The Assassin’s Mark

“This isn’t it either.”

“What exactly are you looking for?”

“A demon dungeon.”

At my words, Jack recoiled, taking half a step back in disgust.

“You can tell just by looking at the entrance?”

“You two should pay close attention and try it yourselves later. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to tell roughly what kind of dungeon it is just by seeing its entrance.”

We had left the village. For some reason, it had been incredibly noisy there. The constant, lingering stares from NPCs were unsettling; fearing they might hand out another useless quest, we quickly made our escape.

Along the way, I had been searching for any dungeons that might be worth exploring.

Dungeons were scattered everywhere across the fields, yet each type differed subtly. There was a distinct pattern to where they typically appeared. Even without a clear path, they weren’t hard to identify, provided one was familiar with the signs.

Considering our current stats, it would be quite challenging, but since we’d primarily be hunting demons in the future, I thought it best to find a demon-infested dungeon if possible.

“They’re harder to find than I thought. It seems I came too far when escaping Bishya. Typically, dungeons with lower-ranking demons are concentrated near their nests. But this area must be entirely different, given the complete lack of traces.”

“Truly astonishing. I thought there was nothing left to surprise me, yet I’m constantly amazed.”

“This is nothing special. I’m telling you, it’s easy once you observe it. If an entrance is made of stone, it’s one of three types.”

“If only the door is stone, it’s a dungeon for necromantic creatures like specters or ghouls. It’s likely a forgotten graveyard, as cities traditionally manage their cemeteries underground in groups.”

“If it’s in a ruin-like place with geometric patterns carved into it, then it’s a magical monster dungeon, featuring golems, spirits, or chimeras. These are often forgotten temples of ancient gods. Such a place is beyond your current capabilities. Even with your armor’s resistance, you lack the skill to handle them.”

“And if there are any metallic or mechanical devices, it’s an ancient dungeon. If there’s an unusual amount of gold, it’s highly probable the dwarves constructed it. And then there’s….”

“It feels like I’ve seen more dungeons in the past few days than most people would in a lifetime.”

We had indeed wandered for several days, meticulously selecting terrains likely to harbor dungeons. Both Jack and Faust were utterly exhausted by this prolonged journey. During our travels, I even had them try to defeat a demon we stumbled upon on the road. Despite its slow speed, it took them a considerable amount of time to take it down, even with me lending them my weapon.

The level gap was simply too vast; they couldn’t properly wield even the finest weapons. It merely reinforced my realization that I needed to craft custom weapons for them soon.

“Of course there are many dungeons. Without even going far, there must have been a couple more near the village.”

“Please consider that most people can’t identify them, which is why they were living there in the first place.”

“I don’t understand why they can’t recognize them. They’re obvious even with a quick glance.”

“Listen, not everyone can be like you. Isn’t it a bit much to say that after you’ve just said it yourself?”

While I’m not some ancient, stagnant water veteran, even a village dog can recite poetry after three years at the schoolhouse, as the saying goes. Though the lack of a map is inconvenient, my eyes for terrain remain as sharp as ever. Isn’t it stranger not to find these?

Seeing the little sprout icons fluttering above their heads made me even more frustrated. They were wearing sprout headbands for the first time, and I wanted to find a dungeon quickly to help them grow, but luck wasn’t on our side.

“Though it’s not perfect, we’ve got some equipment now, so I really want to find a good dungeon for you….”

“Honestly, we’re more worried about you.”

“Newbies are adorable, as expected.”

“Stop calling us adorable!”

Faust remained silent, seemingly devoid of energy to speak. Jack, though still grumbling, looked utterly spent. Indeed, we had been walking all day. A sigh escaped me.

“You’re struggling this much after merely walking this far? You wouldn’t even be able to take down a troll.”

“Humans can actually defeat trolls?”

“What a ridiculous question. What do you think potions are made of?”

“You also have to consider that potions are astronomically expensive.”

“Your sense of money seems too stingy. How little does the temple pay you, anyway?”

While Hamman, their master, was generous and prone to giving freely based on his mood, his subordinates seemed to be incredibly tight-fisted.

Seeing the two of them so exhausted pained me. Should I have just picked a mediocre dungeon and moved on? But repeatedly clearing such an unremarkable dungeon would be meaningless; that kind of grinding was too slow. Faust needed to reach the temple to report what had happened in Bishya.

Well, if it were Hamman himself, he’d probably have been too frustrated and provided a revelation by now, but dragging this out further wouldn’t do any good.

“Let’s just give up on the search for now. You two need to get to the temple quickly, don’t you? You have to report what happened in Bishya.”

At my words, both of them brightened considerably. They seemed so pleased. Well, after walking tirelessly all day, it was only natural for them to be relieved. In fact, doing nothing but walking could be even more draining than fighting.

“Judging by the terrain, it looks like there should be a village a little further on.”

Near graveyard-type dungeons, there was always an NPC residential area, even if it was just a small hamlet. With practiced ease, I summoned my Nightmare Steed.

I hadn’t ridden it earlier, planning to enter a dungeon immediately to raise my stamina, but since they were so exhausted, I had no choice. The moment I summoned it, they both quickly mounted the steed. I smiled, gripping the reins.

“That’s strange. Why do they keep staring?”

“I told you, just put on some clothes. That would solve it.”

“I keep telling you, it has nothing to do with my outfit.”

Jack shook his head emphatically. Faust simply offered a drained smile. I really couldn’t understand it.

‘Is there some random side quest here too? No, wait. Now that I think about it, there are always plenty of side quests. It’s just that I usually bypass all the useless ones.’

‘Since I’ve only been hunting demons lately and haven’t visited human settlements, it makes sense that many trivial quests would have accumulated.’

We immediately sought out an inn, as both of them were utterly exhausted. I pulled out some food I had prepared and fed them. The food sold there either lacked buff options or was too meager. Jack and Faust collapsed into sleep the moment they finished eating.

Fortunately, this time we were in a place of decent size, allowing us to get separate rooms. Last time, all three of us had been crammed into one large room. I disliked how, even if I woke up first, I had to be careful with every movement so as not to disturb them. After confirming everyone was asleep, I set my wake-up time and closed my eyes.

Yet, strangely, my eyes opened before the set time.

‘Sleeping usually triggers a time-skip function. Waking up prematurely happens for one of two reasons: an event, or….’

“An ambush,” I realized.

Thwack. My hand instinctively shot out first. It caught something—a figure clad in pitch-black clothing. Nothing was visible but their eyes. ‘An assassin? Now? Why?’

The figure’s eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly regained composure and lunged again. Judging by their build, it was a man. I instantly rose from my spot and struck the man’s jaw with my palm. A brief gasp, “Kugh!”, escaped him as he stumbled.

‘Strange. This feeling is somehow familiar,’ I thought, charging at the man and kicking his leg. With a loud crash, the man tumbled. I seized his arm, twisted it behind his back, and mounted him.

CRASH—!! The door burst open noisily, and two figures rushed in. It was Jack and Faust. Both were hastily clad only in their light armor tops, each with a sword drawn in hand.

“Sir Haut! Are you alright?”

“My apologies. I woke you.”

“W-what is that thing?”

“An assassin, probably?”

Though startled, they approached, keeping their swords pointed at the man. He struggled and cursed. I ripped off his hood. His face was surprisingly ordinary. ‘Such a normal-looking guy, why become an assassin? What a waste.’

“Damn it! They said he was a rich idiot!”

“Who said that?”

“As if I’d tell you!”

‘Fair enough.’ I tossed the hood I was holding aside, then rummaged for a rope and began tightly binding the man’s arms, which I still held twisted behind his back. Faust watched this intently, then sheathed his sword and spoke.

“Could it be the blacksmith? As far as I know, that’s the only place Sir Haut has spent money.”

Flinch. The man flinched slightly. We all observed this. That answer was sufficient. It seemed he was part of some sudden event. Given that such a clumsy fool had been sent, some incompetent group must have dispatched just anyone to make a quick buck.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Can you really be so obvious? How are you supposed to be an assassin like this… Oh?”

A familiar emblem caught my eye on his neck. A raven within a circular design. It was an unmistakable symbol. I securely bound the man, then gently—just enough not to cause pain—gripped his chin to make him look up and asked:

“Brother, when is our glory?”

At my words, the man’s eyes widened dramatically. His eyelids trembled. Faust looked between me and the man, then asked.

“What does that mean?”

“Just checking something. I’ll explain later, so for now, pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“There’s something I just don’t understand.”

The man remained silent. Judging by his surprise, he seemed to have understood, but why wasn’t he speaking? I drew a dagger and muttered.

‘Is this bastard an imposter? What nerve this guy has, daring to impersonate “us”.’

Just as I was about to slash his throat, the man struggled and hastily replied.

“Now! It is now! Brother!”

The answer was correct. But then, that made it even stranger. I looked down at the man, tilting my head.

‘That makes it even stranger…. There’s no way he’d come to kill me, nor fail to recognize me, right?’

“I wasn’t trying to kill you! You’re being too harsh just because I saw your face!!”

“No, the important thing right now is that you didn’t recognize me!”

In this game, hunting demons was indeed a primary objective, but immense effort had also been poured into building its fantasy world. It was as if an entire world had been crumpled and squeezed into existence.

The words I had just spoken were the recognition passphrase for the assassin organization, ‘The Ravens of the Riverbank’.

I had created it myself. With the release of the expansion pack, players could form their own in-game organizations. Each organization in this world worshipped a specific deity, but my favorite goddess, Debora, had no associated group. Consequently, I remember spending an enormous amount of time building the organization’s foundation entirely from scratch.

I opened my mouth again and recited the unforgettable passphrase.

“Brother, we are everywhere.”

“B-but, no one knows, right?”

“Because the blessing of the Footless Goddess is with us.”

“Though you travel a thousand miles, or ten thousand miles, you cannot escape.”

“No one prays, yet.”

“Everyone believes, yes.”

‘I truly don’t understand. You didn’t come here under the orders of “The Blind One,” did you?’

The two guys in front of me asked what on earth was going on, but I simply raised a hand in lieu of an answer. ‘I’m in the middle of a conversation here. No, seriously, what kind of system glitch would send someone to kill me? I haven’t installed any related mods, have I?’

‘Even if I’d unknowingly installed some rogue mod, wasn’t everything supposed to be non-functional right now, apart from the infinite inventory?’

“W-who are you, exactly?”

“What is Vaiberon doing, sending someone to kill me?”

The man turned utterly pale. I truly understood nothing about this situation.