The Eternal Assassin

The next few days were filled with quiet conversation and subtle training on Asher's part. The closer they got to the village, the less strict Samantha was regarding her brother keeping silent, and Asher quickly discovered that if there was one thing Brian loved even more than his own sister, it was talking.

Asher learned about Brian's favorite foods, the friends he liked to play with, that time he swore he saw a griffin rider fly over their village, his dreams of becoming a deadly hunter one day, and even the bow and arrows the boy had secretly been working on constructing in order to practice archery when his sister wasn't around.

Though he'd had to swear not to tell Samantha before Brian would tell him about that last one.

All the while, Asher had done his best to practice his skills. With Samantha in the front and Asher taking up the rear, he was able to practice to his heart's content without his companions noticing. He practiced taking items in and out of his Personal Rift, using Distortion to shorten the distance he was walking or to pick up objects on the ground without bending over, and even made a game at one point of slipping into the Astral Realm whenever he thought Brian wouldn't turn his head to look back at him. He was pretty certain Samantha had picked up on what he was doing fairly quickly, but the hunter hadn't said anything, seemingly happy just to see Brian have someone other than her to talk to.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to practice his skills nonstop despite having nothing else to do. Using his skills seemed to tire him out in a way that he'd never felt before, and he found he had to take frequent breaks to let his body recover.

After hearing Samantha's warnings about the dangerous monsters, Asher had been waiting for some sort of ambush since the moment they left the tower. He had been visited by that awakened beast, but seeing as it hadn't actually done anything, he decided not to count that as an attack. In the end, Samantha showed just why she'd been hired as a guide in the first place. Through a combination of her skills and sheer knowledge of the forest, she managed to lead them all the way back to her village without them encountering anything more dangerous than a large grey bear that she'd dispatched with a few well-placed arrows.

Asher was sure that without her acting as a guide he would have been trapped in those woods for weeks at a minimum, if not longer. As it was, he'd been given the gift of nearly three straight days of practicing his skills while following Samantha through the forest. Whenever he actually had the energy, of course. Though to be honest, he was a bit disappointed in his advancements. While he certainly felt more comfortable using his new skills now, he hadn't gained very many levels.

Astral Dip – Lvl 5

Distortion – Lvl 3

Personal Rift – Lvl 3

Comprehend – Lvl 2

Either skills level faster while you're in danger, or I'm doing something very wrong, he concluded as they finally stepped out of the forest. Seeing Brian's ecstatic face, Asher couldn't help but chuckle as he took in the quaint little village before them.

The village of Horntho, as Brian had so helpfully informed him during one of their many chats, was actually on the larger side compared to many of the villages sitting on the edge of the Noala Kingdom. There were a couple hundred people living within the village, and while a good chunk of them made their living hunting or foraging in the nearby forest like Samantha, that wasn't the case for everyone.

Asher admired the well-maintained fields of what looked like fairly standard wheat and corn as they made their way into the village, unable to keep the grin off his face as Brian waved to practically every person they saw. He'd been a little concerned that Brian would have a tough time processing getting kidnapped and held prisoner in a deadly wizard tower, but the kid seemed to have practically enjoyed the experience. While Brian stopped to talk to a smiling farmer, Samantha hung back to talk to him.

"I know you told me to stop, but I can't thank you enough for all you've done for us," she said, smiling warmly at the sight of Brian huffing and puffing as he tried to carry the giant pumpkin-looking fruit that the laughing farmer dropped into his hands. "Our village isn't big enough to have anything like a Slayer Guild, and we don't really even have a formal guard station. Most likely nobody would have been sent out to try and find us even after people realized we were missing, and we would have died stuck in that tower."

"I'm glad we were able to help each other then. I told you, without you I would have been lost in that forest for months. Not to mention the walk back went much faster with Brian to chat with." Hesitating, Asher rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced sideways at the hunter. "Speaking of, I know I was sworn to secrecy and all… but you should probably know Brian took one of your old hunting knives to fletch his own arrows. I just don't want to see him hurt himself."

"Oh, I'm well aware," Samantha giggled, shaking her head. "For some reason he thinks I don't know about his 'secret project.' He hides the arrows under his pillow for crying out loud!" After a moment, her smile faded a bit, and she looked longingly at her brother as he continued chatting with the farmer. "It's important for children to pursue their interests in order to get a fitting origin element, so I don't mind if he wants to build his own bow or fletch his own arrows. I just hope he's doing it because he wants to, and not because he thinks he needs to grow up quickly and help me in the forest. I want him to be able to enjoy growing up a little bit longer before he has to put the weight of the world on his shoulders."

Asher watched Samantha walk over and greet the farmer, handing him some sort of small violet chip that reminded him of the shards he'd picked up back in the tower.

Helping Brian with his new fruit, the three of them made their way through the edge of the village over to one of the less impressive buildings that was more of a log cabin than a standard house. Their house was compact but homey, and it sat on top of a small grassy hill with a few large trees growing around it. Asher briefly spotted the remnants of a rope swing hanging off one of the closer trees before Samantha shepherded them inside.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The cabin had one central room that functioned as not only a kitchen, but a dining and living room as well. Other than that, there were two bedrooms off to the side and a small bathroom. While it was a little cramped, Asher could tell just from looking around that the house was well loved. There were shelves holding tiny whittled sculptures, a couple of smiling portraits hanging on the walls, and a good number of crochet blankets lining the furniture that gave the tiny home a lot of warmth that certainly hadn't been present in Asher's old apartment.

"It's not a lot, but it's all we've known," Samantha said, coming back from changing out of her hunting leathers and week-old clothes to find Asher looking at a portrait. The painting contained a proud man standing behind a young Samantha that looked to be around ten years old, and a smiling woman holding a young baby he could only assume was Brian. "It's almost funny. With the sheer number of questions you've asked us over the past few days, I can't believe you managed not to ask about Brian and me."

"Didn't really seem like any of my business," Asher shrugged, turning to take in the hunter now that she'd finally relaxed a bit. Samantha had changed into simple, loose cotton clothing similar to what Brian had been wearing all this time, and it looked as though she'd done her best to hastily comb her long hair to make it at least semi-presentable. Staring at her, he couldn't imagine having to take care of another person the way she'd been forced to. Obviously she loved her brother, but how young had she been when that decision had been thrust upon her? Eighteen? Younger?

"It was a hunting accident," Samantha sighed, lovingly touching the happy couple within the portrait. "I was only a few years older than Brian is now when it happened. Not much to say really. They left on one of their frequent trips into the forest and never came back. Their partially eaten bodies were found a few days later by one of our neighbors, so at least we got closure of knowing they truly are gone rather than being strung along with false hope. I'd only received my origin element about a month prior, but it was enough for me to make a living for the two of us. Barely."

While telling her story, Samantha's voice had grown more and more quiet, until the last word was barely spoken above a whisper as she stared at the portrait. Taking a shuddering breath, she wiped a single tear from her eye, giving him a toothy grin that was only slightly forced.

"That was almost eight years ago, but it still hurts sometimes. Brian was young enough when it happened that he doesn't really remember our parents, which is something I've always been thankful for." Turning abruptly, Samantha walked over to the kitchen portion of the room, grabbing a kettle and filling it with some water from a nearby barrel before starting a small fire on the stovetop. "Anyway, I didn't mean to bring you here just to dump all this on you. What are your plans now that we've gotten out of the forest?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Asher admitted, taking a seat on the couch. He was pleasantly surprised to find the old piece of furniture was actually rather comfortable. "Even if I wanted to get back to my old world, which I'm not sure I do, I wouldn't know where to start. Before the wizard grabbed me, I was training to work as a mortician in my world. Someone who handles corpses and sets up funerals for people," he added after seeing Samantha's questioning look. "It's not a very popular profession, but I've honestly never really had an issue with dead bodies as weird as that sounds. I find dealing with living people more troublesome to be frank."

"Well you could always become a gravekeeper. They make good money, but that's because it's such a dangerous class. Always have to be on the lookout and prepared to deal with different types of undead," she explained.

"I don't know if I want to continue down that route," Asher said, his mind going back to the exhilaration he felt when fighting the demon. "Are monster hunters a thing in your world? Actually, what even are 'classes' anyway?" After all, I apparently received a class when I took down that demon, but I can't seem to figure out how to equip it.

"I was told classes are bestowed upon people when they find something that calls to them," Samantha explained, handing him a plate of some dried fruit slices and sitting beside him, helping herself to the snacks. "On top of which, they provide people with minor benefits. My own hunter class appeared shortly after I received my origin element, and ever since, I've had an easier time of taking down my prey in the forest."

So classes show up on their own? I wonder if it's one of my strange elements that makes me different, or just the fact that I'm from another world? Asher was left to wonder as Samantha finished off another one of the fruit slices.

"And to answer your question about monster hunters… Yes, they do exist, and they're called slayers. Normally, if a monster needs to be killed, a notice will go up in the closest Slayer Guild and they send someone out to take care of it. They handle a few other monster-related things too, but I've heard the job is almost entirely hunting monsters."

Well that's one option then. Assuming I can get my strange class situation figured out. Samantha must have seen the look on his face because she frowned, taking the plate of snacks from him.

"The slayer class is one of the most dangerous classes for a reason," she said, holding up a finger. "For one, you don't always get to pick what monsters you fight. I've heard the guild is sometimes so short-staffed that they have to send their members to fight against monsters that directly counter them. No doubt due to the high mortality rate."

"Why would anyone join the guild if they might get sent to their death?" Asher asked, imagining being sent to fight something that had a way to stop him from slipping between realms. Seems like it would be easier just to roam around and fight monsters on your own in that case.

"Beats me," she shrugged, popping another piece of fruit into her mouth. "There must be some benefit though. Anyway, the point is, I wouldn't go that route unless you were extremely confident in your fighting ability."

Surviving, yes. Combat, not yet. But I'm getting there.

"Alright, I think I've decided," Asher said, getting to his feet and stretching. "I think I'll stay in the village for at least a little while. Polish up my skills a tad and try fighting something other than imps or demons to see what it feels like. Do you know if there's anywhere I can stay in the village?"

Samantha stared at him, her face blank.

"I can't tell if you're being purposefully slow, or you're just that dumb." Getting to her feet, she poked him in the chest, perhaps a little harder than necessary. "Brian and I owe you more than we could ever hope to pay. You're welcome to stay here with us for as long as you want. The two of us share a room, so you can use my parents' old room while you're in town. Trust me, Brian will be beyond excited to hear you're not leaving yet."

"Are you sure? I mean, the fact that there's two of you and you haven't moved into the empty room after all this time… It sounds like it's kinda special to you."

"I'm sure," she said. Taking a deep breath, Samantha looked at him, her resolve clear in her eyes. "Maybe this whole wizard-kidnapping thing was the wake up call I needed. For eight years, I've just been focused on moving forward one day at a time, without ever stopping to actually look at where I'm going. It's time to put the past behind me and make some changes."

She grinned, winking at him and popping the last of the fruit slices into her mouth.

"Who knows, maybe some of them will even be good ones."