The eastern reach was two days' travel from the capital.
And a D-rank gate officially low-level, officially routine was the perfect place to test what he was becoming.
The system flickered:
[Mission Analysis: D-Rank Gate – Eastern Reach]
[Standard Threat Profile: Minor monsters, minimal mana density, low fatality rate]
[Note: Standard profiles assume normal gate conditions. Verification recommended.]
He turned from the window. "Rin. The northern nobles who came to the estate before my fall. Did you find out who they were meeting with?"
She hesitated. "I… I heard whispers. Nothing confirmed. But there was a name that came up alot. Someone from House Ashworth's retinue. A man named Corvin. He was seen in the tavern where they drank. He left the city the same night they did."
House Ashworth. The house he was supposed to marry into the house that had sent a man to meet with the nobles who had pushed Caelus from the tower.
In the novel, Caelus had died during the assessment.
Kaelen smiled. It was not a pleasant expression, He had never thought that trying to survive would be this hard.
"Rin. When I leave tomorrow, I need you to gather information for me."
"But young master won't you take me with you?"
"No, I will be fine, I am betrothed to the Ashworth they wont let me be harmed."
"Then why all this?" She asked unmoved.
"Trust me and get the information." he gave her two papers but the shadows saw only one.
She nodded slowly hiding the other, her face pale but determined. "And you? What will you do in the eastern reach?"
The night before his departure, Kaelen stood on his balcony and looked out at the city.
The capital glittered below, a thousand lights flickering in the darkness.
The system flickered:
[Warning: Mission parameters may differ from official report.]
[Recommend: Maximum preparation. Constant vigilance.]
[Note: This gate may contain variables not accounted for in standard threat profiles.]
Kaelen dismissed the windows. He did not need the system to tell him what he already knew. He had walked into a trap once trusting his handler, trusting the schematics, trusting that the rules he had lived by for decades would protect him.
He would not make that mistake again.
He closed his eyes and reached for the hum. It was stronger now, a steady pulse that seemed to resonate with something in his chest, the same thing he had felt when Lysander touched his arm.
What was he going to ask, why didn't you accept me as a partner. Clearly they did not know each other, so why did it feel like betrayal.
Are you there?
The hum did not answer. But for a moment, just a moment, he felt a presence behind him. His breath hitched he did not turn, he touched the dagger hidden in his arm but the presence got he felt weight on his back and a familiar relaxation washed over him, he dropped the dagger. He tried to turn but could not move, the presence leaned close to his ear and whispered.
Patience
And then it was gone, and he was alone on his balcony, the warmth left and the winter wind cut through his thin clothes, the city sleeping below.
He turned and walked back into his chamber, he passed the mirror and turned it around not wanting to see more of his flushed face.
The kata was longer now. He had added movements, sequences that pushed the body beyond its limits, forced it to adapt, to grow, to become something more than it had been designed to be. His arms shook. His legs burned. The mana pathways screamed as he pushed will through channels that were still healing, still fragile, still far from ready.
[Mana Pathway Restoration: 5.7% complete]
[Physical Conditioning: 13% of target baseline]
He dressed in the clothes Rin had laid out simple but durable, he had sent her to take some money and buy some hard material for dungeon exploration and make them into normal clothes. His clothes had already been placed in the carriage he wore cuffs made of the training weights something he had requested and a knife he had hidden in his boot, sharp enough to kill.
When the knock came, he was ready.
The carriage was waiting in the courtyard. A single vehicle, unmarked, pulled by a pair of horses that looked like they had seen better days. Two escorts, no honor guard. No acknowledgment that the second son of House Verant was leaving for a mission that might be his last.
Kaelen climbed in and sat the carriage lurched forward.
He leaned back against the worn leather seat and closed his eyes. The system flickered at the edge of his vision. A timer to the destination.
Two days to the eastern reach.
The hum pulsed once, steady and patient, a heartbeat that was not his own.
He opened his eyes and smiled.
He was starting to get used to the calm it brought, he had never known calm even in the other world.
The carriage was two hours outside the capital when the system flared.
[Warning: Connection Network Expansion Detected]
[New Node: ???]
[Distance: 500 meters. Closing.]
[Threat Assessment: Unknown]
Kaelen's hand moved to the knife in his boot. The carriage swayed, the horses' hooves clattered on the frozen road. And somewhere behind him, someone was following.
The system flickered again:
[Connection Network Update]
[New Node Identified: ??? → ???]
[Status: Following]
[Intent: Unknown]
[Title: PROTAGONIST (Unawakened)]
Kaelen's breath caught.
The other protagonist.