"WAIT!"

Screaming to himself, Athen immediately reopened his eyes and unfocused on the sound of his heartbeat.

Coming back to his senses, Athen immediately grabbed the diamond out of his pocket.

"Oh, thank god."

If he had activated his ability right now, then the diamond would have been left behind in this town, and his escape would have been for nothing.

Internally thanking his brain for reminding him, Athen put the diamond in one of his hands before cocking it back.

Straining his right arm, Athen put his hand behind his shoulder before immediately rushing it forward with all the strength he could muster.

Then, in a swift and powerful motion, the diamond departed from Athen's hand, rising with every passing second.

Assuming a graceful arc, the diamond flew just over the top of the wall before landing somewhere on the other side of the wall.

Taking a glance at the carriage, which was now moving forward, Athen didn't dare celebrate but once again covered his ears with his hands.

Muting all distractions and nearby sounds, Athen removed one hand from his ear before placing it on his chest.

With his hand on his heart, Athen focused on the sound of his heartbeat before allowing his attention to drift to the lower part of his stomach.

As Athen's stomach began to heat up, causing his hand to burn, he slowly closed his eyes.

After a couple of seconds, a cool breeze suddenly rushed against his face, forcing his messy, black hair off his forehead.

Athens had only achieved the feat of activating his power two times within 24 hours once when he first discovered the power... but now he had done it again.

Recalling what had happened the last time he activated his powers twice, Athen winced in fear.

"Well...it'll be worth it."

Feeling his chest start to tighten, Athen immediately opened his eyes before glancing downwards at his body.

And once again, his body was highlighted with a pure-blue hue, while everything else seemed to be frozen.

Not wasting a second, Athen sprinted toward the walls that surrounded the entire city.

As Athen approached the wall, he suddenly broke into a fit of coughter as it became harder and harder for him to breathe.

His legs started to wobble while his arms started shaking uncontrollably, forcing him to slow down.

Persevering, Athen bit further down on his lip before running as fast as his body would allow him to go.

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As the light-blue hue surrounding Athen began to flicker and the carriage started moving in slow motion, Athen dived forward.

Phasing right through the wall, Athen landed head-first on the other side as the light-blue hue completely disappeared.

Desperately gasping for air, Athen rolled over, looking up at the pure blue sky and the sun.

With the help of a nearby rock, Athen managed to stand up just in time to witness the carriage exiting the town and heading onto the road.

Taking one last glance at the wall behind, Athen reminded himself of the promises he had made before taking off.

Even though this diamond had not given him money, it might have given him something way more useful.

Magic.

The ability to wield the power, usually only seen in books and fairytales, was now partially available to Athen.

When one door closes, another one opens.

As he ran towards the carriage, Athen curiously surveyed his surroundings as this was his first time ever leaving his town.

The area around him could only be described as ... abandoned.

The grass was golden and dry, clearly from a lack of rain and care, and that was it.

Besides the plain path of the road, there were just fields of golden grass that seemed to stretch on forever.

Treading on the golden grass, Athen had to run to maintain a close distance from the carriage, waiting for the perfect time to hop on.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to keep up this pace for another minute, Athen decided that it was now or never.

Speeding up, Athen threw his hand forward, barely clasping onto the steel bar at the very back of the carriage.

Mustering all the strength he had left, Athen clung to the carriage while pulling the rest of his body forward.

Just as Athen began climbing onto the back of the carriage, it suddenly sped up, kicking Athen's legs up onto the air.

With his hands attached to the carriage, pulling him forward, and his legs in the air, swaying around rapidly, it almost looked as if Athen were flying.

Feeling his legs start to numb, Athen pushed himself even further, finally having his entire body on the carriage.

After sitting on the steel pipe that connected the two back wheels of the carriage for a second, Athen quickly laid down to prevent himself from being seen through the carriage's back window.

Exhausted both physically and mentally, Athen basked in the wind's breeze as the carriage continued moving along the road.

...

...

...

Back in a very familiar bar, a furious bartender was talking to two figures, each equipped with a metal chest plate and their respective weapons.

Unlike the private security guard from earlier, these figures had ragged clothes and faces full of scars, displaying their combat experience.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND HIM!?"

Stepping forward with the drawing of Athen in hand, the figure with the sword calmly replied to the bartender.

"I've asked around the city, using... methods, and the kid was last spotted by the town gates. One farmer said he spotted him resting under one of the houses on the outskirts."

*BANG*

Slamming a glass of beer on the bartop, the bartender angrily muttered.

"He left...that goddamn brat. He must have escaped through the town gates without being noticed!"

Unphased by the bartender's muttering, the other figure, equipped with two curved daggers, stepped up and said.

"If you pay extra, we can track him down, even outside the town. The gates opened less than an hour ago; he couldn't have gotten far."

Without skipping the beat, the bartender's expression immediately transformed into a grin as he replied.

"Deal. I want that kid's body in my bar by tonight."

Turning around, the figure with the sword said.

"We want 50% of the profits you get from selling him."

Seeing the bartender nod, the figures smiled before immediately exiting the bar, not bothering to hide their weapons.

Outside, two horses waited for them, so the mercenaries mounted their respective horses before taking off.

As they rode through the dirty streets of the town with their horses, homeless figures and merchants immediately cleared out the streets, quaking and trembling upon seeing them.

Within a couple of minutes, the two mercenaries and their horses had arrived at the same exact gate from earlier.

Seeing the private security guarding the gates, the figure with the daggers reached into his pocket, pulling out two silver coins.

Riding up to the security guards, the mercenary handed the coins to one of the guards, who, in response, moved out of the way, allowing the mercenaries to exit through the gate.