Monty was seeing strange things around him while hearing even stranger voices inside his head. It was safe to say he thought himself crazed, his brain filling him up with chemical balances that left him completely and utterly delusional. It was the only real way he could explain away what he was seeing around me.
‘Not to hurry you, but I believe that we should start this moment lest Lithia might lose too much blood for us to help her,’ the voice inside Monty’s head continued. Reeling back into what the older man was seeing before him, it was clear that the blood was flowing too hard. She would be dead in minutes if nothing was done.
“How? How do I help?” Monty asked, unsure of what to do other than just putting more pressure on the wound. Lithia stood for another moment to fend off another thief while Monty simply looked on. His arms felt too weak to move. No... wait. He could move them easily. He could move everything so much easier than he had been able to do in years. Had his mind fulfilled that old wish of his. Feeling at his face, a more-than-bushy beard met his fingers. Not young, it seemed. Still very old.
‘I suppose I will have to expend more of myself than I expected to. Give me a moment. I have to transfer something over to you.’
New [Skill] has been acquired!
You have learned: [Heal]
Monty stared at the blue screen blankly before hissing in pain, his head filling up with more information than he thought possible. He knew… so much about it all. How the flesh tended to itself under the skin, how to best guide the Mana through it to mend it back together, and how… how to use Magic at all.
Hypnotized by the information granted, his body moved mechanically as he drew his hands over to Lithia once again. Putting his hand over the wound, Monty uttered words no tongue should have been able to speak before a bright light began to emanate over it. When it flickered out again, the wound was no more and even most of the blood had been removed. It gave a feeling of greatness, Monty not understanding what had happened but relishing in it nonetheless.
“Good,” Lithia said, inspecting her side for a second before looking back at the fighting around them. “Please tend to the fallen. I’ll make sure the kids are alright.”
“What kids?” Monty asked as the woman ran off, never answering his question. The old man wanted to follow but couldn’t help but hear the moan of pain to the side. Looking over, a younger man seemed to have gotten a deeper cut to his shoulder. The bone had stopped the separation but tendons were barely being held together. He would die without care.
Monty didn’t think, rushing over to help as quickly as he could. A staff had appeared in his hand from… somewhere. Maybe he had held it the whole way through or perhaps it just felt the call. No matter what, it allowed his body to move over to where it needed to be. Getting on his knees before the wounded man, he delicately brushed his hand against the wound. It hadn’t cut through the major artery but there was still enough damage that time would do nothing but kill.
“Grant this man another day to walk,” Monty murmured as the unspeakable words left his mouth once again. The thought of these people dying in such terrible ways made the old man tremble. He would stop it. Nobody deserved to die young.
The younger man gasped when the [Healing] started its work, the cut muscle fibres attaching with a near-whipping noise. It might’ve been painful yet that pain disappeared only a moment after. Standing up with the help of his staff, Monty handed the man his axe before moving towards the next fallen. That they returned to battle didn’t matter. Monty just had to make sure they weren’t slain due to a lack of a weapon to defend themselves with.
The next person was further away, lying on the road with their helmet off. It looked to be a young lady, clearly gifted in physical traits with height and muscle for fighting aplenty. Yet her left leg… the bottom couldn’t be seen properly, armour and skin stripped off all the same. It was a long wound, perhaps superficial but crippling nonetheless. It made it impossible to defend.
That was seen as an opportunity, a thief coming in from the side with a knife in hand. They looked ready to slice the woman’s throat, getting down on one knee to get the job done quickly. Monty couldn’t run, even if his legs were better than they had been in a decade. Yet watching it happen was impossible as well. He needed to do something.
‘The God of Light chose you well,’ the voice commented as another rush of information came raining down on Monty. He stood his ground, though, never letting himself look away from the sight before him.
New [Skill] has been acquired!
You have learned: [Smite]
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It was used instantly, the energy flowing to Monty’s fingers as a burst of pure Light came out. It travelled through the air swiftly, hitting the thief in the skull. Whoever they thought they had been before that point was erased, the damage being like that from a crossbow. The head became deformed in an instant and the criminal fell to the ground next to the wounded woman.
Monty spared no thought for the killer as he surveyed the wound with a closer eye. The skin hadn’t been cut off completely, allowing the [Healing] to focus on reattaching the nerve-endings on the skin more than simply regrowing it all. The skill didn’t allow it all to be restored just from that alone, forcing the old man to repeat his feat twice over. It felt… tiring as if something within him was running close to empty. He couldn’t stop, however. More needed to be done. More needed to be healed.
Another criminal came running towards the old man as he rose from his place in the dirt. Once more, [Smite] was used, being extremely effective in stopping the man from doing more damage. The hit to the chest didn’t kill instantly, however, leaving the person in agony. Monty started to raise his staff to help him pass quicker but the woman behind him had risen, finishing the job for him. With a smaller spear of some form, the warrior stabbed the criminal’s throat, making him succumb to blood loss within mere moments.
“Thank you, Silas,” the woman said. Monty felt the need to correct her about the name, but the woman spoke again. “How are the kids?”
“Lithia is going over to help,” Monty answered, the younger ones instantly more important. He took in deep breaths as his old heart had trouble keeping up. “Can you lead me over there? We need to help her.”
“That means Jeremy must’ve fallen,” the woman said with a dark tone. Grabbing a hold around Monty’s shoulder to assist him, the two hurried towards the other side of the wagons where the majority of the fighting was taking place.
Looking out, there were nearly forty more bandits or whatever Monty was meant to call them. Some were in the back filling their pockets with the contents of the wagons while others were fighting off people in clothing much like the ones Monty seemed to be wearing. It mattered not that their side had the number’s advantage, though, when it came to the fact that a large portion of people was spending their time defending a group of kids.
The youngsters couldn’t have been older than twelve yet many held small knives in trembling hands as adults did their best to stop anybody from getting close. The criminals were playing around with them. Monty was infuriated but knew he couldn’t do much at the moment. The woman to his side was of a different opinion, making sure the old man could stand on his own before rushing in from behind, her spear at the ready.
They saw it coming from a fair distance, some turning around to meet the charging woman head-on. Monty took a deep breath before sending out another [Smite]. It landed perfectly on the head of one of the criminals, creating a good manner of confusion as the woman reached them. Two fell without pause and another was wounded. It wasn’t enough, though. More were coming from the side. If they didn’t regroup, they would be overwhelmed.
Monty had to cough hard as slime filled his throat. Moving around so quickly wasn’t good for his body. He almost felt like-
Congratulations!
You have levelled up and reached level [2] You have been granted [1] attribute points.
Warm light filled his body, any sign of tiredness disappearing. Monty wasn’t sure what had happened just then but he knew it couldn’t be wasted. With his staff in hand, he did his best to get over to the kids and adults surrounding them, sending out a [Smite] when the spear-woman seemed to need it.
Nobody paid attention to the old man, allowing him to get through the side and meet up with Lithia once again. She merely nodded for a moment before defending once again. Monty sent out another blinding light, allowing his group to take a few more lives before he had to look at those that had fallen. One had a knife in his chest sticking out. The young man looked to be just above twenty in age. He had been dead for several minutes.
Monty healed another wounded before going back to sending out an [Smite]. The constant spell-casting was taking a toll on his body yet again, his fingers trembling each time he moved them. But there was no other way. He had to help. Had to make sure none died. One was enough. Two was a crime against life.
“Retreat!” came a shout from the side. It wasn’t one on their side, Monty able to see the older face that was the source. They wore darker colours, the group of criminals around them hinting at some level of seniority. With that one word, every thief in the process of harming Monty’s allies withdrew, running towards the tree-line. Nobody followed.
‘I congratulate you on doing what I couldn’t,’ the voice said, letting its presence be known once again. The hectic atmosphere and the need to help others around him had made Monty forget all about that voice inside his head. It had an echoing effect and he couldn’t place where it truly came from. ‘It seems the legends about otherworlders weren't overstated.’
“Otherworlders?” Monty spoke out loud in a small murmur. He had no clue what to say to such a thing, instead of looking over the other adults nearby. Three had minor cuts on their arms from knives. Seven seemed to require having their wounds looked after in some capacity. Two… were beyond help. Monty hated that fact more than anything. If it was all a delusion of a dying mind, why did it reach him so deeply?
Congratulations!
You have levelled up and reached level [3] You have been granted [1] attribute points.
There the rush of energy was again, the feeling of all pain and weak bones disappearing. Monty felt that moment of elation again and couldn’t help but wonder if it was meant to be addictive. Nothing was addicting about taking another’s life.
“Anybody injured, take care of your wounds. Anybody without, make sure those in need are taken care of. Anybody who has any extra time, get the horses in order so we can move out as quickly as possible,” Lithia shouted out, the adults moving about quickly. Some took the children away from the area and over to one of the front wagons. Monty made movements to follow but Lithia took a hold of his arm and stopped him. “You are going to stay here and explain.”
“I could ask the same of you,” Monty stated, noting the absence of the voice in his head. It hadn’t delivered any form of information. Was it keeping quiet for a reason? “Where am I?”
“You are in the middle of wild territory where everything we meet will try and kill us,” Lithia answered quickly and concisely while making no sense to Monty at all. “Now tell me who you are?”
“My name is Monty and I seem to have gotten lost,” Monty answered, looking down at the body he inhabited. “And it looks like I do not look like myself anymore. I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
“That is because you are currently inhabiting the body of a good friend of mine,” Lithia said before her face grew into a mix of anger and sadness. “A friend who made a very stupid choice.”
‘It was a choice I had to take,’ the voice said, coming back into Monty’s mind. ‘And I don’t believe I ever introduced myself. My name is Silas and you will be the new owner of my body for the foreseeable future. Yet again, I thank you for doing this.’