CH22: Birth of An Assassin
***
CH22: Birth of An Assassin
[BLESSINGS.]
[Blessing of Lord Loki.]
-User Interface
-Vault of Knowledge.
-Mask of Loki
-Joker's Trump Card.
*
[User Interface]
Type: System-type Blessing
Remark: Created by the Lord of Mischief for the subject of his most recent masterpiece.
Effect 1: Quantifies the Host's attributes.
Effect 2: Manages the Host's progress.
-
[Vault of Knowledge]
Type: Interface add-on Blessing.
Remark: A store containing the knowledge made available to the host... for a price.
Effect 1: Grants the Host Mischief Points.
Effect 2: Allows Host to purchase knowledge acquired by Host from previous life and from memories of targets killed by Host (restrictions apply).
[Notice: Due to expansion of Blessings, Lord Loki has restricted the earning of Mischief Points. Mischief Points can now only be earned after Tier Promotion Quest.]
[Notice: Due to lack of Mischief Points, the Vault will be locked until Host promotes to Tier II Assassin.]
-
My body shivered when I saw this. This was a ground-breaking blessing. I was over the moon at the likely use of this blessing.
Even the fact that it wasn't opened to me now wasn't a problem. It would be opened in the future anyways.
-
[Mask of Loki]
Type: Artefact-type Blessing.
Remark: A mask crafted from the bark of Yggdrasil, the world tree in the Spirit realm. It is one of Lord Loki's most cherished artefacts.
Effect: The masks grants the wearer the ability to change their face and physique to a pre-set look.
Number of Pre-sets: 1
-
I looked at the mask. It was the same white smiley face mask Loki was wearing when he first appeared to me.
The mask would be indispensable to me as an assassin, even with the condition of use.
-
[Joker's Trump Card]
Type: Power card-type Blessing.
Remark: Lord Loki is known amongst the Spirit as a master escape artist. This Power card is the quintessence of his escape philosophy.
Effect: Allows Host to 'escape' to a predetermined location. (Restrictions and Conditions apply.)
-
I thought I couldn't be happier. But I was wrong. This Blessing sent me over the moon.
My life is that much safer.
All that remains was to understand the condition and restrictions for its use.
My eyes turned to the other Blessings on the list.
**
[Blessing of Lady Sigyn.]
-Bind of Love
*
[Bind of Love]
Type: Spirit-type Blessing.
Remark: Lady Sigyn is touched by the event of Host's past life. The Lady hopes the Host won't live a lonely second life and will find a romantic partner... or more.
Effect 1: Host is immune to Charm abilities of individuals other than lover(s)
Effect 2: Protect and ensures the loyalty of Host's mutual love interest.
Effect 3: Host's Charm and Charisma increase by 20 for each of Host's partners.
(Note: This attribute can not increase beyond 100.)
(Note: Host's Charm is 40/50.)
(Note: 50 is natural limit for humans.)
Effect 3: Host may share abilities of Partner. (Depends on synergy with Partner.)
Effect 4: Host is responsible for protecting his Partner(s).
(a) Host loses 20% of ALL attributes temporarily if he intentionally harms his partner(s) in any way. Effect remains until forgiven by partner(s).
(b)Host loses 20 Charm and 20% of ALL attributes if partner dies due to Host's incompetence.
-
This blessing had me speechless.
I guess it's encouraging me to have romantic partners so I don't die alone like in my previous life.
However, it seems like a double-edge sword.
On one hand, it's advantageous to me to have more partners. On the other hand, I'll be in big trouble if something happens to my partners.
Best bet is to be very picky about who becomes my love interest. I can't have a burden around.
Sighs... love is troublesome.
**
[Blessing of Queen Hel.]
-The Queen's Favour.
*
[The Queen's Favour]
Type: Spirit-type Blessing
Remark: A growth empowerment blessing created by the Queen to aid the subject who walks the path of death. The Queen has decreed that his powers shall continue to grow as long as he abide by her rules and refrains from her dominion.
Effect: increases the attributes of Host as long as some conditions are met during actions on chosen Life Path. (Strict conditions apply.)
-
After reading this, I would've sworn my fealty to Queen Hel... if only she wasn't the ruler of Hell. I wondered what the conditions on the blessing were, but it looked like I would have to figure it out later.
I scrolled down the list.
**
[Blessing of Lord Fenrir.]
-Blessing Locked.
Unlock requirements: Reach Tier II Assassin.
**
[Blessing of Lord Jormungandr.]
-Blessing Locked.
Unlock requirements: Reach Tier II Assassin.
**
[Blessing of Sleipnir.]
-Blessing Locked.
Unlock requirements: Reach Tier II Assassin.
-
After all the goodies I just got, I wasn't unhappy about not having access to these blessings. I had too many toys than I could play with at this point.
I'll take my time investigating these blessings before looking for more.
-
I closed the window and I took one more look at my Status.
{Status.}
[Leo Xander.]
Race: Prime Human
Title: World Challenger
Alias: Cub of Lionheart
Age: 15
Life Path (Primary): Assassin.
Tier: Tier I (Newbie Assassin)
Promotion Exp: 0/2500
---
[Attributes-]
(Physical)
Physique: 31
Dexterity: 27
Mind: 29
[Notice: Average Limit for Homo sapiens is 10 in all parameters.]
-
(Blessing)
Love Partners: 0
Charm: 40/50
Mischief Points: -
---
[Blessings]
(Active)
-Mask of Loki (Unequipped.)
-Joker's Trump Card (Unassigned).
-Vault of Knowledge (Locked).
(Passive)
-Bind of Love
-The Queen's Favour.
*
I closed the interface window, before falling into thought.
I made plans for the immediate future which included training Zora and joining the House of Death as an assassin.
I got off the bed and did some stretches to ease my stiff body.
I just about finished when a maid knocked on the door.
She informed me that Rowland asked that I join him in the study when I woke up. That's when I realised it was already noon.
I went to meet Rowland in his study.
"That was quite the show you put on, Leo."
I shrugged.
"What are your plans for the future?"
"The usual. Train and improve myself. Train your daughter and her future team to be competent hunters who won't disgrace my name."
"Is that all? What about a profession?"
"Well, I'm thinking of studying Herbology. I think I might find something that can help my condition there."
"That's a good idea. In that case, there's something that might interest you."
"What?"
"Hunter's academy. They not only teach basic Hunter knowledge, there're also teachers for many other life professions. It's a good environment to learn about your chosen field."
"A school? No thanks. I can learn everything I need from a library."
"Don't be quick to disregard it. The academy belongs to the Union, so it's library is one of the best in Landrose and it's completely open to students there. Plus, it's a good place to build connections. Professions like Herbology have circles. Access to herbs, research, equipment, among other things become easier when you're part of a circle. The academy is one of the easiest ways to join a circle."
I took a moment to think about it.
Although it would be an inconvenience to go to the academy, I can't deny the social importance it might have.
"Fine. I'll go."
"Excellent. The new section starts in four months. I've already signed you and Zora up."
"You signed me up before asking?"
"You're a smart kid. I was sure you'd make the right decision."
I shook my head and didn't pursue the matter.
-
There was another reason why I agreed to go to the academy. It will provide a good cover for me joining the House of Death.
-
Three months of intensive training passed.
Zora was now a shadow of her former self. The shy, weak girl was now gone, replaced by a confident, but still good mannered young lady.
She was still slightly quiet as usual but now, no one overlooked her because of it. She had a presence unique to her about her now.
Her situation made me recall an argument of a martial master in my previous life.
He asked, which is virtuous, the Lion or the Rabbit?
Most of his students said the Rabbit, because it doesn't harm anyone.
The martial master laughed. He said a Rabbit was the wrong answer.
Why?
Because a rabbit doesn't harm anyone because it is virtuous. No, the reason the rabbit doesn't harm anyone is because it is weak and CAN'T harm anyone.
Instead, it is the lion that is virtuous. It is the king of the savannah. There is no animal it cannot kill, however, it only focuses on prey to sustain itself.
A interesting analogy I know, but it's a fact of life.
A virtuous person is someone who doesn't harm others. However, a person must be capable of harming others before they can be virtuous, because it is the act of being capable of harming but not doing so that makes a person virtuous.
This is why a virtuous person is respected.
Another example.
A warrior and an ordinary civilian who are both polite. Who would be respected between the two?
It's obviously the warrior, because he is only being virtuous by being polite. On the other hand, the civilian has to be polite because he is weak.
Zora was still the same quiet girl she always was but people no longer looked her the same way. They now saw her silence as an act of virtue, as opposed to an act of the weak it was before.
Before, she was quiet because she was shy and weak, so had no right to speak. Her silence was overlooked because she was weak.
Now, she had a presence about her of someone who had the right to speak, but chose not to. Her silence now couldn't be overlook because of her virtue.
This is the reality of the world both in my previous world and in this one. Perhaps more so in this one.
It is for this reason that I knew I had to get stronger.
I mustn't allow my good acts to be seen as weakness, but rather a virtue.
For example, in the three weeks I trained Zora, the rumours had spread that I turned down Rowland's offer to betroth Zora to me.
Some people who didn't know my strength believe I was wise to do so because they believed me weak.
However, those who saw me fight Jarrett, knew I was the one responsible for Zora's change and thus believed me strong, considered my action as an act of virtue because I didn't want to tie Zora down before she experienced her youth.
This is the reality of the world.
And the motivation that pushed me to continue getting strong.
For me now, the way to get stronger was to become an Assassin.
And for that, I officially registered as an Assassin under the umbrella of the House of Death.
Thus, the agent of the House of Death known as Zero was quietly born within the borders of Landrose city, the capital of Bayveth.
My legend which made me infamous all over the human domain starts from this day.
(To be continued...)