5 Chapter 5 - To Slit a Throat
A few hours after leaving Sapianas Cognities I collapsed in a heap on the ground, I had dragged my body that was devoid of essence a few miles before I could go no farther. With essence, you could become incredibly strong, but using it until you are completely empty is dangerous, as it places an enormous burden on your body.
Before I fell asleep against a nearby tree, I forced myself to eat some of the rations I had prepared in case something like this happened and wrapped myself in a woolen blanket. Within moments of closing my eyes, I entered a deep sleep.
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I woke up the next morning with an aching body and a pang of hunger like I hadn't eaten in days. I quickly scarfed down some food before thinking about the last night's events, and my future plans.
"I need to find a skill to conceal my essence as fast as possible. From what I've seen, with the right techniques, you can find someone with essence from more than a mile away. With my essence exposed, running and hiding is pointless".
With a goal in mind, I picked up one of the books I bought yesterday, [The Horrors of a Spy], and got to work reading as fast as I could.
With it being a relatively thin book it only took me an hour and a half to finish, and while I didn't get the skill I was looking for, the one I did receive looked very useful.
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[Heat Sense]
Rank B
Using a special pattern of fire essence on your eyes, you can detect and see any sources of heat around you. Ignores physical barriers.
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'On to the next'
The second book was slightly thicker and told the tale of a loyal assassin that was betrayed by his king and swore revenge. In the end, he managed to slaughter the king and his family, it was a relatively dark tale. The skill I got was my first proper offensive move.
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[Assassinate]
Rank A
Condense a large amount of essence on your weapon and strike with power many times above your own.
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The third book finally netted me the skill I was looking for.
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[Conceal Presence]
Rank B
Your essence and presence do not leak from your body, allowing you to move unnoticed
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A few moments after finishing the third book I finally heard it, a series of small rustles in the distance that my heightened senses picked up. They were too constant to be a small animal and too weak to be from a large beast. My pursuers had found me.
Instead of running away, I started to make my way towards them. When I seemed to be about 100 ft(30 m) away from them I activated [Essence Boost], [Camouflage], and [Heat Sense]. [Wind Dash] moves essence outside my body and would reveal my presence. I pulled out the dagger I had bought a few days ago and awaited my pursuer's arrival. A few moments later he came into view of my heat senses, I quickly identified him.
'Only rank 2 and a few dozen essence above me, no B rank skills either. This shouldn't be too hard'
When he passed by oblivious to my presence, I activated assassinate and struck at his neck. Before he even realized I was there, he fell to the dirt, lifeless. I pondered my actions.
The image stuck in my head, but I forced myself to not think about it and moved quickly, searching for any valuables. Besides the gold, I took nothing else. The weapon and armor were certain to be equipped with a tracking spell. As I walked back to my temporary camp cite I pondered my next move.
'I have two options. One, run away and keep going until I reach another kingdom. Two, turn around and kill Samson. Without a doubt, he will have my face on wanted posters around the kingdom within a week unless I stop him. It's evident that my multitude of high-rank skills gives me a massive advantage. The problem is that there is bound to be at least a few truly powerful people with a city that big. The question is whether or not they care if he is killed.'
I sighed then made a decision.
'I'd rather not be marked a criminal, I'll take my chances with the higher-ups of Sapianas Cognities. The people in control most likely have a bit of sense to them'
With my mind made up I sat down and began to read the two books I hadn't gotten to early. A few hours later I had snagged two useful skills.
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[Conjure Shadow Dagger]
Rank C
Condensed shadow essence into a sharp and durable blade. It will release no essence and cannot be broken by conventional weapons.
[Movement Style: Silent Wisp]
Rank C
Your movements are light and leave no trace nor produce any sound.
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'Man I was lucky, even these low-rank skills are super powerful. I should move quickly. I doubt Samson expects me to come after him'
I collected my thoughts and then turned back towards the city I had just escaped from and planned how I would cut a path of blood through it.
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I made my way towards the city quickly but didn't activate any of my boosts. I encountered two more Guards on my way, but [Camouflage] and [Assassinate] made quick work of them. [Assassinate] used quite a bit of essence but I soon realized that my blessing caused me to regain essence incredibly quickly when I wasn't using any. With a rested body I made it to the edge of the forest in 30 minutes. I had changed into my hooded traveler's outfit so I wouldn't be recognized on my way to the city. As I approached the gate I noticed that the number of guards had tripled and every person going in and out of the city was searched and questioned.
'I can tell that the guards are exasperated. I guess they're used to Samson's acquisitions'
When I got within a few hundred feet of the gate I walked into the shadow of a merchant's carriage and activated [Camouflage] before making my way past the guards. Once inside the city, I hid in an alley and deactivated my skill.
'I can easily blend into the crowd before I get to the nobles' district, and from there it will only take me a few minutes to reach Samson's estate while under [Camouflage]'
The plan went smoothly and 15 minutes later I was crouching in a shadowed spot near the wall of the estate next to Samson's.
'He's most likely in his office fuming and waiting for the news of my capture. If the window is still broken this will be extremely easy, if not I'll need to make my way through the mansion. I can sustain [Camouflage] without any other buffs for around 10 minutes and still have enough essence for [Assassinate], 15 if I forgo it. Either way, I need to be quick'
With my time limit set I once again activated [Camouflage] and threw myself over the wall, I landed on the other side with newfound grace thanks to my new skills. I quickly made my way to the window that I had broken the previous day and found it replaced. With plan A failing I quickly moved onto plan B and ran to the front entrance. Luckily, the commotion had caused the door to be propped open and many people rushed in and out.
I ran inside during a brief lull in the traffic and hastily made my way through the halls that I had been through the day before. I was at the office in a few minutes and activated [Heat Sense]. I saw a blob of red and orange in the shape of Samson, he seemed to be overheating in his anger. I stood still and ran through my plan in my mind.
'I'll only have a few seconds after the door opens before he gets over his confusion. I'll move to his side to avoid attacks or blocks to the front and strike with full power. If that fails I'll use my invisibility to my advantage and try and get past his guard. If I fail to kill him in two minutes I'll escape'
I nodded my head to myself and knocked on the door. Samson responded a few seconds later with an angry tone.
"Enter!"
I did just that. I calmly opened the door then simultaneously cast [Essence Boost] and [Conjure Shadow Dagger]. As I did this I dashed at full speed to Samson's right side, activated [Assassinate], and struck. Time seemed to move slowly as I watched his eyes widen when he realized what was happening and quickly tried to defend himself. My pitch black shadow dagger was already at his neck. But right as the dagger was about to make contact, it hit something and I was thrown back with the sound of glass shattering.
'Shit, some sort of protective ward. I should have expected this from a tycoon like him'
Wasting no time I got to my feet, activated [Wind Dash], and charged back at Samson. His body was now covered in small flames that didn't burn him or his clothes. As I approached he threw a heavy fist that I knew would shatter my bones. I sidestepped to the right and once more slashed at his throat, but he expected this and blocked it with his other hand. But this is what I wanted, with him momentarily distracted by the pain of the deep cut on his palm I swept him off his feet with my right leg. As he fell to the ground I activated [Assassinate] once more and plunged my dagger towards his heart. There was another sound of glass shattering as my dagger destroyed what I assumed was his backup ward and cleaved through his heart, he was dead instantly.
I took a deep breath to settle my heartbeat that was increased by exertion. The fight only lasted a few seconds but I was almost out of essence. I deactivated my skills as I searched his desk for gold that I would need for my journey. But less than a minute later a message in glowing letters appeared above Samson's corpse.
"Samson was a fool and brought this upon himself, and I am actually quite happy that this city is rid of him. But please do not make it a habit to assassinate nobles, other lords may not be as understanding"
'So I was right, even the higher-ups are sick of the guy'
I hurried up my search as I heard hurried footsteps in a distant hall, I assumed Samson activated some sort of alarm before he died. I soon found an ostentatious purse filled to the brim with gold coins. I emptied it into my own before picking up a small book that sat on the desk. I then opened one of the many windows, activated [Camouflage], and jumped to the ground. As I ran towards the wall I heard shouts from the room I had just left, the guards had found their master's dead body.
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Half an hour later I sat down in a quiet tavern and ordered lunch. I then pulled out the small book I had swiped and identified it.
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[Flameroot School style essence refinement manual]
Rank C
A manual detailing the use of the Flameroot school style essence refinement technique, used by low ranking members of the Flameroot school.
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'So this thing teaches the skill that Samson has huh'
And with that, I got to reading. It was a short text but I learned quite a bit about essence and how it was used. When I was finished I got the expected skill.
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[Flameroot School style essence refinement]
Rank C
A crude technique for absorbing fire essence. Slow and take extreme concentration.
-as this skill is not suited for you, it is recommended that you use [Skill Eater] on it
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'Well, that's convenient. When I read a book that is trying to teach a specific skill, I get that skill. And I suppose I'm incompatible with this one because of my essence type, I'll follow the recommendation'
With a thought, the skill screen dispersed and I felt a rush of what I assumed was essence enter my body. As it did a notification popped up.
[+30 essence from Skill Eater]
'It seems that even low-level skills are pretty profitable. But I should get going'
I brought the manual under the table and absorbed it into my [Knowledge Emporium]. After absorbing the first book, the rest had not come with the extreme pain. I only felt a small stinging sensation in my head whenever I added a new book. The emporium's storage was expanding practically every time I read something and could now fit over 150 books. With the manual stored I hefted my pack and made my way out of the tavern.
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[Magnus Witherthorn]
Rank 2 - Mortal
Essence - 157
Essence type - Myriad Elemental
[Strength] - 65
[Agility] - 72(+20)
[Dexterity] - 57
[Intelligence] - 55
[Spirit] - 108
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Active skills:
[A] - [Identify], [Wind Dash], [Assassinate]
[B] - [Essence Boost], [Camouflage], [Heat Sense]
[C] - [Conjure Shadow Dagger]
[D] - [Fire Starter]
Passive skills:
[SS] - [The Blessing of Myriad elements ]
[A] - [Greater Arithmetic Mastery], [Greater calligraphy Mastery]
[B] - [Keen Senses], [Swift Steps], [Conceal Presence]
[C] - [Balance], [Movement Style: Silent Wisp]
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