The World’s Deadliest Assassin is Now a Lazy SchoolBoy

There's a difference between being hunted and being watched.

One is survival.

The other is… chess.

And I was starting to realize that someone had been playing chess with me since the day I set foot in this school.

The library was quiet after dark.

I slipped past the automated locks with ease. Electronic security's nothing compared to old-world silence.

No footsteps.

No cameras.

Just the click of my boots against marble, and the warm hum of lights that shouldn't have still been on.

I followed the message's instructions: west wing, restricted stacks, behind the philosophy shelves.

I'd been here once before. Back when I was still pretending to fail entrance exams on purpose.

Back then, it was just books.

Now?

It was a vault.

Behind shelf 52-B was a hidden door — seamless, flush against the wall. Normal students wouldn't even notice the slight draft that whispered through the cracks.

But I wasn't normal.

I placed my palm against the metal.

It scanned my bio-signature, then hissed open like a vault being unsealed for the first time in years.

A narrow staircase spiraled down.

I descended.

The hallway below smelled like metal and old secrets.

Dim lights flickered to life as I moved, revealing walls lined with glass display cases — relics, weapons, notes, all labeled in fine print.

"Tier Black Archive – Restricted"

"Level 2 – Discontinued Projects"

"Level 3 – Unlisted Cadets"

Unlisted?

So this place wasn't just about forgotten tech.

It was for forgotten people.

At the bottom, the hallway opened into a circular chamber.

One chair.

One table.

One person, seated, cloaked in shadow.

His voice was smooth and dry.

"You're earlier than expected. Good."

"Guess I'm not good at keeping people waiting," I said.

He chuckled.

"I've been watching you, Cain. Long before you arrived here."

"I figured."

"You're different."

"People keep saying that."

"No," he said. "I mean dangerous. Your name was never supposed to appear in the system. You're a ghost. Off-record. Black-level clearance. You're not a student… you're a variable."

I stepped closer, crossing my arms. "So who the hell are you?"

The man stood.

He was tall. Older. Military scars laced across one temple, fading into salt-and-pepper stubble.

"Name's Agent Kairo. I used to run assassins like you."

My breath caught.

The name. The voice. I remembered him.

One of the handlers.

From my past life.

But he was supposed to be dead.

"Figured you died in Prague," I muttered.

"Figured you died in Cairo," he replied.

Touche.

He walked to the wall and tapped a screen.

A glowing interface blinked on, showing student profiles — most of them crossed out.

"You're not the first killer to come through these halls. But you might be the first one who chose peace."

"I didn't choose anything," I said. "I died. Then I woke up here."

"Same difference."

He flicked through the files.

"This academy isn't what it pretends to be. Sure, on the surface it's just a school. Train the gifted, sort them by rank, send them off to work for the Empire or die trying."

"But underneath?"

"Underneath," he said, "it's a farm."

My silence told him to continue.

"They monitor talent. Rank it. Weaponize it. Anyone who deviates — anyone they can't control — goes on the Black List. Then they're either erased… or recruited."

"Recruited into what?"

Kairo turned to face me fully.

"The Obsidian Tier."

He tapped a new file.

An old class photo — smiling students. But a red X had been marked over nearly every face.

"These students were trained in secrecy. Used in off-the-books operations. Intelligence gathering. Assassinations. Psy-ops. Biological warfare."

I scanned the faces.

Then froze.

One of them looked like me.

Not quite… but close enough.

"Project Revenant," Kairo said. "We tried to recreate you."

My blood chilled.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"They failed. Every time. You were the last success."

I met his gaze.

"You want me back."

"No," he said quietly. "I want to give you a choice."

He handed me a file.

Inside were names. Photos. Surveillance logs.

The Black List — complete.

Ten students still active. Including Aria.

Some of them had been recruited already.

Others… were being "neutralized."

"Why me?" I asked. "Why tell me all this now?"

"Because you're already on borrowed time. And because the people watching you?" He tapped the ceiling. "They think you're a threat."

"They're right."

He smiled faintly.

"I want to burn this place down," he said. "But I need someone on the inside. Someone who knows how to survive."

I flipped the file closed.

"And if I say no?"

"You won't. Not after what you're about to see."

He led me to a sealed door at the back of the chamber.

Scanned his hand. Retina. Voiceprint.

It hissed open slowly.

Inside was a cryo-pod.

Inside the pod… was a girl.

White hair.

Pale skin.

Floating in blue mist.

"This is Subject Zero," he said. "They froze her when she started remembering too much."

I stared at her face.

It was peaceful. Too peaceful.

"She knew your name, Cain. Before you ever walked in here."

"What is she?"

"She's what happens when they win."

When I left the chamber, I wasn't the same.

The academy looked the same on the surface.

But I knew what was rotting underneath.

And I knew the timer had started.

Tomorrow: Tier Black selections go public.

Tomorrow: students start disappearing.

Tomorrow: I choose whether to stay the lazy schoolboy…

Or become the assassin again.

📣 Call-To-Action (CTA):

🔻 What would you do if the world wanted to turn you into a weapon again? Would you run — or fight back? Let me know your theories in the comments!

💬 Add this to your Library, vote with a Power Stone, and drop a comment if you think Aria's hiding something too… 👀

🔥 Chapter 6 drops soon — don't miss it.