The Author's POV

-Bang!

"What!"

Breaking the nightstand with my fist, I hastily looked through the contents of the book.

Flipping through the pages of the book, I quickly looked for anything that could give me a clue about what had happened to Jin...but it was to no avail as the book stopped right after Jin's death.

What was happening?

...Jin one of the main protagonists died?

Impossible!

Hastily taking out a pen, I tried everything I could to change the outcome of what was written in the book, but it was all futile as every five seconds the changes I made disappeared.

"Damn it!"

Clenching my jaw and fists hard, I closed the book and let out a long breath.

I needed to stay calm.

I couldn't panic.

Jin's death would be devastating to the plotline. He was instrumental in helping Kevin grow both as a person and as a Hero.

His death would have a huge effect on the plotline...I couldn't let him die.

Closing my eyes, I made my mind up and headed towards the exit of my room.

...whatever caused Jin's death, I had to stop it at all costs!

If I allowed Jin to die, what was the point of letting all of this massacre happen?

Didn't I turn a blind eye to this so that the plotline could continue? What was the point of me not interfering if things didn't go as the plotline dictated?

-Gulp! -Gulp!

Downing a couple of potions to recover my stamina and mana, I put the book in the insides of my blazer and left the room.

...I didn't have much time.

Considering the effects of the book, I had less than ten minutes to alter the future in which Jin was destined to die.

...realistically, I had five minutes, since ten minutes was the time that Kevin and the others found Jin's dead body.

Reactivating [Monarch's indifference], I opened the door and made my way towards Jin's room.

I had one goal, and one goal only.

Preventing Jin's death.

...

Surrounded by multiple black-clad individuals, Jin's figure deftly and skillfully moved around them.

It was almost as if he was a ghost...his figure would melt with the shadows and reappear behind any one of the black-clad individuals catching them by surprise.

-Swish!

Appearing behind one of the black-clad individuals, Jin swung his dagger towards the back of his head.

As he swung, the image of the dagger blurred as it coursed through the air in a lightning-fast manner.

It was so fast, that the afterimage of the dagger lingered in the air for a split second.

-Clank! -Clank!

"kkhhh...damn it!"

As if predicting Jin's attack, quickly turning around and parrying Jin's surprise attack, two black-clad individuals appeared next to Jin and attacked him from both his right and left flank.

Ducking down and dodging the two attacks, Jin dashed forward and slid between the two black-clad individuals.

-Slash

-Slit

As he slid, two deep cuts appeared on the two black-clad individual's calves as Jin made sure to cut their legs in order to hinder their movements.

Stumbling a couple of steps due to the cuts on their legs, the other black-clad individual, who Jin tried to ambush, stabbed his sword downwards.

-Roll

Rolling to the side to avoid the sword, Jin tensed his core and with the aid of his back jumped up in the air.

-Clank! -Clank!

Whilst in the air, Jin forcefully twisted his body and spun like a wheel as he parried all the attacks that came from all sides.

-Thud!

"Huff...huff...huff..."

Landing on the ground, Jin heavily panted for air as he wiped the sweat that had started accumulating on his forehead.

Looking at the five individuals before him, Jin's face became grim.

Despite being stronger than them, it somehow felt as if he was fighting against an insatiable beast.

No matter how much Jin tried, the black-clad individuals he was fighting would quickly respond to his attacks and counter them with an even more fearsome combo.

It was to the point that his breathing started to become heavier and heavier by the second.

From the way he saw things, the most he could last would be five more minutes.

Any longer than that and he would be too exhausted to move.

-Gulp!

Frowning, Jin took out a couple of potions from his storage dimension and quickly downed them.

Though he could replenish his stamina and mana with potions, because he didn't expect such a situation to arise, he only had a couple of stamina and mana recovering potions with him.

Therefore, despite the fact that he had potions, they could at most only help him fight for a bit longer.

They really weren't a solution for his current predicament.

-Clank! -Clank!

Parrying the attacks coming from the black-clad individuals, Jin's mind raced as he looked for a solution.

Looking at his room which had now become a mess, Jin frantically looked for anything that could aid his escape.

Looking around and seeing nothing, Jin clenched his teeth and looked at his skill section on his status window

===Status===

Name : Jin Horton

Rank : E

Strength : E-

Agility : E +

Stamina : E

Intelligence : E

Mana capacity : E -

Luck : E

Charm : D +

--> Profession :

[Assassin lvl.3]

--> Martial Manual :

[★★★★ Shadow harvester] - Greater realm of mastery

Dagger art primarily focused on lightning-fast attacks that slice through the air at astonishing speeds. The greater the mastery, the faster each swing becomes making each attack harder to defend against.

[★★★★ Void link] - Minor realm of mastery

Movement art that enables user to momentarily move between shadows. The greater the mastery, the longer the user can travel between shadows. Speed of user inside of shadow is tripled, and when exiting the shadow, user speed will be considerably boosted for a couple of seconds.

--> Skills :

[[E] Mana conglomoration]

A skill that enables user to gather all of their mana into a singular point and letting it explode in one swift attack that multiplies the attack power of the attack by a factor of ten.

[[F] Light eye]

A skill that stimulates the neurons located in the eyes, enabling the user to enhance their vision. From being able to see further away, to being able to see at night and being able to slow down the world around him. Light eye enables user to enhance ocular functions.

Damn it.

If only he had more skills...

Despite the fact that he had access to a lot of skills thanks to his family, he was only allowed to choose two.

Any more than that and the elders within the family would start complaining as skills were limited and the demand was high.

The reason he chose those two skills was because it best suited his profession, Assassin.

...and precisely because his profession was Assassin that he was currently in a bind. His profession specialized in stealthily killing his enemies from behind, not fighting against them head on.

That was not something he specialized in...

Currently, he was using [Light eye], and despite the fact that everything around him was slower, he could barely hold on.

This was especially so because his mana consumption was at an all-time high.

If not for the few potions he had on him, he would've already long lost by now.

Looking at [Mana conglomoration], Jin hesitated.

This skill, although devastating, would force him to consume all of his remaining mana. Meaning that if he didn't kill them, he was done for.

What made things worse for Jin was that he no longer had any [Mana recovering potions] on him, meaning that this option was only for when he was on the verge of death.

-Clank!

-Swoosh!

Parrying one of the black-clad individuals' attacks, Jin ducked and avoided another attack coming from behind him

Jumping backward, Jin continued ducking and defending against the black-clad individuals.

"Khhh..."

The more he fought, the more tired Jin became. Looking towards the entrance of his apartment, Jin slowly moved in that direction.

He needed to escape.

He couldn't defeat them. He had to survive.

He was the future of the Horton family. He couldn't die. Not when a lot of people had expectations on him.

Making his way towards the door, Jin continued to struggle against the continuous attacks from the black-clad individuals.

He had to live.

He wanted to li...

Halfway through his way towards the exit of the room, Jin paused.

...wasn't he just running away?

He, Jin Horton, who had been trained since young with the best facilities and potions, was actually thinking of escaping?

...Did his talent only amount to this much?

Thinking about Kevin and Amanda, the strength of Jin's grip on his dagger increased.

Ever since coming to the lock, Jin has only been facing setbacks after setbacks.

He lost his first place to both Melissa and Kevin, which was a huge blow to his pride. Though he was angry about it, this setback fueled his desire to grow and become stronger to claim back the spot of number one.

He desired, no he craved to be at the top...

...then just as he felt he was becoming closer to his goal, news of Amanda killing a <D> ranked villain spread across the academy.

A seemingly impossible task, that no matter how many preparations Jin made, he couldn't accomplish, happened.

This setback hurt him even more, as now there was another person who was above him. Moreover, it was from someone that he had been compared to ever since young.

Amanda Stern, daughter of his rivaling guild 'Demon Hunter'

From that point, Jin felt as if the world was laughing at him.

'Wasn't he supposed to be the once in a lifetime prodigy from the Horton family?'

'How could he lose to an orphan and a couple of girls?'

'Was it all just hype?'

"Ahhhh!!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Jin's bloodshot eyes directly stared at the black-clad individuals before him.

"There's no way I am weaker to the likes of Amanda and Kevin!"

Lunging forward, Jin's attacks became more intense and brutal. He discarded all forms of defense and just wildly swung his daggers.

He swung and swung and swung his daggers, almost as if he went mad.

-Clank! -Clank! -Clank!

No matter how many cuts appeared on his body, Jin ignored the pain and continued attacking.

"I am better than them!!"

Turning his attention towards one of the black-clad individuals, Jin threw one of his daggers in his direction.

-Swoosh!

As Jin threw the dagger, a whistle arose! Splitting the air, the dagger instantly appeared before the black-clad individual.

-Clank

Barely managing to block Jin's dagger, the black-clad individual took a couple of steps back.

-Spurt!

Appearing behind the black-clad individual, Jin stabbed his straight into the throat killing him instantly.

Without looking back, Jin picked up his dagger and once again threw it at the nearest black-clad individual.

-Swoosh!

-Spurt!

This time, the dagger hit the black-clad individual in the head killing him instantly. It was evident that he was inferior to the black-clad individual he just killed.

Turning his attention back towards the remaining three black-clad individuals. Jin took advantage of the fact that their formation was a mess to once again dash in the direction.

Melting into the shadows, Jin disappeared from the view of the black-clad individuals.

Huddling up together, with their back against each other, the three black-clad individuals waited for Jin to appear.

-Swoosh!

Hearing a swooshing sound next to them, the trio simultaneously turned in the direction of where the sound came from and stabbed in that direction.

-Clank!

Clashing against a hard object, pieces of wood scattered everywhere as a broken lamp appeared in their view.

"Gotcha!"

Appearing behind one of the black-clad individuals, Jin's dagger split the air as it pierced through his neck.

-Spurt!

-Thud

Moving backward to distance himself from the remaining black-clad individuals, Jin looked up and said

"Huff...huff...Two more to go"

Just as he was about to once again attack, stumbling a couple of steps, Jin lost control of one of his legs and took a knee to the ground.

"Akhhh...damn it, not yet!"

Screaming, Jin cursed as he felt all the muscles in his body spasm uncontrollably.

An electrifying pain coursed through his body, threatening to ruin his sanity.

It was so painful that he could barely scream in pain.

His body was riddled with cuts, and his clothes were dyed red in blood.

...but that wasn't the only reason why he was suffering so much. The muscles within his body were in even worse shape as they continuously spasmed and shook.

"N-o!"

Clenching his teeth and suppressing the pain coursing through his body, Jin couldn't help but be reminded of his most recent days where he trained every day.

Because of how much he wanted to catch up to Kevin and Amanda, Jin increased the intensity of his workout.

....in the end, all of his excessive training resulted in his body becoming more fatigued and sluggish compared to when he was at his prime.

Despite the fact that he consumed potions continuously, potions couldn't fully heal the micro-tears in his muscles that came from overworking himself.

The only cure for that was rest.

But because Jin was blinded by power, he neglected that and as such resulted in his current conditions.

His every movement hurt like hell, and despite trying his best to not think about it and ignore it, the pain was slowly becoming sharper and more acute with each passing second.

Staring at the two black-clad individuals who seemed to have noticed his predicament, Jin clenched his teeth.

"I can't l-ose"

Gathering all of the remaining mana in his body, Jin looked at the two remaining black-clad individuals and prepared to use his skill [Mana conglomoration].

He knew that even if he used the skill, he was destined to die.

...but at least he wanted them to die with him.

Snorting, Jin thought back at his childhood.

'You are going to be the best'

'Now no one can beat you!'

'I am so proud of you'

'You are the pride of the Horton family'

Memories of how everyone around him had been praising his talent and excellence replayed in his mind. He had grown up thinking that maybe they were right.

...Maybe he really was the chosen one.

Maybe he was a cut above the rest and was the one that would lead humanity in the fight against demons.

He remembered envisioning people erecting statues of him and worshipping him.

That was what his future was destined to be...

Thinking thus far, Jin couldn't help but snort.

What chosen one? what prodigy?

He was merely a talented individual that had all the resources available to him. In the end, the only reason why he was a step above the others was because of the top-end facilities and resources he had been provided with since young.

Thinking back at it now, it probably was true.

...but the realization came too late. He was about to die, so what did it matter if he realized he wasn't actually as talented as he thought he was?

looking back at the two black-clad individuals, Jin stood up and took a stance.

Talented or not talented. What did it matter when he was about to die.

If he died, he had to at least kill the people that were after him.

Crazily looking at the two black-clad individuals, Jin screamed

"Come at me, you bastards!"

-Swoosh! -Swoosh!

Heeding Jin's words, stabbing in Jin's direction, the two black-clad individuals simultaneously aimed at his head and heart.

Closing his eyes, Jin gathered all of his remaining mana and prepared to unleash his skill.

-Click!

However, before Jin could do anything, the world around him became dyed in white as the sound of two heavy objects falling could be heard.

-Thud! -Thud!

"What?!"

Slowly opening his eyes, Jin froze in shock at the sight before him.

-Step -Step

Walking in front of Jin, the figure of a youth with jet black hair and deep blue eyes could be seen holding onto his sword.

Turning around and staring at Jin with emotionless eyes, the youth coldly spoke

"How pathetic...."