14 [[[SELF CREATED SKILL]]]

As you are now. there is much work to be done. The warden added, "the fastest way to get stronger is through danger. A diamond can never be formed without the weight of mountains".

"So what are you? A dragon or dirt?" Crow said. He only spoke when there was a chance to be little Cruden.

But the warden didn't mind. He gave Cruden time to think. This was a huge decision.

To the wardens and crow surprise, Cruden took less than a minute before he responded

" I will do it."Cruden knew he didn't have time to waste. he still remembered his mission. he didn't want to disappoint his lord

"Good", the warden said with a huge smile on his face. I have your first mission right here. One of our employers' daughters has been kidnapped by this rich aristocrat. he is known for kidnapping a bunch of girls.

"Your mission is to save her. This aristocrat is a mortal but he has tons of cultivators working for him. Based on our intel. Their levels range from 7-9. We are not sure if there is anyone else more powerful but with so many cultivators it will be difficult for even me. Said the warden with a weird smile on his face"

"But if there are so many people guarding her?'" How am I supposed to save her?' Cruden said disapprovingly.

the warden responded, "If you were to confront them all at once then that would be suicide. This is where our expertise comes in, as assassins. Our main goal is to infiltrate, isolate and retrieve the target.

Everything was unexpected for Cruden. With his powers, he could sneak in effortlessly but he had no fighting capabilities. First, he was in his cell waiting for death, and now this. his life was completely changing.

Crow stepped out of the darkness. He had a set of clothes in his hands.

Cruden took them excitedly from Crow. He was a young boy after all. It was very improper to be half-naked especially in front of strangers. He quickly put it on. The outfit was completely black and loose-fitting. It was like a ninjas outfit. The only thing visible was his eyes. He thought he looked completely ridiculous and immediately took it off.

He looked to Crow and realized that he was standing there displeased. even though he was in a long dark robe, Under his robe was the same outfit. crow wanted to slap Cruden to death but held back his anger

Crow knew base on Cruden a reaction that he disliked the outfit but he chose not to say anything. He slowly walked back into the darkness. He was gonna say something condescending until he saw the boy next action

Cruden thought back to what he did before and used the darkness to envelop his body. At Least that was comfortable. It was also more reliable. He could equip it anytime he wanted. his body appeared to be covered by skin-tight clothes. Every inch of his body was covered, including his eyes.

Seeing this again, the warden nodded approvingly. he stepped forward and touch Cruden's now dark-colored skin. he was amazed. he then proceeded to apply pressure but he could sense the substance resistivity. it was sturdy and not as fragile as it appeared. after a few seconds, he went back to his chair.

"Now before you can go anywhere. We need to address your fighting strategy and capabilities. Your powers are suited for assassination but in our little fight earlier. You came at me In an all-out frontal assault. There was no technique just raw power. "That is your weakness" the warden was completely analyzing Cruden.

"Well, not necessarily, everyone knows assassins are weaker in front assaults but in your case that is different. Therefore, you should use that like your ace" the warden said with a smile on his face.

Cruden understood what he meant and took the warden's suggestion to heart. he was a little worried before but now he had another thing to work towards.

"Base on my observations your shadows can easily be manipulated. All you need is time and training". crow will be in charge of your training. the warden did not know that Crow and Cruden had already made an agreement about this same topic.

He looked to crow then continued. "Crow will be in charge of showing you some of the basics on the way there. The travel will take 6 days. Use that time to absorb as much as possible"

Cruden didn't know what exactly he was capable of and he was excited to know.

As a member here is a low-level space ring and a low-level dagger. This is stationary for every new member. the space ring can hold up to 2 small crates. use it to store clothes and food. normal necessities.

Cruden had always wanted to get a space ring but that was way out of his league and now he was being gifted one. He quickly took the ring and slid it on his finger. He would experiment with it later.

The warden was not displeased with Cruden's actions even though the ring cost a good penny. but he made sure to remind Cruden. "This is an investment in your future. I hope when you get anything good. You can share with us in the future" he said this with a smile on his face but Cruden knew the warden was very serious.

After going over a few details, Cruden and Crow left. But before crow left, the warden gave Crow a side-eye and he nodded in return.

It was now nighttime. Cruden and Crow were sitting facing each other in front of a fire. The had traveled quite some while and decided to take a break. they had stopped in a small decent opening inside a forest. There was an awkward silence present. He never knew how to speak to crow. Not only was he cold and aloof. he could sense the malicious energy oozing out his body especially when he was looking at him.

Crow decided to break the silence first. He did not like the little cretin but he knew the warden had plans for him. "There 2 low-tier martial arts techniques that every assassin should know. The first is a silent step, the second is one with the wind. the first technique masks the presence of the cultivator while the latter increases his attack and reaction speed."

Crow explained both skills to Cruden as best as possible. he explained the qi pathway as well as her experience but no matter how much she tried, all of Cruden's attempts failed. he was very frustrated. he was trying to use his qi but it was to no avail.

Crow was silently enjoying the fact that he was unable to do it.

He then decided to stop using his qi and use his darkness energy but it was still futile. The darkness energy refused to interact with the qi in his body. It was looking down on the lesser energy. He had an idea and decided to coat his entire being then focused all of the energy on his feet. he used Crow's experience as well as the results he wanted to achieve.

then something unexpected happened. light flashed before his eyes.

SELF LEARNED SKILL CRATED

shadow steps:

the user is able to mask his presence completely without entering his shadow for 2 minutes, As long as the user is stepping on his shadow. <cost 5mp>