Dagger In Crowd (Part 3)

(...)

"Well, according to my promise written on paper. We'll practice after you find me, Shion." I immediately took out the kitchen knife that was under my sleeve. Seeing the kitchen knife that came out from behind my long arm, Shion responded by taking out the short sword that I gave her.

My mind was busy concocting smokescreens, making me forget my main goal of blending into society. I lost count of my timing in blending in and creating a conflict of arms combat with Shion. This small match created a unique noise and spectacle in the morning, Shion lunged at my body with fast attacks like before.

The short sword I gave has changed its attack pattern. The kitchen knife I was using always touched the tip of the short sword and produced sparks that spread through the air. Her fast movements now moved even faster and used up the stamina stored in Shion's body. The fast movement slowly slowed down and resulted in a boring little fight. The block from the kitchen knife I used turned to my fist and hit her head horizontally.

*Bonk!!

"Haaauuu!!" Shion shouted when my fist hit her head.

"You were too careless in using all your stamina to increase the attack speed," I commented.

"For the time being, train your stamina to match your attack speed!" I ordered.

Shion listened to my orders and touched her head which was hit by my fist. Seeing her expression of pain made my face smile a little. My gaze was now diverted to the figure standing behind her, a girl who looked at me suspiciously and shot the sharp eyes of her katana towards my chest. I managed to parry the fast movement with a kitchen knife and hit part of her body with my shoulder. This fast movement made my body's focus skills active and I could see the slow motion of objects.

Who would have thought that this girl's surprise attack could trigger a focus skill that was difficult to obtain? Based on the research results of the player Miko Miko Blessing, the focus skill has a small chance of being obtained because the main requirement to get it is to avoid surprise attacks that target the main character's vital points.

In that slow motion, I twisted my body and hit the fingers of her hand that was holding the katana. I remember the disarm skill which removes the enemy's weapons by grabbing their weapons. Following my body's instinct which moved naturally, my hand managed to grab the hilt of her katana.

My view which was moving slowly now changed to normal and showed the body of the holy girl touching my chest along with her katana which had moved into my hand.

"Please don't attack people carelessly," I said, sticking her katana into the ground.

*Claaaap... * Claaaappp...

The sound of applause accompanied by small laughter sounded behind me. I turned to the source of the sound and saw a strange figure wearing iron armor covering his entire body and a red bandana on his arm. A tense atmosphere prevailed, several traders looked frightened when they saw his figure. Like an eagle that finds its target prey, my gaze is fixed on the glare of his eyes that look at me like a pile of rubbish.

"You have good talent, join my group," he said in an arrogant tone.

I could understand the source of his confidence. The equipment attached to his body was not ordinary iron armor but heavy armor that covered his entire body. There was only a small gap visible as part of his vision which was thinly outlined like iron bars. The rest is an elastic protective layer that conforms to his body posture.

"Shion, restrain yourself!" I ordered Shion.

In contrast to me who was calm in facing the situation, Shion looked anxious and took out her short sword in preparation to attack.

"And you calm down too, Uh, I don't know what your name is, but calm down," I asked the girl who was busy pulling her katana from the ground.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Ahmed La-Ahad. A wandering merchant looking for an opportunity to open a small shop. Seeing someone welcoming me in full gear, did I make a big mistake?" I asked in a calm tone.

I'm not a fool who doesn't understand the situation. The person I wanted to kill was in front of me, his stupid act of charging additional security services was seen through the behavior of his subordinates enough to make me shake my head.

What kind of stupidity is this? That's what I wanted to ask.

"A wandering merchant who can use a kitchen knife as a means of self-defense, very interesting!" he said with arrogance that lowered his eyes.

"What kind of stuff do you sell?" he continued.

"It's nothing important, just women's perfume that attracts men's libido by smelling it," I answered, taking out three red glass tubes.

"Only three? You're a poor trader."

"Is it true? These three tubes of perfume were even able to hire the best prostitute in this kingdom. Enjoy their special services for thirty days. Do I look that poor?" I replied with a cynical gaze aimed at his body.

The bait has been planted.

A quick kill tactic for an Assassin is to lure their victim with false information and attack him after the victim is lured into a semi-conscious state. The glass bottle dancing in my hand is a special bait that will react to their stupidity. A special surprise that has a fast combustion chemical reaction with oxygen molecules. A smokescreen that creates an illusory gate of despair and a burning feeling in the visual debuff.

At a glance, I saw a small twinkle in his eyes, that small code was directed at someone hiding behind me. Attacking someone from behind? Isn't that an act of cowardice? Who is the Assassin here? Myself or you? This identity crisis made me aware of the bad situation that was about to occur.

"You two, please stay away from this place if you want to avoid complicated matters. As candidates for Battle Shrine Maiden, you need to maintain your good name and avoid any conflict," I said while turning to Shion and the girl beside her.

A small doubt appeared in Shion's eyes but my sharp gaze managed to silence the words that wanted to come out of her mouth.

"I understand, I'll leave it to you, Shishouu!!" said Shion as she moved away from me.

Shishou, huh?

Of the many nicknames for coaches.

Shion calls me Shishou, heh?

I walked closer to the naughty ants in front of me. My seemingly relaxed movements held a ton of surprises that I wanted to reveal. Several small ants surrounded me, the body armor they wore was made of thick-looking monster skin with a big weakness on their heads.

I reached into my clothes pocket and took out a glass bottle containing a small surprise inside. The bright red liquid looked like a high-quality perfume bottle that attracted the Ant Queen's anxious gaze.

"Huh, you think you can trick me? My observer skill can detect fake goods. The thing in your hand is just rotten spice liquid," he said, pulling a long sword from his sword sheath.

Compared to the Void, fighting humans was easy. Without giving them a chance to launch magic attacks, humans would look the same as worms starving to death on dry land.

"Oh, sorry... I took the wrong merchandise," I said, releasing my hand.

* Crack...

* Kaboom...

There was the sound of a glass bottle breaking and a small explosion that spread a thick red smoke screen. The stinging sensation in my eyes and the burning feeling in my lungs made this smokescreen a double-edged weapon. The focus skill that was activated after the first attack started made me remember the layout of those naughty ants.

I could feel their presence after my eyes filled with tears like the Eagle sense skill was active. Unintentionally, I triggered my body to acquire skills that helped me attack in poor visual circumstances.

I immediately took out the kitchen knife that was stored in my left arm and aimed it at a small gap in the Queen Ant's head. The protective lines that look like iron bars on his head have a low defense if sharp objects slip into his skull. I ran quickly and drew a kitchen knife into the protective line of his head. A small push from my arm forced the kitchen knife in which stuck perfectly in the Queen Ant's eye socket and penetrated his skull.

My vision looked dark and filled with painful tears. This smoke screen was much more effective than I had planned, with the spicy aroma of pepper bothering my breathing. Hearing the sound of their coughs trying to get out of the smoke screen, I immediately pulled out the stuck kitchen knife and wiped it with white fur. Bloodstains smeared across the white reeds were a sign of success in my Quest to take care of things. Like a hunter who displays his kill as a personal trophy.

My Eagle Sense skill detected a small movement that was almost out of its range. I moved quickly and pointed the kitchen knife at their jugular veins. Luckily, this knife was made for the skinning game. Without skills that heal wounds, these ants should have died due to lack of blood. The focus skill and Eagle Sense being active at the same time made me go a little overboard by killing all these ants.

After the last ant fell, I walked past the range of the smoke screen and rushed to the old merchant who lent me a kitchen knife. Relying on the Eagle Sense skill that guided me out of the pain of the smoke screen, my painful breathing returned to stability and I was breathing normally. The combination of pepper and chili to create a smoke screen effect turned out to be much more terrifying than I expected. My tears slowly came out and fell down my cheeks. The burning spicy sensation was a small sign to train my body's endurance. I immediately forced my eyes to open and gained the visual debuff defense skill.

"Not bad either," I muttered a little.

Without the system's notification, my body managed to adapt to the spicy sensation flowing through my eyes.

My footsteps now follow the crowd who are curious about my little commotion.

Walking through the crowd made my body feel like I was flowing in a calm river.

This feeling is like this group of people is protecting my being along with the wave of their presence.

Could this be the effect of the Dagger In Crowd skill?

It seems my goal has been achieved.

Now, I'm trying to return the items I borrowed.

Slowly my footsteps led to a small shop that sold household appliances. The old merchant didn't notice my presence as my body blended into the crowd. After I stepped out of the crowd, the old merchant was surprised by my sudden appearance.

"Oh! Brother! You're back again!" he said in a happy tone.

"Yes, I'm back, brother. Along with the good news you want to hear," I replied in a polite tone.

I put the blood-stained kitchen knife in front of his eyes along with the blood-stained white fur. Seeing the two objects, the old merchant smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, Hidden One. Hopefully your kindness will get blessings from the Goddess."

Before I answered him, the curious crowd from my little job had scattered. I slipped through the crowd to disappear from this place. This dense crowd became my escape route to disappear like a ghost.

The small noise I made slightly attracted the attention of the Battle Shrine Maiden who came to help calm the panic. Voices of joy and cries of happiness from merchants were heard.

Hearing about my dirty work bringing happiness makes me feel satisfied with this simple result. The ability of this stealth skill will help me survive.

What difficulties will occur, I already have enough provisions to fight the scenario of my death.

I returned to the inn and saw Shion playing with her short sword with the girl I met before.

(...)