Martial Online.

"Master!"

In the vast yard, thirty well-dressed servants greeted their master loudly and bowed deeply in respect.

At the front gate of the yard, the carriage's door opened, and a blond-haired man stepped out with a cold look on his face.

He was dressed fancifully as if he had just returned from a royal banquet, and then he entered the yard with long, steady steps.

While bowing deep in respect, the servants kept calm expressions, but few of them sweated because of the pressure their master, Zane, was emitting.

It was like standing in the presence of a powerful king, and they couldn't help but feel the weight of the insane pressure on their shoulders.

Zane left behind the yard and entered the house, ignoring all the fancy decor that must've cost millions and instead heading straight to his bedroom.

After arriving at the bedroom, he locked the door and sat on the edge of his bed, not speaking a word.

"Anything suspicious?" He spoke into the empty air in front of him.

At that moment, five black-suited individuals appeared out of thin air and surrounded the bed he was sitting on. They were flickering in and out of existence as if they were holograms.

"No, master." They spoke in unison, as if they were one person. "The place has been secured."

"I see." Zane said it coldly. "Continue keeping an eye on this place. I've seen the church snooping around lately."

"Yes, master." The five individuals responded in unison and also bowed at the exact time.

At that moment, they disappeared just as fast as they disappeared, leaving Zane alone in his fancy, expensive-looking room.

Zane tugged his tie and loosened it around his neck until it was dangling carelessly.

He then unbuttoned his overshirt and his cuffs, revealing a slight tattoo on his forearm that was still covered with the sleeve of his dress shirt.

"Mhm…" He rubbed the back of his neck as if he were having some neck pain.

Then he stood up from the edge of the bed, moved his head around slightly, and let out a small groan because of the small neck pain he was having.

And then he moved slowly to the bathroom to get some pain relief cream.

After applying it to his neck, he felt instant relief and decided to lay back down on the bed.

He slowly closed his eyes to get a long-awaited rest, but at that same moment, five individuals returned to the room like ghosts from the afterlife and bowed in apology.

"What." Zane opened his eyes in irritation.

"We've received some concerning news." They said it in unison.

"What?" Zane sat back up and looked at them in annoyance.

If it wasn't something important, he was going to punish them.

"We've received some news from the Slum Graveyard." They said. "A while back, the gravekeeper was killed, and it was thought to be the deed of some slum dwellers.

"However, his body was discovered next to a grave that might be of interest to you."

"Whose?" Zane asked without any interest in the current topic.

"It was right beside the grave of Falco Arundell," they said.

"And?" Zane raised his eyebrow. "Is there a point to all of this? He is dead, so why does it fucking matter?"

"Well, there was a hole in his grave, as if someone had dug with a spade." They said this before coming to the point. "Earlier today, it was discovered that his body was missing."

"What?" Zane frowned. "What do you mean missing?"

"It was gone, master." They said. "They also saw footprints there, leading away from the grave."

"Stop walking around the circles and just say it!" Zane screamed loud enough for the servants in the hallways to hear him.

The five individuals nodded in a hurry and started explaining.

"Ever heard of Deathwalkers, sire? They're part of a genetic mutation that allows them to wake up from death for thirty days before they return to the afterlife.

"It is extremely rare, even among the magician community. Deathwalkers also been said to have insane magic abilities, giving them the innate ability to learn all sorts of magic.

"Deathwalkers also cannot be killed before the thirty days are up.

"However, in reality, Deathwalkers are alive for thirty days and thirty minutes.

"After the thirty days, there are thirty minutes where they don't have immunity to death anymore, and whoever kills the Deathwalker during those thirty minutes gets an insane increase in mana pool.

"Killing Deathwalker during that period is the same as killing ten thousand magicians!

"However, during that thirty minute period, Deathwalker's abilities have all increased exponentially, making them extremely dangerous.

"After the thirty minute period, if no one has killed the Deathwalker, they die naturally, and no one gets the increase in mana pool!"

"So, you think that bastard Falco is a Deathwalker?" Zane asked angrily and slammed his fist on the bed. "How can that be?!"

"We expect Falco to be after his killer." They said in unison. "He might not know that he is a Deathwalker, as it is not common knowledge, especially among ordinary folks.

"He might be coming after you next, master."

"Hmph." Zane scoffed without any fear. "If he does, he is a bigger fool than I think. Well, if he indeed does, we can imprison him till the final moments of his life and get the kill!"

"Should we go search for him, master?" They asked.

"Two of you will do." Zane said and waved his hand. "Go search his school for the poor. I know his way of thinking, and he will definitely go there. Then, keep an eye on his family; he might go for them out of despair.

"He might be a fool, but he isn't stupid enough to reveal himself in public. After all, he must know that he was killed and what will happen if the church finds out about him."

"Yes, master."

As the two of them left, only the three flickering individuals were left.

"You three, keep guard around this neighborhood." Zane said with a smile.

"Yes, master." The three of them bowed and disappeared into thin air.

"Hah, Falco Arundell." Zane stood up and walked over to the window that overlooked the neighborhood.

On his lips, a sinister smile appeared that sent shivers down anyone's spine who saw it.

"A pathetic worm is still trying to cling onto his life. I wonder what his face will look like once he realizes that he will die no matter what."

…

"This is Golden Knife Street."

Casper said as he overlooked the street that was shaped like a knife, with gold-painted houses making up the blade. It was clearly a place where only the rich and powerful were allowed to live.

"This is it, huh…" Ambrose crossed his arms and asked innocently. "Why are we so far away and not going straight to Golden Knife Street?"

"It would be suicide." Casper said. "There are hundreds of magicians there, acting as guards, and some are living there. We would be discovered in an instant."

Ambrose, of course, knew it, as he was able to sense all the magicians there, and there were indeed powerful magicians, but no one came close to Montgomery's strength.

He would be easily able to enter it undetected and do his assassination.

After a few assassinations, his karma had indeed gone down, but nothing too bad as Falco was basically a saint, making his karma level insanely high.

"Do you see that house?" Casper pointed at the tip of the golden knife, where one house stood out as it was the exact tip of the golden knife.

"Yeah." Ambrose nodded.

"That's Zane's house." Casper said. "It is the most protected house in the entire neighborhood, and he has very powerful guards.

"Going there is impossible task even for me, and especially for you as you don't even know magic.

"So, do you realize how pointless it is to go there?

"I would suggest to take your time to learn magic. After I'll cure your Deathwalking disease, you can spend next years learning everything we can teach you. Then, you can attempt your assassination.

"Going there recklessly is instant death."

'Again the lies.' Ambrose kept calm facade, but was scoffing inwardly. 'There is no cure, so I wonder what Casper is planning.

'He clearly doesn't want me to die for some reason and he especially doesn't want me to go after Zane. I guess this is why he is showing where he is because according to him, it is impossible for me to go for him.'

"I-I guess you're right." Ambrose replied with a slight stutter and asked. "T-then, who was the one who killed me? That might be easier target."

Casper froze for a moment before shaking his head.

"You shouldn't worry about that now. If you see that person someday in the underground town, you might do something impulsive and try to kill him, only to end up dead.

"This is for your own good."

'…' Ambrose stayed quiet, but he was getting pretty annoyed.

'How can I get him tell me who killed me?

'I don't know whether I am Deathwalker, but Casper thinks I am and might try something after the thirty days is almost over.

'I guess I'll have to wait for that.'

Ambrose sighed as it seemed like he was currently stuck in the progession as he couldn't just go and kill Zane either as that would really make Casper suspicious.

'I guess I'll return to Martial Online for now to prepare for the finals of the tournament.'