Red's Hold IV

~~~(POV: Justin Xander)~~~

~~~(Location: Doorway, Red's Hold, Aeternitatem Genesis)~~~

~~~(Day, Date, Time: Sunday, April 14th, 3:25 PM PST)~~~

~~~(Current Age: 19 Years)~~~

Some of the bandits I can see are in a large circle, watching a fight between two of their own. Blades clash, and cheers ring out. They're pretty distracted, and I can butcher many of them without fighting.

Now that my opportunity has presented itself, I approach the door and leave behind the damaged opening in the wall. The door creaks but is not loud enough to draw anyone's attention. I'll keep caution on my side, though.

Before stepping out, I scan the walls for overwatchers, including the area above the door. Sadly, there are bandits on sentry duty on some of the walls. It makes sense since they'd want to keep watch.

Bandits aren't just subject to retaliation from humans but are also the targets of monsters. Keeping watch for all threats should be a priority, but it says a lot about how I snuck in.

The question I have is how much willpower these bandits have. Some might try to flee after seeing me cut through all their friends. The quest itself says to clear out all the bandits, not kill them all, so I suppose I don't have to kill every bandit here.

Their running for their lives is acceptable in terms of the parameters of the quest. That doesn't mean I'm okay with it, though. The reality of the situation and something I'll have to accept is I can't kill all the bandits here.

Some will get away, especially the ones on the walls, which are out of my direct reach. I'm confident they'll high-tail it out of here.

"Seems some of you get to live..."

A sigh escapes my lips as I give a sarcastic congratulations to whoever survives what I'm about to do. No more time to dally around. I'd be far more cautious about approaching this if it weren't for a simple fact.

I'm far more powerful than anyone here. My encounter with Jeroy and his bandit bud told me that the enemies in this place don't stand a chance against me. I was worried for no reason on the way here. But it's better to be wrong in these situations.

My footsteps outside the door are silent and measured. On my approach to the large group of bandits, I slowly draw the (Monument of Sin) from its sheath.

They don't notice me right away, but as I'm about 15 feet from the nearest bandit at the back of the circle, people start to tap on each other and point at me. In less than a few seconds, all eyes are on me.

A bigger guy than the rest of them steps forward, an arrogant look on his face. A twisted smile forms on his lips, and I'm reminded that people are monsters just as much as any other being we label as monsters.

"Lookie what we got here, fellas? A new arrival lost his way into our fortress. It's been almost a week since I saw fresh blood being spilled, and some idiot walks right in here to satiate my bloodlust. How 'bout that!!"

There is laughter at the man's joke. I use (EoC) on him, and he's not Left-Eye Mack. He's level 43, one level higher than me. But my stats and skills crush his.

He walks forward with a smug look on his face, and usually, this is the part where a villain walks up to a person and slings their arm around their shoulder to taunt them more. Thinking it'll be easier to kill him. I've seen it so many times.

I don't let it get that far.

For the first time since I've gotten my class, I activate (Zophiels Eternal Edge.) My sword immediately radiates a white light with a black outline. Exactly 8,000 STM is consumed, and a 10-second timer appears in my head.

The man approaching me sees this; all he can provide is a slightly confused look. He doesn't get further than that as I dart forward and swing my blade. Cutting through the center of his body and the middle of his arms.

He's not even able to scream before he's dead. To me, this is nothing. A regular day inside a VRMMORPG. The desensitization players go through has been a topic of debate for a long time, but it was never a problem with me.

I let my momentum carry me and continue cutting through dozens of bandits. Their internal organs hit the ground, with their dismembered corpses and limbs thumping in my ears.

[2,520,000 Damage Inflicted on Bandit.]

[+100 EXP to Player Level.]