New Determination

My first job from the assassin guild is the assassination of the “rookie hunter” thieves who disguised themselves as adventurers……their party name is Fang of Blade.

Before when master is still working with the assassin guild, she had an agreement with the previous guild master that she wouldn’t accept any request from bad people, so it seemed that similar type of job is also passed to me. But, Dino kept this agreement because he must disliked the effort that he would have to spend to erase me in case I failed to assassinate some innocent commoner, got caught, and leaked information.

I would be captured if I failed in killing a commoner. I would be killed if I failed in killing bad people. As someone who is responsible for keeping the organization’s secret, what Dino will choose is obvious.

「This is a test but you will be paid for it. I will give you ten times the reward if you safely accomplish the request. This is the advance payment.」

Dino flicked with his fingers several coins. I caught them from the air. ……The advance payment is three golden coins.

A single golden coin is the same with a month’s salary of a youth who has just started working. A young couple with child can live for a month with two or three golden coins, so thirty golden coins are big money that is the same of a yearly earning of commoner, but that amount feels dubious when I considered the need to stake my life against three thieves for it.

But, considering that the guild is taking half of the request fee, that means that the retired new adventurer must have taken a very large amount of debt in order to pay for this request.

「Also there are weapons at the right room at the back. They are things that were left behind by past members and collected equipments that still looked usable. You can use them freely if you can make use of them.」

「Roger.」

.

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It seems that this underground assassin guild is formerly a coal mine that had been remodeled. Its size is quite vast. Also the chapel on top of it was apparently built for the people who died in mine accident several hundred years ago. Currently it’s also a bit popular as tourist attraction.

The air of underground coal mine tended to stagnate, but I’m feeling a faint air current so there must be some vents at several locations here. I see almost no light like lamp inside here. Perhaps it’s to prevent the air from stagnating, but perhaps also because most of the members have Night Vision. ……Though I think there must be another reason.

「……Light.」

When I arrived at the room where weapons are stored, I cast Light to look around.

Certainly there are weapons here, but this place is more a storehouse rather than an armory. Most of the weapons being kept here are covered in dust with rust on their blades. I guess this is the best that I can expect from the memento of dead assassins. There isn’t anything decent here, even so there are throwing knives and metal stick that functioned like whetstone here, so I’m taking them. Then a voice suddenly called out from the room’s entrance.

「Yoo, there ain’t anything there except junks right? Are you the “ash covered” rookie?」

「……Who?」

I’m feeling a presence approaching. But, the presence is approaching really boldly, so I’m waiting on the spot for it instead.

「Me? Call me Guy. Nice to metcha, ash covered-」

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▼ Guy Race : Human ♂

【Magic Power : 90/95】【Stamina : 255/270】

【Overall Combat Strength : 251 (With Body Strengthening : 294)】

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A Cruzian youth with tanned skin is there, giving me a friendly smile with his white teeth exposed.

His age is around twenty I think? His combat strength isn’t that much different from Kiera, but if his combat strength is that high with this mana value, then his physical ability must be simply high instead of his battle continuation capability. In that case, although his combat strength itself isn’t that high, his strength in real battle must be equal to a high class rank 3.

Even so, Guy……huh. It’s a name for male that is common even in this country, so although it feels like it’s easy to remember, it also feel hard to remember. But more importantly…….

「”Ash covered”?」

「You got into a quarrel with that Kiera right? I could hear her voice even from here.」

So Kiera’s voice when she yelled 『ash covered shitty brat』 reached until here.

It’s not like I’m offended from being called “ash covered”……or rather, it’s possible that Guy who introduced himself with a name that can be found anywhere, and perhaps even Dino and Kiera are using fake name instead of their real name.

This man called Guy is giving me the impression of a decent person in this guild. I don’t know whether he is actually decent for real or not, and it’s impossible to call someone as “decent” when they are doing work like assassination, but putting aside whether he can be trusted or not, he is surely a better person than Kiera.

「And, what is your business here Guy?」

「I was wondering what kind of fellow this rumored disciple of Serjura. Though I didn’t expect that you would be this young……. I think you’ve noticed already but, there are few decent people here. Especially the Sage and Goudo, don’t come near them. After all many of our comrades until now had fallen victim to them.」

「Sage……」

Guy told me various things when I unconsciously muttered that name that is obviously not a person’s name.

The Sage is an old forest elf whose age is nearly 500 years old. He is a shaman who is researching curse. He had put curse on guild members before under the pretext of experimentation and drove a number of people to death without leaving behind proof.

And as a forest elf, he apparently considered master who is a capable dark elf sorcerer with hostility. There seems to be a possibility that he will harm me who am master’s disciple.

Curse huh……. Master’s lesson also contained that topic. It’s a type of sorcery that can harm the target or restraining their action from afar by carrying out complex ritual. According to master, she said that it’s 『an impractical field』 that doesn’t worth the effort for preparing it for the result.

……I see, this is why master is harboring such revulsion. I had also heard from master that there is a shaman in the assassin guild. There is no way master can like sorcery that specialized in inhumane method. Both of them must hated each other for their way of using sorcery.

Other than that, Guy also told me about other people who I should be careful with in this guild.

The dwarf battle junkie, Berserker Sharga.

The assassin who used darkness sorcery, Shadow User Radha.

Misleading with lies and beautiful face, Kiera the Delight.

The old elf shaman, Sage.

But the most troublesome person is the one whose name came out together with that Sage, the Condemned Goudo.

「……Can’t you hear the faint growling “voice” even from here?」

「…………」

I thought it’s the sound from the vent holes. But, after being told that, certainly, it can also sound like a creature’s “growling”.

「He isn’t a human but beast. He doesn’t have the intellect for proper assassination but, that guy only came out for purging a guild member……」

「Hee……」

I see……Kiera easily backed off after being threatened with purging was because of such reason.

「Well, there won’t be any problem as long as you don’t get near……come to think of it, have your job been decided already?」

「……Rookie hunter thieves.」

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「Oo, there is also that kind of job isn’t it. It’s a troublesome job and yet the fee isn’t that high, so such job often get put off but……are you going to be okay? I’m not making fun of you but, it’s a difficult job for a kid’s first mission right?」

「I won’t know unless I try.」

「Well, I guess. Be careful so that you won’t die right at your first job okay? In assassin guild anybody useful will be used even if it’s a kid. After all even just a single nail can kill an adult as long as they let their guard down. But in this business, the highest mortality rate is at the first job so be careful out there.」

「……Got it.」

Guy left behind those encouraging words along with a friendly smile. He left the weapon storage with a light footstep while whistling.

I don’t really get him but, thanks to him I learned most of the general knowledge of this place. I don’t know how accurate his information is but, I’ll use it effectively as basic information.

「…………」

Dino has prepared my personal room in this guild, but right now I’m still not planning to use it. Even while I was conversing with Guy, the observing presence and the suspecting hostility toward me never ceased.

Death will always coil around me just by staying here. Besides this underground base has a slightly unpleasant smell. I went out of the assassin guild that very day and departed to the destination without meeting anyone.

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Currently my target, the thieves Fang of Blade are located one week east from the territory of Margrave Dandall. It seems they are using the city of Count Sentrea’s territory that has a dungeon as their base.

Dungeon huh……. There is information about it in the “knowledge”, but it’s my first time visiting one so I sorted the information inside my head.

Originally the word dungeon meant underground prison on the underground of a castle, but in this world the word meant ruin or labyrinth that is haunted by monster. Being haunted by monster doesn’t meant that a monster settle down in the dungeon, but that a monster literally haunted and fused with the ruin.

It’s said that this monster is an ancient hermit crab that was transformed into monster by magic particles. Just like how a hermit crab put on shell to protect itself, the monster used cavern as its “shell” and invited living things into it so it can live by taking those living things’ mana and life force.

In order to obtain mana and life force efficiently, the monster needed to make the living things inside it to fight and lose their life. For that apparently dungeon evolved until a stage where they even absorbed knowledge from the residual thought of dead living thing, skillfully draw monster with low intelligence, and refined items that interested human using ore and the like.

And when it came to the three largest dungeons in this country, it’s said that the residual thoughts of humans there had grown to become spirit that would bestow Gift to those who reached its deepest level, but that kind of place is being managed by the country so it’s difficult for thief to approach there. Because of that they generally used medium scale dungeon as hunting ground like this time.

I visited a city and purchased the necessity before heading to the territory of Count Sentrea.

My route is going south for a bit from this territory of Count Heydale and enter Dandall territory. From there I’ll head to the east and travel for a total of ten days. I think I can arrive in around one week if I hurry but, I’ll also train during the travel so this is my limit.

My strength is still insufficient. I trained in the fundamental under master, but my “experience” so that it got reflected on my skills and status are not enough.

In master and my schedule, I would train intensely in the basic until I turn ten years old, and gradually made it become reflected in my status and skill after that, but then this unexpected situation arrived and I could only leave the forest while still weak.

But I shall consider this as a good chance.

By stumbling into master’s place and putting myself under her protection, I became able to get a proper sleep for the first time since several years. But that was a 『spoiled attitude of a child』. Without me noticing I was getting dependent on master’s good will like a normal child.

Master got a bad mouth, but she noticed my condition and put a child like me under her care. But, that was no good. I finally noticed that it was no good. During the five months of me getting spoiled by mater, my growth was clearly slower compared to the first three month at the beginning when I couldn’t even get a proper sleep.

Let’s put myself in an extreme situation once more, mind and body to retrain myself. In order for a mere child like me to oppose Grave and protect my important people, I have to go through training so intense that eroded my mind and soul.

Thanks to master I also managed to patch up my knowledge that was full of hole to some degree. She also taught me the required technique and weapon.

I’ll save master. I’ll save Elena. I’ll obtain strength so I don’t need to run away from fate. To accomplish that, I have to continue going forward without stopping for even a step.

Fortunately, the assassin guild is providing me with things that are scarce to find in that forest. Powerful “enemies” with capability to kill me. They can be used for my training.

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I rushed through the forest at night while suppressing my presence. I’m not going through road of stopping by at city.

The forest at night is a training ground. There are animals and monsters with higher status than me here. I hid myself, searched for enemy’s presence, ascertained them with my discernment, saw through the darkness, used all my physical abilities and dashed through the darkness, polishing the techniques that my body learned.

『Gugyah』

A hobgoblin suddenly appeared. I encountered it right in front of me inside the dark forest. Both of us were surprised for an instant before I pushed down my emotion to the bottom of my heart before the hobgoblin can come to its sense.

「──tsu」

I let out my breath and struck the jaw of the hobgoblin with the palm of my glove that had magic steel inserted. I vanished from its field of vision, even so the hobgoblin turned around. I slipped under its arm and put the string of the pendulum that I launched at the same time around its thick neck.

『Gah!?』

I can’t let it catch sight of me. I tightened the string around the hobgoblin’s neck. The hobgoblin panicked from feeling the pain that it can’t comprehend inside the darkness. After I circled behind it, I pulled the string while kicking the back of its head with the heel of my boots. Without pause I made my body floated and tightened the string with my whole body weight.

『……gu……gah』

The hobgoblin suffocated and fell. Then I finished it off by stabbing the black knife from its ear until its brain.

「…………」

I don’t hold any grudge at you. You were my enemy because of this encounter. That’s all there is to it.

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▼ Aria (Alicia) Race : Human ♀ – Rank 2

【Magic Power : 158/170】△ 5 UP【Stamina : 123/130】△ 20 UP

【Strength : 6 (7)】【Endurance : 7 (8)】△1UP【Agility : 10 (12)】△2UP【Dexterity : 7】

《Short Sword Skill Level 2》《Martial Art Level 2》《Throwing Level 2》《String Control Level 2》△1UP

《Light Magic Level 2》《Darkness Magic Level 2》《Non-Elemental Magic Level 2》

《Daily Life Magic×６》《Magic Power Control Level 2》《Pressure Level 2》

《Stealth Level 2》《Night Vision Level 2》《Search Level 2》《Poison Resistance Level 1》

《Simple Appraisal》

【Overall Combat Strength : 171 (With Body Strengthening : 190)】△ 28 UP

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Master taught me. That combat skill doesn’t grow from physical ability only.

The precise location of blood veins and internal organs. What is the correct position and what kind of attack to neutralize the enemy. If you understand those, it will become easy whether to kill or let your opponent alive.

Skill doesn’t grow only from technique, but also from “knowledge”. That was the reason the immature me could obtain skill and became able to fight in just several months.

While I’m moving, I continued to train my mind and body the whole time. Ten days later, I arrived at the territory of Count Sentrea that is located at the east side along the coast.

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