A Contracted Killer [1]

It was most likely because a rival company feared the sudden rise of Deus Company.

'After all, Deus Company was steadily rising in the novel, it wasn't seen as a threat in the early stages.'

Or...

'There could be a traitor.'

It wasn't a far fetched theory.

After all, the Hitman knew which building to use and scout out the office.

From the trajectory of where the bullet came from, to the fact that the Hitman knew which exact room to enter.

But it was all speculation in the end.

Regardless, Brandon's decision to invest on the company this early on was most likely the catalyst for these events.

'Because of me… innocent people are going to die.'

No, he had to do something about this.

With [Elemental Manipulation], Brandon conjured an ice barrier between the Hitman and Charles—who looked like he was about to faint from the blood loss.

"Oh?"

The Hitman raised his brow.

Faced in a life or death situation, there was no need to hide it.

Brandon channeled lightning, circulating it in his arms.

Crackle! Spark!

The Hitman had an amused expression in his face, as he said,

"A Deviant? How interesting."

Bang- Bang-!

Plasma bullets were fired off in Brandon's direction.

Crackle- Swoosh-!

With lightning coursing in his legs, Brandon darted from his position, leaving trails of sparks.

But to his surprise, the bullet changed trajectory, following him.

Realizing this, Brandon conjured an ice shell to block it.

However…

Crack- Pshhh-!

The ice shattered instantly, as the ice shards grazed Brandon's cheek.

'Fuck…'

Brandon had little to no experience in fighting. His only knowledge stems from the manhwas and novels he'd read.

He needed to bridge the gap in experience somehow.

Glancing back to his system, he had 8 minutes left until he'll reaps the rewards.

'If I can just stall for tim–'

Bang-!

 Brandon didn't even have time to finish his thoughts, as the Hitman once again fired off his gun.

He quickly conjured up another ice shell, going on the defensive.

Bang!- Bang- Pshhhh-!

Each bullet would shatter the ice instantly, but it was fine.

Since the bullets were most likely–of the lightning affinity, it would dissipate once it made impact.

'As long as it doesn't hit me…'

All he had to do was to keep this up until the quest ends.

***

The Hitman was peeved about the whole ordeal.

He realized it was going nowhere, and there was no point in humoring the boy.

He wasn't the target.

The Hitman then pointed his gun towards Charles who was laying behind an ice shell.

"Noooo!"

The boy's scream echoed.

Swoosh-

Suddenly, like a bolt of charge, the Hitman was sent hurling away.

Thud-!

Boom-!

He crashed onto the wall, as his body jerked up, feeling the volt of electricity in his body.

'Fuck, this is why I hate dealing with Deviants, you'll never know which magic they'll use.'

In truth, this wasn't his first time fighting a Deviant.

Deviants weren't extraordinarily rare, but he still didn't expect to encounter one on this job.

He was told by his employer that the target didn't have any bodyguards.

Due to this, he thoroughly prepared to execute the plan flawlessly.

'I shouldn't have taken this job…'

He was a member of the Primordials, but only a subordinate of the 12th Seat, a cannon fodder.

He wasn't strong enough to actually be tasked in official contracted missions.

Which is why he decided to take requests–outside of the organization.

Hence, leading to this job.

A request from a certain employee of the exact same company he was working on.

Because his plan of taking over the company went in shambles, he'd put up a request on the underground world to kill his CEO.

The Hitman got up, and his gaze landed on the black haired man laying down on the floor with fake blood on the back of his head.

'Tsk, is that bastard not gonna help me?'

The plan he was given was to first–shoot a fake bullet on the employer, then make an appearance and kill the boy, and the CEO.

The reason for this was simple, his employer–though he was a mage–wasn't strong enough to actually fight his Boss.

Plus, evidence of killing his Boss would lead back to him, he had to cover his tracks.

Which is why he hired the Hitman.

The plan was supposed to go smoothly, but what they didn't take into account was the white haired boy being a Deviant.

The Hitman once again pointed the finger gun at the boy.

Bang-!

But the boy suddenly disappeared. The Hitman could trace sparks of lightning darting around the room.

It seemed like the boy finally figured out how to use his lightning.

From what he knew, lightning was one of the harder affinities to control.

This is because lightning was a concentration of energy.

If you didn't have enough control, then the lightning would just dissipate.

Still…

The gap in experience was worlds apart.

Countering lightning magic was easy.

After all, the Hitman had the lightning affinity as well.

The bullets he used were a product of electro plasma.

He felt the boy getting closer, as his fist that was clad in lightning–seemed like it was about to connect

Tszzzz-

Fwooo-

The two were sent hurling away, as the Hitman had redirected the lightning back to the boy.

***

"Aghhh!"

Brandon could feel the volt of electricity coursing through him.

He'd never felt anything like this before.

And it seemed like his nerves were out of commission.

He couldn't get up.

'Am I gonna die here?!'

Regret suddenly washed over him.

'I shouldn't have gotten way in over my head…'

Just because he knew the future, didn't guarantee that he would actually survive.

After all, just two days ago, he was just a normal boy attending highschool.

It was all fun and games for him at first, but this was reality.

Path to Ascension was filled with danger, as people with ill intentions walked every corner.

The realization of the world he was brought into had finally sinked in.

'I thought I was invincible…'

Having power didn't equate to actually knowing how to utilize it.

'Someone… save me, please.'

But there was no one.

Charles Deus had passed out from the blood loss, and Aiden was dead.

'I'm scared....'

He was all alone.

And just as his fears were realized, the Hitman got up and pointed his finger gun at Brandon.

'It's over...'

But just as he was about to give up…

—---------------------------

[Quest Completed!]

[Rewards Obtained:]

[Stat Points: +5]

[System Coins: +100]

[EXP: +100]

—---------------------------

[You have leveled up!]

[Skill Weaver capacity has increased!]

[You have unlocked the Fire Affinity!]

…

[Are you sure?]

[Yes.]

[Initializing Skill Weaver.]

[Downloading data.]

[ETA: 1 Minute.]

"You weren't bad, kid, maybe if you had more experience, you would've had a fighting chance."

The Hitman's index finger gradually lit up a yellow glow.

Bang-!