Due to what happened at the academy canteen, Daru struggled to sleep that night, excitement coursing through his body at the thought of Lucas and his underlings ganging up on him while he was on his way back to his dormitory, or something along those lines.

Perhaps he would be able to spar with the top A-ranker sooner than expected?

Naturally, because of this, Daru couldn't think of a solution to his problem in the Myriad Sword Realm, and for a few days, he could only hunt swordspawns around the swamp.

He couldn't proceed without coming up with a solution to the disguise problem first.

Striking down another of the toad-like spawns, Daru leveled up again—thrice now, in his one week in Veshara.

The level gap between him and the swordspawns, along with the fifty percent experience boost, made it very easy for him to level up.

It was as though he was back to the time he was still level twenty due to the rate at which he filled his experience bar.

==

Bladeborn: Daru Finnley

Level 35 (55, 450 to level up)

Titles: Bob's Sworn Brother [Active(Display)], Strongest Novice [Active (Effect)]

Secondary Titles: None

Blessings: [???????'s Minor Blessing (???? ????'s ???)]

Curses: [Yama's Discontent (Soulbound Sword)] [Goddess Fortuna's Frown]

Strength: 67 (+20)

Dexterity: 69 (+20)

Agility: 68 (+20)

Stamina: 50(+20)

Vitality: 48 (+30)

Perception: 82 (+20)

Luck: 0 (+65)

==

He had also gotten the hang of the C-ranked sword skill [Crescent Dicer], which he saw Halphar use multiple times during their heated duel.

It was a pretty simple learn that mixed only killing intent and proper forms and stances, definitely a tier lower in difficulty than [Havoc Rush].

Nonetheless, it was difficult to feel happy, especially since he had been using his brain this entire time, yet still failed to think of a solution.

'Ahh…I'm getting nowhere like this…Should I just focus on thinking first?' Daru said, exhaling deeply while wiping the sweat on his face with his slightly muddy hands.

It was then that he caught a glimpse of his appearance from the golden edges of his black tachi.

His brows rose as an idea popped into his mind.

He then looked at the mud on the ground, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Daru hurriedly retrieved the Oni Mask from his inventory, donning it and selecting the [No Same Visage Twice] option.

In the crimson void of the mask, he headed over to the long-eared face, whose appearance was closest to the Veshari, and touched it.

He then checked his appearance the moment he returned to the environment of the swamp.

Daru smiled, satisfied with his fair-skinned Veshari appearance.

Once done, he tapped on his belt bag, prompting the inventory window to appear and leaving it open before he began gathering mud.

He placed each handful in one of the slots, stored under the label "Somber Mud Pile".

Each slot naturally had a limit.

After a while, the first mud pile slot was full.

Thus, he used another, filling three inventory slots just in case.

It would be difficult to return to the Somber Swamp after hours of journey back to a Novice City, and he didn't want to waste too much time traveling back and forth for something that could totally be avoided with enough preparation.

After gathering mud, he began applying it to his own skin. The tone was clumsy and uneven at first.

However, Daru took his time, making himself look more like a Veshari over time.

His disguise got a passing rate in his eyes after twenty whole minutes of evening the tone.

Daru didn't particularly dislike the sticky feeling of the mud, just its slightly stinky scent.

Nonetheless, this was but a small price to pay compared to giving his entire soul to Kazuraga, whatever the thing meant.

Nodding in satisfaction, Daru summoned his Cross-Eyed Albino Zebra and began proceeding in the direction he chose.

His usually faulty internal compass didn't fail him this time.

At the very least, he was definitely headed to a Novice City, given that the level of the Swordspawns he was encountering got lower and lower.

Daru eventually began ignoring them.

He was earning only around 60 to 120 experience points from each; it was more productive to simply focus on his mission for now and return to the swamp as soon as possible.

Instantly killing his opponents due to an overwhelming attribute gap wasn't to his taste, anyway.

Daru spent the next thirty minutes journeying across the swamp.

Only then did he reach the borders, one that was different from the Gloomy Forest.

Bold words appeared in the air, introducing the location to him:

[Haunting Mist Valley]

Daru furrowed his brows.

'Why do the maps in Veshara always sound way more interesting than the ones in Valmaris?' he mused in a slightly complaining manner.

But then, numerous ear-piercing clangs and battle-shouts in the nearby periphery snatched his attention away.

This was definitely a lower-level area, given how many battles were happening at once.

The Haunting Mist Valley was far more lively than the Somber Swamp.

Daru glanced at his mount.

His Cross-Eyed Albino Zebra would definitely give his disguise away, since the creatures of Veshara appeared to be way more horrifying on average.

So, he decisively jumped down from its back and dismissed it with two claps.

This would naturally make his travel pace slower.

However, he had to ensure he would blend in perfectly, at least until he obtained the map.

All hell can break loose after that, and he would be glad to fight every Veshari who would come at him.

Daru felt like a sneaky rat, but for once, he felt slightly excited about it.

Infiltrating the enemy territory on his own was a narrative that he didn't dislike at all.

It was fun.

In fact, he even began to feel nervous—a feeling that rarely gave his heart a visit, feeling way too into it.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Daru held the scabbard of his sheathed tachi with his left hand, entering the Haunting Mist Valley a moment later.

He gulped from time to time.

Daru didn't particularly fear fighting all the average and low-rankers in the area, just the thought of being caught—his well-prepared disguise failing him.

He wasn't used to sneaking around, after all, and he was definitely not a good liar.

Fortunately, no one noticed him.

Yet…

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