He was satisfied with his performance; if he showed weak battle style now and faced stronger beasts later, he would have to up the game, and that could raise some eyes.
Already showing almost his best, he could pass it on his hard training in the punishment, since they assumed he was returning from the fortress.
Ash checked his System screen, which was full of kill announcements. He ignored it and went for his rewards.
Profession: Modern Assassin
[ Level: 5 ]
[ 12/200 Exp ]
[ AGILITY: 5 (+3) | ENDURANCE: 2 | STRENGTH: 1 (+5) | LUCK: 1 ]
[ MP: 50/60 (Recovery rate: 1 per 450 seconds) ]
[ Stat Points: 6 ]
[Level 5 Rewards: Choose a Talent]
1. Shadow Veil
Effect: Enter stealth mode. First attack out of stealth deals double damage if undetected.
Cost: 2 MP/Second
2. Heartseeker
Effect: When targeting a vital point (heart, head, throat), the strike ignores 50% of enemy defense.
3. Phantom reflex
Effect: Instinctive dodging ability. Once every 30 seconds, automatically evade a fatal hit.
Cost: 50 MP.
Ash's eyes squinted. If he remembered correctly, he got to choose a skill at level 3, and now there was another option, but it said talent instead of skill.
He wanted to find any pattern, but he hadn't paid much attention the previous time, so he could only guess.
He set aside those trivial matters and focused on his options.
Shadow Veil was such a perfect skill or talent for an assassin like him. If he attacked sneakily without getting detected, then his damage would double. It could make him a one-shot god. He liked this aspect.
While Heartseeker was similar, it helped cut through armor and half of the endurance. This did lessen the chances of an opponent surviving. But he was more confident in his attack, so it was inferior to Shadow Veil.
Last but not the least, Phantom Reflexes was quite an amusing talent. It was almost a guaranteed ticket that he would survive any first attack that could practically be dodged.
He was in dilemma, but then he realized: he would instinctively dodge the attack, so this talent was limited by his stats. It would only help his body work at its hundred percent efficiency to dodge the attack.
He made his decision.
[ Shadow Veil has been acquired ]
Effect: Enter stealth mode. First attack out of stealth deals double damage if undetected.
Cost: 2 MP/Second
This all happened in a matter of seconds, and Ash was done with his advancements. Now he looked towards the beasts' corpses, where two hunters had already dug out beast crystals after seeing Ash out of focus.
Seeing his lost eye, they could tell he was looking at the screen, though they couldn't see others' system.
"Here's your beast cores." A hunter handed seven cores to Ash, which Ash put in the bag hanging by the horse's side.
"I would like to fight you. You are so awesome." Arlan patted Ash on his shoulder, which made Ash scream in pain.
"Oh… sorry… sorry, I forgot you weren't as powerful. But it's because of you." Arlan laughed.
'How am I the reason for your Alzheimer's?' Ash wanted to say, but he kept his mouth closed.
"Who could think a newbie could fight this efficiently? Don't you think, Durnok?" There was an underlying question in his tone.
"Why do I feel you are inclined to serve in the fortress?" Durnok and Arlan chuckled.
Ash put the D-rank blade in its sheath and tied it to his waist.
Arlan wanted to say something but then bit his tongue. He had lost the bet fair and square; there was no reason to cry now.
The cohort moved ahead till the sun dropped. Another stay was prepared. It was necessary for hunters to rest more than them horses needed the rest.
It was midnight, and almost all the hunters were asleep, leaving two hunters on guard.
The region was surrounded by large mountains, but in the immediate distance it was a vast plain of grasslands.
Ash activated his new talent.
[ Shadow Veil ]
Ash felt his aura suppressing—perhaps his very existence was suppressed. If someone didn't see him with naked eyes, then detecting him had become infinitely harder.
Ash walked towards the guards to see if they got surprised or not, but he had wasted too much time thinking, and his MP was going down at a rapid speed.
2 MP/second meant he could keep Shadow Veil active for only 30 seconds, and after that he wouldn't be able to use anything related to mana.
He wanted to be prepared for any danger so he stopped using shadow veil.
He truly wanted to test double damage with his bullet. But he definitely couldn't kill these hunters for no reason.
He was facing a problem related to his gun: how could he use it without attracting eyes? And he didn't think this gun would be useful against strong enemies like a commander. He was suspicious whether a bullet would even pierce the skin.
He knew the bullets were not normal but made of mana despite that he wasn't confident.
Ash was sure, though, that if he received the gun, he would also get upgrades—just like the Mana Storage magazine that gave him a way to store some bullets.
He was craving another beast attack so he could use the skill. But nothing happened till morning, which left Ash disappointed.
The group moved ahead, the topography changing every few distances.
They were entering a valley covered in mist. The visibility was quite low, they could only see clearly for some meter after that it was all hazy and covered in ambiguity.
"We are fucked. Get ready for battle." As Durnok said that, an arrow struck Arlan's back where the shield was.
The arrow fell down without leaving a scratch.
"Stay behind me, they are above level ten." Ash looked to the side; Durnok had already left may be to save merchant.
As Arlan took the shield in his hands, a transparent sphere engulfed both of them.
"It's not an archer. He is just using a bow."
[Quest: Use the gun to kill bandits]
[Rewards: Armory Store unlock]
Seeing it, Ash's eyes sparkled with joy. He was looking forward to this fight, His hands tightened on the gun at his waist.
maybe it was his only chance. He wouldn't miss it. But Arlan standing in front of him was the problem. He couldn't reveal the gun in front of him. Should he kill him?
There was no one close by, and the other hunters couldn't see because of the fog. He could already hear blades clashing. No one would even hear a suppressed bullet shot.