"He said the bandits were just outside the city, but I'm easily a few hundred kilometers out now," Nova muttered, folding the map Morai had given him and tucking it away. "Did the instructor take 'outside the city' a bit too literally? I should've asked more questions before leaving."

He stood in the middle of a rough, uneven road, a mountain looming to his right, its base wrapped in dense forest with a narrow trail going inside it.

Gazing up at the mountain, he thought, 'These aren't ordinary bandits but mountain ones. I remember Jack saying they're usually stronger in games due to having to fight off wild beasts to survive. Hopefully, they're not too strong... or I might have to cheat.'

Just as Nova was about to step onto the trail, a high-pitched scream echoed from within the forest.

'Someone is already here? Well, I might as well check it out. Maybe I can find some something good,' he thought, unfazed. Without hesitation, he stepped into the forest.

Barely a hundred meters in, he stumbled upon a battered carriage resting beside a tree. Three armored men lay motionless on the ground, their blood staining the grass around them.

Shaking his head, Nova muttered as he approached, "Talk about timing. I came here looking for bandits, and it looks like they just hit this poor lot. Lucky me… though not so much for these three."

He crouched beside the bodies, casually looting their weapons and stripping off their armor. Then, with a spark of anticipation, he checked through the gear only for his expression to sour.

"I could forge better swords blindfolded," he grumbled. "And this armor? Absolute garbage."

Nova's eyes drifted to three small pouches lying just off to the side.

"What's this?" he muttered, curiosity piqued.

He grabbed one, loosened the drawstring, and tipped it over. A handful of coins tumbled to the ground with soft thuds, mostly copper, with a single silver one.

'So this is the local currency…' he thought. 'Probably better than the junk I found earlier, though not by much.'

He checked the remaining two bags and came away with a total of 47 copper coins and 4 silver. With a sigh at how little he gained he pocketed them anyway.

With the looting done, Nova turned his attention back to the carriage.

It looked like a luxurious carriage but now it was scarred with deep weapon marks and arrows still embedded in its sides. Blood stained the exterior, and the horses that once pulled it were nowhere in sight.

Nova crouched beside the carriage and touched the blood, instantly staining his fingers.

'Fresh,' he noted. 'That scream earlier must've come from whoever owned this thing. And the bandits didn't even leave a single horse behind. Real beggars…'

'He didn't spare a thought for the irony, having just looted what the bandits apparently didn't bother with himself.'

Glancing at the ground, he spotted clear hoofprints cutting through the underbrush, heading deeper into the forest. A grin tugged at his lips.

'…but dumb beggars.'

He took off at a swift pace, easily following the trail through the trees. It wasn't long before movement ahead caught his eye. Slowing down, Nova carefully tailed the group from a safe distance.

'Take me to your base,' he thought, eyes gleaming.

There were six bandits in total. Two of them bore fresh wounds, nothing fatal, just deep enough to slow them down. Three others each led a horse, reins gripped tight. The last one had his hand occupied, dragging along two captives tidied to a rope: an elderly man and a young woman.

The young woman twisted against the ropes, struggling to break free.

The bandit holding the rope noticed this and sneered "Miss, you'd better get used to being tied up. Things'll only get harder for you later."

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"You bastard! How dare you insult the young lady!" the old man snapped, trembling with fury.

The bandit laughed, turning to him with a twisted grin "Young lady?" he echoed mockingly. "You're right. For the next few days, she will be our young lady."

Four of the bandits burst into coarse laughter, relishing the cruelty. Only the one at the front, the apparent leader, remained silent, eyes fixed ahead.

The old man's face flushed with anger, ready to shout again until he heard soft sniffling beside him. He turned his head and saw the young lady's eyes brimming with tears, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

His heart clenched. Gritting his teeth, he forced down his rage and leaned in close, whispering urgently.

"Young lady, listen to me. Don't let them affect you. Tonight, I'll find a way to free you but when I do, you must run. Run as fast and far as you can. If the lord gave you anything for protection, use it without hesitation. Understand?"

She gave a shaky nod, struggling to steady her breath between soft gasps due to a piece of cloth tied behind her neck and digging inside her mouth.

The bandit holding their ropes noticed the exchange and scoffed "That little spark of courage won't last long."

"Ilos, stop talking and stay alert," the lead bandit ordered without turning his head.

Ilos, still gripping the captives' ropes, grimaced but held his tongue.

Just meters away, Nova moved silently from tree to tree, shadowing the group as they pressed deeper into the forest.

'This is way too cliché,' he thought, lips curling into a faint smirk. 'Bandits, a noble girl, a dramatic rescue. if I didn't know this was real, I'd swear they were staging a hero scenario. And somehow, they cast me as the lead.'

He shrugged inwardly. 'No matter. I'll just ask for a reward once it's all over.'

After about half an hour of walking, the group finally stopped in front of a cave entrance flanked by two guards. The opening, half-covered in creeping vines and shadow, wasn't too wide. With a casual glance one would easily miss it if not for the guards.

"Is the captain inside?" the leader asked.

One of the guards nodded with a smile. "Yes, sir."

"Mhm."

With a quiet grunt of acknowledgment, the leader motioned the group forward. The two guards at the entrance bowed their heads slightly as they passed, their eyes lingering just a little too long on the young woman.

Once the party disappeared into the cave, one of the guards broke into a grin "Our brothers are going to have a feast tonight."

"Heh, I wonder when it'll be our turn," the other said, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

That's when a voice rang out from behind him, casual, almost cheerful, but tinged with deadly excitement.

"Your turn is now."

A spear shot through his skull in an instant, blood spraying across his stunned companion.

Before the remaining guard could even draw breath to scream, Nova was already on him. His hand, glowing with a yellow hue, clamped onto the man's head and with a sickening crunch, crushed it like a watermelon.

'Yeah… I cheated. But damn, that was fun' Nova grinned as he tossed the bandit's body away and entered the cave.

The interior of the cave was surprisingly spacious. Several offshoot chambers branched off from the main hall where crude wooden tables were scattered across the room. Bandits lounged around them, laughing, drinking, and even throwing punches at each other in drunken brawls.

'No more than a dozen here,' Nova observed, eyes sweeping the room. 'Add the six from earlier... less than twenty total.'

His gaze sharpened.

'Priority's clear, eliminate them all and rescue the girl for money. The old man...doesn't really matter.'

He scanned the room again, but the group from earlier was nowhere in sight.

Then Nova's eyes locked onto the bandit standing closest to the entrance and lunged at him.

The bandit never imagined the day would come when someone would attack him on his own turf.

Dreadscape pierced through the bandit's throat, shredding it. Blood gushed as the bandit staggered, eyes wide with disbelief, he soon collapsed on the ground.

Lost in the moment, Nova's heart skipped a beat.

'Why now?' Nova wondered, confusion flickering through his mind. 'I just killed someone so why did my heart skip a beat?'

The bandit's body thudded heavily to the ground, snapping the nearby group to attention.

"INTRUDER!" a harsh shout echoed.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The bandits' voices faded into white noise in Nova's ears.

'Is this… the desire I need to unlock Aura? Power was just a tool to kill… But maybe it's more than that. I've never feared taking a life, probably because I was so young when I first did it.'

Lost in thought, he failed to notice that around a dozen bandits were now staring at him, weapons drawn. Their shouts blurred into an unintelligible roar, drowned out by his thoughts.

'Right.' Nova's thoughts sharpened. 'I did exterminate the Voss family using that deal with Cassidy as an excuse of teaching them a lesson. I should've connected the dots sooner. Since then, the only time I killed in numbers was during the Assembly and that was kill or be killed so it was justified. This, instead, is something I'm voluntarily doing, it can be said to be the same reason as for the Voss family.'

The bandits exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to respond as Nova stood perfectly still, his gaze unfocused and distant.

'If this is who I am, then I shouldn't shy away from it. Morai also said not to take the wrong path and not to force it or my future would be cut short... So, how can I be my own obstacle to freedom? That's not something I can accept. None can stop me from becoming free, much less myself. There's only one thing left to do now.'

Slowly, Nova lifted his head. The bandits flinched instinctively, sensing the shift.

A soft smile curved his lips as he spoke, his voice calm and unnervingly casual.

"Please… hand over your lives."

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