The four assassins fixed their eyes on Imina, whose calm and indifferent gaze met theirs. Behind them, the figure of Minori stood silently, draped in his black robe, his face hidden beneath the hood.
The atmosphere turned cold.
Bang! Bang!
All four assassins moved simultaneously—two lunged toward Imina while the other two veered for Minori.
"You must be joking," one of them sneered."You treat us like prey. Who do you think we are?"
The two charging Minori moved with fluid grace, their steps soft and synchronized. As one leapt forward, his movements were mirrored in a seamless rhythm with the other, making them appear almost like a single, deadly shadow.
Swish!
The leading assassin suddenly jumped into the air. A glint of silver flickered at his cuff—a miniature crossbow snapped forward.
Tunk! The faint, high-pitched sound of the projectile release echoed almost imperceptibly through the night as a silver bolt shot toward Minori.
And then, the assassin behind him vanished.
Minori's calm voice broke the silence.
"This isn't stealth. It's theater."
He shifted with a sharp tap of his foot. The bolt narrowly missed as he vanished from its path. With fluid motion, he turned and drove his left foot into a patch of shadow beside him.
"Agh!"
A broken scream tore through the darkness as the hidden assassin stumbled out of invisibility. Blood gushed from his mouth; his ribs collapsed inward from the impact.
"This kind of ambush might work on drunks in an alley, not on me." Minori lowered his foot and turned calmly to the airborne assassin who had just realized what happened.
The assassin's eyes widened—
"Agh!""No—!"
Two screams from the other direction cut through the night. Imina had already dispatched her attackers. Their corpses collapsed beside her feet.
"Want to keep one alive?" Imina's voice, cold and sharp, rang out from across the bloodstained alley.
The last assassin trembled uncontrollably.
Gulp.
Sweat poured down his face. Despite his clear terror, he forced out a trembling voice.
"You—You don't know who you're messing with!" he barked, desperately. "Come with me now, and maybe—maybe you can live! Otherwise, you'll all die here—no one will save—"
Thwip!
A short arrow from Minori's bow pierced the man's thigh.
"Agh!"
"Nonsense," Imina growled, storming forward. She kicked him over with a thud, then stomped hard on the wound with the sole of her boot.
His scream cracked through the silence, but even with the commotion, no one nearby stirred. The area was locked in a magical stillness.
"Tell me where you're stationed," Minori said calmly, twirling a short black staff before putting it away.
The "Silencer" staff had worked perfectly. Its enchantment had been recently refilled by a local spellcaster. In addition to this staff, Minori now carried two more—one imbued with "Poison Cure," the other with "Disease Cure." Basic magic, but valuable. The three short staves and their refills had cost him 600 gold coins. He still had around 9,000.
A groan followed as Imina dragged the now-unconscious assassin over.
"I interrogated him," she said flatly. "He's one of the trained killers from the Six Arms—under the Eight Fingers' Security Department."
"Their base is a manor outside the capital."
Minori raised an eyebrow.
"Six Arms? I figured they were slave traders, but this… This is even better. A real catch."
Imina hesitated. "Are you really planning to move against them? This is bigger than you think."
She had heard the rumors since arriving in the Kingdom. The Eight Fingers were more than a criminal syndicate—they were deeply entwined with the Kingdom's nobility.
"Let me handle it," Minori said with a faint smile, lifting the unconscious body effortlessly. "There may be an interesting surprise tomorrow."
And with that, his figure melted into the shadows.
Imina watched the empty alley, biting her lip.
Despite Leinas's confidence in him, something about this felt too risky. Even if Minori was stronger than he let on, storming a major stronghold alone was reckless.
Brambles Manor.
It was one of the larger estates outside the capital, famed for its deep crimson wine—Blood Red. Each bottle fetched at least 15 silver coins, and premium vintages could reach dozens of gold. Most commoners could only dream of tasting it.
But behind the elegant façade, the manor was in fact the headquarters of the Security Department of Eight Fingers. The term Blood Red had a far more sinister meaning.
On a hill overlooking the manor, Minori stood atop a jagged stone. The warm glow of the estate's chandeliers flickered in the distance.
"As a security branch, your defense is laughable. Let this be my greeting."
With a motion of his hand, figures stirred behind him—shambling shapes cloaked in the night.
Minori had resurrected the assassins and other corpses he had slain on his way here using Undead Control. Now they advanced silently toward the brightly lit mansion.
The Eight Fingers would never expect an enemy to strike their home base. Especially not the Security Department—the most dangerous of their eight branches. But their overconfidence had become their weakness.
Minori's true goal for coming to the capital wasn't just reconnaissance. There were two rare high-level professions he aimed to find.
One: the class of Ninja, believed to be held by the [Blue Rose] sisters.
The other: Shaman Mentor, a rare profession wielded by Zero, the chief of the Security Department, known as the Fighting Ghost.
Two names had left deep impressions on Minori from his memories of YGGDRASIL's lore and the anime.
Brain the Nail Clipper—a man with innate talent that allowed him to punch far above his level.
And Zero the Ghost Fighter—whose power came from sheer professional mastery.
Now, within the manor, the scent of wine wafted through velvet-draped halls.
A massive chandelier glowed above a long table laden with delicacies and gilded silverware. Yet only six people sat at the banquet.
Malmvist, known as Thousand Kills
Davernoch, the Immortal King
Succulent, the Phantom Demon
Edstrom, Blood Moon Scimitar
Peshurian, Space Slash
And Zero, the Fighting Ghost
These six—the Six Arms—were the elite of the Security Department. Each of them rivaled an adamantite-ranked adventurer in strength.