Level 1 Fallen

I had to admit it, I was surprised that the dungeon sabotage made it all the way to the League of Assassins. I had expected, at most, that they would be put on a wanted list in Ilsan. However, if the league was getting involved, that meant that there wouldn't be a place for them anywhere that the league operated. Not until their bounty mission was fulfilled.

"Shall we get going, then?" Diane asked, sticking her guns back in her inventory. I gave a small nod, moving to the other side of the ledge we were standing on, where I could see the city of Ilsan in the distance.

I held out my hand, and Diane grabbed it, at which point I activated Scout to zoom my vision in on the gate. Once I was sure that I could see it clearly enough, I used Glancing Steps-X to take us directly there. At such a close distance, one where the destination is already in view, there was no point to using the bike.

After arriving, I disabled my Dragon Form and Ghost Zone, allowing the guards to see us. They seemed briefly surprised, but I walked up and spoke to one. "My name is Drake, and this is Diane. We're from the League of Assassins, tracking down two groups of players responsible for sabotaging a high level dungeon within city limits."

Thankfully, the League of Assassins wasn't some huge secret organization. Their presence was known, but it was hard to tell who was involved if they didn't come forward and admit to it. Additionally, their headquarters was a secret because it housed the cells used for the more problematic cases.

In times like this, though, it was fully acceptable to mention our affiliation. At least, that's what Wisteria told me when I asked her about it after seeing that we were authorized to use force within the city.

The guard at first looked at us skeptically, until I mentioned the crime of dungeon sabotage. Then, he turned more serious. "Who are you looking for?"

Pulling up the quest information, and the relevant images of the targets, I described their appearances to the guards. "They were last seen heading here, and it would have been no more than twelve hours ago."

The two guards looked at one another, briefly discussing. Afterwards, the dogfolk guard I had spoken to first turned to face me. "The appearances don't exactly match, but we've only had a single full-blooded orc male coming through the gates today. It was about an hour ago, too."

Relieved that we were on the right path, I nodded in appreciation. "May I know how the appearance changed? It's possible that he was using a disguise skill." I said, knowing full well what I was talking about, since I myself was under one such skill at all times.

"The orc was dressed in a full robe, like a mage, and walking with a staff." The guard answered cooperatively. "Additionally, the one you described as a human priestess looked like a catfolk."

"Okay, so not a disguise skill, just a change of clothes and some props." I sighed, relieved when I heard that. "If you could discretely let the other guards know about the situation, I would be much obliged. They have shown a reckless disregard for NPC life, and we have been given permission to engage within city limits, so long as we ensure the safety of civilians."

"Have you, now?" A new voice spoke up from behind the guards. A bearfolk woman stepped forward, wearing the same armor as the guards, but not carrying a weapon on her. If her black hair was brown, I might have mistaken her for my instructor, Kelly.

"Lady Gabrielle." The two guards greeted her respectfully, but she gestured for them to relax, keeping her eyes on us.

"I heard the story just now. The two of you were sent by Erebus?" She asked, to which I nodded my head. "What's your rank?"

"Low-ranking members." I admitted honestly, not wanting to lie in front of someone who seemed like the guard captain. Especially since she knew the league master's name.

Gabrielle gave a small nod. "How many deaths is their bounty?"

"Three for Grog and his party, and five for the rest." When I said that, Gabrielle let out a low whistle.

"They must have really pissed someone off. Which dungeon did they sabotage, then? We're too far out from a league branch for it to be one of theirs." She asked, looking around, before her gaze settled on Manamill's floating island in the distance. "Don't tell me, Ember Flight?"

"That's right." I confirmed her suspicions. "They cut the bridge leading into the dungeon, and attracted all monsters up to the miniboss to the opening platform."

Gabrielle clicked her tongue, but nodded her head once she understood the situation. "Got it. I won't get in the way of your mission, then. However, I'll be accompanying you. The guards won't make a move while I'm with you, and I want a word with those players once you're done."

I had a feeling she was more interested in monitoring us, just to make sure that we didn't hurt any civilians. However, that was fine by me. If this bearfolk woman could become the leader of the guards, I was sure that she was powerful. She could probably defeat both Diane and myself without any problems. "That's fine. By the way, this is going to bug me if I don't ask, do you know a bearfolk named Kelly?" I asked, causing her to arch her brow. "The two of you look almost identical, aside from your hair."

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"You know Kelly?" She asked in surprise.

"Kelly trained me back when I was in Athua. I learned my Myriad Strikes and Internal Recovery from her." At that point, Gabrielle's expression seemed to soften, and she nodded her head.

"Kelly's my little sister. I heard she had taken up a teaching post. How is she doing?" She asked, and I hesitated. Seeing that, Gabrielle's eyes narrowed. "She went back to the front lines?"

"Right when she was done training me." I admitted, and Gabrielle sighed. She turned around, gesturing for the two of us to follow her into the city.

"Figures. She had always wanted to find a good student. Guess she got what she was looking for. Still, this will make things easier." As she spoke, she signalled to the other guards, likely sending them the descriptions of our targets through private chat.

At the same time, I sent a message to Wisteria. Should we be concerned about a guard in Ilsan named Gabrielle? She questioned us about our identity, and even directly mentioned the master's name.

There was a brief pause before Wisteria responded. Gabrielle is known as the Iron-Blooded Hero of Ilsan. It's normal for her to know about the master. Though, if she's taking a personal interest in this, things might get a little dangerous. Gabrielle is famous as both a battle junkie and an extreme enforcer of justice. She once flattened an entire noble estate because she found out that the noble had been harming his people through embezzling taxes.

My eyes twitched wider, glancing at Gabrielle. She had said that she would let us complete our mission, so I wasn't too concerned there. However, if what Wisteria said was true, it was likely that the players would still be imprisoned after their punishments.

"Just checking, but they didn't send you any special respawn stones or anything for this mission, right?" Gabrielle asked when she noticed my gaze.

"That's right. We weren't given anything special this time." Gabrielle gave a small nod when she heard that, her eye flicking to the side.

"I just got word from one of my guards. Your targets are looking to buy supplies for the road. If you want to catch them, you'll need to do so now." When she said that, I hesitated.

"If they're shopping, are they in a populated area?" I asked, and Gabrielle looked at me approvingly. "If we know that they're planning to leave, we can ambush them when they leave the city. If it looks like they're going to split up, I'll take on one group, and Diane will take the other."

"Good kid." Gabrielle chuckled. "That'll minimize collateral damage, but there's a problem. After they die, they'll respawn back at the town's square. Your ambush tactic will only work once, maybe twice at most before they hole up in the city. I'll get my men to clear out the civilians around the square, so let loose in town. If you got an assignment like this, you should have plenty of abilities that won't damage the surroundings."

"To be honest, I've gotten a lot stronger since I was last assessed by the league… but I should be able to manage." I nodded, and Gabrielle began leading us towards the center of town, which was overlooked by the castle of Ilsan. "Diane, think you can use this as a chance to test your new weapon?"

When I asked that, Diane's eyes widened in realization, and she nodded her head. "The new enchantment you gave shouldn't explode this time, right?" She asked, and I chuckled, denying the suggestion.

"No, I compressed it a lot more this time. It should focus more on penetration now. Just make sure not to aim it at them when there are any buildings behind them."

"I know basic gun safety." Diane rolled her eyes, nodding along.

"Well, that makes one of us." I muttered, before spotting a hulking figure with red skin walking down the road. "Looks like it's time."

With that, I activated Ghost Zone, hiding myself, Diane, and Gabrielle from view. Next was Dragon Form, and Gabrielle looked somewhat surprised at my transformation, as well as the lack of response from anyone around us.

"Is the area ahead clear?" I asked, and she nodded her head. With that, Diane and I lunged forward, soon entering a surprisingly empty town square. On the far side, I could see Grog leading a group of more than a dozen players down another road.

Diane pulled out her gun, steadying her aim at Grog, and pulled the trigger. There was no sound at first, until the sound of something wet popping could be heard, Grog's head exploding. Immediately the other players looked alarmed, but I reached out, pressing them down with Martial Intent-X.

I dropped Ghost Zone, locking eyes with the surprised players and activating Killing Stare. This skill wasn't very effective against those with powerful mental stats, but there were quite a few melee combatants in their group, judging by how their eyes widened in at the use of my skill.

A moment later, Grog appeared in the middle of the city square. Diane, who had been waiting, quickly shot him again before he could register his surroundings, and began humming to herself as she waited. "One more, and his quota's met." She announced.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" A blonde human shouted out, wearing blue and gold armor. His face was twisted in rage as he struggled against the skill pinning him down. "Don't you know who we are? You dare to attack us in the middle of the city?!"

"Jacob Felgrin." I spoke calmly. "You bought yourself a title of nobility, earning your surname. However, as you are wanted for crimes against the people, any protections offered by your title have been temporarily stripped. You and all members of your party will be eliminated five times, after which you will be handed over to the city's guards."

As I said that, Grog respawned once again, his face a mask of rage. "Stop it, you--" He began, before a thick hole formed in his chest, and he fell to the ground once more.

"He's all yours when he spawns again." Diane spoke up, looking at Gabrielle. In the meantime, I noticed the mage in Jacob's team trying to cast one of his skills. My eyes narrowed, and I threw a ball of water at him, forcing it around his head to drown him in it.

"Idiot!" One of the rogues who noticed this insulted the mage. "Look at the skills he's using! Just wait for him to burn through his mana, and then we can attack together! He can't hold all of us here like this forever!"

I saw no point in correcting the man, since it was this misconception that prevented most of them from activating their skills to fight back right away. They simply glared murderously in my direction, waiting for my skill to deactivate.