Chapter 5: The Assassin’s Gambit

A kobold wandered through the underground forest, lit only by the dim glow of purple crystals. Suddenly, a sound sliced the air. Pain exploded in its leg. It looked down… a knife embedded deep.

“HISSS!” it hissed in fury.

More knives followed. The kobold ducked just in time to avoid them, but now it knew where they came from. It lunged, diving into the bushes from which the blades had flown. Nothing. Then… it felt something above. It looked up and saw a shadow dropping from a branch.

Luke.

They rolled across the ground, but the kobold reacted fast, shoving Luke hard. He crashed into a tree, the impact stunning him for a second. The kobold charged, snarling. Luke drew a knife from his holster like a gunslinger and threw it. Then another. And another. Each blade slammed into the kobold’s body—shoulder, chest, neck—but it didn’t stop. It kept coming, running even with steel lodged in its flesh, until the final knife pierced straight through its heart.

The kobold fell.

[You have slain Cave Kobold – Lvl 3]

**Your class [Assassin] has reached Level 3! (Class Bonus Points Acquired)**

[You have learned a Class Skill]

Luke dropped to his knees, breathing hard. Every fight in this place wore him down mentally. His heart still raced in his chest, hammering like a war drum. He scanned the area, confirming no other threats were nearby.

Each kill brought a surge of adrenaline. And every time, his legs trembled after. The only way to calm himself was to remind his brain: they’re just beasts—vicious, wild creatures. Even if he did nothing, they’d attack the moment he got close. Still, he could feel it. He was getting stronger. Faster. Even his physical strength had increased. His body moved more fluidly with every level.

Luke retrieved the blades from the kobold’s corpse and slid them back into the holster. Reusing them was essential. He’d learned recently that mana blades disappeared after a few hours. Nothing could go to waste. In the last fight, he had run out of mana and survived only because he recovered a knife he had already thrown.

He opened his system screen.

[Twin Blade (Common)]: A skilled assassin never wastes an attack. When throwing a knife, it splits mid-air, creating a duplicate that follows the same path, doubling your chance to hit.

Luke raised his eyebrows. A knife that splits in midair…?

Luke picked one up. He thought about testing it, then hesitated. “My mana’s low… better not risk it.”

Mana regenerated slowly, and his body was still exhausted, but…

“Better now than in a life-or-death situation.”

He took a deep breath and focused on a nearby tree—distant, clear. His mind already knew what to do, how to channel mana and activate the skill mid-throw. He threw. Mid-flight, the knife split. Like a cell dividing, a second blade shimmered into existence beside the first. Both struck the tree. The first lodged in the trunk; the second landed slightly lower and began fading.

Luke ran up to check. The second knife was already vanishing. “I see. The duplicate only exists to improve hit chance.”

He pulled out the original and slid it back into the holster, then opened his system interface.

Name: Luke
Level: 1
Rank: F
Class: Assassin (Lvl 3)
Race: Human
Profession: —
Titles: —
Health Points (HP): 132/140
Mana Points (MP): 12/80
Stamina: 48/70

Stats:
Strength: 12
Agility: 17
Endurance: 7
Vitality: 14
Perception: 12
Intelligence: 8
Free Points: 5

Inventory: [Throwing Knife Holster], [Smoke Bomb (x2)]

Class Skills: [Basic Blade Handling (Common)], [Knife Throwing (Common)], [Twin Blade (Common)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)]

Luke stared at his mana pool.

Each knife costs 5 mana to create…

The new skill, Twin Blade, doubled his throw and drained even more mana. The duplicate costs 3 mana. As far as he could tell, the other skills, Blade Handling, Knife Throwing, and Identify, didn’t consume mana directly, at least not in a way the system showed.

From the start, only knife creation had clearly consumed mana, which made this his first true active combat skill with a direct cost. He had five unspent points, having saved them and waited until Class Level 3 before making any decisions. Now was the time. No hesitation. He placed each point exactly where he needed it.

Updated Stats:
Strength: 12
Agility: 17 -> 18
Endurance: 7 -> 8
Vitality: 14 -> 15
Perception: 12 -> 13
Intelligence: 8 -> 9
Free Points: 5 -> 0

The effect was immediate. A soft warmth flowed through his body, like his system was absorbing invisible energy. Every point had purpose: agility boosted reflexes and movement speed, endurance extended stamina allowing longer battles and fewer crashes, vitality increased HP, perception fine-tuned his senses, reaction time, and spatial awareness, and intelligence, essential now, made room for his mana pool to grow.

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[Health Points (HP): 133/140 -> 143/150]
[Mana Points (MP): 12/80 -> 22/90]
[Stamina: 48/70 -> 58/80]