Unlike before, this time, I killed them of my own volition. It was not fear that stopped me, but my reasoning. If I killed them, I would truly become a murderer. However, so what? As long as no one knew, that is fine, right? Even if I were caught, I would be saving mages from captivity. Slavery was illegal in this country, and anyone who coerced others into slavery was punishable by death or heavy fines. I was doing justice work.

Surprisingly, it took a short time to convince myself. Desire welled up within me. My hands moved on their own, and a dagger plunged into his neck. The aim struck true to his atlas bone. I had just reaped a life. Using my shadow tentacles to hold onto the window, I climbed inside with the rotund man's corpse.

His room was so opulent in contrast to the bleak atmosphere where the mages worked. Mirrors with golden frames hung about in the corners, and red carpets with gold trimmings laid on the clean, polished wooden floor. I rummaged through his room, and as expected, this opulent man ran many shady dealings. Human trafficking, extortion, and murder were among them. The financial report said it all.

When I glanced at the clean mirror, a red-eyed girl was smiling back at me. Her eyes were enraptured, like a moth drawn to a flame. My eyes then pulled away from the image of the blue-haired girl. The night had just begun, and I had more killing to do. I opened the door leading to the hostages. My steps were stealthy, and my body was small. None found me within the messy pile of boxes filled to the brim with feystones.

The room was large, with over five guards manning the fifteen mage slaves. I could kill them. Mana Sight told me they were not mages. However, there were two more guards outside. I fished them one by one with a feystone. When I threw one feystone in a corner, one guard approached it and met the same fate as the opulent man. Then I fished another, and another. They were so stupid that three of them fell for the lure.

The guard finally felt something was amiss and no longer came alone. However, only two of them are left. I could take them.

"Wait! He is — Ack!" I stabbed him right in the head through the right eye with my dagger. I quickly pulled back my dagger, and before the other guard reacted, I slit his throat with my karambit. Unlike before, blood splattered everywhere. However, I didn't dislike the smell. It was fragrant. Clean and bloodless kill was a beautiful art, but a messy kill like this was the peak of instinct.

"Hey. What happened? Wait, is he dead?" Some of the slaves were roused by the sound of falling bodies. "Help! He is dead!"

"Stupid. Don't make any sound. There are still two guards outside. This is our chance!" The foolish slave asked for help, but he was silenced by another. But the two guards came in any way due to the ruckus.

"What happened? Holy! Joe, Charlie! Fuck! Who did this?" He glanced around in anger. I had already hidden myself long ago, just below the roof, on top of the roof beam. With my shadow tentacle, I could raise myself up quickly. I then injected the guards stealthily with my dark magic. All the mages looked up at once, but I simply pressed my finger to my lips, gesturing for them to stay silent. I was wearing my shadow magic on my body and cloak. All they should see is a mere black humanoid figure like in those detective stories.

"You guys! Stay here! I will kill you if you move a muscle!" the guard shouted. "Check the boss."

"Shit, he is dead!"

"Is it one of those damn reapers?"

"Well, yeah. All the gold was left here. The fuckers probably left! Now is our chance! Let's grab the gold and run, too. We don't want to mess with those!"

"Hey, I am feeling faint."

"What are you talking about? We should… run…”

The remaining guard then dropped like flies. The debuff worked, and now they lay there paralyzed. I continued applying the magic, and soon, they departed this world, painless but full of suffering. That's how dark magic worked. It stole vitality bit by bit, and then, when you had nothing left, you would fall unconscious and then collapse. If you continued with the magic, they would lose more vigor until they couldn't breathe and died. It was unpopular and was regarded as the weakest magic. But now I realized it was a perfect assassination tool.

Blessing of the Killing Star has risen to lvl 3

Choose your upgrade

- Improved Mana

- Camouflage

- Improved Strength lvl 2

A blue box appeared before me, but I dismissed it without even reading it. I had something more important to do. I needed to flee before they asked me questions.

I climbed down from the roof beam and then left through the front door. Once I left, I undid my shadow cloak and returned to my pristine form. Not a speck of blood was left within me. I had just carried out a perfect assassination. This body was raging with excitement. I felt fulfilled. This was my purpose.

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"Hehe…." I giggled as I skipped back out of the slums. Today was a happy day. As I thought, castles, ballrooms, and dances were not for me. This excitement was addicting. When I pressed my dagger into their neck, it felt so exhilarating. The way the blade slid into their neck was fun!

"Whoa! Awesome little fella! I never knew you could kill 8 guys like that. So young, but so talented!"

"Eek!" I quickly jumped away when a voice greeted me from behind. Who?

"Such a girlish scream, too. Whoa. You have a cute face, but your eyes were something else. You were clearly born for the job." An old man came out from the shadow. Oh no! He saw my face! I was so dead! He caught me red-handed!

"Superb action betrayed your girlish attitude earlier. That knife was imported from the southern countries, right? How did you get something like that?" He judged me as I drew my karambit. Should I play dumb? No, it was too late. I had already drawn my knife. Moreover, I hadn't washed the blood from the knife yet.

"Relax. I am not your enemy. I just wanted to tell you that you just stole my commission."

"I didn't take any commission. You can claim it," I answered.

"Now, now. Even I have honor, you know. How could I steal from a little girl like you, Miss Eli."

I shot out like a bullet towards him. He needed to die. Not only did he know my face, but he also knew my name. I quickly fired several dark lances, but he repelled them all with his version of dark balls. It was like a magic duel back in the academy, only ten times faster with an intention to kill. However, that was enough. I was already at striking distance. I jumped and aimed my karambit at his jugular vein, but he caught it with his dagger. However, victory is mine. I have practiced this move ever since my first kill. If someone blocked my karambit attack, I shall swing with my dagger.

"Fast, but a little unpolished. Straight and predictable as an arrow." I swung my dagger, but he caught it with his arm. I was astonished at first when he was blocking my dagger with his arm, but the clanging noise when my dagger hit his arm confirmed it. He was wearing a vambrace beneath his long-sleeve shirt.

I jumped back, and my tentacles wrapped around him, but he negated it with his own tentacle. I jumped to the side, trying to catch his blind spot and using all my skills. Strength and Agility. I made the fastest move possible, jumping toward a wall behind him and then jumping back, aiming for his atlas bone. This was an all-out attack. If I missed it, I was finished.

He blocked my karambit the same way he blocked my previous attack, but it pushed him back this time. Unlike before, I didn't swing my dagger, but I did a thrusting motion. My dagger was aiming straight for his throat. He bent his head backward as his foot raised upwards. My dagger never reached him, and a kick sent me flying back.

"Agh!" I fell on my back as fatigue started to haunt me. My hands were heavy. I could maybe push for another attack, but that would definitely knock me unconscious with muscle pain tomorrow. My breathing started to get ragged, and my sides ached, too. I moaned as tears began to well up in my eyes. It hurts.

"Whew. That was dangerous." He sighed. "Alright! That's enough for a test. Just as I said before, I didn't come to harm you. I simply wanted to invite you to my guild. Here is my card."

He flung a thin metal card at me. There, a skull with a scythe was shown. I gazed at the card blankly. This is no ordinary metal sheet. A unique magic has been engraved into it.

"Come to the Pavilion Samantha at 11 in the morning or evening tomorrow. I will show you around." He then put the hood of his cloak back while waving at me. "C ya."

I lay there for several minutes as he left. Picking up the card, I brushed the dust from my cloak and left the slums. My heart raced all the way, consumed by the consequences of what I had just done. I killed eight people, and someone saw me doing it. What was he planning to do to me now?

I also put back the hood on my cloak until I reached the noble gate. Using the same tactic I did when going out, I snuck back into my house. The sun was almost risen when I was back in my bed. I quickly put away my cloak. It is a little dusty. I hope Alicia didn't notice.

Nevertheless, I didn't go back to sleep but merely sat on a chair while gazing at the sunrise. I was sweating, and it felt disgusting going to sleep like this. So, I sat around while watching the sunrise and occasionally glanced at the card he gave me.

"Lady Eli! Morning!" Alicia cheerily came to my room. She never knocked. She knew I wouldn't be awake at this time, so she usually simply snuck into my room, cleaned, and then woke me up when breakfast was ready.

"Ah, you're already awake? How rare," she said. However, I ignored her, staring at the horizon while watching the rising sun. My mind felt hazy, swinging between the excitement of yesterday and the dread of being discovered.

"Lady Eli. Are you ill? Don't tell me you have been sitting on the window since yesterday? What if you got a fever?" Alicia put her hand on my temple and found out my forehead was a little bit warm.

"I will take a bath. After that, I will continue to rest. I am sorry for worrying you, Alicia." I hugged Alicia as I sluggishly moved to the bathroom. The exhaustion had finally caught up. I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. It was bad manners to sleep immediately after a bath. However, I was too tired to care.

In my dreams, I saw myself dyed in blood. A smile crept up on Elidranthia as twenty people piled up in a heap behind her. The red comet shone on us. Instead of being scared of such a sight, I returned a smile. She then hugged me. It was odd seeing two Elidranthia hugging each other. However, it felt soothing. As if I wasn't alone anymore.

I woke up with Alicia holding my hands. Trauma surged within me because her action reminded me of my time in a hospital before. I quickly drew my hands while checking my breathing, chest, and other nonexistent anomalies within my body. No anomalies were found. This body was healthy and fit. Sensing me moving on my bed, Alicia woke up, too.

"Ah, you finally awake. Sorry that I slept on the job. Hehehe." She smiled. I scanned the surroundings, and the sun was high in the sky.

"What time is it?"

"Noon has just passed moments ago, Lady Eli."

I guess I missed the morning meeting, huh? I have to sneak out again tonight. I also had to prepare for my return trip to County Shadowstep.