Chapter 26: Blood (3)

Luke didn’t know if his father was someone hot-blooded. As far as he could tell, he was someone who was strict for the sake of causing him trouble. Still, if Luke had died and his father learned that the pilot superior was involved, he might do something that would make him lose his position in the army… was that their goal?

“I am truly sorry for trying to kill you,” the pilot said and then took out his helmet. “Orders are absolute in the army, but I am ashamed that I almost killed a civilian.”

The pilot was a blonde guy in his thirties, and now that Luke could see his face, he could tell that he didn’t like that mission. Still, Luke didn’t feel like forgetting him, not even the fact that he knew Luke’s father would change that.

“Luke… killing him might decrease your anger, but it will only cause you trouble later,” Rina said.

Even if he does that while using his right of self-defense, Luke would be in trouble. Doing that in cold blood would make things even worse… while no one in the army was watching unless the pilot stayed alive, his boss could make up whatever lie he wanted… Luke wondered what he could do to make sure that the pilot would receive some punishment and he still would get something from it. Maybe getting his gear would be enough, but Luke decided to ask Shalia about her opinion, and then he realized that she was too quiet.

“I will leave my gear with you, and…” the pilot said, and then he grabbed a grenade and used it.

Luke kicked it with all his might and made the weapon fly to the distance. At the same time, he used Stinger on the pilot, who tried to run away amidst the confusion. The rapier pierced the left side of his back… making the weapon pierce his heart. After agonizing for a second, the pilot died. The group didn’t have to stare at that in shock. The grenade exploded in the air making the area tremble.

You obtained 50 experience points.

You obtained 50 gold coins.

You killed a fellow human and have the right to learn one of their skills. You can choose between Appraisal and Pain Resistance.

Luke frowned when he received that message… it was insane, but it seemed that the fastest way for humans to get skills was by killing other humans… Nevertheless, Luke confirmed how the pilot realized that he was dangerous and decided to kill him first before the other. He had used Appraisal, and while Pain Resistance seemed useful, Luke accepted the first option because knowledge is power.

Appraisal Lv 01: it grants you the power to see some information regarding your target’s status. With each level up, you can access more data.

“You killed him…” Amanda said, visibly shocked.

“… Yeah, I can’t live with myself anymore knowing that I killed someone who tried to explode me with a grenade,” Luke said. “I suppose I am crazy for trying to defend myself and for making sure that he wouldn’t have the chance to try again.”

Amanda and the others didn’t know what to say after hearing that… they knew that Luke wouldn’t kill the enemy. He only wanted his gear and weapons. The pilot also assumed the same since that was written all over Luke’s face… still, he didn’t hesitate in killing him when the pilot tried yet again to take his life, and that was troubling. If that situation persists for long, it was only natural that people would begin to change, but not after half a day.

“Ah, that was refreshing,” Shalia said. “It always good to see liars getting what they deserve.”

It seemed Shalia was the only one who saw through the pilot’s lies. That was why she stayed quiet during the whole conversation. Nevertheless, Luke could see some zombies approaching after all the noise they had made, so he hurried to take the pilot’s gear. He had a machine gun and a handgun with silencers, so Luke was confident that he could kill many zombies without worrying about making a horde chase him due to the sound of bullets.

“… Do you know how to use them?” Amanda frowned when she saw Luke checking the whole weapon and even moving the safety lock at a certain speed.

“Yes, I am the only son of a colonel, and I had too much free time in my teenager years,” Luke replied. “So, I learned a thing or two about guns. Still, you guys should go and face the zombies.”

Stanley, Leah, Patrick, and Olivia nodded and began to move to the zombies despite some hesitation. Amanda and Celia also did the same to offer some backup in case something happens. In the end, Luke only left the body with its uniform and the bulletproof vest. That one would decrease his mobility a lot and didn’t grant Luke any status, so he didn’t need it. In any case, now that he was alone, Luke faced the fact that he killed a human being. He wanted to think that it couldn’t be helped, but… that wasn’t lessening the guilt he felt over taking someone else’s life.

“I know that this isn’t like me, but this isn’t your fault, Luke,” Rina said. “You gave this man plenty of chances of giving up on attacking you, but in the end, he waited until you dropped your guard to attack again… he tried to kill you several times, and since he failed, this is what he got.”

“You must have eaten something bad to be so logical right now,” Shalia said. “In any case, you ended up losing a lot of time because you didn’t kill him sooner.”