On the way, I checked every room I came across. It was a basement structure with two stories above ground and two floors underneath. With this type of construction, I can say I was still in the backstreets. It felt more like a scamming office than a secret hideout. The room I was previously locked in was on the second floor of the basement. From the outside, it appeared to be a low-end residential building.

I walked up to the upper floors to inspect each room, but found residents in all of them.

"Haaaa!!" "Ewww!!" "Help me!!" "Rapist!!" These were the reactions I received from the residents who live here. A woman tried to attack me with a kitchen knife that was longer than my entire arm. Her husband cut her off in the middle. I had no idea why that good man had married that ape.

"Who are these crazy people?" I'd be dead meat if I didn't watch out. Even that bastard didn't terrify me like this. To my surprise, all of them appeared to be in their mid-60s.

I'm sure they're startled to see me covered in blood, but a knife? Seriously? I was dressed like a beggar, with all of my clothes torn up here and there. "But dude, I'd look a lot better if you removed all this drooping blood from my body." The smell disgusts me even more. But there was one unexpected thing...

This appeared when I was putting those guys to sleep, and I was too occupied to check what it was back then.

Should I say I'm lucky even though I look like crap? According to the skill description…

I was still checking it out, so it works this way, uh? Repeating certain actions consistently can result in creating a skill linked to that specific action, and once a skill is created, doing it again and again to improve its proficiency will cause the skill level to be raised as well. A similar thing happened with the "Basic Sword Arts" skill too. I was swinging like a madman in the arena. That must have triggered the creation of that skill.

But what are the limitations of a skill? That is something I will have to look into further down the road.

"Nothing here either..." While gathering my thoughts, I continued to look. I expected nothing at all, but... what is this? cardboard boxes? There were five of them. They were empty, but there was some white powder at the corners. Swiping it with my finger, I licked it lightly. "There you are!"

What's the time? I asked, a satisfied smile on my face. I didn't even have to say it out loud; simply imagining it was enough.

A small screen flashed in front of my eyes. I was here for nearly four hours? Damn! That shitty bastard! I cursed at him, but I needed to get out of here as soon as possible. But first, I still have something to do.

I knew exactly where I was when I exited the building. So I started racing towards my house. Fortunately, I still had my loafers on. I've got about 30 minutes until the clock strikes "twelve." If I sprint continuously, it will take me around 20 minutes to get home. But given my current condition, I don't think I can last that long. Even though I can barely stand, I am persisting out of sheer will. "That took a lot more out of me than I thought."

If I were to be seen like this in the morning, people would be freaked out. Should I feel relieved that no one is present in these back alleys? Or should I curse myself for placing myself in this situation in the first place? I'm deeply troubled by the shit I need to go through.

Whatever happens, I hope she's safe. It's my fault that I did nothing then. So whatever happens to her now is my responsibility.

I was almost at my house, but if I went through the main gate like this, everyone would panic. With trembling steps, I snuck from the back and walked straight to my room.

"Huff, huff, huff," As my breathing became harder, I opened the door that would provide answers to my muddled questions.

"G-Grace!? What are you—" As a dazzling light engulfed the entire room, I felt my insides twist in desperation and my heart ache in anguish.