My Fate System - Chapter 174

The bandit, who Marvin thought would kill him, staggered a few steps forward like a headless chicken before falling. There was no blood as if the body was destroyed beyond bleeding.

“What the…?” the bandits were confused as to what happened. “Joe died…? What the hell happened?”

“Bastard, what have you done?” the boss shouted at Marvin as he unsheathed his sword. Marvin realized that he must have awakened his innate skill, which saved his life.

“Haha,” laughed the farmer as he stood up, holding his dagger. “You thought that I was a weakling? The gears of fate are changing again, and this will be your last day on this earth!” shouted Marvin as he pointed his dagger at the group.

“Boss, this man is crazy… maybe he awakened an innate skill…” a few bandits were afraid.

“There is no way,” the boss gritted his teeth, albeit looking uncertain. “Innate skills are for those powerful families with a lineage. This man looks like a peasant!”

“Haha,” laughed Marvin. “I am the descendant of Dai, the dragon slayer! So you scum are going to suffer the wrath of my ancestors!”

Marvin held his dagger tightly toward the group, trying to remember the same feeling that he had earlier. There must be some way to activate the skill and save him.

However, nothing happened. The group looked afraid, but nothing happened even after waiting for a few minutes. Finally, Marvin realized that he missed a crucial element.

“Ha! Heya! Take this!” the man started waving his dagger, and the group backed away again. “Hoooo….” he raised his hand high above him as he gathered his energy. “Ultimate move, Decapitation!” he screamed, but the forest was silent, and the bandits were confused.

“Pffff,” the boss laughed. “This man is nothing but a weakling. We will investigate what happened to Joe later. Kill him!”

“Hm? What is going on” Marvin was confused as he watched two bandits rush toward him, wielding giant swords that were as big as him. “Why is my skill not working?” cried the man as he started running away from them. “I need to save my…”

“AAAH!” a scream came from behind him, forcing Marvin to turn around. The two bandits were on the ground, one dead and one missing most of his torso while screaming. After a few moments, the injured man died as well.

“They died too… boss! This man is the real deal!” cried a bandit.

“I killed them again…” Marvin could not understand what was going on, but he vividly remembered what he did when these two died. “Are you ready to meet your end, bandits?” grinned Marvin as he turned away from the group and struck out his bottom toward them. “This move will send you to the afterlife!”

The boss was sweating profusely as the man aimed his ass at them. There was no way that this man was powerful because he had no mana! However, how did three of his men die? It did not make sense.

“Dammit, can his ass be that lethal?” muttered the boss as he saw the peasant place his hands on the ground and look at them upside down, his bottom high in the air.

Then, his expression changed because something came out from the darkness. Marvin saw the change in the bandits, who started trembling and realized that they must have sensed his aura. This move was the correct one, after all.

“Listen up, scum! This is your chance to leave! Otherwise, I will kill you all using my, my, my Gas of Destruction!”

“What the hell is that boss?” muttered one of the bandits as he raised his sword. Marvin smirked as he saw how they were shaking in fear. “That thing is not human!”

‘What a rude thing to say about someone’s bottom,’ frowned Marvin before he heard footsteps from behind him. ‘Oh no, my children cannot see me in this form. They would never understand.’

Marvin raised his head toward the front, keeping his gun toward the bandits. However, his children were still on the ground, and someone was standing beside them.

The newcomer wore a cloak and had thin hands, almost as if they were bones. It held a cane in its hand, which he waved as he laughed. Marvin blinked his eyes before he realized this was a skeleton.

“This is an undead monster! Everyone, run!” shouted the boss from behind. Marvin was frozen as the skeleton walked past him toward the bandits.

Then, a man emerged from the darkness. Marvin could not see how he looked, but he could tell that the man was staring at him with confusion.

“What… are you doing?” the man asked with genuine concern. “Are you sacrificing yourself for your children?”

“I… I am,” Marvin nodded, still in the same posture.

“I don’t think those bandits are into men,” the man was confused. “Well, they cannot do anything if they are dead. So, leave this place at once, unless you want to die too.”

***

Nikolai watched the farmer carry his children and run away as his undead surrounded the bandits. It took him some time to make his undead circle around the forest, but it was necessary to catch all of them.

After all, there cannot be rumors about the undead. Therefore, Nikolai looked at the farmer, who wanted to sacrifice his dignity for his kids, with a pondering expression.

‘Maybe I should kill him too,’ thought Nikolai. It would not haunt him in any way, but the children will be left fatherless. But then, an image of his two orphan friends appeared in his mind. Nikolai knew he couldn’t orphan these kids.

The farmer was about to leave the scene before turning toward Nikolai and bowed down to him. “Thank you, sir. You are the proof that there is goodness in the human race.”

Nikolai blinked but did not have a response. This man has yet to realize that Nikolai is a dark being, and it did not occur to him that he was the undead leader.

‘Even if he talks about what he saw, most would dismiss him,’ turned Nikolai back toward his undead, who were fighting the bandits.

“What are these monsters?” roared the bandit’s leader. The mage waved his hand again, and two more of his comrades died. “Kill the two swordsmen!” he rushed toward one of them, striking its spine.

The skeleton split in half as the other one came to attack him. Nikolai saw the boss retreat, and that delay was enough for his soldier to regenerate and stand up again.

“Leave two alive,” ordered Nikolai from behind as he watched the show. The card, Skill Upgrade, was worthy of its name. The Chaos Arrows doubled in number, and it allowed his mage to kill multiple opponents simultaneously.

[Skeleton Soldier has leveled up!]

[Skeleton Soldier has leveled up!]

His soldiers leveled up, but there were no more cards. It seems common undead did not reward him anything when they grow stronger. Nikolai was disappointed, but he decided to see their stats.

[Skeleton Soldier (Lvl. 2)]

[Rank: Common]

[Vitality: ∞]

[Strength: 11]

[Agility: 11]

[Intelligence: 11]

[Mana: -]

[Skill: Basic Swordsmanship.]

“Their stats increased by one when they leveled up,” Nikolai was amazed. “How much can they grow?” his excitement was endless. The bandits could quickly destroy his skeletons, but the arrows would strike them with one wrong move.

After a long battle, the bandits have died except for their leader and another one. Nikolai strolled toward the injured men, who flinched on his arrival.

“We have been saved! Help us, these are dark beings!” shouted the bandits with hope in their eyes. “Please, save us!”

“That family from earlier barely survived the darkness, and they were normal people with average stats, but you all showed them no mercy. I know your tactics. You wait for the tired travelers to leave the darkness to kill and loot them.”

“We are simple adventurers,” the bandits pleaded. “These monsters are attacking us, and…”

“Are you dreaming? There are no monsters here,” Nikolai tilted his head. “There is only us here, no monsters.”

“What are you talking about? There is a monster right next to you!” the leader pointed at the skeleton mage standing next to Nikolai.

“Then, why is it not attacking me?” argued Nikolai, and the bandits were confused because the undead stopped moving. “Forget it. I will treat your wounds for now.”

“Thank you, thank you,” cried the bandits as Nikolai walked toward them and helped the leader to stand. Then, as the leader looked at the monsters in fear, Nikolai’s jaws unhinged before he bit the man’s neck, ending his life.

“No, thank you, for this meal,” grinned Nikolai as the man’s soul sated his curse. The other bandit watched his leader fall to the ground, frozen in fear. Nikolai walked toward him and devoured his soul as well.

[The curse has been sated. Time left: 7 days, 3 hours.]

“I wasted a lot of time in Celestia,” groaned Nikolai. “I should have saved more humans for me to devour. However, I need these Lost Souls.”

Nikolai stared above him, and he could see the souls looming over the battlefield. Unfortunately, there were more souls than the number of bandits, which confused him. However, with this number, he should raise his Sovereignty Level and summon more undead.