Chapter 249: Feline Enhanced

Moon rested a shovel over his shoulder, looking at the ground that had faint traces showing it had been dug. It was too dark, but he could see well.

Very well, even.

Moon was always skeptical about the changes his body was going through... What was normal and what was not?

He didn’t know and couldn’t tell most of the time, and he also found studying the status windows stressful.

A few days ago, before he had started the sneaking schedule, he had decided to take a small peek at something just to make sure.

He wanted to know what had changed, or was changing now...

His training with Samuel was over for a while; shockwaves were knocking through his body all the time, but they had long turned into background noise.

According to what he understood from both Samuel and Ed, his body had probably strengthened itself enough to negate the shockwaves sealed within.

Which meant he was now stronger and tougher, probably.

But that didn’t explain how his ears were hearing better now, far better than before. It nearly drove him insane at night, especially...

Night was the time background noises receded, and his ears started hearing the creaking walls and wood, the random wind along the trees... the bugs...

It was only thanks to Mishu’s purrs that he could sleep at all...

Moon wondered if Mishu could sleep so soundly thanks to his purrs, but if that was the case, he wondered if he would ever be able to purr himself to sleep.

Sleeping through the day was far more convenient, but it was a luxury a king couldn’t enjoy.

It was then that he checked his attributes, and only attributes.

There were a few new attributes that he was seeing for the first time, of which two stood out most. These were the culprits behind whatever weirdness he was beginning to experience.

[Feline Enhanced Vision] - [Permanent Contract Attribute]

[Feline Enhanced Audition] - [Permanent Contract Attribute]

Moon fixed his eyes on these, though there were a few more there...

He didn’t know what feline meant, but from the note at the side, he understood it was something shared through the contract with Mishu.

Still, Moon didn’t need them to sense the one in the dark. Moon felt a gaze staring at him the instant it did.

Before his eyes or ears caught a slight hint of movement.

Moon was always sensitive to being watched, spied on... and the malice these eyes radiated.

The person was shrouded in black, hooded. Eyes black like the night, not faintly radiant like Moon’s enhanced eyes.

A little short in stature, with a face that Moon recognized perfectly.

Moon was wearing a mask, and his armor was under the long coat he was wearing. He might have recognized her, but he wasn’t sure if she recognized him.

Thus, he didn’t talk; he wasn’t sure what she was doing here.

The girl from the Order of Assassins. Was she sent to eliminate the watchmen, or to assassinate Moon himself?

Maybe coming after Gustav?

He didn’t know, and couldn’t tell, but if anything, he knew neither of them was letting the other walk away today.

The girl’s eyes didn’t change; Moon didn’t know if it was a common skill to see in the dark or not. He didn’t think it was normal, but the girl didn’t react to his own eye contact.

Her hands slowly rose, finally leaving the hood coverage, each holding a sharp-looking dagger.

Daggers identical in shape and length, slightly curved along the blade, with handles that were as black as her hood.

What came next made it clear why these guys were called the Order of Assassins...

Moon sensed the Echo activation of these weapons, yet... No hue or radiance came.

Completely transparent Echo.

Obviously a Combat Art that was developed for situations like this. Unlike Moon’s Spark Echo, which could tell everyone he was somewhere he shouldn’t.

Spark Echo was the worst possible option for someone who aspired to be an assassin to have.

Thankfully, Moon wasn’t aspiring to be one; he was only trying to avoid being framed as a necromancer one day.

He laid down the shovel near the rock he was standing by; his hands went inside his coat, unsheathing the knife he had won in the first skirmish.

Moon left behind Liquid Mountain and everything else that would expose him. He only kept the knife for emergencies since it didn’t look special at all.

He didn’t even plan on fighting, but who would have guessed an emergency found him instead?

He couldn’t allow her to leave and report what he was doing there either.

She had already reported that, that day he had nicely asked Zera to treat him to tea in his room.

Yet, through this fight, Moon knew he couldn’t use Echo in any obvious way. Spark Echo was something he had yet to see anything similar or even close to.

It was also bright enough for both factions to suspect a night raid was coming for them.

Moon stood with the knife half drawn from his coat, his eyes bright behind his cat mask that looked to be smiling and cute.

The girl lunged at him.

The sound of her feet was nearly negligible, faintly indiscernible.

Her arms spread like a bird of prey, ready to descend.

Moon watched everything intently...

How her arms came together, one aimed at his neck and the other at his heart at the end of the descent.

A method developed and aimed at taking a life without the slightest chance of survival.

That, if it hit.

Moon sidestepped to the right, and his own knife mirrored that of the girl’s, aiming for her neck.

The girl mirrored Moon with a sidestep of her own; lowering her stance, her hands brought the daggers, aiming for Moon’s heart and side abdomen.

Moon adjusted his body, reversed the knife in his grip, and stabbed downward, aiming for both of her hands to be pierced through.

The girl spread her arms again; her legs dug into the ground as she bounced back.

Through all of this, her feet still didn’t produce the noise they should.

She took her stance again, while Moon lowered his knife.

The two of them stared at one another intently.

"Are you a cadet from the order?" the girl suddenly asked; her voice was quiet but clear, calm but also threatening.

Spoken with a hint of authority.

Since the beginning, Moon had been following her movements as if he knew what she was doing.

At one point, their movements even mirrored one another perfectly. Moon, being part of the order, was the most logical conclusion.

Though, till this moment, she didn’t seem to recognize him as Moon.

Being a man of the first floor was something she hadn’t yet logically filtered out as a possibility for his movements.

Moon didn’t react, for his mind was going in turmoil under the mask. A hint of madness sparked into his eyes.

He didn’t speak instead.

He attacked first this time.

Aiming for her heart.

The girl, once again, took the step, but instead of aiming for a low stance, her body coiled, daggers aiming for Moon’s knees.

Exactly at the patellar tendon, which is located at the lower front of the knee.

With another step, Moon mirrored her, lowering his stance. His knife stabbed at the back of her head while her dagger chased after Moon’s.