" You've been talking for a while , but all I've understood is that you want me to hand over my weapon and want my sister and I to join your party. You make it seem like you are doing us a big favour but I would rather jump of a cliff than ever consider partying with you clowns..." Yuki said in a unbothered tone as she tilted her head to the side while her gaze moved over the 12 people assessing their threat level.
The moment Yuki's words fell there was a sudden reaction among Brad's cronies as all of them showed stunned reactions and let out murmurs while gazing at each other not knowing how to react.
Brad on the other hand still had his expression frozen as it took him a few seconds to process what he just heard.
He couldn't believe that this woman had insulted him , and being coddled from birth he has never experienced something like this. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.
Brad's smile disappeared,it didn't fade gradually, it just stopped like a switch being flipped, and what replaced it was something uglier and far more honest. His jaw tightened and the easy, performative smile he'd been wearing since the gate was gone and what was underneath it was just a man who wasn't used to being told no.
"You know what your problem is?" Brad said, his voice dropping to a quiet snarl. "You think this is still the old world, you think there are still rules."He took a step forward.
Yuki held her ground as she stared at him coldly , she knew she couldn't take everyone but she can definitely take him out. Yuki met Sakura's eyes as her younger sister nodded at her with a strained smile.
"There's no police here," Brad continued, and now he wasn't performing as a nice guy anymore but it didn't make it any less nauseous. "No laws and no one to call. Your sword, your sister, your attitude...none of it matters if you can't back it up. And right now?" His eyes moved to Sakura, as he gazed her up and down deliberately while a sneer formed on his lips. "You're one person... and she's not even that."
The other eleven guys started to subtly move around them , surrounding them and both Yuki and Sakura could feel the pressure of the situation.
Sakura was clutching the arm rest so tight that her knuckles were white , Sakura didn't show them that she was spooked but it was a fact that she could neither fight nor could she run and everyone in that clearing knew this .
Brad crouched down to be at Sakura's eye level as he smiled arrogantly at her while sweeping his gaze across her form while licking his lips , not even bothering to mask his intentions.
" Last chance both of you... I promise I'll take care of both of you... —" Brad paused as he gazed at Sakura's chest with a smirk "— especially you..."
Victor heard enough and he definitely had enough...
....
Victor wasn't sure at what point he stopped watching.
But he was already moving towards the 12 guys with his sword in his hand , his mind not even bothering with the moral or ethical question of possibly battling or killing fellow humans.
He wasn't nervous or uncomfortable, and surprisingly his pulse was calm like he didn't feel a thing about what he was about to do.
It would have been easy to just cut someone's head off but in Aethelgard it didn't work like that as after being transported everyone had a game like body.
But it didn't matte either way since these Twelve players were weaker than a group of Twelve monsters not to mention even if it was the latter he wouldn't be afraid.
.....
Yuki saw him before anyone else did.
A figure stepping out of the treeline, unhurried with a sword already in hand. It took her brain a full second to process the face and when it did she forgot what she was about to say to Brad entirely.
Victor wasn't looking at her , his gaze was fixed on the guy nearest to him as he moved towards him silently and before Yuki could even process what was happening a body hit the ground with a loud thud alarming the rest of the group.
It took a few moments for them to understand what was happening but it was to no avail as Victor was like a machine just mowing them down, one by one.
Their numbers meant nothing as they started dropping like flies and Yuki watched all this with a stunned expression while Brad had long since lost his smug look, as his face was pale while sweat dripped down his head like he was standing under a shower.
The guy before him was slaughtering his men with the same energy one would have when mowing the lawn and that scared him shitless.
So when Victor's gazed landed on Brad, he felt the strength leave his knees as he fell back on his butt and babbled like an idiot...
....
The notifications hit him mid-fight, but he didn't bother with it as he kept on killing the rest.
[ Level Up! You are now Level 3. ]
Victor filed it away and kept moving and when the last one went down he checked his logs.
[ Victor Thorne — Level 3 (160/400 XP) ]
[ HP: 400/400 (200 base + 200 ) ]
[ Attack: 50 (20 base + 30 ) ]
[ Defense: 60 (10 base + 50 ) ]
[ Agility: 10 ]
[ MP: 150 ]
[ EP: 10 ]
Victor closed the window while mentally noting that players dropped the same XP and EP as monsters. It was a good information to keep in mind.
He looked down at Brad, sitting in the dirt with his shaky hands and his trusty sword somewhere to his left. The man who'd been running his mouth since the city gate had nothing left to say apparently.
He just stared up at Victor with the look of someone who had very recently recalculated something important about the world and his life.
Flight or fight kicked in for him as Brad scrambled backwards in the dirt, palms scraping the ground.
"Wait! — wait, look, I wasn't actually going to — it was just talk, I swear, I wasn't going to do anything—" Victor didn't wait he just continued walking towards him.
"I have gold. I have — listen, we can work something out, just—" Brad's back hit a tree root and he had nowhere left to go. His eyes were darting between Victor's face and the sword and finding nothing useful in either.
"Y-You can have them both! I'll help you out! I won't fight you for them!" Victor just continued moving towards Brad not caring about his words.
"Please. Please, man. I have a family back home, I have—"Victor crouched down to his level as Brad went quiet.
"You said there are no rules here right ?" Victor said as he let that sit for a moment.
Then he stood back up and drew the blade across Brad's arm in one short motion and stepped back.
[ Tetanus Effect Triggered! ]
Brad looked at the cut. Then he looked up.
Victor had already turned away.
[ System Log: Player 'Brad' has been killed by Player 'Victor Thorne'. ]
[ XP Gained: 20 ]
[ EP Gained: 1 ]
...
Yuki and Sakura weren't scared of Victor's display and for them there was just curiousity and a bit of awe.
Victor walked over to Yuki as she met his gaze and both of them stared at each other not knowing what to say. An awkward silence followed for a few moments and Victor decided to break the ice.
" Hey " x2
Both of them had the same thought as they both said the awkward greeting only to pause again.
A few seconds passed where nobody said anything once again and the fog started to crawl into the clearing gently.
"You good?" Victor asked finally.
"Yeah." Yuki said then asked the same question , "you?"
"Yeah."
Sakura made a small sound that wasn't quite a cough and Yuki shot her a look.
But Sakura was already looking elsewhere, the perfect picture of innocence and she slowly wheeled herself a few feet away to give them space that neither of them had asked for with a mischievous smile.
Victor watched her go, then looked back at Yuki only to catch her staring at the trees like there was something interesting there...
...
Victor had decided to go solo at the start but sometimes plans don't go the same way you plan them.
"Do you have somewhere to be?" Victor asked in a non chalant manner while internally it was not the case.
Yuki blinked at his question."What?"
" I was asking if you wanted to party with me ..." Victor asked calmly as he gazed at Yuki who was seemed stunned by his question.
But she quickly schooled her expression as he refused him flatly " No need , We are fine on our own..." She said it almost defensively like she didn't want Victor to take pity on her.
"You weren't fine a few moments ago..." Victor said bluntly making Yuki's jaw tighten. His words might appear a bit harsh but Victor was feeling a bit irritated , he had saved her and she was behaving like this.
And honestly her indifferent and cold behaviour did sting a bit , much more than he was willing to admit...
.....