Upon seeing a man that perfectly matched the description I couldn't simply just leave and say to myself, "I'll come back tomorrow." I'll have to stay a bit and see if it's really him. If it is, I'll strike tonight. This is basically an assassination mission so the way I choose to kill him won't really matter, the empire wants him dead anyways. That being said, I could always walk back in and put a knife in his chest, but I don't think that the group would really want it done like that.

I still feel feel an inkling of hesitation when I think about killing though. Hopefully it won't cause me any problems when the time comes.

I go to a nearby shop and take a look at his wares. Nothing too impressive here, the best thing on display is a somewhat plain dagger. I suppose it's because I just like my knives that anything shorter than a short sword catches my eye. Every now and then when the door of the inn opens, I glance over and scan the faces of the people coming out. He hasn't left yet.

The shopkeeper notices my eyes sometimes falling on the dagger and speaks up.

"Sir, how old are you?"

"Around twenty." I lie.

"For a young man such as you how about this dagger here." He holds it out with both hands.

I see, he took the initiative and suggested it. Maybe I'll use my prior behavior to get him to lower the price.

"How much does it cost?"

"Around five silver coins."

I make an exaggerated expression and inhale air through my gritted teeth.

"I-I don't think that I can buy it. It's a bit too expensive."

A dagger of this quality is certainly around five silver coins but I can get it for a bit cheaper.

"How about four?" A hopeful expression is on his face.

I open my coin purse a bit and look inside.

"Uhh."

"Okay then. I'll lower it to three silver and six copper coins."

I give him an appraising look then nod.

"Alright, I'll take it."

I reach into my pouch and hand over the money. He carefully counts it and hands over the dagger. Not something I needed but definitely something worth buying for three silver coins and six copper ones.

With the one silver and four copper coins I saved I could stay at a lower end inn in the city for five days, meals included.

I inspect the blade, solid and sharp. I return the dagger back to its sheathe and walk away. Even during that exchange of words I didn't miss a single person leaving the inn. He hasn't come out yet.

"Do you know about a man with a scar on his forehead?" I ask.

"Hmm? Yeah, he just recently came here about a week ago. His name's Nack or something."

"Thanks."

This time I go to a magic shop, inside are multiple kinds of potions from vitality to mana recovery potions. Vitality potions aren't used that much unless a party doesn't have a magician with them. I used to carry some around but the vials they were in were easily broken probably because the way I fight is far different from a swordsman or the like. I didn't come here to shop but I needed to do something as cover. Finding a good scroll would make this trip all the better though.

Instead of being on the same side as the inn, this shop is across and one building down. Certainly it's much more convenient to have the item shops nearby an inn where adventurers could possibly stop by. I'm barely inside, a few more steps and I'm sure I wont be able to hear the door.

--------------

I've been waiting for a little over an hour. I didn't find any useful scrolls in the shop. The sun has gone down. He's still inside. I didn't think of it before but it's possible that he's got a room in there. That's also strange though, it seems a little early for him to be sleeping. Charging in is still definitely an option but I need to be more patient.

In that instant the door opens. Out comes a slightly drunk man with a small bulging stomach. It's Nack, just how much did he drink? This makes it easier for me, I watch him behind the cover of the magic shop. He clumsily stumbles along the beaten path towards the entrance of the village.

While following him I notice that he's heading towards the old worn down houses. Is it weird that he lives there? It makes some sense, he is a wanted criminal after all. But the people of the village and even the guards don't seem to know who he is, so living in an abandoned house wouldn't be ideal either. Certainly, between the two the inn would be a better choice if one were to live incognito.

Instead of stumbling inside of the house he went to the back, I quickly follow. Suddenly, I get a nasty feeling. Could this be a trap? Unlikely, but I proceed with my guard up.

Crouching close to the ground, he's petting a large dog on the head. Oh shit.

It starts barking. Nack gracefully turns around an whips out a dagger. I press my back against the house.

"Who's there?"

I hear his footsteps getting closer.

*crunch*

The dog is also following along.

*crunch*

I'll launch a sneak attack.

With a leap he turns the corner.

I'm not there. I used my ability and moved to the other house.

I step out of the shadows and with a flick of my wrists I throw two knives at him.

He dodges one knife and deflects the other with his dagger, a dangerous opponent. Even a sneak attack didn't work, his guard wasn't down even after seeing nothing. Truly the cautiousness of a criminal.

"Who are you." he asks.

"..." I say nothing.

"Well, it doesn't matter."

With one step he dashes towards me, and with another one the distance between us is no longer. I pull out another one of my knives and use it to deflect his dagger. Following up with his assault, his left fist comes from below. I step back, his fist barely grazes my chin. I kick him and send him rolling backwards.

"[Fireball]!"

A ball of flame fills my vision. My hands shoot forward and the fireball collides with my barrier. He takes the initiative again and charges. The knife comes from above, and his left hand grabs onto my shirt. I intercept his right hand and with the other, I pull him in for a headbutt. He retaliates with his own.

We both stagger back.

The dog comes from behind him and leaps at me. I twist my body and slam the dog on the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

A sudden deafening scream fills the silent night.

A flurry of dagger thrusts come my way. I parry a few and dodge some others. His eyes seem to be popping out from his head, and his teeth are bared. Against his relentless assault I receive a few small cuts on my arms. I'm only defending, at this rate I could lose.

With that thought, I attempt to kick his dagger out of his hand, success! I put all my weight on my right leg and fall forward. My right hand shoots out like and arrow and grips his face.

"[Leech]"

His face contorts with the pain. My wounds start closing.

"GAAAAH!"

Under his short sleeves he pulls out a hidden dagger and swings it at the source of the pain.

I retract my hand and send him flying back with a kick.

He reels from the pain.

"Haaaa. Haaaa."

He's panting heavily.

The dog has gotten back up.

"[Rock Bullet]!"

Two rocks are launched at me. He immediately moves into a martial arts like stance with both fists at his side, and without moving from his spot the arms extend to their fullest.

"[Fire Burst]!"

As if his fists breathed fire, the field of my vision was once again filled with an orange light.

I send massive amounts of my own mana into my hands and break the two rocks, then like during the fight against the fourth year, I create a multi-layered barrier covering only the front of my body like a shield. I can feel the heat of the flames as they split around to the sides of me.

As soon as the fire disappeared I threw another knife and slipped the dagger out from it's sheathe. I charge him while he tries to protect himself from the knife with his arm. The dagger is aimed right at his stomach. The dagger slides into flesh.

----------------

Nack had a hole in his chest. No, he wasn't cut.

Nack's whole body shook at the sight before him. Lying limp on the ground was a dog, his dog.

For a person such as Nack, a cold blooded killer, the death of an animal lower than him should mean nothing. Even the deaths of humans, who were the same species as him, had never made him feel anything.

He had killed over twenty people, men, women, children. He had never felt anything as he watched them die, as he sunk a dagger into them. Truly he was a monster. At the age of ten he had already killed two people, his parents. Even they failed to invoke any kinds of emotions.

Yet, oddly enough this dog did, he thought. He wasn't very fond of animals, Nack had always been the loner kind of person. He almost fell to his knees at the feelings washing over him. The dog and he were hardly anything more than strangers. Nack saw the dog starving, and had decided on a whim to feed it. I wonder what it's like to be depended on, he thought.

It had been only two weeks since Nack started to take care of it. Every time he came back, the dog would excitedly run up to him. Without knowing it Nack had started to grow fond of the dog. It's unwavering loyalty to him, it's reaction to his presence, and the way it would whimper when Nack left.

Rage filled his confused mind, taking total control of him.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The man in black had killed his dog, the man in black must pay.

Rainen continued to back away from the raging man. He was also shocked that he had killed the dog.

Each swing that Nack did contained all his weight, often throwing him off balance.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

His speed increased.

The dagger in his hand was starting to glow orange. Nack's arms were already filled with mana and were on fire.

*Kick*

His weapon fell to the floor.

He knew that what he was about to do was extremely stupid but he went on with it.

"GRAAAAAH!"

He ran with his arms open.

The plan was to burn the man before him to a crisp.

"GUH!"

But he was stopped, a knife protruded from his chest.

Nack's shaking hands moved to take it out. With the knife now in his hand he tried to point it at the man in black but fell to the ground with a thud.

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

Blood came out of his mouth.

A-ah. I'm dying. So this is what it feels like.

With whatever strength he had left he turned away from Rainen.

Still trying to escape huh. Thought Rainen.

Another knife fell into Rainen's hand. He raised it up into the sky.

"A-ah..."

Nack's arm was reaching out.

Rainen's eyes followed the dying man's arm.

"I see."

If only I could reach him. If only I could feel his fur once again. But I'm so far away.

Nack's consciousness wavered and he was consumed by the darkness for a second. Upon opening his eyes, he was much closer.

I made it. I can touch it one more time...

Nack's bloody arm unsteadily stroked the dead dog.

I-I'm so sorry.

His eyes closed once more, this time, they didn't open.