Volume 6 Chapter 144 â Nameless (3)
[Translator â jhei]
[Proofreader â yukitokata]
Four days had passed. Every day after waking up, Jin ate breakfast with the man, roamed the streets, returned by sunset, and ate dinner.
The carefree days made him feel like he came to a remote vacation spot instead of Samil. Whenever he roamed the streets or resided in the house with the man, there wasnât a single assassination attempt.
Jinâs days were very peaceful.
The place he resided in was an intermediate cadetâs home.
The cadets in the streets were worse than his landlord. The fact that he came back alive from the house reminded those below that Jin was not someone to mess with.
âNo oneâs going for me after the first day. Feels a little weird.â
Flip, flip.
Leaning on a tree, Jin flipped through an encyclopedia about different poisons and poisonous plants from Samilâs library.
As much as a visitor could borrow it, it didnât have much information in it. However, since Jin didnât know much about poisons, he was very intrigued.
A pair of eyes hiding behind a tree across from him watched him intently.
âHeehee. Out of everyone in the family, he seems to like books.â
Yona was very busy supervising her younger brother.
Aside from the fact that she hadnât seen him in a long time, Yona had her own reason to watch him.
Jinâs skill level.
She had to identify that in order to send assassins at his level. And based on her observations, his skills were unbelievable for a 16-year-old.
âNot only is his aura spectacular, but his ability to detect danger is also remarkable. Like a veteran who survived death multiple times.â
Even for a Runcandel, that much experience was rare.
Usually, if they didnât push themselves on the verge of death because they were a Runcandel, then experiencing life or death situations was hard.
âHe wouldâve overcome those situations at least once or twice at the age of 16⦠What kind of life did this kid live through?â
Just as Yona said, pureblood Runcandels usually went through similar experiences during their flag-bearer conquests. However, she felt that the youngest didnât just experience it once or twice.
She wasnât wrong. In fact, Jin had overcome more challenges and hardships than any other Runcandel.
Although Yona didnât know it, Jin had the experience of someone who had lived until their mid-40sâincluding his past life. And since he was a weakling in his past life, he had to live through many more things the hard way.
âVery interesting! Intermediate or intermediate-advanced wouldnât be enough⦠I should send some advanced assassin groups.â
âHeehee~â
Yona lightly giggled and left the forest.
âHm?â
Jin looked at where she was last. And then he thought to himself.
âSomething was over there again⦠Itâs been so many days since Iâve started sensing these. Ha. Ever since the clapping sound, I think Iâm going crazy.â
* * *
Reaper Scans
* * *
âYou, canât you leave my house now?â
The next evening, the intermediate cadet spoke in an exhausted voice right after serving dinner.
âAm I perhaps eating too much or disrupting your daily life?â
Jin asked with widened eyes, and the man shook his head.
âNo, itâs not that.â
âThen whyâ¦?â
The man sighed deeply.
âI gave up trying to assassinate you.â
âAhâ¦â
âAt first I thought you were a fearless child. A child who grew up as an offspring of a clan only knowing the good side of the world. Something pathetic like that. And I was very wrong.â
âI see.â
They awkwardly smiled at each other.
ââ¦But for four days, I tried to find an opening. I couldnât get a single opportunity. Four days. So I admit, I am not at a level to kill you.â
âHm, it would be right for me to leave after hearing that reason. But why give up without even tryingâ¦?â
âFailing an assassination attempt on a visitor causes deductions. Usually, Iâm supposed to finish you off by the end of day one, but you didnât offer any openings. And Iâm about to be promoted anyway.â
âDo I show sympathyâ¦?â
Jin thought for a second, but then just shrugged.
âIt was a meaningful four days for me. I learned a lot by staying alert this entire time. I hope you learned something new as well.â
And for once, the man laughed out loud.
âKuhaha! I didnât think youâd answer like that. I learned a lot too. My skill level stagnated for a while, but this experience really stimulated me⦠I give you my thanks.â
The man offered his hand.
âIâm not trying to kill you here. However, after you leave my house, I hope you get out of Samil safely.â
Jin grabbed his hand after pondering for a bit.
âI hope you become a Nameless Assassin and come work for me someday. I wonât ask for your name. Though, I will return the hospitality.â
For the first time in the manâs house, Jin had a comfortable meal.
Immediately after, he packed his bags and left. It was a dark night with no moon or stars in sight.
âNow I donât feel bad about going to the inn.â
Even at the inn, the inexperienced insects wouldnât bug him.
Thinking this, Jin started walking.
However, not even five steps away from the house, he instinctively felt something and looked below his feet
âHuh? This isâ¦?â
A trap used to catch large beasts. If one stepped on the middle, a sharp steel trap would grip onto oneâs ankle.
About thirty of those were scattered across Jinâs path.
âWhen against assassins, you must think of them as illusionists or scammers, Young Master.
If he didnât think of Garon Altemiroâs advice again, Jin wouldâve been caught by the traps.
âAbove!â
Shing!
Jin unsheathed Baradmante and looked at the roof of the house. Someone had their head peering over the side.
An advanced cadet sent by Yona. The cadet bit on a long tube, preparing to shoot a poison dart.
The traps were to slightly falter Jinâs focus for a split second so that the blow dart could actually hit its target.
Pfft!
The dart was shot before Bradamante could be fully unsheathed.
Thankfully, Jin could deflect it with the half-unsheathed sword. However, he couldnât counter it.
The cadet then pulled on a string that was tied to all of the traps.
The dozens of bear traps in the front yard all flew towards Jin. The steel mouth would bite into his skin and inject its poison the moment it touches him.
âHoly shit!â
The sight resembled a pack of alligators charging towards him.
Clang! Ka-clang! Kang!
Jin fully unsheathed Bradamante and deflected all of the traps, swinging the sword as fast as he could. As the blade left pale-white afterimages, some of the traps remained on the blade.
That was the cadetâs goal. Should the assassination fail, the cadet planned to neutralize Jinâs sword to buy time and escape.
They already failed as soon as the dart was deflected, so the cadet had no intention of killing Jin with the traps.
The cadet thought that Jin would get rid of the traps on his sword first instead of chasing the culprit. They also wished the sword would break.
âYou bastard!â
Yet there was no way some bear traps would scratch Bradamante, a blade forged from a thousand-year-old steel. With the bear traps clinging onto his sword, Jin chose to jump onto the roof.
The blade now resembled a bat more than a sword. Jin threw the metal stick towards the cadet.
Wooooong!
Bradamante let out a ringing sound as it travelled through the air. Because of the traps, the blade couldnât cut anything. However, the massive stick hit the cadetâs thigh and then fell to the ground.
Clang!
Jin jumped off the clay rooftop and onto the cadet who lost balance.
âGotcha!â
The two tangled together and fell on the roof. Jin immediately got on top of the cadet and wrapped his fist in aura, ready to strike his opponentâs face.
âI admit failure!â
The cadet shouted in a frantic voice.
âWhat?â
âI admit failure, my fellow. So please stop. Youâve won.â
âWould you stop in my position? I wonât kill you. Thank your cadet status.â
Crack!
Jin struck the cadet regardless, and their nose and cheekbones flattened out. Blood splattered everywhere, yet Jin didnât stop until the cadet fainted.
âWhat a mess as soon as I left.â
He haphazardly cleaned the blood off his fist. There were six traps biting down on his sword, so he couldnât use it before he got rid of them.
âI should get rid of these. Iâll need at least three minutesâ¦â
Jin stopped his hand extending towards the traps and looked around.
They were on the roof, so there was no place to hide the body. There were also many other spaces for other people to conceal themselves on the adjacent roofs.
âFirst, I need to move somewhere safe. Since this guy placed those traps, they knew Iâd leave the house today.â
Jin concluded that the advanced cadet definitely heard the conversation he had with the intermediate cadet. He had mentioned that he would leave after dinner, and the advanced cadet chose to attempt the assassination then.
âThat guy didnât backstab me. Moreso some higher-up ordered him or something. Or maybe, after evaluating my skill level, someone ordered to hunt me down.â
Right as he thought soâ
Fwiiiiiiiit!
Fwit!
Arrows flew towards him from both sides. And as expected, they were poison-tipped arrows. Jin could barely evade them, but he couldnât extrapolate the source due to more arrows flying towards him.
Arrows continued to rain towards him, and he couldnât even deduce how many people were shooting.
He had to get on the ground. He needed at least the building wall to block the arrows coming from one direction.
âShit, I feel like thereâs something else waiting for me on the groundâ¦!â
However, he had no choice. If he didnât want to turn into a porcupine, he had to get on the ground.
Jin gritted his teeth and jumped off the roof.
Yona smiled, satisfied.
âHehe, suffer a little, youngest brother. After being chased like this for a week, youâll awaken your Mindâs Eye. Itâs already half open. If you donât survive, and end up dying⦠itâll be a little sad, but it canât be helped.â
âHm-hmhm~â
Yona hummed a tune as Jin sprinted away. She truly wished for Jin to grow stronger.
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