Bryan darted, his body beating against the blade of grass.
The lackeys quickly snapped out of their daze, their eyes focused on the one who killed their boss.
Then the unexpected. They knelt to Bryan before he could even get close.
"Huh?" Bryan exclaimed. 'Are they summoning a beast?' he wondered, his eyes cautiously observing the area, studying every shift.
"We surrender," the short one said, as if noticing Bryan's confusion.
"Wait, what?" Bryan said.
He did not understand what had just happened.
In a world like Blood Waste, where strength dictates everything, betraying a leader immediately was not a rare sight.
The crimson claws wrapped around Bryan's hand dissolved instantly.
Although it was risky to harbor people who would betray at any sight of danger, he was too naive about this world and needed directions.
The chime of the system rang, depositing 400 divens in his account.
A smile tugged his lips as he saw this. Then his gaze shifted to the broken protagonist. His smile faltered as he saw him.
'I would have to spend divens to buy a potion,' he thought with a sigh.
'System, one healing potion,' he said mentally.
Instantly, a glowing red vial appeared in his hand. As he opened the cork, the pungent smell drifted into his nose, forcing him to cover them with his other hand.
He poured the liquid slowly on the boy's sigil till the vial was empty.
He threw the vial away with all his strength, then turned back to the bandits.
His eyes widened. He had been played; the bandits had disappeared from where he had left them.
A slight huff escaped Bryan's lips. He walked slowly to where the leader's body was and picked up the spear. Then a red glowing crystal. The leader's body was dry, like he had died years before, but that was all because his blood had coalesced to form a blood crystal.
Bryan absorbed the crystal sharply and felt his strength increase, as well as new abilities unlocking.
"He is quite strong," Bryan said as he combed through his only two skills, bear might, which increases strength by 20%, and crushing strike, which infuses all of the wielder's strength in a weapon's tip, increasing damage exponentially.
"If I had fought him squarely, I would only win due to experience," he muttered.
He was not quick to chase the bandits. He had assessed their strength earlier, and he was sure he could catch up easily.
"Oh, and blood is what I use to activate skills," he mused. "Well, I have enough to spare from absorbing 3 blood crystals," he said.
He finally turned his head towards the left, looking at the footprints that littered the floor.
"If you want to escape, do it without evidence," he said. Then he charged.
He followed the footprints closely as he ran, not wanting mto iss a single one.
Then a sharp whistle came from the front. Bryan stopped, his spear cleaving forward as he broke an arrow aimed at his head.
His brows narrowed as he looked up.
"See, I told you he would follow the foot prints," Bryan heard a crazed laughter erupted from behind him.
Turning back sharply, he deflected a sword coming for a his head.
Around him, 6 bandits appeared, and atop a tree, an archer stood there, eyes on Bryan.
Bryan was scared, yes. But it did not affect his thoughts. In fact, he got calmer under the pressure, his eyes reading every subtle details.
"I thought you surrendered," his voice rang out, clearly aimed at the two in front of him.
"Eeh!" One of them smirked. "You were the fool for believing," he said, his grip tightening over the hilt of his sword.
"I see, so that's how it is," Bryan said, his time tinged with a chill that made the bandits waver.
Then he moved. His.launched like a bullet from his grip without warning.
The next instant, the body of the sword bandit continued as impaled deeply into a nearby tree.
The bandits were shocked, their expressions darkening as they witnessed the death of their own. But that short distraction had been utilized well by Bryan.
His figure appeared before another bandit, cleaning and amputating the neck with a swipe of his claw.
"Don't zone out, he would kill us with that time," one shouted, only for words to hitch as he felt something enter his chest.
Bryan pulled the heart out and tore it into a pulp.
The bandit died, but he was able to alert the others. "I think you guys are finally ready for a true battle," Bryan said, his smile deepening as he pushed forward again.
The archer released the string, sending an arrow flying towards Bryan. Bryan looked up, and with precision, he sidestepped, catching the arrow by the waist.
With a flick of his wrist, the arrow was hurled at the archer, catching him unexpected.
The arrow pierced his head, and he fell to the floor with a thud.
A dagger flashed across his neck in the next instant, but he was ready.
He leapt back sharply, but he did not just dodge; he countered. His leg lifted, sending a kick into the bandit's stomach.
The bandit flew forcefully, his body crashing into the spear's iron shaft, crushing his bones with brutal strength.
A sword came from above, Bryan, but he simply pushed it away by the edge, causing the wielder to stagger.
He activated bear might and planted his fist into the bandit's chest.
Bone snapped like twigs as the bandit coughed out blood and spit.
Bryan smirked, but he forgot there was one left. Silver streaked across the air as the dagger came closer to his chest.
In the last second, he moved. But he could not avoid it completely.
The dagger pierced his shoulder, creating a gaping wound.
Bryan's other hand snapped forward, piercing the bandit's neck.
With a thud, he fell to the ground, weak and exhausted. His eyelids barely moved, but he saw someone.
He was too weak to stand or confront the new enemy. 'Failed my first walk, and returned with nothing, isn't that too ridiculous for the son of the twilight couples,' he thought with a faint smile as he felt his consciousness leave him.