"Go, Oogle," Rother gives the command, "take them down, but do not kill the Chosen Hero. He might be worth something."

I pull out my sword while this Oogle guy jumps down and approaches me. He has this disgusting slobber all over his mouth. Really gross. I can even smell his breath from here. But I can't drop my guard as that long sword of his can even reach me from a distance. The way he easily sliced the tree, he must have tremendous strength, but who can tell with those corrupted stats of his.

I look behind me and see that Steph has my back. "I'm going to use a boosting spell for your Strength," she tells me. I feel a light hit me. A tingling sensation is all over my body as I see the message in front of me.

Strength +64

Well, that's nice, but is it necessary? My Attack is so high after all. But then again, I don't know what this guy is capable of. I guess I can use all the help I can get.

A great swing from that longsword comes towards me and I parry the attack, causing the sword to bounce off and surprising Oogle. His right eye was twitching, I guess he wasn't expecting that.

To my left Elric, to my right Luna, standing beside me, their weapons ready. Elric with his sword, and Luna with her staff.

"He's not so tough," says Luna.

"A mere runt," says Elric, "we can take him easily."

"Don't underestimate him," I tell them. "Who knows what crazy tricks he has."

"Don't worry about him, Same," says Steph, "our objective are those chips. You need to go after the boss."

She's right. I don't have time to deal with a crazy person. We got to get going and find the rest. And since that message appeared, I guess I got no choice but to proceed with this.

I run towards the truck, but I noticed Oogle's sword coming my way, so I block it without skipping a beat. He then leaps back as a jolt of electricity flies by us, hitting the spot he used to be in, while Elric jumps in and smashes his sword against Oogle's. With this distraction, I approach the back end of the truck where Rother was watching from above.

"So you want to fight?" he asks.

"I don't, but looks like I have no choice."

"But do you really believe you are alone?"

"Huh?"

He puts his fingers on his mouth and blows a whistle. From the sides of the road, behind the trees and the slope, a group of wild and messy-looking men appear. They had weapons of all kinds: spears, arrows, swords, hammers, all rusted and overused, but all the same, I keep my guard up. With a loud roar, they all come for us. Man, I don't need this.

One with a long sledgehammer aims to smash my face but I dodge and punch him in the face. Another one with a dagger, I punch him in the jaw before he gets near me. Someone grabs me from behind as another person aims to smash me with a club. With all my strength, I swing my entire body to the side, exposing his backside. The club smashes his ribs, forcing him to let go of me, and I repay the one with the club with my first to his face.

I had a small pause as I check on my friends. Elric was keeping them busy as he... slices their throats? Luna is using her Electricity to... fry everyone into oblivion1 And Steph is using her staff to, what I can best describe, siphoning some kind of essence out of a group of bandits as they convulse and hit the ground. One by one, I see the thieves fall, all bloodied and torn, burnt to a crisp, and painful writhing with an extremely frail body. Even that Oogle guy is slicing up his comrades one by one by mere accident! It's a massacre of epic proportions, and I was getting nauseous.

"Oogle!" one of them screams, "Why do you kill your own- AGH!" But his pleas do nothing as Oogle's not paying attention to who he is attacking.

More men come after me. I block one's attack and kick them on the shin. Another guy I block his sword and push him away with the pressure from mine. However, no matter how many I trounce, they just get up and come after me. Before they could even touch me, a roaring fire burns them all live!

"I got them, Sir Hero!" I here Luna shout with excitement, while I just stood there in complete and utter shock. She just killed like 10 people and continues as if it was no big deal. Everyone is!

Don't tell me that... that... I too have to...

"Same!" shouts Steph, "Take care of the boss!"

What? Oh right, I got to... got to... do what exactly? Do I really have to kill him?

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" That's Luna. She's been cut!

"OOOOOWWWW!" Elric has been cut as well.

"AH!" Steph!

Standing in a spot, littered with the bodies of all the thieves that came to us, Oogle is the only one standing.

"Crispies!" I hear him say, "I wants the Crispies! I can smells one, I can!"

Look at him. He's so gross. He's covered in blood and looks so deranged.

"This man has given up his humanity, " I hear Rother say, still on top of the trailer, "all for Divine Crisps. If I wasn't stronger than him, he probably would've killed me a long time ago. But he can't kill me, I have what he desires. So I promised him that if he can defeat all four of you, he can have another. Even for a crumb, he will storm a castle by himself and kill the monarch. But you all have the power of the Divine Crisps, so this will be a most challenging affair for him. It matters not to him. All he desires is Divine Crisps, and will do anything to get them. So go ahead, Oogle. Kill them and claim your reward."

With a crazed look in his eyes, he looks at my friends. "Crispies! Crispies!" is all he's saying. He swings his sword, like the maniac that he is. Elric manages to deflect the attacks but Oogle hasgotten used to it now as he keeps on swinging his sword. It must weight a few pounds at least, but he swings it with no problem. How strong is he?

Luna uses her lightning to try to hit him, but no good. He sees this coming and scurries back at an impressive speed. A runic ring suddenly appears beneath him but just as quickly, jumps away before it can enclose him. Seeing that Steph was the one who made that spell, he goes after her, but Elric gets in front of her, deflecting the sword.

I now realized that I was in too much awe that I forgot my main objective. I look up and see that Rother is gone. I look inside the trailer and see him in the driver's seat. I get inside the trailer and head for the front, and he quickly exits the vehicle. Without skipping a beat, I exit through the front door but I don't see him anywhere.

No wait, he's standing on the top of the truck. How did he get up there so fast?

"Interesting mechanisms," he said, "for I know not how such a thing works. Looks like I'll have to keep you alive after all."