I looked out to see the streetlights in the street were turned off, so I turned on the light of my device once I got out to the street

Despite only being 9 pm, the roads were surprisingly empty, I guess it might have something to do with the fact that the streetlights have been turned off

I made one last check in my pockets to make sure I did not forget anything before I went to the store to buy something to eat

Oh

I gave the object in my pocket a touch again

It seems I accidentally bought the pouch where I keep my knives along with me

Going back up to put it back and coming down again would be too much of a pain, I guess I will just keep it with me as I go to the store

Then I also made sure that I bought my Device

Eh I could not find it in either of my pockets

Then I realized the shining light that I was holding in my hand

And facepalmed

“I can't believe that I had been holding this in my hand the whole time and thought I forgot to bring it down

I even brought it out just for the light and still forgot it was in my hand”

Luckily no one saw it

I thought as I sighed out loud

Here we go then

I shined the light onto the road in order to make sure I would not be falling into any sinkholes or tripping over anything

I also shined the light towards the front to make sure there was no one that I was going to crash towards

I alternated doing that for a few seconds as I made my way to the store

Then I saw something peculiar on the ground when I pointed the light to the ground

It seemed to shine a little when the light hit it and looking from afar, it also seemed a little sharp

As I walked closer to look at the sharp fragment on the floor

I realized what it was

It seemed to be a piece of broken glass, and there were multiple pieces of them around this area

And at first, I was wondering where they could have been from, then I saw a pole right next to the area where I found this

I looked up

“Holy shit”

I saw an exposed filament, and the globe that was supposed to be surrounding it was broken into pieces and was found on the floor

Since this was the first light post that I see whenever I leave my home, so I was not sure if all the other light posts had the same fate

But if all of them are in the same state, then it makes sense why the streets are so dark and unlit

I took a picture of this area and continued to move on to the store

After another 15 seconds, I saw another unlit light post that was not working and as I walked closer, I saw that it had the same fate as the one I saw previously

And the next three light posts were also the same, and I took a picture of three of the light posts so that I can make the report more easily by supplying evidence of the state they were in

But I am still surprised by the fact that there is no one that is immediately coming to fix these light posts and also to investigate what is happening

Even I am curious about the cause of this incident, so it was on my mind as I made my way to the store

I guess I should report this once I get my food, if I am not remembering wrong there should be an office near the store

As I passed the fifth pole and took pictures of this area as well, I finally saw the light of the convenience store that I recognized

And I ran to the store since there were no other light posts in this vicinity

I arrived in front of that store after sprinting for a bit and realized it was empty except for the store cashier, who was passing time by just playing with their device

And once I neared the door, it automatically opened and made the cashier jump for a bit, but she immediately recovered and welcomed me into the store

I smiled and nodded as I made my way into the store

But before I started looking for what I needed, I had to ask a question

“Sorry to ask but, did you realize that the light post outside has been destroyed for some weird reason?”

She nodded and said

“Yes, I did and I actually made a call to the department to see if there was anyone who could help fix it and see if they could find any clues as to who destroyed it

But it seems they are busy right now because of another incident, so they just told me they would handle it the next day”

Hm

“I should not be telling you this, since what our company camera was able to capture should only be seen by the employees and the policing force but I hope you will stay safe as your return home since our cameras were able to capture a weird silhouette that was bouncing and moving around the front of our store

And I feel like there might be a chance that that exact silhouette is the one that caused this incident, so please stay safe dear customer”

I smiled and thanked her

“I will and thanks for the concern, but what about you will you be okay?”

“I will be fine since our store has the necessary security needed to repel threats of a certain level, so hopefully it won't be too hard to handle

And if you like you can stay here until you feel safe as well”

I shook my head and said

“It's alright, I will just go back home immediately after I buy what I need, and be sure to stay safe as well”

She nodded and bowed

I then immediately went to look for the food I wanted to eat

I found some preheatable bento with fried chicken, eggs and rice with a plum in the middle

On the shelf below, the bento I also picked up some rice balls to have something else extra to eat if I still feel hungry after I have finished the bento

Then I went to pick up a basket so that I don’t drop them on the floor accidentally

After getting the basket, I went to the drinks section to have something to drink with the meal

I picked up a can of black coffee and also a bottle of green tea

Hmm should I get one more can of black coffee so that I can drink it tomorrow morning

I thought for a bit and went back to the coffee section and grabbed one more can just to be safe

I walked to the counter to pay for items

“Do you want a bag to hold all of that”

“Yes, I would like one, and could I also get one of the mana gums over there”

I pointed to the cupboard right next to the cigarettes

Mana gums are one of the many mana recovery items that are available to the public, one of the items that are sold in any stores including convenience stores, which are different from potions that are only sold in pharmacies or apothecaries

These mana gums, and also the mana cigarettes sold in convenience stores act slightly faster compared to the mana potions, but the healing effects are not instant and instead are more like slow recovery items that work as you chew the gum or when you smoke the cigarettes

To put it in simpler terms, the effects of healing start earlier when using gum or cigarettes but they take a longer time for the mana to heal to the extent that is written on the packaging

While the potions start working slight later than the gums and cigarettes but provided the written amount of mana almost immediately

And which item you want to use at that moment depends on the situation at that moment, since most adventurers will have both of these items with them when they go on missions or adventures

And I had just remembered I ran out of them, so I had to buy some here to restock my supplies

I think I have to find time to buy some potions as well since I did not bring any with me before I moved here

“Please put your device here”

She points to a location near the till

And I hovered my device above that area

Ping

I checked my device and saw that 110 Mar had been deducted

She packed all the stuff into one bag and handed it to me

“Have a nice night and stay safe on the way home”

I said the same to her

“Stay safe as well”

She bowed as I left the store

The street was still quite dark, and the only source of illumination was the store behind me

I took a slight detour to the left in order to see if the Policing Department was still open

I only had to walk for a bit since the office was quite close

And after crossing ye another broken pole, I made it to the office

It was quite big compared to the convenience store, and even the door was larger compared to the door of the store

And the door was surrounded by a large glass wall, which allowed me to see inside that there was no one else in the department which was exactly what the store cashier told me earlier

This is the first time I am seeing this happen, since no matter what time it was there was always going to be at least one person staying in the office, but I guess they are really running low on manpower

Since there was nothing else to do, I just ended my detour and started to make my way back home

I gave one last look to the department and looked at their logo which had a head of a wolf with four stars on its forehead, and I also looked at the door where there was a sign that wrote

“We are closed for the day, sorry for the trouble

If you have any enquiries, please call the other branches”

I guess I will give them a call as well

I took out my device and took a picture of the number provided on the door

After making sure the photo was clear I made my way home

The road was still eerily dark so I made sure to keep my lights on as I made my way back home

I used the device light to look around once I passed the first pole near the convenience store

Nothing here

I continued and passed two more poles

I heard sounds that sounded similar to something being dragged across the grass and I also heard some grass crunching footsteps

I pointed my light to where I heard the sound

Nothing, it was empty

I tried looking for the sounds around this area and I still could not find it

I hope this is not something that will kill me

I think it is probably best if I entered combat mode as I make a beeline to my house

The best choice is probably

Assassin

And then I activated my shroud to hide my presence as I made my way home

I was about to dash towards my home when something flew out and hit an area near me

Huh

That was a miss, and I did not even have to dodge to avoid that attack

I was lucky that I activated my shroud fast enough, but now's not the time to think of that

I made sure to start running towards my home

When more rope-like objects came in front of me

And just when I thought it was going to miss, it instead formed a wall in front of me

Seeing the wall in front of me I immediately dashed back in order to find another way out

As I dash towards the other side where the rope-like object has not taken over

And I spoke too soon, since immediately as I dashed to the other side, more rope-like objects burst out from the right side and blocked my way yet again

I did not sign up to die today

I guess the only thing left is to cut my way out of these ropes that are surrounding me

I turned around yet again and avoided the ropes that suddenly burst out from the ground

After dodging the third onslaught of ropes I put away my Device and summoned my Carnwenhau in order to cut through the ropes in front of me

After putting away my device I also made sure to activate my eyes, and luckily the ropes had mana emanating from it which allowed me to locate it and try to cut through it

I successfully cut through the ropes in front of me and I realized it was not exactly ropes since I was able to smell the iron that was emanating into the air due to the leaking of the red liquid

Is this blood

I have never seen anything like this

But this colour and smell could only be one thing

More ropes started to burst out of the ground, and I continued to slash at them in order to cut a path open

But it seemed like the more I cut, the more the ropes seem to multiply

This means that there is a source that I have to defeat if I really want to get out of this situation

I was only trying to escape from this situation but I guess I really have to defeat them in order to leave this area

Think, Itsuki think

First, I used my eyes in order to see if I can locate the mana link from the rope objects to the caster

It’s no use, even with the power of Carnwenhau’s Haunting Shadow

The objects do have mana in them but they work independently from the caster, and I could not locate the caster with my current tracking skills

I thought to where the source might be as I continued to slash the ropes that keep bursting out

The smell of iron is increasing and covering the area

The ropes started out from the left side where the light post was located, and I also last heard some crunching of grass on the same side

So that could only mean

It’s a big gamble since there is a chance they had already relocated, but I guess I will have to try anyway

I put down my bag of food, which had already been jumbled up due to the amount of force and movement I have been doing

I made sure to look around as I did this to prevent the rope-like objects from suddenly attacking me again

I took out the gum and kept looking around

Surprisingly they stopped attacking me and just continued to multiply

They either lost too many numbers and are waiting to regenerate, or the caster behind them is losing their mana

Either way, that is good for me

I quickly bought out two of the gums and shoved them into my mouth

After fighting for a while, I started to feel the effects of mana loss, so I had to immediately remedy this to prevent my defeat in this battle

After chewing the gum for a bit, I started to feel its effects and put the gum in my pocket as I bought out one knife from the pouch

Actually

“Why not all?”

With the mana slowly recovering in my body

I put my hand back in the pouch and bought out the remaining three knives as well

As I held the four knives in my hand immediately filled them with mana and started my chant

After making sure the mana was injected correctly, I let go of my grip on them

I haven't tried it with four knives, but I hope this works

I braced myself for the sound of knives hitting the ground to arrive 

But it did not

They were able to successfully float due to my mana and the spell

It is crazy how much wanting to survive can unlock new capabilities

With the knives floating by my side, I went to the area where I last heard the noise of grass

Prepare yourself and here I come