I had no idea who my attackers were, but they obviously had some idea who I was. Their weapons were similar to mine, but the arms that held them were longer, which was a significant advantage in a knife fight. They didn't hesitate, either, as the one who had spoken rushed at me in professional silence. They obviously intended to kill.

  Perhaps they were seeking revenge for the bastard prince, or perhaps they were from the Society of Exploration and History. Or, heck, they could be family of some random adventurer who'd got killed in Harvent Canton, and who blamed me for the massacre. While they were certainly here for me, I had no idea why. It seemed unlikely they'd tell me if I asked, either.

  Not that I had time, even if I wanted to. They'd launched their surprise attack while having barely passed me, giving me a tiny amount of time to react.

  A tiny amount wasn't none, and my Processing and Dexterity were fast approaching triple digits. Also, I had [Dagger Expertise] now. I released my hold of my handcart and professionally dodged the attempted backstab from the first assassin, counterattacking with a thrust of my own. My target sneered, back-stepping with a light, assured step that was either well practised or aided by a Skill. Whoever these people were, I had to assume they had combat Skills of their own.

  He'd screwed up, though. His dodge was clean, without any sort of wasted movement, stepping back only as far as he needed to get out of my range. But being out of my range was no longer any sort of guarantee.

  "Stab," I declared as I activated my single active Skill.

  Reinforcing my image of my attackers as professionals, my target reacted instantly, despite the look of surprise on his face. He was already diving to the side before his eyebrows finished raising, in a show of Dexterity that was at least equal to my own, if not greater.

  He wasn't fast enough, and my Skill tore into his waist. It hadn't hit his torso, where I'd aimed, but impacted lower and off to the side. Needing to speak the names of active Skills out loud was a pain, but in this case, the warning played in my favour. The extra two inches wouldn't have been sufficient to reach anything important, but his own movements had turned the clean stab into a nasty slash. I couldn't imagine him taking further part in the fight. Indeed, he hit the road with a thud, grimacing as he clutched at the wound, desperately trying to keep his insides inside. Impressive Dexterity, but apparently lacking in the Constitution department.

  "This doesn't match..." started the second of the attackers.

  "Shut it," interrupted the third.

  "But..."

  "I said shut up."

  The third attacker stepped forward, eyes fixed on mine. The second followed, albeit somewhat reluctantly. He edged to the side, in a rather blatant attempt at flanking, but not one I could do much about. Even backing up against my cart left my sides open.

  The only thing I could do to avoid being flanked was to take the initiative, so rather than waiting for them to come to me, I charged the second of my attackers the moment he'd sufficiently separated from the third. Given his reaction, he obviously didn't feel assured of victory, and if I could take him out quickly, I could face the more confident third assassin alone.

  His eyes opened wide as he realised I was coming for him, but he gripped his dagger tightly and bent his knees, ready to dodge. He knew I had mere seconds before the final assassin took advantage of me exposing myself, so all he needed to do to win was evade my first strike.

  I thrust with my main hand, my aim a little off-centre in my haste, but that was fine. It made it easier to predict the direction of his dodge.

  "Stab!" I shouted, but he was already moving before any sound had left my mouth, leaving the dagger I'd thrust pointing at nothing but open air. He grinned victoriously.

  His grin was premature. I had two daggers, after all. He'd foolishly assumed that I was using the Skill on the dagger I'd thrust forward, but that wasn't a requirement at all. I could just as easily apply it to the stationary dagger in my off-hand. Perhaps it wouldn't hit so hard, but these guys weren't wearing armour. It didn't need to hit hard.

  His misplaced dodge took him straight into the path of my Skill, which tore into his face, slicing from mouth to ear and instantly making his grin a hundred times more disturbing. Blood and teeth splattered into the air as his jaw fell limp. Not quite where I'd wanted to hit, and not even a disabling blow, but it would certainly distract him for a few seconds.

  I leapt away, turning to face the third assassin. The second dropped his dagger as he clutched at the wound, screaming his head off. That one definitely wasn't as professional as the other pair. Maybe I could extract some information from him later?

  Assuming I survived that long, of course. The last assassin frowned, but showed no sign that his pair of injured colleagues were causing him any second thoughts whatsoever. He charged forward, dagger held tightly. I was running out of tricks to pull, but now that it was one on one, hopefully I wouldn't need any. I bent my knees slightly as I waited to see which direction his blade was going to come from.

  It didn't come at all. Instead, the assassin leapt, flying feet-first straight at me. There was no time to dodge. There wasn't even time to speak the word 'stab' before he impacted, sending us both messily to the floor.

  Not only did I end up beneath him, but I lost my grip on my off-hand dagger in the tangle. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who could pull unexpected tricks in a fight, and his hadn't even involved a Skill.

  He continued his assault in professional silence as he attempted to stab his dagger through my throat. I caught his wrist in my now-empty hand and responded in kind, attempting to stab him with my remaining dagger. He caught my wrist in turn, twisting it painfully to point my dagger away from him.

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  We struggled, but our Strength was well matched. He rammed a knee into my chest, but couldn't get enough force into it to do much through my Constitution. I attempted to kick up, but he had gravity on his side and was able to keep me pinned. For a few seconds, we remained in stalemate.

  "Stab!" I declared.

  A brief look of confusion crossed his face as he confirmed that my dagger was indeed pointing harmlessly away from him. Then he jerked and screamed.

  I'd got him, and he seemed to have no idea how. I'd simply applied [Stab] to a fingernail. Normally a rather pointless move, given how limited the range and damage would be, but with him pinning me to the floor, hands at each other's throats, we were close enough that even the tiny range was sufficient. And as for the lack of penetrating power, what softer target was there than an eyeball? I'd basically given him a hard jab in the eye. Not enough to actually hurt him, but surprising enough to give me an opening.

  His loss of concentration caused him to release his grip on my wrist, letting me bring my dagger back into play. I didn't even need to use my Skill; I simply slashed at his throat, cutting halfway through his neck. He went limp, letting me finally kick him off and roll away, grabbing my second dagger and checking on the other pair of assassins as I hurried back to my feet.

  I needn't have rushed. The first assassin had lost consciousness, and was prone on the floor, breathing shallowly as blood pooled from his side. The second was clutching his face, staring at me in horror.

  I grinned menacingly. I'd like to think I wasn't the sort of person to sneer and smirk in the middle of a fight—as the previous minute or two had attested, false confidence could be a fatal mistake—but the fight was over. The assassins had failed.

  And, obviously, I wasn't going to just walk away, happy that I'd survived. I approached the unconscious enemy.

  "Don'," slurred the only conscious assassin, but I ignored him.

  "Stab," I dispassionately intoned, and a hole opened up in the guy's tunic right over his heart.

  There was barely any blood, presumably because so much had already leaked out, but the System confirmation was all that I needed to be certain of my success.

  "And then there was one," I said, turning towards the only survivor. I took a step forward. He took a step back. "So, are you going to plead for your life? I might consider it if you tell me who hired you."

  His eyes narrowed and hardened. Darn, I hadn't taken him as a desperate last stand kind of guy. I tightened my grip on my daggers and prepared for the next round.

  "Fffuck yoo. Yoo wo'nn ged anythin' outa me. Nod eeven essperience."

  By the time I'd finished translating his broken speech—which was, to be fair, pretty good considering what I'd done to his mouth—he'd spun his dagger around in his hand and plunged it into his own heart.

  "Hey!" I complained, charging him and stabbing the corpse a few times. The System didn't respond.

  That was certainly an interesting choice, and I begrudgingly admitted he deserved at least a smidgin of respect for pulling it off so resolutely. I'd complained of kill stealers before, but having my target commit suicide to avoid giving me experience was a completely new one.

  Still, the fight was over. I hadn't acquired any information about who they were or why they were after me, but they were dead and I was uninjured, so I had no intention of complaining.

  ... Right. They were dead.

  I was on a main road. It was early morning, but we were within sight of the sapphire city. It wouldn't be long before someone came across this scene.

  That could prove awkward...

  Still, one of them might be carrying instructions, or payment. Prices for an assassination must be high, surely? If one of them was carrying a bag of gold, I wanted it. Alas, a quick search of the bodies revealed nothing.

  Literally. They were carrying nothing.

  No convenient note written by whoever had hired them. Not a single copper coin, let alone a bag of gold. Not even a water bottle or a sandwich. All they had were their clothes and a blackened dagger each.

  I left the daggers with them. They weren't any better than the pair I already had, didn't have high resale value, and it might lead anyone coming across the site to realise they weren't an innocent party. Instead, I grabbed my handcart and rushed back to the city, thankfully not meeting any further assassins on the way.

  "How do I report a bandit attack?" I asked the gate guard on my way in, after going through the usual entry procedure.

  "You were attacked by bandits? As in, people attacked you on the road? Here in the royal canton?"

  "Uh... Yes?" I answered, suddenly second guessing myself. After all, I'd seen the number of soldiers around here. Bandits wouldn't stand a chance. "Maybe they're taking advantage of the army being deployed?"

  "I suppose it's possible... And you are a kid travelling alone. I suppose it could have been opportunistic. What was taken?"

  "Huh? Oh, no, I'm sorry. I should have been clearer. Yes, there was a bandit attack, but I killed them."

  The guard blinked. "I'm sorry? You, alone, were attacked by bandits on the road. Bandits plural. And you killed them?"

  "There were three. I killed two. The third committed suicide once he realised he wasn't getting away."

  "Suicide? Bandits are already hard to believe, but that... And yet you don't appear to be lying. Please wait a moment."

  Drat... Maybe I shouldn't have reported it, but unlike the first set of corpses, it wasn't as if I had time to hide them. Someone would find them, and it wouldn't be long until someone realised I'd entered the city soon after. I could have left the road and entered a different gate, but that would just look suspicious if anyone spotted me. I could admit that they'd targeted me by name, but then they'd ask why assassins might be after me. My best option was to do as the note said and out-level any forces that whoever sent those assassins was able to deploy. It wasn't as if they could control the kingdom's army or knights.

  Hopefully.

  The guard returned with another guardsman, the newcomer wearing a rather fancy plume in his helmet. He took a look at me and nodded. "Let him through, then despatch someone to collect the bodies," he said.

  "Uh... Not that I'm complaining, but aren't you supposed to question me first?" I asked.

  The guard captain shrugged. "I know that you didn't lie. It's perfectly justifiable self defence. If you found any valuables on the bodies, they're yours to keep. Thanks for doing your part to keep our canton safe."

  "There really were bandits?" asked the gate guard wondrously. "What idiots. How did they expect to survive the week? Well, sorry for my doubts. Please enter."

  "Thank you, but there's no reason to apologise. I'm hardly going to complain about you taking your job seriously," I answered before entering the city with my cart of monster bits.

  Now I just had to deliver them, and I'd get my first promotion.