Atlas grinned, "Well, you're right."
He raised his staff and pointed it at the fork entrance in front of him.
"I will give you a choice, rat. Either you show yourself and we can talk or we will assume you're an enemy and attack you. Oh, don't worry. There is no red name penalty in Horizon Online. No one will know if we kill you, besides the killers and the victims that is."
No answer. He looked at Ferin and both nodded. She lowered her stance and was ready to activate [Dash] to end the hiding rat's life.
Just as [Mana Bolt] was gathered in front of the staff, three people showed up from the darkness, grinning widely.
"Don't be so tense, brother. We're just here to hunt. Right?"
"Yeah, we have no bad intentions at all. We're just friendly players."
"That's right! Can you please cancel the spells?"
They spat the usual liners they could think of out of their mouths.
There should be no one who found this cave at this time. No, everyone was probably still trying to figure out why the monsters were different at night.
That meant…
'They followed us into this cave.' Atlas thought as he glanced at Ferin.
They had spent a lot of time together and perfected their teamwork. Just a glance was enough to convey what he wanted to do.
"Is that so?" Atlas responded to the man and relaxed his stance. The [Mana Bolt] on the tip of the staff disappeared.
Seeing this, the men's grin widened. They thought they had just gotten easy targets.
However…
"Let's kill them, Fer."
Atlas' next words surprised them.
"Okay!" Ferin answered and grinned, "[Dash]"
Activating her skill, she shot out toward the nearest man like a bullet. Her high AGI was showing. Her speed was way faster than the first time they hunted.
With a swift and precise movement, she swung her sword. It left behind a silver arch as it decapitated the man in one attack, leaving no room to react.
"First."
Ferin's feral grin amidst the spurting red hexagons and a body that fell in front of her looked beautiful, captivating the two remaining PKs.
However, they had no time to stand around like that.
"[Mana Bolt!]"
Atlas sent a mana bolt to the third man who looked like a Rogue. In a battle like this, a Rogue would be a dangerous opponent against a Mage. They moved fast. Besides, they could also use a bow and arrow and attack the Mage who stood in the back line.
The [Mana Bolt] sent by Atlas was fast and deadly. The damage done was pretty high, reducing the enemy's HP bar from full to only a quarter. It was pretty apparent from the display above his head.
"You!" The Rogue was angry after getting attacked so suddenly. He took out a bow and nocked an arrow, ready to shoot/
Facing it, Atlas was calm.
"Are you sure you want to aim at me?"
"Huh?"
The Rogue didn't understand what happened. When he realized it, his head was already flying in the air and his HP was depleted completely. A silver-haired rabbit girl reflected on his eyes as his head fell to the ground with a thud.
Only a man remained.
Atlas and Ferin looked at the man with a wide grin on their faces. Why not? After a player died in a battle against other players, their bodies would stay for 5 minutes, waiting to be revived. Some items that weren't in their inventory stayed in their bodies.
Which meant, they were free loots.
"That's a good sword you have, mister." Ferin approached the last man while swinging her sword down. "It's perfect for me before we fight the boss. How about you give it to me and I will spare your life. Right, At?"
"I will consider it. I believe that weapon is an [Uncommon] weapon, a grade higher than the [Common] beginner weapon. It's worth his life." Atlas nodded and observed the man's reaction.
The PK seemed flustered. His expression, caught by the VR system, made many changes. He was considering the option very carefully.
If he handed the sword, he could live and bring all his remaining items outside. But if he didn't hand it, he would be killed. His sword and some items would definitely drop, and he also wouldn't be able to play the game for an hour while waiting to be revived.
Looking at two players who slowly got close to him, he gulped and made a decision.
"I-I will give it! Unequip." The man shouted and threw the sword on the ground. "You will spare my life, right?!"
"Ooh! Yes, yes. I will spare your life!" Ferin exclaimed. She picked the sword on the ground and raised it, her bunny ears flopped around excitedly.
The sword's information came into her eyes in the form of a window.
[Good Steel Sword (Uncommon)
Class Requirement: Warrior
Level Requirement: 3
Attribute Requirements: AGI 7, STR 7
STR +3
AGI +3
Effect: None
Description: A good steel sword tempered by a good blacksmith. It's sharper and sturdier than a normal iron sword.]
"Lucky! It's indeed an [Uncommon] sword! It increased my STR and AGI by 3. Equip!" Ferin looked pretty happy with the sword and looked at Atlas.
Noticing her gaze, Atlas nodded. He turned at the man, who began to run without listening to what he was about to say.
"[Mana Bolt.]"
The bluish bolt traveled the cave's corridor and pierced the man's leg, causing him to stumble and cry in pain.
"Aaah! W-Why?! I gave you my sword already." The man complained as he stared dagger at Atlas who walked toward him casually.
Crouching in front of the man, whose HP was almost depleted from that one attack, he pointed his staff at his head.
"I never said that I would spare you. That was Fer's decision, not mine." He grinned, showing an expression akin to an Archdemon itself. "So, any last words?"
"I will kill– ugh."
The word was cut off by a sword piercing his mouth. Ferin looked at the dying man with a bright smile.
"Oops, sorry! I have a short term memory loss! But the sword is sharp, so thanks!"