The Test: Raider

Job Details

Job Sign-up Approval 1/3
Job Sign-up Approval 2/3
Job Sign-up Approval 3/3

With her first job from the guild in hand, Leah began to make her descent down from the headquarters towards the Mt Hakobe settlements. After receiving the mission to check out what was going on in town, the female assassin had started making queries almost immediately, trying to get some information out of the servants in the Errings Rising guild hall since they were the ones that went to the town most often. It had been a mess of information, but when she took the time to piece everything together, the female assassin realized that someone was stirring up trouble in the settlement below, trying to assume control of the settlement just below the dark guild’s headquarters.

Her descent was quick and without a lack of breath after a brisk jog, Leah was finally at the edge of the town. The situation in the town was quickly apparent, as new banners had already been erected at the entrance to the town, red flags flapping in the frigid wind with the words “The New Law” in large script. Brows furrowed at what she was seeing, Leah began to approach the town with a nonchalance. The two guards, young men who had been equipped with some rundown armor and weapons were standing around, telling each other jokes.

When they saw the girl approaching, the two of them stood to attention and began to leer at her. However, she acted as if she hadn’t noticed the attention to her body and just walked straight up to them.

“So what’s this about the New Law?” the girl asked, her expression neutral. The two guards began to laugh and then one of them spoke up.

“We are the New Law! Our leader will unite all the towns under his rule and then everyone will have to bow down to us!” one of the young men, pumped up by the motivations of their group, spoke in an uncontrollably loud tone. The other one nodded furiously, his chest pushed out in pride as well. And then two gunshots rang out, drowning out the howling wind for a second.

The two guards collapsed to the ground, barely alive but quickly dying. They clutched at their necks, each with a bullet hole through their throats. The snow was tainted red, and before five seconds was even up, they two had succumbed to their wounds. Leah returned the weapon to her holster, stepping over the corpses of the two young guards. On her face was an expression of anger and irritation combined.

The girl was an avid believer of Errings Rising principles, that laws were merely laid down by men. It was nothing more than to satisfy mankind’s desire to rule over everyone else, and they would not stand for it. The guild, Leah included, believed that the world was not meant to be governed by man-made laws but to return to a state of chaos, as it should be. Where mankind could do whatever they please, as long as they can back up their actions.

[WC: 506 words]

With the gunshots announcing her entrance, Leah wasn’t surprised to find three men, strapped and tall, waiting for her. Their stance exposed their experience with combat, and Leah was sure that the swords strapped to their waists weren’t for show. But the girl merely grinned. Before they had even started to say anything or tried to move, the assassin was charging at them. Three swords swung down in harmony when she neared them, but their blades slashed through nothing but air.

A portal opened up above the three soldiers, and the lithe assassin dropped down on to the back of the soldier in the middle. Her drop, feet first, drove the soldier to his knees before he fell flat on his face. And while they were dropping, Leah had already pulled out the twin daggers strapped to the back of her waist, holding it in a reverse-handed grip and swung her arms. A trail of blood followed behind each blade as they found their target, their jugulars cut by the ragged edge of the twin daggers.

With a light-hearted laugh, Leah then dropped her arms, both daggers pointing down. Blood sprayed out in two directions when she finally withdrew her weapons, the soldier she had been stepping down gurgling as he struggled beneath her weight. Two pools of blood started forming around his neck. But her mirth was cut short when a lightning bolt flew through the air at her. The razor sharp manifestation of lightning, barely sensed by Leah by the weird buzzing sound, grazed Leah’s left shoulder, drawing a slight charred line across her metal arm as she sidestepped just in time.

But the lightning bolt had been a mere distraction. A large sword slammed into the ground, its edge cutting into the snow as she threw herself back, promptly dropping to the snow on her butt but better than losing her life. Scrambling up to her feet and then jumping back to reassess the situation, watching as the owner of the large broadsword pulled the weapon off the ground and heaved it over his shoulder. The edge of the weapon looked tattered and blunt, but it was merely a deception. A layer of wind magic surrounded the weapon, creating a blade much sharper than steel could manage. A layer of the wind edge diffused itself as it laid on its owner’s shoulder. The man, the most luxuriously armoured among all of the combatants was looking at Leah with a questioning look on his face. He was obviously the leader.

The one who had thrown the lightning bolt walked into view from behind the leader, better dressed than the other soldiers and guards but still considerably shabbier than the leader. Leah guessed correctly that their attire indicated their pecking order in this… organization.

“Sir, should I take her—“ the man began to speak up, but was quickly silenced by his leader, who had simply put up his right forearm. He then motioned with his arm towards Leah, swinging his hand to the left a few times. Leah looked at him with a frown, unsure what to make of the gesture. But then she heard footsteps and wheeled around immediately, watching as another man, dressed similarly to the one who had thrown the lightning bolt, walking away from behind Leah, sword in one hand and a green glow around his other hand. The man walked away with a surly expression and joined the other one, two of them waiting for further instructions from their leader.

[WC: 587 words]
[Total WC: 1093]

“Not bad, young girl. My name is Darius Ridley, the leader of the New Law. You have shown me where the inadequacies in our forces lie and we shall rebuild from this mistake. However, I have a proposition for you. I appreciate anyone with great strength, and I see that in you. How about joining me in my conquest? Join me and all the gold you want will be yours!” the man known as Darius Ridley spoke with arrogance, both arms up in the air with fists clenched as he laughed, his sword long been stuck into the ground when he began to speak.

Leah merely smirked at the man’s words. Letting her guard down, the girl loosened herself and then looked the leader in his eyes. Her eyes lingered for the briefest of seconds on the weapon stuck upright into the ground.

“Sorry but not sorry. Not interested,” Leah replied flatly, her simple response putting the man off before immediately disappearing into a portal and reappearing out of another portal within the fraction of a second. It would have been a better idea to appear behind the leader, to draw her combat knife across the man’s neck but he was too heavily armoured. Instead, the portal had opened up low, and Leah charged out of it, leading with her right foot and kicking with all her strength at the sword in the ground, sending it careening across the ground with a loud clank.

Darius Ridley was confused by the sudden turn of events, having turned around the moment he watched Leah disappear into the portal, wrongly estimating where she would appear and instead find himself suddenly without a weapon. But it wasn’t long. A sword of wind was quickly formed in his hand, a sleeker design this time, and the man skipped backwards while slashing at the same time. Leah bent over backwards in response, watching as the blade of wind slashed terrifyingly near. But a miss was still a miss.

Leah kicked off the ground, somersaulting backwards and putting distance between the two of them. The two generals started to move forward, their hands already glowing from the magic they were about to use. Bolts of lightning and balls of fire, simple but the most effective of spells flew right to where the girl was supposed to be standing. But she was no longer there. Before the spells had arrived at her location, Leah had already thrown the two daggers in her hand at Darius, aiming for different spots.

Darius was an experienced mage as well, and his sense in combat was no laughing matter. From his point of view, the one dagger that was aiming for his neck had more than enough allowance for him to just dodge it by moving his head slightly. That left the other dagger which was coming for his chest. He doubted that it could pierce through his armour but the man wasn’t leaving it up to chance. As he was busy parrying the incoming dagger with his blade of wind, the New Law leader never noticed Leah disappearing in a dark flash.

Leah had never tried to aim for his neck in the first place, as she reappeared in similar burst of shadows, in the air next to her dagger as it sailed past Darius’ head. Snatching it from the air, Leah swung her legs open and then swiftly latched them around Darius’ left shoulder and right waist, while her left hand pulled the man’s head by his hair, craning his neck to the left to expose the right side.

“Bye,” the girl bid as the dagger was thrust down, right into the man’s neck. Darius’ expression was nothing but shock and confusion. Leah made sure to twist the dagger as she pushed it deeper before pulling it back out in one swift motion and kicking off the man’s falling body. She picked up the other dagger and lunged towards the disoriented generals as they witnessed the death of their great leader. Neither one of them were in the right mind for combat, allowing Leah to dispatch them with relative ease.

Villagers streamed out of their houses, jubilant expressions on their faces, having watched the whole ordeal through their windows earlier. Without a single word, Leah sheathed her weapons behind her waist and disappeared into another portal.

[WC: 726 words]
[Total WC: 1819 / 1500]