Hidden among the trees, Luke studied the place in silence. The settlement below was a sprawling military village, its architecture echoing the style of feudal Japan. But its inhabitants were onis red, broad-shouldered humanoid monsters that faintly resembled orcs.
They weren’t working or drilling, just pacing through the streets in slow, watchful patterns. Some wore simple clothing, others full armor. Archers stood posted atop wooden towers, bows resting but never relaxed. And above everything, dominating the village like a spine of stone, rose the staircase leading to the temple. Luke didn’t need to see inside to know what waited there. That was where the area’s leader would be. Cassandra and Peter had made that much clear.
He slipped back into the cover of the forest.
“There are many of them, Master Luke,” Angie murmured.
“Yeah. A lot,” he replied quietly. “I couldn’t read the level of every single one, but it’s a mix. Some around forty-five… others closer to seventy.”
And that didn’t include the boss.
Luke had borrowed Charlie’s vision using his rank skill, extending his awareness through her eyes to scout the site more thoroughly.
“The purple poison mist doesn’t reach the village,” Angie added. “That works in our favor.”
They continued moving through the undergrowth. Along the outskirts, Luke spotted bodies displayed on wooden stakes. Humans. Alchemists.
“They made it this far,” he said, kneeling to inspect the ground. “But most didn’t get any closer.”
Tracks spread across the soil in chaotic waves some retreating, some pressing forward and ending abruptly.
Charlie hesitated before speaking. “Are you still going to try, Master Luke? I mean… not that we would ever turn back. But do you want to do this now, or level your second class first?”
“I think we can handle it now,” he answered. “With the right plan.”
“I won’t be much help in this fight, my lord,” Angie admitted. “I’m still too weak, and my spear is nearly breaking.”
Charlie glanced at her. “What do you think, Angie? Your opinion matters. You’re… very perceptive.”
“The safest strategy is for me to gain more class levels,” Angie replied calmly. “If I grow stronger, I’ll be far more useful. I can fly, strike from multiple angles, and this class has powerful potential. With a bit more time, we could take the village much more securely.”
Luke fell quiet for a moment, weighing her words.
“The towers with archers are the biggest problem,” he said at last. “But… I’m not waiting.”
He looked back toward the oni stronghold, eyes narrowing.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to level up, Angie. I do. But I need to find that temple. And there’s a massive amount of experience locked behind those walls. I don’t want the alchemists or anyone else getting to it first.”
The wind shifted, carrying distant drumbeats from the village.
“Those experience points,” Luke said, voice low. “And whatever treasure they’re guarding… they’re ours.”
***
Layla was in the village, inside the temple where the meeting was being held. Cassandra had managed to convince the other mercenaries to side with her after the recent attacks. The alchemists had shown up hurling bottles that burst on impact, spreading poison, fire, and acid.
“The army should have sent people here by now,” someone muttered.
“This is clearly a terrorist attack, and they made you the hostage.”
Cassandra stood and slapped her hand on the table. “Come here to help? Me, a hostage?”
Her voice sharpened with anger. “The only reason I haven’t already retaken the base they seized is because I’m stuck here protecting your asses.”
She stepped away from the table. “But that ends now. I’m leaving this village with my soldiers, and I’m going to deal with this problem myself. Some of you have already agreed to come with me into battle. The rest of you can decide. Either come with me to where my army is stationed, or stay here and wait to die when they come for you.”
Cassandra marched out, leaving only Peter behind to soften her words and explain things in a calmer tone so the others wouldn’t panic. Layla immediately recognized the routine. Good cop, bad cop.
As she walked out of the hall, she suddenly remembered the most infuriating person she had ever met.
“That bastard abandoned me here,” she muttered.
And yet, things didn’t add up. That bastard had used his powers of manipulating women and, somehow, managed to place Layla in a safe location. He had made some kind of deal with Cassandra that allowed Layla to be included among the VIPs who were supposed to be protected.
“‘Layla, you’re safe now. Unfortunately, there’s no danger of you being assassinated,’” she said, mocking his voice. Just remembering his smug tone and arrogant manner was enough to make her angry all over again.
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I hate that guy. And now I owe him a favor.
The thought unsettled her. What would a woman-manipulator like him demand when he eventually came to collect?
She knew the kind of man Luke was. Bastion’s stories had painted the picture clearly, and she had lived under the same roof as him when he stayed at her father’s inn. He was a charmer who preyed on women. She even suspected he had somehow done the same to her friend Eleanor. Eleanor was far too good for a scumbag like him.
I’m going to tell Eleanor that the bastard is still out there seducing and deceiving women. He’s doing the same thing to Charlie. Poor girl, she has no idea how awful he really is.
Layla continued down the hall toward the small room she had been given inside the temple.
“Him, and that woman who lives in his necklace and keeps mocking me. I hate both of them.”
Her friend Eleanor was obviously being fooled by Luke. Layla was sure of it. Eleanor didn’t match him at all. If Eleanor was going to be with someone, it should have been one of the two heroes from the tutorial.
Once inside her room, she sat down on the bed. “I wish the person I had to deal with here was Lord Mason instead.”
He was brave, strong, handsome. A true knight.
“Or… that mysterious savior,” she whispered, remembering.
A true knight had rescued her during the tutorial. A masked man riding a stone horse. Just when Layla had been certain she was going to die, he appeared. He cut through their enemies and carried her away on his horse, like a hero from a storybook.
He had never given his name. Hadn’t spoken a single word to her. Yet Layla remembered the warmth of his body in the snow, the way he lifted her into his arms and placed her on the saddle. In that freezing night, he rode with her in silence, driving away her fear and bringing her somewhere safe.
“Now that was a real gentleman,” she murmured. “Not like that bastard Luke.”
***
After finalizing the plan, Luke decided he would infiltrate the village alone. The onis moved in slow, lazy patrols, repeating the same routines over and over. They weren’t alert. Not yet. Luke spent hours watching them, testing timing windows, mapping blind spots, and adjusting details in silence.
When the moment came, he slipped through the settlement wearing his assassin gear, back pressed to the wall of a wooden house. He crept toward a doorway where an oni stood posted, motionless. In a single motion, Luke rose, yanked the creature backward and drove his kukri into its throat.
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
He stored the corpse into his pocket dimension before it could hit the ground. He couldn’t allow a single scream. Even the weakest shout would bring the entire village crashing down on him.
Crouched low, Luke moved along the street. Ahead, an oni with a war hammer stopped to glance around. Luke flicked a small stone into the opposite direction. The brute turned its head. That was enough. Luke closed distance in silence, and the kukri sliced cleanly across its neck.
[You have slain an Oni Guard - Lvl 78]
He lifted his gaze to the rooftop across the street and tossed a throwing knife.
[Telekinetic Impulse activated]
The blade shot forward like a miniature missile, piercing straight through the oni’s eye.
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
Before the body could fall, Luke caught it and pulled it out of sight.
***
He reached the base of a tall watchtower.
[Demonic Predator Hands activated]
His fingers dug into the wood as he climbed quickly, scaling the structure with predatory ease. At the top, an oni archer barely had time to react before Luke slit its throat.
[You have slain an Oni Archer - Lvl 35]
From that vantage point, the entire sector of the village opened beneath him.
“Now we play,” he murmured.
Ten throwing knives rose into the air around him, orbiting at shoulder height under the pull of [Weak Telekinesis]. Luke took in the streets, the rooftops, the aimless patrols… and smiled.
He flicked two knives.
[Telekinetic Impulse activated]
They shot downward at absurd speed.
[You have slain an Oni Sentinel - Lvl 58]
[You have slain an Oni Sentinel - Lvl 58]
Both dropped where they stood, blades buried in their throats. Humming to himself, Luke unleashed more knives.
[Telekinetic Impulse activated]
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
Bodies toppled silently across the streets as knife after knife found its mark. One oni on a rooftop collapsed where it stood. The one beside it fell a heartbeat later, steel lodged deep in its neck.
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
**Your second class [Witch] has reached Level 24!**
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
And like that, methodical and relentless, Luke continued to erase every oni in that quarter of the village, one precise throw at a time.
***
Luke moved through the street, making his way toward another archer tower in that part of town.
Three oni sat nearby, hunched over scraps of human remains. Unlike the others, these ones wore gear: bits of armor covering their vital points. Throwing knives wouldn’t do much against that, and the risk was high. One scream was all it would take to blow his cover even the sound of steel striking metal could give him away.
He would have to be precise.
Luke sprinted forward and, just as he reached them, triggered [Wraith Form]. A black mist surged outward as he leapt through it. One kukri sank into the first oni’s throat. He spun, slicing across the neck of the second, then drove the other blade straight into the chest of the third.
By the time the mist faded, the oni were already on the ground.
[You have slain an Oni Guard - Lvl 78]
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
[You have slain an Oni Soldier - Lvl 48]
**Your class [Demonic Predator] has reached Level 64!**
He stored the bodies away and slipped into a nearby building.
Almost done.
“Right. Only ninety percent of the village left,” Artemis muttered in his mind.
Luke vaulted out through a window and sprinted toward the next structure.
Slow and steady wins the race. Ever heard the story of the hare and the tortoise?
He moved on to another building.
“In real life, the hare wins. Those fables don’t make sense.”
Luke was just about to step outside when something crashed down in front of him. He rolled aside at the last second, narrowly avoiding the swing of a blade.
“You have good reflexes,” the creature said.
An oni stood there, different from the others. Full samurai armor. A katana that burst into flames as he lifted it.
“Did you really think you could run around killing my soldiers without me knowing?” the oni said.
“At least you spared me the trouble of climbing those stairs to kill you myself.”
[Temple Guardian Oni - Lvl 93]
https://discord.gg/znGSjCxhkR
