Filed to story: A Bullied Boy Died: A Mafia King Woke Up In His Body
Just as the two men began to glance around, a shadow lunged out from the sides, accelerated by his shoes. The shadow swung a neon red hammer, delivering a direct uppercut to the first man, immediately knocking him out cold.
“Shit!” Orthon cursed, pulling out his own sword. The other man began to panic as Kris leapt and weaved around him before delivering a sweeping kick and swinging the hammer in a downward strike as the man fell.
The hammer strike cracked the man’s ribs, causing bone splinters to jut out from under the skin from the sheer force. Another swift kick to the head knocked out the man for good as well.
A sudden swing of the sword forced Kyle to back off, the sound of air rippling as Orthon grunted. “Who the fuck are you? An enforcer? Or the Veiled Angels? I doubt you’re a Cretin-Sebastian would have you flogged for this.” Orthon didn’t chase after Kyle, instead retrieving the ornate repeating crossbow with his free hand, the cocking mechanism engraved with arcia.
Kyle assumed the force of each shot would be light due to the size, but the arcia enchantments along the length improved the force, accelerating the bolts faster than he expected. Two bolts whizzed past his head, while a third hit him in the left shoulder, causing him to stumble back. Blood trickled out as Kyle staggered, pain jolting through his nerves like a sharp lightning bolt.
“Never expected this, huh?” Orthon grinned, gripping the sword with the other hand and approaching carefully, assuming the stance of a well-trained sword duelist. With a powerful step forward, Orthon unleashed a three-move combo, swinging with all his might.
He nearly nailed Kyle with the second swing, but on the third swing, Kyle suddenly parried with the handle of his hammer before closing in the gap in a daring forward step, catching Orthon off guard. Capitalizing on the surprise, Kyle threw a strong left hook right into Orthon’s jaw, knocking him back into a daze.
Orthon was no slouch, quickly using his sword to force Kyle to back off, though the latter was already well prepared, dancing around Orthon despite the bolt in his left shoulder. With another exchange, another knee to the stomach from Kyle caused Orthon to collapse to the floor. Kyle swung the hammer down on the back of his opponent’s head three times, knocking him out cold as blood trickled through the man’s hair.
Kyle panted, moved to a tree stump, and slumped against it. Luckily for him, the crossbow bolt was fairly shallow and not fully embedded in the bone. Kyle used his fingers with grit, digging into the exposed flesh as he winced. He located the arrowhead and slowly eased it out, bearing the pain.
Soon, he managed to pull out the entire shaft and arrowhead and used the Necklace of Healing to heal himself lightly as a temporary measure. The wound sealed up as a green aura surged around it, boosted by his Healer title.
Nifty for post-battles, but that’s assuming I win the battle in the first place.
Kyle stood up, testing his shoulder’s articulation. The healing had yet to be complete-Kyle would have to channel it a few times later. Picking up Orthon’s crossbow, he examined it.
Ornate Repeater Crossbow (Intermediate)
Perfect for multiple targets.
[Active] Force Increase:
Bolts shoot faster and harder.
Cost:
1 MP
Kyle had yet to acquire a ranged weapon, so he held on to it, slinging it behind him. He walked up to one of the unconscious attackers, wondering what to do with him.
He’d noticed that had yet to gain any EXP so far. The last time he had gotten any EXP was only when he killed Ulon Baktar, the former Seven Snakes gang leader. Even beating up a dozen Red Lions hadn’t netted him anything.
Is the System forcing me to kill? That’s fine, but surely I can get more benefits out of it?
He retrieved Troy’s dropped knife, using it to quickly slit the throat of one of the unconscious men, killing him on the spot.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You killed Forest Bandit, +50 EXP.
Kyle waited for a while, noticing there were no new titles.
Perhaps I have to do it differently. He walked up to the second unconscious man, slitting his wrists and allowing the blood to seep out slowly. He then stabbed the man a few times, causing him to wake up from the sheer pain and scream out. It ended with a quick jab to the nose, knocking the man back out.
Soon, the blood formed a sizable puddle, prompting another System Message to appear in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You killed Forest Bandit, +50 EXP.
Huh, let’s focus on getting information, then.
Kyle moved on to the next. This time, he grabbed Troy’s body and slapped him awake.
“Burh…” Troy groaned as he was abruptly woken up before his eyes narrowed in shock. He tried to break free of the rope that tied his arms and legs.