The old village elder walked over to Jaycee. He cleared his throat. "Miss you seem quite powerful. Although I don't' blame you for killing those bandits, it has placed this village in a rather difficult position."
"How so?" she asked.
"Well that was just a small group. There are many more hiding in the forest. They seem to have a camp out there where they take advantage of anyone traveling along the road. When they realize that group hasn't come back, they will definitely seek us out for an explanation. We don't have any good fighters, we're all farmers. So I was hoping you would do this village a favor and help us solve this problem."
Jaycee sunk into thought, but felt she couldn't make a decision on her own. She had dragged Detan along this whole time without asking how he felt about what she'd done. Even when she killed the group of bandits earlier, he just stood there and watched.
"Detan. What do you think?"
Detan who was busy patting Mina's golden hair, didn't stop while he answered. "I think it's a perfect opportunity."
"For what?"
"For the weak to become strong." Detan had no need for a group of weak and useless caravanners. No doubt they would use him for protection until they reached the safety of the city. Instead he decided to use this opportunity to grow his followers. Not all of them would be able, or even willing, but even if he only gained one follower from this it would be worth it.
He stopped petting Mina and looked up to address everyone. "I'll give you a chance. A chance to become strong. You didn't see it but Jaycee took out that group of bandits on her own easily. She is no longer one of you, she is on a different path because she chose to face her fear, and her weakness, head on. Now I'll give you the same choice she had. You can put your faith in me and follow me to tomorrow morning to face the bandits, or you can do nothing and wait here."
Detan looked at the little girl on his lap, and lifted her off him. He liked her, but if she chose to stay weak then he would have to say goodbye. He got up and started walking to the front door when he heard a small voice call out to him. "I'll go."
He turned to look, and saw Mina looking at him with determination. She knew from the moment he saved her that she wanted to be with him. Jaycee was right, she didn't know what love is, but maybe, she just found out.
"I'll go with you. To fight."
As she said that, a black smoke formed inside her that connected her spirit to Detan. Right in front of her eyes a black square appeared. It had many words and numbers on it. It even had a diagram of her body on it.
When Detan felt the connection he was surprised. Although it was just formed, it was nearly as strong as the connection he had with Jaycee. This served as proof of her words. She would truly follow him to fight the bandits tomorrow. The very same ones that killed her father, the Guard Captain. The bravery of this young girl made Detan look at the others in a different light.
They all had the same experience, and while they lost whatever valuables they had on the caravan, she lost her only parent. While they are too scared to accept the strength he offers them, she accepted instantly. This is the difference between people. With one last look at them he turned back toward the door. Oh well, if they don't want to follow him then why should he care? He'll just focus on what's important.
"Jaycee show her how to use the blessing. I'm heading out for now, but I'll be back in the morning."
He walked out of the house and looked up at the sky. It was dark now. The crescent moon hung low in the sky. The light it gave off was plentiful, making the night especially bright. He checked his map and found the location of the bandit camp. His map had found them while he was walking through the forest with Jaycee. He pushed off the ground and flew into they sky, leaving behind only the sound of wind.
In the bandit camp, there was a muscular man with hair and scars all over his body currently thrusting onto a pair of women. They were covered in bruises, the area around their eyes was red from crying. The man gave a long exhale as he grabbed them by the hips and pushed them off the bed. They hit the ground hard with a thud, but didn't move. "We can hand these two over to the boys now. They're done. It's like I'm f***in' a wet noodle."
A man who was sitting on the other side of the tent said coyly. "So, you don't like wet noodles?"
"You're the one who likes wet noodles! Now hurry up, I haven't finished yet."
The man was skinny and nude. He walked as if there could be nothing straight about him as he moved toward the bed. He crawled over on all fours and placed his rear near the muscular man.
The man grabbed him by the hips and started thrusting. "Don't play hard to get! Arch your back!"
They were too busy to notice that a black fog had rolled into the camp and permeated into every tent. The men inside fell asleep as soon as they came in contact with it. While the women's eyes turned black and they all started to walk out of the camp and into the forest.
Detan was floating in the sky above the camp. He had originally came here to scout the enemy. He wanted to see if there was anybody that could pose a threat to Jaycee and the rest when they came here tomorrow. However, he was disgusted by what he saw. Before, he was just doing this as a way to train his followers and help the village. He held no real enmity with the bandits, but not now. Just thinking about how much the women had to suffer since they had been captured was enough to convince him. They deserved to die. He wouldn't let even a single one go.
This was not a kind world. The bandits would treat women like playthings before discarding them. They did this simply because they could. What if this kind of thing happened to one of his followers? How would he deal with that? This is why he wants them to train and become strong. This world is a cruel place where the person with the bigger fist rules supreme.
The sun rose as the door to the elder's house opened. Four people walked out. Jaycee, Mina, Gerald, and the other youthful guard whose name was Lith. Detan felt the spiritual connection from all of them and had access to their information. He could see all the info that the system had gathered. He had expected Mina and Jaycee, but not the other two.
"Last night I told Gerald about the magic you used on him, and Jaycee told us about how you created enchanted weapons that made her more powerful than anything in the forest. We had to run away during the ambush because we were weak. While all the other guards sacrificed themselves, we survived. It's the greatest shame we've ever had to endure. Now that you offer us the strength to fight back, we'd be fools to not try. Please accept us!"
They became guards to protect the ones they love in the first place. If anyone would be willing to follow Detan, it would be these two.
Detan nodded. "I can see your sincerity. I accept you both."
They fell to their knees and yelled out, "Thank you master!"
Detan led them to the edge of the village where he had created a small tent. Inside were the women who had survived until now. He had them cleaned up and gave them a change of clothes. They laid there peacefully, in deep sleep.
The group's faces turned dark, when they walked in. there were definitely more than five who were taken that day. If Detan wasn't able to bring them back then that means... they're dead.
Detan told them what he saw when he went near their camp last night. He also explained to the three new followers exactly what he had told to Jaycee when he first met her. He told them not to hesitate. They are going there to kill. If they are not prepared for that, they might not come back alive.
Now that he had prepared them mentally, he had to prepare them physically. As they are right now, none of them would be a match against the bandits except for Jaycee, so asking them to go like this would be a death sentence. He had pulled off a thick branch from a tree and spent last night carving it. Thanks to his master skill in woodworking, it looked like a staff that an expert spent years of his life to make. The handle was carved with pictures of angels reaching out and flying toward the top of the staff, where a large crystal sphere was imbedded. The crystal was white and gave off a sense of calming just from being near it.
He had looked through Mina's information last night and found that she had decent talent for light based magic. So he had used most of his divine energy to create this low quality light crystal. The crystal will make it easier for her to cast light spells, and amplifies the affect.