Hours ago, when Andy felt like venting his pent-up feelings on Melinda, it was this particular knife that came to his mind.
Weapons, on school grounds weren't really allowed.
Though they were trained to wield several or just one, whichever tickled their fancy, Andy had never stuck to any. The last time he held a weapon was when class 13 went off the academy's grounds for a practical beast hunting class.
That was the first time Andy got to use a sharp object to inflict harm on another living being. At first, he felt guilty, and even sick. Not because he had killed a living being, but because he enjoyed it.
The sight and thrill he got from the hunt excited him.
Andy wasn't expecting Melinda to follow him this deep into the river. Moreover, he wasn't sure that the darkness of the depth they had reached would affect her ability to locate him.
The only reason he could figure out where she was, was because of his ability to sense things within twenty feet.
Within the darkness, Andy was able to sense her expressions in the water, and when she started swimming for the surface, he knew that this was his time to attack.
If he lets her get back to a depth where she could see, killing her wouldn't be as easy anymore.
Melinda screamed underwater, leaving way for water to invade her lungs. She immediately closed her mouth, choking a bit on the water she had swallowed. How is he able to see in this place?
Before she could react, Andy had already sliced her calf open. Blood spilled from her cuts and was immediately dyed by the river.
Melinda tried to pull her leg away, even kicking at where she supposed Andy was, however, she found his grip to be as tight as a vice. Even her ankle bone groaned under his grip.
Why is his strength this monstrous!? Melinda wanted to bend and bite at her leg. Unable to understand how a seemingly untalented human could possess such raw, physical power.
She felt like she had been set up.
Suddenly, Andy felt a sort of acidic burn coming from the hand that was holding on to Melinda's ankle.
He winced and quickly pulled his hand away. With his ability to sense his surroundings, Andy saw a slimy substance form over Melinda's leg, only for it to be broken and dissolved by the water.
Upon seeing this, his brows rose in surprise. That was definitely a natural offensive and defensive ability. However, it dissolved so easily?
At this point, Andy understood a bit of why Melinda was hesitant to enter the river at first. It was a terrain that put her at a disadvantage. He looked at his hand, already feeling his skin recovering at a rapid pace.
I can do this!
Snapping out of his thoughts, Andy quickly chased after her, catching up in mere seconds. He pulled her down once more, stabbing and slicing her body in different spots.
Melinda tried secreting more of that acid to set herself free from her pursuer's grasp, however, it was as if Andy wasn't being affected by it anymore.
Or so she thought.
Andy's hand was melting under the continuous contact with the acid, and yet, he didn't let go or act like anything was happening.
Under the constant aid of his skill recovery, will, and endurance, the pain wasn't enough to make him stop.
Pulling her deeper into the river, the two of them soon reached the floor. Andy drew upon every strength in him, swung Melinda around before slamming her on the river's floor.
A silent thud came from the contact.
The back of her head hit the stone Andy had been using to work out earlier today. The impact from the collision forced her to open her mouth, allowing more water into her lungs.
She felt powerless, played, and humiliated. Melinda wanted to cry out for help, but to whom? There was no one but her and the person she considered prey.
Now who was the prey?
Andy didn't care that she wasn't struggling anymore. He continued to stab and slice at her, harming and inflicting as much pain as he could.
His eyes had turned red a bit and his jaw tightened. Andy's mind was filled with nothing but the image of Zeladin's lifeless eyes.
If I were strong enough, this would have been your killer that night, Zeli. If I weren't such a talentless coward, I would have avenged you then, at the cost of my life!
"Zeli!!" Andy shouted underwater as he let go of the knife and resorted to stomping and banging on Melinda's body.
He pulled at her extra limbs, tearing them off and using them to impale her into the ground one by one.
If this were the surface, one would be able to see the tears gushing out of Andy's eyes.
[Quest Complete! Kill Melinda in two days!]
[Completion rate: 100% (Completed before due date)]
[Rewards: +10 Strength. +10 Agility. 1 Key (Common). A Wesen's heart.]
[Additional Reward (For early completion and high completion rate): Inventory. 1 Fragmented Shard.]
[Killed a Low Level Slime Weevil: +2 Endurance.]
Several notifications popped up, but Andy seemed not to have seen them as he continued to lash out at Melinda's corpse. Unaware that she was already dead.
By the time the time limit for his Drowned Resolve skill reached, that was when Andy swam to the surface for air.
Bursting out of the water, he loudly gasped for air, clawing at his chest as though something was tearing him. It was his emotions, he wasn't done venting out.
Andy swam to the shore and lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He placed a hand over his eyes as though he was trying to hide his tears.
And after a while, he smiled. "I won…"
But this wasn't a smile of joy, it was one of ridicule. He only won because of the terrain advantage he had.
This was how Andy felt, not knowing that his physical strength was already enough to give Melinda difficulties.
With a sigh, he finally looked at the notifications from the system…