UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 26 : what exactly are you?

Boom!!

"Hmm, damn it... still alive!"

Marcus muttered gloomily when he saw that he had failed to kill the sniper with the cannonball he had hurled. The sniper had dodged it by leaping off the mast.

Marcus ignored him and moved to finish off the others who were trying to flee by jumping into the sea, but he was faster. He cut them off and swung the sword he had picked up again.

Like a wolf among sheep, he slaughtered them effortlessly. After all, they were pathetically weak, just human traffickers and mercenaries in name only, their heads worth nothing.

"I've taken so many lives..." he whispered bitterly as he looked between the blood-dripping sword and the bodies, most of them headless, blood gushing from their necks.

"They were evil..." he muttered, trying to console himself. He sighed and flicked the sword to clear off the blood. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elia who had climbed up to the deck, staring in awe at him and the scattered corpses.

Marcus ignored it and ordered, "Get the others... better clean up the ship. Throw the bodies overboard."

Elia's lips trembled at the word clean, but he nodded and went back below.

"Now, let’s finally take care of that sniper for good..." Marcus muttered as he looked toward the mercenary ship’s deck. There was no sign of the sniper at all.

He moved quickly and leapt onto the other ship.

"Hmm... why do I have that annoying feeling again?"

He muttered with a scowl while searching for the sniper. He looked everywhere on deck, found nothing, so decided to go below.

Bang!!

Ding!!

The moment he opened the door he took a bullet straight to the chest, not even having time to pull back.

Bang!!

Bang!!

Bang!!

Several shots rang out immediately after. More than five men stood before the door leading below, waiting in ambush.

Ding!!

Ding!!

Ding!!

The sound of bullets striking his scales rang harshly in the mercenaries’ ears.

"Shoot more, even a monster can die..." shouted one of them, who turned out to be the sniper from before.

But before any of them could fire again, Marcus’s large hand shot forward and grabbed an unlucky mercenary who squirmed like a worm as he felt his body lift, the pressure on his head growing stronger.

"Ag... n... no, p-please..." the mercenary begged, but didn’t have time to finish before his head turned into bloody paste.

Kraak!!

The others were terrified, some even collapsed from sheer fright.

"You bastards... that hurt, that was way too close..." Marcus said with burning rage before he flung the crushed mercenary’s corpse at the fleeing sniper, then stepped inside.

"Filthy monster..."

Cursed one brave mercenary who raised his pistol again, but once more Marcus was faster.

Effortlessly, he drove his clawed finger into the man’s face, killing him instantly, then moved on to do the same to the rest.

Marcus whispered as he stared at the mercenaries’ corpses,

"Like ants..." then cleared his head and thought, "But even ants can be deadly..." remembering how he had let down his guard moments ago, leading to multiple bullets striking him. Luckily they hadn’t aimed for his head because of the low doorway.

He pulled out bullets lodged between his scales, which were covered in the blood of the mercenaries and slavers he had killed... and some of his own blood too, since two bullets had hit the same spot, piercing through his defenses.

Grrr!!

He ignored the protest of his stomach and muttered with a scowl,

"I'm starting to feel weak, best finish off any threats before I collapse completely..."

He sighed and thought wistfully, "If only there was some food right in front of me..."

He stepped over the bodies and went down to the lower level, searched all the rooms, found no more mercenaries.

But he did find exactly what he needed... and plenty of treasure.

He entered what seemed to be the kitchen. Marcus, who had shifted back to his human form by choice, leaned against a treasure chest and a large sack stuffed with valuables. Before him, the food he had gathered was vanishing rapidly.

"Ahh... finally I feel full..."

He said, patting his flat stomach as if he hadn’t just eaten enough for ten people. This was one of his strange natural gifts, besides his heightened sixth sense. Since childhood, no matter how much he ate, he would digest it quickly and turn it all into physical energy.

"I'm still a little hungry, but better leave some for the others..." Marcus muttered as he cleaned bits of meat from his teeth.

He patted the sack of gold and thought happily,

"But this! This is mine alone..."

If he’d had this kind of wealth before, he and his father wouldn’t have needed to go out fishing every day to sell their catch.

His happy mood soured when he thought about his dead father.

"That damned Promised one..." he gritted his teeth in anger.

He clenched his one hand and swore, "I'll kill every Promised one I ever see from now on..."

He sighed, stood up, then went to find new clothes and some water to wash himself. He looked like a cave man, not to mention he reeked of blood.

He touched the small circle on his chest and asked mentally with curiosity as he tapped it,

"Hey bracelet, is there a way to hide or remove this thing sticking out of my chest?"

[Initiating unlinking process...]

[Do you confirm unlinking?]

"What!? No, no, no..." even though Marcus didn’t fully understand what that message meant, he felt something bad was about to happen.

[Process halted... canceled.]

"Phew... that was close..." Marcus breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"That was really close..."

"I want to hide this thing so no one else can see it!" he restated his command, this time much more directly.

[Access granted.]

[Camouflage mode: activated.]

"Much better..." he muttered with a grin as he looked at the now-hidden circle that had stuck out a bit from his chest.

...

"Thank you..."

Marcus, who had washed and dressed in fresh clothes he found on the mercenary ship, waved his hand and spoke as he looked at Elia bowing gratefully, along with the others who had been imprisoned.

"Don't mention it, I only did what had to be done..."

He walked over and patted Elia’s shoulder. The older man was taller, so if he hadn’t bent down, Marcus wouldn’t have reached.

"Make sure you don't get caught by anyone again..."

Elia straightened up and smiled.

"Same to you, kid..."

Marcus raised his right arm, its wrist still missing, and smirked.

"I’ve learned my lesson..."

Then he jumped over to the mercenary ship and waved.

"Goodbye! Hope we meet again under better circumstances, old man..."

He didn’t wait for Elia’s reply. He set the sails and sailed away from them. Earlier, he had wanted to go with them because he knew nothing about navigation, but after thinking it through, he gave up on that idea, thanks to his mother’s teachings that left him with at least some sense.

He figured if he stayed with them and they ended up knowing where he lived, it could put his loved ones at risk. After all, he had committed a crime that could see him and everyone he loved executed.

He had killed one of the Promised.

He leaned back in the chair, relaxed a little, then opened his mouth and asked,

"Hey bracelet... what exactly are you?"