If he was honest, Darren had only a vague plan in his mind before he jumped into the fray. The most prevalent thought on his mind was saving the girl from a terrible immediate future.

That did not mean he was going into the fight unprepared. While he didn't have any weapons on himself his abilities, if he read his card correctly, would give him boosts in endurance, speed, and strength. Added to the fact that he was well versed in taekwondo and kickboxing, Darren was somewhat confident that he would be able to surprise the bandits and flee with Veronica. 

"Rapid Dash, Hands of Steel!"

As he rushed in moving at impossible speeds, Darren saw a few of the bandits turn their heads toward him. Before the ones near him could react, he slammed two of the bandits cleanly in the head. The two bandits flew past their comrades and crashed into the ground, where they laid still. 

The man with the eyepatch's one eye widened as he stared at the new figure, "What th.."

He never got a chance to finish his sentence as Darren slammed his first directly into the man's stomach before following with an elbow to his face. 

Seizing the chaos following his attack, the college student grabbed Veronica and a sword off the ground. With one hand on veronica and another on the sword, Darren sped into the forest as fast he could. He never looked back and kept his eyes forward, his only focus was to outrun the bandits if they decided to pursue him. 

After running a considerable distance, Darren finally slowed down and came to a stop near a cave that was just outside the vast forest. He glanced at the girl he was carrying in his arm, wondering why she was silent throughout the entire time. That was realized when the girl was unconscious and breathing shallowly. 

Cautiously, he stepped into the cave and gently placed the girl and the sword down onto the ground. Seeing that the girl was still bleeding from the various wounds sported throughout her body, Darren pulled out his "Character Card" and skimmed through the abilities once more. He frantically looked for some sort of healing ability and lucked out on finding a weak healing skill that healed minor wounds. Placing his hand gently on the girl's shoulder, he spoke the skill out loud and prayed it worked, "Patch Up."

The names of the skills were very... simplistic, but they were short and easy to say. 

When he said the skill name, his hand glowed brightly blue. Flows of energy left his hand and surrounded the girl's wounds, making the wounds close slowly. After some time, the girl's wounds were partially healed, though various wounds and bruises were still visible. Even though "Veronica" looked better and was breathing easier, she did not wake up from her unconscious state. Glancing back towards the forest nervously, Darren moved deeper into the cave and laid out his jacket for the girl to lay on. Afterward, he inspected the sword he took from the ground carefully.

The sword was simple in design and medium length, with an unfamiliar crest carved into the iron sword guard. He gripped the leather hilt and tested out a few swings with the sword. While he was unfamiliar with using a sword, he saw several sword skills in his Character Card and decided to test them out while he waited for the girl to gain consciousness. 

After all, if the bandits came back after both of them, then he needed to be prepared.

+++++

Veronica Levy slowly opened her eyes and closed them shut as she winced from the pain she was experiencing. Her arms felt like lead as she tried to move them around. However, once she recalled what had happened, she shot up from the ground and looked at her surroundings.

Though it was dark, she managed to see a young man, who looked slightly older than her, sleeping soundly on the ground. Looking a bit more closely, she managed to see the outline of a sword laying next to him. Despite her injuries, she crept slowly towards the sword and grabbed it. 

While she was definitely not captured by the bandits, she had no idea who the man in front of her was. Before she blacked out from exhaustion and pain, she thought she caught a glimpse of her rescuer. But the darkness and her own uncertainty at the situation made her on guard for any possibilities. 

She raised the sword sluggishly and backed away from the sleeping figure. As she did, Veronica accidentally tripped over her own legs and scattered several rocks across the ground. The sleeping man rose instantly and looked towards the source of the sound, only to let out a sigh of relief after seeing Veronica, "You scared the hell out of me! I thought you were the bandits!"

Veronica regained her footing and held out the sword in front of her, "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"

"Calm down, I'm not with the bandits. I was the one that rescued you from them," The man said as he raised his empty hands in the air" I was only trying to help." 

"Help? Like how those bandits tried to "help" my village by extorting my father and killing my friends?" Veronica growled. 

"No, I mean. I was wandering around in the forest by myself and I saw you being attacked, so I jumped in and took you away from those bandits that attacked you. I don't even know who you are!" 

Despite his please, Veronica was still not convinced, "Why were you in the forest and what's your identity?"

The man sighed as he took a step back, "My name is Darren and I'm... from the Republic of Xengos. I was traveling to the Adeapia, looking for a fresh start and a job when I came across your fight with the bandits. I heard there's a lot of bandits in the vicinity and decided to travel off the main road, which was why I was in the forest."

Adepia was the capital of the Kingdom of Adepia, her home nation. While there were over a dozen different nations on the continent of Fargo, the Kingdom of Adepia was one of the strongest nations and Adepia was a major center of trade and finances. And since the Republic of Xengos directly bordered the kingdom, the man's story was believable.

Suddenly, the girl felt her legs give out under her and she collapsed onto the ground in a heap. Darren, who claimed to be from Xengos, rushed to her side and placed her gently on the piece of clothing that she was sleeping on earlier, "Easy now. I used a Patch Up skill on you, but it hasn't healed all your wounds. I'll use it again, but I'm not sure how much good it'll do. You might need a healer to treat all your injuries."

Veronica was unable to resist as he took the sword away from her and used a skill on her. While she knew what the Patch Up ability was, she was still afraid that the man was an enemy. However, as the tendrils of mana surrounded her remaining wounds and patched them up, her fears began to ebb away. She gave a curt nod to the man and relaxed, "Thank you."

"No problem. I'm not sure if the bandits will come back, but it's probably best that we start moving tomorrow morning. Is your village nearby?" 

"My village!" Veronica cried out as she tried to stand up once again, only to be pushed down firmly by Darren, "Most of the village guards were with me when I was attacked and without them, the village doesn't stand a chance against the bandits! We need to go back!"

Darren's face darkened as he stood up straight, "I understand. You can hardly move, but I need directions to the village. I'll place you on my back and leave you hidden once we reach the village. If the bandits are in the village, I'll fight them myself." 

"You can't! You might have gotten lucky before, but the bandits are former adventurers and many of them are at least level 30! If you're taking me, I'm fighting too."

"Level 30?" Darren's eyebrows shot up. He tightened his grip on the sword and placed the straps of a bag towards his front torso, "Don't worry then. It won't be a problem."