-Asher Frostblade Point of View
"Let's go."
The mana dispersed everywhere, creating a small dense fog that surrounded the entire monster village.
Asher moved along with the other cadets, who positioned themselves behind some houses.
Using mana as a means to form the fog would make the monsters think it was natural, while the cadets would enter the houses and silently kill the monsters inside.
The plan was to do it stealthily and silently.
For now, my goal was to disperse the mana fog throughout the village, confusing the monsters.
There were five minutes to do it all as quickly as possible.
Once everything was stolen from the monsters, Asher would kill the village chief.
"For now, everything is fine."
I looked around.
The cadets were moving quickly, and some were starting to enter the houses.
If the cadets wanted to get their own things, they had to do it on their own.
I wasn't helping them much.
This is like an end-of-semester exam.
If they want to survive or reach the goal, they have to do it on their own.
My help is temporary, until I get my share of the loot when it's all over.
What was agreed was half of everything.
From the beginning I was not interested in helping them or sharing a part.
Because, quite simply, I could keep it all on my own.
If the cadets tried to take me on, they would lose easily and quickly, due to the abysmal difference in power.
It's true that teamwork is also important, but it's not always a good idea.
Why is that?
It's simple: if you work in a team, conflicts or disagreements about plans may arise, or some may not follow the leader's orders.
In the worst case, the same group members would steal everything and run away.
Of course, if I were in a group, I would never let my guard down, precisely because of those circumstances.
Crack.
Footsteps were heard.
Asher moved nimbly as a monster of his size appeared.
He was stocky, with big muscles, green skin and two yellow eyes, unarmed.
Asher slipped through the fog.
He appeared behind the monster, grabbing it by the neck and lifting it into the air as the monster slowly choked.
Crunch.
The monster squirmed, and with both hands tried to free itself from Asher's grip, but he persisted.
"Oh... Do you want to live?"
"..."
The monster looked at Asher as a smile appeared on his face.
A dark and sinister expression was drawn as it slowly strangled the monster, and the oxygen began to deplete from its body.
The monster's head swelled and turned red.
With his other hand, Asher held the monster's head and began to slowly squeeze it.
Crunch.
The monster's eyes turned white, losing all color, as its head reddened and blood gushed from between Asher's fingers, right where he squeezed so hard that the monster's skull burst.
"..."
My face turned grim as I stopped smiling.
That felt... pretty good.
For some reason, Asher smiled and looked at the other monsters.
The mana in his body intensified, and the fog became denser than before.
Two monsters of the same breed appeared, and Asher slipped behind both of them.
He held the necks of the two monsters, their arms swelled and veins bulged.
Then, the necks of both monsters crackled with a "Crack", and foam came out of their mouths.
"..."
Again I felt that strange sensation of .... excitement as I slowly tortured the monsters.
"We're done."
"..."
Then, my mind buzzed and I snapped out of that strange state. I looked at my cadets.
"Uh... Yes."
I looked at the bodies of the three monsters, and that feeling returned for a few more seconds, when I touched my head.
"..."
A stabbing pain shot through Asher's head as he gritted his teeth, as a strong dizziness enveloped him.
"Haaa... It's coming back again."
The same unpleasant feeling of being consumed by his other personality returned.
***
-Scene change.
-Luna Hazard's point of view.
The third circle.
Reaching the third circle involves many improvements in the body of all those who reach that state.
Of course, someone who is still in the second circle knows absolutely nothing of the feeling of being a third circle.
Nevertheless, I was anxious.
Not long ago, I was already beginning to notice some changes.
Strangely, I was finding it easier to understand certain things that were difficult for me to do before.
However...
Was this talent or something else?
I wasn't entirely sure.
Still, Luna persisted.
If she wanted to reach the third circle, she had to do it once she left the Dungeon.
It was great luck to obtain a mana stone and advance to the second circle so quickly.
But, if a mage keeps absorbing mana stones, there will come a time when they will cease to be effective.
This is because there is a limit to each circle we advance to.
Each new circle requires more mana to be reached, and each time we progress, more is consumed.
This is why it is quite difficult to advance beyond the fifth circle.
Most mages stagnate at the fourth circle.
Or rather, in the third circle.
Because advancing to the fourth involves breaking a boundary barrier, and that barrier must be overcome if you want to progress further.
Then.
"Haaa..."
It was still insufficient.
I need more.
I need to advance faster, but I can't manage to do it at the speed I want.
It's urgent to get to the third circle.
No.
Rather, I need to reach the fourth circle before all the others.
The problem is how.
It's true that I've managed to get ahead of the rest, but I'm still behind Freddy and Asher.
"I want to overtake Asher when I find him."
And for that I need to reach the fourth circle as quickly as possible, in less than a week.
From what I've seen of Asher, he's not even halfway through the third circle yet, he seems to be in the early stages.
But, although his progress seems modest, somehow his strength is close to that of a fourth circle.
If you are a fourth circle, you are assured of victory against Asher.
That's why my target is the fourth circle.
"But do I really have my true talent blocked...? I didn't know that was possible."
First of all, talent is innate.
If it's blocked, it could be because of a curse or because I grew up with my talent blocked from the beginning.
So how do you unlock it?
According to Asher, I had to experience a unique scenario. That alone would unlock my true talent. Although I wasn't entirely sure if that was how it was said, I had a suspicion that the unique scenario was related to Asher.
Of course, Luna wasn't entirely convinced, but.... what if it was?
So what would that unique scenario be?
"There must be an answer."
For now, the urgent thing is to reach the third circle.
Fortunately, this cave is saturated with mana, which will help me reach the third circle tomorrow.
The mana was so thick that it was suffocating somehow, and breathing became heavier as time passed.
"Haaa..."
Sweat was running all over Luna's body.
It was icy, as the mana made the sweat feel cold.
One reason is that Luna has an affinity for ice.
But that doesn't mean that's always the case.
Therefore, the cold sweat came from the mana concentrated in the cave.
It wasn't just the mana; the cave itself was cold, with a temperature perhaps below freezing.
"I will rest for the time being."
Freddy's voice made Luna open her eyes and look at him for a few seconds.
"Ah... I'll still be here."
"Are you sure? You don't have to try so hard."
"Don't worry, if I want to be stronger than Asher, then I have to keep going without stopping."
"Surpass Asher... I hope you make it, then."
Although they both knew that they were close to reaching the third circle, and that Asher was also a third circle.
Luna and Freddy knew that Asher was actually stronger than a normal third circle.
He was close to being a fourth circle, but still not strong enough to compare to one completely.
However, Asher could beat anyone in the fourth circle, and they had all seen it before.
The dungeon keeper from three months ago.
We all saw what happened and knew that Asher was stronger than a common third circle.
"Then, I'll go outside for a while."
Freddy said goodbye, and Luna closed her eyes again.
"In a week... In a week I'll get to the fourth circle."
Because I wasn't planning to stop here and now.
If you want to get through it, then you have to try even harder.....
================
-[The legendary assassin is reincarnated - Pausing-]
This is depressing but because I have a new job now, I have college exams until December.
I don't have time to write, unfortunately the novel ends in a pause until here.
I don't know if I will really be able to continue it at some point but I hope so.
Thanks for the readers who read my first novel, I've been writing for 4 months and almost 5 by November 1st.
If you would like to leave me a comment or review I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for reading up to this point the few people who did.