At the top of one of the archer towers, Luke was busy training his telekinesis.

  “Too bad there isn’t an X-wing around here,” Artemis said.

  “You just ruined my concentration.”

  “Seriously, Professor Xavier?”

  “Making hand movements actually helps with telekinesis.”

  Luke opened his system interface. He had unlocked a new Assassin skill upon reaching level 65. He studied the interface, eyes drifting over the five skills available for selection.

  [Distraction Knife (Rare)]: An illusion and deception skill in which the assassin throws a knife infused with his own mana signature, aura, and visual outline, creating a perfect moving duplicate of himself. The illusion runs, breathes, and emits presence, confusing enemies who rely both on sight and magical detection. It is used to mislead, misdirect, or set up ambushes, allowing the real assassin to strike from the shadows while his opponents waste their efforts attacking nothing more than the echo of their own death.

  That could actually be pretty useful. Basically an illusion clone.

  Combat usability? Offensively, close to zero. But the tactical possibilities were interesting. For assassinations it was perfect, and for distractions, well… the name said it all.

  I wonder if it’s possible to throw multiple knives like this at once, or if there’s a cooldown.

  As always, the system was annoyingly vague. Only rarely did it bother to be specific, like that time he chose Mother Freya’s Blood and the system might as well have said: Are you sure you want to do something stupid? It’s going to hurt like hell, and don’t blame me, because I’m warning you.

  And like an idiot, he still accepted it.

  [Basic Intangibility (Ultra-Rare)]: Allows the assassin to merge his body with the ethereal plane for brief moments, gaining the ability to pass through walls, doors, and other forms of physical barriers.

  Yeah… that would take assassination potential to a whole new level. But the skill doesn’t say what happens if I phase into a wall that turns out to be too thick and the effect ends in the middle of it. Knowing my luck, the chance of me killing myself with this? High.

  [Well of Darkness (Epic)]: Expands and strengthens the surrounding shadows, creating a field of dense darkness where sight and perception become distorted. Inside the well, sound dulls and shapes dissolve into twilight, while the assassin moves unseen and unheard. Ideal for executions, ambushes, or vanishings, this skill turns any darkness into a personal domain where the predator reigns supreme and the prey exists only as a trembling whisper of fear.

  It didn’t mention how long the effect lasted, but it was still intriguing. Even so, it was more about creating an opportunity than delivering direct offense.

  Sometimes I forget that my class is Assassin, so no overpowered laser beams or flashy spells for me.

  “Wait, sometimes you forget your class is Assassin? Don’t worry, I’ll remind you the next time you decide to charge enemies head-on,” Artemis said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

  "Hey, it still follows the Art of Assassination. What matters is killing. Like a snake, it can strike from hiding or attack aggressively."

  “All right, Mr. berserker assassin, no need to justify yourself,” she replied.

  Two skills remained, and one of them… genuinely surprised him.

  [Demonic Predator Throwing Knife (Epic)]: The Demonic Predator’s mastery over mana reaches such a refined level that he can mold it into physical form, creating his own throwing knives. These blades are born from the darkness within him, manifesting directly in his hands as living extensions of his predatory will. Forged from dense shadowed energy, they possess durability comparable to enchanted steel and a lethally sharp edge, as cutting as the fangs of a starving beast. Once thrown, they tear through the air at breathtaking speed, striking with predatory precision while maintaining perfect stability even across long distances. These blades are more than weapons, they are the embodiment of instinct. Just as claws and fangs define a beast, these knives are the personification of the Predator’s hunger and fury. The knives gain a small bonus based on the Lethality and Perception attributes.

  This was exactly the kind of power he’d been needing. Now he could generate his own knives.

  Strapped to his leg was his old, familiar throwing-knife holster, the one he’d received when he first accepted the system. The blades inside were basic, common-grade, and still Rank F. Against stronger enemies, even coating them in skills barely made a difference. And now that he had advanced attributes like Lethality, he was certain those old knives couldn’t keep up with his growth, they hadn’t kept up even during the tutorial, so by now they were hopelessly outdated. In terms of equipment, Luke wasn’t particularly impressive. His strongest weapons were his kukris, and until a few hours ago even those had been worn down and close to breaking.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  His best piece of gear was still his assassin’s outfit, but even that would eventually stop being enough. Not if he intended to confront the Rhiannons or anything else waiting down the road.

  The final option was:

  [Feline Agility (Epic)]: By channeling mana with precise control, the assassin’s body becomes lighter and his reflexes sharpen to an exceptional degree, granting the flexible, fluid grace of a hunting cat. This skill heightens balance, reaction speed, movement accuracy, and the capacity to slip through tight spaces, evade blows, and leap great distances with lethal elegance. Every muscle moves in harmony, every step falls silent, like the breath of a predator stalking its prey.

  Under any other circumstance, he would have chosen it in an instant, if not for the previous skill.

  [You have acquired the Class Skill: Demonic Predator Throwing Knife]

  ***

  Luke sprinted through the forest, the purple fog poisoning the air and almost swallowing the path ahead. Two days had passed since he’d left the temple, and he needed answers.

  “Master Luke, they’re in that direction,” Charlie said.

  Lulie confirmed it with a sharp little chirp.

  “Let’s go—” He barely finished speaking before Charlie bolted past him in a blur. Her eyes glowed crimson, the power of Vampiric Aura pulsing through her. She was in hunting mode.

  They broke through the mist and landed in front of a group of onis.

  [Oni Priest – Lvl 83]

  [Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  [Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  [Oni Priest – Lvl 83]

  [Oni Soldier – Lvl 48]

  [Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  The creatures roared. Charlie tightened her grip on her sword and charged. Her blade clashed against one of the priests’ weapons in a violent spark of steel.

  Luke raised both hands and closed them as if seizing something out of the air. A dark energy tore through reality, and when he dragged it toward himself, his fingers closed around a solid grip. He glanced down. A black throwing knife rested in each hand, onyx-dark, light, sharp. He tilted one just enough to hear the blade whisper through the air.

  The power of Demonic Predator Throwing Knife.

  One of the priests rushed straight at him. Luke pinched the blade between his fingers and threw. The knife sliced through the mist with a wicked hiss and buried itself right in the middle of the oni’s forehead.

  [You have slain an Oni Priest – Lvl 83]

  “Damn, that hits hard,” he murmured with a low whistle.

  He hadn’t tested the weapon on live targets until now. The onis roared and surged forward. Luke threw again.

  [Telekinetic Impulse activated]

  The knife shot out like a sniper round, tearing through one oni’s chest before ripping through another behind it.

  [Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  [Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  More blades formed, hovering around him under telekinetic control. The onis froze, staring.

  Luke smiled. “Now this is a lot more fun.”

  He rushed ahead, knives flying in rapid rhythm. The onis tried to flee, only to be struck in the back, the legs, the neck, like they’d stumbled into a firefight made of steel.

  When the last one fell, Luke surveyed the aftermath. Trees, bodies, earth, everything around him was pinned with knives.

  While Charlie immobilized another oni, he focused on his palm. Dark energy flared into existence, like black fire tangled with smoke, and solidified in his grip, another throwing knife. Each one cost twenty mana to conjure, far more expensive than the cheap little blades he’d used at the start of his journey… but infinitely more powerful.

  Each knife had a ring carved near the hilt. Luke slipped a finger through it, spun the blade lazily, then hurled it upward.

  [Telekinetic Impulse activated]

  The knife streaked into the sky.

  He focused on his active Rank Skill, seeing through Angie’s eyes as she flew high above the forest. From her vantage point, he watched his own blade rocket past the treetops, and pierce straight through a figure perched at the top of a branch.

  [You have slain an Oni Guard – Lvl 58]

  **[You have reached Level 63! Half-Demon (Rank E)]**

  He walked up to Charlie and drew another knife.

  “Oh, they don’t know. The hammer strikes, the hammer sharpens. The lava can only be worked in one place,” muttered the oni priest she had pinned down.

  Luke sent a knife into the creature’s arm, then another. His palms glowed violet as he channeled [Curse] and pressed his hand against the oni’s skin.

  “Tell me where the hidden temple is,” he said.

  “They don’t know, they know nothing,” the oni groaned through pain, still laughing.

  It was barely rational, yet it kept repeating fragments, like an echo trapped in a broken mind.

  “You’re parrots, all of you. Just repeating what you’ve been told. I want everything you’re capable of saying,” Luke insisted. If there was meaning buried in the madness, he would dig it out.

  “The priest types are the most lucid. What do you know about the temple?”

  He continued torturing it with [Curse].

  “The mouth is the source of the power of words,” the oni rasped.

  “I’m asking about the temple. The hidden forge of the Demon Smith.”

  “Yes… always in that place. The place where not even her light can reach them,” the creature murmured.

  “Where is it?”

  “The hammer strikes, the hammer sharpens. The lava can only be worked in one place.”

  After a while, no matter what Luke asked, the oni simply circled back to the same lines.

  “Damn it… I should’ve captured the temple’s guardian,” he muttered.

  Charlie raised her sword and brought it down like an executioner.

  [Charlotte Vespertilio has slain an Oni Priest – Lvl 83]

  **[Charlie has reached Level 55! Vampire (Rank E)]**

  [Charlotte Vespertilio has unlocked a Race Skill]

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