The question remains: what is the best way to do this?
I quite remember what level my abilities were at back then, and with what I know now, getting down from the fifth floor shouldn't be that much of a problem, but climbing up back would be a bit tricky.
I don't really want to leave the window open either.
Looks like I'll have to go out the old fashioned way, hopefully it won't cause any problems in the future.
Having already come up with some of the most plausible excuses for my night walk, but as it turned out I didn't even need them.
The lobby was completely empty.
So much for 24-hour service.
Well, it's better for me.
Walking outside, I was greeted by a crescent moon rising in the sky. The rare light from the windows of the still awake residents and the streetlights that emitted enough light to turn night into day.
And a huge number of guard patrols.
The last time I saw something like this was when a resident was killed in a free city, getting out of there after that was a difficult task.
Worst of all, I wasn't even involved in it, and yet they blamed it on me anyway. One day I'm going to find out who did it.
While it's generally considered a positive thing to keep the city safe with such a large number of guards, to me it looks more like a display of desperation and inability to change anything.
Considering the situation I am in now, it might be better to delay exploring the city until tomorrow morning, but on the other hand it is a great opportunity to see where I stand now.
Add to that the fact that I can finally test what my affinity to light is capable of, and I make my way towards the center of the city, carefully avoiding passing patrols.
Given the current state of the city and the reason why I'm here, I wish it was a little harder to do.
As for the light, I've already realized that it's not the things around me that are shining like little suns, it's just that my perception of light has changed, a thing that I should learn how to control in the future.
Now, however, is the time to find out what I can make from the light.
And the answer is nothing.
No matter how hard I try, I can't even summon a particle of light.
Come on, that's all just for some better room illumination?
As I walked under one of the street lamps, I noticed for the first time that the bright white light had dimmed a bit, lifting my head up I saw a shadow formed in the air.
That's interesting.
Not what I was really hoping for.
But it's still better than nothing, and could very well pass for something you only got from shadow.
I already have some ideas on how to use this. And another thing that I should have thought about before, is how I look now with two affinities, one to light and the other to shadow.
But think about it somewhere else, getting caught by guards doesn't look like a pleasant possibility.
I hid in an alleyway while guards passed by for the tenth time in a few minutes. Perhaps in addition to looking around the city, it might be a good opportunity to trace the path of patrols, who knows what might be useful in the end.
It's always reassuring to know safe routes, just in case.
The patrols consisted of two men in plate armor.
I choose one and begin to follow it from a distance.
When the patrol came into one of the alleys I decided to go around the building on the other side.
There was no one at the exit.
So this is the end of the route and they went back?
But I definitely remember that even this alley had lights on, so why is it dark now?
Anyway, it's none of my business.
Oh, yeah, that's my business now.
Going there and looking around I found nothing unusual, most likely they just turned around and the shard in the lantern ran out.
I raised my head to look at the lamp.
Oh, damn it.
And why does something like this always happen to me?
Good news, I found the guards.
Bad, they're dead and it will take some time to identify them.
Both were missing their heads, and in their place were hooks coming out of their spines from which their bodies were hanging.
Another detail would be the complete absence of blood, as if someone or something had completely drained them of it.
From the state of their bodies, it looks more like a beast or someone with blood affinity, but I have a hard time remembering a beast that carries hooks and hangs its victims from street lamps, and as far as I know, there is only one person with blood affinity in the whole city.
It's hard to make any reasonable assumptions based on that alone, and I shouldn't linger here any longer.
I know exactly what would happen if I were discovered in the middle of the night with two bodies in such a grotesque state.
Turning around and leaving the alley, I started walking back toward the hotel, making a little detour along the way.
No more than thirty seconds passed between the time the guards entered the alley and the time I walked around the building, nor did I hear any screams.
Although only one guard had a newly formed core, even with the element of surprise, it was unlikely that someone of the same level could do so without any artifacts with them.
Since I don't see anyone coming out of the alley from my side there are a few possibilities as to what happened afterwards.
First, someone or something was at the same level as past me or stronger and just managed to do everything and pass me by unnoticed.
An unlikely but possible option that doesn't really explain why the targets were someone so weak and why I'm still alive.
Second he or it left the way the patrol came.
And the third possibility is that this thing stayed hidden when I was there, and now it's following me, waiting for a moment to strike. My sincere hopes for that one.
Even considering only shadow, with all my current knowledge of aether usage, I'm more than confident that I can at least put up a fight to someone a grade above me.
Add a newfound affinity for light and even with my lack of knowledge and control towards it, the mere surprise that I have a second element will be enough to finish the fight.
Also, if before all aether circulation only gave me only a slight ability to see in the dark and made me a little harder to notice, now with the addition of light into the mix I only hope to become at least a little faster, I'm not even asking for something to compare to all those lucky bastards with lightning.
I really need to get back to the level of strength I once had and surpass it.
Anyway, no matter how much I keep circling around the hotel, I still can't see the tail behind me. Doesn't seem to make sense to keep doing this.
With this thought, I headed towards the hotel.