The next morning , Edric and Aeris made their way down the stairs. Lester was waiting for them, in his hand he had the essential- the cleaned invitation, 50 gold coins, extra clothes for Aeris and Edric.

  Without waiting for a meal, Edric grabbed the items and put them in his bag.

  Edric’s gaze met Lester.“Well, wish us luck.”

  “Don’t die out there,” he said . “Use the coins to afford a fancy carriage , the guards won’t believe you just on looks.”

  He nodded and looked at Aeris who seemed prepared. Bidding goodbyes they went off to the noble district.

  Following Lesters advice- they grabbed a fancy carriage, the one with fancy designs. Engraved designs on the sheets, wood with gold lining on the exterior and so on. The driver seemed reluctant but soon became happy after seeing some gold coins.

  Inside the carriage, Edric and Aeris sat at opposite ends.

  Edric sighed, “How long will the trip take?”

  “Not to long, just around 1 hour”

  “1 hours !,” he leaned back. “Say what do we do about Lysander Voss? Is he even alive”

  “What do you think? You saw the invitation.”

  The bloodied invitation might be either he is dead or something else. But that still raised questions.

  “Won’t people know if he died .”. It made sense since in his mind, the city was on lockdown and the noble district didn’t exactly have a lot of people.

  “Don’t worry, based on my info. Voyce got stuck here before he could go to his hometown and there’s no one here he knows anyway.”

  Where on earth did she get info in one night. I was there with her for the most part.

  “Info? How? , I was with you most of the time”

  She smirked,“I have my ways”

  Edric gave up asking any further, he looked out the window. The roads were becoming less bumpy, the air started to smell less of odor. A thought came to his mind, there were 5 days till the auction, so how will they spend time.

  He turned his gaze to Aeris, who now had leaned back, closed her eyes and seemed to be relaxing.

  “What do you plan to do for the next 5 days?” he said.

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “Gather intel ?” he said . “Seems like the most appropriate plan of action”.

  “True, we need more info, but that's not the most important part.” she said, Edric’s expression became curious. “Training”

  “Wh-What , training? For who , me?”

  “Duh, you can’t keep relying on your instinct no matter how good you fight with them.”

  I was planning to ask her , someday. It’s a good thing i guess. But where will we even train? She must have a plan.

  He let out a breath, “Alright, I do need help but can you even teach”. She glared at him the instant he said that which sent shivers down his spine. “It's a joke, a joke” He said, trying to calm her down.

  The carriage rattled onwards, weaving through the narrow path of the cobblestone. As they approached the noble district the air changed- quieter, colder. The distant buzz of merchants and commoners faded into the background. Towering mansions loomed behind iron gates, their windows flickered with a faint golden light.

  The driver slowed the carriage to a halt just before the district’s entrance. Two guards stood by the entrance, clad in polished silver armor with a silver embroidery on the tabard.

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  “Here we go..” Edric muttered.

  Aeris leaned forward. “Act like you own the place”

  “Easy for you to say.” Edric shot back.

  The guards approached, one of them- a tall man with a rugged face- tapped the carriage frame. “Papers.”

  Edric reached under his coat and retrieved some papers - some from Vance, others forged by Lester. His fingers trembled slightly, but he forced himself to suppress it. He handed it to the guard. The guard unfolded the papers, shot a look back at him. Edric did his best to look arrogant but his chest still thumped.

  “Voyce?” The guard narrowed his eyes.

  His heart thumped in his chest. His lips were about to part–

  “Of course,” Aeris chimed in before Edric could respond. She leaned forward, her voice laced with arrogance. “Do you need him to spell it out for you?”

  The guards twitched in irritation, but he grunted and waved them through. The iron gates creaked open, and the carriage rolled through.

  “Nice save,” Edric whispered.

  “I told you- stick close and let me do the talking.”

  The streets inside the noble district felt like another world. The roads were smooth and clean. Lanterns were placed on the sidewalk, men and women wearing custom stitched clothes walked in pairs across the streets- their maids, servants and guards followed from behind.

  The mansions in view had multiple servants doing work. Their faces were calm, content- as though the chaos of the outer city didn’t exist here.

  It’s strange when you think about it, the noble district probably covers 5-10% of the entire city but they hold almost all the power.

  The carriage rolled through the streets to the address they had provided him. The address is for the house of the supposed deceased Voyce. If things boud well, the house would be empty, Aeris can lock pick through the door and nothing strange happens.

  “It’s strange,” Edric muttered as he watched the bystanders. “It’s like they live in a different world.”

  Aeris leaned against the window. “They are in a different world. A world where they don’t have to fight, starve or ever need to kill.” Her voice had a hint of contempt .

  “But there’s one thing I don’t understand,” he said. “Didn’t the lockdown happen because some noble died. I half expected some protests or some malice towards the governor.”

  “Hmmm… Even nobles have hierarchy . In fact, one of those maids could be a noble.” she said, pointing at a young spoiled girl with a herd of maids carrying her shopping spree. “Besides, we don't know what transpired within their mansions nor what the governor thinks .”

  “I would worry about your training , instead of useless thoughts.” she shot back in a smug tone.

  Sheesh, just how hard does she plan to train me?

  Their carriage began to slow down as they neared their destination. Edric checked his belongings- looked out at Voyce’s residence. It was a three story building- walls were neatly painted in jade, the inside from outside looked expensive to say the least. But from afar you can see a layer of dust on the window frame, door frames.

  It was an impressive building you would consider rich in the outer city but it paled in comparison to other residences in the area.

  Looks like there are no servants to worry about.

  They got down from the carriage , paid the driver a small tip and walked towards their new residence. They creaked open the doors to this mansion, the inside pin drop silent and lacked life.

  They walked to the common area, Edric slung his bag on the sofa and sat down. Aeris walked across the room, checking the windows and closing the curtains wherever necessary.

  Well better be safe than sorry.

  “Don’t relax for too long,” She looks at the clock. “Change clothes and come back in 40 minutes.” She starts walking up the stairs towards one of the bedrooms.

  Edric took a breather for a solid 5 minutes before he got up. He went upstairs- the first floor had multiple rooms, kitchen, storage and so on. He went inside of the bedroom- it was as big as his room in the inn.

  He changed his clothes to his mercenary outfit, slung his robe, got his pistol and dagger. Went down to see Aeris, now in her robe waiting on the sofa. Her feet impatiently tapping the floorboard.

  “You're late” her voice was firm and deep.

  “You said 40 minutes.”

  “I didn’t mean you take the whole 40 minutes “ she said as she went to the back.

  “Where you headed” he said. “The doors that way”

  “The back, we can’t risk anything” She leaped through the back window to the alley. Edric followed without any further questions. Not like he could do anything.

  The noble district at night was eerily quiet.The streets were empty except for the occasional patrol of armored guards, their silver-plated boots clicking against the pavement.

  Aeris led him though the back alley, moving with confidence as if she lived here all her life. They slipped past a pair of guards, ducked into an abandoned courtyard.

  Edric frowned. “Where are we going?”

  Instead of answering, Aeris walked in front of a large stone wall. She pressed her foot on the edge of a stone slab, and with a low grind, the slab shifted to reveal a narrow staircase leading underground.

  “What the hell is this?” Edric said

  Aeris walked down the stairs without saying a word. The stairs were narrow but fortunately the trip wasn’t long, before Edric could ask any further. The Stairs had led to a big hall- it was clearly abandoned with all the dirt and dust.

  There’s a big stage in the center, like a martial arts fighting ring made of stone. The rest of the area is empty except for a few remnants of furniture. Edric understood why he came here- it was empty and underground- so no matter what happens the noise should be muffled. As to how she knew this place, well she wouldn’t have answered anyway so he chose to ignore that.

  Aeris took off her cloak and tossed it on the ground, hopped up onto the stage and unsheathed her saber. “Time to start,” She points her saber at him. “Either you attack or I will”

  “So suddenly , don’t I get some breathing time at least-” before Edric could finish his sentence , a slash from her saber just nicked his side. “What the hell!”

  “There’s no breathing room on the battlefield.” she said. “Focus!” Her voice is stern and bold.

  We are going to an auction not a battlefield. And why does she remind me of my math teacher. Seeing that there’s no way to avoid this, he grabbed his pistol. Swiftly aimed at her side, making sure it doesn’t hit her only grace her slightly, pulls the trigger.

  The beam streamed forward just about to nick her hair but in an instant she takes her saber, slashes in the trajectory of the bullet. It deflects it , hits the wall behind Edric. Edric slipped to the ground from the impact, it surprised him. No one ever deflected the bullet before.

  “Don’t be weak, aim for the torso,” she said. “That thing you have might be strange but is no different from a mages spell. Control your mana, a large burst of mana is predictable and as you can see, can be deflected”

  “O-okay, and it’s called a gun not a thing.” he corrected her,was annoyed by her calling it a thing.

  He got back up, dusted off his clothes. Reached under his coat, grabbed his knife on his left hand and armed his pistol on the right. He breathed deep, keeping his focus on Aeris.

  This is it, it’s what I wanted anyway. No regrets now. A moment of silence rustled between them and then he launched forward. Aiming for her with all his might, he spars.

  Only 5 days remained till the auction, only hope remains to rescue Xantha in due time

  LitRPG Progression Isekai

  The World Walker on a Tuesday

  "I threw a rock at a Machine-God and leveled up. Now my bodyguard is a sentient gargoyle who hates boats."

  Kaelen Vance didn't ask for a System. He touched a corrupted server rack in a London basement and the universe glitched.

  Now he’s stuck in a multiverse that runs on logic he doesn’t understand, trying to survive ecosystems that want to eat his soul. He has no fireballs, no cheat codes, and his "System" is a star-chart that tracks trauma instead of XP. Joined by Vrex, a sentient rock-golem tank who speaks like a physics professor, Kaelen must survive the only way he knows how: by exploiting the rules, abusing the economy, and applying physics where it doesn't belong.

  [System Log: Sensory Imprint]

  "The thing in the canopy—I mentally christened it Mr. Peepers—wasn’t looking at me. My new soul-compass, the Astrolabe, had made that clear. The Aetheric Shroud wasn’t a cloak; it was a localized paradox. A glitch. And Mr. Peepers, with its dozen unblinking eyes, was staring at the glitch. It was like seeing a patch of corrupted pixels in your vision; you can't see what's in it, but you sure as hell can't miss the spot where reality forgot to load."

  ? Smart MC: Exploits systems over brute force.

  ? Unique System: No blue screens. Only Trauma and unique system with Astrolabe & Star Charts.

  ? Buddy Duo: Snarky Human + Literal-Minded Rock Golem.

  ? Creative Combat: Kinetic manipulation & social engineering.