“Do you fancy a quick race on the obstacle course?” Keynes asked, feigning ignorance. The other man was clearly offended by Keynes’s mere presence here.

He’s Level 2 and in the lowest spiritual stage, Alice supplied her knowledge. Either that guy didn’t care about getting stronger or the Capital didn’t value him enough to raise his spiritual stage and Level.

“W—what?” the newcomer stuttered. “What did you just say, outsider?”

“Nothing,” Keynes shook his head. His attempt at being funny was fated to fail from the start. Keynes got a better look at the newcomer. He couldn’t be older than Keynes, he had a plain face but held his chin high, perhaps hoping it’d make him look more important. His hair was short unlike Keynes’s which reached below his shoulders. It needs a cut.

“You are going to withdraw from the race.”

Bonolo and Hawthorne had warned him that something like this might happen. In fact, Keynes was fed up with the way the Capital treated him so why should he stay?

The vision rolled before his eyes. He couldn’t do it. He cursed silently. His role wasn’t over yet.

“Sorry but can’t do it,” Keynes sighed.

The newcomer frowned.

“Are you out of your mind, outsider? You’re going to die, alongside anyone who dares to challenge the Holy Capital.”

“Holy?” That escalated quickly. It seems it isn’t only politics I must watch out for but fanatics as well. Bother, I wish it all was over. I liked it in the First Tribe. Good bed and Bill’s delicious food. Not this… camp.

The newcomer snorted with derision.

“You aren’t worth talking to. You’ll learn your lesson a hard way.” The other man turned away and made a few steps then added. “If it was up to me, I’d order them to kill you and take your woman for my sex slave.”

Keynes knew what the newcomer was attempting. He was trying to provoke Keynes. Anger ignited like a miniature sun inside Keynes’s stomach, he struggled to contain it. Keynes balled his fists…

Master, calm down. If you will not, you are risking your aura getting out of control.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” the newcomer turned to Keynes, a cruel smile painted on his face. He believed he caught Keynes off guard, didn’t he? Luckily for Keynes, his Purifying Body buff immediately started to cleansing negative emotions, allowing Keynes to take better control of himself.

Keynes smiled back puzzling the other man.

“You almost got me,” Keynes admitted. “But it takes more than an empty comment to find yourself on the receiving end of my wrath.”

“On receiving end… what?” He shook his head. “I won’t repeat myself. Withdraw from the Covenant of… Hey! Where the hell are you going? I command you to stop!”

Keynes walked away from the newcomer. It was time to give him a bit of his own medicine. And also, Keynes wanted to beat his own time.

***

Aurora watched the outsider nonchalantly walk away from Boreal. Normally, the young royal stood in the lowest spectrum of power in the Capital, being a son of a distant cousin of the King. But today was different. Today Boreal was an extension of a larger faction within the palace that didn’t know about Bonolo’s scheme. Aurora had been sent to ensure that Boreal wouldn’t succeed in his attempt at intimidation or worse, provoke Keynes to attack him which would see the outsider executed before the end of the day.

She had to give it to the outsider. He held his ground well but also confirmed that he had feelings for the outsider girl. Good. Their scheme depended on it. She watched him enter the obstacle course and then shot forward like an arrow. She blinked, musing what she was seeing. From the information provided by Bonolo and Hawthorne, she knew that the outsider was Perfect State Level 3 and in the Elevated stage like her. The pain of getting into the Elevated stage made her hate the cultivation. Venarys was still in the Medium stage and struggled with progression toward the Elevated stage. Aurora couldn’t tell how hard it was to max out all the attributes and level up but three royals had achieved Perfect State in the Capital and they agreed that it’d been a nightmare of a ride.

And these were the people with the Capital’s resources at their disposal. Here, in front of her, she had a boy who had maxed out his attributes not once but twice and was in the Elevated stage. Things like this had always made her wonder about her parents and their costly mistake. They had believed they could control a dangerous man as well and he killed them for this.

If Bonolo, Venarys and the King were wrong about the strength of Keynes’s feelings for Vivena, they might end up regretting this.

Aurora followed the outsider, finding his pace exhausting. Her Talent made her body intangible and invisible, and she could disregard the obstacles and yet she had trouble keeping up with him.

It must be items, her spiritual companion said. He’s too agile and runs the course with too much orientation which is not possible. To get such proficiency would require many runs and he had only run it once before your arrival.

And how would items help him with that? Aurora asked, curious. Usually, her spiritual companion was much more reserved about sharing knowledge.

There are ite—where is he? the spiritual companion stopped. His spiritual energy vanished…

Aurora passed through the large block of white stone and found the outsider sitting on a broken boulder. Waiting.

“I can sense you.”

I CAN NOT SEE HIM! Her spiritual companion shouted, panicked.

But I can, she replied, trembling. It was the first time anyone had sensed her in her intangible and invisible form. Who was he? She left the outsider without saying anything.

***

Are you sure you sensed someone?

Positive, Alice replied. Either an average invisible Talent or a strong skill but judging by everything I have seen so far in the Capital, I would say the former.

Keep an eye on that ascender then. If you sense them again, let me know.

Sure, Alice replied happily.

Keynes lost the appetite to continue the run. He walked back to the ruined hovels then changed his mind and went to the apple orchard. If he was going to sleep anywhere, this was the place. He had a tent with him so the poor accommodation wasn’t the end of the world.

The next three days Keynes spent honing his aura control. He understood how important aura was in this ascender business. Every single ascender had a spiritual aura which could be used defensively, offensively or as a utility tool. But at the same time, a poor aura control turned the spiritual aura into a beacon. It was a double-edged sword. He needed to get better at sensing other auras as well. Once he got out of the World Reserve, problems would go away. There would be other fools believing they could bend Keynes to their will. He had to be ready to face them.

Hawthorne visited Keynes twice a day, bringing food from the Capital. After the first night, Keynes told Hawthorne to return to the Capital. There was no need for the other man to stay alone in the ruined camp.

As for water, Keynes had [Create Water] and didn’t need more than that. The spell was the perfect answer to thirst. It solved so many issues that Keynes decided to force all his friends to absorb that spell too. Who knew one day it might save someone’s life.

When Keynes grew tired of playing with his aura or meditating, he used [Inspect Plant] on every plant in the orchard. Sadly, none of them had any properties.

Unsurprisingly and yet disappointing, no one else appeared in the camp during that time. Keynes really hoped for some competition on the obstacle course.

Every representative of the tribes taking a part in the race had a place within the Capital. Hawthorne tried to mollify Keynes but Keynes couldn’t help but feel betrayed. At least, Bonolo should be here with him.

Not for the first time Keynes had cursed the vision. If not for its insistence to take part in the race, Keynes would be out of here. He was a fool. He’d expected a grand race, an opportunity to compete and connect with other racers. Instead, he stepped into a pile of political turd. He still felt uneasy about Vivena staying alone in the palace. The distance was too great for Alice to check on her.

She’s fine, he reminded himself. Before he came here, he’d asked Vivena to send him a message via Haruka each day. Every day, she sent a single word, meaningless to others but having a meaning to Keynes. They had one for ‘all’s good’, ‘help’, ‘something’s up’, ‘run’. So far it was all good.

***

On the third night, a group of Level 1 assassins crept toward his tent. Alice woke Keynes up and explained to him the situation. There were five men armed with non-rift long knives. As Keynes got up, he wondered if this wasn’t another insult flung his way. Did they really hope that a bunch of Level 1s could kill him? He put on the Cloak of Shadows becoming harder to see in the darkness, then activated [Night Sight].

He quietly stepped out of the tent and immediately rose in the air. He stopped a few metres above, hiding behind a canopy of an apple tree.

The assassins moved stealthily. They were good as far as non-magical abilities went. They still could surprise him with their Talents. A strong Talent was always a possibility.

When they reached the tent, they looked at each other and nodded. Keynes’s first thought was to land among them and then kill them. But that was a primitive urge. He could do better than that.

He used [Telekinesis] and made one of the fallen apples roll on the ground. It was eerie quiet and a simple motion of the rolling apple made quite a noise.

“The hell was that?” one of them asked, forgetting they meant to be silent.

“Shut your trap,” the other one hissed, not doing a better job of sticking to their plan.

Keynes made the same apple roll again.

This time no one spoke. They only stared at the apple. So Keynes made it roll again until it stopped before their bare feet.

“D-did th-his just happen?”

The other four turned their faces toward the fifth companion. Keynes couldn’t tell if they were paler, but they seemed paler. And judging by their stiff postures, they were not having fun.

Keynes reached for another apple and made it roll until it gently bumped against the first one. The assassins stood there, watching the whole spectacle, mesmerised or terrified. Or both.

“What is going on?”

Either they were stupi--

Keynes activated [Spiritual Ghost] and shot like an arrow toward the sky. The tree he’d hovered over, exploded in the ball of fire.

That was a [Fireball], Alice said.

From the hundred metres above the ground, Keynes could hear the screams of the would-be assassins or more likely the baits. They weren’t there to really kill him but to lure him out so the true assassin could do their job.

This was a close one, Keynes admitted.

I do not think a single [Fireball] is enough to kill a second degree Perfect State ascender.

I don’t plan on finding out though. Keynes sighed. His tent was gone. He’d need to get another one. For now, he decided to fly back to the Capital and spend the rest of the night on the roof of the tallest tower.

Should we not pursue the attacker? Alice asked.

No. It’s not worth it. Tomorrow, the race starts. I want to be done with it and leave this place. Can you check on Vivena while I get some rest on the roof?

***

“Is it done?” Boreal perked up when the assassin returned from the assignment. They were meeting in one of the abandoned buildings. The Capital had hundreds of them. This whole place was the holy relic of the past and if it was up to Boreal, he’d get rid of every commoner from the city.

“No,” the assassin drawled. “He escaped.”

“He what?”

“Escaped.”

Boreal put his face in his hands. This was the last chance to get rid of the filthy outsider. In several hours the Covenant of Tribes would start and all eyes were going to be on them. Boreal’s aunt wouldn’t take a failure for an answer. He couldn’t return to her with empty hands.

“You must find him.”

“This will cost you extra. That guy can fly!”

“I’ll pay,” Boreal ground his teeth, knowing well it was a lie.