Chapter 18: Battle

'Hmm, I should save these skill points for now.' Charles thought for a moment and glanced at his body status.

[Name: Charles Nightwind

Health Status: Normal (Inflicted by Amber's Curse)

Race: Human

Rank: 1

Class: Level 4 Apprentice Fire Mage (0/506)

Sub-class: Level 3 Trickster (0/337)

Title: Serial Killer (- 20 Percent favourability of Riverdale Citizens)

Health Points: 91/91

Exp: 1006 Exp

Attributes:

Strength- 13

Dexterity- 14

Constitution-12

Wisdom-15

Charisma- 12

SP (Skill Points): 20

AP (Attribute points): 0

Class spells:

Fire Wings

Sub-class skills:

Trickster's hand- 20

Clown- 20

Sixth Sense- 50

Unique skills:

Snatch-51

Conceal- 50

Dark Vision- 44

Intermediate Dagger Arts- 50

Inspect- 40]

'Oh? Amber's Curse, huh? Tsk, that darned Amber Church. You think you can suppress my growth just by placing some wealth curse?' He coldly snorted inside.

'Forget it, it's time for me to check a suitable magic spell model.' He nodded his head and then turned his attention to the spellbook option.

...

[Available Fire Spell models for the Host: Fire Orb (430 Exp), Fire Arrow (250 Exp), Fire Breath (250 Exp), Fire Shield (320 Exp), Flame Body (350 Exp), Flame Jump (540 Exp), Fire Wing (450 Exp), Fire Wisp (240 Exp), Fire Blade (459 Exp), Fire Prism (310 Exp), Fire Mark (300 Exp), etc.,]

...

'I don't need any attack power for now. All I need is some supportive type spells.' He thought for a moment and soon turned his attention to the [Fire Jump] spell.

But he didn't choose to construct the spell model now.

'Once I choose the spell model, the system will automatically start constructing the spell model in my mind for the next few minutes. That will do no good for me in my current situation. Moreover, I don't have any information about how mages create spell models in their minds.' He heaved a heavy sigh and then turned his attention to the citizens.

Most of them had already removed the ropes and started untying the nearby citizens. Although the Shadow Killers already killed some, he didn't think much about them.

'Hmm, the Shadow Guard should be here at any minute.' He muttered inwardly and then looked at his Ghost Dagger.

[Inspect has been cast...]

[Wisdom Check...]

[Inspect Success!]

...

[Ghost Dagger (Observer's Dagger)]

Quality: Uncommon

Effect: Extra Sharpness, Freezing Edges, (Prober's Eye).

The requirement to see the hidden effects: 15 Wisdom

...

'I knew it!... That Russell must have been observing me all this time. Is he probing my real strength? But why is he doing this?... Something feels off...This whole chaos incident looks like an orchestrated mission. Did he have a link to Divine Order organization?' Charles furrowed his brows and soon turned his face serious.

'It seems I entered a lion's den. Thankfully, I have a system to level up faster than normal humans. Still, I need to fool their eyes and hide my strength for a while. I don't think that enemy doesn't have a way to check my real strength... Troublesome... Hmm, there must be some strange skills out there to hide one's real strength. I have to find a way and get it.' He thought to himself and turned his attention to the citizens.

"Get away from here." He said coldly and held the Ghost Dagger in his right hand.

As for the Ring sword, he held it in his other hand and smirked as he saw a black-robed guy was running in his direction.

Upon hearing his unkind words, the citizens nodded their heads in fear and ran in different directions while dragging the severely wounded ones.

In the meantime, Shadow guard had already arrived in front of him and was staring at him in anger.

'It's time to perform a show.' Charles turned his face solemn and sprinted towards the Shadow Guard while roaring,

''Why are you guys killing the poor citizens?''

Charles's action caused the Shadow Guard to be confused for a while. He soon returned to his normal state and muttered inwardly.

'He looks like a naive fool!'

He coldly watched the maddened youth, who was running towards him in anger, and then aimed his sword at Charles's shoulder. After that, he activated [Killer's Thirst] skill and rushed towards the opponent at an unimaginable speed.

A second later, he closed the distance between himself and the target using the [Shadow Step] skill and lunged at Charles.

Upon seeing the upcoming dangerous sword attack, Charles turned his expression serious and blocked the long sword with his dagger.

A loud, clanging sound resounded. A moment later, Charles's body was pushed back, and soon he was blown away.

Simultaneously, his Ghost Dagger was also sent flying in a different direction and landed one hundred meters away from him.

A grim look appeared on Charles's face as he stood up hurriedly and then gripped the Ring Sword in his left hand.

He then turned his gaze towards the other side and started running.

Noticing his target's cowardly act, Shadow Guard curled his lips upward and chased after him.

Charles, on the other hand, smirked inwardly and ran towards the Pine Town's exit.

Although many Shadow Killers appeared in his sight while running, he didn't have any luxury to even look at them.

After a few minutes of running, he managed to found the town's exit and ran towards it.

Meanwhile, Shadow Guard became shocked by his speed and became more resolute about his original mission.

'Lord Black's guess is right! He really is hiding his strength.' A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he locked his eyes on Charles's back.

Like a cat and mouse, both soon moved out of the Pine town and entered the nearby woods.

After confirming that no one was following them, Charles heaved a relieved sigh and soon began to look for a suitable grassland-like area to battle.

'I need to find a way and capture him quickly.' Charles became firm about his decision.

After running deep into the woods for a while, he came across a large grassland-like area and halted his footsteps.

''Are you got tired of running?'' Shadow Guard's mocking words came from behind, causing Charles's lips to twitch. Letting out a heavy sigh, Charles switched the Ring Sword to his right hand and turned around with a mysterious smile on his face.

Puzzlement appeared on the Shadow Guard's face as he saw Charles's mysterious smile.

''You still didn't get it, do you?'' Charles narrowed his eyes as he stared at the dumb Shadow Guard and then cast [Inspect] skill on him.

[Inspect has been cast...]

[Wisdom Check...]

[Inspect Success!]

...

[Name: Ian Adams

Race: Human

Rank: 2 (Uncommon)

Class: Level 3 Shadow Guard

Sub-class: None

Title: Murderer, Killer, Black's Loyal One.

Health Points: 99/111

Exp: 0

Attributes:

Strength- 14

Dexterity- 15

Constitution- 13

Wisdom-14

Charisma- 9

Class skills:

Shadow Steps-70

Shadow Teleport-63

Killer's Thirst- 57

Unique skills:

Basilisk's Eyes- 50

Basic Sword Arts- 38]

...

'He is still stronger but not strong enough to kill me. My only worry about him is his unique skill [Basilisk's Eyes]. Now, I understand why Lady Emilia told us something about familiarity when seeing him.' He nodded inwardly and then moved closer towards the Shadow Guard.

"Quite an arrogant tongue you have, kid," Ian said in a cold tone and then turned into a cloud of smokes.

A moment later, Charles's own shadow moved on its own and formed into the black-robed Ian.

Before Charles could mutter another word, Ian clenched his fist and threw a punch at him with full force.

If it were before, Charles would have dodged it with all his strength. But after he leveled up twice, he became much stronger.

He calmly took a step back and blocked the punch with his hand. A moment later, a look of astonishment appeared on Ian's face.

'He blocked my attack!' He squinted his eyes sharply.

Ian then muttered strange words and stared deeply into his target's eyes.

It was the incantation of [Confusion] magic spell!

Ian learned this spell incantation from a magic book called Starfall Codex book and used it often against his opponents to catch them off-guard.

Meanwhile, Charles felt confusion feeling appeared in his mind. But due to his high wisdom, he managed to resist the confusion and became clear-headed.

After that, he took a step back and avoided his stare.

'I must be wary of his [Basilisk's Eyes] skill.' He thought to himself and then slashed the Ring Sword at Ian's neck.

Upon noticing the incoming attack, Ian Adams grew more alert and blocked the Ring sword.

He then took two steps back and parried against his skillful sword strikes while pondering deeply.

'He managed to resist my [Confusion] spell and also seems to be cautious of looking at my [Basilisk's Eyes]! From his earlier attack, I can tell now that he has the strength of a rank 2 Mystic!' Ian widened his eyes in surprise and soon backed away using [Shadow Steps] skill.

At the same time, Charles gripped the Ring Sword and cast [Conceal] skill on himself.

A look of alarm appeared on Ian's face as he stared cautiously at the surrounding grassland.

'I was wrong. Did this kid lure me here to silence me?' A foreboding thought appeared in his mind. He recalled Charles's naive action and soon realized his situation.

'He is a dangerous one and seems to have enough strength to kill me. I need to warn Mr. Black.' He muttered under his breath and soon took out an eerie black covered book from his void pouch. It had strange letters engraved on the cover and appeared ominous.

Meanwhile, Charles felt an unknown fear upon seeing the eerie black book and cast [Inspect] on it.

[Inspect has been cast...]

[Wisdom Check...]

[Inspection failed!]

...

'It looks dangerous.' Charles frowned as he saw the eerie book and backed away from Ian. At the same time, Ian Adams let out an evil laugh and opened the book.

After that, he looked at the book and started chanting in a weird language.

'Isn't he afraid of assassination?' Charles got shocked by Ian's confidence and soon sprinted towards him at an unimaginable speed. In two seconds, he appeared in front of Ian and thrust his sword towards his heart.

But to his amazement, a thin layer of transparent force field appeared around Ian's body and completely blocked his attack.

Meanwhile, Ian made strange hand signs using his other hand and continued to chant.

Before Charles could back away, he felt the space around his body began to distort and soon pulled him into the void!

'What is this?!' He was baffled for a moment and soon noticed that he was standing 100 meters away from Ian Adams!

'Forceful teleportation?' He was deeply surprised for a moment and soon froze.

Because he saw Ian held the black covered book tightly and started running into the woods, but he could still hear weird rhythmic incantations from Ian, which gave him goosebumps.

'What happened?' Puzzlement appeared on his face.

'Follow the Shadow.' Eve's words once again appeared in his mind.

He hesitated for a moment and soon chose to trust her words. But before he could take a step forward to follow after Ian, he saw dense clouds of grey smokes appeared from the eerie book and soon turned into daggers and swords. In a blink, all those weapons aimed in all directions and flew everywhere at an unimaginable speed!

A grim look appeared on Charles's face as he jumped up and avoided a dagger that appeared in his direction.

'It seems he is planning to retreat.' A cold smile appeared on his face as he landed on the grassy ground.

'If I let him escape now, he might inform about my original fighting capabilities to his employer. I need to capture him and find more information about the situation. I'm still dancing in the dark like a dumb fool.' He grew annoyed inside and soon chased after Ian.

Meanwhile, Ian's face grew solemn as he held the mysterious black book in his hand.

'Damn it; I feel fatigued after reciting a single Rank 3 spell.' He gritted his teeth in anger and soon went towards the eastern direction.

It's where his secret hideout was located. Although he was afraid of the exposure, he didn't put much thought into it.

'My current goal is to escape and inform Lord Black about Target's real strength.' If it were another person, he would have stopped earlier and killed his target using various means. But his owner warned him not to kill the target, which made him frustrated inside.

'I can't kill him. Lord Black had already made many preparations to catch A-O35. I can't mess up the plan.' He grumbled inside and then moved faster.

Charles also pursued him while looking at the interface in contemplation.

'I still have 1006 Exp. Tsk, I actually thought of using this exp to construct spell models, but it looks like I need to delay that for some time. Hmm, once I use the Exp to maximize my Trickster Class, I will be able to overwhelm him and kill him swiftly.' He nodded his head in enlightenment and soon added 843 Exp to the Sub-Class.

...

[337 Exp deduced from the Host!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You became a Level 4 Trickster!]

[1 Free Attribute point rewarded!]

[20 skill points rewarded]

...

[506 Exp deduced from the Host!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You became a Level 5 Trickster!]

[1 Free Attribute point rewarded!]

[20 skill points rewarded]

...

'I have two free attribute points and 60 skill points in total.' He checked the interface while avoiding the incoming [Acid Arrow] spell attack and then added one attribute point to Dexterity. After that, he thought for a moment and added the remaining attribute point to Strength.

In a blink, he noticed the changes happening in his body and grinned inwardly.

If not for the wooden branches and vines obstructing his path, he would have already caught up with Ian Adams.

'Ian appears to have some plan... He is moving in a particular direction.' He guessed.

After pondering for a moment, Charles didn't dare to delay any longer and added 30 skill points to his [Trickster's Hand] skill.

A heartbeat later, a massive amount of information about hand tricks appeared in his mind.