Free and Unfettered 101 Hopcaper Tribe

Could it be… this was why all the elders in his tribe said that his Master had lost his mind, blatantly accepting all assassinations from that woman without any hesitation whatsoever. So, it was because he had a curse placed upon him to prevent him from rebelling!

How could they all have been so blind? How could the elders not know the pain that his Master had been going through? He had always secretly thought that to himself. Didn't they know the expressions that flashed across his Master's face when he thought he was alone?

"Yes, I was tasked to assassinate a list of people that would be a hindrance to their plan. Three years ago, I met with a woman who looked like a typical Elf. She had platinum blonde hair and silver eyes." Matthew paused, sending a picture of her to them via mental transmission.

"She called herself Helce. I am unsure whether or not that is her real name. I rejected her at first – I had no reason to take additional contracts on top of what I could already find myself through the Assassin's Guild. Little did I know that she would hold the lives of everyone in the tribe for rejecting her unreasonable requests." Matthew shook his head. Finally feeling the burden that had been chaining him down lift itself. She had made it so that he could not even breathe a word of this to anyone.

"I see," Nine said, pondering over the possible ramifications. Though she had never seen this particular Elf, now that she had a picture of how she looked, it would be easy to find her. "How many have you already assassinated so far?"

Matthew looked pained. "I tried to drag it out as long as I could, and only assassinated those who I found out were corrupt, but I fear she's growing impatient."

Nine hummed whilst Nocturne looked murderous. She could practically hear the outrage going through her partner's mind that someone had dared try to assassinate him. Although she was wrong that someone had tried to assassinate her because of Nox, they had planted evidence that made it seem rather legitimate, and she made a folly in believing it straight away. She should have known better. Her complacency would be rectified.

So, the plan would probably be soon underway. She wasn't sure if she should blame the game developers for this or not. Likely, this was the 'first arc' or 'world catastrophe' that the Undyings had to fight against together with the inhabitants of this world.

Nine rose to her feet gracefully, straightening her sleeves. "Then, let us go."

"Go?" Justin questioned, snapping out of it. "Go where?"

"To your tribe, of course. Where else would we be going?" Nocturne resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Can you apply that spell on us as well? If you were able to fool my senses, then whatever monitoring devices that blasted Elf has left in our tribe would be fooled as well."

"Yes," Nine said, immediately casting it over them.

Vaguely, with her Magic Sight, she could see the two examine their bodies with wonder and surprise. Justin took a step and promptly tripped to the ground.

Nine withheld a snort. Indeed, being invisible did make things rather disorientating.

"Are you able to teleport?" Nine inquired. She could see that Matthew was not just an adept assassin, but also a highly ranked mage.

"Yes. But we will have to take several stops because I can't teleport that far without draining my magic."

Nine nodded. "That is acceptable."

Unfortunately for them, the Wererabbit tribes did not live on the Night Tide continent, otherwise she could have gotten them there within a split second.

Like this, the foursome left to head towards the two assassins' tribe before Helce could discover their communication. Nine sent out orders for Mephisto to relay to her minions that they should look out for the Elven woman.

Several long teleports later, they finally arrived near the two's tribe, landing on the plains. Matthew had specifically used this plain to land his teleports on the way back to the Hopcaper tribe.

Reapplying the stealth spell, this allowed the four of them to travel to the Hopcaper tribe unnoticed.

Housed within the plains, the Hopcaper tribe looked more like a city rather than a tribe. It was certainly bustling, and they had relatively modern buildings instead of the huts one might expect when they heard the words 'tribe'.

Humans usually imagined rabbits and bunnies as rather docile, timid creatures, but the Wererabbits were anything but. Though lacking in physical strength, they made up for it with wit and sharp instincts. Their sharp eyesight made them a terror to whichever prey was eyed by them.

Two tribesmen guarded the gates, but Nine could sense that there were as many as twenty more around that were guarding the gates discretely. They were hidden well and positioned as such that they could alert the inside should there be any trouble heading their way.

Nine was almost instantly charmed by the tribe set out in front of them. As far as the eye could see, there were Wererabbits walking around in the same manner as humans but seeing a bunch of people with rabbit ears and tails made her feel like tugging on them to satisfy her desire for cuteness.

She could tell that Nox felt the same way as her, with the way he all but vibrated in his stationary pose. She could see him eyeing Matthew and Justin's tail and ears over and over again. Had he any less control over himself, he would have reached over and touched it. Indeed, it was hard to blame him, but it was considered a terrible offence for someone not of the Wererabbit's family to touch or even ask to touch.

As such, Nine and Nocturne held themselves back.

Though similar to humans' settlements, there was a distinct difference in the way they built their structures, which were designed to look less shiny. Instead, the buildings seemed to be carved out of some sort of stone or granite.

As Nine studied the architecture, she noted that none of the buildings had any doors on them, and each building was incomparably large. The entrances to each building was always carved out to look large and swooping but seemed to radiate a charm that made one want to enter.

After getting her fill of architecture, Nine's eyes narrowed as she actively used her Magic Sight. Though faint, each person carried a tint of darkness magic within them, which was most unusual. It wasn't anything overt, like how Matthew's curse had been, but more subtle. It was spread throughout their body, whereas the assassin's had been concentrated on his magical core, practically leeching off it.

"Mm. I see what's going on here. No wonder that Helce thought that she could so effectively bring down your entire tribe," Nine said, causing Justin and Matthew to tense up.

"What is it?"

"Do your people all eat the same food? Or drink water from the same source?"

Matthew nodded; his expressions solemn. "We do. We do not import from humans, nor anywhere else. We grow crops ourselves, and the meat is hunted by warriors. Our water is collected from our reservoir."

Nine's eyes darkened. Though she had expected some degree of ruthlessness, the Elven woman had effectively poisoned the whole tribe. Most likely from the water in the reservoir. It was the quickest and most efficient way to get what she wanted into their bodies. Still, it ached to think of what would have happened should they not have followed Justin. Not even the youngest would be spared. In fact, it was more likely for them to have died out first.

"They have been poisoned from a low dosage of darkness elements. Since they have been ingesting it over a period of time, it has accumulated in their body like a parasite. They would have died regardless of whether or not you uphold your deal with her."

Matthew took a deep breath as he controlled his raging emotions. As a veteran, he was adept with compartmentalizing, but it wasn't so easy for his disciple.

Justin snarled as his anger rose exponentially. If it wasn't for Nine and Nocturne casting a double layer of silencing and enhanced stealth spell over him, he would have alerted everyone in the place.

"Calm yourself," Matthew said, placing a hand on his disciple's head. "Now is not the time for such emotions."

"Master!" Justin complained, sulking, but quailed under his Master's eye.

"Please," Matthew begged, dropping to the ground on his knees. He bowed low, until his forehead touched the ground. "Please help my tribe! I know I do not have much to repay you with, but I will give you my loyalty."

Nine watched the man impassively.

Chapter end