Dysfunctional - An Assassin's Guide to Reincarnating in Another World

Chapter 489 488 - Turning Point(Part 1)

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　　Well...that went about as terribly as it possibly could have gone. I got really lucky to escape in the end...man, he really exploited the weakness of my Berserker technique with ease. 

　　And while I was stronger and faster than him while using it, it wasn't by a significant amount...there's no doubt about it, he's gotten stronger somehow. 

　　The question is, how exactly? It doesn't make sense, I doubt they'd just let him absorb life force from people to power up-...no, wait, that wouldn't be a problem if he only targeted criminals. 

　　I'd dropped down into the dinosaur cavern underground, where I was currently healing myself...I'm in so much pain right now, that damn bastard really did a number on me. 

　　So...where do I go from here? I'm confident that I can defeat anyone else besides him, but the problem is infiltrating the other nations. 

　　They'll almost certainly increase their security after this, and they'll probably keep prime targets away from my reach. 

　　The Democratic Republic of Rustlands is too risky with Shiro there, but infiltrating Abyss again will be very difficult too. And there aren't any worthwhile targets to go after in the villages and trade center towns. 

　　That leaves the nations of the other races, Idyll and Liberty. Both their leaders make for decent targets...Esta Grefiel, the leader of Liberty, has a power level close to 40,000, if I remember right. 

　　And Idyll's leader, the Earth Sage Siterra Jadeamour, has the highest power level in this world after Shiro and myself. She's probably the best target I can realistically go after. 

　　All the other Elemental Sages are sealed away in the pyramid barrier in Abyss. I'm certainly not going to mess with that, I'll be screwed if those inside it are set free while I'm still at my current power level. 

　　Alright, then, my next target will have to be Idyll. Hm, should I target Liberty after that? No...once I've helped myself to the Earth Sage's heart, I'll go straight to the Democratic Republic of Rustlands. 

　　It's very risky, but...an idea just hit me. I've realized that I haven't been using my transform power to its fullest. What if I infiltrate a nation and then transform myself into, like, a small insect or something? 

　　They'll know where I am thanks to the detection barriers, but once they get to my position, I'll be able to take advantage of their initial confusion easily. 

　　My eyes then widened as another realization hit me...I could transform the hearts of my targets into something easier to eat, like a fruit or candy or something. 

　　Why the hell hadn't I realized that sooner!? Would've saved me a lot of nauseous moments of forcing myself to chomp down on all those hundreds of hearts I've eaten. 

　　Hm, but there's no guarantee that it'll still work if I do it that way...guess I'll have to test it out on an inconsequential target first. It'd be a huge waste if I did that and then it didn't give me any power boost or whatever. 

　　I should move out as soon as possible, before the nations have the chance to bolster their security barriers and make it even harder for me to invade them.

　　But I'll definitely need to take at least a couple of days to rest and recover...yeah, I've healed my most severe injuries, and it won't be long before I'm fully healed, but while my Mana can be endlessly replenished with my Light Magic, the same can't be said of my stamina. 

　　Plus I should take some time to really plan out my next move properly, I shouldn't just rush into it. I need to consider any and all possibilities, no matter how remote. 

　　I'll need to prepare for the worst case scenarios, regardless of how unlikely they are, I'll proceed with the upmost of caution, while still being bold and unpredictable to the other nations. 

　　They probably expect me to lay low for a while after losing to Shiro so badly, so I can't stay hidden for too long, I'll take them by surprise by attacking as soon as I've recovered and thought things through properly. 

　　Heh, I have to say, despite what just happened earlier, I'm having fun. This world is the fucking best! 

　　The sense of accomplishment I'll feel when I finally overcome this hurdle and kill Shiro, I can almost taste it...I can only imagine how good it'll feel when I'm finally rid of him. 

　　Once he's gone, there'll be no real obstacles left to stand in my way...while I've enjoyed this challenge, I certainly won't miss it, because as much as I've enjoyed it, it's also frustrated me to no end. And I absolutely refuse to lose...this world is just way too much fun to waste... 

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　　Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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　　"Hey, come on, you don't need to be so hard on yourself. After all, it's not like anyone else could've done any better," Pointed out Minise, as we headed for the throne room. 

　　"Yeah, that's exactly why I couldn't afford to fail. Who knows how long it'll be before that bastard shows up again?" I frowned in response. 

　　A couple of days had passed since I fought the Spectre, and after I made my report regarding what happened, I had kinda been wallowing in my frustration. 

　　I had him completely at my mercy, but I still let him get away...will I ever get another chance as good as that one? 

　　It seems unlikely. It could be several decades before he shows up again, and by then, he could be too powerful for even me to defeat. And if that happens, this world will be screwed, and he'll be able to do exactly as he pleases. 

　　I was currently on my way to the throne room to participate in a discussion as to how to deal with this problem, but I doubt anyone has a real solution to it. 

　　The leaders of the other nations will be a part of this discussion too, they'll be using video call spells to join in. 

　　But I really don't see the point...we've kinda hit a wall with new barrier spells. We've managed to put up barriers that prevent unauthorized teleportations and also blocks intangibility, along with physical barriers, but since he has Obliteration Magic, he can just tear through all of those, so long as he decides to abandon stealth. 

　　We then reached and entered the throne room, where the leaders and other high ranked Adventurers were waiting for us. 

　　"Ah, Shiro, glad you could make it. It is almost time for the meeting to begin, your input will be crucial," Greeted Cusana, as Minise and I walked in. 

　　"Yeah, sure," I replied with a half-hearted nod.

　　I really don't see how this is going to make a difference at all. Talking about it isn't going to magically let us catch him, not after he's evaded us for over twenty years. 

　　And if he decides to hide again, there's nothing we can do about it. It's proven to be impossible to create barriers that can cover the entire world...all the best spell-casters have gotten together and tried to create such barriers, but it was no use. 

　　No amount of command lines or complexity can achieve that, and it's not like we can just go around activating barriers everywhere, we'd have to leave someone there to maintain each of the barriers, putting them in danger. 

　　And even if we did consider such an option, we'd need hundreds of people to volunteer to maintain the barriers, and I highly doubt we'd get anywhere near the necessary amount. 

　　It's pointless...all we can do is wait for him to attack and then hope we can react fast enough, trap him and kill him. But after I failed doing exactly that, he'll likely be a lot more cautious and avoid putting himself in situations where we can pull that off. 

　　We're stuck waiting for him to make a mistake, and he probably knows that. All he needs to do is stay under the radar and steadily accumulate power again, until he's at a level where he's unstoppable. 

　　Anyway, one by one, the leaders of the other nations called in, the meeting almost ready to begin...but Idyll was yet to respond. Strange, they're usually pretty prompt when it comes to these things. 

　　"Hm, they are not responding," Frowned Cusana, as she tried to call them, after a couple of minutes after the scheduled start time had passed. 

　　"Weird, this isn't like them. Don't tell me something went wrong," Replied Agatha worriedly. 

　　"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Muttered Minise with a look of concern.

　　My ears then perked up as I heard a commotion from outside the throne room doors, right before the doors swung open and a guard walked in with an alarmed look on his face, along with a Halfling woman trailing behind him. 

　　"What is the matter, I thought I told you not to interrupt us unless there is an emergency?" Remarked Cusana, a look of dread on her face as she stood up. 

　　"Forgive me...but this is certainly an emergency," Responded the guard, before giving the Halfling a nod. 

　　She stepped forward with a grim expression, as she said... 

　　"About...about half an hour ago, we...we were attacked by the Spectre. Our communication center and barrier maintenance center were destroyed almost immediately, and then the Spectre activated his Nullification, preventing us from contacting anyone. I was sent here to report this...the Earth Sage is dead, and by now, the Spectre is likely long gone."

　　A stunned silence fell over the room, looks of alarm and disbelief on everyone's faces. Damn it...this changes everything, he'll now be even stronger...

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