"Can I help you?" Daru asked with furrowed brows, quickly dismounting from his Cross-eyed Albino Zebra.

Nutter and Taro didn't respond, scanning him and his mount from head to toe before looking at each other and nodding.

Okuni's progress was out of this world, having already reached the Crystal Hollows so early, but they could take him.

To Daru's surprise, the horses suddenly began galloping towards him, their riders drawing their swords—a sabre and a tachi.

He quickly dismissed his Cross-Eyed Albino Zebra and rolled to the side to dodge the weapons sweeping at him.

Daru then stood up and assumed his fighting stance, expression turning cold.

"You're trying to kill me?"

He didn't expect that the two would opt for mounted combat.

Heck, he didn't even know such a thing was possible, but now wasn't the time to be lost in thoughts.

Daru focused up, charging right back at his assailants, who had just turned and were coming for him again.

There was no way his zebra could outrun the horses, which seemed to be a higher-quality mount.

He could only fight them here.

While the idea of fighting the two in mounted combat crossed his mind, Daru had never tried such a thing before and felt more confident fighting them on foot for now, and so that's what he'll do.

Soon, the two sides reached each other.

Nutter and Taro once again swept their blades at Daru.

This was almost the exact same attack they had done earlier, which turned out to be a lethal mistake for the former.

Their attacks were easily dodged as Daru suddenly jumped over the sweeping swords, the mounts, and the two assailants, barrel-rolling mid-air and turning into a red tornado.

He then slashed downwards at a great timing, successfully cleaving through Nutter's head.

Unlike Lyon, they were human, and their bodies naturally weren't as tough as a field boss'.

[- 1,800!]

Both sides soon passed each other.

However, the moment one of the horses turned, its rider fell to the ground, head split vertically into two.

Nutter dissipated into red cubic particles the next second.

"N-NUTTER!!"

In utter horror and disbelief, Taro quickly reined in his horse, his terrified gaze darting from his fallen comrade to Daru, back to his comrade, and finally to his opponent.

Hesitation quickly crept in and spread throughout his entire being.

Confidence was never an E-ranker's strength.

Expecting an easy or at least manageable battle, Taro's resolve was quickly shaken, and before he knew it, the charging novice in front of him looked like a demon.

His breathing grew heavier and heavier.

Another moment later, Taro could no longer take the overwhelming pressure and the threat of death, turning tail and fleeing with a terrified heart.

"What? That's it?" Daru frowned in disappointment.

He could only stop chasing, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up even if he summoned his mount.

Daru had a lot of realizations after his first few kills, and this time, taking Nutter's life was way lighter on his heart.

He just killed them to protect himself.

He found no fault in this, no matter how deeply he pondered it.

As long as he wasn't the one who was trying to take another's life first for impure reasons, then there was nothing to regret.

They simply brought their deaths upon themselves.

Nonetheless, despite the rather lackluster and short battle, Daru gained something.

[Your sword passive: [Tainted Enforcer], stole 1 dexterity from [Nutter].]

It was a pity that the assailant didn't drop anything, though.

Snapping his fingers, Daru opened the status window, then tapped at the passive that had just activated.

It has been a little over a week since he obtained it after unsealing his sword, yet the skill had only activated five times, and this was despite his efforts wiping out an entire hyena clan and the Sunblade Lion Pride.

===

Passive: Tainted Enforcer

Description: Having tasted unholy blood…[Tap to expand].

Effects: Killing a Swordspawn grants a 0.1% chance to permanently gain …[Tap to expand].

Gained / Stolen attributes:

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Agility: 1

Stamina: 0

Vitality: 1

Perception:1

===

Not that Daru was complaining…

In fact, this was already quite a lot, since five attribute points were equivalent to a level.

He nodded satisfactorily and closed the window, shifting his focus back to the glowing mural of a blue crystal on the walls.

From what he read online, murals were quite mysterious, and there were many ways to obtain what was in them.

But two were the most common: pressing one's palm in it or stabbing one's sword at the mural, though the latter carried the risk of destroying it.

Daru naturally tried the first method first.

To his surprise, the moment his palm made contact with the cold, bluish walls, the mural lit up.

A portal then appeared and sucked him in.

In the next moment, Daru found himself still inside what seemed to be the same cave with the same bluish walls, but there was no path behind him, only forward.

'Is this a secret part of the Crystal Hollows?' he mused, vigilance on high as he began advancing.

His path was illuminated by blue glowing mushrooms, giving the area a mystical vibe that Daru appreciated.

He couldn't help but wonder what was in here.

Soon, he noticed that there were more and more mushrooms, and the narrow path he was walking on was becoming wider and wider.

There were no turns, so Daru didn't have to think too much

He just had to move forward.

To his surprise, the path was quite lengthy, and it took him about five minutes to reach a vast cavern filled with mushrooms and blue crystals.

Several branching pathways opened up within it.

It was rather unfortunate that his world suddenly warped, turning into a white void, then the ceiling of his classroom.

Daru didn't think much about it.

He would probably spawn in the same location he got kicked out of, anyway.

He simply stood up from his slumber capsule and proceeded to leave the room.

However, before he could, a snobbish, feminine voice echoed behind him.

"Hoh, how come you're only being kicked out now when everybody else left an hour ago?"

Daru turned to look, his gaze cold as a winter night.

"And why would I tell you?" he responded.

Sylphina froze.

He then proceeded to exit the classroom the next moment, leaving a seething A-ranker.

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