Chương 6: Bandits, Bandits, and more Bandits!

"You WHAT?!" LANCE yelled. He wanted to say he couldn't believe what his father did, but he couldn't tell a lie — he could totally believe his father.

"It's for your own good, son — for the planet's own good. We don't have all day for you to be fiddling around with these earthworm teetotalers. You should have a while before they come for you, though," his father informed him.

"Use that time wisely." He wanted to rage at his father but knew that would only set him back — he would have time for raging later. Luckily, the System had some good news for him: [You Have Reached Level 6!] [Six Boon Points Awarded] [Unused Boon Points: 24] He had to focus. He had to resist panicking. He was a Paladin. A holy warrior of the Celestial Gods. A Paladin, moreover, who had an insane advantage over those normal System Champions. It was time to allocate some points!

He opened his HUD and dumped five points into Stamina. The previous two points he had put into Stamina helped a lot more than he thought they would by enabling him to run over a mile and fight several more bandits, before running another mile, to fight more bandits, without breaking hardly a few sweats. An extra five points on top of that would let him... well, do a lot more, that was for sure. Once the points settled, he felt a rush of... something flow into him. It wasn't 'energy,' no.

It was more like, he was tired a moment ago, but now, because his Stamina had increased via Boon Points, he was no longer tired. His 'limit' had been pushed back a lot further than it had been just a moment ago, hence, he wasn't as tired. [Quest Complete: Slay Outlawed Entities (Minor): Reward: +3 Mana Grenades: XP] A 'mana grenade' was a great tool for a Paladin, who, under normal circumstances, possessed little in the way of magical means aside from the basic incantations every Paladin learned at the academy.

He was sure it wouldn't be too long before such tools were pointless to him, but that time wasn't now — now, they would be useful. [New Quest: Slay Outlawed Entities (Medium): Accept?] He accepted the new quest just as he felt the mana grenades materialize into his utility belt's empty pocket. he touched the pocket where they ended up making sure he knew where they were when he had need of them. Threats were coming his way, so what should he do first? He took a moment to think it over...

he could dig defenses and erect some traps, take enemies out the easy way while he saw back. Problem with that was, his dad would not approve. He didn't want to admit it, but his father had brought him here, and then brought more enemies to him, so that he would feel pain. His healing factor would enable him to survive wounds which would've killed a normal man ten times over. Hence, his survival wasn't in doubt despite whatever baddies came his way.

If that was the case, he should advance and confront that threat before it became a bigger threat. Lance incanted a basic [Search] to see where he should go; at the edge of his results, he felt a mass of men move toward him from a large structure. That structure was the bandit's central fortress in the center of the island, which he caught glimpses of as his father flew him toward the island. The mass heading toward him was not heading directly to him, which told him that they only knew his general location.

That would work to his advantage. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Deciding then on the best defense being a stellar offense, Lance ran toward the attacking mass. As his father would say, he didn't have hours to wait around building defenses, just to launch a series of hit and run attacks. That would've been fine for anyone not him, who wasn't here to power level, but it wasn't good enough for him, who was here to power level!

With his stamina heads-and-shoulders above the stamina of a normal person, Lance made great time in rushing toward the bandit horde. He stopped maybe a quarter of a mile before the horde reached him, as evidenced from his position from atop a tree. It was a small gimmick of the system, but the place one incanted mattered to the effectiveness of the ability. So, when he cast [Search] again, his results were much better, more detailed. He saw through System bullmuckery...

over a couple of dozen bandits not unlike that of how a hawk or an eagle saw the world. He could focus on the bandit's gear and see close-up details as if he were right next to them. These bandits were of a higher quality than the peons he fought before. Excellent, so good. He loved danger... not, but hey, he begged his father to train him, so it wasn't like he could back out now. Lance descended from the tree and did his best to sneak through the woods. He was no Rogue, though, and made far too much noise.

Blessed be he, his prey were not Rogues, either. His noise covered by the natural sounds of the forest, he waited until just the perfect moment to strike. by 'strike,' he of course meant reason with the unreasonable bandit scum, as per his Paladinic Oath demanded. An oath he was regretting by the hour: "Gentleman!" he spoke, knowing what would come next.

"Can I offer you salvation in exchange for sparing your lives?" The bandits shouted at him slurs of eloquent hate, then charged. Lance backed away into the woods and waited again for the perfect moment to strike. That, and the perfect moment to sigh; had he not been bound by his oath, he could've taken out several of the bandits in a surprise attack. That (second) perfect moment came sooner than he thought, and it in the form of several bandits being in close proximity to each other.

His hand was on his utility belt and he unlatched, then threw a mana grenade. It exploded in a fiery, albeit sparkly, explosion; beautiful though the explosion was, its beauty was tempered by the whirlwind of blood and viscera which sprouted in its wake. Bandits screamed as they bled out. [Bandit Killed x3: You've Gained XP] He still had the lion's share of bandits left to dispatch, so he couldn't get complacent.

Not wanting to spend the whole battle ducking and attacking, Lance drew his sword and charged toward a nearby group who were disoriented by the explosion. He shoved using his shield and heard bones break; a slash from his sword cut off an arm, then skewed another; finally, a well-placed kick made another bandit's hope of ever having children a thing of the past. Screams, some of mercy, echoed through the wood, though only served to attract more victims.

[Bandit Killed x1: You've Gained XP] One his victims must've bled out. Pity for them, he concluded. Another group upon him, he parried several sword attacks without even trying. It seemed to him comical how little effort the bandits put into fighting him. If he hadn't known his superiority came from his advantage in Boon Points, he would've thought everyone who wasn't him was just a wimp for fearing this island and the thug inhabitants. But he knew better.

He parried and defended from attacks, then returned blows when he saw an opening. Although he had to retreat several times, least the bandits' pure numbers surrounded him, the battle, despite the bandits' and their high numbers, ended in the outlaws' defeat. Although he felt little pain because of the adrenaline surging through his body, he knew the bandits had managed to land blows on him. A stab there, a slice there. It didn't matter. Already, his healing factor had refreshed him of the most serious damage.

It would take more than a few tawdry cuts from rusty blades to take him out... especially after the terror-on-legs that had been his father when he had confronted him that time ago... [Bandit Killed x6], the final notification of the battle read. Post-battle, the next notification said, [You Have Reached Level 7!]. Then, [Four Boon Points Awarded]. [Unused Boon Points: 23] [Quest Complete: Slay Outlaw Entities (Medium): Reward: Stamina Potion x1: XP] A stamina potion? That was good!

He would need that since, upon completing another [Search], he saw another group of bandits, one even bigger than the last, and with abominable freaks in their retinue. This day keeps getting better and better...