CHAPTER 18.

Reed grinned watching chaos unfurl in the encampment. Fires were beginning to spread, spilled blood flowed onto the ground, pooling into lakes that reflected the hellish atmosphere. People scrambled for their weapons, in a rush, the merchants hid inside their wagons, cowering in fear; it was all a great spectacle for his eyes. Nothing brought greater joy to him than watching their prey struggle; it made the reward so much better after all.

Of course, if they fled and left their precious goods alone, he’d still chase. Such was the joy of a hunter. And his thoughts were shared amongst his mates, everyone in the group enjoyed this process. He hadn’t always been a monster as some people called him, but he had left his past long behind. He had left it all behind, and now he could truly indulge in his darkest thoughts.

This is freedom.

His eyes narrowed, and after a crack from his bowstring he loosed the nocked arrow. It whispered through the air, like a susurration of death, and enhanced by all his skills it hit the charging warrior⁠— it pierced through his skull and kept flying, embedding itself deep in a faraway stone. He wasn’t the strongest around, but Reed felt like he was at the peak of his life.

Nothing felt impossible, and through the unity of their group, the unreachable goals became reachable. They had all planned to eventually buy a castle for all of them to reside in, even though they were bandits in the eyes of others, Reed felt like all of his companions were his brothers. And of course, they all had their own ambitions, but his leader⁠— his oldest brother was the one that made everything work.

He remembered the day he met Wain, it had been storming, he had felt so helpless, but after joining him⁠—

Reed loosed another arrow, killing yet another helpless adventurer.

He never looked back.

He was the best archer in the group, his companions unfortunately weren’t scoring as many points as he was, but he supposed that it was okay. His kills were everyone’s kills, his rewards were everyone’s, his everything belonged to everyone present, and he knew that everyone felt the same way. Of course, ultimately he knew that if it came down to it, he’d abandon and sacrifice everyone, but he chose to ignore that and live in his fantasy. Ultimately, he enjoyed the company of everyone.

And the screams made it all better⁠—

Reed paused as he saw an archer get cut down. Jaster? He frowned as he saw a woman cut down through the backlines, the warriors were engaging with the melee adventurers and yet somehow a lone girl had gotten past all of that. He growled, watching another archer be felled at her hands, and that’s when he knew he had to do something.

He was a level 50 Precision Marksman.

He drew the nocked arrow back with all his strength, the string of his bow creaked, almost as if it was ticking. And the woman turned to look at him in response, but it was too late⁠— Piercer Blow! The arrow streaked into the air and the woman managed to parry it⁠. The arrow, now deflected hit her arm and⁠— that was it.

Her arm should’ve been blown off. Reed frowned and the woman in response just rushed at him. Something that pissed him off as he nocked three arrows.

“You think I’m that easy to kill?!” He gritted his teeth. “Die!”

The three enhanced arrows hit the woman and she did nothing more than let out a grunt as they pierced through the leather parts of her armor. She should've collapsed on the floor from that, and yet she wasn’t. Reed didn’t comprehend it.

[Warrior. Lvl. 55]

She is just a level 55 warrior. He frowned and placed another arrow on his bow, he waited for the woman to come and she dashed with an incredible burst of speed. His eyes momentarily went wide, but he still smirked. It didn’t matter after all. He loosed the arrow at the woman and he jumped back⁠— an explosion engulfed her and he took very deep breaths, feeling his mana immediately reach rock bottom.

Explosive Marksmanship always took a lot out of him, but he was sure that that had been enough, even if the warrior had survived, she surely must’ve been close to death. And so he grinned raising his bow with an arrow, he was more than prepared to finish the job.

“Do not worry brothers, I have avenged you.”

And a figure burst from the smoke. Reed’s eyes went wide and he shot. The woman swiped the arrow from the air, slapping it away as she appeared next to the man. Part of her skin seemed burnt, her armor seemed to have gained some dents, but otherwise she looked completely fine, and as she raised her sword, he noticed something.

The burnt skin was healing before his very eyes.

What? Surprise flashed through him, and the woman met his gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

Sorry for what⁠— and she swung down, his head flew through the air as Reed’s life came to an end. He didn’t have time to think about Wain, nor his brothers, not even that he was about to die, the last moments in his mind were simply wondering why the warrior was sorry.

And unfortunately, he would never know the answer.

* * *

[You have defeated a [Archer. Lvl. 42].]

Less experience for defeating an enemy as a group.

…

[You have defeated a [Archer. Lvl. 45].]

[You have defeated a [Archer. Lvl. 50].]

…

A deep breath left Amber, she had killed about five people, she certainly didn’t enjoy it but part of her almost wanted her to feel guiltier, it was strange. Then again, as Liz had said, sometimes it was kill or be killed. She was fighting bandits, and she couldn’t deny that the satisfaction from getting to use her class advancement was still there.

Her Curse Aura didn’t seem to have all that much of an effect, it had only hurt about half of her opponents when she was fighting. And while they had been considerable cuts, it wasn’t as if the skill had won the fight for her or anything. However, ignoring that, she felt strong. She had quickly gotten Cursed Momentum at its peak from receiving a handful of arrows, and afterwards, not even the strongest archer could do much to her.

She found it ridiculous, but it was a good kind of ridiculous. It made her feel like she was capable of anything.

[Cursed Cleave has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 3 to 2nd Rank level 4.]

[Quick Dash has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 1 to 2nd Rank level 2.]

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[General Weapon Mastery has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 2 to 2nd Rank level 3.]

[Cursed Momentum has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 1 to 2nd Rank level 2.]

[Berserker’s Body has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 1 to 2nd Rank level 2.]

Pretty much all her 2nd Rank skills had leveled up, something that made her happy, aside from that. Some other skills had leveled up for her as well.

[Cursed Stomp has leveled up from level 8 to 9.]

[Cursed Fury has leveled up from level 3 to 4.]

[Curse Aura has leveled up from level 1 to 2.]

Of course, Amber didn’t stare at her skills for more than a second, instead rushing back to the camp where there were adventurers still fighting toe to toe with the bandits. Towards the ending carts of the caravan, the warriors seemed to have everything in control but towards the start of the caravan not so much. Amber watched as people were cut apart and outnumbered, and watching that, she knew what she had to do.

She used Quick Dash and put her mana into it, crossing dozens of meters in less than a second, she used it twice more and arrived to help. Amber immediately cut into a bandit’s leg, crippling him as an adventurer finished the job. Then, she turned towards the next group of bandits.

She had expected Quick Dash to use a lot more mana, but thanks to the stats she got during her advancement that hadn’t been the case. Now, she felt like she could truly take advantage of her movement skill⁠—

And a blast of flames exploded from between the caravans, two bandits went flying and shortly after hit the ground, their bodies nothing but a carbonized mess. Amber turned to look only to see Liz walk out from where the fire had come from. She was frowning and had a small gash on her arm. The woman turned and immediately spotted Amber.

“You, where did you go off to?!”

“I killed the archers, however, more importantly.” Amber looked around, she saw no bandits, just resting adventurers in the distance. The two were alone. “Is there anyone left here?”

Liz frowned. “There should be one left but…”

The blonde mage looked around and saw no one. Amber too didn’t hear any sounds of battle nearby either. Even then however, her instincts were telling her that something was amiss, so she didn’t dare to let her guard down even for a second. Her sword was still up high.

“Let’s go help the others, we don’t want any more casualties,” Liz said in a rather displeased tone.

Amber nodded, but at that moment she felt something. Amber looked towards Liz.

“What are you⁠—”

And she thrust, a clank resounded next to the mage’s neck.

* * *

Liz dropped herself to the ground and immediately looked to her surroundings in alarm. Amber was frowning, holding her sword ready to attack whatever was there. For a moment, Liz felt confused and then it clicked.

“An assassin?” Wasn’t it a rare class? “What kind of bandits have an assassin?”

Amber turned and looked around, Liz watched as she tried to block something only to have her leg cut. Liz gritted her teeth, fighting an assassin without preparations was nigh impossible. At least not without some kind of sixth sense skill, which Amber seemed to have, it just wasn’t good enough.

“You both have slain more of my brothers than anyone, and I want retribution for all of them, it is my duty as their leader,” a husky voice said. “And I’m starting with you, warrior.”

Liz felt worry for Amber, however she quickly felt a hand on her shoulder much to her horror.

“You seem to care about your friend.” Liz felt pain on her neck as blood began to trickle down⁠— a dagger was on it. “So, if you want to save her, how about you listen to me?”

This time, Liz watched as her companion seemed enraged. She felt the assassin reach for her pouch, and continue to speak.

“I want to give you a miserable death, just like the one you gave my brothers, so drink.” The man tossed her entire pouch towards Amber, much to her shock. “Drink the potions inside of it.”

Amber blinked before nodding, and Liz could only feel horror and guilt. Is she really willing to sacrifice herself for me? They hadn’t known each other for that long, but as she watched Amber pick up the pouch and grab the potions she couldn’t help but feel bad. She didn’t want Amber to suffer for her, she truly didn’t.

Liz considered trying to attack the assassin, but then she noticed Amber was looking right at her, and for some reason after seeing it, Liz felt that everything would be alright.

She watched the warrior uncork one and drink it. The cut from earlier immediately closed, and Amber took another one from the pouch, looking at it with evident curiosity. Liz felt nervous. How could Amber have a solution towards consuming the potions? It didn’t make sense to her. Maybe she’d try to resist the paralysis and then get the assassin?

“What’s the hold up?” the man asked. “Having second-thoughts now or what?”

The woman shook her head and sighed. “After I drink it will you come stab me or what?”

“Well, of course, did you think I was going to kiss you goodnight or something?!” the man hissed.

“No, I was just thinking I’d like to see you when you do it, you know like a final wish.” She shrugged.

There was a pause, it seemed to last for more than a minute. And yet, Liz could feel the assassin behind her. What was he thinking so hard about?

“Please?” Amber added.

“Fine, it’s not like your mage friend will be able to avenge you.”

Well fuck you too. Liz frowned but then turned to look at Amber who nodded and then immediately downed the potion as if it were alcohol. Her eyes grew wide, she at least thought Amber would take it slow. But she didn’t. She watched as the warrior dropped to her knees, trembling before hitting the ground.

Liz’s eyes grew wide. That was her plan?! To die?!

Her breathing quickened and she felt the assassin leave her back. A moment later, as if appearing from the dust itself the assassin appeared. He was a lanky man wearing a cloak. This is my chance. Liz immediately reached for her staff but the man threw a dagger⁠— it broke through the ground as he glanced back.

“Try anything and I kill you first instead.”

Liz’s breathing quickened. She wanted to trust Amber, but how could she trust the woman when she was paralyzed on the fucking ground?! Liz didn’t know what to do. Maybe I can grab my staff when he’s about to kill her, or try magic without my staff…? No using no staff would be…

For a moment she felt lost, especially with how the assassin kept looking at her. And as he knelt next to Amber he flashed her a mocking smile. He grabbed a dagger.

“A shame, you can’t do anything to save your friend.”

Fuck it⁠— Liz gritted her teeth and pointed her finger at the man. However, just when she was about to do magic, she saw Amber grab onto the man’s leg with great dexterity. Liz blinked but the assassin just laughed.

“A last attempt at saving yourself? Laughable.”

“Battery.”

A moment later, slashes exploded across the assassin as a magical barrier seemed to take half of the hits. The man faded and laughed.

“Nice plan, I’ll give you that, but unfortunately for you I have an Enchanted ring that is quite⁠—” And a dull sound resounded.

Liz blinked seeing the man on the ground a couple of meters away, spasming on the ground at intermittent times. Then, Amber got up as if nothing had happened. And Liz could only stare. Her mind whirled in confusion before she remembered what Amber had told her a long time ago.

“I managed to splash healing potions into its insides, and luckily it received recoil from consuming them. I used six potions on it.”

Then she turned to look at the fallen man who was struggling to get up. It didn’t seem like he was all that paralyzed, however, none of that mattered to Liz at the moment. Instead, the only thing in her mind was the realization she had.

Amber can transfer the effects of potions onto others… and that’s how she had killed the demon…

She didn’t know how that worked, and she was quite certain the skill probably had some kind of flaw when doing it, but even then she found the ability to do that ridiculous. Technically couldn’t Amber just use the skill constantly to paralyze monsters and people? That seemed way too strong to Liz, certainly not something that the System would exactly allow. So as she watched Amber move towards the assassin she couldn’t help but wonder.

What was the drawback of it?

* * *

Amber walked up to the assassin that was struggling to move. The effect of her skill was much weaker given she had consumed two potions instead of five, also she hadn’t been able to store much of the curse to begin with given the fact that she was bearing the Curse of Laceration and Curse of Demonic Blood already in her skill⁠.

It's actually a surprise that any got stored at all…

Amber arrived next to the man and saw him gritting his teeth, indignation evident in his eyes. In the end, she couldn’t let him go. A sigh left her and she raised her sword.

“I’m sorry.”

And she stabbed the man through the back, her sword broke through his bones and quickly reached his heart. The man let out a silent grunt and a couple of seconds later, he finally died. A moment later, notifications came.

[You have defeated a [Warrior. Lvl. 58].]

Less experience for defeating an enemy as a group.

[Curse Battery has leveled up from level 4 to 5.]

[You have reached level 56. 5 stat points awarded.]

[You have reached level 57. 5 stat points awarded.]

“So even an assassin shows up as a warrior,” Amber commented.

Then after a moment, she grabbed the ring off the assassin.

[Enchanted Grade ⁠— Silver Ring ⁠— Rare Quality

This ring has the enchantment of Greater Protection, once every two weeks it will protect the wearer from an attack that would otherwise grievously injure them.]

For a moment she considered giving it to Liz, but she decided to wear it instead. Moments later, the blonde mage arrived by her side.

“So, now all the bandits are truly dead.”

Amber nodded. “They are.”

“Are you… alright?” Liz asked hesitantly. “With what you said about killing well… I’m concerned, and you did check up on me so…”

“I’m as fine as I can be,” Amber sighed. “I just still do not understand why people turn to hurting others for their own gain…”

“Power or money.”

“I still don’t get it.”

Amber shook her head and then turned to see the survivors helping others and cleaning up. Finally, after a few moments of observing she nodded.

“Alright, let’s go help.”