Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 293 : Illusion

'What the hell?!'

Alex cursed in his mind, trying to move his body again, but it was useless. Some kind of invisible pressure kept him firmly rooted in place, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't shake it off.

'I...need...to break free!' he thought, focusing all his mental and physical strength to move, but his body remained unresponsive.

Suddenly, a faint sound reached his ears—a cracking noise, like glass shattering.

Crack!

The cracking noise sounded once again, and with the corner of his eyes, Alex glanced at his side only to find a hole in the space near him. All around this hole, there were cracks in space. 

The hole expanded, surrounded by thin, jagged cracks, as if the very fabric of reality was splintering apart.

'Is it?'

Alex's expression turned several shades more serious, and he began to struggle to the best of his ability. He didn't hold anything back and used the full extent of his power to get free of his position.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The more he struggled, the more cracks appeared in the fabric of reality. Those nets of cracks converged, and a particularly loud cracking sound echoed all around him.

CRACK!

After this final cracking, the world around Alex immediately changed and he noticed several odd things at the same time.

First, he had regained control of his body and it was only then that he realized he had never stopped moving in the first place. His feet had been carrying him forward, but he wasn't aware of it until now.

Secondly, the area he found himself in was far less crowded than he had perceived. There were still people around, but not nearly as many as he originally thought.

But the third thing he noticed made his blood run cold.

He was surrounded.

There were five people surrounding him. One was walking in front of him, two of them were respectively at his right and left, and the remaining two were walking behind him.

However, the thing that made his heart sink and his throat tighten was when he realized that each and every one of them was at level 5. Not only were they at level 5, but four of them were at high level 5, while the fifth, the one walking in front of him, was at peak level 5!

Assessing the danger of his situation, Alex felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. These were not ordinary individuals; these were top-level fighters, and he was caught in the middle of them like prey.

The worst part? He had been following them willingly, like a sheep being led to slaughter.

'I've been caught in a mind hex,' Alex realized, his heart sinking.

He wouldn't say that he had the best mental capacity out there, but Alex was confident in his resistance to mental attacks to some degree. He was certain that though he might not be immune to them, he could at least feel when he was attacked. The fact that he had been put into some kind of illusion without his knowledge and he didn't even have an idea of how or when it happened was a severe wake-up call to him.

'The good news is they don't seem to have noticed I've broken free,' Alex thought, deciding to play along for the time being.

He followed them quietly, observing his captors closely.

The man in front, the most dangerous one, was at peak level 5. Judging by his hunched posture and the walking stick he carried, he seemed to be an older man, possibly elderly.

To his right, there was a muscular man in his mid-thirties with short black hair, carrying a massive hammer slung over his shoulder.

On his left, a slimmer figure with dark brown hair and a rapier strapped to his waist moved with a subtle grace that hinted at his agility.

Alex couldn't make out the features of the two behind him, but he knew they, too, were at high level 5.

All five wore full body armor, and each had an unfamiliar insignia emblazoned on their chest plates.

'An insignia? That means they're from a noble family,' Alex deduced.

What he couldn't understand, though, was why any noble family would attack him. Until proven wrong, he had yet to offend any family.

'What is certain, though, is that whatever family this is, they must be immensely rich,' Alex thought, a frown appearing on his face.

It should be reminded that in the Fiore Empire, any individual who reached level 5 was typically granted a baron title and a small territory to govern. However, most level choose not to do so.

Firstly, it was because the majority of level 5 already came from noble families, and after having pumped resources into those people, those families wouldn't allow them to break away and form their own line.

Secondly, creating a new noble family often invited hostility from the older, established families, and for most, the risk wasn't worth the reward.

The third and most pressing reason why people don't choose to do so is because by becoming a baron and managing a territory, one's progression will stall, and for many of those level 5, that was unacceptable.

So for a family to casually send five high and peak-level fighters, they were either an ancient, powerful house or a family rich enough to hire such talent.

Since Alex didn't recognize the insignia, he assumed it was the latter.

'What should I do now?' he pondered.

Now that he was free from the mind hex and his kidnappers were none the wiser, he could perfectly escape. With a snap of his fingers, he could teleport anywhere within a radius of 7 km as long as there was smoke.

However, he didn't feel like doing so. Things wouldn't probably settle with him running away, and even in the unlikely case that it happened, he simply didn't feel like running away.

He wouldn't be targeted and not retaliate!

'But fighting all five would be suicide... well, maybe not exactly,' he reconsidered.

As they continued north, the lively buzz of the city began to fade, and Alex could see far in front of him several insignias of several noble clans floating.

'This must be where the nobles attending the auction are staying,' he thought, 'Whatever I decide to do, I'd better act before we get there, or things might get complicated.'

He deliberated for a moment before giving the system an instruction, 'Increase my strength by 12 soul points, agility by 12, and defense by 40.'

Since he might be fighting against several top-level 5 opponents, Alex judged that he should appropriately raise his defense stat, as it might be what would keep him alive.

[Are you sure?] the system asked.

'Yes, I'm sure.'

[Starting the process...]

The familiar sensation of cool energy surged through Alex's body, and suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

"Gentlemen," he said in a courteous tone, "may I ask who you are and where you're taking me?"

The five men moved instantly.

The old man at the front sharply turned and, in the blink of an eye, thrust his cane towards Alex's throat with deadly precision.

The man to his right hoisted the massive object on his shoulder, ready to slam it down with brutal force.

The man to his left distanced himself, his expression a mix of shock and wariness as he gripped his rapier firmly, the blade poised for action.

Meanwhile, two daggers appeared on either side of Alex's neck, their cold edges grazing his skin.

"Whoa there, you might hurt someone with all those sharp toys," Alex said in a calm, almost playful tone, as if he wasn't standing at death's door.

"How did you break from my mind hex?" the man with the cane at Alex's throat asked coldly, his voice betraying his age, yet carrying a sharp, dangerous edge.

"So it was you who attacked me, huh," Alex replied with a smirk. "I won't forget that."

"Answer my question," the old man pressed, his expression growing colder by the second.

"I think you're the one who should be answering my questions," Alex retorted. As the words left his lips, he vanished, reappearing twenty meters away from the group of five. "After all, you're the ones who attacked me without warning."