One of the bandits had just finished eating a mouthful of meat and walked towards a few bushes not too far away to relieve himself. His eyes were filled with a wave of drunken haziness as he quickly let it out.
Just as he was enjoying the euphoric feeling of relieving himself, a rustle resounded. Before the bandit could realize what was happening, a dagger had cleanly pierced his midsection.
His eyes went wide as though he could hardly believe what had happened. Just as he was about to let out a scream, a hand immediately went to his mouth, and he felt something stuffed inside.
His eyes bulged, and he could only gag repeatedly before succumbing to the grievous injuries. A little child emerged from the bushes and glanced at the cold corpse lying beneath his feet.
A grin spread across his face as he stared at the system's line of words in front of him…
[Gained 50 shadow fragments.]
Modret crouched down, searching the man before fading into the bushes. At the same time, his thoughts moved swiftly, and he quickly located his next target.
Another bandit, who was quietly heading in the direction of his tent to retire for the night, felt a chill run down his spine.
"The breeze is unusually cold tonight." He shivered slightly and quickened his pace.
What he didn't notice was a shadow silently following behind him. Soon he entered his tent, and after undressing, he lay down, slowly drifting to dreamland when he felt something pierce his midsection.
The pain was subtle, and he almost ignored it at first—then his eyes widened. Just before he could let out a scream, he felt something enter his mouth, muffling his voice.
He struggled frantically, but it was to no avail, as the spot Modret had struck was a vital one. Within moments, he gradually lost his life.
The chime of the system echoed in his mind.
[Gained 50 shadow fragments.]
Modret glanced at the notification, then rubbed his chin in deep thought. 'It seems unawakened humans grant me 50 shadow fragments while rank 1 awakened grant me 100? Pretty reasonable.' He smiled faintly, then glanced at his gathered shadow fragments…
[Shadow fragments: 927/1000]
'Just 2 more,' Modret whispered with a grin. He quickly covered the bandit's corpse with a blanket and slipped out, waiting patiently for his next target.
He didn't have to wait long. The night was dark, and after a long while of eating, drinking, and gisting, the bandits were retiring to their tents. Modret studied the group for a bit before quickly spotting his next target. Without hesitation, he followed him.
Modret moved unnoticed, and after watching the bandit slip into bed, he lunged hastily, his cold dagger gleaming lightly as it pierced the bandit's body clean through.
The same scene replayed, and as the bandit wanted to scream, his mouth was stuffed completely, leaving only muffled noises. Modret soon received the notification from the system confirming the bandit's death.
[Gained 50 shadow fragments…]
[Shadow fragments: 977/1000]
Modret's grin widened. After killing just one more bandit, he could finally spin the roulette and awaken an ability!
"What?!" Just as Modret bent down to quickly cover the bandit and pick his next target, a startled scream broke through the oppressive silence.
Modret's eyes widened, and he quickly snapped his gaze in the direction of the voice, only to see a man staring at him with a look of horror. The scream was loud enough to alert all the bandits that something had happened.
Modret's gaze immediately became solemn as he heard a few footsteps not too far away, surrounding him. His expression hardened, and his grip on the hilt of the dagger tightened.
"I have only one chance to kill him before the others arrive…" Modret thought with a frown, his expression becoming even more serious.
'Fairy, how long do I have?' he asked internally. The next moment, the fairy quickly flew out from his chest, her gaze wandering through the surroundings. A reply came immediately…
{Barely a minute before the others arrive, and even shorter before the awakened comes…}
Modret's expression tensed up at once. He didn't hesitate, quickly throwing himself at the bandit. Although he wasn't as agile as Axel, with his small frame he had still picked up a few things from him.
The bandit wore a stunned expression but didn't hesitate to dodge to the side, scrambling in search of a weapon.
Modret didn't give him a chance as he struck repeatedly. But the bandit seemed to have figured out Modret's plan. Rather than actively looking for a weapon, he focused on dodging Modret's attacks, forcing Modret to waste time.
Modret's expression darkened more and more as time passed. After counting silently in his heart and noting that almost thirty seconds had gone by, his gaze hardened. He made a decision and quickly bolted through the door.
{Not that direction. That's where they're all coming from.}
The fairy's voice cut through Modret's thoughts, making him pause and change direction, following her advice.
Noticing Modret running away, the bandit grinned. Unwilling to let him escape, he rushed forward to block his path.
Initially, the bandit had been wary of Modret, but he could now feel a suffocating pressure drawing near. Knowing that pressure could only belong to their leader gave him the confidence to attack.
However, the next moment, his smile froze as he felt a dagger heading straight for his heart. Before he could react, it pierced him. The glow in his eyes quickly faded.
[Gained 50 shadow fragments…]
[Shadow fragments: 1027/1000]
[Awakening roulette: 1]
Just as the man dropped lifelessly to the ground, a pressure descended. The awakened had arrived. Behind him were the other bandits.
Their expressions were filled with incredulousness as they watched Modret let go of the lifeless body.
Modret's body was frozen under the pressure of the awakened. At the same time, he scanned the crowd, and his expression darkened slightly.
From the initial fifteen bandits, their number had dwindled to four. In essence, Modret had killed three bandits, while Axel had previously killed one.
Glancing at Modret, who stood there with a calm expression, rage surged through the awakened bandit leader's heart.
"You fucking brat… die!" he shouted fiercely and lunged at him.
'System… spin the roulette…' Modret gave the order, and time froze…
[Congratulations on awakening…]