Return Of The Strongest Player

"Is it done?" A man dressed in a pristine, white suit asked. In his hand was a fragile glass containing a maroon liquid.

"Yeah. When will I get my payment?" A shadow hidden between life and death replied before inquiring.

"Eventually. You know, I was quite disappointed about your failure a few years ago. You're quite skilled at amending your mistakes. As a bonus, you can choose from the treasury… come back tomorrow."

With a quick nod, the shadowed figure faded into the darkness, and the man in the white suit took a sip of his wine.

"Another one down. How long will you guys play this worthless game?"

*

"Hmm," the shadowed figure hummed silently, hopping from rooftop to rooftop as he headed to nowhere in particular. Without a home, the shadowed figure–also known as Jim Destiny–simply wandered the streets.

His ultimate motive was to find prey.

From kids to adults, women to old people… everyone was valid as long as their bodies contained blood. Sometimes, Jim considered himself a vampire due to his tendency to search for blood.

It was a naive thought, but something that maintained his interest in the terrible job he possessed. Killing people day and night was not interesting, but when one wished for nothing but blood in their life, it was quite enjoyable.

As he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, his senses detected a disturbance in mana in the distance.

"Hm?" His hum twisted into a questioning tone. As his eyes narrowed, the urge to harvest blood rose. With a swift motion, he rushed forward towards the disturbance, desperate to consume more blood.

It was night, and the streets were dead silent.

No one suspected a blur that shot past their eyes, even if they were awake during such hours. Moreover, everyone who saw the blur was decapitated before they could speak, resulting in an unintentional massacre.

'There,' Jim concluded, twisting his body to alter his trajectory.

There he was. The person who caused the disturbance of mana was cloaked by dark robes. He seemed like a great magician, judging by his clothing of choice. Jim wondered whether his current skills could combat a great mage. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Still, his urge for blood only rose.

'Fuck it,' he thought, pouncing on the great mage. Jim believed there wasn't a single person in the city who could combat him, and his words were reinforced by the man in the white suit he met previously.

Clang!

However, as Jim's claws approached the great mage's robes, a vibrant, complex magic circle manifested in between the two. The great mage's robes fluttered, and his hood came off. That's when Jim's eyes widened.

"Ainsworth…"

"You remember me," said the great mage, caressing his hair. It was stark black, and parted in the middle before twisting. It was akin to a curtain. The great mage's expression was quite pleasant as he gazed at Jim's trembling eyes. "I'm flattered, Jim Destiny."

The great mage was one of the strongest mages in Arcadia, and went by the name of Ian Mason Ainsworth. He was also the first son of Mason Lucas Ainsworth, the head of the Ainsworth family.

Alisha's elder brother.

"Ian Mason Ainsworth," said Jim, calming himself down. With a light bow, he apologized for his misdoings. "I apologize for pursuing you so vehemently. Please forgive me for my mistakes, Lord Ainsworth."

"You know, I'm feeling magnanimous today," replied Ian.

Jim exhaled in relief.

"Too bad, Uncle Gregorio requested this of me," said Ian. Suddenly, a murderous glint flashed across Ian's eyes, and Jim attempted to flee, realizing the great mage's intention. But it was too late.

Mana spilled into the atmosphere, forging a dome of which Ian was the ruler. Not even Jim could escape.

"He told me to kill you as painfully as possible," Ian's voice emerged from all directions, and Jim's face grew pale. He released an enormous amount of mana to forcefully shatter the dome, but no one could compete with a mage in terms of mana.

Slash! Slash!

Before Jim could protest, both of his arms went flying. Blood sprayed from them as Jim let out a blood curdling scream. Ian appeared in front of him before digging into his face using his stark black boot.

Mana swirled in his hands as Ian's fist collided with Jim's face.

"I don't think this is painful enough, is it?" Ian asked, sitting atop Jimmy's stomach, suffocating the latter under his buttocks. "Would it be better if I took out your internal organs? Perhaps, I could crush your weewee."

Suddenly, realization struck Ian.

"I'll just do what I'm best at," he concluded before placing his palm on the groveling Jim's stomach. He then pushed down as much as he could, forcing his own mana into Jim's body rapidly.

[Mana is being sucked from your body.]

[The person you are touching is being overloaded with mana.]

[The target's body cannot support such a quantity of mana.]

[Initiating mana overload.]

[34%... 67%...]

[99%... 100%]

[Mana overload complete.]

Veins containing mana bulged from Jim's body, and his expression crumpled. It was unknown just how much pain he experienced, but it was more than a living person could ever imagine. It was truly gruesome.

The veins exploded, and his skin was unable to contain such powerful energy.

[You have used a considerable amount of mana.]

[The released mana is being reabsorbed.]

[99% of the mana has been reabsorbed.]

A rain of blood and flesh poured on Ian's face, and he smiled joyfully. "It's been a while since I did something nice for my uncle. I hope he'll appreciate it. Anyway, I'm surprised I had enough mana to overload such a strong person."

After thinking for a few seconds, he shrugged.

"It's probably due to the density of the mana in the atmosphere."

Considering Ian wasn't currently inside Arcadia, the mana in the atmosphere could differ. It was quite the pity Jim died so early, thought Ian. Considering the distance the great mage traveled, Jim could have entertained him for a while.

But now, after completing his mission, it would only be a boring journey back to Arcadia.

It might take several days, even at full speed.

"But why did uncle have me kill someone for a boy who assaulted Alisha?"