Master Assassin of the Ronan

Chapter 32: The Test of the Black Dream Forest (1)

“Aaaaaagh!”

With an unidentifiable scream, participants were dragged into the pond.

The ground beneath them vanished in an instant, and darkness swallowed them whole.

It was a suffocating darkness.

As they struggled, some participants thrashed in desperation. But no matter how much they flailed, nothing could stop them from sinking into the depths of the dark.

Though they couldn’t make a sound, every word they mouthed in agony was communicated to the Dream Spider.

“The whining, begging to be saved! So noisy.”

The Dream Spider’s grotesquely distorted eyes turned toward Kun.

The sight of Kun clawing at his neck as he floundered was reflected in the creature’s eye.

“Hm. I’ll remember those words about tearing me apart.”

It read Kun’s reaction, his lips trembling as he glared at it.

“Future assassins, here to pile up the deaths of others. The test hasn’t even started yet. This is merely the fanfare signaling its start.”

There was a bit more suffering left before this would end.

Then, the Dream Spider noticed a single participant who wasn’t thrashing.

“Thought he’d fainted… but no?”

Despite being dragged down into the depths, Rubin simply had his arms crossed.

Soon, he opened his closed eyes and glared at the Dream Spider.

‘Isn’t this enough already? It’d be great if you just started.’

Rubin’s thoughts transmitted directly to the Dream Spider.

“Sometimes, there are ones that like to show off like you.”

One of the spider’s legs circled around Rubin.

“Do you think your family head would even lodge a complaint if I killed one of you?”

The Dream Spider and the Assassin Blade Family were bound by a sort of contractual relationship, not a hierarchy.

Rubin knew this well.

‘If that contract were broken, the existence of this forest would be revealed to the world.’

The Dream Spider’s eye changed color momentarily.

“Ah, so you’re from the Ronan family. No surprise you’re arrogant, just like your mother. Holding out even under the pain of drowning.”

At that, Rubin uncrossed his arms.

‘Drowning? Come on, I’m not falling for that. I knew from the start that I was just standing on top of the pond.’

“Hm, peculiar one. Let’s see how long you survive in this test.”

With those words, the oppressive darkness around them dissipated.

The surroundings transformed.

The children, who had been pulled under the pond, found themselves back on top of it.

All the other children except Rubin and Kun collapsed onto the ground, unable to hold themselves up.

“Haa… haa…”

“Urgh…”

The children gasped for breath, clutching their throats as they confirmed that they were still alive.

“This is nothing like I was told.”

Hamil spoke with difficulty.

It was understandable.

She, too, had known about the Dream Spider through prior information.

She knew it would ensnare them in illusions. But it wasn’t something you could shatter at will.

“It’s only beginning, so everyone get ready.”

So far, it had only been the Dream Spider’s prank.

The real test was about to begin.

At Rubin’s words, Hamil, who had been on her knees, stood and remained on alert. So did Kun and Blane, who stood on Rubin’s left and right.

Rubin himself was fully prepared.

And then, at that moment.

‘It’s started.’

In an instant, the pond beneath them disappeared again.

With a sharp, echoing sound, the scene around them shifted.

‘This place.’

Rubin looked around.

They now stood in the hallway of a building.

A spacious, pristine hallway.

The floor was covered in a dizzying array of tiny checkered patterns that hurt to look at.

Participants stared at the floor, their faces twisting in discomfort.

“Where is this?”

“Ugh, look at the floor. It’s making me dizzy.”

Confused by the sudden appearance of the hallway, the participants looked around in bewilderment.

There didn’t seem to be any immediate danger.

Hamil bit her lip slightly as she stayed alert, and Kun, who still hadn’t let go of his anger toward the Dream Spider, twitched restlessly.

Rubin observed another participant.

The participant from the Rainkroki family.

‘The fact that Rainkroki is the first sequence matches with my memories from before.’

According to Rubin’s memory, this place was the Rainkroki family’s mansion.

Though, of course, it wasn’t real.

It was a space conjured by the Dream Spider, penetrating Rainkroki’s mind.

“So this second stage really is the test of illusions.”

At Hamil’s comment, Rubin nodded.

“It’s also called the test of fear.”

Around each participant’s wrist was a silken thread, like a bracelet, spun by the spider. The bracelet delved into the participant’s inner psyche, analyzing what fear lay within.

And thus, the testing ground was created.

“Ugh…”

The Rainkroki participant was visibly unsettled by the shifting surroundings. His body shook as he vehemently shook his head.

When he was about three years old, in a room where the checkered pattern stood out, he’d once been the plaything of his mischievous older brothers.

Though the memories weren’t vivid, the fear had etched itself deep in his mind. And it surfaced now, grotesquely amplified.

“…Scissors… scissors cut my fingers off!”

“What the hell is this guy saying?”

Kun scowled at Rainkroki’s mutterings.

A moment later, Kun’s face contorted further, and he shouted.

“What the hell is that!”

At that moment, a sharp pair of scissors, legs wide open, hurtled down the hallway straight toward Kun.

Though the attack was sudden, it wasn’t threatening. Kun easily dodged the scissors with a twist of his body.

“Tch, that was lame.”

Following that, sharp scissors flew toward the other participants as well.

Rubin nimbly evaded the raining scissors.

“Ugh…”

The Rainkroki participant whimpered, almost in tears.

‘It wasn’t just scissors.’

In Rubin’s recollection, Rainkroki’s fear had transformed into something grotesque by now.

Whatever his brothers had done to the three-year-old Rainkroki, his repressed fear had now given life to a creature that shouldn’t exist.

Creeeeak, screeeak.

At the end of the hallway, something emerged from the shadows.

An ominous pair of scissors, emitting a terrifying sound as its blades clanged together.

The real problem was that they were not small enough to be held by human hands.

It was more the size of a fully grown dog.

The enormous floating scissors clanged manically as it moved toward them.

There were dozens of them.

Soon, the scissors charged at them like a pack of wild dogs.

‘Still, the first sequence will be over soon. Rainkroki won’t be able to hold out.’

If the owner of a fear couldn’t overcome it and allowed a lapse, that sequence would end.

That was the rule of this test.

Rubin remained calm.

Soon, Rainkroki would break down.

In the previous timeline, he hadn’t lasted even five minutes.

“Help me, help!”

At last, the Rainkroki participant screamed in terror.

In the next moment, his entire body was sliced and cut apart by the enormous scissors.

“Aaaaagh!”

With his final scream, the surroundings shifted again.

The hallway they had been in disappeared with a loud swoosh.

“…?”

Suddenly, the children found themselves back atop the dark pond.

Those who had been dodging the scissors stood there awkwardly, stunned by the abrupt change.

“Looks like the coward’s been eliminated.”

As Kun had said, the number of participants on the dark pond had decreased by one.

The Rainkroki participant, who had been screaming just a moment ago, had likely been whisked away, trapped within a cocoon of silken thread, to where the family heads waited.

“Did he die?”

Hamil asked, her voice tense.

She had seen him be completely mutilated by the enormous scissors right before her eyes. The blood splatter had been vividly realistic.

“No, he didn’t. This is the Dream Forest. Though I’m sure the pain of having his body cut apart was all too real.”

The one to answer was Blane, who had been silent all this time.

She carefully placed her hand on her left shoulder, where the burn was the deepest.

“This test verifies fear, the fear rooted deep within.”

The children murmured, unsettled, until Kun snapped, eyes blazing.

“Hey, you! If you’re going to start bawling like that other loser, step back. It’s annoying.”

“Everyone, stay alert. The next sequence will begin immediately.”

It was Hamil who soothed the others. Meanwhile, she snuck a glance at Rubin. Unlike the other participants, who were disoriented by this new experience, Rubin looked remarkably calm.

‘A test that confronts fear.’

Surviving and overcoming one’s deepest fears. What each person shows in the face of their own terror reveals essential qualities needed as an assassin.

Whether they cower, run away, or face it head-on to conquer it.

The Dream Spider, according to its contract, would do its utmost to test and weed out the children.

‘Of course, that’s from the Dream Spider’s perspective.’

Rubin had his own reasons for participating in this test.

Hamil, Kun, and Blane—among the three children here…

Then, a short sound signaled another shift in the surroundings.

Whoosh.

They were now standing in a vast grassland.

A green expanse.

Warm sunlight.

It felt like a setting for a picnic.

The children, having overcome the first test, remained on guard.

They focused only on what new danger might come.

Rubin grasped at faint memories resurfacing.

‘This is Kalkreed’s fear.’

When Kalkreed was two, he had been trampled by a horse’s hoof due to his nanny’s negligence.

Thanks to advanced healing magic, his body wasn’t permanently damaged, but the fear had embedded itself deeply within him.

Hooves rained down before them.

Kalkreed’s distorted fear materialized, sweeping over them all.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The participants on the green field had to hurl themselves out of the way to avoid the hoof strikes pouring down from the sky.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Ugh, this is a pain!”

The one who ended this round was none other than Kun.

The moment he realized this was Kalkreed’s fear sequence, he acted immediately.

“Hah! What are you doing?”

Focused solely on dodging the hooves raining down from the sky, Kalkreed had lowered his guard toward the others.

Kun didn’t miss his chance.

He lunged at Kalkreed, grabbed him by the nape, and threw him in the direction of the enormous hooves.

“What am I doing? Winning, that’s what!”

Kalkreed, hurled into the air, was trampled by the hooves and driven into the ground.

There’d be no permanent wounds, but the pain would still feel real.

With his body crushed, he coughed up blood and lost consciousness.

The hooves disappeared without a trace.

“Shouldn’t you all be thanking me? I ended it quickly.”

Kun boasted to the others.

Hamil frowned deeply, shaking her head, while Rubin merely shrugged.

‘Kun throwing Kalkreed… It’s the same as before my regression.’

Though the second test ended swiftly, a strange atmosphere lingered among the children.

Everyone realized the “new solution” Kun had demonstrated.

‘Find and eliminate the owner of the fear.’

By now, everyone was likely thinking the same thing.

Even the last trace of camaraderie between them began to dissipate.

Now, they would have to consider not only the Dream Spider’s monsters but also each other as enemies.

Back on the dark pond, the children prepared for the third sequence.

Having now realized how to survive, they watched each other warily.

Who would be next?

They revealed subtle hostility toward each other.

“This test proceeds in order, from the smallest fears to the largest. Meaning it gets harder the further we go.”

Hamil glanced at Blane, seeking agreement.

Blane nodded silently.

Since the information they’d each received from their family heads matched, no one argued with Hamil’s statement.

“I don’t have anything like fear. Naturally, I’ll just breeze through.”

Kun boasted.

But that was impossible.

While others agreed Kun’s fear would probably be near the end, no one believed he’d escape it entirely.

Hamil pointedly called him out.

“Kun, no one is free of fear.”

“That’s what scared little kids say. I don’t have any, scaredy-cat.”

“We’ll see. Just don’t wet yourself when it’s your turn.”

Kun reacted immediately to Hamil’s taunt.

“Even if that happened, you wouldn’t be around to see it. Want to know why? I’ll be attacking you at every chance I get.”

Hamil shot back just as fiercely.

“Oh? I look forward to it. I wonder what your fear will be. Maybe it’s Young Master Rubin. Remember? Of course, you do. You were humiliated by him two years ago.”

“What humiliation? You little—!”

Nothing infuriated Kun more than the fact that he hadn’t been able to defeat Rubin. He couldn’t hold back and moved to lunge at Hamil.

But fighting outside of a dream state was strictly forbidden.

Violating this rule could have unpredictable consequences from the Dream Spider. Rubin had no choice but to step in.

“Hamil! Kun! Fighting outside of the dream state might lead to mutual disqualification. You know the rules.”

“Tch.”

“…I’m sorry, Young Master Rubin.”

The children returned to their places.

Soon, a chilling breeze stirred, causing small ripples in the dark pond. It was the signal for the third sequence.

Whoosh.

The third sequence was the fear of the Galliotric family participant. But this round also ended without much fuss.

With an ingrained fear of lightning, the Galliotric’s terror conjured bolts of lightning that struck at the participants.

Not only did Galliotric fail to overcome his fear, but he was also slow to move.

Soon enough, he was struck directly by a bolt, ending the sequence amid the agony of his charred body. Kun didn’t even need to lift a finger.

“No one has survived their own sequence yet.”

“Because the first three losers were all weaklings. Isn’t that right, Rubin?”

Rubin didn’t reply.

‘According to my memory, next is my turn.’

Before his regression, Rubin’s fear had been the fourth sequence.

That meant his fear ranked low in size and intensity.

Rubin recalled his past life, specifically the fear instilled by his scornful older brothers, Dorian and Maphis.

‘I couldn’t even withstand something like that?’

The defeat had been humiliating; his placement was only sixth.

He couldn’t overcome the monstrous forms of his brothers.

Back then, the small, weak Rubin had been seized and hurled into their clutches by Kun.

‘This time will be different. I don’t know what will come during my turn, but…’

He was sure it wouldn’t be either Kun or his brothers.

Whatever it was, he was confident he could overcome it with ease.

Rubin, a regressor with the advantage of a second life, possessed memories from his thirty-year past life and new experiences since his rebirth, unlike the other children.

‘Still, the future will shift little by little.’

Just as Rubin predicted, with a whooshing sound, a new sequence began.

This time, it clearly wasn’t Rubin’s turn.

Kun, surprised like never before, shouted at the shifting scene.

“Damn it, what’s this now?”