"Are you weaker than me?"
The unexpected, almost curious tone in Minori's voice made the thief's expression twist with rage—but also a flicker of doubt.
Something was wrong with this black-haired boy.
Even though Minori clearly used magic, his close-combat skill was in no way inferior to a professional thief's.
His attack… had been blocked so easily?
A trace of disbelief flashed across the thief's eyes.
Bang!
Minori suddenly stomped the ground hard and launched himself forward.
Now was not the time for idle talk.
"Looking for death!"The thief roared in shock and fury. Seeing Minori taking the initiative to attack, he swiftly grabbed at his waist—another dagger appearing in his hand—and threw it at Minori!
Whoosh!
The dagger sliced through the air at deadly speed.
Minori's sharp eyes caught its movement instantly.
His own dagger swung in a clean arc, deflecting the thrown blade with a loud metallic clang.
But it slowed his charge.
"Sneak!"
The thief growled low, and in the dim light of the alley, his body seemed to blur, almost melting into the darkness.
Minori's muscles tensed, every sense heightened.
But then—
—he saw it.
The thief wasn't attacking.
He was running away.
He's trying to escape!
The realization flashed across Minori's mind.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand forward:
"Magic Arrow!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three brilliant arrows of pure magic condensed in midair, shooting out at high speed toward the fleeing enemy.
The sounds rushing from behind forced the thief to dodge mid-stride—he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the projectiles.
But in that instant—
Minori closed the distance.
"Four Light Slashes!"
His dagger blurred—splitting into four sharp afterimages, stabbing straight toward the thief.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
Four sharp bursts of blood bloomed on the thief's chest, splattering across the dirty alley.
The thief let out a shrill scream.
However—
Because of the lingering effect of Silence,not a single sound escaped into the night.
"You… you…"
The thief's bloodshot eyes stared in disbelief, body trembling, mouth struggling to form words.
He muttered something—
"Gazef's…"
—but the sentence never finished.
The light vanished from his eyes.
The thief was dead.
[Experience gained: 380]
"Haa… haa…"
Minori gasped, his breath heavy.
He stared down at the corpse sprawled before him, then quietly exhaled a long breath.
He looked at the blood staining his clothes,at the crimson droplets sliding slowly down his dagger.
For a moment—he stood in silence.
Killing two people at once.
It was something Minori had anticipated he might have to do someday.
But he hadn't expected it would happen so soon.
Was he nauseous?
No.
Was there guilt?
Neither.
Instead, it felt…almost natural.
"What a cruel, disgusting world,"Minori muttered to himself.
He raised his head.
Surveyed the alley.
From start to finish—not a single person had appeared.
A perfect hunting ground.
They had picked their ambush spot well.
Minori wiped a splatter of blood off his cheek.
Then he moved quickly to the two corpses, pulling them into his prop box—a magic item similar to a spatial backpack, with only one limitation: it couldn't store living beings.
Even the bloodstained tiles on the ground were collected.
No traces left behind.
Clean. Efficient. Ruthless.
Minori turned and vanished into the night, heading back toward his small hotel.
Passing through a deserted alley, Minori paused.
He stripped off his blood-soaked clothes, changing swiftly into clean ones.
Fortunately, he'd bought a large number of ordinary clothes in advance.
Always prepare for the worst.
Inside the small hotel—
"Ah, you're back, dear guest,"greeted the innkeeper, a slightly plump, freckled middle-aged woman named Maricy.
"Ms. Maricy,"Minori smiled gently, nodding politely as he climbed the stairs to his room.
"What a polite young man,"Maricy yawned, watching his figure disappear upstairs.
Click!
The door closed behind him.
Only then did Minori let the weariness show on his face.
He slumped against the door briefly, exhaling.
His total MP was only 13 points.After casting "Magic Arrow" twice, he had drained it all.
If the thief had managed to escape...
It would have been a major disaster.
Fortunately, he had ended it quickly—with "Four Light Slashes."
Until now, Minori had never had the opportunity to use his martial arts techniques.
Only through real combat did he finally understand the "concentration" consumption of skills.
It was similar to sprinting 200 meters in his previous life:not exhausting enough to collapse, but definitely draining.
More importantly—
Through this unexpected fight,Minori gained a much deeper understanding of his current strength.
The black-robed magic caster had used second-tier magic, "Shield Wall," meaning he was at least Level 7 or higher.The thief likely matched him.
Normally, Minori—only Level 5—should have been overwhelmed when facing two enemies of higher level.
Yet, the results spoke otherwise.
The black-robed caster hadn't played to his strengths.And the thief—in Minori's eyes,was weaker than him in both speed and power.
There was only one explanation:
Minori's base stats were far superior to theirs.
"Since 'Genius' doesn't boost basic stats, all my experience points were poured into my mid-tier class, Swordmaster."
"These locals… probably can only level up basic classes. Mid-tier classes might not even be available to most of them."
Minori mentally reviewed his own attributes.
53 points in Physical Attack.53 points in Agility.
Higher than the average Level 7 human.
In other words—
Even if their level was higher,Minori's raw stats crushed them.
Next—
Minori's eyes gleamed with calculation.
He waved his hand, and several new items appeared on his bed:
A dark brown magic wand.
A crystal white necklace.
A short staff.
A dagger glowing faint violet.
Four magic items!
Apart from these, the two corpses had no valuables.Not even a copper coin or an identity token.
Perhaps it was a rule of Eight Fingers, or simply the two men's own methods to minimize risks.
If it was the former—
Then Eight Fingers were far more terrifying than even the anime depicted.
"Pity I don't have 'Item Identification' magic,"Minori muttered.
Without it, he couldn't easily determine the exact effects of the items.
The only thing he was sure of:
The short staff had Silence stored inside.
It still contained faint magical fluctuations, implying multiple charges left.
Of course, many magic casters could perform item identification.
But bringing suspicious loot to be appraised—especially gear connected to Eight Fingers—was tantamount to painting a target on his back.
Minori had no intention of playing games with that kind of enemy.
"Maybe I should visit the Magician's Guild tomorrow,"he thought to himself.
He waved again, putting away the magic items, and took out three magic scrolls instead:
Papermaking
Heating
Odorless
One by one, Minori tore the scrolls apart, spending skill points to permanently learn the spells.
Unlike "Magic Arrow," these auxiliary spells didn't create any flashy effects, allowing him to learn them quietly.
"Odorless" would eliminate his scent—perfect for surviving in forests.
"Papermaking" was self-explanatory.
As for "Heating", it was a convenient utility spell he had bought impulsively.
Even if his theory proved wrong,it was still practical for heating food and water during field operations.
All in all—
Another quiet but significant step forward.