Soren went out and made his way towards the Administration Building.
Before the mission, he was left with around 120 Low-Grade Mana Crystals and adding his current expenditures and rewards, right now he had a total of 4 Middle-Grade Mana Crystals and around 20 Low-Grade Crystals.
Claude had told him about the auction that was to be held after some time. Before, he was not interested as he didn’t need anything right now. But now, there was one thing he needed: It was something that was going to be sold in that auction and was pretty important for his advancement.
He had already gathered some information about it from the Information Center as the Liston Family had received the list of items that were to be auctioned from the ‘Myriad Items’.
……….
Soren entered the Administrator Building and made his towards the desk. An old man was sitting cross-legged on the chair behind that desk, seemingly in cultivation. Soren leaned forward on the desk and looked at the old man.
“I want to accept some missions.”
The old man just pointed his fingers to the glass panel that was attached to the desk.
Soren nodded and then accessed the screen which asked for his name. The old man confirmed his identity after looking at him once and then went back to his cultivation.
Soren didn’t mind and just started looking through the list of missions which were available. He was looking for any mission that paid well and wouldn’t take much time to complete. He needed a large amount of Mana Crystals for the item that he wanted to buy from the auction. So, he needed to earn them through completing missions for the Liston Family.
He saw many kinds of mission; from resource gathering to Intel gathering; from routing beasts to exterminating mobs. They all had decent pay but would probably take quite a long time to complete.
He ignored these kinds of missions and just kept looking for something that matched his needs. Finally, he found a kind of mission that paid the highest and wouldn’t take much time either. It fit his situation perfectly. But he frowned after looking at those missions.
Assassination missions!!
It was something he hadn’t expected at all. He was somewhat reluctant to take these kinds of missions as he had yet to end a human’s life. Even though many of his killed beasts included some intelligent beings but they were still not of the same race as him.
He stared at the screen for quite a while, trying to decide what to do. He did need the crystals quickly and this was the only way to do so right now.
“What are the punishments for failing these missions?”
The old man opened one of his eyes and looked at the mission that Soren was asking about. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Soren. He did not think that this novice would choose something like an assassination mission.
“You would have to pay the same amount of mana crystals as the reward. If you are going to choose that, look for the mission that is close to your level, young man.”
Soren smiled and nodded at the old man’s words. He filtered the mission list and brought out the ones that were close to his ‘known’ level. The reward decreased a lot as the level of the target went down.
Soren mulled on it a little more but finally decided to accept one of the missions. He was not sure if he would be able to finish it but he wanted to give it a try.
He chose the job which had a target with an estimated cultivation of Rank 0: Layer 3. The payment was of 400 Low-Grade Mana Crystals. Combat wise—he could kill this person in one shot. But the main question was: Would he be able to do it?
He had already decided so he just confirmed the mission after which the details were shown to him. The mission was listed under his name and had the status of ‘Ongoing’. Soren memorized the details and also made Isaac record everything about it. He confirmed it with the old man and then closed the panel.
He turned around and got out of the building.
.………
His target was a guy who was affiliated with another family: A family by the surname ‘White’.
The target’s name was Jean White. He was originally not from the White family but had taken the family name. He was an orphan who was adopted by the head of the White family. He was running an Item Shop for the White family for a front and was gathering Intel for them in the background.
Soren stared at his picture which was displayed by Isaac. He looked like a middle-aged man of around 35 years old. He had average facial features and was considered normal by any criteria.
Soren decided to visit that Item Shop and have a look. He also wanted to buy something so that gave him an excuse.
………..
“Welcome, what would you like to buy?”
A middle-aged man said in greetings as he saw a black-haired young man enter his shop. The young man in front of him was dressed in casual clothes with a navy-blue shirt on top and black trouser with common shoes.
But as he saw the young man in front of him, an image suddenly came to his mind which made him stunned.
Soren smiled at the middle-aged man and walked forward. He ignored the man’s staring and went towards the counter.
“I want a Communicator.”
“…O-of course—of course.” He hurriedly took out a Communicator and showed it to Soren.
“Here, this is one of the latest ones.”
Soren took the Communicator in his hands and checked out its design. It had a rectangular shape, a glass panel display in the front with a black backside which looked somewhat bulky. He then started it and checked out its functions.
The middle-aged man stared at the young man checking the Communicator with some shock still remaining in his heart. He had recognized this young man the moment he entered his shop.
After all, his job was to gather Intel. One of the high-priority jobs he had right now was related to this ‘Traveler’. He had to make contact with this young man and was already thinking about how to do it. But now, he was in front of him.
So finally, he decided to make his move.
“Hi! My name is Jean White.”
Soren looked up towards the man and greeted him back while shaking his hand.
“Hello, I am Soren Farrow.”
It seemed Jean was quite talented in socializing, as he quickly struck up a conversation with Soren. While talking, he also kept paying close attention to Soren’s expressions.
……….
They started talking about different stuff; their talk started with everyday gossip and slowly went towards the Families and Organizations which were controlling the town from the shadows.
Jean started describing the White Family and how it would be the best option for any Initiator to join. Soren also started to forget about his mission for a while there and started complaining about how the Liston Family forced him to join them and how he hated them for it.
He was telling the truth there.
Jean’s eyes slowly sparkled as he listened to Soren. He had been given a high-priority job directly from his Family which was: He had to make this ‘Traveler’ join the White family.
He had heard before that Soren had already joined the Liston family, so he was trying to gather information about him and was thinking of ways to make him defect.
“What can I do now, though? I am already bounded by the Blood Contract.”
Soren paid close attention to Jean’s expression as he said this. But as he expected, Jean’s expression turns sour upon hearing the words ‘Blood Contract’.
He also didn’t have any way to counter that.
Soren had expected it already but still was disappointed upon the result. He was hoping to get something out of it and somehow solve the problem of his Blood Contract.
……….
Their conversation continued for a long time and they kept talking until they both became quite friendly to each other.
“If you want any kind of help, you can always come and look for me, brother. I will help you no matter what.”
Soren smiled upon listening to Jean and thanked him. The conversation then slowly turned towards the White Family.
Jean started bragging about his family and how his family was the best in this area; how even the Royal Family valued them highly.
He also told Soren that their Kingdom was fighting a war right now and the situation was a little tight. The Royal Family even had to issue conscription notices to the famous Families and Organizations. The eldest son of the White Family was going to answer the draft notice and had to depart very soon.
Jean kept bragging about how he was so proud of his eldest brother but also slightly scared as his brother was supposed to be fighting on the front lines.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Soren felt like he was talking to a teenager when he saw the overexcited adult man in front of him who.
The talk continued for a little longer as they talked about various topics. Soren also gained much useful intel from him. After all, this man was stationed here for the information gathering.
Soon, it was evening and sun moved down the horizon.
They both had talked for a long time now and were hungry. Jean invited Soren for dinner which Soren accepted without any hesitation. He had already paid Jean for the communicator which had cost him 150 Mana Crystals.
………
They moved out of the shop as Jean locked the door behind him. Both of them moved through the streets as the sky turned completely dark.
Jean wanted to take him to some place where they could drink and eat freely while talking some more. Soren was already wondering how this guy got the job of intel gathering while being so talkative.
Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, Jean’s communicator rang.
“Tch!”
He clicked his tongue and complained about getting disturbed. He excused himself and went towards an alley to talk.
“JEAN, WHERE ARE YOU?” A loud voice came from the other side of the communicator.
Jean moved the communicator away from his ears because of the loud voice before he answered back.
“Why are you shouting? I am going out for dinner right now with a friend.”
“Hide! No matter where you are, just go into hiding. RIGHT NOW!!.”
“HUH!” Jean was astonished to hear those words so abruptly.
Suddenly, something came to his mind and he quickly turned around.
Swoosh!!
A white sharp object flew at a high speed and pierced his heart.
Blood spurted out as the white object lodged in deep in his heart. Jean stumbled back from the momentum of the projectile and looked at the person in from of him in shock.
Soren slowly put down his left arm while cold mist still swirled around his palm. He had heard the other voice on the communicator from where he was standing and was forced to move right now.
He hadn’t expected someone to warn this guy like that.
Soren looked at the shocked Jean with cold eyes. His eyes were completely devoid of emotion. He kept watching with cold eyes as Jean slowly fell down on the ground with blood flowing from his heart.
Jean slowly started feeling cold as he kept losing the blood. The low temperature of the ice arrow slowly froze his bodily function and organs; increasing the speed of his demise.
Soren continued to look at the dying figure with calm eyes. He had thought that he would waver at the last minute or would freak out after killing him but was surprised to find himself completely calm. He looked at his hand and found they were totally stable without a tremor in them.
His breathing was stable as well as his heartbeat. His pulse remained at the normal level like he was just resting.
Humans….Beasts…..There is no difference when it comes to killing them…..
He wasn’t expecting this and thus, was a little surprised.
“HELLO! JEAN! HELLO!! ANSWER ME DAMMIT!! JEAN!!!”
The loud voice from the communicator still continued shouting. Soren gazed at the lifeless body of the man he had just killed and then at the communicator. He picked it up and cut the connection. He was hoping to find some important information on this thing. He then used his own communicator to take a picture of the dead Jean.
He checked the dead body and found a bag with Mana Crystals together with the keys of the shop.
He stared at the keys trying to decide whether to go back there or not. He would get quite the loot from the store if he could go back right now.
At last, he decided to check it out.
As soon as he reached the shop though, he saw a few people gathered around it and looking around. One of them was continuously trying to contact someone from his communicator.
Soren had already switched Jean’s communicator off so he wasn’t worried about it ringing right now. He could tell that these guys were the ones who had warned Jean just before he attacked him and were still trying to contact him right now.
He rejected the idea of going into the shop and swiftly walked away as he didn’t want to take a risk right now. He walked towards the dark alley and slowly moved through them. He switched on Jean’s communicator and checked for any info while continuously rejecting the call he was getting from the previous guy.
After getting whatever was inside, he threw it away.
It was already night time so he just went back to his room. He put down his stuff on the table and took a breath as he sat down on the couch. After his breathing calmed down, he finally decided to check his loot.
He took out the items he had taken from Jean.
He had found a pouch which contained around 200 Mana Crystals. He also found some other useless stuff which he threw to the side. The key to the shop was also thrown aside. He couldn’t find anything else useful which made him slightly disappointed.
Soren organized his stuff and put the crystals in his own crystal pouch.
He had also gained something else today other than the crystals. As he was casting his spell before, he found that he could control their size and strength with his ‘Mana Manipulation’ skill. He couldn’t do it so freely but it was still possible.
Before, his spells only grew in size and strength as he got stronger and he had no control over them but today was different.
Maybe it was because he had made some progress in his ‘Mana Manipulation’ skill recently but now, he could control the power of his spells. When he was casting his spell to kill Jean he tried to control his power as he didn’t want the spell to blast the body and spray blood on him.
He had nothing else to do today so he just did his daily cultivation and then started studying about his spells.
……….
Next day, he went to the Liston Family mansion and submitted the proof of his kill: He showed the old man the photo of the dead Jean. The old man confirmed the kill and looked at Soren with a slightly surprised gaze. He hadn’t expected this young man to finish the assassination job, much less in only one day.
He then told Soren that he didn’t need to worry about the dead body as the White Family would have already cleaned it. They also didn’t want to get involved with a murder situation.
The old man paid Soren the reward for the mission and then again went back to his cultivation.
Soren checked the bag and accepted it after counting the Mana Crystals. Though, instead of going out, he again opened the glass panel. The old man opened one of his eyes to look at Soren and shook his head with a smile on his face. He could imagine which mission Soren was going to pick.
And it went exactly like that. Soren once again accepted an assassination mission. He had already confirmed that he was able to do it, so he planned to use this to accumulate Mana Crystals. He needed a large number of crystals if he wanted to successfully bid for the item he was aiming for; this was the only shortcut he could see.
He was hesitating before because he was not sure if he could do it, but now…..
……….
Soren selected the mission on the panel and confirmed it. This time, it was a high-priority target. It was a man who was working as a spy for the Liston Family but had decided to defect to another family.
Soren checked his picture and found a pale-faced man. The man looked like he was standing at the door of death. He looked emaciated and his face looked sickly pale.
Soren frowned a little after seeing the picture. This person, who looked like he could die anytime, was a high-priority target?
Soren shook his head and shrugged as it was not his call to make anyway. He went out after confirming the mission. The previous mission was listed as ‘Completed’ under his name and now there was another one which had ‘Ongoing’ written beside it.
Soren had already recorded every detail about this man and he also had info about a meeting between this man and someone from another Family.
According to the mission, he had to kill this man before that happened. His cultivation level was also recorded in the details as Rank 0: Layer 4.
Soren wanted to finish it quickly so he just decided on the direction and made his move.
He brought out his clothes from the hotel and changed in his disguise in an alley. He wore that dark jacket with the hood and covered his face with the high collar with only his black eyes being visible. He then made his way towards the registered residence of his target.
……….
It was in a run-down area. The houses were packed together with not much space between them. The paths were also dirty and narrow.
Soren moved towards the house which was given in the details but couldn’t find anyone upon reaching there. It was obvious that the man wouldn’t live in the same residence known by the Liston family if he was going to defect. Soren was just trying his luck and wanted to see if he could find clues about his target’s whereabouts.
It was already evening right now and the place was quite dark.
Soren first checked around to see if anyone was there and then he broke into the house. He used his ‘Cold Touch’ to freeze the lock and then broke it using the butt of his knife; entering the house.
The house was not that big: It had one hall and two rooms. Soren entered the hall as he got into the house. He quickly looked around to find any clue to his whereabouts and where he could be at this time.
As he focused his eyes, he saw some pictures; pictures of a man, a woman and a girl who looked around Soren’s age.
Suddenly, a wave of emotions flowed through his heart as he stared at the picture: The picture of a family.
Family—this was something very close to Soren’s heart. He yearned for his family but had no way to meet them. He was struggling to survive in this world just so he could one day meet them.
The picture reminded Soren of his own family and made his heart waver. Memories of his own family went through his mind as he kept staring at the picture. His eyes turned red and his hands were slightly trembling.
It took him some time but he was finally able to control himself as he suppressed all the emotions deep within his heart. He then started looking around the house, hoping to find something but was disappointed, as he didn’t find anything.
He had no way to find his target now, so he thought about contacting the Liston Family to get the Intel he needed. This might cost him a little but he had no choice right now.
Before, he didn’t have a communicator so he couldn’t contact anyone, but now he had this option. He could also contact the cleaning team now, from the Family, to clean up after he killed his targets.
………
Soren went out of the house with his face covered and started walking through the alleys as he didn’t have any reason to stay there anymore.
As he walking away, he suddenly saw a weak and emaciated man walking in an unstable manner towards the house he just came out of.
This weak and emaciated man was his target.
Soren calmed down the waves in his heart and swiftly hid in the dark. The man went towards his home and entered it through the unlocked door. He clearly saw the broken lock on the door but it seemed like he didn’t care about such things at all.
Soren slowly moved out of the dark shadows and made his way towards the house. He then entered the house without making any sound and swiftly moved in. But as soon as he came into the hall from outside, he became stunned.
He saw the man standing in front of the picture of his family with his shoulders shaking. Soren could already imagine the reason by looking at the scene. He didn’t make any sudden movements and slowly walked towards the man. But this time he didn’t try to be stealthy about it.
The man heard his footsteps and turned around slowly.
He didn’t look surprised to find a stranger in his house. His eyes were red and his cheeks were drenched in tears, which kept falling on the floor. He had water coming out from his nose and eyes which he couldn’t control no matter how much he tried. He looked into Soren’s eyes without wavering.
His heart was already dead so why would he care about his body dying.
Soren looked into the man’s eyes and could feel the sorrow in them. His calm heart again wavered and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t control it this time.
“My wife…and my daughter…..send me to them. I don’t have the courage to do it myself….please”
Soren shuddered from the deep sorrow contained in the man’s voice. He looked at the crying man who was asking him to end his life. Soren’s hands were already trembling by now and he was not sure anymore if he could do what the man asked for.
“Please! I want to see them….let me meet them.”
Soren took a deep breath and clenched his fist to control the trembling.
He moved forward and slowly walked towards the man. Soren then slowly reached out for the man’s crying and sad face with his fingers. He gently touched the man’s forehead with his fingers…..
Cold Touch!
….and casted his spell ‘Cold Touch’.
Slowly the frost covered Soren’s hand and made its way towards the man’s forehead. It didn’t take long before the ice covered his face and seeped into his skin; freezing everything in its way.
Soon, the man’s brain was frozen and with it, his wish was also fulfilled—his desperate wish to meet his family in death.
His expression remained the same in the form of a frozen sculpture. His tears were frozen for eternity which represented his sorrow.
Soren removed his fingers from his face and looked at the man’s frozen expression, which was filled with sorrow and anguish, and somehow tried to control the feelings welling up in his heart.
While dealing with what he was feeling, he casted ‘Create Undead’ twice and created two Rotten Zombies. He then made them dig a grave inside the house while he gently laid down the corpse on the ground.
The Rotten Zombies had sharp claws which were pretty good for digging the ground so it was done pretty quickly. Soren slowly put the dead man in the grave with the picture of his family and made the undeads cover it up.
Finishing with the grave, he made a sign for the grave using a wooden board which read ‘Kazel sleeps here with his family – Rest in Peace’.
Soren took a final look at the grave and then went out of the house without looking back.