Magnus gasped for air, his breathing ragged.
Even though he only spent five odd minutes inside the armor, it felt like he ran a marathon. 'How much training do they go through to effortlessly move about...'
He shuddered, recalling how easily the knight kicked down the door. 'Yeah, good call to not mess with more of those guys.'
Soon after, he stopped.
He had reached the end of the revealed minimal zone. Fog covered the zone in front of him, signifying unknown territory.
Not hesitating, he stepped forward.
[Continent map unlocked.]
'Oh. That's hella convenient. Although it doesn't show everything as explored, the map reveal radius seems to be a kilometre. Neat.' Looking at the area around him, he noticed a few landmarks. Among them, a ruin overlooking a small river stood out the most.
'Hm? There's no dots there so I could use it as a resting spot for the night. And... ' he cast a glance at the overcast sky, 'Yeah, it's probably going to rain. Guess it's decided then.'
The ruin was roughly 600 meters away from where he was currently.
Still exhausted, he pushed on, knowing stopping could be dangerous.
'I can rest later. Safe spot first. Maybe there's even something usable there.'
Magnus glanced at the bloody knife in hand, thinking to himself 'And this isn't good enough to defend myself. I need a better weapon.'
Along the way, a question popped into his head. 'Hey system, do I get something like a status window? Or level up mechanics?'
[ 4/5 XP for level up. The first level up unlocks the status page.]
Recalling the knight he killed, he could guess where he got the xp from.
With only 200 meters left to the ruins, he noticed something that made his heart sink. Two red dots were speeding towards his location.
'Oh come on! Can't I catch a break?!'
He broke into a sprint-his goal was the ruins.
With each step through the forest, his legs felt heavier, and his breathing grew more ragged.
'Maybe, just maybe, I can ambush one of them. Then, the level up could help me fight off the second one.'
Panting, he arrived at the ruins, yet he found no comfort in that. The two enemies were within 100 meters of him.
'Damn! How can they be that quick?!'
Looking around the ruins, he wanted to find a hiding spot.
'I'm weaker, no armor and I only have a knife at hand. How do I get rid of these bastards?'
A broken watch tower, the top half collapsed into scattered debris. Attached to it was a circular wall that surrounded what appeared to be stables and barracks. And a well in the middle of the ruins.
'Say, system, do I get stats for leveling up?'
[Yes.]
Feeling certain death approaching, he made up his mind.
'The barracks. I don't know if I get xp for making someone fall to their death, and I could find a weapon in the armory.'
'Please, a blunt weapon, please!'
Magnus ran into the barracks.
---
Shortly after, two Knights on horseback arrived. Jumping down from their horses, two loud thuds rang out.
Each knight stood at above 2 meters tall, with a menacing black metal armor covering them from head to toe. Both of them pulled out their weapons, swords as large as a man, blade as thick as their arms.
Sniffing the air, Rex opened his mouth.
"The smell is very recent. The rat is here."
Clutching his sword in the left hand, Werner performed some hand gestures at Rex.
'Split up. Look out from tower. I'll check buildings.'
Nodding, Rex went up the tower, while Werner made his way into the stables. Sniffing the air along the way, the only scent he picked up was the smell of rotten meat.
Making his way outside the stable, he gripped his greatsword.
Swing!
CRAAAASH!!!
The entrance to the stable collapsed. The sword had cut through the wall as if it was tofu.
'It can't hide here now.'
With such thoughts, he made his way to the barracks. Picking up Magnus's scent, his eyes dilated. 'Here.'
His heartbeat accelerated, and the knight rushed in. 'The hunt is on! Please be a strong opponent! Please let me fight to my hearts content!'
A long corridor in front, lined with bedrooms. To the right was another corridor. Left was a prison cell, the metal bar door thrown to the side.
He sniffed the air, and the scent was too diluted to follow.
He picked the bedrooms first.
Room by room, he searched everything. Kick down the door. Enter. Break everything, so that the rat can't hide. Finishing the search of the last bedroom, he turned back to the entrance.
He went to the armory, where a metal door stood in front of him, half ajar as if it was inviting him.
Smirking, Werner raised his leg.
BANG! CRASH!
The kick sent the door flying, crashing into the wall.
Waving his hand to disperse the dust cloud, Werner entered the armory.
Shelves covered the walls, with rust covered weapons lining them. A few barrels with swords strewn about, and many crates piled up in a corner.
Yet there was no human here.
'Odd.'
With each step the knight took, a loud thud resounded in the ruined barracks. Clutching his sword, he started destroying everything.
Swing. Bang. Bang. Swing.
Whether it were barrels or crates, none could withstand more than a sword swing or a kick. Yet even when there were only wooden splinters and old weapons left, he could not find the target.
Crack.
The Knights hearing picked up a tiny noise from above.
He turned around furiously, raising his guard towards the ceiling.
"Where!"
CLANG!
Only to get hit in the back of the head.
---
Mace in hand, Magnus fell to the ground. He had entered the room and found a rope leading to the ceiling, part of the collapsed armory tower. Hiding behind the thick wooden beams that supported the roof, he lay in wait.
As he jumped down from above, he brought the mace down on the knights head. The knight collapsed to the ground, a puddle of blood underneath him.
'Huh. Gotcha, you monstrous bast-'
The knights head turned to him, eyes filled with malice.
"Hahaha! Good hit whelp, I'll skin you alive for that!" Werner said, before getting up, still bleeding.
The knight picked up his greatsword, before taking a step towards Magnus.
Then-
Sword raised, he jumped towards Magnus, ready to bisect him.
Magnus barely raised the mace in time.
CLANG!
He was sent flying, smashing into the wall several meters behind him. The skin on his hands torn from the impact, and the metallic mace was bent.
'WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS ARE THESE BASTARDS?!'
"Is this the best you got, a sneak attack?" Werner approached him, before taking off the dented helmet.
Throwing a look at the dent, he glanced at it, before throwing it to the side. Dissapointment was evident on his expression.
"Well, if you hit a bit harder, I'd would be the one lying on the ground now. That must feel awful, doesn't it?" he mocked, coming closer.
Due to the excruciating pain Magnus was in, he could barely make out his words. What he did see was the Knight raising the sword up high.
"Chop chop!" Werner yelled.
Before bringing it down on his arm.
His entire left arm was cut off, blood flowing like a river.
"AAAAAAAAAAH-!"
"Well, captain said he wants you alive. Nothing about having all limbs." A cruel smile adorned Werners face.
Grabbing Magnus' neck, he lifted him up.
Magnus tried to resist it desperately, trying to break out of the grip.
"Stop struggling." Werner said, annoyed.
Magnus kept struggled in his hands, trying to claw and bite at his arm. The knight suddenly grinned, before he threw Magnus. 'Can't kill the rat, else captain will kill me.'
Skidding accross the floor Magnus came to a stop. Before he could raise up and try running, he was once again lifted up.
Looking at Werner with hatred, he got an idea. He swung his arm and blood splashed from his wound on Werner's face.
"AH, YOU LITTLE-" Werner recoiled.
He fell to the ground, and picked up a sword. Slash, and Werner's throat was cut open. Relieved, Magnus was about to finish him when a swing came towards him.
Ducking, he slashed at the blinded Wenrer again.
Only for Werner to swing once more, grazing him. 'How?!'
A dozen slashes later, the floor was covered in blood, yet Werner didn't fall. Regeneration kept him standing, the first wounds having closed already.
'How the hell is he still moving?!'
Since the sword didn't work, he looked around desperately.
Another mace was near him.
Swing!
Bang!
He brought Werner to the ground.
Werner thrashed on the ground, his random punch breaking Magnus leg.
Swing! Crack!
He stopped moving altogether.
Yet Magnus kept swinging, until only mush remained of Werner's head.
Panting, he stopped himself from collapsing. Looking at his cut off arm with hatred, he looked at the new system pop-up.
[Out of combat state. Initiating first level up.]
A small white light enveloped him, making his fatigue vanish. Even the injuries and broken leg he sustained disappeared. But...
He arm did not regrow. Only the wound itself stopped bleeding, new skin forming over. Yet he could only look on with a blank expression at it.
Trying to move it, he confirmed he wasn't hallucinating. He had lost his left arm, and there was still another such knight outside.
Shaking his head, he snapped out of his daze.
'This isn't the time to be moping about setbacks, my life's in danger. Status window!'
[Name : Magnus (changeable)]
[Class : Conqueror ]
[STR:7] [SPD:8] [INT:11] [WIL:15] [-] [-]
[10 points available.]
Seeing the last two stats locked, he frowned, before looking at the other stats.
Strength, speed, intelligence and willpower.
'Even if I dump all points into any stat, the other bastard would maul me. Damn it-'
Another system window window interrupted his thoughts.
[Congratulations on activating the status window. May you live a long life.]
[You have received the skill: Monster control - What is a dark lord without an army?]
Checking the new skills description, he smiled.
[Monster control - allows the user to control non intelligent species. Success depends on the users willpower vs the targets willpower.]
He glanced at the map, and saw the other knight was coming down the watch tower.
'Now, or never!'
He grabbed a sword and ran with all his might.
To the outside.
He saw the horses of the two knights and attempted to control them. A bond formed between the two animals and him. Yet it also used up about 80% of his mental power.
Not caring about specifics right now, he got to the horses...
"HEY!" A thunderous shout came from the tower, and a massive sword flew towards him. Dodging the sword by a hairs breath, he saw it behead a horse, before embedding deeply into the ground.
He jumped on the other horse, far too large for him to ride normally, and clung tightly to it.
'Go! Go! GO!'
The horse obeyed the command, and broke out in a thunderous sprint.
Looking back, he saw the other knight tried to give chase, only to give up once he realised he was too slow.
With no Knight on his tail, he relaxed somewhat.
An hour of riding later, he struggled to keep his eyes open. 'My body feels fine but I'm mentally tired as hell. I guess the level up doesn't cleanse mental fatigue, something to keep in mind.'
He ordered the horse to keep going in the same direction, and to alert him if anything happened.
"I'll live... To see another day..." A whisper escaped his lips, before everything went dark.