"Aw, crud."
It was a little late, but Lu noticed he had dropped his necklace after he had already put Mura two nights behind him. But he had a feeling he had dropped it after shuffling up and down the wall right before he rolled over and through Mencer's window. It was the only time that the medallion could have slipped out of his shirt and gotten hooked on something like a broken piece of glass.
It was also where he had cut himself a little. So, Lu could almost confirm that his necklace was in the hands of Mencer.
'They said he was headed to the capital, right? I guess I'll meet you there.'
Trying to steal back the necklace now would be a suicide mission. Mencer and his guards would be on high alert, especially since they knew he had dropped something.
Lu was a little worried that they could track him down and figure out his identity by using the necklace. But it was unlikely. Only a few people in Bika knew Lu had a necklace like that.
On the other hand, it was likely they might find traces of the original owner of the necklace.
'I have something to look forward to.'
With the connections of a noble of the Imra Kingdom, Mencer would have more luck looking for traces of the necklace's original owners than Lu ever would. If Lu played his cards right, he might gain access to that information while stealing back his necklace.
But robbing Mencer in Mura when he had no idea it would happen was a lot easier than stealing back a necklace in the capital would be. Lu had to prepare.
First, Lu had to gather information. He didn't know enough about the young noble, the capital, the environment, the path there, and, most importantly, he still didn't know what an essence condensation art was.
He figured it was a method of condensing the world essence every Blessed gained after receiving their Blessing. But he couldn't be sure. And without being absolutely certain, he didn't want to start practicing.
Moreover, if it was a method of condensing the world essence inside a person, Lu didn't want something silly-sounding like Green Acres and Grey Skies. He also wanted something of the best grade possible, not introductory water-grade, however good that was. Lu could tell that an essence condensation art, regardless of what it did, would be vital to his future and his growth.
If his assumption was true, and the art condensed his world essence, making it more powerful, was true, the better the art, the better the effect, and the stronger he would become. Thus, it would be easier for him to make the world's treasure his own.
However, Lu had never heard of essence condensation arts before, so information about them was most likely heavily restricted. Lu could understand it. If the nobles were the only ones with this power, there was no way they would hand even a watered-down version to the commoners. It was just too much of an unnecessary risk.
Lu picked up a map and started making his way to Lodo, the Prince's Seat and capital of Leoso Principality. Since he wanted to arrive quite a while ahead of Mencer, he wasted no time and pushed onward through the unknown forests and farms.
Although Lu was a little worried about beasts, he was more worried about his Blessing not being powerful enough. It was also good training for his body. So, Lu used his Blessing almost until he fainted every night as he traveled.
He pushed the limits for how long he could Moonlight Stroll in one go and how many times he could take a stroll, no matter how tired he was.
Lu didn't know it—mostly because he didn't consider it—but that kind of training that strengthened his entire body and his world essence was something others with less demanding Blessings could hardly do. It was greatly beneficial for him and his foundation.
After a couple of weeks of traveling so intense that Lu barely remembered his encounters with beasts, Lu arrived in front of a grand city at the base of a mountain that shielded Lodo from the ocean. The walls were at least four times as tall as the tallest tree in the nearby forest. They were imposing but not oppressive.
With the sky-piercing mountain behind, the city walls even looked a little cute as they fenced in the relatively small buildings that housed at least several million people from all walks of life.
Lu looked at the city with anticipation. Such a grand city was bound to have a lot of things waiting to enter his hands.
Lu entered the queue to enter the city. After passing the security check at the gate, Lu heard a commotion behind him as a traveler wasn't let in because he had lost his identification papers.
Lu smirked and put those papers inside his bag as he strolled through the city with wide eyes. The wide smooth, cobbled streets and tall buildings of stone, wood, brick, and what looked like marble mansions in the distance were incredible. He could hardly wait.
But Lu hadn't forgotten why he came to Lodo. He was there for information.
Although Lodo was a lot bigger than Bika and Mura combined, it was still a city of humans. It worked in the same way.
If Lu wanted information, all he had to do was listen. And one of the most populated places in any city, filled with chatter of all kinds, was always the market. Even better was the fact that the markets would never sleep in a city the size of Lodo.
Lu squeezed through the crowds until he found a market street with stalls selling everything from turtle statues to turtle soup and from birds to cat collars. It was the perfect place to pick up a few fun things, some funds, and any stray pieces of information he might catch about nobles who could tell him more about the essence condensation arts or the city.
However, if he wanted details about the city, he would be better off asking and listening to the locals than some noble holed up in their mansion.
'Okay, that's a trap.'