I Became a Murderer in the Academy. - Chapter 7

TN: Thank James Baily for the chapter.

I inherit the memories of the ones I consume.

For example, if I ate a knight, I could make their sword my own.

If I ate a mage, I could make their mana manipulation techniques my own.

As a monster in the back alleys, there was an ability I desperately needed.

‘Concealment.’

Despite needing to operate quietly without others knowing, I was clumsy at hiding.

I went around altering the memories of all the people I saw, but the fact that rumors about me still leaked out says it all.

Meddling with other people’s minds is more mentally exhausting and dangerous than one might think.

That’s why I needed a skill to easily hide my body.

I couldn’t keep relying solely on memory manipulation forever.

“…!”

Beorn had what I wanted.

So he had to die for my survival.

I didn’t have ill feelings toward him, but the world operates on the concept of survival of the fittest.

Didn’t he also try to gain monetary benefits by selling or killing me? It was clearly self-defense.

After exchanging sword blows with me, he once again concealed his appearance.

It wasn’t just invisible to the naked eye.

Even footsteps or presence couldn’t be sensed.

I couldn’t accurately detect where he was unless he got very close.

But it’s okay.

Usually, attacks using a sword unintentionally carry hostility when swung.

I was particularly sensitive to killing intent, so it wasn’t difficult to fend off his attacks.

And,

-Clang!!

When I made physical contact with him, the perception-hindering magic scattered and disappeared.

It was the same when our swords clashed.

It seemed to disappear when receiving a certain level of impact.

Once again, Beorn, who clashed swords with me in the middle, showed clear signs of surprise.

It was understandable.

Until just before contact, it was an invisible sword strike, so probably no one had been able to block it until now.

“You… What kind of bastard are you?”

Beorn took a step back and frowned.

What kind of bastard? It was a difficult question to answer.

I didn’t know how to respond, so I slightly released the magical energy in my body.

A thick black mist settled down.

I indirectly let him know that I wasn’t human.

“…A magical beast?”

I didn’t deny his question.

I just raised my sword, waiting for his action.

It wasn’t a situation that required conversation.

This was a battle of slaughter.

For our own reasons, we had to kill each other.

There was no good or evil in it.

It was just to live a little more comfortably in this world.

That was true for me, and for Beorn as well.

Struggling to survive is like an instinct of living beings.

Nothing was wrong, and so I respected his will too.

He wanted to kill me.

If possible, he would do so.

After all, aren’t we all just trying to make a living? He wasn’t wrong.

It was simply a difference in positions.

“Hmm.”

I raised my sword and took a stance.

At first, I tried to subdue him with hallucinations, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Was his intuition good?

When I turned my gaze towards his eyes, he avoided eye contact, and when it seemed he couldn’t prevent it, he increased the distance.

At that distance, even if our eyes met, I couldn’t show him hallucinations.

Has my ability been figured out?

It might have become known due to all the chaos I caused in the underground prison.

After all, the people I tormented were probably his subordinates too.

But.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Sometimes, a physical conversation using blades wasn’t bad either.

Conveniently, the human I ate yesterday was a knight.

I gripped the knife handle with both hands and prepared to leap.

And.

-Clang!

Beorn and I leaped simultaneously.

I accelerated by repeatedly pushing off the ground while he concealed his appearance.

I swung my sword several times towards where I thought he might be, but it didn’t connect.

Even when I closed my eyes and concentrated, I couldn’t sense his presence.

I chased after him, moving quickly through the narrow corridor, but I couldn’t find him.

So I had to think.

The contemplation wasn’t long, and the decision was bold.

Even if I couldn’t see him, he must be nearby.

I changed the direction of the sword blade.

I raised the dagger held in my right hand and stabbed my left.

With a squelch, red blood burst into the air.

-Whoosh!

I swung my left hand, which had been pierced by my sword.

Blood splattered in the surrounding hall.

The crimson flew through the air and eventually hit Beorn, and only then could I see him clearly.

He had concealed his appearance and made no sound, but he couldn’t erase the smell of blood.

Moreover, since it was my blood, I could find him easily.

“There you are.”

I immediately took a stance and leaped.

Gripping the dagger with both hands, I used the sword technique etched in my memory.

After one large sword strike, two more sword strikes followed.

It looked as if one sword strike was divided into three.

Imperial Sword Style, Third Form.

When it came into my hands, the technique of using one large sword strike as a decoy and two as the actual attack completely transformed into a different technique.

It was no longer a decoy.

The one large sword strike was to completely break the opponent’s sword, and the two following sword strikes were to surely inflict fatal wounds.

A technique created by humans to catch monsters was being used by a monster.

That’s why the level of its power was different.

-Shiik!

A coarse-cutting sound echoed through the air.

It was the sound of Beorn’s body being sliced.

“Arghhhh!!”

He, who had lost one arm in an instant, let out a terrible scream.

The sword he had swung to defend himself broke in the middle, and I cut down the now powerless him with my dagger.

Beorn appeared with his concealment undone.

He was clutching the stump of his severed arm, writhing in pain, and at this point, he looked pitiful.

“Ugh!! You son of a bitch!!”

“……”

Looking closely, he wasn’t pitiable at all.

I moved forward, holding the blood-stained knife.

As I approached him to finish things off, he backed away in dismay.

“You fucking!! Don’t come!! Don’t come, you bitch!!”

A bitch, huh?

I felt hurt.

I moved a little closer.

“W-wait!! I, I was wrong!! So please!!”

After anger comes fear, is it?

It didn’t seem like a particularly necessary thing to say, so I didn’t.

I kept walking.

“You fuck-”

They say a cornered rat will bite a cat.

I wasn’t a cat, but Beorn pulled a dagger from his waist and swung it at me.

It seems he had a hidden weapon.

However, he had already lost his fighting spirit, so he couldn’t swing the sword as well as before.

Gripped by fear, he just wildly swung the dagger-holding hand.

Annoyed by that, I lightly deflected it and swung my own.

“Aaaaagh!!! My arm!! Aaaaagh!!”

He still seemed to have strength left to move, so I made sure he couldn’t.

Finally, Beorn, who had received a fatal wound, fell to his knees.

This time, he surely wouldn’t be able to move.

That’s how I was able to reach right in front of him.

Hazy eyes and an expression that looked painful.

I don’t have a hobby of torturing living humans.

I decided to make him rest as quickly as possible.

I lowered myself to sit, matching our eye levels.

Then, I made his hazy eyes meet mine.

“Sleep well.”

I cupped his cheeks with both hands and whispered softly.

What would he see before closing his eyes for the last time?

I slowly met his eyes and read his memories to absorb his ability.

The first thing that appeared was the most painful scene of a winter day.

That’s when I realized.

Until the last moment when he closed his eyes, he was having a terrible nightmare.

***

The business at the slave market seemed to be wrapping up like that.

After eating Beorn, I tried to make myself disappear as a test.

“……”

Did it work?

From my perspective as the user, it was hard to feel what had changed or what was different.

It seemed closer to the concept of casting a perception-hindering magic around me than to my body becoming transparent.

To me, I could see my body just fine.

But my reflection didn’t appear in the mirror.

Maintaining this state consumed stamina, so it seemed there were some limitations to it as well.

Even so.

‘How much money is all this?’

I don’t know why this Beorn guy carried so much money.

I counted, and it was 100 gold coins.

Is there usually a reason to carry this much cash around?

I quietly pocketed the money pouch.

It was delicious.

Feeling good, I climbed the stairs to go outside.

Then there was a man I’d never seen before.

Reading his memories, I found out he was the owner of this slave market.

When our eyes met, his face turned pale.

“Y-y-you!”

What’s this?

I hit him once on the head to knock him out.

In his hand was a money pouch.

Counting that too, it contained 100 gold coins.

What’s this?

Is he giving it to me?

I took that too.

The way to become rich wasn’t as difficult as I thought.