Al moved as soon as he saw the bandit guarding the prisoners fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out his throat. Jory had almost missed considering how they were told to always aim for the body but the arrow was in the target's throat. Al had also not been idle, he had slowly creeped towards the bandits gathering around the cart and sprung up just as they turned to see their friend's dead body. 

SHUUNK!

"Ack!Kwak!" The bandit that stood nearest to Al gurgled as the blood filled his throat and lungs. Al had punctured his knife in the bandit's heart through his ribs. Quickly pulling his knife which slid out effortlessly he made his distance and unseathed his sword. Now the situation was a little troublesome for Al. 3 of the 7 bandits were dead but in turn the rest of the 3 lackeys and the leader on horseback had turned to him with bloody murder in their eyes. They clearly couldn't care less about his claims to be the heir of Winterfell now. Al would have preferred to just run with the prisoner but Maester Luwin had vetoed that idea saying they would never make it to the nearest holdfast on foot with so many people incapable of running fast in their group so he had come up with a more ingenious and sinister plan. Now should be the most important moment of Phase 2.

"RRAAAHHH!" 

Like a call from heaven a battle cry of barely 4 men echoed as they charged across the distance wielding sticks, axe, tools and the sword from the dead bandit, to attack their captives. With a angry face the leader turned around his horse and charged to meet them. This left the 3 grown man and the pre-teen in a tense standoff as they waited for someone to make the first move. Al kept moving slowly to avoid the encirclement the bandits were trying to create when he suddenly spotted Maester Luwin waving a rag he had picked up. That was the signal. Al tensed up and his eyes took a dangerous shade while his body got lower to the ground as if preparing to explode into whichever of the bandits tried. The bandits sensing the impending action made some distance and barely 3 steps back Al moved in a burst of speed and... ran away towards the fallen cart in full speed.

The shift was so sudden and his speed was so explosive that they couldn't even comprehend what had happened till he hid behind the cart securely.

SMASH! SQUELCH!

"Ahhh! My eye! Mah eye!" Just as they turned to give chase, one of the bandits screamed as rock slammed straight into his eye by some miracle. The impact was so strong that half his smashed eyeball was dangling out of the socket by the thread of the white of his eyes. The scene was so gruesome even people like them felt sick. However that feeling soon turned into fear as more stones started crashing down on them from the forest. Fortunately or unfortunately none of the stones thrown by Maester Luwin and the rescued woman did any more damage before the bandits took cover, other than one of the bandits eating one rock in the face and losing his front teeth. Slowly the barrage came to an end as they ran out of stones and left with Maester to safety.

"You phuckers will phay phor this!" One of the bandits growled out the words as articulately he could with his broken teeth while shaking his fist in fury towards the forest.

NEIGHH! 

The sudden cry made Al look towards the battle between the bandit leader and the 4 prisoners. In the middle of the road the horse of the bandit leader was dying with an arrow sticking out of his chest while the rest of the 4 men while bruised and bleeding slightly nut were still alive and kicking. While the bandit leader was limping as he backed away from the mob with a longsword and makeshift shield of a barrel head with arrows sticking out of it. He had to finish this up quickly and help Jory before somebody form their side got killed.

Al got out of his cover and charged at the bandits who were moving to the forest to get rid of the women, who scrambled back into the forest behind Maester Luwin. Al focused his power in his leg muscles, in response his muscles coiled and flexed for a moment before in a burst of speed he exploded into a flurry of movement that crashed with the nearest of the 3 bandits, who was barely able to bring his sword up being the only attentive one in the group

CLANG!!!! 

His first attack came with such ferocity and force that despite being weaker and wielding his shortsword with only his left hand he smashed the bandits sword out of his grip while his the knife in his right hand slashed at his throat but due to the height difference he could only make a shallow cut across his chest thanks to the worn leather armour protecting his chest. Once gain the knife proved it's worth when it cut through the armour with just slight resistance. 

"Aaahhh!" The bandit screamed in pain but didn't fall down, however Al didn't have the time to finish him as rest of his friends decided he was the one they wanted to kill first while the lucky bandit scrambled towards his fallen sword.

Ducking underneath the slow and wide swing of the toothless bandit wielding an axe, Al used the knife in his right hand to slash his guts as he passed by his side. He parried the half blind bandit's sword and kicked his crotch and sent him to the ground. He was quite scared of the guy actually. He was swinging a sword while half his eye was dangling by his optic nerves and still trying to get up after getting kicked in the balls. This guy either didn't feel pain or he was just plain crazy. Even if he won the battle he was sure to have nightmares about that guy for days. 

For the first time he felt how powerful the ambidexterity skill was when he blocked two simultaneous attacks by Toothless and Lucky guy who he had slashed across the clavicle. Quickly moving back he continued to parry the simultanous attacks of all three bandits as he felt his [Basic Swordmanship] skill work overdrive to correct his posture and analyze the weakness of his enemies attacks. This was generally Jory's technique but over the week of guiding him to correct his mistakes Al had also learned a few tricks from Sunder Blade. 

Just as the men had been lulled into a false sense of superiority over their retreating opponent Al switched from his slow defensive into a rapid and wild offensive charge. He sidestepped Toothless's overhead strike and move passed him while stabbing his sword in the back of his knees. Using his shortsword he guided the Lucky's sword away and ran forward and stabbed One-eye in the crotch before he could finish his wind up for the overhead strike directed on him. Al truly felt bad for One-eye when he let out a silent scream as his remaining eye bugged out. Quickly pulling his sword out he turned to his remaining opponents while One-eye let out strangled noises and curled up on his crotch.

'So he did feel pain. I'm sorry, One-eye. I didn't have a choice, you're really tall and I was kinda scared that stabbing you in the guts wouldn't put you down, given how crazy you are. I hope you live a better life next time.' Al offered a silent prayer and dashed ahead to kill Lucky and Toothless, who was on the ground cradling his stabbed knee. Lucky seemed conflicted about running away from a child or taking his chances and as a result when he decided to face him he brought his sword up too late and took a slash across his navel which disembowelled him. Al ignored the falling guts and stabbed Lucky, who was on his knees trying in vain to keep his guts in, in the throat. Not even sparing a glance at Toothless's plea for mercy he stabbed him in the heart from behind to avoid any hidden surprises. 

Al felt numb and a buzz in his ears as the familiar sight of blood greeted him. This wasn't his first time killing a person but swords were quite more messy, visceral and too personal for him to just ignore. Guns were definitely more boring than swordfighting but he really would have liked to avoid all the carnage left in it's wake. His stomach turned as he looked at the sight of Lucky's guts, Toothless's empty eyes and One-eye's curled up form and their bright blood staining the ground before turning muddy. The smell of blood mixing with soil along with feces being discharged by the dead bodies was sickening reminder of who had done this.

'This...this was me. I did this. Have I ever been so cruel? I used to so nice. Was I ever nice? No! Act first, regret later.'

Pushing everything down by remembering his mantra he pushed up Toothless's leg and took out his knife from behind his knee and rushed towards the fight between the bandit leader and prisoners and Jory. One of the men was limping and staying back while remaining 3 men were harassing the bandit from distance and driving him towards the forest. Jory had only nailed one arrow on the bandit's shoulder before running out now he was crossing swords with the bandit leader occasionally whenever he was about to kill the men. Silently slinking into the background Al stepped around the fight and got behind the bandit leader's back and waited for the opening to present itself.

Just as the bandit leader dodged back out of Jory's slash Al sprung out stabbing at his lowerback, however as if he had sensed the attack coming he turned around midway and swung his sword at Al. Al could only watch in horror as his opportunity turned into disaster as the blade moved towards his face. Unable to recover his balance or bring his sword up Al used his tried and tested move of just simply falling down and letting the gravity do the work but he wasn't fast enough, the sword was still on the trajectory towards his neck when it suddenly moved away in the opposite direction. 

Al watched dumbly as one of the older man in his mid-40s, who had just sparta kicked the bandit leader into the ground, approached him and offered his hands. Al gratefully took it and gave a nod of thanks before moving forward to join Jory as they faced off against the bandit leader who was getting up. Jory looked like he wanted to fret over Al due to the close shave he had just survived but held off on it and choose to focus on the Bandit Leader. Al decided to name bandit leader Scarface given the ugly burn mark on his face,

"You're not Robb Stark." Scarface remarked calmly as if he wasn't outnumbered. "You serve the Starks but you're not one of them. I knew I should have trusted my instincts...damn my greed. Ha! To be brought down by bunch of kids and my own prisoners." 

Scarface observed the silent scene before continuing.

"I've plenty of regrets kiddo." Scarface pointed a glance at Al, "And not killing you the moment I met you is the one I regret most. But not ripping you apart before I die will not be one of them."

Scarface leaped towards them and brought his sword down in an overhead strike but Al and Jory had leaped in opposite direction and dogged the attack but Scarface was definitely smarter than people gave him credit for. Instead of attacking Jory or Al he charged at the 3 men standing behind them. Thankfully once again the older man, who was wielding the sword they had looted from the bandit blocked his attack however if his pained grunt was any indication he was really struggling against the weight of the attack.

Al charged forward again. Swinging his sword and knife simultaneously in a chaotic yet controlled fashion. Scarface was only able to survive due to Al having to dodge his heavy yet fast blows. Jory joined in soon, attacking occasionally when he saw an opening and scoring a light scrath or shallow cut on his arms or legs. The old man also stuck to the periphary but closer than Jory and started to distract Scarface whenever he was about to launch an attack.

Al was moving ferociously across the battle, shifting and changing angle irregularly and Scarface was starting to feel the pressure now. Al's attack came from so many different angles so frequently that it was impossible to hone in on his actual location, not to mention his short stature and shortsword allowed him to fight even in uncomfortably close distance where his longsword was not fully effective. His attacks were not that deep but the speed and sharpness of his weapon more than made up for it.

It had been just 30 seconds since their clash but Al was starting to feel winded up given how fast and how irregularly he had to move. He was pushing his body to the limits continuing his assault and it's effect showed. Scarface was covered in jagged bleeding wounds on various parts of his body as if he had walked through a hurricane of blades. He was panting with effort and getting dizzy but still stood on his feet and resolutely blocked Al's attacks. Just then a tiny glimmer caught Al's eye and movement soon followed as an arrow struck right through Scarface's cheek. 

However that wasn't exactly the shocking part. The shocking part was that Scarface barely gave it any attention and continued blocking his strikes and soon capitalised on his shock and delivered a punch that sent him sprawling a few feet away. Proving his unnatural vitality Al quickly recovered and shook his head groggily and checked for blood before quickly rolling on his back and doing a kip up to stand. Thankfully the oldman had covered him and stopped Scarface from stabbing him. Angry at the fact that someone had actually managed to punch him, Al clenched his swords.

'I beat all of the Youth Olympic Gold Medalists you fucker. Who the fuck do you think you are?'

"Hey fuckface!" Al roared and Scarface pushed the oldman off with a parry in response before turning to him. Seeing he had his attention Al spoke emphasizing each word, "Suck. My. Fucking. Dick!"

They both gave a simultaneous roar and charged at each other. In just that moment, Al watched Jory run behind Scarface and slash his Achilles tendon. Scarface gave out a pained cry and fell on knees and Al charged past him while swinging his sword at his neck. This time there was no surprise, no sudden turns. Like cutting through vegetables Al's sword slid across Scarface's neck and separated it from his body. Al felt angry and dissatisfied at not winning fairly but he quickly pushed that thought out. He no longer fought in the ring.

Al never thought there could be so much blood in the human body when he saw the blood fountain emerge from the severed neck as the heart pumped it's last litres of blood in defiance of death. It was so unreal that Al felt like he was watching those uncanny animations that exaggerated gore.

"Yeahhhhhh!"

Al broke out of his reverie by the shout of victory given by a teenage boy who had shot the arrow through Scarface's cheek. Soon everyone was celebrating and women, children and the old who had been watching from afar came running towards the surviving men to greet them. The teen was greeted by his mom and sister while the man in mid-40s met his wife, son and his even older father. They all hugged each other and laughed, sobbed and scolded the men for not running away. He couldn't help but feel a little lonely for the first time in this world. Then he felt sick when looking around the ground and seeing the carnage that had taken place here. He had killed more people here than everybody else combined. Just as he was about to fall into dark thoughts he felt someone hold his head and hug his side. Turning his head left, he saw Maester Luwin looking at the scene with tired yet satisfied eyes. He couldn't help but relax and lean into the hug. He smelled of old paper and ink, exactly like his library.

"First times are always difficult. They change you in a way. Some for the better and some for the worse. You should be proud of what you did, Al." Maester Luwin spoke slowly but he was heard clearly nonetheless. "You showed me something that a lot of people talk about but none posses. To go against impossible odds and your orders, to save lives of total strangers...You have makings of a fine knight, young man. Don't ever forget this day."

Maester Luwin's smile couldn't be more prouder and neither could Al's. He had never gotten this amount of validation and positive feedback from anybody. Generally he would be skeptical but the old Maester's pride and satisfaction were so immense that they couldn't possibly be faked.

"And never forget what you felt after taking a life." Maester warned him in a serious tone, "When you forget how it feels to kill, you forget how it feels to live. Now go rest. You deserve it."

Al nodded at that. He now knew the true meaning of taking a life. He wouldn't ever turn into an unfeeling killer, that was a slippery slope into madness and depression. Maester Luwin soon joined Jory and helped him bandage the man who had taken a slash on his thigh at the start of the fight against Scarface. Left alone Al quickly opened his status.

'Yessssss! Let's go! Krishmohbuddhachrist, thank you so much! Thank you!' Al almost got down on his knees to pray to all the gods. 2 unallocated points along with a 1000 QP bonus for killing Bernard of Blight Brother?! Not to mention he leveled [Basic Sowrdsmanship] to  Lvl. 4! Christmas had come early for him! Though who was Bernard? Was it Scarface? He certainly didn't look like a Bernard to him...well none of them looked like Bernard but logically it should be the boss. 'Huh? So killing them wasn't a requirement for passing the quest? That's surprisingly kind of this fucker. It even gave me bonus, is it in a good mood or is it just trying to lull me into a sense of security before springing a castration quest on me?'

Putting the antics of system in the back of his mind he checked out his new skill. 

'Ho-lee shit! This is so overpowered. My first actual magical skill! Shame it costs 10 MP.' Al exclaimed at the effects of the skill despite it's detail section looking like some cheap scam advertisement. Curious about the new expanded detail feature system was talking about Al clicked the expand icon.

'Whoa...that's surprisingly helpful feature but it's still not as good as getting QP though. Shame it's a one-time use only.' 

These were details Al would figure out eventually while using the skill and were not exactly game changing but he liked having the convenience to know these things. Al moved to his stats and decided to invest them all in his PER.

During the fight he had noticed how important having a good perception along with speed was for his style of fighting. Even at his current AGI of 9 he felt like he sometimes couldn't keep track of his own movement let alone movements coming from all sides in a chaotic battlefield of barely 4 people. How was he supposed to survive if he was ever thrown into a war? He decided to change the build he thought earlier to a new one. He would focus on AGI, PER and his MANA stats and go for a fast-aggressive magic swordsman build. He would then spend some remaining ones in STR and try to exercise and eat to naturally build up his STR stat as he was still growing and he had faith in his genetic vitality.

ROOOAARR!

"AHHHH!"

Al snapped his head up when he heard a thundering animalistic roar followed by people screaming at top of their lungs. People were running and scattering away as a 13 foot tall polar bear of all fucking things charged out of the forest on all fours. Al cursed his stupidity of falling for System's tricks and scrambled towards the bear to distract it somehow. For all his heroic charge towards the bear, Al was sweating buckets and the hands holding his sword and knife were trembling while his breath was coming in short, uneven burst. A primal fear inherent of all humans was swimming in his wild dark eyes.

'It's not even fucking snowing! How did you even get he-wait a minute, do they have global warming here?'

As usual his head was filled with more nonsense the more scared he got however even that stopped when he saw Jory slowly dragging the limping wounded man with Maester Luwin and a little girl he assumed to be his daughter. The bear had locked on them and Al's breath caught in his throat. Every step that the bear took towards them filled him with despair. He could already taste their blood in the air, he would never make it on foot. Remembering what his new skill he tried to activate his skill.

'Metero Jump!'

With a thought and jump Al was flying through the air and sailed past Maester Luwin and Jory. At 10 feet of height Al felt weightless and scared, wondering if he had failed to activate the skill but in that moment he felt a thin film of energy surround him and before he could think anymore, he was propelled down with such tremendous amount of speed that everything turned into a blur. 

BOOOM! CRACK! Shunk!

A large crash and crack followed by the quieter sound of blade piercing flesh echoed through the clearing silencing all shouts and clamor. By the time Al regained a sense of his surrounding he was crouching on the broken neck of the bear and his sword was buried in the back of the bear's skull. Al clearly felt at that moment that if not for the protection of the skill he would have turned into a pulp and the hand holding his sword would have been torn apart just by the sheer force. He quickly stood up and pulled his sword out and then proceeded to gawk at it. It didn't even have a scratch on it! Other than the blood and brain matter that was flowing down it was practically new. He was sure it would at least have a major crack or even break in two given his speed and how that it wasn't protected by skill.

He looked up to check on Jory and Maester Luwin but soon found himself being stared at by the everyone with shock in their face.

'Oh fuck me...when did I become so impulsive?' Al lamented as he thought about how he would explain his superhuman feat to everyone.

'Fuck that, I love being impulsive!'

Ryan2507

Guys I need you to tell me if the chapter title is okay, I couldn't think of anything better, if you have any suggestions feel free to comment them. Also do leave some likes and words about how you're liking the story so far.