Blue stood from the rock, stretching and cracking his neck, then glanced at Nir. With a flick to Nir's head, he pushed him slightly aside.
"Someone's coming, probably seven people," Blue said, stretching his hand toward the sky.
Nir's eyes widened, and his steps faltered. He knew exactly who was approaching. The bullies who had beaten him to a pulp yesterday were here, likely checking if he had survived. His face went pale, and his whole body trembled.
Blue noticed immediately. He was perceptive. Yesterday, he had saved Nir because he knew what had happened was utterly wrong. How could someone gang up on a single person like that? Blue despised such cruelty.
He had never intended to make Nir his master. He only signed the deal to punish those bullies. Now, Nir was his "master," in a sense, but Blue could clearly see the power dynamic: Nir looked like he could be Blue's slave, and Blue looked every bit the master.
"Mister, no, I mean, Blue, I think we should leave. Those guys are dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt because of me," Nir said in a low voice, terrified that the bullies might hear him. His eyes darted around, panic rising.
"Oh, our little pig is still alive," a voice sneered.
Nir's eyes went wide. He recognized it immediately. A shiver ran down his spine. When he turned, the bullies were standing behind Blue.
"Who's this joker? A cosplayer or something?" said a guy in a jacket with brown hair.
Nir glanced at Blue, who remained calm, observing his surroundings without a word. Nir wanted to run, the memory of yesterday's pain still fresh in his mind.
"Blue, please, let's go," Nir begged, but Blue didn't budge.
"Oh, did I hear that right? This weakling wants to leave?" the brown-haired leader sneered.
Nir stumbled backward as the leader stepped forward, passing Blue and closing in on him.
Nir kept retreating, heart pounding, until the leader stood directly in front of him.
"All your injuries healed? How? Tell me, Nir," the leader demanded.
For a normal human, healing such severe injuries so quickly was impossible. And Nir wasn't even a Slasher, so how had he recovered?
The leader reached out, gripping the back of Nir's neck. A small insignia, the "Miani rank" was engraved there. Nir had truly awakened as a Slashers. Yesterday, the injection had been administered to everyone, even the bullies, but none had awakened. Only Nir had. The rank on his neck was proof.
"You bastard! You awakened as a Slasher? Miani rank? What bullshit!"
[ Rank name : Miani
Miami: The lowest rank of Slashers. Those who awaken as Slashers have the designation written automatically on the back of their neck.
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Rank name : Urio
Description : This rank signifies that Slashers have completed five gates and returned alive after defeating the gate master.
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Rank name : Keorin
Keorin Rank is the highest rank. Slashers who have defeated high-ranking gate owners and possess infinite power are granted this rank. Those who attain this rank even gain the power of self-healing. ]
The leader clenched his fist and struck Nir's face without hesitation.
But Nir didn't fall. He himself was shocked, before, a mere slap would have sent him crashing to the ground.
The leader was stunned. He stared at his own fist in disbelief, wondering what had just happened. Why hadn't Nir collapsed to the ground? He was certain he had used his full strength.
"Hey brat, what are you standing there for? Don't you have any strength? Beat that bastard to a pulp!" Blue shouted from behind.
Blue's eyes were fixed on Nir, watching him closely. Nir looked terrified under that gaze. He knew himself, he didn't have the power to hit the leader.
"Don't make me repeat myself, you dummy. Just raise your hand and hit him," Blue said.
Nir gulped, still hearing blue, and raised his hand to slap the leader's face, which made the leader's face shake.
Nir glanced at his own hands; he couldn't believe he was strong now, that he had even slapped the person who had bullied him the most. Tears started to drip from his eyes, and he punched the leader's face again.
In just five minutes, that guy was covered in blood. He couldn't move; his bones were creaking after getting punched and kicked by Nir.
The leader's other sidekicks also rushed forward to hit Nir, but Blue was standing between them. He grabbed one of the guys, directly picked him up, and slammed him against the ground, which was so cruel. Half of them ran away from there, seeing the pain their friends were feeling; they didn't want to feel that pain at all.
As they ran away, Blue started to laugh, "Look at those losers running from here to save their asses from getting beaten!"
But Nir, he was happy. He touched the back of his neck because he realized he was awake now. He had become the Slasher. Even though he was only at the lowest rank, he was still happy.
When Blue looked at him, he only found him an idiot to smile like that. After that, they both came down from the mountain. Since Nir was now awake as a Slasher, he would have to leave this village and needed to go to the City, where he would be assigned his first mission, and if he survived, he would learn more things and become stronger.
However, many Slashers are unable to survive even at the low-level gates. This is because they have just awakened, and almost everyone dies as soon as they enter the gate. Those who do survive at those gates have their ranks raised.
Nir didn't have enough money to take the bus and leave the village. But then, he remembered something: those who had given him pills yesterday had pitied him and even informed him that they would stay here for a few days and that he could go to them if he needed help.