Chapter 39: Painting the Town Red (Patreon)

The wolves howled again and some of the bar patrons who’d been forced out onto the street looked around for them. Of course it was too dark to see them. At night, the only light left was from an artificial full moon the System had constructed for this floor along with the fake sky and whatever ambient light was leaking out of active buildings like the nearby bar.

Some of the men nervously licked their lips. I’d already easily killed one of them, and now they were struggling to weigh their options. Do they try to kill me and earn sanctuary within the bar? Or do they make a run for it and take their chances in the woods? Suddenly, me and the wolves both looked equally appealing.

After a few seconds, half of the group chose the latter option and fled. I counted five remaining. A considerable number for the average tower resident, I’m sure. But I was not average.

I put my hood up and took a couple of steps back into the shadows.

“Where did he go?!” one yelled.

The wolves howled again.

“Let’s just finish this and get inside,” said another.

A smattering of melee weapons popped out of their inventories and into their hands. Two swordsmen, a hatchet wielder, one guy with a spiked bat, and finally… a gnarled wooden staff. I had to suppress a groan. I was hoping that the wand guy was the only magic user in the group. I hated the thought of dealing with magic. So far, every magic user I’d come across seemed to exclusively use ranged attacks and were always unpredictable.

The wizard started chanting something while the others blindly rushed into the darkness.

“I still can’t see him!”

With my cloak on and their perceptions levels too low, I was undetectable. Killing them almost didn’t seem fair.

“Maybe I’ll just sit and watch as the wolves eat you,” I said ominously.

One of them slashed his sword at the space where my voice had been, but I’d already moved on. They were too slow and too blind to be a concern.

“Yeah, let the… hiccup… doggies eat them,” cheered a drunken Hugo from his rooftop perch.

Of course, that just drew their attention to a target that they could actually see.

“Up there! His animal companion. Let’s get him,” shouted the guy with the spiked bat.

Goddamn it Hugo.

Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about the crow because the wizard had finally finished chanting and shouted, “Lux!”

A large ball of soft yellow light appeared above the wizard’s head, illuminating the street and revealing my location to the gang. They immediately moved to intercept.

Spiked bat was first as he swung for my head. His movement looked sluggish, and I ducked under it with ease. My Viper Fang slipped comfortably out of its sheath and I activated Savage Rupture as I sliced across his neck. The attack cut his carotid artery, which sprayed blood across my face as his heart desperately kept pumping. He was dead already. His body just didn’t know it yet.

The blood kept me at my peak as I moved past spiked bat, who was clutching feebly at his throat, to face more of the group.

The wizard seemed busy just keeping the light ball floating above us, so I ignored him and focused on the others. It also occurred to me then that people were watching through the bar windows and that even the front door was now open. Anders stood in it to watch. He appeared unimpressed in how I’d killed spiked bat guy in a single strike.

Time to step it up a notch.

I drew my sword and exploded forth towards the rest of the gang.

One at came at me with a hatchet. I deflected it with my knife and used Heart Strike to lunge with my sword.

*DING!* You have Slain [Alan Kemp, Swordsman] Level 3 – Experience Points Acquired.

*DING!* [Sword Work Skill] Increased to level 5

I suppose I could have stabbed him in the heart without the ability. But with the adrenaline, the anger, and the fear of death all coursing through me, the ability just made it easier. No, not just easier. It became a certainty, like my blades were magnetically drawn to destroying that vital organ.

Still, I felt a loss of energy from using it, so I used Savage Rupture on the next guy. He had a short sword, but was either too slow or too inexperienced with it. My katana nearly severed his arm cutting through the brachial artery. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he howled like a banshee until I took his head.

*DING!* You have Slain [Adam Waits, Swordsman] Level 2 – Experience Points Acquired.

The more their blood got on me, the less I found myself caring about anything except the next kill. It was such an intoxicating rush.

The final swordsman became scared and started to retreat, so I went for the wizard next. The magic man was visibly sweating from effort and concentration to keep the light ball in the street going. He didn’t even have time to react when my kunai knife gutted him.

*DING!* You have Slain [Mark Normand, Light Mage] Level 3 – Experience Points Acquired.

I shook my head. Magic users. Why use a simple torch when they can do something complicated and energy intensive with arcane power?

I snatched the staff out of his hands and snapped it in half over my knee for good measure.

The last man saw that it was hopeless and dropped his sword. He tried to make a run for the bar door even though it was blocked by Anders. Before he even made it halfway, I struck out with my sword low near the back of his ankles and carved through both Achilles tendons. He screamed as he fell into the dirt.

I stared at those still watching from within the bar.

“Anyone else?” I asked.

None of them replied. They just kept watching.

The man tried to crawl those last few feet to the bar. I didn’t even look at him as I stabbed him in the heart with my sword. My blood lust had vanished, and all that was left was rage and disgust.

“Ding! Rob Smith, Saber, level 2 has been slain!” I shouted contemptuously at the group inside the bar. Anders didn’t respond, his face a carefully controlled mask of neutrality as he turned away and closed the door. In a quieter voice, I said, “What a fucking waste.”

*DING!* You have Slain [John Peters, Street Slugger] Level 4 – Experience Points Acquired.

The message popped up as spiked bat had finally bled out. I didn’t bother to loot his or any of the bodies. They were all relatively low level and only carrying starter weapons. Plus, if they were outside, it meant that they didn’t have the coin to rent a place either. No, it was better to leave them behind. Let Anders and his lackey’s clean it up. At least then maybe the System will give them the snarky messages instead.

Killing them had been too easy, and seeing how scared they were about being outside made it too easy to empathize with them after they were dead. I didn’t regret what I’d done, but I was angry about being forced into that situation.

One thing I did know was that tonight didn’t solve anything. Anders would come for me again. Either with more men or with Martin leading the charge. Earnest was right that they needed to be taken out, but wrong about gathering an opposing force. It was too slow. It would take too long and it would just be playing Martin’s game but as a lesser player. I couldn’t challenge him directly either. God knows how many others he’d needlessly get killed by dragging them into it. No, there was only one viable path.

I sighed. “All roads lead to the same solution,” I said as I pulled my goblin knife out of the wand guy’s skull.

“What’s that?” asked Hugo as he flew down to my shoulder.

“We have to get stronger.”

Another wolf howled in the distance. This time it sounded like music to my ears.

I grinned, well aware of how ghoulish I looked with my face still covered in blood. “What do you think?”

Hugo shrugged. “Our apartment could always use a couple of fur rugs.”