Easily and without making any sound, Wolfram jumped over the blockade and headed toward where the remaining survivors were supposed to be. He took into account what the first soldiers he had met said.

‘People with special abilities, huh? It doesn’t matter, a timely grenade can kill any unprepared target. Furthermore, it's too soon for people to have reached a level in which they would be impervious to explosions.'

After walking for two minutes, he started hearing some mumbling sounds so he halted his feet and hastily covered his mouth, not out of surprise but to hide the wide grin plastered on his face.

‘Got you~~’

Wolfram didn’t attempt to trick them as there was a strong chance the Commander was still there.

The door was closed, so it wasn't possible to see how many there. Fortunately, none of them was courageous enough to go outside. Wolfram patiently waited for ten minutes yet nothing happened.

The place was as eerie and creepy as ever. He glanced to the toilet room five or so meters away. He grinned and snuck into it while slightly pushing its door, making it look half-opened.

Half of the toilets and sinks were destroyed but there were some usable ones. He hid behind the door and calmed his breathing, then the game of waiting began.

Sooner or later, someone was bound to come and relieve himself and that was the opportunity he would be waiting for. He needed to know their exact number before switching to the offensive.

Time slowly passed and after a full hour, Wolfram heard the opening of the door. He held the knife in a reverse grip and readied himself. The half-closed door slowly opened and a short person with a white-coat, who seemed to be slightly anxious, entered the toilet room. The man glanced all around him and just when he was about to see Wolfram was, he felt an agonizing pain come from his lower back.

A hand suddenly covered his mouth and a monstrous force pushed him on the ground. The opened door was closed by a swift kick.

Wolfram chuckled as he stared down at the incapacitated man.

“You're one sad and unfortunate soul."

He slided the knife near the victim’s neck and, with a sarcastic tone, said,

“You see, I’m sick, and from time to time, my hand trembles on its own. Ah! If I hear a loud noise, it might disobey me and go for your neck…”

Wolfram playfully talked to the scared scientist, who nodded his head despite the pain he was feeling. He nonchalantly removed his other hand, which was covered his victim’s mouth and, after patting some dust off the scientist’s coat, he asked,

“Let’s not beat around the bush. How many survivors are there in that room?”

“S-six!”

Wolfram’s eyes locked onto the victim’s face. He focused on the moving muscles and ever-so-shifting gaze. Without any remorse or hesitation, he plunged his dagger into the man’s skull, killing him. Alas, no stats cards were dropped but he still got a meagre 0.05 CP.

‘Tch! Lying even in such a situation.’

He viciously kicked the lifeless corpse then left this smelly place.

Wolfram approached another nearby door, opened it ever-so-slightly, and took a quick peek only to see a crowded room, not with people but with weapons, food and water.

‘Hmm’

Wolfram contemplated for a few seconds before he heard a sound

“What’s taking Akinari so long?”

The speaker was approaching his location, clearly wanting to check on the now-dead scientist. Wolfram waited for the golden moment and just when the other party was about to reach him, he took half a step back and then used his leg to violently kick incoming and defenseless man.

Wolfram's kick was precise and strong enough to blow the enemy in the air and into the door leading into the survivors' temporary 'base'. As the man thudded against the ground, a black and cylindric object came flying right after.

“GRENADE!”

Like a group of headless chickens, the eight people inside quickly got up from their seats and ran toward the exit. They were lucky as they pushed each other and managed to escape the radius of the grenade's explosion. Woefully, the rest didn’t make it in time as an deafening explosion blasted them away, sparing no one in its way.

The two who had gotten out were partially injured and had trouble getting up only for them to hear to gunshots. Wolfram was dangerously close to them, his handgun raised and pointed at them. Before they could cry for help, the heads were pierced by lightning-fast bullets.

A lot of dust accumulated inside the destroyed room, which became bloody and disgusting.

Nonetheless, Wolfram picked the two Stats cards and waited for a minute or so before careuflly going in.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Surprisingly, he could see a semi-illusory yellow barrier that enveloped a certain person. Though he was protected from the explosion, this barrier-like dome had countless cracks.

Wolfram curiously stared at this thing while pointing his rifle at it. He soon heard heavy coughing coming from a tall and muscular man who was wearing a military uniform.

An innocent smile blossomed on Wolfram’s face, it was akin to a lost child who just met his mother.

“Oh it's so good to see you, commander.”

The man, who could only hear ringing in his ears, raised his head only to see a rifle pointed at him. His face paled and after squinting his eyes and focusing on the face of the man holding the rifle, his expression turned ugly.

“Bastard! You’re still alive!”

Wolfram politely bowed his head and chuckled

“Alive and well!"

The cracked barrier was still present so, after pondering for a few seconds, Wolfram pulled the trigger. A barrage of bullets landed on it, causing even more cracks to appear. When the first magazine was emptied, the barrier shattered and disappeared into thin air, leaving the Commander defenseless.

Wolfram put down the rifle and crouched in front of the General, who was coldly glaring at him. His leg was mangled, thus leaving him unable to move properly, much less stand up. Back when the grenade exploded, he had activated a barrier. Unfortuantely, it was a tad too late.

Luckily, he survived, but he was about to regret living through that explosion soon enough.

Wolfram dragged the injured man and put him on one of the intact chairs before sitting across from him. The military officer's face was sickly pale as the shattering of that barrier seemed to mentally affect him too. The shock lasted for a few seconds and by the time he regained some clarity, he found himself completely and utterly immboilized.

He lifted his head only to find a dark-haired man sitting in front of him, grinning and rubbing his hand excitedly.

“A living test subject is always better than a dead one, wouldn't you agree?"

Wolfram took out his deck of cards and started experimenting, not minding the cursing victim, who violently shook and thrashed his body in a futile attempt to break free.

The once proud and arrogant Commander was now in a shameful position, totally powerfless and at the mercy of the enemy. He had been stripped from his uniform and his legs were spread apart.

As he stared at his captive, Wolfram felt ecstasy and joy, finding the sight worth all the effort he had gone through.

He stuffed the smelly socks into the General’s mouth to not hear his pitiful crying and groaning and then started testing the sharpness of his cards. He would slash his cards at the victim’s chest and see if it did enough damage to cause blood to ooze out.

After spending ten full minutes trying everything from up close, he wasn’t disappointed with the results. The cards were indeed sharp enough to injure the skin, however, that was while taking into account the level of the general and his stats, which were probably low. Furthermore, the man in question was bound and wasn't wearing anything.

The injuries caused by slashing with his cards were not that serious. In contrast, when the cards were thrown from a distance, they seemed to deal more damage.

‘Quite strange, they seem to be much stronger when thrown.’

Wolfram fiddled with the cards while eating some chocolate bars. He was amazed by how well he could manipulate them. They seemed to have a will on their own, seemingly following his thoughts and obeying his silent commands. They wouldn’t fall from his hand or become bent if not purposely done by himself.

It was an unfamiliar yet pleasant sensation; The cards seemed to be part of him, part of his body and spirit. They were practically an extension of himself.

Once thrown at a target, they would return to the deck after fifteen seconds, more or less. If they missed the target, the would return in just three seconds.

The poor Commander’s body became bloodied and riddled with all kinds of wounds as more than twenty cards had struck his exposed torso and abdomen.

Nevertheless, Wolfram wasn't finished with the him. The real torture had just begun...

He went all the way to the room where he found the injured woman and retrieved the half-full or full syringes before going back to half-conscious and severely bleeding man.

The sedatives were all injected into him, whose body convulsed and twitched once the effects kicked in. He tried to beg for mercy or end his life, but Wolfram made sure that he could neither talk nor retaliate.

Soon enough, the Commander became drowsy before falling asleep, feeling pain and agony no more. Wolfram chuckled before grabbing his military knife and viciously stabbing the man’s knees. The force behind his stab was more than enough for the bones to break.

Despite being heavily sedated, the pain caused the poor man to wake up from his sleep with a muffled cry.

He gave Wolfram a look of disgust, anger, and rage.

“Oh please don’t look at me like that~~ I’m shy so I might gauge your eyes out.”

The Commander shook his head and tried saying something.

“It’s a shame there are no more goblins on this floor… I would’ve loved seeing them eat you alive.”

Soon, the captive military officer couldn’t handle it and fell unconscious for the second time. This didn’t last long as he woke up seconds later after Wolfram splashed some cold water on his face.

…

The torture continued for one long hour before the man succumbed to the fatal blood loss and the nasty injuries. His face was disfigured and his body was mutilated; It was a gory and disgusting sight, to which Wolfram showed no reaction as he cleaned his hands and got rid of all the blood that splashed on his attire.

Feelings such as remorse or regret were foreign to him, who experienced things worse than hell itself. The world had changed and new laws were being established. The authority of those Ministers or government officials were now useless. One would have to rely on his or her strength and wits to survive. Of course, some would want to be Heroes and would probably try to seek justice, but they were bound to die, eventually.

Only those who actively sought power would prevail and survive till the end. Those who had the will and mentality to live in this harsh world.

'Morality and values be damned!'

Wolfram looked at his reflection in the blurry and dirty mirror, soon realizing that he was laughing hysterically.

He pushed his wet hair back while grinning and saying to himself

“Isn’t this the chance you’ve been waiting for? Chaos, absolute chaos! The strong will start showing themselves and YOU will be fighting them! Isn’t it exciting? Isn’t it thrilling?"

He continued staring at himself for a long time before his reflection changed into a different person. This made him let out a grunt of annoyance and punch the mirror.

“But forsaking the past is the first step for me! Once I get out, I shall be Wolfram Sakimoto no more!”

He suddenly thought of something as he retrieved the black card that showed his status. A smirk formed on his face as he intensely stared at the black card before laughing again,

“Yes! Hahahahaha as it was dictated! I shall be the Trickster!”

Just as he said that, the information on the black card changed. It was as if it understood his meaning and agreed with his decision.

He was no longer named Wolfram Sakimoto. He was the Trickster.

..

End of Prologue

Volume 1: The Path of Trickery and Deceit