Chapter 3: Fateful Encounter
Peter moved toward the sound, slipping off the path into the trees. After a few moments he stopped at the edge of the tree line. Beyond it stretched a clearing. A massive oak stood at its center.
Three armed men were trying to capture a younger girl of average height with brown hair reaching slightly behind her ears.
She wore a white hoodie and was swinging her sword, trying to keep the attackers at bay. She held the sword wrong, too far from crossguard, arms stretched too far from her own body.
The only reason she had not yet been defeated was the greater reach of her sword compared to those of her attackers. She would not last long.
Peter was faced with a choice, intervene in the fight or take the opportunity to avoid the strangers and head further south. Then, in a split second, he made his decision.
***
Selene was terrified. Less than an hour ago, fate had cast her into the Ether, and now, with only a sword given to her as a starting weapon and no skill in using it, she was desperately fighting against three heavily armed bandits.
They had the advantage in numbers, strength, weight, and, above all, combat experience. The situation was hopeless. Only immense luck had kept her alive this long, but the first mistake she made would surely be her end.
And the attackers weren't stupid. They didn't take any risk of a lucky strike from Selene's sword and waited for her to grow tired, carefully attacking from time to time, waiting for the perfect moment. Selene knew that she was running out of time.
Desperately, she scanned the clearing for anything that could help her and then, she tripped over a tree root, sticking out of the ground. A basic mistake. Her luck had run out. One of the bandits stepped forward, sword raised, ready to deliver the final blow.
'This is it… seriously?'
The last thought flashed through Selene's mind as she watched the descending blade. But the sword never reached its target.
The sound of steel clashing against steel rang through the clearing as the attacker's weapon was torn off its path.
Another man stepped into view, silent, sudden, as if carved from the shadows themselves. He wore a travel-worn black cloak.
His short hair was almost perfectly black, cut short in a practical yet severe way.
From where she lay, she could only see his back. Broad shoulders, steady stance. He didn't even glance at her to check if she was alive.
Adjusting his grip on the sword, shifting his weight slightly forward, the blade lowering just a fraction, angled toward the nearest bandit. No rush, no wasted movement.
Everything was done with a measured precision that sent a shiver down her spine.
Selene still couldn't believe her eyes. A stranger had intervened on her behalf, despite joining what was clearly a losing fight.
'Who the hell is this guy?'
She barely had time to finish the thought before, in the next moment, the stranger moved, and the clearing erupted into motion once more.
***
Peter lunged at the nearest bandit, then suddenly changed the direction of his strike, turning it into a horizontal slash that cut through the chest of the opponent on the left.
It wasn't a fatal wound, but it temporarily took the opponent out of the fight. Turning to his right, he now faced the two remaining men.
One bandit moved on instinct, sword aimed at him, while the other lingered, hesitant.
His greatest advantage was the element of surprise, which left his enemies too shocked to even think of using their Innate Abilities and elemental powers, abilities that could introduce dangerous unpredictability into the fight.
Peter, who still had no idea how to use his own element, relied instead on his Innate Ability, which enhanced his reaction time enough to shift the odds of victory in his favor.
An experienced swordsman observing the fight would notice Peter's highly aggressive and unpredictable style, one that shifted fluidly between angles and distances. It was clear he had practiced this style for years, refining it into something precise, adaptable, capable of seizing control of a fight given enough time.
But real chaos did not grant time. And against multiple opponents, precision demanded instant judgment, something even years of disciplined training could not fully replicate.
For a fleeting moment, he could not decide which threat demanded priority. The one who had already acted, or the one who had not yet revealed himself.
And each of his opponents had different Innate Abilities and unknown powers. Soon, the element of surprise had faded, and one of the bandits finally had the presence of mind to use his skills. Peter's instincts screamed of impending danger.
At the last moment, he leaped backward, barely avoiding the roots that shot up from the ground where he had stood just a fraction of a second earlier.
'Control over plants? An inconvenient opponent, especially in a place like a forest,'
Peter thought, already planning to end the fight as quickly as possible. But his problem wasn't just the plant-wielding bandit, there was also the third attacker, who had yet to reveal his abilities, not to mention the first bandit, who was already getting back on his feet.
The plant-controlling bandit, stunned that his opponent had avoided such a perfect ambush, hesitated for just a second. And Peter understood instantly that the window would never open again. He did not need certainty. He only needed an opening.
Lunging forward, he committed fully, aware that exposing his flank was a gamble he could not afford to repeat. The bandit, shaking off his daze at the last moment, tried to use his sword to defend himself, but Peter drove his sword straight into the bandit's chest, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.
Without sparing the corpse a glance, he turned to face the last of his enemies. But now the roles were reversed, Peter was exposed, and the bandit took advantage of the opportunity.
His sword swung toward Peter's ribs, and a sudden arc of electricity traced along the edge, and Peter admitted to himself that killing the last bandit might have been a risky move.