Day 70

I jolted awake in the dead of night, my Danger Sense pricking at the edge of my mind like a thousand invisible needles. The room was silent—too silent. The faint glow of moonlight filtered through the cracks in the wooden shutters, but it wasn't enough to calm my instincts. Someone—or something—was close. I didn't budge. Weeks of survival had taught me that a hunter will wait for that first sign of motion.

My breathing slowed to steady, soundless beats as I toggled on my Infrared Vision, letting the world shift around me into shades of heat and shadow. There they were—three figures crouched on the roof above me, their bodies glowing with distinct outlines. They were skilled, their movements deliberate and predatory. Assassins. Sent for me, no doubt.

"You poor bastards," I thought grimly, sliding out of bed with a predator's patience. I didn't even bother to open the door. Instead, I slipped over to the window and made my way through it into the cool night air, the wooden frame creaking only slightly. My feet landed softly on the next rooftop, shrouded in shadows. The first assassin didn't even know I was there.

Careless of danger, his glance lit upon the window I had left, and he crouched forward. I crept behind him like a phantom in the night; one swift motion had his head twisted, the sickening crack echoing through that night's silence like some great thunderclap. And then he collapsed, where he crouched. The sound warned the other two. They spun around in sharp, defensive movements, as their knives reflected the pale moonlight.

They locked eyes with me, then on to their fallen comrade with a neck bent at an unnatural angle. "How rude of you to visit me in the middle of the night," I said flatly, my voice cold and humorless. Their response was immediate. Like cornered rats, they bolted, leaping across the rooftops in desperate attempts to escape. But running wouldn't save them. It never did.

I sprang forward like a hunting hawk, closing the distance to the nearest assassin. Barely had he touched down on the next rooftop before my hand clamped around his neck, squeezing like a vice. He choked, his eyes wide with panic, but before I could question him, his body spasmed. White foam dripped from his lips, and his face went pale as he went limp in my grip.

"Cowards," I spat in revulsion, allowing his lifeless form to fall. "Always willing to die instead of speaking." The last assassin was already several rooftops ahead, springing from one to another, his outline dwindling into the distance as he sprinted away. I straightened, brushing off my hands, and glared at him, "You're not getting away." I raised my hand to call forth Fire Magic, infusing the flames with desire and imagination.

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A bow of molten fire coalesced into my palm, its pulsing heat like the lava heart of a volcano. With the string humming in my fingertips, I drew it taut, summoning an arrow of flame. I have aimed, following the course of the assassin as he runs and weaves across the rooftops. Then, I let go. The arrow roared through the air like a meteor, a streak of fire slicing through the dark.

He didn't even have time to turn before the arrow hit him on the back. A shriek of anguish was rent apart by the night, for his body exploded into flames. The flames seemed to have consumed him in one instant; within the minute it took, flesh and bone became ashes, and his corpse was strewn like embers upon the wind. I lowered my arm, the fire bow vanishing as soon as it appeared.

Once again, silence crept over the rooftops. Gazing at the city, I stared with narrowed eyes. More killers were sent by the Dark Guild, and they would never stop until I was dead. "Keep trying," I breathed to no one in particular, carried away by the night wind. "I'll kill every last one of you." I retreated back into the inn, leaving only silence and ashes behind.

Day 73

The Dark Guild wasn't giving up. Their assassins came at me relentlessly, as if they had eyes in every shadow of Yelarien Kingdom's capital. It was almost admirable—almost. They must've realized by now that I'd be staying in the city for some time, which only seemed to fuel their determination. This time, they sent something different. I was hunting in the nearby woods on a cold morning.

The Danger Sense flared up, telling me to beware of danger. Simultaneously, my Keen Senses picked up on the faint sound of swirling air, a violent storm contained within a single form. There it was, an Air Elemental, its translucent, swirling body twisting and roaring as it approached me. It was like fighting at the heart of a hurricane. Its strikes were so swift and chaotic that they tore through the trees. But I was faster.

With my powers stockpiled from my victims, dodging its attacks was effortless. Compared to the Red Dragon, this elemental was nothing but a warm-up. I summoned two blazing blades of Fire Magic against the wind-whipped vortex. Not a second's pause as I vaulted through the air and moved so quickly and noiseless that I was behind it before it ever knew I was coming.

A flurry of slashes followed, my blades shredding its turbulent form. The air rippled and hissed where flames consumed what was once a forbiddingly large body. By the time I alighted gently back onto the forest floor, the Air Elemental was gone—dismantled entirely. And I wasn't done yet.

I activated my Infrared Vision and scanned the area. It didn't take long to spot the summoner hiding behind a cluster of trees several meters away. "What a wuss," I thought. He'd been watching from the shadows, letting his summoned creature do the dirty work. So, I decided to return the favor. Focusing on the Wind Magic I had just stolen from the Air Elemental, I unleashed a massive wind slash in his direction.

The attack tore through the forest, slicing through trees as though they were paper. When the dust settled, the summoner's lifeless body lay in two clean halves amid the wreckage of splintered trunks and fallen leaves. "I'll give them credit," I said to myself, stepping over the destruction. "The Dark Guild is really bringing the big guns." But their mistake was believing that persistence would break me.

What they did not know, or perhaps refused to accept, was that every assassin, summon, and enemy they sent only made me stronger. Each life taken, each power absorbed, brought me closer to becoming an unstoppable force. They were just giving me the tools to destroy them.