The figures broke from the treeline with practiced menace—half a dozen men in mismatched leathers, blades gleaming in the moonlight. The leader, a scarred brute with a grin too wide for comfort, raised a hand.
"Evening, travelers. Toll road. You pay, you pass."
I glanced around. No road signs, no bridges. Just trees, grass, and six men with poor dental care. "Uh-huh," I said flatly. "Convenient place for a toll booth."
Lyra's eyes flicked to me, deadpan. "He means robbery."
"Ah. That makes more sense." I adjusted my bracer.
The leader's grin faltered. "Hand over your coin, or we'll—"
I clicked the crystal on my wrist. Zzzap! A tiny arc of electricity sparked out and singed the man's chest hair. He yelped and slapped at himself.
"Or you'll what?" I asked, grinning.
The bandits growled, weapons raised. Lyra blurred forward, her dagger flashing like silver lightning. She ducked under a swing, cut the man's belt clean off, and left him scrambling to hold his pants up while she kicked another into a bush.
"Was that necessary?" I shouted.
"It distracted him," she answered coolly.
Meanwhile, I yanked one of my infamous "rock bombs" from the waist bag and hurled it at two charging bandits. The stone bounced off one man's forehead with a thunk… and then fizzled into a cloud of smoke, making both cough violently.
"Smoke bomb feature!" I crowed. "Totally intentional."
"Totally?" Lyra's voice was sharp as she parried another blow.
"…Ninety percent intentional!"
One thug lunged for me. I panicked, slammed my bracer into his chest, and let loose a full jolt. His hair stood on end, eyes rolled back, and he collapsed twitching. I stared down at him, horrified.
"Okay. Maybe I should dial that back."
Lyra dispatched the last opponent with a clean strike to his leg and a pommel to the skull. The clearing fell silent except for groans of the unconscious.
I exhaled hard. My knees wobbled. Then I blinked as glowing letters shimmered before my eyes.
Level Up!Level: 19HP: 300/300MP: 240/240Strength: 37Endurance: 43Dexterity: 24Intelligence: 53Luck: 17
I pumped my fist. "Yes! Bandit XP!"
Lyra wiped her blade clean, unimpressed. "You are too excited about criminals."
"They attacked us! That makes them legal loot boxes."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You worry me."
Still, as we bound the groaning bandits to trees and gathered their weapons for later resale, I couldn't help grinning. The bandits hadn't taken our money—if anything, we'd gained. And maybe, just maybe, my "rock bombs" weren't such a joke after all.