Harnessing the power of the Shadows to the extreme, using daggers and weapons to make the world accept the kiss of darkness - when the Sword Saint Kyrie Orance first accepted the blessing of the Shadows and founded the Shadow Sanctuary to become the first assassin in the Ranman Continent, he probably didn't expect that the nascent profession of manipulating shadows would flourish so much in the future.

At that time, the Assassin was still known as the Shadow Warrior, and was regarded as a subclass of the Warrior, but soon everyone realized how different this class was from the traditional Warrior: the importance of agility over strength, the abandonment of all specialized options for weapons more than a meter long, and even the abandonment of heavy armor and plate armor for the convenience of movement, in favor of leather armor, which was almost useless in the eyes of traditional warriors-

They discarded many of the things that traditional warriors considered central, except for one thing, which they deliberately kept, and then, to the top.

That is, beyond the extreme destructive power.

As a result, the Shadow Warrior vanished, and the Shadow Sanctuary became the Assassin Sanctuary, and the new profession flourished ever since.

"But...... Fourteen-year-old Bladed Assassin ...... "The pale hair and beard on the young dwarf's head trembled, "O the volcano of the Crucible Valley...... That's really ...... Terrible potential ......"

Bladed Assassin, equivalent to the class rank of Bronze Knight, Magister, and Ranger among the Rangers, and the same rank as the eighty-year-old Bronze Warrior Barlow.

It's not that I can't understand the lamentation of the dwarven warriors.

"Assas and I are considered nobles, so it's understandable that we have relatively high-level personal guards, right?" Delkora grabbed the staff that was hovering beside him, "Maybe this will dispel some doubts in your mind?"

"I'm getting more and more curious about who you are, young mercenaries. The dwarf Barlow shook his head, giving up on his intention to delve deeper, "I suddenly felt that my name would definitely appear in the first chapter of some heroic epic in the future...... Certain. ”

The dwarf grunted, drew his hammer and walked to his herd, regrouping the scattered pack oxen into a convoy with the slogan of taming the cattle.

The surviving steppe wolves had long since retreated, with a wound and a hungry stomach, and retreated as a loser. Perhaps they will elect a new wolf king, or they will be swallowed up by other wolves before that – this is part of the grassland ecological cycle, which has existed for many years and will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.

——————————

"Goodbye, uncle, have a great trip!"

"Good luck to you, too! Don't forget to go to Landmont!"

Del Cola and Assas waved their hands, watching as the convoy turned into a small black dot in the sunlight and then vanished.

In order to better experience the adventurous life of mercenaries, Delkora and the others, who left the wolf-dense area for three days, finally chose to leave the caravan of the dwarf Barlow and chose another somewhat dangerous but exciting new path. They traded their share of the loot for plenty of water and food from the dwarf Barlow—something that was all the more important after they decided to take a long detour—and then a new mercenary squad was now struggling at a fork in the road.

"Do you ask me? Of course I want to go back to Casbah City, Del Cola," Satya sighed, "but didn't you notice? You kidnapped Assas, got on an airship under a false identity, changed three times, and reached the border in just over two months - it all went too well, didn't it?"

"Of course I know it's my dad and mom who are secretly helping, and I know you must be following me - and it's the same with Assas. Delcora shrugged, "But so what? I didn't care how it went, and it turned out that I came out, and I left the damn aristocratic banquets and old-fashioned chants, and by the way, I broke off with that damn agility and strength training—"

"What are you talking about, Del Kora?"

"—oh, I mean, it's a terrible day to lose agility, and I miss the time you trained for me—ignore that, Satya, the point is, I don't have to deal with those nobles who are more cunning than foxes and greedier than crows, I'm a magician! I'm going to let the elements dance in my brilliant magic, I'm going to let the continent have a legend of my Del Cora - hey, Arthas, don't yawn. ”

“...... Satya, you have brought your application to Reims College. Ignoring the agitated Del Kora, Assas asked without warning.

"Yes, here. ”

Satya reached out, and the world of shadows opened a rift for her, giving her four more rolled-up paper tubes.

"Four?"

"Maybe we'll meet new team-mates, maybe that's right. Satya hooked the corners of her mouth and smiled a slightly mysterious.

"Although it was arranged...... But are we finally old enough to travel the continent on our own?" Assas's eyes were filled with the determination and enthusiasm of a knight.

"Uh...... Assas is like a character in a hot-blooded knight novel...... The kind that sacrifices in one chapter. Delcora muttered.

“......”

Later in the evening, he was punished by Satya's head knock on the head for Del Cola's inopportune interjection, and Assas, who had been the one in charge of cooking in the field of the two, was the one in charge of cooking in the field. The young magician's ability to control the flames when he unleashed his magic could not make him understand the heat of the barbecue, so Assas, who had been taught a lesson by the pitch-black charcoals, took on the work related to food.

"Why are you so good at cooking, Asas? It's strange, I don't remember teaching gastronomy in the aristocratic etiquette class. ”

Del Kora, who had to nibble on the jerky and dough brought by Satya because Assas refused to provide food, asked a little unwillingly - by the way, the amount of food had not been reduced, but the portion of food that should have belonged to Del Kora was allocated to Satya, and Satya had no intention of sharing it with Del Kora.

"Thank you to the creator god for allowing me to drink delicious broth in the wilderness—without you, Arthas, I would probably have spent dinner time munching raw meat with this waste magician. ”

Satya quickly eats her share of food, praising Assas and belittling Del Cora.

"Hey - you're not much better at cooking than I am. ”

"So I'm not going to provoke Assas. ”

“......”

Del Cora imagined the bread in her hand resembling that of Satya and took a hard bite.

"I learned it with my father. Assas held the soup bowl and said calmly.

"Uncle, the creator god is above, he can actually cook?" Del Cora was shocked.

"It is said that he was a chef when they went out on adventures, and his grandfather taught him how to cook. Grandpa's cooking skills were taught by grandpa. Assas glanced at him, his eyes full of helplessness, "We have a saying that has been passed down for many years: to give your back to you is trust, and to give your stomach to you is suicide." ”

“...... Del Kora, you should reflect. ”

"Don't talk about Satya, you're the same. ”

The two looked embarrassed and turned their heads away, not daring to meet Assas's gaze.

"You can choose to wash the dishes. We didn't have much seasoning left, and we only used it for about three days. ”

"I should buy some from Uncle Barlow...... What a mistake. Delkora scratched her head, "I remember there are some small towns in the Great Plains, let me go and see - Satya! you must have my staff, right?"

The short staff embedded with the cyan gem was thrown over, and he grasped it in his hand.

"Ah...... It's an incredibly comfortable feel...... "Del Cola sighed with emotion as she stroked the familiar and unfamiliar weapon that had been away from him for more than three months, and her right hand clenched, and the free wind elemental converged around him, allowing him to rise off the ground and fly high into the air.

"Uncle actually asked you to bring out the 'Sage Scales'?" Assas looked at Del Cola who was surrounded by the wind in the sky from afar, and his face became a little more incredulous, "Is there only the 'Sage Vitality'?"

"No," Satya shook her head, "the vitality of the wind, the bounty of water, the justice of earth, the wisdom of fire, all four are in—oh, yes, and this." ”

Satya threw a long sword to Artsas. Assas reached out and took it, the look of incredulity on his face vanished.

"'Knight's Creed,' I see, this time my father and uncle really want us to go on our own. ”

"I also got the 'fangs', so it should be right. Satya smiled, "Perhaps, that's exactly what that guy wants, isn't it?"

"Del Cola's mind?" Assas thought for a moment and turned his head to stare at Satya, his eyes a little strange.

"What's wrong?" asked Satya, subconsciously touching her face.

"No...... It's nothing. Asshas shook his head, "You're only fourteen, and that guy has to wait." ”

"Ah...... That's what you say. Satya blinked, "I wouldn't have agreed to him so easily." He needs to prove himself. ”

"I think so. Assas agreed.

It didn't seem to be long before the mess of dinner had been cleaned up, and Del Kora, who was surrounded by the wind, flew back from the other direction. It looks like he's gone around in a big circle.

"There's a small town about five or six kilometres away, right in that direction. Shall we make it overnight, or will we leave again tomorrow morning?" Del Cora landed in front of the two of them and asked.

"Now, it's not too late," Assas looked up at the rising moon, "and if we hurry up, we may find someone willing to provide us with a room." ”

"Let's go—wait until we've packed these things. ”