Death... and me

Roan looked through the missions on the board to find a good target. After all, he didn't want to get expelled so that he could keep an eye on the mission board. If someone posted a reward on his or Rean's head, he would know beforehand. That was the main reason he joined the Shadow Reapers.

The second reason was that he could find some good practicing targets. Assassinations were different than head-on combats. They were silent and usually required some planning depending on the target. Rean and Roan's skills were just perfect for both movement in the shadows and hiding from Spiritual Senses.

As for the person marked to die, Roan wouldn't just select anyone. All notes had a description of the target. What they did, what they were known for, why a price was put on their head, etc. Roan might not care about anyone, but that doesn't mean he would go around killing innocent people either. Besides, those types of people usually weren't good targets when you think about their combat abilities. It was a lot easier to find a better challenge when the other side deserved to die since they knew they would have many enemies.

Roan could have waited for when he went to the Shadow Reapers of his home region. After all, there would definitely be enough targets there as well. However, he would stay in the Capital for another month at the very least, so he might as well try things out here.

Finally, Roan found one that caught his attention.

-Earth High Rank-

Target: Nulian Sarsol.

Target's cultivation: Core Formation Realm Middle or High Stage (Needs to be confirmed.)

Location: Capital Inner City, the Favri Bank Supervisor.

Reward: 1500 Rank Three Spirit Stones.

'Hum... This guy used his connections to force many small businesses both inside and outside the city to go bankrupt. I don't know how but it seems like he made a lot of money with that. Quite a few lost their lives as well when they refused to wield after things went wrong. No wonder there's a reward on his head. Most likely, the spirit stones in this reward were put together by his victims.'

Roan then took the mission from the board before nodding.

'It's a mission on my own level, so I won't need to need to care about it until a year has passed at the very least. Alright, this shall be the one.'

Roan then brought the mission note to the counter, where he got the badge.

"This one."

The guy saw that Roan was back already but didn't care.

"Very well, badge."

Roan passed his badge to the guy. A few moments later, he returned the badge to Roan with the mission note as well.

"You have at most three months to conclude the missions. If you see that the task needs more time, you must come back and report the reason so that we can give the client an upgrade. Once again, we only accept the head of the target. As to how you will carry it around, that's your problem."

Roan didn't mind and took his things back. After that, he turned to the exit before leaving the building.

'Now there is only one thing I need to do before taking a look into the information about the Imperial Family.'

Roan then flashed in the distance before arriving in the place where he entered the black market at first. He then showed the black token he got from Gval to the Teleport Formations guy.

"Same formation as before. You will be teleported back to the same place. The first teleportation to the Black Market is free. From now on, you will need to provide the Spirit Stones to activate the Teleport Formation."

Roan didn't care and quickly entered the room. After placing his token and the Spirit Stones in the formation, it flashed with silver light before Roan disappeared.

Sure enough, Roan returned to the same house where he found the old woman. She was still sitting on her chair and didn't even bother to open her eyes to see him out. Roan, too, didn't waste his time as his body flashed away from the house. To make sure he wasn't being followed, he entered a hidden corner and stepped inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. His appearance returned to normal before he used the Circuitry Formation to teleport right back to the save point in his room in the Dalamu Sect Residence.

'Hmph! Let's see if you are faster than me.'

Roan immediately left his room and headed to another one in the Dalamu Sect building. There, he sat down and began to wait patiently. However, he didn't have to do that for long before the person he wanted to see arrived.

"Why are you in my room?"

Roan glanced at the newcomer. Obviously, it was Old Worm.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

Old Worm narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

Roan snorted in response.

"Don't take me for a fool. How the hell would I get permission to pry into Class A information in the Dark Web Organization? I don't know anyone in this city other than you, Droman, and Rean. Droman doesn't seem the type to have this kind of connection, let alone Rean. It only leaves me with the last possibility, you."

Old Worm looked at Roan's eyes. He could see that the boy was absolutely sure of his claim. Finally, Old Worm nodded as if it was nothing.

"Indeed. It was me. So what?"

Roan then immediately asked.

"How did you know that that was me? I completely changed my appearance. Even though others with higher cultivation could tell that it was not my real face or body structure, they shouldn't be able to tell how I look for real."

Old Worm then looked at Roan with a faint smile as he pointed at his nose.

"The medicinal smell on your body. As much as you tried to get rid of it, it would be almost impossible to completely eliminate. In the end, it was way too easy to identify you."

Roan narrowed his eyes after hearing that.

"There is one point I don't understand. Even if you could identify the medicinal smell on my body, you should be at a certain range to find me. How come you were there in the Dark Web Organization?"

Old Worm shook his head.

"That was just a coincidence. It wasn't I who found you there, but you who found me instead. I was already there when you arrived. It's just that I was in another room."

Roan nodded. He didn't really have a reason to doubt that since the time was too perfect to be true.

"It seems like you are also after more information about what is happening in the Imperial Family then."

Old Worm didn't try to deny that.

"That brat Mia seems quite worried about it. At first, I had no intention of coming here. However, it just so happened that you decided to go to the Capital. I just took the chance to both put you through the alchemy exam and spend some effort getting some information for that girl."

Only a few people could talk about Mia like that in the Dalamu Sect, but Old Worm was definitely one of them.

"Since it came to this, what do you intend to do with this information?"

Roan shook his head.

"I was doing the same thing as Mia. This thing that happened in the Profound Abyss seemed too suspicious. Since Rean needed to come to use that Formations Repository, I thought I might as well investigate it by myself."

Obviously, Roan wouldn't say anything about Calina.

Old Worm was sure that Roan was hiding something, but he didn't bother to ask what it was.

"Very well. Just make sure you don't dive too deep. There is only so much I can do for you."

Finally, Roan sighed before heading out of Old Worm's room, which puzzled Old Worm.

"Aren't you going to ask about me or my identity?"

Roan shook his head.

"Do you want me to ask about it?"

Old worm was taken aback for a moment but shook his head.

"That's more like it. Come back here later so that I can rehearse the points you should focus on the alchemy exam a month from now."

Roan nodded before closing the door behind him. As for Old Worm, he just sighed.

'What a sharp boy. No, I doubt he's just a boy to start with...'

Roan returned to his room and immediately contacted Rean through their Soul Connection.

'Are you free right now?'

Rean replied right after.

'Elder Droman is being quite harsh in his teachings. I don't think I'll be free until a few hours later. Also, I have something to discuss a few things with my bride before going back, so it might take even longer.'

Roan thought he had heard it wrong.

'Your... bride? Since when did you get a bride?'

[Oh! Let me explain!]

However, Rean immediately cut Sister Orb.

'Shut up! Can't you keep your mouth shut for even a moment?!'

[Nope! After all, I don't have a mouth.]

Rean almost fainted. That's not what he meant at all!

[Ahem... so, where did I stop? Oh, right! Let's now talk about how Rean impregnated a princess of the Empire.]

Even the ice block Roan showed some surprise when he heard that.

'Impregnated... a princess?'

Rean was almost crying already.

'You're doing it on purpose!'

[Obviously! Now shut up and let me continue.]