Ruthless

"He caught it?" Blood-Arrow whispered, her breath catching in her throat, her green eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and a flicker of something akin to fear. She had never encountered anyone capable of such a feat.

Supreme, holding the blood-red arrow mere inches from his face, slowly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the dense foliage to lock onto Blood-Arrow's position. He activated his cheat, a rush of information flooding his senses.

{ Player's location revealed. }

'Blood-Arrow? I see there's someone else trying to end my life, for God's sake! Is my life so precious! Wait... I thought she appeared 100 miles from here?' His eyes widened, a flicker of unease rippling through his calm facade.

'I didn't follow this path in my previous life!!' Supreme yelled inwardly, his mind reeling as the familiar path of his past life diverged sharply from the present. He fixed his gaze on Blood-Arrow, who stood calmly on a tree a short distance away, her expression unreadable.

"You are really full of surprises," Blood-Arrow muttered, her voice barely audible, as she jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully on the forest floor, her movements fluid and silent.

"But if you get in my way, I will just have to kill you," she added, her tone devoid of emotion, and turned to walk away, disappearing into the dense undergrowth.

Supreme stared after her for a moment, then looked down at the arrow, which suddenly disintegrated into dust, leaving a faint red stain on his palm.

'Her red arrows, are they this deadly? Filled with... poison?' Supreme tilted his head, surprised, staring at his reddened palm, a flicker of concern crossing his features.

{ Cheat: Poison immunity activated. }

He watched as his palm slowly returned to its normal color, the redness fading, and sighed in relief. 'That was scary.'

"Aren't you done?" Poisonous Queen asked, approaching him, her voice laced with impatience. She hadn't witnessed the exchange with Blood-Arrow, sparing Supreme the need for explanations, but her eyes betrayed a growing unease.

"It would be quicker if you helped," Supreme said calmly, continuing his task of butchering the wolf carcass, his movements precise and efficient.

Poisonous Queen rolled her eyes and sat on the ground, watching him work, her eyes fixed on his hands, her mind filled with unanswered questions.

< Save Zone will start decreasing in 5 minutes! >

The AI's voice echoed in every player's mind, a stark reminder of the encroaching danger, the shrinking circle of safety.

"What the? We need to get to the center of the island!" Poisonous Queen exclaimed, jumping to her feet, her eyes wide with panic.

"I know," Supreme replied, tying the wolf meat into a makeshift grass bag, his movements fluid and practiced.

"Who taught you this?" Poisonous Queen asked, examining the bag, her eyes fixed on his hands.

"My dad," Supreme replied simply, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "Let's go," he said, heading in a direction opposite to the one Blood-Arrow had taken, his eyes fixed on the dense forest that lay before them.

"Do you really know where we are going?" Poisonous Queen asked, following him, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Nope."

"What! You don't know where we are going?! What if you lead us into the maw of a LV 7 monster, or even outside the save zone?!" she yelled, her voice laced with panic, her eyes fixed on his back.

"First: stop yelling, you could attract more monsters and other players to us. Second: Do you want to lead the way? Or do you think I am a navigator to always know the way?" Supreme asked, glancing back at her, his eyes glinting with a hint of amusement.

"When did I say that? Lead the way," Poisonous Queen said, forcing a smile, her eyes fixed on his back.

"Then shut up and follow me," he said, continuing his trek, his eyes fixed on the dense forest that lay before them.

'Did he just… me, shut up?! Idiot. Moron. Fool. Stupid. Cow…' Poisonous Queen fumed inwardly, her anger simmering beneath the surface, a dark undercurrent in her otherwise calm demeanor.

Supreme, oblivious to her inner turmoil, led them towards the center of the island, a place guarded by ten LV 10 monsters, a deadly gauntlet that awaited those who dared to venture into its heart. He knew it was a dangerous path, but he was playing a calculated game, his eyes fixed on the shifting landscape of the game.

'A stupid or brave guy I would say!'

____

"Why haven't I heard of his name before? I think this is his first game," Blood-Arrow muttered, her green eyes fixed on the verdant path that stretched before her, her mind filled with unanswered questions. "He moves like a seasoned veteran, but his eyes... they hold the innocence of a newborn, it is very strange."

"Hey beauty! Who are you talking to?" A middle-aged man with a grenade launcher yelled, his voice laced with bravado, his eyes fixed on Blood-Arrow's form. He was a LV 3 player, leading a group of four LV 1 newbies, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and excitement.

Blood-Arrow tilted her head, her eyes fixed on the group, her movements fluid and silent. She turned to face them, her eyes glinting with a cold indifference.

"You aren't qualified to ask me questions," she stated coldly, her voice devoid of emotion, her eyes fixed on the man.

"Not qualified? Hey girl, you are just a level five player, and I am a LV 3 player with four LV 1 players. I know we can take you down easily, but..." He scanned her figure, his eyes lingering on her curves. "...but we don't want to kill a beauty like you, so we give you two options."

Blood-Arrow remained silent, her eyes fixed on the man, her movements fluid and silent.

"You know we are in a game, but we can still enjoy ourselves. So if you give yourself to us and let us do as we please, we'll let you go. That's the first option. I think you know the second, that is... if you refuse the first."

Blood-Arrow's eyes turned icy, her expression hardening into a mask of cold fury. Without hesitation, she fired an arrow, the blood-red projectile streaking through the air with deadly accuracy.

The arrow exploded the head of a LV 1 player, a gruesome display of her power.

"What in the gods' name?!" The man and his teammates were stunned, their eyes wide with horror.

'That is an epic weapon skin, where did a LV 5 player get an Epic-class weapon from?!' the man thought, his mind reeling with disbelief.

"Weak," Blood-Arrow said, her voice a chilling whisper, firing another arrow, killing another LV 1 player with ruthless efficiency.

"Don't think you are the only one that can attack from a distance!" The man yelled, his voice laced with desperation, firing his grenade launcher towards her.

BOOOOM!!!!!!

The explosion enveloped Blood-Arrow, a cloud of dust and debris obscuring her form.

"You got her boss, nice shot!" A LV 1 player exclaimed, his voice filled with a desperate hope.

As the dust cleared, Blood-Arrow stood unharmed, a sleek purple katana in her hand, the weapon shimmering with an otherworldly glow.

'What the? I heard some unique Epic-weapons above could change form to different weapons. I didn't believe it because I thought it was just rumors, but what am I seeing!?' the man thought, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe.

'I need to get out of here.' The man thought, looking around anxiously, his eyes darting from side to side.

"As I said, you aren't qualified to ask me anything, or even give me an option," Blood-Arrow said, her voice a chilling whisper, dashing forward with incredible speed, her katana flashing like lightning.

BAM!!

The man flew back, his grenade launcher cut in half, the weapon clattering to the ground.

'These Common-class weapons couldn't even take one hit.' He thought, his face contorted in a grimace of pain and frustration, throwing the weapon away and running, his legs pumping furiously.

"Boss! What are you doing?!" A LV 1 player yelled, his voice laced with panic.

"Everyone for himself!!" The man yelled, disappearing into the forest, his footsteps fading into the distance.

"Boss!! You promised us you will help us win this game!" The player yelled, his voice filled with betrayal.

"Run..." Blood-Arrow said with a smile, her eyes glinting with a predatory light.

"Really?" The player sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping, and ran, his footsteps echoing, as he entered the forest.

"What about you?" Blood-Arrow asked the remaining player, tilting her head, her eyes fixed on him.

"I am not a coward who run from an opponent!" The player yelled, gripping his dagger tightly, his eyes filled with a desperate defiance.

Whoosh...

"I like your courage, but first think of how to stop my poison," she said with a smirk.

The guy raised his hand and touch his bleeding cheek and looked at Blood-Arrow in horror.

"How did you?!"

"Ok. I am going to hunt those fools, see you in the afterlife, but I will have to say you need to hang in there. Because I'm not ready to die." She said and walked pass him, her purple katana turning back to her purple bow.

"I haven't hunted in a while now." She added calmly.

"How dare you!" The guy roared and lunged at her from behind with his dagger.

Blood-Arrow swiftly turned around and released a shot blowing off his head.

"Pathetic!" She hissed as she calmly walked inside the forest.