Player Kill – 4

“【Open】”

After killing Joe, I check my status.

“Good, it’s there.”

I open the list of skills.

And there, I find what I was looking for.

Among the skills that can be acquired, there are some that are unlocked by committing murder.

One of them is 【Assassination Technique】.

The main effects of this 【Assassination Technique】 include【Increased damage while undiscovered】 and 【Increased damage when a critical hit occurs】, among others.

In addition, it’s a handy skill that unlocks sword techniques with high critical hit rates as the level is increased.

I wanted this skill.

From the time I was involved with the guild, I can’t deny I had hoped for it.

But… I never imagined I would get it so smoothly.

Using the SP I obtained by killing Joe, I activate the 【Assassination Technique】.

It’s a skill with a dangerous name, but in this world where life seems cheap, it wouldn’t be particularly suspicious to have it.

Of course, as the skill level increases, I’ll need to take certain measures.

This time, I committed murder to get this skill, but I made sure to take precautions.

Murder is one of the conditions that can erase an adventurer’s license.

There are several loopholes in this definition.

For example, using a monster to kill another player (MPK) is not considered murder.

Also, depending on the circumstances, friendly fire may not be judged as a player kill.

And another one.

【Killing a player who has committed PK is not judged as a murder】.

The definition of PK is 【Someone who has taken the life of another player through attack】.

If you use 【Appraisal】 on a player who has committed PK, their name display will be dyed red.

And if you keep repeating PK, it will become closer to black.

When I used 【Appraisal】 on Joe, he was white when we first met.

However, after killing Darren, it turned red.

Therefore, my name remains white, as I killed Joe, who was a murderer.

Here arises a problem.

Isn’t Joe, who killed Darren, a murderer, not considered a murderer?

I thought so, and I was going to give up on the 【Assassination Technique】 and resort to MPK.

However, a fortunate thing happened.

James, who I thought had been killed by Darren, wasn’t dead.

This is probably due to their status tendencies.

Darren was likely a VIT-specialized status.

The attack he inflicted on James probably didn’t chip away as much of his HP as it appeared to.

In contrast, James probably had a high HP status.

In addition, James had a poultice applied.

Poultices have a continuous HP recovery effect.

Also, Joe’s first attack on Darren.

Whether it was counted as a hit when undiscovered or not, it significantly reduced Darren’s HP.

And just before James died, Darren died first by a slight margin.

I wouldn’t have noticed this if I hadn’t been watching the three of them play while using 【Appraisal】.

Honestly, it was a pleasant miscalculation.

If I were to legally commit PK, at a minimum, I would have to be promoted to B-rank.

From B-rank onwards, subjugation of bandit groups and wanted criminals are added to the requests, but it takes too long to get there.

Being able to achieve PK at an early stage will also speed up future monster subjugation.

“I am grateful to you, Joe-san.”

“――”

I express my gratitude to Joe, who passed away with a look of agony.

Of course, there’s no response.

I toss the bodies of the three into the undergrowth where they would be hard to find.

The monsters will probably clean up the rest.

Feeling happy about the unexpected harvest of the 【Assassination Technique】, I returned to town with a light step.