Infinity, The Arcade Age

Of the five title tasks in the Round Table Knights world, Qin Ming had only barely managed to complete one—the one requiring him to prevent more than 20% of the village population from dying. During the battle, most of those who perished were the able-bodied villagers and militia. Although many of them died, they still only made up a small fraction of the village's population. The majority—comprised of the elderly, women, and children—had hidden away.

The church had not been breached, so these non-combatants were spared, allowing Qin Ming to narrowly complete the task.

The reward? A title that Qin Ming didn't really need at the moment—a white-grade title.

Title: Tactician (White)

Effect: +10 Spirit

Description: Fights are won with brains, not brute strength. You… hey! I said brains, not heads! Stop trying to bash your head into others! Cut it out!

Satisfied with his new title, Qin Ming wasted no time fusing it with his previous one.

With a flash of light, a brand-new, upgraded title appeared before him.

Title: Nature's Guardian (Green)

Effect: +15 Strength

Description: Huh? A "Nature's Guardian"? Where'd you come from? What's this—are you another extreme eco-warrior?

After equipping his newly upgraded title, Qin Ming's strength, boosted by various equipment and skills, soared to an impressive 29 points. The grin on his face grew even wider.

With the time ticking down and no further opportunities for loot or rewards, Qin Ming bid farewell to Percival, one of the main characters, and disappeared into the forest.

Watching the departure of the noble-hearted wandering merchant, Percival and the villagers sighed with admiration. They soon returned to the village to continue its reconstruction.

The day passed in a blur of activity, and as night fell, the villagers and soldiers finally paused their efforts to rest.

But in the quiet of the night, after the fires of battle had cooled, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared outside the village walls, sneaking over with agile movements. The figure scaled the walls and slipped inside.

Using the moonlight to navigate, the figure avoided patrolling soldiers and made its way to the heart of the village, toward the meeting hall. With careful, deliberate steps, the figure pushed open the door and slipped inside.

Once inside, and after carefully shutting the door, the intruder hurried to a chest in the far corner and began rummaging through it, searching for exchange items.

This person was none other than White Wolf, who had returned in secret.

Because his identity as the murderer had not been exposed, and since he had participated in the village defense, White Wolf had accumulated quite a bit of favorability with the villagers. In fact, since they believed he had died in battle, his favorability had risen to over 400 points!

With 400 favorability, enough to exchange for a decent green-grade item, there was no way White Wolf was going to pass up this opportunity—he had to come back for it!

As White Wolf rifled through the chest, a sharp noise suddenly broke the silence.

Startled, his already tense body jerked, and he quickly spun around, growling,

"Who's there?!"

Footsteps echoed from the darkness as a figure stepped forward with a blank expression.

It was Qin Ming, who was supposed to have already left.

Seeing Qin Ming, White Wolf's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-You..."

Toying with the revolver in his hand, Qin Ming grinned.

"Surprised to see me? Wondering why I'm still here when I said I'd returned?"

"You…"

"The exchange point for village items is at the meeting hall, and this place was overrun by the enemy during the attack. I cashed in my favorability beforehand—you didn't. So, I knew you'd be back to spend your favorability after I left."

"I…"

"I'm not a genius, but I do have a bit of cunning. I love keeping score, you see. Whether it's benefits or grudges, I always make sure to settle them."

With a click, the revolver's hammer locked into place. Qin Ming's smile grew cold.

Hearing that familiar sound, White Wolf's body shuddered, his face turning deathly pale.

"Hyena, we don't have any real beef, right? Killing me won't do you any good! How about this—I'll give you 1,000 points! Just let me go!"

"True, we don't have any personal grudge. But you killed the militia captain, and he helped me."

Qin Ming raised the revolver, pointing it directly at White Wolf. His gaze sharpened.

"I'm a petty man, you see. I always repay debts. I might forget kindness, but I never forget a grudge."

As Qin Ming stepped closer, White Wolf backed away, trembling.

"Why don't we settle things today? Let's talk about how you killed someone who had my back."

Adventurers, after all, were a bunch of desperate outlaws. Each one was more ruthless and without scruples than the next. Killing each other didn't yield benefits in Peace Mode, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen. Some powerful players didn't hesitate to slaughter other adventurers en masse to eliminate competition and claim all the rewards for themselves.

White Wolf knew this all too well. He had no doubt Qin Ming would pull the trigger. He couldn't risk it.

Panicking, White Wolf started pleading,

"Hyena, buddy! We worked together, didn't we? We're allies, right? Please, let me go! I'll give you all my points! I'll even give you the items I just exchanged, including a green-grade one! And the sword I got from the last world—"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before White Wolf could finish, gunfire rang out.

Expressionless, Qin Ming had closed the distance, and without hesitation, emptied a clip into White Wolf's chest.

As White Wolf's lifeless body hit the ground, his eyes wide open in shock, Qin Ming clicked his tongue in mild annoyance. Twirling his revolver, he holstered it at his waist.

"Still trying to negotiate piece by piece, huh? I'm not interested in your leftovers."

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching from outside, Qin Ming, who had staked out the hall and waited all day to catch White Wolf, didn't waste any more time. He immediately chose to return to the Nightmare Space.

With a flash of light, Qin Ming vanished from the hall.

The next second, the doors burst open as Percival and the others stormed in. But all they found was White Wolf's lifeless corpse and, half-hidden under it, a familiar sword peeking out from beneath the body, partly drawn from its sheath...

(End of Chapter)