Chapter 25: Group Battle_Am I Seriously The Only Gamer?!

The two groups looked at each other for a few moments assessing each other. Both were unmoving, cautious of one another. William’s first thought was that the new group were bandits. That suspicion was soon overwritten as he identified the four:

Ascension_Protocol}

Human Level 2 – Fighter Level 2

Human Level 1 – Scout Level 1

Human Level 2 – Medic Level 2

Human Level 1 – Scout Level 1

{End}

William gained a lot of insight from that one [Identify]. These were not bandits. Their attire also matched their low status. They all wore plain white clothes, the same kind as what William had at the start of his adventure. He also found it odd at closer glance that not one of them had any weapons or staves. In fact, their attire looked haggard and bloody in places. William had a feeling that these people were in need of help.

William considered them for a moment longer before stepping forward, prompting the other group to step back nervously.

He sighed slightly before he spoke up, “Don’t worry friends. We don’t mean you harm we thought you might have been bandits, but evidently you aren’t.”

The group stilled, and assessed him. They whispered amongst themselves for around a minute, before the one Identified as a Medic stepped forward.

“Hello stranger, we were also worried you may have been bandits given the…attire, some of you are wearing,” The man said, his tone carrying a hint of trepidation.

The man appeared to be a human of middling height, whose hair was balding atop his head. He had a short trimmed, copper beard. His stature wasn’t too significant, devoid of much muscle, replaced with a marginally wider waistline that would only slightly affect his gait. He wasn’t very threatening, William decided and he considered what to say.

A couple of seconds later, William found his words, “From the levels of you guys, I’m guessing you are also new to this world?”

His party looked at him with concern as if he had spilled some major secret, and who knew? Maybe he had. This was actually part of a test he wanted to do. The answer these new people gave in return could indicate whether Greenwell were the only new people in GAEA or if they were locals as William doubted that locals from other settlements would believe him. They rarely did in lots of anime after all.

The Medic’s eyes widened and he hurriedly replied, “You are newly integrated?! These lands haven’t had newly integrated people in decades.”

William felt some shock at the reply. The medic was obviously not experienced in his class, yet he knew decades old history? William knew then that he must be local to know such things, but then, why were their levels so low? Locals also seemed to not find the concept of isekai’d people an unbelievable concept.

William relaxed slightly and noticed that his party had done the same.

“I see. If you're all local, then why are your levels so low? I figured locals would be leaps and bounds beyond our levels. No offence intended by the way,” William said, giving a passive smile.

The medic returned the smile before replying, “None taken. It’s a fair assumption, but alas, most people of this world don’t seek higher levels and would prefer to pursue jobs in the protection of those who choose the path of combat. Most like us donate the class equipment to local armories for those who may need spare equipment.”

William was genuinely surprised by that, and couldn’t keep the thoughts he had silent, “Why? Surely it’s better to keep your equipment for self defense if attackers manage to get past the lines of defense?”

The man just smiled at that and said, “This world is cruel at times. The levelling system in particular. If a typical settlement’s defenses fall, the attackers are almost certainly capable of decimating us with or without our equipment. That’s the unspoken law of the world. Strength trumps all. Very few make it to the top without insurmountable strength, or equally equivalent backers.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. From my fights so far I’ve gained that impression. If that's the case, however, why are you guys out here in the middle of nowhere without any equipment? The bandits around here aren’t exactly friendly,” William said, scanning the top of the hill behind the group, noticing that they came from a slightly northeastern approach.

The group seemed to go from hopeful body language, to that of forlornness.

The medic looked like he might break down, but he regained his composure quickly enough and replied, “Our town has been overrun by the bandits to the north. We...are the only survivors. We lost so many. Our friends. Our...families. We gave them the protection money they wanted every month, without fail. They kept increasing it however, and when we couldn’t pay...they...slaughtered us.”

William watched the man’s lips quiver and eyes well up. He was clearly trying to put on a strong front for his friends and William felt bad for them. When was the last time he felt genuine empathy for strangers? He shook those thoughts, knowing he had to say something here, but what?

“I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine the pain you all must be going through, but, if you're looking for sanctuary, we're willing to offer it in return for you bringing whatever skills you have to the table.”

The medic considered it and spoke with his group in hushed words once more.

About two minutes later he turned to William and replied, “That would be most appreciated sir, we would be forever in your debt.”

“Then we can bring you back with us now if you wish? We had a scouting mission, but it won’t be long for us to deliver you to Greenwell, our village, and be off again.”

“Yes, please. We’ve fled nonstop for about a day and a half with no food and scant water.”

William nodded at the medic and gestured for them to approach. William would count this as his good deed for the day. Several seconds passed and the groups were together, getting ready to head back to Greenwell.

The peaceful day wasn’t meant to be, however, as seven bandits crested the hill from the north-westerly side.

“Shit, they must’ve found our trail. We need to run now!” The medic said, fear dripping from his tone, almost palpable.

“Get behind us. Jane, ready healing, John, Wallace, Stacey, ready a Fire-bolt volley,” William said, taking charge of the situation.

Incredulity flashed on the faces of the new people at his words.

The medic didn’t bother hiding his fearful tone as he said, “Why?! We need to run. We’ll die!”

“We won’t be able to outrun them, and I have no desire to lead them back to Greenwell. We've dealt with bandits before, trust in the process,” William said, trying to give reassurance with a confident voice.

It was a bit of a lie as really, he was the only one who had truly fought bandits properly at that point, but what the non-combatants didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

The new group didn’t hide the skepticism plastered on their faces now, but they stood behind his party, resigned to whatever outcome would occur in the next moments. The bandits started running down the hill and William held his hand up in a manner, that his party knew was to hold their attack until he says. It was not long before the bandits had reached the foot of their hill and started ascending towards William’s group. This would be a good test of what his fully charged sheath would do with his opening assault. It was time for William to see the results of a [Vortex Slash] laced in stacking buffs.

The bandit group appeared to have four melee combatants, two mages, and one healer. William’s hope was to outright kill the other bandits outright, preventing healing from mattering in the fight. The bandits were about twenty meters away when William made his move.

William drew his sword, activating one of the sword’s charges whilst also casting [Mana Investment], then finishing the attack by unleashing a fully buffed [Vortex Slash]. The Mana buff from the sheathe, the activation of the sword, and the addition of [Mana Investment] was terrifying. It was as if space itself was cut. The ground shook from the sheer power of the attack as a ten meter wide arcing slash of unrelenting power careened down at the oncoming bandits. They raised shields to block, sealing their fates. The pure energy in the slash sliced cleanly through shield, armor, and flesh, decimating all four melee bandits in an instant. The blade continued, unabating as it hit the hastily erected [Mana-ward] of the two mages, shattering one and severing the head from the corresponding mage, and the other’s ward dimmed to a thin shimmer, indicating that it was barely holding on.

Stolen story; please report.

“Fire-bolt the last mage,” William shouted as he started running towards the remaining bandits, not caring too much at the flabbergasted expressions of his party and the survivor group.

He didn’t have to wait long as three [Fire-bolts] sailed over his head and slammed into the [Mana Ward], causing it to shimmer and shatter just as William was upon him. The mage didn’t get a chance to respond before William’s sword was buried in their chest. The mage slumped down, unmoving, as the last bandit; the Medic decided to flee. William sheathed his sword and as he saw the medic run, he threw a Mythril Dagger with [Dagger Toss], straight at the back of the bandit’s head. It flew true, and less than two seconds after the medic began to flee, they slammed into the ground face first, blood pooling out of their skull.

William strode over and ripped the dagger out of the bandit medic’s head, wiping it off on their sleeve and sheathing it once more. He looked back at the everyone who stood their with shock written on their faces. William paid it little mind, however, and started looting what equipment remained. Only a couple of the bandits had coin pouches and those only had scant few coppers in them. He decided to give the money to the survivors as they deserve something good from the horrors they have dealt with so far. The four bandits that died first only had salvageable trousers and shoes as the rest of their equipment had been destroyed by William’s assault. The last thing he was able to collect was the dead medic’s staff.

William returned to the group and dropped the salvaged loot nearby before speaking up, “Well, I can confirm that my opening attack I had envisioned was better than expected.”

Jane was the first to respond, snapping from her stupor, “William, I guess you weren’t exaggerating about what you found after all.”

“yeaahhh,” William replied, slightly embarrassed.

“That...was brutal, but it is seven less bandits to deal with at least. Did you level?”

William smiled in reply, knowing he had some prompts waiting for him.

“Yeah I levelled. Let’s head back now, I’ll deal with my allocations on the way back.”

Jane nodded and William was relieved to see that everyone had regained their senses and started to head towards Greenwell, following William’s party’s lead.

As they walked, William indeed consulted his prompts:

{Ascension _Protocol}

You have slain: Human Level 6 Fighter Level 6