Wiping the blood from his longsword, a middle-aged man frowned, his face gleaming under the light of campfires. An oblique scar streaked down his nose—a hardened man who’d served in the country’s military once upon a time.
“Captain,” a voice cut through the silence as a lanky bandit with unkempt hair stepped forward.
“We’ve killed the last of the Nightlash wolves. What’re your orders?”
The captain’s eyes didn’t shift from the now clean blade in his hand, “Check the perimeter.”
“But… We just lost six men, nobody’s gonna want to—”
The captain’s sharp gaze caused his voice to catch in his throat. Any extra words would only cover that blade with his blood.
“Y-yes, Captain.” The bandit turned, barking orders at the others.
Grabbing a bottle of spare liquor, the captain sheathed his sword, his eyes narrowing as he looked into the dark forest.
Something wasn’t right.
Nightlash wolves didn’t attack without a leader. It didn’t make sense... Unless they’d been driven here. But a predator strong enough to cause a whole stray pack of Nightlash wolves to migrate?
Could there be a demonic beast?
Many may not understand what it means to face such a monster, but he did. He closed his eyes tightly before letting out a sigh. Still, tonight was a victory, Nightlash pelts fetch a fair price on the market.
Fifteen minutes later, the bandits reported back. The entire perimeter had been scoured clean, and there were no signs of anything unusual.
Well, almost no signs.
“Captain, Miller and Jeris are missing,” one of the men reported.
“Missing?”
“Yes, sir. They were stationed by the food. We found a trail of blood leading into the forest.”
He followed the man to the food storage, where a grim scene awaited: blood smeared across the grass with ripped clothing and abandoned swords. Inspecting the surroundings for a minute, he had a good idea of what happened, “Stray Nightlashes must’ve taken them,” he continued, “They were probably bringing some prey back for their young”
Muttering under his breath, “Damn bastards, dying to a mere wolf, I knew Jeris was a lazy ass, but I thought Miller was better than that”
One of the bandits chimed in, a friend of Miller, “Should we search for the bodies?”
The captain scoffed, “Forget it, we have their swords, besides, do you want to fight some Nightlash Wolves in the forest just to get back some half-eaten corpses?”
The man went silent, realizing he had asked a foolish question.
The captain’s hand slid down his beard. “Post new guards, Jeremy and Sen are free, right?” He then moved towards the center of camp and shouted, “Prepare a feast! We’re eating well tonight!”
The bandits cheered, their morale high, “You’re the best, Captain!”
An hour later, the camp was engulfed in silence while a strong scent of alcohol permeated the air. Among the sea of sleeping bandits, Lin alone walked through the camp.
Honestly, he was shocked, he really hadn’t expected all of the bandits to drink so much alcohol. They had all drank so much that they emptied their previous bottles and got new alcohol. For most of them, this was expected, but for every single one of them to do it? Bandits were truly different!
A soft smile appeared on his face, it could be said that the plan couldn’t have gone more perfectly, but his heart was still beating rapidly.
Peering into tent after tent, he continued to find various plunder: piles of clothing, gambling tables, and even harshly bruised women who were bound by chains. He wanted to release them, but now was not the time, he couldn’t have any variables in the plan. But unfortunately, as he continued to search and circled the whole valley, Lei was unfound.
His fist clenched till it turned white, was he here for nothing?
No. At the very least, he would get revenge for his parents.
By the time he returned to the camp’s heart, the night had gotten even colder, casting a wind that left a chill against his skin. He glanced at the various bandits sleeping soundly. Normally, he would go for the captain first in case anything went wrong, but since he needed information about Lei, keeping the most informed person alive—which was likely the captain—was paramount.
He hovered over a bandit who was alone and took out his knife, but frowned in the next moment. How can he kill without them waking up and making noise?
Lin was a hunter, not an assassin, and didn’t know the correct spot to strike at.
Looking back at the tents, an idea popped into his mind, he dragged the bandit into the most isolated tent he could find and then stuffed his mouth with a dirty rag. Taking a deep breath, His blade mercilessly struck into a soft zone of the man’s neck, the place he assumed would lead to the quickest death.
The bandit immediately opened his eyes and coughed, blood seeping from the wound as he sluggishly flailed around. It seemed the poison was stronger than he had thought as the guy could barely move around as he bled out.
A deep unease welled within him while he watched this disgusting scene, but his resolve was stronger. Within 30 seconds, the muffled noise was gone, and he walked back to the campfires, grabbing another bandit.
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With each kill, his movements grew more precise, his strikes faster. He stuffed their mouths, wrapped their heads in blankets, and figured out the most vulnerable spot on their necks. One by one, the bandits fell, their drunken and poisoned bodies unable to fight back.
Then, as he dispatched another man, a strange sensation unlike any he ever had felt before rippled through him while black ink scrawled across his vision, forming elegant text:
| You have received Low-Grade Spearmanship Talent
He froze, “Low-Grade Spearmanship? But I’m not even using a spear”, he immediately brought up his status.
| (Status) Name: Lin Dawnbloom Age: 15, Longevity: 100
| (Physique) None — 8
| (Mana) None — 0
| (Spirit) None — 0
| (Talents) Low-Grade Spearmanship
| (Affinities) None
| (Arcana) None
| (Aptitudes) None
| (Traits) None
Why?
Was it because he killed a certain amount of bandits? Or because he killed this specific bandit? He looked back at the weapon he had taken off of the bandit’s body before killing him, but it was just a standard longsword like all the others.
Although Lin couldn’t grasp the reasoning behind gaining this talent, his eyes shone with excitement. If killing these bandits granted talents, he could grow stronger. His grip on his knife tightened as he resumed his work, assassinating the remaining men with cold efficiency.
However, after spending over three hours killing off nearly all the bandits, there were no new notifications. But he wasn’t disappointed, even gaining one talent was a sign that he could change his fate in this world.
Knowing he needed to keep a few alive for questioning, he took some ropes from a tent he had seen previously and dragged the remaining bandits into the forest before tying them to a few trees. Heading back to the camp, he couldn’t help but think that he should have packed some ropes for such a situation, that had been an oversight.
Finally, he stood before the captain, a large burly man with a thick beard and a jagged scar across his face. However, now he was merely lying against a log, sleeping while clutching a jar of ale.
He carefully unsheathed the captain’s sword and tossed it into a nearby tent just in case he woke up. Then, he grabbed a rope and started tying up his feet.
Suddenly, he heard a swooshing sound as an empty glass of ale came crashing down on his head!
There was no time to react, and the blow hit him full force.
“Who the fuck are you?!” a deep voice resounded.
His mind dazed from the strike, Lin only relied on his instincts to grip his knife and swing at whatever he could hit!
“Ah, Fucking brat!”
He was filled with confusion. The poison—why wasn’t it working? The captain shouldn’t be able to move, let alone attack. He only just managed to raise his arms to block when a fist sent his body skidding along the ground.
What strength!
The captain bellowed, “Who the fuck are you, brat!? Men! Get him!” But only silence followed his voice. When he darted his gaze across the empty camp, he seemed to have understood something and grimaced. His face turned red as he dashed forward, “Bastard!!”
Lin began to get his footing as his mind reoriented itself, analyzing his opponent. He had sliced the captain’s leg while swinging wildly, and although it wasn’t deep enough to stop his movement, he could exploit it! He immediately veered off to the left, trying to circle around the captain’s injury.
“You little fucker!”
It was working! Lin took his hunting bow from his shoulder and swiftly released an arrow. He wasn’t nearly as accurate as if he was standing still, but he could still run and shoot.
The captain moved his hand for his sword, but only found an empty sheath, his already angry face twisting even further. He lifted his arms to guard his head, blocking the arrow before pulling it out and snapping it with one hand.
Lin cursed under his breath, this wasn’t going to plan, did the captain not drink the sleeping poison like he thought?
Sweat dripping, he knew he needed to gain distance, so he deliberately pulled out an empty vial from his backpack and threw it. The glass glinted in the firelight as it arced through the air.
The captain’s eyes narrowed, sidestepping to evade. But just as he dodged, Lin let another arrow fly—a snake-like shot that relied on the fact that he knew the captain wouldn’t use his injured leg for the evasion.
The arrowhead slammed into the captain’s cheek with a sickening crack, flipping his head back.
Lin didn’t hesitate. He poured out shots like rain, each arrow digging into its target. The bandit’s large frame buckled, blood staining his clothes as he collapsed to the ground, his breathing ragged but his glare defiant.
Nocking another, Lin approached cautiously. Arrows jutted from the captain’s body and his cheek was ripped apart revealing the bone, yet he still wasn’t dead.
Lin spoke slowly, “Female, Beautiful, purple eyes, 1.4 meters tall, skinny, and black hair”
The captain spit out blood, “What the fuck are you talking about—shit, how the hell did you poison me”
“Where’s the 10-year-old girl you took”
The captain’s eyes seemed to drown in fury as he glared at Lin from the ground, “Fucking kill me”
Lin frowned, “Tell me where she—”
“I don’t fucking know god damnit!” The man wheezed as blood left his body, “If we had a noble girl like that, you think we would be camping out here?”
Lin remained silent.
He started to laugh, “I thought it was weird some noble kid was ambushing our camp, so it’s like that, I understand!”
“What do you mean”
The captain smiled.
Then, a dagger flashed in front of Lin’s face, forcing his eyes to widen in shock. When? How?
It was only subconscious reflex and the slowness of the dagger that allowed him to barely twist his head away, but it still managed to slice through his cheek. Without hesitation, Lin released the arrow at the captain’s head, splitting his skull.
His right hand reached up to touch his now bloody cheek, “Fuck, I should have been more careful—”
| You have received Low-Grade Knight Aptitude
His hand suddenly paused as a coolness spread from within his body, similar to when he had received the spearmanship talent.
He pulled up his status without delay:
| (Status) Name: Lin Dawnbloom Age: 15, Longevity: 100
| (Physique) None — 8
| (Mana) None — 0
| (Spirit) None — 0
| (Talents) Low-Grade Spearmanship
| (Affinities) None
| (Arcana) None
| (Aptitudes) Low-Grade Knight
| (Traits) None
Knight aptitude!
The problem was, he didn’t really know what having a knight aptitude meant. Weren’t knights high-ranking soldiers who wore full plate, wielded swords, and rode horses? Was there really an aptitude for that?
Once again, he didn’t know if it was the captain who specifically gave it to him or if killing the captain was merely a part of the process of acquiring it.
Grabbing the captain’s sword from the tent, Lin lifted it up and swung down, then left, right, and so forth. Yet nothing happened. He didn’t feel enlightened, nor adept at wielding it. He would probably be more accurate with a lumber axe due to years of chopping wood.
Perhaps this aptitude wasn’t as good as he had thought, or maybe it was just what it said, an aptitude. But where could he learn Knight skills as a peasant?
Letting his thoughts wander, he eventually directed his attention to the lake which was silently shimmering in the moonlight.
