Ambush

"Ha... Hah." It was painful for Ethan to breathe. Luckily he was able to escape the worst of the blast by hiding behind a wall. 

He felt his chest tighten. 'I may have cracked a rib.' Ethan thought while holding his chest. He could barely think.

He wasn't used to this level of pain. Despite his actions, the pain wasn't common to Ethan. His thoughts were muddled. The only reason he was conscious was because of the adrenaline.

'Sia, what's my condition.'

[Ethan, you have suffered minor burns and bruises across your body. Your ribs have been cracked and you have a minor concussion. You also have a ruptured eardrum]

'Okay...' Ethan sighed in relief. It wasn't that bad. The explosion hadn't been powerful. It couldn't have been. Using it indoors could have massive consequences for the structural integrity of the building, so the power had to be limited. 'Can my injuries be healed with an After-Aid.'

[Yes. However, you do not have the funds to buy it. And using it now will be bad as you are in a combat situation]

'That's good. If I can kill that bitch, I'll be fine. Hopefully, she has spare coins lying around.'

After-Aid was an item in the shop that cost 2000 coins. The effect of it was the ability to heal everything that could be healed over time within 24 hours.

It was overpowered, so it came with a caveat. If the user got injured during the healing period, the user would receive a massive recoil.

Despite his injuries, Ethan's priority was killing the target he set out for himself. It was the rational conclusion he came to despite the risks.

If he ran away now, he may be found by the other people in the building and get killed. Given that Ethan escaped, he wouldn't be able to kill another player before the police caught him. His injuries wouldn't heal in time to escape.

"Is he dead?"

"No, there's no body."

"Then search for him. He must be alive. We must deliver him to the boss. She wants him alive. But don't worry about wounding him. As long as he's breathing, it's fine."

Ethan overheard the men talking. Even with his partial hearing loss, he understood their words. He was lucky that they only wanted him alive. Tracy wanted to kill him, so she could get the coins. Ethan couldn't estimate how many men there were, but he guessed at least five.

'Let's see how much the skills help me.' Ethan mused. Despite the cost, the combat skill and weapon usage skills didn't improve his fighting capabilities by a massive amount.

He didn't turn into a master fighter all of a sudden. He was only as good as a decently trained fighter. A regular soldier in the army could beat him one on one. It was only basic skills as of now.

So if he wanted to kill everyone here, who were all stronger than him, he'd have to use his intelligence.

Ethan shuffled around, trying to escape his exposed potion. He managed to find a small room where he could hide and attack one of the men.

There was rubble strewn across the floor with spiderwebs hanging about. From the corner of his eye, he saw some rats scurrying about.

Ethan hid behind the door suppressing his fear and reducing any noise he made. While hiding, he took out a wire from his bag and waited.

A minute later, a man cautiously opened the door holding a gun. Ethan held his breath, silencing his presence for the opportune moment.

As soon as the assailant's back faced him, Ethan jumped and wrapped the wire around his neck. Unlike the rope he used previously, the wire was incredibly sharp, cutting his neck.

The assailant couldn't even scream. He must've been experiencing a lot of pain, but he was helpless. Ethan was numb to the man's plight and continued his actions.

The man tried to shoot his gun, but his fingers were losing strength and eventually let go of his weapon. Ethan confirmed his death and left the room, after looting the body. 

Ethan kept low, trying to locate all the other attackers. Ethan snuck around the floor, trying to find a person he could easily kill. His target was on a higher floor and the stairway was being guarded, it wasn't an option.

Ethan's adrenaline was keeping his senses besides hearing at an all-time high. He could feel the slightest movement around. However, this heightened state wouldn't last for long. 

When Ethan was sneaking around a corridor, he found a lone man standing at the end. Ethan checked behind him, seeing if anyone was around.

Ethan crept behind his prey. The man noticed Ethan too late. Ethan stabbed the man several times with his knife.

"Simon!"

Another person shouted from behind the corner. 'Shit! There's another person.' Ethan cursed inwardly.

Ethan acted fast, doing the first thing that came to his mind. He pulled his gun from his waist and put it on the shoulder of the person he just stabbed. He was using the man as a shield.

The other person turned the corner firing his pistol. None of the bullets hit Ethan. Ethan then pulled the trigger when the other man stared down the barrel. The bullet hit the other person's shoulder since he was surprisingly tall.

Emerging from behind the body, Ethan shot the other attacker who had fallen onto the ground, killing him.

"Gunshots!" Ethan overheard the other assailants shout. Ethan jogged away from the scene.

Ethan once again hid in a nearby room. He didn't have enough time to get further away since the men arrived quickly. The room was similar to the one he had previously.

His chest pained as Ethan was exerting himself more than his body could handle.

As Ethan was hiding, he saw the arrow of his target change directions and move towards the direction of the body.