Level 69

If it was someone speaking it, everyone would have laughed.

But instead of cheerful laughter, the assassins cowered in fear. Their eyes gawked out like a disk of cold fire; mind is in shambles. They tried to move again but still failed in the end.

However, it wasn't because they were rooted in a skill.

One of the assassins lowered his head and stared at his legs, quivering intensely. As trained assassins, their emotions were already shut off every mission.

They were taught how to control it and perfectly conceal it from others.

But… this time, his whole body trembled fiercely. As he looked at the man who was holding two blades, he felt as if he was looking at an ancient behemoth.

It's the same feeling he felt when the master of the organization he worked for visited their empire.

As pieces of the puzzle slowly built inside his mind, the assassin finally realized.

Even if he is mistaken, this would probably be the only explanation close to the truth.

But he's 100% certain. No doubt, the reason they couldn't move is because of…

…the bloodline suppression.

...

On the other hand, Hans, who had no idea what was happening, eyed the assassins one by one. His eyes gave them a dazed look of bewilderment.

'Why aren't they moving?'

It was strange for an assassin to stand in front of their enemy. Usually, they would go back in the shadows and strike when the target showed an opening.

Sometimes, if the enemy is powerful enough to kill them all, the best option is to just flee.

'These guys…'

Are they stunned perhaps? Or a skill rooted them to the ground?

If that's the case then he should have noticed it. Hans is sensitive to mana because of his mana controlling technique. Unless it's more powerful than Aviante or Light, he would always sense if there is a change of mana in the surroundings.

In the end, Hans shrugged his shoulders and murmured.

'It's not like it matters anyway.'

He should end this while there are still people watching. With this, his credibility would not be doubted.

Hans gripped the swords tightly. Then, the ground exploded as he began to make a move.

Shu—

A giant leap sent Hans into the air. The assassins gritted their teeth and forced their body to move.

Hans looked down at the enemies with a blank stare. Then, his figure blurred and suddenly vanished.

[Emperor Strides]

Due to his skill proficiency, Hans could now perform leaps in mid-air.

In a flash, Hans appeared above one of the assassins.

Slash—

The blade slashed the enemy in half. The blood splashed to the floor, dyeing the snow in green blood.

The two portions of the monster's body plunged into the snow.

Crunch—

Sensing the alarming danger, the assassins quickly retracted their blades and rushed in the opposite direction. Although they somewhat manage to move, their movement speed remains restricted.

Dash—

With the fleeing enemy on sight, the elite knight gave out his order.

"Fire!!!"

Slick—, slick—

Shuuu—

Countless arrows rained upon the enemies' heads.

Their aims were excellent as they managed to target the assassins with accuracy. Even after a few hundred meters away, the arrows did not lose power. Amplified by the mages, these arrows flared in mid-air.

Flare—

Hans puckered his dry lips and shook his head. Despite the effort of the Empire's troops, such slow-moving arrows would be easy to dodge.

'I guess, I'm all alone now.'

At that moment, Hans swiftly vanished from his position.

Swish—

The next moment, he's already chasing the fleeing assassins at an instantaneous speed. Such movements were hard to follow. Thus, before the assassins knew it…

Hans was already waiting for them at the escape routes' end.

"All of you…"

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut]

The hair on their skin stood up. Their senses roared. At the sudden change of air, everyone stood still.

Time slowed down. Hans' cold voice rang in their heads.

"...are too slow."

The next thing they saw was a flash of thunder.

Zap—

Hans appeared behind them. His two swords were already sheathed inside its scabbard. The assassins turned around and stared at Hans in confusion.

Hans glared at them before turning around and walking away. Perplexed, the six assassins exchanged glances.

"You! where are yo—?"

Slick—

As one of them stepped forward, blood slowly dyed his black neck cover. He quickly grabbed his neck as he felt the pain sting his body.

'W-wha!?'

Then, his head slithered down his neck and rolled on the cold soil.

The same thing happened to others. However, not only were they beheaded but also their limbs were severed off.

The frost chilled their blood. Hans' sturdy back was the only thing they saw as the darkness swallowed their consciousness.

...…

Hans stopped by a treetop and sat on one of the branches. Due to the constant ringing inside his head, he eventually decided to take care of it before going back.

[You have killed a 'Shadowborn'.]

[You have killed a 'Shadowborn'.]

[You have killed a 'Shadowborn'.]

-

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

-

[Level: 69]

He killed 7 shadowborn and his level rose 11 times. According to an accurate estimate, the average time for a level 50 to level up by 19 times would be hunting for 2 months.

That is, of course, hunting 24/7.

'I did it in just minutes.'

It's not really to be proud of but Hans was satisfied. Hans looked at the 88 unused stat points and equally divided them into mana and stamina.

[Stamina: 413

Mana: 379]

For the first time, one of his attributes broke the 400 mark. A stat that could only be found on powerful S-classes.

But it's not over yet.

Hans took out a small vial from his storage bag which contained a pint of green blood. He got it earlier from killing the first assassin who attacked him.

Hans opened the lid, sniffed the blood before gulping it down his throat.

Gulp—

It's tasteless but a bitter taste came after.

Hans resisted the urge to vomit. Shortly afterwards, the system rang once again.

[You have consumed the blood of a 'Shadowborn'.]

[Agility +50, Mana +25]

'Agility huh?'

Seeing his agility stat numbers, Hans nodded in satisfaction. With this, his speed and reaction time were further amplified.

The additional mana also enhanced his perception and mana sensitivity. Thus, Hans got up from the branch with a grin on his lips.

'Lastly…'

Hans tapped the final message.

[Do you wish to plunder the skill 'Shadow Flicker (A)?]

[Yes / No]

Even without reading its description, Hans already guessed it as a high-level stealth skill.

He tapped yes.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

[The skill 'Umbral Steps (C )' and 'Shadow Flicker (A)' are the same skill.]

[Do you want to merge the two?]

[Yes / No]

'Skill… Merging?'

...

Venice, Italy.

Inside the Auction House.

At Italy's Prime Minister's invitation, Brazil's SS-Class Awakened, Miguel Silva, went inside the large auction house.

He wore a simple and plain white shirt under a windbreaker and waterproof jeans. Coupled with his black shoes, his fashion style was nothing but ordinary.

He didn't even wear any jewelry aside from his watch, which is necessary for overseas works, and a pair of sunglasses he bought at an 80% sale shop.

However, with his burly physique and tall height, it was hard not to notice his giant-like appearance. Standing well over 7 foot 6, Miguel looks like the downgraded version of the famous green muscular superhero from a movie.

Behind him, stampede towards the auction house. The guards struggled to stop them. It wasn't until several A-class Awakened blocked them that the crowd began to walk away.

"Welcome, Mr. Silva." A man wearing a suit greeted him.

"Hello there." Miguel greeted back with his gruff voice.

After the two shook hands, Miguel presented his Awakened I.D. and the man led him towards the 4th floor of the building.

After walking down the hallway, they stopped in front of a VIP hall. Several Awakeners conversing with each other halted as they saw him enter the hall.

Due to his presence alone, the Awakened inside didn't dare to make a sound.

"Isn't this Miguel Silva? What brings you here brother?"

Along the way, he bumped into one of Italy's high-ranking politicians and also one of the nation's S-class Awakened, Leonardo Bruno.

Having worked with each other, he could be considered as an acquaintance.

Miguel offered his hand and greeted the man, "Your Prime Minister asked for my help so here I am. Is he already there?"

"Maybe he's there, brother. I just got here too so I'm not really sure."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, but I seemed to have seen Ms.Taylor enter that room together with her secretary."

Miguel's eyebrows furrowed, "Ms.Taylor? You mean Freya Taylor?"

"Yeah."

Even Leonardo was weirded by this. Two SS-Class were invited to their country. This only happens when there is a disaster looming around the country.

'Maybe it's about the tomb?'

In the end, despite pondering various possibilities, Leonardo eventually gave up.

Miguel clicked his tongue. His previous giddy expression already turned serious. He bid goodbye to Leonardo and headed towards the room.

The door was transparent so Miguel could already see the people inside. He entered the room.

"You're really here, Freya."

"Miguel?" Freya looked at the burly man with surprise.

"Yeah, I'm shocked too," Miguel said as he sat on the couch beside a round wooden table.

The threat of Aviante is great. This is also the reason why Freya was here. Basically, her role is to teleport Aviante all SS-Class Awakened to Venice in case something goes wrong.

Miguel, on the other hand, was invited by Italy's Prime Minister himself. As for why he still had no idea.

"How's your father? I heard he's been in a coma for 2 months now." Due to the uncomfortable silence, Miguel started the conversation.

Freya frowned and massaged her temples. She leaned on the couch and sighed in hopelessness, "He's still not showing signs of waking up."

"Did you ask Kai?"

Freya nodded, "He said it's hopeless."

"Is that so?"

If even Kai couldn't do anything, then it's truly hopeless. If even humanity's best healer can't heal him, Freya's father might not wake up anymore.

The only thing that could heal him is a miracle.

The two conversed with each other for 45 minutes more before the door clicked and the Prime Minister entered hurriedly. His heavy breaths resounded inside the room.

Miguel glared at him and ranted.

"You're 40 minutes late, Prime Minister. We cleared our schedules just for this and this is the hospitality we'll receive?"

The moment the Prime Minister saw Freya and Miguel staring at him, his heart aggressively pounded his chest. He immediately bowed.

"I'm sorry, I made you wait."

Italy's Prime Minister who managed the country's government and Awakened was an old man in his 60s.

He had a face filled with pigmentation. Due to his age, his droopy eyes and wrinkles couldn't be hidden.

The Prime Minister sat on a chair and motioned his bodyguard to leave the room. Freya turned her head and also signaled her secretary to leave as well.

The Prime Minister glanced at the two and bowed.

"Thank you for agreeing to my reque—"

"Hang on…" Miguel hurriedly interrupted, "I'm not agreeing to anything yet. Let's talk about it first."

"R-right. I apologize."

The anxiety and stress have been bugging him out that's why the Prime Minister seemed overly exhausted lately.

Freya, who was also getting annoyed by being delayed, crossed her arms to her chest and asked straight to the point.

"What's this all about?... " Her gaze shifted towards Miguel, "...That would even require two SS-Class."

The Prime Minister observed the two's expressions before he cleared his voice. Then, he began narrating everything in a rough tone.

"It's about Old Man Roshi's prediction."

The moment Freya and Miguel heard the name, their eyebrows raised quickly. However, they didn't interrupt and let him resume.

The Prime Minister fidgeted his fingers and bit his lips in anxiety. Then, he stuttered, "H-he said Italy w-would be destroyed."

Freya and Miguel exchanged meaningful glances and frowned. The seriousness of this matter cannot be underestimated.

Old Man Roshi is a famous fortune teller. Almost all his predictions became true. He would visit countries from time to time and tell all of his predictions about that particular country.

If it wasn't for him, those catastrophic events might have just annihilated humanity.

"Did he tell how?" Freya asked.

The Prime Minister loosened his tie and whispered, "Yes."

Freya and Miguel stared at each other and nodded.

"Can you elaborate?"

The Prime Minister heave a heavy sigh. He pulled a cigarette stick inside his blazer, set it in his jaw, and lit it.

Puff—

Smoke filled the room while the silence descended. The Prime Minister closed his eyes and stared at them both.

"Firstly…"