Heavy steps echoed as Arzael walked across the rocky path leading to an old town
After a days of aimless wandering—through ruins, forests, and the lingering shadows of hell—he finally reached the edge of civilization.
A wooden-walled village stood in the distance, with a rickety gate guarded by two men holding spears.
Kareth.
The name was faintly carved above the archway, like something meant to be forgotten.
The town was unremarkable. Straw rooftops, crumbling walls, and muddy roads.
But the air here was heavier than it should've been.
Something was rotting from within.
Arzael lowered the hood of his torn cloak and stepped forward.
"Stop right there!" barked one of the guards—a burly man with a bare chest and a face drunk on authority.
"I'm just passing through," Arzael replied calmly.
The other guard stepped closer. "Passing through? You look like a beggar. Or a bandit. Think you can enter without permission?"
Arzael extended his hand. In his palm, two rusted copper coins—the spoils taken from a demon's corpse in hell.
The first guard sneered but snatched the coins without shame. "Go in. But watch your step. This town doesn't welcome strangers."
Kareth was a living graveyard.
Cramped buildings, a gloomy market, and villagers who lowered their heads whenever a guard passed by.
These guards weren't protectors—they were rulers.
They stole openly, slapped the elderly for slow tax payments, and kicked children who got in their way.
Arzael saw it all.
Without a word.
Without a reaction.
Until the system chimed.
> [Quest Accepted: Eliminate all corrupt guards in Kareth. Total targets: 12. Reward:+1 New Skill.]
He didn't smile. Didn't speak.
But his eyes turned colder.
He moved quickly, stealing a few apples from a cart down a narrow alley. His stomach was empty.
Then, he entered a small clothing shop at the edge of the market.
"Cloak," he said flatly to the old woman behind the counter.
She looked at him with fear. "Nothing's free, boy. They'll—"
Arzael tossed a shard of red crystal from a Lesser Demon's horn.
The woman caught it, then pointed to the back rack. "Take one. Then go. Before they see you."
He put on the black cloak—long, light, and enough to hide his body.
Night fell.
A thin mist crept in. The town grew quiet—except for the disgusting laughter of guards gathered in the main street.
Six of them.
Mocking an old man lying on the ground, blood dripping from his temple.
"Talk taxes again and I'll cut out your tongue!" one of them barked.
Arzael stood in the darkness. Silent.
Then he stepped forward.
"That's enough," he said softly.
One guard turned. "Huh? Who the hell are you?"
"Your punishment."
Without warning, Arzael slammed his fist into the first guard's face.
> [-40 HP]
Bones cracked. Teeth scattered.
A second guard lunged with a spear, but Arzael dodged to the side and drove his hand into the man's gut.
The next blow shattered a helmet and the skull beneath it.
> [You have slain a Human Guard. +60 EXP]
The others panicked.
Two attacked together—
Arzael let one spear stab into his shoulder.
> (STR increased 50%)
Then sliced the other's throat with Shadow Pierce.
> [-52 HP]
[You have slain a Human Guard. +60 EXP]
He moved like a shadow.
No battle cries.
Just bodies hitting the ground.
The other survivors ran.
> [EXP: 182 / 180]
[Level Up!]
> [Stats increased: STR +3, AGI +2, VIT +3, INT +2, LUK +1]
[1 Stat Point available]
Arzael stood in the blood-stained street.
The old man was gone.
The guards' blood pooled at his feet.
He looked at his hand. A small wound still dripped.
"Too quick," he muttered.
He wasn't satisfied.
The next morning, the town was in an uproar.
Five guards found dead in the street. Their heads crushed.
People whispered about a "shadow" delivering justice.
But not everyone was afraid.
Some… started to hope.
Across town, six guards gathered. A special patrol formed—led by the Guard Captain.
"Anyone suspicious—kill them. This town is ours. Not the people's, not some shadow hero's," he growled.
Arzael watched from a rooftop above.
Remaining targets: 7 guards.
And the night would come again.
[Status – Level 10]
Name: Arzael
Race: ???
Level: 10
EXP: 2 / 200
HP: 790 / 790
MP: 520 / 520
STR: 37
AGI: 32
VIT: 41
INT: 28
LUK: 8
Available Stat Points: 1
Active Skills:
Shadow Pierce (Lv. 1)
Gatewalk (Lv. 1)
Passive Skill:
Cursed Blood
Pain Conversion (Lv. 1)