The first light of daybreak slipped through the rocky ceiling's cracks, falling on Leo's sleeping face as his eyelids twitched in response.
"Haaa…"
Letting out a suppressed yawn, Leo stretched his arms with relaxation apparent on his face, the break of a smile on his face proving his decision to spend the night in the canyon to be the right choice.
"That was one satisfying night."
He had simply decided to sleep in the canyon since it was already nightfall by the time he was done with his 'Cleansing'. However, Leo was happily surprised by his sleeping experience. Not to mention the soft grass carpet coating the ground, just the perfect warmness preserved within the canyon was enough for Leo to give it five stars.
Gulp… gulp…
"Refreshing!"
Perhaps thanks to the magical nature of the canyon, the few mouthfuls that Leo drank out of the pool surrounding what was left of the 'Cleansing Sword' seemed to be a dozen times tastier than the water coming from the source itself.
Considering the relatively harsh conditions that he lived in during his journey here, Leo was tempted to spend a few more days surrounded by 'nature', but he proceeded to wash his face and do a few stretches in preparation to leave.
"Well then, thanks for everything… and do say hello to Ray for me."
Jokingly speaking to the blade-like stalk after filling his water jug to the brim, Leo took one last look at the mesmerizing canyon before turning around to depart.
Although it was slightly harder to walk against the water flow in the tunnel, the weakened stream didn't stop Leo from arriving before the pair of dangling ropes which he left exactly for this moment.
After tying the longer one around his waist, Leo confidently climbed the other rope till he reached the stopped where he dropped off without any accidents
"Let's finish this fast and fill up my empty stomach."
Despite having safely escaped from the danger of confinement, Leo didn't remove the 'safety rope', grabbing his shovel to start his 'renovation' project.
As a location that would only be discovered once more by the one and only protagonist of this world, Leo naturally couldn't leave the site like this for anyone to find. He not only had to restore the tunnel's ceiling, but he also had to recreate the marks that would lead Ray to the canyon just like it did for him.
Thankfully, the only tricky part was just restoring the opening, once it was done, the rest of the 'project' was finished within the first hour without any trouble.
Neighh!
Noticing the approaching figure, the horse neighed in alert before calming down upon recognizing Leo's face.
Having already prepared to spend the night inside the canyon, Leo had already left a bucket full of water alongside a bag of sliced carrots for the horse before dropping into the tunnel. However, the empty bucket proved that the water was slightly lacking.
"Hey buddy, you must be thirsty. Let's go get you some water."
Departing in the direction of the river, Leo quietly munched on a few beef jerkies as he contemplated his next route.
`~~~`~~~`~~~`
Despite the month-long journey, Leo didn't immediately turn back into the nameless town where Arthur's heart lay. Instead, he continued following the river path even further.
While he had indeed removed the limitation set by his character setting and had a 'Change of Destiny' as the book described it, this was barely the basic requirement to get by within this world. After all, there were a lot of people who didn't have his condition yet remained as normal people due to lack of motivation or 'practice'.
In order to start on the path of the sword, Leo's journey had to continue. His next stop was none other than Swordkeep, the border city of the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire.
'The City of Swordsmen… was it?'
Although it wasn't the empire's capital, the popularity of Swordkeep gave it enough qualification to contend for the title. The city famous for being 'City of Swordsmen' was an important stop in any swordsman's path.
Although most kingdoms followed the trend of the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire after it took over as the hegemon of the era, using swords and blades as names, the empire severely restricted the spread of 'Sword Breathing' methods outside its own borders. Ensuring a constant flow of funds and manpower to maintain its supremacy.
As a result, Swordkeep flourished to the point of being overpopulated, swordsmen seeking apprenticeship gathered from everywhere. In response, those seeking apprentices, guilds seeking members, or even 'Sword Breathing Manuals' made their way into the city, creating an unfailing cycle of profit for everyone.
"Hopefully my information isn't too updated."
Unlike most of those who traveled to Swordkeep in search of any possible opportunity to step on the path dominating this path, Leo's trip to the City of Swordsmen had specific targets in mind.
Since he aspired to achieve enough strength to survive till the epilogue, Leo couldn't simply settle for anything, especially considering the hidden setting of this world. It was just that the conditions for the method he sought to obtain were stringent.
"There is always another way anyway."
In the end, Leo decided not to stress over it. What he 'read' contained knowledge of the past and the future, combined with the knowledge of his own reality, any change or target desired was possible with enough effort. However, Leo still conformed to his way of laying low.
The butterfly effect was one thing, but Leo didn't want to set a foundation in a world he would leave soon. Only when he confirmed that there is no way back would Leo start getting serious.
Even the same method could be obtained in one way or another. Regardless of the success or failure of his trip to Swordkeep, Leo put himself first before his goals. Although what he knew didn't make him completely omniscient, even just a hint of omniscience was enough to have a mind carefree of endless worries.
Neigh!
Just like this, Leo's journey resumed, having taken his first step as 'Reader', no longer held by the shackles that he set off with from the nameless town....