Adoel flew limply in the air, eyes staring forward.

 

“Wrong…this is all wrong…”

 

“Did you say something?”

 

“I said this is all wrong!”

 

“What is?”

 

“Everything!”

 

“That’s not very specific!”

 

Adoel grit her teeth, a whine escaping from them as she clenched her fists.

 

“Look! You’re a hero, right?”

 

“That’s what they told me.”

 

“You’re supposed to save the kingdom, defeat the Dark Lord, right?”

 

“I guess.”

 

“You told me you would do it! You told me!”

 

“So I did.”

 

“Ok…THEN WHY ARE YOU WORKING FOR THE ASSASSIN’S GUILD?!”

 

Bob shrugged.

 

“I needed connections and a paycheck and it was the best fit for my skills.”

 

“That’s a terrible reason!”

 

“If you have a problem with it, take it up with the goddess lady for giving me these skills.”

 

“That’s just an extrapolation of your own soul! Don’t try to shift the blame!”

 

Bob shrugged. Adoel heaved a massive sigh before she looked up around her. Bob had just strolled into a large castle.

 

 

“By the way, why are we at the Royal Palace?”

 

“To kidnap the princess.”

 

“WHYYYYYYY?!”

 

“Because that’s what I’m getting paid to do.”

 

“WHY DID YOU ACCEPT THAT MISSION?!”

 

“To save the kingdom.”

 

“HOW?!”

 

“You’re noisy. You’d understand if you just thought about it a bit, it’s pretty obvious.”

 

“IT’S OBVIOUS THAT YOU’RE EVIL!”

 

“Don’t worry, no harm will come to her.”

 

“How do you know that?! Who are you even working for?!”

 

“Duke Thierry Cortot de Arceneaux.”

 

“HE’S EVIL! YOU! You’re supposed to be a hero! A hero! But you’re acting like a demon!”

 

“You’re noisy, this is a stealth mission.”

 

“I’m going to stop you!”

 

“What were your orders again?”

 

“...”

 

“What were your orders?”

 

“...to help you…”

 

“Have you received any new orders since?”

 

“...no…”

 

“So?”

 

“...I have to keep helping you.”

 

“Yep.”

 

With that, Bob strolled into the castle. Adoel grit her teeth and followed suit.

By the time Adoel snapped out of the seething rage, she and Bob were already in the castle. The guards didn’t notice them, of course, even as Adoel waved her hands in front of them. Bob picked the lock on one of the doors, revealing a girl sleeping on a canopy bed.

Adoel clenched her teeth and gripped her hands with all her might but her orders were quite strict on where, when, and how she was allowed to intervene. As such, she could do nothing to stop Bob as he drugged the princess with a sleeping drug and carried her out the window.

 

And she was too busy seething to notice the slip of paper Bob left underneath the bed.

 

---

 

Bob waltzed into the office of Duke Thierry, Adoel limply flying behind him with dead eyes staring straight forward. He carefully removed the bag from over the princess and gently laid her on the sofa. He then walked over to a wall and leaned against it, canceling his Presence Concealment skill.

Duke Thierry screamed in a manner most…'nobly'. Yes, nobly.

 

“Oh, it’s just you, assassin. Why are you disturbing me?”

 

Bob just pointed to the sofa. The Duke’s eyes widened, then his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

 

“I see your guild’s reputation is not unfounded. This is an acceptable performance. Perhaps you’d like more…illustrious employment?”

 

Bob just held out his hand.

 

“Come now, you speak to the future King! Surely even a ruffian such as yourself would value a position in the new administration!”

 

Bob just kept his hand held out. Duke Thierry sighed, then tossed Bob a small leather pouch that landed in his hand with a clink. Bob opened it up and counted the coins within, then nodded at the Duke.

 

“Please contact the guild should you have any more jobs.”

 

Duke Thierry just waved his hand dismissively.

 

“Yes, yes, begone with you now.”

 

Bob reactivated his Presence Concealment. The duke jumped and swore, then shook his head and walked over to the couch. The sleeping drug had just worn off and the princess was starting to stir. She let out a yawn before she started to glance around.

 

“Huh? This is not my room…where am I?”

 

“I see you are awake, Your Highness.”

 

“Huh? Duke Thierry! W-What are you doing in my room?!”

 

“Muahahahaha! It is you who are in my room, Your Highness!”

 

“What? W-Why would I be in your room?!”

 

“Because I have kidnapped you!”

 

The princess jumped from the couch.

 

“W-What are you saying?! Y-You kidnapped me?! You wouldn’t dare! My father would have your head for that!”

 

The duke sneered at her.

 

“Foolish girl, it is your head that is at play here! For now that I have you in my clutches, your father will have no choice but to acquiesce to my demands if he ever wants to see his precious daughter ever again! The throne is practically mine!”

 

“Y-You fiend!”

 

“Now come, and let me show you where you will be staying.”

 

“Eeek! Stay away from me!”

 

Duke Thierry approached the princess. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, wildly swinging her palm to try and swat at the Duke.

 

Who slammed face first into the ground.

 

Bob stood there, blinking.

 

“Adoel.”

 

“...what?”

 

“...do you know why the Princess is level 19?”

 

“...from what I hear she looks up to adventurers and sneaks out to train on a regular basis.”

 

“Right, I heard that too. So then…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Do you know why Duke Thierry is only level 5?”

 

“...many nobles don’t place much value in levels.”

 

“...every noble I’ve seen was at least double digits though. I assumed that was the minimum standard for them.”

 

“...I hear Duke Thierry is notoriously lazy.”

 

“...right.”

 

Bob heaved a sigh as the princess fled from the room. He knelt by the Duke and poured a healing potion on him, then followed after the princess.

 

“Come on, we better make sure she doesn’t get hurt…or more accurately doesn’t hurt anyone…”

 

---

 

Bob and Adoel strolled down the halls, finding a plethora of guards groaning and lying on the ground. Finally, they heard shouting and the clanging of metal. They walked out of the castle into the main courtyard, where the princess had just arrived. A large group of armored knights had stormed through the main gate, led by a familiar female knight. The Princess’s face brightened when she saw her.

 

“Ser Émeline! You came for me!”

 

“I will always come for you, My Lady!”

 

Just then, Duke Thierry stumbled out into the courtyard, rubbing his head.

 

“Ouch…just what is going on here?”

 

Ser Émeline pointed her blade at the Duke.

 

“Duke Thierry Cortot de Arceneaux, you are under arrest for kidnapping a member of the royal family! Have your men lay down their arms and come quietly!”

 

Adoel broke out into a smile.

 

“Ah! So this was your plan! You lured the knights here to get rid of the evil Duke Thierry!”

 

Bob shrugged.

 

“Not exactly.”

 

And tossed a small ball in the center of the courtyard.

 

The ball exploded into a cloud of green smoke, obscuring the Duke from the knights’ view. One the duke’s retainers grabbed him and pulled him away, running towards the stable as the knights coughed on the smoke.

 

 

“Why?! Why are you helping the evil Duke escape now?!”

 

“To save the kingdom.”

 

Adoel clutched her head.

 

“HOW?!”

 

Bob let out a sigh.

 

“Try to think about it a bit. You wanted me to save the Kingdom from the Dark Lord, right?”

 

“Obviously!”

 

“Well what is needed to save the kingdom?”

 

“A hero!”

 

“Wrong.”

 

“Wrong?!”

 

“What’s needed is a professional and experienced army with a streamlined logistics apparatus and the political will to resist. Which this Kingdom sorely lacks. From what I’ve read, the Kingdom has not fought any serious conflicts in centuries. It has no standing army, very little and highly outdated training, and no experience at either an individual or organizational level. Its only true military assets are its knight orders, which act more like a paramilitary police force, and the adventurers guild, which has no interest in sacrificing lives on behalf of a nation.”

 

“And what does that have to do with kidnapping the Princess and letting the Duke escape?!”

 

“Simple. Now that his ploy has been revealed and failed, he will be forced to start an armed rebellion and make a play for the throne. For all his laziness he had solid networking, and so he will be able to gather a substantial faction to his cause. Not enough to have an advantage, but enough to be a serious threat. The King and the nobility will be forced to realize their nation is entirely unprepared for organized armed conflict. If they are to survive, they must build the organization and army required to sustain long-term military campaigns. In other words, they will get a practice run of the war against the Dark Lord against an opponent they can definitely beat, so that they can fail and work out the kinks before the entire nation is on the line.”

 

“What if they lose?!”

 

“Then the rebels are more competent at military affairs and are a better choice to lead when the Dark Lord’s invasion begins.”

 

Adoel went silent for a bit, rubbing her chin.

 

“Hm…but what if it becomes a stalemate and the two sides are still divided when the Dark Lord arrives?”

 

Bob’s mouth curled up slightly.

 

“Now you’re thinking. It’s true, that situation would not be ideal. They would have to put aside their differences and form a joint front. Not ideal from a political or command point of view, but at the very least their soldiers will have gained some battlefield experience and should give a better showing on the front lines. And if they can’t put aside their differences in that case…well then the Kingdom was probably doomed either way. Now come on, job’s done and I want to go home.”

 

Adoel frowned as she watched Bob leave.

 

“I still can’t help but feel there’s something wrong about all this.”

 

---

 

Bob walked into his room at the inn and frowned. He pulled out a dagger and slowly crept into the room.

 

A hooded figure was waiting inside, sitting on his bed. Bob looked over them for a moment, then sighed and sheathed his dagger. He canceled his concealment, arms crossed.

 

“What do you want?”

 

The figure twitched under their cloak and then started to chuckle in a high pitched voice.

 

“Oh my, not many people can sneak up on me. You are powerful indeed.”

 

“And, who are you?”

 

“The question is…who are you?”

 

The figure stood and slowly walked over to Bob.

 

“You abducted a member of the royal family right out of the palace. You just triggered a civil war among the kingdom. You came out of nowhere and made a name for yourself as the most talented up and coming assassin in the Human Realms. You…are worth our attention.”

 

The figure lowered their hood, revealing a woman with dark skin and braided black hair. Oh, and pointed ears.

 

“My name is Londibni Grenuc. How would you like a place in the Dark Lord’s Army?”

 

Adoel narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth. This was bad! Bob wasn’t nearly high level enough to confront a member of the Dark Lord’s Army right now, much less one of the notorious dark elves! And now that he had revealed himself, it would be hard to conceal his presence unless they could distract her. Adoel raised her hands and pulled on her holy mana, her hands shining with a golden glow. Her powers were restricted but under the circumstances she could get away with creating a flash of light with her power. She just had to hope that would be enough for Bob to…

 

“Sure.”

 

Adoel blinked. Did she just hear that right?

 

“Excellent.”

 

Bob and Londibni shook hands.

 

“Welcome to the Dark Lord’s Army.”

 

Adoel grabbed her hair and pulled.

 

“WHYYYYYYY?!!!!”

 

Bob's Current Status:

General Information		Attributes		Titles
Name	Bob	Name	Value	Name	Effect
Species	Human	STR	50(+18)	Hero from Another World	+10% XP Gained, learn skills more easily, grants All-Language Comprehension Skill
Sex	Male	MAG	48(+17)	The Faceless Minion	Grants Presence Concealment Skill (Lvl MAX), Grants False Status Skill, Grants Trustworthy Minion Skill
Age	18	DEX	51(+19)	Blessing of the Creator Goddess	+20 to every attribute, +100 to HP and MP, Grants Favorability Skill, Grants Analyze Skill (Lvl Max)
Level	23(+20)	SPD	52(+20)	Assassin(NEW)	Increased Critical Hit Damage, Increased Damage when attacking from Stealth or Concealment
XP	37/100	DEF	42(+11)	Poisoner(NEW)	Boosts effectiveness of all created poisons. Boosts control of poison attributes while creating poisons.
HP	151/151(+28)	RES	47(+17)	The Unseen One(NEW)	Boosts effectiveness of all stealth-related skills. Stealth related skills now extend to surroundings and allies on command.
MP	133/133(+22)	LUCK	49(+19)

 

Active Skills			Passive Skills
Name	Level	Description	Name	Level	Description
Presence Concealment	MAX	Avoid being noticed. Higher levels increase effect and scope of valid targets/senses. Taking action increases risk of concealment breaking.	All-Language Comprehension	N/A	Translates all languages both oral and written into wielder's primary language
False Status	N/A	Present a customized status when scanned by Analyze	Trustworthy Minion	N/A	Your employer's trust in you grows more rapidly, effect grows if employer is of neutral or evil alignment
Analyze	MAX	Scan a target's status page. Accuracy and available information depends on skill level and level difference with target	Favorability	N/A	The world itself, and all in it, look upon you favorably.
Stealth(NEW)	52	Hide yourself from sight	Assassination	25(+23)	Increases user's knowledge of stealth and vital points
Silent Steps(NEW)	52	Muffle any sounds you produce	Swordsmanship	22(+20)	Increases user's knowledge of sword technique.
Shadow Magic(NEW)	21	The Shadow Branch of Magic	Critical Hit(NEW)	19	Increases user’s ability to identify and target weakpoints. Increased critical chance and damage
Elemental Magic(NEW)	13	The Four Basic Elements	Acrobatics(NEW)	15	Boost users agility and mobility
Alchemy(NEW)	17	Governs the production and application of potions and poisons	Wall-Climbing(NEW)	13	Boost users ability to climb walls. User can identify (or at higher levels create) hidden hand and footrests even on flat surfaces
Critical Strike(NEW)	11	Increased critical hit chance and damage. Reduced damage on non-critical hits.	Lockpicking(NEW)	25	Increases users ability to pick locks