CHAPTER 251: 251

Kael stood up calmly, slid his sword into its sheath with a soft shink, and then placed his palm on the wooden floor. The others stared, startled and confused.

Kael closed his eyes.

A faint glow flickered beneath his hand as his mana began to flow outward, like ripples in a pond. It traveled through the floorboards, weaving through the foundation of the building. He felt it—each bounce, each vibration, each obstruction and echo forming a map inside his mind.

Then, he opened his eyes.

"I found it," Kael said. "It’s in the left room Linda’s. There’s a space behind the wardrobe."

Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"How?" Sol asked, blinking at him.

"I don’t have time to explain. Let’s move!"

Without hesitation, the group rushed to Linda’s room.

Adonis took the lead, flinging open the wardrobe. "Where exactly?"

"Behind the drawer," Kael instructed, quickly glancing around.

Adonis reached in, pulled the drawer open—and his fingers found a mechanism. The moment he triggered it, a panel shifted aside, revealing a narrow hidden space just big enough for a few people to crawl into.

Relief washed over everyone.

"Great..let’s go!"

One by one, they started pouring into the tunnel—until they realized something.

"Damn it! It’s too small!" Sol shouted, trying to squeeze in.

"There’s not enough room for all of us," Linda added, biting her lip.

"Are there any more?" Freya asked quickly, turning to Kael.

Kael shook his head. "There’s another, but it’s on the lower floor."

Just as he spoke..

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway above.

Their hearts dropped.

"DAMNNNNN!"

THUD!

.....

Moments ago...

A heavy weapon slammed onto the front desk, causing the wood beneath it to tremble slightly. The man wielding it stood tall and commanding, a scowl carved deep into his face. Behind him, several armed guards stepped inside the inn, scanning the surroundings with hawk-like eyes.

"Stop wasting time and show us around," the leader snapped.

Gulliver, the manager of the inn, flinched at the sudden command. He stepped forward with a nervous smile, trying to maintain some semblance of calm.

"S-Sir, why don’t you have some breakfast first? You must be hungry after such a long patrol."

One of the guards in the back immediately brightened up at the mention of food, but the leader shot him a glare before turning his fury back toward Gulliver.

"Do you think we have time to waste on this shit?"

Gulliver’s heart pounded. He forced a meek nod and bowed slightly. "O-Of course not. Right this way."

As he led them into the ground floor hallway, he began explaining minor details of the inn—trivial repairs, recent weather damage, random anecdotes—anything to buy a few extra minutes.

"So this here is the kitchen... we’ve been repainting it recently," he said, motioning lazily toward the back.

"Enough," the commander barked, clearly growing impatient. "You’re stalling. Take us upstairs. Now."

Gulliver swallowed hard, inwardly cursing his failed attempt to delay them longer. He nodded and led them toward the stairwell.

Once they reached the second floor, the guards moved with practiced efficiency. They checked the rooms one by one. A few were occupied, but the people inside didn’t match the descriptions they were looking for. Everything seemed routine.

Until they reached the last room in the far corner.

The leader stopped, eyes narrowing slightly. He turned his head toward Gulliver, observing him closely.

Gulliver maintained a calm face, but sweat was now visibly dripping from his temple.

"Is there a problem with this room?" the leader asked, tone sharp.

"Of course not..." Gulliver replied quickly.

"Then why are you sweating?"

"It’s... today’s heat. You see, it’s really warm, and this corridor gets very little breeze," Gulliver said, fanning himself awkwardly.

The guard stared at him for a long moment, then pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The room was empty.

Gulliver peeked in from behind, trying to hide his sigh of relief. The guards began checking the room—opening drawers, looking beneath the bed, tapping the walls. All they found were scattered miscellaneous belongings. Nothing incriminating.

The leader then saw the balcony and walked out.He glanced at street outside.

The leader finally gave a curt nod and walked back downstairs. His eyes swept over the exterior one last time.

Just as he was about to leave, something caught his attention.

Several civilians stood across the street, craning their necks upward toward the second floor balcony. Their expressions were a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Hey!" the guard barked. "What are you looking at?!"

His voice thundered across the street, sending the civilians scattering like startled birds.

He grunted, dismissing it, and walked back into the inn.

Little did he know—they hadn’t been looking at him.

They were watching two people hanging beneath the second-floor balcony.

Sol clung to the bottom of the wooden railing, his face pale and heart pounding. Sweat dripped from his brow as he whispered, "W-We didn’t get found out, did we? Those people were looking at us!"

"That’s because you’re acting suspicious," Kael muttered, balancing beside him with remarkable composure. "Didn’t I tell you to act natural? We’re repairing the balcony, remember?"

"Are you sure that’s working?" Sol hissed. "You’re the one wearing a tiny mask over your face like some shady thief!"

"I’m wearing it to keep dust out," Kael replied coolly as he resumed tapping at the wooden underside of the balcony with his dagger, mimicking repair work.

Above, the edge of their feet were just barely hidden. To the casual observer, the two might have looked like workers tending to lose planks or checking support beams.

Still, it was far from perfect.

Sol, half-whispering, half-panicking, glanced at Kael again. "How the hell did you even find that secret space earlier? I mean—how?"

Kael paused for a moment, then responded quietly, "Mana sense. If you can control mana precisely, you can spread it like waves, detect surfaces, hollows, and even create a mental map of your surroundings."

Sol blinked, awe overtaking his fear. "Whoa... That’s seriously cool. Will you teach me how to do that?"

Kael sighed. "Let’s survive this first."

Sol nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah. Right... step one..Don’t die."