Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Kidnapping (3)

Robbing the Innovation Magic Tower’s shop is quite a risky endeavor, different from simply kidnapping one person.

Currently, I’m a wanted person with a warrant out for my arrest across the entire continent.

Thanks to my Winds, I was able to evade pursuit from the Imperial Intelligence Agency by changing my course at high speed.

However, there are also the Empire’s dogs in this city, and if an incident occurs, they will naturally suspect me.

In contrast, all I could gain were just a few magic tools.

But that was precisely my goal – to keep the Empire’s eyes focused on me.

‘It’s risky, but…’

After much consideration, I decided to leave a trail.

At present, I’m outside the Imperial Intelligence Agency’s encirclement. They absolutely couldn’t have predicted my speed.

The western region was right around the corner. If I caused an incident and then bolted westward, the Empire would find it difficult to encircle me.

Unless Rudehrn gritted his teeth and pursued me relentlessly.

But that too seemed unrealistic. With the Empress dead, there’s no way the Sword Master would leave the capital.

Even if Rudehrn fell for my lie, he would be wary of a follow-up attack.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In any case, through this act, I intended to draw the Imperial Intelligence Agency’s attention to the northern part of the western region.

The reason is simple:

‘The devil worshippers will love it.’

The western region is currently hell with King Rohalak’s war of unification, the war against the Empire, and now the civil war.

It’s the perfect playground for devil worshippers to run rampant.

Even more so after I’ve spread their infamous reputation to the Empire.

With heightened surveillance within the Empire, they’ll likely send their personnel elsewhere – to the western region.

They’ll probably lie low for a while.

Waiting for the notoriety I’ve spread to fade and calm down.

‘But there’s no need to let that happen.’

Waning interest in them would benefit no one – not me, Erendil, the Empire, or this continent.

I intended to draw their attention instead.

Since I’ve already gained this notoriety, and there are ways for me to return later, it’s better to make the most of it.

Moreover, it’s preferable to divert the Empire’s gaze westward and disrupt the devil worshippers’ plans.

It would be enough for me to appear near the devil worshippers I know about or will learn of through Winds.

They’ll consider pursuing the empress’s killer an important task.

‘Since I can’t handle them one by one, I’ll have to lure them instead.’

Furthermore, there’s even a devil worshipper among the nobility here in Gorivan, where this Innovation Magic Tower is located.

If I rob the Magic Tower and then appear near that noble’s estate, it would be the perfect plan.

At three in the morning, I headed towards the roof of the building next to the shop in front of the Innovation Magic Tower. There were four guards.

One mage on duty, one knight, and two sentries.

Osten informed me that there was a set magic structure; if not opened correctly, an alarm would sound.

‘Not an issue if I intend to get caught.’

In fact, it would be welcomed. As soon as the alarm went off, mages would pour out of the Magic Tower.

My first target was the mage.

Still, I needed time to gather tools, so I had to prevent the alarm from being triggered first.

As I leaped down from the roof, I moved the Winds.

“Gugh!”

The mage, struck in the nape by the concentrated point of Winds, collapsed in a clean knockout. I had no intention to kill – my notoriety couldn’t afford to rise any further.

I had to make the Imperial Intelligence Agency gradually think, ‘Huh? Something’s a bit odd here.’

The same went for the devil worshippers’ presence wherever I lingered.

At first, they would think they had tracked me down themselves, but over time, they would sense the strangeness.

The odd points surrounding the Empress’s death would also come to light.

‘The Empress was also holding a dagger, after all.’

The flustered guards were surveying the surroundings. Of course, since I had dropped from above, I wasn’t detected.

Upon landing, I slammed a guard’s shoulder with my knee and struck the back of his neck with my palm.

Two people were now unconscious.

I charged forward, deflecting another guard’s sword with the Winds while uppercutting his jaw with my left fist.

In the same motion, I spun and drove my elbow into the knight’s left cheek with full force. In mere seconds, all four were knocked out – it didn’t even take two seconds.

Just days ago, I had faced the Sword Master, so this was easier than drinking warm soup.

‘Now, time to gather my loot.’

To save time, I had scouted the area earlier in the day. Using the Winds, I pulled the tools I had identified toward the entrance.

Since I couldn’t carry much anyway, the quantity itself wasn’t large. It was one of those moments when I craved an inventory system.

After gathering everything, I broke down the door, immediately triggering a shrill alarm.

I swept the magic tools into my backpack. It was louder than I expected.

‘The effect should be sufficient.’

Soon, a commotion could be felt all around, especially from the Magic Tower.

Lights that had been extinguished began turning on one by one.

I immediately turned around and headed down the pre-calculated route toward the estate of the noble who was a devil worshipper, adjusting my speed to allow pursuers to follow.

It would be impossible for mages to match my pace, especially those from the Innovation Magic Tower.

Through the Winds’ senses, I detected an odd presence.

‘Ah, it must be the Empire’s dogs.’

While the encirclement may not have been fully established, they had likely received word. They were approaching at an astonishing speed.

This was exactly what I had been waiting for. I increased my speed slightly and headed for the noble’s estate.

Soon, the inner castle of Count Saliv, the ruler of this city, came into view. I maintained a precarious distance from the Empire’s agents.

With a great leap, I vaulted over the castle walls.

‘I’d love to shout out Count Saliv’s name, but…’

That would be too obvious a performance. The guards and knights guarding the inner castle gazed at me in bewilderment.

My disguise prevented immediate recognition, but the Imperial Intelligence Agency would know it was me.

I headed straight for the tallest tower within the inner castle.

Atop it, shivering from the cold and anticipation, was Osten, whom I had brought there earlier.

“B-Boss, you’re here!”

“Yeah.”

Osten was already wearing a wingsuit. I donned mine over my cape coat.

The suit automatically wrapped around my wrists and ankles, designed for easy wear without needing to change clothes.

“Is… is this really okay?”

As I had controlled my speed, the commotion outside had now reached Count Saliv’s inner castle.

Enraged mages, the few Empire agents, and the Count’s knights and soldiers were all watching us.

It was natural for Osten, an apprentice mage, to be flustered. I had explained, but he likely didn’t understand wingsuits.

I gave a nod.

“It’ll be fine. I’m going to throw you now, so spread your body out.”

“Huh?”

“Spread your body out, like a flying squirrel.”

“Huh?”

No time to keep asking. I get it, but… Well, better to show him physically.

I grabbed Osten and threw him into the sky with all my might.

“Gyaaaah!”

Osten let out a strange scream as he went airborne, flailing his arms and legs.

Geez. I told him to spread his body out. With a light sigh, I realized I needed to put in a bit more effort.

Soon, the rising thermal currents caught his wingsuit, propelled by the winds. As soon as I confirmed this, I kicked off from the tower and soared upward.

I created footholds of Winds where I walked. Each time I stepped, powerful winds propelled the soles of my feet – a technique that would make it appear as if I were walking on air to any observer. The perfection of the ‘airwalking’ from martial arts novels.

After reaching Osten’s altitude, I also unfurled my wingsuit. It was my first time trying it, but…

‘It’s quite fun, actually.’

From what I know, the mortality rate of wingsuits is higher than one might imagine.

Accidents are said to be so lethal that wingsuits are jokingly called the sport with the lowest injury rate.

Had it been my body from when I was on Earth, I might have felt fear. But not now.

Now, I’m confident I would survive even a fall.

With that in mind, I observed Osten. If he panicked and flailed, it would be difficult for me to control the winds.

But Osten seemed more amazed than afraid.

“Whoa! Woohoo!”

Perhaps he was excited to see his creation functioning, or maybe he was too oblivious to feel fear.

At least it meant I didn’t need to worry.

“Hey, grab on to me!”

“How am I supposed to grab you while flying?”

“Use magic, an arrow, or something!”

Arrows and spells began raining up from below. I blocked the arrows with the Winds, but spells were another matter.

I had no choice but to move and evade. Bright lights grazed my body in the dark sky before fading into the distance above.

Hmm. This did make it feel even more fun. It was like playing a shooting game.

Why wasn’t there a game where you pilot a plane and dodge bullets?

After gaining some altitude, I was now out of range of the arrows and spells.

I turned westward, glancing back at Osten’s silhouette with a slight sense of admiration.

‘He’s quite skilled, I must say.’

While wingsuits appear to allow flight, they’re essentially controlled high-speed falling.

Even with a wingsuit on, it takes considerable effort from my Winds to gain altitude.

Yet Osten’s wingsuit seemed to offer meager resistance against gravity, allowing for intermittent self-ascent.

The magic he imbued was no match for a mage’s flight spell but still sufficient.

Since it was a tool enchantment, not his ability, I hadn’t expected much when he first mentioned it. But the results proved otherwise.

Honestly, I had doubted he could pull it off, but Osten had proven me wrong.

Hmm. I could probably keep using this.

Assuming we jumped from a high mountain, I could likely control up to ten or more with my Winds.

Location permitting, night aerial infiltration with multiple personnel would be feasible.

‘Not bad. It doesn’t even have to be a mountain.’

While I was momentarily distracted by these thoughts, Osten was groaning from the cold.

It was only natural for his frail, sleep-deprived body to suffer at such an altitude.

“Ooohh…”

I should have paid attention sooner.

His teeth were even chattering, so I immediately moved the Winds to maintain his body temperature.

But since the wingsuit also needed to catch the Winds, it was a bit tricky – though better than letting Osten fall ill.

With the western region just a short distance away but still days of travel, I flew a reasonable distance further before landing.

“Truly incredible! How did you even come up with such an idea!”

Upon landing, Osten became rowdy. Then, catching my gaze, he fell silent in reflection.

“But Boss, that wind just now…”

As a mage, he had naturally sensed my Mystic Power. I simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“I knew it!”

Unexpectedly, his expression brightened. Perhaps he felt reassured that the rope he had grasped wasn’t rotten?

A good sign. In such cases, praise is warranted.

“You did well with the wingsuits.”

“No, after trying them myself, I see areas for improvement. I’ll work on enhancing them soon.”

“Not now. We won’t need them again right away.”

“Ah, understood!”

After some travel, I took out two cloth pieces from my backpack – they appeared as ordinary cloth but were actually magic tools.

Enchanted tents.

Using the Winds to dig a hole, inserting the tents, and then covering them with soil again created perfect camouflage.

This was another reason I had robbed the Magic Tower’s shop. With my Mysophobia, travel convenience was crucial.

In games too, acquiring Innovation Magic Tower tools would increase a character’s comfort level.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

I handed him a few rations.

“Eat and rest. We depart in eight hours.”

“Eight hours? Shouldn’t we be fleeing?”

“That short a rest won’t be an issue.”

“If you say so…”

Would the Empire even be able to estimate a wingsuit’s flight range? I doubted it.

Even if they could, eight hours wouldn’t be enough to fully establish an encirclement.

The existing encirclement would be about two days’ travel from here. We could easily slip away.

“Yeah. I heard you hadn’t slept properly. People need their rest.”

That was my rationale, but Osten was looking at me with an emotional expression.

“It’s just so you don’t fall ill and slow us down.”

I added that comment out of discomfort, but his expression didn’t change. Hmm. Perhaps he had lived too long as a slave?

I didn’t think I had done anything special, yet his fondness seemed to keep growing.

Author's Thoughts

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