One shot, one kill. That was the rule engraved in every sniper's soul.
Rumor was no sharpshooter. But he couldn't deny that seeing his one attack hit exactly where he wanted to, and reap a life before the body could even touch the ground, gave him a rush.
He wasn't about to get distracted, however. There were still 16 enemies to deal with, and 4 of them were elites.
Say what you will about criminals like the Krayt Dragon Gang, but they had survival instinct. The moment the first body hit the ground, they all scattered, while the workers still took another couple seconds to panic.
Unfortunately for the criminals, in their rush to come see what the explosion was, they had neglected to think that it might be an ambush. And Rumor had chosen his position really well.
There was an empty area around the office, originally so people like the workers could gather in larger groups. But now, it had become Rumor's personal killing ground.
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
It was like shooting fish in a barrel. He took down three more before the others managed to find places to hide.
"He's over there!"
"Kill him!"
But despite this apparent huge initial success, Rumor was well aware that the real fight only started now.
Originally, Rumor had been standing about 55 meters away from the site of the explosion, while the enemies were together about 20 meters beyond that.
Now, he was still in the same spot, but the gangsters were spread out throughout the junkyard are immediately around the former office.
Rumor had lost sight of 7 of them, including 2 elites. Of the other 6 who he had managed to pin down, 2 were closer, about 45 meters away, and it was them that Rumor targeted.
It wasn't as easy now, with them hiding and returning fire. But they only had blaster pistols, while he had a rifle and the height-advantadge.
A certain famous phrase popped in his head when he thought of that, and he suppressed a smirk.
[ You attacked Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. Calculating attack value... Deducting target's defense... ]
[ You dealt 39 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
[ You attacked Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. Calculating attack value... Deducting target's defense... ]
[ You dealt 37 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
Lasers left scorch marks on the ship Rumor was on top of, or flew over his head, but he kept his cool. He still had a few seconds of [ Red Blood ] left, and he wanted to use them.
Finally, after a lucky shot to the neck and a well-placed one to the chest, the two thugs fell.
11 left.
That was when Rumor decided it was time to move on to phase two. Having managed to kill 6 of the gangsters from afar was already a nearly perfect result according to his expectations. Lingering would only result in the outlaws he had lost sight of surrounding him.
Rolling away to expose his body as little as possible, Rumor dropped down from the ship's roof. Then, using [ Grav-Leap Boost ], he took off.
And it was just in time. He turned a corner and almost crashed into a Sikuridan alien.
Their eyes widened at the same time, but Rumor reacted faster. He jabbed the thug on the chest with the muzzle of his rifle and smirked at the terror in his eyes.
[ You dealt 56 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
The alien flew away, chest smoking from the point-blank shot. Rumor didn't miss a step in striding over to him, aiming at his head execution-style, and pulling the trigger.
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang low-level thug. ]
The slight pause was all the time the other gangsters needed to catch up to him, however, and Rumor ducked and rolled when he heard blasters firing behind him.
The lasers hit the wreckage right in front of where he had been standing. Rumor glanced at the scorched metal and got up, sprinting.
With [ Grav-Leap Boost ], he managed to put some distance between him and the thugs. But the skill soon ended, and with how many of them were about, plus the fact they certainly knew the area way better than Rumor, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths again.
Which was just fine with Rumor. After all, he hadn't come here to blow up a building, kill some thugs, and then leave.
No, he planned on killing all of them. After all, there was a big difference between saying 'we were attacked and chased him off' and not saying anything at all because they were all dead.
Slaughtering all the Krayt Dragon Gang members in the Graveyard would be the first domino in the gang's downfall.
Turning right at an intersection, Rumor halted and listened. Footsteps and labored breaths. Coming from a different direction, so not the same group. Probably two people. He had gotten pretty good at telling that over the years of hiding from pursuers at The Quarter.
Throwing his [ E-206 Renegade Blaster Rifle ] over his shoulder, Rumor drew his trusty knife.
"Ah!"
He barreled into the side of someone as soon as they turned the corner, blade stabbing mechanically at their side.
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Roran attacked you. Calculating attack value... Deducting your defense... ]
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Roran dealt 36 points of damage to you. ]
Rumor felt a sharp pain on his back as the second criminal to turn the corner cut him with a machete-looking blade.
Roran. Rumor remembered that name. It was the elite guards he had used [ Observe ] on the first time he scouted out the Graveyard. Back them, he had seen that the enemy's attack wasn't that strong, only about 40 points, but he had [ Blade Mastery lvl 3 ], which gave him a 16% buff.
It explained why a third of his HP had vanished from just this one attack.
But Rumor wasn't just going to lay down and die. Turning around, he jumped back just in time to avoid a slash that would have opened his belly from one side to the other.
The opponent, a green-skinned Twi'lek - and alient species with two tentacle-like appendages that seemed to act like hair would for a human - bared their sharp teeth at Rumor.
"Why are you attacking us, human!?"
Rumor eyed the machete on Roran's hand warily. He wanted to eat a Delicious Unknown Fruit to recover his HP, but he doubted the alien would give him the chance.
"Sorry not sorry. There's something I want, and you gotta die for me to get it."
The elite guard snarled and lunged at Rumor. The tester sidestepped the thrust, and stabbed at Roran's side, only for the alien to catch the blade with his forearm.
[ You dealt 12 points to Krayt Dragon Gang member Roran. ]
At the same time, the machete in Roran's hand changed course and grazed Rumor's chest, taking away another 16 HP. He was down more than half of his health now.
Fuck. If he had known one of the criminals was an elite, he would have targeted him first, not the low-level thug who was currently bleeding out a couple steps away.
"Ha!"
Desperate, Rumor used [ Red Blood ] again, burning through another tenth of his health. He definitely needed to raise his vitality if he survived this.
Roran must have sensed the difference in Rumor, because he hesitated for a heartbeat. It was enough for the tester to bat aside the machete with his free arm, and plunge his blade on Roran's shoulder.
"Rargh!"
The Twi'lek roared, and kicked Rumor away, hard. There was no time to check his HP, but the tester was fairly certain he felt his organs shift from the kick.
"Die!"
With bloodshot eyes, the elite guard jumped on top of Rumor, trying to lop off his head with his machete.
Only to freeze as he caught sight of Rumor's smirk.
In the tester's hand was the [ E-206 Renegade Blaster Rifle ] he had tossed aside not long ago. And it was aiming right at Roran's head.
"You-"
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang member Roran. ]
Watching Roran's corpse crumble while missing most of it's lower jaw, Rumor felt a twinge of satisfaction.
He had a ghastly wound on his back and a bleeding cut on his chest, not to mention a few cracked ribs, his HP hanging at a scarily low 34 points, but he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
The short fight had started chaotic and unfavorable for him. He had been at a disadvantage most of the time. Were it not for Roran kicking him right towards where his blaster was, Rumor would be the one laying lifelessly on the ground.
But it had been no coincidence. The moment he saw Roran, he knew there was no way he could beat the alien in close combat. Whether it was in stats, skills, and experience, he was hopelessly outmatched.
But he had managed to come up with a strategy on the fly and manipulate the situation in his favor. Was it clean? Definitely not, he almost died.
But it was a victory, and one borne of his own efforts, not chance or luck.
Shoving a [ Delicious Unknown Fruit ] into his mouth and wrapping his chest and back as best as he could with [ Decent Quality Military Bandages ], Rumor gave one last glance at the elite guard's corpse before taking off again.
Roran had been a good opponent. And a good metric against which to measure himself and his future enemies.
If he could kill an elite Krayt Dragon Gang member like Roran even in such a desperate situation like that, then he could also take out the others.
Would it be easy? Definitely not. But he could do it, and that was all Rumor needed to know.
-------------------
Not to far away, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was standing on the street outside of Watto's shop, looking in the Graveyard's direction.
"What's wrong, mister?"
Taking advantage of Watto being locked into haggling with a customer, Anakin Skywalker walked over to Qui-Gon Jinn. His face was smeared with grime - he had been digging through Watto's junk pile in search of parts he could use to fix his pod-racer.
"Young Anakin, what lays that way?"
"South? Not much. A couple shops, some late-night bars. The Ship Graveyard is the biggest thing, I suppose. I always wanted to go there, but it's the territory of the Krayt Dragon Gang. You don't wanna mess with them."
"The Krayt Dragon Gang, you say?"
Qui-Gon Jinn hummed thoughtfully. That was the group the young man with whom he had made a deal, Rumor, said he was in trouble with.
He wondered. His keen senses had felt the explosion that rocked the ground. And the whispers of the Force told him there was a large amount of death happening in that direction.
"Are you thinking of going there, mister? You shouldn't. The Krayt Dragons are bad news."
Qui-Gon Jinn smiled and ruffled Anakin's hair.
"No. I was just curious."
If it really was Rumor causing the commotion, he would have to get out of whatever trouble he was in on his own. The Republic group already had the hyperdrive, and while Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't one to go back on his word, Shala and Alena were already on their ship. Rumor had the chance to wait there too, it had been his choice not to.
Indeed, Qui-Gon Jinn wondered. There were 2 days left until the race and their departure. Would Rumor be there?
-----------------
The man in question was currently cleaning his blade of blood yet again. An alien stood beneath him, trying fruitlessly to stem the flow of blood coming from the stab wound on his neck.
Rumor's eyes were cold. Having long since lost any semblance of pity for his enemies in this fictional world, if he ever had any, Rumor felt nothing about taking another life.
With his latest kill, there were now only 4 low-level thugs and 2 elite guards he had take care off. Much like in the plateau back at the Dune Sea, Rumor had turned the tables on his enemies, and switched the hunter with the hunted.
His approach to killing the second elite guard had been much smarter and safer than with Roran: just shoot them in the back.
This latest enemy, however, Rumor had chosen a more hands-on approach. Unless it was like the first time around, with all the bonus and buffs he had them, it was hard for Rumor to one-shot someone with a gun. It was a matter of numbers - his attack simply wasn't high enough.
With a blade though, although it was more dangerous, it was also quicker. Slash the neck or another big artery, and not only it was almost guaranteed to cause bleeding, but nobody could fight while their lifeblood flowed away.
It also had the added benefit of being mostly silent, which gave Rumor the time to look at his newest achievement - in every sense of the word.
[ Achievement completed: Extreme Xenophobia. ]
[ Extreme Xenophobia (complete): Kill individuals from 15 different sentient humanoid species. Species killed for achievement completion: Trandoshan, Miraluka, Rodian, Sikuridan, Weequay, Elom, Tusken, Twi'lek, Ortolan, Palowian, Anomid, Bestoonian, Ganimed, Da-Vlunnian, Yokaa. ]
[ Completion reward: Bronze Title - Not You ]
[ This is the final achievement in this line. You may no longer claim any rewards for completing the Genocidal achievement. ]
Finally. And Rumor would admit he was somewhat glad that was the last achievement in this vein. He hadn't exactly been keen on going around killing random aliens for a follow-up.
Plus, he finally got go see what titles were about. Previously, he had tried to observe the titles from storyline characters more in depth, but been denied by the system for the difference in their stats being too large.
[ Bronze Title - Not You ]
[ Rarity: Bronze ]
[ Effect: Once every 24 hours, if a member of a different factions attempts to attack you with a mental skill, it will be ineffective, and the skill will be locked for the duration of this effect. ]
[ Warning: At your current prestige, you can only equip one title at a time. Chose wisely. ]
[ Warning: If the attacker has a title in the same category of a higher rarity than yours, they may ignore this title's effect. ]
Rumor equipped the title without thinking twice. Despite the second warning, it was much better to have it and it not work, than not have it at all.
Rumor had already suspected it, but titles, much like traits, seemed to be free buffs. Although there definitely had to be more to them, otherwise they wouldn't have an entirely different rarity system.
"Mind, what are the title rarities?"
[ Titles are ranked into: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black-Gold, Diamond, Sub-Legendary, and Legendary. Please explore more on your own. ]
He didn't even bother asking what made those categories different from 1-Star, 2-Stars, and so on. He knew he wouldn't receive an answer.