Ascension of the Master Assassin

Chapter 18: Decision

***

"Rena! The egg is so good!"

On the dining table, a pair of poor siblings were having their dinner in the dining area.

Although the food on the table wasn't scrumptious by any means, there was genuine laughter filling up the room.

"Are you sure you aren't mocking me? It's just a simple sunny side up with a dash of pepper." Rena pouted her lips and crossed her arms as a sign of being angry, but Venn could tell from a glance that she wasn't being serious about it.

Despite Venn's exaggerated actions, he wasn't lying about Rena's culinary skills. It had been a long time since he had a taste of her cooking and the familiar taste had warmed his cold heart that he thought had long been dead.

To him, no other dish could replace Rena's sunny side up egg in his heart.

Thinking about Rena had made Venn smile once more, he never once thought that he would get the chance to sit across Rena on the dining table again. In the past, they would have dinner together no matter how busy they were. But it all stopped when Rena was diagnosed with gene failure.

"Oh right, brother! How did the interview with Azure corporation go? Did you get in?" Rena asked.

Looking at Rena's concerned look, Venn told her the truth.

"I've decided to set up my own gaming workshop. Give me enough time and I shall earn enough credits for a mansion." Venn half-jokingly said while making a money gesture with his hand. He didn't want to have any secrets hidden from his sister, but he didn't want her to worry as well.

"In that case then, I want a big room for my bedroom. And it must come with a balcony." Rena sheepishly said.

"What are you talking about? Who said that you are living with me? The mansion is just for me and my wife. Wai-t, stop! Don't tickle me at my side! That's my sensitive spot! Ah-haha!"

"Spare me. Lord Rena! I fully understand what I did wrong! Ahah!"

Before Venn could finish teasing his sister, Rena had already pounced on to him like a swift cheetah and unleashed her malicious claws on him.

Not to be outdone, Venn retaliated back as well. Soon, both of them got their arms tangled up, and Venn's complexion went pale as soon as he took a look at Rena's face.

"Your nose... it's bleeding."

"Huh this is nothing. Must have been the weather nowadays. I keep having these nosebleeds lately." Rena shrugged it off like it was nothing.

However, Venn knew what the nosebleed meant.

It was the medical symptom for Rena's illness.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Venn cursed inwardly. 

If it wasn't for this incident, he would never have found out that the illness had already laid its roots in Rena so early.

While he was leisurely having dinner with Rena, he could have spent the time playing the game instead.

Gobbling up the food in the plate, Venn quickly went back to his room after excusing himself.

Entering the game once more, Venn had firmly made his decision without hesitation.

***

At the outskirts of Rosewell city, the shadowy figure of Venn could be seen moving across the bushes in the direction of an old, derelict building.

The sky in the game had since turned dark with litters of stars taking over the night sky.

Monsters roaming in the night were stronger than those in the days, however the game compensated the extra efforts in taking down the monsters with a 20 percent experience points increase.

Over the journey to the building, Venn had already dispatched several monsters that foolishly got in his way.

After the dinner with Rena, Venn chose to look for the orphanage by himself instead of reporting the blood serpents to the head knight. 

With the pressure from both Rena's illness and Ivy League, he couldn't afford to raise his power slowly anymore.

They are like the sword of damocles hanging over his head. Blink and it's over. 

He needed strength immediately. And the only way he could realise this was to infiltrate the ranks of the blood serpents.

He had no choice but to act on the fly. No matter how risky it was, this was his only option.

Upon returning to Heaven Descent, Venn hurriedly looked for a map of Rosewell city in the library. Luckily he managed to find one after asking for its location from the elf librarian.

The map he got had the details on the central sector blanked out. But it was sufficient for Venn to rely on. He figured that a mysterious organisation on the run, and was setting up a secret meeting among its members would most likely not hold their meeting in the single, most heavily guarded area so it didn't matter to him.

With the area of search narrowed down, the next thing he had to do was to figure out which orphanage out of the possible three in Rosewell city would they hold their annual meeting in.

The choices were Rosewell Colored Institution, the Red Presents Home and the Fiore Orphanage, with the former located inside the outer sector of the city near the church of Eternal Order while the latter two choices were located just on the outskirts of the city, and under protection of the nearby the watch towers.

Considering the section of the library where he found the hidden book in the library, Venn instantly knew the answer.

The Red Presents Home came into Venn's view slowly as he approached the worn down building with heavy steps. With every step that he took, the silence of the surrounding made the night even creepier.

He had come without any preparation given the short notice nor did he have any resources at hand to prepare anyway. His purpose of visiting the orphanage was to scout the area since the meeting would be held seven days later according to the letter.

Arriving at the doorsteps, he gave a gentle knock on the wooden door.