Chapter 161

Assassins were indeed experts at hiding within complex terrain, striking their enemies from the shadows.

But that didn’t mean assassins were good at finding enemies hiding in the shadows.

Among all professions, an assassin’s perception ability was merely average at best.

The class that truly excelled at perception was the Observer.

Clang!

Kiyomi suddenly felt a cold wind sweep in from behind!

She spun around instantly, trying to intercept the attack!

But the moment she struck—

She realized it was only a scattered illusion bubble drifting before her eyes!

Kiyomi immediately repositioned.

Swish!

She swapped places with one of her illusions, concealing herself beside a tree.

...First, I need to determine Rei’s position.

Kiyomi’s presence gradually faded until it reached an extremely low state of existence.

Meanwhile, her other illusions began moving dramatically.

They chased after the floating phantom bubbles, creating loud disturbances.

The illusions attracted attention.

The real body remained hidden.

In fact, her illusions possessed almost the same lethality as her true body.

In most situations, her real body didn’t even need to act.

As long as the real body stayed hidden, the illusions alone could complete assassination missions without risk.

On top of that, illusions could be generated directly within a one-kilometer radius, anywhere she could perceive.

In theory, they could even appear inside heavily guarded rooms—passing through walls without triggering traps or guards.

Combined with her ability to swap positions between the real body and illusions, Kiyomi was nearly invincible in complex environments like houses, forests, or labyrinthine structures.

One could even say—

She should have been invincible among her peers.

At least, that had always been the case...

Until Rei appeared.

And then—

"Hey. Waiting for someone?"

Kiyomi’s body trembled violently.

She suddenly felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

Swish!

Her dagger slashed backward!

Clang!

But the hurried counterattack produced a strange, numbing shock.

Her dagger struck Rei’s small, pale hand—

And couldn’t even break the skin.

What kind of body was this?

Was this really the body of a mage?

Swish!

Rei flipped his wrist and casually grabbed Kiyomi’s dagger.

Kiyomi immediately tried to swap places with another illusion—

But suddenly realized that the moment she had counterattacked him...

All eight illusions in other directions had been eliminated simultaneously.

How?!

Rei twisted the dagger in his grip.

Whoosh!

Kiyomi spun through the air like a top, completing a full rotation.

Swish!

She activated an assassination technique, instantly teleporting behind Rei.

Yet when she looked up—

Rei’s face was still directly facing her.

But I moved behind him...

Did he turn around at the exact same moment?

Could anyone move that absurdly fast?

To Rei, Kiyomi’s movements looked like slow motion played frame by frame.

Perhaps...

When the War God had fought him before, it had felt like this.

Only after raising his Warrior level did Rei finally realize how slow he had once been.

Back then, his thinking speed could keep up.

His casting speed barely managed.

But his physical speed had lagged far behind.

Now that his body could keep up too—

He finally experienced what true speed felt like.

"As an assassin... you’re pretty slow."

"If this is all you’ve got, I wouldn’t even feel safe letting you work for me."

Rei’s voice drifted through the wind.

Kiyomi’s dagger had already thrust forward.

Rei reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking hard.

BOOM!

He slammed her into the ground.

Actually, Rei had wanted to test the combat performance of his Ten-Thousand-Battle Absolute Body.

But Kiyomi was simply too slow.

If he deliberately let her hit him, it would feel like he was purposely walking into her dagger.

So far, his experiments with the Ten-Thousand-Battle Absolute Body were limited to cutting himself.

He had never actually been injured in real combat.

Swish!

The moment Kiyomi hit the ground, she vanished.

Rei’s perception followed her.

In the distance, she had swapped places with another illusion and escaped.

Generating illusions required a short process.

About half a second, perhaps...

And—

His perception immediately detected more illusions forming.

The first illusion took half a second.

Then the rest appeared within one second.

Rei pointed forward.

Two beams of Origin split into eight flashing streaks of light.

Seven illusions were instantly destroyed.

One remained, fleeing at extreme speed.

Swish!

The moment the other seven were destroyed, new illusions began forming again.

So as long as one illusion remains, the regeneration time stays under half a second?

Rei pondered internally.

Carefully studying Kiyomi’s talent.

Meanwhile—

Kiyomi felt like she had just seen a ghost.

What the hell is this guy?

She had finally escaped and summoned eight illusions—

Only for seven illusions in completely different directions to be instantly destroyed.

Her assassin advantages...

Why did they feel nonexistent in front of him?

Swish!

Wasn’t it supposed to be assassins that countered mages?

So where was the counter exactly?

Whoosh—

A streak of light suddenly shot toward her!

Rei and Kiyomi moved almost simultaneously.

Both sprinted at extreme speed.

Except—

Kiyomi was fleeing.

Rei was pursuing.

And then—

Whoosh—

Kiyomi vanished from Rei’s sight.

Even End-Sense failed to detect her.

Rei immediately stopped.

His perception spread outward.

Completely gone.

Only eight illusions appeared again in distant corners.

This technique wasn’t invisibility.

It was similar to the first time Rei met her—

Her final attack.

Appearing above his head without any warning.

Back then, only End-Sense’s intense danger signal had alerted him.

Before that—

He had detected nothing.

This must be her own unique technique.

Swish!

Eight illusions attacked simultaneously from different directions!

Each illusion vanished from afar—

Then instantly appeared near Rei.

Every one of them executed the skill:

Assassination Technique.

And above Rei’s head—

Outside the illusion attack angles—

An extremely powerful sense of danger exploded.

Ultimate Assassination Art — Lost from This World

Lost from This World · Final Severing Strike

Rei felt the incoming danger from above.

Formless.

Intangible.

No wind.

No spatial disturbance.

As if the attack didn’t exist in this world at all.

Only a powerful instinct warned him.

An attack was coming from above.

Nothing else.

Let’s try taking it head-on.

Rei swallowed the pill he had been holding in his mouth.

At the same time, he pushed his body’s defense to its absolute limit.

He shouted softly:

"Ha!"

[War Cry: Adamantine Glazed Body (LV:301)]—Extreme Hardening—Rebound Shock—Full-Body Defense—Extreme Physical Defense Enhancement—Instant Hardness Amplification—Extended Duration—Super Slash Resistance—Super Pierce Resistance

In that instant—

Rei’s body hardened like crystal.

A radiant, glasslike light reflected from his skin.

CLANG!

Rei felt a swift and powerful attack strike his head!

It landed on his crystal-like hair.

Metallic sparks burst out!

Yet—

His perception still detected nothing.

SCRRRK—

A long streak of sparks scraped across his scalp.

Only then did a figure land behind him.

Kiyomi clutched her wrist.

It felt numb.

She couldn’t cut through it.

She had been confident in the destructive power of that strike.

But even a downward slash from above had failed to break his defense?

PUCHI!

While she was still wondering—

Warmth suddenly spread across her abdomen.

At some point—

A beam of light had already pierced through her stomach.

A fatal wound.

Rei had defeated Kiyomi again.

He sighed inwardly.

That attack really was terrifying...

Not because of its destructive power—

But because it completely disappeared from existence.

Until the strike was fully executed, Rei’s perception hadn’t detected Kiyomi at all.

How frightening.

"The gap between you and me right now is too big."

"Do you still want to continue?"

Kiyomi’s fatal wound had already healed after the battle ended.

She looked at the boy before her.

Only one thought remained.

There was no possible way she could defeat him.

"But I still want to become stronger."

Rei nodded slightly.

"Yeah..."

He understood that feeling.

In a world like this—

Overwhelming strength ruled everything.

If reasoning didn’t work—

You used your fists.

When you wanted to talk, you talked.

If others refused to reason—

One slap could make them shut up.

Rei understood this very well.

That was why he was so obsessed with becoming stronger.

"So... did you gain anything?"

Kiyomi looked at him.

Then shook her head blankly.

"Getting stronger isn’t about losing repeatedly."

"If a fight doesn’t bring you any insight, then it won’t help you grow."

Rei glanced toward the spectator stands.

"I actually think there’s someone here who might be a good opponent for you."

Void Zhou felt Rei’s gaze and descended from the stands.

"It’s him?"

Kiyomi had noticed Void Zhou earlier.

But at the time, her eyes had only been on Rei.

She hadn’t paid any attention to the ugly creature at all.

"A Void creature. Level 4 Origin Mage."

"He’s a good brother of mine—we exchange insights about Origin Magic."

"He should have just advanced to Level 4 as well."

"You two should be evenly matched."

"After all..."

Rei shrugged.

"It’s too easy for me to bully you two. Fighting me won’t help you improve."

...

Both Kiyomi and Void Zhou had veins popping on their foreheads.

This guy...

Was way too arrogant.

But they couldn’t deny it.

Rei was ridiculously strong.

"Why don’t you two spar?" Rei suggested.

Kiyomi looked at the ugly creature.

Then at Rei.

She nodded.

Void Zhou shrugged.

"I don’t mind. Honestly, I’m curious about this little girl’s strength too."

Rei nodded and returned to the spectator stands.

This time, the map was a snow-covered ice domain.

Map: Frozen Wasteland

Apparently the earlier fights had hit Kiyomi hard.

She was no longer arrogant enough to fight on maps without cover.

Right now—

Her biggest goal was simply to win one match.

Swish!

Swish swish swish—

Void Zhou walked through the Void, flickering in and out of reality.

His magic rained down toward Kiyomi in relentless bombardment.

However—

Whoosh!

Illusions flashed everywhere.

Kiyomi’s figure constantly switched between them.

The magic attacks struck—

But only destroyed illusions.

Void Zhou flashed again and again!

CLANG!

Yet the cold glint of a dagger followed him like a venomous snake.

So fast!

So deadly!

Buzz!

He stepped through space—

But the moment he appeared in reality—

Kiyomi’s dagger was already slicing toward his throat.

Blade Kill · Throat Cut

CLANG!

A shield appeared—

But it was sliced apart like paper.

PUCHI!

Void Zhou’s throat was cut.

Yet Kiyomi felt something strange.

It felt like cutting through a shadow.

Not a real body.

Not the real one?

Right...

He’s some kind of Void creature.

Void Zhou instantly retreated far away.

This assassin’s pursuit was terrifying!

Whoosh—

But he had no time to breathe.

The next second—

Kiyomi was already in front of him again.

Her dagger pierced straight through his body.

But this time—

PUCHI!

A black chain shot through Kiyomi’s body as well.

Swish!

Yet the pierced body faded.

Another illusion.

Void Zhou suddenly realized something horrifying.

Even now—

He still couldn’t tell which one was the real body.

Or rather—

Had her real body even entered the battle yet?

Another strike pierced his abdomen.

This one carried powerful poison.

Void Zhou retreated again, unleashing silent magic in all directions!

BOOM!

Void tremors erupted.

They shattered the surrounding illusions.

But the moment the illusions shattered—

New ones formed immediately and attacked again!

I need large-scale magic!

"Boundless Void, echoing oblivion..."

Throat Cut!

Swish!

Without warning—

A dagger suddenly sliced across his throat again.

His incantation collapsed.

Interrupted.

Normally, a mage whose throat was cut like that would already be dead.

Void Zhou felt poison spreading through his body.

After so many slashes, his body was already covered in wounds.

But finally—

He swung his staff!

BOOM!

A purple-black rift tore open across the ground.

A massive void wave blasted skyward.

Void Eruption

The attack covered an 800-meter radius.

A catastrophic spell capable of wiping out entire armies.

However—

Kiyomi simply stood calmly at the edge of the spell’s range.

Idiot...

I’m not standing still.

How could randomly bombing an area ever hit me?

Illusions chased Void Zhou through the air.

Meanwhile—

Kiyomi walked slowly on the ground.

Step by step.

Void Zhou had no idea where her real body was.

He didn’t even know where to aim his magic.

PUCHI!

A final slash struck his head.

Void Zhou’s body fell from the sky.

Kiyomi had finally won.

Void Zhou stood up slowly after his wounds healed.

Wait a minute...

When you were getting crushed by my brother earlier, you weren’t this fierce!

Watching someone Rei had just bullied now turn around and bully him—

Void Zhou felt extremely unsettled.

And she was just a human girl!

Since when were humans this terrifying?

He was a proud genius among the Void race—

A rising star admired by many.

And now he was getting beaten up by every human he met?

After beating Void Zhou thoroughly—

Kiyomi felt much better.

Her confidence returned slightly.

So I’m not actually weak...

Rei is just absurdly strong.

Her fight with Rei had almost made her believe she was weak enough to lose to anyone.

This ugly creature had called Rei his brother and discussed Origin Magic with him.

She had assumed he was at the same level as Rei.

Now it seemed...

He was just average.

"So magical geniuses aren’t that common after all."

"Or has human genius become as common as cabbages?"

Different thoughts flashed through their minds.

After that, Void Zhou sparred with Kiyomi three more times.

He lost every match.

The problem was—

His spell radius wasn’t large enough.

His casting frequency wasn’t fast enough.

Kiyomi could maintain eight illusions continuously in under half a second.

Void Zhou couldn’t kill all eight instantly.

Nor did he have the perception to locate her real body.

He couldn’t even force out her Ultimate Assassination Art.

He was simply beaten black and blue.

Every match ended in defeat.

"Rei, your friend is too weak. I can’t gain any insight from fighting him."

After the fight ended, Kiyomi said this directly in front of Void Zhou.

Void Zhou cursed internally but didn’t dare say it out loud.

Wait—

Did you two plan this today just to humiliate me?

Kiyomi’s arrogant comment earned her another duel with Rei.

Void Zhou watched with satisfaction as the previously cocky Kiyomi was once again completely dominated by Rei.

By the end of the fight—

Kiyomi knelt on the ground.

Tears nearly formed in her eyes.

Battle over.

Rei simply said calmly:

"You’re about the same as him."

"I think your speed is a bit too slow. Maybe try improving that."

Kiyomi fell silent.

No...

In terms of speed, she was already the fastest in the entire Assassin Academy.

Speed had always been her greatest pride.

Yet she received that evaluation.

Void Zhou also came down from the stands and said seriously:

"If you’re weak, train more."

You ugly creature!

Why should I listen to a defeated opponent?!

"Brother... I’ve learned quite a bit of Void magic recently. My magic ability may not match yours, but I’ve gained some insights we might share."

Rei smiled.

"Sure. I’ve also developed some new understanding of Origin Magic lately."

"I’ve even created a few interesting spells."

"Since we have the chance today, let’s exchange some ideas."

The two Origin Mages sat down right there—

And began discussing magic.

The sparring session that had supposedly been for Kiyomi ended with her humiliating defeat.

In the end—

Furious and unwilling to accept it—

Kiyomi left to grind ranked matches alone.