CHAPTER 58: LOCATING THE MASK

Azekyle was the only descendant of the House Aetherwing who could have had Kyle as his nickname, and it might be just a coincidence that the name Naoemi gave him matched the man who had been dead for six years.

But knowing Celestyn was closely tied to the one suffering from an unknown affliction and likely the reason she had aligned herself with the Deceiver, it felt like too much of a coincidence to ignore.

Vlad had searched for traces of Azekyle’s history on the game forums but found almost nothing. And without drawing dangerous attention, there was no discreet way to dig deeper.

At least until he could infiltrate and uncover the truth himself, so for now, he let the matter rest.

At first light, Vlad set out toward the city of Dawnfront.

The city of Dawnfront stood proud, a fortress city with a high stone wall, a massive citadel of gray stone standing at its center, and its architecture was built specifically to withstand war.

The city stood proud atop the evergreen grasslands, facing the great forest with the Olympian mountain range to the east and the vast ocean to its west.

Dawnfront was one of the border cities built in a strategic location to face the horrors of the great forest. It was built to stop the beast tide that occurred every few years, a natural disaster that could only be resisted and not erased even with the might of the empire.

After leaving the teleportation building, Vlad made his way through the city, remembering his time in the city from his past life, almost recalling the terrible stench of mutated monstrosities, of blood and gore, of panic and helplessness.

Vlad pushed the memories of their struggle against the spawn of mutation and moved on, his eyes landing on the grand marble statue towering above the city, standing at the boundary of the outer and inner circles.

It was the statue of the current Duke, Lucien Viremont, a man of tall stature, an incredible physique, and handsome features, clad in regal plate armor, his weapon a curved blade.

The statue was there not because Lucien was a self-centered, proud noble but because it was what the city people wanted, and they made it to honor him for his great deeds.

Lucien was a hero who had single-handedly stopped the biggest beast tide of the last century three years ago, killing one Calamity Class beast and stopping the other for six hours until reinforcements arrived.

Vlad kept moving through the silent streets, as he hadn’t come to learn about Lucien or admire the city. He planned to retrieve the Mask and return to Skyreach as quickly as possible.

He had to acquire the mask, learn to wield it and learn of its limits because what he knew from rumors and online clips could be far from the truth, as he had only seen it in effect after the forced quest was completed and the restriction was lifted.

He was certain of its abilities since the player who wielded it did things one could only hope to do using a broken item, such as the mask of persona.

However, there was still the possibility that the mask had limitations built into it and would only reach its true strength after the cost was paid.

If that was the case, then Vlad had to find another artifact, some other way to infiltrate the palace and learn about the Deceiver.

Vlad was halfway through the city when a soft notification rang in the corner of his vision. A quick glance told him that it was a message from Angela Zane.

Vlad read the message, a short and formal request to meet again. He answered, telling her that they could meet after a few hours before closing the window and focusing on the task at hand.

He left the city using the eastern gate and headed straight toward the distant mountain range. While he ran at moderate speed, Vlad opened the world map, checking the threat level in the surrounding areas and where he was headed.

Vlad had visited this place in his past life and had spent quite some time here, but at that time, it was already a death zone, being overrun by a tide of mutated monsters, mad and hungry to devour flesh and blood.

He kept moving in complete silence, his mind drifting back to recalling every detail he could think about the unassuming cave that held the legendary mask.

Vlad knew that the cave should be located within a deep ravine, approximately eight to ten kilometers deep, in the Olympic mountain range east of the city.

It should be situated on the right side of the ravine, around a hundred feet down, with no path leading to it.

It was not hidden behind enchantment or illusion; it was a simple cave hidden behind a fake wall, making it impossible to notice.

So, with these details in mind, Vlad just had to thoroughly search the general area, and locating the cave should not be that hard.

As Vlad ran, a soft green light shimmered beside him, and Vel took shape in the air. She stretched once, yawning exaggeratedly before looking around as she floated up to his shoulder.

"Master, where are we?" This doesn’t feel like the mountain city."

"It isn’t. We are in the Dukedom of Eldrith." Vlad answered.

"Mmm... warmer," she said, quickly taking her seat atop his shoulder, her little eyes full of newfound excitement. "Are we hunting again?"

"Hopefully, we wouldn’t need to since we are just to collect an item," Vlad answered, and her eyes lit up even more excited to do anything.

"A special item?" She asked, and Vlad nodded, "A very special item."

"Out here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Vlad chuckled. "Yeah, it’s hidden inside a cave."

"Sounds like an adventure," she murmured, almost to herself.

After running for nearly an hour and twenty minutes, Vlad reached the red domain of the mountains where little to no grass grew, and the wind was harsh and dry, the ground perilous to walk upon.

The city vanished as he moved deeper into the mountains, and after a few hundred of traveling, he met his first beats, an Emberhide Gorruk, a goat-like beast with thick fur that released bursts of intense heat and dagger-like teeth.

As more time passed, he encountered more creatures, making quick work of them as he looked for a ravine, deep, narrow, and easy to miss unless one was close to it.

Vlad was still in line with the city, so he should find that ravine soon. After traveling exactly eight or so kilometers, he did find a ravine, but after looking around for half an hour, he did not find the unique structure he recalled from memory.

He decided to go further and see if he could find another one in a few-kilometer radius, and after nearly twenty more minutes of searching, he found one.

The ground dipped to form a small gouge in the land, tearing downward like a jagged scar for nearly 150 meters, narrowing as it went deeper.

This ravine looked much like what Vad was looking for; the depth was right, and so was its length.

He circled the ravine and began to examine its backside, his eyes scanning every detail on the jagged, red wall. There was nothing unnatural, just a certain arrangement of protruding rock.

If he could find the cave by simply looking, then that would be great; otherwise, he would have to climb up and down and spend hours knocking on the stone to reveal the false wall and the cave behind it.

Vlad’s eyes glinted as he scanned a particular section of the wall. ’This looks promising,’ he thought, his heart beating faster as he quickly moved around to the other side.

He aligned himself with the area he believed the cave to be in and began his descent into the ravine. With practiced ease, he anchored his heel and dropped over the edge, catching a jutting stone handhold and sliding carefully down the steep incline.

Sharp winds whipped upward from the depths, stinging his face and eyes, while the steep wall offered barely any real protrusions to support his weight.

But like a seasoned climber, Vlad moved with calm precision, navigating the treacherous straight slope with ease.

Vel, the little curious fairy, perched atop his shoulder, silently watching as her master went about doing things that, to her, seemed pointless and random.

But she knew better after spending time with him and realized that he was mysterious, and his methods often defied logic.

Somehow, they always worked.

A couple of minutes later, he reached the spot. Without hesitation and without bothering to check if the wall sounded hollow, he took a deep breath and threw his fist into the rock.

The fist went right through the solid wall, and as Vlad tore it out, it left a dark window into the hidden cave.

"Great"

Vlad tightened his grip on the stone hold, leaned back, and slammed his knee into the wall, aiming to tear open a hole large enough to climb through.

The false wall gave way with a dull crack, collapsing inward and revealing a cave swallowed in darkness.

As light spilled into the narrow space, a wave of stale air drifted out, dry, untouched. There was no trace of animal scent, no moisture, no decay, only the scent of time.

The wind howled as it slammed into the mouth of the small, circular cave. Vlad stepped inside, holding his breath, his eyes fixed on the far right corner, searching for a dark, polished wooden mask that should have been resting there covered in dust.