"Next!"

One of the city guards shouted as the group of five lumbermen moved forward… They showed their proof of identity and some documents about their current job of delivering the material they've brought.

​​

The guards only glanced through their papers and brought up a Magic Item that was perhaps being used to inspect their carriage.

'Is it some kind of scanner?'

Reiji remembered a device in his previous life after seeing the armored guard lift the camera-like Magic Item…

The guard scanned the carriage and the carts carrying the pieces of wood.

Reiji maintained his position and didn't leak any of his Spiritual Energy. He remained unmoving throughout the process…

'Ring! Ring! Ring!'

The device suddenly made a soft ringing sound and it caught the attention of all the nearby guards around the gate…

Of course, the five lumbermen who heard this were nervous… They were unsure what this sound means, however, the scanner would normally be unresponsive whenever they enter the city.

They didn't bring any dangerous items except for their tools! They also came from this place… There shouldn't be any problems!

"W-what's going on?"

The leader immediately inquired about the situation… Everyone became tense as none of them wants to be falsely accused. It is one of the worst feelings possible...

Nevertheless, he was sure that all the material they've brought wouldn't exceed the safety level that the city had enforced within its jurisdiction.

"That alarm would only sound if it detected a powerful Item or Arcana… Perhaps an Epic rank or above… You didn't declare that you have an Arcana, right? Then what was it?" The guard calmly asked. He didn't seem to mind the ringing sound...

"Ahh… We don't know… You can look inside!"

The other guards around no longer hesitated as they checked the items within the cart one by one…

"I didn't find anything suspicious. Can you scan it again?" One of the armored guards inspecting their carriage reported after he failed to find any magic item…

"Alright, let me check again…"

This time, the device no longer made a sound after scanning the cart…

"That's weird… Is this not working correctly?"

"Haa~ Just use the third squad's scanner…" An older guard said as if this situation didn't just happen for the first time… He then dismissed everyone and continued working on the next people in line.

In the end, the group of five sighed in relief as they safely entered the city. The incident was treated as a malfunction of their device,

On the other hand, Reiji already entered first and had a good look at the city.

'Whew… That scanner is really something… I couldn't hide from it even with my Stealth and Traceless activated.'

Luckily, the scanner needs to be constantly activated to pinpoint his location. Once it was turned off for even a moment, he would have enough time to flee from the place without being detected.

He had a good grasp of the layout of the city and as he was about to drop on the nearest rooftop to take a rest, he suddenly heard someone speaking next to him…

"Hey! Newbie… Where are you going? It's this way..."

The voice sounded like someone was just beside him… However, he looked around him but didn't see anyone… He is floating about the buildings and there are no obstructions around him, he shouldn't miss anyone that next to him.

'Ahh...'

Reiji immediately realized what was happening.

It was somehow similar to Sense Link!

He was surprised but he needed to stay calm in this situation. He tried to connect with the voice and replied in his mind.

"Who are you?"

"Ohh… I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself… I'm the finest Cloak Arcana in this city, you can call me Ryu…" A friendly tone of voice replied.

'Whoa... I really connected to him... Anyway, a cloak Arcana, huh... It's not something new but it's quite unusual…'

Reiji had seen several types of Arcana already but this is the first one that he had seen a cloak. Well, a pocket watch can be an Arcana, so it wouldn't be surprising that a cloak is one as well.

'A Sentient Arcana like me…'

Reiji could help but be excited after realizing what was happening… During the past two years, he had been too focused on strengthening himself by living in the jungle and completing many missions to have enough Skill Points and get all the Skills he wanted to have.

Most of his encounter with humans was just him listening silently on their conversations…

Nevertheless, at this time, he finally met an Arcana that has similarities to him…

"Ryu… How are you communicating with me? Where are you? How did you find me?"

"Haha… So many questions. As expected of newbies… In any case, let me give you a quick explanation… You may know of this already, but there is an organization called Mind Collection, it is a place where Sentient Arcana like us would gather… Tomorrow would be our quarterly meeting in this city so many Arcana would secretly arrive in this place…"

Ryu calmly explained. His words already contained a lot of information and Reiji was quite overwhelmed with that.

'Mind Collection?' It was his first time hearing it but he didn't show it for now.

"I see..."

Reiji replied as he mused for a moment. He would've never thought that it would be possible for a group of Arcana to build an organization… This made him even more curious about his current situation.

"Ahh... Ryu, How did you find me again? And if there's a lot of Arcana arriving today, how did you know I'm a newbie?"

Reiji wanted to know how he acted like a newbie and correct himself.

"Haha… It's my ability... Anyway, anyone can easily recognize a newbie because of the method of your entry. Arcana like us have a special entrance that we're using. I'm guarding near the eastern gate for Arcana like you that was not properly briefed… It happens all the time, don't mind it... So, who invited you here?"

"Eh?" Reiji was stumped by the question.

"Huh?" Ryu sounded confused as well.

He seemed to be expecting that Reiji was invited to come here.

"No… Well, I just visited this place as I heard about the Excalibur---I mean, about the sword that was stuck on a stone… I heard from someone that the sword is currently at a sacred location within this city… I just want to see it as it piqued my interest."

Reiji told the truth. Anyway, there shouldn't be any harm in doing that.

He was expecting that Ryu would understand him but the voice didn't reply.

As Ryu became silent, Reiji became nervous.

'Is he angry? Why is he not replying?'

In the end, Reiji stopped on a nearby rooftop as he waited for Ryu to reply.

'Maybe he's trying to remember about the sword? Haa~ This is too unfair...'

He was still unable to see this cloak Arcana while he was in the open. Anyway, he can only hope that he didn't offend this voice.

'Ahh... Are they protecting the location of that Excalibur?' Reiji suddenly had an idea... His interest in the sword might appear like he was trying to take it from them.

He didn't want to anger the Mind Collection that Ryu was talking about...

Finally, it seems that Ryu had somehow analyzed him...

"Mhmm... You're not like a Cursed Arcana... Are you a spy?"

'Eh? Spy? No... What's going on?' Reiji was confused as he wanted some clarifications.

"Before you accuse me of anything... Can we at least have a proper talk? Let's meet. It's basic courtesy..." Although he's wary of their organization, it doesn't mean that he'll be a pushover in front of them.

"Well, I don't mind... It seems that you're just Rare-Rank anyway..." Ryu replied after hearing Reiji's request.

The latter didn't mind being belittled by the voice and he even wanted it that way.

Finally, the Cloak Arcana leaked his Spiritual Energy enough for Reiji to track his location.

The Arcana is inside an old building close to the guard post... The building doesn't look anything special and seemed to be a residence of an old family.

Reiji can see that there are many people walking around the streets so he quickly used his stealth and entered the building...

He followed the source of the energy as he arrived in front of a statue...

It is a full-body statue of a female equestrian hugging her horse... One thing that can easily be noticed was the draped green cloak on the lady...

He wasn't sure who this lady was but Reiji was sure that the cloak was the Arcana talking to him...

"Mhmm... You can observe from here what was happening at the gate?" Reiji asked.

"Yes... It's just a skill I learned after my Awakening..." Ryu replied as he remained unmoving from the statue.

"So, can you tell me more about the Mind Collection? Let me just remind you... I didn't arrive here to attend your quarterly meeting or something. I just came here out of curiosity to that sword that I talked about..."

Reiji explained hoping that he would be not be entangled in something troublesome.