Chapter 30: The Assassin and the Skeleton

Luke sprinted through the thinning smoke, his vision crystal clear thanks to Demonic Perception. Arrows whistled past him. Fireballs detonated nearby, rocking the ground with violent bursts of heat. He’d already taken down one of the mages—but the second one was still out there.

“You’re dead, kid! I recognize you!” a warrior bellowed, charging straight at him.

Before the blade could fall—

WHAM.

The warrior was tackled sideways by Princess Charlie, who launched into a full-force Charge, slamming him into the dirt.

Another blade came for Luke. He blocked with a kukri, then lashed out with a brutal kick to the enemy’s knee, knocking him off balance. A fireball streaked through the air—Luke bolted, diving behind a large boulder just as the blast scorched the ground where he’d been standing.

“You’re dead meat!” someone screamed. Arrows rained down, thudding into the ground around him. Somewhere close, he heard a crossbow being reloaded.

Another thug charged at him. Luke rolled to the side and hurled a kukri mid-motion—THUNK. The blade sank into the attacker’s gut, and the man crumpled with a strangled gasp.

Another fireball. Luke ran. The explosion roared behind him as he dove toward a tree for cover.

Princess Charlie was fending off two warriors at once now, her skeletal limbs buckling under heavy strikes. Luke hurled both kukris at them. The blades spun through the air—TWANG.

An arrow sliced into his shoulder mid-run. Gritting his teeth, Luke threw another knife toward the archer, but the bastard dodged it easily.

“RAAHH!” The warrior with the axe came charging in. Luke ducked, twisted—narrowly avoiding the sweeping strikes. Each swing was inches from splitting him in two.

Then—Crack! A punch to the chest knocked him flat on his back. The warrior raised his axe, but Luke lifted both arms toward him.

The man blinked, confused—then screamed. The kukris had returned. Both blades, called back by magnetic return, slammed into the warrior’s back as he stood directly in their path. He staggered. Luke lunged up, driving a throwing knife into his throat.

[You have slain a Human – Lvl 3 (Archer – Lvl 6)]

Arrows rained again. He sprinted toward the archer, batting them away with his blades. Each deflection came at the last possible second—every heartbeat felt like it would burst from his chest.

He leapt toward the archer—only for a shimmering barrier to appear midair. A skill. A shield.

“Goodbye!” a voice shouted.

Luke looked up. The remaining mage stood atop a boulder, fireball blazing in his palm.

He tried to run—too late. BOOM!

The fireball hit. He rolled through the blast, cloak smoking, skin searing. His arm was scorched. He dove behind a charred log near the center of camp, gasping.

“Shit…” he hissed, smothering the flames on his tunic. His left arm was burned raw.

Princess Charlie was faltering. Surrounded. Bones cracked and splintered under the weight of enemy blows.

Luke gritted his teeth. He hurled both kukris toward the mage, activating Duplication mid-flight. The sky filled with spinning steel.

He dashed forward, weaving between arrows. Then leapt onto a thug who was hammering Princess Charlie.

The man fell with a grunt. Luke tried to drive a knife into his throat—but the enemy bit down on the blade, stopping it with bloody teeth.

“Piece of shit!” the man snarled, slamming his sword into Luke and sending him flying.

The mage fired again. Another fireball.

Luke twisted, narrowly dodging—but the explosion still hit. He and Princess Charlie were blown off their feet, crashing hard into the ground.

“AHHHH!” A thug screamed, flames consuming his body as he sprinted toward the water barrels in panic.

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“Are you insane, William?!” one of the warriors shouted.

“I saved his life,” William barked back. “The burn will be reversed when his race evolves. But if he died? There’d be nothing left to heal.”

Luke pressed his scorched back against a tree, panting. Princess Charlie stood beside him, bones chipped and fractured. They were surrounded.

The remaining mage was charging another fireball, its glow pulsing like a miniature sun in his palm.

“Part of me always believed you were still alive,” William called out with a bitter laugh. “I recognized that look before you jumped. That stare—full of resolve. It takes real guts to bet your life on a riddle. Most wouldn’t dare.”

Luke glanced at his right hand—burned, blackened, shaking.

“But I’m the most determined one here,” William growled. “I’m the predator.”

BOOM! The tree behind Luke exploded, splinters flying. Unlike the dungeon’s stone pillars, the wood couldn’t handle that kind of force.

He bolted, sprinting alongside Charlie.

“Don’t let him escape!” William roared.

Two criminals lunged at them. Princess Charlie raised her sword and unleashed a Heavy Strike, knocking one of them off-balance. Luke followed up instantly, a kukri spinning into the thug’s arm.

Steel clashed in chaos. Luke moved like a blur—parrying, dodging, slashing. Charlie held her ground beside him, matching the tempo, even damaged.

But the mage was still preparing that fireball. Waiting for an opening.

“Split!” Luke yelled.

They scattered—Luke diving left, Charlie darting right into the trees.

Two ranged enemies stood on the far side of the clearing—a bowman and a crossbowman. Luke charged them head-on.

An arrow flew—then split midair into five. He blocked two. The rest tore across his skin. But he kept running. He didn’t stop.

He dove between them, both kukris slashing outward—one cut open the bowman’s cheek. The crossbowman raised his weapon. Luke rolled, kicking it from his hands mid-spin, then rose into a throwing stance—

SHHNK! Both kukris buried deep into the crossbowman’s chest. The man dropped, gurgling blood.

The bowman screamed, clutching his torn cheek, and lunged with a knife. Bad move.

Luke was faster. Better. Deadlier. He slashed the attacker’s hand, then spun around him, driving the blade into his shoulder, then his thigh, then—