My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill

He manifested his full Shadow Blade—not the small dagger-sized version, but a proper sword-length weapon of pure solidified darkness. The blade hummed with power, the Void Fang fusion making the edge shimmer with that quality of non-existence. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He swung it experimentally, feeling how it moved through the air, how it responded to his intent. The weight was whatever he wanted it to be—one of the advantages of a conjured weapon. He could make it heavy for devastating strikes or light for rapid attacks. He could adjust the length, change the curvature, even split it into multiple smaller blades if needed. Complete versatility combined with lethal potency.

"Your shadow ability control is amazing everytime i see you use it?" Sylvara said

"Thanks" said Satou

Sylvara then turned her attention to her own preparation

She laid out her weapons with the kind of methodical precision that spoke to years of experience. Primary daggers first—matched pair, perfectly balanced, edges honed to the point where they could probably split hairs. These went into sheaths at her lower back, positioned for quick cross-draw. Backup blades next—smaller but no less deadly, secured in concealed sheaths at her ankles, wrists, and small of back. Throwing knives—balanced differently from the combat daggers, weighted for flight rather than melee. These went into bandoliers that would hide under her cloak. Wire—thin, strong, useful for everything from silent kills to creating tripwires. Lock picks—essential for any infiltration, though tonight’s mission might not require them depending on how things developed. And finally, the poisons.

Sylvara handled these with particular care, pulling out small vials filled with liquids ranging from clear to sickly green to deep purple. Each one had been prepared by her personally, using knowledge passed down from her father and refined through her own study of toxicology.

"Whispering Death," she said, indicating a vial of green liquid as she carefully coated one of her throwing knives. "Extracted from a flower that grows only in the deepest parts of the Darkwood Forest. Causes complete muscle paralysis within three seconds of entering the bloodstream. Victim remains conscious but completely unable to move—perfect for interrogation or for ensuring a target doesn’t call for help while you finish them."

She moved to another vial, this one filled with purple liquid that seemed to writhe and shift even in the still air.

"Cardiac toxin, derived from the venom of the Blackscale Serpent. Stops the heart in under thirty seconds. Painful, irreversible, and works on anything with a circulatory system." She applied this to several of her combat daggers, the poison leaving a thin coating along the edges.

A third vial held clear liquid that looked deceptively innocent.

"Neurotoxin from the Ghostcap mushroom. Shuts down the nervous system progressively—starts with the extremities and works toward the core. Victim loses control of limbs first, then breathing becomes difficult, then the heart stops receiving proper signals. Takes about two minutes for full effect, but incapacitating begins within thirty seconds."

"Will they work on Richard?" Satou asked, watching her careful application of each poison with professional interest.

Sylvara paused, considering the question seriously. "On a normal human? Absolutely. These are lethal doses—any one of them would kill a grown man within minutes at most.But not sure if it would work on Richard?" She shrugged, her expression pragmatic. "Unknown. But every advantage counts. Even if the poisons don’t kill him outright, they might slow him down, impair his reactions, create openings you can exploit. Worth the effort even if the success rate is uncertain."

Satou appreciated the pragmatism. They weren’t here to fight fair—they were here to win. If Sylvara’s poisons could weaken Richard even slightly, that might be the difference between victory and death.

She continued her preparation, checking each weapon systematically. Every blade was tested for sharpness—she actually plucked a single hair from her head and tested whether each edge could split it. Every throwing knife was examined for balance—she spun each one on her finger to verify the weight distribution was perfect. The wire was checked for strength—she pulled it taut between her hands, testing whether there were any weak points that might snap at a critical moment. The lock picks were examined for damage—any bent or weakened pick could break off inside a lock, ruining an infiltration attempt.

This was the work of a true professional, someone who understood that equipment failure in the middle of a mission meant death.

While Sylvara worked on her physical equipment, Satou moved to his own more limited preparations. As a shadow magic user, he didn’t need to carry physical weapons—he could create them from darkness as needed. But there were still a few critical items that required checking.

The signal mirror Cassius had given him was first. He pulled it from his pack and examined it carefully. The polished metal was clean, free of scratches or imperfections that might distort reflected light. The size was perfect—small enough to conceal easily but large enough to create a visible flash across significant distances. He practiced the signal Cassius had described: three quick flashes in succession, each lasting about one second, with half-second gaps between. The emergency signal that would tell Cassius to create a major distraction, pulling guard attention away from their position.

Satou hoped he wouldn’t need to use it. The signal represented the backup plan for when everything had gone wrong. But having it available was smart contingency planning. He secured the mirror in an inner pocket of his dark traveling clothes, positioned where it wouldn’t be lost during combat but could be accessed quickly if needed.

Next were the clothes themselves. He examined them critically, looking for any tears, loose threads, or structural weaknesses. The garments were designed for infiltration and combat—dark colors that blended with shadows, loose enough for unrestricted movement but not so baggy that they could snag on obstacles, reinforced at stress points like shoulders and knees where fabric was most likely to tear. Most importantly, they were silent—the material didn’t rustle or swish when he moved, making them perfect for stealth work.

He dressed methodically, each piece positioned exactly right. The pants with multiple pockets for small items, secured with a belt that held another set of lock picks (redundancy in critical equipment was never wasted effort). The shirt that allowed full range of motion for his arms and shoulders—crucial for combat. The vest with internal pockets for the signal mirror and other small items. And finally, the cloak with its deep hood that could cast his dragoblin features into complete darkness.

They continued their preparations in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts and mental rehearsals. The room gradually darkened as the sun continued its descent, shadows growing longer and deeper. Satou could feel the approaching darkness like a living thing, welcoming him, ready to be shaped and wielded.

—-----

At 6:45 PM, Sylvara broke the silence.

"We should eat. Light meal, but we need energy for tonight. Can’t fight effectively on an empty stomach."

"Yeah you are right , we should go and eat " Said Satou

They both descended to the common room where the Silver Candle Inn was serving evening meals. The space was moderately busy—maybe two dozen people spread across tables, a mix of travelers and locals. The air was thick with the smells of cooking: roasted meat turning on a spit over the hearth, fresh bread just pulled from the ovens, stew bubbling in large pots, ale flowing freely from barrels behind the counter.

Satou and Sylvara found a table in the corner—positioning chosen out of habit more than necessity, allowing them to see the entire room with their backs protected by walls. They ordered simply when the serving girl came by: bread, cheese, dried fruit, water. Nothing heavy that would slow them down or create digestive issues during combat, but enough to fuel their bodies through what was coming.

The meal arrived quickly, and they ate mechanically, their minds clearly elsewhere. Around them, normal life continued. People laughed and talked, complained about their work, discussed the price of goods and the weather and all the mundane concerns that made up ordinary existence. None of them knew that two of the people sharing their common room were assassins preparing to kill one of the most dangerous beings in the demon realm.

A part of Satou found that disconnect fascinating. These people lived their entire lives never knowing how close they were to the conflicts that raged between demon lords and monsters. They worried about paying rent and whether their crops would grow and if their children would find good marriages. They didn’t know about Chronus’s plan , didn’t know about political machinations in the demon realm, didn’t know that less than a mile from where they sat eating dinner, forces would soon clash with enough violence to shake the city.

Was that ignorance blessing or curse? Satou wasn’t sure.

"Do you ever think about it?" Sylvara asked quietly, her voice pitched low enough that only Satou’s enhanced hearing could catch it clearly. "What we do? The killing?"