Jakob, Mirielle, and Darien dismissed their training that day far earlier than usual because of what had happened.
Mirielle was frustrated because she had lost her bow to the Ash Rats, while Jakob was fuming because he had been humiliated, his stomach and back bruised. So, they decided to call it a day in order to avoid more trouble on the field, parting ways with Jakob as usual.
'It's a great thing we left early.'
Darien thought as he realized he had been given a good lead to execute his plan of eliminating the Ash Rats.
Jakob had told him Vallic's petty gang often drank at the Red Boar tavern at the edge of the district, just where the middle district roadways and retail markets began. He couldn't afford to lose them now, so when he and Mirielle got back home, he hurried to prepare his ingredients.
'I plucked five Greatbloom flowers with me from the journey…'
His mind flashed to the dying mage's last moments, and how he had taught him a small but very deadly alchemy of the blend of Greatbloom and apple seeds, potent enough to snuff one's life.
Darien pulled out three flowers from his inventory, grabbed a small-sized mortar and pestle from Madame Faewyn's collection, and also a vial tool. He carefully cleaned all the tools for his purpose before darting out of the house to buy apples.
"Where are you going?"
Mirielle asked from behind just as Darien stepped out of the door, her hazel eyes lingering and scanning his frame.
A hint of curiosity was in them, and Darien saw it. Ever since truly learning about him, Mirielle couldn't help but notice small things she had overlooked before.
Darien left no room for more questions. With a simple reply, he deepened his ambiguity toward her and stepped out.
"Just a quick errand. I'll be back soon, don't worry."
Darien made his way through the bustling streets, stopping at a fruit stall to purchase three ripe apples. He devoured them one by one, leaving only the cores behind.
He collected the cores, believing three would be enough for the scale to deal with all the Rats at once.
Finding a quiet alleyway, he crouched and brought out the mortar, pestle, and vial he had prepared. He crushed the apple seeds with the Greatbloom flower until they turned into a fine paste.
Carefully, Darien funneled the mixture into the vial, corked it tightly, and he was ready.
'Every day for the rats, one day for the poison!'
The boy dusted off his knees and made his way toward the Red Boar tavern with determination ruling his every step. He knew how he would slip the poison into mugs without raising suspicion, and that would be with
Luckily for him, the Ash Rats weren't there yet because they were still out rampaging and committing iniquitous acts. Word spread fast, and people had just seen them beat a poor boy so hard he coughed blood. This delay gave Darien more time to refine his plan.
No one saw him because he was using
Lying there patiently with dust and spiders, Darien waited until the Ash Rats jogged happily into the tavern, loud and full of themselves.
The host was familiar with their antics, and so she prepared one massive mug of booze to serve their first round.
'Bingo!'
Darien's guess was right. That was indeed their table; the host had just placed the mug there. And when she turned away, he quietly uncorked the vial.
With a crooked, cruel smile, the young boy in the dark ceiling tilted the vial, letting the venomous content plunge nine feet into the mug.
plop!
'Perfect! Now drink up, you bastards!'
Darien gave the poison three minutes to fully dissolve into the liquid.
The Ash Rats threw themselves into the chairs, kicking their feet up and laughing like they owned the place. Darien could hear their crude jokes and mocking tales, most of them bragging about how they had "disciplined" Jakob earlier and how easy it was to terrorize the low district.
Vallic was the loudest, boasting about how he'd soon move to the middle district because "even their guards would bow if they saw real strength."
Their laughter was foul and obnoxious, but music to Darien's ears, because every gulp from that mug brought them closer to ruin.
Passing the massive mug around, each one took generous swigs of the booze. Their assassin stayed perfectly still in the ceiling, watching with hawk-like focus, his heart thumping with a mix of fear and anticipation.
He began to count their sips as if he were performing a ritual, wondering if he had actually prepared the poison right. But since it took an already dying person such a long time as in Bennin's case, then it would take longer for these healthy ones.
But Darien also had to consider the polarizing fact that Bennin was a mage, and the Ash Rats were just simple commoners.
When Vallic slammed the mug down with a satisfied grin, Darien knew it wouldn't be long. Moments later, it began.
They all laughed at the first cough, but when a second Rat began clutching his throat, the laughter died.
Their chairs scraped the floor ferociously as one of them collapsed to his side, choking, his face turning a frightening shade of red.
Immediately, the tavern erupted into chaos as all the young, able-bodied men who entered began to convulse. The workers panicked and screamed.
Darien didn't celebrate until he saw it take effect on Vallic. The young man's smug grin had disappeared as he clawed at his own throat, knocking over the table as foam laced his lips.
In his final moments, Vallic's bleeding eyes darted upward to catch a stunning glint of snow hair through the cracked ceiling. Rage consumed his dying gaze as he weakly raised a trembling finger toward Darien.
The boy smirked from the shadows, locking eyes with his enemy.
'Yes. Me.'
Without another glance, Darien slid back and reactivated
Dust rained down like proof of his presence.
He wanted everyone to know that the Ash Rats were murdered, and to prevent any insinuation that the tavern's drinks were at fault for their deaths.
People looked up, but the figure above only left his shadow to be seen. With that deliberate statement, Darien vanished into the rafters and found himself outside in a couple of seconds.
[Congratulations! You slayed a Rank 1 Being]
[You get 500 Skill Points and 5 Attribute Points]
[Congratulations! You slayed a Rank 1 Being]
[You get 500 Skill Points and 5 Attribute Points]....
'So, just only two of those bastards were above Rank 0?!'
By the time Darien rounded the corner from the backside, a small crowd had already gathered at the tavern's entrance.
Shocked murmurs rippled through the onlookers as they peered inside, some craning their necks while others whispered about the sudden chaos. A few even glanced upward, as though expecting the attacker to still be lurking above.
'Time to get out of here and see how many Skill Points I have in total!'
Darien pounced away from the scene carefree, his figure nowhere in sight. But suddenly, he felt an iron hand grip his right fist, yanking him back with sheer inertia.
"You!"
Darien couldn't believe it. His heart skipped!