Chapter 144: Nameless (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 144: Nameless (3)
Three days passed. Every day, Jin woke up, ate breakfast with the man, wandered the streets, and returned at sunset to share dinner.
The days were so leisurely, he might as well have been at a resort instead of in Samil. Whether he was roaming the streets or staying inside with the man, there hadn't been a single assassination attempt.
There was a specific reason Jin was enjoying such peaceful days.
The place where Jin was staying belonged to an intermediate cadet of the Nameless. Most of the cadets on the streets possessed skills inferior to his. The simple fact that Jin had emerged alive from that house on the first day sent a clear message to the lower-ranking cadets: he was an impossible target.
‘It’s actually a bit unsettling that no one has come after me since the first day.’
Flip.
Jin leaned against a tree and turned a page. It was a book he had borrowed from the Samil library, detailing various poisonous herbs and toxins.
Of course, since it was available to any visitor, the content wasn't professional or deeply technical. However, since Jin lacked extensive knowledge of poisons, he found it quite an interesting read.
Meanwhile, two eyes were watching him from a hidden spot in a tree across the way.
‘Hehe. It looks like the youngest likes books. He’s probably the only one among the siblings who does.’
It was Yona. She was engrossed in watching her youngest brother, whom she hadn't seen in so long.
While it was partly out of sheer joy at seeing him, there was another reason Yona had spent three days simply observing Jin.
She needed to gauge his exact level.
Only by accurately assessing his skills could she send assassins of the appropriate caliber after him one by one. And from what Yona saw, Jin possessed skills that were unbelievable for a sixteen-year-old.
‘Looking closely, the youngest isn't just superior in terms of Aura. His sense for perceiving danger is already at the level of a veteran who has survived several life-and-death crises.’
Even in Runcandel, it was extremely rare to accumulate that much experience by the age of sixteen. In fact, precisely because they were Runcandels, they rarely faced life-or-death crossroads unless they forced themselves into such situations.
‘A typical sixteen-year-old Runcandel might have overcome a brush with death once or twice, but… just what kind of life has the youngest lived?’
While a typical Runcandel of his age might have survived a lethal crisis once or twice, the intuition Yona sensed from Jin was something that couldn't be acquired through such limited experience.
In reality, Jin had navigated far more hardships than other pure-blooded Runcandels had in their youth, so Yona’s assessment was correct.
Yona didn't know it, but if his previous life was included, Jin’s experience was already on par with someone in their mid-forties. Furthermore, before his regression, he had constantly hovered between life and death from the perspective of the weak, making him incomparable to others his age.
‘Anyway, this is interesting! Intermediate or even mid-to-upper level assassins won't be enough… I should start forming teams of upper-level assassins to send after him.’
Hehe. Yona let out a light giggle and vanished from the forest.
‘Hmm?’
Jin instinctively looked toward the spot she had just vacated.
‘I feel like something passed by over there again… This sensation has been persisting for days. Haa. Starting with that clapping on the first day, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown at this rate.’
*
“I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my house now.”
The following evening, the man spoke in a weary voice. It was right after he had served dinner, same as always.
“Am I eating too much, or am I interfering with your life?”
When Jin asked with wide eyes, the man shook his head.
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then why so suddenly…?”
Sigh… The man let out a long breath.
“I’ve given up on assassinating you.”
“Ah…”
“At first, I thought you were just a fearless brat. The annoying type born as the heir to a martial family who grew up only seeing the good side of the world. I was gravely mistaken.”
“I see.”
Jin and the man shared an awkward smile.
“…But for four days—four whole days—I watched for a gap to kill you, and I couldn't find a single opportunity. So, I’ve decided to admit it. I’m not skilled enough to kill you.”
“Well, if that’s the reason, it’s only right that I leave. But why didn't you even try once…?”
“Failing to assassinate a visitor is a major demerit. If you’ve shown your face like I have, you must finish it in one go. But you never gave me an opening, and I’m due for a promotion evaluation soon.”
Should I comfort him?
The thought crossed Jin’s mind, but he simply shrugged.
“These four days were quite meaningful to me. I learned a lot by maintaining constant tension, so I hope you gained something as well.”
At that, the man let out a hearty laugh for the first time.
“Khaha! I didn't expect you to answer like that. I’ve realized a few things myself. My skills had been stagnating lately, but this was a great stimulus… I should say thank you.”
The man extended his hand.
“I’m not trying to assassinate you. I’m asking because I hope you make it out of Samil alive after you leave my house.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jin took the man’s hand.
“I hope the day comes when you become a Nameless assassin and work for me. So, I won't ask for your name. I’ll pay back the free meals I’ve had these past few days with a generous commission then.”
For the first time since taking refuge in the man’s house, Jin finished his meal comfortably.
As soon as he packed his bag and stepped outside, he was met with a dark, moonless night.
‘It wouldn't be a bad idea to find an inn now.’
Even if he stayed at an inn, the small fry wouldn't bother him anymore.
Just as he was about to start walking—
Jin felt something instinctively and glanced down at his feet. He hadn't even taken five steps from the man's front door.
‘Hah. This?’
It was an animal trap. If one stepped in the center, two sharp swinging jaws would snap shut on their ankle.
And there were roughly thirty such traps laid out all the way to the main road.
— When dealing with assassins, you must think of them as magicians. Or swindlers, Young Master.
If he hadn't recalled Garon Altemiro’s advice, Jin might have kept his eyes on the traps for a few seconds longer.
‘Above!’
Shring!
Jin quickly drew Bradamante and shifted his gaze to the roof of the man’s house. He saw someone lying flat, their face peeking over the edge.
It was an upper-level cadet sent by Yona. The cadet, only their face visible, held a long, thin blowgun in their mouth. They were about to fire a poison needle.
The traps were a distraction, meant to draw Jin’s attention downward and create an opening for the attack from the roof.
Phut!
The poison needle was fired before Bradamante was even fully drawn.
Fortunately, Jin managed to block the needle with the half-drawn blade, but he couldn't counterattack.
The cadet immediately pulled on invisible strings connected to all the traps.
Dozens of traps laid before the house flew toward Jin all at once. The moment they touched his body, their poison-coated jaws would snap shut and bite into his flesh.
‘Are you crazy?!’
It was like a pack of crocodiles lunging at him with their maws wide open.
Clang! Tang! Kng!
Jin finished drawing Bradamante and began striking the traps away. While his white blade left afterimages—the best fast-sword technique he could muster—several of the jaws clamped onto the blade itself.
The cadet had aimed for this. Their intention was to wedge the traps onto Jin’s blade if the assassination failed, buying time to escape.
Since the mission had failed the moment the first needle was blocked, they had no intention of killing Jin with the traps.
Therefore, the cadet expected Jin to stop and remove the traps from his sword rather than pursue. They also secretly hoped that Jin’s sword might break under the pressure.
“You bastard!”
But mere traps could do nothing to Bradamante, forged from ancient Ten Thousand-Year Steel. Jin chose to leap onto the roof, holding the sword that now looked more like a club.
He then swung the makeshift blunt instrument with all his might, hurling it at the back of the cadet who had just started running across the rooftops.
Whoosh!
Bradamante cut through the air with a heavy, dull sound. Because of the traps, its edge was too blunt to pierce flesh, but it struck the cadet’s thigh hard, and the sword fell beside them.
Clatter! At the same time, Jin lunged at the momentarily faltering cadet.
‘Got you!’
The two of them tumbled onto the roof in a tangle. Jin immediately mounted the cadet and coated his fist in Aura. Just as he was about to strike their face—
“I admit failure!” the cadet shouted in a desperate voice.
“What?”
“I admit failure, kid. So stop. You’ve won.”
“Do you think you’d stop if you were me? Be grateful you’re a cadet. I won't kill you.”
Crack!
When Jin brought his fist down, the cadet’s nose and cheekbone collapsed in a single blow. Blood splattered, and Jin didn't stop punching until the cadet lost consciousness.
‘It’s a mess the moment I step outside.’
He roughly wiped the blood off his knuckles and retrieved Bradamante. Six traps were clamped onto the blade, making it unusable as a sword until they were removed.
‘I need to get these off… No. It’ll take at least three minutes to remove the traps biting the blade.’
Jin stopped his hand as it reached for the traps on Bradamante and scanned his surroundings.
He was on a roof. While he had nowhere to hide, there were countless spaces for assassins to conceal themselves on the surrounding rooftops.
‘I need to find a safe place first. This guy knew I’d be leaving the house. He laid the traps beforehand.’
If so, he must have heard it from the man who had sheltered Jin. That he would be sending Jin out after dinner, so they should attempt the assassination then.
‘It's less likely the man betrayed me and more likely this was coordinated by someone higher up. For instance, now that my skills have been roughly gauged, someone has given the order to hunt me in earnest.’
No sooner had he thought that—
Whew!
Zip!
This time, arrows flew at Jin from his left and right. Naturally, they were poisoned. Jin barely managed to twist his body to dodge them, but he couldn't pinpoint the shooters’ positions.
More arrows were already flying in. He couldn't tell how many people were shooting; a barrage was pouring in from all directions.
He had to get off the roof. He needed a building wall at his back to avoid attacks from all sides.
‘Damn it, I feel like there’s going to be something else waiting for me if I go down…!’
But he had no choice. To avoid becoming a pincushion, he had to move.
As Jin gritted his teeth and leaped into the street, Yona smiled with satisfaction.
‘Hehe, suffer a little more, youngest. If you’re chased like this for about a week, your Mind's Eye will fully open. It’s already halfway there. If you can't endure it and die… I’ll be very sad, but that’s just how it goes.’
Hum, hum-hum…
Yona hummed a little tune as she watched Jin’s retreating figure. She truly, sincerely, wished for Jin’s growth.