Chapter 75: Local Cartel Members Call Cops on Florida Man for Running Over Their Boss and Not Cooperating with Carjacking Attempt

Felix's country-crossing project didn't go as planned. Due to the rough and wild terrains, he ended up making only half the progress he had expected. After hiking 600 miles on foot and on ATV through mountainous regions full of detours and treacherous paths, he arrived at the eastern border of the Highland Province. However, in reality, Felix only moved only 400 miles closer to Big Zoot City.

At the eastern checkpoint of the Highland Province, no guard bothered stopping people from leaving the Highland region. They only closed the gates when it was dark. As it was already nighttime, the guards sealed the wooden gates and left only a few militia to watch the doors.

The checkpoint consisted of simple wooden spike barricades. Anyone with a brain could climb over them if they wanted to, but a deep moat outside the barricades was full of pointy spears, making a fall into the pit potentially fatal.

Felix's pelvis was sore after the long day of driving on bumpy animal trails and dirt roads. He parked the ATV in an empty area and activated its anti-theft barrier, blocking anyone from approaching him. Then, he set up a polymer camping tent and sleeping bag, which he had gotten from his daily supply crate rewards.

After setting down the tent, he took off his boots, inserted himself into the sleeping bag, and quickly passed out from exhaustion.

Unfortunately, nosy people were everywhere in the world without the Internet and smartphones. Near Felix's camping area, a group of merchants eyed the ATV and the exotic polymer tent. Curious, they brought a barrel of ale over, hoping to befriend him. When they touched the ATV barrier, it mildly zapped them. Everybody screamed and pulled their hands away.

This group was nicer than the previous people that Felix had met. When they realized that Felix might be a mage, they respected his space and stayed out of trouble. Many men also tried to approach Felix, but they all backed away when they noticed the barrier around the tent and the ATV. Everyone secretly paid respect to Felix and minded their own business.

The peaceful night ended without a mishap.

…

The next morning, everyone woke up early. The merchants had risen at 3 AM to pack their belongings and get ready to depart. By the time the sun rose, everyone had already left the public checkpoint campsite.

At 8 AM, Felix woke up. He drowsily pulled himself out of the sleeping bag and sniffed the inside.

The odor was nasty. It smelled like moldy socks. Felix looked at his feet and saw the over-one-day-old socks, which he hadn't changed since he had departed from home. He took them off and binned them in his inventory, then converted them into mana.

<You have extracted 50 mana from the used socks…>

"Dafuq," Felix was surprised that his used socks gave him so much. "How does this work?!"

<Your bodily fluid and dead skin contains some leftover energy and impure mana.>

"…Wow. Should I pickle my used socks or stuff some wet clothes in my boots while I'm traveling?"

<For the love of god and your ancestor, please don't.>

"Kek. Just kidding."

After taking care of his private business and breakfast, Felix packed his stuff and resumed his journey.

…

It only took Felix an hour to catch up with the other travelers who had left the camp at sunrise. When the ATV got closer to the group, the wagons in front of him looked back in shock.

This wasn't the first time Felix had overtaken other travelers on the road. He switched to the nonexistent side lane, which was full of random pebbles, rocks, and small dead shrubs. The ATV ran over the obstacles and paved a new road lane for future travelers.

As Felix was overtaking the traffic, he kept glancing at the system map. Most of the merchants and travelers appeared as either yellow or green dots. He ignored them and continued his journey as modern-world people treated other drivers on a road.

Finally, Felix reached the foot of the mountain. At the bottom, the biome was different. Vegetation and trees were all green. The grasses smelled nice, and birds in the woods performed a mixed concert for nature.

The green biome was refreshing. Felix decelerated the ATV to a cruise, taking a breather.

Unfortunately, Local humans were cancerous. While Felix was enjoying the scenery, he came across a blockade, consisted of flipped wooden wagons and a bunch of half-naked burly men.

Looking at the system map, Felix found 20 red dots behind the flipped wagon and 30 more hiding in the woods along the road. A dozen yellow dots gathered in one spot deep inside the forest, which aroused Felix's suspicion. He raised the barrier output to the max and accelerated.

…

Standing on the road behind the blockade was a barbarian-like muscular man named Magna. He was the leader of this ambush party. Magna, a highlander, was seven feet tall, three hundred fifty pounds, and had absurdly long arms that reached his knees when he stood straight. His neck hunched 90 degrees forward, making his posture awkward.

His braided brown hair reached his back and hadn't been washed for a decade. His facial hair spread across his face and cheeks, leaving only his forehead, eyes, and nose area untouched.

Born as the youngest son of the governor of the Highland Province, Magna was blessed with everything: power, fame, women, wealth, and resources. The world was his oyster. However, there was one thing he could never have, despite all his wealth and authority—magic talent.

Magna couldn't cultivate mana no matter how hard he tried, so he pursued the path of aura. With his father's support, he reached the two-star rank at the age of 20. His strength had stagnated since.

Every year, many aspiring mages traveled across the country to visit Big Zoot City for a chance to get into the top magic school. As Magna was not a mage, he could only watch them come and go, crossing his hometown and province.

Over the years, his emotions evolved. He envied them and hated seeing someone from the countryside get an opportunity he never had.

Magna had enough. He, his friends, and subordinates from the Highland Province decided to ruin every mage's future that passed through his home province. They robbed merchants, violated women, sold children, and tortured mages.

For three years, Magna murdered and crippled countless promising mages, regardless of gender and age. He exploited the ambush site, taking advantage of passing commoners. Only when a formal party of a nobleman appeared did Magna and his party withdraw.

Today, Magna expected a big haul as the exam date was only a few days away. Many merchants and travelers always took this route to reach Big Zoot City as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, before the first group of the day arrived, something weird occurred. In the distance, dust covered the sky, and an unusual noise was audible.

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It sounded like the deep growl of a ferocious beast, and it was getting louder.

Magna licked his lips. He fetched the twin axes on the ground and shouted to his men.

"Get ready, you scums! I think a bull or a boar stampede is early this year! We're going to get some meat!"

Another 6'9 barbarian-like muscular man behind Magna, Angrit, looked at his boss. He dragged a thick 10-foot-long mace and wielded it like a baseball bat. Unlike the nobleman in disguise, Angrit wore only a pair of leather pants and a tiger fur coat. His chest featured a dozen tiger scratch scars.

Angrit looked at the dust and frowned. He didn't recognize the pattern. "Those are not caused by beasts, young master. We should hide and wait."

"Ptuh! That's why people call you a coward! You stay over there and watch me! I'll take care of the beasts myself!"

Angrit didn't refute even though he had soloed seven man-eating tigers this year to protect Magna in secret. His aura rank was also superior to the young master's—a three-star aura knight.

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The sound got so close that Magna couldn't wait to see the beast. He stood in front of the flipped wagons on the road, wishing to get the first look at the beast stampede.

A moment later, something emerged from the dust and came out of a corner. A person riding a metallic beast was charging directly at the blockade.

Magna thought, "What the fuck is that? Why is a weak-looking boy riding that iron bull? What is that beast?"

Despite the surprise and doubts, Magna scoffed and raised his axes, preparing to chop the iron beast's rider and capture the monster.

However…

*CLANK*

For a brief moment, Magna saw a transparent wall approaching and hitting him. It pushed him backward and collided with the wooden wagon barricade behind him.

The wall kept pushing with strong momentum. Magna screamed, attempting to push back the invisible wall. Unfortunately, his feet were off the ground, and he couldn't exert his aura properly.

*BOOM*

In the end, Magna was knocked to the side while the young man on the iron beast sped through the barricades. Magna rolled and tumbled on the side road before lying still.

Magna lifted his head and looked at the culprit, but his vision spun from the impact. He then passed out.

"BOSS!"

Angrit rushed to his young master to check his condition. The other subordinates in the woods also came out of their hiding spots to protect their master.

While everybody panicked, Angrit turned around to look at the speeding vehicle, which had already escaped far away. Even with the best horse they had, Angrit wasn't confident he could catch up.

Giving up on chasing the mysterious young man, Angrit tended to Magna's injuries. They ended up carrying him back to Highland Province for recuperation.

…

Meanwhile, Felix glanced at the system map and snorted. He no longer cared about the local blockades and random bandits in the wild; he was in a hurry. Checking the GPS map, Felix calculated the remaining distance and estimated his time of arrival.

Only five hours of travel remained. At this pace, Felix would reach the city by the afternoon.