Blood splattered across the three executives as the body split apart.
They stared at Cipher in shock.
Zara recognized him first. "Cipher?" she called out, wiping blood from her face. "Didn’t you go to attack the church with the others?"
"Yeah, I came back after receiving your report," he said.
"Did you manage to deal with the cult? Where are the others?" she asked.
"It’s a long story. We don’t have time to talk now. I’m currently assuming the position of temporary chairman - give me a report on what’s happening," he said.
"Temporary chairman?" Zara asked in confusion.
But Ember stepped forward. "It’s good that you’re here," he began. "Most of the enemies are concentrated in the two secondary buildings. From what we can tell, they’re mainly D and E-ranks with some C-ranks mixed in. And two B-ranks leading each building."
"Wait, two B-ranks? There are other B-ranks?" Cipher interrupted.
"That’s right," Knox confirmed. "There were three of them total. The one you just killed, and one in each of the secondary buildings."
"Alright," Cipher said, nodding as he processed the information. "You guys back up the other buildings. As for the B-ranks, just leave them to me."
...
The three executives moved to help the other buildings while Cipher flew up toward the building on the left. As he got closer, he finally detected the B-rank with his ESP. Using Appraisal, he confirmed it was a mage type.
He flew closer to the building, floating outside a window where he had a clear view of the mage inside. The mage turned around to look at him.
Looks like I’ve been discovered, Cipher thought.
The mage immediately began casting a spell.
Cipher didn’t waste time. He retrieved three throwing daggers from his inventory.
Dagger Throw was a D-rank skill, so it scaled with 39 strength stat. 390 raw damage times 3 from Demonic Qi made 1,170 base damage, and times 4 from Aura brought it to 4,680 damage. Add the skill’s 3x multiplier and that was 14,040 damage.
Then the remaining 210 strength times 3 from Demonic Qi, times 4 from Aura gave 2,520. Add that to the initial damage and that was 16,560 damage total.
This was about the health of an average B rank.
He threw the three daggers quickly in succession. The mage instantly noticed the threat, quickly stopping her cast and erecting a hasty shield. But the hastily built barrier was too weak to withstand the force of the blow - the first dagger cracked it and the second shattered it completely, allowing the third dagger to fly straight into her forehead.
[You have slain B-rank Human (Level 86)]
[+224,000 EXP]
[+160 Cheat Points]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Cipher glanced at the building to the right, then at his system interface. His true rank had almost reached the C-rank cap. He distributed the eight new points he’d gained into Agility, bringing it to 68.
He then flew toward the other building. He easily located the remaining B-rank and eliminated him with another throwing dagger.
[You have slain B-rank Human (Level 86)]
[+228,000 EXP]
[+160 Cheat Points]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Cipher looked at the Dagger Throw skill. It was really powerful - mostly because it was D-rank and scaled with 390 damage instead of Assassinate’s 190.
He could layer it with Assassinate to stack even more damage, but that would cost too much mana. Since it had a 5% chance to deal an additional 3x damage, he was hoping to find a Seed Card and make that guaranteed.
If he did that, he wouldn’t have to worry about his damage output for a while.
Well, he’d think about that later. For now... they needed to focus on clearing out the remaining enemies.
...
About an hour later, when they had just finished "dealing" with the attackers, the rest of the association members finally arrived.
Cipher met them at the entrance.
"Good. You’re finally here," he said.
He turned to the executives. "Have your teams clean up the area and reinforce the association’s security. Meet me in thirty minutes for a briefing."
"Shouldn’t we go into lockdown?" Zara asked.
Cipher shook his head. "No. That would make the association look weak to the wolves lurking in the shadows."
He turned to leave but remembered something and looked back at Elaine, causing her to freeze up instantly.
"Iris was attacked earlier. Follow me to go check on her. And bring the cursed captive with you," he said.
She nodded and followed him.
A while later, they arrived at Iris’s lab and knocked on the door.
"Iris, it’s Cipher," he called out.
The door slowly opened. Iris had already gotten up a while earlier, and Cipher had instructed her to stay inside.
"Cipher, you’re here. Has the situation been resolved?" she asked.
"Yeah, everything’s fine. Can you do me a favor?" he asked.
"Sure, anything," she said as she opened the door fully, gesturing for him to come in.
It was then that she finally noticed Elaine walking behind him. She observed her carefully. She didn’t seem like herself.
Usually, Elaine would tease her whenever they met, but now she... Iris sighed. She must’ve gone through quite a bit on the front lines.
...
"So what favor do you need?" Iris asked once all three sat down.
"It’s more doing Elaine a favor than me," he said. He looked at Elaine and gestured for her to explain.
Elaine took a breath and proceeded to explain the situation with her sister, Elara.
"I promised to help her, but I can’t just put the association in danger for this," Cipher said. "I was hoping you could make a secure room where we can keep her while I look for a cure. Just in case."
"And you’re okay with this?" Iris asked, looking at Elaine.
Elaine nodded. They had discussed this as they walked here. Cipher had also told her that Iris was attacked by the traitor Luna, so she was clear of suspicion. She was the only person Elaine could trust with this.
"Alright, I’ll see what I can do," Iris said. "Leave her at the secondary lab for now."
"Okay, you guys work it out," Cipher said, standing up. "I’ll go prepare for the meeting. Don’t forget to come."
And with that, he left.