Dren froze. The system wasn’t playing around anymore. It was seriously trying to force his hand. Something he once heard his parents say came to mind. The system thrives on conflict. That is why combat strength was so important anywhere ruled by the system. That was why classes were focused on combat. Professions fueled it. Conflict and in turn, combat strength was all that mattered.

As if that wasn’t enough, proof that the system wasn’t happy with just that. New words began appearing one letter at a time.

Don’t you have a goal to achieve?

Dren’s pounding heart skipped a beat. Did the system know? He had never spoken before or after the integration of his goal. His dream.

Don’t you need power?

Dren gritted his teeth so hard they hurt and his eyes flicked to the other three. What did they matter? A day of comradery would mean little once the truth was revealed. They would strike first. And as the system pointed out, he did have a goal he wanted desperately to achieve. That cold flame of hate from before returned and he fueled it willingly this time. These pathetic natives didn’t know how good they had it. All the advantages they had and the mountains of potential heaped on them. While he had been born after the system turned its attention away from his world. Born with a faulty body that the system or even those blessed with power could have cured. But they didn’t.

This world was a treasure trove handed to them on a silver platter and they had done nothing to deserve it. While a small voice in his mind told him that wasn’t true. That they were victims of the cruelty of the system even more so than he. Yet, it was drowned out by his louder thoughts. Gripping his daggers tighter he turned to focus on the three. His heart pounded so hard it felt like his veins were going to burst. With each thud of his heart lines of light, like crimson lightning bolts flashed at the edge of his vision.

Mike was still sitting and trying to flirt with Jen, who leaned on her staff ignoring them. Sara was up and moving towards a wooden chest that had appeared in the center of the room. His gaze sharpened as he looked at her. She had been an arrogant annoying bitch the entire time. The purest representation of the worst of the natives as far as he was concerned. But more importantly unlike the other two she hadn’t used a potion yet. She wasn’t on cooldown and might even have more mana left. Whereas Jen was tapped out and her potion use on cooldown. Mike was tough and would take a ton of damage to bring down. But he lacked any offense. No, if anyone was a threat to him now. It was the mage.

Before he could change his mind, he moved. In the week since he arrived on this world, he had increased his stats more than double their original values. Agility and thus his speed being one of them. Pushed even further by his recent level up to five. Just as he had during the fight with the troll, he put that on display now. Like a shadow, he appeared behind Sara. His arm snaked around her and with a deft slash, he slit her throat in a spray of blood. Unlike the first mage he had used this very attack on she died instantly. Her head nearly severed from her body, and she collapsed forward to fall in time with the system's cheery kill notification chime. “That is what happens when you have no toughness or vitality.” Dren’s hollow voice chided.

Turning Dren saw that Mike was on his feet, his eyes wide as he shouted his confusion. Jen stood frozen, her eyes locked on their dead party member. Dren didn’t hesitate. His path was now set before him. Rushing forward he streaked towards Mike. Who to his credit managed to get his shield up. Dren slammed into him with his full body and pushed the slightly larger man back to crash into the earthen wall of the cavern.

“What the hell is going on Jeremy?” He howled while struggling to keep Dren’s daggers at bay with his shield.

“My name is Dren.” Dren answered in response before switching the grip on his dagger and snaking it past Mike’s defenses. He managed to sink it into the meat of the defender’s bicep, missing his original target of the armpit as Mike snapped his arm down. The wound was shallow, Mike’s high toughness on full display. That didn’t matter tho. As Dren went into a frenzy. His two daggers seemed to come from impossible angles to find gaps in his defenses.

Suddenly, something smashed into Dren’s back. It did little damage but the surprise threw him off for a moment. Giving Mike enough breathing room to counter by pushing Dren back with his shield. Dren leapt away adding his own power to the pushback to get a bit more space between them. Jen stood there with her staff gripped in both hands. Her face was a twisted mask of fear, grief, and rage.

Turning back to Mike he ignored her. He was effectively on a timer, needing to finish them both off before their potion cooldowns ended. Charging forward he closed in on Mike who now had his sword drawn as well. Taking a gamble he ignored the other man’s attack and dove towards him with both daggers poised to strike. To Dren’s surprise, the attack from the other man didn’t hit. As he dove forward intent on letting the other man impale him, relying on his high vitality and toughness to weather the stab. Mike yanked the sword away as if afraid of stabbing him. In thanks for his show of concern, Dren sank both daggers down into his shoulder. Just inside his collarbone. Twisting both he realigned them and then slashed them across the man's throat.

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Blood sprayed across Dren, drenching his face and upper body as Mike stared at him wide-eyed. He tried to speak but only bubbles of blood escaped his lips. But unlike Sara, Mike was a defender. With all his attributes dumped into vitality and toughness. It simply meant that the wounds that would have killed a normal person several times over. Weren’t fatal, yet.

As Mike slumped back Dren kicked aside his shield and with all his might he slammed his dagger into his former teammate's chest. The metal of his chainmail couldn’t resist this attack. But it did slow it down, letting him only push the dagger tip in. With a grunt of annoyance, Dren lifted his foot and slammed it down on the pommel of the dagger. Forcing the blade to strike home, this time it was enough. His system chimed happily with another kill notification. Wrenching his dagger free he turned for the last member of their team. Only to find the chamber now empty, the root curtain swaying slightly.

“Fuck.” Dren shrieked and rushed after them.

*****

Jen gasped for air despite her stamina pool still being mostly full as she rushed down the earthen tunnel. The roots managed to keep up with her as she rushed blindly back the way they had come. She didn’t know what was going on. Her first thought was that Jeremy, her assassin teammate had killed Sara for the treasure chest. It was an insane thing to do. But not totally unheard of. Still, it didn’t make sense. Stranger still was that his identity text hadn’t changed. It wasn’t giving the crimson warning of a murderer when she inspected him.

None of that mattered tho. All that mattered was her former teammate had killed Sara and then attacked Mike. With no mana and unable to use a potion she was virtually useless. She had clubbed him with her staff to try and help Mike but all that seemed to do was annoy him more. It just brought back all those nagging concerns that something wasn’t right with that assassin. He seemed too strong and tough for an assassin. Yet, was still just as fast and deadly as she expected from one of his class. Maybe even more so. It just hadn’t made any sense. Now he had killed one and probably both of her other teammates.

“There is nothing else I could do to help! I just have to go get help! That is all I can do!” She gasped out as she ran. Trying to convince herself she wasn’t just fleeing in cowardice but doing what she could.

Glancing back she sucked in a breath of terror at seeing a glowing patch of roots behind her, one that closed in too quickly for comfort. Turning forward she put everything into running. Everyone’s body after the integration had come was changed. Seemingly as if they had all had every aspect of their body made prime. Perhaps not the peak of what a human could have done before the system. But far beyond what many had been capable of. This only continued to increase as they got more stats in an attribute. Sadly, there was a limit. She couldn’t run faster than her twelve agility would allow. And that was just far too slow compared to those of the assassin.

Though she knew she shouldn’t. She glanced back to see Jeremy so close that she could actually see him in his bubble of ghastly light cast by the roots. Turning back she stumbled as something slammed into her from behind. Pain bloomed in her back as she staggered forward and she felt it harder to breathe. Yet, she pushed on even as her robes grew heavy as blood ran down her back.

Jen started to cast heal on herself. But resisted that urge as using up what little mana she had regenerated so far on a heal wouldn’t save her. She needed to get out of the dungeon. To make it back to the town. That was her only hope and with blind terror, she continued to run.

Dren growled when the stubborn healer refused to fall after he hit her with his thrown dagger. Yet, he was still closing on her. Already he could see her off white robes turning dark with blood as the bleed enchant on the dagger buried in her back continued to do its work.

The tunnels that had taken them most of the day to slowly and cautiously creep through. Passed by at a terrifying speed. It would be close. They were already almost to the entrance. For a moment he considered throwing his other unenchanted dagger. But if she didn’t stumble or he missed then he would be unarmed. With gritted teeth, he simply kept closing in on her. Just as he was about to close in on her, she turned with a burst of light and he was blinded.

Blinding Light debuff partially resisted. You are blind for two seconds.

Despite the world becoming one of white. He could still read the system message. Stumbling he tried to keep going but crashed into the tunnel wall and almost fell over. Blinking wildly the two seconds passed and he found that she had widened the gap between them again.

*****

Finally, the dungeon exit came into view. Jen felt her heart soar in her chest with hope. ‘Just a few more meters!’ She cheered in her mind right before she came to a violent stop. Her head erupted in pain as she was yanked back. Only then did she realize the assassin had caught up to her and snatched her long trailing hair. She was pulled back until she could feel the heat of his body right behind her. Her wide eyes stared at the light of the exit. It was so close! She stretched her arm out. Her fingers wiggled as she tried to stretch them just a tiny bit further. But she was just out of reach.

“I’m sorry. Nothing Personal. But the system demands it.” Then she felt the sensation of a cold blade biting into her neck. Of it slicking thru her flesh and scraping against the bone of her neck. It was freezing cold and searing hot at the same time. All she could do was gurgle as she tried to reach her salvation. But fell just short. Her health took a massive drop down. Her health bar already widdled down by the bleeding wound from earlier, raced towards empty.

Dren blinked in surprise that the healer hadn’t died with that attack. Readjusting his grip he slammed his dagger into her heart in a fashion almost identical to how he had killed that first mage. This time he heard the system give its bright and cheery chime of a kill notification. Letting go of his grip on her she slumped forward and then vanished as she hit the line marking the exit to the dungeon. Dren stood there with his dagger dripping blood and started to follow after her. But hesitated. He still needed to loot the dungeon’s chest. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere anyways. With a flick of his wrist that sent much of the blood splattering off his dagger, he turned to head back deeper into the dungeon.