Many people say that light will always create darkness. The brighter the light, the darker the darkness becomes.
This analogy perfectly describes the situation in the capital city of Frostgard.
While the eastern part of the city is filled with glittering residences of the nobility, the western part is shrouded in darkness, with slums full of dilapidated buildings made of rotten wood and rough stones.
Although the slums do not cover even a quarter of the city, they are a place where poverty, disease, and despair mix together—fitting the definition of urban darkness.
This is the slums—a place where life seems like death, where hope is a rare commodity and only the toughest can survive.
Lev walked through the middle of the slums, slowly passing through narrow, winding alleys.
The road he walked on was covered in mud, animal feces, and trash that had been left to pile up because there was no proper sewage system.
There was no expression of disgust on Lev's face. He could even walk casually as if this place was his backyard.
Even when the stench hit his nose, a mixture of stagnant sewage and the smell of people who rarely touched clean water, he did not cover his nose.
This was understandable because he had spent years living in a place like this in his previous life.
Along the way, he looked left and right, as if searching for a target. The target he was looking for was criminals, as the slums were known as a den for criminals.
Not long after, a faint scream was heard in the distance.
Lev immediately ran there. He passed through a dimly lit alley lit by oil lamps. He was lucky that the moon was still bright in the sky, widening his field of vision.
When he reached the source of the sound, he saw a woman being beaten by three adult men. The woman had been knocked to the ground. Her face was so badly bruised and bloodied that it was difficult to recognize her.
Lev didn't care if the woman was a prostitute demanding payment from her customer or a relative of one of the men. The fact that they were beating a woman half to death was enough for Lev to earn heroic points.
He drew the sword at his waist.
When the sword he was holding was raised in the air, the moonlight reflected off the blade and illuminated Lev's eyes as he began to hunt for his target.
"Hey, you pigs. Why are you beating up a woman?"
"This is none of your business. Go away!"
"Haaa... You should have attacked me when you saw me bothering you! Why did you kindly tell me to go away?!"
After receiving Lev's brief provocation, they attacked with the intent to kill.
In this slum area, crimes such as robbery, kidnapping, assault, and even murder were commonplace—they happened almost every day.
With their lawless lifestyle, they did not hesitate to show their intent to kill Lev.
Under the cloth covering his face, Lev smiled. 'Good. This way, I can get kill points after killing you guys.'
[Swordsmanship skill - activated.]
Slash! Slashh! Slaash!
Lev defeated them in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the battle was over. Some had their heads rolling on the ground, some had their stomachs cut open, and the last one had his body split from head to toe—cut cleanly in half.
[You gained +1 Heroic Point.]
[You gained +3 Kill Points.]
Without saying a word of thanks, the woman he saved stood up unsteadily, clutching her tattered clothes. She then walked away and disappeared into the dark alley.
If Lev was a truly innocent and kind-hearted person, he would have offered his hand to help the woman walk. And when they parted, he would have given her some money.
Unfortunately, Lev didn't feel any pity for the woman.
He would be stupid to give money directly to people in the slums. In a matter of seconds, all the slum dwellers would surround you. If you didn't give them money or food, they would start blaming you.
How does he know, you ask? Because he used to live in the slums and often saw foolish people come with good intentions but end up getting hurt.
"Except for those who are on the verge of death... Should I continue farming?"
It had been a week since he started going to the slums to farm kill points and heroic points.
Just like he did earlier, for the past week he has been killing criminals in the slums. At the same time, he also saved several people who were targeted by criminals and several people who were on the verge of death.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Not all cases give him the opportunity to earn kill points.
Sometimes he would just see skinny, dirty-faced children sitting begging with empty eyes. They looked like they could die at any moment. Then, he would secretly give them food so that he would only get heroic points.
[You get heroic points...]
On the other hand, there were also cases where he had to kill people without saving anyone else.
For example: there were some stupid drunks who tried to steal from him or tried to kill him when they saw his expensive-looking black outfit.
[You get kill points...]
"Are you another bunch of idiots who want to rob or kill me?"
Just as he was thinking about the cases he had encountered in the past few days, another group of drunks came and blocked his way.
He thought they were random criminals who intended to kill him and steal his money. Finally, he saw one person standing at the front of the line, as if that person was their leader.
When Lev saw that person, he knew his guess was wrong. They weren't just random people.
"Are you the one who has been killing our members over the past week?"
The man had a very distinctive hairstyle. His hair was cut into sharp spikes. Was that style called a mohawk? It didn't really fit with the medieval concept of the world. His skin was also black, unlike most of the citizens of the Dragomirov kingdom.
He held the woman's waist in his arms as if to declare to everyone that he was the boss in this area.
[Observation skill - Activated.]
[Name: Gallios
Race: Human
Job: Assassin
Rank: Expert
Affiliation: Nightfall Organization
- Main Attribute:
Strength: 5
Agility: 9
Intelligence: 2
Dexterity: 7
Mana: 5
- Skill Status:
Dagger Mastery (lv. 2)
Stealth (lv. 1)
Death Mark (lv. 1).]
"Long time no see, Gallios."
Lev recognized Gallios without having to look at his status window.
Gallios was his first boss when he joined the Nightfall Organization in his previous life.
He wasn't the Head of the Nightfall Organization's Frostgard branch, but he was the one responsible for lower-ranking members like Lev at that time.
His life under Gallios was not easy. He was constantly humiliated. He was often ordered to buy whatever Gallios wanted.
Having his head stomped on was commonplace, and being used as a punching bag was a daily routine. Despite that, the reason Lev didn't run away from the Nightfall Organization was because he was still given enough food.
There were other advantages as well. Weak members like him were never included in dangerous large-scale operations. He only participated in small operations such as robberies, extortions, and the like.
The thing that made Lev hate Gallios the most was that he often committed indecent acts in front of his members.
Just like now.
He held the prostitute's breasts in his arms without shame. He even kissed her body occasionally... which Lev was sure didn't smell good at all.
When Lev remembered all the suffering he had endured in his previous life, he began to grit his teeth.
[You have received a quest!]
[Quest Name: Mini-Revenge
Description: Holding a grudge in your heart for too long can cause heart disease. So, defeat the source of your hatred—defeat your ex-first boss and remove the extra villain title that has been attached to you.
Reward: +5 Dark Mana attribute.]