As the leader of the group swung the sword at Max, Max parried it and drove his knife into the guy’s chest.
-25 HP
He then noticed the familiar enemy text appear:
Merchant 1
75/100 HP
Merchant my arse, Max thought, and quickly dislodged the blade as the guy grimaced in pain. These guys had to be masking their true description somehow. Maybe through some status effect applied via a potion or magic.
It didn’t matter. Max knew that underneath their facade they were bandit scum.
The others were upon him now, so Max booted the injured leader, sending him crashing into the wagon, then ducked and dodged the swing of a wooden club from “Merchant” 2.
While he was low, Max jabbed his knife into the bandit’s shin.
-25 HP
Merchant 2
75/100 HP
The blow caused the bandit to yell out in pain and drop the club, which narrowly missed a heavy landing on Max’s head.
Max wasted no time. He grabbed the club with his free hand and swung it upwards at the approaching third bandit, slamming it into his bollocks.
CRITICAL HIT!
-35 HP
Merchant 3
65/100 HP
With the bandit keeled over in agony, Max placed the blade of the knife under his neck, and firmly and swiftly ran it from left to right.
Fatal Wound!
-25 HP every 1 seconds.
That was him done for. With blood spurting out from the wound, he collapsed onto his side. Max would have liked to have watched the prick’s HP diminish and then see him burst into blue particles, but the other two were still alive.
“You still wanna steal my loot?” Max goaded, as the leader bared his stained teeth.
Max was so focused on the leader, he barely noticed the notification telling him the bandit with his throat slit had reached 0 HP.
Merchant 3 Defeated!
Max only had a brief moment to notice that this didn’t result in him gaining any kind of orbs, like he had when he had defeated the hornback and the terrorgawks, before the leader readied his shortsword and began storming towards him.
Max opened his inventory and swapped his dagger for the bow.
As it materialised in his hands, he swung it up, then drew an arrow, strung it, and fired.
It thunked straight into the centre of the leader’s forehead.
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HEADSHOT!
-50 HP
Merchant 1
25/100 HP
As the blow knocked the leader backwards, sending him flat on his back, Max swapped the bow back to the knife and drove it down into his stomach.
-25 HP
Merchant 1
0/100 HP
Merchant 1 Defeated!
The leader’s body then burst into blue bits, and left behind a stash of coins and other items. Max felt a surge of curiosity and satisfaction at the thought of rifling through it, but there was one more bandit left to deal with.
Max quickly got to his feet and spun around, expecting the remaining bandit to be raining down on him, but to his surprise, the guy was backing away, looking terrified.
For a moment, Max considered firing another couple of arrows to the head, but then a thought occurred to him. These three were likely part of a larger group. It might be more beneficial for this one to go back and tell his bandit buddies not to mess with him again.
Instead of taking the remaining bandit out, Max ran to him and grabbed him by the scruff of his dirty shirt.
“Please!” the bandit begged. “I’ll give you my items! Please, just let me go!”
“Empty your inventory,” Max ordered. “Now.”
The bandit grimaced for a moment, then a bunch of items popped into existence at his feet, including a loaf of bread, a bandana, and an unlit torch.
Max studied the bandit’s eyes for a moment, and noticed a hint of secrecy behind them, as if he was still concealing something.
“Everything,” Max emphasised, squeezing the guy’s collar tighter in his grip.
“Okay, okay!” the bandit wailed.
Two more items appeared at Max’s feet: A potion, and some kind of antique ring. They were followed by a decent pile of coins.
“Now,” said Max. “I want you to return to whatever backwater camp you belong to, and I want you to tell your friends something. Tell them that today they messed with the wrong person. Today they messed with Max Knightly.”
The bandit gulped.
“And if any more of your people try to mess with me,” Max continued, “I will come to your camp and I will slaughter each and every fucking one of you. You hear me?”
The bandit nodded, beads of sweat visibly dripping down his temples.
Max held the bandit firmly, staring into his eyes. Then he pushed him and released him. The bandit stumbled backwards and scrambled to get away.
Max watched as the bandit tripped over his own feet a few times then broke into a terrified sprint. Where had this version of him been when his boss had been screaming in his face? Where had this version of him been when his coworkers had asked him to fetch a replacement monitor from the storage room and then locked him inside as a “joke?” Something about this new world, the way it worked, the way he felt within it, was bringing out an entirely new side of him, a side that felt like it had always been there dormant within him, waiting to break out. A side that felt true.
Max looked down at the items the bandit had given up. There were a few things he knew he’d want to keep, but whoever the bandits had captive in the wagon was his priority.
Max jogged back to the dropped items of the first bandit he had killed, and located a key amongst them. He picked it up.
Merchant Wagon Key
Ignoring the neighing of the restless horse attached to the wagon, Max used the key to open the door and he peered inside.
Gagged by a dirty cloth was a beautiful young woman with long, mousy brown hair, her hands tied behind her back tightly with rope.
At the sight of Max, she reeled back, trying to bury herself into a corner.
“It’s okay,” Max said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
The girl paused. Max could see the hope in her eyes. She wanted to believe him.
“Here, let me help you,” he said. He clambered into the wagon and reached for the gag.
Max could see her chest rising and falling rapidly, still fearful of him.
As carefully as he could, Max pulled the gag out of her mouth and lifted it over her head. He then tossed the gag aside and untied the rope around her wrists.
He then retreated out of the wagon and held his hand out for her to take.
After a moment’s pause, she took his hand and allowed him to help her out into the fresh air.
“You’re free,” Max said.
Max expected the girl to run back to the village, but with a tear in one of her glistening brown eyes, she pounced on Max, wrapping her arms around him tightly and squeezing him.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Her voice was soft and sweet in Max’s ear, as pleasing as a gentle melody, and just as comforting. She had a British accent, though there was a slight regional twang to it that he couldn’t place.
Max couldn’t remember the last time a woman had hugged him like this. Maybe they never had.
He hugged her back. Her hair smelled of fragrant flowers, and her skin of fresh meadows and clean laundry.
“Are you hurt?” Max asked her. “Did they do anything to you?”
The girl released her tight hold of Max and stepped back.
“No, I… don’t think so.” She surveyed him. “But they got you.”
Confused, Max looked down at his own bare chest.
“Ah, shit,” Max cursed, noticing a small gash in his left pectoral. “Didn’t even feel that one.”
He looked up at his stats.
Max Knightly
28/50 HP
“It doesn’t matter. It didn’t do much damage,” he said. “I’ve got a potion in my invent-”
“Don’t waste it,” the girl cut in. “Here.”
She placed her hand on the wound, her cool touch feeling pleasant.
“Vitalis Totalia,” she said, and a green light emanated through her splayed fingers, then soaked into his flesh. The sensation was like having first contact with an ice-cold pool after a hot day in the sun; instantly refreshing and soothing.
In no time at all, not only had the wound vanished, but his health bar had been completely refilled.
Max Knightly
50/50 HP
“That’s pretty cool,” said Max, smiling. “Thank you.”
But the girl had a concerned expression on her face, her delicate brows furrowed.
“What’s the matter?” Max said, looking down again. The healing magic seemed to have removed the wound entirely, so he had no idea why the girl looked so worried.
“Your body,” she said. “There’s something on it.”
Not any more, Max thought, feeling confused. Unless she was talking about the dirt and occasional blood stain.
“It’s not visible without magic,” the girl explained. “I won’t be able to see it properly as I’m not proficient in revelation spells, but my Vitalis Totalia spell must have triggered a tiny bit of it for a brief moment. There’s handwritten text on your skin. Something is scrawled in large writing across your entire torso. Something hidden. A… secret message.”