Kyle had just crippled the limbs of two guards in the army of the Bancroft clan and broken two of Lieutenant Claudius's fingers. Yet, he didn't seem the least bit afraid. The crowd had quietly slipped away, and so did Claudius and his men, grateful their lives had been spared. They were lucky he didn't try to end their lives. The system chimed in his head.
[Host, you have successfully completed the mission. Loading your grade: D
The mission was completed by sixty percent. You have been awarded three attribute points.
Do you wish to assign them now or later? ]
Kyle scratched his head. Why was he graded a C? Sixty percent? That was impossible; this revenge mission had been completed perfectly. Just where did he go wrong? Then another question popped up in his mind. Where was he going to put his new attribute points? He didn't know what these were exactly, and he didn't have time to explore the system. He would do that later, not just here while standing in the streets like a madman. Kyle felt different; the power surging in his body caused many other different feelings to bubble in him. Pride, confidence, eagerness, and many others. He pushed them down in his guts. Of all of these feelings, the need for revenge boiled under the calm surface of his nonchalant look. As he passed a nearby stall selling apples. He moved faster than the vendor could see, snatching two apples and hiding them in his plain tunic. The lady at the stall didn't even see the blur of movement.
He placed one hand in his robe pocket as he headed back to his home whistling; hopefully Julie was still waiting for him.
His courtyard wasn't far from the market, so he soon saw the gate up ahead; however, before Kyle could even step inside his compound. A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path. This person had moved like they were rolling on tires. Kyle glanced behind him and saw six men; he glanced on his right—another six. His left? A third six. They all stood in this position with the looks of malice in their eyes. Kyle was surrounded.
He sighed and slapped his forehead; he should have known Claudius would go for reinforcements. And this time he had brought Landon. A commander and his superior. Landon stepped forward and asked Kyle, who was still casually eating his apple.
"You there, were you the one who broke my lieutenant's fingers?" Kyle chuckled when he saw Claudius hiding behind his companions, trying to see what was going to happen while keeping himself out of view. When his gaze met Kyle's, he stammered.
"Sir, be careful; this guy isn't normal, he's some kind of demon."
The surrounding guards looked at each other. To them, this guy didn't look like a demon; at most, he just chose a poor outfit. However, something unsettled all the soldiers, including Commander Landon. He decided to proceed with relative caution. This guy had to have someone backing him for him to dare cause trouble in a city owned by the Bancroft clan.
"Identify yourself, stranger. What's your business here, and why did you injure my subordinate?" Kyle ate his apples quietly, as if no one here could put him in a hurry. When he was done with one apple, he dusted his hands off on his clothes and looked at Landon. His lack of fear was becoming quite baffling. "Landon, I only have one question for you, and if you answer me honestly, I'll clear everything up." Ladon had never spoken his name to the stranger, so how did he know Landon's name? This brought up new questions: if this stranger knew him and knew he was a commander, why wasn't he afraid? The answer should have been clear to Landon, and it should have made him stand down. But his pride made more sense to him.
The guards kept staring at each other in confusion. They had initially come here to look for Kyle while fuming with anger; now they were as confused as a vicious beast with two heads. "Do you know what your lieutenant tried to do after he met me in the market?" Landon sneered; he had thought Kyle would ask some kind of relevant question. But instead he was trying to justify his actions. He scoffed, "I should have known that's what you were trying to do. I don't know what he did, and I don't care." Kyle nodded like some sort of wise sage, then the calm, aloof "just want to finish my apple" look disappeared from his eyes.
"A promise is a promise, so I'll clear things up. The reason I broke his two fingers was because he tried to do the same to me. Besides, I am Kyle Bancroft, the second heir of the patriarch and previous owner of the Eclipse Heart." An ant's footsteps could have been heard from the kind of silence that descended over everyone. It was followed by loud, frantic laughter; all the soldiers who had been firm and vigilant before began to nudge each other and laugh in disbelief.
Landon was the first to catch his cool and answered. "I can see why you would claim to be the second heir; the both of you look alike, but we all know the young master Kyle is a cripple now. He can't even beat up a slave."
Kyle sneered; he didn't even acknowledge what Landon was saying.
The mocking tone Landon was using made it obvious he had never regarded Kyle as anything significant.
He stepped forward like a judge pronouncing a judgment. "Since you can't watch your men and they have become even more arrogant than you, I'll make sure all of you leave here today with matching finger sets." The chi around his body coiled like a snake around a tower. Landon sensed great power from the young man, and immediately he released his warrior's heart.
A faint outline of a wolf hovered behind him. He shouted at his men. Usually warriors only released their warrior heart as a last resort. So, what did this mean? Releasing your heart after just sensing your opponent's chi? It meant he could feel the incredible power from Kyle's body, going all out and hoping to win. It was a good thing he brought so many men; at least that's what he thought. "Idiots, can't you see he's very powerful? Release your warriors' hearts now."
The wind picked up as auras clashed. The night sky became filled with a light as different auras and different warrior hearts shimmered in the air. Nineteen warriors who unleashed their hearts, Kyle had two options. Either he released his destructive concept and kill everyone here. Or, he could just use his normal raw chi powers against the warriors' hearts and get a few injuries. The men surrounded him with fury and determination to kill in their eyes; the warriors' hearts they released colored the front of his courtyard in a rainbow hue.
Kyle planned to turn that color red. Unfortunately, since Kyle had decided not to use the concept of destruction, they wouldn't be able to see the "demon" Claudius was referring to, at least not the worst version.