"Huh?!!!! The-the-black dagger."
I looked in surprise at Asarus's reaction. His face had turned black, his eyes were on the ground, and his legs were shaking violently. "I-it's an honor, my lord."
Odin looked cautiously, examining and analyzing the situation. "Beware, Cyrus. This fat, greedy man's reaction does not bode well."
I had expected this. It seems things are not as they seem. Hmm, in the end, nothing has ever been as it seems. Even a human being, no matter how beautiful and sweet-tongued, will have a dark and vile side that only a few humans see. It always has been and always will be. After all, this is the nature of the world.
Then the imposing man looked up and said gruffly, "Hmm, good. Now, during this mission, you will go to Osman's house, find a way in, and steal the thing we want. And I'll be honest with you, boy. We're sending you because of certain circumstances we're going through. So, if you succeed and prove your talent, I'll nominate you for the Black Scorpion faction. But you're forbidden from seeing the thing or letting them see you."
Then he smiled a terrifying smile, like a demon. It was an ordinary smile, but I felt a chill. Then he continued, "And if you complete the mission and come back, I'll give you a special reward."
Odin warned me, "Cyrus seems to be telling the truth, but he told you because he saw talent in you. He's testing your reaction this way."
I tried my best to keep my facial expressions composed and cold, and I said in a rough tone, "Yes, sir, I will carry out the mission."
His smile became bigger and more malicious, and then he folded his hands and looked directly into my eyes. His eyes were very cold, the eyes of someone who had killed hundreds of people and hadn't blinked. "Hmmmm, good."
Then he went towards the door and said in a commanding tone, "I'm going out to do some work, and during this time Asars will explain the mission and its details to you, and I hope you will complete it successfully."
Then he went out through the door and locked it, and with his departure, the atmosphere in the room became more comfortable and not as stifling as before, and I could notice the expressions of relief on Asars's face.
"Wow, damn it, what is a high-ranking person like him doing here?"
Asars was wiping the sweat that had gathered on his plump cheeks while he spoke, and the expressions of relief were clear on his face.
"Asars, who is this man and what is the black dagger? Just hearing about it made you wet yourself."
After hearing my words, Asars said in a voice that was almost a whisper, and he was afraid, as if he was afraid that someone would hear us,
"They are an elite of assassins, even at the level of the Round City. You will never find their like. It is said that because of their extreme silence and speed, they will kill you and you will not even know."
"Huh? To this extent?" I was shocked to hear Asars's words,
and he added in a harsh tone, "And it is said that they choose young talents like you and train them with hellish training and throw them for months in caves and torture them so that if they are caught they do not leak information easily, and they encourage them to kill, and after all this, if you remain alive, you join the faction and start as an assassin and rise through the ranks until you reach the rank of leader."
I looked at him in shock. After all this, this is madness, and how they take the young ones and train them so cruelly that they consider torture to be one of the types of training to maintain secrecy. Oden's training is not even comparable to this.
"That is all I really know. No one knows the rest."
"So I might really die there!!"
Odin looked at him harshly. "Not necessarily, boy. The harsher the environment, the stronger you become, both physically and mentally. They train ruthless assassins, so they make them go through hell. If you ask me, I'd say that over the next two years, if you survive their tests, you'll develop to a frightening degree."
Then he added, "And perhaps they'll find something that will hasten your awakening."
"Huh?!" 'If what Odin says might happen, then it's worth trying.'
So, Asars, won't you tell me what's really going on? Is this the information you said I'd find out later, huh?" I was furious with Asars and shouted,
"Speak! We're not just a bunch of weaklings stealing from people while they're shopping. We're just a cover for something much bigger than pickpocketing!"
Asarus sighed and said, "We're just a group affiliated with the Black Dagger faction, and theft is merely a cover for us to gather information. There's another benefit besides gathering information; sometimes we find poor children who join us, just like you, Cyrus. While they're with us, if they have a talent that qualifies them for assassination, we send them to the main branch, which is the Dagger faction."
"Huh? So that explains why it's just me, Lark, and Lant, alone, over the past years. So they all went to the Dagger faction. How many of them survived?"
"Not one? What? No one? How?!"
Odin said, "Because they're weak."
Then Asarus said in response to my question, "Because they're weak."
"Huh?! So they died during training."
"So if I don't die on the mission, I'll die during the Black Dagger training."
"Cyrus, the closer a warrior gets to death and manages to survive, the more intensely he will evolve and become stronger. The more you face death, the stronger you become and the more you learn new meanings. Therefore, never let your fear of death restrict you, otherwise it will be your chains from rising and evolving."
Odin's words were ringing in my ears, and because of them, my fear of the test decreased considerably.
"Then who was that man?"
"He is the leader of the Black Blade squad, Rakton."
"Hmm, what a strange name."
"He came here personally to oversee the progress of the mission, and it seems that he is also on a mission. I don't know what circumstances the main branch is going through that would make him send a single assassin."
Cyrus thought to himself, 'In the end, the strong force the weak to do what he wants.'
"I have no choice. I will carry out the mission, and in doing so, I will make it succeed. I will make sure of it."
"Then tell me the content of the mission."
"You must go to the merchant Osman's palace at night. There are many rooms, and if the rumors about him trading in humans are true, there will be hidden places in his house underground and complex places, which will make the mission difficult even for the elite. You must bring something very important to the organization and hand it over to the Black Dagger faction. You are forbidden from touching the thing, opening it, or knowing what is in it, ever. Understood?"
Odin scratched his chin. "It's a very dangerous and long mission because it's clear that his house is a palace with secret places and cellars, so its structure will be complex and it has many guards and traps. Your chances of success have diminished again, Cyrus."
Asarus reached out and took something familiar from the table. "He took out the same small bag that he took out a week ago and said," ln case they discover you and start torturing you, use it to commit suicide."
"So, Asarus, do I have enough time before the mission begins? I want to sit for a while with Lark and Lant."
"Very well, the sun needs two hours to set. Stay with them until then, and then come back so I can tell you about the information I found."
"Good, then I'll go to them for an hour and a half and come back to you, and then go to Osman's house."