First Trial (4)

"Hello there."

His words contained pure malice as they slowly entered the ears of a man who stood barely a few meters away from Alex. As the man peered into Alex's cyan eyes, it was as if he were looking at death itself.

His teeth clattered against each other in a dramatic motion. His eyebrows shot up, and his eyes enlarged to an inhumane size.

"Y'know, normally, I would have let this incident go," Alex spoke in a grave tone. He narrowed his eyes as he practically peered into the man's soul. "However, if you weren't so skilled at controlling your weapon, or if your target was that man over there… what do you think would have happened?"

The man could not respond. Even Maxwell had his eyes wide open, not daring to imagine what Alex would do. The latter's true nature hadn't been witnessed by anyone in the current timeline, and nor would it be; at least, that's what Alex hoped for.

However, it was truly difficult to think rationally when under the cloak of anger, wasn't it? That was the excuse Alex adopted when he lunged forward at extreme speeds. He lunged towards a man with a red dagger floating above his head, namely, Jin VanHarmelon.

"What do you think would have happened, bastard?" Alex repeated his question, but he wasn't waiting for an answer. "A seed would have perished. Now, what does a seed grow into? A tree, right? What does a tree provide? Oxygen. For that act, I will take away your ability to breathe the substance produced by a tree, so that you understand the value of a seed."

"Permanently."

Slit! Splash!

Alex's sword dug into the adam's apple of his victim, providing Jin with a satisfactory death (for Alex).

As Alex cleaned his blade, which was dripping with fresh blood, he was approached by a boy; another seed. Maxwell, instead of halting his steps, continued until in arm's range with the corpse of Jin.

"A seed…" Maxwell muttered, his typical blank expression clouding his face. "Is that what you think of me, too?"

Alex was unable to respond. It was true. He did think of Maxwell as a seed; a seed that was meant to be nurtured into a tree which provided him benefit. But even a tree could be provided with affection, couldn't it?

However, Alex did not respond with such empty words. Instead, he thought. He thought about what Maxwell's relationship was with him. Until now, Alex was Maxwell's savior… that was it; nothing more, nothing less.

Suddenly, Maxwell turned around with crazed eyes as a deranged smile appeared on his face. "A seed! That's way better than I expected! Ha! Ha ha ah!"

He broke into boisterous laughter as he maintained a demented smile on his face. Having witnessed a side of him he shouldn't have, Alex lowered his eyes. It was a common symptom of life in a seemingly new world; psychopathic behavior.

But it seemed it had a reverse effect on Maxwell. It seemed he had been expecting things to go worse than they had, and that was highly respectable.

Patting Maxwell on the back, Alex headed towards the crowd where a massacre ensued. He did not have much time if he wished to obtain the rewards listed on the screen. For him, obtaining Durendal was a must. However, Merlin's Magic Dust could also be very helpful in the future, as it was a one-time-use drug; a drug that boosted the magical capabilities of one for a limited amount of time.

Immediately, he swung his sword with great accuracy, murdering several people in the process. A big gap was created between a person who possessed 127 Stones of Soma, and many who possessed barely any.

Alex utilized agility-based footwork to quickly wipe out large groups of people in seconds. The number of kills rose quickly, and so did Alex's individual kills. Typically, at this point, one would be flooded with guilt. However, all Alex felt was indifference; indifference at the sacrifices needed to get him Durendal.

*

Several hours passed as the number of kills rose every second.

[Total Kills - 2461]

[1. Alex Horatius - 972 Kills]

[2. Carl Thompson - 651 Kills]

[3. Maxwell Thompson - 318 Kills]

The endgame was nearing, and the crowd was thinning. The number of survivors had decreased to a meager number, precisely 1539. 539 kills were required to satisfy the condition of the next trial.

Alex had practically given up on the faint and unachievable dream of 1500 kills. He did not wish to know what lay behind the question marks, as exerting himself that much would obviously cause vulnerability, which was something he could not afford to reveal.

Many had witnessed his atrocious acts and also viewed him as an unbreakable wall. Breaking it personally without any interference from a third party would only cause doubts within the crowd, which was something unaffordable.

As Alex rested in a corner, trying to regain his stamina, he was suddenly approached by a dagger. The dagger flew at extreme speeds and was considerably faster than the one used by Jin VanHarmelon.

Alex tilted his head to the right side, avoiding the projectile by an inch. He then directed a cold glare towards the perpetrator, who just so happened to be Maxwell's brother, a teen in command of over a hundred soldiers, Carl Thompson.

Alex plucked the dagger that dug into the wall behind him. He simply gazed at the dull blade before flicking it towards the initiator of the conflict.

Carl raised his hand, deflecting the projectile using another dagger of much better quality. He then directed a smile towards Alex, who radiated cyan energy. "I didn't have a chance to properly introduce myself back then, did I?"

"No, you did," Alex responded disinterestedly. "Your introduction was quite grandiose. It wasn't direct, but you could figure out a lot of things with just a name, heir of Krin Pharmaceuticals as well as one of the top mafia gangs in Canada itself."

Carl scratched his neck in feigned embarrassment as he shamelessly asked, "Since you have a connection with my brother, shouldn't we share tips on how to become stronger and survive in this world?"

"Straight to the point? Are you in some kind of hurry?" Alex asked with a raised brow. "I was expecting the heir of such a successful company to be so immature and inexperienced at communication."

"What about you?" Carl asked, a haughty expression appearing on his face. "How can you be so calm after your dad's death?"

Swish! Drip!

Within a single gust of wind, Alex stood beside Carl, threatening to pierce his neck using his crimson sword. The sword rested on Carl's neck, and could easily take away his life within a single motion.

As thick droplets of blood dripped from the tiny wound in Carl's neck, the teen cursed at himself for having brought up such a topic. His plan was to force Alex's emotions to become unstable, in turn causing him to become vulnerable to surprise attacks.

However, things that work in novels do not seem so easy to re-enact in real life.

Alex leaned in as he whispered these words in Carl's ear.

"Say that once more… I dare you."