Only I Am A Reader
chapter-26

'As expected, it's hard.'

Having been tempered by the countless killings that he read in novels, Leo wasn't very affected by the sight of death that he had caused, especially when it was deserved and with a proper cause. However, he was frowning due to having missed his target.

While he had spent some time trying to train in knife throwing, Leo didn't invest much time into it. After all, unlike swordsmanship which was easier to get into, 'throwing' wasn't a simple technique that could be grasped in less than two weeks. The 'Personal Book' that didn't show any new skill in the list was a testimony to that.

Furthermore, the books that he had read about throwing knives amounted to zero, it wasn't something that was common to being with. As such, knowing that his accuracy would still be horrible even if he invested a large part of his limited time to it, Leo had opted to focus more on things that would be more helpful.

'But this is enough…'

Despite wasting over 5 knives coated in poison just to hit his target once, Leo was more than satisfied by the result, he didn't plan to kill all of the enemies with them anyway. They had their very own purpose.

Unfortunately, he could no longer just watch from the safety of his 'home'. It was time to proceed with the last stage of his plan.

'Haaa…'

Drawing in a big breath, Leo tied the curtain back to close the hollow window before walking out.

"Another… kid?"

Looking at the intended confusion that the Fanged Wolves' team had been thrown into, Leo took his chances as he drew out another throwing knife from his belt.

"Kgyaahh!"

'Nice?'

Unexpectedly, his first try at the second target managed to make contact, Leo was barely keeping himself from smiling as he managed to get the best possibility, thanks to that, he got the most intimidation effect he could get.

"Boss…? Should we retreat?"

One of the more 'brave' subordinates spoke out as he stared at the frozen scarface. He himself could also not understand what was going on, but he was afraid of death. Taking any step forward would spell his doom, and even standing in place couldn't guarantee his safety, the only difference was how painful his death was going to be.

'I need to get out of here!'

The only one who held a grudge with their target was their new boss, he was a member of the branch guild, he felt no need to see this mission through.

Furthermore, as the eyes of the strange kid that seemed to be wrapped in leather shone as he stared at them, he couldn't help but feel ominous.

"Retreat? How can you be such a coward?! It's only a small kid using tricks, one stab is enough to kill him."

Having slightly come back to his senses, the scar-faced leader yelled at his subordinate. Retreating? Just seeing the same insolent eyes of that kid filled him with unending anger. The only way he could relieve it was to crush the kid before him!

"You know what? Since you want to leave, let's do it this way. You can go through the trap that was already used on one of the two idiots and get the kid. If you do this, we all get to leave! Great, right?"

Looking back at his chicken-like subordinate, the scar-faced leader showed a rare smile as he suggested. He couldn't feel any sword breath on this kid, unlike the other brat. As long as these traps were disarmed, he was nothing but a punching bag for him.

"I… understand."

The eyes of the subordinate screamed with horror, but as he saw the scar-faced leader was placed on his sword's hilt, he 'bravely' accepted the boss' suggestion.

'Plan A failed…'

After hearing the ongoing conversation, Leo could only sigh deep inside. While he did the best he could to intimidate the Fanged Wolves' team, it seemed like their leader was very determined to finish the mission. It seemed like there was no escape from confrontation.

The fear of standing still that he had instilled was no longer useful. After all, he could no longer use his unskilled throwing to target those out of the boundary of his 'field' now that all eyes were focused on him, otherwise, it would lose its original purpose in his plan.

"I'm coming to get you, little brat!"

Looking back at his boss, the subordinate didn't dare to dally as he steeled his resolve. While there was a chance that he could survive trying to catch the kid, if this new boss who had the worst temper was angered further, he could immediately lose his life.

'I can do it.'

Feeling somewhat confident, the man didn't advance immediately, instead, he grabbed a copper coin from his pocket before throwing it slightly further away from the guy who was caught in the bear trap.

"Here I come!"

Seeing that the coin hit the ground normally, the man felt even more confident. He was originally afraid of the surprising throwing knives, but the kid had strangely stood still after his last throw.

'He is probably afraid of me.'

Smiling at the kid who was still staring at him, the man continued using his method to move forward in steady steps, feeling fearless as he advanced further.

Chhit!

Throwing the coin once more, the man was startled by the sound that was coming from the kid's direction, quickly realizing that he had drawn another knife.

Whirr!

Seeing the knife thrown in his direction, the man panicked, but he managed to react in time thanks to his desire for survival!

'I'm… alive?'

Not feeling that anything had hit him, the man cheered to have managed to avoid the hit. However…

"Heh, cheap tric-"

Click.

Before he could finish what he wanted to say, a mechanical sound made its way into his ears. Unfortunately for him, it didn't come alone.

Trik! Kik! Kik!

Half a dozen arrows had suddenly penetrated his back!

'First Kill.'