Kaian followed the assassin recruiter through the maze-like city. Its twists and turns, now known to him after all the time spent here. He passed the shops that he couldn't afford to visit, couldn't afford to waste money on.
His clothes were in relatively good condition after all. The only purchase he had made in all this time were shoes, since the ones he had until now had holes on the bottom.
With this acquisition, Kaian moved Vexastone from his pocket to the shoe. This way he didn't need to reach into his clothes to change.
It felt uncomfortable and he stepped on the stone sometimes, yet all the other alternatives were out of his reach. One would think that an easier way to access a life-saving item would be a priority, but you know what they say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Falling into random thoughts like these, the expedition passed by quickly and Kaian didn't forget to memorize the path for the future. It would come in handy to know this city even better.
Surprisingly, it wasn't that far from the inn, Kaian thought that something like an assassin's guild would be better hidden. Did he have the wrong idea about his destination?
…
Turns out that he didn't. While the building looked normal from the outside, after entering he immediately noticed the atmosphere shift. It went from casual to gloomy in the span of a heartbeat and an attracting force appeared from the ceiling.
Despite all the time he spent here, it took him a while and the help of his friends to figure out what this was. It meant that there was a pretty powerful mage above him. For some reason, Kaian was able to sense mages, the only explanation for this was the flower he had eaten.
However, he also knew to not depend on this too much, as he saw a seemingly normal man start giving off this force out of nowhere. They had the ability to hide or show it at will.
Being more cautious, Kaian followed the man while looking around. He hadn't considered that there would be ascenders here and it made him uncomfortable. It was because they were the people who, like their name implied, could ascend to godhood.
Unfortunately, hunters weren't ascenders. That was a title reserved for mages and professions of equal power levels. It also meant that any ascender could utterly demolish a non-ascender 9 times out of 10.
The remaining 1 was accounting for meteors falling directly on the ascender and leaving his opponent alive. Or someone like Kaian who could most likely slay a weak one with the use of Vexastone and stealth.
Still, he wasn't that eager to test it out, instead admiring the beautiful wooden floor and the tables. Nevermind, aside from the mood, this place felt completely ordinary.
People dressed in old clothes walked around, ignoring the assassin and the changer. Kaian got led into the back and the man removed his hood, revealing an average face. It was surprising, weren't killers supposed to have scars and look creepy?
Or maybe that's what he wanted Kaian to think! That made sense, how could a killer from the shadows stand out?! Hmph, they tried to fool him like this, but it wouldn't work.
Suppressing a smirk, Kaian's idiotic thoughts got interrupted by the man.
"Well, this is where my job ends, go through that door and you'll meet the man who paid me." He proclaimed and left to help someone lift crates, leaving the changer dumbfounded.
Kaian rubbed his forehead and sighed, opening the door and walking inside, embarrassed.
It led underground and the wooden surroundings quickly morphed into stone. The stairs were in the shape of a square, you'd never know what would appear behind a corner. This unnerved Kaian by a non-small amount and he pulled out his dagger just in case, hiding it under his cloak.
Soon, he arrived in front of another door and opened it, acting calm. What appeared behind it was a cave, no, a roughly carved room with tunnels leading out of it. They lacked the torches that illuminated everything else, resembling gateways to the abyss.
A dark, luxurious table sat in the middle, looking completely out of place. A chair with red velvet stood behind said table, facing a tunnel on the right. It seemed like someone left it and disappeared recently.
Though, now that he gave it a bit of thought, wasn't this just like a distraction? Dammit, he shouldn't have come here. Even Vexastone couldn't protect him against an instant death and walking straight into the lair of assassins was asking for it.
Stepping to the right, as if he wanted to investigate the tunnel, Kaian noticed a silent sound at his back. One that he would've missed if it wasn't for the blood he drank.
"Haah." He sighed.
CLANK
The song of steel that sharply echoed across the cavern could even be called pleasing, but it certainly wasn't that if you were the one involved in it. Kaian had reacted fast and the dagger slid under his cloak, tearing through the air upwards.
Unfortunately, another dagger met it in its way and it resulted in the music with sparks. Kaian concentrated on seeing what the person who attacked him looked like, but before he could do so, the attacker swung his weapon to the right, breaking the stalemate.
"Enough." The real assassin said and sheathed his dagger.
Kaian took the cue and hid his weapon under the cloak, taking the neutral stance. Neither hiding it fully or having it ready for battle, yet ready for both.
Finally having time for a breather, he checked out the man and noticed a surprisingly muscular middle-aged guy. He had a neatly trimmed beard and short brown hair. In short, he would've looked friendly if it wasn't for the ice cold expression on his face.
"Your skills are passable, but you'd better hope that your strong point is sneaking, not fighting. Anyway, my name is Skolr and I'm the leader here. Any questions?"
Pursing his lips, Kaian nodded his head and got ready to speak, before getting interrupted.
"I shouldn't forget to mention that I won't stop after a single clash if it's about my name." Skolr added helpfully.
Throwing in a nervous laugh, the changer dismissed the first question he had and skipped to the second.
"If I understand correctly, this place is a safe space for assassins to gather and take on requests to... Eliminate targets and get paid for it, right?"
"Correct."
"Then, are there requests to get rid of ascenders?"
"Haha, for you? Don't bite off more than you can chew and forget about that."
"....I have no more questions then."
Standing up with his icy expression, Skolr reached out with his hand. Kaian shook it, noticing a thin cold item briefly slide on his hand with his increased perception.
He didn't think much of it before Skolr pulled out a card similar to the one he got from the hunter's guild. Except this one already had Kaian's name on it and looked complete. This meant that they somehow managed to acquire his blood. How? Was it during the handshake?
Not giving off any signs that it bothered him, Kaian calmly took the card and hid it under his cloak.
"Well then, I welcome you to the assassin's guild. Here's a target we chose specifically for you." Skolr spoke while handing him a folder of papers.
"I thought that I would get to choose myself?" Kaian replied after giving the folder a brief look.
"You will, after finishing this one. Any questions?"
"No."
"Great."
Looking at Skolr with a straigh face, Kaian took the papers and stepped to the door he came in from.
"Take the right tunnel, it will lead you outside through the sewers without anybody noticing. And make sure to take the folder with you when you're going to eliminate your target." Skolr advised.
Muttering a word of thanks, Kaian followed the tip and left the dark room. He couldn't let his first prey wait too much after all.
…
"Sir, what do you think about him? Will he be able to complete it?" A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows and asked.
"I already said he's sufficient." Skolr responded coldly.
"But, we could have sent an ascender, there are plenty of people who are more than sufficient!" The figure aggresively said, not understanding its superior.
"SILENCE. Do you think I would've sent a newbie if I truly wanted him dead?!" Skolr punched the table, the icy expression finally melting into one of fiery rage.
"I apologize, sir. I was out of line."
Skolr looked at the tunnel and shook his head, returning his attention to the papers on his table. The times where he could go and do what he wanted had long passed, only duty remained.
…
The tunnel was too dark for Kaian to see clearly in, so he took out one of his remaining blood vials. It was a special one that he couldn't steal the benefit of, because it consumed his body warmth as long as it was in effect.
The taste was peculiar too, it was like water from a dump got extracted and made into gelatine. Kaian hated drinking it, but the benefit was too useful. Seeing in the dark felt good and was practical to boot.
With his new temporary ability and a disgusting taste in his mouth, Kaian walked through the sewer, reaching the end. The rest of the tunnel was blocked off with rocks and there was a ladder leading upwards.
Taking the ladder, the changer climbed up, getting blinded by the sun. It was nice to be back outside.
Thinking for a while, he leaned on a nearby house. It didn't take long for him to decide on his next course of action.
Despite what he said, he would go to the tavern and meet up with Zarin before his mission. He needed to talk, to share his doubts, to get some confidence.
…
Opening the door of the tavern, he noticed the golden shine of Zarin's hair. It was hard to ignore and made Kaian suspect that Zarin wasn't a completely normal person. A color like that wasn't exactly common.
Well whatever, it didn't really matter and the changer didn't want to lose his first friend just to pry. He approached Zarin and the other guys at the table.
"Yo, Zarin, Hugh, Bean, what's up?" Kaian called them by order of how they sat at the table.
They responded the way they were called, as if they had done this before.
"Hey, Kaian. It's been pretty good, the cultist finally left."
"Yeah, as Zarin said, better than before."
"Same as always for me, nothing new."
Snickering, Kaian sat down and ordered a drink. Bean was always so nihilistic, it made him wonder why he became a hunter.
"Hah, we will leave you to talk now. If you didn't know, Kaian, I managed to get me and Bean a spot on a blind date." Hugh announced pridefully and stood up.
"You know it's useless, right? We need more money to get a chance." The bean countered.
"Shut up, let's go."
Hugh pulled Bean up and forced him to leave, Kaian could swear he noticed a tear forming in Bean's eye.
"..Ignoring that, what's up with you Kaian? You seem concerned." Zarin asked while putting his hands on the table.
Kaian sighed and answered him.
"You see, I got an, well, I guess you can call it an invite, to the assassin's guild."
"Uh-huh?"
"And I accepted."
"Oh."
"..Yep."
It looked like it took Zarin a second to process what he had heard. After doing so, his hands clenched together, supporting his head. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and then spoke.
"Why?"
"For the money, I need it."
"I see… Then I have a few propositions, to make it easier on the mind. First off, stop immediately after getting enough money. Second, do not kill good people. Lastly, never, ever come to enjoy the kills."
Zanir stood up, putting his hand on Kaian's shoulder.
"And this one isn't a proposition, but an order." He said. "Keep yourself safe. Money isn't worth your life."
Kaian slowly nodded and stood up as well.
"Thanks man, I feel a lot better about it now. You're a great friend, Zanir. But I shouldn't keep my target waiting, let's meet up tomorrow. I'll tell you all about how it went and buy you lunch to repay you. That fine?"
"Of course, good luck Kaian."
Hyped for his assassination, Kaian happily skipped to the door and left Zanir standing there.
"A great friend, huh? Am I really?"