“I don’t but I’m dead set on forming one and reaching Tier 4 if only to prove to myself that I’m better than Marvin,” Junip answered. At first, Elijah didn’t understand what forming a Dao Seed had to do with being better than Marvin, but considering the man was Tier 4, forming a Dao Seed could be one of the conditions to be able to enter that Tier.

Before Elijah could fish for more information, the Feyls came to an abrupt stop. A single man had stepped onto the road several hundred meters ahead and before Elijah knew it, they were surrounded by a group of eight men.

Chapter Begin

“I’m under the protection of Marvin!” Junip shouted as soon as he realized they were surrounded. Elijah was already gripping his mace with both hands and his minions were ready to act at a moment’s notice.

“Can’t see Marvin around here,” one of them, a lanky man with a deep scar on his right cheek sneered as he pointed an arrow at the Feyls. Elijah glanced at each of them and noticed that they all had a tattoo of two black overlapping circles on their forearms. He had seen the same tattoo on one of the three men’s wrists he had asked for the way yesterday. And judging by the glances they threw at him, Elijah was probably their primary target.

“You’re Junip, right?” Another bandit stepped forward, a head taller than the others. “If you stay out of this fight, nothing won’t happen to you or the Feyls.” He nodded at the Feyls and as soon as the tallest bandit finished speaking, the lanky man shot an arrow inches away from the animals.

“What are you guys doing?” The lone bandit who had appeared on the road ahead of them shouted from afar as he approached their group. He wasn’t wearing the same tattered clothes the other bandits wore. Instead, he wore a hooded sweatshirt with short sleeves and a long-sleeved white top underneath while his grey slacks were tucked into his black boots.

“Are you going to fight?” Elijah asked Junip, his voice barely audible. Junip only nodded before Elijah decided to jump into action. He had survived worse and only three of the nine bandits felt like Tier 2, if Elijah judged correctly. The leader, the tall one, and another man who looked rather undistinctive.

The tall bandit was about to say something but Elijah interrupted him by lunging forward at one of the Tier 1 bandits. The man was clearly out of Elijah’s range and didn’t see the need to evade at first, but his eyes widened and he tried to dodge at the last moment when Elijah’s arm stretched forward. He acted too late. Elijah’s fist connected with the bandit’s face and sent him flying. Root had positioned itself on Elijah’s forearm and used the opportunity to shoot forward to another bandit. Elijah also decided to throw Timber onto a third one and his two minions started to keep both their enemies occupied as everyone jumped into action. Two arrows impaled Elijah’s arm and leg but his wooden body was too thick to be penetrated by their arrows. They obviously had no ability to empower their shots. Elijah decided to ignore them for now.

He had no time to see how Junip fared as three of the nine bandits targeted him.

“You wanna die?” the tall bandit shouted with bulging eyes as he rushed forward. Elijah managed to evade the first punch but before he could answer with a hit of his mace, the man grabbed him and tried to haul him over the battlefield. Elijah lost the grip on his mace but the man hadn’t expected his weight and only managed to throw Elijah a few feet. Elijah tucked his chin while he tried to use his hands to break the fall and lessen the impact on his body. He barely managed to do so and rolled a few more feet before he stopped himself and got up in time to avoid the kick of a Tier 1.

The man probably had an ability to accelerate his kicks as a second one followed impossibly fast. Elijah blocked the kick with his arm in time but was surprised when it hurt significantly less than he had expected. The man was similarly stunned and was too slow to evade Elijah’s mace-turned fist slamming into his ribs. He landed on his knees and before he fell to the floor, Elijah smashed his enlargened fists from both sides into the man’s head.

Elijah turned around only to see a sword moving toward his waist. The other Tier 2 had joined the fight and Elijah grimaced in pain when the blade tore into his flesh. While his wooden body offered some protection, the wound still hurt and a brownish-yellow substance flowed out of it. He was bleeding.

Elijah pulled his mace toward him but the man simply stepped aside to evade the incoming weapon before he added another wound to Elijah’s arm who tried to deliver a hit against the man. He was moving too fast and somehow managed to evade Elijah’s fist again. A glance at the other tall Tier 2 showed him that the man was rapidly approaching.

With no other option left, Elijah turned his hand into a huge spike and burned through a good chunk of his mana pool as his arm exploded forth and left a gaping hole in the nimble bandit's torso. Despite the serious wound, the man was still on his feet, the shock giving him enough energy to keep him standing. Elijah kept an eye on him but doubted that he was still going to take part in the fight if his panicked attempts at stopping the bleeding were anything to go by. The second Tier 2 arrived.

Elijah resummoned Timber who took an enemy down with it and commanded the minion to join Root in fighting another bandit before he focused on the tall Tier 2 who was already rushing at him with a sword in each hand. Unlike the Tier 1 bandits, this man was surely capable of leaving serious wounds on Elijah’s wooden body so Elijah evaded the first two swings before he lunged at the man to bring him down. They started wrestling with each other but Elijah had the advantage of being heavier and faster than his enemy and successfully got on top of the man before he landed several blows on him. The bandit covered his face with both arms and tried to block Elijah’s wooden fists but they were like anvils, pummeling the man below. His onslaught stopped when the last Tier 2 arrived.

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Before Elijah could react, the leader of the bandits sent him flying dozens of feet with a blow that knocked the wind out of him. Mid-flight Elijah saw his two minions lunging at the leader and preventing him from following. As he got up, Elijah took the opportunity to look over the battlefield. His minions had taken care of two enemies while Junip had successfully fended off the two archers and was currently pouring something on a few wounds the Feyls got during the fight. The two Tier 2’s he had taken care of were still down while the first bandit he had attacked at the beginning of the fight was still unmoving. Is he dead? Elijah wondered before he turned to the bandit leader. His two minions only managed to buy him seconds before the leader defeated them.

Elijah resummoned them, emptying his mana pool even more. I’m an idiot. Elijah thought as he remembered the new skills he got. He hadn’t even thought about using them in the fight as everything happened too fast. He locked eyes with the leader before he gestured around them. “You don’t want to run away?” Elijah provoked him.

The man spat on the ground before he answered, “I won’t need these weaklings to deal with a little shit like you.” He raised his fists and continued, “Up for a fistfight?”

Elijah raised his fists in response to the challenge. He commanded his minions to follow him as he approached the last enemy. “Watch out for your chubby nose,” Elijah said.

“I’m going to polish your pretty face,” the leader said and lunged forward when they were only two feet apart. His speed was nothing to scoff at but Elijah managed to block two consecutive blows with his cover which landed with a thump before he returned the blows. He was sure that the man was powering his blows with an ability so he decided to respond in kind. A [Devastating Blow] hit the bandit in his side and caused him to stumble a few steps before he got his bearings and delivered an unexpected kick against Elijah’s ribs. Elijah wasn’t sure if the cracking voice came from his skin or bones.

“Whoops, I’m sure that one hurt,” the man mocked Elijah with a sneering grin on his face before Elijah’s brows furrowed. I need to hit harder. A blow landed on the man before he answered with one of his own.

Harder yet. Elijah’s fists became denser, decreasing in size as they slammed into his enemy. “What’s wrong? Where did your good mood go?” Elijah said but the leader didn’t answer and threw another punch at Elijah. Another bone cracked.

Not enough. Elijah’s fists blurred as he landed blow after blow on the man. He used [Devastating Blow] a few more times and managed to break several bones of his enemy but despite one arm hanging at his side, the leader was relentless. For every blow he received, he returned another. For every wound he got, he responded in kind. At least he tried.

Elijah felt the man’s strikes weaken with each blow before he barely hurt Elijah with his attacks. While the same was true for Elijah, his body was made of wood and the damage he was taking was neglectable. He also used his weight and hardness to his advantage. A last blow against the head knocked the leader out before Elijah let himself fall on his back.

He almost jumped to his feet and continued to fight when a cold, soothing liquid poured over his abdomen. “It’s me, relax,” Junip said in a calm voice as he opened another flask and poured it over Elijah’s wounds. Several of his bones were probably broken and every movement hurt.

Elijah glanced at Junip before his head fell back and he closed his eyes with a groan. “My whole body is aching.”

“Who told you to agree to a fistfight like an idiot?” Junip said as he looked at all the bandits laying around. “I can’t believe we got through this. Where did you learn how to fight?

“I’ve been fighting my whole life,” Elijah answered.

“On the streets?”

“How did you know?” Elijah asked, his eyes still closed. He could feel how his wounds rapidly healed and the cracks in his bones grew together.

“You almost exclusively used your fists. What do you even have a mace for when you abandon it as soon as the fight starts? And if you’re able to manipulate wood, what I’m assuming you can do, you barely used that ability.” Junip criticized his whole performance before he added, “But I like your trait.”

Elijah thought about Junip’s words before he nodded. “You’re right. I only used a single skill during the entire fight.”

“Forget about using skills, what about those two guys?” Junip pointed at the minions. “I don’t know which skills, perks, or what trait you have, but you should try to include every single one into your fighting style. That’s how you develop a unique skill set and become unpredictable.” He shrugged before he continued, “But it’s easy to say that, and another story to implement all these into your fighting style.”

I’ve had all these skills for not even a week. Elijah thought, but he couldn’t tell Junip. Nonetheless, he agreed with the man. He had to improve his fighting style and start to make use of all his different abilities. He still had the style of Elijah from Earth and would probably continue to fight like this for the next weeks or even months. But with time he would try to implement all his abilities into his own, unique style.

Elijah remembered something as he went to pick up his mace and coiled his minions around his arms again. He arrived at the cart and jumped on, taking his place next to Junip who was already holding the reigns and was ready to set off.

He put his hand on Junip’s shoulder as he looked him in the eyes and said, “Thank you for not turning me in.”