[A/N: This Chapter may contain extre violence. Read with discretion!]
The cloaked assassin had scoured the Magic Forest for hours since entering, in search of his target.
His client’s orders were clear: find the boy, torture him, and kill him.
So when he finally spotted Adrian at the outskirts of the Forest, empty-handed and seemingly defenseless, he felt so relief mixed with irritation.
’This kid’s got nothing on him,’ he thought, his wicked smile fading into a scowl. ’He has no magic, and he doesn’t bother to carry any weapons either. Why would they send a 3-Star Fire Mage for this nobody?’
As a rogue mage, he’d taken countless jobs, but this felt beneath him. Adrian’s lack of visible gear made him seem like easy prey, contrary to what he had expected.
’Overkill,’ he muttered, walking closer to Adrian’s location. The reason why Adrian was in the forest didn’t seem to cross his mind, and he decided to act regardless.
To ensure control, he had cast Ignis Murus, a fla wall to block any escape. It was a precaution, one he now regretted as his shattered knees bled into the dirt, Adrian’s Mana Gun trained on his head.
Adrian, anwhile walked closer to the man with deliberate steps, the gun’s barrel glinting in the forest’s dim light.
"You’re not ready to talk, right?" he asked with a cold voice, with his attention still on the map for any sign of a mana surge.
The assassin, pain searing through his ruined legs, forced a grin despite the blood pooling beneath him.
"Hey, kid," he said with defiance. "I’ve been in this ga too long. You won’t spare , and I ain’t talking. So, feel free end it."
Adrian’s lips curved into a faint smile.
"I see. You’re a wise one." He noted the assassin’s state — his left leg was a mangled wreck and blood was already soaking the ground.
A normal human would be dead in minutes, but a 3-Star mage’s mana-enhanced body could cling to life for hours.
’Tough bastard,’ Adrian thought in jealousy, stepping closer.
"Your plan was to kill . Why didn’t you finish off when you had the chance?"
The assassin opened his mouth, but only a weak wheeze escaped as his strength faded.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, catching a faint flicker of mana on the map — a spell forming despite the pain.
’He’s still trying,’ he thought with a smirk. He dialed the gun’s trigger backward, setting it to its lowest intensity, and then a thin, needle-like beam shot out, striking the assassin’s forehead.
~ZIP!~—
The mage’s head snapped back, eyes rolling as he collapsed, writhing in agony. His mana signature vanished imdiately from the map as the spell disrupted.
Adrian nodded in satisfaction. "I knew this would be helpful."
He’d learned early on that a mage’s ntal focus was critical for casting, especially for beginners.
The low-power shot had scrambled the assassin’s mind, breaking his concentration.
"It’s rude to try anything without answering my question," Adrian continued in a mockingly polite voice.
The assassin groaned, clutching his head as pain contorted his face.
Adrian sighed. "I’m wasting my ti." He activated [Analysis], the Tech Core scanned the mage:
[Analysis...]
[Unknown Mage]
[Rank: 3-Star Mage]
[Affinity: Fire]
[Threat Level: Low]
Curious, Adrian dug deeper, scanning the man’s possessions. A glint of sothing caught his eye — a small pouch on the mage’s belt.
[Analysis] zood in:
[Item: Basic Healing Pills]
[Description: Restores minor wounds and stabilizes bleeding. Effective only on baseline humans.]
Adrian’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked together.
’Baseline humans,’ he thought. ’That ans these were for .’
The fla wall, the delayed attack — it wasn’t just a kill order.
"I see why you went for control first," he said in a low voice. "The pills, too. You were sent to torture ."
The assassin’s eyes flickered, a mix of pain and dread, confirming Adrian’s suspicion.
He leaned closer with a smile. "And who else would want that but Fabian? It was the kid, right?"
The assassin’s gaze darted, a brief flash of fear betraying him before he masked it.
"I won’t tell," he said, but his defiance soon crumbled under pain.
Adrian chuckled. "Don’t worry. You don’t need to."
He glanced at the pills, then back at the mage. "Unfortunately, I don’t have any pills, so I guess you’re in luck."
The assassin stared in agony and confusion, as if facing a monster. Adrian’s calm deanor, paired with the gun’s brutal efficiency, was unnerving even to a seasoned killer.
"But don’t worry," Adrian continued in an almost cheerful voice.
"I’ll make sure you don’t enjoy your death." He stepped back, dialing the gun’s intensity to a low setting.
A series of quick shots followed—
~ZIP~ ~ZIP~ ~ZIP~
The shots peppered the assassin’s legs and arms, each beam searing flesh and cracking bone. The mage scread and his body jerked with each hit.
Adrian adjusted the dial slightly higher as the next shots burned deeper.
~ZAP~
The shot turned the man’s limbs into a charred, bloody ss. The screams grew hoarse, echoing through the silent forest.
’This gun’s control is unreal,’ Adrian thought, marveling at the precision. He dialed up again, a dium-intensity shot—
~BOOM~
—striking the assassin’s neck. The force snapped his head back, silencing his cries, but didn’t sever it. The mage’s body slumped, barely clinging to life, a grotesque ruin of blood and burns.
Adrian paused, inspecting his work. The assassin’s legs were unrecognizable, his arms scorched and useless, his neck swollen and blackened.
"Wow," Adrian said, almost to himself. "I’ve mastered my control on this gun."
The results were brutal though — the mage was a wreck and his life was fading pretty fast.
Adrian shook his head in pity.
"Poor guy. Why did you get mixed up in soone’s ss? You helped practice, though, so you’ve earned your end. Bye."
He dialed the gun to dium intensity one last ti, aiming at the mage’s head.
~BOOM~
The shot exploded the assassin’s skull, resulting in flesh and blood spraying across the grassy ground.
His body twitched once, then stilled and Adrian finally lowered his gun lowered the gun and exhaled.
[Congratulations! You have killed a human!]
[Would you like to harvest its Magic Crystal?]
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