Easier Than Expected

Was it the mystical connection between the two of them?

Or maybe it was sympathy?

Either way, whatever was causing these tears to well up within Kull and Drew was a strong force that seemed to be drawing them together rather forcefully.

The two continued their difficult walk to Drew's shack and arrived not long after their departure, but just that small journey felt like an eternity to the both of them.

"You have a terrifying potential..." Kull sighed as they finally climbed out of the tunnels and began their journey down the deserted dirt path.

"I don't have much to compare to, honestly," Drew said sincerely.

Kull shook his head with a slight smile before responding.

"I'm someone who was born to be a 'Hero' of their race... And even though I may be a monstrous talent to most, I wouldn't dare to compare myself to you,"

"You have a knack for stealth skills and with your innate skills and affinities... it's scary how strong you might become,"

The two fell into silence before they crashed at Drew's shack for a few hours to recover. They rested in the waning sunlight until they felt most of their stamina had returned.

After their rest, they stood up and observed their situation carefully. Any misstep could spell their death.

"Whatever spell you warded off from affecting us must have been incredibly strong," Kull said dejectedly.

"I have my mana concealment skill at level 6 and my mana sense skill at level 3 and I didn't even feel anything coming..."

"Not until you dispelled it at least,"

Drew pondered for a moment at Kull's words, taking them in and trying to access them to the best of his ability.

'System, what were the spells that were going to affect us?'

[The two spells that were being cast on Kull and you were wide range spells that affected a large number of individuals. The spells were [Greater Modify Memory] and [False Prophet]. [Greater Modify Memory] is a spell that focuses on targeting the mind of a creature to falsify their memories to the caster's wishes. [False Prophet] is a Unique Demon Spell that makes all divination spells unable to target the caster's spells, effectively hiding their spells from All forces, including gods]

[The two spells fall primarily under Divination and Mind Magic, though they have vague touches of Fate magic applied to them as well]

[A skill called [Clock of Death] was also used during the previous encounter. It uses Time/Soul/Divination magic to review a creature's death remotely. This skill is also a Demon Skill]

"I think I know why you couldn't detect it..." Drew said warily.

"From what I can gather the spells were at the level of Demon Spells and were being hidden using a powerful magical skill that would hide the magic from most beings,"

"It seems like I was just lucky,"

"What magic was it?" Kull asked curiously.

"Mind Magic and Divination Magic for the most part," Drew said with a frown.

"Magic that could wipe our minds completely if used at full strength I would guess,"

Kull's face went from innocent to deathly serious in just those two sentences as his eyes began calculating what that meant.

"That is... problematic,"

"That's not an easy task to accomplish,"

"I have some affinity with Mind Magic and if I didn't even feel a single distortion in the surroundings then it's likely that this was cast by a 7th level caster or higher,"

"And since they have access to mind magic and divination magic... they would have no issue tracking us," He said, his eyes darting around them as he did so.

"And from what I know about demons, it is most likely that our opponent is a demon apprentice of Merlin which would make things even worse for us,"

"Ugh," Drew sighed as he felt the weight on his shoulders double once more.

'That Merlin guy... again,'

'Don't be afraid... if the tiger truly meant to hunt then you would have already been killed,' A subtle voice whispered in Drew's mind.

"It's not something we can worry about at the moment," Drew said with a reluctant shake of his head.

"Besides... you already have 3 level 7 skills, doesn't that put you as a level 7 Assassin?"

Kull nodded his head lightly in reply.

"We shouldn't have to worry then,"

"Hmm," Kull hummed in reply before falling into silence.

---

After resting for a few hours and waiting for the moon to rise into the air, the Two of them decided it was finally time to finish up in Nickten.

"Sebastian shouldn't be difficult for you to take out by yourself," Kull said simply.

"His main skills are in deception and illusion,"

"Keep that in mind when you face him,"

Drew perked up after hearing Kull talk.

"I'm doing this by myself?"

Kull nodded in reply.

"I have to send some messages and collect some information... bringing you with me would slow me down, and coming with you to the High Priest of the church wouldn't look good on you either,"

"Fair enough," Drew nodded hesitantly. A high-class assassin following him to a holy place would not be looked at favorably in the eyes of Atun, most likely at least.

The two made some more small talk before splitting ways and heading towards their own destinations.

'Dark Street...' Drew thought as he found himself in the familiar black market he had been in hours before.

The people here were unchanged from before the spell that sent shivers down Drew's spine. It was almost as if nothing changed at all...

'System, use Mass Analysis with Ultimate Analysis to determine if there are any changes within these people,' Drew silently commanded.

[Running Analysis...]

[Analysis Completed!]

[After using various senses the System managed to determine that there are small lapses in the magical fluctuation in their minds. This is most likely a side effect of [Greater Modify Memory] which was cast earlier]

'That's what I thought...' Drew thought to himself as he activated stealth and strolled down the streets.

He watched everyone in the surroundings for any sign of being the Drug Lord that he was looking for and quickly narrowed down his list of potential targets.

None of the larger buildings matched the environment that Sebastian would have done trade-in, so that meant that he was either not here or was in one of the stalls lining the street.

'I wonder...'

'System, use Mass Analyse and User Index to match who would best fit my target,'

[Confirmed...]

[Done!]

[The target running the stall that is 4 stalls further down Dark Street and on the right is Sebastian Greennose]

[View User Index information for Sebastian?]

'Yes!' Drew thought excitedly.

-

[Sebastian Greennose:]

Race: Shifter

Age: 26

Profession: Swindler and Thief

Description: Sebastian is a man with many faces. He changes identities at a moment's notice to throw people off of his scent and runs away like a coward at the hint of danger. He works for a criminal organization known as 'The Seven' and is a known spreader of addiction and chaos throughout Lyre.

-

Drew took a deep breath in as he read the description.

'The system is truly powerful...'

[Thank you, Host!]

'...'

Drew was left speechless after realizing just how strong the System's calculation ability had become over the past few days.

'It can make skills and spells... It can determine issues within the surroundings and come up with a likely cause... and it can even determine who everyone in my surroundings are without a flinch!'

'Too strong!' He thought with a shudder.

Drew walked past the stall that Sebastian would be tending and found that it was a basic alchemy shack that was being run by a simple unassuming human. He was the definition of ordinary and even after Drew inspected him repeatedly he couldn't find anything suspicious.

'This is the power of a Shifter,' Drew thought as he saw the man in front of him who could supposedly change his look at any moment.

'Though it's nothing when compared to the System,' Drew determined proudly.

'What's the best way to go about this though?' Drew wondered as he walked past the stall to avoid suspicion.

[Analyzing...]

[Too many routes have been detected!]

[Analysis failed!]

'So it does have a limit!' Drew thought, raising his eyebrows slightly.

'It can come up solutions for a lot but when it comes into interactions with people it comes up blank,'

'It seems to be very intellectually talented but really lacking in the emotional category,'

[...]

"Um..." He stuttered slightly at the sudden ding the system sent.

'Anyways-'

'I guess I'll just try and get him secluded,'

Drew walked around the street and got back into position in front of the Shack before suddenly shifting his full attention towards it and walking forwards with intent.

He approached anxiously.

"H-hey," He stuttered towards the unassuming stall owner.

'He surely won't deal the drug openly... right?'

"Welcome, newcomer!" The man said in a friendly and warm voice while gesturing for him to move forward.

"T-thanks..."

"Don't be so nervous young one, I know some people here can be rather brash but trust me when I say that we aren't all as dangerous as we look," He said with a smile and a wink.

Drew pretended to ease up a little and walked closer to the stall in a hurry.

"What can I do for you? I'm just the owner of a small alchemical shack so I can't offer much... But if you have a request, I will try my hardest to fulfill it," He said with a warm nod.

"I see... You do seem more polite compared to those... pickpockets," Drew whispered.

"Hahaha!" The man laughed brazenly.

"I see your luck isn't too good,"

"I was once robbed of my things when I first arrived here. It's not uncommon to fall for such petty crimes when you are unfamiliar with the city,"

"From your suit, it would seem that you are a noble of some sort, would I be right?" The man said with a pleasant smile.

Drew's face almost clouded over slightly at the mention of nobles before the cold feeling snapped him back to attention.

He nodded earnestly but tried to keep it unnoticeable to those around him, but failed miserably after refusing to use any stealth skills to empower his act.

"Ah... I know some dislike you and your kind,"

"But we are all humans, aren't we?" He said with a wink and a sly smile.

"Indeed! Those are my exact thoughts," Drew said in agreeance.

"I do my part so why do they dislike me so?"

"I may have more coin and a better bed but I work for Nickten just like they do,"

"It's unfair that I'm scorned by them because I worked harder!" He said angrily, trying to act as wronged as possible.

"Settle down now," The man said in a hushing tone.

"I share your sentiment,"

"But this is not the place to share such views," He said as he leaned closer and scanned around them for listeners.

"What is it you want from me?" He asked almost... seductively?

Drew pretended to fidget in his place for a few seconds, making it clear he was uncomfortable and anxious.

"I heard that I might be able to purchase a special potion in Dark Street..." He said quietly.

"Hmm,"

"Let me ask you something, Newcomer," He said in a conspiritory-like tone.

"Do you seek relief?"

"A way out from the pain of life?"

"Or perhaps a way to ease the suffering of a loved one?" 'Sebastian' asked knowingly.

"Y-yes!" Drew nearly shouted.

Sebastian broke out in a broad smile at Drew's words before giving him a short nod.

"Then you found the right man for the job,"

Sebastian turned around and closed up the shack before casually motioning Drew to follow him down an alleyway.

Drew pretended to act hesitant, looking around him with subtle fear, but after a few moments of hesitation, he followed after the average man.