Chapter 185: A Bright Night (1/2)

“Tincture of Seething Flame. Fifty health per second at level seventeen poison resistance. And my vision is supposed to be disturbed for twenty minutes but I don’t see a change.” Ilea said.

“Marvelous… marvelous.” the man said as he got a small notebook and started writing everything down. “No change? Do you have any perception related skills?” he asked.

“I do. Cancel it out don’t they?” she asked and the man continued writing.

“You’re crazy for trying this. How long until you’ve recovered?” he asked. “Are you perhaps a Shadow of the Hand? I doubt a lot of people with your power would agree to something like this. Plus you seem rather young.” the man asked but Ilea just shrugged.

“I’m recovered already. Let’s just wait until the health drain stops.” she answered.

“Self healing ability as well? Exciting.” he said and she was sure she saw his eyes sparkling. The man had just found a perfect target for his experimentation and Ilea had found a source for likely a bit chunk of the empire’s information. An assassin was supposed to know quite a bit, she assumed. If his story of being part of the empire was actually true. She would gain some Poison resistance at least, if he was lying.

The man could barely stay still, his hands rushing all over his pouches to find the next poison to try.

“What’s your name and how do I find you after you leave.” Ilea asked.

“Sadin’s the name. First Assassin’s division. We don’t exist but you can ask Major Falken for my whereabouts. I’ll inform him about you. Take this badge.” he said, handing her a small token with an eagle like bird on it. “He’s near the palace usually, in one of the military bases.” he added, handing her another poison.

“This one should make you very dizzy. No health drainage. If your healing can cure it, I’d prefer you don’t use it and tell me about its effects.” the man said.

Ilea downed the poison and waited for the notification to pop up. It really wasn’t an effective assassination method if it just informed you about being poisoned. Then again it seemed like most of them took effect immediately and had enough punch to kill at least lower health targets. The man likely had other ways to kill up his sleeve as well.

‘ding’ ‘You have been poisoned by The Glutton’s Curse. All perception reduced by 90%. A sluggishness drowns out your senses for five minutes.’

Ilea didn’t use any of her active skills but her passive ones had to have an effect as she felt only slightly slowed down. She related her experience to the man and the effects she read in the message as he wrote everything down with trained motions of his pen.

“Not a perfect test subject for these kinds then. Oh well, there are many others or myself.” Sadin said, shrugging and giving Ilea the next substance.

Testing of the assassin’s arsenal went on for another two hours but Ilea insisted after ten minutes to relocate to the roof of the building to at least get some sun in the process. Kyrian accompanied them as she kept on drinking or eating poisonous substances before healing herself.

‘ding’ ‘Poison Resistance reaches lvl 18’

‘ding’ ‘Poison Resistance reaches lvl 19’

‘ding’ ‘Poison Resistance reaches lvl 20’

The fruit of her labor, easily accomplished by digesting incredibly expensive poisons and using her very own healing spell to counter them.

“That is all I have with me at the moment but I’d like to continue this at some point.” the man said as he closed all his pouches again, putting away the empty vials. “Sadly I will be occupied for a while starting tonight. Find me again in a couple weeks if you would like to continue working together. And for me to repay you of course.” Sadin said.

“I assume then that you would like information on the Birmingales?” he asked, surprising both Ilea and Kyrian whose metal stopped floating, instead forming into spikes.

“Oh do not worry. I don’t care. It is just, this revenge of yours. One of you is a survivor then, an Alymie or a Recot?” Sadin said. “Alymie is more likely, they were more open and spread out among the empire. I will look into it and bring you some names, mercenaries and associates to look for the next time you meet me.”

“I have another target.” Ilea said and watched the man closely. The Golden Lily was on her tongue but she wasn’t sure about their influence. “Eve Aillan. Joined the Shadow’s Hand over half a year ago. A high level mind mage and illusionist.”

“I will open my eyes to such an individual. Illusionists are hard to track and mind mages are difficult to face.” Sadin said.

“Oh, she is already dead.” Ilea said, going into the details of what she already knew of Eve and where she had found her. She didn’t mention that the woman was a friend but instead formed a narrative of revenge against her and her associates, should there be any. This way, should the Golden Lily ever come up, they would in the worst case ignore her and in the best case contact her or even wish to work together.

“Be well then. I suggest you leave the city within the week. Military units are being relocated and an attack from Baralia is imminent. Even with your power you could be in danger and the leading generals won’t tolerate attacks on nobles. They are already on the hunt for you.” Sadin said before he vanished into his mist like state.

“Nice talking to you as well.” Ilea said towards the leaving mist.

“We should relocate. Just in case he’s informing the wrong people.” Ilea said as she got up, Kyrian following behind.

“I didn’t plan to stay for more than a couple more days anyway. Enough to destabilize them near completely.” Trian said.

The group left the inn and moved through the city undisturbed for around an hour, renting another room for the evening. “We leave again in the night, get some rest now if you need it.” Trian said but neither of the others had any need. He continued reading his Blood Magic book and Ilea flipped through her monster encyclopedia to focus on something different. Kyrian worked on his metal magic and Ilea helped by creating ash and moving it around the room while reading, making the rest of the evening go by rather quickly.

‘A welcome change of pace.’ Ilea thought as she prepared herself for the night to come. Looking into the mirror, she smiled a little at the nice dress she was wearing. She had never owned anything as well made as this back on earth but the woman looking back at her wasn’t who she had become. The smile left her face and her arms dropped to her sides. A mere blink later her dress was replaced by black armor, covering her whole body and face.

Blue eyes looked back at her from within a horned black helmet. The same blue eyes that had stared back at her for now over twenty years. “You really went to shit didn’t you?” she asked herself in a whisper. Surprisingly her eyes held the same spark as they always had. She had become a survivor, hunted by fantastical beasts she knew for a fact didn’t exist. Here they did. And here they had become her prey. She had fought and killed humans, in self defense at first but now she was hunting and killing them to avenge her friend’s murdered family.

A bizarre place she had found herself in. ‘Magic and monsters.’ she thought as a sphere of ash formed above her outstretched and armored hand. It felt right and it felt true. She felt alive. And she would overcome whatever life threw at her. Breathing out slowly, Ilea blinked upwards and onto the roof of the building. A pale moon shone above, barely illuminating the three warriors clad in black.

“Ready?” Trian asked and she nodded. To the man who had been introduced as a part of her mercenary team over half a year ago. A snotty and arrogant noble who used blood magic to strengthen himself. A lesson to her that morality wasn’t as black and white in this world as she would’ve believed. It was just as gray and complicated as earth had been but here everybody had the opportunity to become strong enough to fight, to defend oneself and to punch above their given fate, stomp on it and become even more powerful through that.

Ilea nodded not just to his question, she nodded her affirmation to kill, to hunt and hurt other people, people with just as much of a will to live as her own. People with flaws, fears and dreams. People who had made wrong decisions, yet still people. And she would be the one to right some of those wrongs. She didn’t have any illusions as to the result of revenge. More people would die and that would be that. Nothing new would arise and nothing lost would be regained. Yet still, to her, it felt like the right thing to do. The only thing she could do.

Trian jumped off, the powerful mage vanishing before her eyes and appearing on a building twenty meters in front of them, Kyrian shooting forward quickly, drawn by the metal controlled in his hands. She didn’t like it. To be in a city, to hunt and fight people. Sighing, her magic activated and her legs tensed before she shot forward, with speed no human on earth would’ve ever reached, no body strong enough to endure it.

She yearned the days of monster hunting. Non human monsters that was. Her mind focused on the task again as she put her conflicting thoughts to the back, the memories of her day of comforts forgotten as the wind rushed past her, her body leaping from roof to roof as the tiles dared not creak under her balanced weight and trained movements. Twelve more factories were destroyed in the next six hours.

“This one is much better fortified.” Kyrian said the obvious as the three stared at the lone fortress overlooking a small estate within the city. Guards and adventurers with torches patrolled the gardens in groups, their watchful eyes looking for intruders to their employer’s property.

“Do you think the survivors are in there?” Ilea asked without looking at the man next to her. It was obvious that this building was important to the Birmingales, either the building or the people residing within. None of the factories, stores or inns they had attacked before had this amount of guards. It seemed they had focused all their resources here, the remaining ones that is.

“At least something important is here…,” Trian said and got lost in thought.