"You saw it with your own eyes right; those bandits took the body inside the ruins. We have to find those-"
Step!
Auel froze and looked down
A faint glow spread beneath his feet.
A magical circle
Light surged
And in the next instant, he was gone
Darkness, no light, no sound
Auel steadied himself, eyes scanning the void
Teleportation circle?
Auel got teleported to the other part of the ruins
He looked around trying to find something in the tunnel
Instead, he felt something, danger, behind him
A heavy swing came crashing down from behind
Auel slipped to the side, barely avoiding it, and raised his stance
A massive figure stood before him, easily over two meters tall
Bald, bare torso, muscles coiled like steel
A grin stretched across his face
"Heh… you're fast"
Auel kept observing while the man took his stance and immediately lunged forward, left fist cocked
A crushing downward smash
"Enhance agility" Auel buffed himself, slipping past the strike
The fist slammed into the ground, shattering stone
Tch… one hit and I'm done
The follow-up came instantly, his right fist cutting through the air
Auel evaded again, barely clearing it
The man grin widened, clenching his fist, tightening his arm, and twisted his body
Then he drove his shoulder forward. ramming
Auel was still mid-air, no room to evade
BAM!
The impact crushed into his chest, sending him flying
He hit the ground hard
The man just laughed "Haha, did you really think speed alone would save you?"
Auel forced himself up, one hand clutching his chest
They squared off again
And then the bandit dashed forward, charging both his and
Left punch, Auel sidestepped
Right uppercut, Auel leaned back just enough
And then Auel drew his sword
A sharp thrust toward the eye
The bandit titled his head, letting it pass
He clasped his hand together, clenching them hard, and came crashing down
Auel jumped back, his heel met a wall, no space
Then bandit surged forward, charging his left fist
Then left fist drove in
Auel slipped aside, the punch buried itself into the wall
But the bandit yanked it free instantly, tearing chunks of stone loose in the air
Then with his right fist charged, he smashed forward, a shockwave blasted the debris toward Auel
Auel dodged each fragment while cutting some of them
But the bandit already in front of him, launching another fist
Auel moved, and pulled his sword
But he canceled it in the middle, another fist already launched
He stayed focus, then vanished
He reappeared behind the banded
Slowly his blade slid back into its sheath
Click
Slash
A delayed slash tore across the bandit's chest
A deep cut
But the bandit just grinned and spun his body
Left fist clenched, too fast
Auel was late to noticed
BAM!
Auel got smashed into the wall
Auel tried to recover
But the bandit didn't stop either, another punch followed
Auel kicked off the wall, barely escaping
A big strike towards the wall
The impact shattered stone behind him
Auel hold his chest, coughed, blood spilling from his lips
The man slowly pulled his fist free, laughing
"Hahaha… You're good, really good. I hope Sibilo also having fun beating your friends"
They faced each other again
This time both of them moved at once
A charged left fist flew
Auel dodged and pulled his sword
Thrust, Auel targeting the bandit's vision
The bandit titled his head a little bit and then strike with his right fist
Auel ducked, again another thrust to the vision
Another dodge, then swing with the left fist
Auel jumped back widening the gap
The bandit pressed forward relentlessly, followed with a fist
Auel exhaled, sheathed his sword, focus
The next swing came
Auel vanished, behind him again
Click
Another delayed strike landed
But the bandit already turned
A fist came swinging
Auel already prepared, he pulled his sword again
Slash!
A deep cut from chest to face
Auel didn't stop, tightened his grip and then thrust
The bandit's grin didn't fade
Spread his arms, wide open, then
Clap!
The bandit clapped right in front of Auel's face
The impact rang into Auel
Shocked, stunned, he couldn't move at all
The bandit grabbed Auel's body then he smashed it to the ground
BAM!
He lifted him up, then
BAM!
Twice
He lifted him again
Then he smashed him to the wall
BAM!
The ruins trembled, the wall shattered
His body wrecked, couldn't move at all
"Heh, I thought you could satisfy me more"
Bloods dripping
The bandit then walked away through the ruins
Then step
Auel stood up again, picked his sword up
The bandit glanced back
His body swaying, blood ran down his face
He pulled a potion from his pocket, drank it, and tossed the bottle away
Did I just break my rib? I thought taking a bandit quest after took that wolf going to be easy
Auel focused up, he tightened his grip and took his stance
But this time it's different, he didn't sheath his blade
Instead, the sword rose, his stance almost the same like Rikka
An offensive stance
"Hoho, you still standing? Let's see how long you could last?"
They were facing each other
Auel dashed first, quick, and buffed himself
"Enhance strength"
He striked first, an upward slash
Easily dodge
Then bandit charged his fist
But Auel didn't stop, he pivoted
Slash!
A clean hit across
The bandit staggered, but then he swung his fist
Auel sheathed his blade, changing stance, defensive
The fist came, but Auel vanished, behind him again
Before the delayed slash came, the bandit turned his back and strike with his fist
Auel didn't sheath his blade
Instead, he turned his body and struck immediately
A V-slash on the chest, followed by the delayed slash
The bandit staggered again
Then the blade thrust right on the chest
Stab!
The blade lodged deep
A fist came crashing
Auel released his blade, and ducked, dodged the fist
He quickly stood up and took his blade
Slash!
He slashed upward
Blood spurted
The bandit opened his left hand and tried to grab Auel
Auel put his offensive stance
He stepped in, two fast cuts
The bandit reeled
But he clenched his fist and ready to charge forward
Auel sheathed his blade, defensive stance
The bandit rammed forward
But again, Auel vanished, appeared behind the bandit
The delayed attack hadn't come, he turned his body and dashed forward
He slashed forward
Once… twice, right across the back
The bandit turned, a fist swung
Auel slipped past, moved behind the bandit
Slashed again, an X-slash on the back
The bandit opened his arms, turned around and clapped his hand
Before that could happen
Auel exhaled, sheathed his blade, the delayed attack strike
The bandit staggered, body swaying, then
Collapsed
The bandit was defeated
silence
Auel dropped on his knees, clutching his chest
His breath came uneven
Footsteps echoed through the ruins tunnel, closer, and closer
Someone called "Auel"