The group heard the noise coming from the spot where they left the wolves. They heard the cries of the dying monsters and the fight that happened. Then, at some point, it all died down out of nowhere.
So, out of curiosity, they came to check and see what happened. They were ready to see a dead player on the ground, being eaten by wolves. After all, there was no way a level 1 player could kill three wolves on his own.
Even as a group, they could barely kill one wolf before getting overwhelmed by the three monsters left and they had to make a run for it. But, when they came to the spot, they were shocked to see what happened.
The three wolves were on the ground, completely dead and the player they had seen was sitting in the middle, seemingly unbothered. The two sides made eye contact almost instantly and neither side spoke for a while until Arthur finally lifted his hand.
“Yo, look who’s back. Did you guys finally grow some balls to come back here?” He asked with a smile.
“W-What did you just say, you bastard?!” One of the players yelled angrily.
“What? Did I make a mistake? A group of four idiots ran away from a fight with three weak wolves. I can say that you guys definitely exceeded my expectations when it comes to disappointment.” Standing up, he was about to walk away since his matter was done. However, at that moment, he heard one of them speak.
“Did you kill them?” The player asked with a frown.
“No, a ghost appeared and ripped them in half while I was watching.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course not, dumbass, I did kill them,” Arthur replied. “I didn’t want to fight these things, but either way, thanks. They gave me some pretty good stuff.”
‘Ok, now should I use Blood Eater while these morons are here? No, I don’t want them to see it. Should I just make them leave? Or better yet…’ As he was contemplating his next action, Arthur suddenly got an idea and a wide, evil grin appeared on his face.
“Now, since you guys are here, I might as well get this over with.” Brandishing his sword, Arthur walked toward them. “I don’t like being used as bait for someone to escape. So, I’m going to take a fee for forcing me to fight these wolves.”
“Huh? A fee?” The players looked at one another in confusion. They felt the underlying threat in his words, but they didn’t understand what he meant.
“I’ve given you a protection service so I naturally need to get paid, no? That’s how services work.” He shrugged.
“… And what is that fee?” The one at the front who seemed to be their leader asked. He seemed to have chosen a defensive-type class since he looked like a tank with heavy armor and a big halberd in his hands.
“Well, it depends on what you have in your inventory. I will check and see.” Arthur replied, at the same time his bloody claw formed in his hand.
“This bastard! Are you insane?! We’re four and you’re alone!” One player said as they gripped their iron sword.
“Mhm…”
“Just because you killed some wolves, you think you’re now some hot stuff? Know your place!”
Feeling the disrespect in his words, the group immediately turned aggressive. They didn’t like how Arthur was disrespecting them. Even if he did kill those wolves, they still overwhelmed him numbers-wise.
“Let’s get this bastard! Killing him will get us a lot of exp!”
It didn’t take long for their hesitation to turn into greed. Arthur now looked like a good target for them. They haven’t killed many monsters yet so he could be a very good start. Not to mention the fact that he had just disrespected them, so showing him his place was a necessity.
“Ok, are you done?”
“Get him!”
The players rushed toward Arthur at the same time with their weapons up in the air. Since all of them had melee classes, nobody stayed behind.
‘A long-range class would’ve been annoying. Ok, let’s see… How should I go about doing this?’
Thinking for a moment, as if he wasn’t about to get attacked, Arthur finally decided on the best course of action.
‘Put 4 points into agility, 3 into strength, and 2 into mind.’ He thought to himself.
Immediately, he felt a strong rush of strength fill his entire body out of nowhere. The feeling was considerably stronger than anything he felt before and it was extremely euphoric. Every cell of his being shuddered with excitement at the notion of getting stronger. He could feel strength seeping into his body from all places.
The effect lasted one second, and yet the change it left behind was profound. Smiling, Arthur noticed that the players were already about to attack him.
‘Ok, let’s see what 4 points in agility can do.’ With that in mind, Arthur instantly crouched before he dashed forward at top speed.
“What?!!”
For the other players, his actions appeared rather suddenly. They didn’t expect him to move that fast and so their weapons missed their target.
Arthur took that opportunity and stabbed with his sword, aiming for one of these player’s throats. The blade easily pierced the target, exiting from the other side. The blood exploded everywhere as the player grabbed his throat and fell to the ground.
At the same time, Arthur slashed with his claws at another player.
“Stop him!!!” The leader yelled as he launched his halberd down, aiming for Arthur’s head. His heart started racing wildly seeing the sheer speed of this player. He didn’t even think becoming this strong was possible when the game had started less than 2 hours ago.
Most players had barely left the village to start exploring and leveling up and yet a solo player was somehow already getting stronger at an extremely rapid pace.
“AGH!” The claws slashed the player’s chest, leaving a very deep mark in it.
*BANG*
However, even with his speed, Arthur couldn’t dodge the halberd as it hit his back powerfully. For a second, his vision shook and he sustained considerable damage as his health bar fell by almost 20%. But, he quickly regained his composure and turned around. Putting his claw hand on the halberd, he yanked it away using all 18 points of strength.
“Wha!!” Before the tank player could even try and fight back, his weapon was already snatched.
Arthur then threw the halberd to the side and shoved his leg forward, kicking the boy in the guts, and making him fall to the ground.
That only left a single player standing, holding what seemed to be a small hammer. He had a completely speechless look on his face. In just three seconds, his three friends had fallen to the ground. One was already dying while the other two had considerably strong injuries.
“P-Please, spare me!! I did nothing!!” Feeling completely overwhelmed, the last player started running away as he screamed for help. Looking at him, Arthur wanted to chase him but then decided not to. It didn’t seem like it was worth it.
However, Arthur didn’t seem satisfied as he approached the one with the claw injury and stabbed his chest before turning around to the tank player.
“Leave me alone!! What is wrong with you, man?!”
“Hm? What’s wrong with me?”
“This is just a game, dude. Why are you taking it so seriously?” Crawling back, the boy asked with a pale expression filled with fear. “We’re just having fun.”
“Can’t you see I’m having fun too? This is a whole lot of fun~” Arthur licked his lips as he stared at the boy with a wide smile.
“…” That look sent a shiver down the player’s spine. Even though this was a game, and that stare was most likely just numbers and pixels, the sheer fear it sent into his very soul was real, very real. Something was very wrong with this player.
“Y-You’re crazy.” The tank player said.
“Pfft, so funny. I’m not crazy. I’m a very normal, law-abiding citizen with a very boring life. What I am really is something else.” He said as he approached the player and crouched down.
“You see, my body isn’t really that strong in real life. I’m pretty short and scrawny so I never had this feeling… The feeling of being able to bully someone. Well, I would say many people consider bullies to be very lame and stupid, and I would agree for the most part. But for now…” Putting his claw next to the boy’s face, he smiled.
“I’m gonna enjoy being a bully.”
*Swish*
