As Rafael prepared to spend his first night in his new tower, everything seemed to be going well for him and his friends, the more active Masters of the city chose to just observe him from afar. But, there were not only Masters in the city, wandering mages, cultists, divine wives, inquisitors, torturers, ex-pirates and bandits. Everyone now knew of the new arrival and also knew that Rafael was not a Master, the greed for his magical weapons was arising in all of them, and misfortune was approaching...
***
While most of the smaller groups were receiving information through their spies in the port, or were buying such information for cheap. The "ex-pirate" known as Hakon was inside a room full of beds, shelves with medicines and herbs, where a man who looked like a beggar was treating a man with a leg wound. This injured man was his most talented subordinate, and in the ancient times before he came to Asshai, he was even his first mate on his ship. The man in the bed, besides having a talent for magic, had two body alterations, one in his hearing and one in his speed, and could use two shadow-type spells. Both were perfect for hiding and escaping.
Thanks to these combinations, he not only always got the best news from newcomers, but was also one of the first to receive it. This always ensured that certain people without much power would be robbed or declared missing, all of which was done by Hakon and his former pirate crew. After living for more than 20 years in Asshai, he always chose his targets very carefully, never being too greedy. He was strong against the weak and weak against the strong. Thanks to this, he accumulated a lot of magical knowledge and ensured that he and the 3 men in his crew with magical talent grew to where they are today. Having their own minor tower and much wealth and power among the smaller organizations.
Unfortunately, today things didn't go as well as Hakon had planned. His most talented man was now lying in bed injured, a victim of the newly arrived Red Sage. His former first mate was unconscious and running a fever due to the waters of the Ash River entering the strange wound on his leg. While he waited, the other two magic apprentices in his group entered the room.
"Captain, let us deal with that Red Sage. We've already confirmed that he bought his tower yesterday and he still doesn't have many defenses. If we take too long, he might get too strong and not leave it any time soon. Besides, the Thieves Guild and the Dark Assassins should go after him too, since their men were killed at the port. It might even be that those scum from the Adventurers' Alliance will make a move due to their endless greed."
"If you're confident, go ahead and steal his bag or kill him. Be careful with your companion, the man in white armor. Before Silas fainted, he said that the man was very strong, probably with strength and endurance type alterations." The two nodded respectfully and jumped off the third floor of the tower. These two had focused everything on being assassins, from the alterations to the spells they learned, and had been invited several times to join the so-called trinity of Asshai assassins. If even they couldn't do it today, then he should prepare to make it up to the Sage and hope that he would put it aside in exchange for some benefits.
***
It was late at night, and Rafael hadn't been able to sleep. He knew that what happened at the port would have consequences. And if it were him, he would certainly attack while his tower was not yet at its maximum power. So he decided to set himself up as bait, and see if he could catch someone. After working on the tower with all the other members, he set up his temporary room on the fourth and last floor of the new tower, and even ate dinner sitting near the window while watching the city from there. He did this to make sure that all eyes could see where he was. After that, he read a book until almost midnight before finally closing the window, turning off the light, and sleeping sitting in a sort of rocking chair. He had a small sheet on his legs that went up to his waist, covering his forearms as well. While he was "sleeping", his new hearing improved by 25% heard a small beep. This signal was not from his magical sound trap, nor the noise from the blood trap. Whoever was entering through the window had already managed to deactivate the two new, stronger defensive devices he had installed, in addition to the third magical blockade that the tower itself provided. The only sound he heard was that of an item similar to a pin falling after the window had been opened. The item fell and hit a metal plate in the dark, making a sound that was almost inaudible to other people, but not to his new enhanced hearing.
With the sound alert, he opened his eyes and saw two shadows already inside his room. Without thinking twice, he pulled the trigger of the crossbow he was hiding under the blanket, firing it in the direction of one of the night attackers.
"PUFF"
"THUD"
"ARGH"
At the same time, a line was pulled, turning on the light in the room and revealing a man with a crossbow bolt in his stomach. He was lying on the floor in agony, and the other man was already running towards him with two pairs of daggers. There was no time for Rafael to get up, when he pulled out the first pistol and tried to shoot the man. He was already prepared to deal with Rafael's new weapon, and threw one of the daggers, hitting the pistol and making it fall from Rafael's hand. When he tried to pull out the second pistol in his other hand, the man's dagger was already very close to cutting his throat, but in the blink of an eye the man was unable to reach him and what suddenly happened was a flash of flames that came out of Rafael's mouth:
"Breath of Fire!"
The flash hit the man as if an explosion had occurred between him and Rafael. The flames were so strong that not only was he set on fire, but he was also thrown almost 3 meters away by the force of the newly improved spell. The man only screamed a few times and struggled before he stopped moving, while a horrible smell of burning flesh spread throughout the room. Another crossbow appeared in Rafael's hand and he finished off the still agonizing man with the first arrow on the ground. He approached, getting close to the burned man and used an alchemical powder that extinguished the remaining flames. In the middle of the now partially melted body he took out a partially burned shadow bag, but confirmed that it still worked.
The reason he let the man get so close was to test the new flames of his innate spell, which he cast using his new powerful breathing system. Not only could he now spit everything at once causing a powerful short-range impact like he did with the man who got too close, but he could also prolong his breathing and ensure that the flames reached much greater distances than when he created the spell. He then took the second bag and put the two bodies in his inventory, and said out loud:
"I think these two worked alone, you can leave."
Zhang, who was also hiding in the room, came out of a large wooden closet wearing his white armor. I threw one of the bags in his direction and he stuffed it into a space in the armor, leaving it to look at later.
"And now, shall we continue to keep watch for the rest of the night?" he asked.
"No, as we can see, their target is me. The others will stay in the dormitory area. You can rest a little, tomorrow the streets will not be safe and I have already confirmed that the sound traps work. This improvement in the senses is very simple and low cost and works well for this type of common alarm ignored by mages due to its simplicity and size. As soon as we have our animals inside the tower, it will be quieter too. See if Jack and Jhon returned, I want to know if their mission went well."
***
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Magic Apprentice: Parsa, Pato Senalima, Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Vinnie, Jan, frimorigo, Scott Robertson, Takatchi and Leery Falcon!