Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Noon Ambush
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I opened my eyes in the quiet darkness.
Outside the window, it was still pitch-black night, but my body's internal clock was precisely signaling morning.
The deep sleep from last night had left me in perfect condition, without a trace of fatigue.
But while my body felt refreshed, my mind was in turmoil.
'Were all the events from yesterday just a dream?'
I lay there dazed for a moment.
However, the plan I'd perfected through countless simulations overnight was already etched into my brain, so I quickly snapped out of it.
With a clear and sharp mind, I reviewed yesterday's plan once more.
'Can I really pull this off?'
I agonized over it right up to the end.
Did I really have to try this method?
But the conclusion drawn from both my instincts and reason aligned perfectly.
Eliminate all competitors and monopolize the resources. That was the best move I could make right now.
I got out of bed and filled my stomach with the leftovers from last night's meal.
Chewing on the hard, tasteless lump, I glanced out the window.
There was still plenty of time.
The next summoning would happen around lunchtime, at the exact same time I had arrived here.
The moment the clock struck noon, people would come.
I pulled my sword from my inventory. The cold touch of the metal seemed to travel from my palm straight to my heart.
Staring at the blade faintly gleaming in the darkness, I double-checked the final plan I'd completed last night.
According to the community info, the average number of summonings was 5-6 people. The minimum was 2, and the maximum was 10.
No matter how many came, I was facing multiple enemies.
Of course, for the newcomers, there was a chance they might arrive one by one in sequence, but I'd judged that probability to be extremely low.
I'd planned for the worst case: all 10 appearing at once.
The core of the plan remained unchanged.
Secure perfect superiority with a preemptive strike, defeat them individually by exploiting their confusion, and prepare items in case of any injuries.
The biggest threat in the plan was someone with an unknown unique ability.
If it was a passive like [Universal Resistance], that would be manageable, but I couldn't rule out the possibility of an unpredictable active ability creating variables.
And someone who had just arrived here, mere seconds ago, grasping their ability instantly and using it right away? That seemed unlikely.
So I was preparing for passives being stronger than actives. Simple stat boosts were actually the kind of ability I least wanted to face in this situation.
In this plan, I tolerated not even 1% variables.
Thus, my top priority targets were those who kept calm immediately after summoning or showed the sharpest judgment in grasping the situation first.
Those screaming in panic or flailing about were obviously lower priority.
The cooler-headed ones were the most dangerous.
I sheathed my sword in my inventory and left the lodging. The artificially created dawn air pierced my lungs.
The village was deathly silent, like a ghost town. To me, it felt like the calm before the storm.
The NPCs stood motionless in their designated spots. Even if they witnessed my murders, they'd just stand there without any emotion.
After a few conversations, I'd realized they weren't human at all.
I headed down the village path to the gear shop first to buy items.
The shop displayed items with their prices, each with detailed descriptions.
Looking around, none of the items had attack power, defense, or basic stats attached.
Most were marked only as [Durability 1st Grade], with a few having additional effects. [Durability 2nd Grade] items were extremely expensive.
And durability descriptions were on every item, even non-defensive gear.
The sword I was holding now was only marked [Durability 1st Grade], with no other abilities.
Gear with abilities was way beyond my current wealth, even if I offered several times what I had.
I'd browsed the shop yesterday too, so I quickly bought what I needed according to the plan and left.
The [Durability 1st Grade] full-body armor I bought this time cost 100 gold.
It was cheap, but wearing it felt noticeably sturdier than before.
I headed straight to the next shop, the general store.
There, I mainly checked the potions. Excluding potions, the other items were either useless right now or too expensive.
The lowest-grade stamina potions were 50 gold each.
After buying two potions, I had 360 gold left.
Now, all preparations for real combat were complete.
I took position at a second-floor window of a building in the village center, at a suitable distance from the glowing spawn point.
This was the optimal spot I'd scouted last night.
From here, I had a perfect view of the entire spawn point, and I could instantly hide behind the building through the window or escape to the roof.
If I were a sniper, this would be the perfect vantage point.
Time passed slowly but inevitably.
My deliberations had been deep, but I'd concluded that killing them the moment they arrived was most effective.
Slimes respawned and people moved at the same time, so I'd considered hunting slimes first to level up more before attacking.
But if I didn't strike first at people fresh and confused upon arrival, could I really beat a group that had already grasped the situation?
They might use the brief time to select weapons.
A group was extremely dangerous. Especially since I was just an ordinary person who'd been here one extra day.
I'd never learned any martial arts, so I had no idea how to handle multiple people charging at me with weapons.
Before long, the sky began to lighten gradually.
Time.
Not much left.
Like yesterday's sunset, the dawn breaking was unrealistically beautiful.
Suns in the Transcendent World seemed to rise very late. After 11 a.m., no less.
I had no leisure to admire the view. All my nerves were focused on the faint light at the spawn point.
My heart started pounding.
Was this excitement, tension? Or fear?
Maybe a primal mix of all of them.
I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I couldn't let emotions sway me.
From now on, I was a predator focused solely on severing the prey's lifeline.
Emotions were a luxury, nothing but obstacles.
The status window's description flashed through my mind.
Every act I committed from now on would be the ultimate growth catalyst, making me stronger and colder.
In truth, a sliver of hesitation might have lingered unconsciously.
But repeating to myself that my choice was rational and inevitable gradually calmed all interfering emotions.
Whether due to the system's aid or because I was originally a person with subdued emotions, time flowed on.
Noon sharp.
Finally, the sky fully brightened, and I felt a faint tremor in the air signaling midday.
That was the moment.
Whoooong—
The spawn point in the village center began emitting an intense light incomparable to before.
The light spread in a circle, creating the illusion that space itself was warping.
I pressed close to the window, holding my breath.
My hand was already gripping the sword hilt tightly.
The light peaked, then vanished in an instant.
And there, three people stood.
'. . . !'
Three. Close to the minimum I'd expected. I got lucky.
If it had been above average, I'd have had to adjust the plan slightly.
This number was perfect for executing as planned.
One was a burly black man in military-patterned clothes, another an East Asian woman frantically looking around with a terrified expression.
And the last one... an ordinary-looking white man, but different from the other two.
Frowning from a headache, he scanned the surroundings quickly instead of screaming.
In that white man's eyes, reason to grasp the situation flashed before confusion.
Top priority target identified.
"Ugh... my head...!"
The black man staggered, bracing on his knee. The sudden info influx headache seemed common to all.
"This is... the Transcendent World? Just like the system described."
But the white man was clearly different. Enduring the pain, he stared into empty space. Reading system messages. His adaptation was far superior to the other two.
I waited no longer. This was the optimal timing.
Before they fully recovered from the headache, recognized each other, and formed alliances—right in this moment of vulnerability.
I jumped from the second-floor window. My body, boosted by 5 Agility, landed lightly like a cat.
With a silent landing, I kicked off the ground.
Speed beyond human limits.
My target was one: the white man's back.
"Wha...!"
The black man sensed something and turned, but all he saw was me already behind the target. Too late.
I perfectly adhered to the white man's back. The sharpened blade in my hand plunged toward his heart without a moment's hesitation.
Puuk.
The gruesome sensation of slicing flesh and bone, piercing a living heart. The faint warmth amid resistance made me nauseous.
Enhanced by Agility precision,
the blade struck his heart dead-on, and he couldn't even scream.
His eyes widened in disbelief, red foam bubbling from his mouth.
He slowly, so slowly tried to turn and look at me, but I denied him even that time.
I twisted the blade to completely destroy the heart, then yanked it out immediately.
His body crumpled forward limply. Blood pooled thickly on the ground.
At that instant, new message windows popped up in succession before my eyes.
Achievement, title, and special resource. Unexpected gains!
The system didn't just allow PK—it encouraged it.
My judgment was right after all.
This world's laws favor the strong. My heart pounded coldly.
At the same time, a change occurred in my body.
The faint emotional fragments swirling in my mind—tension, excitement, a hint of anxiety—evaporated in an instant.
Like ice melting in hot water, all emotions vanished suddenly, leaving only cold reason.
My heartbeat calmed, and the world sharpened into focus.
This was what the alignment description meant by emotions numbing. I grew stronger. Mentally.
"You crazy bastard!"
"You're... the first one here!"
The black man snapped to his senses and charged me with a roar.
He held nothing in his hands. Bare fists.
Foolish action, rage overriding reason.
His military attire suggested he might be ex-soldier, but at level 0 physicals, he was no match for me.
I kicked the crumpled corpse aside with my foot and swung my sword at the charging man.
He instinctively raised his arm to block.
Slash!
But my blade sliced through his arm like paper and dug into his shoulder.
A dull crack of breaking bone, and his arm flew through the air.
"Gaaahhh!"
A horrific scream echoed through the village square.
He clutched his severed shoulder, rolling on the ground.
Blood spurted like a fountain, staining the stone floor red.
I approached to deliver the finishing blow. But at that moment.
"Defense!"
Clang!
A metallic sound I'd never heard before—my sword was blocked by something. It happened the instant the woman's voice rang out.
A thin, transparent barrier had formed around the black man I was targeting.
The East Asian woman nearby was desperately glaring at him, hands clasped together.
'An ability that buffs others.'
Contrary to my expectation that people wouldn't know their unique abilities, she'd recognized and used her skill.
Dangerous.
My prediction that she couldn't use it had failed. But I didn't panic. I'd accounted for such variables.
Target switched to the woman.
"Stay back! Stay away!"
She wailed, retreating. I closed the distance silently.
As my body entered a certain range, the same transparent barrier appeared around her.
Instead of swinging one-handed, I gripped with both and smashed down hard on her shield.
Crack—
A cracking sound, fissures spreading across the barrier.
Despair crossed her face.
I didn't stop, hammering the same spot repeatedly. Twice, thrice. Finally, the barrier shattered into pieces.
"Please... spare me...!"
The woman before me begged. But her eyes held not just fear, but fierce will to live.
'Someone with eyes like that will become a future threat if left alive.'
My sword smoothly pierced her throat.
The second message appeared. One left.
Holding my dripping sword, I approached the black man groaning with his arm severed.
The barrier on him had vanished the moment the caster woman died.
The black man was already fading from massive blood loss.
His eyes, twisted in terror and pain, turned to me.
"Why... the hell..."
He squeezed out his last strength to ask.
I didn't answer. No need to explain, no value in telling him why.
I simply raised my sword with an expressionless face and stabbed his heart.
As all three lives ended, an astonishing sight slowly unfolded.
The three corpses and the pooled blood began glowing, then turned to black ash and scattered in the wind.
Just like slimes in a hunting ground, the system cleanly erased all evidence of the murder.
Only the added achievements, resources, EXP, and gold proved the massacre had been real.
Total: 30 EXP, 300 gold, and 3 [Soul Origins].
Overwhelming profit.
The reward for the risk was sweeter than imagined.
And most importantly, I could now monopolize all future resources.
I checked the info on my new achievement, title, and resource.
Permanent stat boosts and new abilities. The rewards for the risk far exceeded my predictions.
Next, I checked what the corpses left. Where the bodies vanished, three weapon selection tickets had dropped.
The system made dead players drop their items.
After picking up all the items, I thought.
'I did it..'
Everything happened in a flash.
From their arrival to me finishing the massacre, barely two minutes.
There was one variable in between, but overall, a resounding success.
I hadn't taken a single hit, didn't need to use a potion.
The elation from the overwhelming gains didn't last long.
As excitement subsided, I reflected on the murders I'd committed today.
'I killed people. For the first time.'
Yet, for a first time, it felt numbingly natural. Like something I had to do.
I gazed coldly at the spawn point again.
That place was now my exclusive hunting ground, my altar. Everything appearing there from now on would be sacrifices for my growth.
With this, I'd crossed the line far beyond. Felt like even my thoughts had crossed it.
But the price for crossing was absolute gain that would never betray me.
Gazing at the spawn point where such events would happen countless times ahead, I thought to myself.
'Once a day feels a bit too sparse.'