These four people are strange.
Their appearances were surprisingly normal, but the fact that they're here, at night, makes no sense. Because of that, I became alert. Even though they all approached with friendly smiles, I need to stay cautious.
"Excuse me, can we camp here?" asked the man who seemed to be the leader. He was as tall as Master, a pretty average man without much muscle. Nothing about him stood out.
The other man in the group also looked quite ordinary.
The two women, however, were beautiful. But the predatory look they gave me when they first saw me told me they weren't who they pretended to be. Their innocent appearance was just a mask.
"Sorry, but I don't want anyone camping next to me. I prefer to be alone," I replied.
"Come on, no need to act like that. There's plenty of space here, and this is the best spot we found. How about this? We'll give you some food if you let us stay."
"Why are you insisting so much?" There were plenty of other places they could camp.
"It's just that the ground here is flat, perfect for resting. The terrain around is uneven, you know?"
I looked around. He was wrong. It made no sense.
"Fine, but I don't want your food." I didn't trust these people.
As they settled a few meters away, I kept my senses sharp because I could feel they might try something at any moment. '...' I looked their way and noticed all four of them were staring at me.
"Hey, isn't he young? What's he doing out here?"
"And he's cute too, isn't he? I think I'd spend the night with him if he asked."
"You're such a slut, Camila."
"Your mother's the slut, you asshole."
I heard their conversation and kept staring at them seriously.
They didn't care that I could hear every word.
Then, the woman named Camila—the one who said she'd spend the night with me—stood up. In her hand was a bowl of food. She walked over and placed the bowl beside me.
Inside was a meat stew.
It looked tasty, but I didn't feel hungry.
"Thanks, but I don't want it."
"Huh? Not hungry? You don't look like you have anything to eat."
"I don't feel hunger. I don't need to eat."
"Are you kidding? What do you mean you don't feel hunger? Hahaha." She laughed and continued, "Come on, it's really good. I cooked it myself."
"No thanks."
"..." After I refused again, I looked up and saw Camila's red eyes staring at me coldly. But then she smiled, picked up the bowl, and returned to her group.
They started talking, this time lowering their voices so I couldn't hear them.
After a while, three of them went to sleep, leaving only Camila awake.
I stayed awake too, of course—I never feel sleepy.
While her friends slept, Camila walked over and sat beside me.
I didn't even look at her. I kept staring into the darkness.
"Hey, what do you say we spend the night together?" she asked. "I've been feeling so lonely lately."
"If you ask one of your friends, I'm sure they'd be happy to fuck your filthy pussy. I don't want it."
"..." She was speechless, but I could feel her body heating with rage as she tried to punch me on the side of the face.
But thanks to the new skills Master gave me, I sensed the strike coming. She wasn't very fast. I caught her fist and stared at her.
The woman with burning red eyes was shocked—her eyes widened.
"If you try to touch me again, I'll rip your hands off and shove them up your ass."
Camila got the message. Her body trembled with fear.
Once I let go, she quickly stood and ran back to her group.
When she got there, they all started waking up, and she began to cry.
While I stared into the darkness, I sensed the four of them approaching me from behind.
'Idiots.'
####
The four walked toward me, and I remained seated. Once they were close enough, I used one of Master's skills— Fire Magic —to create a wall of flame between us.
The fire wall was no taller than a meter, but it was enough to make them step back.
"What was that? Magic?" Camila asked nervously.
"Don't worry, that magic doesn't seem strong enough to hurt anyone," the leader said.
The fire quickly died out.
Even though I haven't leveled up yet, I received the new sword Master bought.
I'd left it on the ground beside me, hidden under a cloth.
I'd taken the cloth from the horse, which wore it like a sort of "cloak."
As I pulled the sword from beneath the cloth, I looked coldly at the four of them.
"I'm not as strong as Master, but I'm sure I'm strong enough to cut your heads off. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Gulp!
I heard three of them swallow hard, but the leader didn't look scared.
'He's the strongest of the four. Still, I think I can handle it.' I tapped the sword to the ground and kept staring at them, waiting.
I didn't want to attack first.
I wanted them to strike.
"Rick, maybe we shouldn't do this."
"What's this, Camila? Didn't you say this guy assaulted you?"
"Assaulted?" I said, staring at her.
"I assaulted you? Is this some kind of joke?"
Just as I suspected, she's nothing but a whore.
"Camila?" The leader, Rick, turned to her.
Then, without a single smile, I rushed toward them.
Two clones appeared behind me, each holding a sword.
"Rick!" Camila screamed, thinking I was going after him.
But I passed by the two men in front and drove my sword straight through Camila's chest.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she began to shake. "Once you're dead, I'll rip your hands off and shove them inside you—just like I promised," I said, and pulled the blade from her body.
Looking back, the two clones had vanished, but the two men were badly injured.
Rick had a deep cut along his side, and the other man's stomach was pierced.
The remaining woman panicked and ran.
As she fled, I used Master's ice magic to form a spear and impale the back of her head.
She dropped lifelessly, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The injured men glared at me with hatred before collapsing.
At the same time, I felt my body grow stronger. Much stronger.
"Pathetic."
Coldly, I sat back down in the same place and looked up at the sky.
I placed the bloodstained sword beside me and smiled at the stars.
####
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