"That kinda tickles."
I chuckled. I honestly didn't think her attack was so weak that it didn't even scratch my boots.
However, before I could take hold of her, she disappeared from sight and reappeared behind me again—this time, aiming for my arms.
She probably didn't want to kill me based on where she aimed her knives. And as much as I enjoyed seeing the effort, I was in a hurry.
I grabbed her hand, broke her wrist, and pinned her to the ground.
"Aargh!"
Her screams pierced my ears, and I put the dagger inches from her throat.
"I'm in a hurry, so I need you to answer some questions of mine, and depending on your answer, you might get to live."
The girl merely blinked, biting her bottom lip before she gasped when the cold dagger was pushed a little closer to her throat.
"H-how? How can you be faster than me? Aren't you supposed to be a newbie?"
There was confusion on her face and voice, but I wasn't here to explain anything to her or anyone for that matter.
"I think you still don't know the position you're in." I stabbed her shoulder, and she burst out another scream.
I smiled sweetly at her to lessen her fear. But I didn't get the reaction I wanted when her face contorted in horror. "I need your tokens and some information. You'll give me what I want if you want to live."
Against all odds, she still dared to smile though she was sweating buckets. "This item is really cursed," she muttered under her breath before she faced me with a condescending smirk.
"Do you think that torture would work against me? I have lived in this cruel world as a woman for more than a year and survived each day. Your meager threats won't intimidate me."
I stifled a laugh. "You know that I can just kill you and get your tokens, right?"
Her face paled, and I pressed the knife against her neck. "Now, either you give me the tokens or I might slip at the count of three."
". . ."
"One . . ."
". . ."
"Two . . ."
"Alright! Alright! Here! Take it!"
She handed me the B Grade token, and I pierced his other shoulder. She was thrashing beneath me and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"The other token. Hand it to me."
She stopped wheezing and looked at me in horror. "Y-you . . . could it be that you're a hunter after my bounty?"
Hunter?
I didn't care what a Hunter was. All that mattered was that she was wasting my time.
"Are you going to hand it to me or not? Or should I just kill you and be done and over with it?"
She bit her lip and looked at me like I had murdered her entire family or something before she finally handed me the Grade A token.
That piece of coin was cold in my hand. Looking at it lessened my burden, knowing that I had acquired two tokens in one go.
"Now. Tell me all you know about this world."
"What do you mean tell you? You're clearly a veteran. I don't know how you manage to enter this area. But once the old hag–aArgh!"
Another stab in her hand would shut her up.
"I won't ask again. The next thing this knife of yours will hit is your eyes."
She went still, and her pale face turned white like a ghost.
"T-this . . ." she was confused for a moment before she cleared her throat and started, "This is the Kingdom of Rustin."
I rolled my eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."
She gulped when blood squeezed between the knife in my hand and her smooth skin.
"There are . . . numerous Kingdoms in this world but the major powerhouse are only three. The Holy Kingdom of Rustin. The mighty empire of Grado. And the Allied Kingdom of Trinity.
"I'm listening," I encouraged her to continue.
She wet her lips and gulped, quenching her dry throat as gently as possible, afraid that the dagger pressed even more against her neck.
"The Kingdom of Rustin is ruled over by the inhabitant of this world where the highest power is the Goddess Zephora, followed by Angels, apostles, and popes. The Empire of Grado is ruled over by a tyrant demon King, and the Allied Kingdoms of Trinity are governed by three powerful players. They're the only Kingdom built by players.
"I see . . ." Kingdom built by players, huh. "How far are these places from each other?"
Lisa stifled a laugh. "Completely far from here. If you want to go to the Allied Kingdoms, then you must travel for thirty days."
That far?
She probably noticed the frown on my head as she added, "However, there is always the Player's Academy located in every kingdom."
"Player . . . Academy."
"Every newbie goes to the nearest Academy to know about this world. It's a neutral place. But of course, the Academy still leaned towards the territory where it was built.
"The lessons only lasts one week, though. But throughout that 7 days, everything is free. The lodging. The food. Not to mention if your performance is superb, there's a high chance that the major kingdoms will recruit you. Sets you for life in this world."
"I see . . ." That piqued my interest. If only it could last a year, and I might rethink my whole plans. Too bad that it would only last a week. Not enough time to cover for that Apocalypse.
"How about this Veteran and Hunter you speak of?"
Lisa looked at me in bewilderment. "You really don't know anything, huh?"
"I won't be asking if I know," I said sarcastically.
"That can't be. You're too strong for a newbie," she muttered and stopped when another blood from her neck dripped on the knife I was holding.
"Alright. Alright. A veteran is a player who stays for more than two years in this world with all ATP greater than 100. In comparison, Elites are those players that stayed here for more than five years with more than five hundred in all ATP.
"And a hunter or slayer is a job that players can take. You have to register in a guild to be one, and their main task is to hunt bounties and do other stuff for the guild. The pay is dependent on the difficulty of the hunt.
"And there are also tiers at being a hunter. Bronze, Silver, and Gold. While Platinum is the highest. It meant that the Contribution Points (CP) awarded to them already reach thousands."
"And before you asked about contribution points," cut in Lisa when I was about to open my mouth to ask precisely that.
"Those are awarded for a successful hunt. That is usually the basis of the tiers. Bronze is a hundred CP, silver is five hundred, gold is one thousand, and Platinum is five thousand and above. The higher your tier, the higher your perks in the Kingdom you serve. And of course, many would hire you because of your reputation."