Can't I Just Raise Myself?

Mana +0.6

"Quite a lot of experience."

After killing the Spirit Binder, "Lin Qi" leveled up again. She was only one final step away from reaching level ten and changing classes.

"I wonder if clearing out this house will be enough."

"Lin Qi" walked out of the room. The corridor was pitch-black, and the coal lamp illuminated only a small area.

"Who's there?"

A questioning message popped up on the interface. This room was at the end of the corridor, and a shadow appeared not far around the corner. It looked like a Hand of Darkness cultist.

Lin Qi: "It's me, Derek."

Man: "That's clearly a woman's voice!"

Lin Qi: "Derek was a woman to begin with."

Man: "How could that be? Just yesterday, I—"

The shadowy figure approached warily. "Lin Qi" struck decisively, plunging her Dagger into his chest. She then shoved forward hard, and as his strength gave out, she pulled the blade free and sliced across his throat.

Riiip~

Ryan could even hear the sound of blood splattering.

Unlike killing monsters, once a person's throat was cut, they were basically dead. He had already confirmed that with Derek.

But what surprised Ryan was that "Lin Qi's" Experience Bar actually rose by a chunk.

"Damn it, killing people gives experience too?"

It hadn't increased when he killed Derek before, so he had thought this path wouldn't work.

If that was the case, then he wouldn't hold back.

"Heh heh heh~"

Ryan guessed that only killing certain types of people granted experience. For instance, those who had performed rituals and come into contact with the power of the Outer Gods. As an Imperial Security Officer overflowing with justice, he would never show mercy to people like that.

"Lin Qi" continued down the corridor and killed two more cultists in quick succession.

They were all ambushes, so they did not make much noise. But when she turned down the corridor and reached the manor's main hall, the light inside exposed her, and the cultists still lingering there immediately spotted her.

At the same time, Ryan finally saw the situation in the hall clearly.

"Damn it, what a bunch of animals."

The center of the hall was piled with corpses—at a glance, there were no fewer than thirty, including children.

The place where the corpses had been stacked looked like an altar. Blood flowed through the patterns carved into its surface, outlining mysterious runes that emitted a faint glow.

Ryan spotted the Singer who had previously met with Derek among them. He was apparently one of their leaders and was speaking with the others.

"An intruder has broken in!"

"Quick! Kill her!"

The Singer shouted angrily.

Without a word, "Lin Qi" pulled out her Revolver and fired.

Bang!

With one shot, she took down a cultist. "Lin Qi" turned and rushed up the stairs to the second floor, reloaded as she moved, then fired again. There were too many of them; she stood no chance in close combat.

"Good thing I have a gun."

Ryan stared at the interface. Kiting was not difficult, but avoiding the cultists' attacks was another matter. Some of them were about as strong as Derek, while others were far stronger.

So far, though, he had not found a single cultist capable of directly using supernatural powers.

"Out of bullets."

The number of bullets an ordinary Security Officer could carry was limited. "Lin Qi" originally only had ten rounds, and Ryan had given her another fifteen, for a total of twenty-five. She had just dealt with six people, leaving only two bullets now.

There was no helping it. The poor visibility made her accuracy too low.

After thinking for a moment, Ryan decided not to keep using the gun. Instead, he controlled "Lin Qi" into a room—where she began gnawing on a steamed bun.

As she waited for her health bar to slowly recover, "Lin Qi" held her Dagger and guarded the doorway. She was not the only one with poor visibility; the enemy had the same problem.

After a while, a head poked into the room. Without hesitation, "Lin Qi" stabbed at it.

A ball of light rose from the fallen corpse.

You obtained 'Roasted Chicken ×1'.

"Huh?"

Ryan froze.

Roasted Chicken?

Something that restored health?

Thinking about it carefully, the game did seem to have that. Its effect was three times that of a steamed bun.

Couldn't it drop something else?

The noise of the killing quickly drew the others over. "Lin Qi" rushed out of the room, only for her body to suddenly be bound in place.

You were attacked by 'Soul Guidance'.

A debuff appeared in the status bar. The source was the Singer in the center of the hall, who was chanting, and the effect was continuous.

Ryan decisively used Purification. During the brief window provided by mental protection, "Lin Qi" rapidly closed the distance to the Singer.

Singer: "So you're one of Janus's lackeys. Death's shadow will shroud you!"

He raised a hand and quickly chanted a spell. At once, a large number of Spirit Binders surged out from the center of the altar.

"Damn it, he's a Summoner too!"

Ryan cursed under his breath. In a moment of carelessness, "Lin Qi" was caught in the group attack and lost half her health. He could only retreat in a hurry and flee to the second floor.

The Singer controlled the Spirit Binders in pursuit. Just then, the manor's front door was blasted open with a bang, and a valiant young woman in armor appeared in the doorway, bathed in moonlight.