The price to pay

"We should go to sleep earlier..." Liam pretended to yawn, then he moved towards the dry rock wall to sleep, purposely exposing the two rings for Brow to see.

"Yeah... After today, we won't have another chance to sleep better than this." James, exhausted, lay down on the stone platform. In the coming days, they would have to sleep on a raft with more lurking dangers. They might even have to take turns to sleep.

Brow stared intently at the two with sharp eyes. He was especially fixated on the ring Liam was wearing. After a moment, he lay down nearby. No one knew if he was actually asleep or not.

Fiddling with the ring on his finger while pretending to sleep, Liam thought to himself, "I hope he falls into the trap I set."

Having more people in the group might be good, but he would rather have fewer than keep someone like Brow around. In the long run, he'd always have to watch his back with this guy. It would be best to deal with him tonight.

After a few hours of lying there, Liam started to feel uneasy.

"Damn it... Hasn't he acted yet?"

Maybe Brow was being overly cautious. This was such an obvious opportunity; if he didn't act now, there might not be a better chance later. Or perhaps Liam was just being too sensitive. Brow could be greedy, but that didn't necessarily mean he would steal from others. At least, that's what Liam was thinking.

"Thud... thud..." Quiet footsteps echoed. The direction of those steps was clearly headed toward Liam.

Hearing this, Liam felt a little disappointed. Just when he was beginning to let go of his suspicions about Brow, the man went and confirmed all of Liam's doubts. Still pretending to sleep, Liam was now fully alert.

"He's sleeping like the dead..." Brow sneered as he looked at Liam. Slowly, he pulled out a small, sharp knife hidden inside his ring. He approached carefully, making no sound. But this was futile, as Liam had heightened energy awareness and excellent hearing.

Brow couldn't help but smile as he eyed the two rings on Liam's hand. In his mind, they already belonged to him. All he could think about was how this would benefit him.

The sharp knife edged closer to Liam's neck. In a split second, Brow gripped the knife tightly and slashed it. The cool air hit his hand as he executed the action. Then, Liam's eyes flew open, and he immediately grabbed his neck, blood pouring out in streams. He tried to scream, but his throat had been slit, and only faint gurgling sounds escaped from his mouth.

Seeing Liam struggle, Brow quickly covered his mouth. A brown energy radiated from him. Soon, his hand began to swell with small, coarse particles of dirt, forming into a large stone hand that gripped Liam's face tightly, preventing any movement. Eventually, Liam lay motionless, surrounded by a pool of blood. Brow smiled with satisfaction.

"Finally, it belongs to me..." Brow reached down, took the two rings off Liam, slipped them onto his own fingers, and gazed at them with admiration.

"Absolutely beautiful..."

At least, that's what he thought.

Brow did not hesitate to repeat what he had imagined. He brought the knife to Liam's neck. But just as he was about to make his next move, Liam's hand clamped down on Brow's knife-wielding hand. Brow screamed in pain as he felt the crushing sound of bone and flesh.

"Ah..." The scream hadn't even fully escaped his lips before Brow felt his own knife plunge into his stomach.

Liam calmly watched as Brow writhed in pain, clutching his stomach. He wasn't too surprised. He had taken advantage of Brow's focus on the assassination attempt, leaving his own body unprotected. Grabbing Brow's hand, which still gripped the knife, Liam had quickly plunged it into Brow's abdomen before he could process what was happening. After all, it was such an unexpected reaction—Brow, of course, had no time to react. Who would expect to be injured by their own knife?

"What's going on?" James, nearby, shouted in panic, as this was the second time he'd heard such a noise. He hoped nothing bad was happening. When he saw Brow stabbing himself with a shattered wrist, blood everywhere, James rushed forward to help, but Liam extended his hand to stop him. James frowned, confused.

Liam sighed, looking at James. The kid was still too naive. But Liam understood—everyone starts out that way. The environment shapes people, and Liam was no exception. This would be a lesson for both him and James.

"He tried to kill me for this ring," Liam said, slowly raising his hand, showing the two rings he was wearing.

James looked surprised at first, then shifted to disappointment. He turned to Brow, frowning.

"Why?"

Brow panted heavily, unable to believe what had just happened. In agony, he pulled the knife out of his stomach, causing blood to gush out. He clutched the wound, glaring at Liam with crazed eyes.

"F**k you!" he shouted angrily. Consumed by rage, Brow completely forgot about James; now, only Liam was in his sight.

"I'm going to kill you..." Brow quickly pulled out a healing potion and brought it to his mouth. But before he could drink it, Liam suddenly appeared in front of him. A sharp pain exploded in Brow's stomach, forcing him to vomit the potion he had just swallowed. The unbearable pain spread through his body, and in his final moments, Brow stared at Liam with wild eyes before collapsing, motionless. A large pool of blood formed around him due to the growing wound from Liam's blow.

"At this rate, he'll bleed out and die," James said, moving closer with a look of pity as he gazed at Brow.

Liam took a deep breath, hesitating as he looked at Brow. If he saved him, there would surely be more problems. Brow might resist, and in this dark night, a fight could attract the flying monsters. What benefit would saving him bring? In a world where life and death happen every day, saving Brow was just clinging to old ideals from another world.

"Throw him into the corner of the cave," Liam instructed, then moved with James to carry the body. Leaving him outside would be foolish, as it would attract monsters.

"Do you want to do it?" James asked, handing Liam a sword. Even though Brow would die slowly, there was always a chance he might wake up, which would be troublesome. It was best to end it now.

Liam nodded but didn't want to use a sword. This was the first time he had killed someone, and the first time was always the hardest. He wanted to use his hands to feel it, to make the next time easier.

Staring at Brow's face one last time, Liam's hand began to glow red with energy. He punched Brow hard in the face, feeling the bones and flesh shatter beneath his fist. Another blow followed, and blood and brain matter splattered. Blow after blow came, creating a grisly scene. Pieces of flesh and blood splattered across the stone ground.

Liam panted as he looked at the mess before him. He clutched his throbbing head and staggered back, leaning against the cave wall. Then, bile rose from his stomach, and he vomited.

"Ugh... ugh..."

James felt slightly dizzy from the scene but wasn't as shaken as Liam. He stepped forward and patted Liam's back, helping him expel the contents of his stomach. Once they both recovered, James approached Brow's body and searched it, finding the two rings.

"These two are yours," James said nonchalantly, tossing the rings to Liam.

Catching the rings, Liam looked at them in his hand and asked uncertainly, "Are you sure?"

James shrugged. "I've gained something far more valuable."

After all, life experience is something you can't buy with money.