[ringing noise]

Bones groaned and held his head with his hands. His hood was blasted open and his head was showing. Barret jumped back and sported a few new wounds but the man didn't take his eyes off Bones.

"You… an old man? No, there's something strange about you. Are you a bounty hunter?" Barret started talking again. Bones slowly stood up, cracked his neck left then right and replied that he wasn't a bounty hunter, but that he was after his head.

Why is he so adamant on talking so much? Is he stalling? What for? Back-

*creek*

The door to the fort opened and a group of armed men exited. The newcomers were men from separate barracks and only now armed themselves and joined the fight in the courtyard. Barret grinned and prepared himself for another round.

So he was waiting for the rest of his men to come out? No matter, it won't change the outcome.

Bones assured himself and firmly believed in the capability of his golems. In at least one of them. He turned to the leader, gave him a wicked grin and took initiative, to Barret's surprise. Bones used every spell at his disposal, soul magic including and pushed his mana regeneration to the limit! He didn't just engage the leader, but made the man chase him around the fort while he provided support for his golems from afar. Crippled, maimed and confused about their opponents, the bandits fell after a ten minute scuffle. The golems weren't left unscathed and Bones already fumed thinking about the repairs he'll have to do after everything is over. Bones wasn't the only one fuming. Barret lost everything and watched Bones and his golems missing parts of their body in disbelief.

[ding]

"Just…what are you? You took my hits and you're fine? How can you be fine? How can you cast so many spells, tirelessly?" Barret questioned, not making head or tails out of the outcome, but quickly changed his tune.

"Look, listen, we can make a deal, yeah? You don't have to do this! I can pay you a lot more than what you would get for my head! And, and, you'll be in a favor with the Stronghold! I can vouch for you with the Bandit King, help you get a position as one of the bandit leaders! - what do you say?"

Bones didn't reply immediately, but rather looked stupefied and then a bit insulted.

Is he for real? He, a minor character, vouch for me? I doubt he had ever spoken to the Bandit King at all. Though, maybe I could fish for more information out of him.

"Your proposal is… tempting, but I would like to know a few things first." Bones replied.

"Yes, of course! You can ask me anything!"

Bones nodded and first glanced at the golems standing by his side. He sensed the orc golem had run out of juice and is now simply a construct standing by, unable to move or do anything. Barret hadn't noticed, even if he did, the outcome wouldn't change, probably.

"Who is the Bandit King? He must have a name, background, anything you can tell me about him?"

"I uh, he wears a mask at all times and he's been leading the bandits for dozens of years. I only became the leader four years ago. His background is unknown but he is very powerful! He can provide you with resources, wealth, women an-"

"Enough!" Bones interrupted. "What about the other camps? I heard certain information from the Thief's Guild about objects of high value being transported by the merchants. Sounds familiar?"

Barret's eyes widened for a moment and he looked confused, not so much about the question, but about Bones' identity.

"Who are you? How do you know ab…did one of the other leaders send you? Who was it? I did receive the information, we all did, but didn't act on it, so you can tell whoever sent you I don't have it!"

"Relax, no one sent me. I heard about that piece of info from Iam, but haven't gotten a chance to see what the item in question was."

"Iam? Iam Broke? I don't know what the item is, neither do the other leaders. We all got different information about the routes the merchants would take, but me, Iam as well, we're only leaders of minor bandits encampments. It would do us no good to take the item of high value for ourselves. If anything, it would make us targets for the other leaders. Did… did Iam go for it? What did he take?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be asking you, no? How many leaders are there?" Bones continued questioning.

*bleurgh*

*cough cough*

Barret vomited blood. The wounds he received accumulated and he was bleeding out.

"Pot..healing potion. I need a healing potion!" Barret yelled, then continued coughing, his condition only worsening.

"I don't have any. I don't use them." Bones replied. Barret looked at him doubtfully. "Don't use… I have some in my quarters. Please, get me the potion!" He pleaded.

"I'll be honest with you, Barret, right? I came for your head and I plan to collect it - that's non-negotiable. And seeing you're not very inclined to answer my questions, I think we should end our business here as I have more business somewhere else."

The moment Barret heard what Bones said, he closed his eyes, exhaled and his head slumped down. A few seconds later, he gripped his shirt with both hands, ripped open and bellowed, in agony and rage. Bones thought the man was on his last breath and his last attempt, a desperate struggle against the inevitable but quickly jumped back, putting some distance between them. He sensed something wrong.

Barret's body started giving off steam as if burning, emitting smoke off his body and his skin was turning red. The man kept bellowing and smashing his fists into each other, producing slight shockwaves that dispersed the snow around him.

"You should've let me go when you had a chance!" He yelled. "Now you'll find out why they call me Barret The Red!!"

*boom*

*punch*

In an explosive burst of speed Bones would believe to be an impossible feat for someone bleeding out, Barret appeared before him and threw a punch. Bones wasn't able to react to the attack - his mind, barely processing what's happening. He was going to get hit.

Clenching his jaw in anticipation was all he could do. The punch smashed into Bones' teeth, shattering them and sending him crashing through the wall behind him and into the fort. Skully took action half a second after Barret did, and pierced the man's tight right after he attacked Bones.

Barret didn't react. He seemed unphased by the spear lodged in his leg. More steam evaporated off his body and with a backhand strike, he sent Skully spinning to the ground. He then turned back to the hole in the wall where Bones awaited, prepared and in the process of casting a spell.

*swoosh splurt*

The lance pierced Barret's chest, missing his heart by a finger's width, but the man once again dashed in front of Bones and struck again. Dazed, Bones reacted by reflex and casted Mana Blast, a millisecond too late and both figures were blasted to the opposite sides - Barret out the hole where he slid on the ground to a stop, while Bones crashed the wooden tables and chairs in what looked like a mess hall.

Barret was the first to get up and immediately moved toward Bones but was intercepted by Skully. Just like he was taught, the golem aimed at the man's vitals. The two exchanged a few blows and each exchange ended in Barret's favor. Skully did his job and stalled his target long enough for Bones to get his bearings. He suffered broken bones but his work was done. Bones ordered him to get back while he dashed through the hole with a lance in his hand and three lances levitating beside him. If a spear through a tight won't stop Barret, perhaps missing a foot will.

After getting close to his target, Bones wasn't going to miss and before he drew attention to himself, he pierced through Barret's ankle with one of the lances beside him, separating the foot from the rest of the leg. Finally, the man's tenaciousness gave in and he fell to the ground, moaning and clutching his leg. Bones didn't spare a moment and pinned one of the hands to the ground with the second and pierced and fractured a couple of ribs with the third lance. The last lance in his hands he used to stab through Barret's neck and, with a bit of janking, separated the man's head as well.

The cold dead body stopped emanating steam and the skin returned to a normal pink color. Bones poked the body once more to see if the body was still as resilient - it wasn't.

What did he do there at the end? Was that a skill? It seemed to forcefully and temporarily stop the bleeding, and most likely nullify the sense of pain, seeing how my attacks didn't stop him at all. Barret… He had a surprisingly good physique. Even Soul Gaze wasn't as impactful. Perhaps the difference in levels played a bigger part here, rendering Soul Magic ineffective.

The man was a tough opponent. Skilled too. I haven't met an opponent before that imbued his attacks with as much mana as me. Still, I gained a level and the contract was easily cle..

Bones stopped his train of thought when he looked down and noticed his chest had an indentation left by fist strikes. He checked himself all over and then inspected Skully, and realized both of them were in a far worse off state than he thought they were. Bones took off one layer of clothing at a time until his upper body was naked. His chest was caved in and most of his ribs cracked. Even his passive Mend skill had problems mending his body. There wasn't much he could do to speed up the recovery process so he turned to his golems and started shaping and repairing them one at a time.

A few hours later, dawn illuminated the fort, showing signs of a bloody battle just a few hours ago. Bones still wasn't finished and only an hour later, he exhaled from mental exhaustion and started packing, ready to move on. For the daytime journey, he put his winter clothing back on, storing his thief's outfit and giving enchantments enough time to self-repair and be ready to use for the night raid. The fort didn't have full coffers, so to speak, but Bones looted anything he thought might have value or be of use to him, including a small chest full of medium mana stones, a haul of stolen mana crystals and a few weapons made of steel.

To think I'd spend five hours on repairs for a ten minute battle… If Barret had a second in command like Iam had Reggie, the battle might've taken a different turn. No, I haven't used everything I have. The outcome would be the same no matter what!

Should I be content with the fighting power I have or be worried? Clearing the bandit camp, or is it a fort? - doesn't matter, is an accomplishment in itself but all my achievements stem from the fact that I am an undead, and that gives me an unmeasurable advantage.

Bones glanced at the orc thoughtfully before storing the golem in inventory. He still had a weakened status and while he has it, he won't be able to infuse spark with the orc golem.

I took a risk by sneaking inside the fort through the basement. I think I'll go with the fire for my next contract!

"Common Skully, we have a long way to go." Bones said after saddling up the horse and before exclaiming giddy-up, ushering the horse to start trotting. Skully ran parallel to the horse and they both disappeared into the forest.

About forty kilometers north-east, two parties of adventurers besieged the castle on a hill, overlooking trees as far as the eye could see. Both parties undertook a contract dispatching the bandits inhabiting an old castle, and both failed at the element of surprise. Each party wanted to be the first to penetrate the castle's defenses and take the head of the bandit leader. Their approach was uncoordinated and seen, resulting in bandits closely fortifying their defenses and both parties were forced to reach an agreement and join hands.

The siege had been going on for the past two days with zero success. The bandits were holding out well but the one that made it impossible to approach was the leader - One Eyed Garrison. A second tier spellbow class Wind Breaker, a class combining bow abilities and magic skills. When Bones arrived at the location before evening, he was greeted by unfriendly stares and a borderline hostile attitude. The Adventurer's badge he had pinned on his chest piece was the only deterrent to being attacked.