I ducked out of the tent and melted into the shadows behind them. Peeking around the corner, I watched two of them walking straight toward the bodies I’d left in the open. This was about to get messy.

The two men drew closer until they were standing right over the bodies. One of them nudged the corpse on the left with his boot.

"Oi, get up," he grumbled. "My turn to sleep. I’m dying here."

"Wait..." the other said, voice tightening. "Is that... is that blood? What the..."

I didn’t give them another second.

I lunged from behind the tent, dagger raised high, and drove the blade deep into the left man’s chest. He gasped sharply, one hand clawing at my arm while the other began to glow with faint magical light as he tried to chant a spell. I slammed my forehead into his face, smashing his nose, then yanked the dagger free as he crumpled.

The second guard’s eyes went wide as he saw his friend’s body slump. He took a breath, his chest heaving as he opened his mouth to alert the entire camp.

I didn’t think. I just reacted. I whipped my arm forward, hurling my dagger with what I thought was expert precision.

Clunk.

Uuh...

The heavy leather hilt of the dagger smacked him square in the face. It didn’t pierce anything; it just bounced off his jaw with a dull thud. Well, shit, Note to self: throwing knives is a lot harder than the movies make it look.

The guard stumbled back, clutching his face. "Ow... thit... my fucking toof..." he hissed, blood already leaking through his fingers.

The guard looked up, his eyes meeting mine, but he was too dazed to scream yet. I didn’t give him a second chance. I lunged across the gap, closing the distance before he could even reach for his sword. I snatched my dagger off the ground, and I drove it upward quickly.

The blade entered through the roof of his mouth, punching through the soft tissue and erupting out the very top of his skull with a sickening crack.

He dropped instantly, his body folding like a puppet with its strings cut. He was dead before he even realized I’d missed the first shot.

I exhaled, wiping a smudge of blood off my cheek. "Okay. No more throwing. We’re sticking to stabbing."

A quick glance to the left confirmed the last two men at the overlook still hadn’t noticed anything. They remained focused on the dark forest below.

I crouched low and quickly looted the fresh corpses. One carried a small knife. It looked cheap and brittle, probably good for only a single solid strike, but it would have to do.

Now armed with a blade in each hand, I crept toward the final two guards. When I was close enough, I rose silently behind them.

The two guards at the edge were standing just close enough. I pulled both blades high, my main dagger in my right hand and the brittle, notched knife I’d looted earlier in my left.

I struck the man on the right first. I rammed my main dagger into the base of his neck. He didn’t even have time to gasp; he just stumbled forward with a choked grunt and tumbled over the ledge, his body hitting the slope below with a heavy, wet thud.

The second guard heard the noise and began to spin around, his hand flying to his sword. I didn’t give him the space. I kicked the back of his knee with everything I had, forcing his leg to buckle and dropping him to his knees. Before he could scream, I slammed the brittle loot knife into his upper back.

Snap.

The cheap metal hit bone and the handle splintered in my grip, but the blade stayed buried. He let out a sharp cry of pain. I immediately clamped my free hand over his mouth, muffling the sound, while my right hand, still holding my good dagger, came around his front. I yanked the steel across his throat in one clean, violent motion.

I gave his shoulder a hard shove, sending his limp body over the edge to join his friend at the bottom of the slope.

I looked at the broken hilt remaining in my left hand and tossed it aside. Cheap trash. But it did the job.

Both men twitched for a few seconds, then went still.

╔══════════════════╗

> ENEMY SLAIN (x4)

╠══════════════════╣

> +68 EXP

╚══════════════════╝

"Fuck... I’m getting rusty," I muttered. "Or... just tired."

As silence settled over the camp, another notification appeared.

╔══════════════════╗

> ENEMY CAMP WIPED!

╠══════════════════╣

> +200 EXP

> +50 LC

╚══════════════════╝

Enemy camp. I’d actually thought these guys might be decent. Live and learn... what an idiot I was. Eh, at least I was still breathing. Man, that was close. Way too close for comfort.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Ace | LC: 156 | EXP: 136/490 | LVL 6

╠═══════════════════════╣

> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 115/115

> MP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 75/75

> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ 67/90

────────────────────────

> Class: MAGE

> Known Abilities:

• Fireball

• Heal

• Shield of Aangr

────────────────────────

> PERKS

• +15% Magic Damage

• +10% Critical Chance

• Backstab Damage

╠═══════════════════════╣

> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [QUESTS]

╚═══════════════════════╝

I’d leveled up. Good. I dismissed the screen for now and turned toward the cat. He was still lounging by the campfire like nothing had happened. I approached slowly, crouched down, and snapped my fingers softly. He blinked, licked his paw once, then strolled over. I scooped him up and gently stroked his head.

"Just don’t scratch me, alright?" I murmured. "I can’t remember the last time I got a rabies shot."

I let out a long breath. It was finally over. Still, walking away empty-handed would be stupid. I searched the camp and took three decent swords, storing them in my inventory. Once I’d grabbed everything useful, my eyes fell on the animal hides. I could probably sell them in town... but it wasn’t worth the risk of being accused of poaching.

╔═════════════════╗

> INVENTORY

╠═════════════════╣

> Longbow

> Crude Leg Plates

> Crude sword

> Crude sword

> Crude sword

───────────────────

> Coin: 45S

╚═════════════════╝

"Guess that’s it," I said quietly. "Let’s get you back to your owner, buddy."

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎