-Bandits' Hideout-

"Ugh!" The Bandit's boss is holding his head trying to gain composure.

"What happened? Ouch, my chest hurts," He asked.

"Boss we thought you were dead! The boy punched you in the chest with a powerful move. Are you ok?" The lackey worriedly asked.

"Of course, I'm ok, I just passed out for a bit but my health didn't even drop that much. It's just a lucky shot. So, did you kill them while I was out?"

"Eh? We thought you were defeated so we just let them leave," The face of the Boss became so mad that it's hard to describe.

"Hurry up and catch them! Morons! What a useless bunch!" They immediately left the hideout to chase the lucky ones.

-Hobgoblin's Area, Near Bandit's Hideout-

"Wow, that was cool Scy! How did you do something like that?" Elou's pretty much amazed of what I did. I was just lucky, though.

"Oh, to tell you the truth I didn't knock him out. Earlier while we were looking for the entrance to the dungeon which is technically the hideout, I found a sleepy mushroom which I used earlier. We should hurry they might be chasing us by now," I once again made an excuse.

What really happened is the fiery punch has stun effect, the more effective the hit the longer it lasts. I caught him by surprise so he should be awake by now. It's been 30 seconds when we left the area and haven't gone that far yet.

We need to reach the city as soon as possible or else it would be really bad.

"Can you go on ahead? Don't wait for me I'll just need to do something important. And hurry up or they'll catch up," I said. It would be better if I can buy them time. It's my fault why we're here in the first place.

"Ok, just be careful. We will meet you in the city," He said. We bid our farewells.

I came back and waited for them to pass by.

Three of them are running... It's a good time to execute an ambush.

*BAAAAAM!* I stopped one of them with a surprise attack punch. He was out as soon as he landed.

"Damn you brat! You will pay for this!" He slashed me with all he's got but even a baby could dodge that.

*BAAAAAAM!* He tried to slash me again but I was able to dodge it and counter with a powerful two body blows. Another one bites the dust.

"Shit!" The other one said while trying to run away to get the other members but of course, chasing is now one of my specialties not to mention I have the necklace that increases movement speed which I bought from the shop before.

*BAAAAAM!* I outran him and this time, I once again used a couple of blows to defeat him. You need to rest for four hours bro.

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It's easier when you ambush your foes when it's dark. Based on their abilities, I can tell they're Rank D. They probably haven't met strong opponents to be this weak after playing the game for a long time or they're probably new recruits.

After that, a couple of them showed up. Now five of them are here, should I stop them? Oh well, as if I have a choice.

"Take this!" I said but...

*BAAAAM* What?! He blocked my attack with a shield. They are probably Rank C... I could be in trouble fighting them head on.

They are stronger than those I fought earlier. They wear heavy equipment like the boss but a little weaker.

"You think it will work on us? Dream on, boy. They rushed towards me with intent to kill. This time, simple tricks wouldn't work. I need to think something.

They attacked me at the same time by swinging their weapons but I managed to block and evade them. Blocking their attacks takes a chunk of my health... these guys are strong. If I'm not careful I will be dead for sure because of my low defensive abilities.

I landed some counter attacks after evading but it's not enough to defeat them.

"FIERY-" I shouted pausing for a bit.

"I said it wouldn't-" he stopped talking after I landed my attack.

"KICK!"

*BAAAAAAM* My kick solidly hit his face. A loud explosion banged through the area. His helmet shattered into pieces and he died with a single critical hit.

They started to panic. And of course, I took advantage of the situation. They may be strong but their teamwork and coordination are not so good. My random attacks were effective. My kicks and punches were like needles piercing their defenses.

I managed to kill all of them but it was a tough battle. My HP and mana are almost out too. I really need to go back to the city now or if another batch comes here, I'd probably die.

"HOHOHO... so you're really that strong. But do you think I'll just let you get away?" Damn it to hell. Their boss is here. I can't use my boosters anymore because I'm all out of mana.

"I was just going to pee you know but you're here so let's get on with it," I tried to make a joke out of the situation. I'm too tired and I can't even move that much anymore.

(WARNING! FATIGUE IS HIGH AND MANA IS AT 20%) Alright, alright... I can see it.

"You got some real confidence there. You of all people know that you can't even stand straight right now," Yeah, yeah... stop talking already.

Now he's serious. He changed his equipment and now uses his full battle set. His weapon is a long sword and still using his tower shield. Jeez. I'm so tired.

"WAAAAAAAH!!!" He shouted while running towards me.

He's aiming for my head. A powerful Overhead Slash! If that attack hits me, I'm totally screwed!

*BAAAAAAM!* A fireball hits the boss' shield. I and the boss got knocked back. Who's that?!

"Geez, do you think we don't know what you're planning?" It's Elou! It looks like Akko's the one who used that fireball.

"How about we do it four versus one? It will be a lot easier, right Scy?" He said. Thank God they're back.

"Thanks, guys," I think the explosion earlier was the reason they're back.

"We're a team after all, right?" Akko said and smiled at me. She's an angel.

"So now you think you can defeat me by increasing your numbers? What cheeky brats?!" He looks pissed. He needs to do something about his anger issues.

We are now preparing to attack him. Elou shoots his arrow aiming for his head and feet to reduce his focus. Akko is preparing to cast her spells while Lili is trying healing me. Thankfully, my health is starting to get better. Her heal, so far, is quite low but it's still a huge help.

I spammed my punches every time he leaves an opening. His attacks are nothing but useless. He can't attack while defending from arrows and spells. It's really not a fair fight but who cares, as long as we win and survive.

My mana is recovering. A little more and I can use my ultimate attack.

My punches are really weak. With that heavy armor and large shield, it's hard to do any damage.

"Is that all you've got brats? Stop tickling me, this isn't a children's game!"

"RAGE MODE!" Eh? He used the same spell similar to the one Handy used when we fought the Giant Goblin boss!