27 2.16

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I had always been rather feeble, as I always leaned more towards anorexia than obesity growing up. I was rather dexterous, however, and agile.

That's why, when I bought the Super Soldier Physique, the one aspect of me that had changed the most was my strength. Of course, I was also faster and more agile than before, but the one I felt the most, and thus relied on the most, was my strength.

As for the unease of relying on it, I had not really felt it before, because I never opened my Genetic Constraint for more than a few seconds, and the Super Soldier Serum had brought all my Stats to an equal level, so the difference was harder to feel.

But now that I fought in the Genetic Constraint for an extended period of time, I finally felt it.

I could fight with a Greatsword, or any large weapon, the weapon that really suited me was a smaller one, that would rely more on agility than strength.

Moreover, I wondered whether my Force Sensitivity didn't also play a part in that, as the moment I ditched the Greatsword and started fighting with the Iron Sword, I also used the Force much more, incorporating it in my fighting style.

None of my Stats had changed, yet I fought like a completely different man as I plowed through the bandits.

Before long, they had almost all fallen to my blade, leaving only a few who had retreated, as well as their leader.

He did not look as confident as earlier, but I saw his left hand glow with a green light, which quickly covered his entire body, before he charged me.

With the enemy offering himself to me, I naturally moved to greet him, striking my sword down on his shoulder. Shockingly, however, despite seeing me cutting through his men even with this sword, he did not try to dodge, and instead put everything onto the attack.

My instincts once again guiding me, I deviated my attack, striking his daggers down instead, and headbutting him in the face.

It felt like I had struck my head against a wall, but I did manage to injure him as his nose bled slightly.

Both of us taking a step back, I heard him groan in pain, while I understood what spell he had used.

I wasn't sure which variant it was, but he had used an Alteration Spell to increase his physical defense.

And the moment I understood that, my body did something surprising.

Holding my left hand up, I cupped the air… and the bandit put his hands to his neck, his eyes growing wide as he looked at me in shock.

But what he didn't know, was that I was just as shocked.

That was a Force Choke, Darth Vader's signature technique!

It wasn't a high level technique among the Sith, it was even one of the first a Sith Apprentice would learn, but I had tried learning it, and had been unsuccessful.

Until now.

Tightening my hand, I raised him from the ground, still holding him by the throat through the force as I slashed down another one of the bandits, who tried to block me from reaching the leader.

But even as they threw themselves at me, they were nothing but fodder as they were all felled in a single strike, and I managed to reach the bandit leader.

By now, the bandits loyal to him had already died trying to protect him, while the rest were sent fleeing in fear.

The leader himself was barely holding onto his life, my Force Choke only growing stronger by the second.

Until finally, his neck broke.

The moment it did, I retracted my hand, and exited the Genetic Constraint.

Having used it for several minutes, I expected a pain stronger than any I had ever felt, yet as I writhed, I was surprised to find the pain to be surprisingly tamed.

Of course, it was still excruciating enough to make me writhe, but it wasn't as bad as that time under Helgen.

And unlike that time, I didn't feel like I was about to die.

So instead of chugging down health potions immediately, I sat down with difficulty, and tried to enter meditation, to help the pain pass away.

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The pain persisted for several minutes, and the temptation of taking out a healing potion to end the pain was strong, but I stopped myself.

Not only because it would be a waste, but because I wanted to feel this pain.

I had been arrogant, believing myself to be invincible and taking information from the game for granted, and almost got killed as a result.

A part of me knew that the Dark Side of the Force had a part to play in my arrogance, but that was only an excuse. Dark side or not, I had failed to control myself, and I was now paying the consequences.

And as these realizations came to me, I found my connection to the Force slightly strengthened, and understanding came to me.

The only Jedi technique I had learned until now was Energy Absorption, and it was a little special as it worked differently from most Jedi Techniques. If Sith Techniques worked by seizing the Force and forcing it down to one's bidding, then Energy Absorption was about transferring energy.

However, Jedi Techniques, in general, were different. I wasn't supposed to be using the Force, I was supposed to let it flow.

I already knew that, of course, but I had never managed to actually do it. But now, as I sat down and suffered from the pain of the Genetic Constraint, I finally got it.

Opening my pores, more metaphorically than anything, I let the Force enter my body, fill it with its strength as I felt my injuries slowly recover.

As the Force worked its wonders within my body, I also felt a never before felt sense of harmony with it. Like I was one with the Force.

For the first time in a long time, I felt truly relaxed, and so I did not move.

An entire hour passed as I just sat there, among the corpses, letting the Force heal me. At some point, a pack of wolves had appeared, but they did not bother me, and I did not bother them.

I did not even feel disturbed as I heard them munch on the flesh of the bandits, I simply kept my eyes closed, not letting anything perturb me.

The Self-Healing technique was not particularly potent, as even after an hour of using it continually, all it had done was close my wounds. Still, it was much better than having nothing.

Getting up, I drew the attention of the wolves, who had settled down in front of the crypt, probably not willing to let go of such a big feast.

They eyed me cautiously, or did the closest thing to that a wolf could do, but eventually did not do anything as I searched the corpses of the bandits.

I managed to find a few Septims, along with several potions. And upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bandit leader was not that much smaller than me. We weren't exactly the same size, especially in terms of musculature, but armors had straps to be able to fit different sizes.

Stripping him down, I tried his armor on, and was pleased to find it to be a tight fit. It was practically weightless to me, and it would do a far better job at stopping blades than my clothes.

I also picked up the bejeweled crown he had, and put it on. I felt my connection to the Force get a smudge stronger, so I guess this must have a Fortify Magicka enchant on it.

Unfortunately, none of them had anything better than an Iron Sword, except for their leader of course, but while I pocketed the Elven Dagger, I didn't intend on using it. It was a little too small, and not strong enough to make up for the size.

One last thing I did pick up from him was his head, though. A little bit bloody, but I attached it to my waist.

I mean, the man was the leader of a band of a hundred bandits, he ought to have a bounty on his head.

Chugging a health potion to get some of my health back, I walked between the wolves, and entered the tomb.