Chương 25: Assassination Attempt

"Now, let us wish the bride and groom a happy night," my father said loudly, as everyone raised their glasses to toast the couple. There were cheers as some guests had gotten quite drunk on the expensive wine from my father's wine cellar. The bride and groom stood up and waved to cheers before retiring for the night.

"Now I think some of our younger guests should get to sleep as well," my father said while looking towards me with a smile. There was quite a bit of laughter at that. My father sat back down, and I got up. I said goodnight before leaving with the guards assigned to shadow me, making my way back to the mansion. As we approached one entrance, I felt an immense sense of danger and froze up. The three elite guards around me were decapitated instantly. I felt a knife cut into my neck and then come to a halt.

"Not today." I saw Legend Quick Draw Yorren standing in front of me with his knives extended out into a cloaked attacker. I couldn't get a good view of them. Blood rushed out of my neck as Yorren knocked back my attacker.

"Healer!" Legend Quick Draw Yorren shouted as he rushed at the cloaked figure. I collapsed to my knees as I reached up towards my neck. Blood spilled between my fingers as I tried to put pressure on the wound.

"Out of the way!" I checked my healing points, and they had already reached their lowest level." Greater Cure! Dammit, poison. Greater Purify. Greater Cure. Stabilize Soul." I felt someone pull my hands away from my neck, and someone shoved a potion into my mouth.

"How is he?!" I heard my father shout. There was a distant explosion.

"Alive. A few seconds later, and he would have bled out," Healer Castelle said.

"Stay with him, no matter what. No matter what," my father repeated.

"I understand." I rechecked my healing points, but my head went fuzzy.

"Don't check your status. That poison was nasty stuff. I've gotten rid of the worst of it, but the effects will still linger. You two, get a stretcher. We need to get him inside and to his bed." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It was hard to focus, so I closed my eyes. I felt a slap on the cheek and quickly opened them.

"No falling asleep right now, or you might not wake up. That knife contained a potent mix of toxins. Eternal Sleep, Corrosive Status, and probably Bodily Collapse if I had to guess. Assassins like to use that triple combination. No sleeping right now."

"What-""No speaking either. We can worry about skills once you aren't about to die on me. One problem at a time," Healer Castelle said.

"Keep your eyes open and look at my face. If you close them, you get a slap." I said nothing as several guards brought over a stretcher.

"Carefully! Don't shake him too much." They eased me over. He followed them into the mansion and into my temporary room in my mother's apartment.

"Move the sheets on the bed and then lay him down. Get water and a cloth." My eyes closed as I felt like drifting off. I shouted a little as someone slapped me again.

"No drifting off, no speaking. Don't fall asleep on me just yet." He cut off my clothing and cleaned me while inspecting the wound. After he cleaned me and changed my clothes, my father showed up.

"How is he?"

"Stable. Awake, which is good. Did you get the knife?"

"The assassin killed himself and destroyed all his equipment, leaving nothing behind."

"A professional, just like I suspected. I handled the worst part, although the knife was poisoned. We have to wait, and by morning we should know. As for skill gain, unfortunately, Poison Resistance is most likely."

"We have a High Priest here. Maybe he could help?"

"His soul is too unstable. We yank a skill out, and that would kill him for sure. I covered this with his mother. He refuses to level up and put stats into Mind. His mother is even more stubborn. If he lives through the night, he will live. If he doesn't, well, he doesn't."

"Then stay with him no matter what. If anything changes, have a servant get me," my father said, and then came over to my side. He brushed my hair twice.

"I am sorry, my son. But you will be okay, don't worry. Healer Castelle is one of the best." I weakly nodded only to be scolded.

"Don't move. Just lie there with your eyes open, so I can be sure you aren't falling asleep. Count numbers in your head up to a million," Healer Castelle ordered. I counted silently in my mind. My father brushed my hair once more before leaving my bedside. I finally fell asleep during the night, completely exhausted. When I woke up, my head hurt, and Healer Castelle was sitting on a chair next to my bedside.

"Congratulations. You aren't dead," he said.

"You are out of danger now."

"Thank you. What time is it?"

"Late afternoon. Most people have run away as quickly as possible in case your mother shows up. At least the assassin had the courtesy to wait until the end of the wedding."

"And my health? What of the poison?"

"Stable, you can check your reserves." I did so, and my healing points were 197 out of 210.

"Your healing points won't go back to full for a while. Probably a month. The traces of the poison lingering in your body that they are dealing with cause that. A potent mix, but you survived because of Legend Quick Draw Yorren stopping the knife before it cut through your spine."

"That…wow. Um, I should thank him."

"Don't worry, your father already did with an immense pile of money. He will also give a personal letter from the Legend to your mother. One could even say he was saving everyone at that wedding from your mother's wrath if you had died. It is not an exaggeration to say she might have collapsed human civilization after decapitating much of its leadership." That was quite a dark thought.

"Now, lie there and rest. I will have food and water brought to you."