After lunch, it was finally time for Leo to learn the first one of Ben's three core skills as he felt especially excited for this session.
Usually, all assassin's had a similar type of move-set, even if the specific skills differed.
Of the five skills that one could learn and master, usually -
One would be a footwork technique, something light and agile that would help an assassin move without making a sound and conceal their movement trail after they left a crime scene.
Second would be a stealth technique, something to mask one's presence by blending into the surroundings, usually darkness and shadows.
Third would be a killing technique, something precise and deadly that could take out an enemy with a single shot as assassin's did not prefer a long drawn fight.
Fourth would be a weapons skill move, the specifics depending on the type of weapon the assassin mastered.
And finally fifth was a utility move, something like being able to jump high or feint step, basically something that could be used in practical situations as well as combat.
While the specific moves learnt under this wide bracket depended from case to case, usually all assassin's operated under this structure, however, Ben Faulkner was different in this regard.
Well atleast, sort of different.
*********
"Today boy, I'm going to pass down to you my stealth skill" Ben said with a smile as he casually strolled towards the nearby tree.
With the sun over his head and Leo's eyes strained at him, Ben said "Watch closely" as he stepped into the shadow of the tree, his figure disappearing immediately from Leo's line of sight, as the second he stepped into the shadows, Leo could no longer make out his outline.
It was as if Ben had vanished completely, his sillheute disappearing from Leo's sight almost instantly as he stepped into the shadow.
" Nah, I'm not behind that tree anymore" Ben said, as he walked out a few degrees to the left, from a few trees beside the one he disappeared into.
" How?" Leo felt stunned as while the shadow behind the tree was hard to spot, the gap between the trees were still easy to notice if Ben moved through them.
Leo did not understand how he missed Ben's movements through the trees with how focusedly he was watching the whole area.
"Misdirection kid, but this much is what any assassin can do.
Give them a shadow and even the night guild assassin's can blend into them and disappear from plain sight, it's quite easy and once you understand it's fundamentals, I think you will be able to master this part of the skill easily, however, the skill I wish to pass onto you, is more nuanced" Ben said as he now walked into the open sunlight, and stood before Leo in an open field with no obstacles to hide behind.
" Watch me closely now-" he said as he did nothing much but pulled out a dagger and threw it towards Leo's face, prompting Leo to dodge.
It was not even a split second later that Leo looked back at the spot where Ben was supposed to be, however, Ben was no longer there as the split-second that Leo was focused on the dagger, Ben disappeared from infront of him.
*Tap*
*Tap*
Leo felt someone tap on his shoulder behind him, as he was alarmed, only to see Ben now standing behind him, as from start to finish Leo did not even sense anything.
"You're dead" Ben said, reminding Leo that should he have been targetting him, Leo would be dead by now.
" Again" Leo demanded, as he felt like if he did not take his eyes off Ben, the latter would not be able to use this skill, however, at that moment Ben just dropped a smoke-bomb out of his robe, which quickly covered his surroundings.
*Boom*
*SWOOOSH*
The thick grey smoke restricted Leo's visibility to barely a meter infront of him as he once again lost sight of Ben.
He tried to sense Ben through the smoke, however, he failed miserably in doing so as Ben did not leave any obvious movement trail.
By the time the smoke cleared out, Leo found himself on lettering spelling out 'DEAD' , as it was only then that he realised that Ben had drawn this using a dagger on the ground below him and he never even realised it.
"Distractions, will help you master my move, it will give you the tool you need to master it without the use of mana.
However, add mana to it, and you can do it without any distractions as well" Ben said, as he finally displayed the true might of his move.
In broad daylight, with no obstacles nearby, Ben waved his hand, and disappeared into thin air right infront of Leo's eyes.
Even without a smoke bomb, a distraction, Ben disappeared from Leo's sight in a way that Leo could no longer track him as a second later he once again felt a dagger placed over his shoulder as Ben whispered "Dead again".
Leo felt goosebumps all over his spine when he realised the true potential of the move that Ben was teaching him.
Usually, 'Mimic' would have picked up on this move, giving Leo the ability to copy it, however, even mimic could not copy what it could not see as this move of Ben was something that not even his supreme cheat could replicate.
" While the Average assassin can only hide using shadows, the move I'm going to pass onto you, can help you disappear from plain sight.
It's called 'Vanish', and it's one of my three core techniques" Ben said, as he explained the sheer importance of the move he was about to teach Leo.
In the entire Assassin world, it was only Ben who had this technique, the most feared move 'Vanish' that had allowed him to enter and exit the royal palace in broad daylight during his assassination of the royal prince.
" There are three components to this skill, the first one is misdirection. At the basic level of skill mastery, you won't be able to vanish from plain sight like I do, but if you get your enemy to take their eyes off you, you can achieve the other effects.
Misdirection can be introduced most easily by a smoke bomb, but like I demonstrated, it can be done via a dagger or any other object too.
The second part is explosive speed. There are two main maneuvers here. The first one being high jump and flip, the second one being sheer pace. But we will get into the details later.
The final part is to remain hidden in the enemy's blind spot.
Unless they are a species born with 360° vision, they will have a blind spot, and moving within that range will help you approach them from behind" Ben said as he explained the basics of the skill.
"To learn this skill, I will first teach you the part of blending with the shadows to conceal your presence.
That way you can atleast use it properly with a smoke bomb, turning you into a somewhat useful assassin" Ben declared as he escorted Leo to the nearby tree.