'Let's get this over with.' Alden thought with a cold smile.
He was not going to kill them, but breaking a few bones should be okay.
Right?
He didn't wish to shed blood unnecessarily.
Before Alden could make a move, he heard the newcors.
"He is a bit tio skinny, but it's okay." A burly man with a scar running down his cheek spoke.
He was grinning as he scanned Alden.
"He looks handso… so he'll sell for a great price." Another man with a thick beard smirked.
"Tch, it's a sha. I was hoping for a girl this ti. At least last ti we had so fun."
The final man, who looked to be younger than the other two, sighed in disappointnt.
Alden's hands clenched.
'What did he say?'
He had underestimated these scamrs a bit too much.
They weren't just normal scamrs.
These bastards were slave traders.
From the way they spoke, this wasn't their first ti.
They had done this before.
And from the tone in their voices, they didn't just sell them.
The younger one had wanted a girl.
Alden's mind went blank, but his body reacted before he could think.
His original intention to break their bones at most was no more.
He was going to eliminate these pests.
They were not soone who deserved forgiveness.
"Can I—--" The youngest man tried to say sothing. But before he could finish his sentence.
Alden was already in front of him… he fists pulled back.
Crack
The sound of bone breaking echoed through the empty alley.
Alden had punched the younger thug.
His head snapped to the side—his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
His body collapsed before his brain even registered his death.
The others barely had ti to react before Alden vanished from their sights again.
Then—
A blur.
Before he appeared in front of the burly man.
His sword was already in his hands.
He slashed at the man with one swift motion.
A horizontal slash.
A crimson arc of blood sprayed into the air.
The burly man stumbled, his eyes wide with horror, before collapsing lifelessly onto the alley floor.
The last thug barely got his weapon out.
But it was too late.
Alden's sword transford into a spear midair. With a single thrust, the spearhead pierced straight through his chest.
Then, Alden pulled his spear back out, letting the body collapse to the ground.
Within seconds, all three things were dead as the silence returned to the alley.
The only one left was the scamr.
He was stuck by the dead end he had lured Alden into himself.
He stumbled backward, falling onto the floor.
A putrid sll was spreading.
The scamr had pissed in his pants.
But Alden was in no mood to joke around.
"H—How … how is that possible?" The scamr was in disbelief. His face was pale with fear.
Alden didn't answer.
The scamr had felt Alden's energy earlier.
He had been so sure and confident that Alden was just a beginner-ranked novice.
Weak and an easy target.
So, how could a Beginner Novice Rank overpower three Advanced Novice ranked individuals?
He had thought he had baited a big fish as he saw Alden with a storage ring and expensive clothes.
Normally he would've steered clear of such people, as in most of the cases they were strong or from influential families.
But Alden didn't look like either.
His strength was in a lower rank, according to what the scamr had felt, and there were no guards around him to protect so he wasn't overly influential either.
At most from moderately rich family.
So he decided to take the risk to bait Alden.
But it wasn't Alden who was baited.
It was the scamr who was baited.
They had ssed with soone they shouldn't have.
Alden looked at him, his expression cold.
"Talk." His voice was quiet.
The scamr flinched.
His entire body started trembling violently.
His mind was screaming at him to run away—To get away from this monster. But he couldn't even move his body.
Alden had activated [Predatory Gaze] to intensify the fear the scamr felt.
"W-What—do you—w?" The scamr trembled; he couldn't even form a sentence properly.
"The black market." Alden stepped closer. "Where is it?"
Alden had read about Black Market in the novel.
But did he rember the exact place and mode of entry? No.
He had just skimd that part, and he didn't know.
So now, he needed to hear it exactly from soone who knew.
"T-The lower district!" The scamr answered. "There's a club—Black Thorn. You need to ask for a drink called the Silver Widow—that's the entry pass."
Normally the scamr would have lied.
But right now?
His mind was blank. The fear he felt was imnse.
He was in a lower rank than Alden, and moreover, his current ntal strength was broken by seeing Alden being so strong.
So the [Predatory Gaze] worked more efficiently than normal.
Alden studied him for a mont. Then—
CRACK.
Arghhhhhh!
The scamr scread as Alden broke his arm.
"P–Please spare ? I told you what you wanted—"
"I—I have … a family … at ho." The scamr begged. "I have a daughter."
"P–please spare …"
Alden stared at him, but now his cold eyes had a bit of hesitation.
Am I doing the right thing?
Do I even have the right?
Aren't I just a hypocrite?
Alden wasn't a cold-blooded psychopath who could kill for fun…
"Tell how many people you have sold to till now." Alden asked him in a hoarse voice.
"How many of them were children?"
The scamr's trembling body froze for a mont.
His face flashed with uncertainty.
"Did you care about the family of those children?"
"How did they feel?"
"What did those children go through after what you did?"
"TELL "
"DID YOU CARE?"
The scamr didn't say anything.
"TELL WHY I SHOULD CARE THEN."
Alden spoke, his voice echoing within the empty alley.
"You wanted to sell people for 'fun'?" He tilted his head. "Then you shouldn't have wasted your last monts begging."
And with that—
Alden's blade flashed.
The scamr's head hit the ground before his body even realised.
Alden exhaled softly, stepping near the corpses.
He searched through the pocket of the scamr to find a ManaSync and a wallet, which he put in his pocket.
He didn't know if he was right.
But did it matter?
He wasn't a hero of justice.
He wasn't a good person.
He took a look at the corpses.
Alden felt nothing.
Not guilt.
No satisfaction.
Just silence.
He had taken extra care to not use mana during this whole exchange, so it was difficult to trace the cri back to him.
And even if it did.
He was sure it wouldn't have any consequences.
His family would suppress the incident as if it never even happened.
They wouldn't want to lower their reputation just because of so thugs.
He exited the alley.
His next destination?
The Dungeon.
He was going to complete his mission before going to Black Market.
Unbeknownst to Alden, sothing fundantal within him had changed during this fight.
[▒▒▒▒▒ Soul (0%—> 2%)]
A skill with a percentage that never increased till now had gone up.
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