Nightmare System 8 Troublemaker

"Yes." Said the woman called Leila, only just now seen by h.e.l.l. He had only noticed her when she got exceedingly close, he'd have to use Short Distance Warping to get away from her if she were to launch an attack at that distance. Her speed still didn't compare his, but she seemed to have a stealth skill, allowing her to get closer without much notice, especially in a hectic environment such as a battlefield. "I'll try, she added as she faded away again. She definitely was not invisible, but also definitely not completely visible. It seemed the shadows embraced her as one of its own.

"Get him, he's at a stalemate with the new guy!" The thug closest to h.e.l.l piped up, wanting support to handle him. Potions were a scarce resource after all, and they couldn't just steal it from the owner.

"Yeah, get me!" h.e.l.l yelled back, laughing at them. He wanted to see his new "friends''" reaction to his utmost speed as he threw Imp Needle at the first guy that was coming close and then followed by summoning it again and impaling the guy in the throat. They would die as long as he managed to hit some vital spots. The man, happy to have parried his weapon was surprised in his dying moments, his eyes wide-open.

*A player has been defeated*

"Good!" h.e.l.l said and followed with an attack against a woman going for an attack. Although these people were also players and had "survived" life and death situations, there was next to nothing you could do against something much faster than yourself. Just as she was killed, h.e.l.l realized an arrow made of magic pa.s.sing him by. Leila had finished off someone not far off from where h.e.l.l was standing as well, it could be so that h.e.l.l would be hit by that. With such low HP, he may not be able to survive even one proper hit.

*A player has been defeated*

h.e.l.l threw his weapon to the man who cast the spell, lying on the ground. He hoped he wasn't the one who just died as he figured he gathered mana from casters.

*A player has been defeated*

*+30 mana has been acquired*

h.e.l.l looked around for more casters or people who seemed to be using some sort of skill. People still relied on melee attacks in the end as they didn't cost any mana. It wasn't possible to figure a caster right now unless they used visually distinguishable magic. h.e.l.l dodged attacks left and right and got out of their to-be encirclement before they could hit him. Two more players at this point yelled out and staggered on the floor, holding their chests. It seemed like although her dagger seemed deadly, she would need to strike a vital spot such as cutting up an artery or go through their organs. She seemed to be striking her victims in their pleural s.p.a.ces or perhaps she was slightly injuring their lungs. The blood sprayed and the boss realized the ninja was suddenly attacking his gang, helping their target for some reason. He had seen a few betrayals of such throughout his life, he wasn't bothered much.

"New guys teamed up with him! Kill them first!" Their boss yelled. His face was grim, he had already lost 7 of his people. He wanted to use them to level up in the following boss fights. It was hard to rally so many people together already, it was going to be an immense loss to himself. He then saw some people lunging at their sole target trip and fall unceremoniously. Just like that, 5 more people found themselves on the floor, including the 2 the ninja girl seemed to have killed. It was getting exceedingly difficult to order his men in such a chaotic environment.

"Stop!" The boss yelled. "There is no need to fight any longer!" He had less than half of what he originally had.

*A player has been defeated*

*A player has been defeated*

*A player has been defeated*

*+5 mana acquired*

*A player has been defeated*

*+170 mana acquired*

*A player has been defeated*

h.e.l.l finished off anyone he could and heard the cries of their boss, laughing inside.

"You wish to stop fighting?" h.e.l.l yelled.

"Yes. There is no longer a need!" Boss yelled and the thugs stopped. They were filled with fear to see that just in a few minutes, dead bodies were scattered all around. Vaun was horrified on his end as well, he didn't think it would be to such an extent, that h.e.l.l was this much of a monster. It was incredibly hard to properly follow him with his eyes, and impossible to catch up to. Unless, that is, he stopped to kill you. Every attack of his seemed to have finished off someone with next to no resistance.

"I too feel this has gone on for long enough." The man who used telekinesis said. "I'm Leon." He added. "We don't need unnecessary bloodshed, we are all humans here.

"Kill, don't kill. I am going to go and sleep." Leila said, glancing at h.e.l.l as she began walking away, seeming to be leaving.

"Don't you want any of the spoils?" Leon said with a smirk, causing her to stop in her tracks and quietly turn back.

"I do want some of the spoils." She said in a casual manner.

"Shall we shake on it, then?" h.e.l.l yelled. "So there are no hard feelings?"

"Sure." The man said. h.e.l.l dropped his weapon on the floor and walked up to him.

"We were led astray by this man, I will give him to you so you can do as you wish with him." The boss added.

"How nice of you." h.e.l.l said. He looked at his minion with a heart-warming smile. "Good job, Vaun." He said as he added: "Imp Needle."

"What?!" The boss was surprised and horrified. "Did you-" he began saying but couldn't finish his sentence as h.e.l.l put Imp Needle through his skull. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d." The man muttered with his dying breath. It was all so quick and the remaining grunts of his began running away, this wasn't a fight they could take part in anymore.

"Psycho." Leila said.

"Let's immobilize them all since it's come to this." Leon said. "What a psycho indeed."

*A player has been defeated*

*+100 mana has been acquired*

*Pa.s.sive Skill: Bull Demon's Vitality acquired*

*You have levelled up*

h.e.l.l felt his life force strengthening within himself. He felt his insides were bustling with life suddenly. He gave his stat points to dexterity right after and looked at the grunts. "Cool." He said as he rushed at them along with Leon and Leila. The remaining 9 people were immobilized, he didn't use Imp Needle and only wished to make them unable to fight. Vaun followed behind at his own pace. Good thing they weren't too far away. The newly formed team soon after captured the remaining 9 people, some were bleeding, trying to breathe, while some of them were only badly hurt without any grave wounds. h.e.l.l called for Vaun and then turned to the 9 people looking at him for mercy.

"Anyone with a skill is valuable and will get to live. I'll even heal you with one of my potions!" h.e.l.l said as he took out one of his potions. There was no longer any greed in their eyes, they had learned that there were just some mountains one couldn't climb over.

"I do!" Two people yelled in unison.

"Is there a need for this?" Leon asked h.e.l.l. "They won't be any harm to us."

"Trust me." He replied and asked what their skills were.

"I have the Undead's Vision. I can see perfectly in the dark and I bet I was one of the few who could follow your movements with my eyes even without actively using it. It's just that I couldn't react to them that I didn't engage!"

"Useful indeed." h.e.l.l said.

"I don't want these b.u.ms in our party." Leila said with a fed-up tone.

h.e.l.l ignored him and glared at the other guy with a skill. "I can…" The man said. "I can take skills from people and transfer them to someone else!" That guy said, and as soon as he had done so, h.e.l.l slashed his throat until the back of his head. The man was dead in moments and people who were expecting mercy had life drained of their faces. They knew their end was nigh.

*A player has been defeated*

*Skill: Transfer of Sun and Moon has been acquired*

"Cool." h.e.l.l said and turned to the other man. "Give me your power or die."

"My power…" the man was saying, but he suddenly raised his voice: "Take it! Take it!" he said when he saw the grin on the man's face. At least there was a chance he would survive this way.

h.e.l.l held the man's chest and felt a surge of energy in the man. He called for it and it rapidly flowed into himself.

*Skill: Undead's Vision has been stored, unusable*

"So, which one of you wants it?" h.e.l.l turned to Leila and Leon, smiling.

"What did you do?" Leon asked, still confused.

"My skill is to plunder other abilities." h.e.l.l said.

"Leila should take it, it'll be immensely useful for her."

"Well I don't want to be indebted to him, he is creepy." Leila said.

"Ouch. Let's say I'm returning your favour just now. You won't be indebted to me, but neither will I. It'll be a simple transaction between us." h.e.l.l replied.

"I'll accept it, then." Leila walked up to h.e.l.l, awaiting him to impart the skill.

"Alright." h.e.l.l said, and was slapped soon after. "What are you doing?!" Leila yelled.

"Well, I have to touch your chest to impart it."

"But… you were grabbing it!" Leila yelled. Leon sn.i.g.g.e.ring.

"What? No, I wasn't, I really have no way around your b.o.o.bs, what do you expect me to do? Should I just blow them up with my Imp Needle before imparting it?" h.e.l.l was perspiring and accidentally summoned his weapon when he thought about it. He couldn't complain of the benefits in imparting the skill now, but he truly had no such thoughts until she herself pointed it out.

"Don't blow them up!" Leila took an attack stance, ready for h.e.l.l.

"I didn't mean to summon it!" h.e.l.l replied back.

"G.o.d, this is the worst attempt at doing anything in the history of mankind." Leon said. "Leila, I'll cut off one of his fingers if he tries anything, will it be fine, then? Or I can take it, it's a free skill, after all."

"Fine." Leila said. "I'll take it."

h.e.l.l looked at Leon with an expression saying, "What am I to do in this situation?" Leon seemed to have understood his circ.u.mstances, nodding his head.

h.e.l.l imparted the skill to Leila eventually who sounded frustrated. "Finally." h.e.l.l heaved a sigh and called for Vaun. "Come here." He said and gave him the Imp Needle.

"What will I do with this?" Vaun asked and h.e.l.l pointed toward the people on the ground, dying.

"Can't we let them go, I doubt they'll be much of a problem?" Vaun asked once more.

"You'll see why I made you do it in a moment. This is an order. Kill every single one." h.e.l.l said as the man who gave up his ability yelled: "You promised! I did as you asked, why won't you let me go?!"

"Whatever I want to do, I will do it. You don't get a say in what happens to you unless you have the strength to back it up." h.e.l.l said callously, his voice chilling the heart of everyone in the scene.

"I won't accept this. I won't die!" The man was yelling as he was impaled by Vaun who had two drops of tear streaming down his face. Their screams vanished into the night soon after as h.e.l.l's grin was getting wider and wider. He would make Vaun into a capable p.a.w.n.

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

*Minion has levelled up*

Systems notifications were music to his ears as he willed the menu to open again and checked Vaun's character tab.

Player: Minion of the Cursed Hunter

Age: 30

Occupation: Minion

Level: 9

HP : 130/130

Mana : 0

Stats

----------

Strength : 15

Defence : 12

Dexterity : 9

Mana : 0

Vitality : 13

Stamina : 15

Unused Stat Points: 40

Items: None

"Let's invest it all into Defence and Vitality and see what happens." h.e.l.l said.

*Defence: 40*

*Vitality:25*

*HP: 250/250*

"Not bad, Vaun." h.e.l.l said. "Do you feel that you have become tougher?"

"I feel something good, but I am not too sure."

"Well, for example." h.e.l.l said and punched Vaun who fell back a few steps holding his chest. It hurt, but it definitely wasn't even enough to knock him down.

"Amazing." Vaun said.

"See, you are also a member of our party. I won't let you stay weak with me." h.e.l.l said and added: "Now, loot all these corpses, take all weapons that look to be in good shape as well as all coin pouches. I'll just rest here."

Vaun was somewhat happy to see that h.e.l.l saw him more than a simple tool and allowed him to get stronger even. I guess he was just used as an animal of burden. It was better than being bait, at least he wouldn't let him die if he carried his items. "Yes, h.e.l.l." He nodded and started looting the corpses. The smell of blood a.s.sailed his nose and the screams, as well as the faces of his victims, just now was etched into his brain. "What happened to the world I knew?" He murmured to himself.

"Not bad, huh?" h.e.l.l said.

"Mate, you are not much a decent human being if you were to ask my own opinion. But I get it, it's survival. And I am not sure I wouldn't be as bad a killer if I had such a skill in my a.r.s.enal." Leon said.

"Psycho." Leila commented.

"Well, you gotta do what you gotta do." h.e.l.l grinned.

"Indeed." Leon commented. "Let's help your friend out still, there is a group which is somewhat like the police here as well. They number more than 30 and if someone were to report the commotion here, they'd surely check this place and try to "exact justice." That's why those shops are considered safe. They are protected by the group of players that call themselves the Justice Unit."

"Is that not good? We can kill them as long as we have a reason to do so, right?" h.e.l.l said.

"You can't just kill everyone that displeases you, mate. Did you do that before the System, too? Of course not, right?"

"Of course not." h.e.l.l repeated, beaming a smile. "Let's do as you say, then."

They all gathered all they could, 22 people were all looted and Vaun was given a sword, as well as a st.u.r.dy looking s.h.i.+eld. He didn't have any skills, but he would still be able to function as the tank against regular enemies. h.e.l.l's direct punch being unable to down him meant that he would hold against level 10-15 players as long as they weren't specialized in sneak attacks. They also found 20 NC but h.e.l.l didn't want any. They also found a potion on their leader and gave it to Vaun as h.e.l.l said he wanted to make him the tank.

Leila took a set of throwing knives from one of the corpses and hid it under her clothes. Vaun wondered where she hid the weapons as her clothes didn't seem to have any pockets but he refrained from saying anything. Leon didn't find anything he liked, so they soon after left as some people were seen in the distance. They'd be fine as long as they didn't stand out too much. They had seen hundreds of players in this place. h.e.l.l had also gotten his permit finally, but it turned out they were all personal, he couldn't use it. It began disappearing after its owner was dead.

"So, Leon. I feel like a durable glaive would suit you better than that dagger. I actually know of one that is spectacularly durable around here. Wanna go get it?"

"You mean, buy it?" Leon asked.

"He wants to steal it. Criminal." Leila commented.

"You are the one looking like the criminal here!" h.e.l.l yelled, acting as if he is hurt by her comments with his theatrics. "I was trying to get my teammates better material to ensure their safety around here! Woe is me!"

"Look, mate. We like strength and you have that, but I hope you won't go out of your way to damage our chances of survival." Leon added.

"Well, would you like to at least see the weapon? I sold it to a shop."

"Well, alright." Leon said and mumbled under his breath: "And right after we told him the shops were protected, too."

"I like him." Leila whispered to Leon. "He is somewhat funny." They headed out to the shop h.e.l.l sold the weapon to. They wandered for what seemed like half an hour, complaints from his teammates rising.

"Actually, guys, I'm not really that good with directions."

"There is a weapon shop right there." Leon pointed to a rather large tent.

"Oh, it's that one!" h.e.l.l exclaimed. "I knew we were on the right path!"

"This is the second time we're pa.s.sing here." Leila quietly said.

"h.e.l.lo, Mr Shop Owner! I brought you some customers!" h.e.l.l yelled from outside the store.