Chương 95: Sliiiiiiiding In The City And Building Up Plans

It's pretty late already. That's what I think when staring up. Both arms hanging on my side, my cloak sleeves hanging slightly below my own fingers. Too baggy for me. I'll grow into it. My right foot is carrying me forward on the ground alone. When I feel my speed decrease, my right foot pushes against the ground and my left foot lands in front of my right foot, my weight transfering from my right leg to my left one, and I keep going. This transition took less than a second. Well, around a second I'd say.

But that's because I'm going slow. I don't want to run into any walls after all. I'm not skilled enough to do crazy turns and drive and drift in the village without risking slamming myself against a wall, or bumping into someone, and have very weird explanations to give out. Explanations with my crossbow. Turning to the left, I take a street that goes AWAY from my house. And the reason for this is pretty simple. I'm not ready yet.

And no, that's not because I want to enjoy the feeling of weightlessness that comes from moving around with my new magic. And no, that's not because restraining my laugh is the hardest thing I ever did. Nope. That would be a lie. And no. That's also not because there's not a lot of people outside today because yesterday a giant fireball exploded close the village and I want to enjoy skating in the street without dodging people.

Drifting in another street, my skating continues, the hood of my cloak moves, almost as if it was about to fall away because of the speed. So I reduce my speed slightly and now I'm just the faster walker in the entire world. Putting my hands in my pockets and believing in myself to handle this balance game without my hands, I look up at the sky again as houses pass and go through my peripheral vision as if I was in a car, or riding an electric bike. It's pretty late. But it's not THAT late.

It's like the start of evening, so I have some time to figure out how to achieve my plan before getting back home and test it out. Getting closer to a street with some shops. I can finally see people, and with a snap of my leg to put the edge of my foot in front of my sliding foot, I start reducing my speed, legs crossed, hands in my pockets, standing straight under the rain. As my speed lowers and lowers I see some of the people in the buying street spreading around me while I keep sliding.

Right here, under the rain, with my hands in my pocket, legs crossed and sliding forward while staying ramrod straight and without moving my legs, people avoid me, everyone around me move instinctively to the left and the right, letting my sliding body pass while they open up a way for me. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It's similar to what happens when I 'spread the sea' like I call it. So yeah, they don't see me. But why?

That's something I've been wondering for a while nowadays. I know they don't see me. That's something I figured out with my trip on the brothel, and the whole brain infection. But right now. I close my eyes, knowing none of those people will run into me, even while I'm still being carried forward by my momentum. I focus on feeling my sixth sense. My flow. Some of my flow is spreading on the ground, yes, like usual, whenever I slide. But apart from that, there's none of my flow outside. There's flow inside my body.

Moving and aggregating around my feet, but outside? There's none apart from the magic in the ground. Spreading deeper every second, imbuing the ground for some reason. There's nothing but this. And still. I finally stop moving. My momentum dying, I look around at the people around me. There's some, seven of them walking, one of them enter a shop and the other pass me by, taking a step to the left to dodge me as if I was some kind of cancer, he doesn't look down at me.

And now that I'm used to it, I know it's the sign of invisibility. Right now. Nobody sees me. But if I focus on my sixth sense, I see and feel nothing in their bodies. My flow, my magic, isn't in their brain, and not even in their body. So why. Why can't they see me? Rubbing the bridge of my nose, annoyance climbs through me. And I thought I was starting to figure out magic. I get some new power, and it's the easiest to figure out, while my first one is still a mess to understand. Maybe I'm really making mirages?

That would fit the water mage theme..... Eh. We'll see later. Pushing against the ground. My eyes lock on a shop, and I slide in front of it, the door doesn't have any jingle, so pushing my hands on it and focusing on the flow of the ground, I push it on the door. Going from floor to door is pretty easy, and I did it instinctively the second time I entered the library -need to see okari soon actually- The real problem is infecting the air around me. Well, thankfully, I don't need to do it.

When the flow is thick enough on the door, I push it open, slide inside and close the door behind me by bumping it with my back. Nobody heard anything. I love my illusions. Even if I have no idea how I did that, well, I know how to do it, but how it works? No idea. Maybe I'm putting a mirage on the door? Or sound? Sound helps me spread my flow in the air usually, so maybe I'm a water/sound mage? Urgh I have no idea. In any case. Time to vandalize a shop.

It's an exercice in softness to slide around the small shop, it's pretty hard because my body just want to go BUUUURST GO FAAAAST, but I want to go slow. I manage, but it's pretty hard, harder than walking for sure. Passing by the owner close to his counter, I see him talk to a random guy with a hood like me and a rugged beard.

"Can't""Why not?" The owner palms his counter, leaning closer to him, biting a lip in nervousness.

"The forest is dead. Finding game is hell" With a big fucking sigh the owner slouch on his counter, and he doesn't answer the hunter(?) for a while, he stays there, just like that, before finally he looks up again.

"Can you get me some?"

"I could" The hunter hand comes up to scratch his rugged beard "But it's gonna be pricier. Lots of fishes too. Could get you some worms too, but rabbits, wolves, deers..." His hand move in a 'don't expect much' motion. And as the shop owner shakes his head and answer, I steal a raspberry tart close to his counter, none look at me as I turn around and slide away. Leaving and taking my time to open the door, I hear this "Well. Better than nothing" And the door close behind me. Well. That was something.

Will mother find meat for the stew?