( Leo's POV )
Leo helped his old master pack his things from his old hut and although he had the system storage ability, using which would have made the packing process much faster, Leo chose not to use it as he did not know how a NPC would react to it.
Carrying a huge backpack over his shoulder instead, Leo physically carried all of his master's luggage while he walked carefree with a pipe on his lips.
" Tell me boy, what's your real name? I know for a fact you're not from the Mu clan because no Assassin of the Mu clan would be allowed to join the spiders" Ben said as Leo scratched his head wondering how to answer.
"My street name is 'TheBoss', however, you can call me whatever you please" Leo said as while he did not reveal his true name to Ben, he did give his gaming name.
" The Boss? How arrogant…. Hahaha, I like it" Ben said as he took a deep drag from his pipe and nodded in appreciation.
This student that he had picked up, did not seem to be lacking in both talent and confidence, a trait that Ben appreciated a lot.
"I shall call you 'lad' or 'boy' then, because there's no way I shall call you the Boss, that's ridiculous" Ben eventually said as Leo nodded his head in agreement.
It seemed reasonable that his master did not call him 'TheBoss' and Leo did not mind being called lad or boy.
Having grown in the absence of a father, he quite appreciated forming a bond with a positive male figure and did not mind lowering his pride in front of him.
" So-, boy, tell me, have you, ever, heard the name, of the legendary assassin, Ben Faulkner before?" Ben said as Leo felt worried about why Ben was asking about himself and why he was pausing to take a deep breath after saying two words at best.
" Not really no-" Leo said, as Ben nodded his head and took yet another drag from his pipe.
He was visibly gasping for air; just a few minutes of non-stop walking appeared to have taken its toll on Ben, leaving him breathless in Leo's view.
'Is this guy really a good teacher?' Leo wondered for the first time ever as he realized that he might have been too hasty in choosing his master.
At first, the rush of having a mentor and progressing in the game made Leo blind to the true nature of the deal as he accepted the proposal in a hurry.
However, as he spent more time with the old man, doubts started to creep in his mind about his ability as on introspecting his body Leo realized that the old man was horribly out of shape.
Not only did he have a protruding belly, but he had an excess layer of fat all over his body with his posture being incredibly bad.
Even if he was once strong and ripped, his muscles now sat underneath several layers of fat and were not visible at all when he moved his arms or his neck.
To top it all off, he referred to himself in third person asking Leo if he had ever heard about the legendary tales of himself, which made Leo even more worried about his mental state.
' Fuck, did I choose a wrong master? Does this old man even know anything worth teaching?
Did I make a stupid decision by becoming his disciple just because I could not join a proper guild?' Leo wondered in his head as he began to view Ben in a worse light every passing second.
Everything that Ben did, whether it was scratching his hairy stomach, coughing or sneezing, irritated Leo, as he began thinking about ways to back out of this master disciple deal in his head.
" Master, just out of curiosity… how long will my discipleship last?" Leo asked, as Ben scratched his stomach and wondered for a while.
" Usually it lasts for two years. However, it really depends upon the students' own talent and the master's discretion.
You know what they say right? A master for day, a father for life.
I have a lot to teach you, and we will cross the bridge of when you will be ready once we assess your true potential" Ben said as he gave Leo a bright smile, showing his rotting teeth and a thumbs up sign.
'Yeah I'm fucked' Leo thought, as he hung his head down in despair.
What started off as a journey full of excitement with Leo feeling like he should carry the old man's luggage and allow him to call Leo whatever he wished, slowly turned into a trip of depression as once Leo began doubting the competency of his master everything started to feel wrong.
The bag over his shoulders began to feel extremely heavy, the mouth of his own which was clean with bright white teeth started to feel dirty and icky just by looking at his master's teeth as the future which felt bright and glorious just a while ago, now felt breathless and smoke filled as Leo began to regret coming along with the old man.
'I will run away tonight' Leo thought to himself as he silently endured their trip together for now, only to 'accidentally' disappear later.
Ben on the other hand, was feeling back to his best as slowly but surely he was setting up a deadly trap for the Assassin that was following him and his student.
While pretending to be an out of breath old man despite being supremely fit, he was trying to get the Assassin following them to lower his guard as he was only waiting for a momentary weakness to strike.
He had left the Assassin Alliance after all these years and had already expected the Night Guildmaster to send someone after him.
Although he was retired, he wasn't someone born yesterday and knew very well how to protect himself and those he cared for.