MMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Online

Chapter 41  Ruthless System

Water streamed down from the sink's faucet, splashing against the bloodied hands and pooling in the basin below.

Adam washed his hands in silence, feeling the stinging pain of his two missing fingers.

After leaving the third floor, he immediately returned to his room to change clothes and wash off the blood.

After washing off the blood, he turned down the faucet and watched as the water mixed with his own blood before slowly draining away.

Knock, knock!

At that moment, hard-sounding knocks came from the door.

He turned his head to the door, grabbed a towel, and quickly dried his hands while approaching the door. Then, with his elbow, he turned the handle and opened it to see who was on the other side.

Ron was standing there, looking serious and thoughtful.

"Ron?" Adam's eyebrow jumped in surprise.

"May I come in?" Ron asked with his arms folded in front of him.

"Sure." Adam nodded, went inside his room, and got seated on the bed. He then tossed the towel aside and revealed that his left hand only had three fingers left.

"Your fingers…"

Ron closed the door and took a deep look at Adam's hand.

"Well, do not fret; there is a thing called The Flask of Setting Sun. They're not that rare and are popular and important items among mercenaries. It can recover your fingers in no time and only costs 500 Shinecoins."

"That's a relief." Adam said with a slight fake smile.

Of course, he knew about it, but his current self shouldn't have information about such things.

"I have also lost more body parts than I can bother to count." Ron said with a chuckle. "It is painful, but pain makes you more alert and makes you better at surviving."

Adam nodded and chuckled, putting his hand on his knee. "You came to talk to me about something."

"Yeah, well…" Ron rubbed his chin with a chuckle. "A few handlers are pissed. You killed their recruits."

"What about you?" Adam asked curiously.

"A thoughtful." Ron smirked. "There were a few promising recruits: Nick, Layla, and Comet. It's always a tragedy to see promising ones die before they can even start their journey."

"I saved lots of time from a few of the unlucky guilds." Adam said casually, then took a water canteen from his backpack and took a long sip.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked in curiosity.

"They would've wasted the precious time and money of the guild they would've joined in the future."

Adam said with a very casual tone, as if he had seen it many times before.

"They ambushed me, first with overwhelming power, but they split into three groups. A mistake that cost their lives. It is something one should never do when chasing someone.

"They underestimated me.

"Nick was the one leading. That same mistake most likely would've happened in the New World.

"In the New World, the consequences would be much harsher than here. What I did did more good than not; at least that's my justification. In the end, I simply protected myself."

"You say it like you know how it is in the New World…" Ron rubbed his chin with narrowed eyes before wryly smiling. "However, you're right."

However, then Ron's expression turned stern as he asked:

"But how do you feel about killing them? Destroying their dreams?"

Adam turned silent and looked down, as if he were contemplating the answer.

"While the mercenaries that get zeroed in the New World can still come back. They will be back at the starting point, and some can't handle that.

"Still, they can come back.

"However, recruits that die during the tutorial won't be allowed to return."

"Yeah, a ruthless system, but that is the life of the mercenaries." Adam replied with a grim nod. "I would've never gone after them myself. Even if I had the power to take all of them down.

"They came after me, and they must live with the consequences. That is the life of a mercenary. Some things go smoothly, and some will go horribly wrong. Mercenaries have to know how to handle that.

"It doesn't matter how I feel about killing them. They're the ones that have to think about their failure, not me."

"…"

Ron looked at him silently, slowly cracking his knuckles, before laughing.

"That is the life of a mercenary, indeed. I feel weird. As if I am talking to a veteran mercenary. Very strange indeed."

"Did you watch the video of my fight with them?" Adam asked curiously.

"I couldn't." Ron said. "There weren't any video recording devices there. It was one of the blind spots of the third floor. Unfortunate, I suppose."

"Yeah, unfortunate." Adam smiled.

"I hope I will get to see one day the strength that was needed to kill them all." Ron said with a smirk.

"Maybe you will." Adam replied with a similar smirk.

"The tutorial is soon coming to an end." Ron opened the door to leave Adam's room. "Your future is looking bright. I am just curious; do you know your place in the hierarchy?"

"You think I am deviant?" Adam asked.

"Yes…" Ron nodded. "You're special. Still, there are people in the New World who like to crush those who stand out. You have to know your place."

"Thank you for the advice." Adam responded, then stood up to bid Ron farewell.

"Mm…" Ron nodded with a smile and said it in a joking tone. "After the tutorial is over, you'll probably receive an invitation from the Crescent Serpents. Think about it. We're only tier 3 guild, but our members are dedicated, and we have a lot of fun together!"

"I'll think about it." Adam said with a chuckle.

With that, Ron left the room and closed the door behind him.

'It looks like I made a good impression. Not on handlers, though, who have the power to decide my score.'

Adam thought to himself, then moved to the window and opened the curtains. It showed a misty outside world. It was a place where no one had ventured before. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

'Muriel is the one that matters the most. However, I've got a feeling that she is currently grinning from ear to ear. She is a sadistic type, having fun with the fact that her co-workers are weeping in sorrow as their recruits are gone.'

Adam chuckled after his comedic thoughts, but jokes aside, he had a hunch that Muriel was indeed rejoicing.

At the moment, it seemed like his score was looking great.

However, Adam was still not completely satisfied.

'It will take time till the third floor's boss is found, and after that, the fourth floor…'

Adam touched his left hand, which had missing fingers, and knew that he would have to learn to fight with two missing fingers. Luckily, it would take a week or two to find the boss.

Three, if they were extra unlucky.

'I could take some missions to earn Shinecoins meanwhile. I can still enter the second and first floors. Maybe I can also earn my first skill scroll before the third floor's boss…'

Adam moved his tongue inside his mouth, which he often did when he was thinking deeply. There was another method he often used: listening to music. It was something he enjoyed greatly.

Whenever he logged out of the game, he would spend hours just sitting and listening to music. Sometimes, he browsed through the computer or jogged down the lonely streets of his home town.