"How do we get out, you say?" Grace tilted her head deep in thought.
"Well, we should wait until whatever is going on is over. I am sure someone would come looking for us."
"What is going on exactly?" I asked curiously.
"An assassination attempt, or it could be the inner conflict, what can I say? The matters of the great clan are really complicated."
"You don’t seem so worried about your Master? Is it a common occurrence?" I asked
For someone whose clan is under attack, she seems too laid back.
Almost too much.
’Either it is a common or she simply doesn’t care.’
Grace replied exhaustingly,
"To be honest, I am not much of a fighter. In fact, I was thinking of changing my career path once I return. There are other people more capable than I; I am sure they all are fine."
Then she paused and looked at me,
"By the way, what were you doing on that train?"
Faced with a sudden question, I replied calmly,
"I actually was..."
But then suddenly, my thoughts froze.
’Huh! What was Cale doing here?’
He might not have a solid position in his family, but he was still the Matriarch’s son.
’What was he doing out here without any security?’
I tried to recall from his memories, but there was nothing.
To begin with, I didn’t have all of his memories; I just had a few prominent ones.
My thoughts went back to the first time I opened my eyes in this world.
But all I remember was jumping out of the train.
’But... wasn’t I unable to move for the earlier few seconds?’
"Cale..?"
’Then how did I escape from the train? am I miss something?’
"Cale? Are you listening?" Grace waved her hand in front of me.
Afaired of another pour down, I quickly spoke,
"It’s just a quite complicated matter, so I can’t discuss it."
It didn’t really matter how I escaped anyway; let’s just focus on the present.
"Is that so?" Grace looked quite dejected.
"I actually don’t get many chances to meet someone of my age outside the castle, so I got a little excited here. Sorry for prying." She said, slightly bowing her head.
"...It’s fine," I replied shortly.
’She is a good kid.’
"I actually enjoyed talking to you; it really helped me ease my mind."
Grace brightened up instantly,
"Really, actually me to-"
But just as she was about to reply, my senses flared up in alarm.
’A killing intent!!’
"W-What!??"
I quickly jumped toward the Grace, dragging her down to the ground.
_Whir!
A sharp wind slashing sound reached my ear as a Shuriken embedded itself just above my head.
’We need to move-’
Just as I was thinking I sensed multiple shurikens flying our way.
Having no time to think, we quick rolled on the ground.
"GALE SHIELD!"
Grace, already grasping the situation, quickly cast a wind spell, warding off stars mid-air.
My head snapped up. A figure clad in black sat perched on a nearby tree branch.
A black bow rested behing his back, and behind the mask covering his mouth, his vertical slit, green pupils gleamed with sharp focus.
My gut tightened. ’A beast kin... and a strong one at that.’
I quickly tried to get to my feet, but just then the assassin vanished from the branch.
_Whir!
Startled, I twisted my body instinctively, just in time to feel the whisper of steel.
A dagger sliced past, missing my neck by only a few centimeters.
I quickly leaped back to create some distance, but the assassin pulled out a scorpion whip from his subspace and started thrashing it toward me.
’Damn it.’
My eyes tracked the whip lashing toward me from different angles. I jumped and rotated my body as it swiped under me, missing by mere inches.
Landing on the slopy rock, I bounced off it, flipping backward as the whip came crashing down again.
Before the third strike came, I rolled into a flawless somersault, using the momentum to spring upward, spinning over the Whip.
_Whip!
The whip thrashed just below me, scraping the stone where I had been moments ago.
I landed lightly, barely bending my knees. By now, I had created enough distance to catch my breath.
’This body is agile but lacks in strength, alright, I have started to get the gist of it.’
The assassin shifted his body, effortlessly dodging the downward strike of Grace before driving a knee into her stomach, sending her rolling on the ground.
"AGH!!!"
Grace gasped for breath as she pressed her belly with both hands.
’My opponent is an expert-level assassin... It’s doable.’
I quickly summoned a black sword from my subspace and started imitating [feather steps].
I might not have those skills now, but,
I had practiced them long enough to have engraved them in my very being.
Slowly, my body became lighter and my steps became quieter.
Then I charged,
The assassin snapped his head toward me and quickly thrashed the whip in my direction.
Twisting my body mid-air, I landed softly on the ground, slowly understanding the flow of mana inside this body.
The whip lashed back as I continued my advance. I raised my sword to parry the whip, and my feet glided on the uneven ground.
Then I leaped in the air again as the whip passed beneath my head.
Slowly, I was becoming faster.
The assassin, who also seems to realize that, changed his approach and charged at me while lashing his whip.
The whip cracked again, splitting a nearby tree trunk in half.
I darted forward, using the falling debris as cover, then slashed upward.
_Clang!
His dagger intercepted mine mid-swing. For a brief moment, our eyes met, green vertical pupil staring at me lifelessly.
I quickly leaped back using the impact force, but the assassin followed and thrashed out his whip again.
I darted low to dodge, then raised my arm to block the incoming kick.
Again, I let the force carry me, creating some distance.
The assassin closed in again, but I was ready this time.
[Skill learnt: Feather steps]