'This bum is the legendary Ben Faulkner? Has the guildmaster accidentally sent me after the wrong guy?' Smith wondered as he trailed Leo and Ben silently from a distance.
Smith was a trained assassin belonging to the night guild and had carried out many important missions for the guild uptil now.
While he was not a part of the top management of the guild, he was not considered a rookie either as he commanded a position of respect within the guild because of his impressive track record of never missing his prey.
Today, the guildmaster had sent him to kill a small fledgling who was Ben Faulkner's disciple, however, while Smith thought that this would be a challenging mission with him clashing daggers with the legendary Ben Faulkner, he was disappointed to see how lax and unrefined the legendary assassin was.
' Ain't no way this fatso is Ben Faulkner, the guild must be mistaken.
*Sigh*, my instructions are to not kill them while they're in the hidden forest, however, I'm itching to get the job done quickly' Smith thought to himself as he kept following the two from a distance and controlled his urges to kill them right that instant.
For bloodthirsty assassin's of the night guild like Smith, having a weak target walking with an exposed back and not attacking was like having a chocolate addict work in a chocolate factory with no supervision.
They could just not resist the temptation of the kill, which was why the slower Leo and Ben walked, the more impatient Smith got as he mentally butchered them about ten times every minute.
' Just a bit more Smith….. just a bit more' Smith told himself as it took superhuman self control for him to not attack until the two crossed the end of the forest which was coming up soon.
**********
( Leo's POV )
As Leo and Ben crossed the forest, Leo was mesmerized by the beautiful plains that stretched before his eyes, as the scene in front of him at the moment looked to be something straight out of ancient earth, with him never having witnessed such natural beauty before.
" WHOA- Look at these plains…." Leo said in admiration as Ben could not help but chuckle looking at the kids reaction.
As a young man, Ben often ignored the simpler things of life like the beauty of nature and in the process of building a legacy for himself he had nearly stopped living as a whole.
Watching Leo still being innocent and vibrant made him feel happy as he silently vowed in his head to protect his innocence and not train him to become a monster even if he taught him all his most lethal tricks.
"Boy, do you like the view?" Ben asked, as Leo nodded his head and said " Yes master".
" Then do me a favor and run upto that small bush over there and then look back at the forest line.
I bet you'll like that view even more" Ben told Leo as although it seemed like an odd request, Leo jogged over to the bush that Ben suggested and when he looked back towards the tree-line, he was surprised to see Mr. Ben drenched in blood with a decapitated dead body at his feet.
" Master, are you okay?" Leo shouted as he ran back towards the old man, however, Ben Faulkner had his usual goofy smile back on his face by the time Leo returned.
A quick inspection of the assassin's body told Leo that he was Smith, a level 230 assassin and yet he laid dead on his master's feet as if he were a small fry.
" What happened?" Leo asked in a concerned voice as the old man rotated his shoulders and corrected his hunch as for the first time ever, Leo saw the true height and glory of the old man.
" Nothing much, just a small fry trying to take you out, so I killed him instead" Ben said as it was at this moment that Leo realized that he had not made a mistake in choosing his master.
Although the old man looked feeble, he was clearly still an apex predator.
[ Ben Faulkner ] ( Lv - ???? )
Leo's detection skill could not even pick up the level that Ben was at as Leo shuddered to even imagine what it might be if the dead Assassin at his feet was level 230.
Glad that he did not create a scene when he first had his doubts, Leo began walking with Ben towards their destination with renewed spirits as he once again felt hope for a bright future.
*********
( Ben Faulkners POV, just a few moments ago )
Once the forest ended, Ben knew that the Assassin would not longer have a cover to operate from and would be forced to reveal himself which was why it would be the moment where he acted.
Ben also knew the nature of the night guildmaster and knew that the target of this assassination was most likely Leo and not himself which was why he purposefully asked Leo to run off ahead, knowing full well that the second Leo moved away from his sphere of protection, the Assassin trailing them would make a move.
As Leo jogged towards the bush, the Assassin immediately made his move as he ran at a blinding speed towards his target.
In his mind, the washed up old man was no threat and Leo was an easy target which was why he never expected any complications in this assassination, however, to his surprise, as soon as he made his move, the old man intercepted him in his path as if he was already aware of his movements.
'Impossible' is what he thought as he was forced to brandish his dagger and fight back against Ben Faulkner, however, he only hit Ben's shadow as before he knew it, his head was severed from his body and he died just like that.
' So that's the legendary assassin Ben Faulkner….' he thought before losing consciousness forever as he died pitifully on a mission he considered to be easy.
—--------
/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///