The Assassin's Alliance, a group that only recognizes money and not people, would do anything for a price. Unlike the mercenary guilds that operated openly, the Assassin's Alliance hid in the shadows, specializing in illegal and criminal activities: murder, kidnapping, assassination, and even toppling regimes. If you could think of it, they could do it.
They were the pariahs of the gods, souls beyond salvation, sinners whom the light refused to pity.
Seeing the token, Li Xi suddenly had an idea. "Xiao Fan, if I accept a mission from the Assassin's Alliance, does that count as a lottery chance?"
[It does, Master.]
"That's good."
To normal people, an assassin's token was something to be avoided at all costs, but to Li Xi, it was a coveted prize. As long as he could find the Assassin's Alliance's base, the missions he could accept would increase, leading to more lottery draws and faster growth in his strength. Gods, after all, were just more powerful beings.
If he could seal a god within his body and use it as a battery to provide chakra, he would never have to worry about insufficient chakra again!
After putting away the assassin's token and tucking the five magic crystals into his pocket, Li Xi formed hand seals in front of the room.
"巳 – 未 – 申 – 亥 – 午 – 寅"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
He exhaled, and a fireball over three meters in diameter instantly engulfed the room, the flammable furniture within crackling.
Before anyone else could arrive, Li Xi grabbed the box containing two hundred gold coins from the floor and fled, disappearing without a trace after a few Body Flicker Jutsu.
A fire that large would be visible across the entire city, and those gambling in the front yard were no exception. They shouted in alarm,
"Fire!"
"The boss and the others are still inside!"
"Put out the fire!"
By the time they arrived with buckets, they saw four corpses lying on the ground, and the buckets were promptly dropped.
Someone cried out,
"The boss is dead."
The people who moments ago were eager to put out the fire scattered like birds and beasts. Someone who could silently kill their boss, who possessed the strength of an advanced warrior, could easily kill them. None of them were innocent. If the killer hadn't left and they stayed, they'd be in trouble.
Li Xi returned home, buried the gold coins securely in the earth, and looked at the forty-three copper coins accumulated by the previous owner, Mi Duo, over the years. He smiled wryly, remembering the thin boy who used to count his coppers every night. "Rest in peace, I will live a brilliant life for you."
After a strenuous battle, Li Xi lay on his bed, contemplating his gains and losses. Those above the advanced warrior level possessed overwhelming close-combat strength; he was no match for them. He should avoid close combat at all costs in the future, lest he be incapacitated with just two punches. He was a ninja and should maintain distance.
Furthermore, advanced warriors could now match the speed of Body Flicker Jutsu, which was something to note.
The actual power of the Great Fireball Jutsu exceeded his expectations and was currently his strongest offensive technique.
After reflecting on his gains and losses, Li Xi considered whether he should go to "Monk's Magic Shop" to pay off the remaining balance for the leather armor.
The young girl who had promoted it to him clearly had ulterior motives. At the time, he was so eager for the equipment that he had reluctantly acquired it. If he were to present the remaining payment now, it would feel like a mouse delivering money to a cat, and he might lose both his money and his life.
It would be best to complete a few more missions and draw from the lottery a few more times to significantly increase his strength. If he could break through to Chunin, that would be ideal. If he could now easily deal with advanced warriors, would he need to fear the intermediate mage Monk after becoming a Chunin?
He wouldn't be easily defeated by him!
If they tried anything nefarious, who would be using whom would be uncertain!
Accompanied by the distant sounds of firefighting, Li Xi fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, after a hearty breakfast, Li Xi headed to the mercenary hall to look for suitable missions.
He first greeted Ais, then went to the E-rank mission room and scanned the large screen.
The mission to clear out demonic beasts for the Temple of Agriculture was still there, but Li Xi had already completed it and wouldn't get a lottery chance, so he wouldn't do it again.
Missions like searching for dragon dung or clues about mermaids were impossible for him. He scanned from top to bottom for a long time but found no suitable missions.
With no suitable missions, Li Xi decided to wait there, hoping for a real-time update of missions that fit his criteria.
Within half an hour, a new mission appeared. Seeing it, Li Xi's eyes widened slightly.
"Are they being this blatant?"
The new mission was: "Find the person who killed Delabante. A reward will be offered for clues."
"Since you've come knocking, don't blame me for taking advantage of this."
Li Xi sneered coldly and approached the counter with his badge. "I'll take this mission."
The staff member handed him a mission token. "The person who posted the mission is at the Maple Street No. 3 tavern. You'll find out when you go there."
"Thanks."
Li Xi quickly arrived at Maple Street. Most of the establishments on this street were places of ill repute: brothels, taverns, casinos, gladiatorial arenas, male escort services, and so on. Not a single legitimate establishment. If this were Earth, a crackdown on illegal activities would shut them all down, resulting in at least five years of imprisonment.
Li Xi followed the address to the No. 3 tavern. It was very quiet in the daytime. The owner was behind the bar, wiping glasses, and a weary server was cleaning the floor, about to go home to sleep after finishing.
Seeing Li Xi push open the door, the owner greeted him with a professional smile. "Sir, what would you like?"
Li Xi scanned the tables and chairs and quickly found his target. He was the only one in the entire bar sitting alone, silently drinking wheat beer.
"I'm still a month away from becoming an adult and can't drink. Please give me a glass of juice."
The owner stopped Li Xi, who was heading towards the mission contact. "Sir, this is a bar. We don't have juice."
Li Xi sat opposite the man, observing him. He noticed that the man was wearing a stand-collar trench coat, and if one didn't look closely at his face, it was hard to make out his features. "Then just bring me something that doesn't contain alcohol."
"Certainly, please wait a moment."
Li Xi placed the mission token on the table. "I've accepted the mission. I'll tell you what I saw."
The man opposite him, his face hidden within the trench coat, glanced at the mission token and uttered a single word: "Speak."
"I live in the slums, very close to where Delabante was. When it happened, I saw someone wearing an ogre mask carrying a box and leaving the area."
"He had just left when a large fire broke out there. Later, I heard people shouting that Delabante was dead. I even wanted to sneak over to see if there was anything to gain, but the fire was too big, so I didn't dare to go in."
After saying this, Li Xi spread his hands. "That's all I know."
The man opposite remained silent for a long time, not even lifting his eyes from the tabletop. When the owner brought over a cup of red liquid, the man suddenly asked, "You said you saw someone wearing an ogre mask?"
"Yes."
"What kind of mask was it?"
"Uh, just the kind you can buy anywhere on the street."
"What was the masked person's build like? How tall were they? Were they fast?"
Li Xi feigned a thoughtful expression. "They were a bit taller than me, about five centimeters taller. They were very fast, a blur. I was far inferior."
"What do you think their strength was?"
"They could kill Delabante, so they must have been at least an advanced warrior, right? My strength is too low to tell."
"Which direction did they go?"
"Towards the city gates."
"What time was it?"
"After I finished dinner, it must have been before 9 PM."
The man asked very detailed questions, but Li Xi's answers were a mix of truth and falsehood, making it impossible to discern which information was useful.
"That's all I know. How much commission do you think I'm entitled to?"
The man opposite took out a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the table, along with a mission completion certificate.
"Your information is very important to us. The commission is one gold coin."
Li Xi happily picked up the gold coin and the mission completion certificate. "Thanks."
He got up to leave, but suddenly the man opposite asked again, "You said the person wearing the ogre mask was about five centimeters taller than you?"
Li Xi paused for a moment, then scratched his head apologetically. "It should be, but they were so fast, maybe not five centimeters, perhaps six or seven."
Li Xi paid for the drink for him and left the tavern.
The trench-coated man downed the wheat beer in his cup and turned to go to the tavern's basement. Candles were not lit there, making it pitch black. A figure was hidden in the darkness.
This indistinguishable figure asked in an aged voice, "Have you confirmed it?"
The trench-coated man replied very respectfully, "My lord, this is just an F-rank mercenary. The information provided is scarce. I only know it was someone wearing a mask. However..."
"However, what?"
The trench-coated man hesitated. "Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but some of this little mercenary's words are not entirely accurate."
The elder hidden in the darkness chuckled. "You said he's an F-rank mercenary. The reward you gave him could sustain him for months. Naturally, he'd embellish. Most of it is likely his subjective addition."
"My lord is right. I was being overly cautious."
The shadow in the darkness pondered for a moment. "Gather more intelligence. If you find out this little mercenary is truly problematic, send him back to the embrace of death."
"Yes, my lord." The trench-coated man bowed his head and accepted the order.
...
Li Xi returned to the mercenary hall and submitted the mission completion certificate, bringing his total completed missions to seven. The ease of this mission far exceeded Li Xi's expectations.
"Xiao Fan, bring up the roulette."
[Certainly, Master.]
A large roulette wheel appeared before Li Xi.
Li Xi looked at it with great enthusiasm, but his enthusiasm dwindled to three-tenths upon seeing its contents.
The shuriken and kunai, which had previously disappeared, had reappeared. The Clone Jutsu also reappeared.
The First Hokage's Hashirama Cells, which had appeared multiple times, were gone, as was the Sharingan bloodline limit from the last draw.
Newly added items included a small bag of soldier pills, Chakra Refinement Technique, and something labeled 'Taijutsu (Basic).'
Fortunately, Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was still there, and Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu had been added.
Li Xi examined each item. The small bag contained one hundred soldier pills, each providing a day's worth of energy replenishment, making it an essential item for travel. It occupied a considerable portion of the wheel, almost thirty percent.
Next was the Chakra Refinement Technique, which would allow Li Xi to train and increase his total chakra, akin to a martial arts manual for a master. It was decent, occupying only five percent.
Then came Taijutsu (Basic). Li Xi had never seen anything so strange. The description simply stated that it would meet the basic physical requirements of a ninja.
Li Xi admitted he didn't understand it. It also occupied a small portion, about three percent.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique had appeared several times, and Li Xi was very familiar with it.
As for the newly added Water Prison Jutsu, it formed a water sphere to trap enemies, making it difficult to break free without external intervention. It was a decent ninjutsu, but Li Xi disliked it. He currently only desired offensive ninjutsu, so he favored Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique more.
The items on today's roulette wheel were clearly of low quality. The mission had been too simple, hence the results.