L dragged the body out from the water with difficulty. It was slightly larger than himself, standing at 5 foot 6 and weighing around 140 pounds.

It smelled bad, too.

Infusing Dark mana into his body, however, was becoming relatively natural to do, and so with a bit of effort L was able to throw the monster on his head and haul it into the far edges of the cave. He took quick steps, not wanting to savor the sensation of the leathery beast's skin against his own.

He'd taken off his clothes before diving in the other to reduce water resistance. Other than the knife attached to his shoulder by a darkness string, he had stashed under the deep recess of darkness, away with the rest of his weapons, a few paces off from where he took ou the Bugbear. Braj's soul, was also there, placed away neatly with the cloth.

Thrawl’s Quality Bow

Skill Modifiers:

Dexterity: A

Strength: C

Weapon Parameters:

Accuracy: B

Durability: B

Enchantability: D

Handling: B

Power: C

String Durability: C

String Pulling Speed: C

Weight: C

Simple Quiver

Arrow Limit: 24

Durability: C

Weight: C

Quality Iron Arrows

Flight Distance: B

Wind Resistance: B

Handling: B

Speed: C

Weight: C

Penetration: B

High-Quality Akinaka Short-Sword

Though it is plain and unnamed, the quality of iron and the Blacksmithing techniques required to achieve such balance and sharpness is noteworthy. The design of the Akinaka is unique to the Desert Land's countless kingdoms.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Skill Modifiers:

Dexterity: B

Strength: B

Weapon Parameters:

Slashing: B

Thrusting: B

Blunt: F

Durability: C

Handling: A

Weight: B

Enchantability: B

L threw on his clothes and equipped his weapons. He made a belt for his scabbard and loaded quiver to his back. The Bugbear's body lay near him, stuffed away under black blankets. He would need the body later, for purposes he would rather not think about.

Fortunately, that can wait for another time. For now, he had a mob of Vathiás charging towards where the Bugbear splashed, probably trying to find out what all the fuss is about. He bounced up, the first arrow loaded. 

While the Vathiás were 30 meters away, the few arrows flew true. L had been using the bow for most of his gaming life, gaining quite a bit of expertise in it, but when seven Vathiás are running in a cluster, screaming and waving their sharp knives in rage, it was a bit hard to miss. The first arrow pierced through front and back of the leading Vathiá’s chest, slowing down the mob. Two fell on top of each other, becoming dangeled in their own limbs.

The arrow, infused with Darkness Embrace, has landed a Critical Shot

Their moment of confusion allowed L to fire another bow, hitting another in the shoulder. As they charged into the pitch darkness, L fired the third arrow, impaling itself in the Vathiá’s guts.

The Vathiás were now dangerously close, less than 10 meters away. The first arrow had the first Vathiá dead on the floor, the second one made the second Vathiá limp in pain, and the third, of which he released, reduced their number to four alive in total, with two getting dangerously close.

Critical Headshot

D Rank Bow Proficiency progress 25/100

Handling proficiency increased.

Decrease stamina required to load and hold an arrow.

L threw aside his bow, and picked up his sword just as the first blow came. It was an overhand cut, and though the Vathiá weighed less than a hundred pounds, the force of the charge would come through with it. Instead of blocking it straight on, L angeled the flat side of his blade against the slash’s trajectory, twisting his entire body to redirect the force of the blow to the right side.

The Vathiá were right-handed, and though L was on his knee, the Vathiá was not able to ram L as the beast’s overextended slash sent him sprawling after his blade.

The second Vathiá arrived two steps behind the first, preventing L from dealing the finishing blow. It threw at him two light jabs. He easily avoided them, stepping to the left, and twisting his body and parried aside the lunge of the first Vathiá. Once again, it had overextended itself in its attempts to capitalize on L’s imbalance, leaving it wide open, but once again the second Vathiá stabbed at him, forcing him to retreat.

As he was fending off the attacks of the two Vathiás, L noticed the third creeping up on him. Though she had an arrow in her shoulder, the thing could probably still poke a hole in L’s skin. With no armor, any blow was bound to be lethal. The two others were a few steps behind her.

Either I retreat and pick them off one by one, or I gamble. What style will I adopt?

With a slight nod to himself, L charged at the smarter of the Vathiás. Within two-steps L was within attack range, bringing his sword in a diagonal slash. The Vathiá he was attacking stepped backward, bringing his sword up in defense, while the other Vathiá stepped towards L to flank from the side.

The moment the second of the Vathiás stepped back, L twisted his third step towards the charging Vathiá, throwing himself in between the two. Catching both off-guard, L stepped beside the hasty lung, the blade skipping his tunic. As he stepped past the Vathiá , his sword impaled into its guts. Without stopping, L spun, pulling the blade out and taking the blow from the smart Vathiá on its edge. He threw it aside as it came down, then thrusted his blade through the chest of the Vathiá, piercing its heart. It’s thin skin and muscle allowed L to bring up his sword just in time to parry a thrust from the wounded Vathiá. He stepped back as the rest of the Vathiás grouped up in front of him, their mouths salivating.

Three Vathiá down, two healthy ones, and one with an arrow through her shoulders. I lost the element of surprise. They got their wits together now, and I'll have to finish this before any more of them show up.

L took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles, and once again charged at the center of the three. This time, all three of them paused, bringing up two rusted swords and one club. The two standing on the side stepped sideways, attempting to circle L as they had circled the cat in the forest.

L then pivoted and retreat deeper into the dungeon, picking up his bow on the way, his arrows dangling as he did so.