5 Intruders!
[One minute has passed.]
[The Effects of the Speed-Boosting Pill wane.]
[One minute has passed.]
[The Effects of the Invincibility Pill wane.]
With an expressionless face, Zhao brought his fist down once more.
Splur-
More steaming blood squirted out, staining his bare chest, face, and long hair.
Sigh-
Again and again, the Beast's head was hit.
It had stopped moving. The hitting did not stop.
Its head was caved in. Its eye burst. Bleeding all over.
[You have Defeated the starved Bronze-Grade Beast "Scornful Wolf".]
[You have gained 20 Villain Points.]
'So all killing is considered villainous...?'
Lei's knees were lifted off the ground.
He dusted himself off, a stern expression on his face.
"That's too bad..." Zhao whispered as he stared at his knuckles. "I was always rather fond of Wolves."
***
"So uh... What was the point of that? With those Pills, it would have been a challenge NOT to defeat it."
"Shut up, little runt."
"I'm taller than you are." The God with hair just as fiery as the Goddess' sneered. "You want him to be a Villain, right? A Wolf is too easy. Should have chosen a cat. Or, at least, a dog. Something defenseless, you know?"
"You really don't get it..." The Goddess shook her head as she sighed.
"Then explain. I'm all ears."
"First, a Villain doesn't necessarily have to be evil. Second, the point is to slowly break down the vision he has of himself."
"The vision he has?"
"That's right. He thinks of himself as 'The one who gave his life to save children he did not even know'. Sounds like a saint, eh? The point is to break that."
"I still think a defenseless thing would have been better."
"That doesn't actually matter." The Goddess brought her hand closer and stared at her red nails. "He has drawn blood now. He has killed, so that he could live. Get it? A Wolf now, tomorrow... Well, who knows? Half the fun is finding that out."
"How far he is willing to go to survive?"
"Yes." She turned to face her brother with eyes filled with greed and anticipation. "The one who gave his life... How far will he go to defend it now?"
He scratched his head.
"I don't really get it."
"Then go away, shoo!"
"Fine, fine. I'll keep an eye on him though, since you're so interested."
"Tsk. Just sit in the audience like the others and shut up."
His lips parted, but he decided against it.
With a sigh, he disappeared.
Her gluttonous eyes went back towards the digital screen.
'How did it feel... Killing for you to live?'
***
"That was easier than I thought it would be." Zhao muttered to himself as he tried to wipe the blood off his knuckles. "Doing it with my bare hands was a bit gruesome though... Hope the Martial Arts of this world utilize weapons."
Having acclimated to the darkness, Zhao could see in a radius of about five meters around him.
It wasn't much, but it was better than before.
His gaze, which had been locked on the darkness beyond, went back to the Scornful Wolf, now a pitiful and unmoving corpse, before going back to the darkness.
Just when Lei was about to walk away,
[Extracting the Beast Core wouldn't be a bad idea.]
"Extracting it...?" Zhao stared at the disfigured Scornful Wolf. "Where from?"
[The Beast Core should lie next to the Beast's heart.]
'Mm...'
***
"Hahahaha! Not so easy to-" The Goddess shook her head. "Seriously? Just like that?"
Surprise and shock overwhelmed her as the young man visible on the digital screen in front of her crouched in front of the fallen Scornful Wolf and inserted his fingers through its chest.
"Crazy bastard...! I can't believe he was right! A Wolf was too easy!"
***
'Killed you already so...' With one swift motion, Zhao's hand entered the Scornful Wolf's body. 'I won't feel bad or act like it, okay?'
Squish- Squish-
His hand moved around a bit and,
'Found it.'
The Beast Core was quickly pulled out.
Zhao stared at the Beast Core covered by blood. Despite the blood, its color was easy to notice.
"Looks like bronze... A Core of Bronze for a Bronze-Garde Beast? That seems to make sense." Zhao whispered as he turned away from the unmoving Beast. "How do I use this?"
[Beast Cores can either be consumed to used to craft Items.]
"Consumed? There must be a way of doing that, right? Must have to do with Cultivation... Though I feel like I could bite through it. I get what the Silver Physique is about now. Crushing its skull was much easier than I thought it would be. Guess I'll keep it for now."
[You can store the Beast Core inside your Inventory.]
"I have an Inventory? Well, isn't that convenient? Sure, I'll do that." The Beast Core disappeared from Lei's hand.
Sigh-
'Now I'm supposed to wander in the darkness, huh? Is this some kind of Dungeon or something? Wonder if other Beasts are lurking-'
Zhao's thoughts were immediately interrupted.
Simultaneously, two things happened.
On one hand, the blood that covered his body, as well as the blood that stained the ground, and the body of the Scornful Wolf started disappearing.
On the other, a creaking similar to a hundred screeches resonated.
Zhao immediately turned in the direction where the noise came from.
The next second, a ray of light entered the cave.
The breach grew larger and larger, until it wasn't a breach anymore.
The gigantic boulder that had sealed the exit was finally moved.
The light blinded Zhao, but he couldn't simply turn away.
Who knows what was about to enter after all?
Perhaps worse, who knows WHO was about to enter?
A Young Master imprisoned inside a cave, starved for who knows how long. A ploy by the enemy to get rid of that Young Master without spreading the word? Cleaning one's hand from a disappearance is easier than doing so from a corpse after all.
Except when the corpse itself disappears of course.
A deafening buzzing resonated inside Lei's head.
It was obvious that his body hadn't experienced the sun for a while. That his eyes hadn't seen light for a long time.
With a great BAM, the boulder was set aside, leaving the entry free.
It only took a second for four shadows to appear.
Zhao remained on his guard, but this won't be easy.
The System had made it clear that the Invincibility Pill and the Speed-Boosting Pill were a one-time offer. Usually, their cost in Villain Points would be much, much higher.
Then how to...?
The four shadows suddenly stopped moving as they noticed the fifth.
'Shit...'
They took seven additional steps forward while Zhao thought of ways to-
"WE GREET THE YOUNG MASTER!"
'Oh, thank god!!'
They shouted and bowed.
