Chapter 21

When they reached Samar's front door, she paused, hesitant. The faint light of the moon illuminated her delicate features, and Breeze noticed the faint nervousness in her eyes. After a brief cough to gather her composure, she turned to him.

"Could you clarify something that puzzles me?"

Breeze tilted his head slightly, offering her an encouraging smile. "I would be glad to."

She hesitated momentarily, then asked, "I surely know that you're younger than me, but now, you look older. You have the skills, and the looks, and your personality is admirable. Why do you seem in such a hurry to marry me? There are plenty of cute and beautiful girls out there. I'm sure if you interacted with them, you'd find that there's always a better choice."

"For me… I feel like you've mistaken fondness for gratitude."

Breeze's expression softened. He let out a small sigh before meeting her gaze. "I won't deny anything you've said. You're right, Samar. But let me tell you something my father taught me when I was just a boy—technically, I'm still a boy, but... umm... yeah, let's forget about the details."

Samar nodded, silently urging him to continue.

Breeze took a deep breath, the memory vivid in his mind. "When I was eight years old, I asked my father about the couple we worked for. They were always cursing at each other, which confused me because my father had always said a partner should be a source of love and joy. What I saw was the opposite."

"That's when he gave me a lecture about love. He said, 'You see this couple? They started dating secretly a few years before they married. It was risky, but they managed to keep it hidden. At the time, their love was warm—almost radiant. But after one year of marriage, they became like mortal enemies.'"

"My father explained that before their marriage, they both put on false personalities to impress each other. The husband pretended to be an honest, hardworking man, and the wife pretended to be disciplined, calm, and a skilled cook. But once they married, maintaining those false personas became exhausting. So they reverted to their true nature, and as a consequence, they felt betrayed, and their love turned to resentment."

"My father told me, 'Never fall into the trap of love as your first step. Look for a respectable girl who wouldn't speak ill of others, who works hard without complaint, and who doesn't compare her life to those of richer people. Don't focus too much on her looks or body—those will fade with time. Only her character lasts for life. Marry a girl like that, and show her affection, even if you have to fake it at first. Because over time, fake affection can turn genuine if it's met with love in return, and trust me, it will.'"

Breeze's voice softened. "He also said, 'But don't blindly follow my advice. Use your own mind to decide what's right.'"

Samar listened intently, her expression thoughtful. When Breeze finished, she gave him a warm smile. "I would have loved to meet your father if he were still alive. He sounds like a wise man."

Breeze returned her smile. "He was. And I hope I'm honoring his memory."

They bid each other goodnight. Breeze waited until Samar closed the door before heading back to the inn. Upstairs, he whispered a goodnight to Sayah through her door, not wanting to disturb her. He entered his chamber, deciding not to read any of the cruel facts from his book that night, preferring to preserve the joy of his encounter with Samar. He fell asleep quickly, comforted by the thought of her smile.

In the dead of night, Breeze's chamber door opened silently. Sayah entered, her movements so quiet that even the floorboards seemed to conspire with her. Her steps were calculated, each quieter than the last, until she stood over Breeze's sleeping form. In her hand, she held a dagger, its blade gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

Without hesitation, she placed the dagger against Breeze's neck. Once, twice, thrice. On the fourth attempt, Breeze's eyes snapped open, and he jerked in shock. Sayah swiftly withdrew the blade before he could react, avoiding an accidental injury.

"What… what are you doing?" Breeze gasped, his heart pounding in his chest.

Sayah stared at him with cold eyes, leaning back slightly. "Testing you. And you failed spectacularly."

Breeze sat up, still catching his breath. "Testing me? You could have killed me!"

Sayah's expression turned serious. "I could have. Three times, before you even woke up. Even if you died, you deserve it; I wouldn't even care about it. You've grown complacent, Breeze. Your relaxed life has dulled your instincts. Do you want to find yourself as a frozen corpse before opening your eyes, or do you want to make your soon-to-be wife a widow before even marrying her?"

A million scenes passed through Breeze's mind: how he would feel if he let Samar down, how he would meet his dead father after all those lessons he taught him, how he wanted to make his master the best among all the MES agents, and how he would face Acacius and his grandma.

Her words stung, but Breeze knew she was right. He lowered his gaze, ashamed. "Master, I don't want to feel this shamefully powerless again. Please help me."

Sayah's smirk returned. "Come with me. It's time for you to relearn vigilance. Meet me downstairs in five minutes."

Sayah led Breeze to the MES, where the air was chilly during this season, and the silence was broken only by the rustling of leaves. They arrived at the training grounds, which were deserted at this hour. Sayah gestured for Breeze to sit on the cold ground, and she sat across from him, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp.

"There is nothing like a feeling of a creature watching you or killing intent; it's all bullcrap. And even if you felt something, you're probably overthinking it. Guess what? I tried to spy on you in a lot of cases. Did you find out?"

"I remember one time when I was training here in the early morning, someone was watching me, but I couldn't tell who it was. Was that you, Master?"

"Perfect example! It wasn't me, and I can say that I'm 90% sure you were overthinking. However I could be wrong, I'm not all-knowledgeable, and no human is. You can figure out a way to sense others' presence, like those insect-type creatures. They are masters at detecting danger either by vibration or smell. I've lost count of how many times they've discovered me before I could even hit them. But let's stay in our reality for now."

'I'll be sure to find a way if I want to increase my awareness.'

"Anyway, even high-ranking monsters can be assassinated without them knowing, with the exception of those annoying insects, as I said. First of all, you have to know your environment—the blind spots where an archer or assassin, or any kind of pain in the *** creature, might sneak up on you. So, before being an assassin, you have to be... um... I don't know what a good word to describe it is. Let's say an anti-assassin. Whenever you are, and wherever you are, you have to imagine how to kill yourself in this spot, like this, for example."

Breeze found his neck about to be split apart by a thin thread, barely visible in the day. So, what about the night? Breeze didn't move or even shake; he knew that resisting was a waste of effort.

"You see that, my good apprentice? You didn't even know that a thin thread, known as the Queen's silent thread, was encircling your neck. It's a rare weapon used by a Horror Monster named Widowmaker Queen. You won't even say a word before you find your head has left your neck."

Taking back her weapon, Breeze touched his neck to feel if it was still there, sighing with relief.

"So, let me add another thing to the vigilance concept: knowledge. Knowing all kinds of weapons and traps is your way to avoid them. So, be careful from now on—I won't be by your side your whole life to guide you. Even though I find that you are an expert for someone your age, you are still young. Whatever you learned before is not enough to gain experience; even for me, I find myself lacking compared to some other agents, especially those elites—they are insanely talented and knowledgeable."

'Yeah, I agree. My father couldn't teach me everything, and what he taught me could change in the future, so I have to adapt quickly because the world is always changing.'

Breeze nodded, absorbing her words.

"Now get up, we're going to practice," Sayah said. "I'm going to attack you. Your job is to avoid me. Use your senses. Listen and watch carefully—your life depends on it."

"My life?"

Before Breeze could respond, Sayah lunged at him, her movements swift and precise. Breeze barely managed to dodge, his body reacting on instinct. He stumbled but quickly regained his footing, his heart racing, but he felt agitated when he saw the dagger in her hand.

'This insane teacher is really planning to kill me if I don't do well.'

"Good," Sayah said, circling him like a predator. "But you're still too slow. You're thinking too much. Stop thinking uselessly and start reacting."

She attacked again, this time from a different angle. Breeze dodged, but not fast enough—Sayah's dagger grazed every part of his body.

"Again," she commanded.

They continued like this for what felt like hours, Sayah pushing Breeze to his limits. She attacked from every direction, her movements unpredictable and relentless. Breeze's body ached with throbbing pain, but he refused to give up. He focused on his senses, letting his instincts guide him. Stimulating his nervous system, Breeze entered the zone and started dodging every single hit from his master, unlike the start.

"Good! Good boy! Keep it like this, or die by my hand."

By the time Sayah called for a break, Breeze was drenched in sweat and blood, his muscles trembling with exhaustion. But he felt alive.

"You're improving," Sayah said, handing him a high-tier potion and a waterskin. "But you've got a long way to go."

Breeze drank deeply, his mind racing as his wounds stopped bleeding. "How do I get better?"

Sayah smirked. "By never letting your guard down. By treating every moment as if your life depends on it. Because one day, it will. That state of mind you were in previously is one of many keys to improving. If you keep the zone state for a longer time, you will be unstoppable one day."

She kept silent for a moment, then added, "This night's training was fruitful. You can see that your vision at night is limited, so you have to rely on your hearing a lot. Take this elixir when you go back to the inn; it will improve your sense of hearing, and there are no side effects. However, never tell anyone about it. I'm seriously putting my neck on the line by giving you this, so pretend that I didn't give you anything."

Breeze got scared by the elixir his master gave him. He knew that this kind of elixir was given to the outstanding subordinates of nobles. He was confused by the fact that his master had something like that, but what confused him more was that his master gave it to him. As he observed her, she didn't seem the kind of woman to submit to corruption. He controlled his emotions and facial expressions, making it seem as if he was shocked by the fact that such an elixir existed.

To his surprise, as if his wish was instantly fulfilled, she cleared his confusion.

"If you want to get this kind of elixir and a lot more, you have to reach 2nd-tier hunter, and not only that—you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the MES. Now I think your confusion is fading; let's focus on the training."

"To the art of assassination."

The next phase of Breeze's training focused on stealth and precision. Sayah taught him how to move silently, how to blend into the shadows, and how to strike with deadly accuracy.

"Assassination isn't just about killing," she explained. "It's about control. About knowing when to strike and when to wait. About understanding your target and their weaknesses."

She demonstrated by sneaking up on a training dummy, her movements fluid and almost ghostlike. With a single, precise strike, she disabled the dummy's "vital points," showing Breeze how to incapacitate an opponent without unnecessary violence.

"Your goal isn't to fight," she said. "It's to win. And sometimes, winning means avoiding the fight altogether. For an assassin, if you didn't kill, you either escape without a trace or die trying."

Breeze practiced relentlessly, honing his skills under Sayah's watchful eye. He learned how to use the environment to his advantage, how to mask his presence, and how to exploit his opponent's blind spots.

They kept at this pace for nearly a month, with a few hours for him to rest and to check on Acacius' progress until Sayah felt the need for another type of training.

She took him into an area with narrow and complicated streets, where upstairs and downstairs were commonly seen, where some walls were close to each other, barely letting a person move comfortably, and there were many obstacles on the way, like barrels and boxes. Oh, and let's not forget a lot of dead ends. She gave him the map of the whole area, saying, "You have to memorize this map in less than one minute and then escape my pursuit to the targeted place. We start here from the southeast, and you have to reach the northwest before I catch you. Believe it or not, I'm going to throw some kunai, shurikens, and whatever I get in my hand; I don't care where it hits you. And if I close the distance, I'll slash your back. So, your life is on the line, but don't worry—you won't die. But I can guarantee you'll have to stay in bed for at least five months if you don't want to end up in such a miserable situation. You have to escape my clutches now. Start memorizing fast."

Instantly, Breeze started focusing on the map, trying to memorize each and every nook of it. After about 40 seconds, she took the map and yelled.

"Run!"

"But master, it's not time yeeee..."

While speaking, a slash passed before his eyes; he dodged it by jumping backward.

"Nobody will wait for you to be prepared in such a situation."

So, Breeze started running as fast as he could, while his master gave him 10 seconds before starting to chase after him.

Running with all his might, he took a turn to the left, where a street with a downstairs area awaited him. The moment he reached it, he jumped to gain some seconds; it was quite the distance. He rolled the moment his feet touched the ground to minimize the impact, then dashed fast, taking turns right and left as far as he remembered toward his destination. Taking a turn, he came upon some barrels and hit them to disarrange them, disturbing his master's pursuit. Just above the barrels, between the walls, he wedged two kunai—one on each side—with a thin thread stretched between them. So, even if his master jumped over the barrels, the nearly invisible thread would delay her further, especially in this dark passage where the moonlight couldn't reach. He did all that in nearly three seconds and then continued his run. Just four seconds later, he heard someone falling on the barrels. Instead of getting excited that his master had fallen into his trap, he got scared and ran even faster, knowing that his master had closed the gap between them really quickly. To his bad luck, he took a turn into a dead end. "Noooo! Forty seconds is too little for anyone to memorize a complicated map." As the rain started to fall and the thunder began to strike, he saw the shadow of his master getting closer.

As she got closer to take a turn, she knew that it was a dead end. "You cruel apprentice, using cheap traps on your master. My butt still hurts from that fall. Be prepared to pay dearly for that..."