The Eternal Assassin

The three men clearly had experience working together, because as soon as they realized the sharpener's surprise attack had failed, they sprang into action.

The boxer immediately darted toward Asher, activating some sort of skill as his body blurred forward, his speed greatly enhanced as the distance between them all but vanished. Asher tried to stop the man with a Distortion-enhanced stab before he could get too close, but was forced to abandon the attack when he spotted the new daggers flying through the air one after another, each aimed unerringly at his chest and forcing him to focus on dodging instead of attacking. Either the sharpener spent every waking hour of his life practicing throwing knives, or he had some sort of skill that enhanced his accuracy.

Asher was tempted to slip into the astral and take these guys out before they even knew what hit them, but that wouldn't be any fun. Even now, forced onto the backfoot so easily and with multiple thugs doing their best to kill him, he realized his grin had never left. This kind of life or death fight was exactly what he wanted to experience.

Yepp. Definitely some kind of problem.

Once the boxer got into melee range, Asher didn't have time to think about anything other than survival. The man's fists shot out like cannons, each punch moving fast enough that Asher could hear the wind whistling around each and every shot. He had no doubt that if any one of those attacks landed they would shatter bone.

Relying heavily on Comprehend to process the attacks and Distortion to help him dodge, Asher focused solely on evading the boxer's rapid strikes, earning a look of surprise from the otherwise focused boxer as the man continued to hit nothing but air. The two of them must have looked like they were performing some form of highly choreographed dance as they twisted and jerked across the road, neither able to touch the other.

"Stop playing around, Wes!" the sharpener roared, a fresh throwing dagger already in hand. Despite his impressive accuracy, Asher and his foe were simply moving around too close to one another to risk using throwing weapons.

"Some sort of… weird dodging skill!" Wes shouted back as he threw a powerful haymaker that missed shattering Asher's jaw by mere millimeters as Asher's head moved nearly a foot out of the way with the slightest of movements. Asher gleefully watched the boxer stare at him in shock, desperately trying to figure out how he was continuing to dodge his deadly strikes one after another. From the boxer's perspective, it must have looked as if Asher was practically being yanked out of the way of every blow.

Hearing the sharpener let out a loud string of curses, Asher narrowed his eyes and decided to risk trying something before the sharpener truly got involved. Waiting for the right moment, he continued dodging blows by a hair until the boxer threw another powerful right hook straight at his face, aiming to drop him in a single blow. This time, rather than use distortion to help with his dodging, Asher concentrated and expanded the space directly between the man's fist and his head.

The boxer's eyes widened as his opponent finally stopped dodging, yet his powerful blow somehow fell far short of its target despite his impressive reach.

Distortion - Lvl 14

Asher felt his grin widen even further as the boxer began sweating. The thug finally realized he might be in trouble as he threw two more punches at Asher's unmoving body that somehow both fell drastically short. By stretching out the space directly in front of the man's punches, Asher could force every single one of the man's lengthy strikes to travel inches instead of feet, effectively nullifying the melee fighter altogether. Due to the man's nearly inhuman speed, it was a feat only possible thanks to Asher's insanely quick mental processing, and he again apologized to Comprehend for ever thinking the skill was useless.

Before the boxer could figure out what to do, Asher struck. Cancelling the expanded space and compressing it instead, Asher followed the man's fist as it was brought back from another failed jab, getting in close before slamming his dagger into the man's neck. Any hesitation he would have had over taking the man's life had fled after the man had spent the last few minutes trying to shatter Asher's skull with his empowered fists.

The boxer clearly hadn't expected him to cover nearly four feet of space like it was only a few inches, and he didn't even attempt to dodge the lethal blow before it connected. Wes stared at him in shock as Asher ripped his dagger free from the man's neck, causing blood to spray out of his severed artery. Stumbling to the side, the boxer desperately pressed his hands against his neck, trying to keep the wound closed.

While he wasn't dead just yet, the boxer was definitely out of the fight, and Asher turned his attention to the other two thugs. The sharpener was staring at him with fury in his eyes, but the third man, the one that his Identify couldn't read, was staring at him in horror, his face pale as if he'd seen a ghost.

"It's not very nice to go around attempting to kill and steal from random travelers you know," Asher called out, beginning to walk slowly toward the sharpener, his blood-soaked dagger held loosely in hand. He couldn't help but grin as the man spat on the ground before grabbing dagger after dagger and sending them flying directly at him one after another.

Asher practiced rapidly slipping in and out of the astral realm as the razor sharp daggers shot his way, trying to stay in the realm for as little time as possible. He knew from the thugs' perspective it must have looked as though he were flickering in and out of existence as he walked ever closer, their attacks completely unable to touch him.

Astral Dip - Lvl 8

He'd expected the sharpener to run once he realized his attacks were useless, but to his surprise, the man continued hurling dagger after dagger at him, not taking so much as a single step back as Asher approached. By this point, Asher wasn't even sure where he was getting these daggers from, as even with all the different sheaths strapped all over his body, Asher felt the man should have run out by now.

Risking a quick glance over his shoulder, Asher's eyebrows raised as he witnessed the lack of daggers cluttering the ground behind him. It wasn't until he spotted some of the farthest daggers beginning to break down and evaporate into violet light that it clicked.

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"You have some sort of Knife element? Or Dagger element then? That's honestly pretty cool," he admitted, finally coming to a stop directly in front of the seething man. "Shame you became a murderer instead of a chef or something."

Not waiting for a response, Asher thrust his dagger directly into the man's chest.

And blinked in surprise as his sharpened blade failed to penetrate the man's thin shirt.

White hot pain lanced through Asher's side and he stumbled back, looking down in shock at the dagger that had been stabbed right through his kidney. Grabbing the hilt with shaking hands, he yanked the dagger out of his side, his vision swimming at the pain as blood began flowing from the wound. He barely noticed the faint green residue still on the dagger's tip before letting the very real weapon clatter to the ground, stumbling back a few more feet and falling to a knee.

"There's nothing I hate more than inexperienced brats like you who get their hands on a powerful element and think they can just walk all over everyone," the sharpener said, calmly picking up the fallen dagger and pulling out a simple cloth. Carefully wiping the blade clean, he held it up to his eyes, inspecting the edge before returning it to its sheath.

"I mean, even after figuring out my origin element, you were still stupid enough to attack me. With my own element!" The man barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "You use your skills well, but you clearly lack experience fighting other people. I'm going to assume you trained against monsters?"

Asher didn't say anything, his teeth grinding as he focused solely on staying conscious through the pain wracking his body. Whatever was on the man's dagger, it was clearly making its way through his system. It felt like an eel made of lava was trying to worm its way through his open wound.

Complete Resilience - Lvl 6

That's it… Asher thought, the burning pain reaching through his body subsiding ever so slightly.

"I'll take your silence as a yes," the man said, grinning at Asher's pained expression. "I think death by poison is appropriate, seeing as now I have to go find some new muscle." Sighing, the sharpener turned to the unclassed man who'd stayed with the horse during the whole fight. "And while I'm in the teaching mood… Rosh!"

"Yes boss!" Rosh said, tearing his wide eyes from Asher's struggling form as he turned to give the sharpener his full attention.

"You don't think, at any point, you should have jumped in?" The man said, staring daggers at his shaking underling. "I don't know… Perhaps before Wes was killed?"

"I… I'm sorry," Rosh said, clearly wishing he was anywhere else but here. "I told you, none of my skills-"

"Do I look like I care!" The sharpener screamed, causing Rosh to flinch back, practically hiding himself behind the horse. "I told you when I gave you this job, you do what I say, when I say it! Are we clear?"

"Yes boss!" Rosh repeated, his legs visibly shaking under the man's heated gaze.

"Good." Sighing again, the sharper waved a hand at Wes' corpse. "Go ahead and grab his shards. Not like he kept much on him, but no sense leaving them here."

Even as distracted as he currently was, Asher's eyes widened as Rosh lifted a hand and the small violet orb of shards hovering over Wes' corpse shot over to the timid man, vanishing the moment it touched his fingers.

"Well, now that that's taken care of…" The sharpener turned back toward Asher's kneeling form, raising an eyebrow. "I gotta say, you're a lot tougher than you look. There was enough poison on that blade to kill someone twice your size by now. You snag poison resistance perhaps?"

"Wouldn't you like… to know…" Asher hissed, wincing as he laughed at his own predicament. As much as he hated to admit it, the sharpener was completely right. After seeing he was up against people with only a single element, he'd gotten a big head and thought himself invulnerable. It was a painful lesson to learn, and one he was sure he'd never forget.

Complete Resilience - Lvl 7

Eternal Regeneration - lvl 9

Grinning, he looked up at the annoyed sharpener who was beginning to realize something was wrong. Shakily getting to his feet, Asher faced the thug, not bothering to grab any of his daggers this time. No need to make the same mistake twice after all.

The sharpener's eyes flicked to the stab wound he'd left in Asher's kidneys, and he must have noticed the decrease in the amount of blood flowing out of the slowly closing wound as he cursed.

"A god-damned healing skill? Seriously?" Spitting to the side, the man grabbed two more very real daggers, each one coated in a thick green substance that Asher's Identify informed him was more poison. "I don't know what noble family you belong to, but I am going to enjoy killing you."

"Sorry, but I think I'm done playing around," Asher admitted, wincing at the pain that shot through him with every breath. "But thank you for the lessons. I'll be sure to remember them."

Snarling, the sharpener rushed forward, thrusting one dagger toward his heart while keeping the other one readied and waiting for the unexpected.

Slipping into the astral, Asher watched the sharpener freeze and begin spinning around every which way, trying to figure out where he went.

"Congrats. This means it was effectively your win," Asher sighed, disappointed in himself as he opened his Personal Rift and pulled out the only weapon he had on him that wasn't a dagger. Opening his Personal Rift in the astral realm was far more difficult and draining than opening it in the real world for some reason, but not impossible. "I won't underestimate anyone ever again."

Returning to the real world behind the frantic sharpener, Asher shoved the heavy boar tusk directly through the man's back with all the strength he still had left in his weakened body, piercing the man's chest and ending the fight once and for all.

The sharpener let out a shocked, soft gasp, and even managed to remain standing for a few brief seconds before crumbling to the ground. Asher looked down at the man, noticing how even as he'd died he'd twisted his body to ensure neither of his two daggers nicked the cobblestones as he fell.

"No wonder he earned a Knife element," Asher muttered, looking at the bloody boar tusk held in his shaking hands. "That's twice now Elaina's saved my life. I'll have to repay her if I ever run into her again."

Hearing the sounds of running, Asher looked up in time to see the only remaining thug finally throw down the horse's bridle and make a break for it, clumsily sprinting down the road.

Oh no you don't.

Activating Spatial Lock for the first time, Asher watched as a shimmering dome rapidly expanded around him, quickly growing nearly twenty feet wide and just barely managing to encompass the fleeing man before the skill stopped.

Asher watched as Rosh ran directly into the side of the dome. The shimmering air might as well have been a wall of pure rubber as the thug bounced off the skill, stunning himself and crashing to the ground with a cry of surprise. By the time the thug shook off his confusion, Asher was standing directly above him, looking down at him with a crazed grin.

"Let's have a talk, shall we?"