Dominant

At the entrance of the Goblin Village, Karen stood gripping a bloodstained hatchet, half his body drenched in the crimson spatter of the adulterer he had just slain. His youthful face was devoid of expression, his entire being resembling a vengeful spirit crawling out of hell itself.

The villagers stared at the boy before them, then at the headless corpse at his feet. For a long moment, they were frozen in shock, until one of them, trembling, pointed at Karen and accused him, “You... you actually dared to kill someone in the village.”

“Yes, I killed someone. So what?” Karen swept his gaze over the villagers, a cold smile curling on his lips.

Outraged, the villagers protested, “No killing is allowed in the village!”

“I’ve killed now. What are you going to do about it?”

“You! You demon! We’ll drive you out of the village—no, we’ll kill you!”

“Kill me?” Karen chuckled at their threat, raising his hatchet and pointing it at the one who had spoken. “Who among you dares to come forward? If I could cut him down with one blow, I could just as easily kill any one of you. If you intend to act, I’ll fight you with my life. Even if you do kill me in the end, I’ll make sure to take a few of you with me before I die.”

He paused, his lips twisting into a smile that was both mad and cruel. “So tell me, which one of you is willing to die with me?”

At those words, silence fell. The villagers were willing to kill Karen, but none would risk their own life for it. Though none of them wished to see their rules trampled, not one was willing to pay the price to uphold them. This was something Karen had understood from the very beginning.

Looking at the crowd, Karen wasn’t sure whether to feel joy or sorrow.

“He’s a murderer! He killed someone, right in front of you all! Such a demon cannot be allowed to stay here. If you don’t drive him out today, tomorrow it could be you he kills!” At that moment, the only one to speak up—compelled by both fear and necessity—was the shrew. She pointed at Karen, staggering backward in terror, her voice shrill and hysterical.

She was truly afraid, truly regretful now; every hair on her body trembled as she wailed and pleaded. Yet despite her pitiable state, not a single person stepped forward to support her. The people here lived numb and indifferent lives, and it was no secret among them that it was this very woman who was responsible for John’s death from the beginning.

After shouting for some time, the woman finally realized that no one would speak up for her. In utter despair, she tried to run, but it was too late. Karen was already upon her. Seeing him, blood-soaked and terrifying, she collapsed in terror, clutching at something in the dirt, and crawled to Karen’s feet, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t kill me, Karen, please don’t kill me! I’m your aunt! He forced me to do all of this. I beg you, spare me—I’ll give you everything, the family estate, even myself if you wish, just please, don’t kill me…”

Her greasy face was streaked with tears of regret as she crawled to kiss the dirt-caked tops of Karen’s feet, taking on the most abject, pitiful posture in a desperate plea for her life.

Had it been just after he first arrived in this world, Karen would have turned away at this moment. Unfortunately for her, the Karen she now faced was not that same person. He had seen through the true nature of this world, and his heart was as hard as stone toward the woman before him.

As she crawled closer, Karen stepped forward and kicked her right hand, knocking away the sharp stone she had tried to grab. Then he planted his foot firmly on her head.

“I told you before, all our grudges are settled. That means from now on, there is nothing between us. Even if you killed John and stole his estate with your lover, I wouldn’t have interfered. I thought my way of handling things was already more than fair, that I’d resolved everything. But your actions today have proven me wrong.”

“Please, spare me, I won’t dare again, don’t kill me…” the woman begged from beneath his foot.

“I never wanted to kill anyone. To be honest, a few days ago I wouldn’t even have dared to hit someone, let alone take a life. But that’s how life is—sometimes it forces you to do what you never wanted to do.”

With those words, Karen raised his hatchet. As he lifted it above his head, he paused for a moment. “Thank you for teaching me a lesson, for showing me more clearly how to survive in this world. I don’t wish to be cruel, but in a world where people devour each other, if I’m not ruthless, I won’t survive.”

With that, the hatchet fell. Blood burst forth in a crimson arc. In that instant, a system prompt sounded in Karen’s mind.

[You have killed a Tier-0 human. You gain 5 points of energy. Current energy: 17 points. Advancement requirements met—advance now?]

Karen ignored the system prompt for the moment. After killing the woman, he turned to face the villagers. At his mere glance, the crowd of a hundred people instinctively retreated several paces. The truth was clear: even the boldest fear one who has nothing to lose. After Karen had killed two people and shown such utter disregard for his own life, the villagers were truly afraid.

Karen was satisfied with this outcome. It wasn’t that he enjoyed being feared, but he understood well: only when people are afraid of you will they not dare to cross you. Only then would what happened today never happen again.

As for being ostracized, Karen had no worries. He knew that even if he mingled with them, when danger came, these people would still betray him in a heartbeat. If that was the case, what harm was there in being isolated?

“They killed my uncle, so I killed them to avenge him. Let this be the end of it! Of course, if any of you are not satisfied with this result, feel free to come find me—I’ll make sure you get an answer you won’t forget.”

With that, Karen pointed at the villagers who, along with the adulterer, had tried to surround him. “You lot, take care of these two corpses, and my poor uncle’s body as well. I trust you can handle that?”

In their current state, none of the villagers dared utter a word of protest. Trembling, they nodded and began their work. Only then did Karen finally return home, satisfied.