CHAPTER 121: FIRST KILL

Leon had killed a man with a single flying ice spear of his—the sound of piercing flesh followed by a wet shlunk lingered in the air. It was the first time he had taken a human life—across both his lives. And he didn’t even blink.

The man’s body crumpled silently, steam rising from where the spear had entered, ice crystals spreading over his chest like frost on a grave.

Did Leon feel anything?

No.

Not guilt, not hesitation—just the dull echo of necessity. What he had done felt right, even natural. In his world, anyone who faltered at the edge of violence would never reach the summit. There was no room for empathy in a life carved from survival.

He turned his gaze to the remaining three. He was ready to erase them from existence, too—only one needed to stay alive to carry the message, and even that was a mercy.

And right after killing the first man, a message in the form of a transparent golden shimmering screen appeared in front of him.

[Causality earned +1239]

Leon couldn’t help but smile seeing the message and dismissed it right afterward with a cold smile on his face, delighted to find this surprise.

Only one of them noticed their teammate had died just like that. She, without wasting any time, used her full power, burning mana like cigarettes, trying to escape.

But Leon was not worried. No matter how much they ran, they could never escape him.

Instead of focusing on the one dark phantom who was horrified and running for his life, his focus was on the other three—two in a group and one at the forefront, who seemed like the leader.

The red tiles beneath Leon’s feet splintered with a sharp crack! as he vanished in a blur, air snapping behind him. A gust followed his movement, scattering broken shards across the roof.

In an instant, he reappeared before the cloaked figure at the front. His hand shot out like a viper, clamping around the man’s throat. With a single, fluid motion, he lifted the tall, scar-faced man effortlessly into the air. The assassin’s eyes widened—veins bulging—filled with primal fear as he gasped for breath.

Hkkk! The man choked, his limbs kicking as he unleashed his strongest skill in a panic. The ground beneath him rumbled, grrkkk, and a massive earthen hammer—towering a meter tall—rose and hurled itself at Leon with crushing momentum.

But Leon didn’t flinch.

With a soft whumfff, a translucent wall of ice shimmered into existence between him and the hammer. The weapon smashed into it with a boom!, exploding into earthen debris—but the wall stood pristine, untouched, its surface gleaming in the afternoon light as if mocking the futility of resistance.

The leader witnessed with his own eyes that his strongest attack hadn’t even scratched the wall of ice. But the desperation to survive made him try more attacks using the earth element. As the strength of his body waned under the chokehold, no matter how much he tried to move, the hand gripping his neck didn’t budge.

The man’s eyes became hollow as he used all his mana. Just then, a cold voice sounded from the long, white-haired young man lifting him.

"Are you done now?"

The leader of the group felt his throat loosen—he could talk now. But instead of asking for mercy to survive, he said something else. Because the man’s eyes in front of him told him he was not one to forgive. The cold and ruthless look in his eyes was just to see him struggle.

"Y-You will regret this, Duk—"

Before he could finish his word, crrk!—Leon’s fingers snapped shut, crushing the man’s throat with a brutal crunch. Grrkh! The man let out a wet, gurgling noise as his body twitched violently, then went limp. His eyes dulled into lifeless glass—he was dead.

Another message from the cosmic system appeared, but Leon ignored it.

His cold eyes scanned the rooftops. The first dark figure, who had seen the silent death of his teammate, never looked back and only focused on escaping.

But the other two were shocked and frozen by the scene of their leader being slaughtered like a lamb before their eyes. It wasn’t even a fight—the man they were ordered to assassinate had crushed their leader like a bug.

There was only one thought in their horror-filled minds.

They needed to escape as far as possible, probably go into hiding for days if they had to, because—

The one they had thought of assassinating seemed to be a monster in human skin.

Both of them frantically jumped down from the rooftop, running in different directions, trying to mix into the crowd, trying to escape from someone who had killed their leader like a bug. They had no chance of escape—hiding seemed the best option.

Leon wasn’t the least bit worried. His spatial awareness within 100 meters around him was active—nothing could escape his sight. But the first cloaked figure was about to cross the hundred-meter mark now.

He didn’t have any intention of killing that one, as he wanted him to escape and relay his message.

But still, he wasn’t going to let it go just like that. If they bothered to come this far, the assassination needed some parting gift.

His figure whooshed! Teleported 50 meters closer to the first silhouette, a sharp burst of wind following his displacement. In the next millisecond, a bow of shimmering ice shhhk! Formed in his hand, mist curling off its limbs.

He formed an arrow—crackling softly as frost gathered along its surface. This one didn’t carry as much density. Twhip! The blue arrow cut through the air with a chilling whistle, leaving a faint trail of frost in its wake. Without even looking at the first, he conjured another—krkk! Thicker, sharper—and loosed it just as fast, a snap! Echoing off the rooftop tiles.

He glanced in the direction below from the rooftop.

Interesting. These rats are quite a crafty bunch.

This is going to be fun.

Leon didn’t even stop to look at the result of his arrows and jumped down from the rooftop, *shwoosh, *landing gracefully on the ground with both feet. His fall slowed when he reached near the ground using his wind element.

Thump

The woman draped in a black cloak was running, using her wind element to its limits. She didn’t decide to jump down into the alleyway, as it was much faster to run in open space using her wind element.

Suddenly, bzzzrr!—a sharp buzzing sound sliced through the air, and a wave of cold surged around her skin like a ghost’s breath. Her eyes twitched, barely catching a flicker of icy blue in the corner of her vision. Thwip! She gasped—it was already too late. Her body tensed as her eyes clenched shut, bracing for death.

Crack! The arrow struck her right hand, not with a blast, but with a chilling grip that spread like frostbite. Her entire right hand turned pale blue, encased in jagged, glistening ice. A cry ripped from her throat—raw and guttural.

Did he miss?

Whhhsss! Another arrow came a breath later, its shrill whistle ending with a brutal shrrkk! as it struck the same frozen limb. KRAK! Her arm exploded from the shoulder in a shower of bloodied shards and frozen flesh.

ARRRGGHH!

A heart-wrenching scream tore through the alley as crimson-stained ice pieces clattered to the ground with a sharp tink-tink-tink!

She glanced back in horror, expecting to see that monster reaching her, as her speed had been slowed down. But she found nothing—there was no one behind her.

She didn’t know what was happening, but she started running again, using her wind element to balance herself without looking back. If she had to die today, the next arrow would probably kill her.

If not, then she was probably being spared as a message to the Duke’s eldest son. If she survived today, she had already resolved to retire—return to her quiet village, pick up farming, and marry someone simple, just like her mother had.

The village was so much better than this madness!

She shouldn’t have become an assassin in pursuit of fame and power. Their near-death experience—being hunted like ants—had made a deep impression on her.

An extraordinary farmer was about to join the kingdom of Spamhain... if she lived long enough to plant her first seed.

The one who can cut crops like a machine with her wind magic.