Chapter 59: Assassin!

Chapter 59 Assassin!

A windfall? Livi didn’t believe in such luck.

He shook his head and said, “No, I’m doing well enough in the mage’s tower.”

Phaesia urged him, “Learning a zero-tier spell costs at least a hundred gold coins; a first-tier spell, no less than three hundred. Advancing from an apprentice to a full-fledged mage requires over a thousand gold—more than even noble families can easily afford. How could someone like you, with no backing, bear such expense?”

“If your progress stalls for lack of coin, wasting your magical talent… that would be a true pity!”

“Joining the Mage Instruction Corps grants you access to the lord’s resources without demanding anything in return. Isn’t that better?”

Livi sat down and replied, “No, thank you.”

Seeing his cold refusal, Phaesia fell silent and turned away.

Dreis, overhearing, stirred slightly—temptation flickered in his eyes.

Rota opened his eyes, glanced at Livi, and smiled. “There are no free feasts falling from the sky. To enjoy those benefits, you’d first have to sign a ten-year indenture contract with the lord’s manor—and even then, there’s no guarantee you’d receive them.”

Livi looked at Rota. “Thank you, Master Rota, for the warning.”

Hearing this, Dreis quickly extinguished his own quiet longing.

Guard mages only needed to appear when battle broke out; otherwise, no one cared what they did.

At noon, soldiers brought meals to Livi and the others.

In the morning, Livi meditated and trained. In the afternoon, he practiced spells.

When his mental energy was spent, he practiced breathing techniques to strengthen his body.

The day passed quietly, without incident.

At dusk, Livi and the others left the walls—the night watch wasn’t their duty.

Rota glanced at Livi and said, “Never exhaust your mental energy while training in dangerous zones. If something sudden happens, without energy, you won’t even be able to cast a spell.”

Livi thanked him earnestly, “Thank you, Master Rota, for the reminder!”

Without Rota’s warning, he might not have realized this until after facing danger firsthand.

After dinner, back in his room,

Livi took out his magic insignia and glanced at it—his contribution had increased by one point.

Just idling through the day had earned him another point.

Not bad.

He rested a while, recovering most of his mental strength.

Late into the night, when most were fast asleep, Livi activated “Great Dreamwandering Art” and slipped into the dream realm.

First, he cloaked himself in invisibility, a fireball cradled in his palm, before pushing open the door—afraid of being ambushed by nightmares lying in wait.

Outside, the corridor stood empty.

He extinguished the fireball and stepped forward.

The sky beyond was dim. The only light in the city came from burning houses.

Desolation, decay, chaos—these were the themes of this nightmare.

Livi walked the streets. Both humans and nightmares passed by, oblivious to his hidden form.

Many ordinary people in Hansha City had been drawn into the nightmare, slaughtered mercilessly by nightmares.

For most, whatever happened in dreams was just a dream—upon waking, they’d forget nearly all of it.

Nothing mattered within the dream.

Livi wandered the shadowed city, searching for a suitable target.

Occasionally, he struck—ambushing isolated nightmares, killing in one blow, then vanishing swiftly.

Tap tap tap!

Livi halted. He saw a group of unusual nightmares.

These nightmares wore human forms!

Nightmare soldiers wreathed in gray mist sprinted toward a building.

They burst inside. A loud crash—a window shattered, and a dark figure shot out.

Several wisps of mist flew from the house, chasing the fleeing shadow, then reformed into human soldiers.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Fierce combat erupted instantly.

Several nightmare soldiers surrounded a single figure—but couldn’t break through.

Livi narrowed his eyes. The dark figure’s strength was at least high first-tier, perhaps even peak level.

The attacking nightmares were all first-tier beings.

The shadow couldn’t be second-tier—otherwise, they wouldn’t need to flee.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Cold flashes of light arced through the air. Neck arteries severed, the nightmare soldiers collapsed.

Their fallen heads dissolved into gray mist, flowed back into their bodies, reformed, then rose again to fight.

The dark figure ignored their resurrection, never questioning how common soldiers could possess the power of first-tier adepts.

In dreams, anomalies were simply overlooked.

Surrounded by these undying foes, the shadow gradually lost agility.

Now Livi saw her clearly.

A young assassin girl with cat ears.

“A demi-beast?” Livi was surprised.

“Fleeing because she fears discovery by humans—hunted by nightmares that have taken soldier forms.”

“What conspiracy does this demi-beast assassin harbor within Hansha City?”

He wondered.

He hadn’t expected to uncover a hidden demi-beast assassin within the dream itself.

More than the glory of capturing her, Livi cared whether she posed a threat to his safety.

What if the assassin was here to kill mages?

How could one guard against thieves forever?

Livi moved toward the battlefield.

He intended to find answers—within the demi-beast assassin’s memories.

Lilia stared at the endless, unkillable human soldiers around her.

Something felt wrong.

Though she had killed these humans several times already, the number of enemies around her showed no sign of dwindling.

Riiip!

Lilya was wounded, her speed faltering.

Several nightmare soldiers attacked in unison, sealing off every possible escape route.

She twisted desperately, pushing her body’s flexibility to its limits.

Nearly contorting herself into a knot, she barely evaded three long spears.

Yet in the end, a spear pierced through her left shoulder, and her dagger clattered to the ground.

"Dead. I'm done for!"

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw a flame rapidly expanding.

"What is that?"

Her thoughts ceased. Her form shattered within the blaze, and the four nightmares beside her were consumed by fire.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chain Fireball Spell!

Four fireballs shot forth, each striking exposed nightmare cores.

Levi retrieved Lilya's memory fragments and fled before more nightmares arrived.

Back in his room, he began absorbing the cat-eared assassin girl’s memories.

"Hmm? Did I misunderstand her?"

A flicker passed across Levi’s expression.

In the memories, Lilya was a native of Hansha City, concealing her half-beast heritage while working within the Assassin Guild.

Half-beasts were despised in human society.

Ever since childhood, scorned by humans, she’d stumbled into assassination, hiding her true self to start anew—a pitiful girl haunted by fear of exposure now emerged in Levi’s mind.

He tapped the table, sensing something amiss.

"There’s more."

Delving deeper, Levi noticed something strange—Lilya’s memories contained no recollection of combat at all.

How could an assassin have no memories of fighting? Impossible.

His gaze fell upon the new skill he had acquired, and the situation suddenly felt far more complicated.

"Why would an assassin know magic?"

[Shadow Tendril (First-tier Beginner)] 213/1000

When he reached the final scene of the memories, Levi stiffened.

Several figures stood within the shadows, only their feet visible, their forms indistinct.

"An assassination..."

(End of Chapter)