Two figures clad in gray robes lurked in an alleyway within a town. On their chests hung necklaces that resembled the CQMA symbol, but they were colored crimson and adorned with crossed weapons – a sword and a scythe. The necklaces were carefully concealed under their clothing.

“What is the praetor thinking?! Why did he order us to stand down? The ‘Impurity’ continues to linger and may be affecting the balance of the world as we speak. No matter what the reason, letting it roam free will only do more harm.”

“Still brother, it is an order. We can only but comply. There may be a good reason why they have instructed us as such. We are but humble servants. We cannot fathom the will of the Transcendent.”

One figure nodded grudgingly, but he did not accent in his heart.

“___The praetor is making a big mistake. As his servant, it is also my duty to make appropriate measures in his stead if he errs in his judgment.

Surely, the will of the Transcendent will accede to my actions. Everything I do is for the good of the world in which they had descended upon and loved dearly.

I will not stay silent and watch as the world is plunged in peril!”

He had retreated from the alley and in his mind, began formulating a plan of action for dealing with the Impurity he despised.

***

Dawn was slowly approaching.

Mornings in the northern part of Ricksvale were typically accompanied by mist, especially at this time of the year. The capital was situated in a valley between two extensive mountain ranges separated by the Alnuss river, true to the country's name. And so, the mist was also influenced by the topography.

This morning's was especially dense. And yet two shadows raced past the buildings, running throughout the castle town like it was an obstacle course.

It was Ice and Ibex doing their regular morning training.

They had obtained permission from the castle and had started doing this routine primarily to enhance their chances for a successful escape.

Ibex had suggested that since they were sure to encounter many perilous events in the course of their search for truth, and that not all of them could be faced head on, training in ways to improve proficiency in 'strategic retreat' was necessary.

Ice remembered the encounter with the boss monster and Ibex's amazing movement speed at the time. His ability to traverse the terrain was exceptional. Ice wanted to gain similar proficiency in agile movement through rough, uneven terrain littered with countless obstacles, and so this training method was born.

He had actually been inspired by Temple Run and Prince of Persia as well.

3D movement! (In a 2D world?!)

Being able to weave, vault over and run through any obstacle and use all objects in one's immediate surroundings as launch points and footholds to get from point A to point B in the most direct route possible.

Ice had wanted to try it out ever since he had tested the capabilities of his enhanced adventurer body. Now he's putting it to practice.

The mist also helped train Ice's awareness of his surroundings and decisive decision making. Since vision was limited, he was only able to clearly make out objects ahead of him a few moments before he had to commit to an action such as jumping over obstacles.

If there was the slightest bit of hesitation, odds are he'd fail to make a jump, grab a ledge or run straight through a wall more often. So he had to determine the best course in practically a split second and follow through in the next.

Of course, this wasn't the least bit easy. He'd fallen far too many times than he could count. But since his current body was resilient, the injuries he received were generally minor. He'd broken an few bones here and there and had received cuts, bumps and bruises but these were remedied by using potions.

He was actually perplexed as to why Sea had insisted in treating his wounds through bandaging and other manual methods if a quick swig from a potion would have made him good as new. But he decided not to dwell on it too much. He had enjoyed Sea's nursing and fussing over him anyway, so it's all good.

On the other hand, he almost cried blood when he bought them in bulk using a large chunk of his savings thus far but had repeatedly told himself it was an investment for the future to lessen the pain.

He had not told his acquaintances, especially Sea and Thelma (who would probably offer help straight away) because he felt he was already far too indebted to them. He would not refuse help, but he would not seek them either if he was sure he could handle things through his own effort.

Ice hated the feeling of being spoiled because he believed that there would be times when one could only count on oneself and, if one relied on others too much, then they'd fail if they encountered these situations in the future.

Learn to act in concert with others and accept good will but do not depend on them for everything. This was one of Ice's tenets in life.

***

The training also improved overall stamina (he'd obtained more resilience to Fatigue) so it was useful in prolonged encounters and hunts.

Agility also benefited, but true to Ibex's earlier words, stat gains from this manual method was hard to come by. But piling things slowly but surely would definitely benefit him over time, so Ice didn't mind and just continued to put on effort.

In the end, after countless hours spent training, he was finally awarded with a Skill.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Freerunning - Passive - Level 1: [Due to your unrelenting efforts in training to traverse through obstacles freely and efficiently, this Skill is awarded. You will be able to increase your overall efficiency in moving through obstacles and rough terrain. 20% more bonuses will be applied when moving in urban areas or Artificial Structure based dungeons.]

Agi: +15 / Rct: x1.5%

Additional Effects:

Kinetic Vision (Basic) - Will be able to discern surroundings better while in motion. The same applies for moving objects that enter ones line of sight.

Body Control (Basic) - Will be able to move and position oneself better through an above average sense of weight and balance. Makes it easier to control ones body and center of gravity and apply it in various situations.

Grip Strength (Basic) - Grip will be enhanced. Will be able to grab onto objects more firmly and securely.

XP to next Level: 0%

___________________________________________________________________________________

Ice grinned in delight. The Skill was more useful than he thought. And the additional effects were great as well. It seems they could be useful outside of moving efficiently for escape. He could even take advantage of this in battle.

After all that training, he had only earned one additional point to Agi, but because of the Freerunning Skill, he broke even in the end. The palpable feeling of his efforts being rewarded addicted him even more.

Ibex was also satisfied. He had now fully accustomed himself to moving again after a long period of inactivity. His superior movement sense was becoming more pronounced. He had trouble with smooth, flat surfaces but made up for it through improvisation, quick reactions and Ice's help. Elevated terrain was his forte and this training has polished it even more.

***

They had been training like this for several days. Ice also practiced weapon handling and basic strength training as Ibex had advised.

In El Fabula, even though Stats are an important indicator of overall prowess, they did not make up the big picture. Training ones body and mind as well as polishing ones Skills and abilities will dramatically improve ones performance. Building up ones foundations will be a lot more beneficial than just blindly raising stats.

This is because stats, though at first seeming absolute, are ultimately relative parameters. This is evident in the differences between the overall physical abilities of Ice and Ibex even though some of their current stats are not that far apart.

That is not to say humans will never be able to have as much potential as other, more physically well built creatures. It is only through building ones foundations enough that the stats will be able to show their full potential, and sometimes, go beyond them.

Thus, Ice had immersed himself in training. It might have seemed boring and repetitive. But to him, it was a matter of life and death.

How to swing weapons faster and more efficiently. How to attack with them more effectively. How to deliver more force on blows in hand to hand combat. How to identify the critical points in an opponents body. He had greedily devoured such knowledge both with his head through studying and experiencing it directly through physical training and sparring.

He had begged the Sibylwind knight squad to let him join their training. Sea and Rosseane readily approved. Sea and Ice were actually supposed to come straight back to Maleena after the Class Change test. But Ice had insisted on staying in order to train.

Sea also insisted on staying after seeing princess Thelma dutifully bringing Ice food and refreshments during his training sessions. They exuded an air of quiet rivalry.

The rest of the knights were not that accommodating at first, giving Ice a generally hard time. Jealousy was a truly ugly thing after all.

But seeing him work genuinely hard without any complaint mellowed them out a bit. Now they were earnestly competing with him for the women's attention, though it didn't seem to have much effect.

Meanwhile, Ibex was completely content with playing mascot as he frolicked with the female knights and apprentices with an innocent air. His thoughts were anything but innocent though.

"___That horny bastard..." Ice thought as he watched Ibex enjoy brushing his snout past the smooth, bare thighs of the women as he played around with them during their breaks.

It was completely legal though. After all, Ibex was a goat. And an adorable one at that (according to Sea). Ice was already beginning to doubt his sense of aesthetics.

Some of the other males in the training ground were jealous of Ibex as well.

"I also wanna be a goat." was the general consensus as they looked on with longing expressions on their faces.

Ibex was thinking differently.

"___Damn... If my guardian form was that of a dog, then I could have licked them instead!..."

The grass was truly greener on then other side.

***

Ice couldn't really admonish Ibex carelessly because of one particular factor: the Affinity bar.

He checked it out earlier and it had shot up from 61% to 82% in one go, probably because of their earlier discussion. He really wanted to fill it to 100% just to find out if there would be some bonus effects apart from being able to use the current achieved level of Ibex's Skills as Extra Skills.

Ibex was particularly guarded when it comes to discussing how to raise his Affinity bar.

"___You just have to impress me enough kid. Wahahahaha!" was his usual answer.

Ice had actually likened the mechanic as similar to those dating sims he played back on Earth.

"___So I gotta go do a [1]Keima and capture my summons hearts. And my first possible conquest happens to be a perverted male mountain goat..." Ice thought bitterly.

It was a situation where he could only sigh helplessly.

***

"Haah!"

A pair of swords clashed audibly as two men engaged in an intense spar.

It was Ice and a solidly built man with hair that was in a peculiar style known commonly on Earth as dreadlocks.

The man's name was Sir Killey Mason; a respected veteran and one of the most senior officers in the Sibylwind knight squad.

Despite his intimidating visage, Sir Killey was a rather friendly and outgoing man. He had once apprenticed himself under Director Roald and retained some of his former master's playful, boisterous nature.

He had met Ice after returning from training exercises at the Calder mountain range and had hit it off with him right away after Ice thanked him for taking steps to prevent the other knights from ganging up on Ice out of jealous rage. Ice was now learning the basics of swordfighting from him.

"Don't try to match me blow for blow. We have a decisive difference in size and power, so try to overcome me through other means. Anticipate my blows, parry them and initiate a counter.

If you cannot be an unyielding oak, then try to be a graceful willow. Use your natural flexibility to you're advantage to disperse the power of my slashes." Sir Killey adviced as he continued to spar with Ice.

Ice took in all these points and tried his best to implement them. Slowly but surely, he was getting used to sword handling.

One might wonder why Ice was now training with swords when his primary weapon in most of his time as an adventurer so far was daggers.

The reason was that he had wanted to familiarize himself with different weapon types. Since there was no equipment restriction for non-Class locked weapons, Ice was trying to learn all that he can about them in order to be able to use a variety of weapons to his advantage during hunting or fighting with other adventurers.

Since he had no weapon proficiency Skills unlike in proper combat Classes, he was less inclined to favor using a specific weapon at the moment.

He'd undoubtedly discover a wide variety of weapons when he starts exploring El Fabula in earnest. So he wanted to be able to effectively use any he could find. Even without proper Skills, a powerful weapon was still a powerful weapon, and so Ice trained in order to raise his expertise to take advantage of this fact.

After all, one of the only ways he could actually increase his potential damage right now was by equipping powerful weapons. It would certainly be a huge waste if he found an equipable weapon with satisfactory damage yet wasn't familiar with using it.

Sir Killey was his one handed sword instructor, Sea was daggers, Rosseane was piercing swords like the Estoc, Sasha was two handed swords and war axes and Evann was maces and shields.

He also wanted to learn archery but the one who was proficient in it wasn't present at the moment as he was in another knight squad and they were currently away patrolling the borders. He still studied the basics, though Sea advised him to find a proper instructor if he could in the future.

Sasha's adorable gestures as she swung around a huge, albeit blunted (and still quite lethal) battle axe made a lot of impact. It was truly a great example of [2]gap moe. Ice had to be vigilant though, or he faced the very real possibility of being cleaved to death.

Rosseane's lessons were easy to follow and understand. In contrast, Evann taught him with close to zero enthusiasm. He simply demonstrated the movements once or twice, then took breaks afterwards, leaving Ice to figure it all out himself.

Sea's lessons were, of course, quite enjoyable for the both of them. They laughed as they remembered about Ice's earlier training with Sea back when he was just an Initiate. If it weren't for the prolific gazes filled with mixed emotions that were constantly shot their way, Ice would've enjoyed it more.

And Sir Killey's was the most informative. He fit the template of mentor to a tee. He was patient with him, yet also strict. Ice felt it was a privilege sparring with a man of Sir Killey's caliber.

Training went on for Ice at a steady pace.

***

Ice poured fresh, cool water on himself drawn from the well beside him within the castle premises after a day of rigorous training. Ibex approached him with a bemused expression.

"___Looks like you managed to gain some fans kid." he quipped mischievously as he gestured to the nearby walls.

Several gazes peeked at the two of them, though they quickly withdrew after Ice turned his attention towards the walls. A familiar looking ahoge and a frilly royal gown were among the things that briefly entered his vision. But they quickly disappeared along with soft laughter from beyond the walls.

"..."

Ice felt mixed emotions from all the attention. He couldn't help but think about how different his current appearance was from how he looked like back on Earth. Somehow, it felt like cheating.

He also couldn't help but doubt if he'd receive as much attention if he still looked like that in El Fabula, though he did have difficulty imagining how his former appearance will look if rendered in 2D animation.

He shook away his current thoughts. It wasn't good to dwell on negative stuff.

"They might've been looking at you instead you know." he joked.

"___I wouldn't be surprised, given how awesome I look." Ibex retorted as he played along.

They shared a quiet laugh.

"___You've certainly been working hard kid." Ibex remarked.

"It's the only way I'd feel calm otherwise. I know myself well enough. I'm overly cautious at times, yet I'm also overly careless as well. There might be things I overlook, and it might bite me back hard. I'm counting on you for those times."

"___Ahaha. Sure thing kid. I'll be counting on you as well."

Ibex narrowed his eyes and made a serious expression.

"___It's been overly quiet recently don't you think?" he remarked, expressing his concern.

"Well, we haven't gone to hunt outside yet ever since that time after all. Maybe they can't get to us as easily if we remained in the city." Ice replied.

"___Still, it won't do to let our guard down. There have been instances in the past where we were attacked inside towns and settlements too."

"Yeah. I've already upgraded my equipment as much as I could. I've also purchased the scrolls you recommended. Thanks to that, I'm now dead broke." Ice remarked with a wry grin.

They've also extensively discussed about the encounter with the Edgeback earlier on.

Ibex had been hit with a Slow spell, dulling his movements and allowing the monster to catch up. Ice had purchased Dispel scrolls to prepare for such situations.

They also talked about the reason why the teleport stone didn't function at the time.

"___It's most likely through a banned item. A Dungeon Lock scroll. It nullifies items that are used to escape dungeons or warp directly to a transport point from an area.

It was used to apprehend criminals but have also been abused to perpetrate criminal acts as well. Thus, it's been banned for use other than by the authorities with proper clearance." Ibex explained.

"You seem really familiar with it." Ice remarked.

"___We've encountered it several times in the past. Though not this early."

As for the appearance of an Area Boss in a place other than its specific spawning point, investigation by the Ricksvale authorities revealed it to have been caused by a boss generating item - Obsydian Beasts Claw.

There are several kinds of these rare items that spawn different types of bosses when used. This is potentially dangerous when used irresponsibly, so adventurers need to apply for a permit from local authorities and use it only on locations approved and specified by the CQMA.

This only applies when adventurers plan to summon bosses near populated areas. But summoning in out of the way places is also practiced to avoid kill stealing.

"Any idea who or what could have loosed that over sized bear on our faces?" Ice asked.

"___No clue at the moment. See, thing is, the people who after us vary every time a new ★Summoner makes a covenant with us. The period for a new ★Summoner to appear is a bit of a long wait. A lot of things would have already changed since the last time we were active. That includes the groups or individuals that are after us."

"The people after you change?" Ice exclaimed, perplexed.

"___Yeah. The flow of events weren't always this overt as well. Though when you analyze things, you'd start to see several suspicious points. For one, how the heck is it that we're always involved in troublesome events? No, not just involved. We often found ourselves right in the middle of a damn whirlpool of absurdly troublesome things." Ibex ranted, the frustration evident in his voice.

"Why didn't you just try to avoid getting involved ?"

"___Believe me kid, we tried. We really put in quite the effort to remain incognito. We laid low and took care not to be mired in anything that smelled of trouble. But it was futile. We pulled through lots of times, but we always failed in the end. It was as if all our efforts just served as entertainment for who-knows-what. We felt like goddamn clowns!..."

Ibex gritted his teeth and snarled in anger. Ice couldn't begin to imagine how his predecessors must have felt after all that.

"___It's like the curse of being a story's protagonist..." Ice thought.

And a tragic protagonist at that! Going through all sorts of ordeals only to fail in the end each and every time. He'd also go mad with frustration if it were him in their shoes.

Actually, he already was.

But all he could do right now is inch forward. At the very least, he won't go down without a fight.

Ice allowed Ibex to vent some more as he stared towards the sky, wondering what sort of mess he'd get involved with next.

***

A hooded man stood stock still within a small room that seemed devoid of any warmth. A few candles flickered along the walls, yet they did not serve to lighten the stagnant and dreary atmosphere.

A new cloaked figure appeared from within the shadows wearing a dark violet mask that resembled a raven. A small patch of red along the part that made up the beak seemed to symbolize blood.

This was the lair of the Bloody Ravens.

Despite the sinister sounding name and the carefully crafted atmosphere, the group was only a budding Assassins guild that relied more on flashy advertising and gaudy looks to scrounge up clients.

Besides, Assassins guilds are relatively hard to create, develop and maintain. This is because this was a business built on trust. It would make sense that big prey was rarely ever entrusted to a new guild with shaky credentials.

This is why novice Assassins would rather work on their skills and achievements as they tried to appeal to larger, more established guilds for more stable prospects.

The Bloody Ravens were different though. They had sworn to rise from mediocrity and achieve a towering status among the world of the pros, no matter the difficulty. And now, a suitably grand opportunity has come knocking on their door step.

The masked figure moved closer to the center of the room where the other hooded figure was and spoke in a raspy (and slightly over dramatic) male voice.

"The brotherhood has accepted your commission. We shall begin scouting out the target soon. We have also confirmed the specified payment and found it satisfactory."

The hooded man nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

"I expect good news guild master. I've spent quite a pretty penny hiring you and your men after all."

"Rest assured. The target will be eliminated without fail."

The men once again nodded to each other and vanished within the shadows.

***

"With this, everything is set."

The hooded man weaved through the back alleys of a town with light, quickened strides.

Steps for taking out what he deemed to be an unforgivable 'Impurity' were underway, making his mood quite refreshed.

Methods that were not sanctioned by the praetor and the inquisitorial council were generally not permitted as means to eliminate said 'Impurities'.

But he was willing to risk it, with a firm conviction that the end justified the means.

"The will of the Trancendent shall surely overlook this. After all, I did this for the greater good of the world." he thought as if justifying himself.

The reason why he choose such an obscure guild in order to commission a hit was simple: It would be easier for him to cut them off and deny any involvement considering their credebility.

The target wasn't all that high a level after all. And he'd been holing up inside the Ricksvale capital city ever since they used the boss monster to try and eliminate him.

The average level of the Bloody Ravens members was within the 30-40 range. Given their superior numbers, it should be enough to bring the target down.

The man smiled in satisfaction as he weaved through the crowd.

-Chapter 13 End-

*Note

Assassins guilds aren't really exclusively for Assassin Classes. As long as one doesn't have qualms with killing people for money and wants to make a living out of it, then they're welcome to apply.

There are all kinds who join these types of guilds: Alchemists who brew and use poisons, Dancers who use their charms to seduce the targets, Mages who use magic to kill etc.

There are some who do it for fame or sport in addition to monetary benefits. Most of these types are prestigious guilds who get commissioned high profile and highly confidential targets.

Most who hire these types are pretty influencial personages, including various nation's officials and rulers.

The non-Class exclusive rule also applies to knight squads and mercenary bands. The Sibylwind knights are also composed of diverse Classes. The armor sets they wear aren't Class locked and were made exclusively for them by the royal armory. They were also customized to fit each individuals particular Class and fighting style.

[1] Keima Katsuragi (桂木 桂馬 Katsuragi Keima?), a 17-year-old high school student at Maijima Academy, is known on the Internet and in gaming circles as The Capturing God (落とし神 Otoshi-gami) because of his exceptional skills and experience in "capturing" (winning over) virtual girls in dating sims and gal games (galge) (ギャルゲーム gyaru gēmu).

*quoted from Wikipedia

[2] Gap Moe - is when a character does something completely contradictory to what their usual habits/personality/character/appearance dictates.