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Return of the Fallen Volume 4 Chapter 49

Author: Blue_Rat

ch49

Kazuki swiftly made his way through the city streets and so too did a shadow in the sky. As Kazuki made his way around, no one even cared, or really they didn’t even notice him. Not due to his impeccable disguise but rather due to the craziness Reya had caused. No one had time for some red-headed stranger. Still, Kazuki felt it was worth it, simply because he no longer could sense the presence of any pesky followers. They seemed to have all fallen back.

(Following me is pointless during this chaotic situation. They probably went back for new orders or something. Either way, that makes moving around for me that much easier.)

As he thought that, he didn’t notice a silent observer, high up above.

Twenty or so minutes later, Kazuki entered a weapons shop. The shop wasn’t anything special but Kazuki wasn’t looking for anything incredible, just something that would last longer and was durable. It didn’t take long for him to find a suitable sword. A one-handed blade, made of strong steel with a sharp edge. Kazuki also bought a small round shield to equip on his opposite arm and while he was at it he grabbed a few things for Tsura and Mei. Finally, he found a staff for Nunully, though it didn’t have a Mana crystal embedded in it.

Fortunately this wasn’t difficult to solve.

Kazuki went a few streets down and bought a Mana crystal. He would have bought an Elemental crystal which would have increased the power of the staff by a fairly good amount but the price was many times more expensive than the Mana crystal. Kazuki had only borrowed so much money from Tsura and didn’t wish to go back and forth, plus he still had a few more things to buy.

Once the Mana crystal was in his hand, he had the people of the shop embedded the crystal into Nunully’s staff, for a nominal fee that is.

Kazuki had just left the shop when once more Reya’s voice boomed over the entire city.

“KAZUKIIII! NOW THAT YOU’VE SEEN I’M SERIOUS, YOUD BEST MEET ME! YOUR FRIENDS TOLD ME WHERE YOU ARE HEADED. IF YOU TRAVEL ON FOOT AT YOUR TOP SPEED TOWARDS THE DIRECTION TO DROP OFF YOUR MUTT, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER ME. SEE YOU IN ONE DAY FROM NOW OTHERWISE, I’LL HAVE ABURA EAT YOUR FRIENDS ONE BY ONE.”

Many people could barely stand Reya’s powerful voice and had clasped their heads in pain. The reverberation of their eardrums caused hundreds of people’s ears to simply erupt and bleed. Many people fell to the ground unconscious. Another wave of panic set in and the scurring of people resembled a colony of ants under attack from some foreign foe.

During this panic, there were many people cursing at the sky, wondering who in the 7 realms of hell this Kazuki person could be to bring this disaster to them. Kazuki held a grim expression hearing his name being cursed everywhere he walked and in return, his feet sped up and he moved with purpose.

(So she knows where I’m headed. The way she said it, it really does seem like she has Asuna and the others as hostages. It’s still not for sure but again, why mention where I’m headed if she didn’t receive that information from one of them. Traveling from this city I would only head northeast to get to the Rin mountain range. She must know that from them. Tch, to purposely enter a trap, Haaa, fuck my life.)

Kazuki found a book store and bought several different books and a few maps as well of the entire Feya continent. The thing he wished to buy the most though wasn’t here. He wanted books on how to enter the 4th stage. He was currently already at the 3rd stage, the body enhancement stage. Beyond the 3rd stage, his knowledge was very limited. He simply knew small bits and pieces about and it and hoped to gain some information at this book store but after a conversation with the lady in charge, books that had to do with that were locked away.

They were kept in the grand libraries of each city on the upper floors. Only someone with either great power or authority could enter there and read from the books, never borrow. One other way to read from these books was to be a high ranking adventurer. Kazuki remembered his other identity, the one he had gotten from Tilly in Edngaul but that adventurer’s identity he had access to was far too low and was of no help.

Kazuki found out where the supposed grand library was within the city and made his way there. Even if he can’t use any authority or an adventurer’s identity, he was confident in his speed. If he could make his way to the upper levels, he could sweep through the necessary books in no time and with his incredible memory, he was confident he could retain most if not all of the information in one go. He didn’t need much, just a book or two. As long as he got the information he was more than confident he could use that information to enter the 4th stage.

Kazuki had no trouble finding the grand library. He could see it from a few streets away. It was incredibly tall and stretched up like a pillar among these normal buildings. Coming in front of the library, it reminded him of a capital building more than a library. It just gave off that kind of air. Kazuki walked inside and found hundreds of bookshelves stretching into the distance. The building was much bigger than he initially thought and his feet froze in place for a moment taking it all in.

The smell of paper and the leather covers gave off a unique vibe and Kazuki grew excited and was filled with a sense of nostalgia. When he was a child he would surround himself with books nearly every day and read through his adopted father’s great collection all day in comfort. Kazuki grew up with no friends. The closest thing to that was his older brother Kai and right after Kai, Kazuki found books to be the next best thing and a replacement for people.

Kazuki inhaled deeply, taking in this familiar scent and his shoulders relaxed.

“Young man, why are you here? What have you come in here to do?”

A voice filled with anger yet spoken with softness entered Kazuki’s ear. An old man with thick glasses, wearing a plain grey rob, standing behind a large desk, gave Kazuki a vicious glare.

Kazuki looked around and pointed at himself in confusion. He had done nothing wrong and had only just walked in but for some reason this old man was starring daggers at him and coming off with full-on aggression.

The old man pressed a stamp upon a book. A golden inscription on the first page was erased and a new one took its place. The man then gently shut the book and snapped his fingers. The book slowly floated up and headed in a certain direction before it put itself away on a nearby shelf.

The old man pointed an old straggled finger at Kazuki and grumbled.

“Yes you. You have obviously come here to do some form of evil and I will not tolerate it in my house of words. Hurry up and leave before I call the guards.”

Kazuki didn’t know if he was a patient person or not but this small interaction wit this old man was already starting to boil his blood. Kazuki didn’t appreciate the accusatory nature of this old keeper of books.

Kazuki walked over to the desk calmly, though there was a tenseness on his face as though he would snap at a moment’s notice.

“Listen here old man, I don’t know what your problem is but I’ve come here for one purpose and one purpose only and that’s to read. So why do you act like I’m here to rob you or something?”

Though in actuality Kazuki did wish to steal some information from a few books. The old man however, couldn’t have known that.

The old man’s face twisted up hearing Kazuki and he couldn’t help letting out a scoff of derision.

“You came to read from these books. Look around you. Everyone here is proper. Their backgrounds matter not but each of them is genuinely here to expand their knowledge and grow but you…look at you. You come in as a warrior with a blade attached to your waist. What need does someone have for a sword in this place of knowledge? Not only that, with your fiery red hair and that devious look you had as soon as you entered this house of words, it’s obvious you’ve come with nothing but ill intent.”

Kazuki only now realized why the old man was so pissed. He looked around at the people throughout the bookshelves or sitting at the desk and reading quietly. Indeed none of them looked like warriors but instead resembled scholars. None had a weapon or an odd hair cut as he did. They all gave off a calmness, completely opposite of him. With his new features, his reshaped face did resemble the image of a street thug. Kazuki hadn’t thought that his new look would cause such a situation but now he understood.

(If someone who looked like me came into a place with such a different air, I too would think they were u to no good. This old man’s words are a bit much but also understandable.)

Kazuki’s ring flashed and his sword disappeared from his waist and his small round shield on his arm vanished as well. Kazuki knew this was a misunderstanding and he still needed information so he wasn’t opposed to stepping down here.

Kazuki took a step back away from the desk and slightly bowed his head.

“Sorry old man but even if you ask me to leave a thousand times, a thousand times, I’ll have to refuse. Because I really have the intention to read. So if you’ll excuse me.”

Kazuki then turned and walked further into the library and out of the old man’s sight.

The old Librarian was a little taken aback by this and found it completely unexpected. He had the intention to get a guard but Kazuki himself had put away his weapon and shield and even respectfully gave a bow.

The old man grumbled for a moment and decided Kazuki wasn’t worth it.

“Did he really come here to read? Bah, whatever.”

The old man snapped his finger and a few books slowly floated over from nearby shelves. He then opened one up and began to read.