The Moon Thief

Chapter 176: Taken Lands

After obtaining Hercules Boar's blood, Heinald started running out of the Dark Forest at full speed. Although he heard many roars and hums coming from various parts of the forest, he did not care about these sounds and started running with all his voice.

He had to stop and rest for a while after running non-stop for days despite his highly durable body. Luckily, he managed to find a small secluded spot, where he rested for a few hours without making a sound.

After a short rest period, he started running non-stop again. After running for days, he finally managed to get out of the Dark Forest. He had encountered many Magical Beasts during his run, but most of those he encountered were weaker than him and he knew it. However, some had the strength of a Level 2 Ainsar; they chased him for a long time but stopped chasing him when they realized they couldn't catch him.

When Heinald got outside of the Dark Forest, it took some time to acclimate to the daylight. He summoned the Revakender and, after riding on his back, traveled to Lord Fedor's castle.

By the time he got there, his orders had already arrived. Lord Fredor was kind enough to host him in his castle for a while and ordered his servants to prepare a room for him.

After Heinald gathered all the ingredients he needed, he prepared the mixture. For a potion master like him, it wasn't hard to prepare this concoction. The real thing about this mix was its rare ingredients, not the difficulty of mixing it.

"Alright! Let's get this stain off." Heinald cast a bright glance at the bottle in his hand.

When He drank the mixture in the bottle, contrary to what he expected, he felt a rather refreshing and sweet taste. He felt nothing for a few minutes, but as time went on he felt a slight blurring of consciousness. He felt the way an ordinary person feels when they have a few glasses of wine.

Heinald felt his consciousness go numb, he probably wouldn't have been able to speak if he tried. His consciousness and spirit had entered an unidentified state, but strangely, this did not bother him.

He felt like he had taken his mind and soul on vacation after contemplating something for a long time.

Hours passed.

His consciousness was getting more and more numb with each passing second, before he fell into a deep sleep he saw the faint black smoke coming out of his eyes, mouth, and nose.

An unknown time passed.

When Heinald recovered, he felt quite rested and calm. He felt that when he focused on his mind and soul, there was not the slightest trace of smudging.

"Huuh! Looks like I've gotten through this ordeal" Heinald was quite relieved to get rid of the stain that had bothered him for so long, so he took a hot bath to relax even more.

During the bath, he was considering what his future moves would be. He had achieved his primary goal; he could now complete the quests he received from Ruthas Academy and start earning Achievement Points.

His next goal was to deal with the mysterious disappearance of Furyus Almhad. This man was a member of Ruthas Academy's Life Forms Anatomy division. He was one of the few Level 2 Ainsars that Ruthas Academy had and had mysteriously disappeared two years ago.

Heinald learned that a number of people had tried to pitch their chances for the job last year, but were unsuccessful. A Level 1 Ainsar was even attacked and killed by a Magical Beast while searching for clues. That's why this quest is recommended for Level 2 Ainsars.

Furyus Almhad's family lived in Allivion, an independent city close to the academy. He last left the academy to go to his family and then disappeared completely.

Neither saw nor heard him.

Heinald would go to his family first and ask them first what was going on. So he first traveled to the academy and left Revakender there. Then a carriage rented a luxury carriage and traveled to Allivion City.

This city was one of the oldest cities in the Ainsar World. During the ancient Ainsar period, this city was called 'Poskem'. It was not a big city, in fact it could even be said to be a small city. However, despite this, quite a lot of Ainsar lived and visited this city.

The most important reason for this is that it is a very old city, and many well-established families lived here. When this was the case, the goods and various valuable materials in this city's market were also high-level. Of course this was relative, some might not find anything they were looking for in this city. Because the real trade was in the underground market of this city.

However, very special people could naturally enter this underground market, and those who could not, had to make do with ordinary materials in ordinary shops.

When Heinald arrived in Allivion City, he was looking out the window of his luxury carriage and observing the city's architecture. Although there are many restored new buildings, some ancient buildings reveal the history of this ancient city.

Heinald went to the address given to him, to the house where Furyus Almhad's family lived. This house was built on top of a small hill at the back of the city. It had a large garden, and the house, though not very large and ostentatious, was still well above average. The house and the garden were surrounded by pine trees, there were many Apprentice Ainsars standing guard around.

After all, this was the property of a Level 2 Ainsar.

When they spotted Heinald, they knelt before him in fear and let him pass.

As Heinald walked towards the front of the house, the servants who had noticed him coming immediately knelt in front of it and greeted him.

"Lord Ainsar, it's an honor to host you! I'm the chief servant of the household, Ajneras, please allow me to serve you!" A suit-wearing man with gray hair and a gray beard bowed before him. This man was a low-phase Level 1 Ainsar, looking like he had just made a breakthrough.

"I'm here to meet with Furyus Almhad's family." Heinald said.

"Please allow me to take you to Lady Annabelle Almhad." The chief servant Ajneras bowed his head.

Heinald nodded and started following him.

After entering the house, walking on the left side of a corridor that splits into two sides, he saw three people standing at the entrance of a large hall, waiting for him.

These three people were Furyus Almhad's wife, daughter and son. The energy waves Annabelle Almhad emitted showed that she was a peak-phase Level 1 Ainsar. His son and daughter were mid-phase Level 1 Ainsar.

"You honor us by visiting our house, sir!" Annabelle Almhad gracefully greeted him. Likewise, her son and daughter also greeted him.

Heinald gave a slight nod and said, "I came here for my assignment from Ruthas Academy. I want you to tell me everything you know about Furyus Almhad."

"Of course, my lord. Please come into the hall." Annabelle lowered her head and pointed to the great hall behind her.

"Because my husband is a member of the Ruthas Academy, we couldn't spend much time with him. Sometimes for months, he was doing various experiments and researches and made him miss him. One day we received a letter. It was from him, and he said he was going to visit us soon..."

Annabelle began to describe what had happened, but was interrupted by Heinald's intervention.

"Did he come here?"

Annabelle nodded, "Yeah, he spent about ten days with us."

Heinald nodded. "Continue!"

"An old friend of my husband's invited us to a ball for his daughter's wedding. We spent late at night there, but there was something wrong with my husband. He had a worried expression on his face that he was trying to hide from us. I don't know what caused it, but I'm sure it's related to his disappearance."

Annabelle's voice trembled.

"What do you think could be the reason for this?" Heinald asked.

"I'm not sure. But he might have some issues with the academy..." Annabelle shrugged.

"Did he have that worried expression the first day he came to you?" Heinald asked.

"This...I...I am not sure. I guess it wasn't, at least not as much as it was on prom day." Annabelle hesitated for a moment.

"Then she was worried about something about her wedding day. He might have been afraid of someone or something at the prom, he obviously knew something was going to happen to him..." Heinald's speech slowed towards the end of the sentence.

"This...I...I am not sure. I guess it wasn't, at least not as much as it was on prom day." Annabelle hesitated for a moment.

"Then she was worried about something about her wedding day. He might have been afraid of someone or something at the prom, he obviously knew something was going to happen to him..." Heinald's speech slowed towards the end of the sentence.