The 7 players all charged at once, allowing Nico the chance to test the limits on his new ability.
「Abyssal Rend Applied」
「-10 Mana」
'Now what if I...?'
Nico's palm glowed red once again.
He then faced the first 2 players, his energy swirling beneath their feet.
Then, he moved his hand to the side, swooping the players and causing them to slip and hit their heads on the tar road.
Nico then placed both hands on his sword and charged towards the players, dodging the incoming attacks by looking and turning as fast as possible.
He twisted his entire body sideways and swung his sword, striking a player before tripping him using his leg sweep.
Then, he lowered his centre of gravity and ran past the crowd, slashing the players and landing direct hits where possible.
The leader came in contact with Nico and they began clashing, their swords banging against each other and the sounds of metal clanging reverberating throughout the area.
Nico stepped back and created some distance, but the player pressed on and continued swinging his blade.
'He's good...' the player commented. 'But, his swordsmanship isn't polished. He's still a new player, after all.'
The player smirked and doubled his attack speed, causing Nico's blade to vibrate from the hit, almost knocking his sword out of his hands.
The player then struck with a powerful swing, parrying Nico's sword, and leaving him wide open.
A meat-tearing slash followed with blood gushing out of Nico's chest.
He groaned and slid backwards, inspecting the damage.
「HP: 100 / 130」
'I can't die here!'
Nico then shifted his stance and narrowed his eyes, his speed increasing along with his strength.
This was where his LED came into play.
Without even opening his system screen, Nico distributed his stat increase points using only his LED.
By increasing his strength and dexterity, he became slightly faster and stronger than he was before.
His opponent gritted his teeth and tried attacking quickly as well, but Nico's speed was slightly greater.
Eventually, Nico managed to knock the sword off the player's hand and slash him across the chest.
The player staggered and took deep breaths.
"You...!"
Nico then proceeded to land more hits on the players, slashing and cutting them down one by one, until all of them reached critical health.
"Now then..." he approaches a nearby player and pointed his blade on his neck. "How'd you know that I'm a new player?"
"Fuck you!" the player retorted.
"Wrong answer," Nico cleanly decapitated the player, spraying his blood onto the ground.
He then approached the others, and one by one, they refused to answer him, choosing to die at his hand.
3 players remained.
Nico approached their leader and grabbed him by the collar. Before he could question him, a message appeared in the form of his system.
「A new player has joined the server!」
Nico lifted an eyebrow and glared at the leader, who shrieked as he noticed Nico's cold expression.
"This little message isn't enough to prove that I'm a new player. You wouldn't have been able to track me otherwise."
The player chuckled. "What makes you think I'll tell you? Because you killed my men?"
Nico scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. There are better ways to get you to talk."
「Abyssal Rend Applied」
「-10 Mana」
Nico focused on the player's leg and closed his hand, crushing it in impact, but not drawing any blood.
The player screamed and his eyes turned bloodshot red, bringing him closer and closer to death.
Nico's eyes darted to one nearby player, who was so scared he pissed himself.
Then, he turned to the leader and slashed him across his head.
Now, 2 players remained.
Nico approached one of them, who begged for his life as he slowly backed away.
「Abyssal Rend Applied」
「-10 Mana」
Nico grabbed the player's hand and crushed it, making him scream in agony. Before Nico could even ask him the question, the player replied in a panic.
"It's your head!" he shouted. "Right above your head, there's a skull that's hovering above! That's how we know that you're a newbie!"
"Why can't I see the skull?" Nico inquired.
"Because it's above your head! Even if you use a reflection to try and see it, it won't be visible to you! It's like assuming you can see yourself in the third person without a camera!"
The player's breathing became ragged and slowed, his sweat drooping off his face and fear evident in his eyes.
Nico sighed. 'Guess that makes sense. But, what do I do with these two?'
"P-Please let us go! We won't target you ever again!"
Nico shook his head.
"I can't do that."
"Huh?! Why-"
Before the player could finish, Nico slashed him across his mouth, leaving behind a bloody maw.
"Because if I let you live, you'll target other new players. Plus, I need to pay you back for what you attempted earlier."
He stared at the last player, who was in tears. "Come on, man... Don't be a monster..."
"Sorry, but I can't understand your human language. Die," Nico retorted as he cut down the last player, whipping the blood off his sword afterwards.
「+7 Value Added!
+ 3,700 Aestrol Coins」
「Old Value: #1,600th Place
New Value: #1,593rd Place」
「Level Up! +3 stat increase points」
If he didn't kill these players, he wouldn't have been able to set a proper example to those who were watching from the shadows.
There were more who were hiding in plain sight who decided that the jump on a newbie wasn't worth it.
They disappeared and Nico was left alone once again.
He felt sick to his stomach.
He looked at his bloodied palms, the rain casually washing away the life force of the dead players, and clenched his fist.
He was becoming what the system was forcing him to become.
But he didn't kill them just to set an example.
He did it to survive.
Being in the open wasn't doing him any good. So, he stashed the 6 corpses of the Stalagmite Salamanders in his inventory and returned to the Adventurer's Guild in the South.
***
Melissa smiled as she handed an item to a male player, whose cheeks flushed as he smiled at her.
"So, am I seeing you tonight?" the player inquired.
"I'll see if I'm not too busy," Melissa replied. "But for you, I might even clear my schedule."
The player nodded and chuckled. Then, the glass doors slid to the side, making him turn his attention towards Nico.
Melissa did the same and her eyes slightly widened.
'A new player? His gear seems decent enough... Must've spawned in a nice area,' the player assumed.
"I was wondering when you'd return, Nico," Melissa said with a smile on her face. "The guild's share got sent an hour ago."
"Yeah? I had something to take care of," Nico responded as he stood at the front desk.
He looked at the player and greeted him with a curt nod, the player responding the same way with no hostility.
'He's strong... The aura he's emitting isn't one from a new player... Unless...'
"Hey," the player spoke, Nico turning to look at him.
"You've killed a handful of players, haven't you?"
Melissa kept quiet and watched their exchange. Nico ignored him and turned to Melissa.
"I need a room for the night."
"Sure, sure. That'll be æ5,000 for one night," Melissa responded with her eyes shut and her head held high.
Nico lifted an eyebrow. "That's ludicrous. Not even my rent was that high."
"Hey, I just asked you a question. How does a player like you have the strength and courage to kill on his first day here?" the player queried, his brows furrowed.
"Aren't you scared? Don't you have any humanity left in you?"
Nico chuckled. "You speak about humanity in a world where humans kill and rape each other like it's normal. What are you, an idiot?"
The player gritted his teeth and grabbed Nico by the collar. "What'd you say, punk?!"
Nico glared at the player, his smile completely gone. "Release me."
The player stared into Nico's crimson-red eyes and contemplated dragging him outside for a fight.
But, for some reason, he released him and sucked his teeth before walking out of the Adventurer's Guild.
Nico fixed his collar and paid Melissa the amount.
She handed him a keycard and smiled softly at him.
"Try not to be extremely hostile to Draven. He watched his friends get slaughtered by rogue killers, so he's a bit sensitive about it," Melissa explained.
"I didn't ask," Nico retorted. "If he has a problem with all the killing, then he needs to solve it by playing hero."
Nico walked away and added, "Too bad that this world was tainted before he got here. You can't fix what's already broken."
Melissa watched him walk away and sighed, knowing full well that Nico's words had some sort of truth in them.
People as soft-spoken and kind-hearted as Draven was never survived long.
People like Nico though, that was a different story.
'He isn't afraid to stomp on anyone's morals, and he's still a newbie marked player. That alone makes him dangerous...'