XCIII

Once I am standing outside the city walls, I begin a massacre. Starting off with a fireball over thirty feet in diameter, I incinerate a massive cluster of slimes with no difficulty. The great thing about slimes is that they are weak, even an entirely unconcentrated attack that consumes minimal magical energy has no problem with absolutely obliterating them.

Even the deer, far more powerful than the slimes, are badly burned by a basic fire attack, any concentration at all kills them with ease. Thus, I am able to pass through the horde of monsters unimpeded, acting as the angel of death, gifting the foolish beasts to the void which had for so long imprisoned me.

Even though this mission was of B level, the same level as I, it is really almost comically easy. Everywhere I pass, monsters essentially evaporate before me, unable to put up token resistance as they are destroyed by a whirlwind of elements. I employ air, wind, water, fire, and lightning attacks on my opponents, using whichever magic seems most ideal in each moment.

Even though my magical exhaustion resistance skill is of a rather low level, with the amount of energy that these attacks take out of me I could do this all day. While against any opponent of strength these attacks would be entirely ineffectual, against such weak opponents they are instantly lethal, bringing wide range death at minimal cost to myself.

That said, this mission does show why there was a requirement to kill that group of wolves to advance to B-rank. Though Toril was certainly powerful enough to defeat any of these enemies with ease, to kill such a large number as one man with a sword would be downright impossible. Just another way this world unfairly favors those gifted with magic I suppose; even with all the individual strength in the world, without magic this group would be nearly impossible to destroy.

I continue wading through the monsters, my sword at my waist, elemental orbs and lightning bolts crushing, burning, drawing, cutting, and zapping any creature that gets close to me. Even the metal elemental deer I noticed earlier goes down with a single concentrated lightning blast, too weak to even resist.

I do find it somewhat interesting that I had killed that group of goblins with some reluctance on that one night hunting with the slave trader, and now have no issue killing tens of thousands of living creatures. While some may try to explain this away as a result of the training I had undergone or something, the reality is quite simple: I hate this world. And not just the world, but all of its inhabitants, whether man or beast, all creatures that have worked together to make such a rotten place.

When I had first fought those goblins, I had not yet seen quite so much of the world's evil as I have now, and I had not yet resolved myself to punish it in the way it deserves. Now, the evil of the world has further revealed itself to me, that the world must be ended alongside its wretched inhabitants seems to me to be a certain truth.

And let it not be thought that I am applying this truth unequally. All life is of equal value in the end, creatures that must coexist to bring about a glorious and beautiful world. And in this world, all life is guilty of failing to do just that, leading to the creation of such a deplorable place.

'All life' is the key here. This includes humans. Why, then, have I not gone on a rampage, killing every human I encounter? Simple, really. I am not so irrational as to display such behavior, I understand that to have the maximum effect when I exact my vengeance upon this world, I must acquire power first. Otherwise, the whole of civilization will fall upon me and squish me like a bug, flattened beneath its combined might.

As opposed to this, I am able to kill these monsters while accomplishing both of my goals. Doing so helps me acquire money that shall be used to assist me in surviving, furthering goal one; it furthers my second goal through killing the enablers of this world's evil; and it has the bonus effect that my power shall increase alongside the first goal's progression, and I shall thus be able to better further the second in the future. All this is to say that now is not yet the time to massacre humans, but when I may further all of my goals through the savage butchery of these slimes, why should I not?

Even with my rapid rate of killing, it still takes me about four hours to kill or otherwise scare away the enemy. By this point, I am beginning to tire, though more of actual exhaustion than magical exhaustion. My sleep nullification skill is still of rather low level and I haven't slept in some time, I am feeling ready to sleep.

My job complete, I leap up onto the village walls. The guard there stares at me wide eyed for a moment before saying "Sir, that was amazing! You were like a whirlwind of lights, as your magical might made itself clear, you are every bit as powerful as one would expect from a B-rank adventurer!"

"Yes, yes, can you take me to the village governor?"

"Yes, sir, right this way!" The overly eager guard, not at all like that one who had so rudely greeted me earlier, leads me to the same building as before. Unlike the first guard, he doesn't force me to wait outside while he fetches the governor, allowing me to follow right behind him as we enter.

The governor is still up, seated in the very chair that I had occupied earlier, making me feel rather proud of my deductive skills that led me to claim it in the first place.

"You are back sooner than expected! I hope it went well?"

"Yes, very well, no monsters remain in the village's vicinity, I have cleared them out fully."

"Good! Well, in that case, I have already prepared the agreed upon amount." Saying this, he hands me a heavy bag that emits soft clanking noises.

Needing to 'maintain my persona,' I waste no time in dumping out the coins in my lap before counting them up and placing them into the bag. I sneak a glance at the faces of both the governor and the guard while partaking in my rude actions, wanting to see if I have successfully riled… ahem, 'displayed my persona.'

While the governor has a somewhat exasperated look on his face it is nothing compared to the shocked face of the guard, as though he has never in his life seen such baldfaced shamelessness.

Once I have counted the coins and found the number to be satisfactory, I turn the full of my attention to the governor. "Everything seems to be in order, this concludes our arrangements. Now, on an unrelated note, as a business partner, I must ask: where in this town may I spend the night?"

[While I am able to get into the city at any hour, I am really too tired to want to head back there at this moment.]

The governor directs me to an inn, which, despite the late hour, is all-too-happy to welcome its first customer since the village was closed down. I give them a single silver coin, and am set up in a lavish room that consists of a bed, a chair, a small table, and some candles. Amazing stuff, really; mind you, the last time I slept was in a dirt hut of my own design on a bed of earth.

Even on a thin, firm bed, I get the best night of sleep I have since waking up in that forest without knowing how I got there. Speaking of which, I still don't know how I got there… And so, the last thought passes through my mind as I slip out of consciousness.