Return (3)

It wasn't that I killed someone for the first time.

I had already made up my mind to do it, and the enemy was trying to do the same.

Of course, I was still a bit psychologically retracted…

But the following message took my mind off of that.

「 Would you like to absorb the soul of the player 'Lee Jinhoo'? 」

Necromancy.

The innate ability I acquired after clearing the first trial.

That ability was telling me that I could get stronger not only by killing monsters, but also other humans.

This fact, combined with my first murder, shook my composure.

If I absorbed this, I'd be crossing a line that I couldn't come back from.

But that was only a temporary thought.

'I have to calm down. The fight isn't over.'

The special objective said that no one would be able to leave this area until only one team was left.

Any more contemplating could put my life at risk.

I dashed past the message and threw myself into battle.

Kuang!

My body shot out like an arrow as I pushed it off the ground.

"Fuck, you fucking fuck!"

The crossbow challenger had a burst of outrage.

Not at the fact that his teammate died…

Only because his bait was gone.

It would be hard to stop me with a long-ranged damage dealer and a support.

In addition to that, Lee Hayeon was in perfect shape, even if Lee Sunghoon was a tad ragged.

They would have to use all their cards to change the flow of this battle.

Click, thunk. Psst!

I raised my left hand to block the arrow but the familiar weight in my hand was missing.

'The shield… Oh yeah, I threw it.'

Going to pick up a shield while being focused on would practically be suicide.

What would happen if I got hit with an unexpected innate ability while relying on my high stats?

If they had a more offensive ability than reading trajectories, it was obvious what would happen to me.

'It would be too late to think about this at that point.'

I had to turn this into an opportunity.

After the resolution, I thrust forward even faster.

It was too late to go for the shield now, I'd just have to trust the sword in my right hand.

Shhhft…!

I tilted my head to narrowly dodge the shot.

My heart thundered and my entire body heated up as I realized there was nothing to cover my body.

The lack of the shield left me both physically and psychologically exposed.

I had to keep it cool.

'Calmly, without being too conscientious.'

Being shaken now could lead to my downfall.

My opponent also saw this as an opportunity and continued to shoot.

Psst!

Two staggered daggers darted towards me at an instant.

The clearly refined high-tier skill sent shivers down my spine.

Maybe it was due to all the adrenaline, but it was as if time had slowed down and my vision widened.

Combined with the increased awareness from the new skill, I could see what they were scheming.

This was just a ploy to trap me to restrict my speed.

'He's waiting for the moment I dodge the daggers to shoot his crossbow…'

If I got shot by an arrow now, it would be critical no matter where it landed.

There was only one answer to this.

'Precisely deflect the oncoming daggers…!'

I slightly raised my sword and slammed the handle of the dagger heading for my abdomen.

Tang!

In one smooth motion, I also parried the dagger approaching my left eye.

Chang!

I almost let out a howl of victory as the sound of metal hitting metal rang in the room.

'I did it…!'

But I had no time to give myself a pat on the back.

As I accelerated towards the man with the crossbow, my opponent stretched his hands out to me and uttered these words.

"Snake's Binding!"

My legs froze as they were about to push off the ground.

「 Due to the effects of the innate ability 'Snake's Binding,' your movement is restricted for 10 seconds. 」

「 After 5 seconds, the restriction to your movement will weaken. 」

It was as if a king cobra was squeezing my whole body.

As I expected, he pulled out his final resort.

But the problem is that this ability was super effective against me.

I tried to struggle out of it but it was no use.

'A restriction type innate ability!'

It was the worst kind.

I expected that he would use one, but I didn't expect it to be this.

An Achilles' heel for someone with my combat style.

He seemed to know this as he smirked and opened his mouth.

"That's what I thought, you bastard! Im Sangyoon, shoot him now!"

The man who I presumed to be Im Sangyoon pointed his staff at me as an arrow of ice formed.

'No casting. It's another innate ability…!'

The arrows made from white ice were emitting a conspicuous aura.

It was obvious that those arrows would pierce straight through me.

Even with the tenacity I gained from the Elixir of Steel, it wouldn't strengthen my skin immediately.

I pulled on every fiber of my muscles, but it was to no avail.

'Dammit, there has to be a way to get out…!'

The arrows pierced through the empty void before I had any chance to think.

Phing…!

An attack I couldn't dodge or block, but all my senses were heightened.

1sec, 2sec, 3sec…

My muscles squirmed as I counted the seconds down.

When I realized there was no way to get out of this, I gave up on breaking free from this.

And instead…

I poured all my strength into my legs, waiting for the moment the restrictions weakened.

Argghh—

「 The effects of the binding have weakened. 」

The squirming muscles moved all of the sudden and my body fell backward.

And in that instant, the arrows flew past my eyes in the space where I used to stand.

The system said the effects were weakened, but it was still no joke.

It was like a thousand pounds crushing down my shoulders.

'What kind of innate ability…'

If it wasn't for my overwhelmingly high stats, there would be a hole through my head already.

I finally realized why this was the trial of competition and how important teamwork was.

This fucking tower gave a huge handicap to solo players.

At the same time, I felt cheated.

I mean, the only people on my team are a compass and a meat shield, and they get a whole team with offensive innate abilities?

Why did this only happen to my team?

If only I had someone to complain to…

「 Using the Assassin's Cloak(C)'s active ability. 」

「 Movement speed +15% 」

「 Activation time left – 00:00:59 」

"Wha- Wait! L-let's talk! I didn't do it on purpose!"

I was slower than before, so the crossbow challenger had some time to react.

But we tried to kill each other and there was no mistake in that.

I couldn't let my guard down listening to his excuses.

As he fumbled to load another arrow into his crossbow, I cut his head off.

Shuat!

「 Would you like to absorb the soul of the player 'Lee Sieon? 」

The black fog and message notified me of his death.

Plumph.

The man in glasses looked in horror as the decapitated corpse collapsed in front of him.

"U-uhh, a-ahhhh!"

Feebly wiping the blood off his glasses, Im Sangyoon's entire body trembled.

His hands, legs, and even his teeth clacked enough to fill the empty room.

I'd confirmed that his innate ability, magic, and skills weren't a threat to me.

He was only strong with a team.

I flicked my arm to get the blood off and turned my head.

And there, a terrified Lee Hayeon and retracted Lee Sunghoon stared at me.

"…"

The battle was over and no one on our team seemed to have sustained any injuries.

Maybe the big cut on Lee Sunghoon's arm, but it'd go away once he was in the waiting area.

It didn't look like something that would bother him in battle.

'At least we didn't lose any power.'

I was worried that he might not be able to pull his weight in the boss battle, but it should be fine.

My teammates still seemed to be in shock, but I had to decide…

What we would do with Im Sangyoon.

"P-p-please let me live… You're not a murderer right?"

Maybe he determined that he couldn't win because he'd lost his last teammate.

He begged for his life as he trembled like a leaf.

"We, we, we can go back to Earth right? I'll give you all my money. I-I have a lot of money."

"…"

"I-I was a hunter. You can scrape like $500k from me."

"I see."

"R-really? If you just let me live!"

"You know I can't do that."

Im Sangyoon's face crinkled.

"The special objective said that no one could get out until only one team was left."

"Y-you don't know that. Maybe there's another way."

"No there isn't. That's why you tried to kill me too."

"…"

And even if there was…

Why should I let someone who tried to kill me go?

He almost killed me and wouldn't be much help in the upcoming boss battle.

'I've come too far to feel guilt.'

It was too late to be a saint.

"Damn."

I didn't even know what to say.

A dirty feeling was swallowing me as if I was in a puddle of quicksand.

The lukewarm blood dripping down my arm only cemented that feeling.

I wasn't a saint, but I wasn't a cold-blooded serial killer either.

Standing between that line made me feel shitty.

Status window, skills, stats…

A lot of things changed after the Great Calamity, but it didn't affect one's individual choices.

'Kill people for bonus rewards?'

Hunters hunt monsters, not people.

Then how would I differ from the monsters that killed my parents?

The reason I became a player 7 years ago was to kill monsters.

Not this.

I wanted to kill monsters and reduce the number of people who would be affected by them.

But the tower didn't seem to care about any of that.

Trials, rewards, and growth.

I was coming to know what the tower expected and wanted from us.

"…"

I wasn't an evil person, but I wasn't good enough to let people get in my way.

I gripped my obsidian dagger and stomped closer to the panicked Im Sangyoon.

"D-don't come! L-let's talk this ou—"

I sliced his neck open without listening to another word.

Shhhk—

A new message appeared.

「 Congratulations, you've cleared the special objective. 」

「 Bonus rewards being calculated into the 4th trial's rewards. 」

I stared at that message silently for a while.

'…The shield, I gotta pick up my shield.'

I grabbed the shield from the floor and re-equipped it.

I turned back to face my team.

"It's over. Let's get ready to fight the boss."

Lee Hayeon and Lee Sunghoon studied my facial expression.

"…?"

I knew I didn't have the best expression right now, but they kept flinching for some reason.

I didn't want to show this face to anyone else either but…

'I guess it doesn't matter.'

I couldn't hide it even if I wanted to.

"Um… are you alright?"

Lee Hayeon delicately asked how I was.

"I'm fine."

Truthfully, I wasn't. But what else could I say?

"…Okay. Should we go in now?"

Lee Hayeon didn't probe any further.

Lee Sunghoon also looked at me and carefully made a suggestion.

"I'm not too hurt so we can go in now."

"I'm fine too."

We finished our conversation and moved to the giant door with the eye on it.

"…"

I hesitated when walking by the corpses with the necromancy message on them, but I'd put that decision on hold.

…I had killed some people, but I didn't have the resolve to absorb their souls as well.

'I… still need some time to think.'

Of course, I may not have a choice…

But at least right now, I wasn't psychologically ready for it yet.

If I absorbed a human soul right now, what's left of my mentality would probably shatter.

I could always come back after.

As long as I didn't go through the portal after the trial ended.

All I needed was some time to calm my nerves.

Then I'd be able to make a logical decision.

I put my hands on the door and began to speak.

"I'm opening it now."

And—

「 You have entered the goblin king's chamber. 」

I could finally see the end of this trial.

____