Chapter 447 - 359: Passage No. 13

Chapter 447: Chapter 359: Passage No. 13

On the other side of the hall, Hill was organizing her equipment.

A black waterproof cloth was spread across a table, covered with all sorts of weapons and tools.

Rows of variously shaped Flying Sabers lay there, all thin and light.

Some were as graceful as willow leaves.

Others were triangular with vicious blood grooves on their tails, clearly designed to inflict wider wounds.

Pitch-black Alchemy Bombs, about the size of a fist.

Zelir had witnessed the power of these things. They were just like grenades, perhaps even stronger.

There were also coiled, spring-loaded Chain Blades.

After being shot out to pierce an enemy’s body, a trigger could be pulled to drag the enemy back.

But what made Zelir most curious were the new tools Hill had prepared.

Dozens of long, thin metal probes of varying lengths, thicknesses, and curvatures.

They were clearly for detecting pressure-activated mechanisms hidden in keyholes or crevices.

Several bottles of Revealing Potion.

When exposed to air, they could quickly vaporize into large clouds of purple smoke, making hidden traps visible.

A mechanical listening device that resembled a stethoscope.

It could amplify the sounds of gears turning and mechanisms clicking from within walls or beneath floors.

Besides these, there were many other small gadgets.

Traction threads as fine as spider silk yet extremely resilient, dozens of stone spheres for probing paths, and a pair of small, sharp, precision pliers.

’She really is a professional...’ Zelir was filled with a sense of awe.

The only pathfinding method he knew was to blast any suspicious areas with Magic.

Hill was very familiar with this equipment, and she methodically secured each piece to her body.

Watching this scene, Zelir found it all rather fascinating.

Hill was still wearing that same form-fitting black leather clothing, which was covered in various straps and sockets.

To avoid taking up extra space, the straps used to secure the equipment were tied exceptionally tight.

They were digging into her flesh a bit.

’After she takes it all off... she must have a lot of crisscrossing red marks on her body, right?’

"Maybe you could buy a Storage Pouch?" Zelir suggested.

"That’s too slow."

Hill slid a Flying Saber into a pouch on her side. "It’s faster to grab them directly from my body."

Taking something out of a Storage Pouch seemed like it would only take a second or two.

But then again, Assassins were all about being fast, accurate, and ruthless.

In the life-or-death moment of an assassination, wasting even a fraction of a second could lead to failure.

"Of course, the main reason is that Storage Pouches are too expensive," Hill added.

"How much do they usually sell for?" Zelir asked.

"You have a Storage Pouch yourself, don’t you know?" Hill looked at Zelir, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh... that one was a gift from my mentor." Zelir scratched his head.

Hearing this, Hill let out an inexplicable smile.

She got a look on her face that seemed to say, ’What am I going to do with you?’

"A basic Storage Pouch starts at two or three hundred Gold Coins... Ones with more space are even more expensive. It mainly depends on the quality."

"With that kind of money, I’d rather upgrade my equipment or buy some life-saving Magic Potions than buy a Storage Pouch."

Hill turned around, her back to Zelir, and pointed to a Short Sword on the table.

"Help me slide this into the empty slot on the small of my back."

"Oh..."

Zelir picked up the Short Sword from the table and carefully inserted it between the two straps at the small of Hill’s back.

Then he tightened them a little.

After all her gear was in place, Hill once again slipped on her wide robe.

"Alright."

"Then let’s go."

Outside the Heart of the Emerald Residence, Zelir swung himself onto his Golden Land Bird and pulled the reins tight.

The other members mounted their birds one by one.

The squad set off for the ruins once more!

...

KLIP-KLOP, KLIP-KLOP...

Emerging from the underground staircase, the rhythmic footsteps of the Land Birds echoed all around.

The entrance hall before the first level of the ruins was as bustling as ever.

The Blacksmith Shop and Trading Area were always clamorous, and you could spot Adventurers arguing with merchants until they were red in the face.

But unlike before, mixed in among the various Adventurers were many... mysterious figures?

Most of them were cloaked in wide, black robes.

They were covered from head to toe, completely bundled up.

Even when they occasionally looked up, all you could see under their hoods was a mask, making it impossible to see their faces.

These people gathered in twos and threes in dimly lit corners, occasionally tilting their heads to whisper to each other, and it was impossible to know what they were discussing.

"Why are there so many Assassins all of a sudden?"

Gray frowned slightly. "No wonder the air feels so much colder and gloomier, like we’ve stepped into a cellar."

"Hill’s an Assassin too," Valles reminded him.

"She doesn’t count. She’s pretty sunny and cheerful." Gray waved his hand dismissively.

Hill shot Gray a sidelong glance.

"Normally, Adventurer Squads aren’t too keen on recruiting Assassins."

"But now, with the third level of the ruins open, there are a lot of mechanisms and traps that need to be avoided or dismantled."

"That kind of work is a job for Assassins, of course."

Hill said casually, "Right now, the demand for Assassins is second only to Mages."

"Their fortunes have really turned..." Marcus shook his head slightly.

He used to frequently refuse Assassins when recruiting teammates.

You could say it was a bit of professional discrimination.

"Because of this, no one is taking assassination contracts at the Assassin’s Guild anymore. They’ve all run off to join squads."

Hill chuckled softly. "I guess it also lightens the workload for the Sengu Town Security Team."

"Those Assassins probably haven’t done much adventuring before, have they?"