Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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[DING]

"Hm?"

'A notification? At this time?...'

'I've never had a notification appear during the memories aside from when it was about to end.'

'I still have plenty of time so… Is something happening to my real body?'

Curious, but somewhat worried, Dale opened the notification, reading through its contents:

[You have greatly stirred the memories of Elgur, achieving something that could alter his path, leading him to a completely alternate future]

[By creating a new memory, you're not anymore confined by the previous memory's rules, being free to move and interact with the elements of this distant world]

[The world will change and react to your actions and your presence]

[Reshape it to your will, or be reshaped instead]

[Finish the new, unknown Memory and achieve a new future never seen in history…]

[Or turn away, leaving it to Fate to guide you forward]

[Would you like to leave the Memory?]

"... What? Was this possible with the memories?" He asked out loud with some surprise as he touched his nose bridge

/Poof.../

Dale closed the book he was reading, not interested in it anymore.

As he finished reading the notifications, he came to a silent, grave understanding of what these memories may be:

'It seems my suspicions were somewhat correct. Although they're yet to be confirmed.'

'Even if these are memories, it's hard to believe they're solely that.'

'This world is too complex for that, it's too concise and there is a clear linearity of events, it's not like this city is being constructed from the memories of Elgur alone, this place shows things Elgur likely never got in contact with before.'

'If I think about what likely happened, then Elgur somehow survived the Eagle challenge, likely by facing a champion of the Arena for his final duel, not the Lizardman but a man, this was the first change I made in his history...'

'No, it wasn't that, the first change was the Soldier, convincing him to join my side was the first change, which led to my discussion with Gyu as he was impressed by my confidence.'

'Either way, upon winning, the original Elgur must've remained in a room healing his injuries before becoming a Gladiator, after all, at the end of the day, these aren't the Memories of the Hero Elgur, these are the memories of a Colosseum slave.'

'Although when I used this for the first time I greatly changed the sequence of events, they likely weren't that different from the original, not triggering any notifications.'

'This place must be a simulation of some kind or a more complex dream space… I made that up right now.'

'Whoever created this place is likely a being of great power or has access to incredible tools… Nonetheless, I now have another goal.'

Dale got up from the table, going to a room nearby, pulling a backpack from a closet before beginning to pack his things.

"I likely don't have much time, I have to leave."

The first thing Dale did as he got up was refuse the offer to leave the Memory, believing he still had quite some time to explore it.

[DING]

[The timer resets, you currently have 48 hours to achieve a significant change, otherwise, the memory will close on its own]

'Hm… Although 48 hours is a lot of time, it's still less than what this memory was meant to provide me. And I'm not going to waste this chance just reading books.'

'The plan remains the same, but I'm now with a deficit of a few hours, not little, but not much either.'

'If I can extend the time I have in this memory… Then I wonder what else I'll be able to find.'

'I have a few ideas for what I can do, but most importantly, I must act swiftly.'

'This memory likely has many things for me to see, otherwise, I wouldn't be granted this chance.'

'The System has identified I've changed Elgur's future, but if that was the case, there would've been no reason to give me more or less time, this must mean it wants something out of me.'

'It can be anything, even something as simple as wanting to see how far I can go or helping me grow, which so far has been the number 1 goal of the System.'

'There is a lot to unpack here, it could be an opportunity to learn more about the System itself by being in an unnatural environment… And given I'm currently without the System's assistance, this is a great way to see how I would fare without it as well.'

'If I fail, I'll lose my chance to continue the memory, which is better than my life, so I'm in the green, for now…'

'My greatest concern is still my body in bed. If I spend a few days here, this will certainly be problematic... But I can deal with that once I'm awake.'

Dale began to quickly pack everything he had his sights on.

First, he had everything of value, starting with the technique books, then followed by the ordinary books he had yet to read.

As for the books he had already read, he put them in a hidden room for him to fetch and sell later since books were expensive commodities in this area.

When he was done packing those, which were his priority, he shoved in all of the valuables and items he could trade for gold inside it, although it was a little hard to fit it all when he was done with it.

With his pack now bloated and his body full of equipment, he separated other things such as swords, potions, and other things he was unable to pack on the side, he was going to carry those things with him to his next accommodation.

As for the rest, if time permitted, he would return to fetch them, though there wasn't much he couldn't carry.

Around half an hour later, satisfied with his progress, he turned to look outside through a small window, his eyes sharpening as he let out a sigh.

'I took too long, they're here.'

Around ten or so minutes ago, Dale heard the sounds of footsteps and faint chattering coming from outside Gyu's old home, he knew he was surrounded, there was no point trying to flee.

That was why he focused on packing his things, as he knew he wouldn't be leaving without a fight.

He thought about talking things out, but that was impossible, if those were the soldiers sent by a high-ranking member of the Ooperang, then they were likely here to find out where Gyu's wife had gone.

Obviously, Dale could just tell where they went, but he knows that someone as savage and uncaring as him may not even let him live afterward, much less a man who is no better than a slave.

Even if he let him leave, he would confiscate his things, it was just the natural thing to do.

And if he were to approach them, he would be putting himself in a dangerous situation by not only entering their territory but by revealing his identity also.

He could try saying he didn't know Gyu, or create some sort of excuse, after all, their relationship wasn't that deep, nor were these modern times. Information travelled from mouth to mouth and sharing descriptions wasn't exactly a simple thing to do.

But no one could guarantee how the soldiers would react, and if he was unlucky, the man himself could be fast approaching, and he knew that he was even half as strong as Gyu said he was, then he didn't have a chance with his current body and arsenal.

It would be suicide to even challenge ordinary Officials of the Army, much less high-ranking personnel.

So the best course of action was to try and evade them without conflict and let things settle down on their own.

And he had a plan B for that, not that he planned on using it originally…

Underneath the cottage was a hidden passage connecting to an abandoned house inside the city. It was a secret smuggling passage that had been abandoned for decades, one Gyu repaired for the sake of meeting his beloved more often in secret, and also for other things...

Gyu used it to smuggle items in and outside of the city, mostly Ooperang items, but nothing of value really, just enough to make some side cash. Though now, most of that cash ended up in Dale's hands.

He read this in a journal he left behind, he felt it was a bit bad he forgot to fetch it, maybe it was his way of fully leaving his past behind and building a new future…

But it was clear that Gyu wasn't a fully moral man.

For Dale, on the other hand, this was perfect, as the best way to hide was right under his enemy's nose, and even if they did find him, it would be much easier for him to distance himself from this issue while also having a greater chance to survive the hurdle alive.

Even then, he had an idea that could save him as well… But first, he had to leave.

/Grab…/

He pushed the bloated bag and his items inside the hidden room, which was built behind a secret wall that had been covered by a wardrobe.

He did the same for several other items, and once he was done, he began blowing out the candles around his house, casting a veil of darkness everywhere.

He didn't know why the soldiers had yet to act, but once all lights were off, that would likely be the moment they would begin to move.

He made sure to lock most of the windows and doors as he did so to try and buy some time before going back to the hidden room, cleaning some of the possible tracks before doing an old trick…

As he closed the hidden door, he used his Mana to try and push the wardrobe back in place, sweating heavily as he finished his work.

When done, he locked the secret wall, making it impossible for them to open it without breaking it, hopefully, this little trick would be enough to make them look past this area.

Finally, with everything ready, he picked up everything and ran inside the tunnels, sweating a little as he carried about his entire body's worth of items on his back.

…

/Meanwhile… Above…/

"... Alright, enough time has passed, he should be asleep now."

"Begin operation." One of the soldiers said as he whistled like a bird, signaling for all nearby people to begin approaching the house

As they approached, they quickly realized all doors and windows were locked, causing them great distress as this was meant to be a simple kidnapping operation.

In the end, he gave the signal, and all of them burst through the doors and windows at the same time, creating quite the ruckus!

""?!""

However, it didn't take too long for them all to figure out their target had completely vanished!

For Dale, his plan worked perfectly, as the soldiers took quite some time to search through the house.

When they were done, he was already far into the tunnels...

…

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Notes

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