MTLNOVEL Chapter 16: Murder weapon
The weird one had torn out the creature's tendrils with his bare hand, then swiftly hacked it down, spraying crimson in all directions.
'How did he get here so fast without me noticing?' Vorden thought, his body momentarily frozen in shock.
His eyes widened.
Within a minute, the creature was dead—reduced to pieces—all by the bare hands of this mysterious Seeker.
But suddenly, another burst out of a nearby room and charged towards the boy.
Vorden reacted instantly.
He lunged forward and tore off its head.
It was also of the Ruinborn rank, though of a different species.
...
[Seeker, you have vanquished a Ruinborn ranked Shore: Gargoyle]
[100 Caculs added]
[900/5000]
...
The first had been a Kelican.
The one Vorden had slain was a Gargoyle.
The quiet one turned his head towards Vorden with a wide grin.
"Thank you," he said, wiping the blood from his face.
His white shirt was soaked in red.
Vorden slowly walked towards him, his mind full of questions.
He dismissed his blade.
Now face to face, the boy pocketed his hands and met Vorden's gaze.
"What rank are you truly?" Vorden asked. "And what's your Night Shift count?"
The boy tilted his head to the side and smiled.
"I'm just a Fang-Wrought, with a Murder attribute. And my Special Sense is immense strength and stealth," he replied in a calm, direct manner.
Vorden narrowed his eyes. "Eh?"
The boy chuckled. "Heh-heh-heh. This is my third, though. And peace be upon the dead."
He glanced at the bodies of the two fallen Seekers, his gaze sorrowful.
Vorden followed his stare. He felt nothing for them. Their recklessness had quite literally cost them their lives.
What confused him more was this guy—having an attribute named Murder. What kind of twisted ability was that?
Of course, if he knew the boy's path, he might have had some idea of its meaning. But Seekers rarely revealed their paths.
Many kept theirs hidden.
"So, what does this Murder attribute actually mean?" Vorden asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Oh, sure. First, my name is Wrex, and my attribute allows me to kill with increasing efficiency the more I engage in combat."
Vorden frowned. "Explain."
Wrex smirked. "The more blood I spill, the faster and stronger I become. My body adapts mid-fight. I instinctively know how to kill whatever I'm facing. Weak points, vulnerabilities—my instincts lay them bare."
Vorden stared at him, utterly perplexed.
Cool. But what?
He couldn't see much difference between Wrex's attribute and his own.
But the more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became.
He was someone designed for killing.
...A living murder weapon.
The thought left an unpleasant taste in Vorden's mouth.
***
They continued walking, checking each room.
Vorden explained the looping passage.
Wrex recounted how the room he entered had led him to another through a window—one he had assumed led outside.
But after passing through the next, he had ended up back in the foyer.
This was clearly a trapped house.
Each room was set up as if someone lived there. Beds were neatly arranged, sheets tucked in place.
Yet, there was no sign of a Shore.
However, the two they had encountered proved that Shores did exist in this building, lurking somewhere.
They had to stay cautious.
A Night Shift's structure was magical and could create anything beyond imagination. Such a setting wasn't surprising.
But for Wrex, it was unseen.
The two entered a room—surprisingly large, flooded with light. It had two beds and a wardrobe, empty.
One window seemed to face the outside, but they were certain it only led to another room.
Wrex sat on one bed, using the clean, white bedsheet to wipe the blood off himself.
Vorden, on the other hand, approached the window, placed a hand on the glass, and let his black ice crawl across it.
A faint crack formed.
It made no sound to Wrex.
Through the small crack, Vorden peered in. All he could see was darkness.
But within that darkness, something moved. A shifting mass. Most likely a Shore.
Its rank was impossible to discern.
Quickly, he opened the window and realised it led to another room—identical to this one in every way.
"I told you. Just another room," Wrex said casually, still cleaning himself.
Vorden glanced at him, certain about something. "No. It's not. That's just another trick."
Wrex frowned and turned his attention to Vorden.
"What do you mean?"
"I made a small crack in the window first," Vorden said, shutting the glass and gesturing to the crack. Wrex moved closer.
"Look through it."
Wrex hesitated, then lowered his head and peeked through with one eye.
All he saw was pitch-black.
"What? It's just darkness. I can't see anything."
"Yeah. But apart from that, you really don't see anything else?" Vorden asked, needing confirmation.
He was certain a Shore was lurking within the darkness. But Wrex's response suggested otherwise.
"No. Not a thing..."
Weird. He can't see the Shore's movement or sense it.
Was this how Shores set up ambushes?
That must have been how that foolish girl had fallen into one's grasp.
Vorden concluded inwardly.
Yet, there was no Shore in this room. At the very least, it seemed safe.
This also proved something else—the entire modern setting was just a shell.
The real skin was the darkness.
That meant they had to be extra cautious. Any room they stepped into could be a trap.
Vorden, however, had a clear goal.
Slay two or more Shores.
Earn enough Caculs to upgrade his Special Sense to the next formation.
With 100 added to his previous 800, he was close.
After that, the next objective was finding the Gate Stone and getting the hell out of here.
All of a sudden, Wrex smashed through the window and leapt into the other room with no logic reason.
"Hey! It's an ambush!" Vorden's shout came a second too late.