Caleb looked like someone who had just won the lottery on a casual walk through town.
The corners of his mouth would not stop curling upward.
Sure, he knew the system probably was not plotting anything good, but with that many rewards dumped on him all at once, there was no way he was not fired up.
Humming to himself, full of ambition, Caleb decided to celebrate by learning a little magic first.
Ten minutes later...
"Why is this harder than advanced calculus?!"
Caleb slammed the book onto the floor in frustration, then gave up and went back to reviewing paperwork.
"How is magic this hard?"
His head was starting to pound.
What he did not know was that for people born with magic as a natural gift, the way it functioned was already engraved into their bodies.
So the moment they activated it, their mana would flow naturally, like water following a carved channel.
The "skills" Caleb had received worked on the same principle.
But Caleb himself was more like a flat, empty field.
Naturally, that made it much harder for him to guide rune power through his body the way he wanted.
"Forget it. I'll try the skills instead."
Caleb tossed the files aside and rubbed his aching lower back. Being Governor was not supposed to be this miserable.
He was practically working around the clock.
No way. He had to dump this nonsense as soon as possible and get back to roaming free.
Arcane Shift.
In an instant, Caleb vanished from behind his desk and reappeared several yards away.
All that remained where he had been standing was a tiny orb of light.
The wall in front of him had also been blasted with a shallow crater.
Caleb could clearly feel that whatever pathway had just formed inside his body was now gone. He tried to activate it again, but the pathway did not appear.
"So this is... skill cooldown?"
Caleb fell into thought.
A skill was like borrowed water, enough to quench your thirst for a moment, but not something you could rely on forever.
If he wanted real power, he would still have to use actual magic to achieve it.
The magic he had spent was already beginning to gather again inside him, and Caleb let out a quiet sigh.
If someone like Viktor had gotten his hands on this, he probably could have devoured the whole book in a few days.
Caleb had spent an entire afternoon on it and even the first dozen or so pages were enough to make his skull ache.
And the thing was nearly a thousand pages long, with brass fitted onto all eight corners.
If nothing else, Caleb was pretty sure that in the twin cities, this book would make a perfectly decent blunt weapon.
To hell with this paperwork. He was going out to clear his head.
Caleb made that choice without the slightest hesitation, shoving the mountain of files on his desk off to one side.
Compared to when he had first arrived, Zaun's environment had already improved by a lot.
At the very least, people had smiles on their faces now, and the gangs had to keep their heads down.
The Chem-Barons who could no longer throw their weight around had been driven into hiding in the mines, and the forces under them had shrunk as well.
After all, what was the point of following a baron? You were always hungry, always getting smacked with a steel rod, and never got anywhere.
At that point, you were better off honestly working like the miners.
Other than a handful of lanky young men who refused to get factory jobs or put in any effort, the Chem-Barons could barely find anyone else willing to work for them anymore.
As Caleb wandered through the streets, he naturally drew plenty of attention.
But ever since the news spread that he wore Janna's bluebird bracelet, people had begun worshipping Janna as well.
The Governor was ruthless in the way he handled things. Both times he dealt with enemies, he had done it with brutal efficiency.
And with the Chem-Barons hanging out in the streets, satisfying as it was, the sight was still terrifying.
Especially since the Governor had thoughtfully scheduled the feedings during the daytime.
That way, the miserable screams would not disturb the residents' sleep at night.
On top of that, both the Ferros family and the Medarda family had recently sent over a very noticeable amount of wealth.
And by noticeable, well... it was hard not to notice it.
The gold and resources had not been delivered to the Governor's office, they had been sent straight to the Firelights' camp.
At this point, what the people of Zaun felt most toward Caleb was awe and fear.
After all, he was not a true Zaunite.
But since the city really had become better because of him, the people of Zaun did not mind having a Governor like that.
More importantly, the Governor had received a token from Janna herself.
That was Zaun's guardian spirit since ancient times.
Who would still dare question why Caleb was sitting in that seat?
Twitch had been hiding for a long time, watching this city where humans gathered.
People were strange. They felt all sorts of things, good and bad alike.
But Twitch did not care much about any of it. In his eyes, humans were just dead meat walking.
He had clawed his way up from below, yet could enjoy none of what was here.
So Twitch decided to teach these people a lesson with the chem-powered crossbow in his hands...
Starting with... that black-haired man.
Caleb was standing near the edge of Zaun, studying the area.
If he wanted to govern this city properly, this part mattered more than anything else.
If the people here could live well, then everyone in the city could live well.
The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end, and Caleb's heart jolted.
This was not just the heightened awareness from leveling up, it was also the instinct Caleb had developed after surviving crisis after crisis.
On pure reflex, he reached out and caught an arrow.
The tip glowed a sickly green. It had obviously been coated in poison.
Caleb was not especially surprised. This was the edge of the city.
He had ruined a lot of people's plans in Zaun, and not all of those people had been wiped out.
So honestly, if no one had tried to assassinate him here, that would have been stranger.
Where was the attacker?
After failing to find anything looking around, Caleb lowered his gaze and saw a rat lurking in the damp shadows below.
He wore a set of ragged clothes, stood upright like a man on two legs, and even had on a hat and goggles. In his hands was a crude-looking chem-powered crossbow.
"Twitch?"
Caleb called out his name without thinking.
"You know me?"
Twitch looked puzzled too. He had always been alone in the dark tunnels. Who exactly was this human?
"What are you trying to do?"
Caleb frowned. His impression of this creature was terrible.
"Bringing you greetings from the sewer!"
With that, Twitch burst into shrill laughter.
"Ha! Hahahahahaha!"
His cackling was followed by a tossed tube and a volley of arrows streaking through the air.
Caleb immediately used Arcane Shift to blink sideways.
He was not stupid. Twitch's attack had piercing power.
If he retreated backward instead, he would still be facing the incoming arrows head-on.
The moment Caleb heard that familiar laugh, and then saw a giant rat symbol appear over his head, he felt a flash of old pain from his previous life.
Caleb's Hex Claw fired off a beam of light, but his sense of direction was a little off right after the blink.
There was a scorched smell, and Twitch, too slow to dodge, had his tail sliced clean off.
He had seen this man fight before, but facing him in person was a different story. He had not expected his weapon to be that fast.
And by the time Caleb was ready to fire again, Twitch had already vanished.
"He turned invisible?"
Caleb narrowed his eyes, tension tightening through him.
After all, even with his current reflexes, if Twitch unleashed another burst like that, Caleb could not be fully certain he would come out unscathed.
"Ding ding ding ding ding... heh heh..."
Twitch hummed some bizarre little tune. His lewd snickering seemed to come from every direction at once, like a ghost.
But Caleb knew Twitch was not a ghost.
He was just a rat from the sewers.
He had to be patient and wait for the next strike, whenever it came.
Then he would counterattack, and this time it had to be a kill shot.
Caleb readied himself. Arcane Shift was still halfway through its cooldown.
Still, that was not a big problem. Cautious by nature, he had brought the Hextech shield with him when he left.
But before Caleb could strike back, a figure wreathed in red light burst out from the side.
That person reached out and grabbed the invisible Twitch in a vicious iron grip!
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