Bandits

Every morning, Louis went out in the middle of an infested forest, challenging himself to take on numerous monsters. The first day, he only practiced unarmed combat. He got a wound across his back and killed 43 monsters.

The second day, Louis. practiced armed combat with a blade, killing 75 monsters.

The third day, Louis practiced a mix of melee and magic combat, killing 89 monsters.

The fourth day, Louis used only one hand to fight, killing only 34 monsters.

The fifth and final day, he slaughtered 105 monsters. This was it, he felt back in shape. Though, that was thanks to one of his special abilities.

(Day 6)

"Are you ready, sir?" The knight asked.

The carriage, along with an escort was here to take Louis to the town of Hilidor, where he would start his mission.

He had taken the liberty of buying some clothes for a good first appearance for when he made it to the Vangray Mansion.

Dressed in a nice, black suit, Louis replied "Yeah. Let's get going."

They had been on the road now for over three hours. Currently, they were traveling across the plains.

Louis sat as the inside of the carriage was pretty much silent. He was actually surprised the knights next to him hadn't tried to start a conversation out of sheer boredom.

'I wish they would say something. I would hate sitting in silence for the next 10 hours.'

Louis pulled a golden coin from his pocket and held it tightly.

He was getting ready to flip it, but he was hoping it would land on heads.

This was one of his special abilities. If it lands on heads, his luck will be increased for the rest of the day. If it lands on tails, his luck will be utterly horrible for the rest of the day. But, this was something he liked to do when he was feeling lucky.

Flick!

His fingertips flicked the coin into the air.

Catch. Flip.

So he caught it, flipped it and placed it on the back of his hand.

Louis smiled as he thought, 'I knew I was feeling lucky.'

It landed on heads.

One of the knights broke the silence.

"So, I didn't want to bother you but, I'm really curious. You're well known for your accomplishments. I also hear you have a lot of abilities."

"I do. I was born with exactly 54 abilities." Louis nodded.

The other knight nearly dropped their jaws.

Most people are born with 0 abilities, but some get at least 1 or 2.

However, it's rare to have more than 4. Depending on how many you have, you will be given a level as a title.

[Example:

0 abilities= Level 1

1-2 abilities= Level 2

3-5 Abilities = Level 3

6-10 Abilities = Level 4

11-20 Abilities = Level 5 ]

Louis was at the highest level.

"Is it true your abilities are useful in almost any situation?" one of the knight's asked.

"Well, for the most part that's true. But there are certain situations sometimes where I go against a canceller."

'Canceller' a type of person capable of canceling out all nearby non-passive abilities.

"Yeah, speaking of that. There's been one of them causing trouble in the capital lately. A man named Jack. He's killed over 90 civilians and 170 guards so far."

"Jack? First time in a while I've heard of someone that dangerous." Louis replied.

"He says he's skilled enough to rival a Royal Knight. And there's witnesses to back this up as well. Jack is a troublesome man. I hope to never cross paths with him."

To rival a royal Knight was among the highest claims a person could make.

"Well, if you are in this line of work, it sounds like one day you'll be likely to come across him."

"True."

Boom!

A large explosion hit the ground in front of the carriage, flipping it over.

Smash!

Upside down, Louis laid in confusion as he could hear the knights from the carriage behind.

"We're under attack!"

"Bandits!"

By the time Louis got back to being upright, his adrenaline was throbbing across his body.

This is it, the feeling he had no idea how much he missed. Louis crawled his way out of the upside down carriage as the sound of clashing blades made his eardrums quake.

His gaze shifted around as he saw the scenery of a battle. Some knights were lying motionless, while they either were holding their own against the countless bandits wearing leather armor.

'Okay. Time to take out the weak-minded ones first.'

Louis touched his chest, over his heart as he chanted.

"Greater spirits,here my call and cast: Slumber."

The air abruptly shook and multiple bandits fell over, unconscious.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

'They'll be asleep for awhile.'

"You damn mage!" a voice shouted.

Louis turned just in time to move aside, evading a bandit's slash.

Slash!

"Hey! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"That's the point!" the banit replied, swinging his sword again.

Slash! Clap. Clink!

Louis clutched the sword's blade between his palms.

"Enhance."

Snap!

The weapon shattered into metal scraps as a fatal kick busted into the bandit's skull.

Smash!

'That's one down.'

Louis turned his head and checked on the fates of everyone else. It was apparent that the knights were being overwhelmed by the bandits, but it was possible to still win as long as he acted fast enough.

'I'll just have to jump in and kill them one by one. If their leader realizes I'm a threat, it's a given that he'll announce his presence.'

Louis held his palm into the air and chanted.

"Summon: Come forth, electric blade."

A blue circle curled around his hand and a blue light flickered.

In his palm, he now clenched the handle to a sturdy blue sword, engraved with the power of lighting.

Now, it was time to recklessly charge into battle.

Louis sprinted and took a powerful leap into the air, above the crowd of bandits.

He spun his body, stabbing his sword into the floor. A shocking current of electricity traveled through the ground, bursting nearby bandits into blood.

Pop! Splurt!

There was only a brief second of peace before more bandits flooded in.

Slash! Slash!

Louis jumped around, cutting down the enemies with ease as they came. Left, right, slash!

EVen when being fully surrounded, the bandits were sent flying by powerful pulses of lighting.

ZZZzzzzz.

"What the hell is he?" a bandit shouted.

Louis stabbed his sword forward, piercing through the bandits chest.

From the back, more opponents tried to sneak up on him, but they weren't sneaky enough.

Louis wiped off his blade and shot a glare at the bandits behind.

"Spirit force, lift."

The faces of the threats filled with confusion as an unseen force lifted them into the air.

"Spirit force, cru-"

"-Stop!" A girl's voice interrupted.

A girl with long, black hair and yellow eyes stood boldy while a giant sword hung on her back.

She continued.

"Stop right there. Spare them and I'll make you death painless."

"So, you the leader?" Louis asked. The invisible force holding the bandits then launched them into the air, letting them roughly fall.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

They fell a good distance, but they should've been able to survive. Louis wasn't the type to kill if there was a way around it.

"I am. And we got word about two carriages carrying goods. I assume that's those carriages behind you." said the bandit leader.

A blank face of disappointment was shown on Louis's face.

"Sorry, but you got the wrong people. There's nothing good in those carriages."

"Hah! I'm going to stop your lies right there. If there wasn't anything good in them, then why is someone as strong as you protecting them? I got my information from a trustworthy source. So, I know you're lying."

"Hey, I'm not one to sit here and convince you. You can believe what you want. But, I'll go ahead and say that your trustworthy source isn't so trustworthy. Have a look in the carriages."

The bandit leader drew her great sword, stumbling forward.

"Don't be dumb. I have to kill you and the knights first before I do that. I can't have any of you escaping as witnesses."

Louis silently shook his head.

"I don't know how I feel about fighting a woman. So, I'll give you a handicap."

He tossed his blade aside as it disappeared. Louis continued.

"While you have the option to use anything in your power, I'll only use my hands and one spell. If you want."

"Are you stupid? I'll tear you apart. Aren't you scared or something?"

"Nope. I have a good hunch that this isn't something that requires a whole lot of effort."

"Suit yourself. Here I COME!!!"

The bandit raced forward with haste, lifting her giant blade into the air, slashing it down at her prey.

Louis smirked and spoke a simple phrase.

"Boom."

He held out his hand, touching the blade as it came down at him. Instead of being cut apart, Louis stayed unharmed as the bandit's weapon blasted into pieces.

The bandits pulse jumped while her pupils shrunk and shivered. She didn't have time to attack again as Loui's fingertip pressed against her forward as a threat.

"I win. Now stay still or I'll shock you. But I'd rather not."

Tmp..Tmp..Tmp..

One of the knights came running to Louis's side, giving news.

"All the bandits are defeated. Though only three of us knights survived."

Without moving his finger from the bandit's forehead, Louis replied.

"I see. gather up the surviving bandits and tie them against a tree. I'll deal with this one."

"I'm on it." said the Knight before running off.

The Leader Bandit was still in surprise. How did this stranger handle her so easily. Who was this person's real identity.

"...Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm just someone unfortunate enough to be attacked by bandits. More importantly, Who are you?"

"I….I am Cruz Crowder, the proud leader of these ba-"

Louis interrupted, "-Former leader. I mean, you can't lead anyone if you're locked up, which you will be once the knight figures out a way of transportation. Until then, I guess I should question you a bit."

"I don't care what you do to me. I won't say anything." Cruz said with certainty.

But, Louis had a hunch that he could easily get her to talk.

"Hmmm. Well, let's see."