Chapter 11: Chapter 11 – Saving the Caravan

Time passed slowly yet all at once for Theseus and Leo. Two and a half years after Theseus had died, Theseus grew fully accustomed to his new life, but something wasn’t quite right.

“Theseus, let’s go explore further.” Leo told Theseus with puppy dog eyes.

“What’s wrong with our normal routine?” Theseus harumphed.

“It’s too boring.” Leo pouted like a child. “It’s been over a year that we’ve been here, and sure, we’re getting stronger, but I’ve heard all of your stories.”

“So what? This is the peaceful life I’ve been envisioning for us!” Theseus laughed.

“Ugh, it’s nice here, but what’s the point if we have no one to share it with?” Leo grumbled.

“What do you mean?” Theseus wondered.

“Well, I helped you after you distracted that fish that one day, and we’ve been able to help each other ever since. Now, we have a fun story about how we escaped the forest and the Shade Aries, but now, we don’t do anything.” Leo complained. Theseus marveled at how childlike Leo sounded.

“How old are you Leo?” Theseus asked for the first time.

“Why? Me? I’m turning twenty-five this year!” Leo boasted. Theseus wasn’t sure if the leopard was too old to be acting like a kid. All his life, Leo had wandered the Phaunus Forest to hunt and survive. He never really grew up internally, especially since beasts had inherently lower intelligences.

“Anyways… come on, let’s go for a trip down the road. At least, let’s go into a town. It’s been a while since we’ve done anything different from our routine!” Leo got closer with even larger puppy dog eyes.

“Fine. I can’t say no to my friend.” Theseus sighed out. Jumping up and down, Leo led the way towards the nearest road. In their daily routine, they rarely interacted with travelers, but occasionally, some travelers would meet the mysterious duo. Because most of the caravans and travelers were below the Mortal Realm, Leo and Theseus looked like true monsters.

Walking down the road, Theseus put his arm behind his head leisurely. Maybe it was good to get out of our comfort zone once in a while. Leo was definitely enjoying their little adventure.

“Look! Look! Theseus! There are people up ahead.” Leo ran ahead. Running to catch up, it looked like a caravan of merchants were being ambushed by some bandits.

 

“That’s right, nice, and easy. If you don’t want to get hurt, put your hands up and stand away from the caravan.” A rough bandit pointed his sword at the merchants, who cowered in fear.

“Look! Theseus, there’s bandits!” Leo told Theseus as he caught up. At first glance, these bandits were all at the mid to high Mortal Realm.

“Go do something!” Leo wanted Theseus to play the hero.

“Why not you? You’re way stronger.” Theseus complained. They were like two kids bickering.

Meanwhile, the bandits caught wind of Theseus and his friend.

“Hey you, don’t get any bright ideas.” The head bandit pointed his sword at Theseus and Leo.

“Your little pet over there too. Just turn around and go the other way.”

“What are they saying?” Leo asked.

“They’re telling us to leave.” Theseus responded in their Soul Link zone.

“Nah, go and beat them up!” Leo nudged Theseus closer to the bandits.

“Damnit, fine!” Theseus walked up to the group. The merchants wondered what was going on. This tamer appeared out of nowhere and waltzed up to the bandits. Did he have a death wish?

“Hey, I told you not to come any closer. Do you want to get hurt?” The head bandit threatened.

“Get away from these people. Now.” Theseus roared up his aura threateningly.

“This guy is strong. Be careful.” A bandit whispered to the head bandit.

“I can see that, you bastard, but we can’t let him disrespect us. Get him!” The bandits lurched for Theseus.

Through their time cultivating, Theseus broke through again. Now that Theseus was a D Rank Sage Realm expert, he had closed the gap between himself when he was alive and his current self substantially. Even though he didn’t have his previous artifacts, the ones he fashioned from the snake corpse weren’t any lesser than his old equipment. The snake cloak and dagger were more than enough to display his superiority.  

For the most part, he could use most of his old techniques flawlessly.

“Skill: Knockback.” Theseus pushed the bandits away, one by one. Theseus knew a plethora of skills, but they were mainly weak Mortal Realm skills he could combo together. His vast knowledge was his greatest strength, but also his greatest weakness. Learning random techniques made him versatile, but he had never mastered any skills far enough to push his aura realm further in his previous life.

“Skill: Disarm,” Theseus chanted and knocked the swords, spears, and clubs from their hands.

“Skill: Knockback,” Theseus yelled and tossed aside any bandits that got to close.

“Skill: Rope Bind,” Theseus said and conjured ropes to tie up the dispatched bandits.

“Skill: Speed Boost,” Theseus rattled off skill after skill, moving faster and faster through the bandit horde. Within five minutes, every bandit was disarmed, tied up, and defeated.

“A monster! How is he this strong?” A bandit cried out.

“Oh boy, this guy hasn’t seen much if he thinks I’m powerful,” thought Theseus. Leo, Aries, and Lord Virgo were three people off the top of his head who could one shot him, even at his new level.

“Thank you, sir, for saving us,” the shaking merchants couldn’t believe their eyes. A situation they could never solve on their own was solved swiftly by a wandering expert. How lucky!

“Please sir, come back with us to our village. We need to reward you.”

“Hmm, what should we do with them?” Theseus ignored the merchant and signaled to the bandits.

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“You could report them to the Suzerains, but they’ll just let them go.” The merchants explained. The bandits were a necessary evil in the borderlands. Without the organized crime, the soldiers would just take their place, which would put a burden on the Suzerain Lords.

“Hmm…” Theseus contemplated.

“Good job! What are you all talking about?” Leo came closer and asked Theseus. The Soul Link made it so Theseus and Leo could talk at any distance as far as Theseus could tell, but Leo felt more comfortable coming up to Theseus like a normal conversation.

“What a strong beast sir.” The merchants exclaimed. Theseus ignored them and explained the situation to Leo.

“Oh, this is easy!” Leo wanted to show off.

“Watch this! I’ll show you my skills! Skill: Whirling Claws!” With one foul swoop, Leo’s swift claw engulfed the bandits, dispatching them instantly.

“Woah!” The merchants backed up in fear. The bandit’s blood spurt everywhere.

“Oh no! Leo? Why did you do that?” Theseus yelled in his head and out loud.

“Did I do something wrong?” Leo didn’t understand. He was a feral beast after all.

“Now that you killed these bandits, more will come for revenge, or the soldiers will come into this area.” Theseus explained with his hand on his forehead.

“Sir.” The merchants were bowing in fear. Obviously, Theseus and his pet could kill them instantly if they could kill these strong bandits.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make this so messy.” Theseus apologized.

“P-P-Please Esteemed Sir, come with us to our village.” Theseus translated their request to Leo, who jumped up and down eagerly.

“Ahh… Okay fine.” Theseus conceded. The caravan, who was returning to their village welcomed two monsters into their midst that day.

***

Theseus was cautious yet reckless. It was a strange mixture that led to his current misunderstanding. He felt that a secret expert could be hiding around any corner, waiting to strike, when in reality, he was by far the strongest ghost in his area. At all costs, Theseus wanted to avoid people like Aries and Lord Virgo, but when he actually met them, he recklessly used risky skills to defeat them.

This apparent contradiction led to Theseus half-expecting the bandits to be stronger than they actually were. Reality was strange, and anyone above the Mortal Realm was in actuality a powerhouse and a monster to the masses. Less than 10% of the residents of the Oceanic Realm were above the Mortal Realm.

“Sir, welcome to our humble village.” The merchants welcome Theseus warmly. The village elder himself came to greet the caravan. It was clear they desperately awaited its arrival.

“Welcome back everyone… wait, who is that tamer?” The Elder asked curiously upon seeing Theseus.

“This is our savior. He saved us from the Scourge Bandits!” The merchants felt safer now that they got to know Theseus better.

“Impossible! There had to be at least a dozen bandits in a squad!” The Elder looked at Theseus in astonishment.

“It was no big deal Elder. We thank you for your hospitality, but there really isn’t anything my friend and I here want.” Theseus was trying to come up with an excuse to leave. The longer he stayed away from his cabin, the more likely the clutches of Hell would take its grip on him. He was already spooked over Leo’s slaughter. For all Theseus knew, there was some hidden power behind these so-called Scourge Bandits.

“Please wait traveler. We sadly don’t have anything to offer you apart from a home cooked meal. Take a look around you.” The Elder’s face was dark. This borderland village was in terrible shape. Theseus felt bad and translated the conversation to Leo.

“Tell them we can help.” Leo stated, determined.

“You’re going to get us in trouble Leo!” Theseus thought back.

“Theseus, since when have you become such a coward? You’ve been brave ever since you left that crevice, but now, you don’t want to adventure or leave the cabin. What’s the difference between the crevice and the cabin? You’re recovered now; it’s time to come out of the crevice.” Leo lectured, ironically, from the crevice Soul Link zone.

Theseus never saw it that way before. When he was injured, he struggled mentally to overcome his past. Was he really reverting in his peaceful life? Leo saw the silent Theseus and continued.

“It’s like I said before friend. We have no more stories to tell. It’s time to make new stories and share our fun lives with others.” Leo smiled as much as a leopard could.

Leo was right. There was no point in hiding forever. There was no point in living a peaceful life with just Leo. They needed others to share it with.

“I’ve come to a decision.” Theseus told the Elder, who was awkwardly watching Theseus stare at the decrepit village.

“What can I do to help?” Theseus asked.

“What?” The Elder was confused.

“I want to help your village beyond the caravan. Just think of it as a wanderer’s whim.” Theseus waved ambiguously with his left hand.

“Oh my, wanderer, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!” The Elder shook his head.

“The Scourge Bandits have raided and harassed us for years now. The only thing that can help is if you defeat them, but they’re a powerful group. We can’t ask you to do that.”

“I’ve already decided. I will help.”

The Elder stood dumbfounded. Who in the world was this traveler? Theseus walked past the elder leisurely.

“By the way gramps, what’s the name of this village?”

“O-O-Oceanus Village.” The Elder stammered, perplexed at the rudeness and brazen nature of the young man.

“Oceanus, huh? What a nice name.”

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