As I slinked around The Hollow Pit, I decided to put Veil of Silence to good use. This place was a veritable goldmine of shady business, and if I was going to survive here, I needed to know what I was dealing with. Activating the skill made every step muffled, every move silent, letting me pass by without a sound.
The result? I became The Hollow Pit's sneakiest, invisible eavesdropper.
Hiding in shadowy corners and sidling up behind alleys, I overheard conversations of every kind. And let me tell you, I didn't know whether to be disturbed, amused, or just plain horrified by what I was hearing.
Behind a crumbling wall, two burly men were grumbling about some "big job" they had coming up. Apparently, it involved smuggling something that sounded suspiciously illegal through the mountains. They were complaining about their cut, each one claiming he deserved a bigger share. Listening to them bicker, I had to stifle a laugh. "Good luck, fellas," I muttered under my breath, inching away before they could notice me.
Moving further down the road, I passed a group of scrappy-looking kids bragging about pickpocketing travelers. One kid held up a shiny ring he'd swiped, and the others were all cheering him on. The kid couldn't have been more than ten, yet here he was, playing the role of a tiny thief like he was born to it. I shook my head, wondering just how messed up a place had to be for children to turn into pint-sized criminals.
And the conversations just kept getting weirder. One man was muttering to himself about how the "spirits of the forest" would come after everyone in the village. He had a wild look in his eyes, gesturing dramatically as he ranted about some prophecy he'd received in a dream. A part of me wanted to see if he'd keep going if I threw a pebble to spook him, but I restrained myself, moving on before my curiosity got me in trouble.
Veil of Silence continued to work like a charm. Every so often, someone would glance in my direction, their gaze shifting uncomfortably as if they sensed something nearby, but they couldn't see me. I had to admit, it was a little thrilling—slinking around, hearing things I had no business hearing. It was like I was living in some fantasy stealth game, and I was actually good at it.
Then, as I rounded a corner, I caught a particularly vile conversation.
Two men, one of them in a ragged tunic and the other with a greasy mop of hair, were leaning against the wall, their voices low but not low enough to escape my keen hearing. As I got closer, the man in the tunic started talking, and my skin crawled with every word.
"Yeah, she was a real looker. Could barely put up a fight, too," the man said, a grin spreading across his face. "Tonight's gonna be fun, I'll tell you that."
His friend snickered. "You really nabbed her, huh? Got a nice little spot set up, I hope. Wouldn't want anyone spoilin' the fun."
I felt my stomach turn as they continued talking, making crude jokes and disgusting plans about some poor girl they'd snatched against her will. I could feel my blood boiling as I listened, my fists clenched tightly at my sides. Every vile word that came out of their mouths made me want to do something about it.
Heart of Stone may have dulled my emotions, but it didn't completely numb me. Even with the emotional distance, a part of me—a human part—still understood right from wrong. And these guys? They were about as wrong as it got.
Without even thinking twice, I turned toward the man in the tunic, locking my gaze on him. I raised my palm subtly in his direction and activated Eternis.
There was no flash, no fanfare. The man's eyes widened, and then he collapsed to the ground, lifeless, as if his body had simply decided it was done. His friend took a startled step back, staring down at him in horror.
"What the…?" The greasy-haired man's eyes went wide, glancing around in confusion, but I'd already turned and walked away, blending back into the shadows as I left him to grapple with the consequences.
The system chimed softly in my head as I slipped around the corner, informing me of another kill and another title bonus. This time, it was something more sinister:
[Congratulations! You have earned the title: Silent Executioner]
Title Bonus:
Increases Stealth by 20% and lowers emotional responses further during necessary acts of justice.
A strange, cold calm washed over me, filling me with a sense of purpose. It was as though the title was reinforcing my actions, assuring me that sometimes, violence was justified, especially against the kind of scum I'd just taken down. I didn't feel regret, didn't feel guilt. The guy had it coming, plain and simple.
The system chimed again.
[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Grip]
Skill: Shadow Grip
Description: Allows the user to immobilize a target by wrapping them in shadows. Effective for restraint or as a silent takedown.
I raised an eyebrow as I read the skill's description. Shadow Grip. The idea of being able to silently take down targets by literally binding them in darkness was both terrifying and… strangely satisfying. This was exactly the kind of ability I could use to keep myself out of trouble in a place like this.
"Silent Executioner, huh?" I muttered under my breath. "I guess that fits."
The more I thought about it, the more I realized how this skill could help me keep out of harm's way without causing too much of a scene. A silent takedown here, a bit of restraint there—I could avoid any unnecessary fights and save myself the hassle of getting into physical scuffles with random lowlifes.
I took a deep breath, my gaze turning back to the village with a renewed sense of purpose. My Heart of Stone title had dulled any sense of pity or hesitation, and my Silent Executioner title seemed to urge me on. In some twisted way, it was almost comforting. I didn't have to be afraid of making the hard choices anymore, and I wasn't weighed down by guilt. It was like the system was adapting me to this world, whether I liked it or not.
I glanced around, noting that a few people had noticed what had happened to the man in the tunic. They'd seen him fall, seen his friend's panic, and were now giving me a very, very wide berth. Good. If word spread that I wasn't someone to mess with, that could only work in my favor. In a place like The Hollow Pit, fear was as good a defense as any weapon.
My stomach growled again, reminding me that I still hadn't found anything to eat. With a shrug, I continued onward, figuring that somewhere in this forsaken town, there had to be a place where I could get a decent meal. Preferably without too much of a hassle.
I wandered down a narrow alley, listening in on more conversations, each one more bizarre than the last. One guy was muttering to himself about the "curse" that had befallen the village, claiming that the spirits of everyone wronged here would someday come back for revenge. Another group was whispering about a "great heist" they had planned for the next week, their voices filled with excitement and greed. It was like the entire place was one big mess of deceit and desperation.
As I wandered, my mind kept going back to the new skill I'd gained. Shadow Grip. It was an unsettling skill, to say the least, but I couldn't deny its usefulness. I imagined using it on some of the lowlifes here, trapping them in darkness before they even knew what was happening. The thought made me smirk—this world was dangerous, but at least I was getting the tools to survive it.
Finally, I spotted what looked like an inn, tucked away in a quieter corner of the village. The sign above the door was barely legible, and the building looked as run-down as everything else in The Hollow Pit, but it was something. Maybe, just maybe, they had food.
As I approached the entrance, a few people hanging around the inn gave me wary glances. I straightened up, meeting their gazes with an unblinking stare, and watched as they quickly averted their eyes. The intimidation factor was working better than I'd expected. With my titles, my skills, and the calm coldness of Heart of Stone, I felt untouchable. Or at least, like I could fake it.
"Alright, Taurus," I muttered to myself, stepping up to the door. "Let's see if this place has something edible."
As I pushed open the door and stepped inside, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of confidence. I'd walked into The Hollow Pit as just another traveler, but now, I was starting to feel like something else.