Chapter 88: Winterfall 2

The assassin’s original objective hadn’t been to kill Julian. He’d been ordered to capture Julian alive. But if the situation made that impossible, as it currently did, the task could shift toward assassination instead.

He didn’t know much, and honestly, that was probably for the best. The assassin never bothered guessing at what was actually happening. He worked, completed his assignment, and collected his payment, that was what being an assassin meant.

So, after killing Julian, he waited for his system screen to appear. He didn’t expect to gain much Rank Progress from this, but that didn’t matter much either.

Except...

’Where did my system go?’ He thought, a little confused, but right then, he froze, feeling something brush gently against his body.

The assassin raised his palm toward the sky, his gaze lifting to the dark night above.

’Rain? No,’ this wasn’t rain, it felt far too soft for something as wet and liquid as rainfall. ’...Snow?’

The assassin observed in silence, but the next instant, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread. His expression darkened the moment he finally registered that something was wrong, feeling the air growing colder, freezing solid, and he immediately spun around.

Julian, headless, still stood there, his body upright while his head lay fallen on the cold street below.

For a moment, the assassin froze, staring at that body, then, the next instant, the body shattered into countless pieces.

’...Afterimage?’ His breathing turned ragged, his eyes going wide with shock, and his heart sank as the shadows around him dissolved like fading smoke.

His entire body trembled, his gaze fixed on the sky ahead, with Julian standing right beneath it.

The world seemed to sink entirely into a world of crystal.

Whatever he did now, he knew, there was no way he’d survive this one thing.

***

In this world, people didn’t choose their skills randomly just because they looked powerful. They chose them based on how well one skill complemented another.

Take Flash Step, which Julian possessed, then he’d picked up Afterimage as a matching skill set he could use in combination.

The result was simple.

People would see Julian standing perfectly still in place, but that was only Afterimage’s result, while the real Julian had already used Flash Step to slip into his opponent’s blind spot.

Well, that wasn’t actually the important part here. What mattered was the fact about skill combinations, and something Julian had never once considered.

Julian had always viewed Kina and Ilunia as extraordinarily gifted disciples. Both held SSS-Grade Talents, and with talent like that, it was only natural they’d grasp things quickly and grow into someone remarkably powerful.

They were anomalies, and Julian had never once placed himself in the same category as them, choosing instead to simply rely on his Master status.

But wasn’t that wrong?

SSS-Grade Talent.

Unbroken Mask.

That was SSS too.

Julian hadn’t yet realized he could be categorized on the exact same level as them. Just because his Skill’s function looked a bit different, or appeared remarkably simple, that didn’t change the fact of the Grade he actually held.

And back when Julian first obtained Frost Edge as one of his skills, he’d unconsciously started developing an idea in his mind.

Could One Slash be combined with Frost Edge?

That was genuinely difficult, so Julian only ever thought about it during idle moments, whenever curiosity struck. He’d sometimes get lost in the thought, sometimes feel it might actually be possible, but he’d never once considered actually trying it.

He’d underestimated himself in this regard. Until, finally, here he was, that thought returning to him.

His skill, Fate’s Blind Spot, which gave Julian a certain intuition leading him toward good fortune, had just given him a sign.

’Do it.’

And Julian didn’t hesitate.

His hand rose, the sword slowly concentrating with dense yet remarkably well-controlled Mana.

The next instant, Frost Edge activated. Bright blue ice crystals froze everything around him, accompanied by an enormous surge of Mana consumption.

Julian immediately felt himself drained. He’d already been fairly exhausted after using so many skills, so this might well be the last thing he could manage before his Mana ran critically thin.

The ice crystals coating his sword didn’t just wrap around the blade, they slowly began crawling upward on their own, extending outward from the sword itself, eventually reaching a height equal to two stories of a building.

Julian let out a slow breath. He felt his entire body growing cold, his very bones seeming to freeze solid, while snow began drifting slowly down from the sky above.

The shadows enveloping him suddenly receded, and Julian found himself face to face with the assassin once more.

Julian didn’t hesitate for a moment, letting that massive sword fall. A colossal crystal sword, carrying an unbelievable amount of destructive force.

Its bitter cold froze the entire surrounding area, plunging everything into an ice that froze whatever it touched.

The assassin stood frozen in place, unable to move, his gaze locked onto that ice sword moving at lightning speed, before finally...

Baam—!

The surroundings exploded into shattered fragments of ice. The wind howled so fiercely it formed a full snowstorm across the area.

Julian sank into a swirling white haze, his heart pounding hard, his entire body unable to stop trembling, and yet, on the other hand, he felt genuinely satisfied with what he’d just accomplished.

He breathed hard, drenched in cold sweat, and right then, his gaze landed on the system screen.

Not just one, but several screens appeared on their own.

[Rank Progress +16%]

Rank: [E] — [89.0%] → Rank: [D] — [0.5%]

[You have received a new innate skill.]

[System]

New Skill acquired.

Skill: [Fearless]

Initial Grade: [—]

Progress: [—]

Skill successfully registered.

[Status Update]

Skills:

• [Fearless]

Biip!

[Congratulations... You have created a new skill.]

[System]

New Skill acquired.

Skill: [Winterfall]

Initial Grade: [B]

Progress: [16.0%]

Skill successfully registered.

[Status Update]

Skills:

• [Winterfall] — [B] — [16.0%]

Julian stared at all that in silence, saying nothing. There was plenty to take in, but first and foremost, he felt an overwhelming wave of relief knowing he’d genuinely won.

His gaze then settled on the small disaster he’d just created. A miniature snowstorm slowly dissipating, revealing an area now buried in snow everywhere.

Rooftops covered in snow, small puddles frozen solid, a few pieces of public furniture also frozen over and buried beneath drifts.

All of it was something Julian had never once imagined would actually happen.

Then, Julian’s gaze fell upon the assassin’s corpse. His body lay mutilated, frozen solid, the snowstorm having torn every part of it apart, scattered in pieces across the ground.

It was nauseating, so Julian quickly looked away, then flinched as someone stepped closer.

It was a man.