Assassination, or a Test?

Gripping the hilt tightly, Li Qi observed the seven people present.

He analyzed the situation.

This was Onoé, the Royal Capital. Setting everything else aside, its public security was undoubtedly far better than that of other cities.

There might be petty thugs, and there might be gangs.

But there was no way so many magic users would suddenly appear at once.

Do not think magical aptitude was something commonplace. If it truly were that common, there would be more than just a handful of people capable of using magic on the battlefield.

The Duchy of Uno could have formed an army entirely made up of magic users.

But unfortunately, magical aptitude was rare. It might not be one in a thousand, but at the very least, only one person among several hundred would possess it.

Yet seven people with such rare aptitude had appeared here all at once.

And those seven people were ambushing an officer of the state.

This was clearly no coincidence.

How had they learned of Li Qi's existence? And how had they bribed the soldiers responsible for receiving him?

And why were they able to gather beneath the noses of the Royal City's guards?

Leaving aside the possibility that the Royal City's gangs had gone completely insane and were attacking a state officer in broad daylight, only two possibilities remained.

One was that Li Qi had offended some noble, who had gathered assassins to eliminate him here.

The other was a test.

This was likely a test arranged for Li Qi by certain people.

The most likely candidates were the teachers at the academy Li Qi was about to attend, though it could also have been his future superiors.

It could even have been officials or nobles Li Qi did not know, but who were interested in him and wanted to test his strength.

In that brief instant, Li Qi considered many things.

He narrowed his eyes at the Third Rank magic user holding the gun and asked in a low voice,

"Who sent you?"

The Third Rank magic user did not speak. He merely opened his mouth at Li Qi.

The empty cavity made Li Qi's heart tighten.

This guy's tongue had been cut out!

These people were Death Soldiers!!

Had he guessed wrong? This was not a test—had he unknowingly offended someone?

Li Qi did not believe anyone would be so extravagant as to use Death Soldiers to "test" him. Compared to a test, the possibility that someone wanted to kill him was far closer to the truth.

The enemies revealed the fact that they could not speak.

Then the revolver wielder closed his mouth.

As though that had been a signal, everyone rushed forward at once, lunging at Li Qi.

The alley was not narrow. An alley wide enough for carriages to pass through could not be that cramped.

Thus, the group surrounded Li Qi from every direction, drew their respective weapons, and immediately attacked.

Only six people attacked Li Qi.

The sharpshooter with exceptional marksmanship remained at a distance, staring coldly at Li Qi as if he were prey.

Li Qi's gaze swiftly swept over the six attackers. Magic surged into his Legs, and the Military Blade in his hand received Magic Augmentation as it flashed from its sheath, meeting the first man to attack him.

The one charging at him was a Second Rank magic user. He held battered daggers in both hands, with no Magic Augmentation on them. They did not appear to be Magic Weapons.

Not every weapon could receive Magic Augmentation.

Only weapons compatible with magic could be infused with it, increasing their power.

The Military Blade in Li Qi's hand was specially supplied by the army and possessed excellent magical compatibility, which was why he could infuse it with magic.

The weapons in his opponent's hands were merely ordinary daggers.

His weapons were garbage, his magic was inferior to Li Qi's, and in terms of skill, he was even less comparable to a warrior like Li Qi, who had fought and killed on the front lines.

The fate of that Second Rank magic user charging at him had already been decided.

But just as Li Qi was about to strike and reap the man's life,

the Third Rank magic user in the distance, holding a revolver, seized the moment and fired at Li Qi.

Bang!

Li Qi, who had been watching that man the whole time, stopped the instant his opponent fired and created a Magic Shield beside himself.

The shield shattered, and the bullet deflected into the alley's stone-brick wall, ricocheting away to who knew where.

At the same time, Li Qi's movements were forced to stop, leaving him able only to evade the attack from the assailant before him.

"Tch."

Glancing sideways at the Third Rank magic user standing in the distance with his handgun, Li Qi understood why he had not joined the fight.

He wanted to support the others, preventing Li Qi from killing enemies while also giving that group an advantage.

With his precise shooting skills, he truly could accomplish that.

Li Qi had just been forced to halt his attack and evade because of him.

However...

He could only do that once.

Keeping the gunman in the corner of his eye, Li Qi's thoughts raced.

Using his advantage, he dodged the dagger wielder's attack, adjusted his footing, slipped past him, and charged toward the enemy in the middle holding a rifle.

A silver gleam streaked through the air as Li Qi's blade shot toward the man's chest.

And, as expected, the revolver wielder pulled the trigger again!

Bang!!

"Heh."

Yet upon hearing the gunshot, Li Qi smiled instead.

At the exact moment the shot rang out, Li Qi tilted his head slightly. A Magic Shield appeared beside him once more and knocked the bullet aside.

This time, however, the bullet did not ricochet into the wall.

"Aah!!"

A cry of pain rang out from the crowd.

The bullet Li Qi had deflected sank precisely into the chest and abdomen of someone behind and to the side of him.

The bullet pierced through the body, blood sprayed out, and the man let out a scream before collapsing to the ground, unable to rise.

The revolver wielder's eyes widened.

He clearly had not expected this to happen.

Li Qi did not care what he thought. While the revolver wielder stood stunned, Li Qi charged at his target again.

This time, his blade cleanly slit the enemy's throat.

"Why don't you keep shooting?"

Having dealt with two people in an instant, Li Qi shook the blood from his blade and smiled at the revolver wielder with his head tilted.

"..."

The revolver wielder remained silent. Since he could not speak, he could only remain silent.

But Li Qi could sense his body temperature rising, and cold sweat covered him.

After provoking him slightly without expecting a response, Li Qi bared his teeth and charged toward the next enemy.

This time, Li Qi chose the gunman himself!

The revolvers developed by the Duchy of Uno held six rounds.

Or rather, the standard revolvers used by most countries in this world held six rounds.

The gunman had previously used four bullets to force the carriage to stop, then one bullet to force Li Qi to halt, and another to take out one of their own.

There should be no bullets left in the gun now.

That was why Li Qi chose the gunman as his opponent.

Before he could reload, Li Qi naturally had to strike while he was down and finish him off!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This kid is incredible."

On the building above, the examiner responsible for scoring this assessment marveled at Li Qi's performance.

Among the ten people being assessed this time, Li Qi was actually one most examiners had not thought highly of.

After all, his age was right there.

Thirteen years old—still just a child. How formidable could he possibly be?

Even if he had earned a title on the battlefield, even if he had been awarded the Unicorn Medal.

In most people's eyes, he had relied on luck.

That included the examiner standing here now.

But after witnessing Li Qi's performance, the examiner somewhat restrained the contempt in his heart.

Leaving aside whether the military achievements Li Qi had earned on the battlefield came from strength or luck, his current performance alone already surpassed that of most candidates.

At the very least, some Noble Descendants from aristocratic families were absolutely no match for this kid.

"There shouldn't be any problem with his assessment..."

The examiner drew a circle on his assessment sheet to indicate a passing grade.

After confirming the kid below had passed, the examiner looked down again.

But when he looked again, the examiner's eyes widened, and he abruptly threw his head back.

Whoosh—!

A Military Blade sliced past his chin by the narrowest margin.

Had the examiner reacted even a fraction slower, his head would have been pierced through by the blade!

But dodging the Military Blade did not mean the examiner was safe.

Before the examiner could recover, a figure below ran up the wall and climbed onto the roof.

It was Li Qi.

After dealing with the ambush below, he had actually discovered the examiner and come straight for him!