Chapter 1 : Fateful Meeting

This chapter is brought to you by AnmesicCat and StellarAshes.

"Ah, cleaning is really a ch.o.r.e."

A slender boy, who looked almost handsome and cute, straightened his aching back, and returned to sweeping with his broom in discontent while mumbling complains:

"How wonderful would it be if I had a Maxun (a name of a machine) to help me sweep!"

However, it was nothing but a fantasy. A Maxun costs a lot of money, especially a full-featured one, and it wasn’t something a minor with random part-time jobs could afford, especially when he has to go to school.

The d.a.m.n tuition was so expensive, he got dizzy from working everyday, and he often found himself standing in front of his school, with a guava in his hands.

What? Bombing a school is immoral? How could you bomb a school with a guava? What do you think a guava is, a hand grenade?

Hmph, how could he possibly afford a hand grenade. It would be nice even if he could afford a guava to break the school"s window. But seriously, the reinforced gla.s.s in the school can"t be broken by a single guava.

Upholding his principle of not letting anything go to waste, the guava was, of course, saved every time, and later became his after meal fruit.

Pzz!

The boy frowned, what was that strange sound? Could be the pre-owned automatic laundry, spinning, tumble dry, and super old to the point of being ancient, washing Maxun was giving him trouble again?

Oh no! The boy rushed anxiously to check the condition of the washing Maxun, because his only remaining uniform was inside. If he loses his last uniform, he would have to wear underwear to school.

Before the boy reached the Maxun, he already knew the sound had absolutely nothing to do with the pitiful machine. A strange, colourful whirlpool appeared beside him, and became bigger and bigger. His poor room soon began to distort…

"G.o.ddammit! I know I"m very unlucky, but I can"t be this unlucky, right?" The boy looked around the distorted s.p.a.ce helplessly.

The boy wondered if the same unluckiness that killed his parents was going to kill him now: "Even cleaning a room was going to lead to this?"

Despite his complaints, the boy decided he wanted to live, so he hurriedly backed away from the distorted s.p.a.ce.

When he was just about to jump out the window, a flash of light intrigued him. Although his right foot was already on the window pane, he couldn"t help but look at the strange phenomenon behind him.

The whirlpool started expanding outward, suddenly a ray of light emerged, followed by thousands more, filling the entire room…

"Holy sh*t!" The boy could not help but curse in his native dialect. His eyes had been blinded by the light.

He desperately shook his head, trying to shake off the dizziness caused by the light. The boy cursed: "d.a.m.n, the ancestors were right; curiosity would really f—ing kill a cat."

Even though he was blinded, he could still somewhat sense the changes around him. The temporary blindness was already fading, and the strange feeling of the surrounding s.p.a.ce gradually dissipated.

Instead of the whirlpool, there stood a person! The boy grabbed the gun on the table, and without looking, aimed at the person by using his senses.

"Who is it?"

The boy"s eyes was recovering and he could see the person"s outline. Judging from the person"s outline, he doesn"t seem very muscular but normally, the real gosu* aren"t the muscular type. He asked carefully, but at the same time, held his gun at the person.[T/N: Gosu – A Korean term used to refer to a highly skilled person.]

Who knew the whirlpool would spit out yet another person, who had a really strong murderous intent, and raised a weapon to greet the person who arrived before.

"Master, why don"t you give up now. The organisation will not let you go, so it"s better to die in my hands."

The second person who had murderous intent said coldly. Judging by the voice, the person was a woman.

"Yasha, the murderous intent you emit is too strong, and it"s not something a real a.s.sa.s.sin should do." The so-called Master plainly corrected the student"s mistake.

"Shut up!" Yasha yelled, her buried anger surfacing. She will never be this person"s subordinate, never!

The legendary perfect a.s.sa.s.sin will be stopped by her, and she will take over the t.i.tle as the best a.s.sa.s.sin! Killing him, as long as she kills the Master who started her to the path of being an a.s.sa.s.sin, she will be become best a.s.sa.s.sin!

The two silently stood facing each other. Other than the sound of the Master"s blood dripping, everything else seemed like the calm before a storm… A duel to death was about to start!

"Oh wow, what are you two doing in someone else"s house? Saying things I don"t understand, and now you"re all quiet. Hey! If you guys are going to fight go outside! If you break anything in my house, I swear I will make you pay, and I mean it…" The boy finally recovered his sight, and saw a man and a woman facing each other.

They were both cold as ice. The boy curiously observed.

The guy was tall and slender, wearing black clothes. Together with his black hair, he looked completely black. As far as his face goes, he had an oval face, which made him look a little delicate. Along with his silver iris, this man has an inexplicable way of intimidating people. The boy shivered.

The woman, on the other hand, was quite colorful. Her bright red hair was paired together with green eyes. This strange combination didn"t feel conflicting, instead, it made her more glamorous. The only problem with was her eyes, they felt really cold.

The boy shook his head and sighed.

But! What these two people look like had nothing to do with him. More importantly, the immense hatred between them was really scaring him.

He was afraid of anything being broken inside his home. Being poor, he really couldn"t afford to go on trial for two murders in his home.

Yasha moved suddenly. Perhaps it shouldn"t be called move, because she disappeared where she stood, and then suddenly appeared in front of the man. The razor in her hand had already silently cut his throat…

"d.a.m.n, really?" The boy stared in awe, he had already been decapitated? The man looked pretty strong.

‘Sh*t, I might have to use some powerful detergent to clean off the blood off the ground.’

However, there wasn"t even a half drop of blood. It turned out the man was nothing but a shadow.

Surprised, Yasha immediately turned around to see if the man was behind her, only to find a hand gently pressed on her neck. To be exact, what was holding her neck wasn’t a hand, but rather, just two fingers.

But Yasha knew clearly that these two fingers were enough to take her life!

"Hehehe…." Yasha wasn"t scared, but rather, she started laughing, and sarcastically asked the person behind her.

"What? The so-called ‘best a.s.sa.s.sin’ isn"t brave enough to kill me? My Master used to kill people without them feeling any pain… Because before they have felt anything they would already be meeting Hades!"

The man stayed silent.

"Don"t be stupid, Master. An a.s.sa.s.sin will always be an a.s.sa.s.sin." Yasha"s voice turned cold, and pushed away the man"s hand without any fear.

She said coldly: "You will break the promise with that person. An a.s.sa.s.sin can never not kill! Especially you, Master."

The man stood quietly; his face remained the same—expressionless!

"I will not kill you today, but one day, I will." Yasha’s lips suddenly turned into a dangerous and seductive smile.

"Master, kill me today, otherwise I will continue you hunt you down for as long as I live."

If she could get the Master to break the promise with that person, even if the price was her life, she was willing to do it.

The man said dismissively: "Leave, Yasha. I will not kill people."

"Hmph!" ‘Is that person really important to you? d.a.m.n!’

Yasha’s face revealed a jealous expression. The person whom Master should be paying attention to was her! She was Master"s only apprentice.

"From now onwards, you are no longer my Master, but an enemy I must kill!" As soon as Yasha finished shouting, she turned to leave.

But… ‘Where is this?’ She finally realised the strangeness of the room.

The boy who helplessly held a gun said.

"As the "master of the room", can you guys stop ignoring me?" The two had been treating him as if he was transparent.

If he could understand what they were saying, then at least he could watch them like a Soap Opera: the love and hate between a man and a woman… ‘Hehe, it"ll be interesting to watch.’

But the problem was he couldn"t understand anything of what they were saying!

"Open the door and let me out! Else you"ll die." Yasha said coldly, then knitted her eyebrows and looked at the confused boy.

‘Was she talking to him?’ The boy scratched his face, shrugged, and walked to the central processing Maxun he uses everyday.

He picked up something that looked like a safety helmet, walked in front of the woman, raised the hat to her, and said, "Wear this."

Yasha frowned, without taking the safety helmet. She didn"t know if the boy means her any harm.

The boy impatiently pointed at the hat, then made the gesture of putting on a hat. He prompted her again: "Put it on. Hurry."

Yasha"s face became colder, and the razor in her hand began to move…

The man, however, walked in towards the boy, took the hat from him, and put it on without any hesitation.

Upon seeing his actions, the boy walked back to the central processing Maxun and pressed a few b.u.t.tons on the transparent console. Finally, he hit a b.u.t.ton labelled "Language Transmission".

The safety helmet suddenly started glowing with colorful lights. As the lights shone, the man frowned slightly.

Being forced fed information to his brain doesn"t feel good, and many images flashed through in his brain. Nonetheless, he didn"t make any noise, since the amount of pain wasn"t nearly enough to make him grumble.

After a while, the light on the safety helmet started to fade, until it returned to its original plain state. Then when the boy started asked:

"Can you understand me now?"

The man nodded slightly, and spoke with the same language as the boy: "Yes."

"Good, now we don"t have any communication barrier." The boy nodded satisfactorily.

"I am from…" the man began to explain.

"I know!" The boy impatiently waved his hand and cut him off: "From another dimension!"

The man was astonished: "Yes…"

"Nowadays, even s.p.a.ce isn"t reliable. People are falling out of different dimensions, and the media doesn"t report it anymore."

The boy helplessly placed his arms to his sides, wondering why he was so unlucky, that these people arrived in his home. What should he do now?

He was, after all, a really lazy person, so he decided to send these strangers to a shelter! The boy approved of his own decision, and said eagerly.

"Because we have too many people coming from other dimensions, the Aklan Empire has designated shelters for them. You guys will need to leave this place, take a left, cross two streets, get over a lake, through a park, and there will be a management office. Tell them you"re from another dimension and they will settle you into a shelter."

The man was startled, and then said indifferently: "I don"t need to go to a shelter. I will make a living."

Upon hearing this, the boy became interested, and asked excitedly: "Oh? What can you do?"

Maybe the man was the person who could rescue him from poverty, continuous part-time jobs, cold and hunger? Maybe he"ll even live an elegant life? If that was the case, then it"ll be great! With these kinds of thoughts, the boy"s face began to brighten.

The man seemed to be surprised by the boy"s face lightening up, becoming a 500 watt light bulb.

After being quiet for a while, he answered: "I"m an a.s.sa.s.sin."

‘A-S-S-A-S-S-I-N?!’

As if to compliment his facial expression, his eyes began to brighten too. His face also began to show a flattering expression:

"Good, that profession is a promising, well-paying, low-cost, and high-return profession!"

The a.s.sa.s.sin seemed confused, how could anyone describe his profession like this? But then he composed himself and added: "But, I promised never to kill again!"

Quietness settled the room and the boy"s smile was gone in an instant. He pointed at the door and said: "Get the h.e.l.l out, Mr. Never-Kill-a.s.sa.s.sin."

Differential treatment was quite obvious. The a.s.sa.s.sin walked to the door, only to see a smooth white door without handle, and he didn"t know how to get out.

The boy yelled impatiently: "Open sesame."

The door opened instantly. The first person to walk out wasn"t the a.s.sa.s.sin, but the woman, Yasha. She turned around as she was leaving, and with a deadly smile on her face, she said: "Farewell, Master."

‘Yasha…’ The a.s.sa.s.sin felt relatively sad.

"Hey, leave with your woman already. Don"t stand there and bleed! Do you know blood odors are really hard to clean?"

The irritated boy looked at the blood dripping from the a.s.sa.s.sin—d.a.m.n, he just finished cleaning!

Although he had many questions about where he was, the a.s.sa.s.sin didn"t say much, especially when the owner has given the eviction notice.

He quietly walked out, and the door mercilessly shut behind him. The a.s.sa.s.sin looked at the strange world he had never seen. Was he nervous?

"a.s.sa.s.sin Rules #3: No matter where you are, always keep calm…" The a.s.sa.s.sin murmured.

… Even if the buildings outside were all towering. But what was stranger was their design… No, the reason they are strange was because they had no design. Domes, spires, and all sorts of strangely twisted shapes could be seen. The only word he could use them to describe them was "total chaos".

… There were hundreds, no, thousands of bizarre hemispheres flying around in the sky. If his eyes weren"t playing tricks on him, he saw a few Dragons amongst the flying objects, and there were people riding those Dragons.

Despite being the strongest and coldest a.s.sa.s.sin, he had to take a few deep breaths to deal with all the unfamiliar sights.

Slowly appeasing his nerves, the a.s.sa.s.sin began to think. He was about 50 stories* above the ground, and he couldn"t find any form of stairs leading to the surface.[T/N: 50 story is approximately 165 meters, 541 feet and 4 inches.]

The flying objects around him were so erratic, it seemed like they could hit him at any time… What could he do?

Even for a level-headed a.s.sa.s.sin, felt the sadness comparable to a cold wind sweeping away the falling leaves (the a.s.sa.s.sin felt helpless).

"Why are you still here?" He heard the noisy boy"s voice again.

"I don"t know how to get down." The a.s.sa.s.sin aloofly stated the truth.

‘Yasha… She probably used a rope to get down.’ Unfortunately, he had already used his rope when he was being chased.

* * *

The boy mumbled: "What a pain. Why do I always run into trouble like this? I still have to go to work. If I"m late they will deduct my salary, what am I going to eat next month?"

The a.s.sa.s.sin remained silent. He didn"t respond to the boy"s complaints.

To him, the boy had no responsibility to help a stranger like him. Besides, the boy was already doing him a favor by not calling the police on him after discovering he was an a.s.sa.s.sin.

The boy sighed exaggeratedly, and snappily yelled at the a.s.sa.s.sin: "Come over here."

The a.s.sa.s.sin turned, and saw the boy walking into a transparent tube with a radius of about a meter. After the boy walked in, he fell straight down to the ground.

The a.s.sa.s.sin"s heart skipped a beat, and he looked down, only to find the boy was standing on the ground, looking back at him.

Although the distance of about ten stories made it hard to see the boy"s face, but it was certain the boy was safe.

‘So this tube was a tool to get downstairs.’ The a.s.sa.s.sin then stepped into the tube. The fact there was nothing for him to step on, made him feel uneasy. The suction from the tube which dragged him down ten stories, made the a.s.sa.s.sin so nervous, his pupils dilated.

The boy"s face and loud voice were in front of the a.s.sa.s.sin again. He began to complain with obvious dissatisfaction: "Why are you so slow? Do you want to make me late? Hurry up."

The boy reached to pull the a.s.sa.s.sin. If they don"t hurry, then he really wouldn"t have enough money to eat next month.

However, the a.s.sa.s.sin moved away by reflex and escaped the boy"s reach. When the boy grabbed nothing but air, he just shrugged and said, "Let"s go."

The a.s.sa.s.sin scowled.

This world was completely different. Where he was from, he had never seen so much metal. The buildings were metal, roads were metal, and even the trees on the side of the roads looked like it was made out of metal!

"Are those real trees?" Although asking wasn"t something a.s.sa.s.sins do, but he couldn"t contain himself.

The boy glanced at him, "Of course not! Those are artificial trees, made to replace the real trees. They convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. Trees are luxuries, and the government would never plant them on the road," the boy stated as a matter-of-fact.

‘Trees… Are luxuries?’ The a.s.sa.s.sin smirked. ‘Don"t trees grow as they please on the side of the roads and chopped for firewood?’

A hemisphere made out of metal slowly landed beside the two.

The a.s.sa.s.sin noticed the similarity of the one he saw in the sky, except this one seemed bigger than the others. The smooth surface suddenly opened an oblong hole of about a meter wide and two meters tall, just about enough for a person to comfortably walk through.

"I have to pay for one more bus fare! I wonder if I could get reimbursed by the government?" The boy said with dissatisfaction, and then beckoned the a.s.sa.s.sin:

"Hurry up. You"re so slow that you don"t seem like an a.s.sa.s.sin." After he said those words, the boy stepped into the oblong-shaped hole.

The a.s.sa.s.sin soon quietly followed his steps.

Being alone in a strange world, there probably aren"t many people who could keep as composed as he was, instead his speed suffered, and seemed to be slower than usual.

The moment the a.s.sa.s.sin stepped inside the strange oval, he suddenly realized the vehicle was transparent. He could easily see the view of outside world. It was as if the metal sh.e.l.l didn"t exist at all.

He could even see below his own feet… And it started to float!

"Come sit down; it"s not like there"s no seats available, so why are you standing?" The boy sat down without any reserve, crossed his legs and leisurely patted the seat next to him.

The a.s.sa.s.sin quietly sat down. The boy still had his legs leisurely crossed, seemed ill-fitted given his handsome or cute appearance.

"What"s your name?" The boy asked carelessly; and then he realized he should probably introduce himself first, so he hurriedly added: "My name is Kaiser."[T/N: He proceeded to explain which two Chinese characters his names were: Kai, and then Si as in the first character of "driver"]

‘Kaiser…?’ The a.s.sa.s.sin smiled: "Liola."[T/N: In the boy"s initial explanation of his name, it sounded like he was saying Kai"s Driver. That"s why the a.s.sa.s.sin found it funny and smiled.]

"What a strange name, as if someone just put random letters together." Kaiser criticized mercilessly, and then moved onto another topic:

"So, what"s your relationship with the fiery red-head? Why did she seem like she wants to cut you into a thousand pieces? Don"t tell me you got her pregnant and then dumped her? I don"t have to tell you this… But, as a man, you have to be liable sometimes. Don"t always do irresponsible things."

"No." Liola suddenly felt powerless. The boy"s imagination was a bit too colorful: "I"m her Master, not lover."

"Master?" Kaiser could not refrain from a.s.sessing Liola, ‘Can it be?’ he thought.

He thought Liola and the hottie were lovers. ‘How could she be his apprentice? No matter how he looked, Liola looked younger than her…’ Kaiser thought.

"How old are you?" Kaiser asked bluntly.

"Twenty five." Liola answered truthfully.

"How old was the hottie?" Kaiser asked again.

"Twenty seven." Liola thought about it for a while and answered. As far as he remembers, Yasha was two years older than him.

Kaiser touched his forehead and said, "You"re twenty five, she"s twenty seven, so you"re two years younger; how come you"re her master?"

"In the organization, the master-apprentice relationship doesn"t depend on age, but on abilities." Liola concisely answered.

After he finished explaining, he seemed to have sank into his memory.

Yasha… Had she not been the precious daughter of the head of the organization, he wouldn"t have had such a troublesome apprentice.

"So to say, you"re very strong?" Kaiser"s eyes brightened again. Strong people have monetary value.

"I"m the best a.s.sa.s.sin." Liola said without holding back.

"Ex-cell-ent!" Kaiser"s put his hands heavily upon Liola"s shoulders, looked at Liola hopefully, and whispered: "Did you see the gentleman behind me who"s wearing gla.s.ses?"

Liola nodded without looking. When he was getting on the bus, he already memorized who and what were inside.

a.s.sa.s.sin Rule #5, no matter when and where, one must always keenly observe his surroundings.

"That guy is a really dangerous man! He"s a legendary rank-X wanted man." Kaiser whispered excitedly.

"This… What"s exciting about this?" Liola remained confused.

"If you catch him and collect the bounty placed on him, then I wouldn"t have to worry about food or clothes for a long while."

Kaiser could not resist but indulge himself in the fantasy of not having to worry about food or clothes. It would be even better if he could turn the bounty into paper bills and use them to line a bed.

He could only imagine how good it would feel to eat while lying on such a bed.

Liola looked at the gentleman from the corner of his eye.

Sure enough, the man with the gold framed gla.s.ses had already looked at them. His sharp eyes showed some disdain, and his mouth displayed a sinister smile.

Kaiser was so loud, perhaps only the deaf could not hear!

"Let"s get off at the next stop." Liola talked to Kaiser as though he was talking to the gentleman.

"Good!" Kaiser"s happy expression pressed Liola to glance at him shortly, realizing he was being loud on purpose.

As soon as they got off, Kaiser took out his gun. Even though he dragged Liola with him, he wanted to do his part. At the very least, if things went haywire, he could escape alive.

With a head of blonde hair, blue eyes with gold-framed gla.s.ses, a warming and harmless smile, and a black-and-white robe adorned with some unknown symbols, the gentleman appeared to be very strange.

After Kaiser a.s.sessed the man, he lazily pointed the gun at him and said: "Hey, give it up now, or would you like for me to shoot you?"

Liola slightly frowned when he saw how calm the gentleman was.

The gentleman looked pet.i.te with thin arms and legs, and not like someone who could fight. At most, he looked like someone who plans evil schemes behind the scenes, surrounded by bodyguards.

"You are sure I"m a rank-X wanted criminal? Do I look like a wanted criminal?" The gentleman smiled slightly, but his eyes seemed to show slight interest, and with a calm demeanor, fixed his gaze onto Kaiser.

Liola"s heart skipped a beat.

The person"s eyes looked similar to the leader of his organization.

Both the gentleman and the leader have confidence shown in their eyes, as if they are somehow had total control of the situation.

These were the kind of people who would always appear commanding on a battlefield and placed on thrones.

"Miseroy, rank-X wanted criminal. Unknown abilities, unknown age, and unknown just about everything. But the strange thing is, they knew exactly what he looked like. It"s rare for them to know the appearance of a rank-X wanted criminal." Kaiser explained.

"Kaiser, are you sure you could catch him?" The alarm in Liola"s heart wouldn"t stop ringing. His a.s.sa.s.sin instinct tells him they shouldn"t mess with this person!

Kaiser turned around with an innocent look on his face, and moved his hands aside and said: "He"s a rank-X criminal, how could I possibly catch him?"

"Rank-X?" Facing this unfamiliar t.i.tle, Liola suddenly feels uneasy.

"Wanted criminals are divided by ranks from A to F, A being the most dangerous and F being the least." Kaiser explained carefully: "But there"s an addition rank, rank-X."

"How strong are they?" Liola frowned.

"Hmm, I heard they are a lot stronger than rank-A. Criminals whose strength are so strong to the point of being unmeasurable, are all grouped into rank-X. There are only ten rank-X criminals in the world currently." Kaiser"s eyes shone again:

"The bounty for every rank-X is enormous. Even if you were to break my arms and legs, it would be enough money for me to spend in ten lives. I can"t believe we ran into a rank-X today in a bus. G.o.d treated me well."

‘Maybe G.o.d wants to kill you…’ Liola can"t comprehend what"s in Kaiser"s mind.

An a.s.sa.s.sin should always a.s.sess the opponent first, draw up a plan, and then put the plan into action. It would be the wisest choice.

"So, I guess we"ll have to fight?" Mizerui said, still smiling.

"Of course! For me to be able to live comfortably by lying down and not do any work, you should sacrifice a little and go eat free meals in the Aklan jail!" Kaiser proclaimed.

Without hesitation, he then raised his gun and fire it blank three times, and then, with a handsome gesture, blew the smoke away from the guy: "Surely rank-X criminals can"t be subdued with just guns. Liola, your turn."

Liola frowned. Kaiser"s three gunshots were accurate, but he fired them at the wrong time. But how did Mizerui stop those three bullets when they were about three meters away from him?

Liola didn"t see Mizerui move, nor did feel any Ki waves from him. The only difference was his smile turning into a malevolent grin.

"You"re a sorcerer?" Kaiser asked, surprised. The situation became dangerous.

Mizerui blinked: "Yep, do you want to try my powers out?"

Liola was still thinking. What kind of powers could possibly make those bullets drop to the ground?

Suddenly, started to feel a heavy pressure on his body, as if he was carrying the sandbags he used when training to be an a.s.sa.s.sin.

"Re-really heavy!" Kaiser was already down on the ground, moaning.

"Ten times the gravity isn"t enough to make you fall?" Mizerui seemed surprised.

Ten times the gravity meant the people would feel their weight ten times more, and it will total up to a few hundred kilograms. Ordinary people would already fallen the ground.

Mizerui started showing some interest in Liola.

"Ten times the gravity? That"s a strange Kung Fu name." Liola didn"t understand what gravity meant.

Kaiser, who was lying on the ground, raised his head and shouted: "Idiot, this isn"t Kung Fu. He"s a Sorcerer! A Sorcerer!"

"Sorcerer?" Liola still couldn"t comprehend. However, he knew the man in front of him wasn"t easy to deal with. In the past, he would"ve already cut his throat before the man could attempt anything, but now…

"Twenty times gravity." Mizerui said gently.

After Mizerui casted the spell, Liola"s feet sunk a few centimeters into the ground. Though he could still stand, his facial expressions changed.

The weight was no longer something Liola could take lightly. Kaiser was in an even worse condition. Kaiser couldn"t talk, let alone raise his head, and blood was coming out of the edge of his mouth.

"This is some evil Kung Fu!" Liola said with some difficulty.

"I… already… told you… I-it"s not… Kung Fu…" Even though he was dying, he forced himself to correct Liola.

Liola used Fluttering Blood Ki skill he practiced for more than twenty years, and his body felt significantly lighter.

Although Mizerui’s gravity spell still affected him, his speed was still unmatched by a normal person. The most important and most basic attribute of an a.s.sa.s.sin—speed!

Liola instantly took out a thin silver stick hidden in his boots. Because he can"t kill, Liola did not use any deadlier weapons.

He held up the stick and ran towards Mizerui. He was moving so fast, normal people could only see after-images of black shadows.

Truthfully, if he wasn"t affected by Mizerui’s gravity spell, people won"t even see those black shadows under the naked eye.

Mizerui’s face showed traces fright for the first time, and immediately increased the intensity of his gravity spell to the limit, making the gravity within one meter of him to increase to a thousand times.

The black shadow suddenly stopped and Liola appeared again. The silver stick stopped its tracks in mid-air. If someone were to measure it with a ruler, they would find the end of the stick had stopped at exactly one meter and one centimeter away from Mizerui.

Mizerui’s forehead started sweating. He couldn"t believe Liola found out the range of his gravity spell. He had underestimated his opponent.

Liola only paused for a second, and took out a shuriken from his sleeves. Interesting enough, the shuriken was not thrown directly at Mizerui. Instead, it was aimed above his head, with a parabolic trajectory. In other words, if Mizerui doesn"t move, the shuriken will hit his head with a thousand times gravity.[T/N: Shuriken is what throwing stars are called in j.a.panese. Used by ninjas. Ex. Naruto.]

But Mizerui wasn"t interested in adding a hole on his skull, not to mention the hole would probably extend all the way to his feet with because of the gravity and the momentum.

Mizerui teleported a step to his left, and his right hand formed a compressed ball of air, and threw it as a bomb towards Liola.

However, to Liola, it meant nothing. He simply sidestepped to his left, then back. To a bystander, it would look as if he didn"t move, and the ball of air simply pa.s.sed through his body.

Mizerui’s eyes tightened, and raised his hands and yelled: "Let"s see how you handle this; Failed Lecture — Skyfull Chaos Egg Falls."

‘d.a.m.n… Was that the name of the spell?’ Kaiser thought helplessly, finding it unfortunate. Mizerui, who had no creativity for skill names, was responsible for him being on the ground.

Liola didn"t have Kaiser"s leisure to think about how c.r.a.ppy the name is, because thousands of bombs materialized in the sky, was causing Liola quite a headache.

For someone who had never seen anything like this, even as the best a.s.sa.s.sin, Liola wasn"t sure what to do next.

But, Mizerui didn"t drop the bombs, but rather smiled: "How about we both take a step back?"

"Back, back, back. Liola, go back a few steps." Kaiser suddenly realized, he himself was in the attack range of "Failed Lecture — Skyfull Chaos Egg Falls", so he agreed to Mizerui’s proposal, while taking several steps back.

Strange as it was, Liola really took a few steps back, stopping only until he reached Kaiser, and then he put the silver stick back into his boot.

‘nteresting people…’ Mizerui scratched his face, and cancelled the "Failed Lecture — Skyfull Chaos Egg Falls" spell.

He was interested in two guys, and he changed the gravity back to ten times so Kaiser could talk normally.

"Tell me everything about you two, and perhaps if makes me happy, I"ll let you two live."

"Oof, a bit better." Kaiser sighed in relief, and looked up at Mizerui with hopeful expression:

"You"re really going to let us live? Then I"ll tell you everything. My name is Kaiser, and I"m a rank-D bounty hunter. I was just about to bring this guy, Liola, who came from another dimension to the government shelter."

"That"s it?" Mizerui said, displeased.

"And, and!" Seeing Mizerui’s discontent, Kaiser hurriedly added, but what else could he say? Kaiser couldn"t think of what else to say about himself even if he split his head open, so all he could do was betray the guy from another dimension:

"Y-you shouldn"t underestimate Liola. You already saw what he"s capable of. He is the so-called best a.s.sa.s.sin. So you better not cross him. Twenty times the gravity was nothing to him. The reason why he backed off was because he didn"t want to kill anyone, but if you make him mad, he might just kill you with a knife."

Mizerui and Liola both pretended as if they didn"t hear anything. Mizerui raised his eyebrows and asked Liola: "From another dimension?"

Liola nodded lightly.

"Okay, you may go." Mizerui gestured them to leave.

"What? You"re really going to let us go?" Kaiser"s jaw dropped: "I thought we were dead for sure."

Mizerui blinked: "Under one condition."

"What condition?" Kaiser was stunned, and asked: "Let me tell you first, if you"re going to make me a slave or tell me I can"t eat, then you might as well kill me."

Mizerui showed an innocent expression: "No no, as long as you two apply to the Aklan College and get in to study there, I will let you go."

"That"s it?" Kaiser asked, could not believe it.

"That"s it." Mizerui put his hands on his side.

"Uh, strange things sure happen a lot nowadays." Kaiser mumbled:

"I can"t believe someone would threaten me with my life to go to school. I don"t know if this was something good or bad. But what am I going to do with my old school? It took a lot to get a scholarship to it."

"Oh and by the way," Mizerui blinked again, "Today is the last day to apply to Aklan Academy, and the application office is only open until five. It"s already three, so you still have two hours."

"Whaaat!" Kaiser looked at his watch, and to be exactly, there is only an hour and fifty three minutes left, "Aklan Academy is downtown!"

"If you don"t get in," Mizerui smiled, "Then at five o"clock sharp I will go kill you both. And don"t you dare think about escaping, I will find you wherever you are."

"Five o"clock… Ah, the bus is here. Liola, let"s go!" Kaiser grabbed Liola by the collar, ran with him to the bus stop hundreds of meters away, and jumped on the bus at the very last second.

* * *

"That was really fast…" Mizerui almost drip in cold sweat.

"Why did you let them go?" A shadow suddenly said coldly.

"Because I don"t want us to get hurt!" Mizerui showed an innocent smile.

"What do you mean…" The shadow began to reply unsatisfactorily, and then stopped.

"Did you finally notice?" Mizerui’s smile grew larger: "That quiet a.s.sa.s.sin had already fired the warning shots."

The shadow quietly looked at the ground in front of his feet, and saw there were two shuriken there. He didn"t realize them until now.

"He threw it when I was activating "Failed Lecture", if I were to drop the "Skyfull Chaos Egg Falls", then perhaps somebody"s heart would"ve been stabbed by shurikens by now." Mizerui said, with an expression on his face as if he"s saying ‘you should thank me’.

The shadow touched his own nose helplessly. He didn"t think he had been turn into a liability.

Mizerui acted as if he remembered something, and happily said "Right, I better go tell Barbalis I found him two new interesting students."

"I hope you didn"t find them too interesting that you…" The shadow said, his face becoming overshadowed with black lines, turning speechless.[T/N: The shadow person"s face was filled with black lines, kind of like how anime characters do when they are speechless or grief stricken.]

"How"s that possible? I only did it because I think they were talented, and I remember Barbalis was short on people, so I would introduce them to him!" Mizerui said, full of seriousness.

"Is that so?" The shadow seemed to have raised his guard.

"That"s right!" Mizerui answered seriously, then turned around with a smile on his face again and said: "All right, I have to go and discuss this game with Barbalis… No, I mean the plan to train these talented people!"

The former was the truth, wasn"t it? The shadow was speechless.

Back to top

Chapter 2 : Purity

This chapter is brought to you by AnmesicCat and StellarAshes.

After a long silence, Liola asked: “If you knew Mizerui was strong, why did you try to attempt the impossible?”

Kaiser’s expression turned serious: “It’s because of my dreams.”

“Dreams?” Liola asked again.

“That’s right!” Kaiser suddenly stood up and shouted firmly: “My dream is to lie on a bed comfortably for the rest of my life without having to worry about food or clothing! And for my dream, I am willing to risk my life to do it.”

Was this being lazy or being diligent… Thought everyone inside the bus while facepalming.

“Ah! We’ve arrived at Aklan Academy, hurry up and get off.” Kaiser looked down at the time and said with frustration: “45 minutes left. Come on, hurry up. I don’t want to be reporting to in the gates of h.e.l.l in 45 minutes.”

After the two jumped off the bus, a strange gate appeared in front of them. It was a head; that’s right, you"ve read it correctly.

The so-called Academy gate was just a spherical head, with a half-bald, with tonsured hairstyle. Its facial features were clearly visible, along with a Salvador Dali mustache.

The mouth was laughing and wide-open, and where its opened mouth lead to, was entrance to the academy.

Kaiser stared at it blankly before he said: “It really is a ‘laughing’ door!”

Liola could not arbitrate the architectural design of the building.

Because this world has a strange architectural style. Kaiser wasn’t surprised for long. He grabbed Liola’s wrist and dragged him into the mouth… No, the Academy gate.

He felt like a lamb walking into a tiger’s mouth…

Liola suddenly wanted to sigh. Why did his life, within a span of only half a day, change so dramatically? From being chased to falling into a strange world, and now he even had to do something he had never done—go to school.

“If Anise knew I’ve become like this, she… Would definitely be happy.” Liola laughed bitterly.

“What kind of trash…?” Kaiser turned around and curiously asked; but before he got an answer, he had already forgotten the question, and he started to say, “Hurry, let’s go apply now. Otherwise, in half an hour, we’re both doomed.”

“If it’s just me, even if I couldn’t beat Mizerui, I could escape.” Liola a.s.sessed the situation, and concluded.

“Da… Dage…” Kaiser said, trembling: “Going to school is fun. You’re a world-cla.s.s a.s.sa.s.sin, so you definitely haven’t experienced the joy of going to school, and now’s your chance. So you should fill your head with knowledge while attending school, because in this world, diplomas are the most important thing. Having a diploma will get you a good job, and having a good job will let you survive easily… Plus, you going to school will also save my life, so isn’t it hitting multiple birds with the same stone? You should never miss something that has more pros than cons.”

Kaiser was literally crying while holding onto Liola’s leg.

Going to school? Liola thought about it, and then nodded slightly. He had nowhere else to go, so perhaps the quiet campus was a good place. Even though the campus would later prove to be anything but quiet, but this was something Liola couldn’t antic.i.p.ate.

Kaiser, who had been crying, saw Liola’s nod, and suddenly all his tears seemed to have retreated back into his eyes. He stood up as if nothing had happened, and yelled excitedly: “Good, let’s go apply then.”

Liola pointed with his finger, gesturing in front of them: “Which line should we go to?”

“Whichever line is fine…” Kaiser turned around and immediately saw many people forming in two snake-shaped lines, extending from where they stood to somewhere they couldn’t see.

Kaiser blurted: “d.a.m.n! Nowadays we have to line up for everything. Buying food, getting on a bus; I wonder… does dying require lining up too?”

Of course it does! He used to have a list of his prey lined up, waiting for him to execute them. Liola quietly thought.

“Look, look, there"re less people over there!” Kaiser said excitedly, as if he had discovered a new world. He dragged Liola again and started running. To someone as lazy as him, doing less was for the best.

Kaiser forcefully slammed on the table, and yelled: “We’re here to apply!”

The old man who slept in his seat while blowing bubbles from his mouth suddenly woke up and stared at Kaiser, clueless to what was going on.

“Old man, can you hurry up? Do you know we don’t have long left to live?” Kaiser looked at his watch, there was less than 15 minutes left, and said with frustration.

“Lad, relax, you will definitely live longer than me.” The old man said slowly but surely, and murmured: “What’s the hurry? I’ve already lived hundreds of years and I’m not in much of a hurry.”

“You are right, I will live longer than you, because if were die I am gonna kill you first.” Kaiser yelled angrily.

“Fine, I’ll let you apply. Don’t kill me.” After Kaiser screamed, the old man seemed a bit scared. He hurriedly prepared various files and placed them in front of Kaiser, and timidly said: “Just sign these and you will be admitted.”

“It’s that simple?” Kaiser skeptically stared at the old man.
“It is that simple.” The old man gulped and answered.

“What the h.e.l.l, I thought we were going to be faced with a super difficult test before we would be admitted. But it turns out this easy. I was scared for nothing.” Kaiser complained as he took the files, and handed a copy to Liola.

Liola quietly received the files, but his eyes lightly scanned the timid old man.

“Let’s see what we have to fill.” Kaiser took the pen from the desk, and leisurely said, “Name and gender… That’s it?”

Yes, the 30 cm by 30 cm piece of paper only had two words written on it: Name, and gender… And the handwriting was very ugly!

Kaiser was not the only one who dumbfounded, even Liola skeptically knitted his eyebrows. The file was a little bit too convenient for him. After all, the only information Liola had to give was his name and gender.

Kaiser waved, and declared he was done. The old man took the files while shuddering, and handed Kaiser some necessities: a washbasin, a set of toiletries, a set of sheets, a steel knife, a set of uniform, and lastly, a black card.

“That black card is your student ID, so you should take care of it. Entering and exiting the Academy depend on it, as well as your room.” The old man explained.

Liola received the same things. He held up the black card and examined the strange silver pattern on it. It looked like a pa.s.s with jewelry on it.

“Let’s go, Liola.”

He only looked at it for a short while, because Kaiser was already beckoning Liola from far away.

Liola thought, despite Kaiser calling himself lazy, he was actually quite quick to take action. So where was this supposed laziness be? As he was contemplated, he started walking towards Kaiser.

* * *

When Kaiser and Liola were far away, the timid old man suddenly stood up, straightened his back, and briskly laughed viciously:

“Ah, finally I’ve tricked… Another two students. As the princ.i.p.al of the School of Sorcery, it would be shameful if I couldn’t even get thirty students.”

“I forgot to tell those two, the School of Sorcery’s graduation rate is less than ten percent.” The old man laughed. After all, there is no such a thing as being enrolled with just a name and a gender.

“Graduation rate weren"t important. What’s most important was the survival rate was less than thirty percent. Wasn’t this the real reason why the School of Sorcery doesn’t have many people, isn’t it?”

The old man turned, and sure enough, a gentle and smiling face appeared before him,

“Mizerui?”

“Long time no see, Barbalis, and you owe me once again.” Mizerui greeted him as if they were old friends.

“What do you mean?” Barbalis curiously asked, not that he minds owing a favor, but why would Mizerui ask him to help handling people… at least he hadn’t seen it before.

“I helped you trick those two interesting students here.” Mizerui smiled.

“Oh?” Barbalis was interested, and curiously looked at Mizerui. Mizerui explained everything in full detail to Barbalis.

“It’s quite interesting. One is a man from another dimension with unfathomable strength, and the other seems to have exceptional magic fluctuation. I withdrew all of my magic perfectly. The outsider seemed to have seen through my disguise. They’re definitely not ordinary. ”

Barbalis murmured, and gestured to thank Mizerui, while smiling and hitting Mizerui’s shoulder: “Mizerui, my old friend, I can’t believe you send me such interesting people. I really owe you a big one.”

Mizerui blinked: “Not at all, just remember to share their progress with me.”

“Of course, of course. It would definitely be interesting. Hahaha.” Barbalis started laughing loudly, and his laughter could be heard all around the campus.

All the teachers and students who knew of the princ.i.p.al’s personalities shivered, hoping to G.o.d the princ.i.p.al will never find them ‘interesting’.

* * *

“This is really not fair.” Kaiser said, for the 34th time, “Why does the School of Knights and the School of Mecha Fighters have dorms that looked like five star hotels. But the where School of Sorcery lived, it looked like we should apply to the government to be a historic site.”

“There is no free lunch.” Liola said it as a matter-of-fact. The process of getting in this school was too simple. If the only difference with other schools were the dorms, then it would be a good thing. Still, he didn’t think it was simple, especially the old man.

“No wonder there were two long lines, and there was no one in front of the School of Sorcery, not even a mouse.” Kaiser circled the crude room. Other than two beds, two desks, and a bathroom, there was nothing but the four walls.

Kaiser covered the bed with sheets, climbed on it, and sighed comfortably.

“Kaiser, what exactly do people learn in the School of Knights, Mecha Fighters, and Sorcery?” Liola received a headache trying to figure out the three things he had never heard before. To him, this new world was full of mystery.

“Knights?” Kaiser laid on his bed with hands behind his head: “They are the profession with a great-sword or pike, equip themselves with metal, and they ride things to travel around.”

A bit hard to understand… Liola wondered if he couldn’t understand because he didn’t know much of this world, or was it because Kaiser’s ability to explain was lacking.

“Mecha Fighters is even crazier. It’s the called money-burning profession. Even if their machine looked like junk, it’s still expensive as h.e.l.l.” Kaiser shook his head, and sighed thinking the rich people were quite wasteful.

“I… don’t understand.” Liola frowned.

“Well.” Kaiser puffed his pillow: “Liola, just remember: if you see people with armor, those are from School of Knights, don’t mess with them. If you see them with mecha armor, those are from School of Mecha Fighters, don’t mess with them. And as for the School of Sorcery… Don’t mess with them either. Though some of them may be weak, but who knows if you end up messing with Mizerui’s son?”

To sum it up, don’t mess with anybody… Looks like Liola can’t rely on Kaiser to try and understand this world. Liola sighed deeply.

“Oh right Liola; tell me, why aren’t you a normal a.s.sa.s.sin, but an a.s.sa.s.sin who doesn’t kill?” Kaiser murmured. An a.s.sa.s.sin who doesn’t kill? It’s a profession that pays worse than a Sorcerer.

Hearing this, Liola’s drifted back into his memories… This was about a year ago. The first thing he remembered was a long silky blonde hair dancing around in the wind.

* * *

“Liola, have you ever been unable to sleep soundly because you took a life?” A pair of sad, lake green eyes stared at him, not with blame, but with sympathy.

“I’ve never slept soundly.” Liola replied truthfully: “a.s.sa.s.sin’s Rule #10, staying alert even when sleeping.”

The girl laughed bitterly: “If one day you couldn’t sleep soundly because you killed someone, then perhaps you aren’t a real a.s.sa.s.sin anymore.”

“Anise… In the past, I couldn’t sleep soundly because I killed someone, but as you can see, that part of me is gone.” Liola’s face showed a rare expression of sadness and worry.

* * *

“Who is Anise? Does she have something to do with you not killing?” Kaiser asked curiously.

“I promised her, never to kill again.” Liola stated the only promise he had ever made in his life.

Hearing this, Kaiser became really interested in the story. He puffed his pillow again, laid comfortably, and asked Liola: “Tell me the story between you and Annie.”

Liola hesitated for a while, and finally started telling the story of what happened in the past year.

“Anise was a Master Doctor; at least that’s what everyone says. It seemed like no one she cured had ever died. That year, because the organization accepted a commission, we kidnapped Anise. Who knew Anise’s medical skills were so exceptional? Rather than killing her, as stated in the original contract, the organization was willing to pay the penalty for breaching the contract. Anise was placed under house arrest, and she stayed within the organization to treat a.s.sa.s.sins who were injured on the job…”

* * *

One year ago…

Liola stood quietly in the center of the hall. But although he stood in the center, his existence was frail enough for others not consider him as a living person.

His black hair, black clothes, and even darker eyes. Had it not been for the bright red blood dripping from his right arm, people would have mistaken him for an obsidian statute.

“Li, you shouldn’t be hurt.” The leader’s eyes were very cold, and one could tell he was extremely dissatisfied.

Liola didn’t answer, because an a.s.sa.s.sin didn’t need to answer. Liola’s silence didn’t cause any more dissatisfaction, for his behavior was, after all, trained by the leader himself.

“Go find Anise and get yourself patched up.” The leader grunted, and commanded Liola

To follow the leader’s orders, Liola turned and walked away, exiting the hall silently to find Anise.

“Master, I heard you were hurt?”

As soon as Liola left the hall, Yasha, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately called him.

She looked at Liola’s bleeding arm, feeling quite perplexed. She had always been jealous of Liola’s abilities as the best a.s.sa.s.sin.

Upon hearing the news the best a.s.sa.s.sin was injured, she should have been happy about his failure… But, when she saw Liola’s wound, her heart sank a bit.

Liola stopped, turned and asked his apprentice: “Where is Anise?”

Seeing the expressionless face on Liola, Yasha felt angry. She was his apprentice, but he was always greeting her with indifference.

Yasha pouted, but she had to answer the Master’s question: “In the Bamboo Forest of the Sky, 1st sector.”

1st sector of Bamboo Forest of the Sky was coincidentally where Liola lived. He turned around and left without hesitation, always leaving the angry Yasha behind. She ran directly into the hall, to complain to her dad about her Master’s heartlessness.

The leader’s expression changed far from how it was when he was spoke with Liola. With a smile, he listened to his daughter’s complaint, and answered helplessly:

“You are the one who forced me to a.s.sign Liola as your master, and I’ve already told you: Liola is definitely the best a.s.sa.s.sin in the world, but at the same time, also the worst Master in the world.”

Although he was heard Yasha complaining to the leader again, Liola did not think anything of it. Instead, he walked towards the 1st sector of Bamboo Forest of the Sky to comply with the leader’s order to find Anise.

Before long, the melancholic Bamboo Forest appeared before him. As Liola was walking through the forest, he activated ‘Heart of Consciousness’ — a move that increased his perception to the max. It was a move the leader taught Liola himself.

In an instant, ‘Heart of Consciousness’ sent Liola’s mind in all directions, quickly finding his target within the dense forest.

Liola knew every living being’s size, repository rate, and even body temperature. He found a person inside the forest, and concluded it to be Anise, the person he was looking for.

Liola walked towards his target without hesitation.

After brushing aside the final bamboo leaves blocking his way, the silky blonde hair and elegant silhouette appeared before him. She was kneeling on the gra.s.s, leisurely tasting the tea in her cup.

“Anise?” Liola asked.

Anise raised her head, and her clear green eyes held their gaze looking at Liola.

She spoke softly: “I am Anise. You… Are hurt.” Anise quickly noticed the person in front of her was bleeding.

Anise immediately opened the medical kit she carries around, and took out bandages as well as several bottles.

With a hurried voice, she said to Liola: “You, over there, come here. I’ll help you patch up this wound. I can’t let you keep bleeding.”

Liola walked beside Anise, and after being pulled by Anise. He sat on the gra.s.s, letting the girl next to him do work on the wound on his right arm.

Liola let Anise do as she pleases for two reasons.

First, it was because it was ordered by the leader. And secondly, Liola had already used ‘Heart of Consciousness’ to determine Anise didn’t know Kung Fu at all.

“Okay. Hmm, my bandaging technique is still just as great.” Anise wiped the sweat from her forehead, and began to appreciate her work. She then asked smilingly at this unknown patient of hers: “What’s your name?”

“Li.”

“Li what?” Anise curiously asked, “Your name can’t be just Li?”

“Li… Liola.” Liola hesitated. Finally he revealed the full name he himself had almost forgotten.

“Liola!” Anise’s green eyes brightened: “Aren’t you the legendary and best a.s.sa.s.sin in the world? Wow, I didn’t think I would ever meet you. But you don’t look as vicious as they say.”

With a quiet and elegant exterior, Anise was surprisingly talkative. She held onto Liola and talked for hours.

She even used the excuse that talking was a part of the treatment, to order to get Liola to stay and to listen to her go on and on about who is the most famous, who is the most handsome, and how she had once treated the Hero Swordsman Bell’s menstruation pains.

For the first time in his life, Liola had an opinion, and it was… The woman talked far too much.

The sun had set and the sky had been filled with stars. Anise had been talking to the point where she was so thirsty; she drank a bucketful of water.

Her stomach started growling. It wasn’t until then, when she had finally decided to let Liola leave.

“Remember to come back to me for another ‘treatment’.” With an innocent smile, Anise lied.

In fact, Liola’s injury wasn’t severe. With the help of Liola’s own Ki, the wound would probably heal within a couple of days, without the need of re-applying the bandaging.

Hearing Anise’s words, Liola’s face, which was originally expressionless, twitched twice. This was also the first time he had this expression and a feeling of helplessness.

And starting from when he met Anise, Liola suddenly found himself having many ‘first’s’.

* * *

A satisfied snore suddenly dragged Liola out of his memories. He looked towards Kaiser, only to see Kaiser sleeping so deeply, his saliva had been dripping from the corner of his mouth.

This sight clearly indicated to Liola, the guy who asked the question was obviously looking for a bedtime story, but fell asleep before he finished listening to it.

Liola sighed again. Strange, ever since he had met Kaiser, he seemed to sigh more and more… Is it a good or bad thing? Liola thought while lying on the other bed in the room, and that was how he spent the rest of the first day in an alien world.

* * *

“Kaiser, Kaiser.”

Kaiser frowned, and buried his head further into his pillow. His hands also waved around, trying to hit the snooze b.u.t.ton on the ‘alarm’, and at the same time, he murmured:

“Stop bothering me, I want to sleep.”

Seeing a boy who buried his head under the pillow, and who didn’t get up after Liola tried to wake him up for a span of half an hour. Liola felt it was easier to kill a gosu rather than waking up Kaiser.

After a short silence, Liola heard Kaiser’s even breath again. Helpless, he said: “I’m going to school.”

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Liola was faced with another scenario, putting him on wit’s end. A delicate girl with blue hair and blue eyes stared at him with both fear and antic.i.p.ation. What now?

“Y-You are in the School of Sorcery too?” The girl asked timidly, but she clearly already knew the answer, for Liola is wearing a dark gray robe, instead of the uniform of the other schools.

“What’s the matter?” Liola responded concisely.

“Uh, well… Today’s your first day, right? I’m sure you’re not familiar with the school. Would you like for me to show you around?” The girl asked with a shaky voice. Her shoulders were trembling so much, it was as if she were talking to a monster who would eat her at any moment.

Liola suddenly felt like he was being taken advantage of. However, he does need someone to show him around. He decided to wait and see. He nodded, and followed the trembling girl to the first lesson of his school life.

“My name is Purity. What’s your name?” She asked after they walked for a while. She continued to look to her left then her right, and she seemed extremely nervous as if an a.s.sa.s.sin would jump out to kill her at any moment.

“Liola.”

“Oh, what a strange name.” Purity came to the same conclusion as Kaiser.

Though, as soon as she said it, she anxiously said: “Uh, I don’t mean to criticize you. What I mean was, your name is a bit strange, b-but it’s not necessarily a bad name… Just a bit weird.”

Liola wasn’t interested in what others thought of his name. Instead, he was interested in the people around them hiding their bad intentions. These people had been tailing them ever since they stepped out of the dorms. Seeing Purity scared to death, those people were probably after her.

"D-Do you know how to beat people up?" Purity suddenly asked.
"No." Liola answered directly. He doesn"t just beats people up. He kills them.

Purity heard this, and her shoulders collapsed, and replied sadly: "Oh, then you should walk to cla.s.s yourself; just walk straight down this road and you"ll be there."

After she said this, Purity walked ahead of him as if she was a martyr, though this martyr"s legs couldn"t stop quivering, as if she was going to fall at any moment.

Purity took no more than ten steps when the people hidden from sight jumped out.

There were five of them, all wearing blue clothing. The clothing should be similar to the ones Liola was wearing, a school uniform. But the clothing on the five people was adorned with metallic things. It looked like some kind of weapons, and somewhat looked like armor.

"School of Mecha Fighters?" Judging from the messy description from Kaiser, Liola concluded. Considering he wanted to understand this world, this would be a good time to see what the Mecha Fighters really were.

Purity anxiously took out an old magic staff under her grey robe. The staff was adorned with a thumb-sized jewel, with a crack in it. It was obviously a low quality staff.

"Purity, school starts again. We haven"t seen you in a whole month, and you know we missed you very much."

The leader, Jetter, showed the smile he had been hiding. Knowing he inflicted fear in Purity, his smile grew broader.

"Jetter…" Purity was so scared, she almost dropped her staff, let alone casting any sort of spell.

She started begging: "Jetter, please let me go. I-I"ve never done any harm to you, so why are you treating me like this?"

Jetter didn"t reply, but instead smiled and raised his hands, to aim the barrels on the side of his arms toward Purity.

Liola, who was watching the scenario, was… Curiously looking at Jetter"s arms. Huge pieces of metals lined up on his shoulders and arms.

The metals on his shoulder looked like huge shoulder pads, while the metal on his arm had claws on the end. It extended from his shoulders all the way down to his arms. They were wider than his arms.

Purity, whom had already gone pale, was on the ground, hoping the situation would end with no more than a few days in the hospital. Other than this, she had no other wishes.

As she waited, nothing happened, which was unusual for Jetter. Instead, Jetter turned towards Liola, who was standing no more than a few steps away: "Hey, aren"t you planning on saving this damsel in distress?"

"No." Liola plainly answered. Why would he fight strangers he hadn"t met for ten minutes?

Although he wanted to see the Mecha Fighters" weapons, he was not planning on testing them himself.

Jetter was stunned at his reply and started laughing: "What a cold-blooded guy! Purity, looks like you found the wrong guy to help you."

Cold-blooded Liola felt something in his heart, and suddenly heard the screaming of a young girl.

"You emotionless thing, are you worth my sister"s sacrifice?"

Similar to his memories of the past, Jetter"s mocking face appeared in front of his eyes again. Liola"s eyes suddenly became cold. He… was starting to get mad.

* * *

"Hmm, I"m hungry." Kaiser lay on his bed for a long time. There was only one thing that could ever get him out of bed—hunger.

His unwilling head rubbed against the pillow few times, and finally sat up with his hairs sticking up. He rubbed his eyes, and suddenly found a person in his room:

"Hey! Liola? Didn"t you go to cla.s.s?"

Kaiser scratched his head, trying to recall. When he was sleeping, he seemed to have heard Liola saying he was going to cla.s.s.

"Mm… I ran into a bit of trouble." Liola frowned lightly, while slowly eating his breakfast.

"What kind of trouble?" Kaiser"s skin began to itch. He"s not afraid of anything, except trouble.

"Liola-dage!"

Liola hadn"t said anything, and the old door to their room was suddenly opened. The one who ran in, was delicate girl with blue hair and blue eyes — Purity. She was carrying a few plates full of breakfast: sandwiches, desserts, coffee, and bacon.

"Wow, bre