*Step... Step... Step...*
Nero was aura farming on his own.
His footsteps echoed through the stone maze with an ominous sound.
Each of his steps was slow, deliberate, and carried the kind of eerie vibes that made your skin crawl.
*Huff... Huff... Huff...*
Meanwhile, Marcus was on the ground, gasping like an old man on his last life support.
Blood was still streaming down his face from his ruined eye sockets.
*CRACK! POP!*
His metallic transformation started retracting back into his body, reverting back to his human form.
His sharp claws turned back into a regular hand, while his muscles deflated to their normal size.
Within seconds, he was just a regular guy again.
A regular guy who was blind, exhausted, and completely fucked at this point.
It seems the guy was finally out of gas.
*Step… Step... step...*
Nero kept walking toward him with that same terrifying calm.
The silence was suffocating.
Marcus's heavy breathing and whimpers were the only sounds besides those eerie footsteps.
*Huff... Huff...*
"I can hear you, you little shit!"
But it appears the big guy has some fight left within him…
Marcus suddenly threw his entire body forward in a desperate punch toward where he thought Nero was.
*WHOOSH!*
But his fist only managed to damage the empty air.
Because Nero just casually sidestepped like he was avoiding a drunk person trying to hug him.
*Thud!*
Marcus pathetically crashed face-first into the ground.
His big body hit with all the grace of a sack of potatoes falling off a truck.
"Fuck! FUCK!"
And the big guy knew, he's completely fucked right now.
All because he was "caught off guard".
He then flailed around, probably trying to figure out where Nero is right now.
"..."
But the silence stretched on for what felt like forever.
It's just Marcus and his panicked breathing with scrambling around on the ground like a wounded animal.
But that's when Nero's voice cut through the quiet atmosphere,
"... Now that I think about it, your last name is Halner, right?"
The guy's tone was as laid-back as ever, sounding chill.
Like they were having coffee instead of a life-or-death situation.
"Do you perhaps know Salem? Are you guys related?"
"What... What the fuck are you talking about?"
Marcus froze, his confusion replacing panic for a moment.
"W-Why are you asking about that reclusive coward? And H-How do you know him?"
"Reclusive coward? Are you guys brothers?"
"No! I would never accept a coward like him as a brother!"
Nero couldn't help but chuckle internally.
'... So that explains why both these shitheads are completely insane. They're literally two peas from the same fucked-up pod.'
He wondered if it was fate or just a really shitty coincidence that he'd run into both psychotic brothers.
Nero could somehow deduce by his reaction that the two probably have bad blood against each other.
'Well, with how prideful this all-brawn dumbass is and how the younger… or the older one looks like the scrawny version of me a month before, the two must disdain each other.'
But he soon shook his head, deciding that all those details didn't really matter.
"That similarly psychotic brother of yours is also dead."
Nero cut to the chase.
And those words hit Marcus like a bucket of ice water.
His entire body went rigid.
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me."
But before Marcus could ask any follow-up questions, Nero continued with the main topic.
"Anyway, changing the subject… You said you love harassing others, right?"
Marcus's face finally went pale as a ghost as he realized how dangerous his situation was right now.
Even without being able to see, he could hear something in Nero's voice that made his blood freeze.
"Well, not that I care about strangers I don't even know."
Nero's footsteps started up again.
*Step... step...*
"But since you're already here, might as well give those poor spirits you tortured a favor, you know? I believe in karma, after all."
"No, no, no, NO!"
Marcus started screaming like his hair was on fire.
"I'm not about to die here! I haven't enjoyed my freedom yet!"
He was scrambling backward on his hands and knees, trying to put distance between himself and those approaching footsteps.
And finally, the big guy broke,
"I'VE GOT SO MUCH MORE SHIT TO DO! SO MANY PEOPLE TO PUT IN THEIR PLACE!"
"VINCENT PROMISED ME EVERYTHING! POWER, WOMEN, WHATEVER I WANTED!"
"I CAN'T DIE TO SOME SCRAWNY LITTLE SHIT LIKE YOU!"
Marcus was starting to sound completely insane.
His voice was getting higher and more desperate with each word.
"That being said..."
But Nero completely ignored it as his voice cut through his desperate screams.
The sound of metal sliding against the sheath filled the air as he drew Dawnbreaker from his waist.
*Shing…*
"I can't let you get away with calling my angel waifu a bitch."
The blade gleamed in coldness, reflecting Nero's cold expression.
"For attempting to assault Yui… and treating my friends like trash."
Marcus could clearly hear the sword being aimed at him.
His face went from pale to completely white in fear.
Nero's expression was almost a complete void.
He wasn't some hero trying to save the world or protect innocent people.
He wasn't a crazy bastard who killed for fun or profit either.
But this piece of shit had crossed lines that shouldn't be crossed.
Threatening his waifu, planning to hurt the trio, and treating everyone like his personal playthings.
Marcus's twisted history revelation also didn't help with how he looked at the big guy either.
And that was where Nero drew the line.
His normally laid-back black eyes flashed with something deadly.
"Wait, wait, WAIT!"
Marcus finally snapped out of his insane rambling and started begging.
"PLEASE! I'M SORRY, OKAY?! I'M FUCKING SORRY!"
"I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER'S GRAVE!"
"I'LL LEAVE YOUR FRIENDS ALONE! I'LL NEVER TOUCH THAT SILVER-HAIRED GIRL!"
"PLEASE, JUST LET ME LIVE!"
Tears were mixing with the blood on his face.
You could even say he's crying blood at this point… like literally.
What used to be a complete power maniac is now groveling on the ground like a dog.
It was a completely 180 degree switch of his attitude from before.
But Nero's expression didn't falter one bit.
His face stayed the same.
"... Well, you can say your apologies to the devil himself."
*Slash!*
The blade moved in one clean, precise arc.
*Thud…*
Marcus's head separated from his shoulders and hit the ground with a wet sound.
"..."
His body twitched once, then went completely still.
Blood began pooling around the corpse.
"You should be thankful I'm not fond of torture like you."
And it's not like he has the time either, he still needs to find his angel.
But just as Nero was thinking about that…
---
[Enemy defeated: Marcus Halner (Enhanced Human)]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Item Drop: Normal Waifu Coupon x10]
[Your dodging and parrying skills had significantly improved your understanding of sword misdirection.]
[Active Skill: Flowing Slice (C) leveled up!]
---
Nero blinked at the multiple system prompts.
"Holy crap, look at these generous loots!"
And then he paused and looked at the headless Marcus with a bit of confusion.
"Why the hell does he give a lot of EXP, though…?"
Mind you not, during the month they were training, Nero and Aurelia were often embarking on a dispatch mission near the perimeters of the Camp to train his basic swordsmanship and fighting skills.
But despite a month having passed, even with the shared EXP feature with Aurelia, he had only leveled up a few times.
Just two times to be exact… and for this big fella to give it doubled…
'Oh well, glad he's useful.'
Nero only shrugged, not delving the reason why.
He wouldn't complain about it, of course.
Level up notifications are always welcome.
But first off, let's start with the most important loot.
The waifu coupons.
The pulling tickets he so desperately wanted to get since after pulling his legendary angel waifu, Aurelia.
"..."
Nero looked down at the 10 golden tickets that had materialized on his hand.
The coupons had little heart symbols on them and some artwork of some anime girls on it… It does look quite premium.
"Not bad."
Nero judged while rubbing his imaginary beard like an experienced connoisseur inspecting priceless artifacts.
His gacha addiction was already itching every part of his body and soul to 'Pull! Pull! Pull!'.
But with great difficulty, he barely restrained his gambling blood back, he knew that the dangerous situation was far from over.
As Nero inspected the coupons,
"..."
He then finally noticed the blood on his hand.
Some of it had splattered onto his face during the execution.
Nero then inspected his hand, opening and closing it slowly.
As if he was trying to feel... something.
Guilt or maybe some sort of trauma or regret…?
I mean, he just directly killed another human being, unlike that Salem guy.
In all the web novels he'd read, this was supposed to be a big moment, or some sort of turning point of their character development.
The protagonist would either puke their guts out, have a mental breakdown, or go completely psycho, trying to cope with the heavy feeling and the moral reasons of cutting down their fellow species…
But honestly?
Nero didn't feel much of anything.
There's no guilt about ending Marcus's life.
No sick enjoyment from the violence either.
Just... nothing.
… Well, maybe a little disgust but that's all.
Maybe it was because the guy was complete trash who deserved what he got.
… Or maybe Nero was the abnormal one.
Or probably because it still hasn't dawned on him that he killed a person?
Who knows? And frankly, he didn't really care much either.
He was actually thankful that he didn't feel anything, which means he could sleep peacefully at night without having nightmares or some sort of weird epileptic trauma or flashbacks.
Nero was also glad he wasn't some excited pervert who got off on killing people.
He might not be a saint, but he's not a complete devil either, okay?
'I'm not a crazy person, you know?"
… Well, maybe just partial.
'Nahhh, I'm a wholehearted WEEB through and through.'
Nero announced to himself.
And that's right.
The waifus came first, everything else was secondary.
The chad knew his priorities.
With that settled, Nero then decided to check his stats.
Specifically, he wanted to see what his newly acquired unique ability could do.
'Let's see what this baby is all about.'
---
[Metalloid Transformation (A)]: Allows the user to transform their body (partially or completely) into the armored form of an otherworldly mid A-tier wyverns known as Dronolyns. It provides incredible defensive capabilities and enhanced physical strength, but the added weight of the metallic scales reduces mobility. The consumption of mana would be proportional to the transformation and repairs being done on the user's body. +100% STR, +120% VIT, -25% DEX, +10% Physical and All Elements Resilience.
---
"... Holy shit."
Nero's eyes widened as he read through the description.
Those were some absolutely insane buffs.
Double strength, more than double vitality, and some increased immunity to most types of damage.
The mobility penalty was a bit annoying, but with that kind of raw power and vitality, you wouldn't need to dodge much anyway.
"I almost got myself killed because I hesitated to use Copycat."
The realization hit him like a truck, and it made him gulp with sweat on his forehead.
'No wonder he could create craters with his fist.'
If he waited even a few more seconds, Marcus would have turned him into human soup.
This ability was probably the only reason he was still breathing.
"Note to self: don't be a dumbass about using emergency options."
He made a mental note to be more decisive in life-or-death situations.
Hesitation was a luxury he couldn't afford in this fucked-up world.
"I'll check out the other stuff later… For now, it's time to get the hell out of this maze."
Nero wiped the blood off his hands and face with a piece of cloth from Marcus's shirt.
He wasn't about to walk around looking like he just committed murder… even though actually did.
Point being though, he must at least be a bit presentable to his waifu.
"That being said, I wonder where's my stoic angel warrior?"
The feather he had given Lisa should have faintly reached Aurelia by now.
If everything went according to plan, the Valkyrie must've finished with whatever they are dealing with right now, and whatever thing or being is in this maze.
Nero picked up his pace, following the path that seemed most likely to lead to an exit or his angel at some point.
He then strode forward while establishing the summon link with Aurelia.
***
STATUS UPDATE
---
Name: Nero Walker (Jobless Degenerate)
Race: Human
Level: 16 → 20
Stats:
STR: 1.6/10 → 1.65/10 (+0.15) = 1.8/10
DEX: 1.4/10 → 1.45/10
INT: 1.3/10 → 1.35/10
VIT: 2.37/10 → 2.42/10
LUCK: 1.005/10
CHA: 1/10 (+0.01) = 1.01/10
Active Skills:
– [Fierce Stab (C), Lv: 1]
– [Flowing Slice (C), Lv: 2]
Passive Skills:
– [Greater Instinct (C), Lv: 2]
– [Valkyria Swordsmanship (SR), Lv: 1]
Unique Abilities:
– [Waifu Summoner (SSR)]
– [Metalloid Transformation (A)]
---
***
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