Depiction of graphic violence near the end of this chapter!
Reader's discretion is advised!
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The next morning, Ben ate a decent breakfast with the beef, fruit, and vegetables that his farms were already producing. He took his dirty pots, pans, dishes, and utensils over to the restroom sinks and cleaned them the best he could before placing them in his inventory.
He decided to go enjoy the Public Bathhouse and took a long hot shower before soaking in the hot bath.
He used the hot water to rinse and wring his clothes out since he had no other way to clean them. With only his shorts on that he wore from Earth, Ben hung his wet clothes on a rope in the keep and went to get comfortable on his bed and train.
He decided for the next week he would train his magic spells and cultivation while the system stockpiled his crops and beef. When he had a decent amount, Ben planned to head back to Goldcrest the capital city of the Aregard Kingdom that he had previously visited.
It had just been over a month now since Ben had somehow been transmigrated to this primitive world without any explanation and he was gradually becoming stronger by the day. He had trained hard for the past nine days around the keep and was now sitting down going over his recent gains.
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Three: Level nine!]
[Notice] [Skill: Running has increased! Running Level 8!]
[Notice] [Skill: Sprinting has increased! Sprinting Level 7!]
[Notice] [Skill: Silent Walk has increased! Silent Walk Level 9!]
[Notice] [Skill: Chameleon has increased! Chameleon Level 8!]
[Notice] [Skill: First Aid has increased! First Aid Level 9!]
[Notice] [Skill: Pain Suppression has increased! Pain Suppression Level 5!]
[Notice] [Skill: Analyze has increased! Analyze Level 4!]
[Notice] [Skill: Echolocation has increased! Echolocation Level 6!]
[Notice] [Spell: Mana Manipulation has increased! Mana Manipulation: Apprentice Level 4!]
[Notice] [Spell: Enhanced Form has increased! Enhanced Form: Apprentice Level 5!]
Without much sleep these last nine days, Ben would run and sprint around the outside of the keep before the sun came up. When he was done running, Ben would continue around the keep using [Chameleon] and [Silent Walk]. He found the higher the level in Silent Walk the faster he could move without making any noise. Now it was at level eight he could almost jog without making any sounds or having it deactivate.
Next, he would sit at the table in the keep and use his skinning knife to make small cuts on his arms. He had purchased a box of cheap cloth bandages from the System Store and used them to level up his First Aid skill. All this cutting also gave him gains in Pain Suppression to the point now he could drag the knife across his arm and only feel the pressure from it slicing his skin.
When he finished torturing himself at the table, Ben began to walk around the area and use his Analyze skill on plants, rocks, structures, crops, and as it leveled up he found it would provide him more detailed information with each level.
After the first day, he felt like he was wasting time by only using Analyze, so he blindfolded himself with a bandage and began to use Echolocation to find things around him to Analyze.
Around noon he would make a quick meal and begin to train his Enhanced Form. He continued to try and improve Enhanced Form by feeding mana to more muscles in his body allowing him to also raise his Mana Manipulation level as he trained.
A few hours after magic training he would then lay on his bed and begin to cultivate until it was time to start running once again.
"With all this training these past nine days felt like a month, but I have significantly leveled up my skills, spells, and attributes thanks to it."
"Status!"
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STATUS
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[Host]: Ben King
[System Level]: 4
[Health]: 480/480
[Strength]: 51
[Agility]: 42
[Stamina]: 59
[Intelligence]: 41
[Wisdom]: 40
[Vitality]: 48
[Charisma]: 42
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[SKILLS]
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[Running: Level 8]
[Spriniting: Level 7]
[Enhanced Hearing: Level 13]
[Sword Proficiency: Level 6]
[Hand to Hand Combat: Level 1]
[Pain Suppression: Level 5]
[Chameleon: Level 8]
[Silent Walk: Level 9]
[Bowman Sniper: Level 3]
[Victus Zoologist: Level 4]
[Poison Resistance: Level 5]
[First Aid: Level 9] [Analyze: Level 4]
[Echolocation: Level 6]
[Mercantile Skill: Level 1]
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[SPELLS]
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[Mana Manipulation: Apprentice Level 4]
[Mana Ball: Apprentice Level 1]
[Mana Shield: Apprentice Level 1]
[Enhance Form: Apprentice Level 5]
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[CULTIVATION STAGE]
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[Cultivation Base]: [Stage Three, Level Nine]
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[CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES]
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[Immortal Strengthening Technique: Stage 3: Level 9]
[Whirlwind Maneuver, Level 4]
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'When I use the Enhanced Form spell I am now much stronger than the average person, but I am sure the cultivators of this world still have an edge on me. As, soon as I can build my Gym that should change. I won't have to rely on attribute gains from only cultivating. That was one of the lessons I learned from that quick fight with that caravan mercenary guard. The people of this world on inherently stronger than Earthlings.' Ben speculated while walking to the Warehouse.
He opened the Warehouse and took out all the vegetables, fruits, beef, cattle hides, and half of his ores. Since his Mine had been up and running he had been stockpiling iron, gold, silver, copper, and even some Mythril that he left behind in the Warehouse.
He wasn't even sure if Mythril was a real metal on this planet. On Earth, it was only known as a fantasy metal used in stories and games. He wanted to save the Mythril to make armor or possibly weapons for himself later on.
Since Mythril was tougher and lighter than steel, he figured it would be the perfect choice for a suit of metal armor.
Before he closed the Warehouse Ben decided to grab half of his wood and stone supplies. He figured it would be around a week before he returned so it would be silly to leave all those resources just sitting around when he might have a chance to sell them.
"It is great that my inventory doesn't have a weight encumbrance on it like most RPG games or I would be crawling down the road on my hands and knees, haha!" Ben laughed at the sheer amount of food and resources he was carrying on him that would make a pickup truck struggle to move under his load.
After traveling east across the open grassland he made his way through the edge of the forest and came out next to the western Aregard road again. Ben activated his Whirlwind Maneuver that had been metaphorically gathering dust the past few weeks and began to speed off down the road.
The road was clear of travellers only having passed one group of guarded people traveling together for the entire day.
As the sun began to set he left the roadway and decided against setting up his tent. Ben had grown accustomed to his setup in the forest of making a wood plank platform in the canopy of a tall tree. This was a great way to avoid predators and people who lurked around in the shadows at night.
Since he was so far off the ground his scent would be hard to detect by creatures and bandits would never think to look in the tree canopies as they searched for targets to rob.
Even though he was confident in his abilities if he was somehow surrounded by a large group it would be different, so he climbed up into a large tall tree thinking of the old Earth saying "It is better to be safe than sorry!"
Up in the tree branches, he lit a small concealed fire on a mound of gathered dirt and made a dinner from his food supplies. When he was full and content, Ben laid out his bedroll and pulled his blanket over him. The night passed by without any trouble and he caught up on some of the missed hours of sleep he skipped out on for the past nine days of training.
Ben woke up a little later than normal and left after he packed away his platform and sleeping gear.
Just like yesterday, he zipped down the road with the wind in his ears while using the Whirlwind Maneuver. Everything was going smoothly on the deserted road for the first hour of his journey toward Goldcrest city.
While continuously watching his minimap for danger, he soon spotted a couple of miles ahead of him six red dots were surrounding a cluster of gray dots.
'It looks like the bandits are at it again out here. It is strange that there are only six this time. You would think they would travel in a larger pack like that other group that attacked our camp during the night. Maybe this small group only preys on the weak looking people who pass through here?' Ben speculated as he was quickly approaching the dots on his map.
A couple a hundred yards down the road he jumped into the treeline and activated Chameleon and Silent Walk. Blending into the trees he quickly approached the red dots.
When he was around fifty yards away, Ben climbed up into a tall tree that gave him a great overview of the scene below and activated Enhanced Hearing.
From what he could hear from the bandits they had attacked a slave trader with a group of guards. Since slaves could bring a decent amount of money they took a chance and attacked the guarded slave merchant. There were originally twenty bandits who attacked so they were confident with their numbers.
Unknowingly this slave merchant had spent enough gold coins to hire a few former military officers and veteran mercenaries to guard him in his travels. The bandits who underestimated the guards were cut down without mercy leaving only six remaining bandits from the original twenty.
With only six bandits remaining, a large cart full of chained slaves, and a few severely injured guards, they were undecided on what to do now. It seemed their leader was one of the bandits that died during the initial fight and now they were arguing over how they should proceed.
One the bandits wanted to just walk away while another wanted to kill all the male slaves and bring the women back to their camp. Two other bandits wanted to just kill them all for revenge while the other two wanted to go with the original plan and sell them to an acquaintance slave merchant.
Ben scanned the survivors and saw among the slaves there were still four wounded guards that did not look too well they were wounded from the fight and were beat up afterwards it seemed.
'System, if I were to save these people is there any way I can make them loyal to me? If I were to bring these slaves back to my fortress I want to make sure they won't run off when I am not around and tell others about my Build Zone location.' Ben asked the system with his mind not wanting to speak out and possibly be heard.
*Ding!* [When people of this world are either forced or willing join into slavery the Slave Merchants use a spell that loyally binds them to their owner. This spell prevents them from running away or doing anything that will harm their owner. It will also bind them to perform any orders the owner gives them.]
'Alright that is great, but how does that help me? The Slave Merchant down there doesn't seem like he will be casting any more spells now that his head is laying in the center of the road.' Ben questioned with a bit of frustration.
*Ding!* [The host does not need the Slave Merchant. You can purchase the same spell from the store.]
After, the system explained this it opened the System Store up to the page that had the [Slave Command] spell on it.
'Shit! This damn spell costs 200 gold coins and I only have 110g left! Grrr, I will have to sell off some resources to buy it if this works out.' Ben thought as he closed the interface.
He opened his inventory and equipped his chain-mail, steel sword, bow, and quiver of arrows. Using his knife he silently cut away a few small branches around him which were obstructing his view and knocked an arrow.
Drawing back the string to his chin, Ben took aim at the group of bandits. He chose to target one of the bandits who was facing him and released his arrow.
Now that he had evolved to the Bowman Sniper skill he could soundlessly shoot from cover at long distances. He would also gain damage bonuses for hitting targets unaware of his presence.
The wooden arrow covered the distance in a flash and drilled itself deep into the bandit's skull. Without a single word or sound, he fell onto his back dead before he hit the ground.
The other bandits stopped to look at him wondering what the hell he was doing at first. When they all saw the arrow lodged in his head they quickly discovered they were under attack!
Ben's next target joined the first dead bandit on the ground before the group of bandits could even make a move.
All of the remaining bandits quickly ran for cover except for one who panicked and chose to run down the road in the opposite direction the arrows had come from. Taking his time with the shot, Ben overextended the bow, pulling back further than normal and aiming about half a foot above the runners head. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out while releasing the arrow.
A black streak could be seen arching through the air until it stopped in the center of the escaping bandits back. The bandit face planted hard from the arrow impact and was able to crawl and pull himself along a few more feet leaving a bloody trail smeared into the dirt road behind him. He didn't make it far before he stopped moving and laid still on the road likely dead.
The bandits were pissed now and began calling out to Ben. Trying to bring him out of hiding they called him a coward and wanted Ben to come out and face them.
Ben couldn't get a shot on the bandit who hid behind the cart without risk of hitting the slaves. The other two bandits had ran into the woods to hide behind the trees so he decided to climb down with Chameleon and Silent Walk activated.
Ben hung his bow over his shoulder and slowly pulled his sword out of the sheath as he stalked through the vegetation. He had his eyes set on the location that the two had hidden in the forest..
After covering over half the distance the bandits thought he was still hiding off in the distance and began calling out once again to anger him into approaching them.
This only gave away their location allowing Ben to flank around and come up from behind them.
As they stood with their weapons in hand peeking around the trees in the direction he was originally in, Ben came upon the closest bandit like a shadow. He cast Enhanced Form on himself and soundlessly drove his sword through the bandit's back.
Ben's sword sliced through the bandit with little to no resistance until the blade was buried deep in the tree trunk the bandit was attempting to hide behind. The sword now driven into the tree had nailed the bandit in place.
Unfortunately for the bandit this was not a killing blow. He howled out in pain while attempting to free himself in shock. As he moved around to try and free himself it only caused him more pain and bodily damage as the sharp steel sword continued to horrifically slice open his abdomen even further.
Leaving his sword behind Ben turned and charged toward the other bandit a couple yards away.
This bandit had heard his buddy yell out in pain from being run through and turned in time to see Ben throwing a glowing fist at his face. The bandit swung his sword in panic catching Ben in the ribs just as the punch landed.
The sword landed on his chain-mail and stopped him from being slashed but the blunt damage was like taking a light swing from a baseball bat to the ribs.
The [Passive Pain Suppression] skill allowed him to tune out the blow and finish his punch that produced a sickening crunch when it landed.
The bandits face looked like it had took a full swing from a sledgehammer. His nose was gone and his face was partially collapsed. Ben stood motionless over the bandit who fell from his punch to take in his surroundings.
He could hear their buddy calling out to them from the cart in the road, but they were already defeated. The forest was now quiet except for the sicking sound of a body sliding along the edge of his steel sword that held it against the tree.
Then there was the struggling breath of the bandit who fought to fill his lungs with air through his now shattered nose and mouth.
The sight turned Ben's stomach and he had to struggle not to vomit from the horrific scene.
He had only killed once since he had arrived here, but it was quick and in the dark.
This...was different this time.
It was daytime and the surrounding area looked like a horror movie.
The guy pinned to the tree was nearly cut in half who had died on Ben's blade with his inside spilling out on the ground below his eviscerated torso.
The other bandit was gasping through blood and broken bones for air before he died from the severe facial trauma.
Ben closed his eyes and took a few long deep breaths and steeled himself once again.
He couldn't allow himself to feel sorry and take pity on people like this.
If he wasn't strong then he would be the one dead on the ground.
These bandits would kill him over a few coins like it were the most casual thing to do and sleep like babies that night.
After a moment of pulling himself together, Ben opened his eyes with a look of determination and went over to retrieve his sword from the tree. He wiped the blood and gore off the his blade on the dead bandit's clothes and slid it into the sheath on his hip.
The final bandit was getting desperate now that his buddies were no longer responding.
Ben could hear the fear in his voice as he called out for them to answer him. He began to worry this last bandit may grab a slave or a guard as a hostage.
Activating Chameleon and Silent Walk, he proceeded to move through the trees toward the dead bandit he had pierced through with an arrow who tried to run down the road earlier.
This allowed him to get around behind the last bandit who thought he was covered behind the wagon full of slaves.
Ben took a hold of his bow again and drew an arrow from his quiver. He took a steady aim at the last exposed bandit from just inside the treeline.
This was the guy who wanted to just walk away from this scene earlier, but he was just as guilty as the rest. He had murdered these people to take away the slaves and resell them.
Ben decided he would treat them all without mercy.
*Zip!*
A single arrow sliced through the air and pierced through the neck of the final bandit silencing his calls. As he reached up in shock at the arrow in his neck another arrow struck him in the back piercing his heart and killing him.
Now that all the red dots on his minimap were gone, Ben deactivated his skills and cautiously walked out of the trees toward the cart of stunned slaves and wounded guards.