As I looked ahead, I saw dozens of powerful mages heading straight for us.
But among them were also swordsmen, and even other powerful mercenaries.
It seemed like they were very well prepared.
"I'm not saying we can't take them all... but isn't it better to just run away?"
I shrugged.
"We've not been doing anything for the last two days but going around and killing weak nobles. Since I don't want us to become sloppy, I thought we'd spar a little."
A faint smile appeared on Clementine's face.
She then turned toward the incoming enemies and eventually stood up.
"No killing, right?"
"Nope."
After getting my approval, Clementine did a quick stretch and kicked off the ground, reappearing in front of the enemy reinforcements.
I saw her raise her hand.
Then, while giving me a cute wink from this far away, she slapped the air, causing a fierce gust of wind to send the majority of the incoming mages flying away.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave reached me only now.
But seeing how she was having her fun, I felt like I should go get warmed up as well.
The moment I took one step forward, I quickly covered my neck in Telekinesis.
CLANG!
I saw the outline of a dagger for a split second as it tore through my Telekinesis.
However, due to the protective field I created, the closer something is to my body, the more it is repelled.
And coincidentally, the dagger stopped a nail's length away from my artery.
At first, I thought it was just some powerful assassin.
Yet when I glanced at the wielder, I was stunned.
There was a short man dressed in all black.
He wielded two daggers and also had two uchigatanas stashed away at his waist.
...This guy went by the name of Asura.
It was corny as shit.
But then again... this guy was only 18 years old, just like Clementine and I.
Though at 18 years of age, he was already one of the candidates for the future top 10 best assassins in the entire world.
A true prodigy, who had the Gift of Acceleration.
The faster he moved, the stronger his attacks were.
And since he could accelerate himself by hundreds of times, his attacks were very powerful.
But then...
"What does someone like you want from someone like me? Aren't we in the same organization?"
Asura's eyes narrowed.
"There's a big bounty on your head. That Evangeline woman has one too."
Oh?
We already have bounties?
Though, just how high are those bounties to make Asura personally come here?
"Mmm... Listen. Bounty or not, I don't want to fight you. Evangeline and I just want to warm up a little before heading back home. If you let us be, I'll pay handsomely."
With just how much money I had... I might as well use it to avoid fighting him.
Though, it seemed like my words fell on deaf ears as Asura dashed forward.
He accelerated his body to its limits and changed his weapons to the dual uchigatanas.
Then, with all of the built-up power, he slashed down at my neck.
I really didn't want to fight him.
But since he left me with no choice...
SWISH!
All of Asura's momentum was canceled out in the blink of an eye.
I only pushed him back a hair.
But that was the downside of his unmastered Acceleration Gift.
So long as someone could even slightly stop him, he'd be screwed.
By the time his dual uchigatanas arrived at my neck, they weren't even able to get past my Telekinetic barriers.
I smiled at Asura, then extended my hand and tried to grab him by the throat.
But he was by no means weak.
He spun like a whirlwind and began chipping away at my Telekinetic barriers.
Every turn, he got faster and faster, and within just a few seconds, he looked like an unstoppable force.
If I set up a Telekinetic barrier, he destroyed it instantly.
At one point, he even slightly nicked my neck.
To think someone who barely appeared in the game could be so powerful...
I need this guy alive.
The moment that thought passed through my mind, I decided to take this whole fight seriously.
My eyes narrowed.
In an instant, the tips of his uchigatanas broke off.
They spun around in the air as lightning began wildly crackling around them.
But once I sent them ahead, they were nothing but tiny streaks of lightning.
ZZZZZZZZZZ
STAB!
CLANG!
One of the tips pierced clean through Asura's shoulder, while the other he deflected.
Though, with an Acceleration Gift... all he had to do was accelerate his own regeneration.
I saw his flesh mend rapidly.
Before long, it was as though I hadn't done any damage.
An overpowered Gift indeed.
He switched back to his daggers and began violently attacking me.
I dodged everything effortlessly.
Blocking wasn't hard either.
But neither of us was getting tired.
...Neither of us was using a lot of energy either.
This fight could last days.
Sadly for Asura, Clementine's birthday was slightly more important.
So with that in mind, I decided to finish the fight.
I wrapped Asura's whole body in Telekinesis.
At first, I didn't do anything.
But the moment he got close, I increased the mass and density of certain points in his body.
Asura suddenly hurtled toward the ground.
He crashed like a meteorite and formed a massive crater.
All the nearby buildings collapsed as chaos ensued in one of the city's districts.
Thankfully, the people were already evacuated.
The walls of the massive training yard that were nearest to the crater had collapsed as well.
Since I wouldn't be the one paying for all of this destruction, I ignored the damage and whisked away the dust and debris with my Telekinesis, revealing Asura.
His bones were sticking out, and his weapons were piercing him from all angles.
"AAAAAAGH!"
I felt a bit of pity.
He was so young and powerful.
If I only had my Lightning Manipulation Gift, he would destroy me.
But with my Telekinesis added to the fray, I perfectly countered his acceleration.
So no matter how many times we fight, the outcome would always be the same.
I glanced over to Clementine's side.
By now, she was just floating around, as there were no more mages or swordsmen to challenge her.
Noticing my gaze, she turned toward me.
It looked like she wanted to say something.
Just then, I saw a flash of light shoot straight for Clementine.
I reacted in an instant and froze it.
Of course...
That flash of light was none other than Asura.
His weapons were still piercing him.
Despite that, he had extended his hand, and with all of his momentum, he aimed to kill Clementine in one go.
I couldn't let this kind of behavior slide.
As I slowly made my way over to the two of them, I noticed Clementine staring at me with her arms crossed.
"Hmm? Were you struggling against him?"
I rolled my eyes.
"I was just checking out his abilities. Anyways, are you all ready to go?"
She nodded back at me and let out a sigh.
"We still have around two days left until my birthday, so let's give our mission report and relax for a little bit, okay?"
I was about to agree, but I realized she was acting a little suspiciously.
Her hands were fidgeting, and she was slightly avoiding my gaze with a blush.
Is this little shut-in planning something?
"Sure?"
"We can make a report from anywhere, right? Can we make one from... you know?"
"...Yes."
A cheerful look appeared on her face.
Then, right as she prepared to head toward the Skyward Continent, she suddenly halted.
"Uhh... What do we do with this man? His soul is a little dark, but he doesn't seem very evil."
Ah.
I turned to my side and realized I was still holding Asura in place.
He was struggling and trying to escape.
But nothing worked.
"I forgot about you."
I floated up to him and took off his black mask, revealing a plain brown-haired man with a pair of hazel-colored eyes.
Can't say he looked like a ladies' man.
Though, maybe that's why no one would link him to such a powerful assassin.
"That Acceleration Gift of yours is very convenient. You should seek me out again sometime, since I feel like we'd make a great team."
Then, I placed the tip of my finger directly on his throat.
"But until then, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep for a little while."
BZZZZZT!
Before he could even process my words, a thin arc of lightning flew out vertically.
His eyes widened, and before long, his head slid off his neck and exploded like a balloon when it hit the ground.
"Did you just kill him?" Clementine asked, concerned.
I shook my head.
"This guy's basically immortal as long as his heart is intact. Though, he'll be in a coma for a week or two at the very least until he regenerates."
"Ooh... What an overpowered Gift. Is that why you made him that offer?"
"Mhm."
Someone like him would really come in handy in the future.
I can already imagine launching him like a railgun, and he accelerates so fast, he simply tears through a demon king before it could even blink.
Hehe.
Noticing that I was trailing off, Clementine went up to me, pinched my cheek, and ultimately began flying toward the Skyward Continent.
I gave this place another good look.
Hundreds of buildings and houses were destroyed.
Yet I couldn't see a single casualty.
Except for Duke Elmont, who had been killed while peacefully lying in his bed.
A rather cruel death for a military man.
Even so, killing 25 corrupt nobles didn't take nearly as long as I had imagined.
Their reinforcements were fairly powerful too, but it was their arrogance that got them killed.
They underestimated us.
The duo that killed three Vampire Nobles.
But I knew that we'll face stronger resistance in the future, since there were plenty more nobles I needed to kill.
Still... taking such a big step forward, I couldn't help but be hopeful for the future.
So I tossed Asura's body in some random part of the city and flew after Clementine.
She might have some ulterior motives or she just simply wanted to laze around.
But I wasn't going to relax.
I was falling behind.
When I met Clementine again, I felt like I was slightly stronger than her.
Now?
She would wipe the floor with me.
I didn't want it to stay that way.
Otherwise... I feel like I wouldn't be able to protect her when it mattered.
I had been studying a lot.
And I feel like it's time to take the next step in my Telekinesis practice.
Telekinesis at an atomic level.
Also known as Atomic Telekinesis.
And after nearly a week away...
It's about time I paid a visit to the Eldritch Monster.