Chapter 618: Expectations vs. Reality

For the elves, freedom was a term of profound romance and lofty elegance.

They held freedom in higher esteem than life itself.

As for the assassins in the Morning Light Empire, it was some indefinable essence that had drawn them to this place—perhaps a spirit, a will, elusive and ethereal, yet Irina felt entirely certain it could be discovered here.

To the elves, however, the true allure lay in that vibrant throb of liberty.

Whenever she witnessed these assassins leaping like eagles from lofty towers and citadels, Sera felt it was truly a magnificent moment.

It was, indeed, a wonderful experience.

"Unthinkable that I am to perform the Leap of Faith next!" she muttered, clasping her hands, still feeling a tremor of nervousness.

After Altaïr drew the Templars to their doorstep, the Mentor had no choice but to command him and a few other assassins to perform the Leap of Faith from the high cliff, taking the Templars by surprise from the flank and triggering the pre-arranged traps and defenses.

Meanwhile, many other players had arrived at this very spot.

Among them were Irina, Hazin, and several other assassins native to this world.

"What a glorious instant..." Irina mused, scaling the tower.

Over at the old shop, Su Tianji was also climbing the tower at that moment. Standing upon the narrow wooden plank extending from that immense height, she gazed out at the distant mountains. In her pristine white robes, arms outstretched like a snow-white bird, the display was undeniably elegant and romantic.

Elves were a romantic race, imbued with a deep sense of artistry; clearly, they understood this brand of romance.

She recalled the white-robed assassins in the trailer—their fluid, unrestrained movements, facing the mountain wind with arms flung wide, as if embracing the sky and the distant peaks.

Beneath the dizzying precipice lay a thick pile of straw; in truth, any cushioning would suffice, and for an assassin of true faith, even a cushion was unnecessary.

Perched upon the plank, Sera closed her eyes, feeling the mountain breeze gently brush past her face. One step forward, and it felt as though she would step into heaven itself.

"...!!??"

The air fell into dead silence.

I must have lost my blooming mind to take that step forward!

Plunging headfirst into the void!

"Aaaaaahhhhh..." A streak of screaming ensued, and on the screen, an assassin could be seen flailing her hands and kicking her legs wildly as she plummeted from the sky.

Face-plant.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh..."

"Ah—!"

Inside the shop, the heads of various assassins popped out from the haystacks, faces covered in straw, eyes staring blankly at the surroundings: "..."

In Su Tianji's livestream room.

The entire audience watching the stream witnessed an assassin planted upside down like a green onion in the haystack, two feet still wiggling in the air.

"Muffled groans—! Let me out!"

"Owner!?" Looking at the black-and-white screen before her once more, Su Tianji was on the verge of throwing a tantrum. She glanced left and right, as if searching for a weapon to brandish.

This was completely inconsistent with what was shown in the trailer!

How could the Leap of Faith turn out like this?!

This was deception! Stark, naked deception!

In the chat room:

"666"

"Master Assassin!"

"A Leap of Faith right onto the face."

"Invincible, truly invincible."

"Nalan Mingxue sends 10 '666' gifts."

"Owner Fang sends 20 goose eggs."

"..."

She wished she could snatch up those goose eggs and hurl them right at Owner Fang's face!

She even began to harbor suspicions. No wonder every Leap of Faith in the trailers only showed the first half edited together; she wondered if the assassins in the second half landed exactly like this too.

Su Tianji rubbed her face.

This...

...

As a true assassin, though the journey was arduous, Irina finally managed to reach the assassination phase after a series of stumbles—the true assassination.

The Mentor had imposed a severe punishment on Altaïr for violating the Creed, which had caused the mission to fail, drew the Templars to them, and resulted in the deaths of numerous assassins; he had even forced him to experience death directly.

Of course, the Mentor did not actually kill this meticulously trained disciple. Instead, he used a mock death to admonish him, stripping him of his power and equipment, and dispatching him to assassinate nine Templar leaders.

Regarding this task, as an assassin, Irina felt she was quite adept.

And so, she set forth.

Just like in the trailer, leaping from a great height...

No, to avoid another face-plant like before, she did not leap from on high, but instead crept forward stealthily.

The marketplace was crowded. She figured she could do just like the white-robed assassin in the trailer: pushing through the crowd, drawing the longsword and hidden blade in quick succession, striking down the target, and strolling away casually.

That sensation of slaying a man every ten steps, that clean and precise assassination technique, was simply marvelous!

She first simulated it in her mind.

Then, she pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.

Ten seconds later...

"Ah—!"

"Desynchronized."

On the screen, the assassin was seen sprawled on the ground, being beaten by a massive mob.

"..."

What in the world!

One day later...

Two days later...

Su Tianji slammed the table frantically: "Owner!"

Everyone echoed: "Owner!!??"

What was wrong with this Assassin's Creed?!

The Leap of Faith in the trailer resembled an eagle, soaring and descending in absolute freedom.

But our Leap of Faith...

Lands right on the backside with flailing legs like an idiot, and sometimes even ends in a face-plant!

The assassination in the promotional video was a silent, lethal strike, executed with utter, chilling precision.

Our own attempts...

We walked right up like blithering idiots, stepping blindly from their blind spots, extended our hidden blades, and were instantaneously obliterated!

We gave the enemy the perfect opportunity to demonstrate a textbook textbook-perfect counter-assassination!

The prison rescue in the video showed a lone warrior tearing through enemy lines, hand-crossbow and hidden blade firing in tandem, moving as fluidly as drifting clouds and flowing water.

Our own rescue...

Pushing through the crowd, letting out a massive roar, swinging wildly left and right, and desynchronizing!

"Boss! This is absolute fraud!"

"Are these supposed to be assassins?!"

Even Irina felt as though she no longer knew how to play an assassin.

To say nothing of a cultivator like Su Tianji.

"Boss! (Husky baring its teeth)" Owner Fang immediately received a message of protest from Su Tianji, "Eat my cannon!"

She had casually attached a screenshot of her Supreme Tianji Cannon being fired, though no one knew which death-defying soul had captured the image.

"This cultivation realm of yours is an absolute scam!" Even Cera the elf chimed in with her own protest.

"I've been trying this Leap of Faith for days now!"

"My face is completely swollen from the falls!"

Owner Fang, wiping away his sweat with a towel, had just come down from the second floor.

He immediately found himself surrounded by a mob of people.

"What is going on today?"

"It is utterly impossible to learn anything like a Leap of Faith in this cultivation realm!" Cera looked as though she were about to be driven to tears; how could such a thing even exist in this world?!

"And what about those blind spots, and that assassination! Who on earth assassinates someone by walking right up to them in broad daylight?" Irina gritted her teeth; every time she tried to look as cool as the video and rushed out to assassinate someone, she was beaten half to death within ten seconds.

She had actually known how to be an assassin before, but after playing this so-called Assassin's Creed for a while, she now felt completely incompetent!

She was questioning the very meaning of her life!

She wished nothing more than to drag the shop owner out and beat him to death.

"Well..." Owner Fang looked utterly speechless. "You are all still noobs and beginners right now, so of course it turns out this way. Who manages high-tier plays right from the start?"

"Noobs?! Beginners?!" Irina was nearly choked with rage. Regardless of whether she was cute or not, as a seasoned, young, and elite assassin, she was actually being called a beginner by this shop owner?!

Do you have any idea who I have assassinated?! Do you know where I come from?!

It was infuriating, and what made it worse was that she could not even reveal her true identity.

Those soldiers each possessed razor-sharp perception and a highly sophisticated counter-attack technique. If she had her cultivation intact it would be fine, but without it, struggling against even one was exhausting, and she had to face a whole horde every single time...

"If you are so capable, why don't you do it yourself!"