“Who?” A man wearing nothing but a pair of boxers jumped in fright as the window behind him exploded.

He has been sitting down on the couch with his friends around a small incense pot he purchased earlier. The incense pot was diffusing a strange and enticing scent. It was faint but enough to relax a person’s nerves and even cause some hallucinations.

The man moved lazily; his senses were already dulled by the incense. His legs were shaking and before he was able to stand up properly, he felt a cold and numbing feeling spreading from his right shoulder. His eyes fell on his shoulder where he noticed a large amount of blood flowing as well as a large spearhead piercing through his flesh.

Yet, the man did not feel any pain. His brain took a few seconds to process what was happening but during that time, he suddenly found himself lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling as another man stormed into the room.

…

“So? Who is the person called Rudolf?” I asked coldly.

I did not hesitate and immediately attacked the man who tried to stand up. I did not aim for his vital organs and instead focused on disarming him by targeting his shoulders.

However, I was surprised by how unresponsive the man was. His two friends turned their attention toward me and yet, did not make any move. Their gaze was absent. They did not seem to realise the situation they were in.

I soon understood their reaction as I caught a waft of the familiar smell of burning Cheecah leaves. I deeply frowned as I took a step back, unwilling to be exposed to this scent for longer than necessary. Cheecah leaves were a fairly popular drug in the tower. They were the equivalent of tobacco and could be turned into cigarettes but the most popular way to use them was by burning the leaves in an incense pot.

Cheecah leaves were generally used as a recreational activity. They had hallucinogenic properties when burnt. In short, they were the equivalent of drugs that would waste anyone who smelled their aroma.

“F*ck!”

I cursed as I kicked the unconscious man at my feet. I did not know how long they have been exposed to the Cheecah leaves but it was clear they were already hallucinating. Beating them up was pointless; in this state, they were oblivious to their surroundings and insensitive to pain.

“Tsssk. Of everything I could have encountered, I did not think I would face a group of wasted drugged old men. It will take them a couple of hours to return to normal. These idiots; they wasted their mana stones on something like Cheecah leaves.”

I snorted frustratedly. I hated hitting people when they were so defenceless; it would have been so much easier if they resisted. Nevertheless, that did not mean that I would forgive them just because they were currently drugged.

I swung my spear, stabbing the man on the ground. I wasted his arms and legs; to the point that he would be unable to make a single move. His blood flew everywhere. His body was numb right now but once he would recover, his nightmare will truly begin.

I moved on to the other two men sitting on the couch and stabbed their shoulders, arms, and legs. I had no qualms about hurting these people. They were involved in one way or another in robbing my house. At worst, I would heal them later and it would teach them a valuable lesson. They won’t be able to hunt for a few days but that would be their punishment.

The three men were soon lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling in a daze. I held my breath as I put off the incense pot.

‘What a mess… They are not wearing any equipment. Are they really the ones who stole from me? They look so careless and stupid. They did not even keep a weapon within reach.’

I started looking around the house, in search of my Nazlock Coins and the possible purchases they made. The living room lacked decorations and I failed to find anything valuable. There was a kitchen, a storage room, and a bedroom on the ground floor as well as a staircase leading to the upper floor down a corridor.

I took my time, carefully examining the house in case they hid the Nazlock Coins but as I was about to walk up the stairs, I heard a loud thump followed by several hurried steps and splashes.

I frowned and rushed to the entrance. I found the three men still lying on the floor mumbling and cursing about the random things they were seeing.

‘Did I make a mistake? No. I am certain I heard something.’

I unlocked the door and walked outside. And as I expected, I saw a dark silhouette disappearing in the distance. I looked up and noticed that one of the windows of the house upstairs was open. It was not the case when I arrived. Without hesitation, I broke into a run and gave chase.

‘This f*cker! You can run all you want. There is nowhere to hide in this village.’

However, to my surprise, that man was not planning on hiding. As soon as he noticed me chasing after him, he screamed. “Help!”

“Help!”

“Someone is trying to murder me!”

“Alex is trying to kill me to steal my items!”

I almost choked upon hearing that man’s shameless shouts. It was blatant slander. Did he truly think he could get away with it? I was slowly closing the distance between us, but the man continued to shout louder and louder.

Haste!

I activated the enchantment of my boots. While I was still unable to use my spells as the skill tree stabilised itself, my mana pool was still readily available.

The sun had already set in the distance. Everyone had already returned to their house for the night; there was no gathering because of the rain. As they heard the man’s screams, many poked their heads out to see what was happening. Yet, no one came to help despite seeing how I was chasing after him; it was in human nature to stay away from trouble as much as possible.

“Help me! He is going to kill me!” The man shouted in panic.

I snorted as I got within ten metres of the man. “You should have been prepared for this. That’s what you get for stealing.”

“Lies! I never touched anything that belonged to you! You are just trying to kill me because of the treasures I found!” The man exclaimed while running at full speed. In front of the man, I saw the merchant tower coming into view.

At that very moment, I noticed several dark figures rushing toward me in the corner of my eyes. My vision darkened and I was momentarily afflicted by a wave of dizziness. I frowned and quickly shook my head. I blinked and the next moment, my vision returned to normal.

‘Who was it? Someone just used [Fear] on me but since I have reached the first circle, this spell is not so effective on me.’ There were dozens of people poking their heads from the houses and any of them could have cast the spell. I did not have time to identify the caster.

The distance between the man and I got shorter; he was almost within range of my spear. I had already drawn my weapon, ready to stab that shameless thief’s heart.

The man seemed to realise the situation he was in as his shouts became more and more desperate.

Finally, I jumped behind him, pulling back my spear before thrusting it with all my strength. I aimed directly for his head, feeling no mercy for this thief.

“Gasp!”

The man reacted quickly. He rolled on the ground, dodging my attack but at the same time, killing all the momentum he had. He ungracefully rolled down and lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

“No! Mercy!” He said desperately. He raised his hands weakly and tried to get up, but he knew it was a pointless struggle.

I stood merely a few feet away with my spear already drawn. But at that moment, I felt yet another spell being cast on me. No, there was more than one this time. My body suddenly felt heavy and unresponsive. Even though I tried to take a step forward, I was unable to move a single inch and yet, the whole world around me was carrying on as normal. The rain continued to fall, and the thief successfully got up.

Less than a second later, I was once again able to move. My body was finally able to resist the effect of the [Pause] spell.

“Stop!”

I saw several hunters making their way toward us. One of them, quickly stepped in front of the thief to stop him from running away. I recognised him as one of the hunters from Eric’s team.

“Save me! He is mad and trying to kill me! He broke into my house and attack my teammates too!” The man said desperately. He was relieved that people were finally reacting. He pointed his trembling finger at me. “This murderer is trying to kill me!”

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I was about to act but I saw Eric and the others getting closer.

“Alex. What is happening? Why are you chasing after him?”

I felt the accusatory and cautious stares of the crowd. It was annoying to be slandered as the villain in this accident. I cocked my head and answered plainly. “He stole from me. So I am simply getting back what he took.”

“Nonsense! When did I steal your things? Why would I do so when I never met you before? You are clearly hunting me because I found a treasure! Who knows how many people you killed and plundered to stay at the top of the daily ranking. People, don’t believe his bullsh*t!” The man exclaimed, looking scared and panicked. He had the perfect appearance of a victim which further annoyed me.

Eric stood forward and glanced at the two of us. I could see the confusion in his eyes. He partially believed that I was saying the truth. Jacob and Elisa also approached us as they were the leaders of my team and were accountable for my actions to some extent. They also seemed to believe me but the last person who stepped forward held a critical stare. He was a bearded hairy man going by the name of Mustafa. He was the leader of the thief’s team.

“Sigh.” Eric let out a long sigh and put himself between the thief and me to de-escalate the situation.

“Alex. I saw that your house was robbed earlier. The door was open when I came to look for you. But do you have any proof that he is the thief?” He spoke calmly despite his discomfort and the awkwardness of the situation.

“The person who stole from me is called Rudolf. That’s what I learned from the merchant tower. Is his name Rudolf?” I asked casually while maintaining a strong and cold stare.

“Rudolf?”

The man behind Eric gulped down loudly. “What kind of proof is that? Just because you know my name does not mean that I am guilty! You could have just asked anyone for my name.”

“You did not steal from me? Then why did you run away when I entered your house?”

“You broke into our house and attacked my teammates. Of course, I would run away when you are the one trying to steal from us. I ran out to call for help but you immediately chased after me!” Rudolf exclaimed. I noticed a faint glint in his eyes; despite his best attempt at hiding it, I could see through his lies.

Many hunters came to see what was happening. I heard the gasps and murmurs of the crowd but ignored them. I had already made my decision.

Jacob moved forward and signalled Rudolf to keep it down. “Alex. Is what he is saying true?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I did break into his house and disabled his teammates just like he broke into my house. I am certain that he has my items on him.” I faced Rudolf directly. “So? Are you going to give me back my coins and everything you purchased with them or no?”

Rudolf once again played the perfect victim. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about coins. He is slandering me!”

Eric heaved a long and loud sigh. “Alright. Let’s try to solve this situation amicably. We’ll start by moving inside; discussing under the rain is not very appropriate. You. Your name is Rudolf, right? If you did something wrong, then admit it. It will save us some time and we can solve this quickly.”

“Why are you blaming a member of my team? You are speaking as if he is guilty when we don’t even know the truth yet. What if he is the one who is trying to steal from others.” Mustafa stepped up to defend his teammate, confronting Eric directly.

I watched the two men argue with each other before chuckling lightly. I immediately attracted everyone’s attention. I forced myself to calm down and took a deep breath. The discussion was going nowhere and at this rate, Rudolf will just end up getting away with it.

I displayed a composed look and met Rudolf’s gaze.

“Do you think you are safe now that you gained the sympathy of the crowd? Do you think that this is Earth where the people’s opinion has much weight?”

“Do you think that it will buy you enough time to run away? Do you think that there is a justice system that you can delay indefinitely?”

“More importantly, do you really think I would let you get away after stealing from me?”

“From the moment you broke into my house, you have sealed your fate.”

“Let’s not waste time. You wanted proof, right? Let me give you the proof then.”

I smiled faintly. Then, without warning, I jumped to the side and drew my spear. Eric, Jacob, and Mustafa all stood between me and Rudolf to stop me from attacking him. But by jumping to the side, I could now easily aim for the shameless thief.

Under the stunned gaze of the whole crowd, I threw my spear at Rudolf. Everyone was too shocked to react in time and unless the three team leaders threw their body forward to block it, nothing could stop my spear.

The crowd froze, not knowing how to react. Time seemed to slow down as all eyes remained focused on the flying spear. It flew straight at my target as tiny sparks danced around its spearhead. My spear pierced right through Rudolf’s skull. Blood splattered everywhere. He was still displaying an expression of disbelief. No one expected me to act so suddenly in the middle of the discussion.

As for me, my heart remained cold. I did not feel any guilt or remorse from my act. For the first time in this life, I killed a fellow human. But compared to the number I killed in my past life, this was nothing.