I stood at the edge of the forest, waiting for the battle to end. There were only a few more minutes left in the fight. I used the time to strengthen my domain and meditate. I was finally moving on. The realization had just sunk in. I had spent so much time in the Bloodwoods. There was a strong connection to this place that staked my soul to it… It wasn't just my friends, either.

I spent years training here. I knew the forest, its hidden springs, mysteries, and residents. The details that I could map would be pinpoint. Almost my entire time in the loop had been in these woods.

I took a deep breath of the rich pine air… the battle had tainted the scent, but I managed to catch enough of it to appreciate the beauty of this place. I'd be back before I miss it. Still… this was my home.

I gathered Icy and Lana's ring at the end of the battle. Icy was stored in the Rat King's cellar. I froze the entire lair, turning it into a frozen freezer of sorts. It would take a fire mage to get through the block of ice that Icy was stored in. It felt safe, albeit a bit cold—safe nonetheless.

Before leaving the forest, I geared up for a bunch of fights with Jesters. I didn't want to attract a lot of attention, but I also didn't want to get caught powerless, no weapon, and bullied into a fight. That meant armoring and gearing up.

My look was similar to my library look, with a few modifications to disguise my gear. That meant slimmer armor, better implementation of holsters to reduce bulk, and a sleek battle robe. On a gear scale, I probably looked like a three. In actuality, I was most likely a seven. The Calypso system put me at a six… so a solid six and a half. Not a bad sneaker setup—sneaker being the term for hidden gear scores.

It was midafternoon by the time I reached Cyanne. I waited outside the city gate, befriending the guards and making my presence known. Purity and her gang sought me out not long after I headed back to the forest.

The sleeper died first. Purity was second. She died by a water anchor combined with a combo of pulls, lifts, and slams. The brutal techniques showcased a new proficiency I'd developed in my anchoring and water manipulation skills. A slowing frost domain left the five remaining Jesters exposed for a fast execution. It felt like they were fighting in slow motion compared to my quick, fluid movements. The speed at which my body reacted to commands was equally impressive. I'm not sure if the speed differences were more attributed to my slowing domain. The truth was probably somewhere in the middle.

I left the dead in the forest, cleaned myself off, then headed into town. Very little time was spent in the small city. It was a quick walk to the portal to Landfell. From there, I teleported to the city north of the capital. My goal to reach the Silvers could wait a day or two. I had to get some shopping done… even if I had to kill an entire cell of assassins to do so.

Much like it happened the last time I showed up in the town, I was attacked in the city administration building. And just like last time, I used the distraction of the assassins to flee into the inner district of town.

I fought a handful of Jesters in an empty alley, using mana pistols, rune bombs, and archery. The fights didn't last long, not even when the sages decided to dip their toes in the water. After the battle, I waited a few minutes for more assassins to show up. None came.

So maybe there was an assassin conference happening at Sunset City. That, or the cell of assassins in this town just wasn't big. Perhaps it wasn't a priority target, or there was a deal with the Empire that limited the number of Jesters that could be present.

Free from fighting, I cleaned myself once more—this time I was much less dirty—and left the alley. My destination was the most fancy tinker shop in all of Alderi.

Fanny's Fits was a store like no other. It was one part crafting academy, one part shop, and entirely magical. The shop practically floated in the upper district. Every inch of the dragon glass exterior was fused with light mana. It was the most magical shop in existence.

All sorts of trinkets were sold in Fanny's Fits… most of which were created by Fanny—a legendary, mythical crafter. There were shelves filled with exotic weapons… nothing like swords and bows, though. These weapons were multi-purpose tools—shields with blades, or ones that repelled all mana attacks. Mana pistols and rifles. Rapid-fire crossbows, sword whips, glaives, and mechanical gloves.

Then there were a variety of runes that ranged from basic cooling and heating runes to combat explosives. Another section of the store was dedicated to mana-tech armor. If I had any money left over, I would be looking at the section.

I briefly browsed through the weapons, runes, and gadgets. What I wanted most was found in the exotic ring section. I had two rings in mind that I was determined to buy. It took five minutes of browsing before I saw the highest-priority ring.

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The Ring of Teleport was a ring that took an extreme amount of mana, scripting, and high-quality metal to create. I found the green ring next to five others that looked similar in design. They were in their own case inside the display case. The five rings glowed with intense light energy. Not even the thick displays could prevent all the mana from seeping through.

"Excuse me, sir," I waved to one of the attendants. I was one of the only shoppers looking at rings and didn't think it would take much to get help. "Hello?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Sir…"

The attendant walked away without paying me any attention. I rolled my eyes at the inconvenience and searched for more help. My luck must be running low, because I could not find help for the life of me. I swore I passed several workers while I was browsing earlier. Now that I needed help, it was as if they had all vanished. Selene's rotten luck indeed. Seven more minutes passed. My cool had just about run out, and I could feel assassins gathering at the doorstep.

"Hello!" I broke through the barriers of reservation and spoke loudly. "I stumbled into a fortune of money and would like to waste it all on jewels." That got a few eyes. Still no help. "Specifically, I want to buy a transport and holding ring." That certainly earned me more attention and a bunch of hushed murmuring.

If assassins weren't waiting for me outside, then certainly another unsavory group was. I waited a few seconds before emptying the spirit beast cores Lana had stored in her ring. The pile got to my knees before I finally got a worker to help me out. Unfortunately, it was the same clerk who had ignored me before. He somehow looked more unpleasant than before. He caught my attention with a huff, then gestured for me to follow. I didn't want to waste his time, so I left the pile of cores behind and followed him to the desk of rings.

When we got to the green transport rings, the clerk opened his hand and placed it on the case toward me. I handed him a card that stored millions of credits. He drained it into the store's card and gestured for another. This cycle repeated two more times… and then he counted the pile of cores I left on the floor.

I probably should've haggled. I spent what was perhaps an entire kingdom's riches on one ring. I didn't even have enough money to buy a second ring of holding. At least not once I got the transport ring soul-bonded to me. The problem was that my mercantile skills were as bad as my charisma. Most likely a two or lower on whatever social scale existed. It was a miracle my map shop lasted as long as it did.

I listened to the store clerk explain in detail how the ring worked and its limitations. I could use it once a day to transport to the capital teleport from nearly anywhere outside. It wouldn't work in mana-limiting areas, like in a sleeper's domain, or something of that effect. The ring also had to be connected to my mana during the entire transportation process—if there was any disconnect, there could be serious consequences.

Luckily, the clerk spared the details, and I didn't have the stomach to ask. I also didn't enjoy talking to the clerk much. He was very much like a weasel, taking pride in his perceived superiority. His ability to layer condescending remarks in nearly every sentence was a masterclass display of a barbed bard—I was pretty sure that was a thing among the elites.

I fidgeted with the ring the entire time the clerk was talking. Although I loved Snowpiercer and its functionality, I hated wearing a ring. I still wasn't used to it. Now I had three rings. My hands looked and felt ridiculous. It was a constant state of uncomfortable feelings.

Finally, the attendant finished the last of his lecture on ring maintenance. He smirked and asked if there was anything else I wanted to purchase, knowing full well he'd emptied my deep pockets.

I almost didn't tell him goodbye as I peeked out of the exit. Maybe he was just having a bad day.

The streets looked clear. Shoppers were shopping, and not a single Jester or killer clown was in sight. I planned to do more shopping and upgrade the rest of my gear. Maybe buy a sword or two that was more fitting to my fighting style. Mana armor would be super nice. However, I was now poor. I was actually surprised the clerk didn't have some guards escort me out of the upper district.

I was outpriced on everything. Still, I walked around a few more minutes, checking shops for future shopping potential, and watching my back for any hidden knives. There were more than a couple of times I felt the heavy eyes of a killer's gaze. Whether it was an assassin or not, I didn't know. It very well could've been an opportunistic thief—or most likely just my imagination.

Being hunted and possibly watched really messed with one's perception. My ego was somewhat inflated in an odd way. It wasn't that I felt important, but I did feel important. I was the target of the High King. Any one of these strangers in the street could know who I was. They could be planning an extravagant surprise just for me… There was even the chance that they invited friends to the surprise ganking.

How could one maintain a level head under such an intense spotlight? Was it even possible? For me, it wasn't. Every side glance and crooked eye unnerved me. Whispers seemed like blatant attacks. Shadows and blind corners were just as dangerous as a dragon in heat. Was that the expression? That couldn't be right. Dragonfire? It definitely felt like I was a pig on a roasting stick.

Shopping for the future didn't last much longer.

Lessons learned… it was hard to be famous. I couldn't imagine what it would be like for Sunny, who was a princess… a famous one at that. Makes sense why she enjoyed her hidden life as Lana so much. When I saved her, I planned to ask for her advice on handling stardom. There was even a chance that she had personally experienced dealing with fanatics with unsavory natures as well.

I walked a bit aimlessly after leaving the upper district and North Alder City. My legs were my guide, and they just didn't care about direction—though they seemed to stick to the path leading south to the Empire's capital, Alder. Not where I would've picked, but I was a bit lost in thought. As a precaution, I had my aura stretched out, my domain ready, and mana cycling. Any hint of danger would pull me from my misguided meditation.

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