Although he had discarded his identity as Ackster Phileam, he was still in Ackster's body, so he couldn't completely step away from it. And, even if he successfully faked his death using the Doppelganger Slime, Ackster could still be recognized if he wasn't careful.
Ackster thought about the possible risks as he walked around the city to reach the south gate.
Andrea Phileam probably knew that he was still alive since she would have been able to sense what he was up to. But since she seemed to love her deplorable son, she probably wouldn't say anything. Hopefully, she wouldn't inadvertently tip off The Hero by reacting in a manner unfitting of a mother seeing her son die.
Mikhail Phileam might be a little suspicious after reading the letter and comparing it to Ackster's behavior on the day of the battle and the night before it. So, if he saw Ackster somewhere, he would probably recognize his son without doubting it. Though, whether he would react or not wasn't something Ackster could guess.
Melissa Phileam, Ackster's sister, probably couldn't even guess that her unruly brother could fake his death. She wasn't a risk.
Then, there were the various people in Degrest that the original Ackster had terrorized during his life. During the right circumstances, they might be able to recognize Ackster if he got rid of his disguise. But most people were likely happy that he had died and put him in a locker far back in their minds.
Unless they were directly reminded of Ackster while he was in front of them, they probably wouldn't think much of it unless they were greatly traumatized by his behavior. But as long as he disguised himself and changed his behavior, Ackster should be safe from people like that.
But it was neither of those people that Ackster feared.
It was, as expected, The Hero who he had to watch out for.
Ackster had to avoid catching The Hero's eyes, no matter what. The only way Ackster would be safe if The Hero saw him would be if his disguise ability surpassed The Hero's ability to see through disguises.
And when he thought about The Hero's skills, natural talent, and memory, Ackster felt that it would be easier to simply avoid The Hero until he absolutely had to face him, which he would have to do one day.
Ackster put distance between himself and the city wall so that the guards at the east gate didn't see him. Although he had left the city, he was by no means safe yet. And to prevent anyone from managing to track him down, he would have to hide his tracks.
Gerrick knew he wasn't necessarily headed north, but the other guards had seen him leave through the northern gate. So, if anyone would try and come after him, they would head that way unless they had a testimony of him walking past the east gate and continuing around the city toward the south.
It was extra caution. But Ackster had to be at least this cautious if he didn't want to die an early death.
He might have escaped the three days' death sentence he had been given upon his transmigration, which wasn't even confirmed yet since the night wasn't over and the battle hadn't happened yet. But he might still die for any number of reasons.
His stats had confirmed that he was as weak as the weakest monsters.
Even if he somehow managed to become strong enough to survive this harsh world on his own, Ackster still wouldn't be able to live much longer than around ten years.
He could hardly believe it. It felt like such a long time that Ackster considered just finding a nice tiny harbor town and settling down. Just take it easy, fish, frolic in the water, and read to pass his time until it was time to say goodbye to the world and his second chance at life.
But he knew he only thought that ten years was long because he compared it to the three days he had just lived.
Once they were over, the ten years would have felt like they had passed in a flash.
No. If Ackster was going to die, he wanted it to be from old age or age-related issues.
But to do that, he would have to stop the world from being destroyed. It was something only he, who knew the plot of the original story and the ending, could do. It was also something that was possible thanks to his Strong Body skill.
But if a single skill were enough to bridge the gap between an ordinary person and The Hero, The Hero wouldn't have been as terrifying as he was.
Fortunately, Strong Body wasn't the only card Ackster had up his sleeve. The information about the future and all kinds of things regarding Millmeria gave him an advantage that might just help him prevent the world's end.
It was just that it would take a lot of work.
Ackster also couldn't forget one important fact.
The Hero wasn't alone.
While The Hero was the spearhead of humanity and all civilized races of Millmeria, and he had the greatest talent in history, not even he could stop the Calamity on his own. And by his side, he had a group of formidable personages that, in any other time, would have been hailed as one of the greatest people alive.
But The Hero's light was too bright. The Hero was bound to overshadow everyone else, especially those close to him.
However, that was only on the side of humanity and on the surface.
The world was bigger than what met the eye. And in the future, The Hero would encounter and hear mentions of characters, people, and creatures that would rival him in strength and potential.
Ackster realized that, just like The Hero, he wouldn't be able to do it all alone. He would have to get help.
But before he could convince anyone of that caliber to help him, he would first have to grow strong, strong enough to do what he needed to do.
'Training montage, activate!'