Chapter 312: Acolyte Assassin’s Garb

Luke crouched at the edge of the ridge, spying on the fortress below. Midnight had swallowed the world whole; the moon hung alone in a sky of ink, casting pale light across the frozen earth. The air was sharper than he remembered, colder than the old nights, and the wind whispered through the trees like a blade dragging across stone.

His eyes flicked to his interface, to the item he had received when he killed Kruger.

[Acolyte Assassin’s Garb (Epic)

Description: Crafted by the most skilled artisans of the Assassin Order and finished by the hands of Lakarion himself, the God of Assassination, this garb is a rare and special gift, granted only to those in whom the god sees true potential.
It is more than clothing; it is a symbol of recognition, a mark that you have been chosen to walk a path beyond ordinary shadow. A step toward the true art of assassination.

“My invitation still stands, Luke, ever since I gave you the mission to kill the Orc Lord. My hand remains extended. This item would have been your reward. Come to me, child… and I will make you what you were born to be. I will give you power.” Lakarion

Enchantments:

[Basic Shadow Camouflage (Rare)]: While the user remains still in low-light areas, the garb adapts to the surroundings, distorting their silhouette and dimming their presence.

[Crowd Shadow (Ultra-Rare)]: When near a crowd, the garb can alter its pattern and texture to create the illusion of different clothing, allowing the wearer to blend seamlessly with others and disappear even under watchful eyes.

[Iron Shadow Fabric (Ultra-Rare)]: Though extremely lightweight, this enchanted fabric offers protection comparable to iron armor. It preserves full mobility and flexibility without sacrificing defense. The name “Iron Shadow” reflects its nature: it is not solid iron but magically reinforced fabric that shields silently like an invisible iron shadow, blending strength and stealth in perfect harmony.

[Shadow of Ignorance (Epic)]: As long as the assassin is not directly seen, their presence remains hidden from perception fields or magical detection. While not absolute against beings of great power or extreme sensitivity, it is a powerful tool for silent assassinations and deadly infiltrations.

Requirement: Soulbound.]

He stared at the text, realizing how strange it felt to see the entire outfit listed as one piece. Until now he’d only ever received fragments, boots here, gloves there, bits of armor cobbled together. This was an entire set in a single slot.

Right. I do have another full set, the Adventurer’s Outfit.

[Novice Adventurer’s Outfit (Common)
Description: A basic starter kit for all rookie adventurers entering the Training Grounds. Includes a plain shirt, brown pants, sneakers, and yes—underwear. Even brave warriors deserve comfort. The pants are brown… for obvious reasons.]

It had been so simple he’d almost forgotten. That outfit had given him a shirt, trousers, and boots back at the very start of his journey. Now, this new one waited to be worn, still untouched. Part of him hesitated, thinking of Allison.

How would you feel if a friend showed up wearing something crafted by the one who killed your mother?

The question echoed, sharp and quiet. He pushed it away and studied the item again. The first thing he noticed was its rarity, epic. The second: no attribute bonuses. No agility bump, no resistance boost. Maybe that was the point. Maybe a true assassin was meant to lean on their own stats instead of free numbers from their gear.

When he clicked on the garb, a warning flashed across his interface:

[Equipping the Acolyte Assassin’s Garb will remove your current equipment.]

The words hung there like a dare.

That included his prized gear: the Orc Captain’s breastplate with its bonus to endurance and agility, the jump-enchantment leggings, the boots, even his Black Bat cloak. All of it would be stripped away, along with every stat boost they gave.

The cloak alone added +5 Agility, the gloves +10 Agility, the breastplate +20 Endurance and +10 Agility, the boots another +10 Agility, and the ring +5 Intelligence. Losing all of that at once felt like peeling off layers of himself.

But the Assassin’s Garb was different. Its benefits were far beyond any single piece of equipment he owned, and it was SoulBound. Whoever had sent it clearly had no intention of letting him trade or sell it. What still unnerved him was who had made it. Partly crafted by the God of Assassination himself, the garb came with a personal message: an open hand, waiting for Luke to join his order.

Why tie this item to Kruger’s death? Luke had no answer. Maybe Lakarion dropped the same gift for anyone who landed the kill, swapping in a name to make the message feel personal, just another way to harvest followers. But the note had been too specific. It referenced the Orc Lord mission from long ago, the offer he had turned down back when he was still struggling to adapt to the tutorial.

That detail stuck. The god’s interest wasn’t generic. It was him. Lakarion knew Luke was Allison’s friend, the same Allison whose adoptive mother he had slaughtered, yet still extended the invitation. Luke had no appetite for divine orders. But an Epic-tier item? He wouldn’t say no. The sooner he tested the enchantments, the better. He clicked Equip.

His old gear began to vanish piece by piece, not in the usual blink and swap flash but in something slower, stranger. A ripple of shadow bled from the interface, crawling up his arms, wrapping around his torso, stitching itself together as if the darkness itself were weaving new clothes. In seconds, the entire outfit had formed over him, black fabric breathing like a living thing.

The first thing he felt was the weight, or rather the absence of it. The bulky breastplate, the reinforced boots, all gone. The new garb felt like wearing nothing at all, yet every inch of it clung with perfect precision. It wasn’t ordinary black. It was shadow, a deep onyx shimmer with a pulse beneath the surface. The gloves echoed his old pair but sleeker, fingerless, blending seamlessly with the sleeves. A long coat of living night hung down, half tattered yet stylish, with a hood pooled at the back of his neck.

This book’s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Then he noticed something else.

“A mask?” he muttered, tugging at the fabric.

It rose from the collar to cover his throat and mouth, stopping just below his eyes, a true assassin’s mask. Boots, trousers, coat, gloves… every piece formed of living shadow.

My old gear’s really gone.

Then a thought hit him. “My necklace…”

“I’m still here, dummy,” Artemis quipped in his head.

So not everything had been stripped. Good.

I can still re-equip other items?

The question hung there, as much to himself as to the system, as the shadowed fabric flexed over his hands like a second skin. He tried slotting the boots and breastplate back on through the system, but no dice, unless he unequipped the entire outfit. The ring, however, slid back on without issue.

Okay. Clothes no. Accessories yes. Makes sense.

The first enchantment he tested was Basic Shadow Camouflage. The knowledge of how to trigger it unfurled in his mind. It was night, deep in the forest, already low light. Perfect conditions. He activated it and blinked in surprise. His body melted into the shadows and vanished.