With two newly promoted units in tow, the nightly ambushes became easier, and we progressed more quickly than before. Once the Company was where I wanted it to be in terms of strength, we shifted our attention to reaching the Empire as soon as possible, avoiding unnecessary battles as we navigated the forest. After a few days, our work paid off.

  It was night, so I couldn't see it clearly, but we were at the Empire's border. A tall and imposing wall was erected with guards patrolling them. I'm guessing these guys have tons of experience fighting against monsters, but what about humans? I thought with a devious smile, already knowing what I was going to do. I had discussed it with Hertz a few nights prior, and the general pn was for us to infiltrate with the [Conceal] skill and kill as many guards as possible. I wanted to include one more person, but he refused, so it'll just be me and him. It was unfortunate, but I wasn't really compining. That's just more EXP for me, after all...

  "Okay, guys. Hertz and I will infiltrate and clear the way for us to pass through. It might take some time, but we'll send out the signal when the coast is clear," I expined. I could tell they wanted to ask how, but the look in my eye told them that I wouldn't say a word if they asked, so all I was left with were quiet statements like,

  "The Commander is full of secrets," T-the Commander? It's Hertz, Dammit!

  "Daphne, are you ready?" Hertz asked. Speak of the devil!

  "Yeah, should we go over there?" I asked, and he nodded, so I turned to the Company and said, "We're leaving now!" Lucia seemed to be in deep contemption while the others all shared looks of concern, even Matilda, which made me feel fuzzy inside. She's warming up to me, I thought to myself with an almost goofy smile as Hertz applied his [Conceal] skill on me where the Company couldn't see us. Woah! This feels weird...

  I couldn't see my hands or pretty much any part of my body, but I could see Typhon, so I asked, "Aren't you going to hide him as well?"

  "He'd make too much noise," Hertz replied curtly. I mean, how didn't that cross my mind? I need to drink some coffee, I thought to myself, as this was probably starting to take a mental toll on me. Oh, well. I led him back to the Company and watched their baffled expressions as they tried to make sense of what happened. I was giggling to myself silently when Kathryn turned to me and tilted her head, asking,

  "Daphne, is that you?" What? She can see me?! Before the others could start gathering around her, I made myself scarce, hearing, "She was just there," as I ran away.

  "Hertz, where are you?"

  "I'm right here," I voice called out from behind me.

  "Stop doing that!" I protested, but he only ughed and said,

  "Your reactions are always fun." We both understand the gravity of the mission ahead of us, so perhaps we were only trying to mask our fears, I wondered to myself as I looked on ahead.

  "So, how are we going to scale the wall?" I asked.

  Hertz smiled and brought out an item I recognized, answering, "With these!"

  "The Wings of Algior?!"

  "Yep, we'll only need to affix these to our boots, and the Wings will handle the rest," he expined, but I already understood how they worked. The Wings of Algior allowed pyers to temporarily defy the ws of gravity by affixing them to their shoes. Some ultra-rare types allowed flight, but most generally allowed csses to walk up vertical surfaces without falling. I guess Phildina's not the only one with a bunch of rare items, I thought to myself as I affixed the small wings to my boots.

  After a long walk, we eventually got to the base of the wall, where we continued our walk unimpeded and completely unnoticed. How weird, I thought to myself. One moment I was looking at the wall, the next I was staring at the sky. It was like the world rotated ninety degrees, which was a bit disorienting but somewhat manageable. Just then, however, a sudden wave of sluggishness hit me, almost causing me to fall.

  "Are you okay?" Hertz whispered.

  "Yeah," I replied quietly, pulling myself back together. I didn't know or understand why that happened, but I couldn't let that stop me or hinder our mission, so I smiled to reassure him and continued walking until we got to the top.

  "From here, our assassinations will have to be silent," Hertz whispered as he brought out his poisoned daggers.

  "Yeah, I know." I had specifically picked out the right weapons for the job. My quiver is full of them. I'd carefully used the Giant Spiders we happened to come across on our way here to coat my arrows with poison. I was guessing Hertz did the same, but I could be wrong.

  "It's time for us to split up," He said and then ran one way while I went in the other direction. Our goal was simple: kill as many soldiers as possible, and I was starting to see another reason why he only chose me. Lucia could not come because he couldn't conceal magic, but the others, except Phildina, would probably hesitate

  "Hm, what's that sound?" I shot the guard through his left eye as soon as I saw him, the fatal head injury and the poison combined to kill him before he could alert the others.

  DaphneLV 62HP641Str353Dex442Spd347Luck 289P-DEF284M-DEF435Status-----CompatibilityLuciaI see. I'm no longer on natural terrain, so I've lost the benefits of [Nature's Bounty]. Maybe that was why I felt so sluggish, I wondered, as I was sure there had to be some kind of drawback to it. Their nterns made it easy for me to see and aim for vitals, so I was racking up kills in no time, steadily gaining levels and clearing the way for my men.

  At this point, they were already on alert, but how could they fight against an enemy they couldn't see? Their efforts ultimately proved ughable, as Hertz lit up his torch as a signal after a night of seemingly endless fighting. From there, Phildina and the other fliers brought everyone along, and we spent a few hours figuring out how we would bring our supplies, eventually deciding we would use Phildina's tent to store them. With a slightly better understanding of my and the others' skills, I felt a bit more confident going into this. I'd also gained a good amount of EXP, and at the end of the day, my stats looked like this:

  DaphneLV 67HP723Str386Dex502Spd389Luck 329P-DEF333M-DEF495Status-----CompatibilityLucia