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Behind a pillar in the corridor of the temporary clinic.
In the dark shadows where moonlight doesn't reach.
"Latia, is that you?"
"Why?"
"I didn't think you'd be interested in something like this? A noble lady from a duke's family taking interest in a war between two mere counts?"
Davian couldn't understand Latia's sudden actions.
Of course, having someone as skilled as Latia would be a great help in clearing the tiered reward quest.
He had considered that he might need a party member with good mobility like Bonita, especially since they had to deal with assassins.
However, that didn't mean Latia wouldn't be helpful.
If Davian stood in front with his ice sword and Latia backed him up from behind, that would also be a powerful combination.
Perhaps even more so than a two-person party with Bonita.
'It would definitely be helpful... But why?'
That was the question.
He couldn't figure out why Latia was staying here to help him.
The Latia that Davian knew wasn't one to take such a great interest in other people's affairs.
Even Liber, who was full of curiosity, had returned to the academy because he didn't want to stay in this battlefield any longer. So why was Latia here?
"Why, you don't want to team up with me? Should I go back?"
Latia's voice turned sharply cold.
Well, there was no need to send her away if she wanted to stay.
But he was still curious.
"It's not that. I'm just curious why you're doing this. I thought you'd be back at the academy practicing your mana cultivation."
A brief silence passed between them.
"I... need practical experience."
Her voice was awkward and her tone was different from usual.
"Practical experience?"
"Yeah. The day we fought the mage from the magic tower in the Perum Mountains. You all think I beat him easily, but that wasn't the case. In some ways, I could say I was lucky."
"And?"
"I realized that sitting in the dormitory and cultivating mana isn't everything. I need practical experience. Like you said, I've been running around the training grounds every morning since then. I can't keep relying on you guys forever."
"That's the reason?"
It was too dark to see Latia's expression clearly.
"Why? Is that reason not enough?"
"This is a battlefield. I'll be dealing with assassins. It could be too dangerous."
"So, you can do it, but I can't?"
Since she was being so insistent, there was no need to turn down a teammate who would clearly be a great help.
Davian nodded.
"Alright, let's go together. Walk in the shadows so we don't get caught. I found another way to the third floor during the day. I'll explain the plan as we move."
"Okay."
Davian moved first, and Latia followed behind.
In the darkness, Latia glared at the back of Davian's head as he walked ahead.
'I came all the way to help him... Why is he asking so many questions?'
Latia brushed the back of her hand against her flushed cheek.
'I was scrambling to make excuses. And why is my face suddenly so hot? ...He probably didn't see it in the dark, right?'
Darkness can be useful at times.
"Sam, that's the room."
A man wearing a royal medical center gown pointed to a door across the hallway.
The man next to him, also wearing the same gown, nodded.
"Kerner, let's finish this quickly and get out. The guard patrols outside have become more strict as night falls."
Anyone with a keen eye would have noticed something strange.
They were wearing gowns worn by healing mages who worked at the medical center, but their strides were too consistent and quiet.
The backs of their hands, exposed outside the gowns, were rough, scarred, and full of bulging veins.
But the night, with only faint moonlight, was enough to hide these things.
The two men soon arrived in front of the door.
Creak.
The sound of old hinges rubbing together echoed through the quiet hallway.
"The plan you set up in advance is just this?"
Latia's voice was a whisper.
But she was so close that it felt like she was talking directly into his ear.
"Well, originally I was going to do it alone."
"Hey, move away a little. You're too close."
"This is the best way."
"Sigh..."
The private room on the third floor where Kal Visant was resting to recover.
Davian and Latia, who had quietly infiltrated the room, were inside a narrow wardrobe placed against one wall.
"Shh. Someone's coming."
Creak.
The sound of the door slowly opening could be heard.
"It seems he's asleep."
"Let's send him off comfortably. He won't even know he's dying."
At that moment.
Crash!
The wardrobe door shattered and Davian jumped out.
"Who is it!"
The man called Kerner threw a throwing star.
A small blade flew through the dark room.
It was painted black, so it didn't reflect even the moonlight.
But.
It couldn't escape the eyes of Davian, who had raised his 'Eye to See the Sword Path' skill to level 37.
Clang.
The throwing star was blocked by a small ice barrier that Davian quickly created and fell harmlessly to the floor.
The man called Sam drew a thin, flexible sword from his waist.
It seemed he had been wearing it like a belt.
Whoosh.
A sleek ice sword appeared in Davian's hand.
Sam lunged towards Davian.
At that moment.
Bang!
With a loud explosion, Sam's body flew backwards and crashed.
It was a fireball shot by Latia.
Kerner, sensing that the situation was not normal, threw a small marble on the floor.
Poof!
A cloudy smoke instantly filled the room, no matter what was stored inside the small marble.
Dozens of sharp wind elemental magic strands created by Davian shot towards the wall where Sam had crashed.
Thwack! Thwack!
Only the sound of the wind elemental magic piercing through the wooden wall could be heard. Not even a small scream.
Latia approached Davian.
"Did he get away?"
"It seems he tore a scroll and escaped."
"What, you let him get away so easily."
"It's okay. We left a trace."
Setting off a fireball to make a loud noise on purpose.
This was what Davian had instructed Latia to do while coming here.
He knew from his experience in the previous playthrough that he couldn't catch them if they decided to run away from here, so he made a plan.
If you can't catch them, you have to let them escape.
"A trace?"
"Yeah. A trace. Otherwise, we'll be framed as the culprits."
It was during the 2nd playthrough.
While trying to protect Kal Visant, he had a duel with the assassins here, and the guards soon stormed in.
But the guys had disappeared without a trace just before the guards came in.
Only Davian was dragged away and suffered for days.
Thanks to that, the next mini-quest and everything else was ruined.
When the smoke had cleared out of the window, the guards rushed in.
The guards, wearing shining full-body armor, drew their large swords.
Fast and precise movements.
"Who is it!"
In an instant, four guards brought sharp swords to the ends of Davian and Latia's necks and chests.
The tips of the swords touched exactly the Adam's apple and the center of the chest.
It was a clean performance.
Davian raised both hands and replied.
"We're students from the Elton Academy."
Ding.
A familiar notification sound rang in Davian's ear.
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[Tiered Quest in Progress]
①Successfully Prevented the Assassination of Kal Visant
―Reward: 5,000 Mana Points (x2)
―Reward: Acquired Skill 'Shadow Walk Lv.1'
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Followed by a new skill detail window.
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[Shadow Walk Lv.1]
―Active Skill
―Cooldown: 24 hours
―Duration: 10 minutes
―Within the shadows, you can move without being noticed.
―Duration increases with skill level
―Caution: Skill may not work against opponents with higher inner strength than the caster
―Skill level increases when inner strength is raised while possessing the skill
―Evolving to advanced skill 'Shadow Teleportation' upon reaching skill level 20
=====
Shadow Walk skill.
A skill that had been useful several times in the previous playthrough as well.
However, he couldn't raise the skill level back then because he couldn't raise his inner strength.
Also, he could only safely use it against mages or ordinary people because he could be detected at any time by people who had cultivated even a little bit of inner strength.
'This time it's different.'
Now he can raise the level and evolve it into an advanced skill.
As Davian's inner strength increases, the range of targets the skill works on also widens.
'It'll be very useful.'
"Earlier, you were stuck in that narrow wardrobe for hours. Is getting really trapped your plan this time?"
"Yeah. Just wait."
"I'm putting up with it because it's you, but what kind of plan is th..."
"You're putting up with it because it's me?"
Latia quickly lowered her head.
"It's nothing."
Latia quickly changed the subject.
"But do you really have to tie our hands and feet like this? It looks like there are several people guarding the door. My wrists are killing me."
A room somewhere in the temporary clinic building.
Davian and Latia were sitting on the floor back-to-back with their arms tied behind their backs.
Their ankles were also tightly bound.
Whoosh.
Blue healing magic emanated from Davian's hand.
"...Huh? W-what is it?"
"You said your wrists hurt."
"Oh, yeah. It's a little better."
Whoosh.
Latia also emitted healing magic towards Davian's wrists.
Neither of them were top-notch healing mages, but it was enough to relieve each other of this level of pain.
"But Davian, what if they don't believe that an assassin came?"
"Didn't you see the wall when we came out? Where I shot the wind elemental magic."
"I saw long holes punched through it... Ah! The bloodstains there!"
"Yeah. None of us are injured."
Clatter.
A knight in golden armor entered.
"I have finished investigating the room. What you said is true."
His tone was quite different from when they were confined to the room.
He had been openly disrespectful then, but now he seemed to be showing at least a minimum of courtesy.
The knight gestured, and servants came in and untied Davian and Latia.
"We have also confirmed your identities through the academy."
The knight turned to Latia and bowed.
"Lady Meridem of the Meridem duchy. I have committed a discourtesy. Please forgive me, as it was unavoidable on the battlefield."
Davian nodded.
'So, they've confirmed Latia's identity for sure.'
The knight's respectful attitude was understandable, as the Meridem family was one of only three remaining ducal families on the entire continent.
However, even though the Naone family was not a ducal family, they were a count family with a considerable reputation in the southern region, but the knight only paid respects to Latia.
That meant...
"I am Baron Harry Armont. The deputy commander of the Rhino Guard and currently the head of security at this Royal Temporary Clinic."
Even though he was far below a count, he was still a noble.
Still, a fairly high-ranking person had been dispatched as the head of security.
The Alcancia Kingdom had a strong guard to maintain stable central rule.
In fact, the term guard refers to an elite unit to protect the king, but the Alcancia Guard was not like that.
Starting with the Lion Guard, which used the same lion emblem as the royal family, there were a total of five guard organizations.
Of these, the Lion Guard, the 1st Guard, was the one that actually played the role of the guard.
And the remaining Eagle, Rhino, Jaguar, and Gorilla Guards occupied the positions from the 2nd to the 5th Guards in order.
The man who was in charge of security here was the second-in-command of the 3rd Guard.
"Lady Meridem. Can you tell us how you knew the assassin was coming?"
"Ah, I just followed this guy here. Ask Davian over there about what you're curious about. He's the one who figured all this out and prepared for it."
Only then did Baron Harry turn to Davian.
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