Chapter 607. Gathering Knowledge 2

Chapter 607: Chapter 607. Gathering Knowledge 2

Alex didn’t immediately head for the capital and kick down the castle doors. His experience sneaking into the noble houses of the Wedgehurst Kingdom had taught him that some of them had surprisingly good security. Most nobles weren’t nearly as careful, preferring to hide their riches in vaults beneath trapdoors, behind paintings, or in underground chambers. However, the wealthiest and most powerful nobles could afford to hire Mages to create magical wards, giving their homes an extra layer of protection.

At the very least, these wards could alert their owners to intruders. More advanced ones could attack anyone who trespassed or create barriers to keep intruders out. None posed a serious threat to Alex himself, but triggering one could quickly turn a stealth operation into a massacre. Whenever he spotted one, he preferred to stay away. Fortunately, magical wards weren’t too hard to detect when they appeared as floating lumps of energy.

After encountering such wards firsthand, Alex understood why Alvera had warned him about magic. In Wedgehurst, they had brought his sneaking to an abrupt end, forcing him to manipulate Marquis Fairchild into giving him a letter of recommendation instead.

Alex wasn’t about to make the same mistake in Hammerlocke Kingdom, where Mages were more readily available. Rather than rush straight to the capital, he took his time investigating the kingdom to learn what he was up against before making his move.

He started with the lesser nobles on the outskirts of the kingdom, copying their breathing techniques, combat techniques, meditation methods, and spells. As expected, most were of poor quality, but they offered a little more variety. After exhausting his options there, he made his way toward the kingdom’s center, visiting noble houses and copying their libraries. He ignored their riches, artifacts, and rare materials, considering them little more than trash.

Before long, he encountered his first magical ward in the home of a Marquis, a noble wealthy enough to afford such protections. From what he could recognize, it was a simple alarm spell. Alex hadn’t just been looking at these wards and walking away. He had also committed them to memory and used Rotom to analyze their structure based on what he knew of common magic.

"Alright, let’s give this a try," Alex muttered as he spread his Dark type energy.

His energy passed through the walls surrounding the vault, completely enveloping it. Once he had the area covered, he touched the edge of the magical ward and listened for any commotion on the upper floors of the mansion. Nothing happened. Even the master of the house remained silent, without so much as a rustle of bedsheets.

It seemed Alex’s energy had either stopped the alarm from triggering or blocked its signal from reaching its intended destination.

"At least this gives me all the time I need to get inside and take what I want," Alex said. "That’s good enough for me. It’s not like anyone can actually catch me if I decide to make a run for it."

Alex tapped his watch a few times, and it immediately melted into a puddle of pink goo. The liquid slipped through the tiniest gaps around the vault door, and a moment later, he heard a loud click from the other side.

Alex turned the handle, confirming that the lock had been opened, then pulled the heavy door aside. As he did, the pink goo slipped back through the gaps and reformed into a watch on his wrist.

"Thanks, Ditto," Alex muttered.

Inside the vault were mounds of gold, stacks of ledgers, rare artifacts, and unfamiliar metals. Alex ignored them all and headed straight for the small bookshelf in the corner. It held barely a dozen books, including a few breathing techniques, several combat techniques, a meditation technique, and some basic spells.

The collection was small, but its contents were clearly a step above what was commonly available on the market. Even a modest collection like this showed the advantages that came with the wealth and status of the higher nobility.

After flipping through the books and allowing Rotom to scan and copy their contents, Alex returned them to their places and made his way out. He closed the vault door behind him, listening for the familiar click of the lock before leaving the mansion.

Once he was far enough away, he hurried into the distance, his Dark type energy slowly dissipating as he released his control over it. He eventually settled on a tree branch and watched the chaos unfold from a safe distance.

Except, no chaos unfolded.

The guards were still struggling to stay awake, the servants went about their nightly duties, and the nobles hadn’t stirred from their beds.

"I think I gave these magical wards too much credit," Alex said, scratching his head. "They probably don’t have anything sophisticated, like a continuous alarm or backup detection methods that would trigger if someone opened the vault door. Hell, the signal might just flip a switch on a remote device, rather than being transmitted continuously. That makes sense, though. They probably haven’t developed more advanced technology yet."

Shrugging, Alex left and headed for his next destination. There, he found that the nobles used roughly the same methods of protection. As long as he completely covered the vault, the magical ward, and himself in Dark type energy, he could usually avoid triggering the alarms.

It made sense when he thought about it. His Dark type energy was both extremely dense and highly refined, something that didn’t exist in this world. He was Master rank, had trained extensively in controlling his powers, and was a Mystic. The way he used his abilities was far beyond what the Mages who designed these wards would have expected. Besides, a simple alarm system was probably good enough for most nobles, considering that the majority of people couldn’t even sense mana in the first place.

For the next few months, Alex continued sneaking into the noble houses of the Hammerlocke Kingdom. Sometimes, he had to knock out a few guards, though Gardevoir could easily alter their memories afterward. Other times, he had to swallow a fireball or two and contain the explosions, but his powers easily kept them silent. On a few occasions, he was struck by powerful curses that left marks on his body, weakening him and giving off a bloody scent that would identify him as a thief. However, he simply shrugged them off, flaring his energy to tear the curses apart before dispersing them. Occasionally, a powerful magical barrier blocked his path, forcing him to punch his way through. Even then, none proved strong enough to withstand his strength.

By the time he had finished, Alex had copied the techniques stored in every noble house he could find in the Hammerlocke Kingdom. With that task complete, he finally turned his attention to the royal family’s castle.

Again, Alex chose to gather information rather than rush in blindly. He doubted the castle’s defenses would be as easy to bypass with his Dark type energy as those of the noble houses. The royal family was said to employ combatants of Rank 7 and above, whose heightened senses could make sneaking around much more difficult.

Alex had no idea what he might be walking into at the royal castle, and he wanted to avoid a massacre if possible. Before making his move, he decided to seek out the Thieves’ Guild, an organization that specialized in gathering information. Its members weren’t particularly strong, nor did they have powerful backers. Instead, they relied on their sheer numbers and ability to blend into the crowd. Finding them would normally be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Psychic type Pokémon made that task much easier.

"Gardevoir, I need information about the castle. Find a member of the Thieves’ Guild and work your way up the organization until you reach someone knowledgeable enough to answer our questions. Make sure you don’t get detected," Alex instructed.

"Gardevoir," she replied before concentrating on the task.

They were currently in the commoner district of Hammerlocke’s capital, where much of the kingdom’s wealth flowed through merchants, businesses, and markets. Wherever money changed hands, there were bound to be people looking for ways to take advantage of it. That made the district an ideal hunting ground for the Thieves’ Guild, whose members lurked among the crowds, gathering information no matter how insignificant it might seem. All Alex had to do was find one of them and let Gardevoir take it from there.

"Gardevoir!"

"Already?"

She nodded and pointed toward the ground, indicating the sewers beneath their feet. She had apparently found the Thieves’ Guild’s main hideout. It probably hadn’t been difficult, since a large group of people gathered underground was unusual enough to stand out among the minds she could sense throughout the city.

"Take me to whoever seems to be in charge," Alex said.

A flash of light enveloped the pair, and they suddenly appeared inside a study. A man stood behind the desk with his daggers already drawn. Before he could attack or raise the alarm, Alex spread his Dark type energy throughout the room, silencing everything and pinning the man in place.

Dark type energy erupted from the man as he struggled to break free, but the difference in their strength was too great. Judging by his power and control, he was a Rank 7 Knight, making him a formidable assassin by the standards of this continent.

"Let’s see what you have for me," Alex said, his neutral, uncaring expression sending a chill deep into the man’s bones.