Thanks to those bandits I ended up having to camp out again. I can already see the plains where the city of Oldenwald lay but all I can see of the city itself was the countless lights coming off of it like stars in the night sky. While cultivating to heal the wound on my chest as well as the little scratches and scrapes I noticed just how formidable mana enhanced bodies are, the cut on my chest should have gone bone deep but thanks to strength enhancement my muscles blocked most of the blow. I intended to just cultivate the whole night like before but it seems two days in a row, especially after a fight, is just too much and I end up having to sleep for a few hours leaning up against a boulder on the side of the path while leaving Nox on night watch duty.

  While i still dont think he is telling me everything, after that fight i at least trust him not to willingly let me die so its probably true that if i did die so would he. Of course my judgement of his competence was immediately called into question by the fact that when i woke up he was asleep on top of the boulder.

  “Wake up you useless lizard!” i yell as i throw a rock that passes through his soul projection

  “Who are you calling a lizard you little fool!” Nox says as he raises his head before standing on all 4 and arching his back like a cat would in a morning stretch.

  “What would you have done if a monster had made it past the herbs! Or if a bandit came along and slit my throat!” i say rather annoyed while looking at him with a side eye

  “Oh calm down i had my perception spread out so anything relatively strong would have woken me up”

  “Oh and what do you consider to be relatively strong?” i continue as Nox flies up over my head

  “Pretty much anything stronger than you”

  “A lot of things weaker than me can kill me if they find me sleeping!”

  I find myself just shaking my head helplessly, I guess for dragons with their strong bodies even if they were found while sleeping anything weaker than them would find it hard to crack through their scales.

  Sighing while thinking about how I'm gonna sleep in the future, I decide to give up and pull out the remaining berries before eating the handful with one bite as my breakfast.

  “Oh well, lets just get off these damn mountains”

  As I start to walk down the path I can't help myself from thinking about the series of events that led up to this point as a theory starts to take shape in my mind but I don't dare to think more on it. Instead I just decide to hurry to the city as quickly as possible. As im coming off the last mountain i can see Oldenwald far more clearly, unlike most fortress cities this one was shaped into a 6 pointed star with a moat stretching along the massive walls at least 20 meters tall and a gate so wide you could fit 3 carriages in it side by side.

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  “Finally a somewhat decent city, that Arbourne is basically a small village compared to this place!” Nox notes as we approach the gates

  “It is ruled over by an earl, I'm not surprised to see that it's much larger and the defenses are likely because of the monster tides.”

  "That's not the reason this place is so different, it's not that large of a city, what im talking about is the fact that i can sense mages, there isnt many and most are mortal mages but i can vaguely sense a spirit mage too”

  “ Hmm, so there's mages here?”

  I was quite surprised as it doesn't make sense, if mages are this easy to find why is it that no one seems to know about them

  While thinking we finally make it to the gate, Oldenwald is a far more bustling city than Arbourne so we end up having to line up to gain permission to enter. It doesn't take too long as its still early in the morning, once we get to the front of the line a bored looking guard asks us a few questions.

  “Are you visiting or returning, Where are you coming from and what's your purpose here”

  “Just a visitor, I'm coming from Arbourne to look for someone” I say as I show him my identification.

  “Arbourne? You crossed over the mountains?” He looked skeptical, and a little surprised.

  “Yeah…is there a problem with that?” I start to get worried, what if I can't get in the city? wouldn't my whole purpose here be pointless then?

  “Not really a problem with that but… it's just that, no one's been able to make it past the mountains for a couple weeks. Everyone who tries just goes missing, the lord had to send someone to Arbourne the long way just to confirm it and is putting together a group of soldiers to investigate the path.”

  “Oh really? I guess I must have been lucky, I didn't have any problems the whole trip, i only ever saw some monsters off the side of the path” I laugh nervously

  “Hmm, well the lord may send some people to find you and ask you some questions. For now since you're visiting and don't have a pass the fee is 10 copper coins” the guard says as he points to a collection box

  He then continues on to say “If you want to change to extended or permanent residency you'll need to visit the housing office to apply.”

  “Thanks for the info but one question, does that mean no one from Arbourne has come here in the last 2 weeks? Even the long way?” If no one has come here from Arbourne then that means i wont be able to find Varon here…

  “You're the first one, why do you ask?”

  “Oh it's nothing, im just worried the person im looking for wont be here, anyway, ill just go look for him. Thanks again for the info!” I say as I walk past, making sure to drop 10 copper coins into the box as I pass..

  As soon as I enter the city though, my expression changes and I start to become worried.