บท 4: The Bloody Assassins
บรรณาธิการ: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Hurry, they're coming," Link urged, his voice soft.
"Don't rush me. I'm putting them on," Celine complained under her breath.
Link turned his head to glance at her. He was stunned.
The young girl had had no choice but to take off her nightdress in order to put on the short robe and trousers. The underclothes she wore were very thin. Part of her naked waist peeked out mischievously. Under the hazy moonlight and contrasted by the curvy hips below, her waist seemed especially slender, her skin so white it was blinding.
Link felt his blood boil. Hurriedly, he averted his gaze, "I saw Assassins coming over. Later, follow me. If anything happens, I'll protect you," he explained under his breath.
All the Dark Elves involved in this operation were Elites and extremely powerful. In the game, during his escape from Gladstone, they had all been in Elite mode, with insanely high blood and attack levels.
Normal Apprentices stood no chance against them.
"Assassins? That's terrible!" Celine quickened her pace. A scream from outside the window proved what Link had just explained.
As she had finished putting on her clothes, Link walked towards the door. Ten feet away from it, he pointed his wand at the lock and activated The Magician's Hand. The door swung open.
Some Magician's Apprentices milled about outside the door, but luckily no Assassins.
"It's safe, follow me!"
Link beckoned to Celine. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to clash with any Assassins. He wasn't afraid of them, but it meant that he had to use his limited Mana.
Celine followed him unquestioningly. She found that the Link in front of her was completely different from usual. There was a gravitas about him.
"This human is strange." Celine looked at the back of his figure curiously. He didn't seem anxious despite there being creatures all around ready to kill them. Link was observing the situation in the hall, and not particularly paying attention to the girl's odd behavior.
His image of Celine, according to the original Link's memories, was that of a gentle, mild-mannered maiden. It seemed as if nothing could faze her. Because of that, Link didn't think that there was anything off about the way that she was behaving.
The hall was a mess. The Magician's Apprentices were all in a state of confusion. They had no idea what was going on.
"What happened, why is it so noisy?"
"Damn it, I was having some good dreams earlier!"
"Good heavens, what a mess!"
Seeing Link come out from Celine's room, the Apprentices all turned to look at him in astonishment. Some couldn't hold back their thoughts.
"A piece of trash and a commoner, actually fooling around in the middle of the night? Trash!" This was spat out in jealousy.
"Celine, why would you shame yourself doing this?" This came from a confused fellow Apprentice.
Celine's face, which had been calm and collected, flushed pink. Just as she opened her mouth to defend herself, a shrill scream came from the first floor of the Apprentice's Dorm.
It was a scream that could only come from someone dying in agony, piercing and echoing throughout the building and catching everyone's attention all at once.
"What happened?"
"Damn it, it sounded like Madame Fairfax."
Bam! A Magician's Apprentice raced out of his room, yelling, "Look outside, there are people attacking the academy!"
In just a short while, many of the academy's buildings had been set on fire. Every now and then, the sounds of magical explosions filled the air. In the Garden of Magic nearby, they could see the vague outlines of people fighting and flashes of magic.
It was chaos.
"Oh, God of Light, who can tell me what's going on?"
"Good heavens, it's the Dark Elves, the lackeys of Lolth, the Spider Queen. Look, here they come!"
At the top of the stairs leading to the second floor stood two figures fully clad in black leather. Though they were masked, their characteristic dark red eyes and ashen gray skin betrayed their race.
Link was startled at the sight of them. He knew that a battle was unavoidable. He pulled Celine into a room.
He had a reason for doing so. The hall was too large, meaning that there was too much space around the two of them. The elves would be difficult to handle. On the contrary, the door to the room that they were in was small and narrow. Even if the Assassins followed him in, he only had to face one opponent at a time. This would reduce his Mana consumption significantly.
Alarmed cries came from outside the door.
"He killed Madame Fairfax!" a Magician's Apprentice yelled and pointed at one of the Dark Elves. The Dark Elf held a bloody, dripping dagger.
The Assassin responded with his actions.
One of the Assassins fitted an arrow into the Dark Elf Bow in his hand. Pulling it swiftly, he released the string with a twang, causing the arrow to fly and land square in the throat of the Magician's Apprentice.
The Apprentice crumpled to the ground, blood spreading out on the floor around him. The scent of blood filled the air.
The other Apprentices were speechless.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"Murderer!"
The young Magicians were stunned silly by the scene. Most of them were panic-stricken. Some ran back into their rooms, bolting their doors. Some could only crawl up into a ball and scream. Others were bolder and retaliated!
But what could the spells of a Magician's Apprentice do? Their attacks were a joke to the powerful Dark Elf Assassins.
Holding his wand, a student threw a Level-0 Fireball at one of the Assassins.
The pale orange fireball, barely larger than a marble, whizzed towards the Assassin with a hissing noise.
The Assassin didn't move an inch. He just faced the Fireball, a pitch-black dagger appearing in his hand. He swung it at the tiny flame.
Poof. The fireball was sliced into two halves. It burst up into a flurry of sparks and disappeared.
"Anti-magic weapons!" cried out the Magician.
Firuman Continents' Warriors had Battle Qi, but only from Level 3 onwards. Below that, Warriors used all types of anti-magic items against Magicians.
Anti-magic weapons, Elemental Magic Resistant Armor, and potions. All were ways that Warriors used to fight against Magicians.
Of course, if one was fast enough and sharp enough, one could duck and evade spells. But there was a considerable risk in doing so. If one met a powerful Magician, just one Fireball could burn the self-proclaimed nimble fellow to ashes.
Those were the last words of that young Magician. The Assassins didn't give him a chance to cast another spell. The Dark Elf on the right raised his bow and sealed the Apprentice's fate with another arrow to the throat.
Then, the Assassin began his massacre. His bow sang short, high-pitched tones as the Magician's Apprentices fell to the ground one by one. They were killed like chickens in a slaughterhouse.
The elves were too powerful. And they were experienced in battle. The unseasoned Magicians were defenseless. Within the blink of an eye, only a handful of them were left. One of them rushed into the room where Link hid.
He shut the door behind him with a loud bang. Then, he cowered on the ground, hugging his head and shivering uncontrollably. He had been stupefied.
In the room, Celine hid behind Link, her brows furrowed tightly. It was unnerving. The quiet, peaceful Magic Academy had transformed into a bloody scene right before her eyes. She found it hard to believe.
"The Dark Elves really are a bunch of beasts!" Celine had grown to love the peaceful environment of the human academy in her three months here. But the Dark Elves had destroyed all of it within just a matter of minutes.
Link was the calmest. He faced the door, held the New Moon Wand in his hand and waited patiently.
In that moment, Link, too, felt fear in his heart. This was the first time he was actually experiencing such a bloodbath. But his strong mind suppressed his fear, not allowing it to influence his thoughts and actions.
Some screams came from under the door, then the sound of doors being kicked down. More cries rang out. Then came an eerie silence. It was obvious that all the Magician's Apprentices on the second floor had been killed. Then came the sound of footsteps. They grew louder as the steps got closer and closer. The Assassins were walking towards the room in which the three of them hid.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" the young Magician blubbered uncontrollably as he curled up on the floor. He succumbed to loud wails, snot and tears smeared across his face.
Celine didn't even lift an eyebrow, but the space between her and Link grew tighter still.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door. There was a short pause of two seconds, each dragging on into eternity for the Apprentices in the room.
Suddenly, with a bang, cracks appeared on the wooden door.
The thin wooden door couldn't hold up against a Dark Elf Assassin's strength.
"Little cowards, why don't you let me send you down to hell?"
Link looked at him. The Assassin's information appeared in his head.
Dark Elf Assassin (Elite)
Level-2 Warrior
Battle Skill: Speed Burst
Gear: Standard Bow (Fine)
At this time, a Level-2 Elite Assassin was an extremely powerful being compared to the average person. To make matters worse, all of the Dark Elf Assassins tonight were at least this level. Gladstone was a small city without many strong inhabitants. It was no wonder that it had fallen!
Something else shifted in Link's field of vision. Another message appeared—it was a mission!
Open details of mission.
Part One of Mission: Retaliate!
Mission Details: Kill the Assassins in the Apprentice's Dorm.
Reward: 15 Omni Points
Link was excited! He needed power, and he needed it fast. This mission had come at just the right time!
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