Ambush

Rachel, too. Her eyes were always dull and sleepy, but sometimes she showed a keen eye. And when she did, she showed keen judgment and critical insight. If Val was a doer who mainly engaged in close combat, Rachel was more of a thinker who stayed on the bottom line and called the shots.

In particular, Rachel's elemental ability is very practical, but her true power shines through when used against monsters.

The elements she controlled were very strong.

The teamwork the duo displayed, like two cogwheels meshing perfectly, was impressive. It didn't seem like they had learned or practiced beforehand, but there was a kind of connection that instinctively told them what each other's next course of action would be. This must be the result of working together not just for a day or two, but for at least five or ten years. Even twin brothers would not be in perfect sync as they were.

'I'm not sure they are brothers...well that information doesn't matter to me.'

I didn't know how siblings like them, who also seemed to come from a privileged background, were so close to each other, and why they had to make things harder for themselves.

But there was one thing for sure.

They were sure to get along.

They were both willing to trust each other with their own lives. This relationship could never happen without mutual faith.

Elliott was a little jealous of the relationship between the two brothers. Of course, it wasn't as if he wanted to get to know them in detail or join in their relationship.

Just looking at these two, Elliott couldn't help but feel sad.

"...."

Elliott thought he was becoming unnecessarily sentimental as the night progressed.

He was trying to destroy all the idle thoughts in his head. He couldn't believe he had so many varied thoughts.

But to his surprise,

"Could it be because of this little break I've been taking?

His mind was now clearer than ever. Like the sky after heavy rain.

When she opened her closed eyes again, they were filled with the determination of every soul.

Then, suddenly, Val whispered and awoke from her sleep. Her eyes peered through her wild hair and still looked very sleepy. She even gave a big yawn.

"Why did you get up? You still have some time before your shift."

"How am I supposed to sleep when it's so noisy around here."

A chuckle escaped Elliott's mouth.

Contrary to what Val was saying, his surroundings were too quiet. As if someone had intentionally muted all sound. The cry of the bugs, the whistling of the wind. Nothing could be heard.

Val rubbed his sleepy eyes and brought his hand to the scabbard he had left near his head.

However, everything was too quiet.

Before she knew it, Rachel had also risen with a yawn. She frowned slightly at her beautiful face, looking annoyed at the things disturbing her sleep.

"Haaam! How long are you going to let them stay like this?"

"I was going to get rid of them when they got close. Sorry to let them wake you up."

Rachel replied to Elliott with a small smile on her beautiful face.

"That's okay. I was getting a little stiff since I haven't been moving my body lately. Might as well get some proper exercise."

At the same time, Rachel turned around to look at Val.

"Bro. I was just asking myself."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think they knew you were here?"

"Does that matter?"

Val slowly drew his sword from the scabbard as his eyes emitted a cold glint.

"What matters is that they are enemies aiming their swords at us."

As soon as Val finished her words,

*Pat*

His shadow suddenly disappeared.

*supreme effort*

"Aaaak!"

With the sound of blood splattering, a desperate scream came from the bush.

"Damn it! How did they even realize they were here?"

"Ebony! It's more dangerous if we bunch up!"

Soon, something stirred inside the bushes, and several climbers came out of them, all busily moving in different directions.

They originally planned to get as close as possible and jump on their targets at the same time. But once they were caught, there was no longer any advantage to ambushing them. Rather, it was more dangerous for them if they were grouped together. They were currently facing no less than the top 3 and top 9. There was no chance of winning if they fought them directly.

Val turned around and brandished his sword as if he had no intention of letting them escape. With each slash, blood splattered on the grass and a body fell to the ground.

Rachel also made a grand gesture in the air.

*Swoosh*

"Damn it!"

"Run!"

Thousands of invisible slashes were killing all the attackers near Rachel.

Painful screams echoed throughout the forest.

Although Val and Rachel had been slaughtering enemies at an inhuman pace, there were still numerous climbers hiding in the bushes.

*Crunch*

Rachel heard a muffled sound of stealthy footsteps from behind. They seemed to be aiming to attack from the blind spot.

With a slightly irritated face, Rachel was about to send slashes of air at them, but,

"Mmm?"

When she realized where they were going, she was so puzzled that a small laugh came out of her mouth.

They were moving toward Elliott.

They could have targeted Elliott because, unlike them, his name wasn't well known in the tutorial. Maybe they thought Elliott was someone very weak

But whatever the case,

Could he have been expecting this?

The place he's headed to now,

Those idiots. Of all the choices they could have made, they managed the worst.

They went to their miserable deaths.

***

*crunch*

Oh, shit! He's seen us too soon. I'll have to kill this guy and steal the chips while Val and Rachel are distracted.

Franc and his minions were among the most active hyenas in B Block.

They really liked their job. Under the guise of taking the tokens, they would steal the climbers' riches, artifacts, and everything else. They would divvy up the artifacts to increase their battle prowess. If they were lucky, they could even get some skill books. Tokens could be sold to those of higher rank at very high prices.

In addition, there were several places that needed live climbers. They could range from laborers or slaves to prostitutes, livestock, and even climbers for experimental purposes. People had a wide variety of uses for their bodies, so they didn't have to worry about where to sell them. Who wouldn't want to be part of such a lucrative business?

What was even better was that this guy was teammates with high-ranking guys like Val and Rachel. No one knew what chips he might be carrying or what artifacts he might have received from those two.

Even if there was a risk of having to sneak up behind Val and Rachel, he expected to get a big reward for it. He was so nervous that his mouth was getting dry. And as expected, Val and Rachel hadn't noticed his ambush. Their prey was so frightened that it was merely crouched by the fire, oblivious to its impending doom.

*Pat*

Not long before Franc and his henchmen jumped out of the bushes and slashed the back of the man wearing the suit.

'Die!", Franc thought to himself.

But he soon noticed something was wrong and opened his eyes wide. Like an illusion, there was nothing where his sword had cut.

Instinct told him to look back and there he saw two golden eyes glowing coldly and the big distorted smile of the man... the mistake of the monster.

"¡...!"

A terrible shiver ran through his body.

*supreme effort*

From his head to his groin, a sword carved a dark red line down the length of Franc's body, splitting him in two as his organs spilled onto the ground making a pool of blood.

"What, what the hell?"

"B, bo, boss!"

The rest of the climbers behind Franc hesitated for a moment.

Meanwhile, Elliott turned around and threw himself at them.

*Swoosh*

The figure gliding through the forest under the dark sky etched a horror movie on them. A pair of golden eyes floating in the middle of the darkness with a big distorted smile. That image made the climbers tremble with fear.

What was supposed to be prey turned out to be a predator that killed Franc with a single slash. And the sheer look in its glowing eyes made his flesh bristle.

*metallic sound*

One of the climbers at the front broke to defend himself from Elliott's attack. Then the atmosphere suddenly revolutionized.

Wait, maybe it's not that hard! Maybe Franc's overdraft allowed this guy to get the better of him. We're outnumbered, so it can't be that hard to kill just one guy if we attack them all at once, right?

Everyone else thought the same thing, came to the same conclusion and all ran towards Elliott in unison.

*Swoosh*

"Son of a bitch!"

"Die, motherfucker!"

But, of course, that was Elliott's trap to lure them in.

With his sword intertwined with the enemy's weapon, Elliott quickly spun to his right and dove right under the climber in front of him. And slashed him right in the neck.

*supreme effort*.

Blood gushed upward like a fountain as the blade cut his jugular vein. Elliott then threw the sword between the fountain of blood, piercing the head of another climber. Soon after, he ran straight for the three climbers hiding behind and quickly cut their waists, and necks and split them in half.

"H, like heck... *Gorgoteo*"

"Monster!"

The climbers realized it was all a trap and would want to retreat. But it was too late, so they still tried to pressure and exhaust Elliott by relying on their numbers.

Contrary to their wish, Elliott destroyed each and every one of them with a big distorted smile. He parried a knife that flew at him and stabbed into his neck, waist, and heart. He blocked a spear that aimed at his blind spot with his arm, split it in half, and severed the head of its bearer.

The inhuman movement is basically no longer human.

Elliott made them think he had eyes all over his body. Every time the climbers attacked Elliott, he dodged all their attacks and even launched counterattacks. And each time, the climbers collapsed with their blood splattered all over the grass.

They felt as if they had been possessed by a psychopath.

"R, run!"

They finally realized they had messed with the wrong guy and tried to escape.

*Swoosh*

*Disco*

Elliott threw a dagger at the head of the first to flee and then quickly chased after the others. His speed was too fast and the direction unpredictable, so he could do nothing but desperately wait for their deaths. Fear had gripped their ankles. Terror was slowly devouring them from within, as they watched the man...error monster approach with a huge grin towards them.

...