Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Only Murder

Chapter Six: Only Murder

‘IT’S ONLY MURDER IF THEY FIND THE BODY; OTHERWISE IT’S A MISSING PERSON.’

The only thing on Elijah’s mind was survival as he dashed through the hallways of the castle. The assassin was right on his heels, cloak swishing.

You should probably put your suit back on, the Guide advised him. But you will still die.

“Thanks for the confidence,” Elijah gritted his teeth, doing as his Guide commanded him. When the suit came back on, Elijah realized his body felt more free, and so, he began to run a little faster.

“I’m getting lost here,” He told his guide. “Do you know where I am?”

It doesn’t matter; what matters now is that you find a way to escape the assassin.

“No shit.”

What I mean is, the assassin wasn’t sent here to kill you.

“You have to be kidding me, right?” Elijah shrieked as he looked behind him, the assassin brandishing two daggers and getting ready to throw them.

If you’re going to escape the assassin, I would advise you to be more quiet. I’m rolling my eyes right now. But my point is that the assassin is level 5, not even close to the level I should be at, and this tells me that the assassin was only meant to test me.

“This is a test?” Elijah groaned, then yelled again as he turned a corner and a dagger implanted itself next to him. “What the hell kind of test is this?”

I would like to know the same thing, Guide Amanda responded. For now, that is not important. TURN!

Elijah obeyed her, sliding down the hallway into another one sparsely lit, with several doors ajar, welcoming him in, but he refused to acknowledge them, running straight.

When I tell you to, run into the left door. NOW!

Elijah had only a glimpse of the assassin charging at him, getting closer to him before he ran into the door, and found himself in a strange room with a dozen doors spread around in a circle around him. All of them had different colors, dark shades of red, black, purple, and green. Possibilities in his head, Elijah longed to explore all the rooms, but the danger of the assassin forced him to make a decision, something he couldn’t do.

Blood red door, the guide said. It’ll lead you into the top floor of the castle, and I know where to go to hide from there. Are you going to stand there all day and die pitifully or will you run through the door and still die pitifully?

“I choose C,” Elijah said. “I will not die pitifully.” Realizing what he’d said, he groaned as he opened the blood-red door, and stumbled in. “That sounded better in my head.”

No, it did not, the guide responded. It sounded even worse in your head.

With a scowl, Elijah scanned his surroundings quickly, looking at all the rooms he had just entered. It was lit by several windows on the ceiling that let in all the sunlight. The room itself seemed mostly empty, and Elijah assumed it was more of an in-between room than anything.

“What was that door?”

Transport door. They’re all around the castle, just a way to get around faster. You’ll get used to it fairly quickly.

“Where is the door?” Elijah asked, looking behind him and finding nothing. It seemed like the door was only one-sided, leading from the basement to the—

The assassin stumbled through the wall, and immediately turned its red-eyed glare at him and smirked. Although Elijah couldn’t see his face, there was something about him that seemed distinctly not-human, but that couldn’t be right! Then again, there were man-wolves in this world, so anything was possible.

“Sínhao sheshpeth,” The assassin growled at him, its words barbed and scratchy. Elijah recoiled under its words, and stumbled backwards, mouth gaping at the hooded figure ready to end his life.

What are you waiting for?

With a jolt, Elijah was brought from his stupor and once again ran forwards, out the room and into another hallway. He was getting tired of seeing endless hallways, but this one ended at another door instead of curving into a similar hall. Pressing forwards, he entered the room and closed the door with a bang, and resting on the door. Feeling with his hands, he found a lock and key and quickly turned it, hearing a satisfying click that told him he was safe.

That won’t hold him for long. You have to find something you can use against—oh.

Elijah too was surprised to find someone behind him, eyes wide as the manservant stared at him, eyes wide. A second later, the man blushed and looked down, collecting his broom and backing away.

“Your highness,” He said, bowing as low as he could go. “I don’t mean to intrude. May I leave the room please?”

“No,” Elijah responded, putting as much queenly air as he could into his tone. Thankfully, it seemed to do the trick as the man squeaked and fell back, glancing to the sides.

Well, this is awkward, the Guide laughed. I want to see you get out of this one with the same reputation.

“This is not what you think it is,” Elijah promised the manservant, who nodded furiously. “May I have your broom?”

The manservant’s eyes widened, and he handed it to her, eyes cast down in shame. “Of course, your majesty. If I may be so bold, may I ask why you should need my broom?”

“Ew, no, I would never,” the princess-man cringed, imagining what the manservant might think he would want with the broom. “I just need it to protect myself from an assassin who is currently on his way to kill me, so I need the broom to protect myself, and any day now he will—”

At that second the handle on the door began to twist furiously, the man, if it could be called that, cursing as he found the door locked. The manservant squeaked again and looked for a weapon of his own, finding only a chair in this simple room fit with only a table and another chair laid out perfectly.

I should’ve told you to bring a sword, but I guess you can do that next time.

You have a sword? Elijah asked.

No, you do, his Guide responded. It’s a pretty important part of our identity, but I guess you’ve figured out why by now.

Yes, it would’ve been helpful if I’d known that before, thank you very much.

Hey, I’m only human.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Not anymore, Elijah sneered.

That hurts.

Cry about it.

The door rattled again, and Elijah raised his broom, the head facing the air. When the door finally broke open, Elijah swung as hard as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he was sure he saw the manservant running.

The assassin growled as the broom hit him full on the face, sending him reeling back against the wall. With a voice of fear and triumph, the manservant breezed down the hallway, sending only one last terrified look in the princess’ direction. Elijah had no eyes for him, though, instead staring at the assassin, paralyzed once again, wondering what he should do about the man who was already getting his bearings.

What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed? I’m too young of a guide to die! I really wanted to have years of laughing at you before you finally succumbed to your foolishness and gave up your ghost. You can’t do this to me!

“Will you shut up?” Elijah asked exasperatedly.

The assassin stumbled back a little again as he heard Elijah’s annoyed utterance.

“Are you alright?” The assassin asked, its raspy voice reaching Elijah’s ears like chalk on a dashboard.

“I’m fine, just an annoying voice in my head making fun of me and what I do,” Amanda Gold responded.

“I completely understand,” The assassin responded sadly. “My spouse is the same way. She is always berating me for the things I do, no matter how normal it is.”

“That’s exactly how my Guide is!” Elijah exclaimed. “I’m Eli—Amanda Gold, princess of Advantia.”

Oh mY GOD! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING TO YOUR KILLER!

“Shtargoth. And I know who you are; after all, I was sent here to murder you.”

“Who sent you?” Elijah asked Shtargoth.

“I can’t say that,” the assassin responded, shaking its head apologetically. “I want to, truly, I do, but I would die if I told you, much like you will when I’m done.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, but I must, it’s my job, and I need to sustain the family somehow. As much as my spouse complains, she needs me.”

My god, this assassin is worthless. Level 5 is a goddamn compliment for this bastard.

“Well, I hate to kill you then,” Elijah said, beginning to really like the assassin.

“You won’t be the one doing the murder. You know I have to kill you now?”

It was Elijah’s turn to nod sadly. “I understand.” Then, his head shifted up and he glared at Shtargoth, who was brandishing his knives dangerously. “But I can't let you do that.” Sparing not a moment, Elijah jumped, landing on a startled Shtargoth, who fell backwards, the knives falling from his grasp.

What an unprofessional assassin. I wonder what kind of test this is.

Grabbing a knife and pleading for forgiveness, Shtargoth stabbed up, but Elijah dodged, grabbing the other knife in the process and stabbing the assassin, closing his eyes yet still hearing the squelching sound as it entered his skull. Shtargoth gurgled and brought his hands to his face, blood pouring out.

Opening his eyes, Elijah retched and vomited, staring at Shtargoth’s dying form. The puke spewed onto the assassin’s cloak, who groaned.

“Really?” Shtargoth said. “You had to defile me like that?” And then the man—thing? beast?— went limp.

Tears grew in Elijah’s eyes as he stared at the dead assassin; however, the Guide did not spare him pity.

I cannot believe you did it! Great job. Now, remove the man’s hood, I want to see what the Ódauðlegur looks like.

“The what?”

You’ll see.

Complying, Elijah took off the man’s hood and was surprised to find that the assassin was a human. Sort of. At first glance, it very much was a human, but anything past a passive look showed it to be so much more. For one, the thing’s skin was obsidian-black. Not creamy, but completely black. Blacker than midnight.

The Ódauðlegur are a species that had been in this continent long before we have. They live in their own country and often have quarrels with us, and it is not uncommon for them to send assassins. They are notoriously hard to kill, but you had it easy with this level 5 assassin. Most are at least 13 by his age, which looks to be about 17.

“I killed a 17 year old man,” Elijah groaned, head in his hands.

Isn’t that wonderful? His guide asked. You ended the life of someone with such a bright future, but don’t feel bad, he would’ve died anyway eventually, stupid as he was. We all do.

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

A glowing blue orb—what Elijah assumed to be the assassin’s mana—traveled to him at a lightning fast speed, entering him and dissipating, casting him in a blue glow for a moment before disappearing.

Analyzing…

The strange female voice echoed through his head and he groaned, falling to the ground.

“Agh, what is this?”

Oh, you’ll see. This is good, I promise.

Suddenly, a dashboard appeared in front of him—at least, that was the best way he could describe it. It was similar to the glowing boxes with the relationship slides, but this one just said Amanda Gold in fancy gold and purple letters, and then some strange words that Elijah thought he understood but wasn’t sure.

Amanda Gold

Level 1 Princess

Overall Offense: Level 1 100%

Melée: Level 1 100%

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 1 100%

Overall Defense: Level 1 100%

Shielding: Level 1 75%

Reflex: Level 1 100%

Endurance: Level 1 63%

Speed: Level 1 100%

Awareness: Level 1 86%

Strength: Level 1 100%

Upgrades ready for: Overall Offense, Melée, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Overall Defense, Reflex, Speed, and Strength.

A second later, the final line changed.

Overall Offense, Melée, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Overall Defense, Reflex, Speed, and Strength have been successfully upgraded to Level 2.

Upgrade ready for: Princess Amanda Gold.

Another minute later…

Princess Amanda Gold has been upgraded to Level 2

Skill Reflexive Shielding unlocked.

In front of Elijah’s eyes, the dashboard changed, and the slides were the same, but now the numbers had changed.

Amanda Gold

Level 2 Princess

Overall Offense: Level 2 10%

Melée: Level 2 13%

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 2 5%

Overall Defense: Level 2 45%

Shielding: Level 1 75%

Reflex: Level 2 33%

Endurance: Level 1 63%

Speed: Level 2 0%

Awareness: Level 1 86%

Strength: Level 2 11%

I get it, Elijah thought. The more I upgrade my slides, the closer I get to upgrading my level. Do the slides really make me faster and stronger and more aware?

Of course they do, Guide Amanda told him. Care to try it out?

Hell, yeah. With a whoop, Elijah began to sprint, and he noticed that he was faster. Not even to be a big boost, but enough that he noticed the difference as the hallways sped by him quicker than they had before.

This is going to be fun.