Assassination

'Do they really think I'm stupid?' Number One thought as he checked his surroundings. He was clearly being followed by two people and they weren't even discreet about it.

"Dungeon Newsweek! Dungeon Newsweek! Only one White Soul Crystal!"

An old man sold newspapers at the corner of the street and Number One stopped while taking out a Yellow Soul Crystal. "I will have one."

"Young man, that's too much!" the salesman replied with his eyes widened but Number One threw it in his hands. "It's fine, you can keep the change."

The old man momentarily brightened and passed him a copy. "Here you go, young man!"

Number One didn't say anything else and simply walked away towards the busy crosswalk. It was a clear green light with more than sixty seconds on the timer, but he stopped at the edge to read the news.

[A new Colossus Beast appeared on the 17th Floor of the Dungeon!]

[The famous Black Devil Team has been wiped out by the Colossus Beast!]

[New healing herb discovered on the 10th Floor!]

All headlines were about the dungeon, but Number One was only interested in the first two. Colossus Beasts were a special type that underwent a powerful mutation. They were dangerously strong and everyone tried to avoid them.

As Number One read further, it turned out the mysterious Colossus Beast appeared just recently and no one was able to defeat it yet. Not only did it terrorize the whole 17th Floor but it even moved to the other floors to hunt down humans.

"Interesting," Number One muttered as he turned around to see his tail. He exchanged gazes with two men in black suits and suddenly threw the newspaper at their faces.

The men waved their arms to rip the paper apart but Number One has already dashed through the crosswalk. "Catch me if you can!"

The cars set off as soon as Number One crossed it, but they failed to buy him any time. When he looked behind, the two black suits were flying over the street with a pair of black wings on their back.

"I guess they can…" Number One muttered to himself and changed his plan by turning into one of the side streets. Soul Wings were too wide to fit between the buildings which forced the two men to land and chase him on foot.

Number One only ran through three narrow alleys before stopping right in the middle. He sighed loudly and slowly turned back with his hands in the air.

"Alright, alright, you caught me," Number One surrendered obediently. "If you are eyeing my Storage Ring then let me just say I already spent all of my Soul Crystals. I'm sure you will find a better target to rob."

The two middle-aged men ignored his comment and a single Soul Dagger burst out from their hands. If their intentions weren't clear before, they definitely were now.

"Whoa, such a nice dagger!" Number One exclaimed with interest. "You know what would be cool? Having two daggers instead of one. Have you ever tried making another one?"

The two men didn't entertain his provocation which convinced him of their origin. Number One finally cracked his knuckles and smiled confidently while looking behind their backs. "To think the Council would only send two Assassins this time. You were right, Master. They are really naive."

The assassins paled at the mention of Number One's master and looked back defensively. They quickly realized it was just a bluff but when they gazed back, Number One was already aiming his shiny gun at them.

"Can't believe you fell for it," Number One commented speechlessly just before the burning light covered the whole alley.

Usually, one shot was enough to erase any of his enemies but Number One got surprised by two loud thuds. The assassins turned out to be still alive as they smashed against the building wall. Everything in the alley was set to flames but their black suits were only half-burned.

"Damn…" Number One let out a silent curse, not expecting the assassins would survive. Both of them seemed to have defensive Soul Arts that blocked most of the impact.

The assassins winced in pain as they tried to get up from the ground which forced Number One to act quickly. He pulled out a small box he bought just earlier and pulled out a shiny red pill from inside.

"Disgusting…" Number One almost choked at its foul smell but he still swallowed it. The awful taste was a small price he had to pay for the benefits the pill provided.

Even though the pill was damaging to the body, his depleted Soul was refilled to the brim in a matter of seconds. Normally it would take him hours to fully recover his Soul Energy.

"Not bad. To think you would survive a strike from my Legendary Soul Art," Number One praised as he walked through the corridor of flames. "You are the first one to face it twice. You should be honored."

Number One stopped halfway and raised his arm again. He didn't leave a warning this time before the massive beam of light swallowed his enemies.

"Ugh…" Number One couldn't even confirm his kills as his insides exploded with pain. He momentarily lost the strength in his legs and collapsed to his knees.

Every muscle in Number One's body felt like it was being ripped apart but he remained calm. It wasn't his first time experiencing such pain and definitely not the last either. He could only wait for his body to regenerate itself while occasionally coughing out blood.

This special ability of his was the main reason why his master chose him as his student. He could recover from the worst possible injuries but that was all that was good about him. His Soul Talent wasn't even suitable to become a Soul Artist. Even after ten years of improving the capacity of his soul, he could only shoot once before his tank was empty.

"What I would give for a Red Talent…" Number One muttered under his breath as he slowly gathered himself from the ground. He cursed at his limits every day but there was nothing he could do other than slowly grinding his way to the top.

Number One wiped the blood from his mouth and walked through the flames to loot the two bodies. He hoped to find at least two Blue Storage Rings to feel better but was quickly disappointed with a pair of Orange Stones.

"Assassins get paid too little these days…" Number One lamented out loud and kept the Storage Rings without checking its contents. It wouldn't be long before someone came to investigate the loud noise, so he had to leave the scene immediately.

Unfortunately, it happened to be too late for that. Just as Number One turned the corner leading to the main street, he saw a pair of crystal blue orbs observing him in wonder.

"You… What are you doing here?"