After combing through most of the other houses, John heard a loud crash from the house next to the inn. It was the house of the Bower family. As the young warrior neared the house, he was able to hear screams of both human and Rath'een. From what he could make of the words, it seemed that the Bower family has been trapped in their home by a group of Rath'een monsters! John knew that he needed to stop those bastards before it was too late! John ran towards the front of the house and found out that the door was open. He peeked inside and saw that the interior of the Bower's home had been completely torn apart - valuables strewn on the floor, tables and furniture overturned, and a layer of ice along the far wall suggesting that a Rath'een Warlock was behind the attack. John entered the house cautiously, his weapons drawn and held at the ready. Further inside, John could hear the Rath'een attackers threatening the Bower family. John stepped forward and challenged the cowardly beasts, giving the Bower family just enough time to escape from their home. The Rath'een advanced on the young Shadow Walker, and the battle began!

John thrust forth with his sword but the Rath'een in front of him rolled forward, dodging his attack and taking a bite out of his leg. He grunted in pain and raised his other leg. With a fierce stomp, he pounded the Rath'een and knocked the wind out of it. The Rath'een spat out, just enough time for John to withdraw his wounded leg. He raised up his sword in order strike but suddenly see another Rath'een lunge towards him from the side. John raised his other hand and tried to block any incoming attack. He winced as the Rath'een bit into his arm. John viciously shook his arm and kicked the Rath'een off of him. The first Rath'een pounced towards him once it caught its breath, almost catching John by surprise but luckily John was expecting it. Those cowardly beasts were renown for their sneak attacks and backstabs. After all, it was in their nature. John punched out and broke a couple of the Rath'een's teeth. As the rat monster staggered back from the force of the attack, John held his sword and ran the beast through. However, the Rath'een grabbed a hold of John and took a bite at his shoulder. One bite he could deal with, but when the other Rath'een jumped on his back and bit his other shoulder, John roared with pain.

He sprung back and crashed the Rath'een on his back into a wall, driving the bastard off of him. Then, he twisted the sword and sent another round of pain into the Rath'een in front of him. The monster yelped in pain and let go of his shoulder. Using all his strength, John forced the sword up. Coupled with the weight of the Rath'een pressing down on the sword, he was able to lengthen the wound. After a few seconds or so, as if some limit was broken, John slashed the sword out from the Rath'een's shoulder. The nearly halved monster collapsed to the ground, dead upon landing. John glanced at the monster, pieces of bone and organs strewn near and around the wound. Whew, that was tough! John almost dropped his guard when he remembered that there was still another enemy. He quickly turned around and saw the remaining Rath'een lunge at him. He threw his dagger towards the charging Rath'een in an attempt to slow it down, however, even with the dagger hilt deep in its shoulder, the Rath'een did not stop its charge. It pounced on John and gnawed on his arm dealing thirty-two points of damage.

The young Shadow Walker grimaced at the pain and threw the Rath'een off of his arm. As the rat monster scrambled to its feet, John held up his sword and ran the bastard through. He continued his charge, carrying the bastard along, and pinned it to a wall. The Rath'een raised its hand in an attempt to claw at John's face, but John grabbed a hold of the arm, ripped the dagger out from the Rath'een's shoulder, and nailed the hand into the wall. It was time to deal the finishing move. John pulled out the sword and unleashed a spinning attack. With such a sharp slash, both the raised arm and the head of the Rath'een separated from the body. After killing both enemies, John sighed in relief and slumped against the wall. He winced in pain as he fumbled for a healing potion in his bag. With a flick of his head, he downed the sour liquid. Seconds later, his wounds were healed and his stamina renewed. John knew that his fight had most likely reached the ears of the other Rath'een monsters upstairs. With no time to waste, John rushed up the stairs and searched the rooms. When he reached the master room, he saw two Rath'een bastards. One was the warlock and the other was a Rath'een Brawler. The warlock seemed to be edging closer to the window. Suddenly, the Rath'een Warlock screeched some commands and crashed through the window. That bastard was trying to escape! John took a few steps towards the window but was stopped by the Rath'een Brawler. It seemed the enemy before him was bent on buying the warlock time to escape. In a fit of bloodlust, John rushed towards the Rath'een Brawler and thrust out his sword with a powerful Piercing Strike. He smashed into the rat monster and the two crashed into the broken window.

The two warriors landed on the ground with John on top and his sword still in the Rath'een Brawler. The Rath'een Brawler spat out a mouthful of blood and swiped its claws at John, knocking him back. The tough bastard scrambled to its feet and pulled the sword out of its body. It tossed the sword away and glared at John. As expected of a level four Rath'een Brawler...even with one lung destroyed, its toughness was on a whole new level. John rushed towards the monster and unleashed a fierce flying drop kick. The Rath'een Brawler stepped to the side and dodged the kick. John flipped over and landed on all fours. He craned his neck and glanced up at the monster. John lifted his dagger and pounced at the Rath'een Brawler. The rat monster's tail shot forth and whipped John to the side. Luckily, at that instance, the young man was able to leave a small wound on the Rath'een Brawler's tail. John tumbled into the ground and rolled a couple of times. He climbed up on one knee and noticed his sword lying within hand's reach. As the Rath'een Brawler rubbed its wound, John picked up his sword and sprinted forth. He launched a Piercing Strike once more and punctured the monster's other lung. With both lungs damaged, the Rath'een Brawler began to have trouble breathing. It gasped for breath as it grabbed its throat. John clenched his right fist and jabbed the monster in the face. The Rath'een Brawler collapsed onto the ground as it gasped for air. After struggling a couple of times, its eyes rolled over and it died from asphyxiation.

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John looked up from his victory and saw that the Rath'een Warlock had already escaped into the hole it emerged from. The young Shadow Walker rushed towards the tunnel but the coward had closed off the tunnel. John showed a face of displeasure but quickly forgotten the escapee as he completely covered the hole with dirt. Then, he looted the bodies and removed them from the house. He lit the corpses on fire and burned them to ashes. As John healed his wounds, he realized that he had leveled up once again. Now, as a level four, his health points had increased to 630. John smiled at his achievement. Afterwards, he searched for the Bower family and told them that their house was in the clear. Then, he escorted the family back to their house. Once they thanked him for his help, John headed towards Gibbons's House. No one was there, not even a Rath'een. Seemed like Ellen was still with Miss Colette and had not come back recently. Maybe it's all for the better. After all, Ellen lost someone important to her here and it would be best if she was to distance herself from this place in order to cope with any trauma she may have gotten over the incident. After he finished checking the other houses around Gibbons's House, he headed towards the Coliseum.

That's when he noticed a small house next to the Coliseum. Loud noises were coming from that house and last he knew, that house was owned by Aylwin - an old scholar and good friend of Daedalus's. John rushed towards that house and saw that the front door was open. There was a pungent rusty smell permeating from within the house. John had a bad premonition. He crept inside and looked around. He peeked into some rooms and saw that each room was ransacked, stuff lying on the ground in a mess and a filthy smell lingered in the air. John knew the smell all too well...Rath'een!

CRASH!

The sound came from down the hall! John hurried towards the source of the sound. It was coming from behind the door at the end of the hallway. The door was partly open and John was able to peek inside. John noticed Aylwin lying very still on the dusty wooden floor. Scattered around him were shredded books, a smashed crystal ball, and the four Rath'een that had slain him.

Furious, the young Shadow Walker flung open the door and stepped forward to challenge the Rath'een bastards. "You killed Aylwin!?"

The Rath'een hissed in surprise at the intrusion. One of them shouted as they began to advance on the young hero, teeth and claws bared for battle. "Kill the meddler!"

John dashed towards the nearest Rath'een enemy, a level four warlock, and attacked with a Piercing Strike. Without stopping his charge, the young Shadow Walker used the Rath'een Warlock as a meat shield and barreled his way past the other three Rath'een warriors. Suddenly, John felt his body freeze over. This bastard had hit him with a point-blank Cold Blast! Luckily, it was a feeble one. If it had been a full-powered Cold Blast, he would have suffered a fatal injury. John grabbed a hold of his sword with both hands and glanced over his shoulders towards the other three Rath'een monsters. The three monsters laid on the ground dazed from being tackled. Swiftly, John pulled out the sword and immediately spun around with a diagonal slash at the Rath'een Warlock. Then, with a kick, John booted the warlock to a wall. The young Shadow Walker ended the Rath'een's life with a fierce Piercing Strike to the heart. All this had happened in a matter of seconds and none of the other Rath'een warriors had the time to react. Comparing all three of their levels to that of the dead warlock, John could guess how inexperienced the three Rath'een warriors were.

As the Rath'een warriors slowly reacted, John rushed towards the Rath'een on the left and unleashed his most used skill - Piercing Strike. However, the Rath'een was trembling with fear and stumbled back, luckily dodging the attack. Lucky for it but not for John. The Rath'een in the middle pounced on him and bit into his shoulder, while the Rath'een Brawler on the right reached out and punched John in the head. A ringing, buzzing sound erupted in John's head as his eyes began to blur. The Rath'een on the left scrambled back on its feet and leaped forward to bite but fortunately, it miscalculated the distance as John stepped back and shook his head to clear away his senses. With a fiery glint in his eyes, he shrugged the Rath'een on top of him off and kicked the Rath'een in front of him back. Then, he threw his dagger into the Rath'een's throat, the force sending the monster back and embedding itself in a wall. As the Rath'een struggled to set itself free, John thrust out his sword and killed it.

He pulled out his sword and turned to the others. Seeing the Rath'een Brawler charge towards him, he raised his weapons up and readied himself to meet the charge; however, pain suddenly shot up in his leg. The Rath'een that he shrugged off of him had clamped onto his leg and refused to let go. That momentary distraction cost him a swipe to the head. Once again, his head began to buzz and his eyes blurred. John stomped at the Rath'een below him but the stubborn bastard held on...even when John kicked it in the gut. If not for the situation at hand, John could have commented the admirable willpower of the Rath'een. Suddenly, a long thick tail smashed forth, knocking John onto the ground. The Rath'een Brawler's tail swayed around a bit before shooting towards him once more. John stabbed into the Rath'een on his leg, finally forcing its mouth open. Then, the young Shadow Walker rolled backwards and dodged the fierce Tail Whip.

John took out his dagger and quickly applied a layer of neurotoxin. He glared at the Rath'een Brawler and sneered. The young Shadow Walker leaped forth and charged, his sword raised and aimed for the Rath'een Brawler's heart. The monster had seen John start off with a Piercing Strike three times in a row and had assumed that the young man would use Piercing Strike against it as well. So when it saw John charge at it with his sword raised, the Rath'een Brawler flipped back a couple of times. At a distance away, it smirked at John. But then, its body shook. Pain surged through its body. It looked down at the source of the pain and saw...a dagger...John's dagger! John had feinted with the sword and threw his dagger instead. The dagger punctured through the Rath'een Brawler and the neurotoxin quickly spread. The Rath'een Brawler's legs began to weaken and it took a few steps to stabilize itself. It looked up in shock at the human who did the attack...and saw that John was gone! John had taken advantage of the Rath'een Brawler's distraction and snuck up behind it. With a large swing, he beheaded the Rath'een Brawler.

John reached into his bag and pulled out a healing potion. While he drank the potion, he searched the Rath'een invaders for silver. He was already used to looting so he didn't think much about it as he rummaged through the corpses. Even though looting was an unfavorable behavior, he needed the silver to pay for better equipment and more potions. After all, nothing was free. Once he healed up, he dragged the Rath'een corpses out of the house and burned them. Then, he buried old man Aylwin in the backyard and erected a wooden tablet to identify the dead. Afterwards, he finished his patrol around the village and headed back to the Training Hall. Along the way, he met Daedalus who just got back from the war outside of the village.