Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 35: Assassins?

I thought about the best way to go about it. The easiest way would be to return to the Clan and destroy the source of the attack down to the root. That was one way to deal with assassins, and a very efficient way at that.

But the problem was that I wasn’t strong enough. And I’d have to capture the lute player to know who sent the assassins directly.

’It’ll either be my father or stepbrother. Who else would want me dead? They must have thought I’d naturally die in camp by now, but I’m still alive. I must have become a thorn in their side. But will my father really pass through corners to kill me when he actually had the chance then? Also he could just send orders to the Flagbearers or send Knights’

I mused.

After bathing and dressing in a new set of clothes, I sat on my bed, planning my next move. "First on my list is avoiding possible death in the future, growing stronger, and beating those who want me dead."

A simple plan, really, but more complex than it should be, considering I’d be fighting an entire clan. I took a deep breath. "Right. I should only focus on what I can control now.

"Like growing stronger and avoiding death. If I can capture that lute player and interrogate them... but it can’t be that simple, especially with an enchanted tool like that."

I narrowed my eyes and glanced around the tent, my expression tight. Suddenly, the safety bubble I’d created around myself upon arriving at the Borderland felt like it had burst, leaving me feeling exposed and lost.

My personal space had been violated, and all I wanted was to lash out at the source of the problem.

I took another deep breath, forcing my body to relax. "All my energy will be focused on my advancement to the next rank."

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And that was what I did, starting the next day. I went earlier to my tunnel, completed my work quickly, and then headed straight back to hunt monsters and recover some of my essence. Initially, I’d wanted to avoid the tunnel—it seemed like the perfect place for assassins to ambush me—but I dismissed the idea because it was the only place where I could train properly.

In the evening, I went to the Nyxori for my session, where both captains were present this time.

Kren looked at me with concern. "I’ve sent people to check the tunnel, and indeed, the bodies of the mutated monsters were still there. We’re carrying out an investigation now."

Arvas sneered and waved dismissively. "This is unlikely to be an assassination. Someone probably entered the cave while experimenting on the monsters and disturbed them. How else would you explain the motivation?

"Who would want them dead? They’re just Squires!"

I bit back a smile. ’Squires, you say? But some of us had lives before coming to the Borderland, some of us have enemies with burning hatred who want us dead’

I nodded. "Captain Arvas is right, I can’t imagine that any of us was intentionally targeted."

Kren shot Arvas a glare before sighing and addressing me again. "Either way, we’ll do our best to get to the bottom of this. What do you want to learn today?"

I asked directly, "How do I advance to the next rank? To become a Knight?"

Arvas answered with a snort, "You want to become a Knight so soon? Do you think it’s that easy? I heard it wasn’t long ago that you became a Squire."

I shrugged and looked calmly at the man, my face partially hidden by hair. "I want to become a Knight because only then will I have the strength to properly protect myself."

Kren hurriedly spoke before Arvas could interrupt again. "There shouldn’t be any issues at lower ranks, but at higher ranks, it’s better to let the body adjust to a specific rank before advancing again.

"Becoming a Knight is the most important step because it’s the foundation of the road ahead. The way to become a Knight is to get exposed to a type of essence that your core inherently aligns with, your core will handle the rest."

A small frown appeared on my face. "What do you mean?"

Kren smiled and pushed his glasses up. "Let’s take a Mark Order from the Elemental Order as an example. When they first receive their Mark, they don’t have a specific element. To advance to the Knight rank, they get exposed to different types of essence.

"Ice essence, lightning essence, fire essence, water essence, wind, things like that."

I nodded slowly, stunned. I understood what Kren was explaining, but it surprised me. I’d already felt the limitations of my Mark Order but wanted to analyze the information later. For now, I asked, "I didn’t know we had so many types of essence. How does one acquire these?"

"They’re part of normal essence, but they’re too interwoven for one to separate them. When you take in essence, the core refines it into the type it attuned with. Let’s see, the essence in the air is made up of hundreds of different essence– no one actually knows how many. Once you get to the Knight rank then your core will differentiate and refine only its type of essence that it’s attuned to.

"So, once a Squire is introduced to different types of essence, they’ll naturally feel the one their core aligns with. The next step is to place them in an environment where that specific type of essence is much stronger for an extended period of time. The Knight Assembly, Clans, and some organizations have rooms specifically made for this– some places have higher density of certain essence.

"In such an environment, the core will gradually shift to produce the essence it naturally needs, allowing them to become a Knight with a specific power in an Order."

My mood sank further the more Kren spoke. First, I had no Mark Order to determine the type of essence I needed. Secondly, where would I even find these types of essence? Was there such a thing as forbidden essence?