Chapter - 7
"Where are ya looking, bastard?'" The bandit only grew more angry when he saw Leo standing there, lost in his own thoughts, ignoring him.
"Dare ignore me? I will KILL YA!"
The bandit charged towards Leo. He swung his blade, aiming straight for his head, wanting to finish off Leo in one go.
But Leo looked as if he was still lost, staring into nothingness. The bandit felt that the boy had lost his wits after the last strike. He smirked, he was going to finish him off this one last strike. The bandit grew complacent.
But this time Leo was prepared. He stood still till the last moment. Just when the bandit was about to strike, Leo bent forward in a flash. The bandit was already disoriented from the smoke bomb, and the momentum kept him going.
And taking advantage of this Leo stabbed his iron sword right into his stomach. The bandit, barely able to twist his body, tried to avoid the sword strike, but it still managed to penetrate his stomach about two inches deep.
The bandit gasped, his eyes widened in surprise. But Leo didn't stop. Before the bandit could even react, Leo pulled back his sword, came behind the bandit and kicked the back of his knee.
The giant roared and fell to one leg. Leo did not waste a single move, as he pushed his sword forward, and stabbed it straight into the back of the bandit's neck.
The man froze. His eyes bulged. In his last moments, he could not believe he was killed by a boy half his age and size. But he died just like that. More than the sword, just the shame of it pulled out the life from his body. And soon, the light in his eyes dimmed and they became vacant.
Leo stayed standing vigilantly behind the bandit just in case. Only after he was sure the bandit had died, he put his foot on his shoulder and pulled the sword out of his neck, and blood sprayed, some even splashing on Leo's clothes.
And the bandit fell forward with a loud thud, disbelief still on his face. What followed the death of the bandit was utter silence.
Only the crackling of the burning wagon and even the girl who was crying and begging before had gone silent because of the shock and was looking at the dead bandit's body with her eyes not blinking at all.
Leo stared at the corpse.
Soon realisation dawned upon Leo, as he stood still in the middle of the carnage. Panting hard, he felt his arms tremble. His chest still ached slightly. But more than that, he still could not believe he killed a person. An actual living person.
Part of him felt this sudden rush in his body, something that was 100… No… 1000 times of what he felt whenever he defeated a boss in Eldora Online.
But another part of him was numb as well. Even if the bandit was a scum, he was a human. And he just took a human's life.
He had killed thousands of bandits, soldiers, mages, goblins, ogres and even dragons in the game. He actually enjoyed it, and was the best when it came to destroying armies in the game. But it was a game.
It was real here, it was not a game and certainly not a dream. And after coming to this new world, he killed a real person in a matter of hours?
Leo felt a bit uneasy in his stomach as he watched the dead body of the bandit. He wanted to puke, but just then he heard a sound in his head.
[Blackfang Bandit Defeated]
[+150 EXP]
[Mortal Grade Storage Pouch Acquired]
"Huh… So I really did it," Leo let out a breath, looked at his sword dyed in red and turned to the girl.
"I saved them," Leo felt relieved. But just as he took a step towards her, something did not add up.
"I saved them!" Leo frowned, "So why didn't I get the rewards for the first…"
"You killed my brother... You don't think you will walk away with it, do you?"
A voice broke the silence.
Leo turned sharply, towards the source of the sound.
And he watched another man step out from behind the trees. Seeing him, Leo gulped hard, his eyes wide open. The new guy was even bigger than the last bandit, at least a foot taller.
The new man looked tired, his eyes were half open, while he wore nothing to cover his chest and Leo could see the thick scars on his chest. And somehow this new arrival gave him more chills than all the corpses combined.
A long axe hung lazily over his shoulder. His hair was greasy, wild, and tied in a messy ponytail. His eyes were sharp and mocking.
"This idiot," the man looked at the dead bandit and clicked his tongue, "I just went to take a piss, and he gets himself killed."
The man didn't look angry, instead he was somewhat amused.
And just then the system rang softly in Leo's head with the information.
[Enemy Identified: Blackfang Enforcer - Varkas]
[Level: 4]
[Skills: Cleave, Berserk Rage, Brutal Grip]
[Status: Uninjured. Calm.]
Leo swallowed hard.
"Level 4…?" he whispered to himself.
He was still recovering from the last fight. And that guy was only Level 3, and he still had such a difficult time killing him.
If not for the surprise attack, he might not have had a chance. That unnamed bandit would have easily crushed him.
And now with the new guy standing right in front of him, Leo's hands were shaking… Out of fear? Absolutely!
But there was also a sense of something exhilarating under that. It was the thrill of the danger, of the adventure, the taste of the blood. It was something he had never experienced in 19 years of his life.
He finally felt alive after spending years as a shut in, locked away from the rest of the world.
Meanwhile old man Grendel peeked out from behind a tree, his legs wobbling like jelly. His face had lost all color.
"By the Gods," he mumbled, "There's more of them."
"Why didn't I just stay in that damn town?"
"Why did I give ride to this crazy?"
"Why did I follow this bastard?"
"I am too young to die."
"I am too old to take this. My poor bones…"
Leo shot him a look, "I can still hear you, dumbass."
Grendel whimpered like a dog, holding his hands to his face like he was praying to every god he knew, even the Temple of Light.
Meanwhile, Varkas didn't even glance at the old man. Instead, he turned to the weeping girl beside the dead bandit.
She was silently looking at the dead bandit.
"Oi," Varkas called out casually, "You done yet?"
But the girl didn't respond to him. She kept staring into nothingness.
"This whore," Varkas took slow steps towards the girl. Leo's body tensed. If the man made a move on the girl, he would have to act.
"Come on now, sweetheart. How long are you going to cry? It was just a bit of play gone too far," Varkas spoke out loud.
Leo narrowed his eyes. What the hell was he talking about?
'Play gone too far?'
Varkas saw the confused look on Leo's face and gave him a crooked smile.
Gesturing at the girl, he spoke,"You think she is some innocent little victim?"
"Jajajaja…" Varkas laughed out loud, breaking the silence of the forest, "Nah. That bitch is Brena. She is one of us. Been with Blackfang bandits for five years."
"She would infiltrate the target, feed us information, and then we will rob our target."
"This time, she was the handmaiden of a lady from a very rich family," Varkas explained it to Leo, "She spent the last two years getting into the family. Earning the trust and rising the ranks. And it all finally paid off today."
"We suffered some losses, but in the end it comes down to who gets the riches and the women."
"And we got everything today."
"Speaking of that bastard you just killed? That was her lover." Varkas pointed at the dead bandit.
"Huh?" Leo blinked, confused, "So they were actually…?"
Varkas laughed, "They had a thing. Real kinky couple. They loved to do something that's getting popular these days. Fuck they call it something, play…"
"Roleplay?" Leo helped him, still in disbelief.
"That's it…" Varkas clapped hard, "Sometimes, he would act like the cruel kidnapper, and she would be the poor little farm girl. She would always play the part she was asked to."
Listening to Varkas, Leo looked at the girl again. Her hands were still clutching the dead man's chest, her face hidden.
Now that he thinks about it, the girl had been staring at the dead body without blinking not out of disbelief that she was saved. Hell no… She has been in shock that her lover was dead before he could even fix her leaking pipe.
And here Leo was thinking after saving the girl, he might get lucky and finally lose his virginity. But now with a fucking plot twist he had not expected. His chances of getting laid just flushed down the drain.
"Oi, enough mourning now. I don't have whole day," Varkas commanded the girl again.
And this time the girl moved. She slowly rose to her feet, her eyes still fixed on her dead lover. As Varkas watched the girl stand up, he took a step towards her and grabbed her by the hair.
But this time Leo did not make a move and just watched as the scene unfolded in front of him.
The girl didn't scream, she just put her hand on Varkas's chest and tried to pull away, "Please don't. My husband just died."
'Husband?' Leo was stunned for a second, 'Didn't he say they were just lovers?'
But then suddenly his eyes grew wide open as he put the pieces together.
'Is she playing the widow?'
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Author's Note:
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