· Are You Sure This Is an Assassin Mission?

"Ding! Detected that the host has accepted the [Assassin] class inheritance and successfully unlocked skills. Exclusive world quest 'Hero Among Heroes' is now active. Please complete the mission within the allotted time."

Current mission countdown: 364 days 16:28:00
Current mission index: 0/1,000,000

Two consecutive system notifications rang in Lu Qiming's mind. The light screen before him automatically shifted to the primary page, with the mission countdown and index hanging prominently at the very top.

Lu Qiming stared blankly at the display, counting the zeros on the mission index one by one with his fingers.

"One, two... six... one million!!!"

Lu Qiming gaped at the number. One million! What on earth was this? Furthermore, according to the system's prompt, only killing monsters in the Dungeon or humans possessing a 'Blessing' counted toward the total; ordinary animals and humans were completely excluded from the mission criteria.

"Hey, System, did you make a mistake? Is this really an Assassin quest? Did you perhaps add a few extra zeros?"

"Ding! Host, please rest assured. This system sets mission objectives based on class characteristics; there is no possibility of error!"

Hearing the voice in his head, Lu Qiming felt his brain short-circuit. One million. Even with his current strength, if the enemies stood still and let him hack away, the sheer volume would exhaust him to death—let alone the fact that the system's targets were monsters or adventurers with supernatural power who certainly wouldn't just stand there and take it!

If he were a mage, it might be fine—just carpet-bomb the area with forbidden spells. But an assassin? Wait, his assassin class seemed capable of 'Musou' style combat; perhaps it wasn't entirely impossible!

Lu Qiming did a rough calculation. One million over the course of a year averaged out to 2,739.7260273972 monsters or human adventurers per day. Rounding that off, it was 2,740. That didn't seem so bad, right?

"Phew~"

Lu Qiming took a deep breath, looking at the countdown and mission index on the screen with a serious expression. Now, he just needed to confirm one last thing.

"System! Will I die if I fail the mission?"

"Ding! The purpose of this system is to cultivate the strongest class inheritor. If the host fails this mission, the system will automatically depart and seek the next host. The host will not die and will retain the classes already unlocked."

"In other words, after failing the mission, I will lose the ability to travel to other worlds and lose the chance to unlock other classes?"

"Ding! Yes!"

Hearing this, Lu Qiming let out a sigh of relief. Since he wouldn't die, at least he could keep his life as long as he didn't do anything suicidal. But he had finally escaped his boring former life, and he had the chance to visit the anime worlds he once loved—how could he give up so easily?

He knew from the information transmitted by the system that as he gained more class inheritances, he would gain more system permissions. When that time came, he could go to any world he wanted!

Thinking of this, the corners of Lu Qiming's mouth curled up in a bold grin. Airi, Nanase Ren, Takabe Eri, Kuraki Reina, here I come!

"Then, first things first: head to the Adventurer Guild and ask how to enter the Dungeon!"

With that, Lu Qiming hopped out of the sewer, a stainless steel basin on his head, and began walking outside. With the system's help, the once-foreign language was as easy to understand as his native tongue.

After asking for directions from a ragged young woman on the street, Lu Qiming managed to escape her attempts to pull him inside for tea—which she insisted would be free—only after promising to patronize her tea shop in the future.

"What a passionate young lady. I didn't expect her to offer free tea even after I said I had no money. What a good person!"

Lu Qiming sighed at how warm-hearted everyone was in this anime world while heading toward the Adventurer Guild. As for weapons, how could he have money for this world when he had just arrived? Besides, with his current strength, as long as he didn't take unnecessary risks, he could easily slaughter the monsters on the upper floors of the Dungeon.

Once he had money, he could buy weapons, and he could even go support that young lady's tea shop. Most importantly, she had mentioned that her friends also ran tea shops—he would just have to go support their businesses too!

Adventurer Guild.

Lu Qiming pushed open the doors with the stainless steel basin still on his head. The adventurers inside looked over as the door opened. Upon seeing a strange face—and a mere kid at that—they immediately lost interest.

There were plenty of such greenhorns every day; they weren't worth their attention. Whether he could survive the Dungeon was another matter entirely.

"Whoa! So this is the Adventurer Guild!"

Lu Qiming looked around with the curiosity of a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time. He was particularly drawn to the young woman behind the counter with pointed ears, tea-colored hair, a black-and-white uniform, and silver-rimmed glasses.

"Hello! May I ask what brings you to the Adventurer Guild?"

Eina watched Lu Qiming approach. With his rare black hair and eyes, he was likely an adventurer who had recently arrived in Orario. She just wasn't sure if he was here to register or to post a quest.

"Hello! I just arrived in Orario from my home in the East. I'd like to register as an adventurer."

"Understood."

Eina skillfully pulled a sheet of paper from under the counter and placed it in front of Lu Qiming.

"Please fill in your basic information, then pay a fee of 1,000 Valis."

"Uh..."

Lu Qiming froze when he heard he had to pay. He was penniless; where would he get the money to register? Suddenly, he noticed the stainless steel basin on his head.

My good brother! You traveled through time and space with me—you're the first time-traveling stainless steel basin, after all. You wouldn't mind me doing this, would you?

After confirming that his good brother, the stainless steel basin, had tacitly agreed to his proposal, Lu Qiming began scribbling on the paper with satisfaction. As for you saying the basin couldn't talk? What are you talking about?

His good brother was a time-traveling stainless steel basin; it wasn't talking just because it was a little shy!

A few minutes later, Lu Qiming handed the completed form to the young woman.

"Let's see... Lu Qiming, class: Assassin, received professional assassin training back home..."

Eina carefully read the form, absorbing Lu Qiming's information. Suddenly, she looked up, staring at him in disbelief, one finger pointing at a section of the form.

"Mr. Lu Qiming, is it? Why is the 'Familia' section blank?"

"Because I don't have a Familia."

Lu Qiming replied righteously. He didn't have one, and he didn't plan on joining one for the time being. To better complete his class missions, a Familia didn't really suit him.