However, the moment his hand grabbed Asher’s leg, Asher twisted his body.

Using the momentum, he spun in the air and swung his other leg toward No. 46’s head.

No. 46 was forced to release Asher’s leg.

He raised both of his arms and blocked the kick.

Bang!

The impact forced No. 46 to take two steps backward.

Asher landed lightly on the ground.

The instant his feet touched the ground, he rushed forward once again without giving No. 46 any time to recover.

He threw a straight punch toward No. 46’s chest.

No. 46 met it with his own fist.

Bang!

Their fists collided once again.

Without separating, the two immediately exchanged another series of attacks.

Punches.

Elbows.

Palm strikes.

Knees.

Each attack flowed seamlessly into the next, while every defense instantly became another counterattack.

Neither of them wasted even a single movement.

After exchanging more than a dozen attacks in just a few breaths, both of them stepped back at the same time, creating a few meters of distance between themselves.

No. 46 looked at Asher for a brief moment before speaking.

"You’ve got excellent close-combat instincts."

"You don’t hesitate."

"And more importantly..."

"You know how to chain your attacks together without leaving unnecessary openings."

Asher remained silent.

No. 46 then relaxed his body and looked at Asher.

"I guess that is enough for the test."

Then, he opened a crack in space again and told Asher to enter it.

Asher just looked at him for a moment before starting to walk toward the crack in space.

When he reached the front of the crack, No. 46 once again tried to kick him from behind.

But Asher was already expecting it, so he grabbed No. 46 by the leg and threw him toward the ground.

However, before No. 46’s body could hit the ground, his entire body transformed into wind. Then, after changing back into his human form, he appeared some distance away.

No. 46 looked at Asher for a moment before letting out a faint chuckle.

"...Good."

"It seems you didn’t lower your guard just because the spar had ended."

Asher calmly looked at him and replied,"I am keeping my guard up for any unexpected situations"

"I had no reason to believe you wouldn’t do it again."

No. 46 nodded.

"Correct."

"In the Reaper Guild, an assassin who lowers their guard after a mission is often the one who dies first."

"The enemy will not announce when they intend to attack."

"Nor will they wait for you to be prepared."

Asher nodded and then stepped into the spatial crack.

No. 46 followed behind him and also entered the spatial crack.

The next moment, the crack in space closed, disappearing along with Asher and No. 46.

The moment Asher stepped out of the spatial crack, he found himself standing inside a massive base.

He looked around.

The headquarters of the Reaper Guild was nothing like the branches.

It resembled a small military fortress.

Rows of black stone buildings were arranged with perfect order, while wide training grounds occupied the center of the base. Assassins could be seen moving from one place to another, each carrying out their own task without making any unnecessary noise.

The atmosphere was calm...

Yet suffocating.

Every person present was an elite assassin.

Asher could also sense a powerful barrier surrounding the entire headquarters.

The barrier completely concealed the base from the outside world while also preventing ordinary people from locating it.

Without someone opening a path through the barrier, finding the headquarters was almost impossible.

Asher casually swept his gaze across the area.

There were nearly eighty Masters walking around the headquarters.

Some were sparring in the training grounds.

Others were discussing missions or quietly making preparations before departing.

Asher guessed that several more Masters were currently away on missions.

No. 46 noticed Asher observing his surroundings but did not say anything.

Instead, he simply gestured for Asher to follow him.

"Come."

Asher silently followed behind him.

The two walked through several sections of the headquarters before arriving at a residential area.

Every building here looked almost identical.

No. 46 stopped in front of one of the rooms.

"This will be your assigned room from now on."

He handed Asher a black metal token.

One side of the token bore the symbol of the Reaper Guild.

The other side was engraved with a number.

186.

No. 46 looked at Asher and said,

"From today onward, your codename is No. 186."

"The headquarters no longer addresses Masters by their real names."

"Only by their codenames."

"The number represents the order in which Masters have been admitted to the headquarters."

"You are the one hundred and eighty-sixth Master of the Reaper Guild."

He paused for a moment before continuing,

"You will answer only to this codename while carrying out missions."

"Understood?"

Asher looked at the black token in his hand before calmly replying,

"Understood."

No. 46 gave a slight nod.

"Good."

"Rest for today."

"Only after choosing an element and beginning your Mastery training can you become a true Master of the Reaper Guild."

After saying those words, No. 46 turned around and walked away.

Within a few moments, his figure disappeared into the distance.

Asher looked at the token in his hand once more before opening the door to his assigned room and stepping inside.

Asher entered the room and quietly looked around.

The room was simple.

There was a bed, a table, a chair, a wardrobe, and a small cultivation room connected to the main room.

There was nothing luxurious about it.

However, everything an assassin needed was present.

Asher closed the door behind him.

He then sat down on the chair and began organizing the information he had gathered so far.

’The headquarters is much stronger than I expected.’

Having a total of 185 Masters is no small matter. That is more than the number of Masters possessed by some middle-ranked noble houses. It is highly likely that someone from a high-ranked noble house is secretly sponsoring the Reaper Guild.’