I heard the loudly sound of a bell ringing in the morning. A cold breeze entered the open window as I was lifting my head and hit me in the face. It was refreshing.

It was only yesterday that I’d come to learn that the sound of the bell from the temple indicated the time of the day. Clocks were expensive to make, so mostly only nobles, merchants and priest had clocks. The first bell of the day indicates that it was six o’clock and every six hour interval, it would ring for a long time while the others for a short time. There were four temples that had these bells which are in the cardinal directions of the town.

I tried to get out of bed but my body ached just by moving. Bandages were plastered all throughout my entire torso and both arms, they were repercussions of the beating that I had from the underground base the Assassin Association had built for themselves. I reminisced about the terrifying introduction of my training towards my goal to become an assassin.

One thing was for sure, she was right about it being hell.

*

After being in another life-threatening first meeting, I explained to the woman why I was there.

Though it was still dim, I can see her with the light from the lamp. The woman appeared to be young, maybe 25 years old. She wore a black revealing dress as her short black hair overlapped with it. She somehow gives the premonition that she’s a very peculiar person.

“I’m Marsha, a mentor here.” With a cigarette on her hand, she smoked and exhaled as the clouds of smoke spread in the air. She continued “You sure got some balls for joining this class. Either that or you’re pretty stupid.”

“It was on the spot but I did briefly think about it.” I said while scratching my cheeks.

There wasn’t really a reason why I chose to become an assassin. I thought the games that I played were definitely one of the reasons but I think it was mostly because how should I put it? I like to be in the back, not in the front or something like that.

“Briefly? How about I briefly give you a lesson on what you just got yourself into?” She threw the cigarette on the floor and quietly stepped back as she became one with the darkness.

I was surprised because she literally vanished. I couldn’t hear anything and there were no footsteps to be heard. The entire room was quiet and still, not even the air made a sound.

Suddenly, a knife ran passed through my hand. It wasn’t a deep cut and didn’t hurt that much but it was enough to make me drop the lamp that I was holding. It shattered and now it was completely and utterly dark.

“What do you think of the darkness?” Her voice came from behind me. “Do you love it or despise it?” Now it was in my left. “Can you live in it?” To my right. Then from above, she landed on my back, making me fall with my face facing the floor. Needless to say, it was very painful. “Are you willing to become one with it?” She whispered on my ear.

“Please get off my back.” It was becoming hard to breathe.

“Nope. Answer my questions first.” She turned backwards and grabbed both of my legs and pulled it towards her.

“AHHH!” I screamed in pain. “Please be gentle!”

“For a man, you speak like a girl.” She pulled it harder. I continuously tapped the floor like one of those wrestling match but to no avail. She wasn’t playing by the rules.

“Alright! Alright! Ah! I’ll answer it!” At this point, she was twisting my arm behind my back. “I’ll become one with it! Heck, I’ll even marry it.” I was desperate at this point.

“Are” She kicked me. “you” slammed me. “sure” elbowed me. “about that?” She tackled me to the wall.

I didn’t even know how I was still conscious. My mind was spinning and my body painfully ached. I didn’t know why she was doing this but one thing is for sure, I couldn’t move anymore.

“You still awake?” An impressed looked on her face. She could have been a beautiful woman if not for her devilish attitude. What a waste.

I only stared her like a sleepy baby staring to its mother while losing consciousness. “Did I pass the lesson?” I managed to say. Just moving my mouth was really excruciating. Why did she have to kick me there?

“Hmmm,” she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. “you didn’t really answered my questions, so that’s a lot of minus points.” As I was lying on the floor after her tackle, she sat by my side and continued “But if you return tomorrow, I’ll consider it.” after that, with her hand, she punched my face.

That was the last thing I remembered.

When I woke up, I was in this bed feeling the cold breeze of the wind. I didn’t know how I got here and somehow I was in these bandages. As I was just about to think if someone stripped me naked, Merry casually walked in as if on cue.

“Merry, what happened to me? And did something happen? You look kind of happy.” She wasn’t smiling but I could definitely feel that she wasn’t her usual, icy self. And her tail was out, it wiggled as she walk across the room.

“Well, Hashi saw you beaten up outside the association and brought you here. You have some bruises but overall, they weren’t any serious injuries. As for why I look happy, I saw you got beat up, so it made me kind of energetic but definitely not happy.”

Why does everyone wants to either beat me up or to see me get knocked around? And you look suspiciously happy, Merry.

I sighed and said “Did you do this? Thanks for that.”

“It wasn’t me.” She picked up clothes that were lying on the floor. “It was Kihana who did that.” She put the clothes in a bucket.

“Kihana?” my tone sounded a bit doubtful.

“Do I have to repeat myself or even your ear isn’t working properly? We didn’t have any bandages and I barely knew which part needed to be dressed. You should thank her, she’s a kind person.” Coming from her, that should be true and I’m surprised she sees her like that. “And one more thing, there’s food downstairs, so fix yourself and eat or else you’ll be late” And with that, she abruptly left with the bucket in her hand.

It made me laugh because she sounded like a wife or a mother for that matter.

I followed her wifely orders and got myself readied. At first, moving was painful but as time passed, it was becoming bearable. I put on my clothes and headed downstairs.

I didn’t see any other people as expected. Due to the reducing numbers of monsters, a significant amount of wanderers left and move to other towns so they can hunt and primarily earn money.

When I came downstairs, my party was eating bread and some eggs.

“Oh, the walking mummy is here.” Takana said mockingly.

It’s going to take a while to get use to this guy.

“Good morning, Terrin. How’s your body?” Hashi asked worryingly.

“It’s better, thanks to you and Kihana. I’ll be sure to return the favor.” I politely bowed.

“Y-You’re welcome, Terrin…” Kihana, while looking down, timidly said.

“So, why were you beaten up?” Fuyuki was looking at her food when she said that.

“My mentor briefly gave me a lesson and the next thing I knew I was in the bed with bandages in my body.”

“Yeah, they say one of the hardest and cruelest classes is the assassin class. Rumor has it that at least ten people have been killed or seriously injured because of their training. ” Hashi passed me bread with eggs in it.

That’s seriously alarming.

It looked like my worries took shape on my face as Takana loudly laughed and said “What’s the difference between you and being dead? Right now, I don't see much difference.”

“Nyut mup, Chakana.” Fuyuki said while eating.

Please eat first before you speak.

“Particularly, there’s another rumor that the most dangerous mentor in your association is a woman they call ‘Black Panther’. Apparently, she’s sexy, wears black and her hair is black. She beats up anyone she teaches and then leaves them in the street.”

“That’s her!” I shouted, my voice echoed throughout the dining hall. “She literally did what you just said. She sat on my back, pulled my leg, and even tackled me to the wall!” That woman had a reputation like that? That was scary.

Suddenly, we heard a loud thud. It came from the seat of Takana. It turned out that he slammed his mug on the table. His head was lowered so I couldn’t see his face but there was something definitely wrong with him.

“You…” he said with a deep, intense voice. “You have a woman as your teacher!? What’s more she’s hot and sexy then she sat on your back, pulled your leg and tackled you!? How intimate is that!? Man, all I got are old dudes who are so fat that every time they walk their legs trembles!” he angrily and passionately shouted while standing.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? That woman almost killed me!”

“Who cares!? Those old dudes are also killing me with their arduous training but did I complained about it!?” He slammed his fist on the table. “I’m so jealous! Oh yeah, I’ll just change class! I’m so smart!” he had a wide grin plastered on his face while he rubbed his nose.

“Do you have any money to change class?” Hashi blatantly asked.

Takana’s wide grin turned into a horrified face as he realized his mistake. He slowly went back to sitting on his seat and quietly said “No, I don’t.”

“Wait, so you need money to change class?” I asked, unconvinced.

“Yeah, a wanderer can only have one free chance to choose his class. After that, you need money to change class and considering that you just started yesterday, Terrin, I believe you don’t have enough money to change class just like Takana."

“I wasn’t really thinking of changing class but it was in the back of my mind.” Hashi sure is observant.

“That’s okay, Terrin. I know you can do it.” Fuyuki said with a warm smile. It was pretty cute.

“Thanks, Fuyuki.” I smiled back.

“We’re going to the tavern later. It’s a place where a lot of wanderers comes, I’m sure you’ll learn something there. Want to come with us?” offered by Hashi.

“Thanks, I could use some of that.”

“P-Please bring Merry with you…” Kihana timidly requested. She was quietly eating her food this whole time. Guess she’s taking a liking to her.

“I think it would be better if you are the one who would invite her.” Merry would surely just brushed me off. Besides, this should help developed their friendship.

“He’s right, Kihana! We should be the ones to invite her. Let’s go and ambush her!” She grabbed Kihana’s hand and took her away as fast as the wind.

After a while, they returned with smile in their faces especially Fuyuki, she must have seen her with her tail.

After eating breakfast, as if it was waiting for us to finish it, the bell from the temple loudly rang across the town. They picked up their weapons and that was when I realized that I didn’t have a weapon of my own.

Well, it is only my second day.

We left the house and went to our respective association. Our training would always be like this. We would leave the house when the first short ringing from the bell which was seven o’clock and we would leave the association at about the tenth short ringing from the bell which was eight o’clock.

I was in front of the building of the association again. I hesitated to enter but nevertheless did it. I got no other choice, it’s this or not be able to save Shakna and that would be the worst thing ever.

When I entered, the woman recognized me and proceeded to pull the book but this time she refused to give me a lamp or any light source. I went down the dark, spiral staircase with no lights source, the only thing I can see were my hands and even that looked vague.

I placed my hands forward and went near to the wall as not to hit something. Touching something solid in the dark was quite comforting, to be honest. I still remembered the path that I took yesterday, so I carefully retraced my steps.

I’m completely lost.

I didn’t know if I made a mistake somewhere but the door that was supposed to be there wasn’t. I perfectly retraced my steps but I couldn’t find or touched any door.

Since there was no point just standing there, I started to wander.

I actually found doors but it was other people with their mentors. Unsurprisingly, all of them trained in the dark too. I didn't know how long I'd been walking these halls but I managed to find the door that I was looking for. When I opened it, I instantly saw a piece of light and a sound of someone exhaling something.

I finally found you.

“You actually came back?” Her skeptic voice rang across the entire room.

“Well, I don’t have any choice.”

“Hmmm…” she walked towards me. I can feel her looking at me from my face to my body and legs, I didn’t even know how she could see in this darkness. “I’ve seen you yesterday but you really look pretty weak.”

“That’s why I’m here, to get stronger…” I said with a little sarcasm.

“All right, then.” She threw her cigarette, stepped on it and vanished in the darkness. “My orders are absolute, nothing shall be ignored. Understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” I shouted.

*

The moon shone brightly as I was leaving the association and walked towards the tavern. As I moved, I can feel my body throbbed and waver but I managed to somehow walk though I looked like a drunken person walking.

It hurts looking at the moon. Being in the darkness for a long time sure was not good for the health. It was still dark as the only light sources in the night were the ones that houses had and some buildings.

I made my way to the tavern. Hashi and I actually passed on it once, so I knew exactly where it was.

After walking about five minutes, I made it to the tavern. It was a three-story house with the bottom used as the tavern. I entered and it was what you would expect what a tavern would looked like. Tables were placed all over, chairs were both knocked down or in a chaotic place, minstrels made music which dominated the tavern and the cheerful shouts of the people overlapped with the music as the workers tried their best to give the best service.

It’s like an old-fashioned bar, not like I’ve ever been in one.

It made me wonder why my party decided to hangout here. Weren't they the same ages as me? As I was thinking, I spotted them seated in the corner of the tavern.

“You look more dead now than this morning.” A mocking remarked by Takana.

Here we go again.

I looked at everyone and sure enough, Merry was there. She wasn’t wearing her traditional clothes which were the maid attire but normal clothes. Guess the two let her borrowed some.

“I think I can get used to this.” Merry wasn’t smiling but I can definitely feel her being happy about this. You’re breaking out of character, Merry.

Hashi offered me a seat. “Now, we all know why we are here.” He lifted his mug and genially shouted “It’s to celebrate our new members!” and with the simultaneous cheer of the crowd, I guess our party begun.

Obviously, I was surprised and it looked like Merry was too. That was why there were plenty of foods on the table.

“I just don’t understand why I didn’t get a party when we formed this party.” Takana grumpily said. Even though he was like that, he wasn’t opposed to as joining.

“No one would be happy if you join anyone’s party, Takana.” Fuyuki’s face had that look that says ‘that’s obvious’. It looked so genuine even I felt pity for Takana.

“I-I would even if Takana is like that…” Kihana is really a kind girl.

“Are you crying, Takana?” I asked because it kind of looked like he was crying.

“No!” he looked away. “One of the foods is really spicy, so it looks like I’m crying.”

“But I didn’t order anything spicy…” Hashi said.

“What!?” Everyone laughed.

The tavern was really a great place to hangout, I could see that now. There were a lot of great food in here and it was very lively. The music was great too, Takana even dance to it, though he mostly got a booed from the crowd. The other people were also minding their own businesses. So overall it was a great night, one that I hadn't got since coming to this world.

“I can’t really rely on Takana to handle the defense…” I said.

“Hey! A warrior’s pride is to be able to defend the front! If I can’t do that then I do not deserve to be called a warrior!” Takana angrily shouted.

I ignored him and faced Hashi. “Still, I didn’t expect you to be a swordsman, Hashi. I thought a warrior would suit you better.” Takana wasn’t robust by any means but Hashi looked physically stronger than him. Heck, he’s even taller than him.

“Ever since I was a child, I preferred the sword than the shield. Besides, I’m kind of quick with my feet since I used to run, so I’ll be able to respond all over the place.” Oh, so he was athletic? That made sense.

“What was that!? I look better to be the warrior! Can Hashi even lift my sword!?” he pointed at his sword. It was indeed enormous, even I couldn’t lift it.

You were just complaining about your class yesterday.

We ignored Takana and Fuyuki said “How about me? What was your impression of me when you learned that I was a mage?”

“Well, I don’t know a lot about your class but it’s better for a woman to be in the back, right?”

“Y-Yeah and Fuyuki is very smart. I-I heard from my mentors that mages are one of the smartest people in the kingdom…”

“That’s an overstatement, at least I’m not that smart.” She said sheepishly.

“You’re so humble, Fuyuki. We all know the story that you’re a genius. I already told the two how you always top the exams.” This must be about their in our world. They rarely talk about that.

“Pssh, I can top those exams easily.” Takana said pretentiously.

You were just crying a while ago.

“Exams?” Merry’s voice rang out.

“It’s nothing you have to worry about, Merry.” Hashi said. That made sense she wouldn’t believe them even if they told the truth. I know I wouldn’t. “How about Kihana, Terrin?”

“Hmmm, a priest is mainly support, right? She does healing, boosting and anything that would physically and mentally boost the performance of the team overall, right? That’s what she’d been doing so it appeals to her very much.” It’s like her class manifested to become Kihana.

“Yes, I agree with you.” Merry said.

“Can’t disagree with that.” Hashi remarked.

“That’s our angel!” Happily shouted by Fuyuki.

“W-Well, Kihana is good girl…” Takana said.

“N-No…that isn’t true at all...” Kihana was blushing so much even her ears were red.

“But what about this dead guy and Merry?” Takana pointed at me.

“Stop it with the dead guy.”

“But it is true, you know?” Takana said with a big smirk.

“An Assassin is best when it’s not in front of the enemy, so either he’s in the back or in the enemies’ backs. We can also count on him to do scouting. As for Merry, she can also stay with the girls in the back though I have no idea what her role will be.” Hashi efficiently explained. No wonder he was the leader of the group.

“Do you have anything in which you can contribute to battle, Merry?” I asked.

She looked at me coldly and said “I’m a beast. I’m good at smashing up enemies.” Then she went back to eating. She was eating the deliciously looking grilled fish with a bowl of fish soup and what seemed to be a juice made from fish. Weird but for her it looked like heaven as she ate it elegantly but in a quick manner.

“What’s the difference between monsters and beasts?”

“Beasts are diverse but the general rule of thumb is that they often have the same body shape and intellect with humans but combined with animal-like characteristics while monsters are the same but their body shape differs entirely from humans and beasts.” Hashi explained.

“You didn’t know that? I’m seriously worried about this guy.” Takana mockingly said.

Calm down. He’s essentially a child.

“So, Overall, our battle positions would be like this.” Hashi took a paper and pencil from his bag. It looked extremely familiar. “Merry, Kihana and Fuyuki would be our rear. Terrin would be in the middle. Me and Takana would be in the front. We can change this strategy when we need it. Our party have a lot of flexibility, so we should try it out in the battlefield when we get the chance.” He wrote our names in the paper according to our positions and showed it to us.

We all agreed on that. It was actually nice when you can count on your leader.

After discussing that, I asked about the other classes. Apparently, Hashi only knew about Wild Hunter and Archer. Basically, an archer is someone who uses a bow while a wild hunter can also use bows but can also use close-quarter combat while also having the knowledge how to hunt animals. According to him, he hadn’t seen paladins and necromancers before.

The night continued and we enjoyed ourselves in the tavern. When we got home, we looked like normal teenagers enjoying our lives. A lot of things were filled with uncertainties but right now, we were relishing our lives.