The thing about stories is you never know what's going to happen next. The best ones keep you guessing right up until the last page. And even though there are always surprises, some things never change. Bandits will be...inevitable.

We are currently about a few miles or so from the village. I ask why Sela keeps her plot so far from the village. She explains that she likes to spend time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

She's right. The area is secluded, surrounded by trees and lush foliage. We are working on our way back when I decide to take a look at my system status.

A bunch of missed notifications pops up but I go straight to my character sheet.

─ Name: Richard Bell

─ Age: 23

─ Race: Human

─ Skills:

─ (Uncommon)Novice Smithing 1/20

─ (Common)Novice Daggers: 0/20

─ (Rare) Novice Stamina Burnout resistance 5/20

─ Class: Unassigned

─ Magic attributes:

─ Wind

─ Magical Proficiency:

─ Wind: Unproficient

─ Level: 1/1

─ Health: 60/60

─ Stamina: 23/45

─Mana: 218/218

─ Stat Points: 0

─ Strength: 10

─ Dexterity: 4

─ Intelligence: 18

─ Wisdom: 5

─ Agility: 9

─ Luck: 7

─ Willpower: 12

─ Appearance:

─ Skin: Pale complexion, reddish hair

─ Eyes: Blue

─ Hair Color: Ginger

─ Clothing: Light brown leather cloak, faded white tunic (Unidentified), leather belt, brown trousers, light brown stockings, brown leather boots.

─ Equipment:

─ Basic Iron dagger

─ Durability: 180/200

I notice a few changes to my stat sheet.

First, I think I may have done something correctly at the forge because I now had a Novice Smithing Skill, I also gained a Novice Daggers skill. I haven't done anything with Bostar's dagger except put it in my pocket. I guess I more or less discovered the skill and never did anything with it. Then I notice the Stamina Burnout Resistance skill. It sounds like it may be a useful skill but I wonder if the system is mocking me. I know any sort of crafting or combat skill will have to be practiced or trained but a feeling of dread washes over me as I think how I could train resistance to the condition that I get that involves me passing out from overworking my body. I notice that my stamina hasn't fully recovered either. Likely due to my Stamina Burnout on top of this walk. I don't feel that tired but I make not try to be careful if a fight comes.

If we get attacked I won't just stand aside and hope the others can defend me. we have 1 wounded lizardman, a woman, and the smith. Then a person that has no place in a fight. But if a fight comes I will do my best not to be a burden. I am sure that Kai'illan is strong but I don't know how he would handle being stabbed. I am sure he has a dagger or something like that but still, he has his wife to protect. Aside from the wounded, the non-combatants, and myself, there is the 1 healthy lizardman Gorrin and the village guard. If we got attacked by any decent group of bandits we may be in trouble. I don't know how good of a fighter the two healthy individuals were. But they had too many people to protect. Too many distractions if we got into an actual fight. The healthy guard had decent armor I guess as well as his sword and spear. The still combat-ready Gorrin had two daggers on his side. no not daggers..they looked like something between a sword and a dagger. Not sure what they were called. Not sure if they were considered short swords. but I had a feeling anyone ballsy enough to go around with those probably knew what they were doing.

"System Condition" I muttered. I wasn't sure if the programing language was even capable of understanding me.

─ Richard Bell

─ Status: Healthy

─ Condition: Stamina Burnout

─ Location: Outside of the Village of Findrel

─ Time: 12:15

─ Weather: Sunny

I wasn't sure if I used the correct phrase but perhaps it understood my intention.

I tried to ask it about my skill Stamina Burnout Resistance. But before I could speak another notification interrupted me.

─ Richard Bell

─ Skill: Stamina Burnout Resistance

─ Duration: 10 minutes

─ Effect: Restores a portion of your stamina with the level of Stamina resistance.

─ Current Effect: Will restore 5 stamina points over 10 minutes

I have a feeling that this skill may come in useful. It may not seem useful now. But I think if I am low I may be able to use it to prevent myself from passing out. I hope I never have to test that theory.

We are working our way back to town Bostar's left arm is over Gorrin's shoulder and his right arm is over mine. It feels difficult to help carry him given his size but it allows us to move a little faster. As we walk Bostar pulls something out of a pouch on his belt. He hands it to me. "Take this," he says.

It is some sort of small bottle.

─ Name: Elixir

─ Type: Potion

─ Durability: 100/100

─ Effect: Restores 20% of total Stamina per bottle.

It has a strange yellow liquid in it. It is a stamina potion.

"How did you notice I was having trouble with my stamina?" I ask him

"I can tell the effects of stamina burnout when I see it. Let me guess you overclocked yourself and collapsed recently?" he asked.

I nod. I don't know what else to say as I drink it

I notice quickly that my stamina went up like 9 points.

My stamina now shows

─Stamina: 32/45

I feel like I have a little more energy than I did before and I thank him as I hand him back the empty bottle.

He thanks me again. "You will need to take these every time you do that. You won't get any benefit from being overworking yourself."

Little does he know I learned the Stamina Burn Resistance skill. But I decide to not tell him.

"So you think we will get attacked by bandits?" I ask him as he grunts. his leg is bothering him.

"Maybe. Or maybe they will just pass us by. We are a shabby-looking group. Would be a rather easy target for anyone who wants to attack someone else," he said.

As we walk we hear sounds of talking ahead. We slow down and listen. About six men are approaching us. They are dressed in black cloaks and leather armor.

"That one there. That's the guy who beat wounded Bostar," Gorrin whispered.

I swear to myself that I jinxed our little party by thinking about bandits too much. Now here were six of them.

One of the men draws his sword. The rest draw their weapons. I see an assortment of swords and a mace. One of them has a bow. I realize that's the one who probably shot Bostar.

I realize that we may be in trouble. Us. 2 armed men, a woman, a smith, a wounded lizardman, and me...vs 6 ready to-fight bandits. I curse my luck. I also worry about Sela and Kai'illan they have been so gracious to me. Between offering me work and helping me after I collapsed I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them. Nor these other guys, I didn't know them well but they seemed like good folks.

I worry about what's going to happen next. I try to focus on the situation at hand. I'm glad we stopped when we did. At least if we got ambushed we would have had some warning.

The first thing I noticed is how the bandits are all spreading out and facing us. They aren't spreading out just to flank us. Instead, they are trying to box us in.

Good tactic. If they can surround us we can't run away.

There is a gap between two the bandits and Gorrin. He draws his short sword and charges forward.

Everyone else starts moving. I hand off Bostar to Kai'illan who is much stronger than me. He seems to have no problem holding Bostar up. Kai'illan draws a sword that was in a sheath at Bostar's side ready to defend the wounded lizardman and his wife.

I don't know what I am doing with the dagger but I seriously doubt that Gorrin and Duros can handle all of them. They might take some damage before they get overwhelmed. I need help.

I draw my dagger and charge forward. Duro is beside me with his spear at the ready. Gorrin is in front of us. He is swinging around his twin blades. But the bandits seem to have figured this out. Their weapons are angled toward Gorrin. They are taking most of the blows, but Gorrin is getting hit. The bandits are using small leather shields to block his blows.

Duro charges in as well. He grabs the arm of a bandit and pulls him down. Then he stabs his spear into the bandit's chest. I hear a thud and see blood fly from the wound. Duro tosses the dead bandit aside. I keep running forward, wilding stabbing, and slashing. Keeping a strong grip on the dagger.

Gorrin swings back and forth while dodging attacks. He manages to cut one of the bandits across the stomach. That bandit falls over, clutching his gut. The rest of the bandits swing their weapons wildly at Gorrin. There is a loud clang as he gets hit by some kind of metal club or mace.

Duro cuts through another bandit's leg. It looks like it will be clean-cut. Unfortunately, the bandit doesn't just fall on the ground screaming in pain. He leans forward and stabs Duro in the shoulder.

Damn! That hurt. Duro drops his spear and clutches his bleeding shoulder. His eyes widen and he cries out in pain.

I hear a loud crack as Gorrin gets hit with the metal club-looking weapon again. This time he is hit on his leg. There is no way his leg wasn't broken by that swing.

He crumples to the ground in agony.

I swear aloud I notice that Duro hasn't given up as he draws his sword with his still good arm. I see the bleeding wound on his shoulder. "Ahh..." He mutters under his breath.

The bandits attack Gorrin in earnest now. He is forced onto the defensive. I try to sneak around behind one of the bandits and cut him down but he turns quickly enough for me to miss. I manage to slice open another bandit's should though. I realize this is the first time I have ever fought with weapons. Let alone attempt to kill. I should be worried. I should be thinking about the morals of killing someone. But all I can think of is protecting the guys. I don't know if we know each other well enough to them friends but I think of Sela and Kai'illan as something like friends.

Gorrin is roaring in rage. He pushes a bandit off him and raises his twin daggers. Desperately trying to protect himself. He makes a wild swipe at a bandit and misses. The bandits do not attack Gorrin anymore, they know he can't do much. Instead, they rush at Duro who is not out of the fight quite yet.

A bandit rushes towards Duro, swinging his sword wildly. It grazes Duro's head. Duro blocks the next swing with his free hand. A second bandit swings at Duro's back. Duro manages to jump back and avoid being cut. But then he takes a hit to the side of his neck. Blood sprays from the wound. Duro stumbles backward. I watch horrified as the bandit finishes Duro off with a vicious blow to the back of his skull.

Now I realize in shock a man I once knew as Duro was now dead. Gorrin is out of the fight. I look behind me and see Kai'illan has laid Bostar on the ground. He intends to join the fight. I know he is strong but I don't think he can help enough to save our remaining group members.

"Kai'illan!" I scream as loudly as I can. "Get out of there!"

My shout does not reach him. I feel fear. Fear that he may die too.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

There are 4 bandits left including the leader. The most I've been able to do was get a lucky slice in. I know I am not suited for this fight. The bandits continue to ignore Gorrin. Who seems to be trying to crawl away from the fight. Even he knows this is a losing fight.

I take a deep breath. My heart is racing so hard it feels like it might explode. I stand up straight. I hold my dagger in front of me. I close my eyes tight. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Alana. I don't want to experience another death. Not today.

As the bandits approach me I step forward and slash with all my strength. My blade slices through a bandit's arm and then his chest. His body falls backward into a bush. I turn around and see one of the bandits rushing at me. He swings his axe. I lean back just in time to dodge the swing. I stab forward with my knife. But it bounces off a piece of rather hard metal armor. The bandit laughs and swings again. This time he hits me. I feel a searing pain in my leg. Then he kicks me in my stomach. I fall back onto the ground.

Bandits..why did it have to be bandits? Why couldn't it be some stupid animal? I feel tears streaming down my face. I try to blink them away. But they keep coming.

With difficulty, I pull myself up. I look at the leader. He is standing over me. His sword was drawn. His cruel smile fills me with more fear than anything else.

He raises his sword high above my head. I close my eyes tight.

"Stop! Kai'illan shouts. No!" I hear the smith shouting as he has laid Bostar on the ground. I notice that Sela is nowhere to be seen. Maybe she got away.

The bandit leader continues to raise his sword. It looks like he is about to strike. When suddenly Kai'illan charges him. I watch in horror as Kai'illan is struck with the flat end of the leader's sword. A long gash appears across his cheek. Blood oozes from the wound.

But it seems that the blow didn't hurt him nearly as much as it should have. He quickly pulls himself up. With a cruel laugh, he swings his sword at Kai'illan. But before he can land a hit Kai'illian dodges out of the way.

Kai'illan stands tall. "You will pay for your crimes. And you will die." He shouts as he stares into the leaders' eyes.

For a moment I think that Kai'illan might win this fight. But the leader sneers. "You'll never kill me. You're nothing but a wyrm. A common villager. That's what you are."

I watch in amazement. I haven't heard anyone talk so badly about Kai'illan. I don't know if that is supposed to be a racist insult against lizardfolk. But it sounded harsh.

Suddenly Kai'illan lunges forwards. He lands a punch on the leader's chin. There is a loud cracking noise as the leader's jaw breaks. Blood pours out of his mouth as he stumbles backward. But still, he doesn't go down.

As the leader tries to regain his balance he trips over something. Kai'illan pushes the leader off his feet. As the leader falls to the ground and hits the dirt. Kai'illan leaps onto him. And punches him hard in the face.

Blood is now pouring from the leader's nose. Kai'illan lifts his foot and kicks him in the chest. The leader coughs up blood.

Then I see an arrow fly into Kai'illans side. It pierces his side and lodges itself deep within his flesh.

Kai'illan staggers back. Blood spurts from the wound. Kai'illan lets out a roar as he clutches his side. The leader laughs again. "That's what happens when you cross us." He says as he gets back up.

The bandit leader is wounded, but he must be able to tolerate the pain. Because he picks up his sword.

"Let me show you how we do things around here." He tells Kai'illan.

He raises his sword high above him. Then he brings it down towards Kai'illans head.

There is a loud thud as the blade connects with Kai'illans skull. Kai'illan goes limp.

The leader stands tall. He walks toward me. the remaining bandits laughing, completely unfazed by the deaths of their comrades knowing they won this fight easily.

It takes me a moment to realize that the leader is pointing his sword at my head.

"Let me guess today is the first time you ever held a weapon. Probably the first time you've ever truly fought?" he says knowingly.

He brings his hand forward and whips his sword across. I duck out of the way just in time.

But then the leader lunges forwards. His sword comes crashing down on my shoulder.

Pain shoots through my body. The leader laughs as he rams his sword into my shoulder. With enough force to make me lose my footing and fall back.

I scream. Pain is like electricity coursing through my veins. My mind is clouded, it doesn't make sense. I cannot think clearly. Why is this happening?

"Don't worry a weakling like you will die a weakling's death. On the ground where you belong," he says sneering. "Don't worry at least the buzzards will enjoy a feast."

I groan. Everything hurts. I feel dizzy.

I try to think of anything I can do. Anything I can do to save myself.

All my thoughts are scattered. Like shards of glass. My mind is not focused.

The leader starts laughing again. He looks down at me.

And then he bends down and grabs hold of my hands.

"Tell me, boy. Do you know who I am?" he asks.

"No…" I mutter.

He smiles. "Oh. But don't worry about your ignorance. You'll soon learn."

I look up at him. He is smiling. As if he has accomplished something great. And then he leans in close to my face.

"You're going to die, boy. I am the one who kills you."

This is my second day in Mirida. I am not ready to die again. to die two times in essentially two days. I don't know if Alana will be able to help me again. I don't want to die again. I try to focus my thoughts but they are getting away from me. I grasp at ideas but I know nothing about actually fighting. This man was strong enough to defeat Kai'illan who was a very strong Lizardfolk. It enrages me how he casually insulted the one who was supposed to be my tutor in smithing. The one who took me in when I fainted from expending all of my stamina. I try to think, I try to think hard. But every idea escapes my mind as my mind is racing so fast.

My mind is spinning faster and faster.

Then I remember I have a little wind magic at my disposal. I doubt it will be enough to even this fight but maybe I will have a chance.

I notice Kai'illan stirring where his body lay. He is still alive, maybe the leader didn't strike hard enough to kill him. But I knew even if he got up he was probably too wounded to save me.

The bandit leader prepares to finish me off.

I try to remember the feeling when I first used the wind attribute. I remember the feeling of being connected to the air, the flow of the wind, and the energy that flows through everything. I remember the feeling of the wind blowing on my skin.

I try to channel this memory into my wind attribute into something. I remember me imagining a powerful wind, a tornado.

Around me, I hear the grass rustling I hear tree branches swinging wildly.

The leader stops moving for a moment. His eyes widen.

He looks around him, trying to figure out what is happening.

I close my eyes remembering how I only created a small gust of wind. I feel the wind picking up around me. It's a cool soothing touch on a sunny day. I think of the feeling I had when I first tried to cast wind magic. the achievement I made when I discovered I had potential with wind magic.

I open my eyes and see the leader frozen. My wind spell has picked up speed rapidly. His eyes are wide with no idea what is happening.

A storm begins to form around us. The sky darkens and the bright sun is eclipsed by a heavy cloud. A downpour of rain falls onto our heads.

It starts to hail as the wind picks up.

I am pretty sure it is warning me about my mana. but this is the first notification. I keep channeling my focus, the wind is gathering around swirling around me.

I feel myself being drained unusually. I know it is the feeling of mana leaving my body. I have never experienced anything like this before. I watch the clouds swirl around me. They look angry.

I know I cannot safely push myself further than I have but I will my mana, I will the wind to slam into these bandits

The leader is standing there. He doesn't move. He just stares at me, not sure what is going on. I take a deep breath.

I feel my mana leaving my body. The wind speeds up. It is so fast now. I am forced to let go of some of my mana as the wind increases its speed.

A powerful gust of wind slams rustles through the trees slamming hard into the bandit leader.

The leader's eyes widen and he takes a step back.

My wind spell explodes outward in every direction. Sending the still-standing bandits flying in all directions. The bandit leader slams into a nearby tree with a loud crack shattering his spine.

The other bandits are flung into other directions out of sight. Some of them landed near the road and others in the forest.

As soon as I don't see the bandits up anymore I calm myself.

I comply with the notification. Not even have to read it to know I am dangerously low on mana. I release my feelings and intentions with the wind. I do what I can to relax my mana output. Not sure how to do so. I consider resting for a moment. I notice the wind dying down. Willing the wind to relax and return to normal

The storm dies down. The sun shines brightly once again. The hail stops falling. I turn to the bandit leader who is lying on the ground with a broken spine dead. I do not see the remaining bandits anywhere. I know if the bandit leader was killed. they were probably killed also or badly wounded.

I lay there in a muddy puddle on the road panting, exhausted. I felt weak. my muscles are like noodles. I want to sleep but I can hear voices. I get slowly up and walk over to where the voices are coming from.

I weakly turn my head towards the voices worried there are more bandits

"Richard?"

I turn around and am surprised to see Sela there with at least a dozen armed soldiers around her. I realize that she must have run to get the village guard. I smile and try to wave but I can't move my arms.

The guards are walking over the bodies checking the wounded lizardmen and deceased guard Duros. They also inspect the laying down bandits

She stops looking at me and sees Kai'illan laying there.

"Kai'illan!" She turns and runs over to where Kai'illan is laying.

In my mind, I know he is alive. I saw him moving. He must be alive. Now that help has arrived I know everything will be okay. Except for Duros. That poor guy put up a hell of a fight. The other village guards would have been proud.

Three guards come over with a makeshift stretcher picking me up and lowering me onto it. I see a team going to Bostar and Kai'illan

I also see a stretcher with Gorrin who was still very conscious but badly wounded.

I knew we were safe now.

"Is it okay if I get some sleep?" I ask one of the guards carrying my stretcher.

"Yes, you should rest." He says. "You did a good job today. It was brave of all you guys to stand against those bandits."

"Thank you," I say weakly as I close my eyes and sleep. At least I didn't die or pass out this time. Just sleep, I guess a well-deserved sleep.