Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Clue
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Lee Shin’s decision was unhesitating.
If they wouldn't listen to reason, he had no choice but to kill them.
*‘Can’t be helped.’*
In truth, player killing within a city was still risky.
Although his infamy was fixed, a value of 99,999 was still incredibly high.
He didn't know his exact rank, but he was probably in the top 0.1%.
The soldiers' gazes were already sharp enough; if he were caught in the act of PK...
*‘I’d be thrown in jail immediately.’*
There was a high chance that bail and whatnot wouldn't even be an option.
An extremely dangerous act!
But if Lee Shin were the type to worry about such things, he never would have become so famous in Avala Online 1.
*‘I just have to not get caught.’*
He avoided thinking about the consequences if he could help it!
If something was immediately necessary or looked fun, Lee Shin acted first and thought later.
And ironically, this very tendency was the greatest driving force that had made him a high-ranker.
His improvisation, backed by talent and skill, had led to positive outcomes far more often than negative ones.
-Are you sure about this?
-It doesn't matter.
And in this case, he had an insurance policy.
-If I get caught, I'll just say you did it.
-!
Normally, such a lie wouldn't work.
But Arthur could take on Lee Shin's exact appearance with the Shapeshift skill.
And Lee Shin had acquired the 'Deception' skill after tricking Gillaim.
He figured that with some good acting, he could easily fool a few soldiers.
*‘If that doesn’t work, I can just kill the soldiers too.’*
He was at a level where that was now possible.
No matter how high the soldiers' levels were, they wouldn't exceed 100.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin's level was approaching 70, so as long as they didn't swarm him, he could handle them.
He just had to hope there were no knights.
-Go to the spot I mark.
-Yes.
Arthur told the players he would show them his party member and headed for the location Lee Shin marked on the map.
The foreign players followed, smirking.
*‘...Tch.’*
Lee Shin furrowed his brow.
He could tell they were looking down on them.
They had expressions that said, *‘So what if you have a party member?’*
Of course, it was Arthur being looked down on, not Lee Shin, but...
*‘That’s my face.’*
The appearance was perfectly his own.
It felt like he was the one being disrespected!
It left a strangely foul taste in his mouth.
*‘How dare they look down on me?’*
Lee Shin’s eyes grew cold.
Besides, he needed to keep raising his infamy to hatch the egg anyway. This was perfect.
He figured killing them all would raise his infamy quite a bit.
[Skill, Search, has been activated.]
He had been steadily raising the proficiency of his Escape and Search skills while hunting orcs.
For a player with extremely high infamy, such skills were a lifeline.
Thanks to this, Lee Shin could scan a fairly wide area.
[Searching for trackable targets.]
[Tracking...]
[......]
Red dots appeared on Lee Shin's map.
Seven of them in the immediate vicinity.
Since there were seven players following Arthur, it meant there was no one else around.
*‘Good.’*
Lee Shin gripped his dagger tightly.
He lunged toward the nearest player—a Caucasian user who appeared to be a mage-class.
Charge!
Deep Cut!
“Wh—?!”
[You have succeeded in a surprise attack from stealth.]
[A powerful critical hit has landed.]
[Critical hit stacks are accumulating...]
[......]
[…You have killed the player!]
A silent flurry of attacks!
The mage couldn't even put up a decent fight, melting away in an instant before he could even scream.
His own low defense was a factor, but the main reason was the significant increase in Lee Shin's attack power from his new weapon.
[You have acquired experience.]
[Your infamy has greatly increased.]
[The incubation time for the Egg of Malice has...]
[......]
*‘Hmph.’*
Lee Shin carefully caught the collapsing mage's body and looked up.
*‘Did they notice?’*
Fortunately, they hadn't.
The effect of the Silent Sword!
The criteria for 'an attack using a sword' seemed to be quite generous; it silenced not only the swing of the blade but also the sound of it piercing the enemy and even Lee Shin's own movements.
“Hey, so where's this party member of yours?”
“J-Just a little farther!”
“......”
Thanks to that, the enemy remained relaxed, completely unaware that one of their own had just been killed.
Lee Shin took the chance to collect the loot.
[You have acquired an item.]
[Gold has...]
*‘Quite a lot dropped.’*
As his experience buff was slowly diminishing, his drop rate was increasing, making the haul quite lucrative.
Lee Shin waited for his skills to cool down, then lunged for the priest player.
Unlike the mage who had fallen behind, the priest was in the middle of the group, but...
[A powerful critical hit has landed.]
[Critical hit stacks are accumulating.]
it didn't really matter.
They weren't on guard in the first place.
Lee Shin continued his rapid assault.
Head, head, neck.
A relentless attack aimed at vital points!
With a decent number of critical stacks built up, the priest, who also had low defense, melted in an instant.
[You have killed the player.]
[Your infamy has increased.]
“...Wh-What was that!”
“PK!?”
They only noticed Lee Shin's attack when the priest was forcibly logged out.
“Why wasn't there any sound... Be careful! He's using some weird skill!”
“Block! Behind you!”
But their response was surprisingly excellent!
Lee Shin was slightly impressed.
*‘Oh?’*
Normally, when ambushed so perfectly, people would panic and freeze, but their bodies were moving reflexively even in their shock.
Chains of Binding!
Guardian Stance!
Furthermore, they weren't just spamming random skills; they were using ones appropriate for the situation.
Of course, their haste made the execution sloppy... but the fact that they could respond at all was impressive!
*‘Not bad.’*
In Lee Shin's eyes, these weren't just players with a lot of playtime; they had a certain degree of talent.
*‘......’*
But of course, that didn't mean they were a match for him.
They were only high-level when compared to the average player.
Compared to Lee Shin, who had always played among the top ranks of the arena, their skills were naturally far inferior.
*‘......’*
Lee Shin's eyes became calm.
As his concentration heightened, the speed of the incoming enemy skills seemed to slow down.
Lee Shin watched the skill until the last moment before leaning his upper body back.
“...What!?”
“He-He dodged it!?”
At the same time, as he straightened up, he threw the shuriken in his hand.
He aimed for the knee.
A shuriken's expected damage was lower than a melee attack, so he was aiming for a status effect rather than raw damage.
*Thwack!*
A satisfying impact.
Lee Shin was sure of the result even before checking the notification and kicked off the ground.
[A critical hit has landed!]
[You have accurately struck the knee.]
[The target is now immobilized...]
The messages appeared a beat later.
Lee Shin had already closed the distance to the players.
Just as the players' faces twisted in shock.
Lee Shin swung his sword.
*Swish...!*
As he attacked multiple targets simultaneously, his critical hit stacks began to build rapidly.
Accordingly, Lee Shin's sword began to glow with a faint red light.
This time, however, the enemy's response wasn't bad either.
Critical Stack-Explosion was a common skill.
As such, countermeasures were well-known among general players.
“Be careful!”
His opponents began to distance themselves from him.
Normally, with their numerical advantage, they should have just fought...
but they could feel the skill gap was too vast for such logic to apply.
So, rather than recklessly relying on their numbers, they intended to wait until his stacks wore off.
*‘If we fight calmly, we can win.’*
An objective self-assessment.
Followed by a calm response.
It was quite admirable.
...The problem was, Lee Shin had devoured opponents who responded calmly like this countless times before.
Lee Shin let out a dry laugh.
*‘A mistake.’*
If his opponents were on the same top-tier level, it might be different, but this half-hearted approach just made them easy prey.
Everything they did became predictable.
In that sense, it would have been more troublesome if they had lost their minds and started attacking recklessly without a second thought.
*‘I’ll finish this quickly.’*
Having made his decision, Lee Shin scanned his surroundings.
After confirming that there was still no one else around.
*Fwoosh!*
Lee Shin kicked off the ground.
At the same time, he unequipped his gear.
[You have been released from the curse.]
[Your infamy skyrockets!]
[Infamy has surpassed 1,000,000...]
[The title, Incarnation of Malice, has been activated...]
Ignoring the dizzying flood of messages.
Lee Shin saw through his opponent's desperate dodges and thrust his sword forward.
*Shunk!!*
[A critical hit has landed!]
[Incarnation of Malice bonus damage has...]
[…The target has been instantly killed!]
*‘...Next!’*
Lee Shin began his rampage.
* * *
Lee Shin's sword struck at an opening.
His opponent desperately twisted his body.
But Lee Shin's reaction was simply insane.
*Shwiiiiing!!*
“Ghk...?!”
Lee Shin followed the opponent's movement, forcibly changing the trajectory of his sword mid-swing.
It was a technique that made 100% use of his own reflexes and the fact that virtual reality bodies didn't suffer from physical strain!
Lee Shin's sword bent like a snake and pierced his opponent's vital spot.
*Thrust!*
[A critical hit has landed.]
[Critical stacks are accumulating.]
[Critical stacks have reached their maximum...]
[......]
[Now, all stacks will be...]
Charge!
Critical Explosion!
*KRA-KA-KA-BOOM!!!*
The energy from Lee Shin's sword swept through the area.
The opponent barely managed to react to Lee Shin's attack.
[You failed to completely block the attack.]
[Your equipment's durability has decreased.]
[You are now bleeding...]
...It was a close call, but he wasn't dead.
The level difference still mattered, after all.
But just as he thought he was lucky to be alive, he realized Lee Shin's assault had only just begun.
Lee Shin picked up his pace.
In between skill and skill combos.
In between feints with his hands and shoulders.
Even while dodging the enemy's attacks.
*Stab! Stab-stab!!*
Lee Shin squeezed every last millisecond out of his tempo to cram in basic attacks.
A tempo so fast it was like he was in a different world!
His opponent could only stare in horror.
*‘What in the...?!’*
He wasn't human.
Literally another level.
*‘Dammit, we shouldn't have messed with him...!’*
Regret washed over him, but...
*Stab!*
it was already too late.
[The effect of Incarnation of Malice...]
[Intense damage has been...]
[......]
[…Your HP has reached 0. You will now be logged out!]
With one man down, the precarious balance shattered completely, and the rest fell like dominoes.
“N-No...!”
“What do you mean, no?”
“Dammit! I've memorized your face...!”
*Stab-squish-stab!*
[You have murdered a player!]
[You have murdered a player!]
[You have murdered a...]
[…Your infamy has increased by a large amount!]
[The incubation time for the Egg of Malice has been shortened.]
[You have acquired experience.]
[You have acquired gold.]
[You have acquired an item...]
[......]
He had lifted the curse on Arthur before killing them, so the items and experience came in normally.
Lee Shin left the scene as quickly and as far as possible.
“Let's go.”
“...Ah! Yes.”
“Hand over the items.”
[Transferring item...]
“Oh, by the way.”
“?”
Arthur asked as he handed over the items.
“What happened with that thing you went to do separately?”
“I got a quest.”
“As expected...!”
“...But it's a real pain in the ass, that's the problem.”
“?”
Killing those players to let off some steam had eased his frustration a bit...
but the fundamental issue remained unresolved.
*‘...Well. I’ll think about this later.’*
Lee Shin checked the loot first.
[Gold Pouch x183]
[Grants 1,000 Gold upon use.]
*‘They dropped a lot.’*
A better haul than he'd expected!
It was because his drop rate had increased as his level went up.
Thanks to that, quite a few pieces of equipment had dropped as well.
[Ruby Wand]
[Sacred Boots]
[Power-Up Gauntlets]
[Potion Bundle]
[Elixir Bundle]
......
[Quest Item: Eradication Squad Token]
“?”
...But there was one strange thing mixed in.
A look of confusion appeared on Lee Shin's face.
*‘A quest item dropped?’*
Seeing this, the players he killed must have had quite a bit of infamy themselves.
An important item like this wouldn't drop unless one's infamy was considerably high.
He hadn't planned for it, but in the end, it was a good thing for him.
[You can take over the quest.]
[Would you like to take over the quest, ‘Eradicate the Pirates in the Les Port Sea’?]
“......!”
Thanks to this, he now had a lead.