“Where are we going?” asked a confused Lore Keeper. They had exited the inn after a good rest and are now on the streets of Torintu. However, instead of going to the Mayor’s house for an easy quest completion like what Beast expected, they were instead heading for the town gates.

“To find those bandits.”

Beast suddenly halted, much to Shadun’s annoyance. “What? Why?”

“They took something else regarding the quest. I need to take back the Seal of the Lord to show the Mayor so I can prove that the letter is real.” The irritated bard said. Seal? But why would a wax seal be delivered with the letter? Wait… it makes sense if it is of the eastern kind, seeing how the creators of the game are of Japanese origins.

“Since you said you wanted the quest, help me find them.”

Speechless, Beast could only follow behind Shadun as they made their way out. He had thought that the bandits were a result of the latter’s caravan quest, but it turned out that it was related to the main quest after all. He had stolen a glance at the bandit’s level back on the road, and it was a massive level 22. Compared to his current level, he had almost no chance in winning which begged the question of how high a level Shadun actually was. Come to think of it, how did he even get hold of a quest that required him to deliver an important letter, with something as important as the Seal of the Lord anyway?

“The guard says that there is a bandit hideout some back in the forest towards Rydelin and they gave me a quest too. Hey…. Hey!” Shadun suddenly addressed Beast, causing him to be knocked out of his thoughts. That and a quest notification window too.

Drring!

Clear the Bandits

Guard Apollon had requested that you clean out the bandit hideout situated near Torintu as he fears that the bandit threat had grown too big to be ignored. They had become bold and are raiding caravans even in broad daylight, threatening the supply line from Rydelin and starving the town.

Difficulty: E

Note: Failure will cause the bandit threat to escalate.

Beast numbly accepted the quest and took in his surroundings. In the period of his musings, they had already visited the smithy and Shadun was holding his newly repaired weapon.

“If we are going to be doing this, we will need to know more about each other’s abilities. I am Shadun, level 20 Bard. What is your job?”

Here it comes, the million dollar question.

To be honest, Beast was not even sure what he is. A mage? A monk? He seems to be nothing at all at his current state of being.

“I… uh… am a level 13 mage.”

To Shadun’s credit, he did not even bat an eye when Beast announced himself to be 7 levels lower. Instead, his line of sight drifted from Beast’s face to the black book hanging from his belt before turning away and walking out through the gates.

“I will take this as repaying my debt. “

What was that supposed to mean? Beast was glad that Shadun did not kick him out of the quest instantly but that stare and statement spoke volumes. It seemed that the bard had resigned himself to having a liability on his back and was treating him like a child. At that thought Beast was furious. If a burden he was being treated as, then he might as well be as much of a burden as he can.

The journey to find the hideout was unexciting, probably because it was daytime and the hostile wildlife was asleep. As the duo neared the place however, they started to encounter lone level 19 brigands wandering among the trees. Every time before Beast could do anything, Shadun had already fired arrows from his repaired lyre, striking the poor bandit multiple times. If they managed to survive the initial volley and close the distance, he would then bash his lyre on their faces to the death. Weirdly enough Shadun would ignore the corpse and leave without looting, leaving Beast to the spoils. Through this, Beast managed to leech much experience and loot - a few coppers here and there as well as iron swords and daggers he could not possibly use. He still pocketed them regardless since they can still sell for a pretty penny.

It was after the twentieth brigand when they found the entrance to the bandit’s hideout. Nestled between thickets of trees, a small hole in the hill denoted an opening into a cave of sorts. Furthermore, armed bandits stood guard outside as an obvious indication of their location. Immediately, Shadun let fly an arrow to Beast’s shock and surprise. The first thought that flashed across the Lore Keeper’s mind was, ‘did the man even choose the right job?’ Before this, it had only been a single target. Now that they are going to fight two enemies at once, they should approach combat more carefully and yet the bard had rushed in like a berserker in bloodlust. To think of it, he has not even played a single song that bards are famous for.

Beast watched as the two bandits spotted their locations and came charging. With nothing but his fists to defend himself, Beast struck out with a punch at one of them just as Shadun let loose a volley of arrows at the other.

“Use your weapon! Cast a spell! I will be right over!”

The bandit Beast is facing whipped out a vicious dagger and started slashing.

“I can’t!” Though Beast dodged, he could not evade part of the move and ended up being cut. Not wanting to let the bandit get away with the hit, Beast lashed out with a punch to the stomach that connected, hitting the wind and a chunk of health out of the brigand.

“What do you mean you can’t?” The bard was bashing his lyre on the other bandit already, shouting incredulously at his party member. “Urgh never mind. Hang on till I come over!”

“I don’t need you to come over!” Beast yelled while skillfully side-stepping a dagger stab and landing another punch onto the Bandit’s head. Really, what was dodging a full-size human compared to a tiny rat? The margin for error is much smaller for the latter.

“Oh you do. You are only level 13 for goodness sake.”

…………….

The bandit Shadun was fighting was more or less dead. Just as he was about to aid Beast with his bandit however, another pair of brigands came rushing out of the cave, apparently alerted by all the shouting that had occurred. Cursing, the bard turned his attention to the reinforcements and fired his arrows. That newbie would have to wait.

The newcomers were not like the bandits outside the cave however. Wearing metal chainmail instead of leather and holding larger swords and sabers, they were two level higher which meant that they were also much more of a threat than the ones outside. Knowing that he would have no chance fighting two people up close, Shadun quickly backpedalled to put some distance between them, firing arrows as he went. Some of them impacted one of the two to Shadun’s satisfaction, causing the bandit to stumble. However, there was a sudden blur and a sharp pain struck his weapon arm, causing his volley to fail midway.

“Throwing knifes?” The bard exclaimed incredulously. No, it must have been a skill. They still cannot fire projectiles continuously like him.

But if the new bandits were capable of range, then the only advantage he had was already gone. Turning around, Shadun started to shout at Beast for him to run, only to find the self-proclaimed ‘mage’ gone. Then, another sharp pain shot through his foot and caused him to tumble to the ground, taking out a huge chunk of his health. Bards already do not have much constitution in the first place and it seemed that he would die by the next barrage of attacks. With no way to run, he was doomed. By the time the first bandit caught up with the bard and subsequently swung down his sword, Shadun was already mentally prepared to face the notification window of Death.

Only that it did not come.

“DESPERADO BACKLASH!”

……………..

“DESPERADO BACKLASH!” screamed Beast as he blocked the sword swing with his bare hand and launched a mean right hook at the bandit with the other.

Critical hit!

Desperado Backlash activated!

- 685 HP!

You have dealt a critical hit!

With a hefty +13% damage increase from bare hand mastery as well as another 100% increase from Desperado backlash plus a further 100% from a lucky critical, there was a brief flash of light from the impact where the bandit was flung across to the side, rendering him unmoving.

“Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew.”

So much for not using the skill ever again. Thanking his own foresight to input much stat points into stamina, Beast turned his attention and charged straight for the remaining bandit who tried to use his skill in an attempt to stop his foe. The throwing knife flew, but Beast side-stepped it without losing momentum and body slammed the last man into oblivion.

Your Bare Handed Mastery had leveled up to Basic 4!

You have leveled up.

By killing both level 21 bandits which were much higher than he was, Beast had earned a boatload of experience that pushed him up a level and almost to another. The points he received immediately went into increasing stamina, seeing how most fights would be happening on from the current point on. With the strength of the mobs increasing and the ultra-dangerous skill Desperado Backlash, there was no other way he could survive besides increasing the cap of his health pool as much as possible, at least until he could find some protection he can use soon.

A person Beast almost forgotten about spoke. “You…. You don’t fight like a mage.”

“Neither do you fight like a bard.” Beast retorted, stepping towards his injured party member. “Prime: Renew.”

A warm glow emitted from Beast’s hands into Shadun’s wound and the bard instantly felt a little better.

“Happy now? That is a heal spell I know. So why don’t you sing a song or something to get our regeneration going.”

Shadun skeptically stayed silent. This newbie was certainly impressive, managing to hold his own against a mob much higher level than he is. But a person who fights with bare hands and uses healing spells is definitely not a mage as far as he was concerned. Well, not that he had the rights to speak about others.

“I can’t sing.”

Beast, who had been moving around collecting the loot from the fallen bodies stopped in his tracks. “Don’t joke around with me. A person who can’t sing being a bard?”

“I am being honest here.” Shadun insisted, before breaking out into song to demonstrate. It was… the worst song Beast ever heard. The moment he started, Beast already wanted Shadun to shut up. Besides being totally out of tune, the rhythm and articulation was all over the place. Not only that, it became progressively flatter and flatter, until it sounded like a donkey baying at its death door. Immediately Beast understood why Shadun never sang in battle despite being a bard who was supposed to support his allies with his song-buffs; it was so bad it might very well be debuffs instead. Beast was sure that he was only safe because he was protected by the anti-friendly fire mechanism of the party system.

“Okay okay. I understand.” Beast stripped the last piece of equipment from the bandit’s body before taking out a piece of preserved rat meat and eating it. “Here.” He said, tossing another piece to Shadun.

“What is this?” The bard asked.

“Rat meat. Eat and regenerate your health. Don’t worry, I still have enough.”

Shadun wrinkled his nose at the revelation of the meat’s origin. Most people pack non-perishable food such as dried bread, but… rat meat? This ‘mage’ was becoming weirder by the moment, weird enough to lug around such things for sustenance. After much consideration however, he still ate it in the end and was surprised by its saltiness. Despite all that, it actually tasted pretty good.

“Preservatives.”

“Yea.”

Nothing more was said. The two of them finish looting the corpses and head into the cave, this time with Shadun having newfound respect for his party member. The two of them work as a team from then on. While they encountered bandits in pairs inside the cave, it was no longer as much of a problem as when Shadun is fighting both of them solo. Beast, with his dexterous speed and battle instinct, was responsible for occupying the bandits’ attention in melee range while Shadun pelted them down with arrows from behind the lines. Occasionally, they would stop to regenerate health and mana that they have lost with Beast’s declining rat meat supply. This camaraderie won them all their fights within the cave and it was soon enough that they cleared out the entire cave of bandits, all except for a great wooden door across a hall that they had not yet opened. Resting in the hallway to top off their health, Beast checked his stats.

Status WindowName:BeastLevel:19Profession:Lore KeeperRace:HumanGender:MaleTitles:NoneFame:15-Health:1390Mana:930 (+500)Strength:44Intelligence:49Dexterity:40Wisdom:65Stamina:111Luck:20Bare Hand Mastery, +16% to bare hand damage

Iron Body, +4% resistance to all damageEquipment EffectsVanadic Tome of Artifacts: +500 manaRelationsCaerheim: 26

Having leveled up five times total while fighting in the cave, he had injected his points such that his health broke the one thousand mark and his dexterity was brought in par with his strength. Still having no idea what stat he should focus on, Beast decided it was best that he split his stats equally for now. Besides leveling, his Bare Handed Mastery had also increased by another three levels, while his Iron body increased to Basic 4. All in all, it was a very good run, only marred by the fact that he had no chance to increase his Artifact skill on everything he sees because of Shadun’s presence.

“Done?” The bard inquired. Checking skills and stats was a private matter, so outsiders have no idea what one is doing.

“Yes. How about you?”

Shadun nodded. He too had leveled up over the course of the dungeon and was just finished with his stat allocation.

“Then it is time to get that Seal back.”

The wooden door gave way to Beast’s strength, revealing the three robbers that Beast had almost come face to face with back on the road to Torintu. In the hands of the middle and taller one, a glimmering golden seal sat under the pale light of the wall torches, giving off a distinct blue glow that Beast instantly recognized. Artifact! The word flashed across his mind. In that moment, all Beast had in his mind was how to get the seal back and use his identification skill on it, but he reminded himself just in time not to be hasty. The levels of the trio are a hefty 22 each. While Shadun should have leveled up along the passage through the cave, much care was still needed if they were to win.

On the other hand, Shadun’s face immediately contorted with fury when he recognized his attackers. “You!” Spitting out an angry rage, he charged straight into the midst of the bandit brothers without warning.

“Stop, you idiot! Don’t rush in like a leeroy!” But it was too late. The bandit trio had already whipped out their weapons and started to return blows.

Beast, seeing no other choice, entered the fray to help his teammate. Readying his fist, the Lore Keeper propelled himself forward with a running start at the bandit furthest to the left, who noticed the advancement and broke off the fight with Shadun to engage him. All he did however was to simply smirk at Beast.

Sensing that something was wrong, Beast immediately altered his running trajectory just in time as a row of poisoned darts shot across his vision and embedded themselves into the wall on the other side of the room. Beast’s heart skipped a beat; he was sure he could not have evaded that trap, so what gave? Luck? Or perhaps those ten points he inputted into dexterity paid off.

With the devious plan failed, the bandit roared in anger and rushed forward. A level 19 fighting a level 22 boss mob was usually suicidal, but Beast was someone who had trained his combat skills by evading the attacks of rats and grappling in the mud with wolves. Add the fact that he had seen and fought against countless of normal bandits before this boss battle, Beast had a good grasp on the pattern and capabilities of the brigand he was fighting.

The three-level difference was nothing unless the brigand lands a hit. Easily dodging the obvious swing, the lore keeper retaliated with a vicious kick of his own to the man’s stomach, shaving off a portion of the bandit’s health. Nothing too damaging, obviously because of the level gap and bandit’s armor, but it was still a step towards victory. The only problem now would be Shadun and the other two bandits.

The bard was swinging around his lyre like a warrior with his club, inflicting hit upon hit on his foes, just as he too was sustaining cuts after cuts from the bandits’ strikes. The three of them danced around the cave floor, neither side giving way to other but as Shadun’s party member, Beast could see the bard’s health decreasing steadily into critical territory, worrying him to no end. Should he abandon his target to help Shadun? That would open up his back to a back-stab from his adversary but it would not matter anyway if Shadun were to die. It was on this thought that Beast feint an attack on his bandit, taking the opening given to him to rush over to Shadun’s side.

“Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew. Prime: Renew.” In one shot, Beast spammed all of his mana pool into healing the bard. Shadun watched in amazement as his health shot from nearly zero to full within seconds.

“Phew.”

“Can you stop acting like an idiot?”

“What? Are you calling me an idiot?”

“Yes-” Beast suddenly stopped, realizing that the bandit trio had suddenly ceased in their attacks. “Oh crap.” It was not that they stopped attacking per say, but the bandit brothers had formed a triangular formation around the two of them. Raising their scimitars up as one, there was a synchronous shout as they swung their blades down.

“SHADOW IMPACT!”

Wisps of black smoke emitted out of the scimitars as they arced downwards, ultimately cumulating in an explosive release of dark energy heading straight for Beast and Shadun. With no time to think, Beast instinctively pushed the bard out of the circle, taking the blast on alone.

- 1246 HP!

Your Iron Body skill has leveled up to Basic 5.

With 44 health points left, Beast was absolutely certain that his luck had held out for him. Any other character at his level would have perished even with armor mitigation, and he only survived because he had pumped so much stat points into stamina. Shadun the bard merely stood with his mouth agape, unbelieving that someone could have possibly survived that special attack. It was only when Beast spoke did he jolt out of his senses.

“Sing.” Beast croaked.

“What?” What a stubborn bard the other man was. In the time he took to hesitate, he was already cut by the bandit nearest to him and losing health given to him at the expense of Beast’s entire manapool.

“Sing you fool.”

“But – oh.” Finally realizing what Beast wanted him to do, Shadun struck the strings of his lyre and began to sing. What flowed was not the sound of celestial tranquility, but that of soul-rending hell. The resulting song was so bad that Beast feared that it would take off the remaining 44 points of his health as he rolled on the ground trying to shut the noise out but from the corner of his eye, he saw that the bandit trio fared no better too and that was exactly his intentions.

Typically, an average bard had a higher magic pool than his health pool, mostly because to keep up a song aura requires the continuous drainage of mana. It would not be surprising if Shadun had defied normal bard’s expectation by inputting stat points into strength than wisdom but Beast hoped that it was enough. By the time the song ended, all four of them except the bard had been reduced to a nervous wreck on the cave floor. There might have been severe status impairments imposed as well besides the physical torture but Beast would not know since he was in Shadun’s party and thus resistant to them, thank goodness whichever game developer saw fit to make it so; it was not very nice to be on the ground as though one just suffered a seizure. Gathering his remaining strength to get up on his feet, Beast gave a weak thumb up to the bard before saying.

“Let’s finish them.”

It was what exactly the two of them did.