Chapter 20: Forest Ambush

“We’re camping here for the night, one more day to the Culdao Peaks.” The gruff man who doubled as the driver motioned to a rest area that other travellers had used countless times. It was a clearing in a forest a bit further away from the main road but still big enough to have ten people sleeping in comfort.

Kyle did not set up any equipment like the rest of them, simply sitting on the ground and leaning slightly against his backpack, observing the surroundings.

The stars were clearly visible, though the constellations were all far different from what Kyle could recognise. Is the orientation different, or am I truly in a different world? Kyle still couldn’t believe he had reincarnated in a different world, having grown up in the Galactic Era, where science dominated.

In any case, he could not read the stars – space travel in his former life was all done by A.I star trackers that automatically did the calculations. He was not trained as a navigator either. However, he could see that the Milky Way Galaxy was not visible at all, instead a slightly faint pinkish hue enveloping the background.

I’ll figure it out when I gain more resources and power. Kyle turned his attention back to the passengers. The three merchants were still bickering over the arrival of the Inquisitors, making Kyle slightly regret not having bought the headband that supposedly silenced the environment.

“They are a feisty bunch, aren’t they?” One of the other passengers remarked as he sat down next to Kyle. He flicked his hood off, revealing a glossy black hair slicked back, with a small scar across his nose bridge. He held out a hand, offering a handshake. “Name’s Orthon, mercenary heading back to Culdao Peak. You?”

“Kris. I’m a herbalist, looking for new potential medicine there.” Kyle shook his hand briefly, noticing the calluses on his palm as well as a clear mark of a sword wielder.

“Oh, without an escort? Could get pretty dangerous.” Orthon sized up Kyle, looking at his cloak and equipment, his eyes landing on the Aero Shoes for a while.

“Those three merchants seemed to be doing fine without any help.” Kyle noticed Orthon’s gaze but did not react. He eyed a repeating crossbow slung across Orthon’s back, loaded with bolts. It was extremely luxurious and ornamental – almost as if it was meant for nobility.

“Of course, they got escorts! Me and my buddy Troy.” Orthon motioned back towards the last passenger, who simply nodded as he re-tied his bow, checking the tension of the string. “It looked like an easy job; both of us were already heading that way, so we just grabbed some easy money along the way.”

“How much was it?”

“Oh, nothing much, just three hundred rakels per person. Barely enough in total to buy a Strength Potion, but enough to survive if you know where to buy your food in Raktor. Why? Interested in hiring us?”

“Perhaps. I’m looking for native Euria Seeds.”

“Hmmm.” Orthon scratched his chin. “I know they are in the Culdao Peaks, but I don’t know where the largest concentration is. You might want to ask around in the town.”

“Thanks, I’ll give it a shot.”

“No worries, mate. If you ever need help, just head down to the tavern and ask for me or Troy, we’ll be around for a month or two. Gonna go for a quick wee.” Orthon patted Kyle’s shoulder before leaving into the bushes, causing Kyle’s eyebrow to twitch slightly at being touched.

Kyle watched Orthon leave, before shifting his backpack a bit further away from the campfire that was just set up, before lying down to try and get some rest.

“Mr Greyborn? Want any soup before resting?” The gruff man called out, but Kyle acted like he was far too tired, sleeping soundly.

“Hey, if he doesn’t want it, I’ll gladly take his portion.” One of the merchants scooped a bowl quickly and gulped it down, burping with satisfaction. The gruff man also drank the soup, with Troy watching them intently.

Soon, they fell asleep soundly, the rumbling of snores echoing through the rest area. Troy pretended to sleep as well, waiting for the merchants to be in a deep slumber before he slowly opened his eyes. Time to make a move.

He slowly got up and turned his head, looking into the forest before signalling with a soft whistle three times. He glanced around the rest area, before realizing something was wrong. Where is Kris Greyborn? His backpack is still here. Did Orthon already make a move first?

Wary, he retrieved his bow and was about to walk out into the treeline when someone suddenly dropped onto him from above, slamming him onto the ground with both knees pinning his shoulder blades.

“ARGH-“ Troy screamed for a split second before a ragged piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, muffling him. Unable to turn around, he felt five hammer strikes hit his body at different positions of his limbs, causing him to yelp in pain.

Kyle walked off to grab a rope from his backpack, while Troy immediately spat out the cloth and tried to stand up, pulling out a knife sheathed in his belt and aiming it at Kyle. Kyle did not react, simply walking towards Troy with the rope.

Before Troy could move a single inch, the delayed pain from the neon red arctech hammer kicked in, causing him to scream again. Kyle immediately lunged forward and grabbed his cheeks, toppling Troy’s head into the ground with a loud thud and knocking him out.

Despite the screams, the merchants and driver did not wake up, barely budging. Drugged by the soup...

Kyle tied Troy up before dragging him into the treeline, hiding his body in the bushes. Kyle himself waited at another position, planning to ambush anyone who was coming.

After a few minutes, two men and Orthon walked out of the treeline towards the campfire with large grins on their faces. “We’re getting rich today, boys! Check the merchants for any emergency response devices, can’t have them calling them on us.”

The two men complied, moving forward when suddenly Orthon grabbed them by the shoulder. “Wait! Something isn’t right! Troy and the new guy are missing!”

Just as the two men began to glance around, a shadow lunged out from the sides, accelerated by his shoes. The shadow swung a neon red hammer, delivering a direct uppercut to the first man, immediately knocking him out cold.

“Shit!” Orthon cursed, pulling out his own sword. The other man began to panic as Kris leapt and weaved around him before delivering a sweeping kick and swinging the hammer in a downward strike as the man fell.

The hammer strike cracked the man’s ribs, causing bone splinters to jut out from under the skin from the sheer force. Another swift kick to the head knocked out the man for good as well.

A sudden swing of the sword forced Kyle to back off, the sound of air rippling as Orthon grunted. “Who the fuck are you? An enforcer? Or the Veiled Angels?” Orthon didn’t chase after Kyle, instead retrieving the ornate repeating crossbow with his free hand, the cocking mechanism engraved with arcia.

Kyle assumed the force of each shot would be light due to the size, but the arcia enchantments along the length improved the force, accelerating the bolts faster than he expected. Two bolts whizzed past his head, while a third hit him right in the left shoulder and embedded itself deep, causing him to stumble back.

“Never expected this, huh?” Orthon grinned, gripping the sword with the other hand and swinging wildly. However, Kyle suddenly parried with the handle of his hammer before delivering a strong left hook right into Orthon’s jaw, sending two teeth flying out of his mouth.

Another knee to the stomach caused Orthon to collapse on one knee, before Kyle swung the hammer down on the back of Orthon’s head three times, knocking him out cold.

Kyle panted slightly before moving to a tree stump and slumping against it. Luckily for Kyle, the crossbow bolt was fairly shallow and not embedded in the bone. Kyle used his fingers, digging into the exposed flesh by himself as he winced. He located the arrowhead and slowly eased it out, bearing the pain.

Soon, he managed to pull out the entire shaft and arrowhead before using the Necklace of Healing to heal himself lightly as a temporary measure. The wound sealed up as a green aura surged around it, boosted by his [Healer] title.

Nifty for post-battles, but that’s assuming I win the battle in the first place. Kyle stood up, testing his shoulder’s articulation. Picking up Orthon’s crossbow, he examined it.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

[Ornate Repeater Crossbow (Intermediate)]

Perfect for multiple targets.

Active Skill: Force Increase – Bolts shoot faster and harder

MP cost per activation: 1 MP

Kyle had yet to acquire a ranged weapon, so he decided to hold on to it, slinging it behind him. He walked up to one of the unconscious attackers, wondering what to do with him.

Kyle noticed he did not gain any EXP so far. The last time he had gotten any EXP was only when he killed Ulon Baktar, the former Seven Snakes gang leader. Even beating up a dozen Red Lions did not net him anything. Is the System forcing me to kill? That’s fine, but surely I can get more benefits out of it?

He retrieved Troy’s dropped knife, using it to quickly slit the throat of one of the unconscious men, killing him on the spot.

[System Message]

Killed [Forest Bandit], +50 EXP

Kyle waited for a while, noticing there were no new titles. Perhaps I have to do it differently. He walked up to the second unconscious man, slitting his wrists and allowing the blood to seep out slowly. He then stabbed the man a few times, causing him to wake up from the sheer pain and scream out. It ended with a quick jab to the nose, knocking the man back out.

Soon, the blood formed a sizeable puddle, prompting another System Message

[System Message]

Killed [Forest Bandit], +50 EXP

[Torturer] [Class Upgrade (Level 10)]

Congratulations, classes will be unlocked now.

Please wait

WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN

Level 10

Max HP: 37(+0)(+0)

Max MP: 8(+0)(+5)

Max STA: 37(+0)(+0)

[Status Effects]

NONE

[STATS]

Race Human Class ??? STR 52(+24)(+0) DEX 49(+21)(+0) INT 76(+45)(+3) VIT 35(+0)(+3) CHA 21(+10)(+1) Free Points 45 [EQUIPMENT]

[Necklace of Healing (Basic)]

+3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) – Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.

[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)]

+5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.

[SKILLS] NONE [TITLES] [Former Crime Lord]

A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh?

+10 INT, +10 CHA

[Martial Arts Training]

The best things between you and death are your fists

+10 STR, +10 DEX

[Murderer]

Everyone has to start somewhere

+2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans

[Usurper (Basic)]

So, climbing the ranks huh?

+5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority

[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)]

It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself.

+10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.

[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)]

This title was supposed to be handed on successful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch.

+10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.

[Healer (Basic)]

This doesn’t seem like the right way to use healing...

+5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness

[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)]

With great power comes great muscular bodies.

+5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness

[Arcia Engraver (Basic)]

Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon.

+5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.

[Torturer]

Pain is the best language to get someone talking.

+5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.