Branches snapped beneath his feet. Sunlight streamed through the trees onto the forest ground. The sounds of birds and other animals could be heard in the distance. The boy made his trek through the woods in silence. There was someone to see, and he meant to keep his appointment. As he walked, he didn't hear the forest anymore. That meant he was close. He saw a wall made of wood. Looking up he noticed a tattered flag with a black bear's head emblazoned on it.

Good, this isn't the Branwen's territory, he thought.

Standing near the gate was a large, burly man wielding a sword. He acted as a sentry to alert the camp of any intruders. As such, he needed to be dealt with first.

The boy walked up to the man and whistled. "Excuse me, is this the camp for the Titan Ursa?"

The man looked the boy up and down, unable to get a read on him. The boy's face was soft-featured and round, like a woman's. by contrast, his body was lean and muscular, the lack of a shirt highlighting the boy's physique. But what confused the man the most were the boy's tattoos. There was a spider on a web over his heart, an eight pointed star on his right shoulder, two teardrops under his left eye, and a crown and cross on his stomach. A couple of were the symbols of powerful bandit tribes, but having more than one of those on your body was a death sentence.

The man scowled. "Yeah. If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and head home."

The boy put his hands together. "So, I am in the right place. That's good. I have some free time, so I decided to have a bit of fun."

"And what kind of fun would that be?"

The boy had a wide smile. "Killing you all."

The man laughed. "You're funny. Since you managed to make me laugh, if you walk away right now I won't kill you."

"I assure you it's no joke. I've taken this up as a hobby recently. I find some people who look strong, and I test them. I heard tales of your group and I wanted to see if they were true."

"You're insane, kid. Get out of here and stop wasting my time."

The boy's mouth curled into a grin. "Oh my, could it be that you're afraid? I'm sorry, I should have known that the Titan Ursa were all a bunch of cowards."

The guard swung his sword at the boy. The boy caught the blade in his hands, and in one motion wrenched it from the man's hands and drove the sword into his stomach. The man fell over clutching at the sword.

The boy sighed. "That wasn't nearly enough."

He stepped over the man's body and traveled deeper into the compound.

He soon found himself facing a row of bandits pointing guns at him. He grinned and ran forward. His heart pounded as he heard bullets whizzing past his head. He felt something nick his arms and legs. It hurt, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

He found the nearest shooter and buried his fingers in the gunman's wrist. He felt bones crunch and pried the gun free. The boy pressed the gun against the man's temple and pulled the trigger. He then emptied the magazine into the remaining shooters.

The boy let out a heavy sigh. "This is kinda boring."

He traveled deeper into the compound, slaying everyone that crossed his path. None of them presented a challenge. He was quickly growing discouraged. It didn't seem like any of the people here could give him what he wanted.

After more walking and more killing, he finally found the person he was looking for. It was the leader of the tribe, a burly man with grey hair. Multiple scars crossed his face. His tribe's insignia was tattooed on his stomach, and he had a large scimitar on his waist.

"You must be the boss," the boy said.

The older man glared at the boy. "I don't know what you're thinking raiding this place, but it'll be the last mistake you ever make."

The boy laughed. "I've made worse mistakes than this."

the man put a hand on his sword, waiting for the boy to move. The boy simply stood there, immobile. The man blinked, and when he opened his eyes the boy had disappeared. Something impacted the man's shoulder, and he felt an agonizing pain. He suddenly couldn't move his left arm. The muscles in his shoulder had been warped and rendered unusable.

The man drew his sword. "Don't know what you did, but I only need one arm for this."

The boy clapped. "Good. I hope you can put up more of a fight than the others."

In the next moment he dodged a sword that went speeding toward his head. The blade nicked his ear. The boy tried to close the distance, but the sword held him at bay. He approached, saw the sword closing in for the kill, and retreated.

I guess he is stronger than the rest. this won't be easy.

The boy's smile grew wider and wider. He sprinted towards the man again, waiting for the right time to strike. But he was slightly off with his timing. He dodged at the last second to avoid losing his head, but the blade sliced through his cheek. The loose flesh hung onto his face as his blood dripped onto the ground.

The boy suppressed a scream. It hurt like nothing else. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been hurt this badly.

The swordsman sneered at the boy. "What's wrong? Never been in a real fight before?"

The man's grin slowly faded as he watched the boy's surging aura. The boy's body was engulfed in dark green energy. the man raised his sword but felt something crash into him like a rocket. The muscles in his chest warped and twisted. His ears filled with the sounds of his ribs breaking. He fell to the ground with a thud.

The boy stood over him. The energy around him faded away. He ran a hand over his face and mended his sliced cheek.

The boy sighed. "That was so lame. I thought you'd be better than that."

The man coughed. "why? What was the point of all this? You come in, kill all my men. What's in it for you?"

The boy shrugged. "I just wanted to have some fun before school starts."

The man stopped breathing. The boy stepped over his body and went to leave the camp.

"Wait, I forgot to ask how to get to Vale from here."