Nikolai saw that even in his dimension, Sergio rushed toward Ruxi to help her. He hated that his friend was growing attached to this archer because he still couldn’t trust her.

The fact that she refused to leave his side even though she could run away using her skill made Nikolai convinced she was after something. Giving people the benefit of the doubt was not his style, not anymore.

Sergio’s impression of him might change because of his actions, but it was better than waking up one day regretting that you ever trusted someone.

Nikolai heard the flap of wings and knew that it was time to flee. The bells on the vultures loudly rang as Nikolai grabbed one of the vials that Sergio created. It was called Mana-Restore, and it can restore the mana in the body up to three times.

After that, the toxicity of the potion will poison you.

‘Only a genius alchemist can create this at such a young age.’ Nikolai drank the potion and felt his mana replenish. He can never learn how to create this potion without investing time into alchemy.

“There’s someone on top of the cage!” A Rider shouted and rode his vulture.

Before Nikolai could run, countless vultures swarmed in the sky above him, cutting away every path of escape. Nikolai grinned to reveal his sharp teeth as he clapped his hands.

The mana in his body turned into darkness after it touched the cube, and it exploded from between his hands like gas. The dark cloud blinded every vulture as they began to screech. Some of them fell on the ground, and others slammed into Alias before falling.

Nikolai climbed the chains of the cage and jumped toward Alias. As soon as he touched the ship, it disappeared and appeared in his subspace.

He began to fall, but the darkness cushioned the impact, allowing Nikolai to roll on the and sprint in the direction of the Clan’s gates.

He didn’t use his stealth just yet, because he knew that a chase would soon ensue. He would use his mana at that time to remain hidden until he finds a chance to flee.

“After him!”

The Riders rode behind him, and a vulture tried to sink its talons into Nikolai’s skin. At that moment, Nikolai disappeared and appeared a short distance away.

As soon as another Rider tried to attack him, Nikolai repeated his actions. His stealth led to chaos among the Riders as they lost their target every few seconds.

Nikolai heard a mighty cry of a vulture and looked up to see a chief appear in the sky. Her hair was locked in dreadlocks beside her, just like the ones the other chief had. The two stared at each other before the newcomer raised his black spear.

‘Does she think I can’t dodge?’ Nikolai was surprised that the chief tried to snip him from such a distance. However, the actual reason was uncovered moments afterward.

The black spear had a red feather at the end of it. As soon as it left the chief’s hand, the feather exploded and turned into a flame. The explosion was strong and orientated that it propelled the spear toward Nikolai at an unprecedented speed.

His perception was the only reason Nikolai could follow the spear’s trajectory, but he had no way of dodging it in time. Since his system said that his stealth only prevented others from seeing him, he knew no escape from attacks directed his way.

‘Let’s test your powers.’

Nikolai raised both hands, which were now pale white after his awakening, and watched the dark pool in front of them. The spear’s tip struck the darkness but couldn’t go beyond that point.

However, Nikolai didn’t want to waste his mana. He tightened his fists, making the darkness explode. The explosion of the darkness made the spear spin and flew toward its owner.

The chief’s vulture flapped its wings and soared upward, allowing its Rider to snatch her spear in time. However, when she tried attacking again, Nikolai was nowhere to be seen.

***

Nikolai’s feet carried him faster than they ever had in this lifetime. The increase in stats was a delight, but the fact that he didn’t get to enjoy the difference against these opponents grounded him to earth.

He was still weak.

The bright sun warmed his skin as he left his stealth. He has left the Clan’s grounds using his stealth before any Elder can catch him.

All that left was to find a place to hide and then a place to fix Alias. After that, Nikolai can leave this mess and get his first skill. He was already an F-rank in terms of stats. All that he needed was a skill.

He could hear the shouts of Riders and the cries of their vulture from within the forest. Nikolai ran without looking back, hoping that he would get a fair distance away before needing to use his stealth.

His mana began regenerating, but he felt the wind change behind him. He used his stealth and rolled on the ground, only to see a vulture swoop down.

He realized it was the leader-to-be chief, which he had left on the pirate’s ship. The chief looked around with a frown after he lost sight of Nikolai.

“I don’t know where you are, but I will find you. I’ll take revenge for my comrades that you devoured and prove that I’m not a coward.”

‘I never said that you were, but suit yourself.’

Nikolai ran in the direction of the mountains under his stealth instead of chatting. If he remembers correctly, there was a mountain range where ‘that’ race lived.

They should be able to fix his ship or at least have materials that he could steal. After all, they weren’t exactly known for sharing their, which was why bullets were expensive.

‘They say the dwarves possess the best fastest flying cores.’ Nikolai grinned as his lone figure cut across the forest beneath countless flying vultures.