Boom boom. The vibration of the earth outside shook with rhythm as if giants were coming.

The boy took a deep breath, looking at the rusty sword in his hand. He was only at level 0 of the ultimate master essence cultivation, so he couldn’t use spiritual force to battle the enemies.

How many bandits were there, and what were their levels?

The booster was limited and drained his powers. The system chose now, when he was at his weakest, to send him into danger. It felt like a cruel fate.

Sweat beaded on his temple. He felt the sweat on his palms.

The system, almost as if it could read his heart, sounded its voice in his mind.

[System: THERE ARE FIVE BANDITS OUTSIDE. ADDING IN THEIR BOSS MAKES SIX.]

[THE BOSS IS AT LEVEL 2 CULTIVATION. HIS MINIONS ARE AT LEVEL 0 AND 1.]

The boy frowned. That piece of information wasn’t comforting at all.

His heart pounded.

Using one of his cheats, he zeroed in on a bandit outside. A scared, lean figure with warrior-like banners on his hands stood out.

His powers were pure combat. At least he could exchange a few strikes with the bandit, inflict fatal injuries, and potentially kill him.

However, another figure caught his attention. A massive figure, like a giant, floating in the air. The boy observed. This person relied more on the spiritual. He was going to be a formidable enemy. Someone difficult to defeat.

While the others gave him the feeling that he could handle them, the real challenge was when he locked eyes with the boss.

The guy was at level 2. He wasn’t sure if his powers had gotten there.

The boy’s hand on the stone statue clenched. He wanted to give up. There was no point in fighting.

The system voice sounded further in the boy’s mind, with more resolution.

[SYSTEM: DON’T BE A COWARD. GO OUT THERE AND FIGHT THE BANDITS. IN THE END, THEIR LEFTOVERS ARE YOURS.]

The boy rolled his eyes at what the system said. "Thank goodness you said leftovers. I’m looking for a way to survive, brother, not a way to die!!"

His heart raced. Even when he communicated with the system in his mind, the system was an unpredictable ally.

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The boy heard the bandits.

"Break the door. Bang harder."

“You moron, hit harder. I can't believe it's an ordinary door that you can’t break!”

It seemed to be the leader of the bandits who cursed and ordered his men.

"Boss, it seems to have a spell we can’t break."

"And the spell seems to be powerful."

The bandits complained, hitting the door harder.

"Work harder, idiots!"

[System: BEWARE. THE DOOR WON’T KEEP YOU SAFE MUCH LONGER. BE READY TO RUN INTO ACTION. YOU CAN’T AVOID THE INEVITABLE.]

The system’s cold, heartless warnings hit the boy hard, but he knew there was no turning back. He must face them. He was ready.

Boom!

The bandit broke the door open.

All of them immediately rushed forward.

The boy sprang from the stone statue, delivering a sharp kick to the lean bandit’s face.

Before the bandit could react, another attacked from behind. The boy, still locked on the first target, whipped his sword backward and slashed across the bandit’s neck. Blood splattered, and the man crumpled to the ground.

The boy spun, his body flowing like water, dodging the strikes from the remaining bandits. He was already on the offensive, cutting through their defenses as he moved.

A bandit who hovered in the air sent spiritual blades flying toward him. The boy’s senses kicked in. He tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the attack. The floating bandit smirked, and his eyes gleamed with malice.

"Die, stupid brat. Your treasures are ours," he sneered, sending another flurry of blades.

They sent more spirit blades toward the boy. The boy jumped, skipped, and performed acrobatics, escaping death.

The floating bandit needed to be dealt with... the boy, in a nick of time and deep thought...

The boy made his choice. He hurled his rusty knife toward the head of the floating bandit.

The sword didn’t just cut his head but sent his hair pinned to the wall.

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed together. Even with the slight victory, his face showed no pleasure.

In that last attack, which he used on the floating bandit, he inserted his small amount of spiritual force. At such a point, his chance of survival was slim. Whenever he used spiritual energy for his level, he took 20% damage for his frail body. The pain was hard enough to handle.

[System: Stupid decision.]

The boy ignored the system and focused more on the bandits who appeared fierce because he had killed one of their own.

"You’ll pay for killing my brother," the leader of the bandits attacked, rushing at the boy with his spear.

As the blade came at his neck, the boy flew over and dodged the lean bandit’s approach.

The lean bandit swiftly flew up, sending a sharp spear attack at the boy. The spear aimed at his chest.

The boy used his double knives, stopping the force of the coming strike. He couldn’t retrieve his force, because any mistake would cause the blade to pierce his heart.

The boy pushed forward as the bandit pushed harder.

The boy refused to reduce his hold on the knives.

Both the bandit and the boy persisted.

The sweat on the boy’s face grew plentiful, and some drops dripped onto his knives.

The situation seemed fine at first, but it turned out to be far from good.

The system’s voice sounded in the boy’s mind at that moment of intense action.

[SYSTEM: Rewards: cheat for 2.0 seconds. Skill: The Ultimate Force of Earth.]

The system notification rang like a god—no, a savior—in the boy’s mind. And at that moment, he felt his powers grow considerably. With just a little push, he sent the bandit flying, his body like a lifeless thing hitting the stone statue, shattering it.

The boy mumbled a silent thank you in his heart to the system.

Now he was fully serious. His attention shifted back to the few remaining bandits. A smirk stretched across his face.

"What are you all looking at? Come, fight me if you have the courage. I promise your death won’t be as easy as his."

The faces of the remaining bandits twisted into grimaces of anger.

The system in the boy’s mind, for the first time, cheered.

[SYSTEM: GOOD, THAT'S HOW A MAN SHOULD ACT. DON’T BE A COWARD IN THE FACE OF DANGER.]

The boy would have sneered and engaged in a fierce argument with the system if he hadn’t been in the middle of something critical.

His attention stayed on the leader of the bandits, who had come forward.

Bandit Leader: "You brat. Very impressive. You could be an exceptional talent in the future. But sadly, you shall die by my blade today!"

The boy wiped his sweat, and a smug smirk appeared on his face.

"You, bandits, should all be ashamed of yourselves. Attacking a helpless orphan. What value do I bring to you?"

The leader of the bandits sneered. "Keep on pretending to be stupid. This territory alone is a treasure. By killing the owner of the territory, which is you, we can own it and create a home for my bandit brothers!"

The boy swung his sword into action.

"Oh, spare me the crap and get into action. I hate people talking about killing me."

His knife cut the ear of the bandit leader. Before he could react, his blood spread freely in the environment. His ear fell for the wild mice to feed on.

The leader of the bandits

roared in pain.

And without reason, he used all of his force, sending the blade toward the boy’s head.

[SYSTEM: AN UNAVOIDABLE ATTACK. BEWARE!]