"Who the hell are you guys?" Orion shouted, a bad feeling crawling up his spine.
"You don't need to know who we are." A menacing smirk spread across the leader's face.
"Soon you will meet God anyway."
The group burst into laughter.
Orion narrowed his eyes. These weren't ordinary bandits. Unlike the others he had encountered before, this group didn't seem interested in looting him at all. Their killing intent was too fierce. They were dead set on killing him.
But why?
He had just arrived in the capital today. There was no way he had offended—
'Ohhh… Ryan's goons, huh…'
"Shhigghh… this is getting tedious," Orion said, irritation seeping into his voice.
That guy is persistent… I'll give him that.
Orion reckoned he could burn them all to ashes with Star Fire, but he held back. Drawing attention wasn't an option—and if possible, he wanted one of them alive to drag back to the palace. So he was revising all his skills to strategize his attacks.
But the assassins didn't stand by. They lunged forward at Orino.
"Flash Movement!"
Orion vanished.
In the next instant, he stood atop a tree branch.
"Huh? What just happened?"
"Where did he go?"
Fear crept into their voices.
"Up there!" one of them shouted, pointing.
"What the hell—how did he get up there so fast?!"
"Appraisal," Orion muttered.
Three C-ranks… and one B-rank. That was a problem. Orion had never fought anyone above C-rank before. He had heard from Lilian that the gap between C-rank and B-rank was enormous because one had to pass a special trial to advance. Although Orion had no idea what that trial entailed, he knew it was a big deal.
This won't be easy… but it's doable.
Although Orion was very much on the back foot, he remained confident. He wasn't human anymore—he was a dragon.
"Fire arrows! Don't stop firing!" the assassin leader barked.
Arrows whistled through the air as Orion leapt between branches, each shot missing him by inches. Then he noticed one of the assassins had fallen slightly behind the others. Orion saw an opportunity to thin their numbers.
"Flash Movement!"
He appeared behind one assassin and drove his sword straight through the man's heart.
"Ray—NO!" one of the assassins screamed. `
Orion had already moved to a safe distance.
The leader's gaze turned icy. "You bastard… you'll pay for that."
He charged with two short swords in both hands, aiming straight for Orion's head.
Clang!
Orion blocked—but the force behind the strike still sent him skidding backward.
The remaining assassins rushed in.
"Flash Movement!"
Orion escaped again, leaving only frustration behind.
"If you're a man, fight properly!" one of them shouted.
"I'm sorry, is this a tournament?" Orion shot back. "That I have to play fair?"
The bandits gritted their teeth.
Orion ignored them. He was calculating—searching for the fastest, cleanest way to end this.
Max and Axl were useless right now, hiding in the bushes. This was on him.
Orion activated Flame Pulse and walked forward.
Heat radiated from his body.
The assassins faltered.
"Boss… it feels like we're standing next to a furnace," one muttered.
"That kid—he's not normal."
Even the leader was sweating.
"Relax," he snapped. "At the end of the day, he's just a boy."
Orion dismissed his sword into his inventory and pulled out the spear.
He launched forward and threw his spear at the assassin leader with full force.
The leader dodged—
BOOM!
The spear smashed into a tree, the explosion echoing through the forest.
While Orion was still recovering from the recoil of throwing the spear, the assassin leader moved silently behind him, a small knife in his hand.
He slashed at Orion's neck, the movement almost silent.
Orion sensed danger and jumped—but not fast enough.
"Ahhh!"
The blade tore across his shoulder, blood spraying.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself upright.
The other two assassins charged as well, seizing the chance to strike while Orion was vulnerable.
Finally, seeing Orion in trouble, Axl and Max sprang into action.
Axl rushed in, light glowing as he healed Orion.
Max ambushed the other assassins, striking and retreating nonstop.
Orion knew it wouldn't last—Max was severely outmatched.
If he used his claws, the fight would already be over—but he needed at least one of them alive, so he couldn't yet afford to fully reveal himself.
So he needs some other way to finish the leader—now.
Orion vanished and reappeared behind him, slashing.
The leader twisted his body at the last moment. The strike missed his neck—but Orion didn't slow down. He attacked again. This time, the assassin blocked it with his blades.
After exchanging several more blows, Orion finally broke through the assassin leader's defenses. With a powerful thrust, he tore through the leader's chest with his sword.
"Boss!" a lackey shouted—only to be kicked away by Max.
"Cough… you've got strange skills," the leader rasped, blood dripping from his mouth.
"But you're still just a boy."
Orion stepped forward, blade raised—
And froze.
His limbs went numb.
His strength vanished.
"Hahaha—cough!" the leader laughed weakly.
Orion glared. "What did you do to me?"
The leader raised a glowing, heart-shaped artifact.
Orion felt his mana draining—his skills slipping away.
"Anti-magic artifact," the man said smugly. "Quite pretty, isn't it?"
Knives flashed as the assassin leader charged.
Now, Orion could rely only on raw combat. He had lost all his skills that used even a hint of magic, and he was also feeling fatigued.
But the assassin leader didn't stand still. Despite being severely injured, he lunged at Orion at full speed—he hadn't lost an ounce of his edge.
Clang! Clang!
Steel collided again and again.
Their fight was so intense that the forest had gone silent—monsters had long since fled.
The assassin leader was terrifyingly fast. But Orion had an advantage: vastly superior strength, stamina, and resistance to pain. The bandit leader had made several cuts across Orion's body, yet he was still standing, unshaken.
But when Orion attacked, the assassin leader blocked every strike with perfect precision.
The assassin leader was furious. He was being beaten by a kid—one who also had a magic handicap. He couldn't stomach it. He had awakened as a very weak assassin, but through sheer training and hard work, he had risen to B-rank. And yet here he was, losing to a child—simply because that kid had a vastly superior class. In his mind, it was unbearably unfair.
While all this was happening, Max was still holding off the other two assassins. But he was far from well—hundreds of cuts marked his body, and his stamina was nearly gone.
Then—
Max screamed.
An arrow pierced his shoulder, sending him crashing into the bushes.
"Kuuuu!!" Axl cried out and quickly ran toward Max.
The assassins moved to finish Max—
"Forget him!" the leader shouted. "Help me finish this guy first, then we can deal with the beasts!"
They reluctantly obeyed.
Now three enemies were closing in on Orion, and Max was severely injured.
Anger boiled inside him—so fierce that he felt almost helpless.
Then the assassins attacked all at once.
The leader slashed.
Orion dodged—but didn't notice the other assassin with a knife creeping up behind him.
"AUCK–"
Pain exploded as steel pierced his back.
His vision blurred.
"Good work," the leader laughed. He moved behind Orion and kicked him right where his wounds were. Orion was in so much pain, he couldn't even scream.
"Haaaaaaaa." A satisfied sigh left the assassin leader's mouth. He sat down beside Orion, a crooked smile spreading across his face, and began carving shallow lines into Orion's skin.
"You know what I'm doing," he said, looking at Orion with a hollow smile. "I'm carving my signature pattern into your face—so everyone will know who killed you."
Orion could only lie there helplessly. He couldn't believe he was going to die like this.
He almost gave up—but then it hit him.
Magic is sealed… but Star Energy isn't.
He knew using Star Fire could also kill him, but he had no choice. Even if he died, he could take the assassin with him.
And he trusted Axl to heal him. After all, Axl was a species tied to the World Tree.
"Star… power," Orion whispered.
Flames erupted in his hand.
"What—magic?!"
"But the artifact—how—?!"
The leader's eyes widened in terror.
He lunged—
Orion slammed the fire into the ground.
BOOOOOOM!!