How does it come to this? Why was my concealment discovered? I had a few more questions to ask but not enough time to get answers. I wish I had an ability that helped me to read minds or something. Oh wait, I have <<Assimilate>> but what I meant was something more usable for real time.

 

“You see in our field of trade, we hide in bushes a lot so the longer we stick at it the better our senses of the surrounding will be. As such I am able to spot low levels of concealment such as the one that you are currently using.”

 

Damn this bandit leader is pretty skillful for a level 6. I had to admit, it didn’t feel great being called out in this situation, now I’m gonna be shoved in with no choice but intervening.

 

“Young man,my name is Lieruz,  you’re not a bandit are you? If I may be so presumptuous then please lend us a hand we can fight them off together.”

 

It was the warrior who spoke out this time from the merchant traveller’s party. You want me to fight together with you? You just want me to pull off some of the brunt and don’t care if I die right?

 

 “Young man, you still haven’t introduced yourself yet. Us bandits are just not the type to stand on hold. We don’t like unknown entities, we’d rather stab first and ask questions later.”

 

It was the bandit leader that spoke out again this time.

 

That mind reading ability would be super helpful right now.

 

“I am just a humble wanderer. I happened to hear sounds of battle so I came over to watch. I’m just a bystander so you shouldn’t mind me right?”

 

I couldn’t even convince myself if I wanted to.

 

“Ohhhh! You’re just a humble bystander. I see! I see! Well it's the same for humble bystanders as well. Leave all your goods and you get to leave with your life.”

 

A cruel smile etched itself onto the bandits leader’s face.

 

[You have unlocked a sub skill <<Telepathy>> inside of <<Sphere of Influence>>]

 

Ahh, yes finally I can read people's minds. Thankfully I pulled this skill out of the wazoo.

 

I first focused on the bandit leader and wanted to see what he thought of me.

 

‘He looks like just a young kid. I don’t feel any sense of danger from him so his level can’t be too high. His weapons and armor aren’t bad but a kid of his age shouldn’t be able to fend off 3 bandits at a time. Even thinking that much might be overestimating him.’

 

Hehehe. 3 bandits? Good. Underestimate me a bit more. I’ll be able to fend off those 3 bandits of yours. Next off let's see what that warrior’s party thinks off me.

 

‘This kid can’t be too strong. It’s odd that he is in a forest here by himself but the fact that he is not a bandit is a boon for us. If he can draw some attention as an outside source our party will have a higher chance of survival.’

 

I can’t blame him. If i was in the same position I would’ve thought the same thing.

 

‘Let’s hope he can fight off a few of the bandits. If he does a good job it might be worthwhile to get to know him.’

 

A merchant will only think like a merchant after all. It can’t be helped.

 

‘This poor lad. He’s gonna get himself murdered, this is all my fault, if only I could protect others.’

 

Oi oi oi. Don’t write me off yet young lady. I’m gonna get my money’s worth of heals out of you in the future.

 

‘...’

 

Does this archer even think anything? Well I’m not gonna bother with the other bandits but I might as well see what I’m dealing with when fighting the bandit leader.

 

[Bandit Leader]

[Title: None] 

[Race: Human]

[Physical Age: 39] [Level: 6]

[Disposition: Greedy Extortionist]

[Class: Bandit]

[Stats]

[Health: 91/91] [Mana:6/6]

[Strength: 30 ] [Endurance: 19] [Agility: 25]

[Intellect: 13] [Resistance: 13] [Luck: 12]

 

[State: Normal]

[Skills: Sword Proficiency 1 | Sense 1 | Concealment 1 | Quick fingers 1]

[Attributes: None]

 

A bandit leader with some ability to conceal himself and also sense others with similar ability. He has some semblance of sword skills so he is better than your average bandit. Don’t scoff at his 91 HP, that’s relatively high as bandits go. Bandits are the STR/AGI mixed type, but they aren't excessively strong as you can tell.

 

I agreed with the assessment that the system gave me. Tyren was a level higher and the level of stats he displayed was much greater as well.

 

I looked towards the warrior on the other end. I had a general feel for the rest.

 

[Name: Lieruz]

[Title: None] 

[Race: Human]

[Physical Age: 23] [Level: 5]

[Disposition: Steadfast Warrior]

[Class: Warrior]

[Stats]

[Health: 71/85] [Mana:4/4]

[Strength: 26] [Endurance: 26] [Agility: 20]

[Intellect: 15] [Resistance: 19] [Luck: 14]

 

[State: Normal]

[Skills: Sword Proficiency 1 | Shield Proficiency 1| Recovery 1]

[Attributes: Stand Guard (DEF↑| GRD ↑)]

 

This guy isn’t too bad, he’s an all rounder. Decent attack but better defense, he’s steadfast and not stupid. His int is decent but his mana reserves are low so it's a waste. Will try to block your strikes rather than land a pivotal blow.

 

Again I agree, it seems like the situation is like a bunch of shoddy sword vs an average shield kinda thing. Well that’s the best I can explain it. Sorry.

 

“Galrick, Daimon and Velma go and hold the brat on the side. If he bears his fangs, don’t hesitate to rip them out! Hahaha”

 

Three of the bandit troupe split off to fight me while the rest of the 8 will outnumber the 4 or should I say 3 in the merchants party.

 

A level 3 female bandit, and 2 lackey bandits at level 2. This should be fine for me.

 

I smirked. It was caught in the eyes of the bandit leader.

 

“You’re not looking down on us because we’re bandits right? We can take a life or two in the blink of the eye ya see. I wouldn’t be having such a smug face if I were you.”

 

I continued. It irked him, it really irked him. I wanted to know what he was thinking.

 

‘This bastard! Why is he still smiling. Is he overestimating himself? Does he have more friends? No, I doubt it. He’s just trying to bluff.’

 

I held my sword out and drew a battle stance. I had a battle stance now for intercepting multiple enemies. This stance was less aligned to all out assault and more of a parry and counter situation.

 

“You little brat. This big sis will play with you!”

 

“You think you’re hot stuff? These kids are the ones who die first.”

 

“Look at this make believe hero! Haha what an idiot.”

 

Hehehehe. I couldn’t stop chuckling. My HP is miles ahead of yours. Actually all of your HPs added together can’t match mine, not to speak of the weapon disparity. Look at those daggers. ATK + 6? What a joke.

 

“If you wanna die. Then come!”

 

These bandits are just walking EXP banks for me!

 

I activated <<Sphere of Influence>> they were within range and I could see their HP values.

 

Velma - Bandit Level 3 - 43/43 HP

Galrick - Bandit Level 2 - 32/32HP

Daimon - Bandit Level 2 - 34/34HP

 

If these guys are so weak then why is it so hard for them to level up? Is it just that the exp gets shared between parties?

 

I laughed again as I thought about their party’s effective health, a measly 109 HP. You can’t even deal with a level 1 dungeon master such as myself.

 

The battle started, the one named Daimon rushed out for the kill, he really thought I was some bunny rabbit, no skills or attributes at all he was just simply…

 

“Courting Death.”

 

I avoided his strike and slashed down. I like to say that I’ve inflicted him with a sizable amount of damage. 

 

“Arrrrgh!”

 

“You bastard!”

 

“You just landed a lucky hit!”

 

I parried another strike and another. 3 on 1 was still a bit difficult since I was still hiding some cards and didn’t have much window of opportunity to counter like the first strike.

 

[You have been struck. You have received 6 damage]

 

“Yeah! How does it feel love?”

 

The smile on my face had never dropped since the start.

 

“Huh, does he not feel pain? He’s insane!”

 

I chopped down on the one that was caught off guard by the situation.

 

[You have inflicted 13 damage to Galrick]

 

“Damn! This bastard is one heck of a swordsman.”

 

“Shit! He might be level 5 or maybe even level 6.”

 

I’m level 1, you idiots! Let’s just continue this play shall we?

 

“You three idiots! If you can’t handle him then just keep him busy! Even I have trouble fight off 3 at the same time!”

 

The bandit leader's voice echoed forward. The battle between the merchant party and the bandits had begun once again.

 

I rushed forward this time, I didn’t care about the measly damage that they could inflict on me. 

 

[You have been struck for 5 damage]

[You have been struck for 7 damage]

“He doesn’t even look hurt, what is this?!”

 

“If it was me, I’d almost be a goner for now!”

 

I let go of a vicious swing.

 

[You have inflicted 17 damage to Daimon]

[Daimon is now in a critical condition. 4/34 HP remaining]

 

It didn’t stop there though. I turned to get a clean strike on the one was trying to slice down on me while avoiding the strike as well.

 

[You have stuck for 12 damage on Velma]

 

A level 3 bandit with some clothes on is just slightly stronger than the other mobs after all.

 

[Enemies]

 

Velma - Bandit Level 3 - 31/43 HP

Galrick - Bandit Level 2 - 19/32HP

Daimon - Bandit Level 2 - 4/34HP

 

I looked at myself. 101/122 HP after all I was part of some fights before this. I regened most of the damage back up though.

 

“Well time to say goodbye Daimon.”

 

I turned back and pierced him through his chest.

 

[You have slain a bandit. You have gained 10 experience points]

 

Oh the system is changing between EXP and experience now too huh? Well whatever as long as I get paid.

 

The two others back off slowly as they can feel the situation taking a bad turn.

 

“Don’t back off. Come play with me. I’m just a make believe hero after all.”