[Title: What’s this “※” mark?]
Content: Suddenly, it appeared on a party member character?
-: MC Big Bang
-: LOLLOLLOL
-[Author]: Oh, lol, what is it? Is it a good thing?
-: If you look at your character, your level might have increased.
-: Damn dude, your life is easy. Lolololol
– : It’s a scam.
-[Author]: No way, MC, it’s true lololololol
-[Author]: It was level 40, but suddenly it became 68(55) lol
-[Author]: Is this jump event real? lol
-: Level 68 lolololololol
-: Oh wow lol this guy is also very powerful lololololol
-: Damn;; super envious, when will I win the Face Thief lottery?
-[Author]: lol, just play the game hard like me
-: lolololololololololol
-: RL
-[Author]: But, this guy became a Swordsman (Assassin), what is this?
-: MC Legendary Dual Class
-: Scam
-: Is this world-first? Are you a pro-gamer?
-: Sir, might I inquire if you currently hold a profession? For another reason, we from Challenge Gaming offer you a recruitment proposal
-: How can a pro recruitment message be ‘Am I unemployed?’
-: Could I be witnessing the birth of a legend right now;;;;
-: Please sign! Sob sob sob sob sob sob
-[Author]: No shit what are all you guys babbling about
Seems strange, doesn’t it?
-: Quickly send them to battle and test the character’s performance, shall we?
-[Author]: Alright, understood. I definitely won’t send them out for battle.
-[Author]: What is this, you bastards?
-: I miss the purely joyful you…
-: And just like that, another pure newbie is lost
-[Author]: No shit
Even though you guys went ahead and were drumming and cheering on your own
-: Quickly kill it already
Or else other party members will also die
-[Author]: ?
-[Author]: Other party members ‘too’?
-[Author]: ‘Too’???
-: This is the real ‘Re’ comment that would stab a knife in the throat, let’s tolerate it once
-[Author]: Seriously, did my party character die?
Then what happens to the swordsmanship skill this guy had?
Wait, how did I raise him, s seriously
-: What the hell, the party member is dead but you’re asking about the trait, are you really the party leader?
-: You don’t deserve him
-: I guess everything that had to happen eventually did
-: Is this your karma catching up or something?
-[Author]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
What kind of deal is this guy now
-[Author]: Seriously, trying to kill this guy alone, it looks like total party wipes might happen
-[Author]: Is this really a level 68?
-: It’s level 68 but a fully leveled 68
-: Guy’s probably consumed the relic called ‘Formless One’s Fluid,’ which is a super-scammed item
The more faces he steals, the stronger he becomes
-: A Face Thief Level 68 would be like
one of the strongest Face Thieves one could normally encounter, right?
-: Isn’t that the case? If I remember correctly, it was level 68 right after he stole the Hero’s face
-: The ultimate step is catching up to the Special Operations Team Chief Towah and breaking the 8th rank
-: Once it reaches the ultimate level, it becomes a random event
the difficulty is like late-game Fate Quest level lolololololol
And worse, you have to fight while having lost one of your party members
It’s beyond ridiculous, really
-: KYA lol, so if we look at it, it’s slightly better than the worst, ok.
Thank heavens, dude
-[Author]: Ah shit, the tier 1 party is wiped, ahh
-: No it’s not
***
Why is Drey so startled at himself?
Rather, Rishe wanted to ask.
“So, it’s astounding, isn’t it? You’ve watched and mimicked the unique swordplay of a rank 7 swordsman standing still. Aren’t you amazed, Sir Drey?”
Having said that, Rishe nodded in admiration.
Indeed, it seems that the world of someone like a grand noble must be different, and their vision must differ as well,
judging by how they treat such incredible abilities as trivial.
Suddenly, he feels proud of himself.
Who am I?
A friend of Sir Drey Mastien.
KYA.
Towah next to him also showed a reaction similar to Rishe’s.
“Drey. You’ve become a tremendous figure in my absence. Is a Face Thief beneath you?”
“No…”
Drey, exasperated, wiped his sweat dryly.
Towah simply stared at Drey.
And after looking at Rishe once, Towah spoke in his characteristic brusque tone,
“Anyway, judging by this person’s reaction alone, this person assisting in the expulsion of the Face Thief appears to be your personal whim, not any mutual agreement. Drey, as I’ve repeatedly told you, refrain from pushing someone who’s below you to act. While you might be trying to present them an opportunity to showcase their talents, it might come across as an overwhelming and hard-to-decline demand from the other person’s perspective.”
Drey, having finished his dry wipe of sweat, replied with a wry smile,
“I get it, I understand. Indeed, it’s a well-put point. But this one’s not like that, seriously. That friend might seem simple on the surface, but in reality, words cannot fully express their extraordinary worth.”
It was as if he was boasting about a treasure hidden in a shabby form.
“…”
At the talent hunter’s bold proclamation, Towah’s gaze turned to Rishe.
Observing him more closely with a scrutinizing, almost chilly stare.
The recent words from Towah came to Rishe’s mind.
I’m feeling somewhat overwhelmed and stretched too far now.
Interest and expectations shown by the two grand nobles.
Could they be this heavy?
Even though being wholly trusted by someone at Drey’s level is more than just joy—it’s an honor—still,
there’s a definite sense of perplexity and unease that won’t go away.
“Sir Drey, may I ask—Is this Face Thief person also a Black Mage by any chance?”
“No. There’s no need to worry about that.”
“…”
“?”
“?”
Towah and Drey’s eyes flicked briefly to the diagonal.
Did I say or hear something wrong?
It’s not a Black Mage, so why the disappointment?
“Sir Drey, though I’m very grateful for your full trust and expectations—Frankly, I’m not sure if I can be of much help in this matter. I’m an ex-Master of the Assassin Guild, responsible for the assassination of a Hero candidate, and capable of mimicking techniques of a rank 7 swordsman standing still.”
“Yes, I understand. I’m also primarily keeping that in mind.”
“I see, so you have that in mind. Then why—”
“You, you know.”
“…What exactly am I to you? Ah, wait. I’m ex-Master of the Assassin Guild?”
“Why, do you happen to know how to use assassination techniques? Or that perhaps you understand the habits of assassins?”
“Really, do you see me as someone who does these things? That’s not me.”
Drey, enough.
Unable to endure further, Towah was about to snap at him.
“Something else, there’s something I got from an assassin once. I think it was around here… Ah, here we go.”
Rishe rummaged through his robes and pulled out a piece of deep red parchment as casually as one would grab a trinket.
At this, Towah narrowed his eyes and looked at the parchment intently.
Surely, this can’t be what I think it is?
“Ah, is it by chance the Black Ledger?”
At that moment, Drey’s voice from the side.
Towah nearly sighed involuntarily.
The content of Drey’s calm utterance was absurd.
The Black Ledger.
This was a sort of authority and power granted only to a select few individuals within the Assassin Guild.
The moment they entered the name of a specific group or individual onto this Black Ledger,
the target was designated as the top priority by every assassin within the Guild.
In other words, it was an item capable of commanding the entire Assassin Guild.
In the world, assassins are perceived as symbols of dishonor, willing to do anything for the sake of wealth.
However, that perception comes from those who falsely claim to be assassins.
The traditional assassin group rigorously guards traditional values, entirely separate from the secular world.
For secular beings to interact with them isn’t easy.
Not only those wealthy and powerful, even the most influential nobles of the continent.
This was why Towah was startled by Rishe’s recent statements.
For him, a secular being affiliated with the Gray Mage Tower to have personal ties with an assassin was unimaginable.
Now he somewhat understood why the meticulous talent scout wanted to introduce him so desperately.
However, Drey’s subsequent response nullified Towah’s understanding completely.
“Wh-why is this guy like this today?”
Asking Rishe out of the blue if he could use assassination techniques,
and then if he owned the Black Ledger.
Drey’s words and actions without the element of ‘reason’ were not just annoying but puzzling.
“What is this Black Ledger?”
Sure enough.
Rishe tilted his head at Drey’s question.
Towah, closing his eyes weariedly, tried to contain the little patience left in him.
Regardless, Drey cheerfully explained to Rishe,
“Simply put, it is like a hit list, right? A crucial assassination manual that guarantees the death of one sure target.”
“Drey, enough-”
“Ah, I think this thing was something like that.”
“?”
Towah, who was about to dissuade Drey with exhaustion, looked at Rishe instead.
“What are you saying? The Black Ledger isn’t something any mere assassin can own.”
“Maybe the assassin Rishe knows isn’t just any ordinary assassin. Perhaps a master or an elder.”
“Are you saying that a regular Mage of the Gray Mage Tower has personal ties with the Master of the Assassin Guild?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, he did introduce himself as the Master.”
“See! I knew it! Rishe, what in the world did you do to receive the Black Ledger from the Master of the Assassin Guild?”
“It’s nothing special—merely cured his illness.”
What insane conversation is this?
Towah’s cold demeanor faltered in confusion.
She spoke cautiously, not entirely sure herself why, but doing so very carefully.
“That thing is not something you’d casually receive just for curing an illness—”
And rightly so.
If curing an assassin could earn you the Black Ledger, wouldn’t healing houses and churches have one stashed away?
“Wasn’t it an incurable disease that no one else could treat?”
Drey spoke as if it was nothing.
“Yes, somehow it ended up like that.”
And Rishe responded nonchalantly in kind.
“Enough…”
Towah felt as if her brain was melting.
***
In a back alley of Bondales.
“Huff… Huff…!”
Magnus, the captain of the special forces of the Devilan Knight Order, was facing off against a man.
While maintaining a composed demeanor, he possessed lustrous golden hair and pale eyes.
The young man carried a gentle countenance.
He smiled and said,
“Come to think of it, we haven’t exchanged names yet. It’s a pleasure. My name is Rishe.”
