CHAPTER 6: CHAPTER6-RISING 9 LEVELS IN A ROW!

In the blink of an eye, the entire room was drenched in blood.

Other than the few awakeners who had been present, every last member of the Blackfish Gang had already been slaughtered!

It was a one-sided massacre. The killing unfolded so swiftly that it was over within just a few breaths of time. The battle ended before it had even truly begun.

Now, the only ones left breathing were the three awakeners.

But facing an enemy they could neither see nor touch, even the awakener who was their leader was driven into shrieking terror. His voice cracked as he screamed again and again,

"Who are you? Who the hell are you?!"

The other two awakeners had gone completely pale, trembling so violently that they could not even form words. Their eyes darted about wildly, but there was nothing they could latch on to—only shadows.

At that very moment, eight figures gradually revealed themselves before their eyes.

They appeared indistinct, their forms half-real and half-illusory, as though they existed in both worlds simultaneously. They seemed like phantoms born of mist, and yet there was a palpable solidity to their presence. Their outlines wavered, but no matter how hard the awakeners tried, they could not see their faces.

Just then, an icy, chilling voice broke through the oppressive silence. It came from the lips of one of those spectral assassins.

"State your identities. Tell us what faction you serve."

The sound seemed to crawl beneath the skin, colder than the sharpest blade.

Upon hearing this, the awakener leader’s face twisted with horror.

He had never expected these shadowy assassins to speak. At first, he had assumed that these strange killers—who could conceal themselves so perfectly—were some kind of alchemical puppets forged by a master craftsman.

But now, he realized with dawning terror that they were no mere constructs. They were living, breathing humans!

And yet, if they were indeed flesh and blood, how could they vanish into thin air, how could they strike unseen like vengeful spirits?

The truth of their existence shattered everything he thought he knew. As an apprentice-rank awakener, one who stood proudly above the common masses, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

There was not a shred of doubt in his heart—these beings could snuff out his life as easily as a man might crush an ant.

"We... we are from the Unicorn Trading Guild!" he stammered desperately. "We’re just following orders, nothing more! Please, don’t kill me!"

The assassin’s voice cut through again like a blade of frost:

"So it was the Unicorn Trading Guild that sent you to cause chaos in the outer city?"

By now the awakener had been utterly broken. His will collapsed like rotted wood, and he began to spill everything he knew without reservation.

"N-no... not just the Unicorn Trading Guild. Our activities in the outer city—they were orchestrated with help from the city’s police department!"

"I’ve told you everything I know! Please, I beg you, spare me!"

But the Elemental Assassins had no interest in his pleas. They cared only for the information they were ordered to retrieve. Once they had obtained it, one of them turned slightly and gave a cold command to his comrades:

"According to His Majesty’s orders, dispose of them all."

The awakener leader’s eyes bulged wide at those words.

"His... Majesty?"

For a brief instant, his mind reeled. The only emperor of the Crossbridge Empire was supposed to be a useless fool, a man lying in a coma. Could it be... could it be that these terrifying ghosts were his agents?

Before he could untangle the thought, his body suddenly lifted into the air. A sharp, searing pain ripped through him. He turned his eyes downward in time to see his own neck spurting fountains of blood.

"No... no... no!" he gasped, his last words gurgling in his throat.

The only response was the cold rasp of blades being drawn, the metallic chime echoing mercilessly in the night.

No one—absolutely no one—would have ever imagined that such a gruesome and merciless slaughter could take place here, in the very stronghold of the Blackfish Gang.

The screams of agony and despair echoed throughout the courtyard for a full half hour. They rose and fell like waves, then finally dwindled into silence.

When it was over, the Elemental Assassins dragged forward an entire wagon-load of straw. They set about their grisly task with quiet precision, fulfilling His Majesty’s decree to the letter. By the time they were done, the mutilated corpses of the Blackfish Gang were grotesquely stuffed with straw and prepared for display atop the highest section of the city wall—a ghastly warning to all.

Valoria Palace

High upon the city’s walls, within the palace, Aurek stood with scepter in hand, gazing toward the distant horizon.

By now, the Elemental Assassins should have begun their operation. If everything had gone according to plan, then the Blackfish Gang would already be nothing more than a memory.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a glowing message frame materialized before his eyes:

[Emperor Point +10]

[Emperor Point +10]

[Emperor Point +10]

On and on the notifications streamed in, a cascade of glowing prompts. Aurek’s pupils gleamed with sharp light.

So... the Elemental Assassins had indeed taken action.

After several seconds, the prompts ceased. Aurek’s gaze turned toward his current Emperor Point tally—120 points.

This confirmed it: the task was complete.

What shocked him, however, was the sheer speed. Barely two or three hours had passed since he had dispatched them. Finding the Blackfish Gang’s hideout should have consumed time, and yet the mission was already over.

Such efficiency was nothing short of extraordinary.

And this had been accomplished with only eight Elemental Assassins.

Aurek’s throat tightened as his imagination soared. If the number were multiplied tenfold, a hundredfold, even a thousand or ten thousand times—what kind of awe-inspiring spectacle would that be?

His lips had gone dry just from contemplating it.

What Aurek did not know, however, was that the Assassins’ actual efficiency was even greater than he realized.

From the moment they had locked onto their target until the complete annihilation of the Blackfish Gang, less than a single hour had elapsed.

The remaining time? It had been spent skinning the gang members alive and stuffing their corpses with straw, just as commanded.

At that precise moment, Aurek suddenly felt something new stirring within him.

[Combat Strength Increased!]

A sudden surge of warmth and power bloomed in his chest, spreading outward like wildfire into his limbs. He clenched his fists instinctively, marveling at the vitality now flooding his veins.

Level 9!

His eyes widened. He had not anticipated this—when the Elemental Assassins slew his enemies, his own strength would rise as well!

The ability to perceive the existence of energy—that was the true boundary separating ordinary humans from awakeners.

And now, Aurek felt it clearly. His chest throbbed with a rhythm of power. Though faint and still small, this reservoir of energy had pushed him up to the threshold of Level 9.

It was astonishing. Just a heartbeat earlier, he had been nothing more than a helpless mortal. Now, he stood reborn as an awakener!

Before his eyes, another glowing message materialized:

[Reminder: When the units under your command slay enemies, your own strength will also increase.]

"What... it works like this?" Aurek whispered. For a brief instant, he was stunned. Then his lips curved into an incredulous smile.

In the normal course of things, improving one’s rank as an awakener was an arduous struggle. Countless awakeners labored year after year, training diligently just to build up their inner reserves of energy. Others relied on rare encounters with magical artifacts or divine treasures to push their limits.

But almost all of them followed the first path—endless discipline and patience. For outside forces were fleeting, never a foundation to rely on.

Yet here Aurek found himself upon a third path.

He did not need to lift a finger. He did not need to train or bleed. With every foe his assassins struck down, his own strength surged higher.

If eight Elemental Assassins could bring him this much benefit, what would happen when his armies numbered in the thousands, the tens of thousands?

Would he not become truly invincible?

The thought made his blood race, his spirit swell with exhilaration. His chest rose and fell as he tried to calm himself, but the corners of his lips trembled with suppressed joy.

At that moment, Aurek could not have felt more elated.

And his gaze drifted once more to his ever-growing tally of Emperor Points...