Tutotial.17

"How troublesome," he thought as he pursued the Fatal Shot under Charles's orders.

Prity, a Fatal Shot, was silently running through the forest with six of his companions. Four Fatal Shots and three light warriors made up the hunting group. In his opinion, it was a total overkill to send seven men after a single Fatal Shot from some corporate office.

Seriously, what the hell was going on with that guy? Spouting some cliché crap to look tough. He had to hold himself back from cringing the entire time and barely managed not to shoot him in the back as he walked away.

Unfortunately, Charles didn't want to spoil the relationship with the new healer. Although the guy had done some strange things, it was nothing that made Prity suspicious of him. It was totally unnecessary to send so many, but Charles was nothing short of meticulous.

In the end, of course, he understood why Charles had sent people after him. Either he was real and a serious threat, or he was a lunatic, in which case, he would be a chaotic threat. In either case, it was better to nip the problem in the bud.

Prity himself had been one of the people who entered the tutorial with Charles, and he worked for the man before the initiation. Charles ran a private security company and had hired staff in several offices in the operating city. Nicolas was just another faceless employee, but his background earned him some trust, which led him to the position of right-hand man in this tutorial.

Finding a healer was a stroke of luck. Not having one was honestly a nightmare, especially for the warriors who often suffered minor injuries, being forced to fight up close and all that. They had a healer when they arrived here, but he got impaled by a huge stag in one of the first fights. That left them with only a limited amount of healing potions, made worse by having to waste them on what a healer could fix in minutes with just a little mana.

Even luckier was that the healer was part of a team of laypeople who were clearly inexperienced when it came to battle. And yet, he was invited by his boss to pursue a big-mouthed Fatal Shot who decided to play it cool. He didn't buy the guys' nonsense at all.

Personally, he wanted to bet that the guy would end up killing himself, but Charles wasn't the type of man you rejected. He was their leader, with practically everyone calling him "boss." Earned not by nepotism or posture, but by pure competence.

Prity didn't question his decision, but it was a shame they had to accept such a weak group. He doubted any one of them was level 5. At least the healer girl seemed cool, and the red-haired spellcaster was pretty good too. The one he found most irritating was that crippled middle-aged woman – the very definition of a burden in his opinion.

I'm sure Charles will find a way to fix this, he thought. How could they be blamed if the rookies had unfortunate accidents during combat? As long as they had the healer on their side, everything was fair game.

They had been running for a while and finally reached the area where Wil had entered the forest, as everyone went into stealth. They had a rule that every Fatal Shot and light warrior had to choose stealth at level 5, since Charles wanted a strong reconnaissance force and, as this situation proved, an assassination team.

They moved through the brush as they explored ahead. The guy hadn't exactly been stealthy, leaving clear tracks in the underbrush. Although none of them had tracking skills, that didn't mean tracking was impossible. You just had to do it the old-fashioned way.

As they followed the steps, they suddenly seemed to stop in the middle of a small clearing.

Before anyone could react, he heard something pierce the wind, followed by a thud. The light warrior beside him fell, an arrow lodged in the back of his head, as dead as can be.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" was his immediate internal reaction as he acted.

"PROTECT YOURSELF!" he shouted while running toward the trees, quickly hiding behind one. Peeking back into the clearing, he saw two corpses, one of the Fatal Shots now also dead, shot during the retreat. What the hell is happening!?

He activated Archer's Eye and began scanning the trees. He had the feeling the attacker was in one of them, and it didn't take long for him to spot the enemy. It was another Fatal Shot, based on the fact that another arrow flew from the treetop.

Prity nocked an arrow and moved out from behind the tree, shooting from where the arrow had come from. He didn't get a return shot, as he quickly retreated back behind the tree. He peeked around it again, his heightened perception and skill working in overdrive.

Before he could find anything, he heard another scream echo. He ran toward where the scream had come from, dashing between the trees. Reaching the spot, he saw a Fatal Shot wounded with an arrow in the chest, and fortunately, he was still alive. Prity quickly pulled the arrow out and took his last health potion, making the man drink it.

The wound visibly healed, and the now-healed Fatal Shot opened his mouth: "I got shot," he barely managed to say, still gasping as his lungs healed. "In the stomach, I think."

The man collapsed, still breathless, as the potion worked its magic. Prity let the man lick his wounds while he listened to more screams from his companions around him.

I was still smiling to myself as I examined the arrow in my stomach. I thought about pulling it out and drinking a healing potion, but when I looked at my health, I saw that it had only dropped a miserable 50 points. Not even a sixth of my total health after the new title. Pulling the arrow out would just make me bleed more, causing me to lose more health, and, frankly, it hadn't even affected me much. It hurt like hell, but it was more than manageable.

My initial ambush had gone well, killing two of them right off the bat. I also felt the sensation of leveling up, but I decided to ignore the system messages for now. It wasn't the time to get distracted.

However, the third target I had gone after was prepared and stayed out of my range when we spotted each other, resulting in both of us hitting each other with arrows. I almost hit the man's heart, but I still landed a fatal blow. If he didn't have a healing potion, he would bleed out in minutes. Or drown in his own blood as his lungs filled. I'm no doctor, but I was sure it would be one or the other.

From the bush I was now hiding in, I focused on my sphere as I moved out, sneaking between the trees. I saw a lone light warrior hiding behind a tree in my sphere, and the tree itself didn't pose any obstacle to my perception. My initial plan had worked perfectly, luring them all to the middle of a small clearing, then attacking, making them scatter in all directions. Divide and conquer, and all that.

I threw a small stone to the left of the warrior as I approached from the right. The man instantly turned toward the sound, and I seized the opportunity to move forward, slipping behind him. I placed my left hand over his mouth and used my right to slit his throat. He still managed to pull his dagger back in a clumsy last-ditch effort, hitting me in my left shoulder.

The man went limp as I held him until I received the notification. When it arrived, I released the corpse and looked at the knife wound in my left shoulder. It hurt, but barely caused any damage, and I could still use it easily.

Three, maybe four down. At least three to go, including the Fatal Shot leading the group.

I had seen the Fatal Shot in charge of the small band of assassins. He was fast, faster than me, indicating he was at a higher level. I estimated he was at least level 7 or 8.

I started to sneak toward my next target while trying to stay hidden. I had already decided to leave one alive to send a message, if possible, but it certainly wouldn't be their leader.

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