I left the safety of the barracks fort, turning down the offer to have one of Commander Smithson's men accompany me. I didn't want one of those uptight pricks hampering my ability to heal and avoid combat, they weren't exactly stealthy in full plate. So I set off at a jog to the south, I was going to take a circuitous route to my destination. It might take me longer but I was more likely to lose any tails they placed on me.

As soon as I was out of sight of the wall I buffed myself with my long term buffs. I waited a minute in the alcove of a storefront to recover mana and then cast the rest of my buffs. Since I was alone again I wanted to be fully prepared. I knew I had a decent chance against a level 10 opponent one on one but had to be careful not to be overwhelmed by multiple enemies.

Then something I had thought odd the day before bubbled up in my mind. All of the groups Frathsar and I had come across had been small 3 to 6 individuals at most. The only group larger had been the Commanders at 8. I wondered if this had to do with some limit of the System and group size. It was the only thing that made sense, otherwise having a large force to steamroll any opposition would be preferable. I could imagine the Commander having some ability to increase group size, that, and the war party leader. I would have to ask Frathsar about it when I returned.

I ran into my first obstacle a few blocks from the barracks when a group of armed humans came around the next corner. One pointed at me and yelled for me to stay where I was, yeah fat chance of that happening. I booked it back down the street I came from and the a-holes started shooting at me.

I guess that answered the question I had in my head, it seems like this group was one of the gangs. The matching black armbands were another giveaway. There were only three of them but I wasn't here to fight the locals and I hoped they would give up.

I rounded the corner just as a shot hit me in the side lancing through me like a hot poker. I winced from the thankfully muted pain and swore but kept on going, casting Rejuvenate on myself as I ducked behind a dumpster. The wound wasn't fatal but it was enough to slow me down, allowing the men time to catch up. Knowing I wasn't going to be able to outrun them now, I made a choice I had been dreading. No sane person ever wants to fight and kill another human but I wasn't about to lay down and die either. As they had thrown the first stone, so to speak I wouldn't hold back.

While these men had range on me if they only used guns they would not have the damage. I checked my combat log, seeing that the bullet only hit me for twelve damage, even though it passed through completely and that was from a rifle. Of course, I had my leather armor, Rock Skin, and Shield all working towards reducing the damage. That didn't really matter though as they could be level twenty and that damage would never scale.

I recast my Flurry and Aura Strike as the spells had faded when I swapped my weapon out last night. I would have to remember to see if there was a time limit again.

I didn't have to wait long for my pursuers to appear. I could hear one barking orders as I crouched behind the dumpster, still hoping they would just leave.

"Find that asshole he couldn't have gone far should be an easy kill if he is alone. I only need a bit more to level up."

I could hear the malice in the man's voice and the greasy chuckles coming from the other knuckleheads. I gripped my staff tight to prevent my hands from shaking. I had never wanted to kill another human but I wasn't naive enough to think they would just let me go, not after hearing the man's words. This was no longer the gentrified world I had grown up in. In this world, it was kill, or be killed.

I held out hope as long as I dared, hearing the steps get closer to my hiding spot. Deciding I couldn't wait any longer I burst from my hiding spot. One man let out a surprised yelp and fired off a shot wide. I quickly inspected the two closest as I sprinted to close the distance. Their appearance was that of typical low lives, greasy hair, sallow looking skin, and baggy clothing.

John Gunther | Thug | Level 9

Jake Horrace | Follower | Level 8

I noticed even these two men had managed to out level me. It made the rage boil inside of me knowing how they had accomplished it and my first attack enhanced with Flurry and Aura Strike cracked into the Thug.

I tried to aim the strike as best as I could manage and was able to land three of the six strikes to his face and neck. The man went down grasping his ruined throat and trying to pull in air. The other tried to shoot me from close range but I managed to batt his gun aside just in time. The end of my staff smashing down on his fingers. He yelped and the gun fell from his hand. I made sure to keep him between me and the last man who had already taken a pot shot at me and was trying to back away.

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"You fuckers make me sick, preying on the weak to try and grow in power. Well, fuckwads you messed with the wrong person today. You reap what you sow," I said as I bashed the one in front of me in the face.

The one that remained a little ways back turned to run and I smashed him in the side of his knee with an Earth Fist. I wasn't about to let these men escape to harm others if I could help it. He went down screaming as his leg snapped at an odd angle.

"You wait there, I will be right with you," I said with a deadly edge to my voice, not even bothering to inspect the piece of trash.

"You will regret messing with the Black Dragons, you have no idea who you're messing with," the man with the broken leg managed to yell between cries of pain.

"Ha Black Dragons, more like Puff the Magic Dragon."

The one with the mangled hand tried to pull a knife and stab me. I just hopped back and unloaded my last 9mm magazine. He went down in a heap bleeding but not dead, yet. I needed a better ranged-weapon. I crushed his windpipe and left him to suffer like his other friend while I dealt with the leader who was crawling away.

"Why does everyone try to crawl away, where do you think you are going to get to?"

"Fuck you, you sick sonofa-."

I cut him off there with a ringing blow across his head. Nobody called my mother that, she was a saint. I looked at my combat messages.

Critical strike: You have crushed John Gunther's windpipe, suffocating

Critical strike: You have crushed Jake Horrace's windpipe, suffocating

Critical strike: You have crippled Brad Long's leg, movement speed reduced by 50%

Critical strike: You have knocked Brad Long unconscious

I knew I couldn't leave them in this state, not that I cared if they suffocated but if they had a high enough endurance they may just recover. No these men had to be dealt with here and now. I grabbed one of the rifles and checked its magazine. I stuck the barrel in the leader's eye and pulled the trigger.

Lethal damage: You have killed Brad Long

The other two were gasping for air but they knew that death was coming for them and tried to get away from me with what little strength they could muster. I rolled the next over and put a foot on his throat. I put the gun to his eye that was wide and terrified and I paused for only a second. This gave the man time to stab me with a hidden knife in the calf. Of course, I flinched in pain pulling the trigger as I fell over, the knife still lodged in my leg.

"Idiot," I said berating myself as I pulled out the knife followed by a spurt of blood. The man was clearly dead, his head popped like a watermelon. I took the time to use one of the healing items I got from Frathsar. The knife having done a significant amount of damage, and I thought it may have hit a vein as there was a lot of blood

Lethal damage: You have killed Jake Horrace

It looks like the last man had fallen unconscious from lack of air while I recovered and I repeated my steps from the previous two.

Lethal damage: You have killed John Gunther

"Was that necessary?" a silky man's voice said from behind me.

I quickly turned my head, seeing one of the Royal Guards. Remembering his name was Vicktor Lewell, I nodded. I also noticed he wasn't wearing full plate armor today, instead, the wiry looking man was wearing supple leather armor, that seemed to blend into the surroundings.

'I guess it might be hard to sneak around in full plate,' I thought with a chuckle.

"You know what they did to gain these levels?"

"Yes, I am aware of our suspicions."

"Do you disagree with my actions?"

"No, had I been free to act against them I would have cut them down without a second thought."

"Then what is the problem?" I almost yelled at the guard.

"Your attacks are wasteful and crude. Had you a proper teacher they would have died much sooner."

"Perhaps their suffering is a fitting punishment for the suffering they caused to so many others."

"Why are you here anyway? Is the commander trying to protect his investment?"

"Something like that," the man said calmly.

I just got up and looted the bodies, my wounds healed from the health injector. I found a few hundred credits, a couple of decent knives that I stored away and I took one of the rifles that had the most ammo for it. It wasn't much maybe twenty rounds. I would prefer a pistol but this would have to do for now.

"Tell the Commander I appreciate his assistance but I don't need a nanny."

Viktor just smiled and walked off, I doubt he went away the man seemed to disappear into thin air leaving only a hazy outline that I soon lost track of. I grumbled at my unwanted shadow and picked up my gear to continue my journey. My mind now fixated on the fact that I killed a fellow human being. This is what the world had forced me to become, a killer.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful except for another run-in with a group of five low-level Sulid. I took them down with ease and kept only the handful of coins they had been carrying leaving the rest behind. Finally, I could see the Library, and it appeared to be intact.

 Unlike some of the other purely wooden buildings that had been burned down in the previous days fighting the library with its stone and brick facade had weathered the fighting with only minor damage. I could see a few bullet holes and a broken window or two. Nothing overly concerning as I made my way to the front of the building.

I tried the door and it was still locked tight, the glass still intact. I hated to just break in but had no real other choices. I took my staff and broke out one of the skinny floor to ceiling glass windows that were on the outside of the doors. This was surprisingly more difficult than I had imagined as the glass seemed to be tempered and was triple-paned. After about five minutes I managed to clear all of the shards from the opening.

Tossing my backpack through, I entered behind it, staff in hand and ready in-case some creature or gang member had found another way into the building, not that I expected them to value a library very highly. Nothing came to greet me as I waited. I decided to take out the flashlight and after a quick windup shed some light on the dark interior of the building and made my way down the hall and into the library proper.