'Slice his neck. Reduce the sound of his fall.'

A dagger flew in and gashed the man's neck. It was deep enough to not only sever the carotid vein but also show his bone.

Seeing the blood that gushed out like a fountain, it reminded me of something...

People were animals. No matter how much we like to deny it, at the end of the day, we were just a bit smarter than the rest of them...

And animals killed each other. Some were slow and liked to play with their prey, some were brutal as it was fast. Just like how I did it, seconds ago.

All it took was one slice to the neck, and he was gone.

What was I saying all of a sudden?

How to explain this...Let's see, for a start, I murdered someone, that's that. He was a bandit.

Even if he was a bandit, did he deserve to get killed, one might argue...

Well, apparently, in this world, being a bandit was like the last profession you want to have if you value your life.

How so? Because everyone hated them, and for them, there was no bottom line in conducting degeneracy. Raiding, kidnapping, raping, blackmailing, you name it. Ranging from the pettiest to the vilest, they might have done them all.

That's why signing up as bandits was almost equivalent to signing your head to the guillotine. Although their fate may vary depending on their captor's mood, it still wouldn't end well for them. The least they'd get would be years of time in the mines as slaves, and once you get caught as a slave, the chance to be free was abysmal at best.

It was pretty fucked up if you think about it in a certain way. This meant there would be no room whatsoever for discussion regarding the bandits' situation. There might be a group of people out there that has no choice but to hide in the woods and take a toll on the passing merchant since they lost their homes due to the unbearable taxes posed by their fief lord.

For all we know, they were just unlucky villagers. Not bloodthirsty brigands.

That's why I said it was fucked up...But who was I to judge? Being a fucked up myself, I must save this world no matter what.

With that said, let me provide a bit of context so it would be easy to understand.

I was currently on the outer perimeter of a certain bandit's camp, and as I floated slowly among the thick trees, I spotted a couple of sentries lazily guarding the crude-looking watchtower.

So, I killed them...

Why? Because I needed the practice.

Let me throw it out there, I was not a third-rate psychopath who was drunk power. No, I was a goal-driven bastard who sometimes might be too honest with himself for his own good.

There was a load of things I thought about whenever I had spare time, which was mostly about how I could prepare myself best to realize my dream and also what to expect in the future. That said, I have a concern as someone who lived his whole life staying away from violence. And that was, what would happen when I took someone else's life. Frankly, it did feel weird, to the point that it bothered me, but I didn't gag and throw up or shake with tremendous guilt like what I've seen in the movies...

It was just fast...So fast, I didn't have the time to second-guess myself.

Killing was never a question of whether I would do it or not, but when.

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I was no Batman and I surely did not plan to become like him. There was only so much a slightly above-average brain like mine could achieve, and debating about morals in a world where magic and swords reigned true was beyond ridiculous. I wanted to save the world, not cosplaying as Jesus...

Anyway, that was the whole motive why I was out venturing again.

'They still don't notice the missing sentries.' I mused inwardly.

Moans of pain and screams of excitement rang without end from the center of the camp. While the degenerates were busy having the time of their life from violating the kidnapped victims, I whittled their numbers by ambushing the isolated and the unsuspecting ones.

That being said, those who were sleeping were the best ones. And my eyes, encased with magic could find them in a heartbeat.

Word Magic might be a cheat-like blessing, but I was an amateur, and since I didn't want to get killed like an idiot, I decided to be careful in my approach. That being said, slicing their neck was not a good idea at this point.

People who were more accustomed to the smell of blood would realize something wrong, hence, I couldn't keep on making a fillet out of everyone there. The smell would give me out in no time. Maybe I didn't know what I was talking about and overthink it too much. Like I said, I was an amateur. But I ain't gonna risk it.

And it wasn't like I was out of options to kill someone who was sleeping. There were about three to four ways on the top of my head.

After trying this and that, I settled with suffocating them. The downside was I had to hold them down as they woke up, and some even outright started punching the air as soon as his eyes were open.

It was a freaking mess, but a success nonetheless.

Though it would be too good to be true to hope that every living bandit would be sleeping soundly while I murdered them. Of course, there were those who were awake, and I had to think of a different way to eliminate them as quietly as possible.

The drunken bunch was the easiest since I could slowly make them faint in the open, and nobody would raise a question.

The problem was with the sober ones. Maybe they had a high tolerance, or they were waiting for their turn to have fun with the kidnapped villagers, I didn't have a freaking clue...

'Ha...I think it's time to end the excursion for tonight and leave for now.'

Stuck, I decided to end the massacre there and call it a night. If I played it wrong and they caught me, I would face, like, a hundred bastards or so on my own, and I would be forced to go in all gangster and shit. I might win, but I might also get careless and die...

It was a huge camp, after all, and I've only cleaned; what, five or so tents?

Anyway, it was not like me to back down boringly without leaving them a present. No, these people deserved one.

'Fly up. Gather and compress the dirt. Gather More. Harder. More and harder! More!! Make another-, no, three more of the same.'

And they would get what was due...Yes, they would...

'Blast them and amplify the sound loud into the whole mountain range.'

Their living nightmare in the flesh would be me...

BOOM!!

Needless to say, they died. It was more like meteors than the rock cannon that I originally thought of. The huge boulders of soil have made three deep holes, scarring the ground. You couldn't see them corpses even if you wanted to anymore. Brain juices, bones, and flesh were all mixed up as one in the ground.

Alarmed calls and cries of shock came from all corners. They sprung up to their feet and made a ruckus, trying to find where the enemies were.

And they found me.

Huge armor with a pitch-black robe as deep as the night itself flapping in the chilly breeze. As the wind blew and the dust settled, the mask also came into full view.

A mask without a face and only a depiction of the light of hope and the despair from the darkness.

'Make another one of that...Lift and push those women away.'

I saw someone standing in front of the centermost tent, surrounded by rows of savage bandits.

He had nothing but his birthday suit on while spitting a very bad look on his face. I could only guess, but his muscles-toned body did look like it would pack a mean punch. And I also noticed the swirling movement of mana that hugged his body close.

Sure enough, he was not your average Joe.

'Make another three, and...Ah, to hell with it. Add another six!'

So I assured him that my present would not be average either.

'Combine and compress them. Harder! Harder!! HARDER!!!'

What can I say...

'Now blast him to kingdom come...'

It was a masterpiece.

BOOOOM!!!!!