Vengeance is Mine

An injustice was done in the world of Lucid and no one stepped up to put a stop to it. High-level adventurers have experienced too much bloodshed that they wouldn't even bat an eye on a simple accident. And other Low-level adventurers are so powerless that they cannot stand on the same stage as dreamers.

A man, a father with one daughter, was killed. But no one could do anything. No matter how hard they tried killing the culprit, he would just reemerge anew. Aliens, or rather, Dreamers call that process respawning. But to the inhabitants of Lucid, it was nothing short of witchcraft and sorcery.

But one day, a man whose expertise is that of studying Evil Spirits, stumbled upon another dimension that resembled the world of Lucid. For some reason, however, this world had very weak people so there was no point in killing them. Killing them would just be a waste of time, or so that's what he thought.

Since the dimension only opens at a certain time at night, the man would always venture through it and explore. He knew that he's one of the strongest NPC's in the whole world of Lucid. And realizing that the people of the other dimension were as weak as cattle awaiting their slaughter, he knew he could protect himself should trouble arise.

Every time he ventured to the other dimension, he was convinced that this place was a treasure trove. The people of Lucid could easily take it over. And since it was in a different dimension, the laws of Lucid won't apply here.

This conniving thought ate away at the man's mind until he decided to give killing a try. The people here are weak, if they got killed because of how weak they are, then it's their fault. It's just plain old law of the jungle. The strong prey on the weak, that's how the world is.

After tasting his first murder, the man did seem to enjoy it. The faces of the victims begging for their mercy would always haunt his dreams and he would go murder a few more people to add to the ever-growing list he had. A week later, his job class changed from Swordsman to Assassin. And then he gained a few titles related to killing. And as if that wasn't enough, he also started killing people in his own world— the world of Lucid.

He was Ki-ru Shoumetsu, previously a researcher of Evil Spirits and a famous swordsman in a certain party... but now, he's an assassin and a terrifying one at that.

Unsure of how far Ki-ru Shoumetsu's reach was, Yuuta took a few steps backward to keep his distance from him. Right now, he's still just level 20, almost at level 21. And his enemy is in the 400's. He was outclassed by a huge margin.

"What do you want?" Yuuta tried to act calm but his voice betrayed him. It cracked.

"Nothing much, just dying to meet someone's student." Ki-ru Shoumetsu rummaged through her pockets, smiled, and threw something at Yuuta's feet.

Two locks of hair lightly glided in mid-air before touching the grass dancing in the wind. It all happened in a split second but to Yuuta, it felt like an eternity. After all, the locks of hair are easily recognizable. "Yeah, our homeroom teacher? She wears two ponytails most of the time. Color? It's orange. A really nice shade of orange. If you were to see it, you'll really like it." Yuuta could remember his best friend, Onigawara Shiki, telling him about their homeroom teacher on the first day of school.

And right in front of him, there were two unmistakable ponytails.

"Where did you get this?" Yuuta clenched his teeth until it chattered. There was a huge chance that the killer was just pretending but Yuuta isn't risking any of his chances. For all he knows, the serial killer really was behind the death of their previous homeroom teacher.

"Who else? From your teacher, who else?" Shoumetsu brandished the shortsword he was holding, trying to intimidate the teenager in front of him. "Now, you might be thinking. How do I know you? Well, let's just say you're famous... and I happen to hear your teacher's last words, which happens to be your name."

Insane amounts of adrenaline started coursing through Yuuta's body as he prepared to fight the killer. Since the killer was more of a last boss than a player in the game. Although his body screamed that he should flee from the Spirit Jungle, Yuuta fought against it. Somewhere in his mind, he decided to seek vengeance.

But realistically, it was impossible. The player in front of him was just too high-leveled.

"Wait— "

[Name: Ki-ru Shoumetsu

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Class: Assassin

Level: 474

Title: Killer

— You have tasted the blood of the innocent, granting you the title of a murderer

— Having a human as a target increases your speed and attack by 50%. Having a beast or another race as a target increases your speed and attack by 25%.

Title: Traveler

— You have gained an understanding of the other dimension.

— With this understanding, you can easily locate gates that would transport you to your dimension

— Grants +50 to your vitality and speed stats...]

As Yuuta re-read Shoumetsu's profile from beginning to end, he realized that he overlooked something. Ever since he met the killer he always assumed that the killer was, in fact, a Dreamer. But upon hearing what Yua has to say about the people of Lucid, he realized that maybe he was wrong. Maybe the level 400-plus player in front of him wasn't a Dreamer... but an NPC. And as he read through his description once again, he realized that such was the case. He really is an NPC!

<Ti-ring >

<Creative mode is enabled>

<Would you like to save some changes?>

<Yes No>

<Notice: Changes can be done to anything as long it doesn't affect its overall function and stats>

"What is it this time?" Yuuta cluelessly agreed to the notification although he didn't know what would transpire after. Since the System never really gave him any life-threatening prompts, he thought that maybe it would be fine to just accept it.

"You're frozen, are you doing all right, kid?" Shoumetsu asked. As he did, he casually approached Yuuta like a predator honing in on its prey. "I'll help you needlessly respawn if you want. Or maybe you want me to end your life for good? I do have my ways of accomplishing that as well. Just say the word."

"How did you cross over?" Yuuta asked out of the blue, completely catching the murderer off-guard.

"Nothing spectacular, your world... it's full of weak people." With a murderous grin on his face, the killer licked the shortsword he was wielding, showing off his disgusting nature in front of an innocent young kid. "I don't know how you crossed over here but once I do, I'm going to kill every last one of you over there. And then we'll reform your world with our strength."

Yuuta was convinced that the killer really is delusional. He had no idea how someone sane could end up deranged to the point that they'll commit genocide. There was only one thing he should do and that is to stop this Shoumetsu from doing it.

But being a level 20, there was no chance of victory even if he strived hard enough.

"If you're here to kill me, then just do it. I've got places to be and things to do." Yuuta brushed him off as if he was just a passing stranger. Without a moment's hesitation, Yuuta turned around and headed the opposite way. Although he was seething, boiling with anger, he knew that he'll just be wasting his time if he picked a fight with him. That's why he turned around, completely exposing his back to the murderer.

Or so that's what he wanted the man to think.

In an instant, the man came charging at Yuuta, his arms tucked in, ready to stab. At level 400, it only took a split second for him to reach Yuuta's position— which is at least fifty meters away from him.

But unbeknownst to him, Yuuta was completely ready for his ambush. For the moment he turned around, he closed his eyes, enabling him to see the whole area through his hearing and senses. It was something he had honed for the past two or so years. He knew that there's no chance that his skill would fail him.

On one end, however, Ki-ru Shoumetsu is confident that Yuuta wouldn't retaliate, or rather, he didn't have the power to do so. That's why Ki-ru released as much killing intent as possible, trying to overwhelm Yuuta with the spirit of fear and terror.

<Notice: You've detected an intense bloodlust>

The notification almost made Yuuta flinched but he managed to maintain his composure. Right now, what he needed to do is strike in for a perfect kill when the murderer's guard is on its lowest point. There was no way he could best him on a straightforward battle. The only way he could win was with the use of trickery and the element of surprise.

<Would you like to activate a skill?>

<Please choose a skill s you like to activate.>

<You have selected the Skill: Mirage, All-Seeing Eye>

<Would you like to activate the Skill?>

<Yes No>

<You have activated the Skill: Mirage, All-Seeing Eye>

"Any last words? Just kidding!" Shoumetsu exclaimed as he 'speared' the knife on Yuuta's back. A brief feeling of exhilaration filled him as he realized that he was about to kill yet another person, and a teenager one at that.

Before the knife connected, however, Yuuta ducked and grabbed the man by the arm. After using his body to shield the man who was about to bump into him, he pulled with his arm at full strength. 'Well, not that this will work though. He's a level 400-plus adventurer, there's no way I could outpower him in a contest of strength'. Yuuta said to himself, accepting his fate of death and respawn.

But to Yuuta's disbelief, Shoumetsu easily rolled over his back and then slammed to the ground with a loud thud. A decent amount of saliva escaped his lips as air escaped from his lungs. And just like how it was when the Demon Lord was forced to the ground, a crater formed where Shoumetsu landed.

"What on actual— " Yuuta was even surprised with himself since Shoumetsu was as light as paper. Out of all the people he slammed to the ground, Shoumetsu was the lightest of them all. "What just happened?" He asked himself in surprise.

Eyes rolled back and foam over his mouth. Shoumetsu fell into unconsciousness before he realized what occurred. It was a landslide victory for Yuuta, an unexpected landslide victory.

<Ti-ring! >

<Congratulations! >

<Special Quest: Catch Rie Takahashi's murderer— Complete!>

<Reputation has increased +5000>

<Reputation 10000 10500 has leveled up>

<You have gained enough reputation to obtain a special reward>

<Special Quest rewards will be distributed>

<Please check your mailbox to receive rewards>

<You have unlocked a new Quest!>

[Special Quest: Redeem Ki-ru Shoumetsu's bounty

Rewards:

— 50,000 Garnets

—Reputation +1000

— 2 Randomized Gift Box

— 1 Unique Skill of Choosing

Description: You managed to defeat one of the top criminals in the world of Lucid. Before he wakes up, bring him to the Town Hall and have the rightful authorities take care of him. (Of course, there's also the option of killing him but doing so would reduce your reputation back to zero and your level will be reduced by five).

Notice: The authorities here is unlike that of Earth's. There's no need to worry about an unjustifiable verdict. Of course, there's still the option of killing him.]

<Would you like to accept this quest?>

<Yes No>

There was no hesitation in Yuuta's eyes as he grabbed the knife from the murderer. After releasing a smidgen of killing intent, he brought the knife down, purposefully piercing Shoumetsu's flesh. "There's no way you're getting out of this Spirit Jungle alive," Yuuta murmured to himself, sounding like a bonafide serial killer with the decisiveness to kill on the spot.

As he brought down the knife, memories about his homeroom teacher flew past his mind as if a film was being rolled in there. Although he had never seen what his homeroom teacher looked like, he was still oddly connected to her. There was no way he would let someone get away with killing someone who had made the effort to give him a comfortable school life— not in his watch.

Yuuta's eyes turned bloodshot as he stabbed Shoumetsu four more times before dragging him someplace else.