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Gram POV...
Walking out the sewer, I'm greeted by the same sights as ever: a dirt path leading into an alley that further leads into the city.
The sky's pretty gloomy today, but there's still the chance that it won't rain. I begin walking, my shoes pushing me forward with every step against the hodge-podge ground of stones and gravel. The castle could go many ways.
I could encounter someone, find the relic, or neither of those and enter combat with no relic. I hope that I at least am able to get through smoothly. I look up to the sky, being greeted by a drop of rain into my eye. How pleasant. Wiping my eye, I look down and keep walking.
Rain means more water and more water means more water mana, so it's ultimately beneficial. From the little time I stayed with Ms. Clara, I learned that mana is everywhere and naturally occurring phenomenon could enhance magic on lower levels.
Continuing the walk, I spot a loose coat on a stand and pick it up. I'm not sure how the "invisibility" works in the dungeon, but only certain people have actual consciousness. I wonder if the normal people would just see a floating cloak?
Regardless, my shoulders are no safe from the incoming rain as I march towards the castle. Just recently, Castle Ironholt had been destroyed from the inside in the terrorist attack, so this is my first look at it. It's a shame too, since it's the only thing that properly transferred from the dungeon to present day.
Everything else is different, but the castle is just the castle. It's fascinating and I wish I had the time to learn the history around it, but I don't.
Castle walls made of stone and mortar surrounded by wooden frames keeping it in place, ropes cascading down at some intervals with a special knot tied at the end of it. The knot kinda looks like a... never mind.
The gate itself is maybe 50 feet tall, a towering monument to the castle's craftmanship. There's a small squad of 5 guards at the gate, some other helmets visible poking just above the tall wall. Definitely heavily guarded, thank god they can't see me.
I walk up to the gate, placing my hand on the weaved barrier of planks that create the gate itself. A hand slaps mine down, a hand covered in armor. I turn my head, retracting my hands to my side.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hear him ask, only 1 eye visible through the slit of the helmet.
What little of his face I can see looks youthful, lacking wrinkles or scars. He's relatively short, clocking in at 5'4". His voice is unfamiliar, gruff and aged for someone who seems to only be my age.
"I was just admiring the gate, I suppose," My response is fairly simple since he hasn't attacked me yet.
I think my cloak might be hiding my face and identity as a craven due to the shadow it casts, but it's also likely that he doesn't know what a craven is. Still, he gives me that weird feeling and it puts me on edge.
"If the kingdom wished for you to admire the gate, then there wouldn't be guards here. Admire from afar from now on," He states, turning me away and crossing his arms. He hasn't reached for his sword once. "Oh, and pull your hood down."
I stare at him beneath my hood, my breathing suddenly being a bit heavier. I raise my hand and begin to pull the hood of the cloak down, my eyes bearing into him.
For a moment, he stays silent as he stares at me. He can most certainly see me, unlike his comrades. After a while, he nods and gestures away from the gate.
"Off with you now. I'm too tired to properly deal with you," He says, walking back into formation with his other 4 guards.
Well, what do you know? That was weird. I hear a notification from the system, signifying advancement. Somehow this keeps getting weirder.
[4/??? objectives complete.]
I walk away given the chance, beginning to circle around to a different side of the castle. It feels impossible, but maybe I can just climb the side. Wouldn't that be convenient.
I walk around a little until I'm under one of those funny ropes that make people go forever sleep. It's a few feet too high for me to grab it while standing, requiring a good jump to grab it.
I channel some mana into my legs, jumping towards the wall before planting my foot on the wall and performing another jump. This is a feat I couldn't imagine in my last life, but my physical training and mana makes it way easier than it should be.
I grab onto the rope, my arm undergoing the force of my weight pulling against the socket. Man, I wish that I could scream right now, but that might alert that guy from earlier.
I feel dried blood crinkle on the rope and cause my hand to shift, the minor friction hurting a little. The knot at the bottom of the rope tightens and compresses on my knuckles.
Instead, I raise my other arm to the rope and begin to pull myself up. I really should've gone through the effort of bracing myself so it didn't feel like my arm was ripping out of my socket.
Once I'm high enough, I wrap my legs around the rope and use them to help me pull myself up too. Slowly but surely, I climb my way up to the top of the rope and throw myself over the wall. I land on the parapet walk, the rope I used to climb over falling back down.
There's a few guards spread out here and there, although none of them seem to notice me like the one at the front. I stand, dusting off my chest and crouching a little. I can see into the main yard and towards the keep, my destination.
"Ok, now I just have to get back down the wall which should be easier," I mutter to myself, shaking my hand out as I feel a numbness run through it. "There's gonna be like a staircase or something..."
I walk across the way, approaching a corner tower connected to what I presume is a guard tower. I'm sure nothing could go wrong here, here being where all the guards are.
Murphy's law, please avoid me. Please, please, please... just for once.
I approach the wooden door and open it, stepping through the doorway and closing it behind me. There's a table in the middle, some bows against the wall, two windows looking outwards and two guards who seem to have not noticed me.
I approach the table and pick up the first paper, taking it for a read. It's just the guards schedule for this watchtower, nothing special. Although there is a not that says security will be increasing due to unstated reasons.
It's probably not stated since anyone in this tower wouldn't be high enough rank to know. Guess I'd have to read notes from deeper within to actually know. I guess I'll have to be on the look-out for that... maybe.
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