The Rising of the Scythe Hero

What happened in that alley ended up full of surprises. Still in some kind of trance — one I didn't even fully understand myself — I walked past the rest of the unconscious thugs and drove my weapon clean into each of their hearts. One strike each.

And from each of them, I got triple the experience. Which fully erased any doubts I had about what the system had shown me.

This whole time, I thought the "Reaper" tag next to my Specialty was just flavor text. But... reality proved otherwise.

I still didn't know how to feel about the fact that I was gaining an absurd amount of EXP for killing humans. Even the Life Absorption skill had felt kind of broken already, giving me a solid boost in EXP from monster kills — but triple experience from people? Honestly, I couldn't even remember if the original system ever gave EXP for that kind of thing.

"…"

Night silently walked up to me and gently grabbed the edge of my cloak. For some reason, that simple gesture — and the look in her calm, clear eyes — made me settle down, too. There was no point in overthinking things I just wasn't meant to understand.

My weapon was the result of a long-running experiment by an entire race — one that spanned who-knows-how-much time. And who knows what methods they used in those experiments. There could be so many hidden variables in this thing that the very thought made my head spin. It's entirely possible that one day, one of those unknowns could come back to bite me.

But there was nothing I could do about it now.

All I could hope for was that when that moment came — I'd be ready.

...

The next target had been marked, so without wasting time, I headed toward the building in question. But wandering around looking for a "sign with crossed hooks" could've taken forever, so I had to activate my elite communication skills and ask the locals for directions.

Though... they did give me some weird looks.

Anyway, once I finally found the place...

"Yeah. Hard to miss that," I muttered without meaning to.

The building was the biggest one around — no way I would've missed it even without directions. But whatever.

It looked like some kind of fishing shop. Rods, tackle, boating gear — the whole setup. Honestly, it made sense. The local underworld was clearly running one of the village's main sources of income. Especially with that massive river right nearby.

"What do you need?" — a woman sitting behind the counter asked lazily.

"I'm looking for someone named Renji."

At that, she perked up and gave me a much more serious look.

"Oh? And what do you want with him?"

"I just want to talk. Is he here right now?"

Meanwhile, on the visible part of the shop floor, I could sense a few more life signatures. But the most interesting thing — the main cluster of life was coming from beneath the building. Rough guess? Around twenty people.

"Who knows... But you'd better take your questions and get out of here. No one's waiting for you."

Right as she said that, the life signatures from the back room behind her materialized into two large, bulky men. Typical muscle-for-hire types. Only, this was a stats-based world — and muscles were more about aesthetics than actual strength.

Sure, physical training had some influence on stats, but it was so minor it wasn't even worth mentioning.

"And yet, no one ever just wants to talk. It'd be so much easier that way..."

"Heh. Don't worry, kid. We'll have ourselves a nice little chat." — one of the goons said with a grin.

"In that case, I'd rather talk from a position of power. Honestly, lately I'm starting to think that's how conversations should just start by default..."

"Why, you little— ack..."

Whatever he was about to say didn't matter anymore. No need for extras on this stage. The first thug dropped with his skull cracked open by the Battle Scythe. The blade of my weakest main scythe slid through his chin and out the back of his head without the slightest resistance. That's how pathetically weak and useless he was as a "bouncer."

"Kyahhh!" — a scream of pure horror rang out.

"You bastard— ggh!" — the second one rushed me and dropped just as fast, his throat cleanly slashed.

Man... it really is a blessing when your weapon isn't limited to just sweeping strikes. The Battle Scythe let me both stab and slash with simple horizontal swings. Must be nice for Motoyasu and his spear too, I guess...

"Where're you going? We were just starting our conversation. By the source of power, I command: decipher the laws of the world. Erst Ice Spike." — an ice spike drove into the shoulder of the fleeing woman, dropping her to the floor with a scream.

"W-wait! Please, don't kill me! Renji's here! He's downstairs — there's a hidden entrance to the underground!"

"Now that's more like it," I sighed. "Show me."

"Y-yeah! Of course!" — she yelped, clutching her wounded shoulder as she staggered into the back room. From there, she led me into another chamber, where a trapdoor lay hidden under a rug that blended surprisingly well with the overall decor. "There. He's down there." — She even managed a smile. Impressive.

Though naturally, she "forgot" to mention the other nineteen people waiting down there.

"Thank you. You've been very helpful."

"Y-yeah! You—"

She never finished. Her eyes went wide with shock and disbelief as she stared at the scythe that had pierced her heart.

Throwing the weapon over my shoulder, I started whistling a half-familiar tune and made my way down the stairs. Fun fact — blood on a Legendary Weapon evaporates on its own. Literally evaporates. So the weapon always stays clean and pristine. Doesn't rot or stain.

Soon enough, I heard a deep laugh and the general roar of conversation echoing from below — which only made that low-level irritation buzzing in the back of my head start to rise again. It didn't really interfere with anything, but it was definitely getting on my nerves.

Why does everything have to be so complicated? Would it have been that hard to just leave the damn core in place so I could quietly grab it and go? But no — now I'm stuck playing detective and running through some convoluted questline like this is a game. Really hoping this all ends soon...

By the time I finally reached the basement room, no one even noticed me at first. That's how caught up they all were in whatever they were doing.

Some were drinking like there was no tomorrow. Others were playing cards. Some were getting handsy with the local women. A few had already taken them into one of the back rooms... Total chaos.

"Huh? Who the hell're you?"

Oh. One of them finally noticed me as I stepped farther in. But the guy was drunk off his ass, squinting at me through half-lidded eyes.

"I'm looking for Renji. Where is he?"

"Renji? Ohhh... yeah, he's back there..." — he waved lazily toward another hallway. "Probably dead already, overdosed or some shit — pffha-ha-ha!" — the man burst out laughing, but then cut off abruptly. "Wait, hold on... who even are you?" — He squinted harder at me, then at the "spear" resting on my shoulder. "Ah-hoo..."

Splat.

And then his head dropped onto the couch, spraying blood in all directions. That confused, squinty expression stayed frozen on his face.

And then the screaming started. Men, women — drunk, sober. Some fully aware, some not at all. In just a few pitiful minutes, the wooden floor was soaked with blood, and the walls looked like something out of a horror movie. Splattered red, bloody handprints everywhere.

Now, lying in front of me, was the trembling body known as Renji. Or maybe he wasn't trembling out of fear. Maybe it was just the drugs he'd stuffed into himself. Who knows...

I glanced at Night.

She still stared ahead with that same calm, deadpan look. Well, right now she was looking at the body — but the scene around her didn't seem to faze her in the slightest.

"Night..."

"Yes, Master?" — she looked up at me.

"What do you think? Could you eat a human?" — I asked, half-dazed, shifting my gaze back to the "body," the one that used to be Renji.

"Mmm... If Master wants me to, I don't mind." — Still no change in her expression. No shift in her tone. Total indifference.

"Then..." — for a second, I felt like I was on the verge of making an irreversible mistake. I squeezed my eyes shut, exhaled sharply, and shook my head. "No. Forget it. I'm just... tired."

"Mmh." — Night frowned just a little, but didn't say anything else.

I'd already gotten everything I came for. So, with a motion that had become way too familiar today, I drove the scythe through the heart of the gang's little boss. The trembling stopped.

"You're free to go." — I said, glancing at the few women scattered around the room.

They weren't victims. Not hostages. Not slaves. Just toys for the trash that had gathered here. Prostitutes. No reason to kill them. Either way, this organization was done. There wasn't — and couldn't be — a single person left in it who could stop me.

The heart of the operation was located — surprise, surprise — practically under the very tavern where I'd started this whole search. Its core was a little farther back from the main building and deeper underground than the basement I was in now. That's why I hadn't sensed anything earlier. There were too many people around, and in crowded places like that, I usually avoided using my sensory abilities. Things get too hard to distinguish — sometimes outright impossible.

So without wasting any more time, I set out again. By the way...

"You can let go of me now, Night..."

"Mmh." — the little bird made that same soft sound, shaking her head from side to side while still clutching the edge of my cloak.

And so, that's how we walked the whole way back. Only right before the tavern door did she finally let go — clearly lost in thought about something. Curious, honestly.

Once inside — which, unsurprisingly, was a lot livelier in the evening than it had been during the day — I almost immediately locked eyes with someone who was probably Orb. At least, that's what the leader of the gang that attacked Night and me had called him.

The man's eyes widened for a second, then his face turned serious as he sharply whistled and gestured with his hand. The noise in the room dropped fast. A few of the patrons slowly got to their feet. Others glanced nervously around.

"You have a chance to end this without bloodshed." — I looked over everyone who had stood up, then turned my gaze back to Orb. "I don't want to turn this place into another massacre."

"'Another', huh..." — the man closed his eyes, looking tired. "What happened to Renji and the others?"

"They're dead. This ends today — whether you help me or not. You still have a chance to minimize how much blood gets spilled..."

"You bastard! You killed Renji?!" — one of the men slammed the table and glared at me with pure fury. "You son of a bitch!"

"Wait, you idiot!" — Orb shouted, but... it was already too late.

"For Renji!" — the man yelled as he lunged.

"For Renji!!!" — came the chorus of voices behind him, and the whole mob charged at me and Night.

"So be it," I muttered quietly, speaking to no one in particular.

Tables, chairs, bottles — empty and full — came flying at me... and in return, limbs and blood sprayed out in every direction. In mere moments, the drunken cheer and laughter turned into screams of terror and pain. The once-sturdy wooden floor was stained red.

Night still hadn't joined the fight. She just stood there, watching. For some reason, I stubbornly didn't want her killing people. At least not right now. And I was glad she showed no initiative on that front.

As the final attacker's head hit the floor with a dull thud, I turned toward the bar. There stood Orb — looking like a man who had accepted his fate — holding a sword limp in one hand, pointed toward the ground. Stepping over a fresh corpse at my feet, I walked toward him.

"I knew it'd all end like this someday. In some way or another."

Reaching the bar, I spotted a familiar bottle on the shelf. Glancing first at the man, then at the bottle... I picked it up, popped the cork, took a few swigs, and...

"Yeah... not bad at all."

...walked off, casually waving my free hand toward the bar.

He gave me a puzzled look, then turned his eyes toward where I'd gestured.

Lying there were twenty silver coins.