Thinking about the quest he was about to do, all of a sudden, Ethan began having second thoughts. His reason was quite sensible, after all, if this was now a real world and not a game, doesn't that mean that he would actually be killing a real person in three days?
Nursing that thought for a long time, the thought bothered him more than it should have, but he consoled himself with the fact that he had killed thousands of NPCs in the game before, characters with names and backstories and quest lines. This was just one more. One more enemy to defeat—
—except it wasn't… Not really… and he was aware of that.
This very thought ate at him for the rest of the time, as he spent the next three days in a strange combination of idleness and tension. He should have spent those days leveling up a bit, but he couldn't.
He even decided to forfeit the mission, but he ended up walking around the place and pinpointing some crucial locations in the process.
He located the mayor's house—a large, well-appointed building in the nicer section of town. He even identified Corvin from a distance, a young man in his early twenties, dressed in fine robes with a mage's staff, accompanied by a large, tough looking bodyguard, just as the description was that he remembered.
He already knew one or two about who Corvin's lover was from the game, some of the useless details from gaming. Her name was Elise, and she lived in a modest house on the edge of town.
The path between the mayor's house and Elise's home went through several alleys—dark, narrow passages where someone could move unseen… As much as unseen was good for sneaking around, it was also perfect for an ambush.
By the evening of the third day, Ethan had steeled his mind, taking root in the fact that Corvin was the "bad guy" here, after all, he had really killed an innocent young man just to sate his anger.
On the evening of the third day, Ethan positioned himself in one of those alleys. It was the most direct route Corvin would take if he was trying to move quickly and discreetly. That aside, it was a sure path that was confirmed from the guy that completed the quest, so he was banking on that information.
He'd also chosen his position carefully to be a shadowed alcove where he could see the alley entrance but remain hidden. He drew his Novice Sword and held it in a loose grip that wouldn't tire his hand during the wait.
Gradually, while he waited, time passed. An hour passed… Then another.
Just when he was thinking of the possibility that he might have chosen the wrong alley to camp, he heard some footsteps approaching.
His entire body tensed in response, and he realigned himself a bit, since his legs than tire a bit from standing for so long.
Just then, a figure emerged out of the shadows at the far end of the alley, and Ethan could make out the features enough to identify that it was indeed Corvin, or more like he had faith it would be. Apart from identifying him, he could clearly see that the young man was wearing plain clothes, held no staff in his hand, and was moving hastily. As expected.
He took a deep breath, then moved without hesitation.
Ethan exploded out of his hiding spot, his enhanced agility turning his movement into a blur—a blur for his mage target at least. In an instant, COrvin's head snapped towards Ethan, his eyes widening in shock, mouth opening to shout—he was too slow.
Ethan closed the distance in a few strides and activated his only skill, [Sword Slash]
His blade came around in a perfect arc, aimed at Corvin's neck.
At the last second, Corvin twisted his body, and the blade that should have taken his head off instead carved through his face.
The sound was horrible—wet and crunching, blood spraying in a dark arc following the path of the blade. Corvin screamed, a gurgling, agonized sound, and stumbled backward.
Ethan made a hitched sound as he missed his strike, and didn't give him a chance to recover. He brought his sword down again from behind, a simple overhead strike, and this time the blade bit deep into Corvin's neck but didn't cut it clean off.
Almost immediately, the screaming stopped, and then a notification flashed in his vision as Corvin dropped to the ground:
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 1!
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 2!
Ethan stared at the message, stunned. He'd gained a level from killing an NPC? That shouldn't have be possible since killing NPCs usually attracted a penalty rather than reward, but there was no time to contemplate.
He grabbed Corvin's body by the hair—trying not to think about how warm it still was, how the blood was still pulsing out—and brought his sword down one final time. This was the only proof he could think of.
The head separated from the body with a sickening sound.
Ethan grabbed it, surprisingly, he didn't find himself fighting down the surge of nausea, he was actually completely fine, the fear had been in his mind the entire time? He wasn't sure. He wrapped it quickly in a cloth from his inventory. That was Proof. Quickly, he stored it back in and ran.
He went through the alleys, avoiding the main streets, his heart hammering in his chest, more or less due to adrenaline. Soon enough, he heard shouts.
'Someone's found the body for sure.' He thought to himself. There was nothing like that in the game, but now that it was real life, guards were sure to be coming soon.
He ran all the way to the clearing behind the warehouse in record time. Unsurprisingly, Aldric was already there, pacing nervously.
"Did you—" Aldric started, but before he finished, Ethan gave him proof.
Ethan took the head out of his inventory and thrust the wrapped bundle at him. "Your proof. It's done."
Slowly, with shaky hands, Aldric unwrapped the cloth. Even in the darkness, with the help of the weak moonlight, the features were recognizable, it wasn't a completely dark night. Aldric's face went through a dozen emotions at once—shock, horror, grief, and finally, terrible satisfaction.
"You really did it," he whispered. "You actually did it."
He looked at Ethan with something like awe, then quickly wrapped the head back up. "I need to hide this. Thank you, boy. Thank you."
He reached into his pack and pulled out a leather bundle. "This is my most prized possession. I no longer need it."
He handed it to Ethan, then fled into the darkness without another word.
Multiple notifications appeared in Ethan's vision while the pack mysteriously disappeared from his hands:
…
[QUEST COMPLETE: A Father's Revenge]
Rewards:
+1000 EXP
+5 Free Stat Points
+5 Free Mastery Points
Title Gained: [Hired Assassin]
Item Received: [Mysterious Leather Bundle]
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 3!
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 4!