Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 127: Kill Points
The world around me spun in rapid succession as I bately stopped the urge to vomit my lungs out the first thing we reached the location of Phase 2.
One second, I was walking past Grandpa Venus, giving him a side-eye for making me do all this 'training,' which I personally think has no benefit for me.
Well, these things we were doing right now could be done even by my past self who had just awakened his physique.
Cool, damp air rushed into my lungs as I glanced around myself.
We seemed to be surrounded by towering trees and dense bushes.
There was no ceremony, no countdown, nothing.
It was like we were just… dumped here like trash in a magic forest.
Leaves rustled above me, and streaks of light escaped the natural barrier of the trees.
I could almost hear birds chirping around us as something growled in the distance.
Right then, a familiar screen popped right in front of our faces, glowing in that obnoxious system-blue light.
***
[System Quest]
Kill the beasts roaming in the forest.
Unawakened Beast = 10 points
Tier 1 Beast = 50 points
Tier 2 Beast = 200 points
Tier 3 Beast = 500 points
(Hidden Quest Unlocked)
The participant with the highest score by the end of the Day 2 gets the access to the House Treasury, allowing them to select a single item of their choice.
***
At first, I thought this would be easy, but now, seeing that there were not only Tier 2 beasts but Tier 3 as well, a slight tremble passed through my fingers.
At my current level, I could take out a Tier 2 beast, that was if I used my full strength…
Just from the fact there were Tier 3 beasts involved made me rethink if I could really learn something from these practice trainings or not. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
I stared at it, then muttered, "...Of course, it wouldn't be that easy after all."
Behind me, someone groaned loudly.
"Beasts?" Erza said, cracking her knuckles. "I thought we'd be fighting people."
"Nope," Dario muttered, already scanning the trees. "Looks like monster hunting instead."
Aurelia crossed her arms and leaned against a tree, elegant as ever despite standing in literal dirt. "So the point system is how they're ranking us now?" She questioned, still browsing through the blue screen in front of her.
"Seems like it," Seraphina said, adjusting the hem of her sleeves, tattoos shimmering faintly. "Which means we're officially in 'who-can-murder-the-most-stuff' mode."
'Awesome.' I thought.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a second.
The forest wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet either.
It breathed.
Lived.
And somewhere out there, a beast was waiting to get gutted.
Not that I was dying to do the gutting, but… Treasury access? One item from that vault?
That wasn't a reward.
That was bait.
Just the thought that I had missed many chances like these to rob the old man of his treasures made me sad.
'Heh,' I smirked. 'Not anymore.'
Aurelia was already brushing dirt off her robes as I heard the so called perfect girl cussing in front of us. "It's a test of strength and teamwork, huh? Typical Romero bullshit."
Seraphina stepped beside me. "You're the team leader. What's the plan, Noah?"
They all looked at me.
Right.
Team leader.
No pressure—
"Okay," I said, thinking out loud. "We stay close for now. Spread out just enough to cover ground, but don't go solo-hunting. Dario, I want you teleporting up to scout every few minutes.
Keep eyes on the area…just make sure not to appear upside down and alert any of the beasts."
Dario nodded, smiling worriedly. "I'll try my best."
"Erza, you're on the front line, but no charging unless we're sure what we're facing. You get carried away and we'll be scraping you off tree trunks."
"Please," Erza grinned. "They should be worried about me."
"Aurelia, you stay mid-range. You're our anchor—support whoever needs help since I don't think your ability would be very usual in our current situation."
The girl nodded silently, acknowledging that her current control over her ability only allowed her to charm humans, not animals or beasts.
"Seraphina, you're the backline. If anyone's in trouble, you're the emergency plan."
She sighed. "Always the emergency plan…"
"Tch*" She clicked her tongue, atleast ask me what my powers our—
My face turned red as I realised my mistake but tried to cover it up with a stoic face as I answered her back.
"Show us when we fight the monsters."
Once I was sure that everyone was in formation, I turned to face them all. "We stick to the edges first. Sweep the area, take out smaller beasts, and figure out what's roaming deeper inside.
And remember—" I coughed.
"I know pretty well that you all are smart enough to understand that only one of us can get our desired item from the treasury. This is a trick set by Grandpa on purpose to weed out the greedy ones, I feel."
Looking at everyone's thoughtful expressions, I hit the iron while it was hot.
"Thus, how about we first start off as a team and divide the points received equally among us and during the later periods, we can split apart to gain an advantage, fair enough?"
Aurelia was the first to react, arching one perfectly shaped brow. "So we play nice now and stab each other later? Wow, very inspiring, Captain."
"That's not what I said," I deadpanned, worried how the girl's brain works. "I'm saying we cover the ground faster together in the beginning. No one knows the terrain. No one knows how strong these beasts are.
Once we've warmed up and gotten used to the forest, then we can go full murder-mode. Separately."
She tilted her head, considering it. "Hmm… Fair. I do like the idea of using you all as meat shields first."
Erza, the crazy battlegirl, let out a bark of laughter. "Deal! But don't cry later when I end up with more points."
"I'd rather cry than die, thank you very much," Seraphina muttered, not looking up from her glowing tattoos as they shone against her pale skin. "But I agree. Better to stick together till we get a hang of the enemy."
Dario took a step back as if we were going to steal his points or something.
"Wait, so we split points equally right now? Like…I kill something, you guys get points too?"
***
