No. 46 looked at the three other members, excluding Asher, and said, "You three have fire element mastery and will be in charge of killing the Viscount’s daughter’s master bodyguard. Make it look like the murder was carried out by a fire element master."

All three of them nodded. Then Asher asked in confusion, "Aren’t we supposed to carry out an assassination? So why are we making it look like it was done by a fire element master specifically?"

As soon as Asher asked the question, everyone turned toward him. No. 46 then said, "Because what we are going to do in this mission is not an assassination—it’s an ambush. As for the remaining details, you don’t need to know anything else. Just do what you’re supposed to do."

Asher simply nodded and didn’t say anything further.

No. 46 then continued, "No. 98 and No. 89 will be in charge of taking care of the master-rank bodyguards. No. 110 and No. 186 will be in charge of dealing with the other guards and the Viscount’s daughter. And make sure to kill her. She must die during this mission. Make sure of that."

All of them nodded. Then No. 110 asked, "How much time will we have before reinforcements arrive?"

No. 46 looked at him and said, "Don’t worry about that. You’ll have at least half an hour. We’re going to use an artifact that will create a barrier, trapping all of you inside with them for at least an hour. Even if the Viscount, a Grandmaster, arrives immediately after the attack begins, it will still take him at least half an hour to reach the location and destroy the barrier."

Everyone nodded once again.

After that, No. 46 looked at Asher and said, "Since you’ve now become a part of the headquarters and are also participating in this mission, we need some insurance to make sure you won’t leak any information. Isn’t that right?"

Asher looked at No. 46 and asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

Asher looked at No. 46 and asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

Without saying another word, No. 46 took out a small device and said, "This is a restriction artifact. Once activated, it will ensure that you cannot reveal anything related to the headquarters or this mission to anyone outside the organization. Only other members of the headquarters will be able to hear such information from you."

Asher silently looked at the device for a moment before shifting his gaze back to No. 46.

Asher didn’t hesitate. He simply nodded and said, "Alright."

No. 46 placed the palm-sized artifact on the table before him.

"This artifact serves two purposes," No. 46 explained. "First, it prevents any member of the headquarters from revealing information related to the organization or its missions to outsiders. Even if someone is forced to speak, the artifact will block any attempt to disclose such information."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Second, it allows the headquarters to monitor the status of every member. Your location and vital signs will be transmitted through the artifact at all times. If your heartbeat stops or your mana signature disappears, the headquarters will know immediately."

Asher glanced at the artifact before picking it up without asking another question.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"Inject a small amount of your mana into it," No. 46 replied.

Asher did as instructed.

The artifact emitted a faint silver glow for a few seconds before several runes appeared across its surface. They floated into the air and entered Asher’s body one after another before disappearing without leaving any visible trace.

"The contract is complete," No. 46 said calmly. "From this moment onward, you are officially recognized as a member of the headquarters."

Asher clenched and unclenched his fist. Other than a brief warm sensation when the runes entered his body, he didn’t feel any different.

Seeing that everything had gone smoothly, No. 46 looked around the room.

"If there are no more questions, then prepare yourselves. We move according to the plan at 4 PM today. It is 11 AM right now, so you have five hours to prepare."

No. 46 then looked at Asher and said, "You can take any master-level artifact from the weapon room. There are several good daggers there for you to use."

He then looked at No. 110 and said, "Lead him to the weapon room."

After that, Asher and No. 110 left the room, leaving only No. 46, No. 89, and No. 98 behind.

After Asher left, No. 89 looked at No. 46 and asked, "So that newbie is trustworthy, right?"

No. 46 replied, "Don’t worry. He’s been part of the branch since he was five years old. Even if he were a spy, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. No one can enter this place without our permission, and no one can leave without our permission. Besides, he has already made the pact, so he can’t leak any information. There’s nothing to worry about."

After some time, in Asher’s assigned room.

Asher had already returned from the weapon room and had chosen a dagger as his weapon. It was an artifact that could poison an enemy if it managed to cut them.

But it didn’t really matter, since he wasn’t planning to use it for long.

Asher then thought,

’What the hell is this guild? Isn’t it supposed to be just an organization that assassinates people for money? They’re way too rich and powerful. Several spatial-element artifact, many weapons type artifact and a massive barrier that’s making sure my other vessel can’t sense my location while also preventing me from teleporting out of this place... and then that artifact. It wasn’t some slave contract—which doesn’t even exist—but it can still ensure that I can’t reveal anything about this place and mission to anyone else. Good thing I don’t actually need to teleport anywhere, and I was already prepared for a situation like this.’