Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

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Sorry about the really long wait. Things just haven’t been going well.

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Chapter 54

I was so absorbed in working on my new outfit that I had lost track of time. The sun was just about to set, leaving only a few rays of light to illuminate my room which were slowly vanishing with each passing second.

With a tired sigh, I stood up so that I could see the newly finished outfit stretched out on the ground below me. It was entirely forest green consisting of a cloak, shirt, and pants. Though the right sleeve on the shirt was black up to the shoulder and stopped completely at the stitching marks.

A few green veins ran down the black sleeve making it stand out. This design wasn't originally intended, but it ended up being the only way I could make the sleeve work. Since my control over the metal used in the sleeve was still too weak, I had to interlace threads made from several different plants in order to bolster my control over the sleeve.

The inner part of the cloak along with the reverse side of my clothes were all brown. This gave me two choices in the color of my outfit. I'll be wearing this particular clothing set a lot so a little variety is nice. Surrounding me were the leftovers that didn't become apart of my new get-up. Among the clothing scraps, a slightly out of place pile of bullets sat to my left.

Becket:"Well, this is good enough."

I shrugged while looking at those bullets. They weren't able to be incorporated into the outfit like I had hoped, but sometimes my ideas don't work out so I wasn't too upset. Magic is a mysterious thing, there’s no telling what will work and what will fail.

Becket:"Uh, I took too long."

A short groan escaped my lips. So much daylight had been wasted, and the night had already begun to cover this town in darkness. I needed to gather some info so the town's market would've been a nice place to go, but that was probably closed now. The next best place would be a popular bar. That would usually be my first idea; however, my appearance makes things harder. I draw a lot of attention with a face like mine so the market was a better place for me.

Becket:"Damn it. I really don't want to do that."

One idea that would allow me to fully utilize the bar’s setting came to mind, but it made my skin crawl. The best way for a man to get information from another man is to build a sense of comradery which is a lot easier to do when they’re drunk which makes a bar a very useful place for men to gather information. Torture was always an option, though that has its own set of problems.

Because of my looks, using the lovers approach would work better; however, the thought of even being able to seduce men made me shiver. It was a useless thought since my body is something I’m just gonna have to get use to. Bram was a man so he might be able to do the work in my place, but some of the people here seem to be wary of his kind. Even if they weren’t consciously wary of him, a normal person would still unconsciously have their guard up with a predator in their midst.

Becket:"I'll just see how things go tonight. If it's necessary, I’ll just have to take the information I need."

With that uncomfortable topic about my confusing gender temporarily pushed aside, due to my lack of enthusiasm at using womanly charms, I quickly changed into my new clothes and shoved all the leftover scraps into my bag. Aria was sleeping peacefully on the bed with one of her feet dangling sloppily off the side. I fixed her position and covered her up before quietly leaving the room. My pack and weapons were all left behind, but I felt pretty safe wrapped in this green cloak. The black right sleeve on my shirt was slightly heavier so my balance was a little off.

Becket:"That'll take a while to get use to."

After a few seconds of balance testing, I threw the hood over my face as a way to ward off the attention my womanly aura draws and began to leave the inn. Both Carmilla and Bram poked their heads out from the room they were staying in. It was a little funny looking, but I stopped myself from chuckling.

Becket:"Follow me."

It was better to keep things simple so I only said that. Their help wasn’t absolutely necessary so I'll give them a different job for tonight. I could tell they wanted something to do. They jumped in line behind me and we left the inn. There were more people still out then I had thought there would be, but it was definitely fewer than before. We stopped in an alley where I gave them orders.

Becket:"I want the two of you to patrol near the wealthy district where that vampire is living. Try and find his residence if you can. Don't approach him under any circumstances.”

I didn't need an exact location just the neighbourhood. Vampires are more active once the sun sets so I assumed he would do most of his work then. Any additional information they collect during their patrol will likely end up being useless since I can't expect to find out his secrets on my first night here. Being careful and gathering even possibly useless information is just how things are done. It’s all a part of knowing your enemies.

Bram:"Is that really all you want us to do?"

I wasn't sure if he was displeased with being given so little to do or just asking follow up questions. Carmilla just looked a little bored.

Becket:"Yes, for now that's all."

Bram nodded at me before vanishing into the darkness with his sister. Now, I need to find a popular bar. I tugged on my hood once to be sure my face was properly covered then stepped out of the alley. The slight chill in the air gave me a bad feeling, but I decided to ignore it. Years of being on a battlefield where you need to keep an eye on both sides of the war can give a soldier a sense for danger; however, this sixth sense can make you too cautious. Hesitation can also get you killed.

The echoing sounds of my footsteps filled the now empty streets. Further down the road was a three story building bustling with activity. This place wasn’t a bar, but I was sure they could point me in the right direction.

Becket:”Good evening, I’m a little lost. Could one of you tell me where I might find a place to get a drink.”

Two men stood beside the entrance with swords hung at their waists. They weren’t knights, but looked rather competent if it was just a simple brawl. A tired expression covered both of their faces.

Guard:”There’s a good place around the corner, but a pretty girl like you will have a lot of trouble with the drunkards.”

Neither of the guards seemed overly infatuated with me thanks to half of my face being covered. Since my race change and added womanly aura have had men drooling over me lately, it seemed a little strange. The hood did a decent job.

Becket:”I’ll be fine, thank you.”

After being pointed in the right direction, I left the two guards to their duty.

******************??? POV*****************

Finally, I found him. That damned elf walked into the very bar I was drinking at. It must be my good fortune. I’ve been waiting in this town for a week for him to get here. My master Alezar gave me a mission, to kill him. I don’t know the reason, but my master's word is law. Even with his face partially covered by a hood, it wasn’t even necessary to confirm it was him by checking the sketch I had. There was no way anyone else around here had a face like that. In fact, he looked a bit…..cuter than the sketch.

???:”Definitely him. That face really is too pretty for a man.”

He looked around, scrutinizing his surroundings, as if searching for someone then headed for a table occupied by a group of especially rowdy adventurers. I readied a dagger under my cloak. One quick stab and I’ll be able to return to my master's side.

Adventurer:”You come to play little missy?”

I stopped myself when I heard that loud voice.

???:”Damn.”

I cursed my luck for this misfortune, Razen was here. He’s an annoying adventurer with some amount of real skill and a sense of justice, especially if it’s concerning a woman with a pretty face. If I killed the elf in front of him, he’d definitely restrain me if not kill me. There’s no way he’ll realize that elf is a man. Backing down now and following the elf is the best plan.

Becket:”Play? Good idea.”

The elf slammed his elbow down on the wooden table making the wood groan under the force he exerted on it.

Becket:”How about I test your strength, boy.”

Razen just looked at him for a few seconds with a slightly surprised expression before bursting out in a fit of laughter. His fellow adventurers soon joined him in the chuckle fest.

Razen:”Hahahahahahaha..ha..ha…….ha. That sounds great!”

A large grin spread across Razen’s face as he placed his arm on the table.

Razen:”The names Razen, you?”

Becket:”Raisin?”

A vein bulged on Razen’s head. Becket was obviously mispronouncing his name on purpose.

Razen:” Ra. Zen. Not raisin!”

Becket:”My bad, Ra. Zen. My name’s Becket.”

The bewitching smile on that elf’s face seemed to sweep away Razen’s previous anger as he grinned happily right back.

Razen:”Alright, Becket let's make this more interesting.”

Razen took his arm off the table and crossed them against his chest with a confident expression.

Razen:”I’ll be your opponent if you can beat my friends first.”

He was about to start laughing again, but Becket interrupted him.

Becket:”Deal, but all of you have to answer one question each time I win.”

Razen:”Sounds good! As long as you take a drink each time you lose!”

Razen slid the mug he was previously drinking over to Becket. Because of the color, I could tell it was stronger than what an average person drinks. Becket didn’t seemed worried at all and just carefreely nodded.

With a push from his comrades one of Razen’s friends took his place next to Becket. That was the beginning of an unimaginable spectacle. That thin looking elf singlehandedly defeated every adventurer that challenged him. It ruined the lively atmosphere around the adventurers as they all seriously competed to defeat that elf.

Razen’s party, including himself, lost several times before finally admitting defeat. Their competitive side increased with each loss until finally they could no longer deny the truth that was in front of them. They just couldn’t continue this game anymore due to fatigue. A gloom surrounded them as if they had just failed a high level request from the guild.

These adventurers weren’t pushovers in regards to their strength. It was rather frightening that the elf could beat them all without breaking a sweat. I hesitated to even continue my mission, only the thought of disappointing Alezar kept me from running. Physical strength alone couldn’t win all battles, but I knew he at least had the skill to beat Felix who was a skilled warrior. It was in the report I only half-heartedly read about this elf.

During this struggle, he calmly questioned all of the people he beat. Each inquiry seemed to be rather simple with him mostly gathering information on this city and its inhabitants. Also, he was interested in vampires. I was informed before coming here that the elf would be traveling with two vampires. If he was so interested in their kind, why not ask the ones he’s traveling with? The adventurers weren’t the brightest of people so he didn’t get much from them.

After a few drinks and a little light arguing, they seemed to all become close friends. The alcohol they were all gulping down probably aided in their sudden friendship. I thought the elf was more of an intellectual type, but seeing him fit in with these idiots makes me doubt that.

He finally left after many many more drinks. Without even stumbling once, he swiftly made his way down the empty streets as I followed after him. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d swear he hadn’t had a drop to drink tonight. My scouting skills are considered top notch so stealth work is actually my forte. If my mark is within 50 meters of me, I’ll always be able to follow them even with my eyes closed.

After a few minutes of following him, his presence suddenly vanished. I went into defensive mode in case he had found me, but nothing happened. It was strange. How and why did he suddenly disappear. There was no one around to give me answers so I headed back to the inn I’m using. At least I know he’s in town. I’ll find him again.

The assassin failed to realize that Becket didn’t disappear by concealing himself. He simply ran outside of the detection range at such an incredible speed that, if seen by others, it could only be thought of as vanishing.

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I apologize for disappearing for such a long time. We’ve found out that the doctors aren’t going to be able to cure my mother so I kinda lost all motivation to write until now. They said she could live for another 4 or 5 years. She’s been taking something like oral radiation(pills), I think that’s what it was called, and things are actually looking better now. This won’t save her, but she might live a little longer than originally predicted. I’ll try to post more frequently, but my motivation is still rather lacking so I don’t know what may happen. Now to talk about something less depressing. I’d like for a few people to comment and tell me of story ideas they have. What I’m mostly looking for are story arcs, not specifically for this story. The most cliche example is something like, main character’s goal is to defeat the demon king. In arc one he learns to master his abilities. In arc 2 he begins his journey. I want an over all goal and several small arcs leading up to accomplishing it. I plan to use everyone's suggestions for future stories I may write.