The Journey to Dorian

As the thief approached Reed, holding a knife in its left hand, "Get out of my way, kid!" the thief yelled.

Reed gritted his teeth. Moving to the side, he pulled out his red dagger in a swift vertical motion, leaving a blunt cut on the thief's hand.

Immediately, the dagger's effect activated, paralyzing him and his en body went stiff, he let go of the box of fruits.

Reed sheathed his dagger and stretched out his hand, gracefully catching the box. The guards immediately rushed in and apprehended the thief. "You imbecile, how dare you steal in public in broad daylight."

"Let go of me! It was just one box!" he struggled until they inevitably took him away.

The locals, seeing the heroic display, couldn't help but clap for Reed.

Receiving unwanted attention, Reed pulled up his hood, holding the box tightly, and walked towards the carriage.

Upon getting there, he saw the carriage driver, a man in his mid-thirties named Dan, wearing a farmer's hat and a smile of gratitude on his face.

"It seems this is yours," Reed muttered, stretching out his hand to give him the box of fruits.

"Ah, yes, thank you very much, good sir." Dan received the box, placing it back into the carriage.

Turning his head back to Reed, he asked if he was going somewhere.

Reed, wanting to confirm himself, asked if he was traveling to Dorian. Dan replied with a nod, saying, "Sure, hop on in."

Reed pulled out a silver coin from his inventory, wanting to pay for traveling with him, but Dan refused, saying, "It's okay, you don't have to."

Reed sighed, keeping his money, then entered the carriage, sitting in a corner next to a vase.

After discussing with the guards and inspecting the goods, Dan was finally allowed to leave the capital.

And so he went back to his seat, and with a whip of the saddle, he continued on his journey. Reed, sitting in a corner of the carriage, decided to take a quick nap before reaching Dorian.

Moving eastwards to get to Dorian, they came across a valley with towering hills. Dan, knowing the eerie feeling this place always gave off, tried to speed up.

"Let's go, Redhook," he whipped the saddle once more, and the horse began to speed up. As they were almost at the other side of the valley, when suddenly they were suddeny stopped by a group of bandits.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vince, a bandit with a scar on his left eye, yelled.

The horse screamed and suddenly came to a stop. Reed, napping in the back, slammed his head against the carrage wooden frame, then suddenly opened his purple eyes.

Dan, sitting on his carriage, sighed. Staring at their faces, he asked, "What do you want?" Dan tried to act tough.

"The usual," one of the bandits said, waving his fingers.

"I told you I can't keep letting you short my village's rations. Kids are starving because of you."

"Shut up! Does it look like we care? Pay up and get going," Vince yelled, kicking the horse.

Suddenly, Reed jumped out of the carriage from the side, his robe billowing softly. "What's with all the noise?" Reed said, yawning.

"Who is this guy?" Kane, a bandit, asked.

Dan came down from the carriage. "Sir, please, you have to get back inside. This doesn't concern you."

Suddenly, he was whacked in the back by Kane. "Shut up! Old man, who told said you could intervene?."

Dan fell to the ground helplessly, stretching out his hand for Reed to go away. Thinking he may have stopped a thief, but a group of bandits was a different case. Besides, he didn't want to owe another favor to the man who helped him this morning.

How pathetic would he look if he couldn't handle his own problems? But Reed didn't come all this way to chit-chat. He embarked on this journey to slay kobolds, and what he saw in front of him weren't kobolds, neither were they monsters.

Kane walked closer to Reed. "Hey, pretty boy, you heard what I said, right? I asked you what is your name." He placed his dagger next to Reed's throat.

Reed, gripping tightly onto his daggers, glared at Kane intensely. "Is that all?"

"Wait, what?" Kane muttered, confused. Suddenly, Reed kicked him in the stomach without moving an inch from his position.

Kane tumbled across the ground. "Kane!" Vince called out, then turned to Reed. "Why, you bastard! Everyone, after him," he yelled.

They all rushed in to attack Reed, holding swords and daggers. Reed stood next to the carriage and pulled out his daggers.

Assessing the situation, he analyzed their positions before dashing into the fray.

The first bandit swung his blade horizontally, aiming for Reed's throat. "It's high time someone split that throat of yours."

Reed ducked at the last moment, thrusting his blade. He aimed for a vital spot, stabbing him in the neck, then pushed him to the ground.

The bandit lay on the ground as Vino's ring took effect, draining his HP until eventual death.

The next bandit yelled at Reed for killing his comrade, "Bastard!" He swung his blade irregularly, trying his best to at least cut Reed.

But Reed simply shifted back, dodging all of his attacks, then countered, slicing off his hand. His dagger fell to the ground, and then he screamed from the pain.

Three more bandits tried to attack Reed all at once. Activating 'Dash,' his new skill, he zoomed past them all at once, leaving cuts on their body parts.

They all fell to the ground paralyzed. "How is this possible? Why can't I move?" The paralyzed bandits lay motionless and confused.

Reed approached Vince and Kane, the last two for him to deal with. Kane stood back up. "You may have got me there the first time, but this time it won't happen again."

Reed suddenly threw his red dagger at Kane's forehead, paralyzing him. Kane, shocked, muttered, "Give me a break," then his body collapsed back to the ground.

Vince turned and stared at Reed's dominating purple eyes as he walked closer. Vince, who was supposed to be the leader, was now terrified by Reed's display of skill, which he considered ruthless but effective.

"Stay back," Vince shouted, raising his blade, but Reed didn't listen. Stepping back, his leg mistakenly hit a rock, causing him to fall on the ground.

Sitting down, looking upwards at Reed, he was terrified. He didn't want to end up like the others, but neither could he fight back.

Reed, staring at him, knew it was finally time to extract some information. What he understood from previewing the bandit quest was that the bandit stronghold was supposed to be way up in the north. What were these guys doing here in the eastern parts of Avalon?

"Tell me, who is your master?" Reed asked seriously, but Vince kept silent.

Reed sighed, then used his black dagger to stab him in the hand. Vince screamed in pain.

"I will ask you one last time, what is the name of your master?"

"Very well, I shall tell you, but I promise you will live to regret those words. My master is Ragnar the Bloodfist."