As Yaku continues his journey to the north, he hears screams coming from inside the forest. He carefully sneaks around to check what it is. Fire reflects in his eyes as he watches villagers being slaughtered by bandits. Women scream, children weep, and men are defenseless.
As Yaku looks out from a bush, he contemplates helping, but he doesn't know if he can do it. He counts 12 bandits, and he only has a cheap sword he managed to buy with 2 copper coins. A woman holding her child falls to the ground as she runs from the horror behind her. The bandit chasing her catches up and, with a devious smile, raises his sword—his eyes bloodlusted.
As the bandit swings his sword to kill the woman and her child, the sound of swords colliding is heard. Yaku's body has moved on its own.
"Damn, I've done it, haha. Me vs. 12 bandits—maybe my journey will be cut short today," thinks Yaku silently as the bandit pushes down on his sword. Yaku takes a deep breath and channels his mana into his sword—the only ability he has developed in his 7 years of training. The sword shines faintly with a beautiful blue aura, and in a second, the bandit's sword is parried.
Yaku turns to the woman behind him and screams, "RUN WHILE YOU CAN!" The woman gets up and starts running as the bandit regains his footing and begins fighting Yaku. Sword clinks and clashes are heard. Yaku has the upper hand—even with a cheap sword, his mana reinforcement adds much-needed strength and steadiness.
Yaku smiles as he starts to overwhelm his opponent with each strike until he disarms him. The bandit falls to the ground, and with eyes full of fear, he starts screaming, "HELP! HELP ME!" Some of the other bandits hear, and before Yaku can knock him out, they lunge at him—three bandits: one tall and big, holding a giant axe, and the other two wielding standard bandit swords.
Yaku backs off, trying to keep them all in his vision. Being surrounded would be very bad in this situation. "I might've bitten off more than I can chew with this one," Yaku says to himself with a helpless smile. The big bandit tries to cut Yaku in half, but Yaku dodges easily due to the bandit's slow movements. He evaluates the situation and decides to take out the big one first. Dodging sword swings and deflecting with his own blade, he waits for the right opportunity, then slides between the big bandit's legs and slashes his heels. The bandit falls to his knees, unable to stand.
Yaku hesitates to stab the big bandit in the back, but the situation is dire, and there's no time for mercy. The big bandit widens his eyes as a blue glowing sword pierces his back. Yaku doesn't stop—he uses the shock of the other bandits to immediately strike them down. The bandit on the ground attempts a sneak attack, but Yaku reacts in the nick of time. He ducks—the bandit's sword cuts strands of his hair—and with a leg sweep and a stab, he finishes off the fourth bandit.
Huff... huff... huff... Yaku takes several breaths, exhausted. He removes his sword reinforcement to conserve mana. He has already used half of his reserve. "Damn, my mana reserve is so pathetic. Already burned half, and I've been increasing it for 7 years. I'm truly not gifted," Yaku mutters to himself.
Yaku starts sneaking around, hoping for surprise attacks since the numbers aren't in his favor. He manages to ambush three different bandits separately while they loot villager houses. "Only five more to save this village." As he steps out of a villager's house, he sees the bandit leader surrounded by his goons.
"WERE YOU THE ONE WHO ATTACKED MY MEN? PREPARE TO DIE!" the bandit leader screams, pointing his sword toward Yaku. "ATTACK!" he roars.
The four bandits rush Yaku as their leader watches from the back. Yaku sighs, and when he opens his eyes, his sword glows even more brightly than before.
"I put all my mana reserve into this. I only have three minutes to finish this before I completely run out," Yaku says as he prepares for a huge swing. The bandits charge at him, and then he screams, "MANA SLASH!" Gritting his teeth, he swings his sword with all his might. A big curved mana wave appears and takes the four bandits by surprise. Before they can react, three of them are cut in half. One slides under it, and the leader jumps over it.
Yaku immediately attacks the bandit who slid under, giving him no time to breathe. The bandit blocks his strike, but Yaku screams again, "MANA SLASH!" His sword cuts through the bandit's weapon like butter, ending him instantly. The sword's glow fades, and Yaku starts breathing heavily.
"I can only do two slashes with this amount of mana... I only have one minute of normal reinforcement left for my sword now," he says in a tired tone.
"HAHAHA! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE AT YOUR WITS' END!" the bandit leader screams. Yaku falls to one knee. "Damn... this might really be the end," he says as his vision begins to blur