The moment the words "Eight Fingers" left his mouth,
the air went still for a heartbeat.
"I told you not to run your mouth," the black-robed man blocking the way behind him suddenly said in a low voice.
"Heh, I didn't say anything," the thief replied, reversing his grip on the dagger, his gaze turning cold.
Hearing their brief exchange,
Aaron knew his guess was right. Their real target was not his money, but him.
The so-called Eight Fingers was an underground syndicate with eight criminal divisions, its influence spread across practically the entire Re-Estize Kingdom.
And behind it, faint silhouettes of nobles could be seen.
The kingdom did not forbid the slave trade, which had given rise to an entire web of crime: child abduction, slavery, brothels, bribery, and more.
Aaron remembered that in a year or two, the Golden Princess, Renner, would propose a decree to ban the slave trade, dealing a huge blow to Eight Fingers.
In truth,
that decree had been one of her most perfectly calculated moves.
Out of all the policies she had proposed, that was one of the few that actually passed. For such a measure, so deeply entangled with vested interests, to pass at all was nearly unbelievable.
A princess who had never left the palace, without any faction or subordinates, had nonetheless gained the support of most of the populace in an eerie way.
Then, leveraging the benefits and influence generated by that decree, she even indirectly pressured the Baharuth Empire, arm-wrestling the Bloody Emperor himself. No wonder they called her a "monster."
In the alley,
the danger made Aaron's body taut.
His left hand gripped the short sword, while his right pulled the freshly purchased 1st-tier Magic Arrow scroll from his Item Box.
"You two have some nerve. This isn't far from the main square and the Adventurer Guild. Aren't you afraid I'll just yell and you won't get away?" he said loudly on purpose, hoping to draw attention.
"Go on, shout louder if you like."
"But here's a reminder: no matter how loud you scream, it won't matter. No one will hear what happens here."
The low voice came from behind him.
Aaron's heart clenched. He turned slightly to look back and saw a short rod, about ten centimeters long and staff-like, in the man's hand.
Almost at the same moment,
a notification flashed on his status panel.
"Skill 'Silence' discovered. Requirement: basic mage-type class, level 8–14."
"Current conditions not met…"
At that sight, Aaron instantly knew what the black-robed man was holding.
A short staff.
A type of magic item, essentially a powered-up version of a magic scroll.
If a scroll was an item with a single-use spell stored in it, then a short staff stored multiple charges of the same spell.
In YGGDRASIL, short staves were more cost-efficient than scrolls, their one major drawback being class restrictions.
For example, a short staff imbued with Holy Light could only be used by divine casters, and one filled with Fireball could only be used by arcane casters.
Scrolls had no such limitation.
Of course, some high-grade short staves could bypass that restriction as well.
In this world,
short staves were much more expensive than scrolls. They were already counted as magic items.
Confirming the black-robed man was using a short staff, Aaron could be sure he was an arcane magic caster.
One thief and one caster.
It was obvious which one had to go first.
"Give up, kid," the masked thief sneered, dagger reversed in his grip as he suddenly lunged forward.
"Slash!"
In an instant,
his speed spiked, his figure blurring as he charged.
Seeing that,
Aaron knew he had no choice but to gamble.
Without a shred of hesitation or regret,
he immediately hurled the Magic Arrow scroll at the thief.
The scroll flashed with light.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three non-elemental magic arrows formed in midair and shot toward the thief at high speed.
At the same time, a notification appeared on his panel.
"Skill 'Magic Arrow' discovered. Requirement: basic mage-type class, level 1–7. Current conditions not met…"
"'Genius' class effect triggered. Basic class requirement fulfilled. Spend 1 skill point to learn?"
Ignoring the result of the scroll, Aaron spun on his heel and dashed straight at the magic caster behind him.
As he moved, he saw the prompt and knew his bet had paid off. In his mind, he confirmed the choice at once.
Skill: Magic Arrow (1st Tier)
Cost: 5 MP
Description: Casts three non-elemental arrows of magic to attack an enemy. For every additional point of mana spent, creates one more arrow, up to a maximum of 10.
...
"You picked the wrong opponent, boy."
The black-robed caster let out a mocking chuckle as Aaron turned and charged him.
"Acid Sp—"
"Magic Arrow!"
Aaron was faster. He triggered the newly learned Magic Arrow before the black-robed caster could finish his chant.
What?
Shock flickered over the face hidden beneath the hood.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a divine caster?
He could use arcane spells too?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The three magic arrows were already upon him.
No time to think, the caster snapped into a different incantation. "Shield Wall!"
Shff!
An invisible, transparent barrier sprang up in front of him.
Thud!
All three arrows slammed into it and vanished as their magic collided and canceled out.
"You've made me angry, you litt—"
Face contorted in rage, the black-robed caster thrust a magic staff out from under his cloak, ready to cast again.
The next instant,
his face went chalk-white. Aaron was already in front of him.
How is he this fast?!
As a caster, no matter what, you were supposed to maintain distance. He knew that all too well.
They had started at least fifteen meters apart. A magic caster's physique should never allow him to close that gap so quickly—unless he was more than just a caster…
The thought had barely formed when
Aaron's short sword came down in a flash. "Quick Slash!"
Cold steel gleamed in the air.
The blade swept toward the caster's throat—
And at the moment of impact,
a white light flared around the caster's body.
The sword struck the light with a dull thud and was stopped cold.
But the glow dimmed noticeably.
So that was—
"A magic item," Aaron thought, eyes narrowing.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" the caster said, face finally visible under the lifted brim of his hood. He looked younger than expected, barely twenty.
But before he could savor the moment,
Aaron's gaze hardened. He shifted to a reverse grip on the hilt and pressed down with all his strength. The white glow flickered once and then vanished.
Pshhk!
The blade sliced cleanly across the caster's throat. Blood gushed out in a torrent, splattering all over Aaron.
"EXP +350."
"Idiot," Aaron thought.
Knowing he had a defensive magic item, the man had still paused to gloat instead of immediately casting another spell.
Aaron's strike had already weakened the barrier; clearly it had a limit to how much it could block.
And more importantly,
as a caster, he had allowed an enemy to get this close.
It was obvious he had almost no experience with close combat.
"You bastard, I'll cut all four of your limbs off!"
The icy roar came from behind him.
The thief who had been held off by the first Magic Arrow scroll was already on him.
Aaron had not heard a single footstep.
Was it a thief-class ability? A skill?
He quickly shifted his stance and turned. The dagger, now glowing with a dark violet light, was already right in front of him.
Another magic weapon.
In that instant of danger—
Clang!
He instinctively swung his short sword. The blade met the dagger with a sharp, ringing clash.
Surprise flickered in the thief's eyes. After the impact, he staggered back a few steps, staring at Aaron in disbelief.
Crack.
Aaron looked down at his sword. A crack and a chip had appeared where the blades had met.
Even so, the grim look on his face slowly faded.
"You know, I'm realizing something."
"You're both weaker than I am."
His expression twisted into something odd as he lifted his head and looked at the thief opposite him.
______
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