CHAPTER 18

**BLOOD MOON ASSASSIN GUILD FIRST FLOOR - MIDNIGHT.**

The first-floor manager of the Blood Moon Assassin Guild, Haruki, was seated in a lotus position in his room. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and although his eyes were shut, his face twisted in fear. An unsettling expression flashed across his face as his eyes snapped open, as if he had witnessed something forbidden. In an instant, his expression worsened, and he opened his eyes wide as if confronting his own death or reliving a fatal encounter.

*GASP!*

Gasping for breath, Haruki jolted upright, clutching his neck as if trying to prevent it from slipping away.

"Arghhhhhhhhh, dammit! I'm done for," he swore loudly, his voice quivering with panic. His mind was thrown into turmoil after encountering visions of his own death twice in a row, leaving him mentally unstable due to shock and fear.

As he activated his ability, he saw a grim fate: the man set to end his life within two months wasn't his demise-bringer. Instead, it was James, the very assassin he had hired to kill that young man, accompanied by a woman with fox ears. Both were overwhelmingly powerful; the woman's stats registered at a minimum of 100, while James, once weak in his view, had grown tenfold, no, a hundredfold in strength. Haruki's vision twisted to a nightmarish scene where James transformed into a monstrous creature, crushing Haruki's skull with his bare hand.

"No, no, I can't wait any longer. I must contact the higher-ups immediately; I don't have much time. Staying on the first floor is a death sentence," Haruki mumbled urgently, dialing his phone. A colossal holographic image materialized before him; its screen was black—indicating that either the recipient hadn't yet picked up or he lost his connection to contract with them. Time ticked away until the call timer expired without an answer.

"Curses! Why aren't they responding? F*ck this sh*t, I can't stay put. I have to leave," Haruki muttered frantically, grabbing his phone and essentials. Just as he prepared to flee, a thunderous explosion echoed from outside.

*BOOM!*

*ARGHHH! HELP, Leader!*

*ARGGGHHHH!*

*SWISH!*

A symphony of cries and screams resounded, leaving him on the brink of terror.

"Damn it! Why now? I foresaw my death in the early morning, yet it's still the dead of night. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" He interrogated himself in a frenzy. A short while later, the explosions and cries ceased, plunging the guild into an eerie silence. Out of nowhere, the door before him erupted in a fiery burst, sending him flying several meters away.

*ARGHHHH!*

Collapsed on the ground, with his mana nearly depleted after using his ability, he struggled to rise. His gaze fell upon two figures standing amidst the wreckage of his door.

---

---

**~[8 hours ago]~**

"Hey Luna, we've got a job to do, and it might be risky," Ren said, looking serious.

"What's the plan, master? If it's really risky, I can do the fighting since I can't die," Luna suggested, thinking it could be a life-or-death situation.

"Don't worry, it's not too dangerous for us. We're going to visit a guild and wipe them out. Since their leader wants to get rid of me, so I'm going to deal with him first," Ren explained like it's no big deal for him to wipe out a guild like it's nothing.

"Okay, master, I'm ready to go with you," Luna replied, showing her loyalty.

"Awesome, but let's get ready first," Ren said, sitting down and taking out a bunch of weapons from his storage ring. The room got messy with all the stuff.

"Master, what are you going to do with those weapons?" Luna asked, not sure about Ren's special ability.

"Don't worry, just watch this," Ren said; suddenly, a blue light appeared in his hand and went towards all the weapons and things they had. After a little while, a message appeared in front of him.

*****************************

[DING…]

[SUCCESSFULLY EXTRACTED! YOU HAVE EXTRACTED ALL THE IMPURITIES FROM THE WEAPONS AND ITEMS. SOME OF THE WEAPONS AND ITEMS HAVE RANKED UP. YOU'VE GAINED +0.7 IN STRENGTH, STAMINA, AND MANA FROM THE IMPURITIES. THE WEAPONS AND ITEMS HAVE REACHED THEIR BEST POTENTIAL, AND NO MORE IMPROVEMENT IS POSSIBLE.]

*****************************

"Whoa, I didn't think extracting impurities would give me a boost in stats. And it looks like some of the weapons leveled up because they were already at their peak. Well, now it's time to fuse them up," Ren murmured. He activated his power again, but this time, a purple energy emerged. He picked two of the G rank daggers that had been upgraded to G+ rank after being extracted.

The weapons started fusing on their own, and a message popped up in front of him.

*****************************

[DING…]

[SUCCESSFULLY FUSED TWO G+ RANK DAGGERS. THE WEAPON QUALITY HAS INCREASED A BIT.]

*****************************

"Hey, when did these notifications start showing up after I fused stuff? Maybe it's because I'm like their maker now, handling all these weapons. Well, let's keep at it," Ren mumbled and continued fusing. He didn't try any strange combos like melding a bow with a dagger, as he doesn't want any accidental explosions.

~[After 2 Hours]~

"Whew! This is seriously sapping my time and energy," Ren panted, slumping onto the floor.

"Master, can you finally explain what's going on? I'm going stir-crazy just sitting here," Luna insisted with impatience.

"Heh, I've been using my ability to extract and fuse things. First, I got rid of the impurities in the weapons, and then I fused them together," Ren explained, displaying the results of his fusion efforts. Now, a hundred G rank daggers had vanished, replaced by a single dagger. Even the three G+ rank coats had melded into one.

"Wow, master, you're incredible. Can you check out these weapons' stats now?" Luna inquired eagerly.

"Well, since I practically made them using my ability, I can see their info, kind of like they're my creations, just like you. Alright, let's take a look," Ren said to Luna, while selecting his new dagger. The weapon had a sleek black-peach color and a stylish design. Surprisingly, it emanated some Chaos energy, similar to what Ren had within him.

*****************************

[WEAPON: DAGGER]

[RANK: D(+)]

[STRENGTH: +26%], [SPEED: +49%], [MANA: +10%], [STAMINA: +0%]

[ABILIY: NONE]

[SKILL: CHAOS DAMAGE RESISTANCE]

*****************************

"Whoa, this dagger is a major speed booster. And it's got a passive skill too, Chaos Damage Resistance. But how did my Chaos energy mix with this thing?" Ren wondered, examining the description in awe.

"Heh, well, this dagger looks stylish and tough and even if it got mixed up not like it's damaging the weapon or anything. Now, let's check out my new coat that I made by combining three others," Ren mumbled, picking up his upgraded coat that looked just like his old one but was now a higher rank.

*****************************

[ITEM: BLACK HOODED TRENCH COAT]

[RANK: E(-)]

[STRENGTH: +4%], [SPEED: +1%], [MANA: +5%], [STAMINA: +5%]

[ABILITY: AUTO CLEAN, AUTO REPAIR, SIZE CHANGE]

[SKILL: CHAOS DAMAGE RESISTANCE]

*****************************

"Amazing, now even this coat is giving me stat boosts, and it shares the same skill as my dagger. Haha, let's see about the others," Ren said excitedly, diving into the descriptions of his various items.

After about ten minutes, he had read through all the descriptions. A tinge of disappointment clouded his face as he let out a sigh and muttered, "Sigh, none of these items provide extra stat boosts. They just got sharper and more durable. Well, except for Luna's gauntlets. Even though it didn't get a huge boost like my dagger – I mean, I practically fused hundreds of daggers to make one – her gauntlets still give her a decent enhancement. No use getting down about a bunch of unranked gear." Ren consoled himself, standing up with a newfound cheer.

"Time to go beast-hunting, Luna. We've got to be ready for tonight's showdown," Ren declared with a touch of excitement, while wearing his newly fused outfits.

"Yippee! Let's go hunting!" Luna responded eagerly, clearly more thrilled than Ren himself, considering her background as a former jungle wolf there is no way for her just to sit around and do nothing at all.

**~(TO BE CONTINUED)~**