Midnight,
A hooded figure walked out from the pillar's shadow cast by the full moon.
It was wearing a poncho, and in his hand a black saber glistened silver as if they had been recently polished. The figure walked towards the tallest building in front of it.
The white structure seemed to reach out to the moon.
This figure was none other than Kai Stormborn.
He walked leisurely, approaching the tall doors at the entrance, guarded by 10 guards.
"Who is this?" a guard shouted. Others became attentive, following the shout. Not all of them were Contestants. Though they wielded mass-produced weapons.
"Stop! State your purpose," another guard demanded, pointing his spear.
Kai stepped.
Then he slithered.
The screams were loud enough to wake up the dead, let alone the Contestants.
Kai didn't avoid the guards. He cut through them, dividing anything that came in between him and doors in two. Even those who lost their limbs died almost instantly, their body stiffening as if they had suffered a heart attack.
Behind the door, dozens of Contestants positioned themselves in formation, each holding one Item or another. Unlike Thunder Faction, who took pride in their magical capabilities, Silver Hunters Guild's members took pride in their sheer number and their close fighting.
This pride… was bound to be crushed today.
The doors parted a little. Then it stopped. Suddenly, a football-sized black ball of Mana shot out of the darkness, searing the air.
"Everyone…" one Contestant shouted.
Too late.
Boom!
After 5 minutes, Kai walked in, his hazel eyes becoming vertical slits.
Elementary Snake Instinct!
Hisss!!
“Who…” The survivors shouted, covered in blood and gore of those who were unfortunate enough to be in the path of the Shadow Ball.
Kai dashed toward them in reply, his figure a blur.
He danced, hacking at all and everyone.
Hand, legs, necks, and backs, the saber kissed wherever it could, leaving behind long bloody trails on the Contestants' bodies.
5… 10… 20…
They kept dying like flies under the effect of Light Neurotoxin and the saber’s innate Skill - Hippogriff’s Fury, their bodies becoming a blanket of death behind Kai.
Fear flooded the floors, waves of it washing over the Contestants’ faces.
Kai swam in it, his hazel, slitted eyes, becoming bloody.
Elementary Fear Absorption!
Kai had never experienced such a massive jump in his HP and MP Regeneration Rate. He felt drunk on this sensation.
He threw the saber at a Contestant who was trying to take out a Pokemon.
Then, like holding two guns in his hands, Kai pointed two finger guns at the crowd, Mana bursting off him in pulses.
Bang-Bang!
Bang-Bang!!
The Shadow Balls left holes in the foreheads, chests, and then slammed into more Contestants, crippling them.
"Haha!" Kai laughed maniacally. There was slaughter in his mind.
Floor by floor, killing men and women alike, he ascended like death itself, leaving no one alive.
Contestants were jumping out of the windows, fleeing from any hole they could find. Under the moonlit night, the entire building seemed to scream bloody murder.
The Vice-Leader came then, with all the bravado. There was a pulsing hammer on his shoulder, giving out thunderous sparks. "Who the hell are you?!" he roared. "How…"
Titan's buff!
Kai’s head shone bronze as the spartan helmet covered it. The mane on the helmet fluttered as his figure boomed out of existence.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Kai appeared behind the Vice-Leader and flicked off the blood.
Behind him, a thin red line appeared on the man’s throat. Then, for the utter horror of the Contestants, the Vice-Leader’s head rolled down, thudding on the floor, his eyes still asking the next question.
Kai looked at the survivors, taking out his badge. He flipped it in the air and caught it back. "I am Ser Morgan Tussy's heir," he declared. "I have come to claim what's rightfully mine."
Kai turned around but suddenly snapped his neck back, looking over his shoulders.
Some pissed, and some lost control of their bowels, filling the air with the smell of shit.
Kai grinned vilely. "I will come back again tomorrow."
*
*
Next day,
Death toll: 170
No injured Contestant.
No serious or life-threatening case.
All who had been even nicked by the saber were dead. The Contestants had seen their share of brutality after coming to the Primordial Tower in the battles. But this… this was something else.
They had even given him a name.
The way the Butcher of the 2nd Floor had killed seemed like the work of an unstable and crazy person.
He had come to the Guild's building like an uninvited guest, going from floor to floor, killing everything and everyone. He had stolen nothing. Nor had he put forward any demand.
Slaughter.
The Butcher slaughtered and disappeared after he had his way with the Contestants.
Only a few higher-ups knew the words he had left behind. Those who knew those words shuddered, thinking of what would happen tonight.
Kai was aware of it all.
After learning that he needed to increase his Proficiencies to 100% to keep them in his Stats, in case he discarded the corresponding Blood Essence, Kai had always been aiming to carry out a mass slaughter.
He didn’t want to meet a much-desired Blood Essence in the next Random World and then end up discarding a Blood Essence, losing the Abilities, too.
There was, of course, one more reason behind the slaughter. No so direct as the Proficiencies.
It hadn't come without a price, though.
His one ear had lost the sense of hearing. Half of his ribs had been shattered. Five broken teeth and even more had loosened. His entire body was now covered in various injuries. Acid marks, poisonous boils, and cuts and bruises that seemed impossible to heal.
But it was worth it, Kai thought, smiling. It was all worth it.
He recalled the final Notifications.
…
[
WARNING: Steel-Bone Brigandine - Quality: 38% (-7%)
…
Elementary Fear Absorption: Proficiency 40% (+20%)
Elementary Snake Instinct: Proficiency 40% (+10%)
Elementary Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 75% (+15%)
Elementary Twin-Saber Style: Proficiency 70% (+5%)
]
…
Kai wasn't worried about losing the armor's quality.
It was the sole reason he had got it made, to let him kill without worrying about himself. The rise in Twin-Saber Style’s Proficiency, though, was an unexpected surprise as he had used only one saber.
Kai jumped from roof to roof, heading in a specific direction.
From what he had learned through little Hao, the entire Guild had called reinforcement to welcome him.
The Guild's leader himself had come from the 3rd floor. It would have been enough to shock anyone, but things didn't rest there. A sizable force from Thousand Armor Smithy and Thunder Faction, led by their respective leaders, had also come to aid the Guild.
An attack on one was being seen as an attack on all of them.
Worse was the fact that even the Empire had sent a specialized troop to the 2nd floor as a backup. All this trouble for a mere crazed Contestant who had lost his mind.
Kai sneered.
He wasn't a person who would indulge in the mindless killing of the innocents. But it didn't mean he wouldn't kill. Give him enough reason, and Kai would kill an innocent man as easily as a guilty man. It all came down to one word.
Benefit.
What benefit was there to him in rallying all these forces against him? Kai couldn't take on the Silver Hunters Guild by himself, let alone the combined forces of the three strongest organizations below the 4th floor. Then there were three leaders.
Kai could handle them, but not when they were backed up by thousands of Contestants.
All were there, waiting for him, for they knew the words Kai had spoken after his killing spree.
Kai guffawed. "Let them wait," he hissed. "When did I ever call myself an honest man?"
A round dome-like blue building appeared in front of him.
It wasn't as tall as Silver Hunter Guild, but it seemed vast, like a lake. Even from afar, Kai could feel the Mana pulsing around the structure like gentle heartbeats.
At the top of the dome, a banner flapped in the night wind. The image of a blue thunderbolt seemed to come out of it with every flutter.
Thunder Faction!
All the killing, all the words, and all the fear he had instilled in the Contestants were to come to this place. With most of the Thunder Faction forces concentrated around the Silver Hunters Guild, it had left a gap in their own branch's defenses.
Kai wasn't here to carry out another slaughter, though. No.
He was here to meet an old friend.
It was a piece-of-cake for Kai to infiltrate the building full of 2nd-floor Contestants. Kai could be as silent as the wind if he didn't want to reveal his presence. People were running about doing their errands, but most of them were sleeping, though uneasily.
The site of action was Silver Hunter Guilds tonight, not the Thunder Faction.
Kai picked the lock of a luxurious apartment, entering it noiselessly.
There were no guards posted outside her house, as expected by him. Kai slithered over the floor, approaching the bedroom of the Golden Mage he had heard so much about. The entire house smelled of perfume, fresh plants, and rain.
Magic was everywhere in this house.
But it wasn't enough to save her from Kai, it seemed.
The doors to Shae's bedroom parted effortlessly. Under the dim light, Kai's figure looked like a black messenger of hell who was here to claim the life of sleeping beauty.
Kai stepped into the room, and suddenly an electric current coursed through his body. The entire room jolted, lightening up instantly. Shae sat up as if she had awakened by a nightmare, her wand pointing at the door.
"Don't move," she said.
In her nightgown, the golden-haired beauty looked as lovely as Kai had found her for the first time. But as she saw who had infiltrated her bedroom, Shae's proud and powerful eyes lost her composure. The wand in her hand trembled, her mouth opening up in sheer terror.
A deep, horrifying shriek escaped her throat when Kai smiled at her.
"Well, well. We meet again," Kai said, looking away from the terrified Shae to the wardrobes on her left. "Arlen, my old friend…
"… Or should I call you Baron Silvas now?"