XIII

Kzel continued down the path. He slowed down his pace and let his mind wonder. It was like he is in a real world with every living creatures interacting with each others.

Up ahead, Kzel saw a trail of blood. His eyes warily rolled as he inspected the ground. The trail was fresh. To make sure he is on the right track, he summoned the world map and found that he was just a few miles from marker.

The sound of birds hailed from the distance. But Kzel only heard the laughter of men.

Beside a barricade, a middle age man knelt to a group of crudely dressed men which can only be simplified as bandits. The begging didn't have any effect as a bandit slit the man's throat without showing any sign of sympathy. Another one stabbed the corpse twice just to make sure it was dead.

>>Warning! You are in a leveling zone. You only get to have one life. Flee or fight.<<

>>At a very young age, Rzirs are brought to the Dark Academies to learn combat.

You are in a leveling zone.

Setting Combat Capabilities to default.

+250% in Combat Experience<<

>>Stats are now available!<<

Kzel showed no empathy. He had seen far more despicable acts due to the fact that he was one of the invading troops during the war with the Dominion. Pillage, murder, arson and rape were commited and he was naturally involved in most of these crimes. He was worst than these men.

The sight ignited these violence carefully hidden inside him.

The bandits finished looting the dead body and finally noticed Kzel's presence. Without a warning, one of them shot an arrow to his direction. Kzel flinched a bit as the arrow pierced through his left shoulder. It was clear that the shooter was aiming for his heart. They wanted to rob his corpse.

"He's not dead!"

"Fuck! I missed!"

"Hey! The pale man is running!"

Kzel withdrew to the thickness of the trees. Within the shadows, he pulled the arrow from his flesh and the wound started to heal. He can also feel that his muscles were stronger while in the shades.

Soon, the bandits followed. One of them peeked through the gap of the trees and his eyes widened, "Your skin! Are you a dead man or did you just paled from fear?"

The bandit laughed and carefully approached the Rzir with sword at the ready. He noticed that the pale man is not showing any sign of fear and it made him cautious.

A sadistic grin appeared beneath Kzel's mask. He unsheated his sword and calmly pointed it at the bandit, "Come to me, dead man.'

The bandit's lips twitched in anger and charged. He raised his sword with both arms but before he could bring it down, Kzel performed a flawless slash that cut off his arms and neck.

When the bandit's head rolled on the ground, the other bandits who witnessed it, trembled in fear.

>>You have inflicted fear!

Normal fear decreases the combat capability of your enemies but they can still fight while extreme fear will cause your enemies to flee.<<

"You bastard!" One of the braver bandit scowled, "You'll pay for that!"

Kzel only chuckled from the remark.

Morale returned back to the bandits and they charged. The first of the bandits to reach their target swung his axe which was easily dodged by Kzel with a sidestep before he drove his sword to the bandit's belly. The other two bandits immediately halted their charge and circled around, not wanting to repeat the same mistake that the first two bandits committed.

After pulling out his sword, Kzel casually strode towards the remaining bandits, he had no intention of getting flanked. The two bandits decided to stand shoulder to shoulder and wait in anticipation. When Kzel was in range, they both swung their sword with desperate cries.

Seeing the desperate move, Kzel easily took a step back to dodge the incoming attacks. After missing, the two remaining bandits retreated a little further away. They pointed their swords outward to prevent any reckless charge. However, as they began to relax, Kzel took a step forward. This provoked a reaction from the two bandits, something that he would exploit dearly. Fainting another step forward, the bandits thrust their sword forward only to hit empty air. Their eyes trembled in terror when they saw that pale man did not actually moved from his spot and was ready to hack them into pieces while their hands are still in motion.

Bloodcurdling screams erupted as Kzel finished the two bandits. Half of his face was covered in blood when it was over.

"Oh my! What a sight!" A feminine voice coldly stated.

Kzel turned to the source and saw a woman wearing a leather armor that displayed the outline of her voluptuous body.

>>Main Quest: Bandit Leader<<

"I never liked those pigs because they smell. I must thank you for disposing them." The female bandit seductively bit her lower lip, "I never had a man but always wanted one. It seems I might have a decent one on sight."

After unsheathing two short swords, she took a step that instantly made her cover the ten meters distance. When she stood face to face with Kzel, her brows rose, "Oh my! You're very tall. I'm starting to like you even more!"

She spun in place and her swords danced with her graceful movement. Seeing the danger, Kzel took a step back but not before receiving multiple cuts.

>>Blade Dance Lvl. 5<<

>>

-10% Health

-5% Health

-2% Health

<<

Kzel managed the distance and didn't suffer any critical injuries from the whirl of blades. He steadily took steps to the angle where he wouldn't get clipped.

The bandit gave chase and swung her swords from opposite directions towards Kzel's neck. The Rzir instantly ducked to avoid being decapitated.

When her arms crossed from both swings, a smile appeared on her face after seeing that her attack failed. She rotated and swung her sword, with the other sword following below the direction of the first one.

'Such dexterity!' Kzel praised as he also swung his sword to block the attack. But with his awkward position on the ground, he was not able to exert more force as his sword was pushed back down from the force of the second sword of the bandit. However, this gave him time to roll out of the way and create a distance between them.

A smile appeared on Kzel's face as he stared at his opponent. Realistic fights are very hard. Fantasy is easy with the flips and flashy moves. Reality requires you to stay on the ground most of the time and move if necessary. Be tactical. Every movement must have a purpose. He capitalized on that. He had seen the mannerisms of her swing and already discerned her movements.

The female bandit noticed that something was off. But she didn't backed down.

Both once again clashed, but this time Kzel put more force on his swing as he parried her strike. A hint of pain appeared on the woman's face as her hand let go of her sword due to the impact. However, she had another sword on her other hand. She swung only to be shocked.

Kzel's free hand intercepted her hand with the sword. With a strong grip around her forearm, he pulled her to the side to break her balance and sweeped her legs before pinning her down. The tip of his sword, ready to pierce her neck.