Chapter 43: Murderer
[You have Plundered the ability 'Roar' from your victim]
{Roar(Lv. 1): Release a deafening roar that will stun all enemies around you for a short duration}
"D-DARIUS!!!" Jenny screamed in a terrified voice a few moments after Darius' headless corpse fell on the ground, as it took a while for her to comprehend the situation.
"How dare you! You murderer!" John reacted by drawing his sword.
"Did you expect me to stand here and let you kill me?" Lucas asked them with his eyebrows raised.
"H-He only wanted to scare you a little! He wouldn't have actually killed you!"
"Really? Oh well, it's too late now. Should've told me before I killed him— or you shouldn't have tried to scare me at all." Lucas shrugged in a nonchalant manner.
"John, we need to avenge Darius and kill him!" Jenny suddenly said to him.
John nodded, "I know. This bastard won't get away with killing Darius."
Once he was ready, John rushed at Lucas with his sword already in a swinging motion.
The moment John approached Lucas, Jenny began casting her spell.
"Die for me!" John swung his sword at Lucas.
However, Lucas suddenly disappeared from his spot like a ghost.
"W-What?! Where did he go?!" John began looking left and right in a panic.
"He's right behind you, John!" Jenny warned him.
Unfortunately, Lucas was already swinging his sword by the time Jenny opened her mouth, and right as John turned around, Lucas' sword would meet his neck and separate it from his body.
"Aaaaah! No! John!" Jenny was so shocked by the death of John that she couldn't even finish her magic.
Her legs lost all their strength, causing her to fall on her butt.
[You have Plundered the ability 'Empowered Strike' from your victim]
[You ability 'Empowered Strike' has gained some experience]
[Your ability 'Empowered Strike' has leveled up]
{Empowered Strike(Lv. 2): Empowers all of your attacks by 100% when wielding a weapon. Consumes 50 mana.}
This was Lucas' first time encountering two people with the same ability, and he was pleasantly surprised that John had the same ability as the other guy he killed.
Average abilities like Empowered Strike are quite common amongst Players, and Players with similar ranks are more likely to have similar abilities.
However, not all abilities are like this, as there exists unique abilities that only belong to one person, such as Lucas' Devastate and Plunder.
"P-P-Please! Spare me! I will do anything you want!" Jenny suddenly got onto her knees and began begging for her life, even exposing some of her cleavage.
Unfortunately for her, Lucas remained unfazed by her tactics, and he slowly approached her with his sword still dripping with blood.
When Jenny realized that Lucas wasn't going to spare her, she immediately stood up and began running.
She shouted while running, "Help me! There's a murderer here! He's going to kill—"
Before Jenny could get very far away, Lucas used Vanishing Steps to catch up to her and swung his sword, slicing Jenny in half.
[You have Plundered the ability 'Fireball' from your victim]
{Fireball(Lv. 1): Generate a ball of flames using your mana to burn your enemies. Inflicts Lv.1 Burn to your target. Consumes 100 mana.}
Ding!
[You have completed a Hero's Quest]
['Key to Another World' has been fully replenished]
[You have received a new Quest]
[Quest: Use 'Key to Another World']
[Reward: Hero's Quest]
"Oh? Killing other Players also replenishes the key? How convenient." Lucas was pleasantly surprised to complete his quest in such a manner.
Shortly after killing Darius and the others, Lucas used Vanishing Steps to disappear from the crime scene, as he could hear multiple footsteps quickly approaching his location.
However, he didn't go too far, and after waiting a few moments, he returned to the crime scene as a bystander who wanted to help after hearing Jenny's screams.
"Who could've done such a cruel thing?"
"This is definitely done by a human and not by monsters."
"We should probably get out of this dungeon since the culprit might still be here. Who knows what they are thinking."
"I agree. Let's leave."
Three separate teams showed up at the scene.
Lucas then left the dungeon with these people, and they reported the situation to the guards outside.
Although deaths are very common in dungeons, they are usually done by monsters, not humans, so when a murder happen, it will always be investigated.
Meanwhile, Lucas took a taxi back to his guild's headquarters.
"Are you satisfied now?" Eva asked him after he returned.
"Yes, I am." He nodded.
"Good, then you will take a break from dungeons until we return from our raid."
"I understand." Lucas didn't refuse since he also believed that he needed a small break.
After returning to his room, Lucas took out the black key and stared at it while wondering to himself, 'How do I even use this thing? Do I open a lock with this key? But how am I supposed to find this lock?'
After fiddling with the key for a while, Lucas eventually gave up and went to sleep.
The following morning, Lucas was woken up by somebody knocking on his door.
After opening the door, he was greeted by Ken, who was fully decked out in heavy equipment.
"Hey, kiddo. I'm here to give you a heads up that Team Blossom will be raiding an Advance-rank dungeon today, and we probably won't be back for three to four days."
"Good luck." Lucas said.
"If you need help while we are away, the other teams can help you. If it's not urgent, you can wait for us to return."
"I understand."
"Then I will see you later."
Once Ken left, Lucas washed his face and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
While he ate, he pondered what he should do during his break.
'I should probably get a cellphone since I still don't have one...' He thought to himself, as it would make a few things more convenient for him.