“We’re late?” Liliya was the first to break the silence. “What do you mean by that? Who are you?”

  Levi examined the man more closely. He looked to be in his late thirties to early forties, with messy medium-length brown hair parted down the middle, dark eyes, a thin scar cutting across his left cheek, and some light stubble lining his chin. He wore a grey cloak over a white shirt with its two top buttons left unbuttoned, baggy pants held up by a dark brown belt, and a pair of dark suede boots.

  “You don’t know who I am?” the man asked, sounding offended. “Jeez, what are they teaching you kids in the Institute these days? You’re telling me Aldy didn’t mention me even a single time?”

  Levi blinked.

  Aldy?

  As in Aldric? As in Professor Aldric Heimler?

  Liliya faltered, her brows furrowing as she searched her memory. Then, her eyes widened. “You’re–”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” the man interrupted her, grinning. “But let’s have this conversation out of prying ears, eh?” Without looking, he flipped another platinum coin into the bartender’s hand. “We’ll be taking your best room for the day, if you don’t mind.”

  With that, he strode past them, heading for the staircase in the back that led to the traveller rooms in the upper floors. The crowd parted before him, the locals gazing at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and admiration.

  “Wait sir, the key to your room!” the bartender called after him.

  He glanced back over his shoulder and flashed her a roguish grin. “Miss, if you’ve got a lock in this place that can keep me out, I’ll hire you on the spot as a master locksmith.” Then he looked at Levi and Liliya. “Well? You two coming or not?” Without waiting for a response, he strolled up the stairs.

  Levi didn’t know what to make of the man. Even though he knew the man was dangerous, Levi’s instincts remained completely dormant, not even prickling slightly. Levi didn’t feel even the faintest sense of danger emanating from the man. It was as though the drunkard was just a normal civilian – no, less than that. The man’s presence just straight up didn’t register at all; it was as though he was merely a plant.

  However, before Levi could say anything, Liliya was already heading up the staircase after the man. Levi resisted the urge to sigh. Ah well, clearly this man was some associate of Heimler’s, and apparently Liliya knew of him as well. It should be fine. He followed after Liliya.

  As Levi ascended the stairs, he heard the crowd behind him already breaking out into excited murmuring. He had no doubt rumors would be flying throughout the entire town by the end of the hour.

  The man was already waiting for them in the room at the end of the hall. He leaned against the windowsill, slightly slouched as sunlight streamed in from behind him. Levi and Liliya stood before him.

  “The door, please,” the man said.

  Dutifully, Liliya closed the door behind them, locking it for good measure. Then she turned back to the man. “You’re–”

  He cut her off again, holding up a hand. Then, he reached into the folds of his cloak and drew something out, tossing it into the air and letting it roll onto the wooden floor with a clatter.

  Levi looked down as it came to a stop in the center of the room. It was a small stone shaped like a thirteen-sided dice. Activating his True Sight briefly, he could see the magic imbued in the stone pulse a single time before sinking into the floor, spreading to cover the walls and ceiling until the entire room was surrounded in an invisible barrier.

  “To prevent sound from getting out,” the man said as explanation. “Never know when someone might be listening in. Now, as you were saying?” He gestured at Liliya to continue.

  “You’re Qorbin Ravenbane,” Liliya said, her tone almost reverential. “One of the heroes of the Third Blood War and Professor Heimler’s former duo teammate. Aren’t you?”

  Qorbin grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

  Liliya stared at him for a moment, eyes slightly wider than usual. Then, she remembered herself, and she hurriedly dipped into a curtsy. “It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Ravenbane. I am Liliya Volkov of–”

  “Oh, relax,” Qorbin waved his hand, cutting her off. “You can skip the formalities. Call me Qorbin.”

  Liliya hesitated, decorum and acquiescence briefly warring within herself. “I’m Liliya,” she finally said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Levi,” Levi offered. He tried to remember what he knew about the name ‘Qorbin Ravenbane’. He swore he’d read about him somewhere, probably in some history textbook that he’d marginally skimmed through. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Qorbin looked at him. “Levi Ironwood…” he mused. “I’ve heard things about you.”

  “Good things, I hope.”

  Qorbin snorted. “Well. I suppose if you’re being really optimistic, you can look at it that way.”

  Levi nodded sagely. “There’s always a silver lining.”

  Next to him, he could feel Liliya trying to burn a hole into him with her eyes.

  Liliya coughed politely, drawing Qorbin’s attention. “Excuse me, Lord Ra– Qorbin, but what exactly are you doing here?”

  Qorbin hummed. “A job, of sorts.”

  Liliya looked confused for a second, before a sudden flash of worry crossed her face. “A job?”

  “Mmm.”

  Without warning, Qorbin’s hand blurred through the air, so fast it nearly whistled. A short curved blade materialized from nowhere, its tip halting right before Levi’s throat. Liliya drew a sharp breath, falling into a stance.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Levi merely raised an eyebrow at Qorbin, his posture remaining relaxed.

  “You see, a few days ago, a certain someone approached me and hired me to, ah, take care of Levi Ironwood, so to speak,” Qorbin said casually. “I’m not saying who, but I will say his name rhymed with ‘Meodore Thontague.’ Offered quite a generous sum of money for my services, that he did.”

  His services? Wait. With a start, Levi finally remembered the details about Qorbin Ravenbane. He was a hero of the Third Blood War and a Mythmaker-tier adventurer, but more importantly…

  He was one of the only Grand Assassins in Luminarche. A professional killer for hire.

  …

  Oh.

  Oh shit.

  Discreetly, Levi began circulating his magic beneath his skin.

  “Montague sent you?” Liliya asked, the edges of her expression paling slightly. “No, that can’t be right. He promised he wouldn’t do anything.”

  “You and I must have a very different impression of Montague,” Qorbin drawled, “if you think his word can be trusted.”

  Liliya fell silent at that.

  “Anyhow, even ignoring the substantial monetary rewards…” Qorbin’s expression suddenly became serious, his eyes sharpening into flinty steel. A sudden pressure exploded out from him, the air becoming suffocating. “It would’ve been a tremendously foolish move to make an enemy of a high-ranking Royal Sentinel by refusing his request. The heir to a duke, no less.”

  Levi tensed up at that, his magic within him whirling into overdrive as he became acutely aware of the sword at his throat.

  For several seconds, Levi and Qorbin just stared at each other down the length of the blade, neither side making a move. The silence stretched, the tension in the room steadily mounting until it reached critical levels. Liliya hesitated, looking between the two, unsure of what to do.

  Then, Qorbin grinned. “Fortunately for you, I also happen to think Montague’s a total prick. So fuck that guy.” He carelessly lowered his blade to his side, and with a flippant flick of his wrist, it disappeared back to wherever it came.

  Liliya visibly relaxed, and Levi let his magic die down, a flicker of amusement appearing in his eyes.

  Okay. He could grow to like this guy.

  “I mean, he really thinks he can pressure me into taking a job? Me?” Qorbin shook his head. “Fucking Royal Sentinels. Fucking noble heirs. What I wouldn’t do to examine the size of the sticks up their asses…” He continued muttering darkly to himself for a bit.

  Then he paused. “That being said, though, I did have to accept the job so he wouldn’t contract anyone else. So if anyone asks, do me a favor and tell them that I was about to assassinate you up here, but then suddenly got hit by an untimely case of acute liver failure.” He shrugged. “Pity, really. Nobody could’ve seen it coming.”

  With that, he lazily reached into his cloak, drew out a small silver hip flask, and took a nice, long swig of something so strong Levi could smell it across the room.

  The corners of Levi’s lips curled up.

  Okay, yeah. He definitely liked him.

  “So,” Qorbin said, putting away his hip flask. He smiled. “Any questions?”

  Liliya and Levi looked at each other, then looked back at him.

  “... how much did Montague offer to pay you?” Levi asked, genuinely curious. He wanted to know how much his life was worth.

  “Eight bronze pieces.”

  “You’re fucking with me.”

  "Sorry kid, you're a little too young for me,” Qorbin grinned as Levi shot him an unimpressed look. “But yeah, I am. Montague offered to pay one thousand iridium coins on the condition that the assassination never be traced back to him.” He paused. “Shit. Have I been saying Montague all this time? I meant Thontague, slip of the tongue.”

  One thousand iridium coins. Levi’s eyebrows rose at the figure. That was… a considerable amount. Currency in this world operated on base ten; one silver was worth ten bronze coins. It went from bronze, silver, gold, platinum, to finally iridium. Mythical metals were too valuable to use for coinage. One thousand iridium coins was worth a hundred thousand gold coins.

  Then again, Qorbin was a Mythmaker-tier adventurer (contract assassin? Dual occupation?) so it made sense that his rates were high. Besides, as the son of a duke, Montague definitely had the money to spare.

  Still, though. It didn’t bode well for Levi that he hadn’t even met Montague before, yet the guy was already sending professional assassins after him. It was borderline comically evil, actually.

  Was it really just because Montague was jealous? Or because he cared that much about Liliya taking the Ascension Trials solo? Or was there perhaps a deeper reason to it?

  Well, Levi supposed assassinations between noble families weren’t exactly rare. They were fairly commonplace, actually, in both his old world and this new one. If there was one thing about nobles Levi was familiar with, it was their tendency to treat human life with a callous indifference.

  Apparently even more so than a literal Grand Assassin.

  “Thank you, anyhow,” Levi said. “I appreciate you not following through on the job. One of us could’ve gotten hurt.”

  Qorbin seemed surprised by his response for a second before barking out a laugh. “You don’t say.” He eyed Levi. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, honestly. I’ve heard rumors from a bunch of different grapevines, some of which from places you wouldn’t believe. I don’t even understand how you managed to come up as a topic for half of them.”

  Levi inclined his head.

  “I will say, though, you’ve got balls, kid, doing what you did. I mean,” Qorbin snickered, “submitting an Ascension Trials application with a list of fake names as party members? Then trying to hire black market adventurers to pretend to be students and take it with you?” He laughed. “I can’t tell if you’re brave, or just plain stupid.”

  Levi blinked. That was how his counterpart had tried to cheat the Ascension Trials?! Levi had been wondering for the longest time exactly what the alternate Levi had done. Now he finally knew. Next to him, he could see Liliya staring incredulously at him. Clearly, this was news to her as well.

  “You know what they say,” Levi said, trying to at least salvage some dignity. “If you’re not cheating–”

  “--you’re not trying,” Qorbin finished. “Oh yeah, don’t worry, I know. Though in your case, you might wanna brush up on how to cheat effectively...” Then he turned to Liliya. “And you…”

  Liliya straightened, squaring her shoulders.

  “I have never heard Aldy praise a student so much before,” Qorbin said. “And by that, I mean that he calls you ‘adequate’ every now and then whenever you come up. For him, that’s more or less the equivalent of singing your praises buck-ass naked from the top of the Institute tower.”

  Liliya seemed torn between looking pleased at the compliment and scandalized by the metaphor. She settled for a polite nod and a small smile. “Thank you,” she said. “That means a lot.”

  “It should,” Qorbin said. “Before you, I think he was worried that there wouldn’t be anyone who could attain the class of Sword Saint and succeed him. Now, he seems to be a lot more at ease.”

  Liliya’s smile grew wider. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll do my best to live up to his expectations.”

  Qorbin nodded. “Good.” He clapped his hands together and pushed against the wall, standing straight up. “Well, that’s basically all I had to say,” he said. “I just wanted to meet you two, get a feel for what kind of people you are. Check out the future generation, and all that jazz.”

  He strode over to the door, tapping on the anti-eavesdropping stone with the tip of his boot on the way. It disappeared, presumably into his inventory. Levi didn’t even know that particular application of [Inventory] was possible.

  “You two can keep the room,” Qorbin said, facing them at the doorway. “Good luck with the Ascension Trials.” He paused. “This is the part where I should probably offer some words of advice, huh?” He mulled over it for several seconds before grinning. “Just give ‘em hell.”