The eldest daughter of Duke Lucera, Lilliana, was trapped inside a metal cage wagon. She and her guard escorts were ambushed during their journey to the royal capital by an organised group of bandits.

They had captured Lilliana and her head knight, Rolph, and locked them up in a cage. All of her guards were killed, but one of the riders managed to escape. To Liliana, there was still hope.

Since the attack, her capturers returned to their main camp. Geryon, a giant warrior who was even feared by his bandit crew, escorted Lilliana to their leader in another small metal cage.

They arrived at the largest tent in the centre of the camp. Standing guard outside were two bandits though they looked intimidating themselves. When compared to Geryon, they looked small. And as soon as they saw Geryon, Lilliana could see the fear in their eyes as they moved away and allowed him in.

Inside the dimly lit tent were stacks of the chest, barrels of what Lilliana could assume is alcohol and mountains of treasure and weapons. At the end of the tent, she could see a bald man and next to him was a young girl, tied up on a wooden pole.

There were several bruises and whip marks all over her body. Her face was so beaten up that Lilliana couldn't tell if she was dead or unconscious. Every time she got hit, there was no reaction.

Lilliana found her hand was trembling in fear and anger, and her heart ached for not being able to help the unfortunate girl.

"Hey boss, here's the girl."

"Heh, so this is the duke's daughter, eh?" The beating stopped, and the man turned his attention to Lilliana. "Could probably fletch a nice price as a slave, especially as a noble's plaything. Smile, will ya?."

"But boss, didn't you say we need to bring her to the client?" Geryon reminded.

"Ah yes, well, I suppose we should hand her over to the client soon, but before that, we found a small village near the Enchanted Forest." he declared whilst unfolding a map and pointed to a location. "There should be a couple of toys we can pick up on the way."

"Understood. I'll get the boys ready and have someone scout ahead," said Geryon as he turned to leave.

The bald man quietly muttered something to himself whilst grabbing a bottle out of the stash of treasure.

"W-who are you?"

"Finally talking, aye? they call me The Great Bhatos." He replied with a grin.

"....Bhatos", Lilliana repeated quietly under her breath.

The name was familiar. Several years ago, Lilliana overheard the mansion maids and knights talking about a corrupt noble whose criminal empire had been exposed and taken down by the royal family. The noble himself managed to escape before the knights raided his mansion.

After a thorough search of the mansion, they found a secret basement prison with many kidnapped women and children.

The noble's name was spread all around the country. It was the same wanted noble (and his bandit crew) that kidnapped Lilliana. Nonetheless, she tried to keep herself composed and carried on asking questions.

"W-who paid you to do this?"

"Now now, Why would I tell you details about my client? it's all about customer confidentiality in this type of business, you know?"

"Tch, all you lowlife scum care about is the money."

"Ha, that's right, not everyone has their rich daddy duke." He takes a swig from the bottle. "Ahhh, that hit the spot."

"You know my dad and his men are looking for me. You won't get away with this."

"Ooohhh, making threats now, are we?, Let me show you why you shouldn't make threats at me" He stood up and walked towards the girl on the pole.

Bhatos smashed the bottle over her bruised face and pushed the broken bottle into her stomach. This time there was a scream and a cry. Blood was gushing out of her body and splattered all around the tent.

He showed no remorse or hesitation. In fact, he was laughing his head off at the dying girl and her screams.

Lilliana was shaken with fear. The girl's scream was all she could hear, along with Bhatos' laughter.

"Hahaha, I don't care who you are, mess with me, and you die. Now be a nice girl and sit there quietly. You two! clean up the mess and take the girl back!"

As soon as he made the command, the two men standing guard rushed in and got started to clean up the bloody mess.

"Oi Boss!"

Another man walked. This time they had a cloak that hid their face and upper body.

Lilliana could tell that the voice was a young man, and the armour he wore underneath was a shade of blue. She caught a glimpse of a red insignia on one of the gauntlets.

"Wait, that mark, you're from the Ralot family. What are you doing here?"

Lilliana instantly recognised the Ralots family symbol. Ralot family were monster tamers, and their power of commanding their fierce familiars into battle was known worldwide.

They were initially a bunch of mercenaries, but after being recognised by the king four generations ago for outstanding achievements in the army, they rose to the title of Viscount.

"Oops, I guess I already got exposed. I'm gonna have to make sure you don't tell anyone now, haha."

"I guess the rumours that the Ralots are still simple lowlife mercenaries are true?"

"Well, that's partly right. The current family are a bunch of dogs listening to that stupid king's every command, but I on the otherha-."

"Shaddup, Estiel." Bhatos interrupted, "let your boss know that we got the girl."

"Oh, this is the duke's daughter. Let's see" Estiel studied Lilliana from head to toe. "Ah indeed she is; the count will be very pleased. When will you be taking her to him?"

"Ehhhh... Tell him in 4 days, and we're gonna get some extra wares on our way if you know what I mean."

"Very well," Estiel pulled out a small bird made of rock. "Tell the master that expect us in 4 days."

Its red crystal eyes glowed in acknowledgement and took off. Usually, bird-like golems were not able to fly with their stone wings. However, enchanting it with the spell [Fly] allowed them to break those restrictions.

"We're gonna raid a village on our way. Wanna show off that new golem that you've been bragging about?"

"Hehe, perfect more test subjects to test out my new toy."

""Hahaha""

She could hear the two men's laughter from afar as she prayed in silence for a miracle as she was taken back into her cage.

If no one was to stop them, many innocent people were going to be killed.

♦ ♦ ♦

Masato's perspective

Black smoke filled the sky. It meant that some form of fuel was used to create the fire. Which then suggests there might be people using it.

No matter what they were burning, this was my only chance to find civilisation, so I began running towards the fire.

I dodged rocks, trees and ran through bushes, alerting every predator of my location. Since I couldn't be bothered fighting, I threw [Energy Ball] at any unlucky monster, and once I stored them in my ring, I carried on running.

Occasionally I would use [Blink], but it required mana which though I had plenty of, I didn't want to waste. So whenever I ran out of breath, I used [Blink] in the meantime whilst I recovered.

During the journey, I had Guardian explain the new skills I received after drinking the [Divine Elixir] and killing the bear.

[Skill Absorbption] had a 5% chance of me taking the enemies' skills that I defeat.

[Spear Creation] created spears made of any elements as long as there was a source nearby.

[Intimidation] was a skill that grabbed the attention of any low intelligent monsters.

In my opinion, it would be suitable for a tank class player, and I had no intention of using it right now.

Those were the new skills I gained, but I also had potions left by the previous user of the Guardian ring.

[Elixer] could heal anything and revive anyone as long as it hasn't been over 15 minutes. Any missing limbs will be regenerated, and it could even extend the user's lifespan depending on their race.

[Healing Potions] could heal any injuries, but not diseases or illnesses. It boasts one healing ability temporarily. Depending on the grade of the potion and the users own healing ability, the speed and types of wounds it could heal varies.

[Antidote Curall] removes any type of poison from the body, even the most potent poison would have no effect as long as the user drinks it before dying.

These were a great collection of starter items. But, it made me wonder who was the previous user and how dangerous this trial was. However, I had to focus on finding civilisation right now.

I eventually reached the end of the forest, and in the distance, I could see a massive open area of the field. The smoke was coming from a small village. Half of it was already engulfed in flames. I ran closer to take a look.

As I got closer to the village, I heard the clashing of metal, screaming and laughter; not a good mix during a fire. I couldn't see what was going on, but the flimsy wooden wall had tiny peepholes for me to watch through.

People armed with swords and axes were slaughtering the villagers who had nothing but farming equipment to defend themselves.

I assumed that these attackers were bandits, judging by their mix-matched pieces of equipment and their carts loaded with sacks of stolen items. I also spotted a couple of caged carts that had people chained up inside, and more were being added.

Most of the villagers started to surrender and began to follow the bandit's command. They lined up to have chains attached to their legs and loaded onto the carts.

"This one's a pretty one. Get over here." two bandits grabbed a young girl out of the line.

"Please don't...please don't hurt me..." the girl squealed.

"Hehe, don't worry, little missy."

"Yeah, don't worry, we promise that we'll make you feel goo~od."

The two men started to laugh as they held her down onto the ground. Her weak kicks and cries weren't effective as they tore away her clothes.

That's when I knew I had to step in; thankfully, Guardian's report of the bandits level I asked before was complete.

>>

"Great, none of them should pose a threat."

I now needed a weapon, so I made two wooden [Spear Creation] using parts of a house. Then I went in.

I threw the first spear at the bandit who held the girl's arms down, and he dropped to the side. Blood started to spray out of his wound and onto the girl. The dead man's buddy and the surrounding bandits were confused.

""Huh, What the fuck?""

I moved closer and used [Blink] to teleport behind the other and stabbed him in the back with my second wooden [Spear Creation]. He then dropped onto the floor. Two dead, twenty-three more to go.

"Hey, you okay?" I reached my hand out to the crying girl. The poor girl was probably traumatised after that experience.

"Y-yes, I am fine. Thannkk y-you.." She began to stutter, and tears began to flow. I heard the other village's sigh in relief.

"Good, hide over there whilst I take care of these bandits."

She nodded and ran off behind the carts.

"Who the hell are you!"

I turned around to face the direction of the voice and replied with an emotionless tone. These scums didn't deserve to live anymore, and I felt like playing the grim reaper today.

"I'm going to be the one who shall wipe you off the face of this world!"

They laughed at my statement and drew their weapons. I used [Blink] and got behind them and slashed them with the spear. I realised that I didn't feel any guilt when I took their lives. Seven dead, eighteen more to go.

However, as more and more bandits came at me, my spear started to deteriorate. Well, it was made of wood. I was surprised that it lasted this long. Twelve dead, thirteen more to go.

"It's just a kid. Just surround him and take him down!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

They still, however, had the number advantage, which wasn't good for me since my only weapon had broken in half, and if I'd used [Energy Ball] to take out the bandits, all the villagers would die as well. Then my efforts would be for nought.

The bandits charged at me all at once, blocking every possible escape, or so they thought. I teleported out of the way, and the bandits crashed into one another.

"Aghhh, what the hell? This guy just teleported. Someone get the boss!" shouted a surprised bandit.

It would've seemed like they thought I had speed increase skill and not short distant teleport.

"Shut up, you useless pieces of shit. We're here."

Three more bandits appeared from the burning side of the village. They were different from the others. The first one was a short and bald man who had all kinds of rings on each of his fingers. The second was a man who was probably over two metres tall, and his body was made of pure muscles. The final one was wearing a cloak hiding his face and everything underneath.

"Sir, this guy can teleport!"

"Ugh, it's another mage." grumbled the short man "Geryon, do what you did with the last one. Make him regret standing in The Great Bhato's way."

"Yes, boss." the giant replied.

Geryon, the brawny giant, was level 18. 'The Great Bhatos', the leader of the bandit group, was only level 6. Whilst the ominous cloaked man who stood behind them was level 25.

"Mind I ask what did happen to the last mage?" I inquired out of curiosity.

"Heh, she died a very horrible death," replied Geryon, and he began charging towards me. "AND SO ARE YOU!!"

His every step shook the earth, and the bandits who were in his path crawled away in panic.

""Let's go! Sir Geryon crush that bastard!!"" the bandits cheered.

He readied his fist, but as soon as it came close, [Natural Defence] kicked in, and I elegantly moved out of the way.

But since I couldn't attack him without a weapon, I didn't plan to use my fist or [Energy Ball]. I waited, dodging Geryon's attacks, hoping that I eventually got lucky and that [Natural Defence] would deflect his attack. It only had a 10% chance of deflecting physical attacks, but it was better than nothing.

It went on for a while. I could hear the trapped villagers whispering, and the bandit's cheering had died down. Mostly because Geryon was showing exhaustion, his movement decreased, and so did the force behind his every punch.

"STOP FUCKING MOV-GUAHH", the mad Geryon roared, but the timing couldn't be more perfect.

As he tried to punch me, I moved out of the way, and my fist automatically went into his face. Then his head exploded.

...

...

"""WHAT THE FUCK!?"""" the bandits shouted in unison, and even some villagers gasped in surprise.

Considering that he was level 18 and I was level 99, he stood no chance. To be honest, I was surprised as well. I need to remember not to use too much power. It would be bad if I accidentally killed everyone I meet.

"He took down Geryon with one punch. The kid's a monster!" a bandit yelled.

"Let's get outa here quick!" shouted another.

"You worthless dogs!" exclaimed the mad Bhatos, now that one of this highest level goons had died."Estiel, bring out that golem, and kill that son of a bitch!"

"Don't give me orders, Bhatos, but I think I will take you up on that offer to kill that brat."

The cloaked figure stepped forward and flipped back his hood, revealing his blond hair and young face. He looked slightly older than me (well, the currently me) and was the highest level out of all the bandits. Though he didn't pose any threat in terms of levels, I couldn't let myself be caught off guard.

I watched him as he took a red crystal orb out of the small pouch on his waist. The orb itself was much bigger than the bag, so it surprised me.

"Heh, never seen a magical bag have you?" Estiel must have noticed the expression on my face. "Of course you haven't, your just a peasant kid who has some mana, and that's all."

"Maybe..." I replied, but inside I was trying not to laugh at his last comment. If only he knew just how much stronger than him I was.

He held the orb in his hand and began chanting.

"Appear before me, Mithril Golem and slay my enemies!"