Chapter 613: An Open and Above-Board Assassination?

The morning sun filtered through the transparent glass doors and into the shop, where Boss Fang was once again chalking up a fresh line on his small blackboard: Assassin's Creed Trailer 2.

A mystical realm centered around assassins...

This very notion forced many to wonder if this highly "creative" alchemist had completely lost his mind.

Constructing a mystical realm for cultivation was a staggeringly expensive endeavor.

Even when crafted by the System, injecting earned spirit crystals into its creation was by no means free.

In fact, it was hardly unprecedented for large-scale alchemy workshops to go bankrupt, driven into ruin because the colossal investments required for their mystical realms could never be recouped.

Even a titan like the Dulan Workshop, which had the backing of the Judgement Shrine itself, only dared to subtly weave a few shrine-related elements into their creations, never venturing into anything too reckless.

Yet, a newly opened shop in the city actually intended to launch something called Assassin's Creed?

Nearly every bystander who caught wind of the news was left with a mind full of sheer bewilderment.

As for those who had remained blissfully unaware, after hearing the introduction of the Dulan Workshop's new mystical realm, they too found themselves thoroughly and utterly confounded.

This alchemist must have gone stark mad.

Yet, inside the shop, there seemed to be absolutely no regard for the swirling rumors outside.

...

"Miss Irina, did you hear that?" inside a tavern not far from White Dove Square, a middle-aged man with short, grizzled hair and a matching beard sat in a secluded corner, speaking in a hushed tone.

Listening closely, one could hear patrons nearby discussing something about an Assassin's Creed.

"An assassin's mystical realm? A creed?" Irina was somewhat speechless, "What do these people even know about assassins?"

And to concoct something like... an Assassin's Creed?!

How come I never knew we possessed any sort of creed?

However, she had no time to fret over such matters at this moment.

"The assassins in the Dawn Empire region likely won't recover their strength for a very long time," she sighed softly, her bright eyes clouded with a trace of self-blame.

"Do not blame yourself, Miss Irina. You are the 'Moon Rose,' you possess noble blood, and you came here to lead these assassins against that wretched Judgement Shrine. If even you lose heart..." The middle-aged man shook his head, "Then I fear the assassins of this region truly are finished."

Irina shook her head, feeling a profound sense of aimlessness wash over her.

Her heart felt as though it were sinking to the absolute bottom of a dark abyss; perhaps assassins were destined never to gaze upon the light of day.

...

Yet for customers like the mercenary greatsword-wielding Create and the mage Miss Lily, who had witnessed the first promotional trailer for Assassin's Creed, their thoughts were entirely different.

"Oh! This is simply magnificent!"

"I truly could never have imagined that assassins could be like this!"

Inside the tavern, listening to the idle gossip drifting around them, Create remarked, "I believe it is high time we show these ignorant fools what the shop's assassins are truly made of!"

"Is the magical projection ready, Miss Lily?"

...

"In truth, I also believe this shop owner has lost his wits!" Within a mere few days, the news of the shop releasing an "assassin's mystical realm" had spread to nearly every corner of the city. As a player of the shop, Evan, the Commander of the Golden Gryphon Knights, felt quite embarrassed by it all.

Taking advantage of his evening leisure time, Commander Evan of the Golden Gryphon Knights returned to the Origin Internet Club. Adjusting his computer chair, he plopped down, holding a cup of milk tea and taking a sip. "While I won't deny that the shop's Resident Evil is absolutely fantastic, and the milk tea is delicious, no one is willing to try a damned assassin. There is simply no market for it, and that is a fact. Oh, I honestly don't even know how to tell my colleagues that I run off to the cultivation realm of a shop like this every single day."

The moment the words left his mouth, he caught sight of Helen's screen next to him, where a white-robed figure leapt from a bell tower, soaring gracefully like a white eagle.

"What is that?!" Several knights of the Golden Gryphon Knights sitting nearby could not help but peer over.

"Could it be that the shop has other games?"

On the other side, Sera and a few elves gathered together. "They say a new trailer for Assassin's Creed came out in the shop today. Shall we take a look?"

At the same exact time, inside the tavern where Irina was staying.

Suddenly, a magical projection materialized out of nowhere, displaying the exact same imagery being watched inside the shop.

The faint outline of a computer screen was visible, making it clear that the projection was aimed directly at a monitor.

"??? Assassin's Creed?!" Everyone froze instinctively.

Helen was currently munching on spicy sticks, watching with utmost concentration.

Next, they witnessed on Helen's screen the assassin clad in white robes and a hood treading through the crowd as if taking a leisurely stroll, stepping directly onto the execution platform of the tribunal.

Beholding this scene and connecting it to the concept of an assassin, several people almost instinctively imagined the identities of both sides and the current situation—a rescue from the execution grounds?

Wait, that's not right... Is this supposed to be an assassin?! The problem was, what on earth did this fellow mean by walking out so openly and honestly in a set of glaring white robes?

Shouldn't they be stealthily creeping up behind the enemy?

Could it be that this assassin had come merely to throw his life away?

Just as they assumed the assassin was marching to his doom, they watched the white-robed figure, surrounded by several attacking soldiers, unleash a flurry of blows with a longsword and a hand crossbow in tandem. Leaping high like a soaring eagle, the assassin plunged a hidden blade into the final foe and vanished without a trace.

The sublime artistry and the crisp, effortless grace of the movements were over before anyone could even comprehend what had just unfolded.

By the time the onlookers snapped back to reality, the white silhouette had long since dissolved into the crowd.

"Pfft—?!"

This counts as an assassin?!

Aren't these assassins supposed to pride themselves on how brilliant their hiding techniques are and how exquisite their ambush skills can be?

What is the meaning of walking up face-to-face, striking twice, and just walking away?!

Yet from it, they discerned a masterful degree of skill.

Likewise, as the saying goes, "To kill a man in ten paces, and leave no trace for a thousand miles," this flavor of hot-blooded masculine fervor and the chivalric spirit of a martial warrior was ignited almost instantaneously.

What an assassin truly was, they did not yet fully comprehend, but a fierce desire to keep watching bloomed within their hearts.

"You mentioned a creed earlier. What is it?"

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember, nothing is true. Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember, everything is permitted. To understand that we are the architects of our actions, and we must live with their consequences, whether they be glorious or tragic."

On the screen, silhouettes preparing for action flashed by one after another, striking a resonant chord in the hearts of all who watched.

"These are the maxims left by our ancestors, a creed passed down through generations. One, stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Two, hide in plain sight. Three, never compromise the Brotherhood."

"Hold it as your creed, follow it, and surpass it. If broken, suffer the consequences."

The voiceover-like conversation unfolded, expounding upon the successive tenets observed by this ancient organization. They were rigorous yet far from rigid; they possessed their very own code of conduct.