The moment the old man saw Damon sitting beside him, his eyes went to his arms and he fearfully jumped in the opposite direction. The sad look in his eyes had transformed to dread.
"Get away from me!!"
The old man attempted to run, but Damon caught him by the arm. Damon looked around to make sure there were no soldiers in the area before making his move.
"Calm down, grandpa!" Damon warned, the politeness in his voice gone.
"Help! Help!!" The old man shouted, but no one could hear him as the tree was secluded from the rest of the village.
Damon held him by the neck with a blazing look in his eyes, "Scream one more time and I'll pull out your tongue!"
That happened to do the trick, because the old man went silent after that.
"Now tell me old man. Why are you so afraid?" Damon asked, releasing his grip on the man's neck.
"Player from another world, let go of me! Let me go and I'll tell you whatever you need to know. I'll even give you a good mission with lots of rewards," the old man begged, his eyes searching around.
Damon knew better than to trust him, still he released the old man's arm from his hold. The old man had a bald head and was wearing a tattered singlet and leather shorts.
NPCs are basically human beings with different personalities and behaviors due to the advanced AI used to create them. Damon was disappointed to see that even with 10 points of charm, he couldn't get along with the first NPC he met.
As expected, the old man made a run for it but hardly had he taken five steps before he paused.
{Shadow Paralysis has been activated}
The outline of a hand stretched out of Damon's shadow and gripped that of the old man. Damon wasn't sure his skills would work on NPCs. Now he knew. The old man desperately tried to move but couldn't. Not even his eyeballs.
{Shadow Paralysis has been deactivated}
Damon held him by the neck and threw him to the base of the tree. This time, the man didn't try to run. After what just happened there was nothing that would make him take his eyes of Damon.
"I'll ask you one more time. What's scaring you??"
In Hell's Foundation, there was a reason for everything. Damon was certain the old man wasn't acting like this because he was crazy.
The old man raised his shaky hands and pointed a finger at the Rings on Damon's arms.
"The Rings? Why do they terrify you?"
"A long time ago, The Accursed One used rings like those to terrorize this world. If the ones you wear are the same as the ones of old, I must alert the soldiers. You must be executed at once!" the old man explained, his face turning about in search of something.
"I see." Damon's face showed no emotion as he approached the old man. "Thank you."
When Damon knelt in front of the old man, his heart started to beat like a machine gun. With extreme speed, Damon reached for the old man's chest. When he was a centimeter from touching him, he stopped.
{Ring Blast has been activated!}
One of the rings on his arm shot out with extreme speed. It penetrated a circle-shaped whole in the old man's chest then returned back to Damon's arm, soaked in the old man's blood. In a few seconds, the blood disappeared.
Damon stood up. He could see the glow of the question mark above the old man's head slowly fade until it was gone. A red figure appeared in its place.
DEAD!
Since no one was around, Damon waited to observe what would happen and just like he thought, the old man's body faded into sparks of white light. He left the tree area to head back to town.
Before now, Damon had never attempted to kill an NPC in all the games he had played in the past. Normally, it wouldn't be possible to deal damage to an NPC and even in the rare cases when it happened due to a system glitch in the game, all the soldiers in the area would be notified. In all the video games Damon had played, there was never a record of a player killing an NPC.
It just wasn't possible.
Damon knew this so he attacked using Ring Blast. If there was one grade of equipment that could destroy any form of matter in the game for good, it would be Chaos-grade. Damon didn't feel anything about killing the old man because there was no way he could let him live. Not when the old man knew something that could lead to Damon's in-game death.
As Damon awaited more info about the Rings of Asmodeus, he would continue to use them to his advantage. The first thing Damon did after leaving the tree was activate Omnipotent Blind. Now no one else could see the Rings on him.
Damon had to walk a while before he could get back to the village square. Damon had to walk a while before he could get back to the village square.
With a smile on his face, he approached a young man with a blue mark over his head. The butcher's shop was quiet, save for the rhythmic thunk of a cleaver slicing through meat. Damon stepped inside, his nose wrinkling at the sharp tang of blood and raw flesh. Behind the counter stood a muscular NPC with a stained apron, his muscled arms glistening with sweat. He didn't look up as Damon approached, focusing instead on carving up a side of meat.
"Excuse me," Damon began. "Do you have any tasks that need doing?"
The butcher grunted, finally glancing up from his work. His beady eyes swept over Damon, taking in his gear and stature.
"You don't look like much, kid."