I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 3: The Art of the Deal (Is Violence)

The shadow receded, the whispers faded and retreating into the object sitting in the velvet lining of the bone chest.

It wasn’t a sword, nor a shield. Instead, it was a ring. A black metal. A single gemstone that looked less like a jewel and more like a trapped singularity. It pulsed and was syncing with my heartbeat.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

I reached out to it.

"Don’t touch it!" Sir Gowan screamed, lunging forward. "That is a Forbidden Artifact! It will consume your soul!"

I smirked. "Joke’s on you, tin man. I sold my soul ten minutes ago." I grabbed the ring.

[System Alert]

[??? Item Detected.]

[Soul Binding in progress...]

Pain shot up my arm. It was cold and freezing agony and felt like I dipped my hand into liquid nitrogen.

[Status: Binding Success.]

[Item: The Ring of the Void Monarch (???)]

[Grade: Growth Type (Currently Tier 1)]

[Passive Effect 1: Infinite Inventory (Time Frozen inside).]

[Passive Effect 2: Gluttony. The Ring can ’devour’ other items to upgrade itself.]

[Active Skill: <Shadow Servant> (Locked).]

I discretely suppressed a moan of pure pleasure.

Infinite Inventory. In the future, a 100-slot bag costs ten million dollars, and a 1000-slot bag causes wars between nations. I just got Infinite.

I slid the ring onto my finger, it resized perfectly to fit my finger. "System," I commanded internally. "Auto-Loot everything to the item."

WOOSH.

The mountain of items on the ground; the Epic dagger, the gold, the rare armor, the spider legs, the venom sacs vanished instantly. The square was empty. Just me who was a blood-soaked and a very angry Knight.

"Where..." Gowan stuttered while looking at the empty pavement. "Where did the items go?"

"Well, it’s a trick," I said while stretching my neck. Pop. Pop. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a world to conquer onwards." I turned to leave.

"Seize him!" Gowan didn’t shout it, but someone else did. A voice that oozed entitlement. A voice that sounded like it had never been told ’no’ in the entire pampered life.

I stopped momentarily. I recognized that voice. I turned around. Descending from a gilded carriage on the edge of the square was a young man. Blonde hair, designer silk armor, and a face that screamed "Bully Me."

[Target: Julian Azure]

[Heir to the Azure Dragon Guild]

[Level: 5]

[Class: Swordsman (Boosted)]

It was Julian. The "Young Master." The man who, in my past life, bought the Hero’s starting gear for cheap and sold it for millions. He walked toward me, surrounded by four bodyguards.

They were Iron-Rank mercenaries. Big, dumb, and meat-shieldy. Julian looked at me with a mixture of disgust and greed. "Peasant," Julian sneered while holding out a gloved hand. "You have acquired items that are restricted for Nobility. The ’Void Fang’ is a dangerous weapon. Hand it over, and I will compensate you."

He snapped his fingers. One of his guards threw a leather pouch at my feet. It jingled. "Fifty silver coins," Julian said cunningly. "Enough to buy a farm and retire. Be grateful."

I stared at the pouch. Then, I looked at Julian. Fifty silver... are you joking with me? That Void Fang dagger alone was worth 50,000 Gold. He was deliberately trying to scam and rob me.

I started laughing menacingly. "Fifty silver?" I wheezed. "You want an Epic weapon... for fifty silver? Please don’t joke around in the middle of the day."

Julian frowned. "Too little huh? Fine. Sixty. Do not push your luck, trash. I am Julian of the Azure Dragon Guild. If I want you dead, the law will thank me profusely."

"Julian," I said, stepping closer.

The guards tensed. Their hands were on sword hilts.

"Do you know what the funniest thing about the future is?"

I tilted my head. "Money wouldn’t matter anymore."

I pointed at his chest. "Levels matter."

I pointed at his guards. "Skills matter."

I looked him mockingly in the eye. "And right now? I am Level 15. You are Level 5."

I let the words hang in the air. "You’re not a Noble anymore, Julian. You’re just pathetic XP with a wallet."

Julian’s face turned obvious red. "Kill him! Cut his arms off! I want everything that he posseses!" The four guards charged toward me.

[Combat Mode: Engaged.]

To the crowd, it looked like a suicide. Four against one. To me? It looked like a restaurant buffet.

[Skill: Combat Step.]

I vanished. I didn’t run away, but I ran in. I appeared instantly behind Guard #1. He was slow. He had heavy armor and two-handed axe. I didn’t use my dagger. Instead, I used my hand.

[Touch.]

[Skill Copied: ’Axe Mastery’ (D-Rank).]

[Skill Copied: ’Brute Strength’ (Passive).]

"Thanks," I whispered. Then I kicked the side of his knee.

CRACK. The joint snapped to the side. He screamed agonizingly, collapsed.

Guard #2 swung a sword horizontally at my head.

I ducked. The blade passed through the space where my skull was. I grabbed his wrist.

[Touch.]

[Skill Copied: ’Deflect’ (D-Rank).]

I twisted. SNAP. I broke his wrist. The sword fell from his hand. I caught it with my other hand before it hit the ground. "You’re holding it wrong," I lectured.

I jammed the pommel of the sword into his throat. He went down, gagging, clutching his crushed windpipe. Two down. Three seconds elapsed.

Julian’s eyes were bulging out like he’d seen a monster. "What... who are you?"

Guard #3 and #4 were deeply hesitated. They looked at their dead comrades.

"Don’t just stand there!" Julian shrieked. "Use your Skills, you idiots! Blast him, kill him!" Guard #3 was a mage-type. He started chanting. A fireball formed in his hand.

[Skill: Fireball.]

I smiled. I want that. I dashed. The fireball launched. I didn’t dodge. I raised my left hand; the hand with the Void Ring. "Gluttony," I commanded.

The ring pulsed. A small black hole opened on the gemstone. The fireball hit the ring. It didn’t explode, but it was eaten. It sucked into the void like spaghetti.

[Ring Satiated.]

[Stored Energy: 50/100.]

The mage gaped. "My... my magic?"

I was already in front of him. I grabbed his face.

[Touch.]

[Skill Copied: ’Fireball’ (E-Rank).]

[Skill Copied: ’Mana Manipulation’ (D-Rank).]

"They’re mine now," I said. I channeled mana. My hand ignited.

The mage screamed as I shoved a fireball; his fireball directly from his mouth to his gut. BOOM. His corpse remains was scattered everywhere.

Three down. The last guard dropped his weapon and ran away. What a smart man.

I turned to Julian. He was alone. He backed away, tripping over his own expensive cape. He landed on his ass.

"Wait!" Julian stammered and stuttered, holding up his hands. "I... I... I can pay you! I have gold! Real gold! Ten thousand! Just let me go!"

I walked toward him, slowly. I let the Void Fang Dagger materialize in my hand from the ring. The purple smoke drifted around my fingers.

"You don’t get it, do you?" I asked softly. I loomed over him, blocking out the sun. "I don’t want your money." I crouched down. "I want your dignity and worth." I grabbed the collar of his silk shirt. RIIIIIP. I tore it off.

"Hey! That’s Armani!"

I grabbed his belt. SNAP.

"My pants!"

I worked fast. Efficiently and ruthlessly. In ten seconds, the Heir of the Azure Dragon Guild, the "Future King of Commerce," was stripped down to his anime boxers.

The crowd watched in the distance in stunned silence.

I took his clothes, his rings, and his boots. "System," I said. "Recycle these trash items."

[Processing...]

[Material Recycled.]

I tossed the resulting scrap metal into my inventory (or ring).

Julian curled into a ball, covering himself, shivering profusely. "My dad... my dad will kill you! The Guild will hunt you down!"

I leaned in close. "Tell your father," I whispered, my voice sounded cold and menacing. "That Cain Cross is open for business but next time?"

I tapped the flat of the dagger against his cheek. "Bring better loot. Or I’ll take your head instead of your pants." I stood up. "SCRAM."

Julian scrambled to his feet and awkwardly ran as far as he could. He was barefoot, crying with a disgusting snot was running down from his nose. "I’ll remember this! You’ll pay for it later!"

He disappeared into the alleyway rapidly.

I turned back to the masses. Thousands of eyes stared at me with fear, terror and agony. That was it. In the old world, a porter bowed and slave to a noble. In the new world? I made it the noble runs away in his underwear.

I looked at Sir Gowan, who was still standing there, as pale as a sheet. "Are you going to arrest me, Sir Knight?" I asked.

Gowan looked at the broken guards. He looked at the scattered corpse of a mage in the fountain. Then he looked at the giant dead spider.

He sheathed his sword. "I... I didn’t see anything," Gowan muttered. "It was self-defense."

"Smart choice," I said. I checked my notification log.

[Reputation Updated.]

[Title: ’The Mad Demon’ acquired.]

[Fame: +500.]

Good. Fame meant higher prices at the Auction House. But I wasn’t done. I had loot to sell. I had skills to fuse (probably). And most importantly? My Status Screen was blinking with a new notification.

[Hidden Quest Triggered: The First Fusion.]

[You have acquired incompatible skills (Physical vs Magical).]

[Access the ’Fusion Furnace’ to stabilize your soul?]

[Y/N]

I grinned. The Fusion Furnace. The engine of my godhood.

I needed a private place. A sanctuary. I looked toward the East District. The Auction House. It’s a neutral ground, high security, and the only place on the planet that could handle the volume of goods I was about to dump on the market.

I sheathed my dagger. I started walking. The crowd parted like Moses did the Red Sea. No one dared to touch me.

I was Level 15. I had a Mythic Ring, and the Hero’s Talent. The Apocalypse had just started. I was already winning.

————————————————————

1 hour later...

[Location: The Gilded Rose Auction House - VIP Suite]

"You want to sell... what?" The Manager, a fat goblin-hybrid named Mr. Vix, adjusted his monocle. He was sweating.

I sat in the plush leather chair, my feet up on his mahogany desk. "You heard me," I said. I waved my hand over the desk. CLATTER. THUD. CLINK. Items poured out of the Void Ring. Spider fangs. Venom glands.

The rare armor I didn’t need. The skill books for classes I wouldn’t need. And finally... I pulled out the Void Spider’s Heart. It was a pulsating purple organ at the size of a basketball. It hummed with raw destructive mana.

Mr. Vix’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. "That... that is a Boss Core!" he squeaked. "Where did you get this?!"

"Found it," I said dryly. "It fell off a truck." I leaned forward. "I want a private auction. Tonight. Invite the Top 3 Guilds. Tell them..." I paused for dramatic effect. "Tell them I have the Key to the Hidden Dungeon."

Mr. Vix swallowed hard. "But..... do you? I’m just seeing a Boss Core."

I smiled. I reached into my inventory and pulled out a small, unassuming scroll I had looted from Arthur’s corpse before the spider ate him.

[Item: Dungeon Map - ’The Crypt of Whispers’]

Arthur was supposed to seek out the journey next week. It was the location of the first Hidden Dungeon.

"I have the map," I lied. "And the Core is the key. I’m going to pit them against each other, Vix. I want to see them bleed gold."

"What is your starting bid?" Vix asked, his greed overcoming his fear.

I stood up. "One million."

Vix choked. "Gold?"

"No," I said, walking to the door. I looked back, my eyes glowing with the anticipation of the chaos I was about to cause.

"One million mana crystals. I’m not here to make money, Vix. I’m here to corner the market on Evolution."