[A/N: Have you guys heard the news? Don has found himself a Donna and they are now ENGAGED! MWAHAHAHA! I am not Single anymore! Sayonara, bitchez!]
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"A missing kid? Really?"
Trying to hold his urges not to just turn the other way and leave, Leon kept up with the company's formation as they advanced through the forest.
"I thought you would wake up in a good mood." Edrick furrowed his brows looking at Leon.
"I am not the one who went to bed hugging a bottle of vodka to sleep." Leon replied.
Embarrassed, Edrick gave a clumsy laugh as he kept walking in the forefront of the team being both the vanguard and the magic frontliner.
"Alright, I want you boys to focus. We find that missing young lady and get this day over with." Titus stopped the two from arguing, "The trackers and the wizards seem to be convinced that she headed down the forest thus most of the teams are going over there at the moment."
"And why are we stuck here then?" Huxley asked.
"Vadim's orders. In case the young lady returns or some people try to act heroic, we're here to keep an eye on things." Titus said, "Don't worry though, the moment the search party needs a hand, we will get called to the front. Let's just keep on patrolling." Titus urged the team ahead.
"Alright alright."
The five mercenaries walked in their designated route around the academy students' camp and thoroughly inspected the comings and the goings. Still, it was all dull and boring since this area was already cleared from monsters and dangers during the last week.
After an hour, the team got to switch their patrol shift with another team in a small campsite down the hill where the academy camp was.
"So, who's up there?" Leon asked.
"In the old camp? Practically no one… only servants I guess… maybe some knights." Titus replied.
"So the students left as well?"
"Yes, they headed out this morning deeper into the forest with a large attachment of knights and bodyguards." Titus replied, "The girl that disappeared seemed like some big deal, not just your run of the mill aristocrat."
"Old man, you don't run into an aristocrat in a mill." Huxley laughed.
"I'm talking about the one who owns the mill, fool."
Titus slapped Huxley on the head as the two were setting up the fire and the pot to boil some water.
"Adventuring is this laid back?" Leon asked.
"Says the guy who murdered the shit out of those centipedes." Huxley laughed as he threw a waterskin at Leon.
The two were all laughs as Leon received the waterskin and opened it to take a sip only to spit out what he drank in an instant.
"Wahahaha!"
"Ohohoho!"
The other four laughed at Leon who seemed to hate what he just drank. It tasted like water but with a burning, unpleasant, mildly bitter flavor.
"That's the vodka Vadim sent us." Edrick retrieved the waterskin from Leon and kicked Huxley for pulling such a prank.
"You need to learn how to drink. Haha!" Huxley said.
"I don't like it." Leon said while he tried to wipe the bitter taste off his mouth.
Practically, he doesn't drink, he only acts that he does. He can use his storage to lessen some of the liquor's content to act as if he was drinking and get rid of that later on.
"Every mercenary must know how to drink. Actually, I am wondering why Chief Vadim likes you that much if you don't drink! Old Edrick here basically has vodka for blood, that's why the Chief teaches him some stuff. How do you know him?"
Huxley seemed a bit nosey while Leon felt awkward since the team had noticed the preferential treatment he got from Vadim and the guild in general.
"Don't middle into his business." Cedric kicked Huxley from the back towards the fire as the latter hurriedly dropped on his leg to not fall ahead. He turned around and tried to hit Cedric with a branch but the older guy was nimble and already out of reach.
"Yo!" Leon called, "Is it true, that rumor I heard, about a Prince being in the number of the Academy Students?"
Leon's question immediately made everyone stop what they are doing and look at him silently for three seconds.
"A Prince?" Huxley asked, "Like a real… royal… prince? A son of a king?"
Leon shrugged his shoulders. Following that, the team directed their heads to their leader, Titus. He looked at them in return and stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing.
"Bloody hell!" He massaged his left temple, "Where did you hear that?"
"The Hall building. Some hall clerks talked about a Prince being troublesome or whatever." Leon said.
"Fuck!" Titus scratched his bald head, "Well, I am sorry I didn't inform you, guys, but orders came from the Hall not to get involved directly with the students, emphasis on a certain young man with silver hair and tall posture, surrounded by a flock of girls wherever he goes. Chief Vadim made that very clear yesterday to the captains."
"Wait! I know that Prince. He's the Crown Prince himself, right?" Huxley peaked his head with a dumb look.
"Shut up!" Titus glared at him, "You interacted with him, Huxley?"
"What? No no no! I didn't even get the chance to." Huxley waved his arms around deflecting the suspensions which were aimed at him as the well-known troublemaker.
"Then how on Earth did you find out he's the Crown Prince?" Titus and the others stared at him.
"Guys! You surely jest. His Highness Prince Edward ve Amber is the ultimate lover of the century." Huxley explained.
"The what?" The others cringed.
"Of course. What else should I expect from guys like you who only go to cheap brothels." Huxley shook his head, "Outside the northern district where decent people pay attention to the happenings of the city, it is known that His Highness has almost most of the girls in the academy as his lovers. He doesn't even leave a room for competition, dammit."
"You're talking shit! A Prince can do that?" Cedric said.
"Because he's a Prince, he can do that." Huxley insisted, "I mean think about it, all Aristocrats can get as many women as their money can afford it, what do you think of the man who sits above them all? I'll tell you this, His Highness gets more girls in one week than whatever you guys fucked in these lifetimes and the one before… combined."
"Wow!" Titus raised his brows.
"Holy shit. That struck deep."
"I mean… we're the Sons of Virgins for a reason. Don't use us as a scale, please."
The other three men seemed hurt but Leon was rather terrified.
"How could this Huxley figure out that I am a virgin in both lives?" He thought.
"But Titus, you said the Prince is Silver-haired and surrounded with girls, right?" Edrick asked.
"Yeah." Titus nodded.
"I think I've seen someone from the Academy Students with those qualities this morning." Edrick narrowed his eyes and his tone turned serious, "Pearl seemed to be accompanying them."
"Pearl?" Huxley's face stuffed.
The same look appeared on both Titus and Cedric as they just kept their cool by the next moment and nodded together.
"Who's Pearl?" Leon asked.
The four seemed wary about the answer but Huxley simply threw the cup he was holding and retreated to a tree with his eyes fixed somewhere aware from the team.
"Just… a certain competition. Nothing good comes from getting involved with her." Titus said and left it at that.
Leon didn't really bother yet he was content that these four are no longer curious about him since the conversation went around in different circles.
"Alright. I'mma go for a while." Leon stood up, dusted off his butt, and put the heavy bag he was carrying on the ground.
"Where to?" Cedric asked.
With a nonchalant face followed by a cheeky smile.
"Take a wild piss."
"Ahahaha! I see what you did there."
***
"Alright, this is a safe distance." Leon looked behind at his company and then looked in the opposite direction in cold eyes and a villainous smile.
"Unequip! Unequip! Unequip! Equip! Equip!"
Just in a second, he started changing his gear by taking off the cuirass, the helm, and any metal equipment then put on a cloak and a mask. Without even looking back, he used both [Rush] and [Leap] to climb up the hillside like some fictional ninja as he switched to Hunter and Rogue classes.
As he reached the top, he was sticking his body to the palisade wall of the Academy Camp.
"Aero Detection!"
Casting the spell using both his voice and hand movements for more effect and concentration.
Just like that, a wide area within the range of 30 feet was now within Leon's scope of senses. He could make out shapes, feel temperatures and detect many details. This overwhelming feeling spread through the gaps of the palisade wall and even reached above it. As Leon slowly walked under the wall, he was able to spot the guards above and the layout of the area behind.
"Not too many guards with some firewood storage in that direction. Perfect!"
Leon then touched the Chameleon Clock and manipulated its color into Forest Camo and took a position in front of the wall.
*Burn* *Swoosh*
And a Molotov Cocktail flew in a beautiful arc as it silently landed near the firewood stockpile.
One second, two seconds, three, four, five…
"FIRE'S SPREADING!"
Everyone's attention above the camp's wall was suddenly shifted towards the cry as one swift shadow leaped as high as it could, held the edge of the wall, and took a free fall on the other side hiding behind a nearby tent.
Check left, check right. All clear.
The people inside were many but they were all distracted. Leon has many opportunities to spot who they are, what they do, what they dress like.
As expected; it was all guards, knights, servants with some students who seemed reluctant enough not to join the search from the fact that they hid immediately after hearing that there's fire.
"Let's not get spotted by those."
Leon decided to completely avoid the students and kept sneaking around the perimeter of the camp using his cloak to blend with the wood and the high grass.
It was then when he spotted a suit of armor from the academy like the one he escaped with. Clearly, this piece can get him anywhere provided he does his job blending in right.
Now, why is Leon infiltrating the hornet's nest? The answer is as simple as it gets.
Thievery!
Nothing clears his mind like a good unplanned burglary under the cover of daylight.
Nothing beats the fact that he is unseen at the moment and if his calculations are right, any strong magician can't be within the camp now since the Prince himself headed deep inside the forest.
In a few nimble steps, Leon entered a tent from behind and exited from the front wearing a full Guard Suit that somewhat fits him.
And the camp was his to blunder.
But where to start? At first, he needs to be swift and steal whatever he can get his hands on in 5 minutes tops. Also, he needs to find something to steal.
The best way to look for such items is to scale one of the walls and look analyze the placement of tents. Unlike the Mercenary Campsite, this one is only made of tents that vary in size. One thing is that there is a big cooking area on one side and on the opposite side, there are the tents of the students which seemed to have been prepared by the Academy. Away from them were the escorts and the knights who had a lot more activity than that Leon would appreciate.
"Hmmm… to the students' tents then."
And his decision led him straight ahead. There were not many guards on these tents but there was nothing that valuable either. He didn't know what to look for exactly until he found a large tent with many crates packed inside and guarded by a few academy guards that looked less excited about the job than what they should have been as they simply sat outside laughing and conversion together.
All he needed is to hide behind that big tent and use his trusty knife to cut his way in without anyone noticing.
And he hit the jackpot.
As he managed to move the crates in the back and enter the tent, he found all the supplies of the students lying there. Swords, spears, bows, arrows, even medicines and emergency kits. There were also those Ebonthread Gambison suits and a lot of advanced tools and weapons.
One thing that caught Leon's eyes was…
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[Good Night]
- Made of Nightwood and Dark Iron, this Arbalest (hand ballistic) can launch devastating projectiles that deal damage not any less than an actual War Ballista. Its only drawback is its need for a ridiculous strength to reload.
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"Holy fuck!"
That was not just an item he happened to have an affinity with, it is actually something he knows from the game. A unique black arbalest made of ridiculous materials which is unlocked by an achievement.
Assuming that the Prince from this world has the same achievements as Leon's gameplay, it means he is the owner of [Good Night].
"Don't mind me!"
And Leon swooped it in his inventory. No need to think about it, the weapon wasn't marked by Magic and its animation can be anything from stones to javelins and spears.
"What else is there?"
A full crate of red potions.
*Swoop*
Arbalest Ammunitions.
*Swoop*
Top-notch weapons and armor.
*Swoop*
Premium camping equipment.
*Swoop*
Advanced medical kits.
*Swoop*
As Leon took the last bit of items he wanted, he suddenly started to feel a little woozy.
"Wait! Did I carry too much stuff?"
He opened his Storage Menu and found that there is a weight limit he notices for the first time. When he used Read on it, he understood how it works.
"So… the Storage spell gets to carry up to fifteen times my Intelligence score in kilograms which is around… 435 Kilos… that's almost half a ton."
Impressed by the fact that he has that much carry weight and disheartened by the fact that he hit the limit, Leon had to get rid of the not so necessary items but while doing so, his eye caught a certain thing he completely missed.
It was a strange item that was nothing like anything Leon knew. It had many leather straps that fit to go around the shoulders, the back, the torso, and between the legs as well. Moreover, the most important part was a metallic object that goes on the back with a T shape with the horizontal part of it going with the shoulders and the vertical part with the spine.
"Kinky!" Leon torched the straps and held the object up, "What are you?"
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[ Training Wings ]
- A set of training magic wings that are used to train rookie knights to fly before using the more advanced Combat Wings and Arcane Wings.
——————————
"I am sorry, come again?"
Leon blinked wildly looking at this strange thing.
Those are… wings? … Like flippy-flappy wings that make birds fly?
There was nothing like this in the game altogether.
"Hmmm… I don't have any memories of such an item but it is used to train Knights? To fly?" Leon thought, "Meaning it doesn't require complex spells other than attuning it to myself like how I do with the cloak?"
The thoughts sped inside Leon's head like a race car but he had no way to rest them aside unless he tried this artifact or whatever.
"I'll accept all the gifts graciously… and let's leave one of those here."
With that, he left his Black Cobra card behind for another successful burglary yet to come.