When the battle between Aaron and the Verdant Tricktails began, the group that had followed him from the city watched from the shadows, studying his every move. Suddenly, Aaron's presence faded into nothing. Wex muttered that Aaron must have awakened an assassin-type class, just like him, though Wex was only an E-rank assassin.
Wax whispered to Taul, who was also watching Aaron. "Did you see how he dropped the biggest one with a single blow? That bastard must have awakened a C-rank Assassin class. Only C-ranks and higher can use true stealth." Taul nodded. "His attack is wild. He could be level 1 or 2, but still finished that Tricktail in one hit. Maybe all points in strength."
As the fight went on, the others grew uneasy. Even though they were level 10, they were still just E-rank, and the difference in rank was clear. Watching Aaron, they guessed he was really C-rank.
Taul kept his eyes on Aaron as the fight ended. "Let's go. He should be worn out now. This is our best chance to deal with him," he said. The other two looked at each other. Wax frowned. "Are you sure? Did you see him take out all five Tricktails by himself?"
Taul shoved him and snapped, "So what? Tricktails have weak health, and he only did it because of his stealth. Even if he's C-rank, he can't be above level 5. I'm level 14, D-rank, and we've got numbers. We can take him."
The third, Jefor, still looked uneasy but nodded. "Yeah, Taul's right. If we gang up on him, we can take him down and grab the beast materials. That should be worth at least a dozen gold." With that, they started heading toward Aaron, who was now sitting on the ground after the fight.
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After catching his breath, Aaron stood up and picked up his knife, ready to butcher the fallen beast. Suddenly , the sound of clapping echoed nearby, followed by a cold voice. "You did well. We'll take it from here."
Aaron turned around and saw Taul standing there with two others. In that instant, old memories flooded his mind. These fuckers were from the Twisted Viper gang—the same bastards he'd paid protection fees to for two years, and the ones who had killed the former Aaron for not giving them enough.
Taul grinned, his eyes cold. "Remember us? It's only been a day since we beat you. I don't know how you're still breathing, but that ends now. We don't leave witnesses." He drew two daggers from his belt, flashing them with a twisted smile. "And don't worry—we'll gut these beasts too."
Taul and Wex, daggers ready, began to slowly circle Aaron, their eyes locked on him like hungry wolves. Jefor hung back, bow at the ready, watching for any sudden move. Aaron wasted no time—he activated Abyssal Insight and focused first on Taul.
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Name: Taul Famir
Class: D Rank – Dualblade Rogue
Level: 14
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Health Points: 500 / 500
Mana Capacity: 30 / 30
Attack Power: 30 (Strength × 10)
Affinity: None
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Skills
Feint Dash
Fake attack followed by sudden movement, increasing speed by 10%.
Twin Fang Slash
Two quick slashes in succession, increasing damage by 15%.
Dirty Break
Targets balance and weak points, increasing damage by 25%.
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When Aaron saw Taul's stats, he almost burst out laughing. From his memories, he knew Taul was the toughest of the three, but with numbers like these? Aaron struggled to hold back a grin and muttered under his breath, "So this is the gap between ranks."
Taul and the others froze when they heard Aaron laugh. Wax snapped, "Have you lost your mind, laughing when you're about to die? After that fight, you must be exhausted, and your health should be low. Even if you're C-rank, you can't take us all down."
Aaron raised an eyebrow and asked in mind, "System, don't all awakened heal after leveling up?" The reply appeared at once:
[No, host. You heal during your SSS-rank class, converting Mana into S.E.]
Aaron blinked in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" Then he looked at Taul and sneered, "You guys are truly fucked. Let me satisfy your greed right now." Taul's face twisted with rage, and he charged in using Feint Dash and Twin Fang Slash. Aaron just smirked and vanished into the shadows, activating Shadow Stealth.
As Aaron disappeared, Taul slashed at the spot where he'd been, but his dagger hit only empty air. At the same time, Jefor fired an arrow, but it missed and thudded into a tree trunk. Taul barked, "Everyone, get in defensive position until his stealth wears off! If you feel any movement nearby, use your skills!"
Everyone instantly fell into defensive stances. Aaron, moving unseen, checked Wax's status—he was an E-rank Back Alley Assassin. Wax tried to hide with Shadow Slip, blending into the trees' shadows, his skill only hides his presence by 10%. Aaron could see him perfectly. He could end them all right now, but he decided to have a little fun first.
Aaron tossed a branch near Wax, making him flinch and use Shot Stab at nothing. He did the same with Taul, tricking him into wasting his skill as well. Jefor fired arrows wildly, hoping to hit something, but every shot just hit the dirt. Watching them flail around, Aaron had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Taul shouted in rage, "Bastard! Stop hiding and fight like a man!" Aaron decided the game was over. He slipped through the shadows toward Wax, who was still hiding. When he got close, Aaron used Shadow Veil and drove his blade straight into Wax's chest, piercing his heart.
Jefor screamed, "No!" as blood poured from Wax's chest and he collapsed, lifeless. The 3.5x damage boost made Aaron's attack deadly—his power had just hit 77.5. This wasn't his first time killing a man; in his last life, he'd taken out plenty of terrorists. He felt nothing for this scum.
Taul didn't budge, rage in his eyes, daggers ready in a tight defensive stance. Jefor fired arrows in panic, but none came close. Aaron moved in on Taul—he had about 15 seconds of stealth left and wanted to end it before then. Slipping behind Taul, he stayed completely unseen.
Aaron grabbed Taul by the neck from behind and lifted him off the ground with one hand. Taul kicked and struggled, but Aaron's grip was unbreakable. In a choked, pained voice, Taul gasped, "How... how are you this strong? I'm level 14!"
Aaron grinned. "You could be level 20, and you still wouldn't scratch me. That's because I'm an SSS-rank awakened." Taul's eyes went wide in shock. "SSS-rank? That's impossible... SS is the highest, how can—" Before he could finish, Aaron used Predator of the Weak, slashing his neck and ending him in an instant.
As Aaron's stealth faded, he let Taul's lifeless body drop and turned to face Jefor. Jefor, in total shock, fell to the forest floor, his mind reeling at the sight of his fallen comrades. He stammered, "T...this can't be happening. How... how can a level 6 kill them both so fast?"
Then he saw Aaron walking toward him. Jefor started crawling backward, his voice breaking, "S...stay away, you monster!" Aaron smirked. "Me, a monster? Yeah, you could say that—for trash like you. Didn't you enjoy doing the same to others?"
As Aaron drew closer, Jefor snatched up his bow and tried to fire, but his hands were shaking so badly from fear that he couldn't aim. Aaron slashed at Jefor's arm, severing the hand that held the bow. The bloody hand fell to the ground, and Jefor screamed, clutching his shoulder and begging Aaron for mercy.
Aaron sneered, "Did you spare me yesterday? All you Twisted Fangs do is rob people in the slums and kill anyone who doesn't pay. Now that it's your turn, you're begging for your life." With a final slash, Aaron ended him. "Goodbye, fucker. I'll wipe out the Twisted Vipers soon."
Aaron stared at the lifeless bodies for a few seconds, then looked up at the darkening sky. "Don't worry, old Aaron. I'll repay you for this life by wiping out the Twisted Vipers from this city," he promised quietly. He let out a long breath. "Well, now that it's over, it's time to butcher these beasts. Sun's almost down, too."
He glanced at his knife and saw that the blade was in terrible shape. "This won't work," he thought. Then he remembered Taul's daggers. "Their stuff won't do them any good now—don't mind if I take it." Aaron gathered what he could, leaving their clothes behind. Scratching his head, he muttered, "My clothes are ruined, but I'm not about to see these guys naked."
He found a steel dagger, a wooden bow, a pair of Common-rank magic daggers from Taul, and two gold coins. "These bastards rob everyone, and this is all they have? I thought there'd be more," he grumbled. "At least these daggers look decent." The best thing about magic weapons was their enhancements.
Even the weakest Common-rank magic weapons used a monster mana crystal as their base, giving them extra attribute points. Aaron used Abyssal Insight on the daggers—a pair of matte black blades with a slight curve. Information about the daggers flashed before his eyes.
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Item: Enhanced Iron Dagger
Rank: Common ★
Enhancements: +1 Strength, +0.5 Health
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Aaron tested the grip of the dagger and nodded. "At least it's better than my old knife. If I'd tried to buy something like this, it would've cost me fifty or seventy gold—one-star core beast mana crystals aren't cheap." In half an hour, Aaron finished collecting all the valuable parts from the beast.
He didn't bother with the meat; he just couldn't bring himself to eat something that looked like a monkey. Besides, he still had over twenty kilos of wolf meat in his inventory, and that wouldn't spoil.
He stored all the body parts and loot from the group in his inventory, except for two Tricktail skins and tails. When he entered the city, the guard Orryn would want proof of his hunt, especially since he was coming in late.
After a while, he reached the city and greeted the guards like always. He headed straight for the city center, where Estrium was, ready to submit his mission. Night had just begun, and Estrium was still bustling with adventurers. Aaron made a beeline for the mission counter—he was starving, having only had a light breakfast that morning.
The mission hall at Estrium was crowded as always. Some adventurers were picking up new quests for tomorrow, and others were handing in completed ones. Aaron had already taken out all six Tricktail hearts and tails in a quiet alley on the way. After a short wait, his turn came. He spotted Fianna, just as lively as she'd been that morning.
She greeted him with a bright smile. Aaron replied politely, "Good evening to you, too. I'm here to submit the completion for mission B2-081." Fianna nodded. "Of course! May I have your token?" Aaron handed it over, and after a few seconds, she returned it, along with a small green token marked with the mission code. "Take this to the trade section. They'll inspect your items and pay your reward," she explained.
Aaron thanked her and made his way to the Trade section. There, he handed over the token to a staff member, who carefully inspected all the hearts and tails. Once everything checked out, they gave him six gold coins. He left Estrium, counting his coins. "Now I've got eight gold. That'll last me a few weeks, but I'll need to have a team member in place in 9 days. For that, I need at least a thousand gold coins for a decent F or E-rank partner," he muttered.
He scratched his head. "After I add my attribute points tomorrow, I'll need to take on better quests. But first, I should visit Old Latem and sell off the fangs and pelts in my inventory. Then a huge dinner is waiting for me," he grinned.
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Aaron dried his hair after a hot bath, then settled onto his bed. He'd sold all six pelts and fangs to Old Latem—this time, he made sure not to leave behind anything valuable, so the old man couldn't taunt him. That sale earned him another five gold coins.
Afterward, he treated himself to a feast that cost one silver and six copper coins—still a lot for him. He also paid Fianna, the innkeeper, six more silver coins to extend his stay for five days. Now he had just over twelve gold coins left.
Aaron stretched out his hand and called up his status window. The glowing panel appeared before his eyes. Thanks to the beasts, he'd reached level 6. When Taul and his gang died, he'd seen mana leak from their bodies, but it all just faded into the forest floor. Apparently, Awakened couldn't level up by killing other people—only beasts. Otherwise, the world would be full of bloodbaths and endless wars.
He glanced over his stats. During the fight, he'd already added four points to strength and two to agility. After leveling up four times, he still had fourteen points left to spend. Aaron started planning—he'd need the best setup possible for higher-level quests tomorrow.
He needed strength and constitution the most, so he boosted strength by 3.25 points and added 6.5 to constitution. He put three points into stamina and the last 1.25 into agility. As he distributed the points, a surge of black misty power rushed through him and faded away. Aaron grinned, feeling like he could take down a level 15 beast now.
Then he checked his status again, a wide grin spreading across his face.
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Name: Aaron White
Class: SSS Rank – Abyssal Phantom
Level: 6 (Progression: 15%)
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Attributes
Strength: 11
Stamina: 5.50
Constitution: 10
Agility: 6
S.E: 10
Unassigned Points: 0
State: Stable
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Health Points: 1000 / 1000 (Constitution × 100)
S.E Capacity: 100 / 100 (S.E × 10) (Regenerates 1 per minute)
Attack Power: 110 (Strength × 10)
Affinities: Darkness, Shadow
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Skills
Abyssal Insight (Passive), Shadow Resource (Passive), Phantom's Resilience (Passive), Predator of the Weak (Active), Shadow Stealth (Active), Shadow Veil (Active)
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M.P. (Mission Points): 0
Mission #1: New Beginning
Form your own mercenary team and recruit at least one member.
Duration: 9 days
Reward: 2 MP and a random piece of equipment
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Aaron grinned, admiring his new stats. "Now that I've got a thousand HP and over a hundred attack power, I need to see what I can do on a tougher quest tomorrow." He let out a long yawn. It had been a wild day—fighting beasts and taking out scum all in one go. He stretched out on the bed, ready for some well-earned sleep.