This rest was the best one I had in a very long time. Io woke me up saying that we arrived and she didn''t notice when I fell asleep. It seems I have been sleeping for a whole week. Did this chick run and talk for a week straight? What’s wrong with this race?
“Welcome to the loud Sun!” She made it look like a big deal but it just looked like just another bar, although... I looked down. I don’t know what it is but something about this place’s shadow seems fishy.
I got dragged inside by Io. “Bernard! It’s so Noisy in here! 2 half-empty Shadow cocktails!”
“Can you keep it Silent? How do you want it mixed?” Bernard responded.
“I need it properly Melded!” Io said. It seemed to be some sort of code.
“I might have run out, can you come with me?” Bernie went to the back and we followed. The door closed behind us. “So, who was unlucky enough to be dragged in by you this time Io?”
“Hehe! He’s not unlucky! He’s super lucky!” I disagree, I’m extremely unlucky.
Bernie looked at the trinket I got from Sylvana. “Oh, I see you have the umbral pendant. Who gave it to you?” What’s with that edgy name? Who came up with that name?
“The founder did, now who did you get that from?” Sylvana.
“Oooh, I see, so she finally trusted someone, that’s quite a rare feat, you must be very special then.”
“Yes! He smells nice!” Io said excitedly.
“Well then, welcome to the Silent Night, this bar is our front, our real base is there.” Bernie pointed down. Underground? Wait no… the shadow?
“Ooh, very sharp, we have developed a special kind of [Shadow Meld] that melds us in the shadow and allows us to create a small world inside of it. Well, only the founder could do that. A few of us can use the special [Shadow Meld] to access that special place but nobody has been able to make something similar. We call this skill [Silent Meld]. For those that can use it can come and go into that space however they want.” And those that can''t?
“I will ferry them over there by [Silent Melding] them there.” Just one question, shouldn''t you screen me first or something? Isn''t bringing a random guy into your hideout risky?
Bernie smiled and shook is head. “Not really, it’s not like you can leave from there and most of us are skilled assassins so it’s not like they don''t know what to do with you if you have ill intentions.” Fair point, this would probably be the worst place to pull something funny.
“Anyways, Io might be a strange gal but she has a good eye for people… most of the time…” Yeah, You need to know about her walking into an obvious trap…
“I see, you must have had it hard… come on in.” Bernie put his hands on our shoulders and I felt the familiar feeling of turning into liquid shadow and dropping into the shadows. We got pulled down and into a dark space that was holding a building that looked identical to the Loud Sun but just used all the dark shades and black you could possibly use. This process of [Silent melding] didn''t seem so hard. It was just [Shadow melding] but being extra aware of how to move around in the shadow. It wasn''t something that could be taught, it required you to be overly familiar with shadow melding.
I bet Greg could pull this create-a-world-in-the-shadows trick off in a heartbeat. I probably can’t but I can at least [Silent meld] which means I can get out of here whenever I want. This changes everything!
“We''re here! The Silent Night!" Io barged in and a lot of shady and edgy characters looked at us. There was one guy that looked out of place because he looked… normal. I guess that''s the first person I will try to befriend.
“I brought a new guy! He smells nice! So be nice to him!” Io said loudly as she pointed at me.
“So loud, Io, shut up, what’s this guy''s name?”
“Ehh, what was your name again?” I’m Agnis Hourai, nice to meet you. Everyone seemed to react to my name.
“Hourai, as in the rubies? Are you filthy rich? We could use some financial support.” A friendly looking assassin said.
“We can finally have good food?! Hey, can we not do our regular stuff and just accept him?”
“Hey, hold on he doesn''t seem to have anything on him, he might be broke for all we know, moreover he is just a kid.” A thin woman in black commented.
I threw 2 gold on the floor and 4 assassins dove at it and fought to get it.
“You pass!” A random assassin declared.
“Hey! You can’t just decide that, don''t get swayed by money!” The friendly-looking assassin said but he was also fighting hard to procure the gold.
“Then let go of that coin if you think so!” This was not what I expected, they seemed serious and intimidating until I threw the gold on the floor. I might be able to manipulate these guys.
“Don’t think you got us to accept you because of this.” The thin edgy woman with pale skin, black lipstick and eyeliner snuck up on me and tried to steal my wallet but I don''t have any.
Nice try. I dangled her wallet.
“Fast fingers.” She grabbed her wallet and walked away.
“Right, ahum we need to test if he’s suited to be here.” The friendly looking assassin said while he casually punched another guy away trying to snatch the gold coin out of his hand. “However, we will take your kind donation into account in case you fail.” He started evading the other assassins that were going for the gold. It was quite amusing.
“You’re enjoying this aren''t you, it seems your personality is as screwed up as the other people here.” The woman with black lipstick commented on this as she sat down in the corner and looked at the guys fighting for the gold coin. She then noticed that I returned her an empty wallet. She threw her wallet to the side, smiled at me, and joined the fight to grab the last coin which was still unclaimed. The guy that had claimed the first coin approached me.
“The name is Esher. You could call me the leader of this sorry bunch. I saw how you stole and emptied Willow’s wallet. I can acknowledge that you have some basic skills. You also seem to have a knack for manipulation, all good so far." The friendly looking assassin said.
“Hey Esher, can he be my disciple?” Io said while she stared at the assassin''s brawl.
“Ehh, we’ll see about that, he seems quite calm even though everyone has locked on to him and is sending bloodlust at him. He might not look like it but he’s no pushover. Tell me kiddo. What has life thrown your way to become like this?” Why does everyone ask something similar to this? Just the standard tragic backstory, nothing more.
“Uhh, I don''t think a standard sad backstory does that but it’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, anyways one of our trials would be to steal from one of us but it seems you already accomplished that… and well it also seems you''re decent at distraction so it seems we can cut to the best part!” Esher said while palming his fist. Combat I assume.
“Glad you catch on so fast now since most of us are ehh, occupied it''s either Bernard, me, or Io you’re fighting, Jimmy is a bit too timid for that.” He gestured to the normal-looking guy sitting in the corner looking at us. Well, you seem to have been probing me the whole time so I assume you want to test me out.
“Heh, please don''t disappoint me, kid, I think we’d get along.” Esher took his stance and I observed.
I wondered how I should tackle this. Do I do my normal assassin stuff? I’m sure he would be able to see through most of it because I’m mostly self-taught. Fighting like I normally would… would that be acceptable? I looked at Io. They accepted her, somehow and she doesn''t fight like an assassin so I assume that shouldn''t be an issue. I also took a stance and had a stare-off with Esher. I slowly but surely layered illusions and entered stealth. He didn''t seem to have noticed anything so far. He was still looking at an illusion of me. I swung my dagger at him but something in his shadow seemed to tell on me and he narrowly dodged.
Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“Whoa! That was close” I threw daggers at him that had thin wires attached and changed their trajectory by manipulating the wires. I tried to catch him in a net but he was aware of it. His shadow seemed to be moving independently of him which intrigued me but it did nothing funny yet. I was curious. I tried to [Shadow bind] him but his shadow cut this loose, freeing him up.
What the? I evaded a flurry of attacks and while evading sent out daggers flying in all directions.
“Who the hell taught you to fight like this?” Esher seemed to be struggling with my evasive maneuvers but he didn''t get hit by anything even though he should have. He only blocked half of the daggers that would''ve hit him. I stopped attacking and sized him up, trying to figure out what he would do and he did the same. “Hey, how old are you?” 16, almost 17.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” Possibly I jumped away. His shadow threw a dagger. But not a normal dagger, it was a shadow of a dagger. It didnt fool me so another evade went out that sent daggers flying in every direction.
“Tss, didn''t work I guess.”
I pulled on some wires and sent them toward him. He made a [Shadow Dome] to protect himself. I’m sure he [Shadow Melded] while inside. I jumped up and stood on my wires, making it seem like I was floating and intercepted some daggers flying from a random direction and saw [Shadow Tendrils] appear from another. A [Shadow bind] immobolized me, making evading impossible. I responded by melting the wire with my feet causing me fall down, although slowly, but it did cause me to dodge the pincer attack. I broke out of the [Shadow bind] and started [Fire dragon dance] and made them very bright to eliminate the shadows closing in on me.
“What, the?” This can light up a room that contains a Shadow Behemoth, your shadow tricks are useless!
I abused my speed and kicked his legs from beneath him and slammed him to the ground. I let the fire dragon dance on the ambient leyline near me to keep the area well-lit and minimize shadows.
“This didn''t go as I expected... I concede.” I didn''t move.
“Haha ok, you got me, no tricks you passed.” I still didn''t move.
“I really mean it. I’m not gonna do anything!” I let go and held a dagger to his neck.
“Shit, you really don''t trust anything do you?” I’m good at detecting deception.
I let him go and he got up. The other assassins had stopped fighting and seemed to have been watching the whole time. I canceled my [Fire dragon dance]. I don’t know what the deal was with your shadow but I didn''t feel like finding out.
“Well, that’s the correct method of fighting an assassin, either that or run. You might already know it but there are 4 types of assassins, shadow fighters like me, stealth fighters like Willow over there, freestyle fighters like Io, and technical fighters like Jimmy. You seem to be a technical fighter too." Eh, I think, I’m quite freestyle myself too.
“Anyways anyone have comments on Agnis’ performance?” Esher asked the spectators.
“Can I get gold if I kick his ass?” A tall lean guy asked.
“Uhh, I don''t know.” Esher said as he rubbed his shoulder as it seemed to get injured when I slammed him into the ground.
“I got pummeled by Io the last time I want redemption and gold, the name is Hugo, your gold is mine” The tall lean guy said and I looked over at Esher.
“You already passed, it doesn''t matter if you win or lose this, just… if you lose you will lose some gold.”
I got ready and Hugo disappeared. I shifted stance and used [Fernys Magma pit].
“Owowow!" I dashed towards the sound and used a [Flame wave] and Hugo got sent flying while on fire. “Hothothot!” Well, that was easy…
"Interesting, no mana, eh? Quite useful where did you learn that?" Esher asked out of curiosity. He seemed to be mixing something. Is that poison?
Its self-taught.
"Interesting, it looks useful but also difficult, I have the feeling that you make it look easy." It''s a pain in the ass and a lot of work went into it.
"Well, I don''t see a reason why you shouldn''t join. We don''t care much about the other assassins opinions besides these present." Esher said as he pointed at the few assassins that were visible. So, they''re just here to watch?
"I guess they couldn''t hide from you…" This situation was similar to the shady forest, a large group of assassins were hiding nearby. "Welcome to Silent Night, your first assignment is to assassinate this man." Esher was about to show me something but the other assassins were being a nuisance. I flicked 6 gold coins far away and saw everyone jump on it.
"I think you will fit in just fine here… Anyways, this man here needs to be assassinated before the new year. Our sources confirmed that he was developing a new magical weapon. Our source is confident that this weapon can force a state of mana incompatibility on those it hits. The state is temporary but research is done to make this more permanent. Luckily, he is the only one researching this so this problem is easily solved with assassination. He doesn''t trust anyone and keeps all his research in his memory. He did write a document once but we missed our window to claim it." A weapon? That forces mana incompatibility?
I thought about all the mana-induced nausea and how much trouble it gave Greg and me. I started to get a bit mad. Unacceptable! Is this the document you need by any chance? Can I have more details? This feels personal.
"Wait, where… yes this is it, you seem to feel strongly about this. Well, this researcher will share his findings at a New Year’s party to get a patent, which he will probably receive but we want him gone before the specifics get out. We don''t need more people to get the same idea. It''s not an easy first mission but it seems you''re qualified and willing to do it." This guy is so dead…
"Good, we have some rules, most don''t have to be said but I will for clarity. We''re assassins, behave like one. Io is a special case and we''re working on it. We will help out if situations become a mess but expect to solve your problems by yourself. We mainly help out with aftermaths, not with the actual assignments. And don''t show your Umbral Pendant to anyone and especially not other assassins. That''s it, the other rules are those that assassins abide by regardless so there''s no point in telling you those." I tucked the pendant away.
"We will deal with this document. Your target''s current location is in Texiha near the border of Hjuva. His destination is Gittrian. He will probably stay there until after the meeting, I would suggest assassinating him before he reaches Gittrian. He might have crossed the border by now.” Any additional hazards? Like is he proficient in combat or does he have guards?
"No noteworthy combat proficiency and he hired 2 adventurers. You''re free to decide how to handle them but I would recommend keeping them alive if possible. We might be assassins but we don''t enjoy killing those that are doing their jobs and are unrelated to the reason we target someone." Agreed, I will accept this assignment.
I got the mission details from Esher and looked over them. The other assassins were still fighting to get the gold coins. I evaded a dagger strike from stealth and wrapped the attacker in wires during my evasive maneuver.
"Ahh! I apologize!" Attempting to assassinate me to get my gold, eh? I wonder, why don''t the other assassins try this? I used [High Voltage] on the wires but kept the lightning weak.
"They don''t do this because we don''t attack our brethren for reasons like this." Esher walked toward this random assassin and skewered him with [Shadow Spikes]. "You know the rules, the next time you attempt this you will become our next assassination target, understood?"
I released the wires and Esher picked up the bloodied random assassin. "I''m sorry for that, please forget this fool''s actions, I will bring him to the sickbay and then [Silent Meld] you outside." Oh no worries, I''ll see myself out.
"What the?"
I [Silent Melded] and returned to the real world. I looked at the shadow of the Loud Sun, quite the crafty way to hide a base. I had till New Year to find this guy and get rid of him. I had a lot of time. It wouldn''t take almost 1.5 months to get from his location to Gittrian so he was probably going to be there for several weeks before his meeting. Assassinating him in the capital of Hjuva, Gittrian, would indeed make this harder.
I left the Loud Sun village, I never caught this village''s name but found a signpost shortly after.
So, this place is called Daggerfall eh? Interesting.
I headed southeast toward the border and tried my best to avoid that stupid desert but I still had to go through some of it. I reached Texiha 9 days after I left.
Texiha was a small city. It did have an Adventurer’s Association here. I needed to visit it to find out which adventurers were guarding this guy. This information was not public but as a C-rank adventurer or higher, it was possible to find out, because in cases of emergency, C-rank or higher acted as rescue teams. I went to the second floor of the area where the higher-ranked adventurers hang out.
I found out that a very defensive B-rank Iron Wall and a D-rank healer ehh Golden Angel were put on the job. Trying to keep himself alive, I guess. I still have to get used to these special names. I looked at my own adventures ID. Its role slot was empty but I would probably get Silent Night on this. I went back to the main floor and looked at the posters to help new adventurers out.
Iron Wall: have high physical defensive capabilities and are able to protect themselves and others very well.
Unstoppable Beast: high physical offense and relatively sturdy fighters, can temporarily act as an Iron Wall but preferred fighting style is to keep attacking.
Hard Light: the Iron Wall for magical damage, has high magical defensive capabilities.
Grumpy Blowfish: Have great supportive skills that aid in boosting and augmenting magical and physical damage.
Golden Angel: Has great defensive support skills and has the ability to heal and dispel curses and negative status effects.
Crimson Eagle: high magical offense, occasionally proficient in status effects
Hawkeye: proficient in skills or weapons that require knowledge of the surrounding area and its conditions.
Silent Night: proficient in stealth, assassination, and subterfuge
The poster then goes on to advise you to determine where your specialty is and focus on that.
I guess Greg would be a Hard Light and Raishin a Crimson Eagle. I would fit in Silent Night or Crimson Eagle. I guess they made this system to set up groups easier. My target just had to say he needed an Iron Wall and a Golden Angel and thus didn''t have to specify what qualities he needed in his guards. I wondered how much this cost him. Golden Angels are quite expensive because they are quite uncommon and it''s hard to get into that role. I committed these terms to memory and headed toward Gittrian. According to the information in the Adventurer’s Association, they left Texiha the day I left Daggerfall. I wanted to wrap this up before my birthday.