"Y-Yes!"
Not a single one of the unsavory men still wished to mess with this insane lady and her crazy eyes. They raced over to their brother, lifted him up, and then bolted for the hills. However, after reaching a sufficient distance away, three lines of blood appeared on their necks.
"Wha—?"
*Thud, Thud, Thud!*
They collapsed to the hard pavement of an abandoned alleyway, their eyes rolling to the back of their heads, with those same heads rolling away right after.
A cold pair of glowing blue eyes faded from an adjacent rooftop of the alleyway, with this event marking the first human lives Cassius had ever taken. Though, rather than feel repulsed by his own actions, he didn't feel much of anything. He could sense that their hands had been stained with an enormous amount of blood, with their nefarious actions likely extending beyond just their kill count.
Taking care of them was more a matter of karma than anything.
*Ding!*
[You have killed a Lvl 1 Human!]
[You have killed a Lvl 1 Human!]
[You have killed a Lvl 1 Human!]
"…So killing humans also gives experience points," Cassius commented casually as he glanced at his exp bar go up by an almost unnoticeable amount. "This will definitely make things more convenient in the future…"
A cold, ruthless gleam momentarily passed through his piercing gaze as he repeatedly used Shadow Step to return to where Aya was brewing up a storm of frustrations.
'She is far too kind-hearted to fully pull out the roots, even if it's with deplorable scum like them. But if we were to let them be, they would surely not hesitate to go after more girls, possibly acting more viciously than now. Disposing of them was necessary…'
'And their deaths should be swept under the rug, considering the extensive criminal records that they certainly have.'
'On the contrary, I could wind up receiving some unwelcomed trouble because of this, as the corruption in this country runs deep… But that just means I need to become stronger.'
As if to give him a bout of encouragement, the Idle Evolution System threw up another system notification.
*Ding!*
[Shadow Step (D-) has leveled up from (Lvl 1) → (Lvl 2)]
Cassius's brows raised a bit at this pop-up. His other, lower-level Skills had already reached Lvl 2, with some even at Lvl 3, which made him worry for Shadow Step's progress. However, it seemed that a skill's level-up advancement speed was largely dependent on the rank of the skill, with lower-rank skills being far easier to level up.
FWIP! FWIP!
Cassius felt a sudden increase in his speed while using the Shadow Step skill. Its level-up had increased his speed while using it by around 15%, which was quite substantial when his base speed was hundreds of miles per hour.
His figure looked like nothing more than an evanescent blur as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
Before long, he had arrived atop a modest family house's rooftop. His shadowy eyes fell on the black-cloaked girl who was still grumbling over not being able to confront him, and all because of those stinky bastards!
"Damn! I should have hit those scumbags more!!"
Hearing her quietly shout like this put a small smile on Cassius's icy face. 'It seems like something has allowed her to quickly get over the trauma induced from that night.'
He remained completely unaware that he was the cause of this change in his stepsister. She was just so irritated about him and Grace's interactions that her fears blew away into the wind.
'If she encounters something like what happened with the Dark Ape again, and assuming she is stronger, then she should be able to handle herself just fine.'
Cassius's fond thoughts of the fuming girl storming through the door of their house were swiftly interrupted by a couple of pop-ups.
'Ding~!*
[720/720 minutes walking around with the 'Full Newbie 1 Set'] - [✓]
[720/720 minutes carrying 'Newbie 1 Training Sword'] - [✓]
[You obtained 2 Stat Points in Charisma, 1 Point in Strength, and 1 Point in Endurance!]
OOOM!
Cassius suddenly felt a magical power wash over his body. It cleared his pores, made his appearance sharper, improved his overall aesthetic, and tightened his muscles. Moreover, it heightened the effectiveness of his lung capacity, making it possible for him to fight on for longer periods of time.
"Although the struggle was real, at least the rewards are satisfying," Cassius said as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
He lifted the Newbie 1 Training Sword higher in the air, feeling that it was significantly lighter than before. "With this level of strength, I should just barely be able to complete the Daily Quests without needing to waste a Status Recovery reward. However, if I want to keep on getting the Idle 1 Benefits, I will need to push myself further after a couple of days of stat gains."
With that, Cassius planned to sneak through the front door and head up to his room to rest. It wasn't too extraordinarily late, so no problems should arise. Yet, just as he was about to open the house door, an unexpected system notification rang out. It was one that he had completely forgotten he was owed.
*Ding!*
[Your rewards for completing Main Quest 1 have just registered, which includes your bonuses from wiping out the monsters that escaped the E-Rank Sudden Gate.]
[Reward 1: 3 Stat Points in all Main Attributes] - [Y/N]
[Bonus Reward: Special Grade Item 'Cloak of Invisibility'] - [Y/N]
Cassius had mild surprise color his features, yet he quickly adjusted and accepted the rewards, then watched as his strength increased by another wide margin. After making sure he didn't accidentally step forward and crash through a wall, he pulled up the details of the Cloak of Invisibility.
[Cloak of Invisibility (SG)] - [Effectiveness depends on the power level of the user.]
—[Become invisible as soon as it's put on. Invisibility lasts for 30 minutes and can only be used once per 24 hours.]
—[Invisibility is only effective against those 2 or fewer Major Ranks greater than the user. (Pertains strictly to the Perception Stat) (Example: if the User has D- Perception, the User will appear invisible to anyone at or below the B- Perception Rank.)]
...