A deep blue magic circle over three meters across flashed beneath Leon's feet and vanished.
The next second...
The masked figure lunging in to press the attack stumbled hard, mid-stride. Then he realized with horror that his legs had been frozen solid by frost that had appeared out of nowhere, robbing him of all mobility.
Even for a killing machine whose emotions had long been ground away, a flicker of bewilderment crossed his hollow eyes.
"Never seen one before, have you?"
"That's a high-tier Instant Cast control spell. Slow and immobilize, both at once. Tailor-made for high-Agility melee brutes like you."
Leon backed up a few steps, casually layered another sheath of frost armor over himself, and with a crooked smirk lobbed a wagon-wheel-sized fireball at his enemy.
"Fireball!"
One second of charge, then he let it fly.
A deafening string of explosions tore through the air. Flames engulfed the masked figure along with a wide swath of building rubble. The shockwave rolled scorching air through the entire narrow alley.
Slain Assassin, Excelia +25
Slain Assassin, Excelia +21
Slain Assassin, Excelia +27
Slain Assassin, Excelia +23
...
"Holy shit!"
Looking at the alley engulfed in flame and the shattered ruins of the buildings on both sides, Leon was a little stunned.
That can't be right. I only charged it for one second. How is the power that absurd?
If a Lv. 1 Fireball had been holding its own among same-level adventurers thanks to instant casting and long range...
Then after upgrading to Lv. 2, between Development Abilities, hidden values, rare skills, and his weapons and equipment all stacking together, it was already at the level of "zero-frame startup, instant kill at the same level; one-second crit on first contact one tier up."
But now...
Thoughts flickered through his mind. He glanced down at his palm, and finally caught up.
Wait. I'm not Lv. 2 anymore. I'm Lv. 3.
Looking at the burning alley and the collapsed buildings nearby, the corner of Leon's mouth twitched.
Damn. Too little time has passed since the level-up. My head is still running on the old level out of pure habit, plus my body hasn't fully adapted yet... I lost control for a second and almost torched the whole alley.
The thought of the destruction being severe enough to draw the Guild's, or worse, Evilus's, attention sent a chill through him.
I need to take it easy in fights from now on. Magic control training has to go on the list.
...
Thanks to the Instant Cast mechanic, Leon's zero-frame Ice Ring into Fireball combo had taken out that suspected Lv. 2 masked assassin in a single beat.
On the other side, Jeanne and the rest were still locked in fierce combat.
Steady chimes of clashing steel rang out continuously not far away.
Leon glanced toward the sound, and his face shifted into a yeah, figures expression.
The fight a short distance away was completely lopsided. Those killers, who'd worn such cold faces just minutes ago, were reduced to nothing but defensive movements under the encirclement, throwing in the occasional counter that went nowhere.
Watching this, Leon was in no rush to step in and end things.
He'd been looking for a chance to give Laurier and Aura some real PvP combat experience, and suitable opponents weren't easy to come by.
Now, with the enemies walking straight into his crosshairs with murderous intent of their own, he wasn't going to pass this up.
A minute went by.
The fight had reached its peak.
Just as he'd predicted, against six-sided fighters like Jeanne and Rose, who balanced offense and defense, the masked assassins facing them had no real path to completing their mission.
It was common knowledge that assassins like these only fully realized their combat potential under the conditions they were built for: ambushes, surprise kills, anything where they had the first-move advantage.
The moment they were dragged into a head-on grind, half the fight was already lost for any specialist in stealth assassination.
And these opponents were six-sided fighters specifically tilted toward defense.
Watching the assassins tumbling in retreat under Jeanne's and Rose's pressure, Leon shook his head and turned his gaze toward Kureha, Laurier, and Aura.
As students who had been training under Jeanne, Rose, and Kureha for a long time now, Laurier and Aura were on a completely different level in combat technique and tactical awareness than they used to be.
Combined with their Dungeon experience, they couldn't yet hold a pillar role on their own, but in pure combat poise, they already had the bearing of elite adventurers.
Right now, against opponents clearly a notch above them, they'd only fumbled briefly in the opening exchange because they hadn't yet read the enemy's style and rhythm. They quickly steadied themselves on the back of long hours of high-pressure training, and through their polished teamwork, slowly seized control of the tempo.
From being suppressed, to even, to outright dominating, the swing took them all of thirty seconds.
What followed was the satisfying part: the strategic combination.
Sip the scattering light, with your very life force...
Nourish my body, feed my soul...
"Laurier, get clear!"
"Got it!"
"Feast of the Bacchanal Harvest!"
"Hyah!"
The moment Aura finished her chant, the fight was over.
As for Kureha, whom Leon hadn't paid particular attention to?
Apologies, but as an Agility-type Sword Saint, the moment Kureha had the speed advantage... under her relentless storm of strikes, each blade faster than the last, even challenging an opponent a tier above her she'd take on anyone without flinching.
Let alone an assassin not built for direct confrontation.
Less than thirty exchanges in, a silver flash opened her opponent's throat and blood sprayed wildly. Kureha flicked her wrist, sending a thin red line of blood arcing onto the ground, and calmly sheathed her blade.
Slain Assassin, Excelia +20
A round of slow applause rang out as Leon walked over.
"Nice work. You've grown. I'm glad."
He wasn't talking about Jeanne, Rose, or Kureha. He meant Aura and Laurier.
"Don't get the wrong idea, though. I'm not talking about your technique. I'm talking about your mindset."
"Against an opponent who wants to take your life, you absolutely can't go soft."
"Every second of hesitation is a disrespect to yourself. Don't forget that."
Hearing his lesson, Laurier and Aura nodded seriously.
Seeing the two of them face the reality of having blood on their hands without flinching, the others were quietly pleased.
They weren't naive little girls. They were warriors who had made up their minds, with iron will to back it up.
While the others moved to comfort Laurier and Aura, who were dry-heaving from the kill...
On the other side...
Leon crouched down and started examining the bodies of their attackers.
As for taking one alive for interrogation?
There was no point.
From the look in their eyes, everyone present besides the two elf girls, Leon included, had known from the first glance...
These were killing machines who only knew how to execute orders. Death warriors with no self.
"Death warrior assassins, huh..."
Combined with what he'd observed during the fight, Leon had a clear read on the enemy's strength.
"All Lv. 2? And the combat style... doesn't look like any of the city's factions. So... they're from outside Orario?"
"An underground assassin organization? Evilus's connections are pretty terrifying."
"Interesting."
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