Beta: Eleventh Crow

Chapter 8. In the Darkness

To be honest, I wanted to stay for a bit longer in the village to try and find more information. Unfortunately, most of the conversations inside went silent after the last one and I was quite sure that the humans inside drank too much and finally fell asleep. I didn't risk taking a peek, I got most of what I wanted already and I didn't need to do everything today.

For now, I should probably get out and call Bob to me. I was really glad that mental commands worked with the Grimm to some degree, though it was better when I gave them in person. I didn't have a clue why it worked like that and the system wasn't too keen on explaining anything. It was always, "find out on your own", or something like that.

It took me a few minutes to maneuver through the village and put some distance from it. After that, I checked my notifications to see if Bob had found anything useful.

Of course, he didn't apart from killing a few low ranking Grimm that were already running in this direction. It would probably be another few days before a stronger Grimm took interest in the high negativity output. And while I was quite curious as to how the village would defend themselves, I didn't plan on sticking around to find out. This territory wasn't too friendly, and I'd already spotted a few Grimm that could probably one-shot me.

I was only here for the quest, and to placate the last bits of my morality. After all, in my old life, I had quite a big family with lots of kids in it. While I wasn't close to all of them, I had two nephews that were very important to me. The thought that kids no older than them could be in the hands of some idiots didn't stick too well with me. This new world might have already changed me, but some things stay with you forever.

If my investigation somehow helped the village then good for them, but I wouldn't go out of my way to save them from Grimm that would probably tear me apart. I could handle some bandits, but even then I wasn't planning to fight anyone yet.

Bob's arrival made me drop those thoughts. It was quite sad that my new companion couldn't even talk to me. I was getting quite annoyed by the blank stare he always gave me. Hopefully the ability of speech would come sooner rather than later . . . I might go mad if I couldn't talk to someone soon. You could only go alone for so long, especially if you found yourself in a new world with the body of a Grimm.

Sighing, I looked back at Bob and asked very slowly, "Did you see any humans on your hunt?"

It was probably one of the most complicated things I'd asked him during those few weeks, so I really tried to make my question perfectly understandable. At first, the Wyvern only dipped his head to the side and I was slowly dreading that I would need to explain everything for another few hours as I had in the beginning. Thankfully, I was saved from the most boring and annoying task in the world when Bob shook his head.

"Thank god," I murmured in relief that he answered.

I then looked at the sky and saw that there was still some night left. With a few more simple commands, I told Bob to fly around the area and search for signs of fighting or humans. The Grimm again took a moment to process the orders before he flew away from my location.

Releasing another breath of relief, I tucked my wings to my body and lied down for a moment. I still wanted to go to the city and get more info, but it was already too late so I might as well get some rest myself.

Not that I needed sleep, but I liked to do it from time to time. Old habits die hard, but before that, I still had one more question for the system.

So chain quest eh? I get the general idea, but I'd still prefer a more detailed description. Also, are there more types of quests?

[As this is something that you should know, I'm not against giving you more details.

Let's start with quest types. For now I've created only three types. Normal quests which you've already seen multiple times. You already know the deal. These are pretty straightforward, so not much needs to be said.

Next are the time-limited quests. Again, you've seen this type of quest a few times, and I think the name speaks for itself.

And finally, we have chain quests. These are created when you happen upon an event that is very important. Objectives in this type of quest change as you progress. Based on your actions, the objectives will change accordingly. The Butterfly effect would be an apt phrase to describe these types of quests. Always remember to think about your actions thoroughly before you make them, as you may not like the outcome.]

Butterfly effect you say? I'm familiar with the term. Even a small change can result in large differences in the future. Both an annoying and curious process.

So this quest really was important . . . I could see how helping some kids would change the future a bit, but not on a larger scale. Oh well, I would find out later. Maybe the bandits had something important in their camp or the system was just messing with me.

Nodding to myself, I finally rested my head on the ground and slowly fell asleep. My hiding place should be enough for now.

Judging from the sun's position, I woke up pretty late. Thankfully, I was already used to sleeping on the hard ground, so any discomforts were no longer troubling me. Of course, that didn't mean I would refuse a soft bed. No, my human side still longed for some of the comforts from my old life.

After stretching my body and scanning the nearby area for any threats, I called Bob back to me so I could ask about his findings.

Like yesterday Bob didn't find anything noteworthy, so I just sent him back on the hunt.

Now, I could do a few things. Go and search for any tracks myself, train my abilities, or kill the Grimm that were getting close to the village. After some thought, I decided on the first option. After all, it would be a lot easier if my map was uncovered in the area where my quest would be taking place. Maybe I would get lucky and find the bandits without the whole investigation. It would save a lot of time for sure.

If that didn't work, then I would just visit the village again. Of course, I would go there after the sun went down, but a bit earlier than yesterday. I needed information from someone who wasn't completely drunk.

Shaking my head to clear it out of those thoughts, I flew into the air and opened my map. Thankfully, it was linked with Bob so at least I already knew where he'd been to. I really didn't want to fly in circles.

"Amara managed to make it back today with her kids. Unfortunately, Russ didn't make it..." one of the females spoke sadly.

Currently, I was back in the city. It was already dark, but I managed to find some people who still enjoyed the chill weather outside. In most cases, they didn't have anything useful to say or I just couldn't get close enough without them noticing me, but I finally found a small group that had some good information.

"If it wasn't for Russ' military training they would all probably be gone. At least the kids still have their mother," another older woman spoke more calmly, but I could feel the anger coming from her.

A bitter chuckle left another female's lips, "Not that it will do her or us any good. We all know that with our current situation we'll be overrun by Gimm sooner or later. The guards are already reporting higher amounts of Grimm nearby. Anywhere we go we're in danger."

She was right. I would probably give them another ten or so days before the Grimm finally attacked. I knew that they could kill the weaker ones, but when anything stronger came, the whole village would fall. Very natural occurrence considering that even in canon they spoke of villages that were overrun, and then rebuilt a few years after.

"At least now we know to never go anywhere near Crowstar. We should've expected those bastards would make their base there," the first female spoke again and I finally had what I wanted.

I knew that Crowstar was another village that wasn't too far from here. I still didn't visit it, but I saw some signs that pointed in its direction. I was planning to go there tomorrow, but now that I knew for sure so there was no time to waste. I wanted to see if this trail would lead anywhere.

[Objectives Updated]

Man or a monster.

Objective 1: Investigate the rumors you heard in the village (Complete)

Objective 2: Investigate Crowstar

Objective 3:?

So the quest agrees with the rumors. Good, I was getting frustrated from all the sneaking around. Now, where was the village again?

Crowstar was further away than I thought. It was good thinking on my part to leave Bob near the village as I was pretty sure the Wyvern would slow me down in this situation. Plus, I really didn't need him for a small investigation, I wasn't planning on fighting anything for now.

It was still the middle of the night when I landed near the entrance of the ruined village. It was pretty small, and from my observations, I wasn't really surprised that it was destroyed. How a village like this was supposed to survive when it didn't even have walls to defend itself was beyond me. Sometimes people were really stupid.

My opinion aside, I really needed to find the place where the family was attacked. I was pretty sure that there would be bodies or some other signs left.

My night vision wasn't really helping, and after an hour or two of searching, I was really annoyed that I didn't have any ability that would help me with things like that. I thought about the Hunter pulse evolution, but then I realized that it was only supposed to sense live beings.

With a sigh, I closed the map and flew to the next part of the village. I wasn't sure what was here in the past as I only saw a building that was crushed to pieces now, but before long I finally spotted what I was searching for.

Three adult human bodies.

This sight was something completely new for me. I might have been a Grimm for some time already, but I never had much contact with humans in this world. Of course, I've killed plenty of Grimm and have never felt anything after the act, and to be honest, I didn't feel anything now.

I didn't know if I was just messed up after the world jump or if Gamer's mind was causing my indifference. When I was flying in this direction I was expecting to find some bodies, but I never thought about how I would react when I found them.

And now as I was standing before them, I was completely calm. No fear, no awe, no curiosity. Just nothing.

I guess this whole world jumping experience really messed me up, I thought with a small chuckle. Maybe it was better this way, because I really doubted that the Game would help me here.

Finally, I rid myself of those thoughts and slowly moved towards the bodies. Thankfully, they were still mostly fresh. So at least I didn't have to suffer from the smell.

After a quick observation, I quickly found out which bodies belonged to bandits and which was the Russ guy I'd heard about.

The bandits were obviously killed with a few shots from the pistol I found near Russ - the bullet wounds were quite easy to spot -, but the civilian while also being shot a few times, was killed by some kind of blade if the large stab wound was anything to go by.

Now this was interesting, as I was pretty sure that those two bandits couldn't have done that. A quick look around confirmed my thoughts as I found a trail of blood that led away from the small battlefield.

I quickly hid the lying firearms in my inventory before following the trail - they could be useful and I was not leaving them here.

The trail led me to one of the buildings that were still mostly intact. As I expected, inside I found another body. By the looks of it, the guy had probably died not that long ago from his wounds.

That was pretty bad, with the last bandit dead, I had no way of finding their base. I already tried to search through them in hopes that maybe they had a map on them, but they obviously weren't stupid enough to carry something like that with them.

Hell, they didn't even have a scroll...

Frustrated, I left the building and flew to the highest place that had a clear view of the small battlefield. For now, I would stay here and hope that the other bandits would come here to find out what happened to their people.

I hate this quest...

Thankfully, I only needed to wait another day for someone to show up. That was good, because I was already planning to move the next day. I only had so much patience, and this quest was quickly draining it.

The group of five were all obviously bandits, considering they were dressed pretty similarly to their dead comrades, and I wasn't expecting anyone else to appear. The people from the village were too scared, and I didn't see another village anywhere nearby.

The bandits did their own small investigation, and for a moment I wasn't sure if they noticed the lack of weapons on any of the bodies. I might've acted too hastily with my looting...

Thankfully, they either didn't notice or just didn't care about the weapons. They realized that the dead group failed their task, and before I knew it they were walking away.

The moment I activated all of my stealth abilities and began to follow them, I knew that I was progressing.

[Objectives Updated]

Man or a monster.

Objective 1: Investigate the rumors you heard in the village (Complete)

Objective 2: Investigate Crowstar (Complete)

Objective 3: Follow the bandits to their base without being noticed

Objective 4:?

Finally, I really hope that I'm nearing the end of this quest.

I definitely didn't expect this.

The bandit camp was huge. Well maybe I was overreacting a bit, but for bandits, it was very big. In my travels through Remnant, I saw a few bandit camps and they were never that large.

Most camps numbered in twenty bandits or so, but here I counted at least fifty, and I was sure that I didn't spot all as there were plenty of tents around that could hide even more of them. Of course, I also spotted the wooden cages that had children and a few older women inside. I couldn't get the exact number as they were shielded from my view, and I couldn't get a good read with my sensing skills.

With the use of 'observe' I got a read on most of the things and people in the camp. None of them were highly ranked, but I knew that with their numbers even I would have a problem with them. Apart from that, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now.

I knew that a small part of me wanted to free the children, but the other, larger part knew it was a risk that could end poorly. For both me and the prisoners. It was the next quest update that gave me a small push.

[Objectives Updated]

Man or a monster.

Objective 1: Investigate the rumors you heard in the village (Complete)

Objective 2: Investigate Crowstar (Complete)

Objective 3: Follow the bandits to their base without being noticed (Complete)

Objective 4:

Choice 1: Get rid of the leaders of the camp and take control of it. Ignore the victims.

Choice 2: Kill all of the bandits and save the victims.

Choice 3: Walk away and inform a huntsman of the kidnappings and give them a lead to the camp.

Choice 4: Slaughter everything. Show them who the real monster is.

Warning: This is the culmination of the chain quest. Your choice will decide not only your rewards, but also your fate. Choose wisely, as once you decide, there is no turning back.

That was another thing I didn't expect. The game said something about my choices, but this was something entirely different. Immediately after I read all of the choices, I knew that number four and one wouldn't work for me.

The fourth choice was something I definitely couldn't do. I didn't go through this boring quest only to come here and kill the children I wanted to save. I might've been a monster now, but I would never fall so low as to go against my own morals. I wasn't a butcher that would slaughter innocent children without a reason.

Then there was the first choice. Kill the leader and ignore the victims. Again, I would be going against myself. Of course, I could probably free the prisoners later, but why would I need a camp of idiotic bandits. They were of no use to me. I had Bob, and the Wyvern was all I needed for now.

The third choice was definitely something that I could do if I wanted to stay away from any fighting. But that sounded like something a coward would do. Besides, I was pretty sure that the reward wouldn't be too good if I chose this way.

And that finally left path number two. Exterminate the bandits, then save the children... It was probably the choice that every character I read about would take without a second thought. Well maybe they would knock those idiots out instead of killing them, but I knew that here it wouldn't work.

It was pretty funny, I'd never really thought about killing humans before. After all, deep down, I was still one of them, at least partially. But this wasn't my old world. No, the situation in Remnant was much worse. Grimm running around killing everyone, and humans fighting between themselves.

Stupid thing to do when they have a common enemy, but that's the human race for you, I thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Salem and Ozpin have been fighting a secret war against each other for years... Really, how much worse could people get. It was no surprise that Vale fell so easily when Salem finally began the execution of her plans. She was prepared when others were fighting like idiots.

I really should stop thinking about this. I have a decision to make.

The second choice was really the only way. I couldn't just walk away, I needed to do it myself. If I was to survive and grow stronger then I would probably kill again. Maybe in the future, I could try to change something in this fucked up world, and I was pretty sure that many would stay in my way.

If I could, I would probably smile as I finally understood another bit of my new life. It wasn't easy, but with time even I would find my place.

The darkness of the night once again fell on Remnant as I waited for the ideal time to strike. I already ordered Bob to come here so I could have at least some backup. I knew that I could do it, but some help to cover my weak spots would be nice.

The bandits had weapons, but I knew it wasn't likely that one of them could get past my armor, and even if they did I had aura to protect me. Still, I wanted to avoid a bigger fight, and use stealth to deal with at least a few of them.

After observing the camp and its defenses for the whole day, I was pretty sure that with Bob's help I would be able to take out the guards without any bigger problems. The camp had small wooden walls all around it with four watchtowers at every corner.

Now the only thing left to do was to give Bob orders that the Wyvern would hopefully listen to. This would either go very well, or completely fuck up my whole plan.

Thankfully the Grimm understood me - I really hoped so -, and now I was just waiting for the guard to change shifts. It wouldn't be good if I killed the guards only for more to check on them a minute later.

Finally, the time came, and with a quick mental command, both Bob and I flew to the positions I prepared earlier. With another order, we flew into the air and descended upon our respective tower guards.

I used my spikes to instantly pierce the guard in every vital point I knew of. The man never stood a chance, and fell to the ground dead.

I killed my first person ever, but like with the bodies, there wasn't a special reaction to the act. I didn't freeze, I didn't cry, and I definitely didn't abandon my plans. I was quite sure that this time it was the work of the Gamer's mind, as I didn't think I could just go through something like this without reaction. Not even with my change into a Grimm.

Even then I knew that now wasn't the time for such thoughts, and I focused on the task at hand.

With a quick look to the other side, I confirmed that Bob had taken care of the other guard and was already making his way towards the next tower. I did the same and flew behind the walls. Then, as with the previous guard, I used my spikes to kill him when he had his back turned to me.

With the tower guards gone, I mentally told Bob to wait for my command.

The camp was still completely oblivious to what would happen to them in the nearest hour, and I planned to use stealth for as long as I could. Even if in the back of my mind I knew that my own skill would be enough to slaughter them all in an open fight.

From there I descended into the camp under the cover of darkness. With my stealth skills, the coloring of my scales, and the time of the day, nobody ever saw me when I snuck behind someone and thrust my tail into their hearts. There were times when I used my jaws to tear the bandit's throat out, but I preferred to avoid it as much as I could. Even Gamer's mind couldn't get rid of the disgust I felt when I performed kills like this.

It really was a slaughter, even if I didn't want to acknowledge the fact.

Finally, someone came out from one of the tents and saw a body that was almost out in the open. A moment later, the whole camp was moving and I quickly gave Bob instructions to be ready when I was spotted.

I used the chaos and killed another few bandits with well-aimed spikes, but this action also revealed my position. Finally spotted, I flew into the air and began my final attack. At the same time, Bob jumped out of the tower and already dealt with two bandits with his superior speed.

The next few minutes were mixed with sounds of gunfire, curses, and agonizing screams. Both Bob and I flew around the camp killing bandit after the bandit, never leaving one alive when we struck. Now I definitely knew that it was a slaughter, but there was no stopping it. I started it, so I would end it.

There were only a few bandits left when one of them ran at me with speeds that definitely shouldn't be possible for a normal thug. With a quick 'observe' I instantly knew what was happening.

Scar, Academy Dropout lvl: 9

HP: 200

MP: 750

Tier: D-

Additional Info: One of the leaders of human trafficking rings in Vale, limited intelligence, lack any formal fighting style

That was expected, and I knew that the guy couldn't do anything against me with his rusty sword and average gun. My armor might not be strong yet, but he would need to be an experienced fighter to kill me with that equipment.

To avoid his stupid charge I flew higher and send a volley of spike spears at him. The guy had at least enough intelligence in him to dodge, but I still managed to hit him a few times. His aura took the damage and slowly went down. It was definitely interesting to see how my abilities matched against aura.

The academy dropout definitely wasn't in the right state of mind, attacking recklessly and without any care for his own defense. I quickly reduced his aura to a hundred points, then landed to finish the fight.

Bob already dealt with the rest of the bandits and the prisoners couldn't see me. I let myself activate my aura and prepared to use my first dragon punch with my wings against a human.

Scar's eyes widened as I closed the distance in an instant and thrust my wing at his chest.

The power was too much to handle for Scar's aura and it instantly disappeared. Without any defense, my right wing tore right through the dropout's body and he was sent flying to the ground a few feet away from me. His bones cracking if the sounds were anything to go by.

The man coughed out some blood as I approached, finally realizing that it was his end, he croaked out, "What the hell are you?"

I raised the tip of my tail above his heart and answered, shocking him even more, "To you and your little band? A monster," and with that, I pierced his heart, finally finishing this short fight.

That moment made me realize that it was finally the end. The whole camp was silent - if you ignored the silent sobbing of the prisoners -, in this single moment the realization of what I'd done had finally hit me, and I again could feel my emotions again.

Guilt, disgust, and even some anger. I knew that it was normal, after all, who could have done something like this for the first time and just walk away without a care in the world. Evidently not me...

I breathed slowly, in and out a few times to calm myself and gather my thoughts. The fight might be over but I still had a few things to do.

I quickly ordered Bob to fly away and hide in our previous spot, and after that I went to work. I already heard multiple notifications from before, and after a quick look, I saw a few level-ups and some other less important things.

I went through the camp as quickly as I could, gathering everything that could be of use to me. Be it weapons, money, or even some dust. I was really curious about what I would be able to do with the last one.

It was probably weird that I would be looting before freeing the prisoners, but I really didn't want them to see a Grimm looking through human things. They would probably see me when I freed them, and that was enough. Not that anyone would believe that a Grimm freed them.

It took me quite some time to go through the whole camp, but when I was done the night was coming to an end. With my task complete, I finally turned to the cages that held the prisoners and thought about how exactly I wanted to do this.

With the cages being covered, I could probably escape quick enough so they wouldn't ever notice me after their cages were opened. As I knew that adults were there, I hoped that they would be able to lead them to the village while I protected them from any Grimm on their way. After all, I didn't save them only for some Grimm to kill them...

After I finally decided on a course of action, I called Bob to me and slowly told him what he needed to do. There were too many cages for me to open them fast enough and escape.

The Wyvern thankfully understood the simple instruction, and on my sign, we quickly destroyed the locks to every door. Then I quickly hid behind another tent while Bob flew away.

The older females and multiple children slowly and hesitantly left the cages and took a look around. In this single moment, I realized that maybe leaving multiple bodies lying around wasn't the best idea.

Yep, I definitely could've planned this better. Well, too late now...

Thankfully, the older members of the group gathered themselves and quickly led the group out. Some even took the few weapons I left lying around. Smart, even if the chances of them surviving out there without me were very small. They were a bundle of negative energy after all, and I was sure that the Grimm would love to attack them.

Just as I was preparing myself to follow the group from above, I felt something tugging at my tail. Confused, I quickly turned around.

There, hugging my tail was a girl no older than ten. Even though she was younger, I instantly recognized her when I saw the half pink, half brown hair, and the pair of mismatched eyes looking straight at me.

You have got to be kidding me! What the hell is a young NEO doing here! Wait! Is she even called Neo already? Doesn't matter, what the fuck GAME!?