When we entered Caspara City, it was already night. We stopped in front of a dilapidated building from which smoke poured from the chimney, accompanied by the sounds of clashing metal.
Mother Helena rapped on the door several times before a stout, short man with brown hair answered. Standing at three feet tall, his brown skin had a hint of reddish hue. Silver strands, like threads of wisdom, intertwined with his hair, reflecting the golden flames of the forge with a gleaming radiance.
I was stunned to see a Dwarf for the first time.
"Old man Ed, how have you been?" Mom greeted the Dwarf elder casually.
"Ho ho ho, isn't it little Hela? How have you been, little brat? It seems your wild nature from adventure days has been suppressed after your marriage! Aah! How long has it been since I saw you last time? Also, did you gain weight?" Old man Ed joked.
Mom glanced at me and saw I was looking at her face. Her face slightly turned red out of embarrassment, or so I thought. But what I saw the next second made my mouth wide open.
Hearing the old man's comment, Zeun suddenly felt the air turn heavy, and Helena's face darkened. Her veins popped out 'đź’˘' on her head as a scary smile, looking more like a demoness with two red horns, appeared on her beautiful face.
A shiver ran through the spines of both me and Mr. Ed, as a delicate-looking wooden wand, as tall as five feet, appeared out of thin air in Helena's hand. She infused it with mana and attacked the old man's belly. Ed's eyes widened at this unexpected turn of events; he couldn't react in time and was thus sent flying by the hit.
Boom!Crash!Boom!
I covered my eyes with my hands as sounds of tables breaking and metal crashing on the floor echoed. Peeking through my fingers, what I saw made my face fall into a (°•°) shape.
The stout, respectable facade of the elderly Dwarf was nowhere to be found. He was now looking like a beggar, with dark circles and tattered clothes. He was hanging upside down from a shelf as my dear mommy whipped his ass with her wand. I couldn't help but feel pity for his miserable condition.
"Old hag, you still have that annoying behavior of irritating me and getting on my nerves, even when you've given grandchildren of my son's age!"
"Heh! Look who's lecturing me, the old granny who got married at the age of seventy!"
That shameless old man again said something to irritate my mother, and another round of beating started. The old Dwarf seemed oblivious to the common knowledge that one should never ask for a woman's age or a man's salary. This brave old man even moved up a notch and made fun of his mom's age. Zeun could only pray in his heart for the old man.
'This fiery, tempestuous woman seems a far cry from the delicate, graceful mother I've known. Where is the noble lady who always showered me with love? It's challenging to reconcile the image of the elegant, gentle mom with this version of Helena.'
I gulped in fear and promised never to be on her bad side. But I discovered a very big secret: my mom was above seventy! She looked to be in her prime, at the early age of thirty. Her skin was remarkably smooth and flawless, seemingly enhanced by some mystical touch, making her radiance surpass even the most beautiful actresses with makeup on Earth.
'So mana reduces aging, huh? Interesting, I must do some research on mana in the future.' Zeun thought to himself.
'Also, it seems Mom and this Dwarf are close to each other. But aren't Dwarfs aloof in nature? Even Kings and Emperors have to respect them when one wants to make a weapon or something... I read it somewhere. But what's this situation?' I asked myself.
Half an hour later, Mom, Mr. Ed, and I were sitting at the dinner table. I was having milk and bread with honey on top of it. Old Ed and Helena had some kind of meat stew, salads, rice, and sausage on their table as they discussed business matters.
I finished my dinner early and asked, "Mr. Ed, can I look around your house?"
Mr. Ed pondered for a while, as if debating whether it would be okay or not, then said, "..... You may tour around, but don't touch or go near the shelves. Some of them have magic weapons that are harmful for those who haven't entered Rank 1."
This was something I didn't expect. I hesitantly looked at Mom, afraid that she wouldn't allow me. But to my surprise, she nodded with a smile. Overjoyed, I sprang out of the room with a gleeful face.
The building had two floors and an underground area used as a storage room.
The ground floor housed the forge and shop. The shop was filled with various cheap iron weapons, whereas the more expensive and beautiful looking weapons were kept on wooden shelves attached to the walls. Bows, arrows, swords, great swords, maces, rapiers, katanas, and many weird-looking weapons were hanging on the wall.
I moved to the first floor and peeked into the kitchen where Mom and Old Man Ed were still discussing something. I quietly moved away.
Upon entering the room opposite the kitchen on this floor, I found a bed bathed in the soft glow of moonlight filtering through open windows. The room exuded a tranquil atmosphere, with curtains swaying to the rhythm of the wind. It held only essential furnishings—a wardrobe, a bed, and a table with a chair.
The next moment, my eyes widened in utter disbelief. There it was, on the table: six blades hovered in mid-air, motionless yet gleaming in the dimly lit room with a silver hue. Their sharp edges pointed downward, delicately suspended by almost imperceptible, quasi-transparent threads. One had to keenly observe to discern the fragile support. The blades, resembling a fusion of shuriken and flying knives, exhibited razor-sharp edges, devoid of any blunt surfaces.
On Earth, I'd always been drawn to Assassins. Despite their seemingly cowardly tactics, there's an allure in their single-minded purpose to kill. The swift reactions, speed, sudden bursts of power, and the ability to hide in shadows, akin to a black mamba ready to strike, fascinated me. In this child's body, I couldn't contain my excitement.
I could feel the dangerous vibe emanating from those delicate-looking weapons. Behind their appearance lay a power as lethal as a poison dragon, and their threads, though delicate, were a hundred times sharper than obsidian on Earth. I was captivated by their beauty, my heart racing with excitement. Tempted to take a weapon, I snapped myself back to reality, shaking off such thoughts of stealing.
I didn't check the next room, as my mind was preoccupied with the weapons I'd seen, already imagining myself wielding them from the shadows. A wide grin appeared on my face.
I slammed the kitchen door open with excitement and rushed towards the table where Mom was sitting. Mr. Ed and Mom were startled by my sudden, violent intrusion, but Mom wasn't angry.
Seeing the excitement and a yearning desire gleaming in those bright ruby eyes of her son, Helena couldn't quite decipher what her cute and intelligent son was thinking.
On Earth, I'd always been drawn to Assassins. Despite their seemingly cowardly tactics, there's an allure in their single-minded purpose to kill. The swift reactions, speed, sudden bursts of power, and the ability to hide in shadows, akin to a black mamba ready to strike, fascinated me. In this child's body, I couldn't contain my excitement.
I could feel the dangerous vibe emanating from those delicate-looking weapons. Behind their appearance lay a power as lethal as a poison dragon, and their threads, though delicate, were a hundred times sharper than obsidian on Earth. I was captivated by their beauty, my heart racing with excitement. Tempted to take a weapon, I snapped myself back to reality, shaking off such thoughts of stealing.
I didn't check the next room, as my mind was preoccupied with the weapons I'd seen, already imagining myself wielding them from the shadows. A wide grin appeared on my face.
I slammed the kitchen door open with excitement and rushed towards the table where Mom was sitting. Mr. Ed and Mom were startled by my sudden, violent intrusion, but Mom wasn't angry.
Seeing the excitement and a yearning desire gleaming in those bright ruby eyes of her son, Helena couldn't quite decipher what her cute and intelligent son was thinking.
Because it was one of the few times Zeun had shown her this childlike behavior, as if longing for a new toy. These were the expressions he made when he saw her using magic for the first time.
As a caring mother, Helena's intuition was very right about her son, as the next moment he blurted out what he wanted.
"Mom, there's a weapon I want," Zeun asked with a bit of hesitation, after barely suppressing his visible excitement.
"Hmm. A weapon, huh? Is it a magic wand that you want? If so... I have much better quality ones here. I was planning to give you one after you made your First Circle, but now is also okay..."
"No, Mom!" Zeun didn't let his mom continue and added, "I don't want a wand right now. What I want is a different weapon."
Now both Helena and Mr. Ed were surprised and stared at me with amusement.
This time, Mr. Ed questioned me. "Ho ho... so if it's not a wand, then I guess it's something that a mage generally doesn't use, right? As my shop doesn't have any weapons for mages other than a wand... So, kid, what is it that you want?"
"Yes, it's not a weapon used by mages. It's an assassin's weapon," I answered.
"..."
"..."
Silence fell upon the room... as Helena and Mr. Ed glanced at each other, as if confirming something.
"Zeun, don't you want to be a mage? Then why are you looking for an assassin's weapon?" Helena asked, with dissatisfaction in her eyes.
'She must be thinking I don't want to be a mage anymore,' I thought. As I didn't want her to be sad, I quickly replied.
"No, Mom! I want to be a mage and discover new magic spells and circles, but I also want to wield that weapon. Pretty please, Mommy, I won't ask you for anything else than this. Please, please..." I joined my hands '🙏🏻' and begged her with puppy eyes, playing my cuteness card, which had never failed me once, while I grinned mischievously in my mind.
One has to know that most Assassins had demon blood, or were half-bloods, thus giving them an affinity towards the darkness element and enabling them to use some dark and poison-imbued attacks.
Beings of demon races were looked down upon and sometimes even killed without any words in cities. Thus, demon half-bloods, in order to survive, came together and formed an underworld guild: Black Dawn. Their only way of living in this cruel world was by assassination, ordered by high nobles and royals.
The Empire and kingdoms didn't take action against Black Dawn because they generally didn't come into contact with the general public, and also, they could commission Black Dawn to do the dirty work for them.
The leader of Black Dawn is a powerful Level 8 Grand-Lord Rank Saber User, making it tough for the Empire to take them down. Trying to eliminate Black Dawn would result in significant losses for the Empire, making it not worth the effort.
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End of Chapter
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