The next morning, we all gathered in the inn, ready to begin our trek to eliminate the bandit infestation that had overrun the area. Our first stop was the nearest camp, and from there, we'd work our way toward the others, clearing them as we pushed back toward the castle. The plan was simple; escort the cart along the path, hopefully drawing some bandits out and cutting their numbers as we moved, then take out the camps as we neared them.
Wyguall stood near the Canithal bandit, who had a mixture of fear and defeat written on his face. A leash connected to a collar was tightly fastened around his neck, a strange contraption that immediately caught my attention. Wyguall noticed my stare and smiled, his amusement thinly veiled.
“If he tries anything funny,” Wyguall explained, tapping the collar lightly, “it will inject a venom. Won’t kill him, but it’ll hurt like hell.”
The bandit’s face drained of color at the mention of it. Judging by his reaction, he’d already experienced the venom’s bite. A flicker of pity crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed it away; he had kidnapped Trish, after all. The grudge still simmered.
I turned and made my way over to Leo and Max. “Hey, Leo, can I grab a word with you really quick?” I asked. Max, curious, raised an eyebrow as if to ask what it was about. I motioned for him to join us, and without hesitation, he followed.
As we stepped outside, I noticed Trish leaning against a nearby tree, her arms crossed, watching us. I hadn’t expected her to be there. I paused, catching her eye. She gave me a tight smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Was she planning to join the conversation? I hadn’t intended for that. I hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to be involved, but her expression told me otherwise. She was in on this, and she wasn’t going to be left out.
I returned a look of concern, wondering if she was ready for whatever was about to unfold. Trish just nodded, silently confirming her decision. With a quiet sigh, I gestured for her to follow along. We moved away from the inn, walking far enough to ensure no one would overhear us. Max trailed behind, his curiosity piqued, and Leo glanced between us, sensing the weight of the upcoming conversation.
Max, activated some kind of ability that cloaked our conversation, silencing any noise we made. The small bubble of stillness it created only made my heart race faster.
I glanced at Leo, then Max, my mind racing. Now or never.
As soon as my lips parted to explain the scale, we heard someone approaching, trip, followed by a loud grunt. There were only two people in our party who could sound like a tree falling in a forest.
I stepped out of the silence spell’s range and called, “Mel, we’re over here.”
“Right, yeah. I, uh, found the root of the problem here, mate,” she replied, her voice carrying a hint of embarrassment along with a chuckle as she emerged from behind a massive tree.
I bit back the urge to facepalm at her pun, managing only a weak laugh instead.
“That’s the pun you went with? Really?” Leo jibed, his smirk evident even through the silence spell.
“Shove it. I thought it was funny,” Mel shot back, making a rude gesture as she walked into the spell’s range.
Max chuckled, shaking his head at the exchange. Trish, though, stood apart, clearly looking more unsettled by the second, the weight of what needed to be said gnawing at her.
“Alright then,” I said, trying to gather everyone’s attention again.
But before I could continue, Trish spoke up. “No, James, I should be the one to tell them.” Her voice was steady but held an edge of vulnerability. I glanced at her, silently asking if she was sure. She gave me a hesitant but resolute nod.
Taking a breath, Trish recounted everything she had told me the night before, sparing no details. When she finished, her hand reached out toward me, gesturing for the scale. “Leo, we were wondering if you could run some tests or... something, on this?” she asked, her voice soft yet determined.
I handed Leo the scale, its dark surface catching the dim light as it passed from my hand to his. He studied it for a moment, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
“Yeah, I will certainly look into this,” Leo responded, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Mel chimed in, “I might even be able to dig into this as well. There could be an enchantment aspect to it.” I blinked, surprised I hadn’t even considered Mel’s expertise with enchantments.
“Man, that’s heavy, Trish. I… I don’t know how I would’ve handled that situation either,” Max said, sitting down on a fallen tree branch as thick as one of the large logs we used back home.
Leo handed the scale over to Mel. “Here, you take a look first. Just in case any tests I run end up damaging it,” he said, then turned back to Trish. “Look, Trish, you didn’t do anything wrong. You had no way of knowing what that scale would do. If anything, you made the right call using it. It’s not like any of us would have done anything different.”
Trish’s eyes welled up with tears, the weight of her guilt evident in the way her shoulders slumped slightly.
“Yeah,” I added, stepping closer to her. “Leo’s right. Any of us would’ve made the same choice. ‘A change in attitude’ is such a vague description.”
Mel nodded, holding the scale up to the light. “Mate, you used what you had to survive. You did what you had to do.”
Trish looked between all of us, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Well…” She hesitated for a moment, then straightened her back and squared her shoulders. “Next time, they won’t even get the chance to reach me,” she said with renewed determination. As if responding to her resolve, her bracers shifted into chakrams, the sharp discs swirling around us in a tight, defensive formation.
My eyes grew wide. There wasn’t just two.
“Holy shit, Trish, is that six chakrams!?” Max exclaimed, spinning around excitedly as he watched them dance through the air.
Trish beamed her own excitement evident. “I can’t wait to show you guys what I can do with these now!”
The tension from earlier had clearly passed, replaced by a newfound energy. The group, like children meeting their favorite television star, bombarded Trish with questions, their voices overlapping in a flurry of excitement. I just smiled, hanging back as they chatted, and followed them toward the inn to gather our gear and prepare for the trek back to the castle.
“When we arrive at the castle, I believe it’s time to discuss what needs to be done about gaining levels,” Star’s voice resounded in my mind. “These lower-level areas needed assistance, but to truly help this village and this world, you need to move on to where you can make real gains.”
I know, I responded. But I think we needed this lower-level experience. None of us would be ready for the real challenges otherwise.
“That’s why I waited until now to say anything, friend,” Star replied.
I smirked, giving a silent mental nudge of agreement.
Over the next few days, we moved swiftly from camp to camp, dismantling the bandit threat with precision. What once might have been a challenge now felt almost too easy. Max led the charge at the first camp, setting traps and explosives with such skill that half the bandits were taken down before they even knew we were there. When the survivors came at us in a frenzy, Mel met them head-on, her hammer crashing through their defenses with effortless power, while Trish’s chakrams spun like a whirlwind, cutting down any stragglers.
Each fight ended before it had truly begun. Leo’s ability to sense which element was coming next allowed him to perfectly place his spells, sending fire, ice, and wind through the enemy ranks. And when things looked like they might get out of hand, my shield was there to block any fatal blows, while my flail struck with the force of a meteor.
By the time we reached the last camp, the bandits had started fleeing before we even arrived; word of our prowess spreading faster than we could travel.
With the smaller camps cleared, we now stood at the edge of the forest, gazing at the ruin of a once-powerful castle. Crumbled walls and scattered rubble marked the place where the bandit leader was said to reside. Yet, despite knowing we were coming, the bandits patrolling the outer edge seemed unfazed, almost out of place. These ones were different; stronger, more disciplined than the rabble we’d faced in the other camps.
“Somethin’ tells me this camp won’t be near as easy as the others,” Mel muttered, eyeing the ruins warily.
I nodded in agreement, unease settling in. These bandits didn’t seem afraid; they looked ready. “I think we need to scout the rest of the area before making any moves,” I said, beginning to crawl backward down the hill, out of the camp’s sight.
“I’ll circle around the outer edge of the ruins,” Max offered. He glanced over the ridge. “Might take me two hours, though. I’ll play it safe.”
I gave him a firm nod. “Be safe, bro. We’ll wait and plan when you get back.”
Max nodded and disappeared into the woods, leaving Mel and me to head back to the cart. I approached Wyguall, who stood watchfully. “Hey, do us a favor; get Adil and Gix back to the castle,” I said, gesturing toward the two Canithal. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this place. I don’t want them getting caught up in whatever’s coming.”
Wyguall followed my gaze toward the two Canithal, then nodded. “I’ll take them back and return with reinforcements. We’re only two days out by cart, but I’ll bring a few of my best soldiers and get back in less than one. Three days at most.”
“If we’re dead by the time you return, don’t let these bastards get away with it,” I said, extending my hand.
Wyguall smirked and gripped my hand firmly. “Something tells me when I get back, you four will be sitting on the road, bored of waiting.”
I smiled at his confidence, but deep down, something about this camp felt wrong. A sense of unease sat at the back of my mind, but there was no time to let it take me over. This was the last of the bandits; we could clear this area out and create safe travel for future travelers.
I gestured for Trish and Leo to join Mel and me. “We need to find somewhere to set up a base of operations. When Max gets back, we’ll come up with a plan.”
A few hours passed, and we had a small camp set up on the other side of the road. The fire we started was not just for warmth but to draw out any wandering bandits, hoping to thin their numbers before our real assault.
Max returned, announcing his approach with a familiar bird call. As he stepped into the camp, his face was serious. “There’s at least a hundred of them outside, that I could see. They’ve got three patrols spaced evenly around the perimeter, and archer towers on each corner. Sneaking in is definitely not an option,” he said, taking a seat by the fire.
With Max’s silence ability still active, he continued outlining the situation. “There’s a giant of a beast inside the walls; its shoulders alone were visible over the top. I couldn’t get a clear look, but it’s huge. And there are a lot of traps set up around the area. I disarmed a few on the outskirts, but I’m sure there are more, further in,” he said, taking a swig from his water skin before adding, “Guys, this isn’t going to be easy. Honestly, I wonder if we should wait for Wyguall to show up with reinforcements.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“What are the odds they’ll pack up and leave, or just get even more prepared for an attack?” Leo asked, his expression grim.
“I don’t think waiting is a good idea,” I said, shaking my head. “For all we know, they could launch an all-out assault on us before Wyguall arrives.”
“We could let them,” Trish suggested thoughtfully. “With Max’s explosives, we could set up our own traps and take them out when they come.”
Max frowned, his concern deepening. “Even with all the explosives I have, it wouldn’t be enough to take them all out. And I don’t know, I just have a really bad feeling about this. There’s something dark in those ruins. I don’t know what it is, but it’s giving me some serious bad vibes.”
Mel, who had been silent up until now, spoke up. “You felt it too, huh?”
I nodded, relieved I wasn’t alone in my unease. “Yeah, I’ve had this sense of something being off ever since we first saw the ruins. There’s something dark lurking in there.”
Leo glanced toward the ruins, his face mirroring our shared unease. “Same here. That’s why we need a really solid plan before we even think about storming those walls.”
We approached the ruins, Mel and I crawling on our bellies, peering over the hill. The sky above was cloaked in thick clouds, obscuring the moons. Darkness enveloped everything, with only faint traces of light struggling to break through.
I gestured for Max to climb high into a nearby tree, signaling him to get into position for high-ground support. Leo and Trish waited behind, keeping low, their eyes scanning for any sign to move.
My heart pounded in my chest, each thud reverberating in my ears. The nerves sent a slight tremor through my hands as I gripped Star’s hilt tightly. I eased myself backward, pulling away from the hill’s edge. Mel followed closely behind.
I exchanged a quick nod with Leo, then glanced at Trish. She met my gaze, and for a second, I wondered if she truly wanted to be part of this fight. She offered a firm nod, stepped closer, and cupped my cheek with one hand. Her lips brushed against the other cheek in a fleeting kiss before she turned and followed Mel to circle the ruins from the opposite side.
Max was long out of sight now, and I trusted him completely. His aim would be true.
Leo placed a hand on my shoulder, a silent reminder. The time had come.
I stepped over the ledge, descending from the hill. Almost immediately, flaming arrows flew toward me, archers firing warning shots. I didn’t flinch. As the arrows struck the ground near me, their flames flickered and died. I looked back up at the archers, a smile tugging at my lips. I raised my shield in front of me as Star shifted, the ball and chain dropping to my side.
Lightning shot from behind me, striking the tower to my left as one of Max’s explosive arrows hit the other. I bolted toward the ruins, where three bandits emerged from the gate, weapons drawn. But they were too slow. Star swung with force, crashing into the first bandit’s face before they could react. I drove the bottom of my shield into the second’s knee, the sickening snap of bones echoing in the night.
The third bandit rushed me, but I kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying backward. A fireball from Leo’s staff seared the one holding her shattered knee. Leo strode up beside me as we passed through the tattered gate of the ruins.
Max’s count had been off; there weren’t just a hundred bandits. There were hundreds. All of them turned their hungry eyes on us, and the ground rumbled beneath their charge. I glanced at Leo, who stared back at me.
This was going to be a true test of our endurance.
The mass of bandits surged toward us, a violent tide with weapons raised high. Arrows rained down from the archers above, and spells crackled through the air like bolts of energy.
I prayed we could hold out long enough for Wyguall to arrive. Or win the fight before it was too late.
I clashed with the front line, roaring as I activated [Celestial Battle Cry]. Suddenly, all eyes turned to me, their attention drawn by the radiant pull of my presence. Without hesitation, I stepped into Tempest form, and fear melted away, replaced by the rhythmic flow of the dance of death.
I moved through their ranks, Star’s flail cutting through enemies like a hot knife through butter, each strike precise and devastating. My shield pulsed in time with my movements, a soft glow trailing behind me like a comet’s tail. The enemies began to scatter, trying to move around me, but I wasn’t going to let them slip away that easily.
With a powerful slam, I activated [Gravity Well], driving my shield into the ground. A ripple of fear swept through the bandits as they realized they were being pulled toward me; into a deadly vortex they couldn’t escape. They were sucked into the eye of the storm, right into the path of my spinning flail, and chaos erupted in their ranks.
Through the frenzy, I caught sight of Leo, his hands ablaze as he hurled spell after spell into the crowd. Arrows rained down from the trees as if Max was in all of them at once, his explosives erupting among the outer ranks, scattering more of the bandits.
Maybe I was scared for nothing. This was just as easy as the other camps.
I could hear Mel and Trish tearing through the other side of the ruins, their sounds of battle echoing through the walls. Finally, we met in the middle of the devastation, surrounded by the aftermath of our efforts. This fight, it was child’s play, and that unsettled me more than I cared to admit.
“Well, that was…” My voice trailed off, my mouth hanging open as I watched the impossible happen before my eyes. The bodies of the fallen bandits began to move, twitching and snapping back together, bones resetting, wounds closing.
“Bloody hell, zombies?!” Mel spat, followed by a colorful stream of curses that I barely registered.
“Damnit.” It was all I could manage, my grip tightening on Star.
The three of us instinctively moved back-to-back, weapons ready. I could only imagine Max’s thoughts as he watched this unfold from his perch. What was supposed to be a final victory had just turned into something far darker.
A voice, cold and mocking, seemed to echo from every direction, as if coming from the very bodies that were stitching themselves back together. “You really thought it would be so easy to waltz into my camp?”
I looked around, heart pounding, as the reanimated corpses stood, weapons in hand, their lifeless eyes glinting with malice. The hideous laughter that followed crawled under my skin, spilling from their mouths in unison.
Then the voice spoke again, its tone dripping with sadistic glee. “The fun is just beginning.”
Trish’s six chakrams began to spin around us, not just defensively but slicing through the air in aggressive arcs, a whirlwind of lethal metal. Mel roared with defiance, slamming her mace into the ground, causing a tremor with her rage. Leo began to levitate, his staff circling him, gathering energy with each spin. I readied myself for another round, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle in but refusing to let it slow me down.
The now zombie bandits stood swaying to and fro, then without warning, sprinted towards us with a speed and ferocity they hadn’t possessed before. Their hollow eyes gleamed with that sadistic laugh still echoing through the air.
Launching myself into the dance of the Tempest form, my shield pulsing out the buff to my friends, we worked our way through their ranks again. Max was still in the trees, launching arrows, each one finding its mark in the heads of the dead, his explosive arrows taking down groups at once. Mel and I smashed as many as we could, her hammer obliterating skulls while Trish’s chakrams sliced through limbs and necks with precision.
But no matter what we did, they kept coming back, reforming with that hideous laughter.
“I’m thinking the picking-them-off plan till Wyguall returned was better than this one now,” Mel growled as she smashed another skull into the ground, frustration clear in her voice.
Leo chuckled, though it lacked his usual humor. “Yeah, this might’ve been a miscalculation,” he muttered, his hands glowing as he launched another blast of arcane energy into the horde.
Trish, panting but still determined, nodded. Her chakrams spun in a wide arc, taking out a group of the undead.
“We need to find the leader, or we’ll be at this…” I stopped, glancing toward the horizon where the first light of dawn was creeping into the sky. “A lot longer than we ever dreamed of fighting.”
Exhaustion was overwhelming me. My body ached from the constant strain, and the shield in my hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. But I had to stay vigilant. One mistake, and they’d break through to Trish, Leo, or Mel. I couldn't let that happen.
Suddenly, an arrow landed next to my foot, a scrap of paper tied to its shaft. I picked it up and read the hastily scribbled note: Low on arrows. Do something soon.
I cursed quietly under my breath. “Max says he’s low on ammo,” I whispered hoarsely. I glanced at Trish, Mel, and Leo. “You three need to find him and drag his ass out here.”
Trish started to protest, “I’m not…”
I cut her off with a wave of my hand, my voice firm but tired. “It’s either you three go, or I go alone. Pick one.”
Trish’s eyes filled with worry as she searched my face for any sign of hesitation. I nodded, silently telling her I’d be okay. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she nodded back and turned, motioning for Mel and Leo to follow.
I watched them disappear into the ruins, trusting Max would cover their backs from above. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized what I was about to do.
I looked up toward the treetops, nodding subtly to Max, signaling him that I was counting on him to watch over them.
A blur shifted in the trees, Max repositioning himself for better coverage. I smiled faintly. He knew what I needed without me saying a word.
Now, it was just me. The only way to them was through me. My body screamed in protest, my muscles trembling with exhaustion. But there was no other choice.
Star’s voice hummed quietly in the back of my mind. “James, become a wall of fury and wrath.”
I gripped Star’s hilt tighter, feeling the weapon pulse with power. I had to become an impassible wall. I planted my feet firmly in the ground, readying myself as the undead horde turned their eyes on me.
I faced the army of dead as they began reanimating once again, adjusting my stance and readying myself for the impending battle. All of my abilities had come off cooldown, my health comfortably sitting around ninety-six percent.
As the front of the line charged toward me, I initiated the dance of death once again. This time, I alternated between the fluid strikes of tempest form and the steadfast blocks of defensive form. The two styles began to blend together, each spin, strike, and block becoming part of a seamless rhythm.
The horde pressed closer, the rear ranks shoving the front lines forward in their frenzy. A smile tugged at my lips.
Now.
I activated [Eclipse Nova], plunging the area into an eerie twilight as I slammed my shield into the ground, triggering [Gravity Well]. The undead were pulled toward me, their bodies collapsing inward as they clawed and bit, teeth gnashing against my armor. I could feel my health bar slowly draining as I activated [Celestial Battle Cry], drawing their attention entirely to me.
They were all over me; claws raking my skin, teeth sinking into any exposed flesh. My health dropped steadily, but I refused to relent. Star's head swung with deadly precision, my shield bashing and slamming into anything that crawled too close.
At forty-five percent health, I activated [Celestial Sanctum] and [Renewal], a surge of healing energy flowing through me, steadily pushing my health back up. Every muscle screamed in agony as I fought, my body teetering on the edge of exhaustion. But I pressed on, feeling the weight of the battle lifting as their numbers dwindled.
Just a dozen or so left now.
Suddenly, arrows rained down from the treetops, and in moments, the last of the undead fell. I barely had time to catch my breath before an arrow thudded into the ground beside me, a note tied to its shaft. I snatched it up quickly.
Move now!
Without hesitation, I backpedaled, spun on my heel, and sprinted in the direction of my friends, every instinct screaming that there was more to come. Horror gripped at my chest as I tore through the ruins, my feet barely touching the ground. Out of nowhere, Max appeared beside me, matching my pace.
“They ran in there; I couldn’t cover them anymore,” he said breathlessly, pointing ahead toward a structure in the distance.
An ancient church. It loomed ominously in the mysterious darkness surrounding it, the only building still standing amidst the ruins. Its towering black stone walls seemed to absorb the faint light from the rising sun above, and a chill ran down my spine as I caught sight of the blood-like substance trickling from the seams where the stones met. The air around it felt wrong, heavy with something dark and unnatural.
Max reached the door first, tugging and pushing at the handle with frustration. “It’s stuck!”
I slammed my shield into the door with all my strength, splintering the wood and forcing it open. Dust and debris scattered around us as we stumbled inside. The darkness of the church swallowed us whole, the oppressive atmosphere pressing in from all sides as we stood amid the rubble of the shattered entrance.
I quickly searched through the falling dust, straining my eyes to spot the others.
“You see them?” I asked, my voice tight with worry.
Max, fear etched across his face, scanned the room. “No. Where could they…”
A sudden roar echoed from below, followed by a loud crash. We sprinted in the direction of the noise. At the far side of the room, a doorway led deeper into the church, down into its depths. Without hesitation, I darted down the steps, heart pounding in my chest.
A scream of pain rang out from below. My blood ran cold, and I pushed myself faster, skipping steps as I descended the spiral staircase. Max followed closely, the urgency driving us both forward.
At the bottom, we burst into a massive chamber, its towering pillars; each the size of two buses stacked vertically, holding the ceiling above. Green flames flickered in the braziers hanging overhead, casting an eerie glow across the room. Torches lined the walls, bathing the stone hall in a sickly, unnatural light.
A monstrous creature clashed with three figures at the far end of the room. Its hulking form, barely visible in the flickering green light, loomed over them, each swipe of its massive claws sending shockwaves through the air. I could hear Mel’s hammer strike it with a deafening thud, but the beast barely faltered. Leo's magic flared, casting erratic shadows on the walls, while Trish’s chakrams whirled through the air, their metallic hiss barely audible over the creature’s roars.
The sheer size of the monster was staggering; it towered over them, its grotesque shape twisting and shifting in the dim light, almost as if it was something pulled from the depths of nightmares. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural fire, and every movement seemed to pulse with malice.
Max and I froze for a second, unsure of how to even approach this monstrosity. My heart raced as I watched the battle unfold; Trish narrowly dodged a swipe, the chakrams protecting her with mere inches to spare.
Just as I made a move to join the fight, the creature roared again, louder this time; an earth-shattering sound that echoed through the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the church. The green flames flickered wildly as if they too were afraid.
A crack spread along the walls, dust flew from the pillars, and pebbles of stone fell from the ceiling. I looked to Max, and we leapt into action, sprinting towards the beast a roar of rage escaped my chest as I approached, challenging the new foe.