Return

There were nine men and two women among the bandits, all of whom were copper-ranked. Their combined power was more than enough to overpower a small village that had already lost most of its combatants in the wolf attacks.

About four hundred villagers gathered in the center of the village, without making any fuss about being called on such short notice. Not after witnessing what the bandits had done to those few who resisted.

"What I want is simple," said the leader of the bandits—a fat man over six feet tall, his large belly protruding enough that he would need to make an effort to see his feet. He juggled a couple of beast cores in his hand, spinning slowly to meet the gaze of the crowds in every direction. "Everything. Everything valuable."

"Now, what is valuable to you might not be valuable to us," said the man who had questioned Xiv before. "Give us all the loot the adventurers left behind—beast cores, wolf hide, fangs. Don't hoard your riches either. But don't worry, our chief is feeling kinder today with all the beast cores you have. Just 5 silver bits per head will do."

"Haha, as Tifan said," the leader repeated. "Give us what we demanded, and we won't sack your village, kill indiscriminately, or harm your women. We can all end it civilly."

"But boss," cut in a snake-looking fellow from behind—one who had mercilessly beaten Xiv, breaking his bones and crippling him. "This village has one or two beauties, and you know we've been hungry for a while..."

The chief looked at where the snake fellow was gesturing and sighed. Xiv gritted his teeth as all the bandits' eyes turned to Onia and midwife Kelsa, who were tending their wounds. Kelsa, in her thirties, had awakened her Apothecary class two decades ago. Although the class didn't let her heal directly, she could procure medicine, which had almost the same effect.

"You guys," the leader laughed. "How many times have I told you to keep your pricks in your pants while we do business?"

The bandits snickered as if it were a great joke among themselves. However, all that only aggravated the villagers more. The crowd couldn't be silenced after what the bandits demanded. The loot from the wolves might be the most valuable possessions they had, but most of the village could survive without them. However, they wouldn't survive if they had to pool together all their savings to save their lives.

"The heavens won't stand for this, you hear me!" shouted an old man as he stepped forward. He was the local Smith, another awakened individual, and a close friend of Xiv's father. Although his class was only entitled to smithing, he couldn't ignore the overbearing nature of the bandits.

Xiv cursed where he lay in his battered form, alongside a few other awakened men. The bandits made sure to spare lives, as death always seemed to complicate things. Moreover, they wouldn't receive any energy from slaying a human, only incurring the ire of the great system.

"The guilds and academics won't tolerate you—"

Before the old smith could finish, the sneaky man, Tifan, appeared before him. Without warning or reasoning, he kicked the old man, sending him sprawling to the ground. Anyone else would have died from the blow, but the old smith only coughed hysterically, blood streaming down his lips.

"Anything else you'd like to add?" the sneaky man asked, still with an impish grin.

"YOU!" the old smith roared, still coughing. "You all will die. You'll die. Die of your sins. Of your greed. Of your—"

The bandit slammed his foot on the old man's head, impacting on the ground, blood gushing out, enough to make all the nearby spectators flinch. Not the bandits, however.

"Anyone else who'd like to speak their mind?" Tifan said. His voice was the same as before, but it flowed through the crowd like the roar of a cursed dire wolf, inducing fear for their lives and worse. "Nobody? Good. Now get going with your task."

"Remember, all the loot, and 5 silver bits per head," the chief reminded.

The crowds dispersed at once, returning to their homes to gather all their savings to save their lives. Xiv was pretty sure half the village didn't have what the bandits demanded, but he was in no position to question them. He was barely remaining conscious.

"Aunt Kelsa," he croaked, clutching the apothecary's arm. "I'm alright. Onia can take care of the rest. Please check on Grandpa Smith."

The woman frowned and nodded as she got up to go where the old man lay. However, before she could have gone halfway, an arm clutched her from behind.

"What's the hurry?" snickered the snake-like face. "Leave the old man for now. How about you check on me first?"

Kelsa's expression grew ugly as she struggled to break free. With no Strength attribute, she found the task impossibly difficult.

"Oi, Hisam," Tifan yelled from behind. "Didn't you hear the boss? Keep it in your pants until we're done here." 

"Fuck off!" Hisam's other arm wandered over Kelsa's swaying body. "I know you like the young one. Go mind your own thing, you sick bastard." 

Tifan's eyes narrowed dangerously. He turned to the boss, who seemed more amused than anything. 

The boss sighed. "Just take her somewhere discreet," he said. 

"Chief?" Tifan shouted. 

"You know Hisam," the chief laughed, "he doesn't last long. He'll be back before we begin the collection" 

That brought another round of chuckles from the bandits, even the two women laughed, only Tifan didn't join. 

"You guys," Hisam shouted, face red with anger. "Just watch me, and I'll—" 

Kelsa screamed, putting her everything on the line to flee, but the bastard clutched to her like a snake. 

"Don't struggle, wench," said the short female bandit. "You won't feel a thing. As the chief said, he doesn't last long." 

The bandits were about to laugh at their cruelty once again, but a cold voice stopped them with a start. 

"I fear none of you will last long for what I'm about to do to you," Warden said, landing before Hisam and Kelsa, removing his veil. "Though I'll make sure you'll feel everything bit of it." 

_______________

Okay, the introductory arc will be coming to an end soon. Warden will finally go to the academy in about 10 chapters.