章 12: Destroying some Newbies
"Screw this, let's go hunt goblins or something!"
"Good, we just ended up wasting our time here."
The small flow of people frequenting the Training Ground ended as fast as the realization hit the players that they could achieve more in the amount of time spent hitting a Scarecrow.
Frustrated, they left the Training Ground without giving Alistar a second look, some even glared at him for scamming them out of their precious time.
Only one blonde guy seemed unaffected by the dissatisfaction the players showed, he was hitting the Scarecrow with an unrelenting pace.
The ones who were prepared to abandon this location, turned to look at the man, and with a scoffing expression, the one leading a group of 3 guys commented to himself, but also for others to hear.
"What's he showing off like that for? Is he trying to become famous for killing Scarecrows? Kek, that's so scary."
"Leave him alone, he's just an attention-seeker. I heard he's been at this Training Ground for two days now."
"Two days of doing nothing but hitting the Target Dummy? This guy must be nuts."
"Not insane, but legally stupid. Let's go do some quests instead."
They left slowly, as if fishing for a reaction out of Vecna, instead, a woman wearing a cloak that veiled most of her body stopped from shooting her Bow, turning to look at the players who ridiculed Vecna.
Her face was covered by a small layer of sweat from all the Archery she practiced on this Training Ground. Yet, the signs of annoyance in her violet eyes couldn't be removed as she watched those rambling fools.
"What's wrong babe? Wanna join our party and do some quests together? Aren't you finished with the target practice?"
"Not interested. Just get lost already and stop polluting the air with your presence."
"Whoa, you got quite the sharp tongue. Newbie bitch, what's with that attitude? Do you think we're impressed that much by those useless Bow skills?"
"I bet you can't even hit a moving target."
The players didn't pick on the situation at hand, and instead of scramming from the Training Ground they walked toward Elysia who enjoyed her time alone with the Bow, reminiscing about her bright childhood.
Her holding the bow and arrows granted by Alistar, reminded her about the teachings of an older Elf who bore the scars of life with his body. He taught her the importance of focus and concentration, stressing that a clear and focused mind was essential for shooting accurately.
Elysia couldn't help but recalls how he would often tell her,
{Still your mind, child. Let go of your magical distractions, and become one with your bow. At that moment, there is no separation between you and your target.}
'A Clear mind. Just like you taught me grandpa Stormweaver.'
Without thinking for a second, she pulled the bow string and shot at the player leading his goons at her, not intimidated for even a second for the likes of them.
In her eyes they were just vermin not worth wasting her words on them. Nonetheless, the fact they insulted Vecna irked her on the mind.
She, a former Royalty, submitted to someone who is a God, yet that same God did nothing to defend himself against those insults.
"YOOO! This bitch is crazy. Why would you do that?"
"Get in her melee range. She will not be able to do jack afterwards. Let's teach her a lesson."
She didn't get scared by the players rushing at her, compared to the power the Corrupted Guards had displayed, leaving her zero chances of escaping on her own, those players were just wild animals.
The first opponent, a man wielding a Battle Axe charged toward Elysia, his footsteps echoing across the grounds. Elysia remained composed, her focus unwavering as she swiftly notched an arrow and drew her bowstring with practiced grace.
As the charging warrior closed in, she released the arrow, its flight swift and true. The arrow whizzed through the air, finding its mark in the joint of the player's knee, momentarily disabling his advance.
He screamed in pain, which was unnatural for a player who experienced a lesser form of punishment.
Half of his health was calved down by Elysia, not that he had much to begin with, barely touching the 220 HP mark at level 2.
"Don't let her shoot at you. She might be an olympic archer!" advised the last one to sprint, a short man wielding a dagger.
"Don't worry. I got her cornered." called a large man, who had muscles for armor plates, uncertain if he was a steroids user.
As Elysia momentarily assessed her surroundings, the hulking brute lunged forward, attempting to close the distance. Elysia gracefully danced backward, retreating while swiftly drawing her arrow from the quiver.
She notched it onto her bow, her fingers gripping the bowstring with utmost precision. As the brute closed in, she loosed the arrow, aiming for his vulnerable exposed knee joint.
"Hmph, this is nothing. You arrogant bitch!"
"Great cover, dude." called the short man who passed the brute, punching Elysia who had a shocked expression as she used the wooden bow to receive the shock of the blow.
"Kek. You didn't expect this, right. Unfortunately for you, I already got my Rogue Beginner Skills. Stealth."
The short man walked smugly toward Elysia whose cloak veil was barely keeping her appearance protected.
They saw the victory in their hands, especially the one leading the trio who instructed the rogue. "Keep her down. Let me get some hits on her before she dies."
"Got you brother. How can we all miss such an event? Delivering an experience to never be forgotten for an arrogant bitch."
Elysia looked up at the disgusting human, and soon enough mana particles started flying around her body, while she murmured an Incantation Spell, preparing to take down those humans at all cost even if she would have to expose her Magical Talents that might start a lead for the Corrupted Guards.
"Is there an Event? Interesting. Let me join in." a cold voice asked not far from the short guy.
The one that appeared interested in the situation was the blonde man who was focused on hitting the scarecrow for endless hours.
His face was expressionless, while in his right hand the wooden practice sword began experiencing a monstrous shift.
"Sure thing man."
The rogue responded without thinking much, and stopped in place when a sword wrapped in sinister crimson veins pulsing as if it had life stabbed him in the heart.
[You have suffered catastrophic damage.]
"You??" The short man grimaced in pain, and with the wooden sword delivering an 'Bleeding' Debuff, he was soon to collapse in his own misfortunes.
"You'll regret this PK."
"If you say so. Now piss off and next time don't bother my training." responded Vecna nonchalantly, not sparing a single thought for this short guy that reminded him of a child.
[You have died.]
Vecna killed the rogue player whose name entered a red state after attacking Elysia. His name turned red from the killing he did.
It was a one shot strike that came from nowhere, dumbfounding the remaining players who never thought the player who didn't bother with anyone even in the face of great ridicule finally snapped.
"You've done it, crazy bastard! Doing an PK in Valoria will get you fucked by the Guards for sure."
When Vecna heard that threat, his expressionless face suddenly shifted. An evil grin propped up, making the players that got debuffs from the arrows Elysia pierced previously.
"Should I be afraid?" inquired Vecna as he walked slowly toward the muscled player.
"That's right. You'll not be able to play at all. You'll also get imprisoned once caught. A bad play for a new player."
The head honcho believed that those threats would be enough to back off Vecna, yet that was just a sweet illusion he created in his mind. A cheap scenario that didn't work in the reality that Vecna lived.
'Golden Flash'
Using his movement speed skill that he cherished for its efficiency, his devilish figure appeared next to the brute looking guy who before he reacted to defend himself got stabbed by the Bloody Sword three times.
All of them were basic sword strikes that the players mocked him practicing against the Scarecrow.
"You're slow, gym rat. All those muscles make you too slow."
Withdrawing the sword he stabbed in the broad guy, he finished him off by chopping his head clean, ending with a graceful stance as if he was a refined dancer, later on swinging his bloodied wooden sword to clear out the distasteful blood of the player.
[You have killed Player 'Gomez'. Your Infamy grows by 1]
'This much? Hah. This is amusing. I can wash my hands of the PK state by training on the scarecrow 5 minutes before the Guards even knock on Alistar's door.'
'I doubt they would even bother checking on this Training Ground.'
The loud mouth took out the arrow Elysia shot with scary precision, and with his body functions restored, he didn't dare to face Vecna, instead choosing to flee the Training Ground.
However, he could dream eternally on his chances of escaping this Hell, his speed seemed so pathetic in Vecna's predatory eyes.
'Go on. Think that you can escape from me. It will make it sweeter seeing your desperate, angry and frustrated expression as I kill you.'
Watching this foolish player 'BangBun' run on the wide Training Ground, following the exit route, he turned around locking eyes with the woman behind him.
"Are you proud of what you've done?"
Elysia couldn't help but lower her gaze first, slightly intimidated by his predatory crimson eyes.
"... You didn't have to help me. I can handle that much."
"Is that so? Then it feels as if the outcome I saw was wrong. You weren't taken down by that monkey? Not at all."
Sarcasm was filling in the air between Vecna and Elysia.
"What do you want to say, Vecna?" asked Elysia, not used to this feeling of being talked down to, and akin to a cornered beast that didn't have an escape route, she pounced back.
"Stop acting stupid. Don't give attention to all the shit flies buzzing around you. They would eventually move on once they find out about their stupidity."
"You want revenge? With such a prideful mentality you'll just get yourself killed. Sure, you can teach those idiots a lesson to keep their trap shut, but what will you do when you face some annoying fuck that can overwhelm you?"
"You'll once again become their slaves. Their plaything."
"Shut up! You don't know anything about me."
"Indeed. However, this doesn't change anything right now."
"Ohh, and a reminder for the next time. I'm not the type of guy that would melt down when seeing an angry kitten, hissing at me. Fearful that the bad human would eat her."
"Remember this day. And let me show you how to deal with bugs."
While giving 'BangBun' a generous headstart that might feel an overkill, in the meantime he did some disciplining with his Blood Servant that didn't know her place and the reality she lived in.
'Soaring Leap'
"Hehehe, that crazy fuck. I'll make sure to get some guards to apprehend him."
"Awww. You're the generous type. However, I will decline your offer."
"W-What? But… How?"
BangBun turned his head behind, and trembled in fear when seeing Vecna still leap toward him holding his Blood Sword in hand, yet choosing to not strike.
"Skills. That's how." responded Vecna casually after landing gracefully in front of the player, blocking his way out from the Training Ground.
"Don't look down on me! I will kill you!"
The player shouted with an animalistic cry, swinging his Battle Axe at Vecna, and to his surprise he saw the blade of the axe moving ever so closer towards Vecna's skin. If he could also stare into Vecna's bloody eyes, the chilling fear he was feeling would have stopped him from striking so widely.
Vecna remained calm, capable of seeing the attack as it was, a wide swing that didn't have any technique into it.
'The senses of a Vampire are far superior. Compared to when I was a Human Character, I might have reacted by the time the guy raised his axe to cleave me down.'
'Now? It feels as if I'm an alien.'
Before the blade of the axe could graze his flesh, Vecna moved so swiftly that he left behind him an afterimage, that BangBun cleaved with an delirious expression, almost ready to celebrate the victory.
'Split Second'
"Why does the System say nothing? Haven't I killed that fuck?"
"Good question."
A question propped with an indifferent, cold tone, before the player woke up from his confusion with a sword stabbing him from the back.
[You have dealt 32 damage.]
"Maybe? You're too weak? Afterall, how could you have died?"
Saying that, he withdrew his sword, and kicked the back knee of the player, dropping him to the ground, rendering him into a sorry state.
'Earthshock'
Intent on testing all of his available skills, the moment he activated the skill, he felt the muscles of his left arm tighten up, veins propping up as if endless sustenance to the muscles continued being supplied.
Dropping into doing a downward superman punch, he connected perfectly with the man's face, sending a forceful shockwave, while the shape of the player's body was ingrained in the dusty ground.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 112 damage to the target.]
[You have killed Player 'BangBun'. Your Infamy grows by 3]
Clearing out the Training Ground of any nuisance, Vecna returned back to his Scarecrow and while at that, he signaled Elysia with his index finger to get moving with him.
She followed behind him, quietly, later on watching the blonde man resume his practice as if the conflict minutes ago were just him taking care of some insects that bothered him.
Elysia wondered what type of reaction Vecna would follow along. Scold her, taunt her for not being able to deal with those guys? She wasn't sure, only when Vecna opened his mouth after 5 minutes of swimming his sword.
"I'll continue training on the Practice Dummy for one or two more days. Until then, you can either do the same and reinforce your Archery, or stay in the room assigned by old man Alistar to practice your magic."
"..."
"You know about my magic?"
"Heh, the maid is looking down on the master. The next time you decide to fight, I'll suggest you go about with Magic instead of Archery."
"It will attract unwanted attention. My Magic isn't what humans use."
"Elemental Magic? That's common magic that Human Mages practice after they reach the Initiation. They would be blessed by the Spirits with Affinity over an Element that they later on gain Master over."
"It's different for me."
"No it is not. The humans will not care if you show some magic. Even if you use Elven Spells, it doesn't mean you'll get hunted down."
"Well, that might happen to you. Nowadays? Your safest place is under my shadow."
Elysia couldn't understand how Vecna grasped on the knowledge she was capable of using magic.
The presumption that he was a God resurfaced in her mind, and the more she watched this blonde man train, swinging his sword without a care in the world, it became relaxing. Watching him, and removing herself over the endless worries tormenting her day and night.
[Warrior's Initiation (E)] Quest Clear Mark: [3516/100]
'There might be another Hidden Piece at the 5000 swing mark. Or it could be at 10000 swings.'
'Should clear the notifications and check if the Rotchschilds responded.'
In a corner of his sight, various notifications about New Stat gained from the crazed work he committed to doing, along with the notifications of his Infamy Increasing, and decreasing as he swung his sword about.
#Lily: Confirmed the gold coins. Pleasure doing business.
'Whatever. Still, it would be beneficial to me if I get into their good graces. There might be better cost rates on information and items.'
His thoughts returned back to the Scarecrow, by now his Arch Nemesis that withstood his artillery of strikes, scrubbing them off as if he was nothing.
'I'll soon blast your head. If not now, tomorrow for sure.'
クリエイターの想い 
Morpheus146
Morpheus146 If we get to 100 powerstones, I'll release an extra chapter
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