Nachtville’s east gate was full of mercenaries by the time the two arrived. The crowd was stoked with fervour, with mercenaries all yelling and roaring as they squeezed through the gate. Claud shuddered as he took in that sight — it was one of the best hunting grounds for anyone who wanted to kill people. Other than the ease of access towards targets, a simple, well-placed shout would easily create a stampede.

“Stop,” said Claud, holding out his hand.

“Why?” Lily asked, skidding to a halt behind his outstretched arm.

“You promised to listen to my instructions,” Claud replied, “but I suppose I should teach you about ways to avoid stupid deaths. See that huge crowd there? In general, huge and packed crowds are really bad. An assassin can slip close to their target and their target wouldn’t even notice, because it’s natural to be in close proximity to other people in such crowds.”

Lily frowned. “Holding a weapon in such a crowded area’s going to draw suspicion, though.”

“Would you notice someone who’s holding a small knife in the crowd?” Claud asked. “I don’t think so. You don’t need to use an unsheathed sword to kill someone. A knife at the neck or other sensitive bits would work as well. And no one’s going to notice. By the time your body hits the ground, the assassin would be long gone.”

Suppressing a shiver or two, Lily took a deep breath.

Claud snorted. “Good that you can see that. And there’s a second reason for my hatred of big crowds.”

“What’s that reason?” Lily asked.

“Stampedes,” Claud replied. “Imagine if someone were to shout ‘murder’ in that crowd. What’s going to happen?”

“Everyone’s going to flee—oh. Oh! I get it now!”

“Exactly,” Claud replied. “This is a good hunting ground for those warped murderers. That’s why we aren’t stepping in. See those who are hovering around the gate? They’re also aware of the danger. Unfortunately, it would have been better if there were more of these people, though.”

“Stampedes caused by a false alarm…sounds like a horrible way to die.”

“It is,” Claud replied, looking down at the ground. There were lots of footprints there, and—

“Claud?”

“What?” the master thief asked. “I’m looking at footprints.”

“Put that aside for a moment! We have a huge problem! A huge scaly one!”

“Huh?” Claud looked up, and his eyes widened moments later. “Moons…Lily, follow me slowly. We’re taking steps back. Lots of steps back.”

He had just been thinking that the rumour of the three-headed snake’s sighting was just a red herring, meant to distract the others as the murderer offed someone, but now…

As they backed off slowly, the snake roared, its uninjured head looking down on the city gates. The pebbles around Claud shook from the mere sound of it, and the mercenaries stuck at the gate froze up. The master thief couldn’t blame them; even at a distance, both him and Lily had stopped moving from that roar.

Forcing his legs to move, Claud grabbed her hand and pulled her away physically. That seemed to do the trick; Lily’s legs began to move after a baby step or two, and they continued to retreat back. The three-headed snake hadn’t shown any aggression yet, presumably due to its fear of the Emperor’s decree.

However, Emperor Grandis was far, far away. There, in front of it, within striking distance, were a bunch of mercenaries. Claud knew that to monsters, human meat wasn’t appetizing at all, but what if someone decided to provoke it by attacking?

Like, say, a bunch of very scared people?

“Something wrong?” Lily asked. “You look horrible.”

Claud didn’t answer her. Right now, he was occupied by an incredibly primal urge to kill that thing, and he didn’t know why. The prospect of people dying was not something he found palatable, true, but the urge to kill this snake was…different. Crown wasn’t responding to it either, and he’d even snapped a Cleanse skillstick to no avail.

“This is bad,” said Lily.

Claud nodded. “They look like they’re on the verge of firing a few arrows. Lily, do you have those bombs that you used to blow up your family with? I think we might need them very soon.”

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“I don’t have the required materials,” Lily replied.

“Darn it.”

Instead of struggling with the compulsion, Claud decided to go against his rational desires and obey his instincts, and the stifling agony faded. After all, the snake probably wasn’t all that much of a big deal if he could punch it while Absolute One was activated. Combining that with Presence Nullification would ensure the snake’s death through and through, but there was a problem.

Lily was by his side. She was an intelligent person; if he abruptly vanished and the snake died a horrible death, she would probably harbour a suspicion or two. It wouldn’t be an issue in the immediate future, but the same couldn’t be said for the next few months and years. Suspicions would pile up in her mind, and eventually, the right piece would fall in.

She would then wonder about the kind of skill Claud had used to create such a miracle, and then ask questions he didn’t want to answer. In return, he would have to lie or something, which would leave gaps.

Sometimes, the easiest way out is to leave…and then return.

“I’m going to leave for a moment,” said Claud. “Left a bunch of items in the inn. We might be able to help Nachtville put up some resistance if I get my hands on them.”

“You’re going back to get artefacts?” Lily asked.

“Yes. I didn’t take all of my defensive artefacts with me earlier, since I thought we were going for a simple walk. If I have them, we’ll be able to mount up some defences if that snake tries to attack the town.”

That, naturally, was a lie. Claud wasn’t the kind of person that would leave even a single artefact that could help in the preservation of his life behind, but he’d given Lily enough reason to think otherwise. After all, they were indeed walking around randomly; the chances of there being a danger to their lives wasn’t all that high.

He would return to her after dealing with that damned snake with a bunch of artefacts he was already wearing in the first place. Since the gate was in a different direction from the inn they were staying in, it was unlikely that she would notice anything.

“I’ll keep watch for you here, then,” said Lily.

“At the first sign of trouble, what should you do?” Claud asked.

“Run,” Lily replied.

“Good.” Claud repressed his urge to take a deep breath, and then returned in the direction of the inn. After turning a corner, he tore two skillstrips — one for Presence Nullification and the other for Flight — and then took to the skies. From his vantage point, he could see the snake stare menacingly at the city gates for some reason, and Claud felt his skin crawl.

He didn’t quite understand why he felt the urge to interfere. Was it because he knew that his life would be in danger if the snake committed to an attack? Or was it because he feared that the killer would make use of the ensuing chaos to kill more people and get away with it? Or was it that nagging feeling deep in his heart, a surreal understanding that he had something to gain from making a move?

He had a feeling that it was something far more…nebulous, but if it had anything to do with the gods, there wasn’t anything he could do at the moment. Taking a deep breath, he soared towards the scaly beast, ready to activate Absolute One at a moment’s notice.

Some part deep within him couldn’t help but note that this was really out of character for him, but Claud knew that at times, going against one’s desires was the only way to go onwards. His instinct was telling him that only by getting rid of this snake could there be progress in seeking out the true danger — the culprit behind those murders.

It was also possible that he just wanted to use Absolute One, after so many days of not using it.

His speed shot up by many folds as the square that represented Absolute One, the square in the top right of his vision, winked out. Mana raged around him, and in that instant, Claud could finally feel what it was like to use that skill as a mana-user.

[Your skill, FiBoD:E??? has changed into FiBoD:A???!]

A screen opened for the barest of moments as Claud luxuriated in what felt like pure power.

The sensation of unlimited mana springing out from deep within him flooded his nerves with ecstasy comparable to eating lifestones, and his fist shone as it bore down upon the snake. No one would see him, right until the moment he struck, and the snake’s visage expanded rapidly as he drew close.

He could see the spear and the sword embedded in two of its three heads, the glistening scales under the sunlight. Up close, Claud could see for himself the beauty of such a monster and appreciate its incredible size, but that wasn’t going to spare it from a good punch.

A small Moon gathered around his fist as it fell onto the three-headed snake’s last head.

Time seemed to slow as it landed on the head, and a massive shockwave coursed down its neck. Claud could see every bit of the monster tear itself apart from the aftermath of his punch. Like a bubble popping, the huge snake came apart a heartbeat later, splattering the ground behind it with fine drops of flesh and blood.

A torrent of mana gushed out from his outstretched fist, and Claud, acting on instinct, swept it at the remains of the snake. The enormous carcass vanished as the ground beneath took on a fine glassy sheen, leaving behind no evidence that a three-headed snake ever existed.

The torrent of power from Absolute One began to fade away, and Claud shot to the skies once more, before activating Presence Nullification again. There was still some time before Lily got suspicious, but he was always the kind to play it safe.

He glanced at his status as he left. Claud could remember the small screen that had popped up as he used Absolute One; it had something to do with the odd skill.

Name: Claud Primus

Lifespan: 117 years

Active Skills: Presence Nullification (8), Flight (5), Binding Order (7), Cleanse (6), FiBoD;A??? (0), FiBoD;A??? (0)

Passive Skills: DiL???C, Mana Organ

Mana Circuit Superimposition: 1.36

Mana Control Proficiency: Intermediate

Comments: A letter changed in that odd skill of yours. What did you do to it? Did anything happen? If you need help, contact a church of the Coloured Gods. They’ll probably assist.

The person in charge of his status was clearly concerned for him, and Claud felt touched at that fact. Shaking his head lightly, he examined his status. Indeed, the only thing that had changed was how Absolute One, represented on his status as ‘FiBoD:E’ had changed into ‘FiBoD:A’, but that was it.

What was going on?

He stared at the string of letters as he fled the scene, but there was nothing he could think of.