ATLA, In A Darker World

Chapter 39 Alarms 1

In Haican, there were only three ways to leave.

One, the tunnel that led to the Fire Nation bay. This one was the tunnel Luca and the group found themselves in, as well as the tunnel that transported skilled workers to the Fire Nation.

Two, the heavily guarded tunnel used as the transport route to Omashu.

And three, The even more heavily guarded front gates.

All soldiers in the stronghold knew of the three spots, although only a very select few knew what the first one was actually for.

And now, there was a fourth.

A secret passageway within the sewer systems that led far away from the base itself.

As long as one could avoid security and sneak in before anyone else noticed, then escaping the base was easy.

Honestly, it reminded Luca of a similar sewer passageway in the “Return To Omashu" episode of Book 2, EP 3.

A loophole in a secure facility. How convenient, honestly a bit too convenient.

But that wasn't an issue for one to immerse themselves in.

Luca's original escape plan was to avoid the patrols until he reached the east wall. Then phase through it and start moving towards the forest.

With his training, stealth and array of skills, he was confident in completing the first step while going completely unnoticed.

After all, his stealth skill on the panel wasn't for nothing.

- Stealth 16 -

Invisibility right? Wrong. Although quite far off, your ability to keep yourself hidden is superb even among experts. Including sound suppression, camouflage, scent control, visual concealment, situational awareness, route planning and so on.

- Subskill -

All stealth effects are greatly increased at night. 20% additional increase when blending into shadowy areas while dressed in black -

15% decrease when being actively searched for -

— Note ..... This stat is directly affected by the level of external perception—........

There was no detailed explanation of how potent this ability to hide oneself from other's perception was.

But as always, he would have to make evaluations based on his level of knowledge.

If the average perception of a person was ten, and with him, a trained spy and assassin having no more than fourteen points in the same stat, then as long as it was dark, there were no obvious clues, he made proper efforts to conceal himself, and he didn't stand openly in front of the other party, no one without a fourteen point perception stat would ever sense he was there.

That was if he made any movements.

Plus, stealth wasn't all about hiding in one place. It also involved moving quietly and discreetly to avoid others finding something was off and getting discovered.

So within cities, villages, or large structures with multiple corners, as long as he wasn't being actively searched for, staying out of sight was certain.

After all, there were many places he could use to conceal himself.

But that advantage would change the moment he phased through the wall. Haican wasn't surrounded by lush vegetation. No, the area around it for hundreds of meters had been cleared off.

All that remained was sand and flat earth. There was no cover, no camouflage, no way to hide himself once he stepped out into the open.

Worst of all, the moon was particularly bright tonight.