Chapter 8: Spy Mission

Zaos awoke from his long, refreshing sleep. Looking out the window, he noticed that the dark sky was empty.

[So it's daytime.] Zaos thought back on the information relating to this phenomenon.

The Ever-night Continent was a region on Krulon with dense dark mana. This caused the powerful radiance from the sun to never shine on the continent. However, the weaker luster of the stars was not strongly opposed, allowing them to be observed by the inhabitants of the region.

The inhabitants of the Ever-night Continent designated the empty sky 'day', and the star-lit sky 'night'.

[I wonder what the sun in this world looks like…] Zaos' thoughts drifted as he went about his morning routine: train, wash up, and eat.

By the time he was done, roughly 3 hours had passed. Zaos stood in the living room, contemplating what to do next when Ronik emerged from his room.

"You're ready?" Ronik gazed at Zaos' getup in astonishment. The latter had already donned a dark coat and trousers, he also had on a pair of leather boots.

Zaos nodded in response.

"Hmm, you might want to change into something that facilitates stealth. I'll go get ready, then we'll head out." Ronik said as he disappeared.

Zaos was forced to return to his room, he took out the assassin outfit he wore when he first visited the settlement and put it on.

When he was done, he returned to the living room. Roughly an hour later, Ronik emerged in the living room wearing a hooded robe.

"Let's go," he beckoned to Zaos as he left the house.

Zaos followed closely behind Ronik, and the both of them navigated the disorderly streets.

Although it was early, the street lanterns were already lit, and a significant number of elves were up and about.

Zaos and Ronik moved quickly, arriving at the shop in less than 3 minutes.

After they entered, Ronik began addressing Zaos.

"You will be going on your first mission today," Ronik said, heading behind the counter, he took out some sheets of paper.

Ronik passed the stack of paper to Zaos, who promptly received them.

"An associate of mine spotted a wanted fugitive, I want you to confirm the situation," Ronik spoke in a serious tone.

Zaos didn't respond, instead, he inspected the documents in his hands. The documents included a marked map, a painting of a brown-haired elf male, and some general information on the target.

After finishing his inspection, Zaos returned his gaze to Ronik, who had been silently watching him.

"Am I to leave now?" Zaos inquired with a steady gaze.

[This is an opportunity to put my training into practice, of course, I'll go!] Zaos thought excitedly.

Seeing Zaos' attitude, Ronik nodded in approval.

"You should, the target might move if you take too long." Ronik spoke, his expression soon changed as he instructed, "Avoid engaging the target, although you're both in the elf rank, he is an experienced fighter, and all we need is his whereabouts."

Zaos nodded, "I will keep that in mind," With that said, Zaos stuffed the documents in a sack on his waist and left the store.

He smoothly passed through the gates heading towards the location.

Zaos ran past the barren landscape, he would occasionally spot some bizarre animals through his peripheral vision but, he didn't stop to take a closer look.

After about an hour of travel, Zaos arrived at his destination. It was a small forest located at the border of Jangur's territory.

[Should be around here.] Zaos took a glance around, before heading into the forest. Unbeknownst to Zaos, a figure followed after him.

Zaos navigated the landscape with caution, and as he got closer to his target, he activated his elemental weave and slowly turned invisible.

Zaos proceeded forward until he arrived at a cleared patch of land with a cabin at the center.

[That's it!] Zaos thought and proceeded to get closer to the small wooden cabin.

When he was 50 meters away from the cabin, Zaos stopped and began observing it closely.

[Hmm, there seems to be no one here.] Zaos speculated after noticing how quiet the environment around the cabin was.

[Should be relatively safe to take a closer look.] Zaos proceeded towards the cabin. When he was 5 meters away from the cabin, Zaos concluded it was empty.

[The owner probably left a long time ago,] Zaos looked at the pile of burnt firewood in front of the house and sighed.

[I guess I won't have a chance to test my skills,] Zaos sighed once more.

However, he didn't cancel his elemental weave out of caution. After peering into the windows and confirming the cabin was empty, Zaos decided to enter.

He held onto the doorknob and twisted it open…

*Bam!*

He was just about to step in when a fierce strike to his back sent him crashing into the building.

"That's some interesting trick you have there." A rough male voice sounded from the doorway.

Zaos had unconsciously canceled his elemental weaves after the strike sent him flying. The sharp pain from the strike caused him to grunt as he struggled to stand up.

"I was following when you entered the forest, but all of a sudden, you disappeared completely. Good thing you came here." The speaker strode over with loud thuds.

[Damn it! I was careless!] Zaos forced himself to rise, he looked directly at the large individual that was heading towards him.

[It's him!] Zaos thought in realization, he quickly drew his daggers and got into a battle stance. The one who had ambushed him was none other than the individual he came to spy on.

The large brown-haired elf laughed as he charged towards Zaos, "Show me want you got, rat!"

Zaos promptly dodged the attack, he quickly counterattacked with a few throwing needles that he cloaked with his invisibility elemental weave.

The needle struck the large earth elf who at some point had grown an extra layer of stone skin.

"Cheap tricks," he pulled out the needles and tossed them to the ground. Except for the cracks caused by the needles being lodged in his skin, there was no blood.

Zaos' expression turned sour as he watched his enemy easily resolve his attack.

[I guess I'll have to try that…] his figure quickly disappeared causing his opponent who was charging towards him to lose his target.

"It's useless, you can't pierce my skin with those puny toys!" The earth elf taunted as he got into a defensive position. His eyes occasionally fixed on the door, he knew if his opponent wanted to leave, there was nothing he could do.

Zaos sneakily approached his opponent from behind, he willed and his dagger turned illusionary, he then lodged into the back of his opponent, right where his heart was located.

[I have got you!] Zaos thought excitedly.

Zaos promptly canceled his second elemental weaves, and his dagger was rematerialized in the heart of his enemy.

"Ahhh!!!" The large earth elf screamed as he felt his heart suddenly being punched by something.

"I-impossible, how did you… get past my defense?" He choked on his blood and fell to the ground with a thud. He had died instantly.

Zaos reappeared right beside the dead earth elf, his breathing was heavy, and his balance was unsteady, but he had a smile on his face.

[Although sustaining both elemental weaves at the same time is tough, the results were worth it!] Zaos gazed at the corpse, and a cruel light flashed through his eyes.

[I might as well do it… ] He thought, before leaning towards the corpse and scooping a handful of blood…