Vindicated, the [Princess] let her rage settle and almost fainted. I took her to one of the apprentices' bedrooms.
"I'm tired," She stated.
"We need to find a way to get you out of here," I said. "Taking you with me will be troublesome."
She grabbed my paw. "Please help me get out. With my brother dead, my bloodline dies with me."
"Fine. I smelled a kitchen outside. Stay here and I'll try to get you some food. Then I'm going to kill the King and then we try to get you out. I think I need to do it tonight. When news escape that his [Royal Assassin] is dead, he will step up his security."
"You are going to kill the King?"
"Yes."
She smirked, "Bring me his signet ring. With that ring, we can bring this country down."
I snarled and showed her too many teeth, "Yeah. No. I'll say this only once, from a princess to another. I'm not part of your rebellion. I'm not your servant, helper, or even hireling. Keep acting imperious around me and you might become dinner."
Yeah. She had fiber. She settled into a neutral face after a brief burst of fear. "I apologize. Bring--"
I cut her off like she was nobody, "I'm wealthy as fuck. And I probably can rob the Royal Treasury that's less than a hundred meters from here clean. Measure your next words carefully, Your Highness."
"The ring is not only the symbol of his rule but the power to rule the country itself. If you take his signet with you, his heir will have trouble ascending to the throne. It is a magical item that controls several enchantments. What my brother was looking for in the wild was a tool to counter that signet."
"Fine. I'll take the ring with me. But I'm not surrendering it to you."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she sagely quoted. "And remember, you need to claim the ring before he dies. Otherwise, the crown prince gains control immediately."
I went to make her some oat porridge with fruit and let her eat while I cleaned the complex. The guy had a lab that made me envious. He even had deathberry seeds in a vial. I took some doses of black binder's sap with me. The paralytic poison might come in handy. I found a soporific concoction and took it to the princess. After some threats, she took it and became sleeping beauty.
With some vials of black binder's sap and the rest of the healing potion strapped to my left forearm, I crawled up my tunnel and went to even my score with the Kings of the world.
----------------------------------------
Where to find the King was rather obvious. The tallest floor of the biggest ziggurat. I would put my chambers a few floors down in case of aerial bombardment, but the guy never suffered one. Or those enchantments protected against it. I'd never figure it out and stopped wasting time on conjectures. I needed to reach the top floor.
Looking around, the answer was obvious. I did have a delivery system to get me on the last floor but it wouldn't be a viable exit. I could climb one of the towers cornering the ziggurat and jump from there to the top floor. It was a bit of a fall but I was a cat and I had a ton of jumping Perks and Skills. The ziggurat had lots of guards walking on the outside and who knew how many inside. If I wanted to get the King, I needed to be creative. Getting out was way easier because I could make noise. My prey would be dead by then.
I approached one of the towers under chameleon. Nenandil screamed in my metaphysical ear.
I touched the tower. It zapped me but {Magic Eater} and {Magic Resistance} combined to lower the damage by a lot. I felt the shock on both my paw and my feet. Just like electricity. Maybe...
I jumped and touched the tower-antenna with all four paws at once. It zapped me once and my fur stood but it had no other deleterious effects. I climbed it. As I reached the peak, I felt the electrical charge stronger at the tip. My fur standing straight up and the smell of ozone was enough clues. I shook my head. Maybe these towers called the lightning in case of a siege?
I went around until I was facing the Royal chambers. I jumped and an arc of lightning from the other three towers struck me.
> Thunder Wards struck you. You lost 11,250 HP (Base 25,000 x 0.75 Magic resistance x 0.6 Magic Eater). You are shocked. You are afflicted with seizures.
> HP: 5,141 / 16,391
I get six points of Endurance transformed. That's what might have saved my cat-ass.
Holy fuckers. I fell with a splat on the roof of the Royal Apartments. Black spots swam in my vision and I could barely move. Completely dazed and convulsing, I saw that the vials on my forearm broke when I crashed. The glowing healing potion was mixing with the sap. I limped around and licked the liquids, sending pseudopods to devour every droplet.
> You healed 4,000 HP.
Told you it was the good stuff.
I stayed there, spread-eagle, and camouflaged on the roof. I heard some guards talking.
"Something struck the Thundergod's wards."
"Are you new here?"
"Yes, sir. I was knighted two months ago."
"Listen, it probably was another stupid bird or bat. It happens every now and then. Let's do a few rounds. There's no reason to wake His Majesty up if there's nothing."
They climbed to the roof and looked around. The younger of them pointed at the burned remains of the leather strap and the pieces of the broken vials.
"See? Birds burn to a crisp. They usually explode, that's all that's left of its bones," The veteran said.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Are you sure, sir. It is pretty dark out here. Shouldn't we get a torch."
"Kid, you wake the King up because of a bird, he's going to hang both of us. Now shut up and climb down. Slowly."
I waited for half an hour while I regenerated the rest of the damage. Licking the potion was the correct choice. They would notice the glowing liquid. I shifted to my quadrupedal form and prowled over the roof. I could see that the guards walked down the ziggurat to resume their patrol. I crawled down and examined the top floor. There were some balconies with plants and curtains blocked the view of the inside. But tracking the contract and Nenandil sense of fluids around her allowed me to find the only two people inside the top floor. King and Queen, probably.
There were magical wards on the doors and I had a stomach full from the lightning. it took me a lot of time to break these wards and open the door. I had only two or three hours before sunrise.
I entered the bedroom slowly. Nenandil sensed no magic inside, only on the walls. There could be some kind of ward keyed only to the King or maybe the signet. But that would exclude the queen. and whoever the King invited here. No. There was no enchantment inside the room, only on the walls, windows, and doors. Minus one no-longer-magical door, though."
I took a silk sash from a robe and approached the King. I carefully slid the sash around his neck from behind his pillow and gave it a Windsor tie knot. I could tug on the shorter tip now and he would choke. But first, let's get rid of the Queen.
> Assassination successful. Contract fulfilled.
>
> You killed level 74 Queen. You gained 85,215,590 Exp (54,760 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 3.05 perk x 7,57 contract x 20 Class Rank x 3,37 favored enemy).
Fuck yeah. I went around and bit off the King's hand at the same time I pulled the garrote and Nenandil pushed a gallon of water down his airways and froze his legs and remaining arm. The fairy's magic was ridiculously strong at her level. I bit the ring finger off and pulled the appendage away from the jewelry.
> You claimed Thundergod's Signet.
I swallowed it.
The King was struggling and I knew I had little time to act. I followed the silk sash and chewed through his neck.
> Assassination successful. Contract fulfilled.
>
> You killed level 87 High King. You gained 2,355,722,426 Exp (75,690 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 3.05 perk x 7,57 contract x 40 Class Rank x 10 Rank x 3,37 favored enemy).
The garrote, choking, and immobilization didn't break the conditions for {Assassinate} to work. But what a haul.
> You reached Silver Slayer level 16.
>
> 1 Perk Gained.
>
> You reached High Human level 15
>
> 1 Human Perk Gained.
>
> You reached High Chemist level 13.
>
> You reached High Surgeon level 13.
Two levels. Two fucking levels, Attributes to dump in my spirit, Skill Points, and two more perks. I quickly spent the latter.
> You gained the Improved Track Contract (very rare) perk. You are aware of the location of assassin contracts you are undertaking and can track them at ten times the distance.
>
> You purchased the Favored Enemy Exp Boost IV (very rare) Perk. Experience from favored enemies is increased by 405%.
I walked outside. I felt a presence, something watching me. It came from the four towers.
Then I heard in my soul.
An eery, creepy, male disembodied voice. Forget farts when they invent a TV with smells. This was the ultimate interactive experience.
Nenandil said,
Oh, fuck. Time for a tasty morsel. I used my Perk and started to devour the magic from the ring. It felt exactly as the core. Including the part where it cut my guts and made a balloon giraffe with them.
I was stuffed as if I'd eaten thirty slices at Joe's Pizza on Broadway. Damn, pizza.
Note to self. Do not release an old eldritch entity without first knowing what it is. Especially when it is called "Thundergod" and you were sent by Lo...
Shocking realization settling in, 3, 2, 1...
FUCKING SHIT.
I started to huff and retch. I poked my throat with a claw and finally vomited the fucking ring off. The feeling of having my guts torn apart eased but that I'd eaten too much didn't. I picked up the ring and ran away as fast as I dared while dodging the patrols along the outer walkways of the ziggurat.
Of course, Wyxnos gave me the cold shoulder. No wonder he's single. Guy's not willing to help a maiden in distress.
Thor confirmed. And I think Loki meddled with causality to bring me here, eventually. Fucker.
Good. This is going to hurt but I'm overcharged to the point of bursting. I reached the torture ziggurat and crawled down my hole. I went to the other apprentice's room after checking that the princess was fine.
I closed my eyes and remembered that the guys guarding the palace they all were accessories to the rape Princess Morvoren was subjected to. They were guarding the [Royal Assassin]. I put a contract on all of them. My spiritual power decreased sharply. I felt dizzy but I held to my consciousness. Then I focused on sensing each one of them. As I linked each one of the guards, I felt my satiety lessen. I put the ring on my finger.
Asterix was right to fear the sky coming down. Because the earth shook under the rumble of a thousand thunderbolts firing at once. Then again. The whole city shook and roared with the echoes of the thunder.
And just like the pond by the goblin village, this world proved that mass murder pays.
> You killed level 34 Soldier. You gained 1,347,860 Exp (11,560 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 3.05 perk x 7,57 contract x 5,05 favored enemy).
>
> You killed level 45 Royal Guard. You gained 4,722,175 Exp (20,250 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 3.05 perk x 7,57 contract x2 Class Rank x 5,05 favored enemy).
>
> ...
>
> You killed level 61 King. You gained 65,078,573 Exp (37,210 base x 10,000 perk x 0,0001 curse x 3.05 perk x 7,57 contract x15 Class Rank x 5,05 favored enemy).
> You reached Silver Slayer level 17.
>
> You reached High Human level 16
>
> You reached High Chemist level 14.
>
> You reached High Surgeon level 14.
The smell of ozone was crazy. As the Attribute points from my levels went to my spiritual hidden values, I regained a bit of strength.
I have no idea how long I sat there with the ring and my fairy for company. I stood up and felt hungry. I focused on the ring and ate a lot more of the enchantment.
I was dazed. Thirsty. I said the first thing in my mind.
The ring cracked and I pulled my hand back. It zapped and a muscular guy clad in byrnie chain mail with a wild red mane that reached his shoulders and a red beard that covered his collarbones and the upper part of his torso.
"Finally free!" Thor exulted. "Mortal, I am in your debt. You reek of death and my brother's stench. But I shall keep my side of our bargain. No longer you'll fear shock or burn."
I received some prompts asking to accept perks but it would be rude to interact with them now. "Thanks. When you see your brother, kick his ass for me."
"It shall be done. Farewell, mortal. I shall extinguish the bloodline of those that imprisoned me before I depart back to Asgard."
I checked my active contracts. None. They'd been all collected. I scooped the pieces of the signet ring and checked. the ring melted into chunks of gold. Nonmagical gold. I couldn't feel the towers anymore.
I stood up and asked Nenandil for water. While I drank from the floating ball of water, I accepted and checked the new Perks.
> You gained the Lightning Resistance V (ultra-rare) perk. Reduce all lightning damage suffered and the duration of lightning-related debuffs by 96,9%.
>
> You gained the Fire Resistance V (very rare) perk. Reduce all fire damage suffered and the duration of fire-related debuffs by 96,9%.
Thunder rocked outside the ziggurat. Thor was having a field day smiting the King's bloodline. A few minutes later, silence reigned.
I went to wake up the princess. Halfway down the hallway, I slapped my forehead.
I should've asked to go back home.