Chapter 87: Winterfall

Countless rumors swirled around Julian. Most of them were, frankly, almost impossible to believe.

Things like how he’d made every Academy sponsor kneel before him, how he’d gotten Lurker Zoldia to treat him with such deference, how he’d killed a Rank-D Invader, or even rumors painting him as some hidden Rank-A legend, among plenty of others.

But from a different angle, for people who actually stopped to think this through with logic and common sense, all those rumors felt like something fabricated.

Julian was a puppet, being played for someone else’s purpose, someone pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

And the person believed to be behind all of this pointed straight to Lurker Zoldia, a man from the great Zoldia family.

Which was exactly why the assassin figured this job shouldn’t be difficult at all.

He could finish Julian off anytime he wanted.

So... why...?

The air seemed to freeze solid, snow began falling across the surroundings, a light gust of wind cut straight to the bone, while in several spots, things had begun freezing over entirely on their own.

Amid all that, he spotted his target. Julian stood there, holding a simple long sword, coated in slick, sharp crystals of ice.

A bluish gleam shimmered clearly around his body. Then, his gaze met the assassin’s, still mid-strike, both daggers drawn straight toward Julian’s throat.

Clang—!

Shards of ice scattered through the air as the sword and the assassin’s two daggers collided. Easy enough to say the assassin should’ve had the clear advantage in raw striking power here, but...

’Ugh...!’ Slowly but surely, the crystallizing cold from that sword began spreading toward his two daggers. If he kept this up, the assassin would lose his weapons entirely.

So he yanked his daggers back and stepped away, his face draining pale. His previously relaxed expression sharpened into something far more serious.

’B-Grade Frost Edge...? How is that possible!?’

The assassin stared in disbelief. Frost Edge was a skill that started at D-Grade, meaning it should’ve taken an extraordinarily long time for anyone to push it this far.

And that would also require an equally extraordinary Talent to match.

The assassin hesitated, his fist clenching tight.

’There’s no way those rumors—’ his thought cut off as Julian suddenly vanished using Flash Step, then, with a whistling sound and a freezing chill settling around him, the assassin flinched and ducked his head instinctively.

A sharp slash streaked past just above him, cutting through the air with a deafening whistle, leaving scattered shards of frost in its wake.

Slightly panicked by the sudden attack, the assassin deliberately dropped to the empty street and rolled away to create distance.

He barely had a chance to get back up before Julian was already closing in on him, his expression blank, swinging the sword as though in a genuine rush.

The assassin clicked his tongue, touching the ground beneath his feet, and rippling shadows crawled upward like smoke, swallowing the surrounding area whole.

The next instant, the assassin’s eyes gleamed within that dense, shadowy darkness, a flicker of shifting shadow-light shimmering, before his entire vision shifted into a different color entirely, letting him see clearly within that shadow.

Julian’s figure was surrounded by thick shadow, his body appearing entirely green in the assassin’s altered vision.

He had no idea whether the rumors were true, but if they were, he should already be dead. So, if there was one explanation that made sense of this.

’Most of those rumors are true, but exaggerated. This guy’s talented, but he’s only just getting started.’

Whether that assessment was accurate or not, the assassin had no way of knowing. He simply drew his daggers again, bracing himself once more with a click of his tongue.

’Besides, where the hell did everyone else go? Why am I the only one here? Hah... those useless bastards.’

His face twitched slightly as he sank back into that dark shadow, then emerged again not far from Julian’s location, launching an attack meant to incapacitate him instantly.

At that moment, Julian clearly couldn’t see anything at all, but the man seemed to sense his presence anyway, ducking his head down just in the nick of time.

Slash—!

A curved slash cut through the air. The assassin didn’t dwell on how Julian had managed to dodge it, simply raising his other dagger for a downward thrust.

"Just die already!"

But before that strike could tear into the back of Julian’s neck, Julian’s hand shot up, and a two-layered circular mirror formed to block the attack.

Craank—!

The sound of shattering mirror rang out sharply, destroying the first layer and nearly breaking through the second. But before that could happen, Julian had already moved, driving his sword down, stabbing into the ground beneath his own feet.

The blade’s icy nature spread rapidly, spreading crack after crack in a spiderweb pattern. But Julian pushed even more power through, and the ground beneath both his and the assassin’s feet finally shattered, forming a small crater.

"Ugh...!"

The assassin let out a low grunt as his footing was disrupted, and while he tried to press his attack forward, that brief disruption was enough for Julian to spin around and launch his own counterattack.

His sword rose, arcing through the air, nearly slicing across the assassin’s chest, fortunately, he stepped back just in time, cold sweat breaking across his face.

He retreated four steps, bit down on his lip, and stepped forward once more. His body shot forward with a low whistling sound, and at that moment, the assassin realized he might genuinely struggle against Julian, despite the gap in their Rank progress.

All of this was happening because, even though Julian’s Rank progress sat low, he possessed far too many skills whose Grade exceeded his current Rank, and that simply wasn’t fair at all.

"Damn it."

Given how things stood, the assassin watched Julian, who appeared to be standing still, letting out a slow breath. It was only slight, but enough to make the assassin’s eyes widen with a smirk.

’Of course! He must be exhausted!’

With low Mana reserves and skills far too high-Grade for his current level, it was only natural Julian would tire out even from using just a little, right!?

Realizing Julian might already be exhausted made the assassin unwilling to let this opportunity slip.

He paused for a moment, then bent his knees, a flash of blood-red flickering in his eyes. Then, he thrust both daggers forward and unleashed the best skill he possessed.

A skill capable of destroying his opponent with ease.

Both daggers crossed in front of him, and shadow elements mixed with particles of blood-red light slowly gathered around his body.

His legs twitched as his muscles filled with a terrifying surge of power, his expression twisting with pure murderous intent, and the next instant, his body blurred out of existence.

No sound, no trace, the wind itself wasn’t even fast enough to register it, his entire body had already vanished from that spot and appeared directly in front of Julian, who stood there without any chance to react.

A smirk crossed his face, and both daggers sliced silently across Julian’s throat, sending fresh blood spraying, staining the dark, crystallized surroundings.

He’d won, right?