Night had fallen over Perfi Village, a soft blanket of stars flickering above like celestial watchmen. The moon hung high, illuminating the modest home of Issac, the village chief. A lantern flickered outside his wooden door, casting long shadows across the cobbled path.
Issac stood restlessly on the porch his arms crossed and brows furrowed, eyes scanning the dim road for any sign of his men.
"Where are they?" he muttered to himself, pacing back and forth slowly. "They should've been back by now."
He had sent five capable men to kill the young magus. Each of them had experience in handling these kind of matters, and one were even Rank 1 magus with water elemental affinity and three of the men were close to becoming Rank 1 cultivator. It should have been an easy job. But hours had passed, and nothing had happened.
Just as his thoughts spiraled, a figure emerged from the misty trail leading to his home. A tall shadow draped in a dark, hooded cloak.
Issac squinted hai eyes stepping down from his porch.
"You're late," he barked. "Did you finish the job? And where are the others?"
The figure halted, then spoke in a voice low and calm.
"Yeah. I finished them."
Something in the tone sent a chill down Issac's spine. Before he could react, a fist slammed into his chest with the force of a boulder. A loud crack echoed through the night as his ribs gave way, and his body was flung back like a ragdoll, crashing into the wall of his home.
Pain exploded in his torso, and as he struggled to rise, a realization struck him.
"Y-You... how are you still alive?" Issac coughed, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth. He could barely breathe.
The hooded figure stepped forward, throwing the cloak back to reveal a familiar face, one he had hoped never to see again.
"Me?" Kai said, eyes cold as ice. "I killed all of them."
"N-No... they were my fam..."
Before Issac could finish, Kai's fist connected again, this time smashing directly into his mouth. Teeth flew out from his mouth. Issac's head whipped back from the force, and blood sprayed the air.
"Why waste breath?" Kai growled. "You have already made your move. Now deal with the consequences."
He raised his fist again and delivered another brutal punch to Issac's face. The village chief's nose shattered, and blood streamed down in thick rivulets.
Punches after punches came crashing on him like falling boulders, almost five minutes have passed with this torture. Although Kai could kill him in an instant he did not and Issac had also realised it.
"P-Please..." Issac whimpered, barely able to form words. "S-Stop... I'll give you... money."
Kai paused, fist mid-air. "How much?"
Issac raised a trembling, blood-soaked hand. "100 gold... and 30 orc collar bones which was your mission r...right."
Kai tilted his head slightly, considering.
"Fine. But you'll also sign the task completion paper. I want proof that the mission is done."
With great difficulty, Issac nodded. Several agonizing minutes passed as he limped into his home, returning with the completed document, signed and stamped with his personal seal.
Kai accepted the paper and tucked it into his robe. "Now," he said, voice calm again, "I wanted to ask you, how did you mask your rank?"
Issac wiped blood from his face and coughed. "It's a Rank 2 spell... used to mask Qi fluctuations. Only Rank 3 and above can see through it."
Kai nodded. "Useful trick."
He turned around to leave, scooping up the sack containing the promised gold and the orc bones.
Issac let out a shaky breath and leaned against the wall, wiping what he thought were tears from his eyes until he saw something crimson on his fingertips.
"W-What...?"
A strange itch crept up his stomach. His eyes widened in horror as he realized the sensation wasn't internal. A blade had burst through his abdomen, entering from the back, skewering him like meat on a spit.
"Can't let you take revenge on me," Kai's voice whispered behind him. "I don't take chances."
"Y-You bastard..." Issac screamed top of his lungs blood pouring from his lips.
Kai twisted the blade once, then yanked it free. Issac collapsed, twitching briefly before stilling entirely.
Kai knelt beside the body, placing a hand over the cooling chest. Wisps of red energy rose from Issac's corpse, swirling toward Kai's navel and chest, his two cores were soaking in the death essence of Issac's.
"Nyx," Kai called.
The snake slithered from his sleeve, her eyes gleaming. Without hesitation, she opened her maw and devoured Issac's corpse whole, her fangs reducing the body to nothingness within seconds.
A wave of energy released by Nyx surged into Kai, and his body tensed. A sudden boom resonated from deep within his cores one in his stomach and other in his chest. He clenched his fists as the hot pressure burned briefly and then gave way to a chilling sensation, like frost crawling through his veins.
The Death Qi inside him tripled in volume, becoming denser, darker, and more potent.
"I can cast Fire Protection seven times now," he muttered. "I've broken through."
He was now Rank 2 Warlock.
He looked at his hands, feeling the raw power humming beneath his skin. The transformation was real, tangible. But he wasn't finished.
He stepped outside and turned to glance back at Issac's home. The flickering lantern cast faint light on the door.
"I should kill his daughter too," he murmured. "She might've seen something."
But just as he stepped forward, a chorus of voices echoed nearby. Villagers, drawn by the screams, were approaching fast. He couldn't afford to get confronted.
Kai raised his hand and channeled his Death Qi.
A Reddish Yellow ball with sparkling light came into existence on top of his right hand. It was Rank 1 spell he had learned Fireball. But this time, infused with the strength of a Rank 2 Warlock, the flame pulsed fiercely, like a miniature sun.
He hurled it at the house.
The fireball went flying and exploded on the impact. Soon flame started engulfing the wooden structure in a wave of searing heat.
Yellow light roared into the night sky as the home of the village chief was reduced to a blazing inferno.
Cries of shock rang out as villagers rushed to the scene, only to witness the flames devouring their leader's home.
Kai didn't wait there, as he had already left.
He sprinted to the village's stables. There, he found the same brown horse he had used since he left his estate. He quickly saddled the horse and it was ready to go.
Tossing the sack of gold and orc bones over its back, he mounted it swiftly.
Nyx curled around his neck like a scarf, her black scales shimmering in the moonlight.
"Let's go. We've got many things to do."
With a sharp kick, the horse bolted from Perfi Village, hooves thundering down the dirt road.
Behind him, the flames consumed the last evidence of Issac's betrayal, painting the sky red with fire and smoke.
Kai didn't look back.
He was getting closer and closer, becoming strong enough to execute his revenge.