Timeless Assassin

(Planet Dodo, Secret Training Facility, 7 Days Later)

It took Leo and Veyr four days to perfect the first two stages of [Disarm], yet the Third Stage had them scrambling for answers, as every attempt ended in failure and every failure only made the technique seem even more impossible than before.

"No matter how hard I try, I can't do it without the water moving. Man, this is some mage type shit. I'm not a fucking mage, I'm an Assassin. Just what the fuck is this move?" Veyr complained, lowering his arm after another failed attempt, the surface of the long trough in front of him still rippling despite the three balloons tied to the log post beyond having popped.

The Eleventh Elder shook his head lightly. "Then it's still wrong. The balloons must burst without disturbing the water, not even a single ripple. If the water moves, you have failed."

Leo glanced down the lane between them and the target, a narrow stretch with a shallow trough of water running the entire length, and at the far end, three water balloons fixed in a neat triangular cluster.

The challenge was simple to describe but far from simple to execute, as they had to pop all three balloons at once using three precisely aligned pulses of wind, each hitting a different pressure point, and they had to do it without creating any spatial disturbance that the water could reveal.

It was the Elder's way of teaching them Invisible Tunneling, the only wind magic technique capable of delivering an attack without leaving a trace, and without it the Third Stage of [Disarm] was impossible.

"Patience… you need more patience, my dear Dragon, success does not come overnight. Keep at it and you will find a way to do it sooner or later," the Elder said, as he demonstrated to Veyr exactly how it was supposed to be done.

*pop* *pop* *pop*

Three balloons burst in perfect unison, yet the water beneath them remained perfectly still, as if untouched by any spell at all.

"Invisible Tunneling does not push the wind, it opens a path for it, allowing it to travel unseen, unfelt, and unheard," the Elder explained calmly. "You need all three pulses to arrive at the exact points without the enemy sensing a thing."

Veyr grunted. "Yeah, well, easier said than done."

Leo stepped up for his turn, his eyes flicking between the balloons and the still water, his mind cycling through every failed attempt of the past two days. He released his pulses, faint and quiet, yet still small ripples spread across the trough's surface.

"Better," the Elder noted. "You narrowed the disturbance, but you are still forcing the air. You must think of the wind as water inside a pipe, flowing freely through the tunnel you create rather than being shoved through it. Force creates disturbance. Guidance creates silence."

Veyr shook his head. "Still sounds like mage crap to me."

"Think whatever you like," the Elder replied, "but until you can do it without disturbing the water, you will never perform [Disarm] on a Transcendent-tier opponent or higher.

They will feel even the faintest shift in the air and shut you down instantly, at which point it will be nothing more than a cheap trick."

The rest of the afternoon was an endless cycle of attempts and corrections, Leo narrowing his mana streams only to lose accuracy, Veyr reducing power to avoid ripples only for the balloons to remain untouched.

The Elder adjusted their stances, corrected their hand angles, and forced them to wait a full breath before each cast, yet neither could get all three requirements right at once.

By sunset, the trough's surface looked like it had been stirred over and over, the balloons replaced more times than either could count, Veyr's frustration audible in every sharp exhale while Leo remained silent, eyes fixed on the target as though replaying the angles and pressure points in his mind.

"Enough for today," the Elder finally said. "When you can pop them without touching the water, you will have mastered Invisible Tunneling, and only then will you be ready to use [Disarm] for real."

Leo gave a short nod, already thinking about his next attempt, while Veyr muttered under his breath, "Yeah… I'll be the best mage in the Cult by the time this is over, I can feel it."

—-----------

(Meanwhile back on Planet Vorthas)

A couple days ago, Chaosbringer finally arrived on planet Vorthas, where he was excited to meet Leo, but was instead met by some masked man called 'Viper', who put him in touch with a woman called 'Mu Fan'.

Chaosbringer did not like either of them, but they seemed to be servants in the service of his glorious master, and hence he tolerated them.

The 'Mu Fan' woman then put him in touch with a man called the 'Twelfth Elder', as his helper and instructed him to absorb every aspect of his personality right to the most minute of details.

Apparently, his master Lord Boss had some important plan for him, which involved him impersonating this man, and hence for the sake of his master's plan, not only did Chaosbringer tolerate the Twelfth Elder's extreme narcissistic attitude, but also praised him non-stop, until the man promoted him to the post of personal assistant.

"Oh Lord Twelfth, the populace of Vorthas is so lucky to have such an intelligent and benevolent Elder looking over them…. Truly, you're a gift to it's people," He flattered, as compliments like these became a daily routine.

In only two days, Chaosbringer managed to absorb most of the Twelfth Elder's mannerisms, including how he walked, talked and smiled.

But there were still some minute details he needed to know about the man before he could mark his assignment as complete.

'Seven more days…. In seven more days, I'll learn everything I need to learn about this man down to a T' Chaosbringer thought, as he made a tight timeline for himself to finish this task, so that he could meet with his Lord Boss at long last.