Kieran stood by the corpse and sighed. He had seen the dead body by the caravan when he was chasing the bandit leader's traces. Maybe if he hadn't wanted to check on his elder brother first and just chased after Ashgrave he could have saved a life.
But soon the thought was put away.
The young boy of twelve was filled with such grand notions of justice when he went out into the world on that fateful night, but it's been five years since then. He has already seen too much.
The kingdom was too chaotic, it has been for the last fifty years. Ever since the previous dynasty collapsed, the country fractured into many pieces. The new court established in the capital tried to bring order back but how could it be done so easily? Even the princes were not aligned together.
Otherwise how could bandit leaders like Ashgrave be running around, or even organisations like The Pale Oath? If they weren't supported by people in the capital he would not believe it.
Thinking of this, Kieran couldn't help but worry a little. His second eldest brother was still in the capital. Unlike his other brothers, Lucien was focused more on the scholarly way, but from what Kieran had heard through the grapevine his brother's school was a neutral party. This at least gave him some comfort.
"There's not much I can do about it now…"
He glanced at the top of Ashgrave's head but there was nothing there. He had been waiting for a while now, he wasn't sure if his brother would come back to the tavern.
"How come there is nothing?"
Kieran had originally thought you needed to have a certain amount of strength to drop a treasure box from the system but clearly that wasn't the only requirement. Ashgrave was killed easily but he was still strong. Only weaker than his teacher Broken Spear. Maybe he wasn't quite a third rate warrior as the system put it, but he should be close.
So what's the difference between the two situations? Is it because one of them was from The Pale Oath?
Kieran glanced at the system again. It was as plain as usual but there were a few changes:
[Assassin System]
[Host: Kieran Vale]
[Age: 17]
[Strength: A third rate warrior with some special skills!]
[Current commission: Protect Henry Vale (part of long term mission, see more…)]
"Is it because of the commission?"
He remembered the system's goal was to help him create the strongest assassination organisation in the world. So he didn't get a reward because he didn't have a commission related to the bandit leader?
Dammit!
If that was the case maybe he should have disguised himself in front of his elder brother and asked him to assign him a task.
"Ah what a waste!" Kieran kicked the stiff corpse harshly.
Though he wasn't completely sure, Kieran felt he had gotten to the crux of the issue.
But does that mean the system could also assign commissions or was it because it saw the Pale Oath as a threat to its goal so that's why it gave him the mission to protect his father?
Still, he wasn't too sad, the skill he had gotten before, Hidden Sword, was more than enough for him to explore. Actually he wasn't really hoping for skills right now but something that could speed up his family's martial arts.
After all, that was what truly determined the level of a warrior.
Kieran shook his head and glanced around the tavern. Outside it was completely deserted at that point, but he was sure that after a while people would start to return.
Originally he was planning to go to Emerald City in secret but now that he has met his elder brother…
Kieran took out on a piece of cloth from his body, dipped it in blood and wrote a message.
Who should I sign it as? I can't give away my identity right now, that would only complicate things.
He didn't have much time so he quickly put down the signature of the most famous author on Earth that he had seen constantly in his memories.
Looking at the note, Kieran admitted he had a bit of a bad taste.
Half an hour later two figures barged into the tavern.
Riven looked at the dead body and said with a worried expression:
"Someone got here before us…"
The sloppy woman didn't care however, "Who cares as long as the head is still safe we can get our reward."
"Oh and make sure to check his pockets, bandits must be rich!"
Riven was used to her stingy behaviour so he obediently walked toward the corpse, but before he could search it he noticed a note written in blood.
[Your father is in danger - Anonymous]
"My father? My father's been dead for 30 years!" The sloppy woman exclaimed.
"I think this note is for me, Senior. It has the Vale family insignia." Riven was a little exasperated at this strange Aunt-Master but then his attention turned back to the letter.
Who would send this letter? My father is in danger?
Also this insignia…
Riven closely examined the corpse of the bandit leader once more, but he couldn't find any real clues. It was a sharp incision to the throat probably from a long blade. The fact that the corpse had its eyes open in death and the lack of any other sharp wounds seemed to suggest it was a quick and sudden death.
"Ashgrave might've been injured by me but he's not someone anyone can handle…"
Riven didn't have time to ruminate however, as his Aunt-Master quickly urged him to check the corpse. Unfortunately they didn't find any silver which left the beautiful woman in a bad mood.
Afterwards the two left the tavern but as they were leaving they noticed a wooden toy on the ground.
The tall woman picked it up happily and began playing with the mechanical contraption.
Meanwhile, Riven looked worried, "It must have been dropped by that beggar…I wonder if he is okay..."
Even though he knew that man wasn't his brother he still felt guilty, what if something happened to this innocent stranger because of their actions?
"I'm sure he's fine." The tall woman took a giant swig from her gourd and spoke absentmindedly.