Stretching his limbs, he checks the surroundings quietly. Perching on top of a sturdy branch, Akiel had remodeled himself into his normal size. Making a basic body frame out of the stone he had, he covered it in wood and bark. Not opting to waste much more time, he turned to materials much easier to use. Scraping together the moss and lichen on the rocks around the ruins, he made himself some makeshift hair as well as eyebrows.

Pondering on how to further disguise himself, he trips over a ratty red banner. Suddenly getting an idea, he scavenges around the ruins for all the strips of cloth he can find. Infusing his mana into the cloth, he remodels the worst strips into an undershirt. With neat ruffles, he opts for leaving it sleeveless. Using the best cloth, he adds another layer of cloth on top of his torso. Covering his arms, he makes it look like an overcoat. Examining his clothing, he remodels even more of the cloth to make pants. Standing about a meter and a half tall, he remodels his hand into a comb and combs his moss back.

Smiling, he cuts a branch off of a nearby tree and remodels it into a walking stick. Cutting a much smaller and more pliable branch off, he remodels it into the frame of a top hat. Using the rest of the scrap pieces, he remodels it to finish off the top hat. Detaching both the top hat and the walking stick, he fiddles around with the walking stick. Grabbing some of the smaller stones lying around, he remodels the fringes of the top hat into a ring of sturdy and sharp stone. Taking the remaining stone, he adds a slit at the bottom of the walking stick and inserts a blade of stone.

Smirking, he sighs when he looks down. Tapping his bare feet on the ground, he shakes his head. There isn’t a need to make socks since the pants cover most of his legs but his feet still need to be covered. Walking around, he gives up. Having already wasted an hour, he opts for stone shoes. Remodeling even more stone into dress shoes, he makes sure to end the tips in sharp points, that way he can use them to deal some damage when needed.

Nodding in satisfaction, Akiel starts to jog in the direction of the forest. Keeping well away from the Beaten path, he trudges onward to the forest perimeter. Quickly arriving at the dense perimeter, he stares in disbelief. “This isn’t a forest fringe, this is a freaking wall of bark and leaves,” he mutters. It is as if someone compressed several square meters of the dense jungle into one. Chuckling in derision, he whispers underneath his breath, “No wonder there are marked entrances, you just can’t enter the forest through any other way.” Sighing, he starts to cautiously walk along the perimeter, towards the closest marked entrance.

*****

“Sniff him out Azazel! Find him and you’re bound to get a promotion,” a nasally voice incites. Growling in annoyance, a dog-faced person, grunts and stoops lower to the ground. Sniffing around, he starts to crawl surprisingly quickly for a bipedal creature on all fours. Quickly reaching the outskirts of the small village, Azazel circles around a tree trunk. Seeing the scratches on the bark and the obvious marks of destruction, he follows the trail away from the tree. Picking up a mixed scent, he shakes his head. “Roy! The scent is weakening, it’s hard enough following a moving rock. He seems to have wood on him now. He blends in with almost everything around us,” Azazel barks exasperatedly.

Turning serious, Roy asks concerned, “Can you still find him? I’ll deal with him if he attacks so don’t worry about being too careful. Just remember, if we can’t find him, by tomorrow, no one will be able to find us either.” Frowning, Azazel says, “Finding him shouldn’t be hard. He seems to be under the assumption that getting to his destination will save him. You can see the path he took clearly. Just follow it.” Shrugging Toy follows Azazel while saying, “You know that I can’t track a dragon. Last time I went to track the missing red tiger. I ended up on an ice flow, far away from where it lives.”

Ignoring Roy, Azazel straightens up and follows the signs of depressed foliage and heavy footfalls. Reaching the old Red Castle Ruins, Azazel stops. Surveying the surroundings, he moves along the edge of the ruins. Walking around the edge, he smiles when he spots footsteps. Bending down, he turns to Roy saying, “Looks like the real calamity started here.” Looking confused, Roy also bends over. “These footsteps, they’re much bigger. Was the previous stone man a fake?” he asks. Azazel shrugs while following the new trail, “I would assume, but he could have also just changed his body size right? Remember, we know next to nothing about the walking calamity.”

Stopping abruptly, Roy bumps into Azazel. Bending lower, Azazel traces his clawed paw over the footprint. Widening his eyes, he says, “He did come to the inn in person! You see this, his footprint changed shape,” Exhaling in disbelief, Roy says, “the only thing in this direction is the forest. Unless he can make it through the boundary, he’s bound to head towards the checkpoints right?” Affirming Roy’s deduction, Azazel adds, “If he is the walking calamity, I don’t think the checkpoint will keep him long. Let’s go, Roy! I’ll go to the closest and warn them. You run the other way and try to intercept him if he's going the other way,” Lowering himself on all fours, Azazel transforms into a bloodhound. Patting his head, Roy mutters, ”Don’t die,” before running off. Howling, Azazel bounds off in the opposite direction.

*****

Checking out the fortification, Akiel tilts his head. “Just how do I get past that? It’s like a fort,” he questions himself. Rubbing his new coat, he pumps himself up. No one in this place knows what he looks like. All he needs is a window. Walking closer to the beaten road just out of the sentries sight. He spots a white carriage rumbling down the road. Smiling, he makes his way further down the road. Hiding behind a bush, he starts running out as the carriage rolls past him. Grabbing the door handle, he quickly seats himself opposite to a well-dressed gentleman. Before he could even scream, Akiel holds the rim of his hat to his neck. Chuckling, Akiel says, “Shh. Don’t worry, I’m only here for a few minutes. Make any wrong moves, and you’ll find yourself without a head.”

Smiling in his own mirth, the man says, “You think that I’m scared of you? Kill me! We’re just seconds from the fort. You’ll never get away.” Sighing in depression, he thinks to himself, ‘How did I get stuck with this guy? Why can’t people just be scared?’ Taking out the blade in his walking stick, he points it at the man's crotch. Glaring, he says, ”How about this, I’ll take this off first, and then, I’ll hold you hostage? How's that for you?”

Paling, the gentleman sputters, “D-Don’t! Don’t you know who I am? They call me big Baldwin! Just kill me, don’t touch my equipment you heathen!” Smiling in satisfaction, Akiel props his foot next to Baldwin’s head, “Are you okay with crushing? It’ll be there when you die as well” Shaking his head with sweat pouring off of his head, he stays quiet. Abruptly stopping, Akiel eyes the man saying, “Just take me inside and don’t get in my way. Do me that favor and I’ll let you and your equipment go.” Nodding his head, he wipes his sweat on his sleeve. Retracting his foot, Akiel watches as the guy sticks his head out of the slot in the door and exchanges pleasantries with the guard. Applying pressure to his loins with his walking stick, he waits until the gentleman taps the inside of the carriage.

Removing the walking stick, he watches as Baldwin sits back, watching him in fear. Smiling, he puts the top hat back onto his head and retracts the knife into his walking stick. Sighing in relief, Baldwin sinks lower into his seat. Just when the atmosphere relaxes inside the carriage, Akiel grabs the man's head and drags his body closer. Grateful for Baldwin being on the lighter side, he stuffs one hand over his mouth. Taking a breath through his nose, Baldwin suddenly finds himself looking towards the carriage roof.

Letting Baldwin slump to the ground, Akiel waits patiently inside. Feeling the carriage come to a stop and hearing the coachman coming around, he positions himself at the door. Just as the coachman opens the door, Akiel’s hand clamps onto his face, preventing any screaming, and pulls him in. Ending his life just as easily, Akiel leaves the carriage. Checking the surroundings, he confidently walks towards the walkways. Throwing a cursory look around the courtyard, he maps his route to freedom.

Ascending the stairs leading to the wall, he mutters, “Up the wall and around the barracks. Into the main stronghold, and out the rear entrance. Into the woods.” Passing a guard, he tips his hat, leaving behind a confused guard. Smiling, he shakes his head at the ease of infiltration. “The best camouflage is confidence,” he mutters. Casually walking downstairs he greets another group of guards before entering the main stronghold. Trying to keep his stone shoes from making too much noise, he swaggers through the hallway and turns a corner. Finding a fork, he pauses before turning right.

Passing a dog-faced man, Akiel says a greeting to him as well before continuing. Hearing the sound of sniffing behind him, he sighs. Smirking at the breathability of his new body, he walks fast. Akiel suddenly breaks into a sprint when the dog-faced man screams, “Hey, you! Stop!” Turning left, he encounters a guard in little to no armor running at him while sweating. Tipping his hat, he passes the confused guard. No longer keeping his stone soles from making noise, he runs past several rooms. Just when he thinks that he is out, several fully armored guards start chasing him. The screaming only brings out more. Grabbing one of the guards that pops out from in front of him, he slams his head into the stone walls. Continuing, he stops to tip over a bookcase. Turning around to find two enemies in front of him, Akiel takes off his hat and throws it.

Running at them, he bowls one over with his shoulder while grabbing his hat from the ground. Putting it back on his head, he leans backward to dodge a sword strike. Hopping backward, he jabs the walking stick at the enemy while ejecting the blade running the guard through, he continues to run away, the mass of guards now much closer. Checking his mana, he finds it still full. Experimenting, he distributes some mana to his feet, causing his speed to increase. Watching his mana concentration decrease before suddenly filling back up, he grins. “This world has so much more mana,” he screams in exhilaration.

Shoulder tackling another guard, he abruptly backs off and kicks at him. Sending the guard sprawling, he remodels his walking stick to adhere to his back. Grabbing the fallen guards sword, he runs him through. Glancing behind him, he finds the mob quickly catching up. Reaching a staircase, he decides to go up. Passing another group of guards, he barrels them out of the way. Faltering during the turn, he grabs the railing and heaves himself higher. Finding himself on the roof, he glances around. Four guards, one on each side. Finding the forest entrance, just three stories down and across an extensive no man's land, he smirks. Running at the nearest guard, he takes his hat off and fills the rim with mana. Flicking it at the man, he watches as the hat shears through the helmet as well as part of the head.

Jumping, Akiel uses the falling body as a stepping stone. Infusing mana into his feet, he launches off of the body, splattering it on the roof. Grabbing his hat while falling, he remodels it to adhere to his head. Slamming down onto the ground, his feet splinter and split. Sighing, he remodels them back together. Finding several guards running after him as well as quite a few blocking his way, he dashes to the entrance.

Infusing massive amounts of mana in his feet, he waits as they crack and peel. Taking another step, he watches as the guards group together. Taking another step, he glances behind him. Finding several bursts of mana heading towards him. Deciding it is time, he shoots off the ground at a 25-degree angle. Quickly reaching the guard formation, he grabs onto the first guards head. Using the momentum, he flips into the ground, slamming the guard into his fellow compatriots. Sloppily running over the fallen guards, he runs to the entrance. Just a few meters off, he activates his mana sight, seeing a barrier in front of him. Infusing his whole body in mana, he bounds closer. His body fracturing even faster than the ground he pounds on.

Smashing through the barrier, he tumbles onto the ground. Sighing, he tries to get up, only to have his arms snap off. Glancing back, he watches as the guards crowd the barrier, but don’t dare to step forward. Grinning, he takes his time and remodels his body back into pristine shape. Fixing the layers of clothing and the pulverized walking stick, he gets up. Waving to the guards, he steps into the forest. Muttering his breath, he smiles contently, “This world is like a playground. Almost limitless mana and instantaneous mana regeneration. Just what any villain would need!”