"Sixty seven boars exactly. Alive and tied up." Emrin squeezed his coin pouch in pent up anger as he counted. "How much will it be?"

The hunter looked at him as if he was mad. Behind him, the tied up beasts whined and raged against their bindings. "Lad, those are wild animals. Can't tame or breed 'em. Shades, it's illegal to even try."

"What? No! I want to kill the bastards." And he didn't mean just the boars. "I just have to do it myself."

The hunter leaned against the wall and sighed, counting with both mumbles and fingers. "Thirteen gold. If you wanted them dead we could–"

Emrin had already placed the coins on the man's palm. "I'll take care of the rest."

At the sight of coin so readily given, the man sobered up and lost the attitude. "Thanks for doing business with the hunting guild, sir." He exchanged a few words with his mates, too far for Emrin to hear, but he could guess what was said from the the looks he got.

Emrin unsheathed his dagger, not minding the stares. Even though the bard-stard had ran off with his gold, it did give him an idea… He could get others to do the dirty work for him. No newbie would ever have this much gold so the quest probably hadn't accounted for it.

"Let's get to work." Emrin licked his lips and knelt next to a boar, brushing its mane almost lovingly. "I'm gonna name you Shill."

The boar shivered.

A few minutes of senseless violence and mad, crowd-attracting laughter later, Emrin was covered in blood and surrounded by sixty seven boars. There was even a satisfying ding as he levelled up in the process. Just as he expected, the quest was completed.

"Ahahahahah!" Emrin raised his hands amid the slaughtered. "Just you wait! I'm coming for you! I’ll kill you all!"

"...Vince?" Lana spoke in his ear. "What the hell is going on? I just got back."

Emrin choked on his spit and coughed a few times. Why'd they always have to interrupt his fun? He pulled up the quest for her to see.

[Tsoya’s Test (Complete)] [ Kill 100 creatures without being hit (100/100)]

"Oh… Smart," Lana said. "And here I thought you'd lost your marbles."

Emrin rubbed his fingers together in front of himself.

"Ah, right. Must have cost you. I'll have another 50 gold deposited into your account."

Man, having generous backers like this was really a cheat. Back when he had first started out, it'd have taken him months to farm this amount. Not to mention the knowledge of the game's creator creator.

The road looked like the end of a Shakespearean play by this point, so Emrin gave her a thumbs up and promptly left before people started asking questions. On the way to Tsoya’s house –if it could even be called that– he pulled up the level up prompt.

Name : Emrin Sua Class: Rogue Level: 2 (13.6% Experience points to next level)

Status:

Normal

Strength: 11

Physical Power multiplier: 1.1

Dexterity: 11

Movement Speed: 5.5 ft/s

Constitution: 11

Hit Points: 9/9

Magicka: 11

Magic Power multiplier : 1.1

Willpower: 0

Enemy Debuff Duration: 100%

Consecration: 0

Buff Duration: 100%

Luck: 0

Magic Find: 8%

[Backstab.] Class Passive

Level 1 (12.2% Experience points to next level)

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You have learned how to catch foes by surprise and cut deep into their vital areas. As a rogue, you have -20% Maximum hit points but deal an additional 10% damage when striking foes from behind.

[ You have 10 stat points to allocate as you wish ]

Emrin pondered for a moment. There was no reason to go for strength and damage straight away. For now, it was more important to widen the breadth of his movement. Without dexterity his body felt sluggish, like he was constantly moving through mud compared to before. He used all ten points in Dexterity. Coupled with the 30% increase from the Mastery he chose on character creation, and that already brought his total up to 24.

Testingly, he swung his arm around and it responded with speed he never thought he'd feel again. With a chuckle, he broke into a sprint and felt the wind press against his face. He barely stopped himself from slamming face first into a wall. It was slower than his past self, even with the hefty penalties of Heavy Armor, but he'd been out of it for two whole months. It would take a while to get used to everything again.

For now, he did that by speeding to Tsoya's house. When he knocked on the door this time around, the merfolk answered, though she stayed well within the shadows of her home. "Back so soon!" she croaked. "Already a hundred… Their blood on you obvious. Very impressive! You not just words after all, human."

[Tsoya’s Test has been completed! Affinity with Tsoya has increased.]

Tsoya hurriedly pulled him inside and closed the door behind them. Ah, there was that god awful fish stench again. "Of course," Emrin replied. "It was easy."

"Braggart!" Tsoya picked up a handful of mud and threw it at him, but this time Emrin bent out of the way.

"Ho… Already better. Now, reward!" Tsoya rubbed her webbed fingers together and cracked her knuckles. Then she fell forward and her form vanished into the murky, swampy water of her home.

Emrin felt her sticky skin brush against his leg as she resurfaced, and this time he was too slow to dodge.

"Gift for you!" Tsoya placed a dagger covered in seaweed in his palm.

"You didn't have to soak me," Emrin complained as he inspected it. By all accounts, it seemed normal. That was until he checked its information.

Name : Phantom Dagger Description: A dagger used in the training of Elreen's assassins. Special Conditions: Untradeable Rating: Normal (Growth) Durability: 100/100 Level: 1 (0% Experience to next level) Attack Power: 12-14

Passive effects:

When you kill a creature with this weapon, gain 5 seconds of "Stealth."

The stats were abysmal, even for a weapon of this level, but it had the Growth tag. It was an extremely rare type of equipment that could level up along its user and gain new effects. Even the ones that started out at Normal could cost tens of thousands of gold. Then that fraudulent passive… Immediately, Emrin thought of a rogue division armed with such weapons and shivered. There had to be a catch. Something he wasn't seeing. "Tsoya, are you sure I can have this? This… This is a treasure."

"Treasure?" Tsoya tilted her head. "No, no. This trainee dagger."

Emrin chuckled. Even after all this time, Twilight didn't cease to surprise him. "Where did you get this?" he asked. "Or, rather… Who the hell are you?"

Tsoya smiled, showing her teeth as her eyes narrowed like a chameleon's. "Someone with a lot of blood on her hands. Someone betrayed by her former friends. Same as you, no?" Her eyes locked onto his. "Except with no one to be trusted now. That part not like you."

"Is that why you help me? To have someone you can trust?"

"Bah!" Tsoya waved with her hand. "No need for anyone anymore. Fine by myself. But you… No reason for pain like mine. That why."

"I– Thank you." Even such a vile looking creature, one who taught him to kill, had more of a capacity for kindness than the people he used to call his friends. "I am deeply grateful for your help." For a few moments, he almost forgot he was talking to an NPC. Just like when he first started playing.

"No thanks to me. Nothing for free after all," Tsoya said. "Your turn for assistance."

Quest : Tsoya’s Hidden Technique Description: You've proven your potential to Tsoya. Now, she wants you to take revenge on the Red Ravens on her behalf, a group of thieves who made trouble for her in the past. Make sure your identity remains hidden while doing so. Difficulty : S

Quest Clear Conditions :

Kill 10 members of the Red Ravens without being seen by any of them. (0/10)

Linked Quest :

Tsoya’s Hidden Technique (2)

Quest time limit :

1 day

Rewards :

Affinity with Tsoya will increase.

"Red Ravens… RR!" Emrin fumbled for the button he'd cut off and showed it to Tsoya.

"Oh yes, that from them." Tsoya inspected it, before eyeing him suspiciously. "What about you and RR? Allies?"

"The opposite. Those rat droppings stole a hefty sum from me."

"Heh," Tsoya smiled and sat down, putting some muddy water on her back as she looked up. "Then no complaint, right?"

Hearing that after getting handed a near impossible quest was almost like the game was mocking him. Though strangely enough, Emrin was feeling pretty confident. "All in a day's work, huh?" He flipped his new dagger around and examined it under the moonlight. There was a dark shine to the metal of the blade. "Let's test it out."