Chapter 60: Fleeing

The next day, Zaos exited his residence and headed to one of the nameless settlements situated on the outskirts of the Holy City Jangur.

The reason? Well, after Zaos inquired about the residence of the Supervisor, Ronik had informed him that the designated meeting place was set to a settlement a few thousand meters away from the mercenary city.

Clad in his black assassin outfit, Zaos made his way through the irregular and remote path leading to the settlement.

His journey was smooth and swift, he arrived at the location roughly a few minutes after departing.

Navigating through the muddy streets, Zaos made his way to the meeting point, a tavern at the center of the small settlement.

After a few seconds, he caught sight of the single-floor wooden tavern. He made his way in, his gaze scanning the medium-sized room filled with empty tables and chairs.

Since it was still "morning" time, the folks of the settlement, who were either farmers, hunters, or laborers had all gone to work and had no time for leisure.

The only other person in the tavern was the bartender behind the cheap wooden counter.

[Is he not here yet?] Zaos strolled over to the bartender and asked the man.

"Has anyone who isn't from here visited this place today?" Zaos' tone was casual but the air of authority behind his presence caused the bartender to tremble subconsciously.

"N-no, sir," The wind elf bartender hurriedly stood up from the chair he was previously slouched on.

"I see…" Zaos contemplated for a bit before deciding to wait for the supervisor. He walked away from the counter and took a seat on a wooden chair in the far right of the tavern.

Shortly after, the skinny wind elf bartender nervously walked over and asked.

"Sir, do you need anything to drink?" He dared not meet Zaos' gaze as he inquired cautiously.

"No," With a plain response, Zaos dismissed the barkeeper and continued to wait in silence.

A few minutes in, Zaos felt a presence enter his detection range. Different from the other presences he could perceive, this one felt faint and almost absent, yet the level of danger his senses picked up from it was on the level of the investigator Zaos had met earlier.

Zaos tensed, preparing himself for any mishaps.

[Is that the Supervisor?] He mused as he waited.

Barely a few seconds later, the door to the tavern swung open and a hooded figure walked into the building.

The figure ignored the bartender and walked directly to Zaos, once in front of him, a deep resounding voice addressed the former.

"You're Zaos I presume?" The figure asked.

Zaos, who had already stood up when the figure approached, responded cautiously and respectfully.

"Yes, Sir," He didn't directly address the other party as Supervisor, in case it wasn't the right person.

The figure nodded and said in his deep voice, "You can call me Supervisor Ku. Have a seat," Supervisor Ku didn't unveil his hood but instead proceeded to take a seat right opposite Zaos.

Zaos breathed a sigh of relief before complying.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you for being one of the youngest individuals to ascend to the high elf rank," The hooded Supervisor Ku spoke slowly.

Seeing as he wasn't finished, Zaos didn't interrupt him, he instead bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.

"Your official rank in the clan will be elevated after some scrutiny, but for now, you will receive a reward for the successful completion of your assigned task. What do you want?" Supervisor Ku's tone was calm and confident.

Zaos took a deep breath and spoke respectfully, "Lord Supervisor, yesterday an envoy from the Venifiel clan arrived at the mercenary city with a decree from Empyreal Elder Corym Venifiel. The decree states that I am to head to the battlefield and assist the guardian clans or I would be branded as a fugitive. Is there a way to prevent this?"

Supervisor Ku stayed silent after Zaos' request. He was stunned since he had no prior knowledge of this situation. After snapping out of his reverie, he addressed Zaos in a much heavier tone.

"Unfortunately, it would be difficult to fulfill your request. The Venifiel clan is powerful, much more powerful than our clan at its peak, but you don't have to worry too much, we will find a way to get you out of this predicament." Supervisor Ku spoke reassuringly.

Yet to the observant and experienced Zaos, his words felt empty.

[The Qildor clan has declined for many years. They don't have the power to oppose an empyrean clan even if they wanted to. I can't count on their help to resolve this situation…] Zaos' resolve to flee strengthened with this revelation.

Contrary to his inner thoughts, Zaos appeared relieved and hopeful as he thanked Supervisor Ku deeply.

Supervisor Ku simply nodded before adding, "You must go to the battlefield though. We will find a way to facilitate your escape but if you don't show up, you will be in grave danger and might implicate the clan." He declared seriously.

"Understood, Lord Supervisor," Zaos answered in a fearful tone but he sneered inwardly.

[Going to the battlefield is the same as walking to my death. With the hostility shown by the other clans, I might even be killed before I can fight in the war… ] Zaos scoffed.

Seeing the obedient attitude of the young genius, Supervisor Ku nodded before rising to his feet.

"That will be all for now, I will contact you when I need to speak to you. You don't need to seek me out," He said this to avoid being tracked by any individuals that would eventually tail Zaos.

Zaos rose and bowed to the former, "Yes, Supervisor," He said as he watched the latter's figure slowly vanish from sight.

This time, it was much harder for Zaos to sense the Supervisor's presence as he departed his detection range.

[He probably employed a stealth technique out of caution,] Zaos shook his head and exited the tavern. He spared no glances at the bartender who appeared relieved to see the two mysterious customers leave.

Zaos walked to a secluded corner of the settlement and activated his teleportation elemental weave.

His figure slowly dematerialized from the dark alley leaving the critters that were cautiously eyeing him perplexed. Eventually, they all went about their activities like nothing happened.

…

Zaos reappeared in a dark underground tunnel of the Qildor clan's hideout. He expanded his senses, scanning his immediate surroundings for any individuals. Once certain he was alone, Zaos made his way into the room in front of him.

The room turned out to be a large library filled to the brim with books. Zaos walked around the library, grabbing any book he thought useful. Once finished, he made his way to the secluded section of the library and took as many books containing important or secretive knowledge as he could.

He was stealing the Qildor clan's knowledge! This was the most valuable thing in the hideout since there were no treasures stored in it.

[Dark elves don't possess the power to track their belongings but to be on the safe side, I'll copy these books later and discard the original…] Once he was done, he teleported out of the library.

His figure then materialized in a dark but beautifully decorated chamber. This chamber was none other than the hidden haven Marvid had stowed his treasures.

Casting his gaze on the chests littered around the floor, Zaos couldn't help but smile. Each chest contained valuable items worth a lot of mana gems, some even contained mana gems.

[With this, I won't have to worry about my survival till I establish a new identity…] Zaos smiled and carried as many chests as he could. He then teleported to a safe zone he had prepared earlier on and stowed the chests and the books in it. He took multiple trips before successfully relocating all the items.

Once he was done, he took off his assassin attire and donned a new pair of unfitted clothes. Yet a second later, his figure morphed into a larger individual, fitting into formerly loose clothes.

Zaos gazed at himself in the mirror. He nodded and then teleported away.

He arrived a few hundred meters away from a city surrounded by large stone walls. With a sharp gaze, Zaos walked to the city gates.

[It's time to start a new chapter in my life…]

(Vol 1 – End)