After they reached the kitchen, the tavern owner showed her to the back room. It was filled with boxes of foodstuffs and other sundries, which were neatly arranged on shelves. In the center of the room, there was a table with several trays piled on top of it. On the table was a single sword. It was rusted and dull, but she could tell that it was a decent quality blade. She picked it up and tested its weight. It felt heavy enough to be a good weapon, although she wouldn't know until she tried it out.
"Here you are," the tavern owner said. "Take it, and use it well."
Lily nodded. "I will. Thank you."
New Weapon Aquired: Rusted Broadsword
The wielder of this rusted sword in its current state can inflict minimal damage. Chances for Instant Kill are 10%. Greater chances for instant kill increase upon bringing the weapon to a blacksmith for grinding and sharpening. Requirements: Level > 1, Strength > 1, Agility > 1, Intelligence > 1
The tavern owner smiled. "Don't mention it. The last I heard, the bandits were hiding out in an abandoned settlement not far from here. They keep stealing food and supplies from my villagers, and I've had enough of it. So I sent one of my men to track down their base camp. Maybe I'll have him bring back some souvenirs for everyone."
Lily was about to ask what he meant by that, but the door suddenly burst open and four bandits stormed in. He immediately spotted Lily and pointed his sword at her.
"Get down on your knees and drop everything in your hands!" one of bandits yelled. "If you don't, I swear I'll gut you like a fish."
Lily froze.
What should I do? Should I obey the bandit or protect myself?
Either way, she wasn't sure that she could win against this guy. But if she didn't obey him, he might attack her anyway.
"I said kneel!" the bandit yelled again. "Do it right now or I'll—"
The tavern owner grabbed a knife from the counter and threw it at the bandit. It pierced his chest and he collapsed to the ground without even making a sound. The other bandits stared at their fallen comrade for a few moments before rushing forward.
One of them lunged at Lily and swung his sword at her. She ducked under the blade and kicked the bandit in the side of his knee, causing him to drop his sword in the process.
[-10 HP]
He stumbled backwards and fell onto the counter, and Lily leapt over it before he could get back up.
The bandit charged at her from the opposite direction, swinging his sword at her head. She barely managed to dodge out of the way. As soon as she turned around, however, she saw the third bandit walking towards her. He hadn't bothered to pick up his sword after knocking it aside earlier. Instead, he clutched a long dagger in his hand and ran towards her.
Lily felt a pang of fear as she realized that she had no choice but to fight them. If she didn't, she would probably die. She drew her rusty sword and readied herself to face the bandit with the dagger.
The bandit rushed forwards and slashed his dagger at Lily's torso. Before he could strike, however, she stabbed her rusty sword into his stomach.
[-200 HP]
Blood sprayed from his wound and he screamed in pain. He staggered backwards, and Lily charged at him and thrust her sword at his chest. The bandit tried to block, but the blade slid through his defenses and sliced through his flesh.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Blood poured from the bandit's wound as he dropped to the floor and curled up. Lily stood over him for a moment before stepping back.
Stab: Difficult
Instant Kill
+15 XP
Skill Unlocked: Stab
Delivers an Instant Kill when stabbing small creatures. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level ≥ 1, Agility ≥ 1, Stamina ≥ 1, Intelligence ≥ 1
She rolled her eyes at the meager Experience Points she had just earned.
I forgot how little you get at the beginning of the game!
"Did you really think you could beat me?" she whispered to the corpse, "No matter how strong you are, you can't defeat a swordsman who knows what she's doing."
She made a move to loot the fallen bandit’s much better sword, when suddenly another bandit entered the kitchen. He was panting, and his face was covered in blood. His clothes were torn apart and he held a shortsword in his hand.
"There you are," the bandit growled. "We were just about to kill you."
"Yeah? Well, I already killed one of your friends. How many more are you willing to lose?"
The bandit grinned. "None. Because you're dead."
He held his sword aloft and ran at her. Lily raised her sword and parried his blow. Their swords clashed together as they fought, and both of them stumbled backwards.
A third bandit rushed past the her and attempted to attack Lily from behind. She spun around and blocked the blow. The bandit grunted as their blades clashed. When he tried to stab at her again, she dodged and tripped him.
[-10 HP]
The bandit landed on his back, and Lily spun back around to deliver a killing blow to the second bandit. Unfortunately, her opponent was faster than she expected. He leaped up and threw himself at her, forcing Lily to jump backward.
Their swords clanged together once again, but this time the bandit she had knocked to the ground had regained his footing. He lunged at her from the side and tried to slash at her. She blocked the blow easily, and then slammed the edge of her sword into the second bandit's stomach.
[-150 HP]
His mouth opened in surprise, but he clenched his teeth and refused to scream. She twisted the hilt and withdrew. Blood poured out of his wound and he collapsed to the floor.
StabTwist: Medium
Instant Kill
+10 XP
Skill Unlocked: StabTwist
Delivers an Instant Kill when you stab your weapon into an opponent's chest, and twist while withdrawing. Chances of Instant Kill are 90%. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Strength > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1, Willpower > 1
Lily turned back to face the third bandit. This time, he attacked first. He swung at her with his sword, and she parried it easily. Then, she pushed him away with her free hand and stabbed him in the neck. Her opponent fell to the ground without making a noise.
NeckSlash: Difficult
Instant Kill
+15 XP
Skill Unlocked: NeckSlash
Delivers an Instant Kill when slashing across an opponent's neck in close range. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1
Lily stared down at him for a moment, thinking about what she should do next. A prompt appeared as she leaned over the bodies
Opportunity Alert
Do you wish to loot your opponent's inventories?
***Disclaimer: only unlocked items are available to loot (item locking is a service only available to Premium Members)***
Loot Bodies | Leave Bodies
Lily quickly selected Loot Bodies. A screen displayed showing the content of each of the bandits inventories.
She eyed their far more impressive swords eagerly and tried to select them, but received an error.
Error!
This inventory item is locked.
She received the same error for each of the swords, as well as their daggers.
So lame.
The best she could do was loot several healing potions and some gold coins. She decided to leave the bodies for the bandit leader to find. She doubted he'd care too much about the fate of his subordinates, but maybe he would be less likely to kill her if she gave him a reason not to.
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