The morning sun in The Grey Woods always looked sickly, pale and reluctant to pierce through the mist. For most living things, this mist limited vision. But for Vaelen, with Abyssal Qi flowing through his eyes, this mist was a friend.
He moved down the limestone hill, his steps cautious yet fast. He had stuffed his looted, slightly loose leather boots with dry moss to make them fit, dampening the sound of his footsteps.
Vaelen opened his stolen map as he walked.
"Rat Path," he muttered. "A derogatory name for a logistics route this important."
The path was just a narrow trail between giant tree roots protruding from the ground like the earth's ribs. This route was intentionally winding to avoid Spider-Crab nests and toxic swamps. If not for this bandit map, Vaelen would have certainly gotten lost and ended up in the stomach of a Rank 8 monster.
After about two hours of walking, his ears caught something.
The sound of rough laughter. The smell of cheap tobacco smoke.
Vaelen immediately crouched, blending into the chest-high purple underbrush. His heart slowed automatically—a predator reflex granted by the System.
He peeked through the leaves.
Up ahead, in a small clearing near a bend in the path, three men were resting. They wore leather armor with shoulder badges depicting a crude black wolf's head. Bandits.
A skinny one was sharpening a knife, a fat one was drinking from a wineskin, and another—looking like the leader of the small squad—was leaning against a tree smoking a long pipe.
"I told you, the Captain is too cautious," complained the Skinny One. "Kidnapping a Duke's child? That's suicide. We should have just robbed a grain merchant caravan."
"Shut your mouth, Ratt," snapped the Leader. Pipe smoke billowed from his mouth. "The client this time isn't just anyone. They paid upfront with pure Mana Stones. One of those stones is enough to buy the best whore in the capital for a year."
Vaelen's eyes narrowed. Mana Stones. The premium currency of this world, far more valuable than gold coins. Gold was only for commoners; Mana Stones were a strategic resource for mages and military operations.
If bandits were being paid with them, the mastermind wasn't a common criminal. It was a political operation.
"But still," interrupted the Fat One, wiping his greasy mouth. "This road is quiet. Those academy scout kids are only passing through the day after tomorrow, right? Why do we have to patrol at the crack of dawn?"
"Because there's news that Outpost 4 didn't report in last night," answered the Leader, his tone turning serious. "Maybe eaten by monsters, or..."
"...Or slaughtered by someone who needed breakfast," Vaelen's inner voice interrupted their conversation from the darkness.
Vaelen analyzed the situation.
[Enemy Status Analysis]
1. Leader: Swordsman Rank 9 (Peak Stage). Uses a longsword.
2. Ratt (Skinny): Scout/Rogue Rank 9 (Middle Stage). Carries two daggers.
3. Fatty (Fat): Brute Rank 9 (Middle Stage). Carries a Battleaxe, but movements are slow.
Three against one.
If this were a standard RPG game, Vaelen might try pulling them one by one. But this was the real world. One scream could summon reinforcements.
Vaelen felt the pouch at his waist. The Ghost Pepper powder pouch.
"Party time," he whispered.
Vaelen picked up a rock the size of a fist, then threw it with all his might into the bushes opposite the bandits' position.
CRASH! THUD!
The sound was clear in the forest silence.
"What was that?!" The Skinny One jumped up immediately, both daggers drawn.
The Leader threw away his pipe, drawing his sword. "2 o'clock! Fatty, check it!"
"Why do I have to..." grumbled the Fat One, but he still lifted his battleaxe and walked sluggishly toward the source of the sound, turning his back on Vaelen's position.
Their formation was broken. The Fat One moved away, the Skinny One and the Leader stared in the opposite direction.
Now.
Vaelen didn't run out. He unleashed his new technique.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ABYSSAL STEP]
[-2 Abyssal Qi]
Vaelen's world changed color to a black-and-white negative film. Sound became silent. His feet felt like they weren't touching the ground, but sliding on slick oil. In that one second of "ghost time", he crossed ten meters without air resistance.
Vaelen reappeared in reality right behind the Leader and the Skinny One.
He didn't stab immediately. He threw a handful of white powder right between the faces of the two men who were standing close together.
"Huh?" The Skinny One turned.
POOF!
The cloud of concentrated Ghost Pepper powder exploded in their faces.
"AAAAARGHH! MY EYES! MY EYES ARE BURNING!" The Skinny One screamed, dropping his daggers and clawing at his own face. The powder got into his eyes, nose, and lungs.
The Leader was tougher. He roared in pain, his eyes red, watery, and half-blind, but his instincts made him swing his longsword horizontally, slashing blindly around him.
WHOOSH!
The slash was dangerous. If Vaelen were still there, he would have been cut in two.
But Vaelen was no longer there.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ABYSSAL STEP]
[-2 Abyssal Qi]
Vaelen vanished into a shadow again, lowering his body, and reappeared on the Leader's right side, which was wide open due to the overly wide sword swing.
Vaelen thrust his shortsword into the gap in the Leader's leather armor armpit—a fatal gap leading to the heart and lungs.
SHLUCK.
No nonsense. No shouting out move names.
The Leader choked, frothy blood bubbling from his mouth. He fell to his knees, then collapsed face down.
[Critical Hit.]
[Target Eliminated.]
The Skinny One was still rolling on the ground, blind and short of breath.
However, the threat wasn't over.
"CAPTAIN?!" A booming shout came from behind.
Fatty turned around. He saw his captain dead and his comrade dying. His eyes widened, then his face turned beet red with rage.
"YOU DEMON BRAT!"
Fatty charged. For a man that heavy, his speed was surprising when angry (Tank Class Charge). He raised his battleaxe high, ready to split Vaelen in two.
Vaelen tried to activate Abyssal Step.
[Cooldown: 3 seconds (Overheat Warning)]
"Tsk, cooldown," Vaelen cursed. His human body wasn't strong enough to withstand consecutive dimensional shifts yet.
He couldn't block that heavy axe attack with a shortsword. He would be crushed.
The axe descended. Vaelen rolled forward, through the gap between the Fat One's legs—a high-risk move. The wind from the axe slash swept his hair. The axe hit the ground, creating a vibration that made teeth ache.
Now Vaelen was behind the Fat One.
But the Fat One wasn't an amateur. He used the momentum of his axe stuck in the ground as a pivot to kick backward like a horse.
THUD!
The iron boot heel slammed into Vaelen's chest.
"Ugh!"
Vaelen was flung three meters, hitting a tree. His ribs felt cracked again. Fishy blood rose to his throat. His HP dropped drastically into the yellow zone.
"Who do you think you are, huh?!" The Fat One pulled his axe out with one easy jerk, turning to face Vaelen who was trying to get up. "Killing the Captain with cowardly tricks!"
The Fat One approached. A thin red aura enveloped his body—Skill: Rage (Minor).
Vaelen spat blood onto the ground, then smiled crookedly. Blood stained his teeth red, making him look insane.
"Cowardly?" Vaelen stood, though his legs wobbled. "This is called efficiency, Fatty. Business lesson number one: Cut operational costs."
"talking nonsense!" Fatty swung the axe horizontally. The reach was wide. Nowhere to run.
Vaelen stared at the axe. He didn't run. He waited until the very last second.
He saw Fatty's attack pattern. People relying on Rage Skills usually sacrificed accuracy for power.
Just as the axe blade was about to slice his neck, Vaelen dropped himself—not backward, but dropping into a cross-legged sitting stance (drop stance). The axe blade passed two inches above his head, cutting a few strands of his black hair.
From that low crouching position, Vaelen launched himself forward like a spring, thrusting straight ahead.
Target: Inner thigh (Femoral Artery). Classic weak point.
SHLUCK!
The shortsword pierced the thick flesh deeply.
"AAAA!" Fatty screamed, his knees going weak instantly.
Vaelen didn't stop. He twisted the sword inside the wound, then pulled it out roughly. Blood sprayed heavily like a leaking faucet. Fatty fell to one knee, trying to stem the bleeding with his hands, his axe falling.
Vaelen stood before him, staring coldly.
"Please... mercy..." Fatty gasped, his face turning pale in seconds. His rage vanished, replaced by the fear of death. "I have gold... at the camp... just take it..."
Vaelen looked down, staring into the man's eyes. No pity. No moral hesitation about killing humans.
To him, they were just talking 'Resource Bags'.
"I will definitely take your gold," Vaelen said softly. "But your life is far more valuable to me."
Vaelen's hand gripped the Fat One's face.
[SKILL: PROTOTYPE SIPHON]
"Nooo... AAAAAAGH!"
The fat body convulsed violently, shrinking visually as if fat and muscle were forcibly pulled out by an invisible vacuum. Vaelen absorbed everything—physical Qi, vitality, and pure fear.
Ten seconds later, only a dried corpse remained.
Vaelen stood tall. A warm sensation enveloped his body. The pain in his chest from the kick earlier disappeared completely.
[Vitality Restored.]
[Abyssal Qi Recharged: +4.]
[Exp Gained.]
He turned to the Skinny One who was still blind and whimpering on the ground, calling for his mother.
Vaelen walked over to him, pulled the shortsword from the Captain's corpse, then ended the Skinny One's suffering with one precise stab to the back of the neck.
Silence returned to cover the forest.
Vaelen stood amidst the three corpses. He took a deep breath.
Killing humans felt different from killing monsters. Monsters gave him madness, but humans... humans gave him Emotions.
He felt the remnants of their emotions flowing in his blood: The captain's greed, the fat one's fear, and the skinny one's despair. The emotions were mixed up, intoxicating, like drinking a bootleg alcohol cocktail.
"You are no better than monsters," Vaelen whispered, banishing the sentimental feelings that weren't his.
He began looting quickly and methodically.
[Loot Report]
1. Steel Longsword (Good Quality): Replaces the rusty shortsword.
2. Coin Pouch: 12 Gold Coins, 40 Silver. A decent amount for a beginner.
3. Black Wolf Token: Passport for infiltration.
4. Captain's Ring: Grants +1 Strength passive.
And in the Captain's inner pocket, Vaelen found a formal letter still sealed with wax bearing an eagle logo—the royal family crest, but the eagle had two heads (symbol of a rebel or secret faction).
The letter was addressed to: "Commander Fenrir - Iron Tooth Gorge."
The content was brief: "Special merchandise (Viscount H.'s Youngest Daughter) will pass the route tomorrow noon. Ensure no witnesses. The escort guards have been bought."
Vaelen crumpled the letter, then pocketed it. His smile widened.
Not just a kidnapping. This was internal betrayal. Insiders selling out their own master.
"A rotten world," Vaelen laughed softly. "And I love the smell."
He packed the valuables, took the bandits' more decent food rations (smoked meat and hard cheese), then continued his journey.
Up ahead, the high cliffs of Iron Tooth Gorge began to appear through the mist. The enemy base was near. And Vaelen wasn't coming as a hero to save the princess, but as a hungry wolf in disguise.