Ryujin decided to go to the capital, but it was late, so he decided to go home and leave tomorrow morning.

On his way home, Ryujin was attacked by the "Midnight Wind" party, adventurers from the capital.

Ryujin had been enjoying a relaxing time since Sophie had gone back to the capital, but today was turning out to be quite busy.

The "Midnight Wind" party had only just arrived in town, but they had already tracked down Ryujin's residence. They were a suspicious group known for their assassination skills, and their intelligence gathering abilities were remarkably good.

Ryujin was walking along the street leading to his apartment building.

The sun had set, but two moons were out, illuminating the city. Ryujin’s shadow stretched out behind him as he walked in the moonlight.

He was about to reach his apartment…

Suddenly, a man in black emerged from the shadow and plunged a knife into Ryujin’s back.

Of course, Ryujin had sensed it a few seconds in advance thanks to his danger sense.

What should he do?

He had several options for avoiding the attack.

Should he use a dimensional barrier?

Should he teleport away?

Should he use acceleration or level-up to turn around and handle it?

Should he stop time?

He could also simply jump out of the way.

Ryujin actually had so many choices that he often got lost in the possibilities.

But hesitation during a fight could be fatal. He had to optimize his instant reaction techniques. But for now, Ryujin was still in the process of trying out his abilities and experimenting.

In the end, Ryujin didn’t move at all. He didn’t raise a barrier, use time manipulation, level up, or teleport. He didn’t even jump.

It looked like he had simply taken the attacker’s attack on his back.

Had he hesitated and been unable to react in time?

But before the attacker's knife could touch Ryujin, it disappeared from his hand, and he was left only slapping Ryujin's back.

Ryujin had chosen to store the opponent's weapon.

The attacker panicked and tried to retreat into the shadows. But he had been momentarily stunned by the sudden disappearance of his weapon, and he hesitated for a second. That hesitation allowed Ryujin to grab his wrist.

The attacker had already gone halfway into the shadows, but Ryujin grabbed his wrist and prevented him from going further. His upper body was above ground, his lower body buried in the earth (shadow).

Ryujin had never seen someone who used spacetime magic like this before. It was likely a form of spacetime magic, the same as his own, but different in that his shadows were the entrance and exit points.

Ryujin used his powerful arms to forcibly pull the attacker out of the shadows, where he was struggling desperately to get back in. The attacker went airborne and slammed hard into the ground.

The man screamed a choked, “Ugh,” and lost consciousness. It seemed he wasn’t very durable.

Ryujin used his divine eyes to search his surroundings and discovered a second man hiding nearby.

Ryuu (to the hidden man): "Come out. Or are you going to abandon your friend?"

The man stepped out from behind the tree.

Man: "I see. It seems the story about you defeating Raiou and the others wasn’t a lie."

Ryuu: "You’re using an interesting technique… Shadow Movement, or something like that?"

He could move into shadows. No wonder they were so good at assassination, if they could blend into the darkness like that.

Man: “It’s the first time I've been pulled out of a shadow so quickly. We are the Shadow Clan, a clan that lives in the shadows and manipulates them."

Ryuu: "You can’t move without shadows? That seems inconvenient."

Man: “……Shadows exist everywhere. It has its advantages, you know?”

The man pulled a knife from his pocket and quickly threw it into his own shadow. The knife passed through the shadow and came out of the shadow behind Ryujin.

Of course, Ryujin had foreseen the attack and calmly moved sideways to dodge it.

… He should have dodged it.

But Ryujin’s shadow moved with him, following him wherever he went. There was no escaping his own shadow.

Ryujin hastily turned around, realizing this, but the knife stabbed him in the stomach.

Man: "It's over before it even began. Shadows follow you everywhere… It’s just a small knife, but it’s coated with paralyzing poison. We’ll bind you and take you with us."

But Ryujin didn’t fall after being stabbed. He turned to face the man. The knife that was supposed to be in his body had vanished.

Ryuu: "I'm returning this."

Man: "Grrr…"

The vanished knife plunged into the man's back. The knife had shot out of the space behind him.

The man pulled the knife out of his back and realized that it was the knife he had thrown.

Man: "Impossible…"

Ryujin had instantly opened a subspace entrance and "stored" the knife before it could stab him. The stored knife retained its momentum. If he opened the exit point behind the man, the knife would be ejected.

The knife wound wasn't serious, but the paralyzing poison took effect, and the man collapsed and started convulsing.

Ryujin teleported both men to the dungeon’s punishment room.

They were members of the "Midnight Wind" party that he had encountered earlier in the afternoon. But he was sure they were a four-member party. He checked with his divine eyes, but they weren’t there. Only two had attacked him.

Ryujin used his divine eyes to scan the city’s inns and quickly found the other two. He teleported them into the dungeon and then entered the dungeon himself.

…

…

…

The four men were teleported to a large space in the dungeon. It was a room Ryujin had prepared for punishment. There was no entrance or exit, and no monsters could get in. Without an entrance, they couldn’t escape unless they could teleport.

Ryuu: "You said you weren’t going to fight, so you could sneak attack us? That’s a pretty cowardly strategy."

Midnight Wind Leader: "Wait, I didn’t know. Those guys attacked on their own."

Ryuu: "You knew they were going to attack and did nothing about it. You’re just as guilty."

Ryujin activated his divine eyes and read the mind of the man who was called the Midnight Wind leader.

Midnight Wind Woman: "W, what are you going to do? I’m the secretary. I’m not involved in any attack!"

Midnight Wind Leader: “You… you’re just going to…!"

Ryuu: "That means you’re all responsible."

The Midnight Wind woman’s face turned white.

In the end, the Midnight Wind group continued to be used as test subjects for Ryujin’s combat optimization and testing. They would be killed, resurrected, and then killed again, over and over.

It didn’t take long for their spirits to break, much faster than the Blazing Heroes. That was understandable.

…

…

…

Next Time

Ryujin is going to the capital, but first he’s quitting the Adventurers' Guild.

Don’t miss it!