Chapter 96: No Promise Broken
The remaining six immediately understood the truth that they were no longer the hunters but the prey.
Among the six, everyone except the market guy exchanged uneasy glances. Then one of them finally spoke. "You’re not a normal first-year, are you?"
Zac looked at him and said, "First-year? Yeah, that I am. Normal? I’m not too sure about that."
The man swallowed. "Why don’t we come to an agreement?"
"An agreement?" Zac raised an eyebrow. "All right. Let’s hear what you have to say."
"We stop here and go our separate ways. We’ll even take a system oath never to speak about what happened today. Let’s just forget all of this."
"And why would I agree to that?"
The man forced himself to remain calm. "You’re still outnumbered. You may have killed four of us, but we, the ones remaining, are stronger than them. And even though you’re putting on a good act, you must have only recently opened your meridians, right."
He tightened his grip on his spear. "If you keep pushing yourself past your limit, you’ll only damage your body. So this is a win-win for both sides. What do you say?"
The second-year whose hand Zac had broken in the market immediately turned toward the other five.
"What the hell are you all talking about? You accepted this job knowing the risks. That’s why you’re getting one million Kyros!"
One of them snapped back at him. "Shut up! We ended up in this situation because of you, and we already lost four of our classmates. You should’ve investigated him properly!"
Another gritted his teeth. "Hell, we should’ve realized something was wrong the moment you said the reward was one million Kyros."
The spear user ignored the leader and looked at Zac again. "Anyway, what do you say?"
Zac rested one hand against his cheek and pretended to think.
After a few moments, he looked at them. "Sorry, offer rejected."
The spear user’s expression hardened. "Very well, then. Let’s fight."
"Ahhaaa..." He shouted and thrust his weapon forward. Wind wrapped around the spearhead, making the attack faster and far deadlier.
Zac stepped sideways to dodge, but the spear suddenly changed direction midair and followed him.
"A feint."
The blade sliced across Zac’s shoulder, and blood splattered onto the ground.
Seeing it, the spear user slowly smiled. "See? This is why I told you it was a win-win offer."
But Zac suddenly fell silent.
An ominous aura began seeping from his body. His gaze lowered toward the spilled blood, and the color of his eyes slowly began to change.
[Are you seriously going to lose control like a pansy just because you saw a little blood?]
The system’s voice snapped through his mind, and Zac immediately came back to himself.
He looked at the spear user. "Congratulations."
The man frowned. "For what?"
Before he could receive an answer, Zac disappeared. In the next instant, he was already inside the spear’s range.
The man barely had time to widen his eyes before Zac’s sword pierced straight through his chest.
Lightning exploded through his body.
His spear fell from his hand as electricity ravaged him from the inside, leaving his body scorched before he collapsed.
[+1 C-rank human killed.]
Seeing his friend die, the chain-blade user immediately launched his weapon toward Zac. "You bastard..."
Zac raised his sword to block it. But instead of striking him, the chains twisted midair and wrapped around the blade.
At the same time, two other students charged from his left and right. One wielded a massive hammer and the other carried an axe.
Zac tried pulling his sword free, but the Mana-coated chains held it like a crocodile locking its jaws around prey. No matter how much force he used, the weapon would not come loose.
Then, to the chain user’s surprise, Zac simply let go of his sword.
Lightning blazed around his legs. Once again he vanished and appeared directly beneath the hammer wielder and drove his fist into the man’s stomach with everything he had.
The man literally folded in half. His body blasted backward and crashed into the cave wall.
Before the hammer could hit the ground, Zac caught it in midair and swung it into the axe wielder’s head with overwhelming force, crushing it instantly.
Suddenly, a notification appeared before Zac.
[One of the opponents is attempting to interfere with the Host’s mind.]
Zac turned around and saw a woman standing beside the second-year leader, her eyes locked onto him.
Zac stared back at her. "That’s a terrible idea." He gave her a faint smile. "My mind is a mess; even I don’t want to enter."
Then he looked directly into her eyes. "Heart Sword." An invisible blade formed from mental energy and shot toward the woman.
It struck her sea of consciousness, and her body instantly collapsed.
[+4 C-rank humans killed.]
Zac blinked. "Wow. That was more powerful than I expected."
[The technique is powerful, but that is not why she died.] The system replied bluntly. [She was weak, and you happened to possess a powerful technique. That’s all.]
Zac turned toward the chain user. The man’s legs were already trembling. Feeling Zac’s gaze fall on him, he panicked and tightened the chains.
Crack!
Zac’s already damaged sword shattered into pieces.
Zac froze. "No. You did not just do that."
The chain user swallowed.
Zac pointed toward the broken sword. "Do you know how much that cost me?"
The man immediately wrapped the chains around both fists. "My chains are suitable for hand-to-hand combat too."
Zac stared at him. "So be it." He cracked his knuckles. "I’m going to beat the shit out of you."
Then he disappeared from where he stood.
The chain user quickly discovered just how terrible that decision had been. If Zac had still possessed his sword, at least the end might have been quick.
Instead, punch after punch landed across his body. By the time Zac stopped, the man barely looked human anymore.
Zac stood there breathing steadily. His body was no longer covered only in the filth and impurities expelled from opening his meridians.
Now, it was also drenched in the blood of nine people. He slowly turned toward the last remaining man. The second-year leader was already kneeling on the floor with his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Zac slowly walked toward him without any hurry. Every step felt like a death sentence to the second-year.
"No..." His voice trembled. "No, don’t kill me."
Zac stopped in front of him.
The second-year’s knees folded beneath him, exactly the way he had wanted Zac to kneel before him earlier.
Only now was he the one on the ground.
"Please," he begged, his voice cracking. "Don’t kill me. I was wrong. I’ll never get in your way again. Just give me one last chance."
Zac looked down at him without anger or concern.
He slowly took out an ordinary iron sword from his inventory and rested the blade against the man’s shoulder. "Tell me," he said calmly. "Why did you come after me?"
"Didn’t I already tell you? Because you humiliated me in public that day."
Zac pressed the blade slightly deeper. "Sure. But it’s not just because of that, is it?"
His eyes narrowed. "And how did you even get inside the Summer and Winter Cell without permission?"
The second-year’s lips trembled, but he hesitated.
Zac tilted his head. "I’m asking you as politely as possible right now."
His voice remained calm. "But if you don’t answer, I’ll gladly cut off your fingers one by one. Both hands, then both feet. After that, I’ll hang you upside down, light a fire beneath you, and slowly watch you burn while you scream for me to save your life."
The second-year went pale.
"And I’ll tell you this," Zac continued. "Once I start, even if you answer me, I won’t stop."
[That’s horrible.]
"Aren’t you the one who gave me torture ideas a few days ago?"
The man’s imagination clearly did the rest. "I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"
Zac said nothing.
He simply looked at him, the blade still resting against his shoulder.
"After what happened in the academy market, I was punished along with my friends. We were sent to the summer and winter cell for two weeks."
He swallowed.
"I knew Miss Matilda would send all of you here to help you open your meridians. So my friends and I bribed a few of the prison guards and entered this area to kill you."
Zac’s eyes narrowed.
The man hurriedly continued.
"Since this is the Summer and Winter Realm, the chances of you dying to beasts or the environment are already high. All we needed was for the prison guards to say we never left the prison. No one would suspect anything."
Zac stared at him. "Quite the plan, but is that all?"
"Yes. That’s all."
"System. Answer only yes or no. Is that everything he has to tell me?"
[-5 Info Points]
[No.]
Zac’s expression went flat. "Great."
He moved the blade from the man’s shoulder to his neck and pressed lightly. "Think again. Is that really everything?"
"Yes! I’m not hiding anything. I swear. I’ll never come near you again. I’ll even leave the academy immediately."
Zac crouched slightly and leaned closer. "That sounds touching, but it’s completely useless."
"You entered this realm illegally. You bribed prison guards. You tracked my VSB signal and waited for the perfect moment to attack."
The blade pressed a little deeper into his neck. "And you expect me to believe all of that happened because your useless little wrist got hurt?"
The second-year’s trembling worsened. "I was... I was angry."
"Yeah. Anger does make people stupid." Zac’s eyes sharpened. "That’s probably why you became cannon fodder in someone else’s game."
The man’s face changed.
"I guessed right, didn’t I?"
"Fine," Zac said. "Tell me. Who sent you?"
The second-year said nothing.
"Back in the market, you intentionally bumped into Marty, didn’t you?"
Still no answer.
Zac slowly raised his sword.
"So you’re not going to tell me anything?"
The blade rose higher.
"Fine. Then die."
Just before the sword came down, the man shouted, "He was never the target!"
Zac stopped. "What?"
"You were." The second-year looked up at him. "You were the target from the beginning."
Zac suddenly laughed. "You think I didn’t know that?"
The man stared at him.
"Marty is a good friend, and as far as I know, he doesn’t have any enemies."
Zac pointed at himself. "Me, on the other hand? I have plenty." He gave a faint shrug.
"So whenever something suspicious happens to the people around me, there’s about a ninety percent chance it has something to do with me."
Then he looked back at the man. "But don’t let that ruin your momentum. Continue."
The second-year swallowed. "Who is it?" Zac asked.
"Please... if I tell you, he’ll kill me."
"And if you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you."
Zac’s expression did not change. "Choose."
The man clenched his teeth. "Fine. I’ll tell you. But promise me you’ll forgive me once I tell you the truth."
"Fine. I’ll forgive you."
"Do you promise?"
"Don’t test my patience. I don’t go back on my word."
The second-year lowered his head and swallowed hard. "It was..."
His voice trembled. "The first young master of the Ritchie family."
Zac’s eyes narrowed slightly. The cave fell silent again.
[Why do I feel Like I have heard the name somewhere.]
He looked away for a moment. "So that’s how it is."
A faint smile appeared on his face. "And here I thought he had completely forgotten about me. Looks like the bond between brothers really is strong."
The second-year nodded quickly. "Yes, it was him. He gave the order."
His voice grew frantic. "And I only followed because I was afraid of him and his family. His family is a major supplier to mine. He could destroy my family with a single word. I had no choice."
"Quite a touching story." Zac raised his sword. "But sorry. You still have to die."
The blade flashed and the man’s head flew from his body.
[+1 C-rank human killed.]
[+1 Level up.]
Zac calmly stored the sword back in his inventory, collected his belongings, and started walking toward the cave entrance.
[He answered you honestly. So why did you kill him and break your promise?]
"I didn’t."
[What?]
"I said I would forgive him, and I did." Zac kept walking. "But forgiveness doesn’t erase punishment."
The system remained silent.
"He committed two crimes against me," Zac continued. "One, when he tried to attack Marty. Two, when he tried to kill me today."
He gave a slight smile. "And I never said which one I forgave him for."
[So technically, you didn’t break your promise.]
"Exactly."
[I didn’t know you were such a cheeky bastard.]
"What can I say? The world is corrupting me."