"Red Rebels?" Victor paused when he heard the name, then thought and said, "Is that the group that opposes the Federation?"
Kane nodded and spoke in a low voice. "I got some intel a while ago. We found a Red Rebels stronghold."
"So what?" Victor asked calmly.
The rebels were strong on average, and Victor didn't want to get mixed up in it if he could help it.
"There are many rebels. The commander told me not to launch a big assault, or we'll lose a lot of brothers."
He paused, then said with meaning, "So I planned a decapitation strike—take out their top leader and break them from within."
"But I'm just a Primary Knight." Victor gave Kane an apologetic look; his refusal was already clear.
He did want to help humanity rise again, but that didn't mean he was a fool.
The Red Rebels' leaders were mostly Mid-tier Awakeners. Sending him to cut them down? That was insane.
"Honestly, I didn't think of you at first." Kane gave a small cough, a bit embarrassed. "Most people in our Knights' Order only have Level 3 or Level 4 teleport skills."
He paused, a little helpless. "With Level 3–4 teleport skills, it's almost impossible not to be found by the Red Rebels. So only you..."
Kane stopped there. Victor wasn't stupid; he knew what he meant.
Only Victor had the Level 5 teleport skill "Phantom Trail." Sending him to slip into the Red Rebels and kill their leader would be the best option.
"Sorry, Mr. Kane. I can't bet my life," Victor refused cleanly.
The Red Rebels weren't like the beasts in the protected zone; those had already been screened by enforcers.
That place was full of lunatics who liked to go down with you.
Victor was about to take the Awakener exam. He didn't want any extra trouble.
"Don't worry, Victor. I won't make you work for nothing," Kane said in a deep voice.
"Oh? What's the reward?" Victor perked up at once.
If Kane's offer was good, maybe he could take the risk.
"The Holy Knights' Order vault. You can pick any three items to take," Kane said, holding up three fingers, a pained look on his face.
"Five items!" Victor said, firm as a nail.
"Four. That's the bottom line," Kane lowered his voice, looking strained.
"Alright, deal." Victor nodded, satisfied with the result.
The Holy Knights' Order fought on many fronts, and their vault held plenty of good stuff.
It was said that every Knight who joined the Knights' Order could pick one item from the vault.
After that, each time their rank rose by Level 1, they could pick one more item.
If word got out that Victor was taking four items, the other Knights would die of envy.
"You really don't seem like a student who just awakened." Kane gave Victor a meaningful look.
"Mr. Kane, I have one more question." Victor voiced his curiosity. "I can only sneak into the Red Rebels. Why do you believe I can kill their leader?"
Kane smiled, took a scroll from his coat, and said, "I came prepared. This is a good one."
Victor took the scroll and looked shocked.
[Surekill Scroll: Stores a High-tier Awakener's full-power strike; one use.]
"Mr. Kane, where did you get this?" Victor stroked the scroll, puzzled.
"You know the Federation's top brass hate the Red Rebels too." Kane shrugged, casual.
"Alright, I'll take it." Victor slipped the scroll into his storage ring, feeling more confident.
His plan had been to use Holy Light Dragonbane Slash and see if he could kill the Red Rebels leader in one blow.
But with the surekill scroll Kane gave him, things should be much easier.
"This is the file on that rebel leader. Read it, and keep it secret." Kane carefully handed Victor a manila envelope and warned him.
"Got it." Victor put the envelope away and nodded solemnly.
"Come to the Knights' Order training camp the morning after tomorrow. I'll be waiting," Kane said, then turned and left.
After Kane left, Victor went back to the banquet hall.
The banquet was almost over by then. As he was about to leave, he ran into someone he knew.
"Mr. Richard?" Victor called when he saw the man in a suit walking over.
"Mr. Victor, I'm here to fulfill our deal." Richard pulled Victor aside and spoke in a low voice.
"Where's Erica?" Victor asked.
"Uh... City Lord Chris grounded her. If nothing unexpected happens, you probably won't see her for a while," Richard said awkwardly.
"Alright." Victor nodded. He was already mentally prepared.
Erica had caused big trouble twice in a row. Even someone as patient as City Lord Chris would get angry.
"This is the Clear Sky Stone she asked me to bring you. And the armor." Richard handed Victor a golden storage ring, smiling.
"Armor?" Victor was a bit confused.
"Miss Erica means the Clear Sky Stone is your reward for escorting her. As for the armor, she's returning it to you," Richard explained.
"I don't want this armor. Help me put it up for sale," Victor said without hesitation.
That armor was given to him by the Dark Sorcerer Ryan. Victor didn't dare wear it.
Richard showed a small smile and pointed at the storage ring. "You should take a closer look."
Victor sent his mind into the ring, and when he saw what was inside, he froze.
There were two items: one was a crystal-clear stone—the Clear Sky Stone he'd been longing for.
The other was a suit of armor glowing blue.
[Name: Azure Tide Armor.]
[Quality: Diamond]
[Level: 25]
[Stats: Gain 250 defense; Agility +10]
[Special Effect: The armor clings to the body like water and can be hidden at any time. If damaged, just find water to replenish it.]
"Level 25? Diamond Armor?" Victor stared blankly at the armor.
After a while, he asked Richard, "Mr. Richard, this armor... did you make a mistake?"
Richard shook his head and said seriously, "Mr. Victor, this is the armor that Miss Erica gave us. We just returned it to you as it is."
"Okay," Victor understood Erica's intention, so he just accepted it.
After all, his next task was to assassinate the leader of the Red Rebels. A high-quality armor would also help keep him safe.
After returning home, Victor's parents asked about his condition with concern.
Victor didn't want to worry them, so he made up an excuse and got by.
After returning to his room, Victor started thinking about how to improve his strength.
Although he had the ultimate move scroll Kane gave him, the situation in the assassination task could change. Victor still needed to prepare in advance.
Right now, he still had a skill book for a specific type and a random level 15 weapon summoning book.
Victor first used the level 15 weapon summoning book. What came out was a crossbow.
Crossbows were a rare type of weapon. Though not very useful in daily life, they could be helpful for Victor's upcoming assassination.
[Name: Silent Hunter]
[Quality: Golden]
[Level: Level 15]
[Attribute: Shoots crossbow arrows, dealing 100 to 1000 points of damage that varies depending on the distance and the part hit.]
[Special Effect: Equipped with Silent String, which reduces the sound made when shooting as much as possible.]
"With the crossbow, the next skill should be a shooting skill," Victor thought. He wanted to use the crossbow as much as possible, so he chose to awaken a shooting skill.
[Consumed one skill book of the specified type, gained the skill "Critical Hit".]
[Skill: Critical Hit]
[Type: Passive Skill]
[Characteristics: Using it many times will lower accuracy.]
[Upgrade Requirement: Spend 100 skill points.]
[Effect: Greatly increases the accuracy of the shooter.]
"Let me upgrade it first," Victor immediately chose to spend skill points to upgrade the skill. It finally became a Level 3 skill.
[Skill: Phantom Trajectory (Level 3)]
[Type: Passive Skill]
[Characteristics: Using it many times will lower accuracy.]
[Upgrade Requirement: Spend 10,000 skill points]
[Effect: Corrects the deviation of flying weapons, making them accurately hit the enemy's vital points!]