Light began to dissipate, revealing a small and very ominous looking alley. Eric appeared dumbfounded and uncertain as to what to do. Confusion was all that was present in his face, but suddenly it shifted to worry. Both emotions equally misrepresented on his face.

  He recalled how Gray, the entity that had seemingly been imprisoned on the ninth-floor labyrinth, had mentioned Anna.

  “Is he going after her? Why would he mention her?” he asked himself.

  But just as he was swimming in the worry that invaded his body, it seemingly vanished into nothing, being overtaken by the doubts he had about himself.

  Gray had basically said that he wasn’t a real human, and even implied that he shouldn’t even have emotions.

  “No, he didn’t imply it. He said I don’t have any and that I’m just playing an imitation game,” he muttered weakly. “Harkus is basically brain dead and… do I even care? Do I even care that Anna might be in danger?”

  His mind was a mess, and he couldn’t find a single strand of reason that could lead him to an answer or something that could give him peace, no matter how temporary it might be.

  Do I even need peace?

  The problem was only exacerbated by the fact that he was jumping from topic to topic with seemingly zero issue and never resolved any of them.

  “Now that I think about it, do I care about anything?” he asked himself, pausing to consider what had happened in only the last few days.

  “I followed Ondal and Ta’ir without issue. Not caring for the fact that they were strangers. I didn’t even ask questions about who they were or why they were helping. Sure, it didn’t look like they would answer but still, what is wrong with—”

  “Hey!” someone shouted from near the alley entrance.

  Lifting his head, Eric saw who was approaching him. They were five people that looked very much like stereotypical medieval fantasy thugs.

  And sure enough, their next words were just what you would expect from stereotypical thugs in a medieval fantasy world.

  The group began to advance, and their leader began to speak. “Hand over all you have, and we might just—”

  With a speed that none of them could have foreseen, Eric darted toward the speaker and landed a mana enhanced punch directly on their face.

  To his surprise, the thug was nowhere near strong enough to actually survive a normal punch from him, much less one that was enhanced by mana.

  As soon as Eric’s fist connected with the thug’s face, all bones were shattered.

  The initial impact shattered his cheek bone, and the vibration made the rest of his skull shatter into hundreds of small pieces.

  Subsequently, the head was sent flying and splattered against the wall. Nothing was left of the thug’s head but a mush of skin, bone and brain matter.

  With Eric’s senses, he was more than able to make sense of everything that had happened. He more than had ample opportunity to stop and adjust his strength, making it so that he didn’t kill those that followed on impact, but he didn’t.

  His mind was elsewhere and the only thing he wanted to do right now was clean up the immediate problem.

  Only then would he have the freedom to actually analyze his situation and gain some clarity.

  His momentum didn’t stop when he delivered the first punch, he used his heel to maneuver around the already falling body.

  He delivered a kick at the side of the biggest of the thugs. There was no resistance, his leg simply traveled through his abdomen, severed his spine and bathed his leg in gore.

  At this point, the other three were already mid turn, completely prepared to run away. But Eric wouldn’t allow that, not now that he had begun—now he had to finish it.

  He reached for the nearest one, grabbed his arm and pulled. The thug was pulled back, but as he stumbled back, his entire arm was torn. Before he could scream, his own arm was used as the weapon that smashed his face, silencing him forever.

  With a light jump that came from kicking off one of the walls, Eric delivered a kick to another thug. He aimed for the neck, hoping to end it quickly but failed and instead his foot tore off part of the thug’s neck.

  The thug was surprised as his head hung awkwardly to the side. He tried to turn in confusion, but instead he crumbled to the floor as a river of blood flowed down from his open neck.

  The last thug was about to exit the alley, entering the main street and possibly finding salvation. But that was not meant to be his fate.

  As if reaching from deepest of depths, a hand grabbed him by the back of his head and yanked him back into the alley.

  This time, Eric did control his strength, he didn’t want a headless corpse walking into such a heavily walked street and drawing attention. He still didn’t know what his situation was, so he shouldn’t risk it.

  The thug was on his knees and had his mouth completely free to scream. He had more than ample opportunity to call for help, but he didn’t.

  Tears flowed down his cheeks, as faint, teetering sobs escaped his mouth. Whatever sound would have escaped him, was muffled by his trembling lips.

  Eric, not really thinking about the thugs or what he had just done, clenched the fist that was holding the final thug’s head. Less than a second later, there was light thud as something hint the alley floor.

  Eric snapped back to his current situation as soon as he heard the body hit the floor. Looking at what he had just done, he didn’t really feel anything, but he was unsure if he didn’t feel anything because he genuinely didn’t, or if he was forcing himself because of what Gray said.

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  “Regardless, I need to get out of here.”

  Congratulations on completing the ninth floor of the Tower of Revelation.

  You have entered the tenth floor: Trial of Freedom.

  New quest!

  Quest: Great robbery.

  Objective: Find the red diamond.

  Rewards: Access to next floor, +10 Reward points.

  No limitations will be enforced on this floor.

  Fly free and accomplish your objective.

  After only sparing the System window a single glance, Eric began to drag the bodies toward the back of the alley.

  Originally, he had only intended to push all the way to the back, not really making an effort to hide the bodies. But as he neared the end, he found some wooden barrels and crates, getting a better idea.

  Before he stashed the bodies behind his recent discoveries, he searched them for anything that might be useful. However, he only found a couple small knives and some coins.

  As he stored the knives in his ring, he got feedback that it was almost full.

  Eric nodded after examining the feedback and turned to count the coins he had gathered.

  “One gold, twelve silver and eight copper. Is this a lot?” he asked himself and the System hoping to get answers.

  Then, in the short moment that he waited for an answer, he remembered something.

  “Wait, I can finally check all the System messages I got ever since…” He paused, realizing that he hadn’t checked them in a while. “Damn, it's been a minute, hasn't it?” he said, a bit surprised.

  Looking at his surroundings he came to a decision. “Better get somewhere more… not covered in blood.”

  With that, Eric made his way carefully through the connecting alleys. His senses were heightened to the extreme, so that he wouldn’t encounter any surprises.

  He first found a bucket of water, using it to clean himself. Then, he found an empty house and stole some clothes. It was clear that people still lived there, they just weren't there at the moment.

  When he put the clothes he had been wearing into his storage ring, the ring made it clear that that was it's limit.

  And just like that, he made his way to the main street.

  The streets were lined with buildings made of brick and mortar. The occasional building made entirely of wood appeared every so often, but it was rare. The main street was full of stalls on each side, sounds of bargaining and deals being made flooded the area.

  In the middle of this, Eric, wearing a hood that obscured his face, moved with incredible efficiency.

  Eric made his way toward various busily transited buildings, hoping to find an inn. More often than not, he made a mistake, discovering a store, a restaurant, or simply something that he had no notion of because this was clearly not Earth.

  One of the buildings appeared to be an inn but in reality, was nothing more than a killed beast exhibition hall. That was it.

  Apparently, every week the monsters on display were changed for those that were hunted the week prior. Only the best of the best were chosen and some compensation was given to the hunters. But that was all Eric managed to gather through eavesdropping.

  He was sure that he could’ve gathered far more information if he stopped and actually talked to people about what he needed to know, but his mind was still a mess. Every single little action he made, he questioned.

  Did I move to the side because I didn’t want to be rude toward the approaching woman? Or did I do it because it was more efficient? he asked himself as he watched the woman leave after he moved to the side, leaving the way open for her.

  Am I actually enjoying these monster displays or am I somehow emulating these feelings? Forcing myself to feel them. It was an obvious question to ask, especially now that everything felt so alien. When did I begin? Am I even Eric?

  He stopped in the middle of the street and took a deep breath. There was one question that he refused to ask himself, not out of fear but because he already knew the answer.

  “Am I even panicking right now? Or is this just how I think I should act?” he muttered in a low voice as he lowered his gaze toward his hands.

  Observing his hands, he could still see some chunks of flesh and bone underneath his nails. Focusing on those small remnants, he asked himself another question. “Do I even care?”

  Someone interrupted his musings, tapping him on the shoulder. “Oy. We ‘ave some questens fer ya,” a big, large rotund man said.

  Turning to face the man, his eyes lost and full of doubt, he suddenly felt the man increase the strength on his grip.

  His natural mana sense also picked something up, and on instinct he activated Mana Insight and discovered that the man was using mana to strengthen himself.

  Letting out a breath, as if resigned to his fate, Eric spoke. “Lead the way.”

  As they walked, the large man basked in his intimidation abilites. Telling Eric how he was wise to follow without issue.

  Occasionally he would flex his fat filled arms, as if they were more defined then they actually were.

  The large man thought that Eric had given up due to his imposing figure and monstrous strength. However, he couldn’t be any more wrong and he soon found that out.

  Back in their hideout, Eric sat upon a cheap wooden desk, covered in blood. “I really need to control myself better,” he said, jerking his arm, removing chunks from it.

  Before him were the large man that had misunderstood what was happening and another slightly slimmer man with various golden teeth.

  In his current state, everything that Eric had learned on the floors prior began to fade into the background, becoming nothing but static.

  Controlling his strength was now irrelevant, as was his application of what little combat knowledge he had gained. Everything he did now was nothing but the application of pure power and speed, with little to no control behind it.

  When Eric arrived at the thugs’ hideout, he had been expectant, hoping to find someone with answers to his quest.

  In settings like these, the criminal organizations at least had a hint. And anything was better than pondering his true nature. Though, if you thought about it, the actions he was taking were providing answers. The problem was that they might not be the answers he was hoping for.

  “So, an entire squad of knights was dispatched to the south two days ago?” Eric asked, confirming what the golden toothed thug had said.

  “Y—yes. And—and there were also reports of important cargo coming from the free city of Telvod to the south,” the golden toothed thug blurted out, hoping that any information would be useful.

  “Is that it?” Eric asked, still unsure of how that information fit together.

  Sure, the knights could’ve been dispatched to protect the red diamond that came from the city of Telvod, but what if it wasn’t? Eric thought. Though, this does feel kind of perfectly fitting for a quest.

  Eric paused for a moment, considering some things. “How strong are the knights?” he asked, having come to a deciding factor.

  “Wha—what do you mean?” the large thug asked, his entire body trembling.

  “How strong are the knights?” Eric repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Did you not hear me?”

  “I apologize!!” the large man shouted, but quickly gathered himself. "To answer your question. They should be about as strong as you are… sir. If not more. The techniques—”

  “The techniques they wield make them dangerous,” the gold toothed thug said, cutting his subordinate off. “If you need help—”

  With a swift swing of the sword, Eric cut off both of their heads. There was never even the possibility that he would let either of them live. He wasn’t dumb, he was sure that he was brought here to be killed, tortured, both or maybe even worse.

  “I also hate the very idea of slavery, so even if I could somehow bind them to do what I want, I would still kill them.” He paused. "Wait, do I even—nope. I'm going to choose to believe that I do and stick to that."

  Giving the small office he was in a quick look over; he found some gold coins and a couple of what appeared to be potions. Though the mana in them was faint, almost nonexistent, whatever effect they granted would be small.

  He no longer had room in his storage ring, but he still had plenty of space in his tattooed bracelet.

  Making his way out of the small office, he maneuvered over the bodies that were everywhere and made his way to the kitchen.

  He wasn’t hungry, at least not as much as he should be considering that the last thing he ate was a loaf of bread.

  After searching the entire kitchen, he found some hard bread and some unappetizing broth and ate them both.

  “Only need to fill the void, not satisfy it,” he muttered as he gulped down the remaining broth.

  He sat there, looking one way and the other. “This should be as good a place as any.”

  With that he brought up his System messages, ready to see the changes.