"Are you sure you want to go using only that skill?" Eadmund frowned. "I can barely feel your presence now since you leveled up the skill, but there are several better trackers than me on the city up above. Most of them work on the boundaries of the city, but…"

"It can't be helped. I don't think I'm powerful enough to learn a more advanced technique." Leon said. "Anyway, I will take my chances today, but if I fail, I will try again in a few months. I just want to do something more concrete to make me feel that I am truly putting my life at risk to return home as soon as possible."

"I see… Well, it is your choice, and you already did your part of the bargain for us." Eadmund said. "Although I don't think you will need any back-up since the path you will have to take is pretty straight-forward, four of my warriors will go with you in case something happens."

Although Leon wanted to refuse the help, he didn't because he would need some eyes to keep watching things around him. Without Mana Dominion, he would invade a vital facility of the city above… all in all, it was like he would invade enemy territory blindfolded.

"Just one piece of advice…" Eadmund looked at Leon in the eyes as if he was about to say something significant. "Don't kill the hostage… in the world above, the level of your mana pretty much determines how influential or rich you can become. That girl isn't either since she has close to none offensive skills, but she is the granddaughter of the most important man in the world. They don't live together because he created a world where the weak can't stay close to the strong… but maybe he will do something unexpected if she dies."

Leon sighed and facepalmed, the woman he would have to use to access the research center wasn't just an ordinary employee… so, if he goes too far threatening her, even if Leon doesn't kill her, he may end up being chased in the world below by some dangerous individuals.

"I will try to be persuasive, but not too vicious." Leon declared.

Leon and the four warriors who worked for Eadmund headed toward one of the numerous metallic pillars that supported the city above. As if their numbers weren't massive enough, they were colossal and were three hundred meters tall and fifty meters wide. Leon had no reason to check those so far, but he almost had an unpleasant surprise when he tried to touch it. Leon almost got electrocuted to death, and he only stopped because he saw hundreds of three-eyed rats' skeletons nearby. He wished that those four guys have warned him, but when he looked behind, he saw them wearing some thick gloves made of leather to avoid the electric discharge.

Although with their physical strength, climbing that would be something easy and fast even considering the gravity, Leon decided to speed up things a little more by creating some earth platforms and made them reach the end of the pillar. There he found a massive pipe… it was one of many that the city above used to dispose of their trash. The smell was so strong that Leon almost passed out. It looked like Poison Resistance couldn't protect him from strong smells.

Although it was weird to see that kind of thing since it would lead to a manhole and then the city above, Leon confirmed that it had been built to stop invaders from the world below. Several thick railings prevented anyone from using the pipe as a path. However, since they had been created decades ago and no one repaired them, over time, they became weaker, and the survivors like Eadmund managed to destroy them.

Soon they found a manhole, but instead of using that, they walked for several hours and used a random one, but soon Leon understood why.

"If they get caught, they cannot let the people above discover where their people are… in the end, the massive city was also a problem for the people living on it."

It was hard to be sure, but once Leon left the maintenance hole, he felt like it was around midnight. The city was completely silent, and the only light that illuminated the city was the light of a bright blue moon. It was a weird color, but it was enough to let people walk around without worrying about getting lost or hit something along the way.

"Don't make much noise," A random warrior said. "Although their numbers are not big, a few guards are patrolling the city."

Leon nodded, and after that, he followed those guys from behind. To avoid any mistake, he wanted to use some earth to fly, but soon he gave up. Once he does that, Mana Concealment would be canceled. Regardless, Leon and the others were smelling thanks to the sewers, so he started to wonder if they would be able to infiltrate anything without being noticed…

Soon Leon forgot about that when he saw that massive building, the research center didn't have many floors, but it looked like some floors were large than the others because of the experiments they did there. Leon started to wonder if that place hadn't monitored cameras… either way, it was a bit late to worry about that. Besides, if that were the case, Eadmund would have stopped him.

Leon and the four others observed the research center for a few minutes hidden in a dark alley until they found the target leaving the building. Although it was dark and she was like two hundred meters away, Leon clearly could see her appearance… maybe the status changed him in unexpected ways… Regardless, she was blond and had green eyes, so she kind of reminded Leon of Gisela, but she was short like everyone Leon saw in that city. Not only that, but she also looked like she was exhausted and pretty dispirited.

"Oh boy… it looks like I will have to use a depressed kid as a hostage…"

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