Brent treaded carefully through the inn, only committing weight to each step he took after he had checked that the floor beneath him wouldn’t squeak. Unfortunately, the floor was made from hewn logs found in the surrounding forest, and some amount of noise was inevitable. Everytime the floor creaked, he stopped and listened for movement, but it was so late that even the inn’s usual revelry had abated.

Brent paused in front of Gregorvich’s door and listened to the deep breathing that indicated the large man was sleeping. As the leading adventurer within the Noob Zone, his location was neither secret nor guarded. The System had created a world where you only had to fear the monsters that roamed the earth, not the monsters that lurked within the human heart. At least that is what Brent had thought before he had met Bart. Somehow the man had managed to circumvent all of the good the System had put in place and was able to use it to elevate himself above others.

Brent thought of the shopkeeper with contempt. He acted like he was more powerful than anyone else, but in reality, he was a rich man who had to resort to conniving when he didn’t get his way. What Bart didn’t know is that Brent had been more than willing to take Bart out as soon as the dagger, Soul Sunder, was put in his hand. Unfortunately, even the mere thought of committing such a deed had caused the pressure to increase around Brent, and he knew he would be squeezed like a grape before he could complete the action. At this point, the only way out was through.

Continuing his slow and measured pace across the room, Brent approached the bed. A deep sense of wrongness permeated his being, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept the fate Bart had in store for him if he failed in his task. Raising the dagger high above his head, he took a deep breath and brought the dagger down towards the sleeping man’s chest.

Gregovich’s eyes launched open before the dagger was even half way to his chest and his arms shot upwards in an attempt to foil the plot on his life. Knowing that only a single prick of Soul Sunder would be sufficient, Brent changed the trajectory slightly and impaled Gregorvich’s left hand as it collided with his wrist, the difference in strength between the larger man easily snapping Brent’s right wrist upon impact.

Time slowed as Gregorvich’s body disappeared into nothingness, leaving not a trace of himself or his belongings behind, followed immediately by a world of pain emanating from Brent’s wrist. Then a blaring notification lit up the space in front of his vision.

[Warning! You have committed murder!

You are henceforth an outcast with a bounty on your head.

Continue leveling so you can thwart those who would fight you]

He was taken aback by the notification. The System still urged him to grow stronger to survive. He had thought it constrained morality, but it seemed it favored might more than anything.

Shaking himself from his revelry as he heard people start waking up, he rushed towards the door, only to be pressed downward with each step. Looking around, he realized he had left the dagger where it had fallen after Gregrovich’s demise. Cursing, Brent turned around and grabbed the dagger before running down the hall. Already, there were people rousing themselves at the persistent notification that had awoken them from their sleep.

Rushing outside at full sprint, he was startled to see a luminescent arrow above his head, over a hundred yards in height, that pointed directly to his location. As he began running towards the oak tree where he had to deposit his dagger, the arrow followed him.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Everyone aboard the hidden ship was in an uproar as the System Interface pivoted the main viewing screen, which was currently focused on a set of adventurers who were just outleveling the Noob Zone in what had once been Japan, and oriented on the form of a man with a large arrow above his head. The meaning of the arrow was clear, being required knowledge for even the youngest System Expanders.

System Leader cursed aloud. A red arrow indicated that one assimilant had truly killed another, without the chance of respawn, and directly ate into the profit they would make from this planet. It made assimilation a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, if they simply removed this man from the integration, they would miss out on the potential profit he could bring in. On the other hand, if they allowed him to continue killing others, they could lose even more money. The red arrow was the set protocol to handle this situation. Usually, being hunted and continuously sent to respawn for a few years was enough to teach an assimilant not to act out–rehabilitation training.

“Junior Administrator, I am assigning you to make a full inquiry into the matter. I want to know all of the details by the next feeding” System Leader ordered.

Junior Administrator saluted in mock obedience. They were frustrated that Bart had acted so quickly and recklessly with the dagger, but they should be able to divert all attention away from themself quite easily since they were leading the investigation.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

A notification bypassed Mike’s default filters and roused him from sleep:

[New Zone Quest Initiated: Headhunt

Kill the marked adventurer on sight.

Rewards: Double XP, Lottery Item]

Mike rolled over and dismissed the notification. He didn’t need XP and he certainly wouldn’t get anything good from a lottery with his luck.

“Wonder what the poor sap did to cross the System.” He mumbled allowed as he tried to find the sleep that now eluded him. After a few minutes without success, he got up to relieve himself, cursing the System for not fixing his old-man bladder with the other aches and pains.