Chapter 48: A Lesson in Assassination

Before the skeleton in front of me targeted Emma, it seemed to realize that it had to take me down first.

It slowly began moving its steps around me, as if cautiously observing the situation after our recent exchange of blows.

For now, with the assassin revealing itself, it must have prepared to strike.

I gripped my sword tightly and charged at the skeleton assassin.

However, instead of clashing with me, it chose to retreat.

Normally, I would have immediately pursued and confronted it, but the fact that this was the lich’s domain made me hesitate.

And the skeleton assassin did not miss the opportunity in that brief moment of hesitation.

A bead, which might have been some kind of magical artifact, hit the ground and shattered, releasing smoke.

Even if I concentrated, the smoke obscured everything beyond it.

Naturally, the skeleton assassin used the smoke to hide itself in the shadows.

The lich had placed an assassin as its guard, likely darkening the surroundings and disrupting the flow of magical energy, making it hard to detect the assassin’s presence.

If it had been a one-on-one duel with the skeleton assassin, I would not have been worried.

But now, the assassin had two potential targets. It could either aim for me, who was searching for it, or, like before, it could target Emma, who was in the midst of a brutal battle with the lich.

Thus, this battle was inevitably in my disadvantage. Or rather, it was—until now.

It seemed like a similar situation to when Emma and I first entered the room, not sensing the assassin’s presence.

But this time, the situation was different. Both Emma and I were aware of the skeleton assassin’s existence.

Even if it was hard to sense its presence, the difference between knowing it’s there and not is enormous.

If I can’t see it, then I’ll close my eyes. I focused all my other senses and heightened them.

If my natural senses weren’t enough, I would use my aura to sharpen them even more.

This was a skill I would have never been able to master before coming to the academy, but the training had not been in vain.

In particular, my training with the Sword Master at Yuri’s mansion had sharpened my senses and instincts to the level of a superhuman ability.

The sounds of Emma and the lich’s battle echoed from a distance.

But even those noises couldn’t block my hearing. Amidst the chaos, I could still hear the faint sound of stealthy, slow movements.

Every time a spell from the lich exploded or Emma swung her massive sword, the aftershocks disrupted my tactile sense, but the skeleton assassin’s movements came almost soundlessly.

I could feel its footsteps through the floor, the flow of air.

Even though I couldn’t see it, that didn’t become a hindrance.

Despite my eyes being closed, I could clearly predict its movements as if I could see them.

It was beyond mere vision, beyond mere prediction—it was a form of precognition.

Against a normal opponent, reacting this way would have been impossible.

However, since I had already predicted the assassin’s move and blocked an attack, it wasn’t entirely impossible, especially knowing that the assassin was not as skilled as I was in the art of assassination.

I had no doubts about my senses and instincts.

Beyond my closed eyelids, I could clearly sense the skeleton’s movements. It shifted its position behind me, but my instinct, a kind of sixth sense, did not miss its movements.

It was slowly closing in on me without making a sound, but I didn’t respond immediately.

I waited, drawing it closer, just a little more, into my reach.

And then, at the exact moment it swung its sword… No, even faster, I lifted my sword first.

Clang!

If my prediction had been off by even a fraction, the skeleton’s sword would have slipped past mine and struck my neck. But my certainty turned out to be correct.

The skeleton, with its expressionless face, clearly showed signs of surprise.

Ah… that’s not how you assassinate someone.

I understood that it was surprising I had blocked the attack without even seeing it, but still, as an assassin, once an attack failed, the next step should be immediately taken—whether that was retreating or attempting a follow-up strike.

Standing still like this was a mistake that even a third-rate assassin would make.

Therefore, I decided to teach the assassin a true lesson in assassination.

“Want to see something interesting?”

I slowly began releasing my aura from within my body, scattering it around me.

Unlike when I coat my sword with aura, this time I simply spread the energy outward.

Given the amount of aura I was using, it was a mere waste of energy, without any real power or threat.

However, it was still enough to help erase my presence.

It may not have been as effective as the magical smoke the skeleton spread earlier, but under the current conditions, this was sufficient.

The environment the lich had prepared for the skeleton assassin had now turned into a blade that strangled its neck.

As I concealed my presence and hid in the darkness, the skeleton seemed to be looking around in confusion.

I was curious how it could see its surroundings without eyes, but I’ll leave that kind of research to the mages.

My talent has already been recognized by others. It was never limited to just swordsmanship.

The place where I was abducted in the first place was the Assassin’s Guild. If I hadn’t had a talent for assassination before my swordsmanship, I would have been discarded as a mere expendable long ago.

Even though it was a third-rate assassin’s guild, the guild master wasn’t just anyone.

Although he was a scumbag personally, his assassination skills were undeniable.

At least, technically, he was far superior to the clumsy so-called elite assassins, which is why he became the guild master.

The assassination industry is quite competitive, and if an incompetent person established an assassin’s guild, they’d soon have their competitors coming to eliminate them.

And I learned assassination techniques directly from such a guild master.

Rather than a master-disciple relationship, it was more like the relationship between a tool and its owner.

But what matters is that my skills as an assassin were superior to the skeleton in front of me.

I suppress my presence further, making sure not to make the same mistake as the skeleton assassin, leaking any murderous intent.

This time, I walk slowly through the darkness. I don’t worry that the skeleton will read me like I read it. It can’t hear my footsteps.

I pass in front of it. Again, I don’t think for a second that the skeleton can see me. It cannot see me.

Then, I slowly raise my sword.

I don’t swing it dramatically. Just slowly, slowly, moving the sword closer to its skull.

Despite looking around, the skeleton doesn’t notice my sword slowly approaching from behind until it’s almost in front of its face.

Crack.

And my sword sinks into its skull. It’s likely that the skeleton didn’t even realize what happened until the moment its skull was shattered.

And just like that, the battle ends. There’s no flashy swordplay, no dazzling aura. The only thing present is the overwhelming difference in technique and ability.

“Well, at least it was fun. I was worried I might have gotten rusty since it’s been a while, but I guess I’m fine, right?”

Of course, no answer came, but I didn’t expect one in the first place.

If it had been a swordsman rather than an assassin, I wouldn’t have been able to show this kind of technique.

It would have been impossible without the environment the lich had set up, which favored assassins.

But what can I say? The skeleton should blame its bad luck, even after turning into a skeleton.

“Aaargh!”

I heard a scream from the lich, who was fighting Emma on one side of the room.

His voice, full of pain, accompanied the disappearance of the magic that had been protecting him and targeting Emma. Emma didn’t miss the opportunity and crushed his skull.

Normally, the lich would have regenerated and immediately fired off more spells, but this time he didn’t regenerate.

Instead, he turned to bone dust and scattered across the floor. Even the robe, which had probably been made of magic, turned into powder and vanished, leaving only the necklace the lich had been wearing.

Wondering what was going on, I looked around and noticed that inside the skull of the assassin I had just shattered, there was a crystal-like object. It was something I had seen once in a textbook: the lich’s life vessel.

I had wondered if it might have been hidden in some hard-to-reach place, but it turned out I didn’t need to worry.

The lich probably hadn’t predicted this situation either—he certainly didn’t expect Emma to easily dispel his magic or for me to take out the assassin guarding him so easily.

“You found it faster than I expected.”

Emma said as she walked toward me.

“I wish I could have watched you fight, but I didn’t have the leisure for that. How about we have a spar next time instead?”

Knowing that, I wasn’t worried when I used my assassination skills. If Emma had noticed anything at all, I would have fought normally instead of going all out.

“Now, let’s have Elysia take this.”

“This…?”

I quickly caught something that had been thrown, and it was the necklace that the lich had left on the floor when it died.

The lich, being a skeleton, wouldn’t have worn it for decoration, so it must be a magical item.

Given that it was discovered in a dungeon and was used by the lich, its value would surely be considerable—this is something even a child could figure out.

Emma must have known this as well, yet she handed it over to me so easily.

“It looks expensive at first glance. Honestly, Emma did most of the fighting, so I really shouldn’t be the one to take this…”

“Consider it the reward for getting involved in the family and city events. If you sell it, the reward should be enough. You can also use it yourself.”

The necklace certainly looked valuable just by its outward appearance.

“Still, we need to confirm if it’s a cursed artifact, right? When we get back to the village, we’ll get an appraiser, so don’t wear it out of curiosity. If it’s cursed, it will be more difficult to deal with if you wear it first.”

I’m not so naive as to ignore that. Cursed artifacts come in all sorts of varieties, from playful curses to much more serious ones that can even bind the wearer’s body or soul.

“Now, shall we go back?”

Emma walked over to the chair where the lich had been sitting and approached the glowing magical circle.

It’s hard to believe this is truly a teleportation magic circle, but since Emma knows more about dungeons than I do, I’m sure it’s fine since she hasn’t said anything.

As Emma and I stepped onto the magic circle, bright light once again enveloped us.