Ben traveled the road normally until he was out of sight. When Ben found he was finally out of view of the people around the capital city he began to test out his new movement technique.
He instantly took off even though the technique was still at level one it felt like he must have been moving near 20 miles per hour. Adjusting to this sudden speed took some time and he had almost lost his footing quite a few times.
His increased attributes had raised his strength and agility so it helped him to adapt.
He was soon running at a steady pace and enjoying the scenery along the wilderness dirt road.
'At this speed, I could almost keep up with a horse if I were to race one. If I were back on Earth, I would be one of the fastest men alive and this is still the early stages of this technique.' He mused as the wind whistled in his ears.
The dirt road he followed was mostly free of travelers. On occasion, he would come across traveling merchants heading towards the capital to sell their goods.
This allowed him to make good use of his [Whirlwind Maneuver] and by the time he decided to stop for the day he had already covered over one hundred miles.
'If I can keep up this pace I might reach that hidden grassland frontier by tomorrow.'
He was currently passing through a lightly wooded area and came across a nice clearing next to a small river that looked like it was often used as a campsite by travelers.
As he walked into the campsite clearing he began to view his recent notices.
[Notice] [Whirlwind Maneuver has increased! Whirlwind Maneuver Level 1!]
[Notice] [Whirlwind Maneuver has increased! Whirlwind Maneuver Level 2!]
[Notice] [Whirlwind Maneuver has increased! Whirlwind Maneuver Level 3!]
Closing his notifications Ben picked out a spot near the back of the campsite near the river and began to set up a camp with the gear he had bought in the city.
He put up his small tent and dug a fire pit so that he could make himself something to eat. He went into the nearby tree line and gathered up some dry firewood and used his flint fire starter kit to get a fire lit.
He chopped the strange vegetables he bought into bite-sized chunks and put them in a pot of river water over the fire. While the water and vegetables began to lightly boil, Ben sliced thin strips of meat and tossed them into the pot along with a cup of flour mixed with spices to thicken up the broth.
As he sat next to his fire occasionally stirring his food and enjoying the beautiful view around him his activated [Enhanced Hearing] picked up the sound of slow-moving hooves, the occasional sound of clinking metal, and rolling wooden wheels.
He figured it was one of the few merchants or traders traveling along the road, but he still equipped his chain-mail tunic and sword just in case he was wrong.
He was soon surprised to see a caravan of carts pulled by large shaggy creatures that looked like a combination of a horse and moose come into view. There was a mixture of people both riding on carts and walking. The people riding the carts had the appearance of merchants, but the people who were walking appeared to be guards or mercenaries.
When this group neared the turn off they pulled off the road into the clearing where Ben was camping. This was apparently the only area large enough to hold a sizable group for the night for miles around so they decided to prepare their own camp before the sun went down.
As the group began to set up their tents near the road, Ben occasionally looked over at them and while keeping an eye on the slow cooking stew.
Once the caravan had settled in and established their campsite for the night the guards began to group up together and brought out bottles of alcohol. With his [Enhanced Hearing] he could hear a couple of the guards were talking about him and shaking their heads with sad expressions as they continued to drink. These guys seemed to be looking at him with sympathy.
There was only one of them who seemed to have a problem with Ben. The more he drank, the more he seemed to find fault with him.
He was still a good distance away and could tell he was talking about him while arguing with his drinking buddies. Ben could only catch a few words because the agitated guard was right on the border of his [Enhanced Hearing] skill range.
Ben shook his head and continued to eat his dinner trying to ignore the inebriated guards, but he soon heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Hey boy!"
Hey boy, I'm talking to you!"
Ben turned toward the intoxicated guard with a scowl without answering him.
"Wha...some tin wrong with cha? This ere is bandit country ain't a place for little kids to be out for a picnic! Ya, hear me, boy!" This ain't the city where those guards will come to wipe your ass if cha in danger!"
Ben just shook his head and went back to eating his stew, not wanting to be bothered.
"Ho, ho, gots us a frisky one huh, tink you're a tough one boy?"
Ben was no stranger to fights after working on a construction site for close to four years with guys who weren't happy unless they cursed at least once a sentence.
Performing manual labor in 104-degree heat all day caused tempers to flare and a fight could start just by looking at someone the wrong way.
Ben began to quickly lose his temper with this belligerent drunk who seemed to be itching for a fight.
Ben decided to speak up and tell this guy to get lost, "Listen, buddy, I don't want any trouble I'm not bothering you so don't bother me. I just want to eat my meal in peace and go to sleep." Ben said with a hint of anger in his voice as he gave the guy a dirty look.
"Oh? You ain't wantin any trouble, well maybe I should teach ya a lesson that a boy like ya don't belong outside the city walls. Your mama ain't here to save you now!"
As the guy showed a wicked grin and started to stagger over, Ben set his bowl of stew down and stood up. He activated his [Whirlwind Maneuver] and closed the distance between them before the drunk realized what had happened. Ben threw a punch and knocked the guy off his feet.
The drunk awkwardly rolled over on his hands and knees shook his head twice and quickly crawled over grabbing Ben by his ankle. Ben was not expecting the drunk to move so quickly on the ground and was pulled down and punched before he could react.
That single punch which hit him square was one of, if not the hardest punch he ever felt and he knew right then, that the people of this world were much stronger than people of Earth.
His strength had even already doubled since he got here and this guy had just shaken off his first punch and continued his attack.
Ben knew he was in for a fight now and there were no emergency rooms in the wilderness or even on this entire planet.
He had to end this fight quickly or, he might get hurt to the point where it would take months to recover. He didn't have the money or time to sit in a bed while being taken care of by a doctor for that long.
Luckily for him this guy was extremely intoxicated and Ben could still move around him with more agility. Ben got back to his feet and noticed the other guards were gathering around shouting and cheering.
Ignoring the throbbing pain and the ringing in his ears he now felt and heard from that punch, Ben made his move to strike again.
Ben threw a solid kick with the help of his [Whirlwind Maneuver] to increase its speed and power. The drunk was awkwardly trying to stand up and Ben could hear him grunt when his foot connected with his ribs. He knew if this guy got back up it was going to be a nasty fight so he didn't give him a chance.
While the drunk was bent over from the kick to his ribs, Ben tightly wrapped his hands around the back of his neck and drove his knee as hard as he could into the guys face. By pulling the drunks head into his accelerating knee he was able to land a vicious blow that could have killed someone from Earth.
When his knee connected he felt the guy go limp and fall to the ground. The surrounding guards stood there with their mouths open wondering how this young kid just took out a seasoned mercenary.
Ben was nervous he might have to make a break for it. With this many people, he would get torn to shreds if they decided to attack him so he began to discreetly look around him and decided he would run over and jump into the river if things got bad.
As he was looking for an escape route the men all began laughing and making fun of the unconscious drunk .
"That's whatcha ya get for messin with strangers ya dumb bastard! AAHAHA!"
"Ya just got knocked out cold! This kid has gots some spunk ta him!"
"Wahaha! Now y'all know why the kid is out ere alone ya bunch of jackasses!"
"Sorry about this drunken idiot kid. This bastard is always strutting round bout how strong he is after a couple of drinks!"
One of the guards stepped forward and began to take charge of the mob.
"Ya guys grab him and toss em in his tent! Everyone else, go back to the camp did you all forget we have a job to do still?"
"What the hell is with these old bastards calling me kid and boy, dammit! I am 19 years old, sure I am not old enough to drink, but by Earth standards, I am considered an adult now!" Ben grumbled to himself as the rowdy bunch left him alone once again.
The group of loud drunk guards left laughing and slapping each other on the back while dragging the unconscious drunk guy he had just fought back to his tent.
After the excitement, Ben wasn't hungry anymore so he put the pot of stew in his inventory and went over to the creek to wash his bowl and utensils.
Before going back to his tent he soaked his throbbing head in the cool river water for a few minutes and washed the dirt from his face and arms.
Once he had cleaned up he went into his tent and began to cultivate. A couple hours later the merchant camp had finally quieted down the guards either went back to their tents or just passed out drunk where they sat.
Ben stopped to swallow one of his Qi pills and checked his notification icon which was flashing in his peripheral since the fight.
[Notice] [You have learned a new skill! Pain Tolerance Skill Level 1!]
[Notice] [You have learned a new skill! Hand to Hand Combat Skill Level 1!]
[Notice] [Skill: Enhanced Hearing has increased! Enhanced Hearing Level 3!]
'I haven't broken through to the next cultivation level yet, but I feel I am close to it. It shouldn't be long now'
"Status!"
__________________________________
STATUS
[Host]: Ben King
[System Level]: 1
[Strength]: 22
[Agility]: 13
[Stamina]: 23
[Intelligence]: 14
[Wisdom]: 13
[Perception]: 12
[Vitality]: 17
[Charisma]: 12
_______________________________________
SKILLS
[Running Level 2]
[Spriniting Level 2]
[Enhanced Hearing Level 3]
[Sword Proficiency Level 1]
[Hand to Hand Combat Level 1]
[Pain Tolerance Level 1]
_______________________________________
CULTIVATION BASE
[Stage One Level Eight]
_______________________________________
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUE
[Immortal Strengthening Technique: Stage 1: Level 8]
[Whirlwind Maneuver Level 3]
__________________________________________
Ben cultivated for a couple of hours before he left his tent and walked over into the treeline to take a leak. While he stood there in the dark Ben thought he heard the muffled sound of twigs snapping in the woods close to the merchant camp.
The caravan camp was between his tent and the sounds in trees so he could not see directly into the woods and even if they were not blocking his view it was so dark he wouldn't see anything.
Having a bad feeling about the continuous muffled noises from the woods Ben walked over to his tent and began placing all his items and even the tent into his inventory. He crouched down after packing his gear and made his way to the edge of the clearing. He slowly flanked the clearing perimeter while using the darkness and vegetation to hide him.
Ben wanted to find out what was going on around the camp before he decided to sleep or runoff from whatever was out there creeping around in the woods.
As he made his way forward his now active [Enhanced Hearing] helped him to hear what sounded like people whispering out in the woods. Ben had goosebumps all up his arms when he heard the hushed voices. He remembered his Map and opened it with a thought.
'System, mark everyone in and around the camp and any dangerous animals or creatures in the area surrounding the campsite.' He instructed the system with his thoughts so as not to give away his position.
*Ding!* [There are no dangerous animals or creatures near the camp. Every person in the camp and those inside the woods have now been displayed as circular icons.]
Ben saw a group of gray dots marked on the map nearing the caravan camp. There were about 30-40 gray dots stretched out in a line moving through the woods slowly toward them. He could instantly tell this wasn't good. It looked like a large group of people were moving shoulder to shoulder approaching the sleeping camp.
'As quiet as these guys are trying to be in the woods and the way they are moving in line it looks like they are preparing to attack the caravan camp.'
While Ben crouched in the darkness thinking of his next move the group in the woods silently came out of the darkness into the light of the fires of the sleeping camp.
When the group cleared the treeline and stepped out they drew their weapons and ran silently toward the sleeping people to begin their attack.
This attack wasn't anything like the movies were the enemies screams out a battle cry and charges to attack their enemy.
This group of attackers were wearing all black leather armor and black tunics with hoods.
They had also wrapped thick black cloth around their shoes to move around silently in the forest. The first thing that popped into Ben's head when he saw them was medieval assassins.
At least 10 or more people were dead from the caravan before they even knew they were under attack. Ben assumed that these guys were just as strong as him from his brawl earlier and much better at wielding a weapon so he wasn't about to play the hero and run out there and try to save this merchant group.
These mercenary guards had treated him like crap ever since they had arrived and if he wasn't lucky enough he could be dead or seriously injured right by that drunk earlier. This was the job these guards chose and since they were so proud to operate in this so-called bandit country as the drunk stated earlier, he wouldn't interfere.
While watching the fight for a couple minutes, Ben saw as one of the bandits break off from the fight to slink across the clearing toward the spot he had previously set up his tent. They must have seen his tent location earlier from the woods and sent someone over to kill and loot him as he slept.
Seeing the black dressed bandit by himself, Ben moved back around to quietly sneak up behind him. The bandit stood still in the darkness scanning the area trying to figure out where Ben's missing tent was located. When Ben drew close enough he used his Whirlwind Maneuver technique to instantly move the short distance between them as he thrust his sword into the bandit's back.
The thickness of the bandit's leather torso armor stopped Ben's sword from piercing through him, but it felt like it still cut deep enough to cause a serious wound. The bandit staggered forward from the painful blow and the sword was ripped from his back.
Even though, this bandit was obviously hurt badly by the way he was hunched over, he still spun around to strike out toward Ben. The [Sword Efficiency] skill allowed Ben to sloppily block and parry most of the incoming attacks as he tried to control his shaking hands and legs.
It was one thing to get into a fist fight with someone but he was actually swinging a sword to kill and the wounded bandit was doing the same! His fear began to take over along with his morals from Earth.
Having grown up on Earth he learned from an early age it is wrong to kill. The government, society, and god were all against it. Murder was the ultimate taboo to commit.
Ben realized he was a different world now and he had to change this way of thinking in order to survive, but he had never attempted to kill someone before and he had never fought against someone who wanted to take his life!
This just became a fight to the death! He was afraid but the low-level sword skill and his adrenaline kept him in the fight. It may be possible for him to use his movement technique to escape but the two of them were instantly thrown into such a fierce fight it was difficult to look for an escape route with nothing but the overhead moon for light.
His whole being right now was focused on nothing but his sword and the bandit's sword!
The two began to exchange quick but clumsy sword blows in the darkness. Ben felt heavy blows land on his chain-mail armor multiple times, but they did not cause him any serious injuries.
Due to Ben's fear and his opponent being gravely wounded the two of them fought for a few minutes with trepidation more than skill. If this experienced bandit was in top condition Ben would have been forced to flee by now or he would have been skillfully wounded or killed.
As his foe swung his sword in pain and desperation it forced even more blood from the gaping wound in his back. The bandit's actions slowly grew listless from the rapid loss of blood causing him to stagger around.
The heavy loss of blood caused Ben's foe to begin to falter his steps.
The power behind the bandit's sword blows was steadily decreasing and Ben could see the fear in his now guarded actions.
Ben's enemy grew agitated and seemed to want a quick end to the fight or to flee if possible as his eyes darted from side to side looking for a way out or a possible rescue from his comrades.
This allowed Ben a fraction of a moment to land a vicious slash across the bandit's right sword arm while his foe was peeking over his left shoulder.
The sharp steel sword cut through the flesh and into the bone where there was no armor to stop the blade from almost severing the bandit's arm.
The bandit screamed out in pain but it was muffled by the sound of battle not far from them. His sword arm was now completely useless to him.
The sword he swung with skill moments ago dropped from his hand to the ground.
Now unable to think clearly or calmly the bandit grabbed the wound on his destroyed right arm while turning to run back toward the other bandits in the merchant camp.
Ben once again thrust his sword with all his remaining strength into the bandit's back. This time he used more effort while holding the hilt with both hands. His steel blade drove through the back of the bandit's leather armor until it was stopped by the front piece of his leather chest armor.
The thrust drove directly through the bandit's torso stopping him mid-stride.
His enemy fell dead to the ground sliding off of his sword without another sound.
Ben looked nervously over his shoulder one last time toward the merchant camp which was still fighting against the bandits before he stumbled off into the woods and left the two fighting groups behind him.