A Bloody Battle against the Bandits

[Floren had been killed]

[Dominicus had been killed]

Karach tried to fight when he saw the ones who chose to flee were easily cut down. But he clearly showed he was easy prey when he kept making wild swings at anyone that tried to get near and screaming like a little girl.

He got flanked, and from behind he was pierced by a spear.

[Mando had been killed]

Soon I was the only one standing. And yes, of course, Charlie was still alive, but he was no longer standing, he was crouching behind the cart. Cowardly, but at least he would not be an additional burden.

But a useless attempt if I die, which I think I will. It was nine to one and I was not up against mere greenskins. They were proper men, with proper weapons and some even had decent armor.

I pointed my new sword at them. It felt more balanced in my grip. It had a handsomely sharp edge, and it would have been an intimidating sight, weren't it for the fact that I was surrounded.

Unlike in the movies, where they would ask me to surrender first and promise me a quick death in return, the bandits unceremoniously resumed their attack.

An arrow came from behind the heads of encroaching melee fighters and went for my face. Almost automatically, my hands moved and in blurring speed, parried off the projectile. An impressive feat but I could not dwell on it even for a second.

Because even before the parried arrow could touch the ground, the first strike came.

It was a vertical swing and was more like a probing strike than one meant to kill. A mistake for the bandit. I met it with a full-strength blow, the impact of which threw the weapon away from his hands. Defenseless now, I aimed for his neck. He managed to take a step back, but it was not enough. The edge of the blade slit his throat.

[You have killed a Bandit]

[You have gained 15 experience]

Then something hit me, that took a breath away. Not sharp, nor enough to kill. A bandit slammed his shield, pushing me away and temporarily robbing me of my footing.

On unsteady feet, I awkwardly pushed my body further back, thus narrowly evading the swing that could have ended it all.

Swiftly, I regained my footing, and before he could readjust the weight of his body, struck him in the face. The blade cut through like a sickle through a grain stalk, the sharpness of the blade and my increased strength stat at work.

[You have killed a bandit]

[You have gained 15 experience]

Two down. As I had thought, the 5-point reduction on both attributes was not significant. I started to think I could win it easily as I did with the goblin.

A rebuke came in the form of an arrow to my left arm. It was followed by a lunging spear that hit my side. Both were painful, but they were somewhat dulled by the will to not die.

A quick glance and I discovered the spear had only grazed me and not pierced. With a shout, I mustered my wavering strength, and with the same injured arm, clipped the shaft. And before the bandit could unhand the spear, I swung a strong blow that severed most of his hand off his body. He went to the ground screaming.

Another pang of pain made me cringe. A hit to the back of my right shoulder. In a knee-jerk reaction, I wildly swung the sword behind me and it hit something hard.

[You have killed a Bandit]

[You have gained 15 exp]

A man came shouting in a frontal assault, with an overhead swing already loaded. I could not swing the sword back in front in time. Wild swings were fatal in a group fight.

In a desperate attempt, I threw a kick. He was hit on the chest and was thrown back a few feet. It gave me enough time to bring my sword to bear, and when he came rushing again, he was met with a sword.

[You have killed a Bandit]

[You have gained 15 Experience]

[You have leveled up]

[You gain 6 Stat Points]

The third arrow came. I saw it a little late and even with the quick movement of the head to the side, it still grazed my cheek.

With a fading vision and a funny feeling, caused by the wounds that continue to bleed, I turned my attention to where the arrow came from.

Four bandits were remaining. I don't think I had enough left in the tank to survive them.

Fortunately, it was their backs I was seeing. The attackers were speedily taking off from the battlefield.

I won... I think. Bandits were better than goblins, but they too had morale. And me taking down five bandits in mere minutes would have been a terrifying sight.

A groan took my attention. I looked to the side of the road, near another corpse was the armless man crawling for the cover of the bushes. A pitiful sight, but strangely enough, I felt no pity.

I approached him with only one intention. To make him stop doing the annoying sound he was making.

He was terrified at the sight of me. But he was not terrified for much longer. A downward stab to the back did the job.

[You have killed a bandit]

[You have gained 15 Experience]

No more annoying sounds. I was tired and I wanted to rest. My fingers lost grip of the sword, and my knees collapsed, sending me to the ground, kneeling.

"You did it, Ruspol!" I heard a wavy voice that sounded similar to Charlie's "We survived. We should not have survived that. But here we are. All thanks to you."

I felt his hand on my shoulder as my eyes slowly lost sight and my ears slowly lost hearing.

"But your wounds... are you alright. Oh, gods! You are bleeding! Ruspol! What do I-"

His annoying voice was cut out of earshot. Everything went dark.

---

It was an odd scene.

My mother was preparing breakfast. Her pancakes were good and the scent and taste of it brought many good memories. And she loved cooking them for me because they were my favorite.

She was wearing her floral sundress, which she liked to wear for church.

"Let's go, Ross." she said. Another odd thing. Because she had just prepared breakfast and she already wants us to leave for church.

I just stood there. I had no desire to follow.

"Ross. Why are you just standing? We'll be late for church!" she said.

Ah. Yes. The scene was familiar. It was that one Sunday when I just stood in front of the table while she yelled at me. I had a bad morning then, after a night of an infuriating loss streak on my computer game. And I was pissed by her grating voice so much, that I wanted to piss her off by not coming with her to church.

Now my mother was a religious woman. And while she allows a lot of my belligerence, she doesn't joke when it comes to going to church. She thinks it would straighten me up which it did not.

"Ross Paul!" she yelled.

I did not follow her then. I would not follow her now. And did it not work together for good? If I had come with him that Sunday, then both of us would have been killed by the car crash that killed her.

"Ross Paul!"

"Ross Paul!"

The scene turned into a weird loop. The same moment keep repeating, and each time her voice becomes more and more distorted. I was starting to get scared.

"Ross Paul!"

"Ruspol." a different female voice uttered my name but in a whispered and gentle tone. It was so relieving to the ears that the nightmare instantly lost its venom.

At once, I knew I was awake.

"That is an odd name." an older voice replied "I don't think I have seen him before. Is he from around here?"

"No. My brother said he is from Urth. A faraway land." I began to recognize the voice. Ashley. Charlie Chicken's sister.

But why am I here again? Ah. Yes. The bandit ambush, that killed all of the band members, except for me and Charlie.

"Is that so? That explains it." the old man said "Anyway. I think he had passed harm's way now. He no longer had the fever. What a strong recovery power he had. By the amount of blood he lost, he should be... well he should be dead."

"Perhaps it was because of your skill, Caleb." Ashley said.

"No. I know you know how lacking I am. If I were any good, you shouldn't be suffering."

"Oh, please. Not this again, doctor."

"This kid has someone that watches over him." said the old man. "And he is someone powerful."