By now, a small crowd had gathered. It started with a handful of onlookers, mostly merchants returning from the market and common folk eager for distractions, but soon the number grew. They pressed in close, murmuring among themselves as they craned their necks to see. People did not gather around Lieutenant Claudius casually.
Every person there remembered the fate of those who had once bumped into him, whether by accident or bad luck. Without fail, they all lost their thumbs. That was the rule. Claudius made sure of it. So as they watched the young man standing restrained by two soldiers, most assumed they were about to witness the same grisly punishment. No one thought Kyle would escape it. The system chimed.
[Host has triggered a mission.
Lieutenant Claudius and his men intend to cut off your thumb. This malicious intent toward the host is already considered a crime. You must exact your revenge. The more creative, satisfying, and just your revenge, the greater the reward the host will receive.
Penalty: failure to complete this mission will result in a lost thumb and decreased attribute points.]
This system was truly ruthless, even if you didn't harm Kyle. Just by threatening him, a revenge quest was immediately activated.
The message burned in Kyle's mind, sharp as a knife, while Claudius and his men laughed. Their laughter echoed in the street, low and mocking, carrying that arrogance of men who thought themselves untouchable.
The guards at his side tightened their grip on his arms as if they were afraid he would run. To them, Kyle was nothing more than another fool who did not understand his place. A commoner should have bowed, apologized, and even begged. But nooo, he thought he was something special. Even brushing against a guard meant trouble. But to stumble into Claudius himself? That was an invitation to lose a thumb.
Claudius' grin widened, his teeth yellow, the same as the sun.
"It's quite unfortunate, kid. If you had just passed by instead of bumping into me, you wouldn't have to pay such a price."
His tone was casual, but his eyes gleamed with cruelty. Then his lips twisted into something darker. "We could avoid all this, though… if you happened to have a few coins."
So that was it. Kyle's frown deepened. The lieutenant wasn't just after his thumb; he wanted his money as well. It wasn't discipline; it was robbery dressed up as authority. "Despicable." The worst part about it was that Kyle knew this guy would still cut off his fingers even if he took out all his money. The guards were still chuckling at the joke when Kyle finally spoke, his voice calm, too calm for someone in this situation.
"Good. I wonder how you'll feel after paying the same price you set for others."
For a heartbeat Claudius faltered, as though the ground beneath him had shifted.
Had this boy really said that? "Uhhh… what did you say?" he asked, blinking. His guards exchanged uneasy glances, the humor draining from their faces. The words didn't sound like the panicked rambling of a man about to lose his thumb.
They sounded like a threat.
Claudius leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, repeat what you just said."
But Kyle only smiled. That was not the smile of someone scared. It was a thin, cold smile that never touched his eyes.
Claudius' expression hardened. "Alright then. Stretch out his fingers.
I was only going to take his thumb, but now I'll take more of his fingers." His hand slid toward the hilt of his blade, fingers itching to draw it. One clean swing—that was all it would take.
Yet after a long moment, nothing happened. Kyle's hands never appeared. Claudius frowned.
The guards pulled again, but Kyle's arms refused to move, as though they were fused to his back.
"What are you two doing? Show me his hands!" Claudius barked.
The soldiers grunted with effort. One finally hissed, "Sir, we're trying… but it feels like he glued them to his back. This kid is actually cunning. Where did he even get glue?"
Kyle's cold laugh rang out; he had to admit this guard was funny. Glue? He didn't even feel their pull. Their strength was that of mosquitoes. Lucifer had fused the concept of destruction in his mind but hadn't gotten the chance to test it.
Since these men were acting like they had the brains of sheep lost from the herd with no sense of direction. They would serve as the perfect sacrificial lambs.
The air thickened.
A chill swept the street, sharp enough that several in the crowd shivered. Unlike an ordinary aura, which weighed on the body like heavy stones, the aura of the concept of destruction felt... different. Everyone who stood in close proximity felt their hearts skip a beat.
Then it began to race faster, like they had run for miles. If the common folks could put it simply, it was as though death itself had walked by. Claudius and his guards felt it the most, their breaths catching in their throats.
Kyle's pupils darkened, deeper than black, swallowing the light until his gaze looked bottomless.
Claudius stumbled back with a curse. The guards jerked away from him, leaving his arm. Their earlier confidence was replaced with a creeping horror. Never had they felt energy so cold, so unnatural. For a fleeting second, it seemed to them that this guy whom they thought would be one of their victims was some evil creature that had taken human shape and chosen to linger among them.
Kyle tilted his head, his voice playful but laced with menace. "What's the matter, gentlemen? Didn't you want my fingers a moment ago?"
He still hadn't moved. His hands remained behind his back exactly as they had been from the start.
That was when the guards screamed. The sound tore through the street, high and raw, like pigs meeting the butcher's knife. They clawed at their arms, shaking, thrashing as if something alive writhed beneath their armor. Claudius' eyes darted downward, and what he saw nearly made him gag.
From their palms to their elbows, the guards' skin had darkened, veins bulging black as if ink pumped through them. Their limbs went slack, hanging at their sides, paralyzed. They had used those hands to hold Kyle in place.
Now their hands were destroyed.
The crowd gasped at the same time. A woman shrieked. Several bolted away immediately, unwilling to stand near such a spectacle. Others, however, remained rooted, caught between horror and fascination.
After all, when had anyone ever witnessed a commoner make a lieutenant tremble and run away like a scared little girl?
Claudius' mouth went dry. He looked from his men back to Kyle, then back again, his thoughts racing. The more he stared at this man, the more monstrous he appeared. Was he human at all? Or something in disguise? Claudius had believed himself untouchable. He was an initial-tier level five, an enforcer in Kegal, accustomed to lording over merchants and peasants.
Concepts were knowledge reserved for true warriors, for those destined to carve legends. Men like him weren't even supposed to understand their existence. Therefore, he didn't understand how Kyle was doing what he did.
Kyle looked down at the guards' twisted hands, and even he felt a jolt of unease. The concept of destruction was frightening.
He hadn't needed this much power to handle Claudius and his men, yet the damage was done. With a steady breath, he pulled his mind away, deactivating the concept. The suffocating aura receded, and relief rippled faintly through the onlookers. Still, in his chest, Kyle felt the tremor of his own fear. If this was just 2% of the power of destruction, then he needed to tread carefully. Better, for now, to rely on ordinary chi.
While Kyle measured his power mentally, Claudius' instincts screamed at him. This was no fight he could win. Pride forgotten, he turned, activating his chi and bolting through the streets. Dust flew beneath his boots as he abandoned his men.
Kyle sneered, and he muttered to himself. "After trying to cut off my finger, you realize I'm stronger, and now you want to run? I don't think so. You must pay the price."
Claudius, mortal-tier level five, fled as though his life depended on it. Kyle, having just broken into the Ascended tier, was way faster than him. Even without his concept, his chi alone was enough to crush Claudius.
The chi surged into Kyle's legs, and in a blur, he moved.
Five seconds—that was all the time it took. In that span, he overtook Claudius, seized his hand, and snapped two fingers with a sickening crunch. Claudius collapsed, screaming, his fingers bent into grotesque shapes. The sound echoed down the street, silencing what few murmurs remained in the crowd.
Kyle gazed down at him, his expression calm, almost indifferent. Claudius had wanted two fingers from him. So he had lost two. That was real balance. Without another word, Kyle turned, hands once more clasped behind his back, and walked away casually. Already forgetting Claudius and his men.