"I only trust the dead to keep a secret. And speaking of the dead.."

Rog looked at Jacob's corpse and chuckled. He pointed at it with his black-colored dagger before saying further.

"You think that guy was my friend? Several days ago, people from both my side and his side fought with each other.

I knew his identity as a Hexer. I also knew that he and his buddy had keys to an unknown and unexplored Hexers' test ground in their possessions."

Rog licked his lips with his long tongue when he thought about the battle he had fought with Jacob and his friend. He couldn't help smiling crookedly as he verbally marched on.

"I killed Jacob's friend and managed to get his version of the key. However, Jacob managed to get away from me when we both were seriously injured. He ran away with his key without telling me anything about the location of the testing ground he had found."

Eren tried his best not to flash a smile when he heard Rog speak about another key. And the fact that it was in his possession. From Malcolm's notes, he knew that it was a special runestone found in the possession of every Hexer of the Bear's Creed.

Eren was thinking about how he would obtain the runestone for a few days after learning about it. He couldn't have imagined that it would come looking for him on its terms with Rog as its medium.

Rog was unaware of Eren's excitement. He felt like killing Eren and finding the other key was only a matter of time for him. He already knew about the testing ground. All he needed to do was find the other missing piece of the puzzle. He could claim the rewards that were awaiting him behind the big door he could see from his position.

He pursed his lips and looked at Jacob's corpse once again before adding up.

"So after recovering, I thought of restarting my hunt. The guy from my side was also dead. I had disposed of their bodies before retreating from our battleground.

But now I needed a man to watch over my back as I tracked down Jacob. To be honest, I wasn't planning to kill you at first. I was planning to find Jacob and take the other key from his corpse before giving you your promised commission."

Rog said before looking around him. He then spread his arms wide and looked at Eren in his eyes before resuming the conversation.

"But who would have thought that Jacob would die here, on the very test ground I was supposed to find after getting my hands on the key? Your luck is to blame here, Eren.

I don't know who looted his corpse after following a dead man in his tracks. But I can find that out and finish them off just as easily. I just need to keep a close eye on this place and await my chance to strike."

Rog seemed to be pondering over something after he said that. He nodded to nobody in particular before addressing Eren once again.

"I'm sure they must have wanted to keep this place a secret too since there's no buzz of any kind regarding a new test ground getting discovered. Otherwise, there would be some sign of activity in this region.

Hehe. I'll just have to wait and eventually everything will fall into my hands. I just need to make sure that you don't have to spill any details about this place until I do that.

I think I have already explained enough. Consider this to be your farewell gift. Now die."

Eren's senses suddenly sent him warning signs as he saw Rog's image getting blurred in front of him. It was as if his image was just a mirage that thinned itself in the air after saying what it wanted to say.

Clang! Clang! Slash!

Eren successfully parried two of Rog's attacks after he approached him in complete stealth. But his third attack managed to outmaneuver his defenses and inflict a slash wound on his left forearm.

Eren had already activated his movement spell by then. He quickly kicked Rog's chest with one of his legs and jumped away from him before spinning in the air. When he landed a few meters away from him, he cast his movement spell to his full potential before creating more distance from him.

He also cast the newest spell he had learned to master a few days ago.

Blitz Shard!

A swarm of tiny flashes of lightning appeared in a fraction of a second. They then made their way towards Rog who was trying to close the distance between him and Eren. These tiny shards caught the assassin off guard and attacked him all at once.

Their tiny lightning shards were like mini triangles made of lightning element mana. Their size was half that of a person's palm, and they sparkled with a blue hue. They made a crackling noise as they traveled through the air.

The most impressive thing about them was the fact that they could be cast quickly while keeping the mana consumption in check. However, individually these shards were not strong enough to break someone's mana defense layer in a single hit.

The Blitz Shard worked best when the opponent was caught off guard. The sheer quantity of shards hitting the same spot multiple times in quick succession would allow some of them to affect their target. This would allow them to breach through the mana defense layer.

"Aargh!"

Rog cried out and backed away when he was caught in a swarm of lightning shards. He created a safe distance between himself and the swarm of lightning shards that disappeared instantly before taking a look at his body.historical

Rog was bleeding from multiple places. Eren's lightning mana buzzed all over his body as it was trying to invade his system. The assassin gritted his teeth before channeling his mana vigorously throughout his system to get rid of Eren's mana.

"You useless shit. I was trying to give you an easy death and this is how you repay me. No more painless goodbyes for you.

I wonder how long you last before running out of mana with such an extravagant use. Hehe."