Chapter 203 - Assassin anizations

  The professestured toward the image on the board, where we saw a shadowy figure lurking behind someone distracted by a fire.

  “Css, now that we uand the types of spells and their dangers, let’s delve into their ins, which begin with the a assassin anizations.”

  The term “assassin anizations” sparked a wave of whispers among the students.

  “I thought they were just fairy tales,” ented one of them.

  The professor then asked the css, “What do you know about assassins?”

  She paused, watg the students’ expressions as some whispered curious questions to each other. Chloe and I exged a gnce. We already knew a lesson on this would e up eventually, especially given my family’s anization. It was a deeply rooted subject, and I was curious to see how it would be covered.

  “Know that assassin anizations aren’t mere stories or children’s tales,” she began. “These anizations were very real aremely dangerous. An a assassin alone could easily face all of you in battle.”

  She turo the page in her book, and the image on the board ged. Now, it showed two children—one pying in a bright room, the other in a shadowy area holding a kheir shirt stained with blood.

  “True assassins are masters of stealth and direbat,” she tinued. “They are trained from a very young age and see life through a distorted lens. To them, people are targets, stantly evaluating how easy or hard it would be to kill someone.”

  I won’t lie... we are taught to assess people like this, but it’s for our prote...

  “They are raised in darkness and thus be known as ‘Children of Shadows.’ This training is inteo strip them of fear ahy, shaping them into someone who hesitates at nothing to kill,” she said, pointing to the child in the darker side of the image.

  “Teag someoo bee an assassin is strictly forbidden,” she emphasized. “Any questions?”

  Several students eagerly raised their hands.

  “What’s the differeween them and on criminals? Or between them and military mages? After all, we also learn how to kill,” oudent asked.

  The professor poio the image of the two children.

  “The difference is immense. An assassin is raised from infancy to be a living on by an a anization. Would you trust someone who’s been traio kill from childhood, as cruelly and effitly as possible? To them, you’re merely living flesh. Assassins are molded in an enviro where violence is normalized. There’s no remorse. For them, killing a person is as trivial as squashing an ant. They kill brutally at night and then sleep soundly without a trace of guilt.”

  She flipped the page, revealing the same shadowy child standing beside an adult, both holding knives.

  “The assassin anizations were pletely outwed. The term ‘forbidden spell’ inated from these anizations. Magic was initially created to ease daily life, but these mages repurposed it for killing.”

  She turned back to the image, reinf her point.

  “That’s why the existence of assassin anizations is forbidden. True assassins, those from the old anizations, are not to be uimated. However, you rest assured: those that remain are just a shadow of what they once were. The ‘Assassin’ title and some of their practices have evolved into a profession among meraries. Now, they’re merely on outws living outside the w.”

  She surveyed the css briefly.

  “Any more questions?”

  The students g each other, and the professor poio one who had raised his hand.

  “I’ve read so many crazy stories. Did they really exist? I’ve heard lots of wild rumors,” the student asked, intrigued.

  “Of course they existed,” the professor replied firmly. “It’s no wohat spreading the teags of the old assassin anizations is forbidden by all three kingdoms. A true assassin operate with stealth, but if necessary, they transform into a walking killing mae, capable of unleashiru on anyone in their path.”

  She turned ane in her book, dispying an image of a ed figure slitting the throats of the previous two assassins in the illustrations.

  “No one trust someone who holds the lives of others so easily in their hands and infiltrates society at will. Imagihe threat of allowing one of these a assassins to infiltrate the ranks of politiobility.”

  Uh-oh...

  “The amount of information they could gather and the influehey’d wield would be incredibly dangerous. That’s why not just anyone be part of the politiobility. Leaving the whims of someone so dangerous unchecked is unthinkable. That’s why the Founding Emperor banned all assassin anizations and issued a death penalty for aempting to revive these practices. The Art of Assassination is forbidden and criminal. Most of these anizations were hunted down aroyed.”

  The professor paused, letting her words hang in the air. The students looked visibly affected. She tinued, drawing them deeper into her narrative.

  “Let’s specute even further,” she said, raising her voice slightly to capture the css’s full attention.

  “Imagihat these a assassins still exist and are here in this room. They could, if they wished, sabotage the fun of the three kingdoms, sowing discord among you and causing a diplomatit that would lead to war. And no one would know, as we’d be right in the palm of their hand.”

  A murmur began to ripple through the css; some students exged uneasy gnces, while others chuckled nervously to ease the tension.

  “Well, at least those assassins do anymore,” a student ented, sounding relieved.

  "And definitely not studying here in this room," added a girl, prompting the whole css to burst into ughter.

  Chloe and I stayed silent, exging gnces.

  We’re not that bad...

  “The Founding Emperor was a true hero who ehe ‘Era of Assassins’ and ushered in the ‘Era of Diplomacy,’” the professor tinued. “Dealing with a bandit or a lunatic is ohing, but handling someorained from childhood with a assassination and espiohods to bee a Death Emissary is a pletely different story. Allowing such a person to live freely in society is a grave mistake, let aloing them rise to nobility. That’s why they were exterminated. An assassin is less human than a wild beast.”

  Little do they know that while the Founding Emperor hunted down all assassin anizations, he kept his owive—the Night Killers. It seems he simply didn’t want his empire to be threatened…

  Chloe and I exged a look, realizing that, ultimately, the material taught about assassins was so reinforce the image of the Founding Emperor. For most people, the idea of an assassin anization within society could indeed seem terrifying—and from a military perspective, it could even be a real threat. After all, they’re living tools, devoid of emotio es to killing. But trary to this twisted image, our family upheld so many rules and codes that I was sure we spent more time tending farms than actually killing anyone. In fact, they alrioritized diplomad peace. When I drew my bde, it was only to elimihose who truly deserved it.

  That's why my family treasured our friendship with Professor Adrihna so much. She knew our family’s secret yet remained our friend. Both Adrihna, my mother, and Kinue were weled so closely into our family that they khese secrets without ever questioning our morality.

  The professor tinued, “Study this topic thhly. The tent on forbidden spells and their ins in assassin anizations will be on the exam.”

  Looks like this will be a subject I’ll do well in, I thought, letting out a quiet internal chuckle.

  "A little curiosity for you all," the professor added with a pyful tohe term 'assassin' even has roots that stretch back to the a civilization."

  The students perked up, leaning forward in their seats, intrigued.

  "In the a nguage, the word 'assassin' was said differently," she tinued, building anticipation.

  “How was it said?” oudent asked, curious.

  The professor's eyes gleamed slightly as she revealed the answer.

  "These legendary assassin warriors were known as... ‘Vikings.’”