She felt embarrassed when she left after realizing just how high a cost skill fusion would be, but Mikella held her head up with pride regardless. She learned something, realized it was beyond her, and now has some plans for the future.

It wasn't as though she didn't consider it at the moment. With two Skill Fusion fragments on hand, she wondered whether she can basically do the same thing without having to deal with the chamber. She first wanted to ask the kind agent Yola if she knew anything about it, but refrained when she had to recall how she got them. There was no way anyone wouldn't be interested in such an item that allowed someone to fuse skills without the aid of the chamber in the Skill Repository.

By that logic, they would do whatever they can to drag more information out of Mikella, and she knew for sure she would not handle well under that kind of pressure. It was better to ask for Zeke regarding what to do, but the Meditation skill was something of a surprise.

So she has to increase her Meditation skill up to at least Rare rarity, which after all this time, felt like it was asking her to slowly and methodically chip away at a large boulder inch by inch. She didn't mind working hard, but working hard on something like meditating wasn't exactly her specialty.

Her thoughts circled around how to increase the Meditation skill after leaving the Repository, planning on returning back to Alissa's home and figure out what to do there. The Tempest Winds was taking a break for the next few days while figuring out what to do with the towers.

Since the last one, Alissa received orders straight from Cronus that they won't be able to tackle another tower anytime soon. Mostly because of the same noble bastards that stopped them beforehand. After that little stunt with the Lord Mark Hamil used, House Corran was constantly beating down on Cronus' door, so to speak, asking for information that they should clearly know about.

It was hard to explain that an invasive tower somehow got into their midst, and left behind a nasty surprise that made an entire area non-existent. Honestly, if it were Mikella, she'd be feeling the same way.

Still, that's not her fault, nor Zeke's. It was the tower's fault, and it was their existence that was causing most of the problems. Sure, the area was left completely devoid of life, but that's better than having constant mana influx that could mess the fabric of reality of the pocket dimension.

Man, I'm thinking way harder than I have to today.

Mikella wasn't a thinker or a reader, but she did got interested in the skill fusion topic, especially when it's so important for not just her, but for anyone with loads of skills in their kits. That's why she planned on returning back to talk to Zeke for his ideas on skill fusion.

On that note, how exactly is she going to face him?

Last time they saw each other was last night, and she didn't exactly leave him on a high note. She wasn't even sure why she did the thing she did, and even now felt her lips with her finger tips, recalling the moment the two let loose.

Her feelings were a mixup, shaking in her heart. Considering everything else, it was a lot easier than any former college girl could go through. However, she feared for what might occur.

Would things change? Would things stay the same? How is Zeke going to react to this?

Before her mind could spin further and further into that rabbit hole, she noticed someone that honestly took her by surprise.

It was a young girl, a bit shorter than Mikella, though her gait reminded her of an adult ready to head home as soon as possible. She was dressed in black, though her pale snow-like arms were exposed and wore shorts that showcased some fit legs running on combat type boots.

All in all, she wore what looked like a hoodie that covered her entire face. But there was a moment where she turned around, noticing a kid running by at her feet, revealing the face within.

Her face was rounded, almost child-like, and her eyes were like those of asian-descent back in the old world. What took her by surprise was that on top of having short black hair that reached her neck, bangs of red and blue covered her forehead and purple eyes. The girl covered her head, not quickly, but clearly wanted to hide her visage to the world. She did smile at the little girl who turned around and apologized for her rudeness, getting her to wave and smile in return for stumbling onto her path.

She then walked forward, once again taking Mikella off guard.

Why was she staring at this young girl that seemed more and more foreign than the other people living here? It was only due to one thing. Mikella wasn't quite sure, but she knew in a second that the way she moved, her body language, practically sang to her.

She reminded her exactly like that young girl dressed in black, trying to kill Zeke. It was possible that she is the assassin in broad daylight, out of the job at the moment.

She wasn't sure about all of this. It might as well be a random shot in the dark. But when she flashed Dragon Eyes, the number of weaknesses on the girl was the same as back then–barely perceptible. She followed the girl, inconspicuously pulling out her Cloak of Darkness to hide herself.

Of course, using enchanted equipment in the city is normally a chargeable offense, but only when it comes to harming civilians. As her item was meant for concealing her presence, she should be in the clear, especially when barely anyone can notice her as long as she doesn't make it obvious.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

She managed to follow the possible assassin, ensuring to use her environment to make herself even less obvious. She felt like a creeper, and she should, but she just can't seem to take her eyes off of that girl.

The way she moved, even using subtle tactics as directing others' sight away by turning to less conspicuous turns and alleyways. Often misdirecting other people's eyes on her by shifting ever so slightly towards another crowd that came by at the exact moment, completely disappearing.

If anyone was trying to spot her at any angle, they could easily lose her amongst the dense crowd in the early afternoon. But for Mikella, who had her eyes fixated on her, it was only a short effort. She knew the moment she realized just how she was able to get away with everything.

She had a skill, or mastered some technique to avoid being seen. If she had to say anything, it might even be Rare or perhaps Epic considering how easy it was to lose her if one hasn't poured in all their senses onto her person.

Eventually, they managed to head all the way to the eastern side of the district, far away from where Mikella lived with Zeke and the others. After another few careful steps, she spotted the girl instantly changing direction and heading straight towards a small shop.

A shop with a cute name titled 'Pot n' Kettle'. From the looks of things, it looked like a potion shop, and a rather out of place type too. Even stranger, the shop's door had a 'Closed' sign on it, no longer inviting anyone else in.

But the girl continued on, even having a small smile on her face as though she was returning home. This meant one thing.

Is this her house?

She knew for certain that the girl was the same assassin that tried to kill Zeke. What she found odd was that she lived in an alchemist shop. But then she remembered that she had a partner, and supposedly that werewolf guy plunged a syringe filled with some powerful poison that almost killed Zeke and stopped him from using his skills below Epic Rarity.

Though if she was honest, having an alchemist buddy to do some assassin work–that was metal as fuck.

But she shook it off as she prepared herself. She wasn't planning on completely stalking her throughout the night. She planned to tell Zeke about what she saw, and make a formal strategy on countering this assassin.

Of course, she first has to convince the guy to actually try and stalk a clearly young woman. Somehow, that sounds hard to do no matter how Mikella spun her way of telling him.

…..

Janet finally got out of the Skill repository. It was a good place for her to stay in, reading all sorts of things she would never otherwise be able to learn anywhere else.

It was different compared to her own world, but even then, the amount of security was staggering. Of course, that only mattered if you don't mind breaking a few rules without causing trouble.

After all, who's going to notice a young woman reading books, or slates in this case, then perfectly leaving them behind as though nothing has ever happened?

It wasn't like she was causing any trouble or messes, so she had no reason to pay for anything or sign for anything just to read a few slates.

Not to mention she needed to have some way of killing time. Outside of mission time, she barely had anything to do. Today was one of those days where Lyle expected not to have too many customers. The morning was completely flushed with complaining patrons with hangovers for days, but afterwards Lyle told her that there wasn't much she could do after the rush was over.

But after spending some time at the repository, she wanted to go back and see if she could do anything else. Plus, she was keen on telling Lyle about what she learned over there, particularly about some skills that might fit the both of them.

They were always working together to ensure their survival ever since they arrived here in the city. So while Lyle was working the store front, getting some stable income and some connections here and there, Janet would go out and gain some levels on her own.

And since the two shared levels, it was a perfect way to get stronger steadily. Still, not being able to hunt monsters and practice skill mastery was a pain to deal with.

However, the last target was still living rent-free in her mind. The way he just casually lived like that without caring a whiff about anyone else made her fume. She swore she almost had him, then that partner of his came up and ruined everything.

Even if she was a Journeyman, she killed Journeymen before. If anything, Journeymen are the lazy sort that really didn't know what to do when they got stuck into a corner.

However, that girl, no matter how Janet saw it, wouldn't have her guard down even if she struck her while she was fully asleep. The way she moved and fought felt feral, enough to be considered a wild animal.

It would be easy to deal with her if she poisoned her like she did with the Runist, but considering Lyle was down and out when she arrived, it was a foregone conclusion. She still fumed at the idea that Lyle could've died thanks to her.

It was annoying, and it left a sour taste in her mouth. She approached the shop, eventually thinking what she'll make Lyle cook up. Apparently a bachelor at his age needed to learn how to cook if one planned to live on their own.

So no matter how often Lyle complained about having to do all the work, Janet knew deep down he would gladly cook. After all, the last time Janet cooked…

Well, let's say that it was better that he remained on cooking duty for an indefinite amount of time.

A smile formed on her lips as she recalled that incident, and she almost giggled at the memory of Lyle panicking like crazy and screaming like a girl while trying to put out the fire. She just thought it needed some extra cooking time, so she offered to use a Fire spell at it. She tried to put down the potency by a large amount, though.

When she approached the store, she noticed that it was closed, and soon saw that the door had a Closed sign on it. That instantly made her stop in her tracks.

Lyle wouldn't close this early, and he would normally tell her if he planned to. Not knowing what was going on, she hesitated before eventually summoning a dagger from her storage pack.

Her eyes focused as she touched the knob and slowly turned it. When she opened the door, her heart dropped.

The target, the man known as Zeke Arcan, was standing behind the counter, looking over at the tools and potions hanging on the shelves. He had that annoying look of curiosity at the tools that Lyle carefully placed there.

When he noticed Janet coming in, his eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled, offering a wave.

"Hey there," The target said with a smile of his own. "Uhh, sorry, the owner closed the store for a moment. He'll be here in a min–"

Before the target could say anything else, Janet lunged for his throat. Her dagger pierced, spilling blood.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.