David was looking out the 4th Avenue entrance when I arrived. “Hey, boss!” he yelled. “You’re up!”

  “Who’s strong out there?” I asked.

  “All of ‘em.”

  I looked out the door and grimaced. We weren’t dealing with the vultures from yesterday—there were large swaths of frost, and bodies frozen in ice sculptures. There were also two dozen fresh human corpses with various bite marks on them.

  “There’s something hiding underneath the corpses,” Brooke warned, eyes closed. “I don’t know what it is, but the bodies are shifting.”

  I gritted my teeth. “And the others?”

  “Don’t know.” She turned to David. “Do you know?”

  “Well, aside from the obvious ice mage…” David said, trailing off with grim humor as he stared at the ice spires that had locked in human bodies like woolly mammoths. “One of them’s got this crazy regenerative ability. The other… Well, I can’t see what they’ve done, but I think the woman around the corner is a beast tamer. There’s wolves that’ve come to kill people before leaving.”

  “Okay…” I muttered to myself. “I think I can do this.”

  I obtained a hefty amount of sleep, ten hours at least, so I figured my mana and mind were good enough to use Time Ghost if I needed it. So I opened the door and got started.

  I rushed to the right, where all three had stupidly gathered.

  My speed was grossly disproportionate to the regenerator, so I sliced through his brain before he even turned to face me. I got the chime.

  You have killed Level 24 human

  The ice mage turned to me, but that was all he could do before my machete pierced through his skull. Ding!

  You have killed level 29 human

  I thought the last kill would be as simple as the first two, but I was wrong. The beast tamer had time to prepare, and she had power on a whole other level. She flicked her hand, and dozens of shiki bugs flew out from underneath the sea of zombie corpses.

  The bugs weren’t fast, but there were dozens of them flying at me from all angles. I acted without hesitation.

  Unique skill “Time Ghost” has activated.

  The bugs instantly swarmed my ghost. It didn’t die, but it was gravely injured.

  Yeah, no. That wasn’t happening.

  Using my increased speed and perception, I found the optimal path to swing, slash, and murder the creepy fucks at high speed. The beast tamer watched me kill a dozen in two real-time seconds, and tried to run, but I threw my machete at her as I dodged another dozen.

  The blade skewered the beast tamer through her lower back. I weaved through the bugs toward her, grabbed the machete, thrust my boot onto her back, and ripped it out like Excalibur. I got the chime.

  You have killed Level 34 human

  The beast tamer was far stronger than I expected, almost as strong as me, a sign of the disturbing value of creating an army to fight for you. That said, her physical defense was low, so she was nothing more than a human to someone at her own level. I would take that lesson to heart.

  The shiki bugs continued to fly at me. I turned and sliced through them, finishing them off at rapid speed. Then, I got a pleasant chime I hadn’t expected.

  You have leveled up! +10 Free points.

  Level 37—a nice boost.

  I smiled, and that moment of dumb triumph should have cost me my life.

  If I had deactivated Time Ghost, I wouldn’t have seen a bullet crash into my ghost’s skull without warning, shooting blood everywhere.

  I dodged to prevent that fate, barely avoiding a slow, glowing bullet that whizzed past my skull.

  My heart galloped. There was no way I could fight a sniper, so I ran, zigging left and right to avoid bullets as I rushed to the door. I made it inside just as Time Ghost ran out, and the world returned to regular speed.

  There was a loud spell of silence inside, and when I turned to address Brooke and David, I saw over a hundred people staring at me, including Remy. The redhead, whom I had saved twice the day before, stepped back in fear when we made eye contact. Even though I had just killed three humans, I still felt a pang of betrayal.

  Perhaps it was justified. Just yesterday, I would been deemed a serial killer and hunted across the United States for what I had just done. So, I couldn’t blame her. Still…

  I turned away and addressed the others.

  “In case you’re wondering, they’re dead. Don’t pull that shit again, or I’ll kill you. The last thing we need is people killing each other for doing a fucking mission.” I turned away, staring at the door. “And if you know anything about that sniper, tell Brooke. We need to find them, immediately.”

  “Where do you get off?” a woman snapped.

  I turned to her impatiently. “What?”

  “Where do you get off? You’re acting like we should help you. Why? You’re no different than they are!”

  “I refuse to have this conversation,” I said, turning to the door.

  “Yeah, turn away!” she continued, screaming now. “Turn away from the people you just sentenced to death.”

  I turned back. “What?”

  “What do you mean, what? Do you even understand what I had to do to get a fledgling from one of those fucks?”

  I didn’t like her implication. Still—

  “Look, I don’t know what you went through,” I said. “I’m not going to devalue it. That said, you wouldn’t have needed to go through anything if those assholes weren’t out there stealing fledglings. Now, they’re dead and everyone’s better for it.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Everyone but me! And everyone else that went through hell to get a fledgling from them!”

  There was a murmur of anger. I shot the dissenters a warning glance, and they recoiled.

  “It seems there’s been a misconception here,” I said, “so let’s get something straight. I didn’t do this to be a hero. I did it because I didn’t want to sleep around people who were getting stronger every time they killed one of us. This is a world that incentivizes murder and killing and abuse—and I wasn’t okay with it. Not for you—but for me and my own.” I swept my gaze over their faces. “So go ahead—call me a hypocrite all you want. I don’t care. But if you want to pull that shit again—make sure you’re stronger than me.”

  She swallowed, turning for backup—getting none.

  “Okay, there’s two hours left to get a fledgling, so if you don’t have one, you now have a chance. That said, that extra time won’t mean squat if there’s a sniper out there murdering you. So, please. If you know something about that sniper, tell Brooke. The more information she has, the less mana she has to use to find them.”

  A brave man stepped forward. “I know who it is,” he said, glancing at the silent stares of his peers. “He stole my fledgling earlier. If I tell you, will you help me get a fledgling?”

  That question triggered a stir.

  “I’ll help you find one,” Brooke said. “Same for others, as long as there’s one within a few miles of here, I can find them. That said, it’s up to you to get them.”

  “That’s good enough,” he said. “Here’s his description.”

  The man told us, and the door suddenly opened after a series of gunshots. Two people died outside the door, but a woman and a fledgling ran inside. There was a chime.

  You have completed sub-tutorial “Aid the Chosens”

  Rewards: To be announced.

  Note: You can continue to help Chosens for more rewards.

  It must’ve counted me killing the mercenaries as helping the other teams, but…

  “Why’s the sniper still killing people?” Brooke asked. “They can’t even get credit for the fledglings.”

  “A diversion,” a college-aged brunette mumbled to herself. She had just flown through the door with the surviving team and then hit the floor, clearly traumatized as she mumbled to herself. “They killed us for a diversion,” she whispered, eyes welling with tears. “They didn’t even need to kill us!”

  The woman’s answer was clearly coincidental—she didn’t register that we were there. That said, she was answering my question, so I addressed her.

  “What do you mean, diversion?” I asked.

  She eked, falling and scuttling backward like a crab as she looked left and right at all the staring faces.

  “I’m sorry for scaring you,” I said softly, dropping to my haunches. “But I need you to tell me what you said. Your words could save lives.”

  She winced, eyes welling up as she scanned her surroundings. Everyone was looking at her, and the pressure made her crack.

  “I-I’m not sure,” she said. “If you listen to me, it’ll probably be wrong, and—”

  “It’s better than nothing.”

  Her eyes teared up, and she looked away. “I-I was just saying that it’s a diversion. The sniper knows you’ll take revenge, so they’re becoming active on 4th Avenue to make you think they’re there and waiting, when in reality, they’ll be sneaking to the 5th Avenue entrance to avoid you. That’s what I’d do, anyway.”

  That strategy was incredible, and I was impressed she thought of it under sniper fire. Brooke was also surprised, and she seemed far more competent than me at everything except killing things.

  “That’s a good point,” I said. I turned to Brooke. “Watch this exit. I’ll be back.” I ran upstairs and approached the mercenaries running the 5th Avenue entrance. I could tell the killers apart from others on contact. It was their eyes that gave it away—their stature, the way they held themselves. It was a striking contrast to the scared people around them.

  The leader was a clean-cut man in his late twenties, well-built and handsome, wearing a white V-neck T-shirt and shorts. It was eerie to think he was the one leading the pack. Then again, I was still wearing a white button-up and a tie that I couldn’t bring myself to part with. So I supposed it was par for the course.

  “What should we do, Noah?” a man whispered to the leader.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Noah said. He turned to me. “Are you the person who killed the group downstairs?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “And I can tell you’re the mercenaries stealing fledglings up here.”

  “Does this mean we’re fighting?”

  “Depends—you done with that bullshit?”

  “We’re just doin’ what we were paid to do. It’s not personal. It’s just how the world works.”

  “How the world works? You act like killing innocents and stealing shit’s a completely normal way to make a living. Do you know how warped that is?”

  Noah turned away.

  “Look, if you wanna do mercenary work—fine,” I said. “That’s cool. Go be bodyguards, run missions. Scavenge. Do whatever the hell you want. But preventing people from finishing tutorials? That’s crossing a line.”

  A blonde in her early twenties walked up, wearing black leggings and a white tunic top that was longer in the back, a fashionable choice you’d see around college campuses. She wore makeup and had nice shoes—definitely not someone I thought would be speaking up in a line of mercenaries. Yet she was, and she was firm as she faced me. “So are we fighting?” she repeated. “‘Cause if we are, you’ll need to watch your back.”

  “Sure, that’s fine,” I said. “But I’m killing you the second you get two inches out that door. I’m sure your friends will avenge you.”

  She folded her arms, cloistering up as she looked around. She already knew that she wouldn’t get help from her conspirators. That’s not how mercenaries work.

  “Look, this shit doesn’t track,” I said. “If you agree to stop this, we’re cool. I’m not asking for much. I just don’t want the future leader to earn their spot by murdering participants. Is that reasonable?”

  The man glanced around to make sure there wasn’t any dissent. There wasn’t. “Yeah. That’s reasonable.”

  “Okay. Then we’ll do that. But first, we have something to take care of.”

  The blonde shifted her body weight onto one leg. “What do you need us to do?”

  ***

  I got a chime after I finished giving instructions to the mercenaries.

  You have aided another Chosen during sub-tutorial “Aid the Chosens”

  Note: You can continue to help Chosens for more rewards.

  I ran down the stairs. “How’s the situation?” I asked Brooke.

  “Bad,” Brooke said. “David’s out there.”

  “What? How?” I looked outside and saw David with a barrier, calling out to other people. I turned to my sister. “He’s a barrier master?”

  “I-I didn’t think so,” Emily said. “I thought he had… I don’t know. It was like this wind magic. It blew zombies to pieces.”

  “What?” I turned to him again. “What the hell?”

  Another two teams ran into his barrier. Two more bullets hit the barrier at the same time, cracking it. A third blasted through it at high-speed, shattering it into pixie dust. I thought David was dead, but surprisingly—

  A Chosen bumped David right before the attack, making him stumble at the right angle to avoid the bullet.

  Another bullet shot at him, but he slipped on blood and fell again, the bullet grazing his hair.

  What the hell’s going on? I wondered, remembering the bent pipe he had hit in the restaurant. What kinda skill does he have? I didn’t know, but it wouldn’t matter if no one helped him. So I yanked off my boot and opened the door, throwing it at David. The boot hit him, sending him rolling just as another bullet zipped over his head.

  Without thinking further, I flew outside, zigging around to grab David. I yanked him up and threw him inside along with the other two teams.

  I received two more chimes.

  You have aided another Chosen during sub-tutorial “Aid the Chosens”

  …

  You have aided another Chosen during sub-tutorial “Aid the Chosens”

  …

  I took a gasping breath, looking out the door. “If that’s a diversion, he’s sure playing the part,” I muttered, speaking about the sniper.

  “Are the mercenaries on board with the plan?” Brooke asked.

  I shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”