As Zenis assessed the situation, he counted ten guards stationed throughout the space, each one armed and on high alert. Among the guards, Zenis noticed a few individuals who stood out. They possessed an air of confidence and skill that made them formidable opponents.

  Their hardened expressions and honed physique suggested they were experienced fighters, not easily swayed. Zenis recognized the challenge that was before him. Dealing with these particular guards would require caution and strategy. They were not to be taken lightly.

  “How does this work?” Zenis thought while checking the magic tool that created smoke.

  It seemed pretty light, but a bit heavier than before. Maybe it could gather mana from the environment to be used every hour or something. Zenis didn’t think that he had that much free time, but he felt that some of the retards would come to check the other guards outside, so he decided to wait while he watched those guys.

  As time passed, the guards felt more relaxed since there was nothing to do there and guarding the work seemed too boring for them. All of a sudden, one of the guards kicked a chair out of boredom and then approached one of the cages before making the weapon cut something. Probably an animal, by the sounds of animalistic groans.

  “I guess you are going to have the most painful death,” Zenis thought while looking at the rugged spearman.

  Zenis didn’t take infidelity lightly. He truly valued his loyal friends. Still, even if compared to humans, animals were the creatures that showed the highest level of loyalty. They weren’t as smart as people, so their loyalty was truly based on a bond between them.

  After he felt satisfied by killing his time, the rugged spearman sat on a chair and put his legs on the table. The other guards that were walking around were only doing that to kill time.

  Still, just as Zenis had expected, one of the guards decided to leave the area and check things outside. Poor retard, Zenis thought. As soon as the enemy pulled the curtain, Zenis pierced his throat with the spear and made the body move forward while the enemy was agonizing. The curtain closed the corridor and Zenis moved the enemy away from there to avoid spreading the smell of blood.

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  “Even if you are this strong, it is useless if your throat is this unprotected,” Zenis said and then threw the body near the ladder.

  After returning to the chamber, Zenis hear a click on his back and he noticed that the magic tool apparently was ready to be used again, but he decided to use it later, if he had to. Even if he was weaker than three of the guys there, he found hard to believe that they would pose a challenge to him. Unless they come at the same time.

  One hour later, one of the guards went to check why the other was taking so long to return and the poor bastards suffered the same fate. Half an hour later, the guards noticed that there was something wrong with the whole thing. The three big guys with the spears told the others to leave and check things. Zenis was deeply thankful for their stupidity.

  “Don’t let a weakling do the job of a real grunt,” Zenis muttered.

  Zenis took a deep breath and then readied his spear. Gripping his spear tightly, Zenis focused his energy, channeling it into the Lethal Charged Strike. His muscles tensed, ready to unleash a devastating blow upon his adversaries.

  As the bandits closed in, Zenis lunged forward even before they moved the curtain, his spear a blur of motion. With lightning speed and precision, he struck out, targeting the first bandit in his path. The force of the impact sent the bandit sprawling backward, lifeless, before hitting the ground.

  Without missing a beat, Zenis pivoted, redirecting his momentum to deliver a lethal strike to the next bandit. The power behind his attack was undeniable as another foe fell, unable to withstand the overwhelming force after having its throat pierced.

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  The other three had the chance to grab their weapons, but they were unable to do a thing… The first two strikes had been only copies. After they fell, Zenis used the real Lethal Charged Strike and impaled the enemies with insane speed and precision.

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  (You obtained 300 experience points.)

  The last three guards got up with the spears in their hands and they didn’t look like they wanted to play around and underestimate Zenis due to his size. Zenis felt a rush of excitement as he prepared to clash with them. Gripping his spear tightly, he eagerly anticipated the thrilling battle that awaited him.

  The spearmen approached as they watched Zenis moving away from the corridor, their determination clear in their eyes. Zenis’s heart raced with anticipation as he readied himself for the clash. He focused on their movements, searching for any weaknesses he could exploit…. with a single kick on the ground, all of them charged in.

  Zenis could feel something mystic enveloping the enemies and making them look bigger. It was some sort of technique that boosted their strength, defense and speed… that explained why they kicked the floor and that left a hole in it.

  Zenis knew better than to try to block all of that, so he jumped upward with all his might and just like usual, he swung his spear in an arc to cut the enemies throat, but they all moved in unison, moving their head backwards and completely avoiding the hit.

  Before they could recover, Zenis used the magic tool and covered the area with a curtain of smoke. The enemies stepped backward to get out of the range of the smoke. They knew that the kid was too dangerous to approach without caution…

  All of a sudden, they saw a shadow moving toward one of them and trusted their appears at it… they impaled something, but in the end, they only found the body of one of their allies suddenly appearing.

  They tried to pull their spears out of their bodies faster, but Zenis mimicked the dash that they used before by kicking the ground and suddenly advancing. He left the smoke curtain like a lightning bolt and then used Lethal Charged Strike. The enemy was fast enough to block the first two since Zenis aimed at his stomach, but the final one was aimed at the neck and the spearman was unable to block.

  (You obtained 1000 experience points.)

  (You unsealed the skill: Quick Step)

  (Quick Step: When activated, you gain a burst of incredible speed, enabling you to cross an area as quickly as possible. The distance crossed will be equal to the level of the skill multiplied by five.)

  Zenis grabbed the fallen enemy’s spear and then moved to the smoke cloud again. The remaining enemies took several steps backward while keeping their guard up… they barely noticed themselves colliding against the cages, the slaves and the animals were quiet, but then the animals suddenly groaned and that surprised them, they flinched and looked backward for a moment… that had been a bad move.

  One spear suddenly left the smoke curtain and flew at insane speeds toward one of the not alerted enemies and then almost hit its face. Still, before the weapon could even fall, Zenis suddenly left and approached incredibly faster and stabbed the butt of the spear with his new one. The momentum made the one pierce the stomach of the enemy.

  The final enemy used that chance to close in and then deliver a flurry of blows on Zenis. He couldn’t move his right leg because he forced himself to use Quick Step beyond its limits, and just keeping on the ground made him feel an annoying pain.

  Despite his injured leg, Zenis bravely faced a series of spear thrusts. Using his own spear as a shield, he skillfully blocked each attack with precision. He was slowly but surely being pushed backward and it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake… or so the enemy thought.

  Even with his limited mobility, Zenis stood his ground, refusing to back down. He strained to maintain balance on one leg, but his resolve remained unbroken. With every successful block, Zenis frustrated his adversaries. His defense was unyielding, forcing them to rethink his approach… that was getting annoying.

  The enemy eventually realized that Zenis had hurt himself by using Quick Step and decided to continue with the onslaught. All of a sudden, he stopped with the thrust attacks and then swung his spear to the side while aiming at Zenis’ legs.

  Zenis jumped to avoid the hit, and he barely dodged it since he had to use the strength of a single. While he was falling, the enemy was preparing his stance to attack again, but then Zenis used Lethal Charged Strike even without a proper posture. The spearman was caught off guard since he didn’t expect that Zenis could do that… while the attack wasn’t as powerful and fast as it was supposed to be, the enemy still had its throat pierced a bunch of times by it.

  (You obtained 1000 experience points.)

  Zenis landed and then sighed in relief… relaxing made the pain get a lot more bothersome, but he ignored that. It was something that he knew that it was going to happen, so he had to deal with it without complaining.

  “This wasn’t half bad,” Zenis thought while looking around. “In any case, I was planning to get some levels and money here, but while they are bandits, it doesn’t look like they store their things here, their money and treasures. They only leave their merchandise here.”

  Zenis began to walk around while limping while the slaves were looking at him. They didn’t know what he was going to do, so they didn’t know how to react.

  Before anything else, Zenis decided to grab the spears of those guys since they were of good quality and then checked their bodies and found a few gold coins and a lot of silver coins. That made things worth the hassle.

  “I guess they only store the stolen goods that can make noise here,” Zenis muttered. “Regardless, it is obvious now that someone with power and money was giving support to the bandits. Unfortunately, I can’t keep going and looking for the ones involved.”

  Zenis looked at the cages and prisoners there and then made his choice.