Two days had passed since the incident, and the pain was still there, albeit faint.

After successfully casting , because I moved impetuously, the magic became unstable and backfired on me, burning my hands and giving me minor cuts.

Because I screamed like a bit—I mean, like the man I was, the hotel staff came running towards my room with armed guards.

When they saw that I had only suffered a minor injury, they asked me a few questions about how it happened, but only after they grumbled a bit.

Once I ‘explained’ the situation, they called one of their doctors to heal my hands.

They used a small healing potion to heal my hands. Since my injuries were technically self-inflicted, I had to pay 10,000 UNV for having a doctor heal an insignificant non-fatal injury.

The worst part is that even though my hands were healed, I could still vaguely feel the pain the injuries had caused.

It was an absolute scam!

I heaved out a sigh. What’s done is done; there’s no point in crying over spoiled milk.

My hands were currently wrapped with a long cotton bandage, which I used as protection every time I practiced .

Although my ability is still unstable, it won’t explode as it did before.

Right now, I can only cast it for eight seconds before I tire myself out, and it takes a while for me to cast it too, however it should be good enough.

It was nearing seven in the morning, so it would be best to head to the World Tree before it became crowded.

After taking a bath and wearing my old clothes, I first head out to the downtown area to buy some fresh clothes and a mask.

A new set of clothes was obviously necessary since I’ve been wearing the same clothes for two days now, which started to stink.

And the mask was necessary to conceal my identity. I would’ve no qualms about revealing my identity to the public if it wasn’t for the fact that doing so may do more harm than good in the long run, especially since Pandora may be keeping an eye out for certain types of ‘talented’ individuals.

It may be me overreacting, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

After a bit of shopping, I now wore a brown windbreaker over a gray shirt and black pants suitable for climbing. The clothes I previously wore are currently being washed in a laundromat.

Now for the masks, technically any masks would do, but while I was roaming around downtown two days ago, I saw a store that sold artifacts.

If there are armors, equipment, and weapons, then there would be artifacts and relics. They are simply those three but, enchanted with runes.

Armors and equipment go into the artifacts category, while weapons go into the relics category.

With them enchanted with runes, their overall capabilities will improve drastically. There’s also the chance that a power-up has also been added.

It’s a simple concept, really.

So, a mask artifact is much better than a regular mask, but it’ll be crazily expensive depending on the effects applied.

With that being said, I went to the shop that sold artifacts and looked through the masks section, which only had a few masks.

The masks covered the entire face and were in the form of animals.

I glanced at their prices, and the minimum price is 75,000 UNV, unlike a regular mask which simply costs 100 UNV.

It’s expensive, but the value will be worth it, depending on the effects I get.

I picked up the mask that was aesthetically pleasing to my eyes, which was a fox-like mask with red line accents.

A hologram appeared from the shelf I took it from.

====================

============

Name: Kitsune Mask

Grade: Red-ranked

Effects:

- Protection from miasma

- Increases speed by 15%

- High Durability

Additional Features: Fully retractable.

Creator: *Unknown*

Price: 105,000 UNV

============

====================

It’s a good artifact, and though the price is high, the value seems worth it.

I tried it on, and the effects were immediate. My body felt more nimble, and the air was so much fresher.

How do I retract it, though? The moment I thought of it, the mask dissolved to the back of my ears.

Huh, so it’s a thought-controlled mask. I then thought for it to extend, in which it condensed back to cover my face.

“That’s cool,” I muttered. “Yeah, I’ll buy this.”

After removing the mask, I noticed a symbol on the bottom right. It was a circle with a small arc missing on the bottom as a hammer sits in the middle with its handle extending out the open arc.

My eyes became wide open since I recognized that symbol. It was the symbol of the dwarf race from a distant planet not far from Vanteer. Unfortunately, it has long been destroyed for unknown reasons.

They were known for their outstanding craftsmanship of armors, artifacts, weapons, and relics, but now, almost no one knows they once existed.

Never would I have thought to find a product of theirs. It made me want to buy the mask even more since legitimate creations from dwarves will always sell for at least 10 times the price the store’s selling the mask for.

Even the creations deemed crappy by the dwarves will still sell at a high price in the market. That’s just how valuable they are, especially when the dwarves are an extinct race.

I calmly walk to the counter with the mask in my hand to avoid letting people be aware that I hold a valuable artifact. Like a normal shopper, I gave the mask to the cashier and paid with my debit card.

“Thank you for shopping!” The cashier bowed after giving me back the mask and debit card.

“No, thank you.” I smiled as I walked out with the mask in my hands.

Stepping outside, I wore the earpiece as I called out, “MERLIN, you there?”

[Always.] Her voice sounded from the earpiece.

“Good. Wipe out any traces of me from the security cameras since I’ve left the hotel room.”

[As you wish, sire.]

I walked towards the World Tree after wearing my newly bought kitsune mask.

*****

***

*

Surrounding the World Tree, there was a crowd of tourists posing as they took pictures of themselves.

There was barely any line to climb the World Tree since many of the tourists knew the risks that are to come from climbing it.

Walking towards the line, no one found me suspicious even though I wore a mask, though they were a bit on guard when I walked past them, as their body visibly stiffened.

Well, I don’t really care whether or not they think I’m suspicious for as long as they don’t find out about my identity.

The moment I reached the line, the gatekeeper held out his hand. “Sir, it’s obvious that you are a kid. Just because you hid your face doesn’t mean that your age wouldn’t be revealed.”

“I am a Maven,” I simply said to him.

“You?” He raised a brow as he carefully sized me up, then scoffed, “Prove it. Give me your guild identification card.”

“No thanks. It takes too much time—”

“Then don’t waste my time!” he said impatiently as he began waving me off.

“—so let me do this instead.” Pressing my fingertips together, I concentrated on casting .

Fortunately, the mana flow was stronger than in the hotel room, since I was now even closer to the World Tree, so the activation process was relatively quick.

Red sparks came out of my fingertips, and soon enough, when I separated them, crackling red lines appeared, connecting them.

The gatekeeper’s eyes became wide open.

I didn’t want to tire myself out when I hadn’t yet climbed the World Tree, so I displayed my ability for a few seconds before whipping the line onto the floor, creating a scorch mark on the point of impact as the construct dispersed moments after.

Looking at the gatekeeper, I said with a smile, “That should be more than enough proof, don’t you think?”

He was in a state of shock for a few moments before he took a deep breath and had a complete 180 in his attitude. “Y-yes, sir! You may go on ahead!”

The gatekeeper handed me a wristband, which can call for help if needed, and a harness that could launch a mini yet strong grappling hook if I lose my footing while climbing.

As he handed me these things, he seemed agitated as his hands were shaking and sweat trickled down his forehead.

It seems like he thinks that he has offended me earlier. After all, Mavens are both feared and respected because of what they could do and their wide range of connections.

So, it’s best to not get on the bad side of Mavens, unless you want your future to be ruined.

Although the guy was pitiable since he merely thought that I was too young, it did work in my favor, so I merely smiled at his actions.

After wearing the wristband and harness, the gatekeeper said, “Y-you may now go, sir. And… I sincerely hope you don’t take offense to how I conducted myself before.”

I looked at him for a few seconds before smiling. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

His body trembled greatly as he began sweating profusely. He extended his arm, most likely to grab me, but I already had begun walking to the World Tree.

I was a few meters from the World Tree, and a realization hit me: I have no experience in climbing.

I could just practice here. After all, I’m this close to the World Tree, but it would be better to get even closer since the mana flow would be greater and more obvious to sense.

Well, another feature of is its ability to alter the construct’s properties, which means I can use to adhere to the trunk as I climb.

However, I haven’t gotten to that part yet.

So, sitting down on the ground in a lotus position, I began practicing more of .

When I came to, the sun was directly positioned above me.

“I should have practiced for about four hours, right MERLIN?”

[That is correct, sire.]

Practicing the ability here really does make a difference, as I had drastically made progress.

Not only has the duration of constructs increased by a vast margin, but I can also now change their properties to make them highly adhesive. Other property changes weren’t yet possible since sticking to the trunk was more important.

I walked closer to the World Tree until the trunk was a foot away from me.

Placing both my hands an inch away from the trunk, red sparks came out of my fingertips, then formed a red line connecting each other.

I planted a hand on the trunk and tried shaking it off, but it didn’t budge one bit.

After deactivating the ability from the hand, my hand no longer adhered to the trunk.

With my other hand, which still had the ability activated, I jumped and planted it on the trunk, making me hang in the air.

I swayed my body, but my hand was still firm on the trunk.

Now that I’ve confirmed the sturdiness of the construct, I casted on my other hand and began climbing.