At Justin's words, Gavin Park's face turned pale. It seemed like he was finally starting to grasp the situation, though much too late. Justin couldn't help but laugh at Gavin's slow reaction.

"Why are you so surprised? You tried to kill me. So why can't I kill you?" Justin asked, his voice calm.

"Uh... um..." Gavin stammered, clearly shaken.

"Is there some reason I shouldn't? Something I don't know about? Go ahead, tell me. I'll listen," Justin said, giving Gavin a chance to explain himself.

Gavin didn't answer right away. He was sweating profusely, eyes darting around in panic. After about a minute, he finally managed to force out a response.

"M-murderer," Gavin muttered weakly.

"What?" Justin asked, tilting his head.

"If you kill me, you'll be a murderer! You'll be killing a person!" Gavin shouted, as if that were the trump card that would save his life.

"But you were ready to become a murderer, right? So why shouldn't I?" Justin countered.

Gavin squeezed his eyes shut, mumbling his next words in a shaky voice, "I-I was just trying to scare you."

Justin was stunned, but not for the reasons Gavin might have hoped. He was genuinely amazed—amazed at how utterly stupid Gavin's excuse was. Did he really believe that such a weak lie would save him?

"Energy Drain," Justin said coldly.

Shuuuuuk

"Grraagghh! Aaghhh!" Gavin choked, his body convulsing as Justin used Energy Drain to siphon his life force. It was a disturbing sight—Gavin's face twisted in agony as if he were being strangled. Justin watched with morbid curiosity, noting how different the effect was when used on a human.

Even as Gavin struggled and thrashed, Justin didn't stop the spell.

"Ding!All magic has been fully recharged."

Gavin collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. His body trembled uncontrollably as he barely clung to life.

"Still alive, huh?" Justin muttered, surprised that Gavin had survived the drain. He hadn't intended for Gavin to live, but it seemed the man's durability extended even to his life force.

Justin crouched down next to the barely conscious Gavin and whispered, "Hey, Gavin."

"S-s-spare... spare me... please..." Gavin begged, his voice weak and desperate.

"Sure, I'll spare you," Justin said with a smirk.

Gavin's eyes shot open, filled with a sudden glimmer of hope.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"R-really?" he asked, tears streaming down his face.

"Yeah, really," Justin replied.

For the first time since the beating started, a look of relief washed over Gavin's face. He thought he was going to live. But Justin wasn't done.

"But, you know... I'm not sure you've lived your life in a way that makes you worth saving," Justin continued, his tone shifting to something darker.

"H-huh?" Gavin stammered, his voice shaking again.

"I'm leaving now, Gavin. Someone's going to have to help you if you want to survive. Who do you think will help you?" Justin asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Gavin's limbs were broken, leaving him helpless. Without someone's assistance, he'd be left to die in that state. But was there anyone who would come to his aid?

"Oh, look! There's someone who might help you," Justin said, pointing to the second-floor window. Gavin's face drained of color as he saw the man inside—the very same man he had just tried to kill—staring down at them.

"See? Looks like you've got someone to help you after all!" Justin said with a mocking laugh.

"Ah... ahhh..." Gavin whimpered, horror spreading across his face.

"Alright then, I'll be going now. Enjoy your recovery, Gavin. Maybe we'll see each other again!" Justin said, turning to leave.

As Justin walked away, Gavin's terrified screams filled the air. "Aaaghhh! Nooo!"

A few moments later, Justin heard footsteps descending the stairs, followed by another voice.

"You bastard! You said you'd kill me?! Why don't you go die yourself!" the man from the second floor shouted.

"N-no! Wait, hold on—ugh!"

Thud Thud Thud

"Die! You monster!" the man roared as the sounds of bones breaking and flesh tearing filled the air.

"Help me! P-please, I'm begging you!" Gavin's voice wailed, now barely coherent.

Splat Crack

The gruesome sounds of the beating grew quieter until they stopped completely. Silence fell over the area.

Justin cleaned out his ear casually, not paying much attention to the brutal scene behind him. He turned his gaze toward the convenience store where he used to work.

"You should have been a better person, Gavin," he muttered to himself.

"I'm almost there."

The unexpected encounter with Gavin had delayed Justin's progress, but now he was back on track. Less than 100 meters remained between him and the safe zone. As Justin approached the hiking trail indicated by his quest, his steps slowed as a peculiar sight unfolded before him.

"...Well, this is interesting."

Justin had been here before. He often took walks along this hiking trail, and the quest had pointed him toward a spot he recognized. However, what he saw now was entirely different from the familiar surroundings.

"It looks like something out of a medieval movie," Justin murmured.

In place of the natural landscape, there now stood a village. But this wasn't just any village—it looked like a scene ripped straight from the Middle Ages. There were ramshackle wooden houses, haphazardly laid gravel roads, and thick weeds growing all around. The area resembled a poor, rundown village from an ancient time.

The sudden appearance of the village was strange enough, but even more unsettling was the way it clashed with its surroundings.

"It's like someone cut out a piece of a medieval town and dropped it here, like slicing a chunk of cake and placing it in the middle of the forest," Justin thought.

The village didn't blend with the environment at all. Even the condition of the buildings suggested they came from a region much more humid than this one. The place felt so foreign and out of place that it made Justin uneasy.

"But who cares about the atmosphere? There's an inventory as a reward, after all," Justin said, shaking off the strange feeling.

Ignoring his discomfort, Justin stepped into the village. The moment his foot touched the ground inside, the system notified him of his success.

"Ding!You have completed the main quest: "Find Shelter.""

"Ding!As a reward, you have received a small inventory."

"Ding!The inventory can be accessed via a command, just like your status window."

"Finally," Justin said with a grin.

Without wasting any time, he gave the command. "Inventory."

Flash

A window, slightly different from his status window, appeared before his eyes.