[Charge] was an exclusive Warrior Profession skill. Upon use, it increased movement speed by 100 percent, steadily decaying over ten seconds. Compared to Yu Zhun's [Swift Step], its initial burst of speed was much faster. Because of this, the distance between the pursuer and the pursued wasn't widening at all; instead, it was rapidly closing.
Knowing full well he couldn't let this continue, Yu Zhun gritted his teeth and ducked into an alleyway off the street.
A sharp gleam flashed in He Guangtao's eyes.
"Does he want to trigger [Lurking] this way?" he thought. "I absolutely cannot let him stall for time!"
With that in mind, He Guangtao let out a low shout and charged into the alleyway after him. But a moment later, he froze in surprise. Yu Zhun hadn't hidden somewhere to activate [Lurking] as he had expected. Instead, he was standing directly in the most conspicuous spot in the alley, his dagger raised.
"What's going on?" He Guangtao wondered.
He decided to brush it off—the current situation was undoubtedly in his favor. Flourishing his Long Sword, He Guangtao broke into a wide grin. "Giving up? Then hand over your Equipment."
"...Equipment?" Yu Zhun's heart tightened. He blinked and pointed at his dagger. "You're chasing me for this?"
He Guangtao let out an exasperated laugh. "Don't play dumb. I know you have a piece of blue-tier Equipment in your inventory. Hand it over, and I'll spare your life."
Yu Zhun's expression shifted slightly.
"This guy actually has a way to see into inventories?" he thought. "I was careless. I didn't expect items kept in my inventory to be unsafe too. I just don't know how much he can actually see."
Steadying his nerves, Yu Zhun shot He Guangtao a look and said, "That's a Magic Staff for the Mage Profession. It doesn't suit you."
"A Magic Staff?" He Guangtao rejoiced inwardly.
Weapon-type Equipment fetched the highest prices! A blue-tier weapon for beginners, and one suited for a Mage at that, was guaranteed to sell for over a hundred thousand! Everyone knew the Mage Profession was a massive money sink, meaning anyone who chose it had deep pockets.
"I can sell it if it doesn't suit me. Since you're an Assassin, I bet that was your plan too." The vicious glint in He Guangtao's eyes deepened. "Too bad your luck ran out. That money belongs to me now!"
Hearing this, Yu Zhun actually felt relieved. "It seems he can only see the item's quality," he realized. An idea quickly flashed through his mind, and he spoke with an amiable chuckle, "Actually, bro, I was lying to you just now.
"It's not a Magic Staff. It's an accessory-type necklace that boosts Life Value.
"I was planning to use it myself, but luck wasn't on my side, running into you and all." Yu Zhun feigned a regretful expression. "I can't beat you, so I guess the necklace goes to you. But could you give me a little compensation?"
"Huh? An accessory?" He Guangtao paused in surprise.
An accessory was even better! He currently had a weapon and armor, but no accessories! Given the choice between making money and boosting his own stats, the latter was obviously more important. After all, greater strength meant he could earn even more cash later.
Better yet, the necklace boosted Life Value. A Warrior was an all-around bruiser capable of tanking hits and dealing damage, making a Life Value boost an absolutely perfect fit!
This was truly a godsend!
He Guangtao's gaze grew feverish as he looked at Yu Zhun. "I never expected you'd be this lucky, scoring a blue-tier accessory...
"But because of that, I can't let you live."
Yu Zhun feigned surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Do you take me for an idiot?" He Guangtao sneered. "The title above your head is green. An ordinary Lv3 player wouldn't easily obtain a title of that tier.
"And then there's the blue Equipment. You don't just stumble upon something like that.
"I don't know why you're trying to stall for time, but I won't give you the chance.
"Once I kill you, everything in your inventory will be mi—"
Before He Guangtao could finish his sentence, Yu Zhun suddenly tossed a necklace at him. Under the A-grade talent [Golden Touch Eye], the brilliant blue light radiating from the necklace was incredibly dazzling.
*Accessory Equipment... Level Lv5... Quality: Outstanding Level... Equipment Attribute: +200 Life Value...*
A string of information materialized before He Guangtao's eyes. However, before he could read the rest of the Equipment's effects, a dagger was already hurtling straight toward him.
Startled, He Guangtao snatched the necklace out of the air, equipped it on the spot, and raised his Long Sword to block.
CLANG!
With a sharp report, the dagger clashed against the Long Sword. The impact sent He Guangtao stumbling back two steps, a look of utter bewilderment overtaking his face.
"What happened?" he thought. "His attack felt incredibly weak, so why was I the one forced back? I'm Lv6! Even if a Warrior's Physical Attack stat is naturally a bit lower than an Assassin's, it shouldn't be weaker than a Lv3's, right?"
Before He Guangtao could process the situation, Yu Zhun was already lunging at him with extreme agility.
"My name is Yu Zhun." Yu Zhun raised his dagger and thrust it forward in a flash. "And I'm the one who will kill you!"
CLINK!
The dagger pierced He Guangtao's Leather Armor.
SSS-grade talent, [Open and Aboveboard], activated!
"You..." Feeling his Life Value instantly empty out, He Guangtao's pupils contracted violently in absolute disbelief.
The next second, his figure shattered into countless specks of Light and vanished, leaving behind only a pile of dropped Equipment and inventory items scattered across the ground.
"Isn't it nice to be alive? Why did you have to try and rob me?" Yu Zhun let out a heavy sigh, picked up the Cursed Necklace from the dirt, and tossed it back into his inventory.
While killing fifty young Demon Sheep earlier, Yu Zhun hadn't just repeated the same long speech he used for his first kill. With every subsequent kill, he had shortened his declaration just a bit more, testing the exact limitations of his talent.
After fifty kills, he had figured out a few rules. So far, it seemed three conditions had to be met to trigger the SSS-grade talent [Open and Aboveboard].
First, he had to state his name and announce the assassination.
Second, he could only carry out the assassination using his Profession's exclusive weapon.
Third, the entire assassination process had to take place within the target's perception.
"Tch. Broke loser." Looking at the loot dropped by his attacker, Yu Zhun couldn't help but complain.
There was a green-tier Long Sword, a white-tier Leather Armor, and a few worthless trinkets that would sell for barely a thousand bucks altogether. The guy was clearly a repeat offender, so Yu Zhun had expected a much bigger haul. The thief had likely already sold off whatever he plundered previously.
"The Leather Armor is Lv1, so I can equip it right away. The green Long Sword should probably fetch around ten thousand, right?" Yu Zhun muttered to himself. "I'll consider it a bounty for ridding the streets of scum."
The death penalty in the Divine Revelation game was incredibly severe. Being killed wouldn't result in death in the real world, but it would completely wipe all of the player's in-game memories and abilities. What's more, they would permanently lose their eligibility to play. Since that nameless guy had not only targeted him but actively tried to kill him, Yu Zhun felt absolutely no psychological burden in turning the tables and killing him instead.
After gathering up his new loot, Yu Zhun walked out of the alleyway.
His destination: the Gray Ruins!