Chapter 144 - Change Of Mind

Tom left the blacksmithing guild. While learning about the problematic nature of the local feudal lord was of great use to him, it was also the limit of what those smiths could provide him with. That is, outside of one, single thing. 

'That's a nice spear,' Tom thought, swinging the blacksmith's gift around. It was incomparably worse than his main weapon but also far greater than even the strongest magical weapon he could create on the spot. 

'It can serve well to bait others,' Tom thought before striking the ground with it. 

This was now one of his weapons, meaning he could recall it at any time he would like. As such, there was absolutely no drawback to just leaving it in a random place, as long as he would recall it to his hand before entering the feudal lord's castle. 

'Still, I shouldn't underestimate that guy,' he thought as he headed in the direction that the group of smiths pointed him to. 'Who knows what kind of tribulations he went through before. I might not be powerful enough to deal with him, especially within that damned keep of his.'

Tom continued his journey all the way to the point where he reached the border of the city. Ahead, only an open plain remained, one that any random developed on earth would cover with gold to purchase. 

"Wait a second," Tom thought, suddenly realizing a certain factor. "Is there even any need to deal with that guy?" he asked himself. 

Since he couldn't see the border keep from the edge of the town, it had to be quite a fair distance away. And between God and truth, his family wasn't even that numerous for anyone to notice them within the population of the city. 

As such, was there any reason for picking a fight with that feudal lord in the first place?

"How about I just ignore him?" Tom muttered, thinking over the possibility. 

"In a short term, it could work," Tom's shadow returned with another piece of advice. 

'Just when the hell did this guy come from?' he thought, startled when he suddenly heard those words. For some reason, Tom failed to detect the lesser vampire's presence, allowing that dastardly being to catch him off guard. 

"And in the long term, I stand to gain more than enough power to easily deal with the lord," Tom added before suddenly turning around. Now that he came to this realization, there was absolutely no reason for him to stay in this city for even a minute longer. 

"I guess I should take care of the girl while you are away, right?" the vampire asked, still hiding in the shadows. 

"That would be for the best," Tom nodded his head, already directing his steps back to the center of the town. While he would love to go directly to the dungeon, he still had to pick up the supplies that his slaves were supposed to bring him a long time ago. 

'Right, I will have to give them some orders,' Tom thought, already forming an outline of a plan in his head. 

His return to the guild was met with varying reactions. Some stared at him as if Tom was some kind of celebrity, while others sent him hateful stares, clearly unhappy with the recent events. 

And right there, in the very middle of the crowd, all three of his slaves stood in wait. 

"Master," Fabian said, raising the bags with provisions that he held in his hands. 

"I'm sorry for being late," Tom said. Even if the other party were his slaves, he didn't actually endorse the idea of keeping humans as his own personal property. The only reason why he ever made those people his slaves was to protect his secrets, secrets he had to reveal in order to learn more about the basics of this world. 

That's why, despite the three of them being his slaves, Tom never bothered to treat them as such. 

"Master, here are the supplies," Fabian said, passing the bags to Tom's hands. He then scratched his chin and averted his eyes.

"What do you need?" Tom asked. It was easy to notice that Fabian had something he wanted to say. 

"Boss, you are going to the dungeon, right?" he asked, still keeping his eyes away. 

"Yes," Tom replied, leaning his head over his shoulder yet refusing to elaborate. 

In the middle of the guild, there were too many ears that would be more than happy to learn more details about Tom's plans. 

"Can we go with you?" Fabian asked, pointing his hand at the two of his teammates and fellow slaves. 

"I'm sorry, but not," Tom shook his head as he refused. "I understand how it sounds, but it's not some kind of way of punishing, bullying, or ignoring you. You would bring me way too much trouble for how deep I'm about to go. And I can't take responsibility for you if I leave you on the floor you guys are competent to survive at. A single slip and you could die," he said before throwing the bag of supplies on his back and turning around. 

"Master, do you have anything to do for us while you are away?" Ulster asked, joining the discussion. 

"Actually, I have," Tom replied, reaching underneath his clothes. He then pulled out one of the few grade-five stones that he had left. "You can do whatever you want with this stone while I'm away. All I need is for you to secure a big house for me to stay in once I return," he said before throwing the stone to Fabian's hands. Between him, the scrawny archer, and the fragile mage girl, it was this burly man that Tom felt the most fitting to bear such a burden that this stone, in reality, was. 

"We won't disappoint you, master!" Fabian instantly replied, striking some kind of weird pose that was likely to be a local salute. 

"Good hunting, Master," Leila added, limiting herself to just wishing Tom luck. 

"Right, before I go," Tom said as he turned towards the doors. "There is a certain someone following me in the shadows. If you were to encounter him, keep an eye on what he will be doing. Once you get the house ready, he will bring someone for you to take care of," he added before walking out of the guild. 

'Still, knowing the extent of the damage to its back, it's a wonder the guild is still standing,' Tom thought as he walked down the street only to exit the entire city a few moments later. 

Just like he noticed when he first entered the city, the path to the dungeon was insanely simple. One just had to go in a straight line, and in just a fewteen minutes worth of calmly walking, they would reach their destination. 

'It's been a while,' Tom thought, standing still as he finally reached the foothold of the dungeon's entrance. For some strange reason, he could feel the hints of stress and anxiety spreading through his soul as he stared at the dark entrance to the dungeon. 

'I guess it's the anxiety one feels whenever moving out somewhere else,' Tom summarised his own state before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. 

Then, he started to slowly climb the stairs. 

'First, I need to cross the entire dungeon,' he thought as he called forth both of his physical weapons. 'Who knows if I will be able to call it if I were to leave them on this side,' he thought, unwilling to make that bet. 

While Tom could easily pass the majority of the dungeon with his magical spears alone, the same couldn't be said about the topmost floors. 

'Right, now that I think about it, I wonder whether this boss fight will happen on the last floor,' he thought as he continued to climb the stairs. While doing so was pretty annoying, it was still far easier than what awaited him once he would reach the highest floor on the other side. 

"Well, there is only one way to find out," Tom muttered as he finally reached the top of the platform and entered the dark gate. 

For a moment, the reality seemed to fade away, replaced by a strange universe filled with distortions. 

'It's different than before,' Tom thought, surprised by the experience. 

Sadly, it ended too quickly for him to learn anything new. 

'I didn't have my haste on, nor did I get any stronger since entering the other side,' he thought, shocked by the momentary experience. 

Normally, his vision would crack for a moment before everything would be over. But this time, Tom somehow was stuck in the space between the points that the gate connected, in a space that didn't make any sense to his human brain. 

"Well, whatever," he ultimately muttered, calling forth his main weapon and taking his first step forward. "The sooner I reach home, the sooner we will start to look for my father!"