"As expected of a former assassin, I didn't expect anything less from you," Abium said with a smile.
"Cut the crap, brat. That name died years ago. The one in front of you is just an old man." The man named Viper said in the same chilling tone.
Meanwhile, Abium let out a chuckle and asked.
"Would you mind taking the dagger away?"
His calm attitude made Viper's lips twitch.
'Who the heck is he? Hmm? A Royal elf? Noble. Is he the newly titled baron?'
The black dagger dispersed into the shadow the next instant, and slowly, the room temperature returned to normal.
"Tell me, young baron. How did you learn about a former member of the Black Deacons? I thought I erased all my traces when leaving the Holy See." Viper asked with a suspicious look.
Without showing any sign of emotion, Abium calmly looked into Viper's eyes and spoke.
"Don't worry; I am not from Holy See. But I heard a lot about you from someone I know." Saying so, he touched his spatial ring and took out a small low-tier healing potion bottle.
Abium purchased it from the Nature Temple after he thought of visiting this man.
Viper's original name was Aldis. He was one of the cold-blooded elite deacons of the Holy See and had outstanding achievements three decades ago. His nickname even caused terror among the Nobles and Mages all over the southern mainland.
But now, he was hiding in an unknown rural town to save himself from the Light Church members. The Holy See was still chasing after him because he assassinated the Bishop of the Light church in the Holy See!
Rumors say that he joined the Black Deacons to assassinate that particular Bishop.
'Alas, no one knew his real motive.'
Although Viper was severely wounded when assassinating, he somehow escaped their chase and found a rural place to live his remaining life.
'But the Holy See and the United Council members haven't given up on him and placed a powerful curse on him. Although some thought he had died, a few members of the Light Church still believed that he is still living somewhere and is searching for him.' Abium sighed deeply at this man's pitiful life.
Because of the curse on Viper's body, he couldn't even fight. He had no money for the cure, nor did he have friends to step forward to help him. It's not that his former colleagues had abandoned him completely, but they were afraid of opposing the Light Church.
Viper glanced at the potion bottle and snorted coldly.
"Young Baron, do you think this low-level healing potion would solve my problem?"
Indeed, the low-level potion would only slow down the curse from killing him, but that was what Abium wanted.
"It would slow down the wound from killing you, Mister." Abium paused for a moment and continued while pointing his finger towards Helena.
"But she will be the one who would heal your wound in the future."
Hearing Abium's words, everyone became startled and looked at him in puzzlement.
"What are you talking about?" Helena asked with a frown.
"Can you cast the new spell you practiced earlier on him?" Abium asked.
"Okay." Helena nodded and arrived in front of Viper.
Then, she placed her right hand on Viper's chest and muttered slowly.
"Nature Heal."
A dim green light came out of her palm a second later and vanished into Viper's body. Even though it was just a low nature spell, the mere spell caused Viper's eyes to open wide.
"She is a Druid!" He said in a shocked tone.
Viper had heard many times about these nature spells and druids. Only those loved by nature would be qualified even to become a druid. Although it was just a simple spell, it made him stunned inside.
At that moment, he knew that the upgraded version of this nature spell would be enough to heal his wound permanently in the future.
As he was in shock, Abium also nodded his head and muttered inwardly.
'If it still doesn't work, I will go and search for the potion.' He didn't forget about the Anak potion hidden near the Royal Capital's outskirts and thought of checking it out later.
In the past, Abium met Viper five years after the arrival of the Chaos Era.
At that time, Viper was heavily injured by a random high priest and was already on the verge of the death door. Some random fool also exposed his identity and made his life harder.
His daughter was the one who sought Abium's and his team members' help to get a potion from a Nature Temple priest to slow down his death.
By the time he and his friends return to Aldgate with the nature potion, Viper had long passed away, and even his daughter was nowhere to be seen.
Some said that a group of Holy Knights came to this town and arrested her in the name of blasphemy.
"What do you want, kid?"
Viper's voice awoke him from those thoughts.
Soon, Abium heaved a deep sigh and spoke calmly.
"I want you to work for me."
Surprise flashed on Viper's face.
"If the Holy See finds out that I am still living in this kingdom and is working for you, then a great catastrophe would befall your territory, kid." Viper turned his expression serious and spoke.
But Abium waved his hand and replied.
"Don't worry; they will stay silent for the next few months. Moreover, what I need is a person like you."
'I need someone to protect my territory while I'm away. I also plan to return to the capital soon once I settle everything. So, I need a protector to replace my position.' Abium muttered to himself.
The hall became dead silent for the next few seconds.
After a long time, Viper let out a heavy sigh and spoke with some hesitation.
"Kid, I will tell you honestly. I have some deep hatred for Archbishop Rafe and his lackeys. What I always want is revenge. For that, I need to build an assassin organization. If you want me to work for you, you have to promise me that you will help me create this organization. As for killing that guy, I will do it on my own."
Once Viper finished his words, Abium and others went dumbfounded.
'Did this guy hit his head hard somewhere?' That was the thought that appeared inside everyone's mind.
Assassinating the Light Bishop itself was an unimaginable feat in this time and era, but the person in front of them wanted to assassinate the Archbishop himself!
It was absurd.
Even Abium wouldn't have any guts to say that out loud. But he soon thought it might be possible after the beginning of the Chaos Era. Once the Chaos Era began, the Light Church followers and other churches' followers would lose their connection with their gods.
That would make Light Church followers lose most of their strength. They couldn't cast their Divine spells at all. Their only strength to fight against the demons and devils were Light elemental spells.
'I didn't expect this old man to sell himself to seek revenge.' Abium sighed heavily.
"Okay, I will try my best to fulfill your wish, old man. But you have to protect my territory when I'm not there." Abium said after some deliberation.
"Hmm, that's okay. I'll come along with you then." Viper said with a break-up laugh.
After a short exchange, Abium and others went to their room, leaving Kuran, Viper, and Leeta alone in the hall.
"So, why is a dwarf tagging along with an elf?" Viper quickly shifted his gaze towards Kuran and asked in a deep voice. He couldn't believe himself when he saw that strange combination.
'Fairy, dwarf, elf, two human assassins, and a druid. What are these guys up to?' His head was starting to ache when thinking.
"Haha, I will tell you if you gimme a bottle of Red-Spiced Wine," Kuran said with a husky tone.
Viper sighed deeply and asked her daughter to give him a wine bottle. With a nod, Leeta brought a wine bottle from the shelf and gave it to Kuran.
Meanwhile, Kuran grabbed the bottle and started to speak.
"This elf is different from those peace-loving freaks. Also, did you see that elf's hair and eye color?"
"Yeah, I noticed it when you all entered the Inn. I heard that only the royal family members have that blonde color, though. Won't the household members come after him?" Viper took a seat and asked
Kuran poured the Red spiced wine into a cup, took a sip, and said with a chuckle.
"I don't think so. A week before, Abium looked almost like a half-elf. But his appearance changed completely now."
"Oh? Are you saying that he didn't face any shackles?" Viper's eyebrows arched up as he straightened his body and asked curiously.
The dwarf nodded and began explaining what he knew from the beginning about Abium to Viper. They both started to drink like life-long buddies and talked about many things.
At the end of their discussion, Viper got some information about this elf and was deeply startled.
An elf with a divine blessing? Or does he have some intellectual artifact? But wherever he goes, trouble seems to follow him.' He muttered inwardly and shifted his gaze towards the hooded figure entering the Inn. From the outer look, Viper could tell this figure was a man but couldn't see his face.
As he was about to warn the dwarf, he noticed that Kuran had already gone to his dreamland and sighed.
"One room, please," That hooded figure arrived near the reception desk and spoke in a quiet tone while giving a gold coin to Leeta with his pale smooth hand.
The next instant, Viper's expression froze.
At that moment, he saw a tattoo of three serrated leaves pointing outward at the back of the hooded figure's hand and frowned.
He also noticed that the figure's face was entirely covered by a white mask, causing him to frown deeper.
'Is he a northerner?' Viper instantly hid his nervousness and started observing the hooded figure's actions closely. After a few seconds, that hooded guy didn't say anything and went directly to his booked room, leaving Viper alone in puzzlement.
'Did he come for that elf's head?' A thought came to his mind.
'Should I warn them? No, maybe he is just a passerby.' With another sigh, Viper sat down on the wooden chair and started to drink the remaining Red Spiced Wine.
The sun went to the west and slowly started to hide while the darkness took over.