Chapter 198 The Aristocrat's Way
Chapter 198 The Aristocrat's Way
Wain didn't expect to get the last part of the map so easily, but he was pleased that he had succeeded.
'The map pieces seem to appear in different places under random circumstances. It's good that I didn't waste any extra time, and it all happened so fast. Thought Wain and walked over to the flower.
He touched a piece of card, and the next moment it was covered in blue energy and flew into his body. A third part joined the rest, and a complete map was created. Then, in Wain's mind, many scenes with different images appeared.
He saw the island from all angles and ranges. He also saw part of the planet from above and all the landmarks near where the island should appear.
"I see, I catch everything now. The island will appear at a distance of about 3,000 kilometers from Overion. That's pretty far..." Wain muttered.
Whoooosh.
Then the map shone brightly once more, and he saw the island from within this time. Wain saw many trees, plants, and various animals. The island was like a jungle that grew and grew in size relentlessly.
The last thing Wain saw was the entrance to a bloody cave in the depths of which burned brightly with red flames.
"I guess now I know where I have to go. Most likely, all the most interesting things are in this cave. Huh, this is so exciting..." Wain said smiling, and headed for the exit of the sewer.
As Wain climbed to the top, he thought about how many people would arrive on the continent. Wain was sure his map wasn't the only one. Otherwise, it wouldn't have made any sense.
'A map is not a winning ticket. It's a pass to the place where the reward is. There will be other people besides me, that's obvious.' Wain thought as he stepped onto the iron staircase.
Wain believed there would be a battle on the island between the strongest people, for only those who had adapted best to the new world could arrive on the island first.
Of course, there wouldn't just be a couple of people on the island. There would be hundreds as the rest would do as Wain did.
Even though he had collected a complete map, he would share this information with Gisle. They were his allies, and Wain was used to helping his friends. Of course, the island's greatest treasure would belong to him and no one else.
'Hmm, most likely pieces of the map appear in areas of a certain size. That means that someone in other cities might have also collected a full map, but not everyone did.' Wain thought.
He counted himself lucky in some ways that he could collect the whole map. Had Harald not attacked Lea a month ago, Wain would not have known about the existence of the map and the island.
Also, in the golden temple, he was on the brink of death and life. He was saved only by the fact that he had a special Title.
The third part of the map came easily to Wain, but it was relative. Many people would have died in that sewer because of the poison monsters.
Poison can be much scarier than fire, ice, or physical force. The power of poison is that it can kill a superior enemy.
Even an elephant could die from a cobra bite within three hours, with an elephant dozens of times the size of a snake, and this was not the limit.
Before the apocalypse, some spiders had a strong enough venom to kill hundreds of people. When the monsters appeared, and the animals began to mutate, the situation became many times more serious.
Wain collected the entire map, but it was unlikely that many people besides him could do so.
'Most likely, only a tenth of everyone who knows about the map was able to collect the map completely. In other cities, parts of the map are distributed among organizations, just like in Overion, until I decided to do it.' Thought Wain stepping outside.
The journey upstairs took only ten minutes. He didn't have to explore every floor of the sewers or fear the monsters. Wain ran upward like a blue comet the whole time.
When Wain got outside, he wanted to head straight to the place where the fourth form was hidden, but suddenly the map shone brightly again. At the exact moment, Wain's emerald eyes shone brightly, and he felt as if he could see himself from above.
[Received Title - Cartographer
You have become one of those who collected the Map of the Azure Path. You have touched the map that can lead you to a true miracle. This map is a masterpiece created by true masters, and of the purest energy, so you also receive a piece of this power.
*Now you are better able to navigate unfamiliar terrain, as well as better able to understand your surroundings.]
'It's been a long time since I received a Title. This one is quite interesting. Hmm, I feel like I've been walking these streets for months. It's pretty weird, considering I don't know where anything is. Maybe that's the power of this Title.' Wain thought and closed his eyes.
His Seal of Darkness glowed brightly, and he saw the wooden door in the dark alleyway again. This time he felt the energy fluctuations with greater precision. Wain knew which direction he had to go to get to this place.
"Okay, go ahead. I have a serious challenge ahead of me. I almost died last time. Hopefully, I can do better now." Mumbled Wain and turned into blue lightning.
Previously he could use this skill for a limited amount of time, but now Wain was much stronger.
He could run at this pace for over an hour, and his legs wouldn't even tire, but the speed was not as impressive as before.
In time all senses become bored and need something new and better to refresh them.
This is also one of the reasons why progress is inevitable. People will always want to change something and see new horizons and peaks.
...
As Wain ran among the ruined streets of the slums, he occasionally glanced at the massive wall in the distance. After Wain got his fourth form, he had another important problem: vehicle.
He, like his mates, needed a way to get to the island, and it could only be done by air. There were no other ways.
'The island will appear very far away, three thousand kilometers...damn, that's impressive. Although given the size of this planet, it's not that much, even by plane, the journey notices six to eight hours. I hope there's a plane or at least a helicopter left at the military base,' thought Wain.
Wain knew where the military base was. It wasn't far from the tourist area, hidden behind a hill. That meant that all the weapons, explosives, and equipment were at the tourist district. The slum didn't get any.
So Wain thought about negotiating with the main organization in the slum. He couldn't come to a military base and steal a plane or helicopter. It was impossible.
Wain understood that Ring of Damned had some limits on the size of items he could move into the ring. In the future, those limits would be pushed, but not now.
Even if he broke into a military base and destroyed the protective outposts, people from the tourist area would blow up a plane or helicopter as a last resort.
Moreover, Wain was not naive and understood that he would not withstand multiple bomb blasts.
'Hmm, Gisle said that this military base has just about everything. From machine guns and turrets to tanks with armor-piercing shells.
Even considering my stats, I'd be seriously injured if I got shot by a tank, especially if I was being fired on from turrets at the same time.' Thought Wain running into one of the alleys.
If Wain and another organization were grouped to take over the military base, the tourist district could do nothing about it. They would lose the battle and have to give up the area.
Of course, Wain could have conducted this operation in conjunction with Last Light, but not now.
Gisle had just taken over the west side, and he could not distribute resources to all points of the city. Otherwise, the overall structure would become too unstable, and he risked losing everything in a hurry.
Wain decided that after he got his fourth uniform and the Faceless Aristocrat Mask, he would go to the main organization in the slums.
...
Half an hour later, Wain arrived at the right place. He encountered several monsters on his way and saw people hiding in houses.
With each passing minute, this place reminded him of his first home, where he had learned to survive.
Wain looked at the wooden door and felt an enormous amount of energy emanating from it. He was pretty sure this was the place.
"Okay, let's go." Said Wain and opened the door.
Behind it was nothing but darkness and ink. Wain smiled weakly and stepped forward.
The ink completely enveloped him, and he felt a pleasant chill and an eerie shiver all over his body. Then Wain saw a massive gate in front of him, just like before.
However, this time the gates were not bone. They were red and velvet, like the most expensive royal armchairs. The gates were framed in gold and adorned with black diamonds.
"This is something new..."
The next moment the gate opened, and a bright yellow glow appeared behind it. It didn't look like the sun, more like gold, of which there was an infinite amount on the other side.
Wain stepped inside and suddenly plummeted downward. This was the first time this had happened. Usually, Wain had to go through a long tunnel to get to the other side.
Whooooooosh.
Wain flew out of the ink and saw a tank half-filled with gold coins underneath him.
'What's going on here?' Wain exclaimed to himself, and the Ring of Damned glowed brightly.
A platinum sword appeared in his hand, and he stabbed it into the wall, gradually going down. Wain was surprised at the strength of the walls, as even Forgotten Monarch's Sword could hardly cut through it.
As Wain stepped onto the gold coins, he looked around.
"I am in some kind of vault, but how do I get out of here?" Wain muttered looking up at the top.
On each of the walls were massive platinum coins with a gold core. They were different sizes, the smallest being slightly larger than a man. The last coin was comparable to a house.
Behind Wain, on the coin, was a small table on which lay an antique pistol.
Such a weapon fired perfectly round bullets using large quantities of gunpowder and was a single shot.
Next to the pistol lay four small coins, which were perfectly sized to fit the muzzle.