Adrenaline cascaded through John's veins. His heart was at the part of the drum solo where it was building up for the drop. Sweat had broken out impossibly fast. Without his improved stats and absurd repertoire of Skills, he was sure panic would have overcome him, rendering his decision-making faculties useless.

Why was it that facing three hostile humans was scarier than a whole horde of monsters? It made no sense. It made perfect sense, too.

John didn't want to kill anyone. He understood what Doug had been getting at, back in their little crash course spar session. No moral dilemma reared its ugly head when you were up against murderous monsters. Against people, doubt could creep in, your brain trying to find any justifiable excuse to wiggle out of having to hurt another human being.

Perhaps he was misunderstanding, his stupid conscience reasoned. Maybe the robed mage was just lifting their hand in greeting, and they'd forgotten there was a wand thingie in their hand. Maybe the guy in red armour was just really enthusiastic to see more living humans in this hellhole, and was rushing up to give them all fist bumps. Maybe the diamond mannequin man was sparkling because he wanted to show them something pretty as a sign of friendship.

And there were less delusional excuses, too. It was possible they could be reasoned with, for example; they were humans capable of rational thought, and a negotiation for an exchange of information could be arranged. Perhaps even an alliance.

Admittedly, that was still rather delusional. Just… less so.

Could he afford to take that risk? These were people who had survived three days in an area where battles to the death between humans were being outright encouraged. They would likely have a decent range of abilities. They would have learned ruthlessness in order to survive.

Most of all, they would have developed their skill sets around fighting other people.

With Accelerate speeding him up far beyond human limits, he had time to blink his dry eyes a few times, to swallow hard, to draw in a deep breath. Then, looking at the red knight who'd already crossed half a dozen paces towards them, at the diamond mannequin man whose skin would soon glow bright enough to burn out retinae, and the mage whose wand was almost high enough to aim at their group, he had no choice but to make a choice.

And he chose to heed the lesson that had been hammered into him all throughout his life.

Always assumed people are going to be dicks until they prove otherwise.

Ultimate Shot announced itself with a roar of rolling thunder, the sound elongated in John's perspective by the time dilation effect of Accelerate. It was an awful sound. The battle cry of a vengeful god. All too appropriate for the situation, he felt.

There was about twenty metres between John and his target, and the bolt crossed that distance in a single heartbeat, trailing lightning and a storm cloud and a hail of shrapnel-like embers. Whatever the robed figure had initially been about to cast never materialised—John had identified the presumably-ranged attacker as the most immediate threat and, accordingly, aimed for them first.

Their wand still hadn't even fully risen when the Ultimate Shot slammed into them without giving them a chance to dodge. It didn't have the effect he expected, however.

First, the bolt seemed to transfer its momentum to the robed mage, sending them flying back at the same speed the bolt had been travelling, while the bolt itself froze at the spot where the mage had previously been.

Next, all of its effects transferred to the mage's two comrades, split equally apart. The diamond mannequin took the lightning bolt, embers, and rapid plant growth, while the figure in ruby red armour was hit with ice, a localised raging storm, and a flash of light that sent him staggering back.

Finally, the bolt burst into motes of light that travelled towards the mage, who was still flying through the air, still clutching their wand.

All three were caught heavily off guard, unprepared for the speed John could bring to bear with Accelerate. The mannequin man's diamond skin had been approaching a painful level of brightness, but upon taking the hit had dulled to the point it looked almost metallic, the impact site where the shot's effects had struck leaving a black scorch mark, with plants starting to spread through the diamond. The red knight, too, was now staggering back in slow motion, hands on their way to scrabbling at the ruby chestplate where the brunt of the attack had hit, spreading a coat of ice and a miniature storm across their torso. The robed mage looked likely to slam into the school house they'd just emerged from with bone-crushing momentum, unless they had a trick up their voluminous sleeve.

+1000 Aura

He wasn't going to write them off as defeated by any means, but confidence surged in him. Assuming they didn't have some kind of adaptive defence bullshit, his Ultimate Shot was effective here.

Drawing in a deep breath of relief, John found himself briefly wondering if they'd even seen it coming at all. He then had an odd intrusive thought about the debate over whether Han Solo shot first and if he was justified, but dismissed it just as quickly as he readied another Ultimate Shot and waited to see what these guys would do next.

A realisation came to him as he watched them, and he narrowed his eyes. The necrosis aspect of the Ultimate Shot hadn't kicked in. Not that he could see. Not even by zooming in with Eagle Eye. Why? Did it only work on direct contact with living matter? If the effect could be so easily held back by armour even at the high level of Ultimate Shot, that would be a bit frustrating.

Stolen novel; please report.

As he watched the enemies flail in the aftermath of his unexpected attack, John was presented with a bit of a dilemma. He felt justified in his preemptive strike. But what about a follow-up? Part of him wanted to go all out immediately and absolutely crush these guys in a decisive win.

An even smaller, darker, angrier part of him which had always been suppressed as best he could, wanted to wipe these fuckers out with prejudice. In this part of his mind, he imagined them as ruthless killers who'd ended dozens of human lives over the last few days. It looked at their armour and spells and skills and saw only the innocent blood that had paid for it, and demanded retribution for their callous selfishness.

But something that couldn't quite be called logic overrode that. He didn't know these people were evil pieces of shit who deserved to be exterminated. It was entirely possible they'd looted most of their gear from portal worlds, and got their XP for killing monsters, and they had some kind of market thing similar to the menu available in John's Inventory section where they purchased supplies.

They could be normal people who've learned the hard way not to trust others, so tried to attack preemptively, John thought grimly. Like I just did. Are they thinking I'm a bad person, now? Just another murderous piece of shit who's been wreaking havoc all across Watford? Or are they douchebags who just saw an opportunity after all?

The dilemma was maddening. He felt like he was trapped in a pool with multiple conflicting currents, pulling and pushing him every which way, rendering his psyche a rag doll.

There were three pertinent questions here, and ultimately his decision would have to come down to the answer to the last one: could he take the risk of trying to stop and talk to these people? If not, could he bring himself to kill them? If not, could he effectively subdue them or force them to surrender and leave his comrades alone without killing them?

Accelerate gave him a massive advantage, though it was also currently giving him way too much time to overthink. As long as it was active, he was confident he could kill them, practically speaking, and almost certain he could subdue them, too. Ultimate Shot was simply too fast with the added bonus of the time dilation. They had no answer to it.

But it was already halfway over, by his count. He had to decide fast, because he wasn't sure how he'd match up against them without it. Especially with his comrades still arrayed behind him.

The robed mage was mere metres away from slamming into the school building. It looked like they were going to hit a glass window, which they'd go straight through—they'd get cut up a bit, but probably not die. The red knight had caught their balance, but was looking back at the robed mage, now. The diamond mannequin was crouched as if to lunge, though it wasn't clear where they'd be going.

Fuck it, he thought. Guess it's time to flex on these guys.

The next moment, he was dual wielding Ultimate Shots and firing them as fast as they would go, giving himself no time to doubt his decision. They rocketed across the school's front entrance with a cacophonous rumble of thunder. Flashes of lightning lanced through the air, accompanied by a veritable hail storm of embers, and a furious army of storm clouds. Plant life, ice, scalding steam, and bursts of light erupted upon impact.

All striking the ground at the red knight and the diamond mannequin's feet, spraying them with detritus and steadily forcing them into a comical retreat, hopping and dancing back towards the school in slow motion, never quite fast enough to actually dodge John's projectiles. John kept firing without pause, relying on the unearned talent bestowed upon him by Marksman to ensure he didn't cause too much damage to the enemies. If a few shots clipped their legs and feet rather than the ground, well, that was their own fault for not being fast enough.

The robed mage finally crashed through the glass and continued on into the school building, and John absently fired some Ultimate Shots after them, not aiming to hit directly, but to intimidate.

John's barrage felt like it lasted an eternity, but really went on for less than ten heartbeats. Only when Accelerate came to an end did he relent on his assault, though he kept his arms aimed, Shots primed above each of his wrists.

Silence descended on the school, thick and heavy like a winter blanket. The ground fizzled where the after effects of John's attacks still lingered, ice and plant life and damp and scorch marks mingling together into an elemental soup. A breeze kicked up little plumes of detritus.

The red knight and the mannequin had been pushed right back to the school building's entrance, next to the large floor-to-ceiling window their mage had been thrown through. Glinting shards of glass littered the ground, crunching as the duo kept taking slow steps back.

"You guys ready to talk?" John called out.

+5000 Aura

The two slowly exchanged a look, then glanced back into the school building.

Please don't be stupid, John thought. Don't make me go all the fucking way, you pricks.

A tense moment passed. Then another, and another. John stared them down, locking away his emotions so nothing showed. If they saw how much he didn't want to escalate this any further, they'd surely just take advantage.

He lifted his arms higher, to the point where Marksman's instinct told him the Ultimate Shots would strike the enemies dead on if he fired from this position.

The two must have noticed, because they tensed. The red knight's ruby gauntleted hands clenched into fists, and the mannequin man crouched lower again, ready to spring.

Don't fucking make me, John thought, glaring with all the venom he could muster as he mentally put his finger on the trigger. Ultimate Shot was ready at a thought's notice, and he was growing increasingly resigned to the fact he was going to have to use it.

Then a thin, raspy voice, barely audible, came from within the school.

"Wait," it said. A man's voice. Young. Slightly accented. "Wait," he said again, louder. There was a hacking cough, and from the darkness within the school building emerged the mage, robes dirtied and covered in little tears. He was stumbling, barely on his feet. "Wait," he wheezed for a third time, and his two comrades rushed to him, seemingly forgetting the deadly spells trained on them.

John wasn't quite ready to feel relief yet, and his Ultimate Shots were still aimed and primed, but he let them go. Raising his voice, he called out once again, "You guys ready to talk?"

The mage, now leaning on his two comrades, nodded.

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