After making a few necessary purchases from a nearby shop, I collected Greymane from the stable and rode out of Vaulter.

  "Feeling better, huh?" I asked my horse, who once again failed to respond.

  I didn't mind the silence. I was used to it.

  The dirt path to the north of Vaulter curved up a slope before it dipped back down, offering me a clear view of the valley ahead. By dropping my silver reserves down to five coins, I had practically gone all in on this contract. If I failed to come back to Ingcaster with The Bandit Lord's head, I'd be completely broke.

  Knowing that Drayvoss was supposed to be trekking back on this path, I kept my eyes peeled for the perfect ambush spot. After a few miles, we hit a bend in the road with two massive hills on each side.

  "This could work," I whispered.

  I pulled on Greymane's reins and steered him off-road, guiding him up the hillside before I hitched him to a tree. Hitting Drayvoss and his caravan head-on was too reckless, even for me.

  So, I rummaged through a bag of supplies and retrieved the hatchet I had bought earlier and walked over to one of the several trees occupying the hillside. I squared my hips and channeled my strength, gripping the ax's handle tight as I swung.

  The blade made a satisfying cracking noise as it entered the side of the tree. With another three strikes, the tree fell, crashing to the ground. Gaining points in strength upon each level up finally seemed to have a noteworthy effect.

  I spent the next few hours chopping down trees, forming a clear lane down the hillside.

  "Perfect," I said, wiping sweat from my brow.

  I gathered the fallen tree trunks and dragged them uphill, surprised at how little effort it took to haul them. By late afternoon, I had cleaned up the logs by hacking off their limbs and branches.

  "Eight should be enough. Don't you think?"

  Greymane stared past me, clearly bored.

  I stacked the giant logs atop each other, building a tiny pyramid and binding them with the twine I had purchased from Vaulter. While haggling with the merchant, I considered buying a bow, but the cost would've left me without enough silver to pay the tolls. It would've been ideal to start my ambush by taking out as many men as possible from a distance. Instead, I had to rely on ingenuity.

  I set Greymane up with a bowl of water and feed. He seemed placated enough as I finished the rest of the jerky I had purchased back in Waystone. Hopefully, Eugene hadn't lied to me. Until I laid eyes on Drayvoss and his crew, I had to take all of that fool’s intel with a grain of salt.

  After lunch, I retrieved a pickax from the pack on Greymane's side and worked my way down the hill, clearing out the remaining stumps. I finished my preparations by dropping my throwing knives in a jar of anti-venom. By nightfall I considered my work complete, laid out a bedroll, and tried to fall asleep.

  Sleep never came easy for me unless I was past the point of pure exhaustion. Tonight was no different. I listened to the chirping insects as I counted sheep. But whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Sairees staring at me with a horrified look plastered across her face.

  Guilt attempted to attack me in my weakened state. Waves of regret and self-hatred washed through me, making me feel sick.

  "I've done nothing wrong," I told Greymane. "My positive karma rating proves it."

  Is the system flawed?

  Back home, these escapades would've landed me with multiple life sentences. I was sure even stand your ground states would disapprove of me cutting down groups of criminals in broad daylight.

  "Greymane," I said.

  The horse slowly turned his head in my direction.

  "I thought being here would change me for the better, but it feels like I'm just getting worse."

  If the horse cared, he sure didn't show it. Greymane batted an eye and laid his head back in the grass.

  Nightmares roused me throughout my slumber, resulting in a poor night's sleep. By the time dawn broke, I was already wide awake, sitting atop of the hill with my eyes on the road beneath me.

  Waiting was supposed to be the straightforward part, but as the hours passed, a nasty nervousness took over.

  What if they didn't show? What if Eugene sent a messenger to warn them of my presence?

  As I regretted allowing the grubby little man live, I heard the clomping stride of horses in the distance.

  I hustled back over to Greymane and opened the satchel hanging off his side, grabbed a jar, and retrieved my throwing daggers, quickly placing them back in the slots along my belt.

  I positioned myself behind the pyramid of logs and peered over them, waiting. A few minutes later, my right eye lit up with Karma’s Gaze, gleaning a plethora of status information as the convoy’s leader appeared along the road.

  Target: Drayvoss

  Level: 5

  Karma Rating: -3750

  The Bandit Lord moved ahead of his pack, riding an armored steed. The giant of a man was decked out in a gray set of heavy armor. He carried a massive long sword sheathed on his hip. The weapon was almost long enough to touch the ground beneath him.

  Behind him, eight men escorted a series of three wagons pulled by a line of donkeys. Only four of which were mounted, while the rest walked along beside the carts. All the bandits accompanying Drayvoss were level threes with negative karma ratings.

  As the middle cart crossed in front of my lane along the hill, I sliced through the twine and shoved the logs forward.

  Birds fluttered out of the treetops as the rolling tree trunks bounced down the slope, picking up momentum. The mounted men swerved off the road, while the others shoved the four-wheeled carts ahead in a desperate chance to avoid the impending collision.

  The first rolling log slammed into a bandit and the center cart, sending it crashing over. Four logs followed it up, destroying the cart in the rear and forcing two bandits to dive out of the way.

  I activated Invisibility and raced down the hill, watching as the rest of the logs collided into each other, causing chaos amongst the bandits.

  "What the fuck was that?"

  "An ambush," Drayvoss shouted as he turned his horse around and rushed to his men's aid.

  I reached the bottom of the hill as the bandits shouted at each other.

  "I don't see anyone."

  "Stay alert," Drayvoss commanded.

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  With a dagger in each hand, I descended on two fallen bandits that were trying to scramble to their feet. My blades tore through their throats as I ran past them and leaped up onto the cart.

  "Shit, they're dead," Luke said, a stunned level three who rode past his dying comrades.

  "The bastard's invisible," Drayvoss yelled.

  I jumped off the cart and drove my knee into Luke's armored chest, denting it as we flew off his horse. I landed hard on top of him and swung my blade, aiming for his throat, but Luke turned as my weight pressed into him. Instead, my dagger caught his face, providing him with a new, wider smile as he shoved me off and scrambled backwards, clutching the gaping flap of flesh that used to be his cheek.

  Three mounted bandits swarmed in my direction. With less than 70 seconds of invisibility remaining, I rolled away from Luke, barely avoiding the impending stampede.

  Specs of dirt and dust kicked into the air as they twisted their horses around, looking for my trampled body in their wake.

  "Take defensive maneuvers," Drayvoss shouted.

  The three horsemen formed a circle around Luke, holding swords and shields.

  "Dagger Step," I whispered.

  I teleported behind the mounted bandit at the head of their circle, sunk my blades into his shoulders, and twisted until the man fell off. The others charged forward, slashing their swords blindly through the air.

  A blade swept over my head as I ducked down and threw myself from the horse, landing hard on the ground.

  "He dropped," Drayvoss said as he charged toward me.

  Despite my invisibility, he had a decent read on my position. I expected him to run me down with his mount, but he turned to the side and outstretched his arm.

  "Fire Swarm," he said.

  Flames spewed out of his palms in my direction.

  Heat wicked against my back as I lunged face first off the road. I rolled on my back, extinguishing the flames, drew a throwing knife from my belt and launched it at Drayvoss's head.

  The Bandit Lord shielded himself with his left hand as the knife pierced through his meaty palm. He yanked it out and threw it aside.

  "He's over there," Drayvoss said and hopped down from his mount.

  He was smart enough to take the fight to the ground. The others remained on their mounts, but the wreckage in the center of the road provided me the advantage.

  15 seconds left.

  With Invisibility ticking down, I hopped atop the knocked over cart with the assumption that Drayvoss wouldn’t immolate his own belongings. The three mounted men struggled to settle their mounts as fading flames licked at their hooves.

  I flipped the dagger in my left hand, grabbing it by its tip and prepared to eliminate one of the three horsemen. Before I threw the dagger, I caught a glimpse of Drayvoss in the corner of my eye as invisibility wore off.

  In one swift motion, he tossed an ax, sending it hurling through the air at my center mass. I dove off the cart, hearing wood splinter as the ax landed. I attempted to activate Dagger Step, finding it impossible without uttering the words amidst the chaos.

  "Dagger Step," I said, feeling the internal cooldown refresh.

  The ability activated, shooting my body through time and space until I appeared in mid-air in front of a wide-eyed bandit. My dagger introduced itself to his face, killing him instantly.

  His horse bucked wildly, throwing me off as the bandit crashed to the ground. The remaining horsemen stormed at me, but I was too fast, already back on my feet and jumping out of the way.

  Something hard and blunt nailed my side. Air burst from my lungs as I forced my body to roll while horses blasted past me. I raised myself up from the ground, vision blurred as I twisted around with a cracked rib.

  Drayvoss threw another hammer, too fast for me to dodge. The bones in my left hand shattered as I barely blocked the blow.

  "Get off those damned horses," Drayvoss commanded. "Torsin, get your ass out here."

  A fourth goon emerged from underneath a cart to my rear.

  This was bad. Outnumbered and overpowered with both of my abilities on cooldown.

  "Who are you?" Drayvoss asked.

  Pain radiated throughout my body, but I couldn't stop myself from enjoying the desperate battle. Despite the broken ribs, I broke out into an obnoxious laughter.

  "Cyprus.”

  "You don't seem to realize who you've attacked."

  "No, no, I'm well aware of your reputation, Drayvoss."

  "Then you're a fool." Drayvoss gripped the hilt of his two-handed sword.

  "Thanks for this. I haven't felt so great in a while."

  I deserved this pain. It was a small price to pay for a fleeting sense of repentance. I glanced down at the fingers on my left-hand twisting in impossible directions, hanging the appendage at my side.

  "Take him alive."

  Relieved to see Drayvoss was out of hammers to throw, I grasped my dagger and backpedaled as the bandits collapsed.

  Close quarters combat was tricky for both parties. Attacking with long-bladed weapons in a tight formation against one target made it impossible for them to take incidental swings. It also limited the center man to rely solely on stabbing attacks.

  Using my agility, I drew in a deep breath and concentrated on their movements, listening to the goon closing in behind me.

  He rushed in from behind, swinging his longsword at a horizontal angle to lop off my head. I crouched down, and the blade wound up in the side of his comrade's skull.

  I seized the opening to sever his radial artery and sweep the legs out from under the two men in front of me. Moments after they hit the ground, I finished them off with a series of quick stabs to their vitals.

  "Bunch of damned idiots," Drayvoss said, towering forward.

  I jumped backward, sheathed my dagger and tossed two throwing knives in quick succession. One low, one high.

  He deflected the one aimed for his face, but the second knife pierced his right thigh.

  "Go ahead, throw the rest of them. Then I'm going to cut your legs off, take you back to our camp and flay you alive."

  "I'll take you up on that."

  I clutched the last three throwing knives as Drayvoss charged over the corpses of his friends, eyes ablaze with fury. With a flick of the wrist, the knives flew. Drayvoss covered his face with the broad side of his sword.

  Two of the three knives landed, one in his torso and the other one in his left arm. Though neither blow slowed the brute down.

  Attempting to block his massive sword with my dagger was out of the question. Leaving me with two choices. Dodge or run.

  My feet carried me away from the carnage as Drayvoss gave pursuit.

  "Where do you think you're going, you little bastard?"

  "Away from here," I shouted, not daring to look back.

  I concentrated on my movement, desperate to widen the gap between us. Though with the two-level difference between us, there was the substantial possibility that I would run out of gas well before him.

  I blindly tossed my dagger behind me, hearing him kick it out of the path. His stomps grew louder, gaining ground. I turned on my heels and dove toward him, barely avoiding his sword as it sliced past my dome.

  "You're drawing out the inevitable."

  He was right, eventually he would catch me. But I'd make him work for it. I dashed away from him, back toward the wreckage.

  The pissed off Bandit Lord's curses echoed through the woods as I juked him around the two untouched carts.

  "The longer you make me wait, the slower your death will be," Drayvoss said as he leaped atop the cart, towering over me.

  He raised his sword over his head, ready to pounce and relieve me of at least one of my body parts. The massive two-hand sword fell from his hands, clattering at my feet.

  "I was starting to think it didn't work," I said.

  The Bandit Lord's face twisted. "What did you do to me?"

  He attempted to step forward, only to stumble off the cart, crashing into the ground. His right arm, the only part of his body that wasn't immobilized, pulled himself forward.

  I planted my heel on his wrist.

  "The merchant in Vaulter didn't have any poison. So, I soaked my throwing knives in some of my leftover anti-venom," I said, thankful my gambit worked.

  I had only hoped a high enough concentration of anti-venom would provide a paralytic effect.

  "You're a dead man."

  "I was a dead man. Once, actually," I said and squatted down, staring into the man's scarred face. "Well, that was fun, but I better wrap this up."

  Drayvoss wriggled with a stunning amount of remaining strength. I needed to put him down before the paralyzing effect of the anti-venom wore out.

  "I'm just guessing here, but you're not going to share any information before I take your head off, are you?"

  "I can die in solace knowing they'll take your head for doing this," Drayvoss spat.

  I twisted my heel into his wrist. "Who are they?"

  "The men I work for," he winced.

  "No, I mean, who specifically? You see, my boss is a terrifying lady. I'd like to impress her the next time I see her. Unfortunately, I must take your head no matter the case. But if you have a last request or message to deliver to a friend or family member, I'm willing to do that."

  "Just cut my damned head off, you bastard."

  He sounded annoyed. Not scared or anxious. Just incredibly annoyed.

  I removed his head from his shoulders with his own blade.

  +350 XP

  +225 Karma

  The adrenaline ran its course, converting the once pleasurable pain into a hellish war zone of twisted ligaments and broken bones, lighting up my nerves and pain receptors like a machine gun. I dropped to my knees, the impact only reminding me of my broken ribs.

  "Son of a bitch," I said, not looking forward to riding Greymane back to Vaulter.

  I stood up and floundered over to a sheet covered cart, bracing myself against its wooden rail.

  On the bright side, I didn't seem to have punctured a lung.

  "Greymane," I called, momentarily forgetting he was still hitched to a tree at the top of the hill.

  I regretted putting my ability points into rogue style abilities instead of healing. Even with a slightly successful ambush, I was still barely able to walk away.

  Who the fuck throws axes and hammers?

  I grimaced, broken hand swelling up like a balloon.

  I leaned my head back, resting it against the cart. Then I heard it. Quiet breathing.

  I tore the cloth sheet from the cart, revealing an iron cage with a slender woman inside. She lay back against the cage, shielding her eyes from the light. Silver hair flowed over her face, her skin pale as chalk.

  Target: Viessa

  Level: 2

  Karma Rating: +895

  Human trafficking?

  "Hey, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

  Two pointed ears shot up beside her head.

  An elf?

  Elf trafficking?