In the wreckage of what was once a splendid mansion that would have made him jealous of the owner of said mention in the past, Adam was sitting quietly on the throne-like sofa, the only available furniture that was not destroyed during the explosion that swept away the very existence of the opulent mansion.
All the remaining hunters who he had decided to spare on a whim were kneeling in front of him with their heads low.
As for Eric, he was currently floating in the air with a vice-like grip around his neck made using his telekinetic abilities. The grip lodged around his neck was so tight that it only gave him enough room to breathe, albeit with extreme difficulty.
Surrounding Adam right now was a dystopian landscape consisting of fire, smoke, and the debris that had once been part of the towering mansion in this remote region. From here and there, it was possible to see the charred corpses of the people who had been in the house or their dismembered parts also charred by the previous all-encompassing explosion.
The hunters who had survived were all sweating heavily as they kneeled without moving on the ground, wondering what ending awaited them if things were about to go on like this. They were still unable to properly see the face of the terrifying individual that had brought down all the havoc and destruction on this once magnificent place. Only the fire of the cigarette he was inhaling and those terrifying and indifferent blue eyes of his were the visible traits of the individual.
They were sure that even if they survived through this horrific and ominous night, they would be forever traumatized by this sight as it had effectively been imprinted on their brains forever.
'Genesis, how much Karma did I obtain?'
Adam ignored all of the individuals that he terrorized with his mere presence and was focusing on the gains of the night. He needed to distract himself right now from reality as the miraculous cigarette was quite literally equipping him with hyper-awareness.
The plan today would have not been possible without those things. He had to admit that Medusa was really skilled when it came to such a thing.
The first thing he did when coming to this place after threatening Eric was to deploy an EMP bomb through the use of his brand new extended domain. This effectively killed all electrical appliances and made any communication with the outside world utterly impossible.
After enacting that step, he had just been sending different kinds of illusions toward the personnel of the mansion and made it so that those who were watching the scene would think that the illusions were the ones to deliver the killing blow when it was actually he, using his telekinetic powers, who was killing them.
This was also the method he had used to move those corpses and made them fight everyone else.
'I have been a little too unhinged in my methods this time.'
He had simply left his senses to do all the tasks and just watched along. He had yet to master the absolute greatest way to bring the worst possible nightmares to someone and had used his experience and knowledge about horror to do something that could only be evaluated as half-decent at most.
[Karma earned: 1500]
[Total Karma: 8900]
Adam nearly whistled and would have done so if that wouldn't have destroyed the current atmosphere he was trying to build up with all the deathly silence and intimidating posture he was enacting right now.
1000 Karma points were enough to buy a high B-ranked skill or a low A-rank skill if there was a discount due to his opened major chakra pathways.
[There is a way you could have obtained even more if you had been willing to bring more physical torture to the cannon fodders. But I believe this result is enough for you to understand what I had meant previously when you entered my housing.]
Adam stayed silent as he leaned down further on his chair and closed his eyes in contemplation.
There was no denying that going the absolute evil route was the easiest possible way to gather Karma. He had been shown this many times and had obtained the ultimate proof this time.
But…
'I don't like it.'
He did not want to become some emotionless machine whose sole goal was to gather Karma to increase his powers. But at the same time, he did not want to be like he was in the past and not use the system in the most efficient way possible.
This was a dilemma that he knew he would have to struggle with for a long time.
[Are you going to use an excuse once again this time? Something like you only killed them because they are enemies?]
'I am not making an excuse.'
He puffed a few rings of smoke as he mused, 'I believe I am already making enough concessions. I need a code of conduit. Even if I, as a criminal, break the law established by society, I need a set of laws that I will never go past no matter the circumstances.'
His hands were now stained in blood and all he could feel was both a certain indifference and detachment.
As if what he had killed were not living beings but simply bugs that he stepped on while walking. This was becoming more and more recurrent and he was starting to fear what he may become in the future if he continued walking this slippery slope that led to a path that horrified him to just think about it.
The first time he killed someone with his own hands, he felt jittery and guilty even though the ones he killed had been enemies who were after his life.
The second time he took a life, he felt disgusted. Even though the ones he killed were already dead. Nothing more than a glorified zombie possessed by demons. He still felt utterly disgusted and loathed himself for that act.
The third time he did it… His mind went back to Zoe and only overwhelming sadness filled his mind as he remembered the life he led with her.
She was a woman he both knew better than anyone but at the same time knew nearly nothing about.
Finally, the fourth time he had killed, he had been filled with overwhelming rage and a desire for revenge.
But this time….
'I am becoming numb to the sensation of killing.'
He was already becoming numb and indifferent to his own death and the death of others was slowly making him indifferent and apathetic as well.
He wished to become stronger. Far far stronger. But he did not wish to completely lose himself on the way to his ascension.
'Sigh. Let's forget this talk. I think we can discuss more about this later after I make my thoughts clearer on this subject.'
He felt the people entering his domain and approaching him with steady steps.
Recognizing Nikola, he stopped himself from attacking the intruders and focused again on the people kneeling in front of him.
"Do you know why I did not kill you?"
His voice was low, unrecognizable to himself in a way.
The leader of the hunters slightly raised his head, understanding that this was the only chance at saving themselves that he would get from the masked murderer.
"I am willing to… No, please let me work for you. The members of my guild may not be the best but I believe we will prove to be very useful."
Adam smiled under the confines of his mask.
While he loved working with Yui, he knew that he had to be slightly independent so that he could use them for his own agenda.
From what she told him, all the cadre in her organization had their own gangs or subordinates that listened only to them.
What better way to start his own organization than recruiting a few Hunters he had subdued on his very first mission? That sounded quite brilliant to him, in fact.
He had already entirely memorized the list of all the codes Eric had given to him.
He planned to take around 30% or so for himself and leave the rest for Yui.
He didn't know how rich the man was, but if this house was anything to go by, he was without a doubt rich as fuck. This also meant that he was also going to become rich as fuck very soon, even if it was 30% of that wealth.
"Speaking of that… Eric? You must have some other terrain or house in your name, right? They say a rabbit always prepares three burrows for its escape."
Eric trembled when he was called by the masked madman. Remembering the horror Adam made him live through when their eyes crossed, there was no way he would even try to resist him.
Adam smiled and closed his eyes, wishing he could sleep right now.
He had obtained a thousand karma, finished his first mission, obtained a great deal of funds, and even recruited his first subordinates.
This had been without a doubt a very busy night, but it was also a very rewarding one for him, to say the least.
Now, what he had to do was organize the gains of this night and digest them properly.
He sighed as looked at the last remaining quest that was popping up in the quest section of the floating book that he had materialized.
『 3rd Ordeal: Love — The Beginning and The End of All Emotions
Description: Have Shuri break off her shackles and decide to give up on her cheating husband
Reward: 1 free pass to the Bronze section of the library 』
He had been pushing the quest off for far too long now.
The ordeal was in no way obligatory and whatever choice he made, he would receive no punishment for it.
But he wanted that free pass for himself.
The bronze library may not sustain his growth anymore, but he wished to spend some more time with Eve rather than the mere two days he had spent with her watching anime and getting moral lessons.
It was time for him to decide if he was willing to go all the way for this quest and if he had to be honest… There was very little that was actually stopping him.
It seemed like it was time for him to officially try courting his aunt, Shuri.
It was then that his phone vibrated.
Taking it out the phone, he looked at the message he received with a bewildered gaze.
[Sender: Unknown.
Message: This is your new beautiful mentor messaging. Piaget. Don't ask how I got your number. Either way, let's meet tomorrow. I believe we should start learning about each other more for a smoother relationship in the future.]
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