Chapter 366: Shred of Mercy from Me (2)

[Ruvian’s POV]

The familiar system window appeared before Ruvian’s eyes almost immediately.

[Please select the character you wish to assimilate with.]

A list of names began appearing one after another.

Ruvian barely gave them a glance.

’Rosalin Varion.’

Immediately, his body began to transform.

[10,000 Plot Points have been deducted!]

[Assimilation completed!]

[Time remaining: (04:59)]

There were only a few solid reasons why he had resorted to using [Assimilation].

First, all five of those men appeared to be around the level of First-Class Magus, judging from the mana they emitted and the strength of their Spellcores.

Secondly, because his father was here, Ruvian could not afford to put him in any unnecessary danger. He was also planning to overwhelm them with such a vast difference in strength that the fear would be carved into their minds, enough to make them never think about messing with his family ever again.

And finally, he wanted to test something about [Assimilation].

He had used [Assimilation] twice before, and on both occasions, he had pushed it with everything he had, which resulted in the aftermath being unbearably painful.

The last time he assimilated with Vanessa, he had poured nearly all of his strength into casting three spells, and the recoil had been severe enough to knock him unconscious afterward.

So, he had been wondering.

What if he only used a minimal fraction of the borrowed power?

Would the repercussions lessen accordingly?

Would the backlash scale depending on how much strength he actually drew from [Assimilation]?

But more importantly than any of that...

He was mad.

Very, very mad.

Mad enough that, right now, he genuinely wanted to beat all five of them to a pulp.

Intentionally, Ruvian released his [True Authority].

The moment the pressure disappeared, Edric’s legs finally gave out beneath him, forcing him down onto one knee.

He gritted his teeth, hesitating for only a moment before finally shouting,

"Get him!"

The instant the command was given, all five men moved at the same time.

However, before any of them could even reach where Ruvian had been standing, he had already closed the distance between them, his entire body reinforced by [Body Enhancement].

With Rosalin’s already exceptional physical stats combined with the spell, Ruvian was moving far faster than any of the men there could properly react to.

In an instant, he appeared between the two men standing closest to one another.

Without giving either of them a chance to respond, Ruvian slammed both hands against their faces and gripped them tightly before violently driving their heads straight into the ground. (+200PP)

BOOM!

The earth beneath them cracked and splintered from the impact.

The remaining three men, along with Edric, immediately turned toward the sound.

And that was when they saw it.

Two of their men were already lying motionless on the ground, completely unconscious. Blood streamed from their noses while their heads remained partially buried inside the fractured earth.

Then, Ruvian slowly turned his cold gaze toward the others.

And vanished again.

"What the hell are you guys doing?! He’s just a kid! Get him!" Edric’s panicked voice echoed through the night.

The remaining three men immediately drew their weapons, one pulling out a dagger while the other two unsheathed short swords.

Then, they rushed toward Ruvian at once.

However, Ruvian did not even bother drawing a weapon or anything.

The first man swung his short sword toward his neck, but Ruvian simply leaned his body aside, letting the blade pass inches away from him.

At the same time, he stepped forward and struck the man’s wrist, forcing his arm aside before twisting his body past him.

The second man came from his left with a dagger.

Ruvian caught his wrist, redirected the stab away from his body, then drove his elbow straight into the man’s jaw.

Crack!

The man stumbled backward — knocked out cold, but Ruvian was already moving again. (+200PP)

The third man tried to attack from behind, only for Ruvian to duck beneath the incoming strike before spinning around and driving a powerful punch straight into his stomach.

"Hukk—!!"

The man’s eyes widened as all the air immediately left his lungs.

His body was about to be sent flying backward when Ruvian suddenly grabbed him by the clothes.

Then, using the man’s own momentum, Ruvian spun around once before violently throwing him toward the other attacker rushing toward him.

"W-Wait!"

BAM!

Both men crashed into each other before tumbling across the ground — one of them also knocked out cold. (+200PP)

And just like that, Ruvian had finished the entire fight in barely eight seconds.

’Huh? That was quicker than I thought.’

Then, he turned toward Edric.

The man was still kneeling there, gritting his teeth as he stared at the five unconscious men scattered across the ground in complete disbelief.

"You... Do you even understand what you’ve just done?!" Edric finally shouted, his voice trembling between anger and panic.

"Those men belong to the guild! You think you can just beat them half to death and walk away like nothing happened?! If you lay even one finger on me, the guild will hear about this before the night is over!

They’ll come after your father’s workshop, your house, your family, everything! You may think you’re some big-shot magus because you learned a few spells at that academy, but you have no idea who you’re dealing with!

We have people everywhere, connections with merchants, officials, guards, and craftsmen across this entire district! You touch me, and I swear your family will never have a peaceful day in this town again!"

Ruvian simply stared at him.

Then, without saying a word, he began walking closer.

Edric’s face grew increasingly pale with every step Ruvian took toward him.

Finally, once he was close enough, Ruvian stopped directly in front of him and stared down from above.

"Hey, bastard, haven’t I already told you... that there will be consequences for threatening my family? And now, you’ve gone and done it a second time."

Slowly, Ruvian crouched down until they were facing each other at eye level.

Edric’s pupils were trembling uncontrollably.

Then, Ruvian leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice into a whisper, quiet enough that no one else could hear him — only Edric.

"Do you truly wish to die here? I wouldn’t mind choking the life out of you with these bare hands."

Edric tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out. His entire body was trembling violently, and fear had already overwhelmed him so badly that he had started wetting himself without even realizing it.

"After all, like I said before, I’m not planning to show you any mercy."

Ruvian then activated [Bookmarks] and immediately added "Edric Jabem" to the list.

"But it will not be today. I have dinner with my family now. So, get the hell away from my house. I’ll give you three minutes. If you’re still anywhere near here after that..."

Ruvian slowly cracked his knuckles.

"...then I might have to bury a few bodies tonight."

Edric nervously nodded, then immediately tried to push himself back onto his feet, but his legs were still shaking too badly to support him.

Ruvian frowned, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and roughly hauled him upright.

Then, he spoke in a cold, clipped voice. "Take your men with you too, one of them is only pretending to be knocked out."

The moment those words left his mouth, the man lying beneath one of his fallen companions suddenly flinched.

After that, none of them dared waste another second. Edric and the conscious man dragged the others toward their carriage, threw them inside one by one, then quickly climbed in and disappeared down the road. (+1,000PP)

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 366: Shred of Mercy from Me (2)]

Plot Points = 302,000