Chapter 9 - Unarmored Clawing Lurkers

Murkee politely gave the estimated headcount of the creatures underneath the water after Liam told him to do so.

Liam didn't trust Murkee to become his ally even though he seemed sincere in his words, especially when he doesn't have ways to verify if Murkee really had finished killing three creatures or not without using again.

So he deliberately maintained his distance and still treated Murkee as an enemy for safety measures, cynical as he didn't know if it had an ulterior motive or not.

He then told Murkee to stay where he was, not even letting the other player think of taking a single step in any direction or else he would start firing at him.

There was a saying that you should keep your friends close, but your enemies closer so you could pay attention to their wrongdoings that would help Liam a lot to intercept or counter-attack effortlessly if in case Murkee did some kind of treacherous acts.

So he wanted to monitor Murkee to protect himself while concentrating on the creatures underneath the polluted shallow waters, hitting two birds in one stone.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help, future friend?" Murkee scratched his head again partnered by an awkward smile and cold sweats, wondering what Liam was scheming.

"Don't sweat it. It's unnecessary. Stay where you are," Liam demanded as he leaped towards one of the cascading flowering vines on top of the lake.

Looking at Murkee below him, he couldn't help but sigh.

'His behavior... he was, what, fifteen? Yeah... probably around that age,' Liam pondered to himself as he ascended the vine.

Murkee became more confused about Liam's behavior, giving him a cold shoulder even after Murkee sent him a friend request but Murkee could not speak his mind.

The system explained before that monsters in the same group called 'horde' would attack simultaneously if you attack one of them, so even though Liam only needed to kill three of the creatures, all ten of them would ambush him without remorse.

Murkee's curiosity about Liam's approach fueled him to heed what was about to take place in front of him.

'Uh... System, can you kindly play some music?' Liam pleaded to the system and it proceeded to play an anime battle theme song that only he could hear in his head.

'That's more like it!'

His lips curled up and his eyes sharpened as he clutched his gun harder before he commenced on his breathtaking quest.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

[Death Shot!!!]

Piercing roars tensely began to explode as the emerged from the water surface, jumping towards the vines to assault Liam after he randomly rained bullets on their dwelling.

were one of the most common cunning monsters in Yellow Zones and Red Zones on various floors in the , but in the pre-trial, they were unarmored to give a fair contest to the starting players.

The system named them 'Clawing Lurkers' but their appearances resembled what they call on Earth a zombie with disgusting decaying skins and remarkably 2-feet long, sharp claws.

Simultaneously...

**Ding!**

[You've killed a monster!]

- 1/3 Completed.

- You've received 3 bronze coins.

'So three hits without critical chances is all I need to kill one of them. Not bad!'

Liam unconsciously grinned after he heard the system's mechanical voice in his head as the music went on awesomely.

On the other hand, Murkee marveled at the shot Liam did with extreme precision.

He wasn't sure whether it was lucky hits or simply skilled marksmanship yet but his question was answered quickly right after.

Bang!

Bang!

[Death Shot!!!]

Bang!

Liam fearlessly shot the closest climbing monster every time his basic handgun loaded a bullet automatically.

Murkee stood there with mouth agape, visually stunned as he wondered how Liam could hit them with extreme precision despite the darkness and the monsters' arbitrary movements, shifting from one vine to another to avoid the bullets but it was to no avail in the face of the Earth's greatest hitman.

As a matter of fact, Liam went to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) to train his skills in shooting while working as a part-timer in Olive Garden as a U.S. Civilian before he had finished college.

And as a result, he became a Distinguished Expert with legal certification, skipping Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Experts' level in the shortest period recorded.

The CMP awarded him marksmanship competition badges for air rifle, rifle, pistol, and .22 rimfire pistol.

By the time he had become an official part of U.S. Law Enforcement and U.S. Secret Service, they tested his abilities once more and Liam gained a Distinguished Expert certificate once again but by that time from the Federal Law Enforcement department.

His marksmanship level was unparalleled that even Selene, a phenomenal sharpshooter, couldn't give him a run for his money.

Liam's proficiency at utilizing firearms was just too much for almost anyone on Earth to handle.

Although it wasn't necessary because the damage remained the same wherever he hit the monsters, Liam still deliberately struck their heads with his single handgun's piercing bullets before the could reach a certain height as if Liam was playing a whac-a-mole.

Whether it was because of his habit or something else remained a mystery to Murkee.

Murkee shook his head in disbelief as he dilly-dallied in his place, mesmerized by Liam's performance.

"Did he just engage an entire horde alone? He just did right, Murkee?" Murkee murmured in disbelief as he gave Liam rapturous applause.

Although the were programmed by the 's System, they were on another whole level compared to NPCs.

With their ability to think in actual battle and to adapt, most of the remaining intelligently hid at the back of their brethren while climbing instead of using a different vine, using their brethren as a meat shield.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

**Ding!**

[You've killed monsters!]

- 8/3 Completed.

- You've received 4 bronze coins.

- You've received 2 bronze coins.

- You've received 3 bronze coins.

- You've received 2 bronze coins.

- You've received 4 bronze coins.

- You've received 5 bronze coins.

- You've received 2 bronze coins.

The flurry of system notifications reverberated nonstop inside Liam's head along with the music.

As their brethren futilely sunk back in the turbid waters, the surviving had reached high enough to pounce directly at Liam.

'Brawler mode activate!'

"Please exclude my indelicacy, smart monsters."

Smash!

Instantly, Liam's fists emitted holy fire, punching one of the two remaining enemies in the air as he dodged the other by jumping to another vine.

In light of Liam's effect, it had grown powerful each time he struck the monsters as they clashed in the air, jumping from one vine to another here and there.

At this point in time, Murkee's gleaming eyes were fixated at the dead monsters he could feel in his gills, unaware of the passage of time and his whereabouts, unconsciously walking towards the lake to check the dead monsters if what he had seen was true.

**Ding!**

[You've killed monsters!]

- 10/3 Completed.

- You've received 4 bronze coins.

- You've received 2 bronze coins.

"I must get close to this player at all costs," was what Murkee had thought while checking the bodies at the bottom of the lake right before Liam utterly vanished from the area without accepting his friend request.