New Skills

It had been a couple of weeks since Ethan had killed the man in the ghetto. Since then, Ethan had been on the prowl, killing targets when he could. In total, he killed seven more people had died.

The reason he hadn't killed more was because the rest were dangerous. He was less cautious in these kills and he understood he may be caught soon. Though Ethan tried to hide all signs of his involvement, just being around so many murders at those times was suspicious, even if they didn't have evidence.

Most of the kills were by the gun he had stolen, so they would be investigated as homicides. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was caught.

With the coins he had collected, he bought several new skills as well as improved his stats. He knew he would need it if was going to face the other players.

Ethan suspected that the rest of the players had killed two or more players. They would not hesitate to kill and would be difficult to defeat.

His stats currently looked like this:

Name: Ethan Archer

Stats:

Strength: 10.0

Constitution: 10.0

Dexterity: 13.4

Perception: 12.2

Intelligence: 14.9

Skills:

Computer Skill: Lvl 2

Survival: Lvl 1

Anti-Tracking: Lvl 1

Weapon Usage Lvl 1

Combat Skill Lvl 1

...

Inventory:

Time in a Bottle

Balance: 125 Coins

With his new abilities, he felt stronger than he felt before. Combat Skill and Weapon Usage were self-explanatory skills. They improved his fighting capabilities and gun handling abilities respectively, among other benefits.

The constitution stat determined how quickly the body could recover stamina, heal from injuries and tough the body is from diseases. The higher constitution also benefited how energy was managed in Ethan's body. It was the reason Ethan invested 1350 coins into upgrading it.

During those weeks, Ethan had stopped going to school entirely and barely spent time at home. He only went home to sleep, eat and research his target.

However, due to a connection he made during the weeks, that research aspect was less important.

His mother stopped trying to ask what Ethan was doing and seemed like he had given up on him. Ethan preferred it this way because that is how it always was.

With no love and fulfilling the obligations as mother and son. His guilt towards his decision had eroded. 

Ethan changed into his designated player outfit. It was nearly all black and covering most of his face. Ethan carried a bag holding various useful tools such as a knife.

When Ethan checked the clock after changing, it showed that it was 9 pm. It was time. Ethan was planning to kill a target he'd been stalking for a while.

Ethan suspected this player had killed at least 3 other players. Though Ethan couldn't confirm it, Ethan had a hunch that the player he was hunting was aware of his existence. She didn't deploy a tracking compass, so he had little evidence to back his claim.

Any opportunity he had to kill the player was too risky and his target never let his guard down, even when asleep.

The target in question was a woman named Tracy Carter. Ethan's informant told him that Tracy Carter had connections to a famous local gang. She even served time in prison and is believed to be extremely dangerous.

He arrived at his target's location in about an hour, using various forms of transportation. Tracy didn't live in a house like regular people did.

She took up residence in an abandoned building and only returned to her address on paper once a week. This was the second reason why Ethan wanted to take her out. Having a base like this would be extremely useful for his plans onwards.

Ethan didn't know why she stayed at the abandoned building. Since he didn't get to explore the building himself beforehand, he was walking nearly blind.

The only reason Ethan wasn't completely blind was because of images from the internet and recordings from drone Ethan had invested his savings into.

Ethan arrived at the base hidden by the darkness of the night. It was cloudy and the moon was completely hidden. A perfect time to strike.

He had confirmed that Tracy was hidden in the building after circling it.

The building was made of concrete, with graffiti being sprayed all across the walls. Broken pieces of wood and shattered glass lay all around the area.

When entering the building, Ethan found the walls were thin and were barely holding up. Ethan ensured he was as quiet as possible, avoiding stepping on broken glass.

Other items and people's belongings lay on the floor, becoming nearly unrecognisable due to weathering.

He held his gun out, checking behind the walls in case of an emergency.

The uneasiness he held when killing people had completely disappeared after he killed the 5th target. To the point, he felt nothing in doing it. It became as natural as breathing to him.

As he explored the building, he was getting the feeling that something was off. It was instincts telling him of danger.

Normally he would've trusted the feeling and, but he couldn't back out now. The police force could catch him any day and then he would be truly screwed.

That was an exaggeration. Ethan had made plans in case that happened, though it put him in a disadvantageous position.

He needed this to succeed. 

Ethan was surprised he hadn't been confronted already. But he hadn't received any notoriety coins as of yet, so he hadn't been suspect.

When Ethan was reaching the floor where his target resided, he felt his foot getting caught on something. Ethan instantly turned around.

It was a wire.

Within a split second, Ethan dived out of the way and escaped behind a wall. A second later, an explosion rang near him. The sound was disorienting and Ethan could barely hear anything. The impact crashed into his body. The debris missed and wall shook.

Ethan carried his weakened body to a nearby room. Though Ethan's hearing was impaired, he could distinctly hear several different footsteps.

It was a trap. He'd been had.