Even as I was backing up, four Abelino clones were already entering the house simultaneously. It was only because I had boosted my Agility beyond Abelino’s, that I had entered first.

Two clones rushed in through the back door. Two others dove directly through the narrow glass windows. But they, too, were caught in Time-Dilation Wards.

“Fade!” I shouted through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the bleeding stump that had replaced my right hand. I was still retreating through the doorway of the house, in ever-so-slow motion, thanks to the Time-Dilation Ward. I reached into my Interdimensional Pouch to withdraw three Soul Shield Amulets. It would take a full second to retrieve them. But since I was still under the effects of the Time-Dilation Ward, the second I needed would take significantly longer compared to everything else happening around me.

I didn’t have a second.

The evil Abelino clone, the only person in the house who was not caught in a Time-Dilation Ward, sent a strand of mana towards the bombs hidden underneath the house, and then he started shimmering.

I realized then how lucky I was. The Abelino clone had decided to leave himself time to Fade safely—opting not to sacrifice himself. If the Soul Explosion landed on him, his memories and mana would be unable to join his accomplice.

That second that the Abelino clone needed to shimmer was enough.

I had already lost Ghost Biter, and I unequipped my gloves and Bonded Blades in the same second I was recalling the three Soul Shield Amulets from my pouch.

The three Soul Shield Amulets appeared in my hands, and I immediately equipped them, just as the explosion behind me reached me.

The explosion felt like a puff of air traveling around me.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

Each sound came in rapid succession.

My combat shadow was still moving, though, zig-zagging through the street, so I continued running.

An arrow, heavily imbued with mana, shattered the cobblestones where I had just been standing.

I doubled backwards, towards the arrow, barely evading an exploding arrow that landed at my feet.

When does the Time-Dilation Ward run out? I asked, frustrated. With Mana Sensing, I could tell that dozens of guards were running our direction.

Samantha said.

It seemed Abelino had the same idea. A dozen clones were rushing directly towards the Mayor’s Mansion—the area which, coincidentally, had the strongest Mana Shield and the most numerous soldiers.

Samantha said.

Two Abelino clones had stayed back to cover for me. One held a bow and arrow, and the other held a large shield and sword. Their movements were far faster than mine, and the clone with the shield easily blocked a few arrows headed my direction.

“How did you survive?” The clone with the large shield demanded. Even the clone’s speech sounded fast, and hard to process.

“Soul Shield Tokens,” I responded.

The clone looked unconvinced. “They were not equipped when you entered.”

“I have Mana Sensing,” I said, feeling defensive. “The moment I noticed a bomb hidden under the floor, I shouted a warning and equipped the tokens.”

Abelino didn’t look convinced, but he dropped the topic, clearly unhappy about losing four clones. We were surrounded by dozens of guards, now. Abelino focused on catching any ranged attacks or spells on his shield, which bought me the time I needed to finally drink a health potion.

The health potion wouldn’t restore my hand, but it would stabilize the bleeding and reduce the pain.

None of the guards seemed too eager to attack. They likely sensed Abelino’s oppressive aura—two oppressive auras, which weighed down on them.

“Go,” I said, the moment my Time Dilation Ward wore off.

The first thing I did with my 100 Agility was return to the house that had just had the Soul Explosion to pick up Ghost Biter.

While I was there, I also collected the dropped loot of the 4 Abelino clones that had died. Nothing was particularly valuable, but a full set of E-rank items was nothing to sneeze at.

Then, I rushed towards the mayor’s mansion.

By the time I reached the mansion, corpses were strewn everywhere, and the previously glowing Mana Shield that I could sense from blocks away had vanished.

The only person inside the mansion gates was an Abelino clone that was collecting the loot of the fallen guards.

I felt distinctly guilty as I stepped over the corpses towards the mansion.

These guards probably had never been mind-controlled. They were probably just following orders.

I could already imagine how today’s events would be spun. South American Terrorists attack Redson Town, killing in broad daylight during a monster raid.

Samantha cut me off.

I took a moment to consider Samantha’s suggestion.

Samantha continued.

The door into the mansion was hanging off of one hinge, and I pushed it out of the way, walking through the bloodied steps, making sure to keep Mana Sensing active.

Even though it was called a mansion, there was nothing opulent about the building. It was just a big house that used to be particularly well warded.

It was a particularly strange feeling, having access to 100 Agility, yet walking at a normal pace. It felt like I was walking incredibly slowly, but it was also peaceful, at the same time.

Is this how Abelino always feels?

There was a particular melancholy to viewing the results of an ally’s battle.

By the time I reached the upstairs study, the Abelino clone had already claimed the town for himself.

“There is a problem,” Abelino said, as I entered the study. “Amarillo blocked us out the teleportation network. No towns will accept travelers from Redson Town. We literally can’t teleport anywhere else.”

“Shit,” I said. “What now?”

Abelino reached into his Interdimensional Pouch and pulled out a City Token. “We’ll upgrade the town to a city.”

This really isn’t how I wanted to spend my afternoon, I thought to myself, as I stood by the teleportation portal, supervising the long line of residents who would soon teleport directly out of Redson City.

Before this moment, I hadn’t realized it was possible to have two cities in the same Region. I had assumed that the City Tokens I had been collecting would be used to fortify and develop the already existing cities.

I couldn’t help but think that the Armed Forces leadership in Amarillo would not be amused when they learned that Redson Town had become Redson City.

On the other hand, it was always possible that the Armed Forces would find a way to regain Redson City, which would be a huge benefit to them.

In order to prevent the Armed Forces from regaining the city, and also to prevent any hidden insurrections from the current population, Abelino had decided the evacuate the whole population of Redson City.

It wasn’t at all comforting that Abelino led evacuation with practiced ease. Once the town was upgraded to a city, the Abelino clones swept the city in a synchronized, grid-like formation. Anyone who resisted was knocked unconscious, handcuffed, and tossed into the jail cells in Town Hall.

For most people, though, they could only grab what belongings they had easily available, and they were ushered towards the Teleportation Circle—towards me.

We had contacted Dawnbreaker to inform her we had a thousand refugees or so leaving Redson Town, and she hadn’t been pleased. Many, if not most, of the refugees were supporters of the Armed Forces. They would be a huge liability to any city that accepted them.

But she had acquiesced.

We were sending the refugees off to Daybreak, and from there, it sounded like they would be sent to Dauphin City, another Armed Forces City.

It was a pricy endeavor, since every teleportation cost approximately one Mana Bead, and Mana Beads were in tight supply, currently. But with Abelino footing the bill, I wasn’t complaining.

However impatient I felt, watching the line of refugees slowly diminish as they disappeared into the Portal, I could only imagine Abelino’s frustration.

Abelino and I had both underestimated the Armed Forces. The Redson Town battle had been a costly loss for Abelino. He had lost four clones permanently, costing him a slice of his mana pool, and—more importantly—costing him a fraction of his soul.

I had nearly died, and since I was currently missing my right hand, my combat abilities in the future would be limited until I could level up.

Speaking of leveling up, Samantha had suggested that I use this time to fight the monsters that were right outside the town’s walls.

I wasn’t that far from reaching the next level, she said.

Before going off to level, I had opted to stand here, watching the refugees, to try to get a better understanding of Abelino.

The man terrified me. And not just because he had the power to single-handedly hold off the monsters attacking us while the town developed into a city and the Mana Shield was off.

Abelino treated all the refugees with respect. Several times, I had seen the refugees spit at his clones, and he wiped their saliva off his face with dignity.

That in itself was suspect, though. With his agility, nobody here should be able to land a gob of saliva on his face.

How much of this is posturing?

Whether this was real or not, I was confident his “good” behavior wasn’t going to crack. I would need to level up, if we truly were going to raid Fayette City—a task which was sounding increasingly daunting.

“I’m heading out to level up,” I told Abelino over the Communication Amulet, leaving the sorrowful lines and city gates to find what scant monsters Abelino had left outside the city.

It only took about ten minutes of fighting outside the city to reach to level 33. I let the familiar glow surround me, and watched in satisfaction as my right hand grew back.

Whatever the plan was to attack Fayette City, I certainly wasn’t charging in first, this time.