BLAM!
The shotgun blast erupted from the gang leader's hands.
In the old world, Kael and Elara would be dead. But the rules of physics had been rewritten by the System.
Elara didn't flinch. She slammed her tower shield into the pavement, angling it perfectly.
PING-PING-PING!
The buckshot sparked harmlessly against the enchanted steel of her [Iron Guardian Shield].
"Go!" Elara shouted, her voice strained against the impact.
The gang leader pumped the shotgun. "Get around the shield! Flank the bitch!"
Two gang members with fire axes ran to the left. Two with spears ran to the right. They ignored Kael, assuming the skinny guy with the pipe wrench was just baggage.
Bad assumption.
[Shadow Step]
Kael's body dissolved into the darkness of the bank's entryway.
He reappeared instantly behind the two axe-wielders on the left. They didn't hear him. They were too focused on Elara.
"Knees," Kael muttered, remembering his order.
CRACK. CRACK.
He swung the wrench low. Two sickening snaps echoed through the street. The thugs collapsed, screaming as their kneecaps shattered.
[Critical Hit! Targets Immobilized.]
On the right side, Elara wasn't just defending. She was a tank. She swung her shield like a giant door, catching a spearman in the chest and launching him five meters back.
"What the hell are you?!" the leader screamed, backing up. He tried to aim the shotgun at Kael.
Kael was already there.
He kicked the shotgun barrel upward just as the leader pulled the trigger. The blast took out a chunk of the bank's marble pillar.
Kael grabbed the leader by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
[Strength Check: 25 vs 7.][Domination.]
The leader dangled feet off the ground, choking. The remaining conscious gang members dropped their weapons, terrified.
"We... we surrender!" one cried out. "Take the spot! It's yours!"
Elara lowered her shield, breathing heavily. She looked at the groaning men on the ground.
"We should tie them up," Elara said, walking over. "Leave them for the authorities."
Kael looked at the leader gasping in his grip. He saw the red cursor above the man's head.
[Player: RedSkull_Boss][Status: Hostile]
"Authorities?" Kael asked softly. "Elara, look around. There are no police. There is only the food chain."
"But they surrendered!" Elara argued.
"And if we had been weaker? Would they have accepted our surrender?" Kael tightened his grip. "No. They would have looted our corpses."
The leader clawed at Kael's arm. "P-please... I have credits... take my..."
Kael didn't blink.
"I don't want your credits. I want your stats."
SNAP.
He crushed the leader's throat.
Elara gasped, taking a step back.
The gang leader went limp. And then, for the first time, Kael experienced Human Predation.
It was different from monsters. The mist wasn't black; it was a deep, crimson red. It screamed silently as it was ripped from the corpse and absorbed into Kael's heart.
The sensation was electric. It was sweeter, richer than a monster's soul.
[You have murdered a Human Player.][Predation Activated.][Consuming Human Essence yields higher returns.]
[Strength +0.5][Agility +0.5][Vitality +0.5][Wisdom +1.0]
[Skill Stolen: 'Firearm Mastery' (Rank F)]Effect: +10% Accuracy with guns.
Kael dropped the body. He felt a rush of intellect—the Wisdom stat increasing his mana pool and mental clarity. Humans gave Wisdom. Monsters didn't.
He turned to the two men with broken knees. They were sobbing, dragging themselves away.
Kael walked toward them.
"Kael, stop," Elara said, her voice shaking. "He was the leader. These guys are just grunts. They can't walk."
Kael paused. He looked at Elara. She was gripping her shield tight, her knuckles white. She was terrified—not of the gang, but of him.
He calculated. He needed Elara. If he pushed her too far right now, she might defect or attack him. A Tank was valuable. Two grunts worth of XP were expendable.
"Fine," Kael said, wiping his hands on his jeans. "We leave the trash."
He stepped over the leader's corpse and walked toward the bank entrance.
"But if they crawl after us," Kael added, his voice devoid of emotion, "you kill them."
Elara stared at the dead body, then at Kael's back. She swallowed hard, nodded, and followed him.
She had made a deal with a devil for survival. She just hoped she wouldn't be the next meal.
Inside the Bank.
The lobby was a wreck, but the vault door in the back was intact.
"The vault is timed-locked," Elara said, looking at the massive steel circle. "We can't open it without power or the manager's key."
Kael walked up to the vault. He didn't look for a key.
He placed his hand on the steel.
In his past life, he knew a secret. The System treated "Locks" as low-level monsters with high defense.
"I don't need a key," Kael said. "I have [Heavy Strike]."
He raised his wrench.
CLANG!
[Vault Durability: 98%]
"It will take a while," Kael muttered. "Watch the door."
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Five minutes of brutal pounding later, the locking mechanism shattered. The heavy door groaned and swung open.
Rows of safety deposit boxes lined the walls.
Kael ignored the gold bars and stacks of cash scattered on the floor. He walked straight to Box 404.
He ripped the metal door off its hinges.
Inside, resting on a velvet cushion, was a blue, glowing book.
[Skill Book: Lesser Mana Manipulation (Rank D)]
Effect: Allows the user to control the flow of mana in their body. Reduces Mana Cost of skills by 20%. Increases Mana Recovery.
Kael grabbed it.
"Jackpot."
With this, the cooldown and cost of [Shadow Step] would drop significantly. He wasn't just a rogue anymore. He was a phantom.
"Kael!" Elara shouted from the lobby. "We have a problem!"
Kael pocketed the book and walked out. "What?"
Elara pointed at the "Cocoon" blocking the main entrance—the one the gang had been guarding.
It was cracking open.
A long, hairy leg tipped with a scythe-like claw emerged. Then another.
[Boss Alert][The 'Brood Mother' (Level 15) has hatched!]
Kael smiled.
"Excellent," he said, equipping his pipe wrench. "I was worried dessert wouldn't show up."