At this point, massive bonfires had broken out on either side of me. The heat was immense, but I could barely feel it at that moment. The bandits had started to retreat, seeing that their attempt to get the sword was lost. Two men were dragging the body of the Bandit Hero as they left. As for me, I felt frustration and anger. I had lost all of my slaves in a single day with a single cut of my sword, and then the two slaves I had were taken away shortly after I found them.

What was the point of being a support character when there was no one around me to support? No matter how much I grew, I would never be quite as strong as the rest of them. My class was support. Even if I had their job, I’d never have their ability. I was out-classed.

There was a cracking sound as a house near me started to collapse to the ground. That finally snapped me out of my daze, causing me to look back toward the group of fleeing Bandits. I was a support character, but just because I fought using others, didn’t mean that the others needed to fight by choice. I was a Slave Master, a Monster Tamer, a Harem Master… these were all jobs that supported someone else, but it also controlled them.

Maybe I had been looking at it all wrong. I wasn’t supposed to be the hero, fighting and putting my life on the line to save everyone. I was supposed to be the master, pulling the strings. I felt like the Demon Lord Aberis had been pulling my strings for far too long. Ever since I came to the previous world, it was the country of Aberis I found myself in. His shadow had dictated my steps leading up to the point that he captured me. I was done being on his strings.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I started to move, rapidly approaching the bandits who were dragging their defeated Hero behind. They must have truly loved him. After all, they were bandits. They weren’t exactly the sentimental type. Remembering my previous encounters with bandits, they were often untrustworthy and would backstab each other in a heartbeat. Naturally, Salicia came to mind.

“You… what do you want?” One of the bandits demanded as I approached Roxford.

The man’s eyes were closed now, and if he wasn’t dead, he appeared to be very near death. Without hesitating, I grabbed his body and began to the pull the leaking black miasma out of him. The two that had been dragging him let out cries as they dropped him and pulled out their swords. They were too slow though. I consumed all of the miasma and integrated his karma. A moment, later, I began to use all of the Mimic skills.

I stood up. “What do the two of you think you’re doing?”

The two men looked at each other, then back at me. “Boss! You’re alive! We thought you were dead!”

“Do you think I’m that easy to kill? Come. We’re returning to the hideout. Calypso will answer for her betrayal. They all will.”

“Yes, Boss!” The two men nearly saluted, and then ran up to inform the bandits ahead of us.

They completely ignored the body of the true Roxford… or at least the Roxford who was true for this dungeon. His body turned to dust, and I was now the Bandit’s Leader.

{Mimic has increased to level 15.}

{You have unlocked the skill, Karmic Control.}