"How?"
It was the last word Shadow118 could utter with his tongue before his muscles started to lose strength and blood started to ooze out of his mouth.
He had clearly seen Leo die before his very eyes.
He had seen the arrow pierce his neck, blood spurt out of the wound and his body go limp.
Nobody could survive such a puncture of their throat-
This should be impossible, yet somehow it was happening…..
"Don't try to kill people you can't afford to offend" Leo said in a cold voice as the last thought that Shadow had in his mind before dying was that Leo was definitely a hidden bigshot that he had underestimated.
Was his death an illusion?
Was him resting and pretending not to notice him a trap?
Was he an assassin himself?
These were questions that Shadow118 had to sadly carry to his grave as he died a rather pathetic death in front of Leo.
[ System Notification :- You have killed NPC Assassin 'Vespa' a.k.a wanted Assassin 'Shadow118' ( Level 60 )
You have killed an enemy of the state and gained +10 fame.
You have killed an enemy more than twice your level and gained tremendous amounts of Exp!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
.
.
.
.
.
You have leveled up! ]
Leo shuddered with fear once his attacker was dead.
He had absolutely no clue on what was going on or why was he attacked, however, as he read the level60 tag on the Assassin's level, he felt shivers running through his entire body as he genuinely felt afraid.
"God-damn it, it fucking hurts" He cursed as he recalled the brief sensation that he felt as his neck was pierced and he died as that split second pain was enough to give him a life-time worth of trauma.
*Trtrtrtrtr*
Leo shuddered violently and uncontrollably as for a moment he lost his horses.
This was the first time he had ever faced actual death whether it be his life on the line or him taking the life of another human and it was a terrifying experience.
*Ulurghhh*
He vomited as despite his brain knowing that this was just a game, the whole experience was just so realistic that he could not get over it at all.
He was just a regular human child, living a simple life until a couple of days ago and he could not simply just go about killing people as if it were nothing.
What shocked him more than the fact that he was attacked was the fact that he did not hesitate at all when stabbing that man in the heart as the second when he came back online after using the death evasion token, he plunged his sword into his unaware opponent's heart, catching him off-guard and killing him instantly.
"I killed a human-like character…. With my own hands" Leo murmured as he vomited once more feeling absolutely disgusted at his own actions.
Because he was wearing a mask, that he awkwardly lifted slightly before puking, while he puked most of his guts out clean, he did make a slight mess off his mask and his clothes which made him feel even more dirty than usual.
"It's just a game…."
"Just a game…"
"No different from a PC game"
"No different from shooting someone on a PC with a gun"
He kept repeating as he tried to convince himself that his actions were acceptable because there was no actual loss of life that happened as a result of his actions.
This was just a game world where NPC and monsters were just a product of the algorithm and hence killing them was fine.
"You're okay…."
"You're okay"
Slowly, over ten minutes, Leo called down as his shivering stopped and he was able to inspect his own situation better.
He was sitting at 20% HP and the arrow that pierced his neck and its wound seemed to have magically healed.
He had gained 8 levels by killing the level60 warrior, ironically skyrocketing his real level to 32 just like his fake level on the rankings.
It was a windfall achievement, everything considered as if he did not kill his opponent and accepted his death silently he would have lost 4 inventory items and 2 levels, regressing to the same level as the number 2 played.
However, more important than his level was the loot that the corpse dropped and what opportunity it represented for Leo.
[ System Notification:-
You have obtained
1x Assassin's robes ( rare )
2x Poisoned dagger ( rare )
1x Cursed Spider identification token ( unique)
1x Cursed Spider mask ( unique )
1x Assassin's Alliance examination entrance token( unique ) ]
The dead assassin dropped a lot of items including his fresh robe which was made from rare materials capable of resisting rough wear and tear.
Two poisoned daggers laced with extremely toxic toad poison.
An assassin guild identification token.
An assassin guild mask.
And an Assassin Alliance examination token that was the most important dropped item off the bunch.
[ Assassin Alliance examination entrance token ( Unique ) - This token is given to the bright and promising upcoming assassins of every guild so that they can travel to the Assassin's Alliance and get a chance to be selected as trainees under master Assassin's.
This specific token is for an examination that will take place 23 hours from now and will grant the bearer a chance to participate ]
The token was the key to becoming an experienced Assassin should Leo wish to become one and a rare opportunity to join the ranks of a faction that could not be traditionally joined by players of Terra Nova Online.
But the question remained as to whether or not Leo was cut out for such a path?
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/// A/N - Please check the author notes attached below- Thankyou ///