Chapter 24: A Stranger

We entered Northern Martel Forest. There were still three assassins within 100 meters, so I made sure to be alert as Madelyn followed closely. There should be one wielding a crossbow, so I tried to use the trees as cover the best I could. I transfigured ‘Vanquisher’ for close range encounters as we quickly moved from tree to tree.

I heard rustling from a tree above, so I hurriedly looked. “Caw!” A giant crow with four wings flapped before gaining downward momentum to attack us. I swapped back into ‘Vanquisher’ and instantly used {Mana Bolt}, taking aim at the crow, but as it neared it cut its momentum, flying back above the tops of the trees.

Captain Briggs spoke quietly, explaining the existence of the crow, “That Martel—I just hope he hasn’t moved his experiments to humans…”

Just then, the leaves rustled again as something came crashing down from above the trees. It was the crow that just passed us, and lodged in its body was a crossbow bolt.

“Let’s go,” I said, quickly nudging her onward. “Is it okay to set the forest on fire?” I asked, grabbing a ‘Hellfire Flask’ from my inventory.

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” she stated, “We don’t know who else may be in the area, and I absolutely despise fire.”

“Cool,” I proclaimed as I threw a flask behind us, allowing it to burst and begin a forest fire. She hadn’t said ‘no’, she simply stated her preferences.

Many beasts started to flock away from the noise of the explosion as the fire spread. I kept alert, ignoring Madelyn’s angry, quiet bickering while focusing on any incoming enemies. This forest was twice the size of the southern one. We headed Northwest through the Northern Martel Forest as I set various parts behind us or off to the East on fire.

The flames seemed to be doing a great job as it warded off the beasts, funneling them around us. Our pursuers also seemed to have trouble as my {Area Scan} wasn’t picking up on them. My mob count wasn’t increasing, however. The counter was slowly increasing, but I wasn’t getting any experience, meaning it was due to the other players.

I urged Madelyn to move faster as I continuously checked the area around us. I needed to make sure nothing happened. My Agility was considerably high, allowing me to dodge most strikes now if necessary, instead of relying on my shield. Although shields had defense values, they didn’t get buffed from feet equipment.

“How much fur—” Just as I was going to ask how much further until we reached the exit, I could see it. “Finally.” She started walking towards the exit, but I yanked her back. I tossed a ‘Hellfire Flask’ to light the exit up. “Get wet,” I told her.

“What?”

“Drench yourself. Now, or you’ll burn.”

“No, no no. I hate fire. You idiot.” I grabbed her anyway, and began upping my speed as I ran towards the fire I created.

“Fu—! You bilge rat!” She quickly created water to douse herself. It wouldn’t provide complete protection, but moving through the fire would help ward off the enemies, or as {Area Scan} informed me, get the jump on them.

We ran through the hellfire, and I took slight burn damage. Very slight, as my fire resistance waned it off, with {Heart and Soul of a Troll} quickly healing through it. I loaded ‘Vanquisher’ with a bolt created from my mana, noticing an assassin moving away from the spreading fire. I quickly snapped my aim on them as the bolt left ‘Vanquisher’, doing its job of vanquishing the enemy.

[Human Assassin, Yun, Lv26, takes 15600 damage.]

[System Notice: You gained 3600 EXP.]

I sharply looked around for another target. There was an odd spot, where a person seemed to have been standing a second ago, but they began to disappear. I caught sight of their foot about to disappear, and shot a mana bolt in their direction, luckily landing the hit.

[Human Assassin, Sher, Lv28, takes 15600 damage. {Lucky Strike!} Human Assassin, Sher, Lv28 takes additional 31200 damage.]

[System Notice: You gained 4250 EXP.]

[System Notice: You learned a new Ability through {Assimilation}. You learned {Shadow Union}.]

{Shadow Union} - An active ability. Merge into the shadows, concealing yourself. Only usable when shadows are present. Requirements: 20 Dexterity, 20 Agility. [Mana Cost: 30]

Fucking fantastic. I instantly used {Shadow Union} and felt myself converging into the shadows. A system notification popped up, but I was too concentrated to check it. Madelyn looked around aimlessly, while I kept my eye out for the last assassin. I knew they were nearby, but I made sure to stick close to my contractor.

Being within the shadows was a completely different experience than I expected. It really wasn’t any different than being anywhere else. I didn’t feel concealed, yet I knew I was. The burning forest cast light and shadows everywhere.

I thought I felt a disturbance nearby, and my instinct was correct. Twin daggers appeared right beside us, aimed for Captain Mad D. Briggs as the last assassin of the Penumbra Five group appeared out of the darkness. I moved ‘Vanquisher’ in the way to intercept the two daggers, transfiguring it into ‘Ashen Gladius’. I then reached out, using {Sudden Slumber} to put the assassin to sleep successfully.

The captain turned around, failing to have noticed the killing intent aimed for her. Her level had dropped considerably now that we were even further from the ocean. “He’s asleep,” I said to her. Then, I spotted an unexpected attack as arrows of water descended on our location. I got in front of Madelyn to try blocking it, holding up my shield as they fell, but it was meaningless. The arrows of water stopped before making it towards us, Madelyn whirling it around her. She seemed to have absolute control of water, even while away from the water. I spotted the perpetrator who activated the magical attack, a mage standing quite far away. Their face seemed shocked as Madelyn dropped the water to the ground.

I swapped over to ‘Vanquisher’, taking aim upon the target. I pulled the trigger, while what was on my mind was getting a hold of that ability Madelyn had.

[Player Olaf, Lv12, takes 14040 damage.]

[System Notice: All players in the counter quest have been defeated. You received 5000 EXP.]

The last assassin still sleeping, I checked out the missed notification from earlier.

[System Notice: By using {Shadow Union} while possessing {Shrouded Blink}, {Assimilation} has created the new ability, {Shrouded Shadow}. {Shadow Union} and {Shrouded Blink} have been deleted.]

{Shrouded Shadow} - A passive ability. You identify seamlessly with shadows. When hit with an attack, you negate the damage and vanish into smoke, merging into the shadows. You are then granted 30 seconds to move through the shadows or blink (teleport) to a location. Automatically consumes 10 mana. Otherwise, spend 20 mana to merge into the shadows (only when shadows are present). Amount of blinks available: [5]. Blink distance: 22 meters. Available blinks increase with Dexterity. Teleport Distance increases with Agility.

I was sad that one of my most valuable abilities had been deleted, but it pretty much turned into a passive ability. Plus, I was able to travel further than originally now.

I looked back at the sleeping assassin and Madelyn, “Want him dead? Because I do, it’s more beneficial for me, you see?”

Madelyn didn’t spare the assassin a glance, “No. I already know why they target me.” With that, I ended the assassin’s life, adding a mob to my counter and gaining some experience points.

I was over halfway to level ten now, quickly getting my experience points. There were still 75 mobs remaining, the fifth player who had declined the counter quest most likely being the person slowly adding to the cleared mobs.

“No sign of Martel…” I could see a faint smile on Madelyn’s face, a look of disappointment.

“Disappointed?” I asked her. “We need to move.” I started walking off without her, before looking back at her non-moving self. “Zeryn. Since you never asked.” I gave the captain my name. We came this far, yet she hadn’t asked for it. It just felt right.

She stepped off, walking towards the direction we needed to go. “Yes, I am quite disappointed.” She said as she came beside me. “Martel is—my great uncle. He was put away for being different. And I—I left because I felt different. The ocean kept calling me and I discovered the abilities I had regarding water when I was seven. I left a year later, leaving my sister to prepare for the throne.”

She continued talking as we made it to her ‘hideout’. “The sea keeps calling me, and I don’t know how far I’ll go. But, I’ve received news from my sister; another kingdom trying to make their bed in ours. Thank you for bringing me this far.”

[System Notice: Quest option ‘B’ completed.]

“So,” Madelyn Briggs, apparently a Princess of Nysel Kingdom, continued, “Will you help me stop the wedding? I was in charge of keeping the seas in order, while my sister kept the land, but right now she needs me. Will you help me, Zeryn, stranger of this world?”

I didn’t know exactly what she meant or knew by saying those words, but multiple system notifications popped up.

[System Notice: You gained the title ‘Stranger of Tethralin’.]

[Title: Stranger of Tethralin] - Passive effect: +5 Wisdom. Active effect: +5 to all other attributes

[System Notice: You received a continuous quest. Accepting this quest will count as a quest completion for this floor. Do you accept the quest? Y/N]

[System Notice: By assisting two members of royalty, you have gained the attention of Penumbra Five.]

A title granting Wisdom—! And all this other stuff…

“Two things,” I mentioned, a grin showing up on my face, “First, how can I help?” I accepted the continuous quest, the system informing me of the stairs being unlocked for me. “And second—where can I go to kill some shit?”