The thought bothered him more than it should have, but he consoled himself with the fact that he had killed thousands of NPCs in the game—characters with names and backstories and quest lines. This was just one more. One more enemy to defeat—
—except it wasn't… Not really.
The next three days passed in a strange combination of dullness and tension. He should have spent those days leveling up a bit, but he couldn't.
Meanwhile, he located the mayor's house—a large, well-appointed building in the nicer section of town. He even identified Corvin from a distance, a young man in his early twenties, dressed in fine robes with a mage's staff, always accompanied by a large, tough looking bodyguard.
He already knew who Corvin's lover was from the game, some of the useless details from gaming. Her name was Elise, and she lived in a modest house on the edge of town.
The path between the mayor's house and Elise's home went through several alleys—dark, narrow passages where someone could move unseen… As much as unseen was good for sneaking around, it was also perfect for an ambush.
On the evening of the third day, Yamamoto positioned himself in one of those alleys. It was the most direct route Corvin would take if he was trying to move quickly and discreetly. That aside, it was a sure path that was confirmed twice in two different servers, so he was banking on that information.
He'd chosen his position carefully to be a shadowed alcove where he could see the alley entrance but remain hidden. His Novice Sword was drawn, held in a loose grip that wouldn't tire his hand during the wait.
An hour passed… Then another. Yamamoto's legs began to ache from standing still, but he didn't move.
A couple minutes later, he heard footsteps.
Yamamoto's entire body tensed… This was it.
A figure emerged from the shadows at the far end of the alley—a young man in plain clothes, no staff this time, as expected, moving quickly. Even in the darkness, Yamamoto could make out enough features to identify him.
There was no need to hesitate or over think it, this was just another NPC.
Yamamoto exploded out of his hiding spot, his enhanced Agility turning his movement into a blur—a blur for his mage target that is. Corvin's head snapped toward him, eyes widening in shock, mouth opening to shout—he was too slow.
Yamamoto closed the distance in a few strides and activated his only skill.
[Sword Slash]
His blade came around in a perfect arc, aimed at Corvin's neck.
At the last second, Corvin twisted his body, and the blade that should have taken his head off instead carved through his face.
The sound was horrible—wet and crunching… Blood sprayed in a dark arc. Corvin screamed, a gurgling, agonized sound, and stumbled backward.
Yamamoto made a hitched sound as he missed his strike, and didn't give him a chance to recover. He brought his sword down again from behind, a simple overhead strike, and this time the blade bit deep into Corvin's neck but didn't cut it clean off.
Almost immediately, the screaming stopped, and then a notification flashed in his vision:
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 1!
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 2!
Yamamoto stared at the message, stunned. He'd gained a level from killing an NPC? That shouldn't be possible, but there was no time to contemplate.
He grabbed Corvin's body by the hair—trying not to think about how warm it still was, how the blood was still pulsing out—and brought his sword down one final time. This was the only proof he could think of.
The head separated from the body with a sickening sound.
Yamamoto grabbed it, surprisingly, he didn't find himself fighting down the surge of nausea, he was actually completely fine, the fear had been in his mind the entire time. He wrapped it quickly in a cloth from his inventory. That was Proof. Quickly, he stored it back in and ran.
He went through the alleys, avoiding the main streets, his heart hammering in his chest. Soon enough, he heard shouts.
'Someone's found the body for sure.' He said to himself. There was nothing like that in the game, but now that it was real life, guards were sure to be coming soon.
He made it to the clearing behind the warehouse in record time. Aldric was already there, pacing nervously.
"Did you—" Aldric started, but before he finished, Yamamoto gave him proof.
Yamamoto took the head out of his inventory and thrust the wrapped bundle at him. "Your proof. It's done."
Aldric unwrapped the cloth with shaking hands. Even in the darkness, the features were recognizable, it wasn't a completely dark night. Aldric's face went through a dozen emotions at once—shock, horror, grief, and finally, terrible satisfaction.
"You really did it," he whispered. "You actually did it."
He looked at Yamamoto with something like awe, then quickly wrapped the head back up. "I need to hide this. Thank you, boy. Thank you."
He reached into his pack and pulled out a leather bundle. "This is my most prized possession. I no longer need it."
He handed it to Yamamoto, then fled into the darkness without another word.
Multiple notifications appeared in Yamamoto's vision:
…
[QUEST COMPLETE: A Father's Revenge]
Rewards:
+1000 EXP
+5 Free Stat Points
+5 Free Mastery Points
Title Gained: [Hired Assassin]
Item Received: [Mysterious Leather Bundle]
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 3!
[LEVEL UP!]
You are now Level 4!
'Four levels from one quest, and a title?' He thought to himself.
Just then, shouts echoed from the direction of the town. It was quickly spreading about. The guards were probably spreading out in search.
Yamamoto didn't wait to examine his rewards. He shoved everything into his inventory and ran back toward the Copper Mug, using side streets and his now-enhanced Agility to stay ahead of the search.
He made it back to his room just as the town bells began to ring.
Yamamoto locked the door, collapsed onto his bed, and tried to slow his racing heart—racing from being out of breath and running rather than anyother reason.
Now, the reality of what he'd just done was hitting him. He'd killed someone. Not a mob, not an NPC, but a person. He'd watched the life leave his eyes. Felt his blood on his hands.
He looked down at those hands now. They were clean—he'd wiped them hastily before entering the inn—
"It's done," he whispered to the empty room. "Can't take it back now. It's get stronger or die, and I doubt I have a respawn." Though he had been part of the online community that always chose self serving and egoistic characters and ideals as what a person should have, he was only like that online, in reality he was different. No matter how many horror games, toxic space or war games one played, it didn't make killing another human any easier, unless the person was already messed up in the head.
Either way, this view of things seemed to have changed. There was something that had happened to him, perhaps by the game? Or was it the new world? He couldn't tell.