I focused all my attention on the group of four n ahead. My female body stayed crouched behind a cluster of bushes, still and alert, while my male body perched in the branches of a nearby tree, watching the scene from a wider, more strategic angle. The most update n0vels are published on noᴠelfire
Both gripped a dagger tightly, fingers curled around the handle as if it was part of their instinct. Although the plan was to end things quickly and quietly — before they even noticed us — I’d learned over ti that the unexpected often shows up in situations like this. Being prepared wasn’t just smart, it was survival.
With everything set, I cast one last look at Oliver. Our eyes t for a mont, and we silently nodded — a brief gesture, but full of understanding. Then he shifted his gaze toward where Alice and Ethan were positioned.
Ethan stayed alert, standing firm beside her, playing the role of a human shield. Out of all of us, he was definitely the toughest and strongest — the perfect choice to protect her if things got out of hand.
Anyway, it only took one look from Oliver for Alice, who had been quiet and watchful until then, to finally spring into action. In a quick, precise motion, she extended both hands forward, pointing straight at the group.
Monts later, her lips started moving — so quietly that even with my sharp hearing, I could barely catch the sound. But that didn’t matter. I knew exactly what she was doing... and what was coming next.
Right after Alice whispered the words, a thick, white mist — the sa kind that surrounded the woods — began to form in the palm of her outstretched hand. It slipped out from her fingers like it had a mind of its own, winding across the ground in smooth, flowing movents.
In seconds, the creeping fog was advancing toward the four n, wrapping the air around them in a cold, damp silence until it finally reached them, as if choosing its prey.
The mist started to rise around them almost imperceptibly, crawling along the ground like silent fingers. First it wrapped their ankles, then slowly crept up their legs, arms, until it ford a thick, opaque cloak that surrounded them completely.
Despite the strange, ghostly presence, the targets showed no sign of alarm — they kept talking among themselves, only watching what they could see, wary of conventional threats but totally unaware of the silent danger already surrounding them.
This was a new ability Alice had just acquired, fresh in her list of powers. At first glance, its function seed simple: to create a dense magical fog that clouded the enemies’ vision, making them vulnerable to confusion. The mist not only drastically reduced their accuracy but also made target detection almost impossible.
As the user’s control over the skill grew, the fog could evolve, even causing temporary total blindness to opponents — or so the official description said. In practice, though, we hadn’t tested it in real combat yet, so its true effectiveness was still a mystery.
Honestly, that didn’t matter much at the mont. All we needed was one careless mont from the other side — a tiny, barely noticeable opening — and Alice’s skill seed like exactly what could create it.
Anyway, I didn’t waste ti. I began to prepare, fully focused. I cast one last look at Oliver — he already had an arrow nocked on his bow, eyes locked, alert, waiting for the perfect mont to strike.
By my side, silently, I activated my abilities: first, [Silent Steps], so no noise would give away my position; then, [Basic Heightened Senses], sharpening every sensation around ; next, [Detect Presence], to identify any hidden movent in the darkness.
And finally, but not least, [Precise Strike], getting my body and mind ready to deliver the perfect attack. In seconds, information that had been invisible flooded my mind, painting a clear picture of the environnt and everything that could happen.
[Basic Heightened Senses], combined with [Detect Presence], elevated my perception to a whole new level. It was like the environnt itself was conspiring with , whispering secrets and info in my ears every mont.
Every distant sound, every faint shadow, ca alive before my sharpened senses, turning the ordinary into a vibrant mosaic of details invisible to common eyes.
I could hear muffled footsteps reverberating across the ground, echoing with an almost hypnotic rhythm. I felt slight changes in air pressure around , as if sothing invisible was moving cautiously, leaving subtle traces in the environnt.
Plus, I noticed slight shifts in temperature — an imperceptible dance of energy — as if every living thing nearby gave off a unique signature, a frequency my keen, sensitive perception could easily pick up.
The rustling of dry leaves, mixed with the faint creak of an old structure, made a subtle symphony filling the air. The gentle wind, combined with the slow, deep breathing of soone close, beca part of a vast flow of sensory information my mind absorbed and decoded almost instantly.
I couldn’t see directly, but shapes, movents, even intentions seed to sketch themselves before like invisible lines, drawn by an unseen hand, revealing a hidden world unfolding in layers beyond ordinary sight.
This combo of skills didn’t just amplify my senses — it sharpened them with almost supernatural precision. It was like shedding the narrow, fragnted vision of an ordinary human to, for a brief mont, assu the perception of sothing far beyond.
Sothing that lives in the cracks of reality, where imperceptible details co alive, revealing textures, sounds, and slls that had completely escaped before. It was like seeing the world through a translucent veil, where every tiny fragnt beca aningful and pulsing.
At the sa ti, the dagger held firmly in both my bodies’ hands took on an intense tallic red hue, standing out clearly against the deep green of the surrounding bushes. A subtle, hypnotic glow pulsed from the blade, almost like it had its own energy, noticeable only to those truly paying attention. Still, it wasn’t a risk — our targets were totally unaware, lost in their own world, not suspecting what was about to happen.
It was like, finally, the opportunity we’d been waiting for was happening right in front of us. The air was thick with this quiet tension, almost sothing you could feel, as our eyes stayed locked on what was about to go down. Then, out of nowhere, a voice broke the silence — soft, but carrying this subtle worry, like a warning that just wouldn’t be ignored.
“Hey... is it just , or did the fog get thicker all of a sudden?” the voice echoed, laced with curiosity and a little bit of unease, cutting through the stillness around us.
Another voice replied, more casual and even a bit amused: “Huh? I don’t notice any difference. Are you sure you’re not just imagining things?”
I watched the exchange carefully, following every gesture and expression. Then, the man who seed to be the leader finally spoke. His eyes narrowed slowly as he scanned the area with a careful, almost suspicious look. His voice ca low and cautious, carrying a hint of contained worry: “No... I think he’s right. Looks like the fog just got thicker all of a sudden”
Honestly, it was only a matter of ti before they noticed they were under attack. So I decided to act before the doubt fully faded away. While there was still uncertainty among them, I moved — fast, silent, lethal. No communication, no warning, no sound. I just moved.
My steps were almost imperceptible, making no echo, as if I touched the ground without really stepping on it. My presence, at that mont, was almost nonexistent — like I was a shadow at the edge of reality. And to top it off, Alice’s ability amplified my stealth to surreal levels.
I beca sothing beyond hidden, sothing unnoticed even in plain light. At that mont, the way others perceived was probably no different than how you perceive the wind: you know it’s there, but you can’t see it or touch it — only feel its effects too late.
Within seconds, I silently got close to one of the group mbers. Looking closely, I identified two tanks and two archers — no sign of anyone with a class like Alice’s. That actually worked in our favor.
According to Oliver, archers are skilled at tracking targets and setting ambushes, but they fall short when it cos to detection. On the other hand, my class, assassin, specializes exactly in that: going unnoticed and identifying hidden presences.
Anyway, using the slight agility advantage my female body offered over the male, I was already behind my first target before he even noticed . With the dagger firm in hand, I didn’t hesitate.
In one precise, silent move, I covered his mouth with my palm and, a mont later, let the sharp blade slide across his neck. The cut was clean. His body twitched slightly, like he was resisting instinctively, before giving in completely, becoming a dead weight in my arms. I gently set him down without making a sound.
You killed [Human / Archer – lvl 16] – Bonus experience for killing a mber of an intelligent species. Experience shared with the rest of your group. 800 XP gained.
There was no scream, no alarm, no call for help. So the three remaining n were still completely unaware of what had happened. Alice’s ability was still active, masking the effects for anyone not targeted — and to us, everything seed perfectly normal.
We could see reasonably clearly, at least within the limits imposed by the thick fog surrounding the woods. Cautiously, trying not to draw attention, I slowly crouched down and laid the lifeless body on the ground. Every move was calculated, silent. My goal was clear: remain invisible to the other three, at least for a few more seconds.
At the sa ti, the other archer suddenly lifted his head, as if sothing had caught his attention. His eyes scanned the surroundings restlessly, analyzing every shadow, every subtle movent between the trees. For a few tense seconds, silence settled. Then, in a low, hesitant voice, he broke the mont: “...Hey, did you guys hear that? A muffled sound... like sothing was dragging?”
The mont I heard his words, my body froze. As if guided by instinct, I slowly turned my gaze toward the voice. The archer stayed alert, his eyes sweeping every corner of the environnt with quiet precision, as if searching for sothing — or soone. For a brief mont, our eyes t.
He saw , and I saw he saw . His eyes narrowed, suspicious, weighing with a mix of confusion and restrained tension. That brief eye contact seed to last forever, though it ended in just a few seconds. Then sothing changed. His eyes widened in clear surprise — or maybe recognition.
His mouth started to move, like he was going to say sothing... But he didn’t have ti. Suddenly, an arrow cut through the air and pierced his skull with brutal precision. His body faltered for a mont, as if still trying to understand what happened, before dropping lifeless.
I watched the scene for a few seconds before moving toward the last two. To be honest, I didn’t have to think much about what had happened — the arrow lodged in the ground was a clear, almost loud sign that Oliver was just covering us. That was the kind of help I expected from him.
Still, despite assuming the last two were just archers trying to slow us down, there was sothing about the silence or the way they were positioned that made think the situation wasn’t as simple as it seed.
Of course, the noise and movent didn’t go unnoticed by the last two n. They started exchanging looks, showing growing discomfort, like sothing about the situation was finally waking their suspicion.
As I silently approached, trying to keep every step covered by the tension of the mont, a new voice echoed — coming from the warrior standing beside the leader: “Hey... I’m pretty sure I just heard sothing fall”
Their attention was now divided, senses sharpened, and the alert mood was taking over the place.
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