I keeled over as the deafening series of chimes rang through my head. What the fuck, I thought, equally terrified and thrilled at the surging noise.

  Not wasting any time, I invested a point into vitality, expecting it to heal my wounds. Of course, reality wasn't so kind. Though the bleeding had stopped almost entirely, I assumed that had more to do with my 17 points in vitality.

  Staring at the vast pool of new points, I swallowed. With this, I didn't need to take a chance. I could run.

  I still felt a bit bad about Tom and the others, though, so I decided to turn over a new leaf. Using appraise, I approached the group.

  [Redeemer LV5]

  ...

  I cocked an eyebrow at the weird class. All five of them had it, with levels ranging from 3–5. No use thinking about it.I could just ask. Speaking up was obligatory anyway, with the drake hot on my tail and all.

  Stepping out of the bushes with my hands raised, I cleared my throat and greeted them. "Hello?"

  They whirled at the sound of my voice, eyes wide and hands moving to their weapons. Looking closer, they all had one.

  All in all, they made a solid party composition with one shieldbearer—a tall and burly man in his fifties wearing a deep scowl and a fresh scar on his cheek, holding a massive tower shield. There was one swordswoman about 20 years old; she had the body of an athlete and looked light on her feet. A spearwielder who looked like a corporate rat with slicked-back hair and a thin mustache stuck close to her side. Then there was an archer in his teens, and a mousy woman with a dagger.

  Judging by their weapons, I surmised that they had found supplies of their own and had probably already set up camp.

  "I'm not looking for any trouble," I said as they inspected me. Their eyes moved to the sword on my hips and my bloodied pants. "I ran into some wolves and a drake. Actually, it's probably about to come here. It's got my scent." I grinned and pointed to the blood trail.

  The swordswoman jolted in place, slowly looking over at the old shieldbearer, who seemed like the group's leader. "We can't stay," she whispered loud enough that everyone could hear. "You heard him. If the drake's coming, we're as good as dead. We have to warn the others."

  Burying his eyes into me like daggers, the shieldbearer stepped forward, hiding the others behind his massive frame.

  The swordswoman insistently crept forward and laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "Dad," she urged.

  He shrugged the hand off and growled at me. "This is nothing personal, kid. You're just an objective."

  Kicking off the ground, he dashed at me, covering his bulk behind the massive tower shield. I recoiled back and drew my sword. "We don't have to do this!" I exclaimed and eyed my unspent stat points. With my head working in overdrive, I considered the different options. Strength empowered my muscles, agility seemed to limber me up and improve my control, endurance was what it seemed, vitality my sturdiness. Intelligence and wisdom seemed redundant for now, as the only spell I had was the one to summon Iron.

  Before he stepped into range, I gritted my teeth and made the only logical decision: dumping all of my stat points into agility. I was a martial artist at heart. We didn't rely on raw strength. Control was the name of the game.

  My tendons crackled and rippled under my skin. The sensation was exhilarating and forced a smile onto my face as the shieldbearer's shield inched closer. I let it come close enough that he couldn't see me, then dodged to the side with a spin and cut down diagonally. My sword bit into his calf and sprayed the patch of green grass with blood.

  "Argh!" he screamed and tumbled to the ground behind me. The swordswoman yelped, "Dad!"

  I pointed the tip of my sword at the others. "Don't." The cold in my voice surprised me. "Why?"

  She ground her teeth, eyes nervously flitting to her wounded father. Behind her, the three others spread out to encircle me. "It's like he said. You're just an objective. Killing you would let us unlock a class."

  I raised an eyebrow. "I thought redeemer was your class?"

  Just over her shoulder, I could see the teen fiddle an arrow into the groove on his bow.

  "It's just what we started out as." She scoffed. "Redeemers... How the fuck were we supposed to know we would actually die if we didn't trust a random timer?"

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  "...What?" I blurted out, and my smile faded.

  They're the people who didn't make it? Then how are they here?

  She snorted and shook her head. "Yeah. I get that reaction... We don't really understand it either. All we know is what the system's told us."

  I stepped closer. The spearwielder readied himself to my right, and the woman with the dagger to my left. "Which is?" I asked.

  "That if we beat the survivors, we get to live."

  Grass crackled behind me. I whistled for Iron and ordered, while pointing at the archer, "Blind him!" The raven dove down from the sky like a blur of grey, pecking and cawing as it flapped wildly in the boy's face.

  The rest of them advanced all around me. First was the shieldbearer. His heavy, dragging footfalls told me the injury was still very much impacting him. I whirled around, slamming my sword into his shield. The impact sent vibrations through my weapon and numbed my hand. Using his weight, he tackled me with the shield a second later. I slipped backward, my bare feet struggling to gain traction on the bloodied grass.

  Twisting my body to the right and ducking low, I narrowly dodged the sleazy guy's incoming spear. Still feeling the shaft scrape against my skin, I pushed back up and trapped it in my armpit. His eyes went wide as he tried to tug it loose. "Do-" was all he managed before I jerked him into my range and headbutted him on the nose.

  Showering me with blood, he fell to the ground as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. I grabbed the spear in a reverse grip and turned just in time to see the swordswoman's blade cut at me. Even though the blade cut with a whistle, her movements seemed slow and unpracticed.

  I stepped into the slash and let her steel grind against mine as I swept her feet from under her. Even before I heard the thud of her fall, I darted at the dagger-wielding woman. Her eyes trembled with fear as she dropped the dagger to the ground and raised her hands in surrender.

  Scanning the battle with a glance, the shieldbearer limped my way as the archer tried to escape Iron's onslaught, the swordswoman still lay on the ground with a dazed expression. Not willing to risk my bird, I decided to deal with the archer first. Moving with surprising speed, I rushed at him. He never even saw me coming before my shoulder slammed into his exposed stomach. I could feel his ribs crack before he sped into a tree to his back. Deflating, he slid down onto the ground, clutching at his chest while struggling to catch his breath.

  I nodded my jaw at the sky, making Iron fly back out of sight. The archer probably wouldn't make any more problems. Still, just to make sure, I kicked the bow out of reach.

  "Had enough?" I asked and turned to the ragged group.

  The old man panted. He'd taken up position beside his daughter and shielded her with his massive frame. "We yield," he growled through grinding teeth.

  "Oh? You do, do you? Silly me. I thought you were just trying to fucking kill me! Why would I treat you any different than you did me?"

  "Because you don't want to kill us?" the middle-aged woman stuttered. "If you did, we'd be dead by now..."

  I furrowed my brow as I looked at her. She was right that I didn't want to kill them. I'd never killed anyone, and didn't really fancy myself becoming a murderer. But the world had changed and I found myself wondering: What would they have done if I yielded?

  Pointing my sword at them, I spoke slowly. "Drop your weapons. All of them."

  "We'll die without weapons," the swordswoman protested and climbed back to her feet.

  A subdued rustle sounded out behind me. Even without looking I could tell that the archer boy was moving. The mother's eyes followed him fearfully.

  "You seem like a capable bunch. I'm sure you would find a way to survive without them."

  His shadow stretched to cover my own. Don't do it.

  The father and daughter combo grinned, forcing a sigh from me. Beyond saving after all. Steeling myself, I closed my eyes and calmed my breathing.

  Unable to stand the suspense anymore, the old man snarled, "Do it, Carl!" Hatred practically dripped off his words.

  Grass rustled, forcing me into motion. I turned with a slash of my sword. Time seemed to slow as we locked eyes. He bared his teeth under hardened eyes, punching at me with an arrow in his grip. His expression didn't even change as my sword cut into his throat and I diverted his desperate attack with the butt of the corpo rat's spear.

  In one smooth motion, I both cut and distanced myself from him.

  Stumbling forward, he dropped the arrow and prodded at his throat with his hand. Color fled his face as the blood began to flow.

  "No!" The woman screamed and rushed to him, leaving the dagger behind. As he fell, she caught him in her arms and sobbed while patting his hair.

  Understanding finally dawned on the father and daughter combo, but I was already all out of mercy. With a new skill empowering me, I threw the spear. It screamed through the air and punched into the father's chest with the power of a sledgehammer. He let out an involuntary, "Ugh," as he tumbled backward.

  Not missing a beat, I sprinted forward and unslung the shield from my back. The swordswoman barely managed to recover from the shock before I was upon her. I opened with a lunging stab, which she dodged with a twist of her body before slapping it to the side with her sword. I used that moment to slam the edge of my shield into her sword hand, disarming her with a hair-raising crunch.

  She retreated with a yelp and clutched her broken hand with the other. Not looking where she was going, she tripped over the unconscious corpo rat and fell to the ground with a squeal. "I'm sorry! Please!" she tried while clawing at the ground to escape.

  I walked up to her and pushed her onto her back with my toes. "I gave you more than one chance to back the fuck up. Why should I believe this time would be any different?"

  "I-I," she stuttered, searching for the right words. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at me. "I just wanted to live!" She burst out crying.

  Shit.

  Of course I understood that. Who wouldn't? Would I have been any different in her shoes?

  I shook my head. There was no point in thinking about it. I wasn't in her shoes. They had been the ones to start this. I just happened to be the one to finish it.

  Grinding my teeth, I leveled my sword against her throat, preparing to finish the fight. Then the drake's roar shook through the forest. What the fuck have I been doing?! The realization felt like getting submerged in a tub of cold water. I didn't have time for this shit.

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