Bzzt. Swoosh. Squelp!
The array master's brain was stabbed by someone driving his matte finish dagger through his right eye socket. The attack was followed by another move that pierced his heart. A dual strike was done on the guy to ensure that his body did not execute a spell that was already set to be cast.
Lightning tongues sparked behind the still-standing-upright-but-deader-than-dead array master. Payir's image was morphed into existence. He pulled both his daggers from the array master's body.
The butcher juggled his sharp blades around him and smiled. The next moment, the bodies of the rankers he had just killed, including that of the array master, fell to the ground.
Lako couldn't even express his rage at the fake Payir's answer. That's because he took his last breath after hearing those words.
"Damn. My first Grandmaster kill. How should I celebrate this feat?"
Eren was seriously considering treating himself to some fine food and drinks once his job to kill his enemies was over. He even ignored a "this doesn't count" comment from Alephee.
The butcher then disappeared from his place and killed another ranker that he had already fatally injured. His killing mechanics were so efficient this time that his victims rarely got a chance to scream before taking their last breaths.
Only Nicolas remained to be dealt with by Lako's group at this point. He stood in his position with a mix of shock and terror on his face. While his responses were compromised, his subconscious mind was busily analyzing the mana signatures of the fake Payir. Nicholas felt that he was familiar with the mana signature of the fake Payir.
This mana signature had left a deep impression on him because of how peculiar it was in nature. He felt that it was ordinary and mysterious at the same time.
"You… the brat from the Lionheart Adventurers' Academy… you had come to visit me in the Novice's Treasury."
Nicholas remembered staring at Eren's fading back when the latter got the scroll for Beast Contract spells from him. He would have remembered Eren's name as well if he wasn't so distraught after realizing it was a mere legit participant who had unleashed so much death on the elven team.
Eren has morphed into existence a few steps away from Nicholas. He had abandoned Payir's appearance and adopted his usual looks.
He raised his eyebrows and made an "I'm impressed" face at Nicholas before commenting.
"I can see why the academy hired you.
Being able to recall minute details of random things is also a rare talent. Sadly, it has no practical value for the most part, despite its uses in the academic environment.
You should have remained as an inactive sleeper cell your whole life, old man. The easy life has already made you lose your edge."
Bzzt. Swoosh. Zoom.
Nicholas died before he realized he had been attacked. The daggers in the butcher's hands disappeared as he stretched his arms above his head to loosen his tense muscles.
The butcher took a long breath and calmed the mana circuits that he had sent into hyperdrive. Killing so many opponents while being restricted by the laws of separate dimensions was exhausting. It helped that his opponents were even more restricted than him. But that didn't take away the hard work he had to do.
Everyone that was part of the ambush as well as the target of the ambush was dead at this point. Eren looked at Rufus and shook his head before destroying the stone pillar. He destroyed it to access the Sansara interface.
"Damn it. I killed so many of them and gained so few Karma points."
The butcher kicked a random elf's dead body to express his frustration. Since the Sansara World's restrictions were manipulated by the debuff array, the Karma points that one would get by killing them were also affected.
As a result, the meager amount of Karma points he received even after killing high-ranking entities wasn't worth it for his current level-ups.
The butcher sighed and shook his head. In the next moment, he clapped his hands and changed gears. He decided to concentrate on the job at hand.
"Is it safe to enter?"
Eren stood in his position and observed the spatial tunnel from a distance. He didn't want to dive into something only to find booby traps waiting for him. Alephee took her time to answer his questions.
"Hehe. Yes."
Alephee's response relieved Eren of his worries. He started walking towards the tunnel, away from his recent kill site. But then he froze in his steps and turned around to look at the dead array master's dead body.
"This guy's knowledge of arrays seems useful. Especially his use of using a grand-scale array as a base to create a sub-array."
The butcher decided to absorb the array master's memories. Since he was studying arrays, he could understand the intricacies of array-based magic on a deeper level. The more he understood the more fascinated he was by how broad the field was.
He could also use the field of arrays as a supplement to his potioneering skillS. And the most valuable part about arrays was the fact that they could be used to overcome opponents stronger than one's self while avoiding side effects.
Furthermore, the butcher was also interested in interfering with the continent-wide array to some extent. He did not have a reason to do something so groundbreaking as yet. Even so, he felt he should prepare himself just in case.
It didn't take long for Eren to go through the array master's memories and experiences. He had hit a saturation point after absorbing so many of his victims. So neither his rank nor his elemental attainment saw much of a spike. But he could always use the knowledge of different fields he gained from performing these "environmentally-friendly" tasks.
Eren killed the elves, but left Rufus' body intact. After all, he wanted the kingdom to find out who had killed Rufus.
He wasn't sure what the impact would be inside the separate dimensions for letting the elven infiltrators kill the chief moderator of the Sansara World. But frankly, he didn't care.
***
"Time to gain another Mark."
Eren thought to himself before stepping into the tunnel. It wasn't obvious from his solemn face. But his slightly raised heartbeat was a testament to his excitement.
He had practically robbed this opportunity from the infiltrators' hands. However, in his heart, he felt that he was more deserving of the Sin Series Marks than anyone else.
