Convenient

Though more fit than rowdy drunks, the guards weren't much to the superhuman Vega. 

Crossing just a few corners, he managed to lose them pretty fast. Although he was now in the clear, he had many more lingering issues to deal with. 

Near the slums of Cleargate, he leaned against a dark alleyway wall. Seeing how the guards of all people were chasing him, he didn't want to stay in Cleargate for too long. 

Escaping during the guise of night would've been the best course of action, but he had no means of protecting himself in the wilderness. 

In fact, he hadn't even figured out what weapon fit best in his hands. Why did things have to turn out so shitty? 

Either way, there wasn't any time to complain. He had to get to the border of the town as soon as possible. 

Once he escaped, he could get Hans to get him some basic supplies and a weapon the day after. All that mattered now was that he left town and lived for one night. 

Seeing that the coast was clear, he started speed walking to the border. Unlike the heavily patrolled 'safe' part of town, the slums were mainly left to their own measures. 

Due to this several gangs held down much of the control. Although Vega didn't know that, it became apparently clear something was up when random people started chasing him as well. 

It had been less than a minute since the guards were chasing him, so clearly someone had planned this out ahead of time. 

He silently cursed in his mind, confused as to how he'd gotten himself into such trouble. 

Either way, between the guards or these gangs, neither could catch up to Vega. 

***

"Boss! Our men have reported that they've been unable to catch him." Lackey1 alerted. 

"No mana my ass. Alright, tell the guys to stall him, I'm on my way." 

"Ofc boss!" Lackey1 replied. 

***

It took a while, but the end was just in sight. He needed to cross a little over 3 more miles or 5 minutes before he reached the forest, which bordered Cleargate. 

With how fast he was moving, he doubted anyone would be able to catch up to him. While bumpy at the start, he was sure he was in the clear. 

"Were you born with divine strength or something, kid?" 

"Huh." Vega blurted. 

Turning to his right, running at a speed of 35 MPH (16 ms), stood an older man in a black coat. 

In all true honesty, when he saw someone so casually catch up to him, his heart nearly leaped out of his throat. 

"You tongue-tied or something?" He asked. 

Without responding, Vega went from a light sprint to a desperate one, fully intending to leave his supernatural peruser. 

***

Watching Vega accelerate in an instant, the gang leader showed a slight shock. Here he was sensing not a single speck of mana in the kid, and he was somehow reaching even greater inhuman speeds. 

Either way, he couldn't simply let the kid go. He had too much to gain from catching a simple kid. 

***

Looking behind him, the man in a black coat seemed to have been left behind. Despite that, he didn't stop running at top speed, he had to create as much distance as possible. 

With a single thought, he opened his inventory and equipped the basic set of armor that he had bought on the first day. 

Conveniently, he didn't need to equip it himself; instead, the armor simply appeared on his body, saving him precious time. 

Feeling the presence of someone farther behind, Vega knew that the man was approaching, and fast at that. 

Though he had bought armor, he desperately lacked a weapon. In desperation, despite knowing it would slow him down, he decided to enter the house of a stranger. 

The slums were in poor condition, but he didn't doubt that they carried with them some form of weapon in their houses. 

Choosing at random, he entered a terribly decayed house that seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. 

Without warning, he barged in, hoping for the inside to contain anything of use to him. 

The second he burst in, a girl screamed at the top of her lungs. It was a chilling, blood-curdling scream filled with fear. 

At the same time, Vega didn't have the luxury of apologizing; he immediately rushed over to what he assumed was the kitchen. 

It took a little bit of looking before he saw the small glint of a kitchen knife. 

And all the while the girl was screaming and apologizing at the top of her lungs. 

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. I'LL PAY YOU BACK THE GOLD COIN." She shouted. 

It was then and only then that he noticed who the young girl was. 

"Lily???" He exclaimed. 

"I'll pay you back, I swear I will," she sobbed. 

"I'm taking this knife alright, consider your debt gone." He quickly stated. 

Before she could utter a word, he ran out the door, knife in hand. 

Unexpectedly, waiting for him outside was the man in the black coat. He was leaning on the house across, smoking a simple cigar. 

"So you picked out your weapon?" He let out a puff of smoke.

"Ah, shit." Vega sighed. 

"There's no running kid. I'm only here to capture you, nothing more. Give up easy, and there's not gonna be any blood spilled." He let out another puff of smoke. 

In front of Vega, simply leaning against a wall, the man was aura farming while threatening him. 

[You've completed the first chain quest in ??? (Unique): Reward 10+ levels] 

[Second chain quest: Protect the two children until the Regan empire descends.] 

Seeing the notification in front of him, a sly smile appeared on Vega's face. Just when he was in deep shit, something appeared to save him. 

With 10 extra levels, that meant 100 more stat points. If he allocated it correctly, he would be able to deal with this problem with no worries. 

"What're you smiling about? You think I'm joking?" The gang leader asked. 

"Nah, I just wanna ask why you're after me," Vega replied. 

"Like hell, I'd spill just like that kid." He sighed. 

"I guess we're gonna do it the hard way, huh." 

"We might. If you catch me, that is." Vega smiled. 

Without a second's hesitation, he ran faster than even the fastest cars back on earth. 

Using the 100 unallocated points he recently gained, he invested 50 points into dexterity and another 50 into constitution. 

Elevating dexterity to 76 and constitution to 73, he broke through into what players commonly knew as the 2nd tier of stats. 

Simply put, Vega had no plans to fight when he gained those 100 stat points. He knew from first-hand experience that even with an immense difference in stats, he lacked the experience to truly use his strength. 

It was for that reason he chose a tactical retreat, instead of a possible capture or, worse, death by the gang leader.