group had initially started winning the contest, their retreat toward the wagons was cut off by a group of soldiers who had arrived first. It was evident that they had been caught off guard, as they weren't wearing their armor and shields.

Alex had two options: he could flee, abandoning his resources, a less risky option. Although he was confident he could call the Fheres to follow him, the guards would do everything to damage the wagons, so he would have to consider the cargo as lost. The next option was to fight his way out of this situation to ensure the integrity of the wagons. There was still a chance to escape with all his belongings, but he had to be quick because the royal reinforcements were not far away.

In a split second, Alex decided to fight. After all, if they didn't reach the camp after selling all the resources they had gathered, they would have few options to acquire equipment again and succeed in their struggle.

Alex immediately unleashed Ashen Bastion, and although he now had a reservoir that would make it last much longer, he still lacked the necessary system to activate this ability without damaging his own body. But it didn't matter much; if he didn't win quickly, he was finished.