Aka opened his eyes, but this time he didn't see the tall ceiling he was used to. Instead, the ceiling above him was lower. When he turned his head to the side, he saw that 29 was lying next to him.
This time, even if it meant waking her up, he wrapped his arms around her where she lay and kissed her lips. When he thought she had died, he had finally understood her value, but now that he had truly lost her once, he realized even more deeply that he was in love with her.
29 woke up and returned Aka's kiss. Then they began something they hadn't shared in a long time, and before they even realized how fast time was passing, they spent it together.
After they had played around together enough and eased the longing between them, they first went to train. Then they slipped through the crowd toward the arena entrance, waiting until the current match ended. When their turn came, they each stepped into the arena in turn and fought as they pleased.
Aka opened his eyes again, woke 29 beside him, and they went to the hall together. But this time the hall wasn't like usual — it was more orderly. The reason for this was that the second major exam had arrived. After kissing each other, they split up to find opponents. Aka was in much better condition than last time, and he already had someone in mind. However, 44 approached him and said he wanted a rematch. Now that Aka had begun to understand some things, he accepted this with respect for 44's honor, and they went together to the Instructor. It would be the same setup as Aka's previous match: Aka had zero failures, while 44 had one. So 44 wouldn't be allowed to kill Aka — but Aka would be allowed to kill him.
The fight began, and they both slowly stepped toward each other. But now things were more serious, and the one thing Aka wanted most in life was to return to his lover. Because of that, he was more focused than ever.
The moment he found the opportunity, Aka used the dagger he had earned in the previous match — his hidden trump card — and cleanly stabbed it into 44's knee. Caught off guard, 44 collapsed onto both knees. Aka immediately followed up, punching him repeatedly in the head with the spikes of his gloves, then grabbed the throwing dagger and respectfully bowed before the Instructor.
The Instructor told him that his opponent wasn't dead yet — and that he had to finish the job. Aka took a deep breath, delivered one more strong punch, and then returned to stand before the Instructor again. This time the Instructor confirmed that the job was done and gave Aka his evaluation.
Instructor: "Candidate 47, in a single word — magnificent. You didn't do anything wrong. Your only shortcoming was that you turned your back before killing him. But considering you're not yet used to killing, even that can't be counted as a flaw. With these results, I'm pushing you up a level. That means you no longer have six exams left, but five. Also, as your Instructor, I'm gifting you a throwing dagger — and of course, 44's equipment is now yours."
Aka thanked him and kept bowing respectfully until the Instructor left. Once he was gone, Aka began checking what he could take from Number 44's body.
44's equipment wasn't amazing, but his chest guard left fewer gaps than Aka's own, and his gloves were slightly better. So Aka took those and went back to his room, waiting anxiously for 29 to return.
When 29 arrived, he hugged her tightly, and they told each other about their fights. Apparently, 29 had fought a boy named 257 and defeated him easily. But since the boy had no good equipment, she hadn't been able to take anything.
After Aka finished explaining his own fight, he seriously asked 29 how many exams she had taken so far. When she answered that this had been her third, Aka let out a relieved breath. He then told her that the Instructor had counted this exam as two exams for him.
But 29 didn't look pleased. In fact, she seemed worried. Aka couldn't understand this worry and asked her why she was concerned.
29 said, "Aka, I don't know if you've realized this yet, but we're being trained to become assassins. And you're telling me that someone who has passed every single exam we've gone through likes you a lot — so much that he even gave you an extra pass as a gift. That means he already sees you as a potential assassin for the clan and is grooming you for that role."
Aka had never thought of it that way before, but the truth hit him like a slap. If this continued, he would never gain his freedom — he would live and die as an assassin. In that moment, he realized exactly what he needed to do. From now on, he would stay as far away from the Instructors as possible, graduate together with 29, and then they would escape and live their own lives.
In this way, two and a half years passed. Before going to their final exams, both Aka and 29 reviewed their abilities. Aka's stats were as follows:
Age = 17Strength = 13Endurance = 13Speed = 10Intelligence = 1Awareness = 7Spiritual Power = 0Physical Power = 0Potential = 20
His Innocence, Absorption, and Hardworking abilities were still there — but now he had gained two new traits:
Killer — You have killed people, and you feel no guilt. You are no longer a normal person but a killer. Taking a life no longer affects you.
Practical — You are highly practical in combat. You can analyze your opponent's abilities much faster than normal people and quickly adapt your techniques — or create new, efficient ones — on the spot.
If you've managed to read this far, thank you so much. I made a really big time skip because honestly, I was starting to get bored of these sections, and now I want to introduce you properly to my world and concepts. I promise that in one or two more chapters, everything will start changing very quickly. If you've read or even just taken a look, thank you again. If you have any thoughts — good or bad — please feel free to leave a comment. I'll probably see it and reply right away. Thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful day.