Chapter 3: I am a hero

The atmosphere froze, and the thieves stiffened.

Watching them sweat, glancing back and forth between their instantly killed comrade and me, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“What’re you dawdling for? I said come on in.”

“…Hold on. Just wait a second.”

After a brief pause, one of the thieves stepped forward confidently.

Judging by the reactions around him, he wasn’t some lowlife grunt.

The fancy trinkets dangling from him suggested he was higher up the chain.

Not that it mattered much—how high could you climb living in a dump like this?

“Who are you? Why’re you pulling this stunt?”

“No need for you to know who I am. But one of you… who was it? Guy with a long scar on his left eye.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t gotten a single name out of any of them.

Should’ve asked at least one.

“…You mean Malcolm?”

“Oh, that’s his name? Anyway, I partied up with him and his crew, but at the end, they tried to backstab me. So I roughed them up, and they said you guys put them up to it.”

“What…? What’re you talking about…!”

“Should’ve picked your targets better. You reap what you sow.”

“Wait! We never gave any orders like that. They acted on their own. We had nothing to do with it!”

“Hm… really?”

The thief’s voice was laced with genuine desperation.

No surprise there—I was lying.

Those guys never said anyone ordered them.

I never even asked.

“But here’s the thing. That doesn’t really matter.”

“…What?”

“You’re all the same kind of thieving scum, aren’t you? Killing innocent people and fleecing them.”

“…You fucking bastard…”

“Am I wrong? Got a problem? Then come at me.”

The trinket-laden thief glared at me, clearly pissed.

“You fucking punk! Boss! Let’s just take him! We can swarm him and—”

“Shut your trap!”

After glaring at me for a while, the thief let out a sigh and spoke.

“…Fine. I’m sorry for the trouble those guys caused. We’ll compensate you generously. Good enough?”

“Hm?”

That was unexpected.

I figured he’d lose it and charge right in.

Guess he’s trying to avoid a bigger mess by settling this peacefully.

“Hm…”

“What? Want something specific?”

“No backbone, huh? Typical for rootless thieving scum.”

“…What?”

His eyes twitched at my words.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t here for compensation.

Sorry, but I came to kill you all for experience points.

“If you’re scared, just admit it, you pathetic bastard.”

“…”

That must’ve been the final straw, because his eyes turned ice-cold.

“Everyone, out.”

He muttered quietly.

“Huh? What?”

“I said get out.”

“B-But…!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. And go get the boss.”

“Y-Yes!”

At his command, the grunts scrambled out the back door.

I didn’t get it.

If they needed the boss, why send everyone? One guy would’ve been enough.

“Don’t want your men seeing you get your ass handed to you?”

“You’d better watch your mouth if you don’t want to die painfully.”

“Come on, really?”

“Dumbass. You think we’re doing this because we can’t kill you? We just wanted to avoid a scene and send you off quietly. Pissing off the boss makes things messy for us, too. But you just had to kick that away, didn’t you?”

“You fighting with your mouth now?”

Heh.

He lowered his head, letting out a hollow laugh.

Then—

“You’ve lost your chance.”

He lifted his head, eyes blazing, and his form began to fade.

‘…Dark Sight?’

First job advancement, huh?

No, someone who’s only done their first job advancement couldn’t pull off such a clean Dark Sight so quickly.

At least second job advancement, then.

‘Assassin or Thief.’

Whoosh—!

A sharp sound cut through the air nearby.

Clang! Clang—!

I drew my sword and blocked in time.

Two sharp throwing stars bounced off my blade.

This guy’s an Assassin.

That’s why he sent the grunts out.

Wouldn’t want to accidentally hit his own men with stray throwing stars.

Not that it mattered to me.

Assassin, Thief, whatever.

I was just curious.

The way he threw those stars—clean but heavy—showed some serious skill.

Probably been at second job advancement for a while.

Maybe even close to third job advancement, becoming a Hermit.

…Too bad he’s dying today.

The whooshing sounds came from all directions.

He was darting around like a mosquito, throwing stars.

Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of getting hit.

Clang! Clang—Clang! Clang! Clang—!

By now, he must be realizing something’s off.

His stars were flying at speeds too fast for most to react, yet I was blocking them all.

He probably couldn’t wrap his head around it.

…Got a read on him now.

I knew where he was.

Dark Sight hides both form and presence, making it nearly impossible to track by normal means.

But.

‘It can’t hide the flow of mana.’

Dark Sight consumes a set amount of mana every second.

Which means I could see mana steadily leaking into the air.

Most people can’t see the flow of mana.

But I can.

“…Found you.”

Flash Slash.

The moment I pinpointed his location, I surged forward like a bolt of lightning and struck.

“Kraagh…!”

His form reappeared, eyes wide with disbelief.

The thief, Dark Sight broken, collapsed, spilling blood and guts across the floor.

“How… the hell…”

He twitched, barely managing to speak.

How? What do you mean, how?

I grabbed his hair, yanked his head up, and said,

“Shouldn’t have relied so much on Dark Sight, you punk. Got it?”

“Guh…”

“Plenty of idiots like you have gone down thinking that’s all they need. Understand?”

Bam—!

The back door burst open, and a group of thieves poured in.

Gasp.

The grunts froze, seeing their Assassin boss turned into a wreck.

“Boss…!”

“You fucking bastard!”

“You’re dead, you piece of shit!”

They hurled curses from a distance, but not one dared approach.

What are these idiots doing?

Then.

“Move.”

A chilling voice came from the shattered back door.

The grunts parted like a wave.

A moment later, a hulking figure, taller than the doorway, ducked slightly and stepped inside.

“…”

Silence fell instantly.

The murderous atmosphere kept every thief’s mouth shut.

The big guy’s gaze swept the room and landed on the fallen Assassin at my feet.

“…”

He frowned.

“…Luke?”

“Oh, that’s his name?”

“You did this?”

“He was so weak, he went down with one hit.”

“…”

“Manage your men better. What’s this mess?”

“…So that’s how it is… Heh.”

The big guy lowered his head, shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Boss! Just kill this guy! He’s nothing!”

“Yeah, boss! This cocky bastard’s done for!”

“Die!”

“Die!”

“Shut up.”

The room, chaotic for a moment, went silent at his command.

“Hey, you know something?”

“What?”

“There are three things in this world you should never mess with.”

“And those are?”

“First is King Hekaton. Second is his royal guard. And the third…”

“You’re not about to say it’s you, are you?”

“…”

“Crazy bastard…”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Comparing himself to Hekaton? Ridiculous.

Sensing the mood shift, he quickly changed the subject.

“Ever heard of a Thief Master?”

Thief Master.

The third job advancement for a Shadow.

So this guy’s gone through his third job advancement.

“Your face says you have. Then we don’t need to talk any further.”

He drew a dagger from behind his back.

“Consider yourself unlucky.”

With that, he vanished.

At the same moment—

“—!”

I swiftly raised my sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew from my sword six times in the blink of an eye.

‘Savage Blow.’

The Shadow’s main second-job skill, striking an enemy six times in an instant.

Guess he mastered all his second-job skills after his third job advancement.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

He kept spamming Savage Blow.

Why?

‘…Oh, right.’

The third-job skills for Shadows were pretty much garbage back then, weren’t they?

That’s probably why he’s stuck using his second-job main skill.

Well, I’ve seen enough.

Bam—!

“Kraagh!”

I kicked him hard, sending him stumbling back.

His Dark Sight faded, revealing his form.

“What… How the hell…?”

Panic spread across his face.

His attacks didn’t land, and his Dark Sight was busted.

No surprise he’s freaking out.

His mastered Savage Blow was decent enough.

But that’s about it.

What’s a pre-Big Bang Shadow supposed to do with a third job advancement?

“There are three things you should never mess with.”

“W-Wait…!”

“First is King Hekaton. Second is his royal guard. And the third—”

An orange glow began to emanate from my sword.

It wasn’t aimed at the big guy.

Instead, it turned toward the grunts trying to flee after seeing their boss lose.

“Is a post-Big Bang Hero.”

Slash—!

Screams rang out, then fell silent.

Confirming not one had escaped, I looked back at the big guy.

“P-Please, spare me…”

The stench of piss hit my nose.

I held my nose with one hand and raised my sword.

“Consider yourself unlucky.”