Chapter 5: First Blood

The arrow travelled towards the demihuman at great speed, but Adam effortlessly caught it mid-air; he then brought it closer to his eyes and looked at the tip.

"Poison? I think it is quite inhuman... That's why I didn't understand their condition. Demiumans should have relatively quick healing abilities and also should be slightly stronger than average humans... So the reason they are in this weakened state is due to the fact that your weapons are poisoned. You are such a pussy, a real man; someone who has a spine would not use these dirty methods to hunt, especially if the target is unarmed." Declared Adam

While he was monologing, the man shot him twice, but all two arrows just bounced off of him as if he was an immovable, impenetrable object. As soon as Adam finished talking, he stepped closer to the hunter, who, upon realising that his arrows caused no damage to Adam, started slightly shaking, and started gritting his teeth.

"You have a fine armour for it to deflect my arrows so easily! I give you..." Shouted the hunter, but his voice fainted.

Suddenly Adam threw the arrow, which he held in his hand, straight at the man's leg. The projectile not only went through the man's leg entirely but hit the ground with such force that it buried itself instantly. The hunter instantly fell to his knees, as his right leg was severely injured, and started screaming.

"BASTARD! YOU ARE A HERETIC! A LUNATIC! HOW CAN A HUMAN PROTECT THESE SAVAGES?!" Cried the man in agony and anger.

"Lunatic? Heretic? These are quite bold declarations coming from someone who used poison and tried to choose the easy way. Also, I don't remember doing anything which would regard me as a heretic. I only retaliated for being attacked. And lastly... Who the fuck do you think you are to regard me as a mere human?" Voiced Adam with palpable anger and coldness in his tone.

Meanwhile, the demihuman boy rushed back to the girl and just watched the suffering hunter and watched with great excitement as Adam walked over to the human, grabbed his throat, and lifted him up.

"You monster... You would... Act as a... Hero?!" Uttered the man as Adam slowly squished his throat.

"Hero? No, that is not my style. I am more self-centred; when I do something, I always expect something back in return. Do you have anything else to say?" Replied Adam expecting a response, but he was careless.

He was unaware of his strength, and by the time he finished talking, he had already killed the man, so he simply dropped the corpse down onto the ground.

"Fuck... What is going on with me? I-I just killed someone, but instead of disgust, fear, or any sort of remorse, I feel great?! Also... It is so hard to keep my composure... I am not used to this level of human interaction after my incident... But I must keep my in-game character's attitude... I need to stay calm..." Contemplated Adam as he slowly made his way back to the injured demihumans.

As he walked and was lost in thoughts, he was constantly glaring at the boy without even realising it. The boy, however, was terrified.

"W-why is he staring at me like that?! I-is he... Am I going to die?" Thought the terrified boy.

"Since it is certain that this is not the world of Gates of Ardion, the most valuable item I need now is information. And on top of that, I need to figure out what Ardion wanted... Does he want me to do something, perhaps kill someone? OR did he just bring me here to see my reaction, my choices?" Meditated Adam.

He made his way all the way back to the demihumans and glared down at them.

"Now that he is dead... Take me to your village; I need to have an audience with someone knowledgeable. I have a few questions regarding the surrounding area." Declared Adam.

"W-we c-can not, sir! Although you did protect us, we can not trust you!" Replied the boy faintly.

Upon hearing, it Glared deeply into the boy's eyes, and then, for only a moment, his gaze shifted to the girl, who was in worse condition than before.

"Let me tell you something. If I really wanted to, I could find your village, and if I wanted to cause trouble or kill your people, I could do that without even needing to help you... Let me ask you something. Would you rather sacrifice the life of your friend while staying here, or would you rather save her? If you lead me to your village and help me achieve my goal, I will heal both of you!" Stated Adam as he glared back at the boy.

"W-what can I do?! I... He is right... She doesn't have much time left... But I am terrified of this guy... His eyes are enough to make me tremble in fear..."Thought the shivering boy.

Adam took a deep breath and then turned around and with a swift movement, he was about to leave, but suddenly he felt that something grabbed the side of his cloth and pulled it. He looked back; the boy stood right behind him with lowered head. He was grabbing Adam's dress as if he never wanted to let go of it while he was trembling. As Adam looked down at him, he noticed that although the boy tried to hide it, he was crying.

"P-please... Help her..." Uttered the boy.

Adam glared down at the boy, who kneeled down, pulling his dress a bit.