Chapter 4.2 - Broken Old Friend

"Arthel?" Nana said, her face shocked.

"Hmph! I'm glad, you do remember my name after all these years ...." Arthel smiled gently.

Arthel whose smiled so gently, then he noticed the man that looked like a beggar, his attention is to that man.

"Oh, you must be ... Lurk?" Arthel said, his voice tone is different and he was looking down that man.

Lurk grinned his teeth and hold his sword more tightly when Arthel was mentioned him.

Then, Arthel looked to Ando that was stood on the far left.

"Who are you?! Are you perhaps my substitute?" Arthel asked, his eyes are cold.

"Hah?" Ando doesn't know anything, so he let out a gasp.

"I'll tell you something, before you regret it in the future. Don't trust that woman, behind her cute personality, she's actually a sly fox" Arthel said, he took his dagger from the backpocket bag then direct it to Nana.

"She's only using you. She will throw you away like a piece of trash after she used you as her pioneer—" Arthel continued, he threw his dagger to Nana.

Nana didn't do anything, she just looked to the ground even there's a dagger flying towards her.

Ando caught the dagger before it hitting Nana's head. The blood dripped from his hand that caught the dagger.

Nana saw a drop of blood fall to the ground, then she raised her head and found Ando was holding a dagger in his hand.

"Ando?!" Nana was surprised.

Ando dropped the dagger to the ground, and walked in front of Nana like he was protecting her.

"I don't know who you are, and i don't know what is your relationship with them. But, don't you provoke me to betray my own friends" Ando eyes are cold, and his aura changed.

The bandits and Arthel suddenly shuddered and after feeling the aura emitted by Ando. They seemed tormented by the aura.

'Wh-what is with his a-aura ... it's feel like, i was fighting againts the legendary Obsidian Dragon!!' Arthel said internally, he saw the aura turn into a great dragon.

Lurk and Nana aren't affected by Ando's aura, because he considers them as ally.

"So, what are you guys doing next?" Ando asked, he points his sword at the bandits and Arthel.

"Tch!" Arthel clicked his teeth.

He looked at back to the bandits, they also looked to him. Then, they are all nodded. Arthel looked back to where Ando stand, then he smirked.

"Charge!!" Arthel shouted.

When the bandits rushed towards Ando, Lurk, and Nana. Arthel disappeared like a dust into the air.

Ando stood there holding his sword in one hand. When the bandits entered the skill area range, Ando stuck his sword to the ground and stomping his feet while shouting, "Stance!"

The skill "Stance" area range are around 15 - 20 feet. It's make the enemy that are in the skill area range become weak and forced them to attack the skill user while the skill user defense is increased. It's like an aggro skill with a debuff.

"Wha-what happened?? My body move itself!" The bandits said, their face is full of sweat and their eyes turn red.

At the moment, Ando's left eyes glowing light blue. He raised his sword, then swung his sword.

「Using your life force to use an unlocked skill "Stance". We recommended you to level up your level later to use this skill with mana than your life force」

「Life force: 7888/10000. You can refill your life force only with a special potion "Life potion"」

「You get free 1 "Life potion". Please use this for your safety, we will not giving you anymore after this」

'*sigh*— So, it's using my life force or my HP. And since when a life potion become a special potion, it's a common potion before ....' Ando said internally.

"N-noo!!"

"Why?!"

"Stop this! Why i can't move my body!!"

The bandits are still in control of skill "Stance" from Ando. They're so close with him right now, Ando swung his sword 360 degree and sliced all of the bandits head.

But, his sword become rusty after that. He looked at his sword. Meanwhile, Lurk and Nana stood there and were shocked by Ando's battle performance.

"Wha- actually ...." Says Lurk, then Nana continues his words, "... Happened?"

Arthel whose hides in the tree, was shocked too. His plan is, he's gonna do a sneak attack, buf after saw that. He decided to not to do it, and just sat there in the tree watching them.

'Damn! That man ... what skill did he just used?!' Arthel was very upset.

Arthel disappeared like a dust once again after that.

Ando turns back, and looked to both of Lurk and Nana as he smiled. But, he then collapsed.

"!..!!!"

....

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Arthel kept saying that when he jumped from tree to another tree like a ninja.

He making a weird expression. His heart is full of fear and deep hatred.

Tak.

Tak.

One by one, he jumped from tree to tree until finally he heard noise of something cut through the air.

"!!!"

He is aware of that sound. Then, after few seconds, the tree trunk in front of him suddenly shattered like an explosion and made him fall when he was about to stepped on that tree trunk.

He fell and make some noises, that noises attracts the monster nearby that live in that forest.

Grrr—

"Thu-thu-thunder white ... wolf??!!" After he screamed, he fell unsconscious because of the big-white-wolf with a thunder sign between his eyes.

The wolf is looking to the human's body with a bloodthirsty eyes-looking.

Then, the wolf herded Arthel's body by biting the collar of his clothes, into the depths of a very dark part of the forest.