Chapter 74: Trade [1]

The next few days passed in a blur.

…And it was a painful experience for me.

After I woke up and was deemed ’healthy enough,’ I was promptly dragged into Alice’s training routine—and calling it ’intense’ would’ve been generous.

It was brutal.

She attacked relentlessly, leaving me barely any room to breathe, let alone counterattack. Her strikes were fast, calculated, and precise, as if she had something to prove.

Maybe she did.

She was strong, no doubt about it. Her movements carried the weight of experience and discipline honed over years of elite training. If I had used even half of the artifacts in my possession, things could’ve gone differently—no, they would’ve gone differently.

But I didn’t.

Not because I couldn’t.

But because I chose not to.

I needed this.

I needed the pain, the bruises, the frustration of trying and failing again and again. No amount of artifacts or enchanted tools would give me what I lacked: real combat experience.

The kind you earn with your body, not your gear.

So I took it all. Every hit. Every knockdown. Every moment where the world spun from a blow I couldn’t dodge in time.

And Alice… she didn’t hold back.

There was something different in her eyes whenever we trained. A sharpness. A fire. Like she was chasing something—no, running from something.

Maybe it was the humiliation from the battle she’d lost.

Maybe it was guilt.

Or maybe… maybe it was just how she coped.

Either way, I was the perfect punching bag for her rage and frustration. Lucky me.

Still, I didn’t resent her for it.

Because every bruise was progress.

Every fall taught me something new.

And every time I managed to last a little longer, to block a blow I would’ve missed the day before, I could feel it—I was getting better.

Slowly, painfully… but surely.

That was enough for now.

The martial arts tournament starts in three weeks and two days.

That gave me enough time to get stronger.

But before the tournament even began, there was something else I needed to do.

I had to assassinate someone.

I couldn’t keep dragging this out.

“Assassination Thief.” That was my profession, my class.

Thanks to the system, I’d already earned a reputation as the thief who became a demon. But honestly? My progress on the assassination side of things hadn’t been nearly as impressive.

Luckily, I had a main quest that promised to fix that problem.

I summoned my status window.

“Status Window.”

The translucent screen flickered to life before my eyes.

[Name: Julies Evans]

[Occupation: Assassination Thief]

[Titles: (Loyal Servant), (Faceless Imposter)]

[Base Stats]

Health: 4

Strength: 4

Agility: 8

Magic: 2

—

Skills: 2

Ghoststep (S-Rank)

A secret footwork technique perfected by generations of elite assassins. Designed for complete evasion and surgical precision in combat.

—Greatly reduces chance of detection during stealth

—Drastically increases evasion in close quarters

—Counterattacks deal bonus damage based on agility when parrying

[Rank A – Split Reputation]

“A true thief knows how to separate the shadow from the mask. The moment the two blur, the game is over.” —Master Thief, Nocturne Shade

Your fame will now be divided into two personas: ’Julies Evans’ and ’The Faceless Imposter.’ Each reputation develops independently, unlocking separate events, rewards, and reactions.

—-

[Quest]

I muttered to myself, glancing over the numbers.

“I’ve made some solid progress since last month.”

Except for magic, every stat had gone up by one point.

Not to mention the two new titles I had earned recently—ones I hadn’t had before.

The ’Loyal Servant’ title came after I saved Alice Draken from certain death. The ’Faceless Imposter’—well, that one’s been a part of my story for a while now.

But to be honest, the real reason I opened the system was to check the quest tab.

I tapped on [Quest], and a new window slid open with several categories listed.

[Main Quest: 0]

[Side Quest: 0]

[Optional Quest: 0]

[Emergency Quest: 0]

[Class Quest: 1]

…Only one quest. And of course, it had to be the [Class Quest]—the one tied to my profession, [Assassination Thief].

Figures.

Everything else was empty. Not a single main quest or emergency flag. No updates, no breadcrumbs, nothing that screamed “the world is ending”—which, considering how I passed out last time, almost felt suspicious.

Still, a part of me felt relieved. At least there weren’t any urgent pop-ups telling me to go die for some impossible objective. I’d had enough of those lately.

I hovered my finger over the class quest tab, hesitating for a second and then press it.

—

Class: Assassination Thief

Title: Twin Fangs of the North

[You’ve carved your mark into the world as a thief—swift, unseen, and untouchable. But true legends aren’t born from a single title. It’s time to awaken your second shadow.]

Objective:

Eliminate key criminal elements operating in the northern territories.

Reveal the Faceless Imposter as not just a thief—but an executioner of justice in the dark.

Target Examples:

— Bjorn the Butcher (Wanted in Draken Duchy)

— Cline Frostfang (Leader of the Frozen Fang Slavers)

— Merrin the Rat (Spy Broker and Human Trafficker)

Reward:

– New Skill (Hidden)

– Northern Underworld Affinity +

– Secret Title (Locked)

Side Note: Fame under the Julies Evans persona will remain unaffected by this quest’s completion.

—-

I can’t go after others yet but my main target is Bjorn the Butcher.

I know that I can’t find him alone because of my hectic schedule as Alice Draken attendant but that’s why I told Velra, the vampire demon to find it by using her bat minions.

…Also by now she must be thrusty for blood.

Currently she’s in hiding because demon incident that was caused be her and later became main topic due to me..

So, until Velra came back with something useful, I had no choice but to keep playing the role of Alice Draken’s loyal servant—and her personal training dummy.

I sighed and closed the status window.

“Three weeks and two days,” I murmured.

That was all the time I had left before the martial arts tournament began. Whether I liked it or not, Alice was hell-bent on making sure I didn’t humiliate her by showing up unprepared.

The door creaked open just then, and I tensed out of habit—but it was only Alice. Her expression was unreadable as always, sharp eyes scanning me from head to toe like a commander inspecting her soldier.

“You’re not training,” she said.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “I was about to.”

She didn’t respond. Just stepped into the room and tossed something my way. I barely caught it—a small glass vial filled with a glowing red liquid.

“A healing potion?”

“No,” she replied curtly. “Stamina booster. You looked like you were going to collapse during yesterday’s spar.”

“Ah. Thought you liked me on the floor,” I muttered under my breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Alice stared at me a second longer, then turned toward the window, her back straight, arms folded behind her.

“Julies,” she said, her voice softer now. “You’ve improved.”

I blinked.

“That’s… rare praise coming from you.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

I chuckled, a dry sound. “Of course not.”

She didn’t stay much longer. Just left after saying, “Be ready at dawn. Tomorrow’s training will be twice as hard.”

Naturally.

When she left, I finally let my shoulders sag.

My arms were sore, my ribs ached, and I was pretty sure one of my fingers was either dislocated or flirting with the idea.

Still, I couldn’t rest.

Why? Because I am going to check on Velra.

See if she has found him or not.

…Also I am going to learn her magic.

It would be my trump card in the marital art tournament

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