《The Legendary Moonlight Serial-Killer》


 Ch 1 - Race to first blood

    In a faintly lit room, Hitagi Matou was sitting cross-leggedly reading a book. It was a rather boring scene really, all she really do was turn a page or brush her hair out of her eyes.


    In the background a female reporter was monotonously going over the daily news in a voice in completely lacking articulation which made it a miracle how anyone watching was even awake. It really wouldn''t be too surprising if the reporter fell asleep while she was talking.


    ¡°I¡¯m about to leave!¡± Her colleague called out from the kitchen. The two lived together since college and never really separated.


    The quiet girl that was reading carefully dogeared her book and pushed it away. Looking at her electronic clock, she smiled at it. Particularly the date.


    11: 39 PM | May 3rd 2052.


    Exactly a year since the New World Order took over. A year ago, to this day, Donut Tramp united North America, Europe and Russia (yes I know Russia isn''t a continent) under the New World Order.


    Holding 97% of the world¡¯s nuclear arms above the rest of the world''s head and assassinating any ruler dumb enough to resist them, the New World Order held complete control of the planet in less than twenty-four hours. On live television, the entire world watched as their own governments surrendered to the New World Order.


    Those politicians who surrendered without a fight were given back their positions as governors that reported directly to the NWO and their countries weren''t damaged.


    China was the only country that posed a threat to the NWO, holding 3% of the world¡¯s nuke supply. Sadly, more than half the government officials were bribed and those who resisted were publicly executed.


    North Korea tried to nuke the NWO capital(present day Switzerland) using their few nukes but the missile defense system made that attempt a mere pipe dream.


    Less than thirty minutes later, the reprisal attack wiped North Korea off the map and ''unification'' began.


    ''Ahh yes'' Hitagi thought.


    ''Unification.''


    Shortly after, ISIS (isol) staged a worldwide attack on the schools and public infrastructure in nearly a hundred countries across the world killing nearly three thousand people and injuring over thirty thousand.


    ''With an average of three people at each of the hundred locations, killing only three thousand is a bit pitiful.'' She silently thought. "Matou-kun, what''s with that expression?"


    Her colleague Shizuki asked. Her colleague was a sad existence who tended to trust people easily. Which also explained how she had now been raped twice, nearly killed, lost a kidney, and was stuck in a dead-end job with a demanding boss.


    Nonetheless, she had a optimistic outlook which can¡¯t really be counted as a positive or a negative aspect at this point.


    "Oh hey there, Shizuki" Hitagi replied, quickly hiding her look of disgust behind her usual one of disappointment "Just intrigued how ISIS only averaged ten kills per insurgent".


    "Only?" replied Shizuki quizzically.


    "Ten kills yet a hundred injured. Do they not know how to aim or are they just dumb?"


    "In a hurry more like. New World Order forces were everywhere after the takeover. Anyways, I''m off, Matou-kun. Gotta help boss with her paperwork."


    ¡°Bye zu~ki~¡±


    Hitagi *wanted* to get back to her book but laziness overtook her. ''Meh... I''ll have to reach all the way to it and then get to the right page and open it and read it''


    Turning her head as little as possible, she carefully edged the clock back into her view.


    11: 53 PM | Ma~ [(??Òæ?£©?? ©ß©¥©ß]


    Hitagi cursed herself for nearly forgetting. Flinging expletives a people would never expect from a girl like her, she roared and jumped up, completely forgetting her desires to do absolutely nothing. Dashing through her house like a world class athlete, she charged across the floors, lept over furniture that was in the way, and scaled the stairs in record time.


    Hitagi Matou was by no means athletic. Neither was she fat nor was she anorexic. It simply was well rounded, figuratively speaking.


    ''Awww shit how did I forget Conquest Online launches at 12:00???''


    (AN: Stereotypical name much?)


    The simple thought of missing the launch time set her soul on fire and injected her with enough adrenaline to fuel her parkour-like dash to her capsule.


    After clicking the icon on the display and kicking the capsule a few times to speed it up, she completely stripped and jumped into the capsule. The helmet silently slipped on and the top panels slid closed. A wide set of apparati attached themselves to various parts of her body and she closed her eyes.


    When she opened them again she found herself at a character selection screen. A cute NPC guide began a well articulated speech.


    "Welcome to Conquest Online! Blah blah blah character selection blah blah skills blah blah blah you can choose now." Hitagi liked how her brain filtered out everything she didn''t need to know. It was a necessary skill in the twenty first century.


    "Well, I''ll start then if you don''t mind" she sighed, slightly sarcastic.


    "Name?"  The friendly NPC asked.


    "Hitagi"


    "How would you like to look?"


    "As is."


    "Race?"


    "High Human." High humans had high intelligence levels compared to regular ones. According to the manual their strength and agility were lower but wisdom and intelligence was the most important for mana.


    "Class?"


    "Assassin."


    "Trump card?"


    "Flash." She finished without hesitation.


    Trump cards were a unique feature of Conquest online. Among them were:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Flash (Active)</td></tr><tr><td>Teleport 1.5 feet forward instantly, no inertia lost. If something is in the way at the final destination, goes as far as possible without crashing.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Phase (Active)</td></tr><tr><td>Goes into the Ethreal realm for 0.1 seconds, dodging all physical and most magical attacks.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Exploit (Active)</td></tr><tr><td>A hit guaranteed to completely ignore armor.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Pulse (Active)</td></tr><tr><td>Unleashes a sonar pulse locating all entities around you. Displayed on mini-map and enemies with pulse are alerted. (range of 15 feet).</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Silence (Active)</td></tr><tr><td>Prevents use of trump cards for 3 seconds in a 15 feet radius.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Trump cards are generally regarded as OP, coming with the drawback of only being able to use them once a week.


    The clock changed to 12:00. Hitagi selected Akira, the [Center of the World] as her starting point and she blinked into the world.


    The first thing she noticed was that she was in a large chapel. Large as in very ginormous. Over ten thousand players were inside a large auditorium like building. She was on the second floor of some overhang overlooking a stage with a fat, balding man on it.


    "With this! Come my f- blah blah"


    Ignoring the fat man, she turned and walked out into a large hallway. She already read through the tutorial released while she was in ¡®the hype¡¯. Opening her status page, she poked away until she found her Inventory.


    "What the fuck... a crappy knife, ten crappy pieces of bread and a silver coin? What are we, in the slums of a beast race village?"


    Ignoring the glares from the NPCs and beast race players around her she then looked at her skills.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>[Backstab] (passive)(1)(0%)</td></tr><tr><td>20% (+5% * LEVEL) bonus damage when attacking from the back.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.Bonus doubled if light rating is below 10%.


    Automatically Procs with the bonus on incapacitated enemies regardless of position.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>[Active Camouflage] (active)(1)(0%)</td></tr><tr><td>Invisibility in areas with a light rating below 5% (+ 5% * LEVEL).


    Makes you harder to see if light rating is above 5% (+ 5% * LEVEL).


    10 Mana/Second.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>[Lethal Strike] (active)(1)(0%)</td></tr><tr><td>Increases damage dealt by 20% (+5% * LEVEL)


    and inflicts a bleed dealing 50% (+10% * LEVEL) of the damage dealt, over ten seconds.


    50 Mana.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>[Inspect] (active)(1)(0%)</td></tr><tr><td>Identifies and provides details for an entity.


    More details available at higher level differences.


    No mana cost.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    (Author''s Note: YAYYYYYY BLUE THINGS!)


    Running outside under the dark sky, she made her way to a stand, she found a(n) <del>victim</del> antique store owner.


    "Hey, I''ll sell you this ancient dagger and mummified bread for three silvers" she said.


    ¡°The dagger is from an ancient civilization called the uhh¡­ Charigans which my party found outside the city today. Buy em before the others sell theirs so you can profit quicker!¡±


    The merchant accepted, although skeptical and she took her remaining money to buy a knife about ten centimeters long coated with anesthetic.


    About to leave, she turned around and <del>wasted</del> invested the rest of her money on a blowpipe and a few toxic darts. No one really liked blowpipes due to their low range.


    ''Kekeke getting rid of my shitty equipment before everyone else makes it worthless was a good idea. Now to make some money!"


    The monetary system in Conquest Online is simple.


    ~~~


    100 copper = 1 silver. 100 silver = 1 gold. 100 gold = 1 platinum.


    ~~~


    Going to the guild headquarters, she looked at the request board. Her eyes widened in total shock¡­ a hundred goblins would only get you a bounty of six silvers. Her dreams of making it big overnight were instantly shattered to pieces.


    ''Hehehe look at those walking wallets... with crappy people attached to them. I should kill some players to get some easy cash instead of grinding monsters (average of 16 and 2/3 of a goblin) to get a single silver.''


    The only problem with killing players/NPCs was that if a guard saw you, it would turn into Grand Theft Auto very quickly (except without cars). You would also get a bounty on your head, they would start a manhunt for you, and people would refuse to do business with you. A red arrow would also be above your head basically screwing you over.


    Suddenly concocting a new plan to get rich quick, she walked to the residential district and found a relatively large house.


    ''The key is to act like you aren''t gunna kill people'' she thought and with much swagger, got to the door, trying the doorknob. Unfortunately it was locked, but all the lights were off. Taking a quick look around and seeing no one, she used her [Flash] to get past the door.


    <table><tbody>"[Flash] cooldown 6:23:59:59"</tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>"Light levels are at 3%."</tbody></table>


    ''My current mana will allow for about twenty seconds of invisibility so I should be careful.'' she thought. ''Hopefully I won''t need it.''


    Making her way forward, she found a man sleeping on a couch. ''Hehe must have made his wife angry.''


    "[Inspect]" she whispered, bringing the level 3 man up. All she could see was that he had around 220 HP.


    Slowly steeling herself and walking up to the man, careful not to make any sounds, she drew her dagger up.


    "[Lethal Strike]" she whispered and stabbed down onto his neck. The man shot awake choking on his own blood and died after another stab to his chest.


    <table><tbody>"Congratulations! You are the eighty second to kill something. Double EXP granted."</tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>"Congratulations! You are the third to kill an NPC. Double EXP granted."</tbody></table>


    Killing someone in the game was different from killing someone in real life, but the new NPC AIs were made to be extremely human.


    She backed away slowly and dropped her knife in shock at the spreading blood pool. Her level shot up to level 3 and a sliver of EXP. Embarrassed by her own childish horror, she chided herself and picked up her knife.


    ''This isn''t finished'' she remembered.


    Making her way upstairs, she found the woman and killed her as well. She dismissed the notification and the level ups. Distributing points between agility and intelligence, she was about to start searching for valuables.


    Suddenly, hearing a noise, she paused. It was distinctly that of a door opening. She suddenly cursed herself for her carelessness. A cold sweat ran down her back as she walked to the door. A teen-aged girl, likely a daughter had gotten up and was headed to the living room.


    ''oh shit...''


    ''she''s gunna see the old bastard''s body!''


    Luckily she wasn''t seen as the daughter was walking in the opposite direction. Taking out her blowdart, she took careful aim at her back.


    "[Lethal Strike]"


    The dart flew true and it embedded itself into the teenaged girl¡¯s back. The girl looked confused as she reached behind her and pulled out the dart. Seeing the blood cover her hands, she started trembling and cried out ¡°Daddy, help!¡±


    But it was too late. Hitagi was already almost on top of her. A single second of [Active Camouflage] was all it took.


    "Sorry, its nothing personal, really." Hitagi said as she moved in for the kill.


    A slash to the throat and the dying girl''s whimpers ended.


    After confirming herself to be the only one left alive in the house. She began to loot anything of value, stuffing it into her inventory. She unlocked the back door and left for a pawn shop.


    Several trips later, the house was empty except for furniture.


    But before she could leave, she hauled the bodies into the fireplace and poured all oil all around, spreading the fire around.


    Smiling in satisfaction she left, now two gold and seventeen silver richer. Hitagi walked to the marketplace with a smile on her face.


    Nearing the market, she heard the shouts of the fire control agency on their way to a burning house. Looking around for a decent bow, she spotted a bluish longbow.


    "That looks pretty powerful" she muttered. Apparently not quiet enough as the stall-keeper heard her.


    "Ahhh yes, a fine beauty. You can have it for 1 gold and 50 silver."


    "1 gold 45." She replied curtly.


    "1 gold 47." He followed up.


    "46." She countered.


    "Done." The merchant smiled, a hint of malice at the edges of his lips, quickly replaced with disbelief as she put only 46 silver on the counter and took the bow.


    "Wait missy!" He called, but it was too late.


    She was already gone.


    Buying steel tipped arrows and weapon poison made from a mix of black snake venom and queen spider venom, she carefully applied the poison liberally on each arrowhead.


    The level seven Hitagi then left the city, tailing a party of five that just left the chapel. Hearing their laughs, she smiled. It was the smile of a predator that just spotted a helpless victim.


    --A Certain Public Order Report--


    Three bodies found in the burning remains of a house. By the time the fire was under control, there was little left worth saving. There are no further leads.

 Ch 2 - Happy Hunting

    Yo boiz, thanks for the follow! :D (notice singular). Font is hatin on me, so all hail the [Remove Formatting] god!


    ----


    TESTING stats explain''d like a bass. Yes. The fish.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Window Sugoi!</td></tr><tr><td>HPz</td><td>100+10STR+10LEVEL</td><td>Titles</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Mana (KI) lol</td><td>100+10INT+10LEVEL</td><td>Name</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>STR</td><td>5 base</td><td>Race</td><td>High Human</td></tr><tr><td>AGI</td><td>5 base</td><td>Level</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>INT</td><td>20 base</td><td>EXPz</td><td>-1%</td></tr><tr><td>Base Armor


    Base damage = damage-armor</td><td>Math.ceiling(AGI/7);</td><td>Base Magic Resist


    Base damage = damage-MR</td><td>Math.ceiling(INT/7)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ----


    Hitagi silently followed the group through the woods, barely out of sight, a camouflage cloak hiding her presence.


    Hearing the clash of metal on metal, she ran to get a vantage point.


    ¡®Fuuu¡¯ she sighed. They had engaged a level ten Greater Boar. Their healer desperately threw out heals and Hitagi watched as their health a mana slowly declined.


    Running as quietly as possible, she re-positioned herself behind their team. She selected her first target as the healer, or in other words, the squishiest and the only one that could potentially remove the poison.


    Aiming at the back of the neck, she drew back all the way and took careful aim.


    ¡®Target approximately one hundred feet. No wind.¡¯


    The arrow flew true and fully penetrated the healer. Both the boar and the adventurers froze.


    But Hitagi didn¡¯t. Arrows flew out like a barrage.


    The second took the healer¡¯s life, and snapped them back to reality.


    The boar charged into their ranks while the tank was distracted, throwing the fire mage like a rag doll into a tree, where an arrow nestled itself into his throat.


    Drowning in his own blood, with bleed and poison, it was quickly over. Their archer had trouble running from the boar, much less fighting back. Their tank chased the boar desperately trying to distract it.


    The fifth one, an assassin, could only watch, having depleted his mana engaging. He tried to flee but a cliche arrow to the knee tripped him.


    A few more arrows incapacitated the rest of the team. Sprinting up with the cover of [Active Camouflage] she made it to the archer and slit his throat. Although not completely invisible, she really didn¡¯t care if they saw her at this point.


    She walked up to the boar. It was the end and everyone present knew it. Pulling an arrow to full draw, she whispered ¡°[Lethal Strike]¡± and the arrow buried itself deeply beside the head of the boar, cleaving through its heart.


    ¡°You piece of fucking shit¡± Their tank roared, recovering from his shock.


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget you¡± the assassin yelled unconvincingly.


    Hitagi smiled and walked up the guy in armor. It was swift. An execution that would have made a mad king smile with glee. The body of the tank fell backwards and hit the ground, leaving only a body. Turning around she faced the assassin.


    ¡°In Conquest online, you only feel 30% of the pain. What if I shot three arrows into your head at the same time?¡± She asked.


    The face of the assassin was one of acceptance. Both people knew his fate. Taking three arrows out and lining them up to his head she drew back.


    ¡°Goodbye assassin-kun. Sweet dreams!¡± she cooed softly as she ended his life.


    It was then that she noticed the large number of backed up messages. Among them were a few insta-kill messages and two level ups. There were five identical messages stating that no NPCs that had witnessed the murder still lived. Finally the last one notified her that she had received a new title. ¡°You have received the title [Newb Serial Killer] for killing five players in cold blood. Plus 5 to all stats.¡±


    Smiling to herself for her luck, she picked up the drops, she headed back to town.


    Selling the hide and tusks of the boar would net her at least a silver. The health pots (Author¡¯s Note: Pot = Potion) would be useful in future PK expeditions.


    After retrieving the arrows, she stacked the soul-less bodies and kicked dirt over the bloodstains.


    Complimenting herself for remembering to bring oil, she doused the bodies and set them ablaze, piling on leaves and sticks she found in the vicinity.


    ¡°Quite methodical, are you now.¡± A guy¡¯s voice said behind her. Hitagi instantly froze and turned around slowly.


    A party of two males and a female looked at her, all with smiles on their faces.


    ¡°I hate people like you.¡± The female stated. ¡°Do you know how hard it is to make an honest living as an adventurer?¡±


    Instantly an arrow was aligned with her face. ¡°Of course¡± Hitagi replied, not amused. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m not making an honest living, brainless whore?¡±


    Feeling intense killing intent behind her, she let the arrow fly and dashed to the side as a dagger stabbed into her afterimage.


    The man was screaming at this point. ¡°THOSE WERE MY KILLS YOU BLOODY BITCH!¡±


    Hitagi felt a deep sense of disgust and wanted to silence him very badly, but had a more immediate threat.


    ¡°[Inspect]¡± she called on her would-have-been assassin.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Level 4. Race: Human</td></tr>


    <tr><td>HP - 250/250 MP - 112/150</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Smiling at the level difference, she rushed him. Sliding under his desperate swipe, she put her left hand on his chest and pushed him off balance. His arms flailed backwards creating a fatal opening. A stab later and he was choking on his own blood.


    Turning her attention to the two males she realized one had closed the gap. Recalling a game she played, Infinity Blade XI, she dodged towards the direction his swing came from, barely ducking under the massive broadsword.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡®He definitely invested points into strength.¡¯ She thought, ¡®but his sword is a two-handed one, so pushing him for an opening is unnecessary. He''ll create openings on himself.¡¯


    He slashed again, with all his might, clearly aiming to overkill. Although the level difference existed, if he took off her head in a single hit, she would still be done for. Watching him stagger from his own attack, she moved in and slashed at his neck with her knife, <del>severing his head from his shoulders</del> completely missing as he simply [Phase]d through it.


    Bloodlust prickled her neck as he watched the assassin get off his feet and rush her.


    ¡®Healer¡¯ she instantly thought and backed, but the assassin wouldn¡¯t let her. [Flash] he roared as he blinked behind her. Now the warrior in front of her called out [Judgement] as the assassin behind her used [Lethal Strike].


    Thinking fast, Hitagi raised her dagger above her head and angled it, deflecting the path of the downward execution (barely), chipping both their blades in the process. The impact forced her feet into the ground and both her hands went numb. Twisting her body, she barely avoided the lunge for her heart, the blade piercing besides her spinal cord instead.


    Gasping with pain she spun around ripping the dagger out of the assassin¡¯s hands as she twisted her body away from him, just as the broadsword crashed into the terrain beside her.


    Using a [Lethal Strike] this time, the assassin¡¯s head parted from his shoulders.


    Following up, she twisted her body and let loose a roundhouse kick that sent the warrior flying.


    Taking out her bow, she turned and nailed the warrior¡¯s head to a tree with an arrow.


    The healer turned and fled, taking cover behind trees. Noticing the dagger no longer in her back, she smiled grimly. The weapon must have disappeared when he died.


    Chugging a health pot, she gave chase. The healer had very little agility making the hunt very fast. Using [Active Camouflage], she was hidden from view. The healer saw nothing behind him so he stopped, his breath coming in gasps. Hitagi materialized in front of him cutting away his hope.


    ¡°Why?¡± He asked, in a half sob.


    ¡°Honestly, I had no intentions of fighting you. Your assassin attacked first.¡± Hitagi replied.


    ¡°You fired your arrow first!¡± He screamed! ¡°Jo-Jonathan was ordered not to attack you unless you attacked us!¡±


    Remembering back, she remembered. She did fire first¡­ ¡°Oh well¡± she muttered. ¡°You can¡¯t be allowed to live at this point.¡±


    Taking a head and body back, she threw all the body parts she could find on to the dying embers along and cleaned up as she added fuel to the fire. Hitagi was most grateful for the lack of smell when burning bodies.


    Following the sound of water, she hopped in to a river and wiped off the blood from her clothes and hair. Slopping wet, she started walking back to Akira, finally free of the pests around her.


    Walking back, she noticed the eyes of guys around her look onto her. Realizing her bra was visible through the wet fabric, she kept walking with a sigh, too tired to be embarrassed.


    ¡°Are you headed to the capital, onee-chan?¡± a teenaged boy asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡± she replied tiredly with a weak smile.


    ¡°Can I buy you a drink at the tavern in the square? He asked sheepishly.¡±


    ¡®What the hell, a free drink¡¯s a goddamn free drink.¡¯ she thought.


    ¡°Sure¡± she replied, her smile growing a bit.


    ¡°Hi my name is Richard, how are you?¡±


    ¡°Hitagi, I¡¯m a bit tired from hunting.¡±


    ¡°Well, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Same.¡±


    There was something familiar about the boy, but Hitagi just couldn¡¯t put her finger on what. How he walked, maybe?


    The sky darkened, and the city gates loomed in the distance as they walked, and suddenly she realized they were surrounded.


    Not breaking the nonchalant atmosphere, she quietly asked, ¡°What class are you?¡±


    The boy answered ¡°Fire Mage.¡±


    ¡°Then we might have a chance.¡± She quietly said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re about to be surrounded.¡±


    A familiar voice called out when they realized that they were spotted. ¡°HEY BITCH, WE¡¯RE BACK¡± it jeered. Another called out, ¡°Do you honestly think you can PK us and get away with it?¡±


    Feigning ignorance, she hid behind the wizard boy and cried out ¡°Help me! Crazy guys want to kill me!¡±


    Not moving, Richard just watched as the ten odd people surrounded them. Then he turned around and asked ¡°Why do you kill people?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She said, confused.


    She recognized a few of the people around her as the first group she PKed.


    With great suspicion, she took a closer look at Richard.


    Richard¡¯s face morphed into a really familiar one. IT WAS THE ASSASSIN SHE SHOT THREE HOLES IN THE HEAD!


    In the space of a single second, Hitagi¡¯s expression changed from one of faked fear, to surprise, to confusion, to panic, and finally back to her favorite: disappointment.


    Realizing what was about to happen, she roared ¡°[Active Camouflage]¡± and sprinted like she had never sprinted before towards the city walls, with projectiles flying all around her, some finding their mark on her back.


    ---


    Will use first person from now on. 3rd person omni switch first is difficult.


    PS2, deleted original thread because I accidentally made it sticky.

 Ch 3 - Money buys everything.

    HEAR ME FELLOW COUNTRYMEN, WELCOME TO CHAPTER 3


    I HAZ AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE


    THE STORY IS SWITCHING TO PURELY FIRST PERSON HITAKI POV UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE.


    The people will be specified.. style probably won¡¯t change. Unless I decide that 2nd person is a thing¡­. But that¡¯s in the FUTURE


    ---


    Oh shit.


    Ohhhhh shit.


    Ohhhhhhhhhhhh shit.


    A heat wave spreads across my back as a miniature fireball hits me in the leather armor.


    Damage in the ones digit starts chewing at my hp bar¡­


    Why am I¡­ running?


    Turning around, I can now see their rag-tag band of vigilantes. Wait a second¡­ ¡°Inventory¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Inventory [0 Plat : 0 Gold : 17 Silver : 45 Copper]</td></tr><tr><td>Greater Boar Tusk</td><td>x2</td></tr><tr><td>Lesser Health Potion</td><td>x12</td></tr><tr><td>Rusty Sword</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Fire Stick</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Bracer</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Amature blow pipe</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Slightly toxic dart</td><td>x9</td></tr><tr><td>Average-ly toxic arrow</td><td>x39</td></tr><tr><td>Weapon poison</td><td>12 servings.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Confirming that I do indeed have a large number of health potions left (liquid money), I stop running. A single potion is probably worth more than the total value of three or four of them combined.


    This will make an excellent experiment. I forgot to use [Inspect] before to track my damage, but now I can pick these silly fools off.


    Using [Inspect] on the closest volunteer, I get


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>[Inspect]</td></tr><tr><td>HP</td><td>320</td><td>Level</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>MP</td><td>230</td><td>Name</td><td>???</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Eww a tanky one.


    Pulling out my bow, I drop my right foot back and take on a sturdy form. Drawing back on the familiar weight, I take aim at him ignoring the projectiles flying around me.


    Eyeing my favorite target spot (the throat) I release the arrow from max draw. The difference between sniping at 100 feet and firing at point blank is the difference between day and night.


    The arrowhead makes it completely through his neck before coming to a stop. Instantly, it¡¯s a -150 followed by -35s until he dies. On the inspection window, it appears the thing that killed him was a combination between the bleed, poison, and a status effect called [Asphyxiate].


    <table><tbody><tr><td>[Asphyxiate]</td></tr><tr><td>Deals no damage until 10 seconds after application.


    Deals 1% MAX HP/second until breathing resumes</td></tr></tbody></table>


    What a nasty effect this is¡­ No wonder knights have chain mail covering their neck.


    Turning around, I decided to flee, as my own health bar is slowly taking hits. None of the hits dealt more than 15-20 damage since they didn¡¯t penetrate very well, but they really added up if six or seven of them are attacking at once.


    Chugging 10 silver down (a health pot), my HP bar jumps upward by 100 points.


    I don¡¯t exactly just want to bee-line straight for the city gates, they¡¯ll stalk me like annoying children if I don¡¯t kill them. Deliberately running slower, they start gaining on me.


    Jumping off the path, I make towards a small forest. Unfortunately, their vigilante group appears to be tiring out due to their low stats.


    ¡°HAHA YOU OBESE TURDS CAN¡¯T EVEN OUTRUN A GIRL!¡± I screamed at them, flipping them off in the process.


    Throwing myself over a tree branch and purposely tripping myself, I cried out ¡°Owowoww time out! Asagi-san tripped!¡± I grit my teeth in fake anger while I hid a smug laugh at my new name.


    Seeing me in my helpless state, they rushed me like I was a free buffet in a slum.


    However they failed to account for the 13% light level of the forest. At level 2 [Active Camouflage] I was completely invisible. Their yelling completely masked my sounds as I circled to the back. Grabbing an arrow, I stabbed it into the fire mage ¡®Richard¡¯ and finished him off with another arrow to the neck.


    They were desperately looking for where the arrows were coming from. Rushing through the group and using my dagger to slash at exposed necks, I easily cut a path through the group and ran for cover.


    Running about twenty feet away, wary of my rapidly dying mana pool I broke invisibility and let the onslaught begin. Picking off the small fry was easy since they died in a single hit anywhere with the damage I already inflicted.


    Inhale, pull, aim, exhale, shoot. Simple. Sure they shot back, but their 50 copper bows didn¡¯t really pack any power. Most shots just barely got past my leather armor, creating a tiny entry wound. Small fireballs burst against me but were instantly put out but their water balls and dirt balls. Their coordination was absolutely abysmal.


    At lower levels, fire spells did most of their damage from [Immolate]. If left untreated, [Immolate] could deal 30-40 damage on its own, from a single fireball. Even health potions heal over five seconds, they still greatly outhealed the pitiful damage dealt.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Looking over the field painted red with gore, I saw one last person standing. I used [Active Camouflage] for about five seconds, not moving. Thinking I re-positioned, he slowly turned until he had his back to me, Yelling out ¡°I know you¡¯re there, you can¡¯t hide!¡±


    A wide smile crept across my face. Seeing the blood all over the field just¡­ turned me on. This battle was far from the disappointment I expected it to be. I wish I could have this guy stuffed¡­ I would totally put him on a plaque above a fireplace- a trophy! If I could, anyways. I let an arrow fly at maximum speed. However the impossible happened-


    whirling around, he chopped the arrow out of the air.


    Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Jackie Chan?!


    ¡°[Active Camouflage]!¡±


    ¡°[Inspect]!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>[Inspect]</td></tr><tr><td>HP</td><td>650</td><td>Level</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>MP</td><td>410</td><td>Name</td><td>Captain Olaf</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Captain my ass, he¡¯s about to be a pincushion.


    Sprinting about in a quarter circle around him, I drew my bow again, this time drawing four arrows out. Block this, hotshot!


    ¡°I can feel your killing intent, baka!¡± He said grinning and slicing an arrow out of the air.


    His smug look was wiped off his face when two other arrows impaled him, while the third grazed by his neck.


    -125


    -132


    -1


    (392/650)


    ¡­


    Although [Active Camouflage] went down from the lack of mana, I smiled as the poison started tearing through his hit points.


    Drawing another four arrows from my scarily light quiver, I took aim.


    ¡°Awww, now that¡¯s not fair! Fire one at a time please Asagi-chan!¡± He said amicably with a rather amused look in his eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think an assassin would ever drive me into this far into a corner¡± He continued, his smile growing wider. ¡°I''ll take you down with me!¡±


    I let the arrows fly at him


    ¡°[Defiance]¡± He called out, and then he charged. All four arrows pierced through him and dropped him to a single hit point, but [Defiance] kept him from dying. I turned around and fled for my life, having completely spent my mana like a fool.


    Bolas shot out and tripped me, leaving me sprawled out on the ground with my legs hogtied together. Roaring ¡°[Subjugate]¡± and ¡°[Hemorrhage]¡±, he lifted his sword above his head, smashing it downwards, stopped only by a comparatively tiny dagger. The blunt impact dealt nearly 250 damage, shattered my left hand, and caused instant bruising all across the impact center due to [Hemorrhage].


    At this point, [Defiance] wore off and he rather pathetically died to poison damage. But by no means was I out of the red just because he wouldn¡¯t attack anymore. Chugging health pots slowed the initial [Hemorrhage] to 30 damage/second instead of the brutal 50.


    Coughing up blood, I drank another health pot, watching my health dip to a mere 7 points. But at this point the bruises had all but disappeared and the healing outstripped the internal bleeding. ¡°Saved by the 10 HP from a level up ehh? Goddamn NPCs too strong.¡±


    Filled with the adrenaline high from cheating death, I just looked at the sky, content with my life. They say money can¡¯t buy happiness, yet here I am, happier than a ''small slimy creature'' with a returned ring1 after chugging that cash, err health potion.


    I started untangling my legs as I finished the rest of my health pots, getting back to around 80% of my max hit points. Surveying the scene of carnage, I picked up the drops (my arrows actually more valuable, sadly), not even bothering with the bodies.


    ¡°Inventory!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Inventory [0 Plat : 0 Gold : 25 Silver : 95 Copper]</td></tr><tr><td>Greater Boar Tusk</td><td>x2</td></tr><tr><td>Rusty Sword</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Fire Stick</td><td>x3</td></tr><tr><td>Water Stick</td><td>x2</td></tr><tr><td>Earth Stick</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Bracer</td><td>x4</td></tr><tr><td>Amature blow pipe</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Slightly toxic dart</td><td>x9</td></tr><tr><td>Average-ly toxic arrow</td><td>x49</td></tr><tr><td>Weapon poison</td><td>12 servings.</td></tr><tr><td>Key Ring</td><td>x1</td></tr><tr><td>Dried Bread</td><td>x15</td></tr></tbody></table>


    I grinned when I saw the list of drops: some silver, starter bread, the elemental sticks, and a key ring from the captain.


    Remembering my exploits from the first day *cough* murder *cough* arson *cough* , naturally, I felt like a bunch of cash was coming my way when I saw those keys.


    My backed up notifications showed that I leveled up three times throughout the manhunt.


    Cutting off the head of the captain, I put it in my inventory and headed back towards the city. I had a feeling it would make a nice gift.


    ---


    1 Reference to Lord of the Rings, Gollum''s ring (not that he got it back).