The day is a play. I perform my role to perfection: the ignorant victim. I clean, I carry, I keep my head down. I feel the weight of gazes upon me, not just Caelan's, but his friends' as well. They smile at me with a cruel condescension, savoring their victory in advance. They think I am walking to my own grave, oblivious to the danger. I let them believe it.
My hunger is sharp, not from a lack of food, but from anticipation. It is the hunger of a predator before the hunt. I nurture it, I feed it with my anger, letting it grow inside me like a burning ember. Tonight, it will have its feast.
When evening comes, one of Caelan's lackeys, an arrogant young man named Loras, comes to find me.
"Valdios," he says in a falsely official tone. "Sir Caelan has a task for you. He left some training equipment behind the old armory. Go get it and bring it back. And don't dawdle."
It's the bait. It is so crude, so obvious. They don't even credit me with the slightest intelligence.
"Fine," I reply in a submissive voice.
I don't head straight for the training ground. I make a detour to my hiding spot in the barracks. In the silence of the empty room, I don my basilisk leather armor. It is like a second skin, silent and dark. I fasten my dagger to my hip. I feel complete. I feel ready.
The isolated training ground is a small paved courtyard, framed by the outer wall of the barracks on one side and the decrepit walls of the old armories on the other. It's a dead end, a perfect arena for a quiet execution.
When I arrive, I see no one. But I feel them. Their auras, though faint, are like heat signatures in my perception. They are hidden, waiting for me to walk fully into the trap.
I take a deep breath and step into the courtyard. In the center, an old training sword has been stuck in a crack between the paving stones. This is the "equipment" I'm supposed to retrieve.
I approach slowly, playing along. My heart beats a steady rhythm. The fear is there, an icy chill down my spine, but it is dominated by an intense focus.
As my hand closes around the hilt of the sword, they emerge from their hiding places.
Caelan appears from behind a pillar, a predatory grin on his face. He is wearing light leather armor and holding a real short sword, not a training weapon. Loras and two of his other acolytes block the only exit, their own blades drawn.
The cage has closed.
"What a surprise to see you here, vermin," Caelan says, his voice echoing in the silent courtyard. "I see you've come to get what you deserve."
"What do you want?" I ask, my voice intentionally trembling.
"What do I want? I want to teach you a lesson you'll never forget." He takes a step forward. "You see, you made a grave mistake. You caught Lady Heart's attention. You manipulated her with your victim act, and you turned her against me. You have stained my honor. And for that, you will pay."
"It was an accident," I say, taking a step back. "I didn't want any trouble."
"Too late for regrets," he sneers. "Tonight, you're going to have an 'accident.' You're going to fall on your own blade while cleaning equipment. A tragic story. A stupid accident. No one will ask any questions."
Loras and the others laugh, savoring the cruelty of the situation. They are four. I am one. They have real weapons. I have a blunt sword. The outcome seems certain to them.
I throw the training sword to the ground with a clatter. "I don't think so."
My change in tone surprises them. The tremor is gone from my voice, replaced by an icy calm.
Caelan frowns. "Brave last words? They won't save you." He nods to his men. "Finish him."
The three lackeys advance on me, their swords at the ready.
This is the moment.
I back up toward the darkest wall, the wall of the old armory. The shadows cast by the building are deep, almost black.
"What are you doing? You can't escape," Loras scoffs.
I smile. "Who said I wanted to escape?"
I press myself against the wall and activate Camouflage.
To them, the effect must be bewildering. My body doesn't vanish, but it blends into the shadow. My outlines become fuzzy, my form blurs. I become a dark patch, difficult to distinguish.
They stop, hesitating.
"What is this sorcery?" one of them mutters.
"It's just a trick of the light!" Loras shouts, trying to reassure himself. "He's still there! Kill him!"
He is the first to charge. It is a mistake.
I draw my dagger, the movement perfectly silent thanks to my new equipment. Instead of meeting him head-on, I slide along the wall. He strikes the spot where I was a second earlier, his blade scraping the stone with a shrill sound.
His momentum carries him forward, presenting his back to me.
I activate Precise Strike.
My dagger strikes just below his ribcage, in a gap between the straps of his leather armor. The blade sinks deep.
CRITICAL!
Loras lets out a strangled gurgle. He looks down at his wound, then at me, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. He collapses to his knees, then falls face-first to the ground. He will not be getting up.
You have defeated [Noble Acolyte]!
150 XP
Experience: 152/250 → 302/250
EXPERIENCE SUFFICIENT. YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 4!
The wave of power from the level-up washes over me in the middle of the fight. My minor wounds heal, my fatigue vanishes. A new strength floods my limbs.
The other two acolytes are frozen with fear. They just watched their companion get cut down in a single blow by the "vermin" they came to kill.
"What are you waiting for? Kill him!" Caelan screams, his voice betraying a hint of panic.
That hesitation is all I need. I don't give them time to regroup. I emerge from the shadows, my dagger dripping with blood. I am faster, stronger than I was just seconds ago.
The first one tries to parry, but I don't aim for his blade. I deflect it with a sharp blow from my forearm and my dagger slices open his throat.
The second, seeing his friend fall, throws down his sword and tries to run. I am faster. I throw my dagger into his back. It hits him between the shoulder blades, pinning him to the ground.
You have defeated [Noble Acolyte]!
150 XP
You have defeated [Noble Acolyte]!
150 XP
Silence falls over the courtyard, broken only by the death rattles of the dying. In less than thirty seconds, three men are down.
I turn slowly to face the last opponent.
Caelan.
He is pale. His arrogance has vanished, replaced by a mixture of disbelief and terror. He looks at the bodies of his friends, then at me, as if he doesn't recognize me.
"How...?" he whispers. "You're just a Level 1..."
"You should have checked your information," I say, walking toward him, retrieving my dagger as I go.
He raises his sword, but his hands are shaking. The predator has become the prey.
Name: Caelan Burix
Level: 12
Name: Reinhardt Valdios
Level: 4
The level gap is still immense. If he fought with everything he had, he could still kill me. But his spirit is broken. He doesn't see a Level 4 opponent. He sees a monster that came out of the shadows and slaughtered his men effortlessly.
"Stay away from me, you monster!" he screams.
I say nothing. I continue to advance, the blood of his friends dripping from my blade.
He breaks. Fear overcomes honor. He turns and runs for the exit, stumbling over Loras's body.
I don't pursue him. Letting him live with this humiliation, with this fear, is a sweeter punishment than death.
He disappears into the night.
I stand alone amidst the bodies. The silence is deafening. My hunger, which had reached a fever pitch during the fight, begins to recede, giving way to an icy calm.
I have killed. Not monsters. Men.
I expected to feel disgust, remorse. But I feel nothing. Just a cold, pure satisfaction. They wanted to kill me. They wanted to take my life, my future. I only defended myself.
But I can't stay here. The bodies will be discovered. An investigation will be launched.
I have to get rid of the evidence.
And suddenly, my skill whispers a solution to me. A horrible, monstrous, but terrifyingly effective solution.
I have never tried it on a human. But my skill is called Devouring Hunger. It does not distinguish between prey.
My gaze falls on Loras's body. A new kind of hunger, darker and more curious, begins to stir within me.
What would happen if I devoured not only their experience... but also their skills? Their knowledge? Their memories?
The thought is both terrifying and exhilarating. It is another step into the abyss. A step I am willing to take.