Chapter 8: Don't Cry When the Time Comes
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Insulting others only to end up being insulted oneself.
The player who had just been gloating over snatching the monster, his face—which could be considered rather handsome—had now turned ashen, gripping his axe tightly, glaring at me with such venom it seemed he wanted nothing more than to devour me on the spot.
Unfortunately for him, the punishment for malicious killing in "Age of Magic" was severe!
Three hours of being wanted online—any NPC had the right to attack a red-named player who had committed murder!
After being killed, a red-named player would enjoy twelve luxurious hours indoors, facing the wall as punishment. This alone was enough to deter many restless souls...
Moreover, when a red-named player died, they would drop at least two pieces of equipment.
This was the main reason countless players delighted in helping NPC guards uphold justice!
With this in mind, I swaggered over to that player, putting on a show of exaggerated sighing as I said, “All right then, as you wish, here I come…”
The veins on his face bulged even more visibly. “You…”
He glared at me with hatred, and the axe he’d raised dropped back down. Even a fool wouldn’t attack a level 0 civilian—if a level 0 civilian died, there was no level to lose, but a player who committed murder would be wanted by the NPC guards of their nation for three hours (offline time didn’t count), lose one level upon death, drop equipment, and be imprisoned for twelve hours. It was clear which was the heavier price to pay.
“I’m not going to waste my breath with a rookie like you. If you have the nerve, try stealing the monster from me today. Otherwise, get lost!”
Seeing him refrain from attacking, I sighed inwardly—what a pity.
Honestly, I was hoping he’d make the first move.
Of course, my goal wasn’t just to get him marked as a red name…
Compared to slimes, I was far more familiar with the structure of the human body—even though his equipment and strength surpassed mine, as long as he attacked first, I was confident I could dodge his axe and take him out with my dagger!
The reason was simple: he was just a civilian, with a meager HP pool...
As for stealing the monster from him, I wasn’t so sure I could pull it off.
...
As I fell silent, the guy across from me regained his confidence, leading the bouncy slime behind him with a smug air. “Well, rookie?” Having been fooled by me earlier, he no longer called me a ‘little idiot,’ settling instead for ‘rookie.’
Suddenly, as if showing off, he stopped, turned, and faced the leaping slime that spat out a jet of acid—then brought his axe down in a powerful chop!
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“Hiss!!”
As the acid splattered on him, his axe slammed into the slime’s soft body, leaving a deep dent.
When I saw him lift his axe again without dodging, focusing his strength, a flash of insight crossed my mind!
The system prompt for killing a slime with only 4 HP left surfaced in my mind!
Four HP...
Was that in one blow, or two?
My thoughts sharpened, realizing the crucial distinction—it made my heart race with anticipation.
As his axe rose high, my own heart hung in suspense—whether I could steal the monster would depend on what answer his axe would give...
...
Bang!!
The slime’s body was struck again.
The feeble monster let out a pained screech, spewing a second jet of acid in agony...
At this, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
Just as I guessed, this guy’s attack power wasn’t that great... It took him three attacks to kill a single slime! Each strike couldn’t take more than ten HP...
Heh... There’s a chance!
If I could deal over half the slime’s HP before his second attack landed, I could steal the experience!
A thought flashed, and my eyes quickly locked onto a newly spawned slime nearby!
The moment I moved, the annoying guy immediately abandoned the slime—whose HP was now unknown—and chased after me, clearly determined not to let me get any experience here.
Damn...
He was fast—at least much faster than me, with only six points in agility.
As he passed by, he shot me a mocking, derisive smile. “How long do you think you’ll last?”
His taunt made my gaze turn cold. I had been planning to switch targets, but now I replied icily, “Just don’t cry when the time comes.”
“Ha!”
He looked me up and down as if he’d heard the world’s funniest joke, snorting with disdain—a gesture that really got under my skin.
“This guy’s really asking for a beating…”
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...
Unfortunately for him, he arrived just a step too late.
His sudden appearance drew the slime’s attention away, making my own position much safer.
But this time, perhaps spurred on by my earlier words, he was much more cautious and didn’t repeat the foolish stunt of kiting the slime around.
He attacked immediately, without any pause...
Ignoring the jet of acid, his axe came crashing down with a howling wind, swift and fierce!
He meant to restore his pride with this blow, to make up for being made a fool of before...
But just as his axe struck the slime—
Suddenly!
A short dagger flashed into his line of sight!
The dagger, moving at a brisk speed, struck the slime almost simultaneously with his axe!
Yet, while his axe came crashing down from above, the dagger pierced straight into the slime’s soft eyeball with precision!
In that instant, it was as if he could hear the slime’s agonized wail from the excruciating pain... The green, viscous body trembled violently from the stabbing agony...
At that moment, the axe-wielding player’s heart skipped a beat!
Damn! He might lose...
He knew that a vital strike like that had a high chance of triggering a critical hit, doubling the attack power—certainly not less than the damage he could do to the slime...
And the dagger was undeniably faster than his axe!
A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind; instinctively, he drew in a sharp breath and hurriedly raised his axe, unwilling and unable to accept defeat!
However...
Before his axe could be lifted fully, the hand gripping the dagger embedded in the slime’s eye moved!
In the stunned gaze of the axe-wielding player, the dagger gave a gentle pull!
The slime collapsed into a puddle of green slime.