Hendonshire was a small town, known for its peace and an almost non-existent crime rate.
In other words, it was a safe zone.
Even with the rise in murders over the last decade, it felt like the one place untouched by it all.
A haven. A place to escape the world's evil.
Arthur Bright brought an end to such beliefs.
———
Name: Arthur Bright
Class: Butcher
Titles: None
Buffs: Stab Damage II
Abilities: None
Artefacts: None
Active Quests: None
Serial Killer Ranking: 100,000+
Arthur had no time to process the words shown to him on his system.
He looked down at the corpse in front of him. The head splattered into chunks of bloody pieces, and the knife blade sticking out of its shoulder.
He felt bile rise in his throat, but quickly swallowed it down.
Can't puke... they'll know I was here.
Keeping his hood tight over his blonde hair, he searched the floor for the knife handle.
He had to make sure that he left no clues behind.
After finding it, he slid it into his pocket and fled from the scene, leaving the brutalised corpse in his wake.
He knew not whether the man had a wife or kids.
The chances were high. Hendonshire was a traditional town after all.
But Arthur didn't care. At that moment, he only cared about himself.
I've done it... I've finally done it. I'm free from that demonic headache.
Before exiting the park and onto the street, he found a fountain where he washed the blood from his hands and clothes.
The entire time he had to watch over his shoulder, making sure no one else passed.
Once as clean as he could be, he made his way onto the streets and travelled with the wet clothes clinging to his body.
It was well past midnight, so the streets were practically empty.
Anytime he spotted someone, he sped up his pace and tried to look as innocent as possible.
Which was hard to do, after crushing a man's skull with a rock.
Luckily, he managed to make it back to 'Lucy's Orphanage' without being seen.
He snuck back in through his bedroom window and drew the curtains behind him.
Finally, he plopped himself down on his bed and began to process the events of the night.
I'm officially a serial killer. Not just because of what I've done, but also because of the system.
He focused on his identity, and the strange menu popped up in his mind again.
It seemed to give him all sorts of new information about himself, and once he focused on a specific word, the system elaborated on their meanings.
Butcher: A strength-focused killer class specializing in brutal, close-combat kills.
Abilities: Class-specific powers granted by the system.
Titles: Prestigious system-awarded titles for top-ranked killers, granting unique buffs.
Serial Killer Ranking: A killer's position on the global leaderboard, based on kill count & quality.
Buffs (Passive Skills): Always-active enhancements tied to a killer.
Artefacts (Magical Items): Rare, system-forged items with supernatural properties.
Active Quest: A system-assigned task.
The more that Arthur read, the more intrigued he became.
This is more interesting than I thought...
I guess I was assigned the Butcher due to the nature of my kill?
And my serial killer ranking... 100,000+. Just how many kills would it take to reach the top 100?
The serial killers in the top 100 ranking were well known across the world, despite no one but those visited by The Judge having access to the ranking leaderboard.
Some of them were still anonymous, hiding in the shadows, whilst others were known figures. The Defenders (military) were just unable to do anything about them at the moment.
After familiarising himself with his system, Arthur had one last thing to do before going to bed.
He turned on his computer and opened his online banking account.
Inside, he found the 1000$ Reward earned from the kill.
Silently he cheered to himself.
This is the most money I've ever had...
Satisfied with the day's events, he removed his still-wet clothes and spread them out across the floor to dry.
Then, he jumped back into bed and let sleep take him.
———
That night, Arthur was plagued by a dream.
A dream which showed him murdering the man with the rock again and again and again.
It was a brutal showing, clearly meant to torment him. However, Arthur struggled to feel sympathy for his victim.
He didn't know the man personally, so he found it easy to detach himself from the act.
To treat it the same way as he would treat killing an animal or insect.
He only questioned for a moment whether he was psychopathic, before realising that he didn't care.
———
Arthur woke up to the sounds of a gentle knock on his door.
His body was sweating and his heart was racing.
Have I been caught?
It was the first thought that passed his head.
The light shone through his curtains, meaning it was daytime.
Someone was sure to have found the body by now.
The murder would be on the news.
Hendonshire would be in chaotic fear after finding out that murder had finally arrived at their town.
But did I leave anything at the crime scene to link the murder back to me? I mean, it was hardly a well-thought-out kill.
...
No, I don't think I did.
The knock came at the door again.
Arthur rose to his feet and made his way over. After opening it, his mind was eased.
"Mother Lucy," Arthur said with a smile, greeting the owner of the orphanage that he had lived in with many other kids ever since his parent's death.
She certainly looked like a motherly figure. She wore a pink buttoned shirt tucked into a black pencil skirt, black tights, and a pair of black slip-on shoes.
Her hair was blonde and curled down to her shoulders. She always wore a smile on her face, and her blue eyes seemed to glint with joy.
She was also tall for a woman, and her body would be described as 'curvy' by many men.
Mother Lucy flashed Arthur the smile that the orphans loved so much. Her head tilted slightly to the side, and she squinted.
"Arthur Bright, my sweet child." She said, pulling the young man into a delicate hug, his head resting on her chest.
However, before Arthur was able to pull away, Mother Lucy whispered into his ear.
The words sent chills down his spine.
"Congratulations on your first kill."