Two weeks passed by in relative calm. Nothing particularly shocking happened in the city, and even the deaths of the Midnight Covenant, the mercenaries, and Elias seemed to go unnoticed. Perhaps they were biding their time.

Of the five possible foes present, Caesar remained most wary of two. The Midnight Covenant seemed to scatter with the deaths of their entire upper level members. Those mercenaries who entered the city with him, although powerful, might not have any access to an outside organization willing to search for their corpse. And the thief of the Seven Weepings Bloom might have already perished, even though Elias had specifically referred to the thief as male. Even if not, he seemed too cowardly to attack.

Instead, the only remaining threats set to discover the true events behind the Black Market Massacre were the factions behind the final groups of random people who remained behind for last minute trades. There was no telling when they’d muster up the strength to retaliate. And although Elias had to recruit mercenaries from outside the city to attack his foe, that might not be an indication of his standing inside the city. His death might be investigated.

Because of all the possible dangers, Caesar had not returned to the Hidden Grotto during those two weeks. Getting caught would be disastrous, and so he had to rely on his Stormheart Oak to make the proper decisions. Fortunately, it survived. The core had not disappeared from his mind, and no system messages jumped out to surprise him like it did for the Bone Elemental.

With no real access to intelligence, Caesar was stumbling around blindly in the city. He had to organize his thoughts to plan his next course of action. Within a day, they’d leave for Placto, the city near the coast. Although they had allowed the two to drag out their stay in New Traxis, the Pax Society expected them to reach the location quickly and send a message once there. Thus, for Caesar to have the time to return to the Forest From Before, Alta had to go to Placto alone to get everything ready for his arrival.

Everything seemed too difficult and hectic. It itched at him to run, to escape, but he knew better. The first step was for them to acquire a living horse. He needed to keep the Kelpie with him, as it represented a summon slot. To do this, they simply blamed the Order of the Fox as the ones who had killed their previous steed after rescuing the other members of the society.

Those rescued members naturally felt grateful for the chance to finally repay their benefactors. They pooled together their merit points and money to purchase a nearby rank two Uncommon Windswept Horse for the duo. It sat in the yard, chewing away at a box containing its feed. No leash or chains weighed it down, and it appeared tame enough to stay in a single location even without anybody there.

During the past two weeks, Caesar had made use of his newly acquired free time to relax and learn more about the world. Although nothing was free in this city, he had done several menial tasks around the area and received a few coins extra for his hard work. That had given him and Alta another excuse to continue staying inside the city instead of quickly leaving for their task.

He had hired a servant from some nearby place, recommended by one of the rescued Pax Society members, to watch over his house and a newly acquired terrarium from some shop. A few colorful insects crawled around, similar to the ones seen from the Forest From Before, although not as large. Although unpopular, nothing was beneath the whims of the rich inside this opulent city.

“Please continue to keep those well. You’ve done a great job,” he said as the man left with a smile on his face.

The next step was to secure a legitimate access pass to the Forest From Before as a mercenary. He doubted they could sneak in again like before, as the kingdom of Rishlik must’ve placed a more improved guard camp around the entrance. To do this, he had a few ideas in mind. First, he waited for Alta to return from her final session of learning, and asked her, “How were things?”

His Doppelganger stepped inside and said, “Not bad. I learned a lot, but I’ll need practice materials beyond what was provided to truly know what I can do.”

He nodded. “Then continue learning. I will meet you at Placto.”

“Will you need me?” she asked. Her facet activated, and a Masquerade changed Caesar’s profile to look more middle-aged. The features on his face shifted to appear gruff, harsh, and over-bearing. Now he seemed more like a mercenary captain – a blend between notable people they had seen around the city.

“Not very likely. For now, stay hidden and gather as much information as possible before I arrive. Do try to stay mostly out of sight though. I may need to call you whenever.” He unequipped all his items that might interfere with the Shimmerwisp Spider Silk Robe and put it on. This included his halberd, his javelins, and his enchanted armor pieces: items he would not come back for, as they indicated his identity. However, he did still have access to the Umbral armaments and other artifacts with his Skeleton Mage.

The chance to check the Hidden Grotto had finally come. Although it could be dangerous, he refused to believe any death trackers had remained. During the past two weeks, his ant queen had not stayed idle. It had earned enough experience to reach Level 24, upon which Caesar put the free stats into her Vitality for thirty-three points. From its kills came essence, washing into his crown even from such a long distance. And with it, his Essence Crown should’ve washed any divination curse away like it did for the Fox Cult’s special methods.

Fortunately for him, it did. Although a few guards had stationed themselves around where the shroud should’ve been, they noticed nothing as he hid himself behind a building and saw the Stormheart Oak completely safe. He waited until the men took a break from guarding the area and unsummoned the tree, before quickly leaving. No corpses remained rotting on the ground. It seemed the city had gotten to this place first.

Then, Caesar headed for the town gate to begin looking for the merchant who had referred them to Elias. As somebody with access to goods from the kingdom of Rishlik, there must’ve been something important about the man. And judging from how Elias acted, there was a way to purchase services from him, which he would not get involved in or ask questions about.

He started his search by approaching the town guard, named Jeremy, different from the one he had met before during his first entrance into the city. Having built a small rapport with this man in particular, Caesar simply dropped another “donation” of coins into his hand and asked if he had seen the merchant around recently.

“Sure. He’s right over there, drinking.” In broad daylight, the merchant from before, wearing different clothes yet still just as lavish, sat on a short stone wall with a large glass bottle in his hands. Others walked around him but sent friendly compliments his way.

Caesar approached and asked, “What has you so upset?”

“Lost something big.” The man looked up and blinked slowly, before wiping at his red-rimmed eyes.

“You merchants always got something to complain about…” Caesar lightly shook his head and scratched his black beard. “Well, I’ve a deal for you. Get me into the dungeon that the kingdom of Rishlik’s been talking about.”

Surprise shot into his eyes. “How did you know? Very smart of you. I suppose I can give you something, but what can you offer?”

“Items from inside it of course. You need someone strong to go in, right? I can be that man.”

“No. I’ve already been burned once by someone who couldn’t honor their side of the deal.” The man shrugged but didn’t leave.

Would that refer to Elias? Clearly, he wanted another bribe. But when Caesar held out a bag of coins in his hands, the merchant got up to leave. No amount of convincing would make him stay, except maybe a rank two artifact.

Although he had the Orb of Divination, a curse might still linger on it, revealing the holder to any member of the Fox Cult. Since they weren’t enemies, Caesar was unwilling to drag him to his death even though it’d let him test the powers of the cult. And the less chaos in the city before the auction, the better.

----

How unfortunate. It seemed he had to return to his original plan of assaulting somebody with a permit and stealing it. Although that’d cause problems for normal people, Mercenary Captain Lexalos – his disguise – did not exist.

He strolled out the gate for a long time, maintaining his stern disposition the entire way before relaxing in a more secluded area. Max sniffed around for signs of human activity, detecting none. Thus, it was safe enough to summon his Kelpie. He climbed onto the enchanted saddle on its back and galloped away.

----

Midway, a system notification made his eyes light up.

[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Ripjaw Ant Queen has leveled up to Level 25! +2 Free Stat Points, +1 Perk Point

His ant queen had finally received the chance to kill enough Rares to gain her first perk point. That meant the ant army had raised a good amount of rank two entities to defend the hive. But he’d wait before adding the perk point. He wanted to see how the army had developed first so that he’d know what choice to make. Thus, he rushed back with even greater haste, not even visiting any nearby towns to painstakingly search for a permit holder.

----

When Caesar arrived at the forested area where the portal was located, he found another camp established there as he expected. What seemed like hundreds of people – more than ten times the number from last time – gathered around the walls, hungering to enter. But the guards at the gate rejected almost all, except for the ones who pulled out a small plaque.

Through the crowd he went, parting people like grass with his imposing demeanor. Only few met his eyes – presumably those with higher levels like him.

“Permit?” a guard asked, his helmet shining red with the plumes of a magical bird.

He shook his head. “I came to see if I could instead enter with some other method.”

“No. You may leave.”

Caesar simply nodded in response and began to march away, but another voice called him back.

“Wait. Are you Level 25?” Unlike regular guards, this man seemed to be of higher standing. A single rich blue feather, standing with no other plumage, shimmered with visible power on the helmet – an artifact.

“Yes.”

The guard captain, or perhaps overseer of the dungeon portal, waved a small device over Caesar’s body. A light flashed and faded away for a few more seconds before he looked back up. “You may enter with the others,” he said, handing him a plaque that appeared different.

Level detectors. Was the hydra attempting to earn experience? It seemed like anyone above Level 25 would make for better sacrifices to the Fog Hydra. Caesar was counting on this fact to enter the dungeon with ease, allowing him to keep the Orb of Divination for later. But these men didn’t appear to be from the Order of the Fox. Feathers instead represented the Order of the Falcon – a completely separate faction in the kingdom of Rishlik. If the Fox Cult had infiltrated them as well, he’d have to elevate their potential threat.

He moved over to a group of people standing near the portal, many fidgeting with their hands or feet. Only three out of the ten looked as confident as him. That made at least ten threats he had to separate from, lest they turn on him in an effort to defend the Fox Cultists from his attack.

Another fifteen minutes passed, letting two more people arrive before the guards at the portal stepped aside. Caesar boldly moved to the front and entered the portal first, stroking the handle of the Umbral Drinker sheathed at his side. Once he saw people on the other side, he ceased his aggressive stance and relaxed.

A few men and women in familiar sets of armor, sitting on the ground, stood up to approach them once they saw the group materialize suddenly.

While a few of the more eager members of his group rushed up immediately to create good first impressions, Caesar scanned his location. This area seemed completely different from the first time he had entered the Forest From Before. Trees, foliage, bushes, and bugs had all been replaced with an empty clearing. Clearly, the portal had reset, and thus transported him to a different place than before.

“Greetings!” a woman at the front of the group said to everyone, her smile shining like the sun. “I'm Mirsal. It's good to have you all here. Let me check your permits again before we go exploring.”

Ah, here it is. The Order of the Fox. Would they let him leave to explore the dungeon on his own? Probably not. He mentally prepared himself for violence.