Raph, Clark and Fletcher inspected the outside of the compound for a while getting the layout and the amount of hostiles in the area. Raph counted thirtyfive enemies as far as he could see with the average level being around forty. All of the buildings were lightweight wooden structures and that gave Raph an idea.

The trio re-grouped at the edge of the compound and Raph spoke quietly.

“Fletcher, can you take the sentries out without alerting anyone?” Raph asked

“Can do.” Fletcher said as he stalked away to get a line on the sentries.

Over the next few minutes Raph heard a few quiet thunks and witnessed the sentries slump in positions. With the sentries taken care of, Raph decided to enact the second part of the plan. He, Clark and Fletcher barred all of the gates that served as access to the hideout, the Raph activated Forged Hammers superheating the metal. He held his hammers along multiple points on the walls setting them ablaze, and then they waited.

It took a few minutes for the first person to notice and by that time it was too late, the walls and the structures inside were on fire. There was a scramble to get out of the hideout but unfortunately for the bandits the gates were barred. It took another few minutes for one of the bandits to break through a gate to the side that Raph was waiting on. As they pushed out from inside the compound Raph activated Forceful and met them with extreme force. The bandits were caught unaware and unprepared, coupled with the fire and smoke they went down easily. Fletcher was cleaning up and straggling bandits with his bow and Clark was using his knife skills to take them unaware.

The main group of bandits now dealt with, Raph, Clark and Fletcher entered the compound to look for Thornton. The man in question was waiting for them, with a pack of his personal bodyguards by his side.

Identify

Thornton -- Marauder Lv.78

Beguiler Lv.58

…

Fighter Lv. 60

Thornton was by far the strongest of the group, yet they were no pushovers. Raph looked up above Thornton and his gang and noticed a cast of hawks lingering above.

‘Well I guess that’s why he’s called Thornton the Hawk..” Raph thought.

“Fletcher you bastard!” Thornton snarled as the smoke cleared enough for him to see the group.

“Fletcher the hawks, Clark take them out when I say,” Raph said as quietly as possible as they approached the bandits. Raph took point in the trio and closed the gap between them and the bandits.

“Soo. The Hawk, that’s a cute name.” Raph smiled as he approached.

“Who’s the kid?” One of the other bandits said in disgust.

“I’m the guy that’s about to smash your head in.” Raph laughed.

“NOW” He shouted and used Amplified Sound as he pushed forward. Clark slipped back into the smoke and began to harass Thorntons muscle. Fletcher pounced backwards and drew his bow, he began to take aim at the Hawks before they could cause any harm.

The Amplified Sound in combination with his superheated Forged Hammers caused a rain of sparks to fly out and singe the bandits in front. Pushing straight forward to Thornton, Raph struck at him only to hiss his target by a hair's breadth. Thornton was ducking and weaving, giving Raph a hard time trying to pin him down. His weapons of choice were two cutlasses that he wielded in a flurry of strikes. Raph believed Thornton to use a skill as his speed began to increase even more, putting him on the defensive. Raph was taking hits now, getting cut up on his arms and torso by Thornton’s blades.

Raph backed off as he tried to think of a plan. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fletcher finish the Hawks off and start to help Clark with Thornton’s goons. Clark was holding his own well and had already reduced the bandit group by half. Raph decided to move closer to the fires to give himself some smoke cover. Obscuring himself from Thornton for a second was all he needed as he used Amplified Sound again, disorienting him for a moment. Raph activated Forceful and Eruption making a swing for Thorton’s chest, thankfully due to the stun the move connected. Thornton’s chest caved in and he flew backwards several metres to the dwindling group of bandits that were getting dealt with by Clark and Fletcher. Raph walked over to the last group that was done for and saw Thornton’s broken body lying lifeless on the floor, limbs strangely askew and a crater in his chest. After that it wasn’t long until the bandit group fell, Raph was exhausted and cut up so he took two potions to re-energise himself.

You have slain: Bandit Lv.40

…

You have slain: Thornton -- Marauder Lv.78

You are now: Breaker Lv.49

You are now: Breaker Lv.50

Breaker class upgrade available, all extra experience will be held until class upgrade.

You are now: Isaac’s Apprentice Lv.40

…

You are now: Isaac’s Apprentice Lv.50

Isaac’s Apprentice class upgrade available, all extra experience will be held until class upgrade.

“Woah, that’s a lot of notifications.” Raph said aloud. “Me too boss, that was crazy.” Clark added.

Fletcher looked at the two and just grunted. They began to clear up the bodies and search them for gear. Raph went to Thornton’s swords and inspected them.

Dual Cutlasses of the Wind (good) -- These cutlasses are one with the wind, increases speed when used. The smith who made these was adequate.

‘Adequate?’ Raph thought, that’s a strange thing to say in the description. It didn’t matter, they were good swords so he placed them in his ring with another 3 gold he found on Thornton’s person. Eventually they made their way into what they thought to be the main building. A few more gold later, which was given to Fletcher to take back to the village and it was clear. Raph was about to move out when he heard Clark call his name from the back of the camp.

“Raph, come over here!” He shouted.

Raph went over to him, curious about what he’d found. Clark was standing in front of an iron cage, with something inside that Raph couldn’t quite make out.

“Raph, look. It’s a Nature Guardian.” Clark gushed, his voice was one part awe, one part reverence.

“A what?” Raph asked, having never heard the term before. He looked into the cage as it finally clicked what was in there, the darkness and smoke had obstructed his view. The creature inside reminded Raph of a stag from Earth, except for the wings. It was a kind of mossy green color, with antlers that looked like branches and wings that looked much like foliage.

Adolescent Nature Guardian Lv.60

‘Woah.’ Raph though, ‘strong.’

“Come on Raph, we need to get him out.” Clark said anxiously.

“Uhhh, are you sure that’s safe, he’s level sixty.” Raph said.

“Yes, we have to save him.” As Clark said this he broke open the lock and approached the Nature Guardian carefully. “He’s really hurt Raph.”

Raph took out some healing and stamina potions and gave them to Clark, “use these.” He said. Clark moved up slowly to the Nature Guardian, making sure that he saw him before he moved. The Nature Guardian’s head peered up at Clark and hissed as he approached. Clark was slow and methodical, he dropped the opened bottles at the feet of the beast and backed away slowly. The beast looked at the potions and sniffed, then turned his head away. Clark moved forward again to pick up the potion, he drank a small amount of each one and placed them back down beside the beast. Eventually the beast drank from the potions and came out of the cage with Clark.

Raph came back to where Clark was, “Did you make a bond?” Raph asked.

“Yeah, we did.” Clark said gratefully as he patted the side of the guardian. A bonded creature would stay with the beast tamer for life, Clark had been blessed with the Nature Guardian’s bond.

“Wow. Congratulations.” Raph said as Fletcher came up behind the two.

“It’s all clear, I’ve found all the missing coin, and the bodies.” He said solemnly.

“Thank you for the assistance.” Raph said.

“No. Thank you, I couldn’t have done this alone.” He said as he stared at Thornton’s corpse and flinched.

The trio gathered up their things and any extra gear they could find and headed back to the village. It took them a few hours to navigate their way through the dense forest back to the village, it was early morning by the time they arrived. Raph and Clark met with the Mayor Jerome again and explained what happened with the bandits. Jerome thanked them profusely and signed the job notice, after that they decided to hitch up the carriage and get going. They left the city with Clarks Guardian following their side, it was another peaceful drive back to the city and they arrived at lunch time. Returning back to the workshop, both Raph and Clark had to sort their classes out as Clark had also hit fifty during the engagement with the bandits.

Returning to his room Raph sat down on his bed and opened up his class screens.

‘Ok, First things first, Breaker upgrade.’

Breaker class upgrade available, all extra experience will be held until class upgrade.

Class upgrades available:

Paladin

You stand good. As a Paladin you will be the line in sand against all that is evil, utilize heavy blunt weapons and armor to smite your foes.

Str.+3, End.+4, Vit.+4, Fre.+4, +15 Hp, +10 St, +15 Mn

‘Alright, not exactly what I was expecting but an upgrade nonetheless.’

Heavy Breaker

You ARE a Breaker. Excel in using heavy blunt weapons to remove all obstacles.

Str.+4, End.+4, Vit.+3, Fre.+4, +15 Hp, +15 St, +5 Mn

‘Ok, interesting. Just a plain improvement of my class, that I can work with.’

Metallurgic Breaker

You have deviated from the traditional. By incorporating heat into your attacks you have become stronger.

Str.+5, End.+4, Vit.+3, Fre.+4, +15 Hp, +15 St, +5 Mn

‘Oh. Now that's nice, I like the crossover.’

Magma Mage

Armies will fear you. Wield the might of magma, use spells based on the power of the planets core to create devastating effects.

Int +5, Wis +5, Vit.+3, Fre.+4, +10 Hp, +5 St, +20 Mn

‘A mage class? Sounds powerful but I don’t want to drop my hammers anytime soon, that’s a no from me.’ Raph thought to himself in a sarcastic voice.

Destroyer

Become unstoppable. You have fought against many and won, you are a force to be reckoned with. Wield the heaviest of weapons and become untiring.

Str.+6, End.+6, Vit.+6, Fre.+4, +15 Hp, +20 St, +5 Mn

‘Oh.’ Raph was elated, yet concerned. ‘Destroyer? That’s not ominous at all.’

Raph mulled over the options but realized eventually that there was only really one choice.

Breaker upgraded. Breaker becomes Destroyer.

ERROR.

Reincarnator becomes Reincarnator.

Reincarnator: Your class cannot be identified. You have a much greater chance to gain skills. Skills upgrade at a much faster rate.

ERROR.

You are now: Destroyer Lv.51

...

You are now: Destroyer Lv.60

…

Raph’s head was splitting, whatever just happened probably shouldn’t have. A wave of dizziness passed over him and he blacked out.