"The possession skill must have formed a connection with the god of blood. Quite fascinating."

A wisp of black light drifted around Rusty as he picked himself up. The five cult members who had followed them and the bandits were defeated, but the visions still troubled him. Worse, he could not absorb any of the enemies' skills.

"It is not fascinating at all."

Rusty said this as he dragged a cultist's body and laid it with the others. These people had trailed him and could make corpses speak, so he planned to burn them all.

"(ᵕ—ᴗ—)"

"It is okay, Gleam. I can carry them myself, but I will need you to cast a fire spell on them after I finish."

"(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)"

Rusty placed the last cultist among the others and stepped back. The pile before them contained not only the cultists but also most of the bandits he had stripped, including their leader. His guides had advised him that burning everyone together would draw less suspicion than targeting only the cultists. It was a tedious task, but after about an hour he finally gathered them all.

"Good. Now don't forget the flammable oil, the wood will do the rest."

Alexander's white light brightened the area slightly as he spoke out.

"I know."

Rusty found a barrel filled with oil that had been used for the torches and poured it over the pile of dead bodies. Once everything was ready, it was Gleam's turn to act. She stepped closer and prepared a sparkling spell. Lifting her head high, she exhaled a wide burst of fire that struck the pile and instantly ignited it.

"I'm glad I can't smell this…"

The flames consumed the pile of corpses with a sharp hiss. The fire spread quickly and grew into a roaring inferno. Gleam reduced the strength of her flames once the wood and other materials Rusty had added began to burn on their own. Soon, a massive blaze filled the center of the bandit camp, consuming everything and everyone that had been part of it.

Although many lives had ended that day, Rusty found himself thinking that the fire looked beautiful. The flames danced and shimmered as the first light of dawn touched the horizon. While he watched the fire, he also took a moment to examine the new skill he had gained during the mission.

table class="chapter-table"

tbody

tr

td

pstrongHyper-Awareness L1/strong/p

pstrong /strong/p

/td

td

pstrongActive Skill/strong/p

/td

td

pstrongWhen activated, perception sharpens and the world appears to move more slowly than it truly does./strong/p

/td

/tr

/tbody

/table

There was also a second skill connected to his puppeted armors.

table class="chapter-table"

tbody

tr

td

pstrongPuppet Armor Vision L1/strong/p

/td

td

pstrongActive Skill/strong/p

/td

td

pstrongWhen this skill is active, the user shares vision with the selected puppet armor. The skill has a limited range and drains mana at a constant rate./strong/p

/td

/tr

/tbody

/table

The next skill was interesting, although he was not sure how useful it would be. The main issue was that he rarely used his puppet armor ability. It consumed too much of his precious mana, and the puppets he created were not very strong. He could usually defeat monsters on his own much faster.

Still, if he ever learned to control a large number of puppets, they could become a real advantage. His eyes were different from other people's, and in theory, he could use his puppets to see the blind spots of others as well as his own. It might even be possible to position a puppet behind him to watch his back and warn him of any approaching ambushes.

These were the only two new skills he had received, and his level was now above twenty. He would reach the next threshold soon, but the system was not offering him much in terms of power. He was not sure if that was entirely a bad thing, since he often neglected some of his existing skills anyway.

"We should not waste time here. Free the prisoners, Rusty, and let us retreat for now. I am sure someone will come once they notice the smoke."

Alexander called out to him as he looked through his skills. Rusty turned from the flames and glanced toward the darker edge of the camp where the prisoners had been kept. The main problem was the wooden cabin where the bandit leader had stayed, which stood close to the burning pile of corpses. There was someone inside, so he needed to get them out first.

"Ah, I should probably disguise myself first and Gleam, hide for now."

"( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و"

After activating his loadouts, he changed into a set of armor commonly worn by adventurers and wanderers. He covered it with a plain black robe and made his way toward the bandit leader's home. With a strong kick, he sent the door flying open. Inside, he saw a naked woman trembling and crying on the bed. Her arms and legs were bound, and her wrists were bloody, showing that she had desperately tried to escape.

"W-what, who are you? What is happening? P-please, no."

"This woman seems terrified. We need to set her free."

Alexander remarked as Rusty stepped inside. Rusty did not free her right away. Instead, he looked around the cabin, which was cluttered with empty ale tankards. The bandit leader had spoken of a treasure and claimed to have hidden it somewhere, but his guides believed he was lying.

"She can wait. We should find the treasure first. I am sure that greedy bandit hid it here,"

Said Aburdon as he urged Rusty to search the area. His reasoning made sense. The cabin was accessible only to the leader and no one else. It would be more logical to keep his valuables here than to bury them somewhere in the forest where other bandits might find them. The leader was probably never alone except when he was here, which could only mean one thing.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Oh…"

As Rusty searched the cabin, turning everything upside down and making the woman even more anxious, he noticed something unusual. There was an object beneath the bed that looked out of place.

"Ahhh! No, please!"

The woman screamed in horror as Rusty pushed the bed onto its side. The ropes that bound her kept her in place, leaving her hanging awkwardly. Rusty, however, was focused on what appeared to be a false section of the floor. He moved closer and removed a loose plank, revealing a hidden chest beneath it.

"This must be it."

The chest was locked, but with his iron grip, he tore the lock off. Inside he found coins, gems, and colorful trinkets that had likely been stolen from various merchants. He could not tell the total value, but it was clear there was enough wealth to cover any future fees he would be forced to pay for years to come.

"See, I told you."

Aburdon said proudly, and Rusty responded with a resounding nod.

"Mhm. Now then."

He closed the chest and stored it away. When an item was contained and within a certain size limit, it took up less space inside his storage. Once everything was secured, he lowered the bed back into place. The woman looked as if she might faint. Her eyes widened in terror as he pulled out a dagger.

"No…"

There was nothing he could do about her fear, but she soon realized he meant no harm. He used the dagger quickly to cut through her bindings. She was free now, though still trembling. He helped people when he could, yet he did not see their safety as his responsibility. Once she was unbound, he left the cabin in silence and headed toward the area where the other prisoners were kept.

Smoke was beginning to fill the air, and the fire was spreading fast, so he did not have much time. Moving more quickly, he reached the main prison and struck the first lock aside. When he stepped inside, he looked over the captives. The stronger barbarians were kept in cages, while the weaker humanoids were tied to the walls or to each other.

"..."

"Who are you? You're not one of the bandits."

Someone dressed in a tunic and resembling a merchant asked, but he did not answer. Instead, he tossed a bundle of keys into one of the cages that held the barbarians. The bandit guard had been carrying them, and with those keys, the prisoners could free themselves. Then he used his dagger to cut one of the merchants loose and left the tool with him before walking away.

"Wait, who are you? Why are you helping us?"

This time, one of the women shouted. At first, the captives had been wary of him, but now they seemed more curious about who he was. Rusty did not have Edmund's head with him, so he could not explain. He only glanced back at the speaker for a moment before turning away and leaving them to wonder. Soon after, he rejoined Gleam, returned to his other, smaller form, and together they rose into the sky.

"They seem to be working together…"

For a moment, Rusty and Gleam hovered in the air, watching the bandit camp burn from the fire they had started. Surprisingly, the prisoners he had helped escape were working together for once. The barbarians, who were usually treated as slaves, were helping the others, and even the woman he had cut free from the bandit leader's cabin was now embracing a few of the other survivors.

It was a strange sight to see. These people, as far as Rusty knew, came from different sides. Some were barbarians, others were merchants, and there were a few who belonged to neither group. Yet, at this moment, all of them were united in their effort to escape. No one fled alone, and the stronger barbarians were even carrying the injured to safety.

'They are lucky those bandits did not take all the wagons, and some horses are still left.'

Rusty thought as he lingered for a moment longer. The sun was beginning to rise, marking the start of a new day. The prisoners eventually found their way to the wagon and the horses, but the barbarians ran away into the forest instead of staying.

'Finally it's done'

This marked the end of his short expedition into the bandit camp. He had collected a great deal of treasure, all safely stored inside his spatial space. Even if some evidence led back to him, no one would ever find what he had taken. It would be as if everything had simply disappeared. Still, there was one thing he wanted to see before leaving, so he decided to stay a little longer.

"Gleam, can you take me to one of those trees? I want to try something."

"( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و"

A few moments later, they found themselves on top of a tree near the bandit camp. He had come up with a new way to test his latest skill. To begin, he took out a simple-looking helmet from his spatial space, one that had belonged to one of the bandits. He positioned it so it faced the burning camp and then activated his Puppet Armor skill.

Although the skill was designed to control full suits of armor, it could also target specific parts, such as a helmet. It looked completely ordinary, but he could tell the skill had taken effect. Once it was ready, he moved to the other side of the tree and used his newest ability, the one that allowed him to see what his puppet armor could see. Even though he was only controlling a helmet this time, the sensation that followed felt strange and vivid.

"Oh… I can see the bandit camp?"

"( ╹ -╹) "

"Yes, I can see through the helmet, Gleam. It's hard to describe, but it works…"

Rusty spoke while trying to handle the double vision he was experiencing. At first, it felt as though what he was seeing was overlapping, but eventually he began to distinguish between the two sides. It was as if he had multiple eyes and vantage points, allowing him to clearly see the flaming camp in the distance, along with the wagon and the people fleeing from it.

"Now, what about the distance?"

With everything working as intended, there was one thing left to test. He jumped back onto Gleam's back, and she carried him away. At first, he could see through the other helmet's viewpoint without issue, but after about fifty meters, it became harder to see. The limit seemed to be a hundred meters before everything went dark.

"That's about it, huh? It should still be helpful."

Next, he performed a few more tests, such as placing several helmets around to see if he could switch between their viewpoints. He quickly realized that this skill, at least for now, was limited to one puppet armor at a time. However, once two armors were active, he could switch between them at will and with surprising speed. With this in mind, he could see this ability being useful in battle, though he would need to perform more tests.

"( • ᴗ •)?"

"Leaving? Not yet, Gleam. For now, we will wait here. I want to see who really worked with these bandits."

While Rusty had a general idea of who he was up against, he still wondered who would arrive at the burning camp first. If it were the nobility or members of the merchant guild, he considered whether he should attack them again. He was still a few levels short of reaching his next evolutionary stage, and whoever arrived would likely be a future enemy.

After placing one of the helmets at a good vantage point, he began to wait. Around half a day later, much sooner than he had expected, someone finally arrived. The sound of loud hooves clearly meant mounted riders were approaching fast.

Rusty used his puppet armor to watch the dust rising in the distance. The first silhouettes appeared as a line of riders cutting across the horizon. They moved in a tight formation, and it was clear they were not adventurers. Their black armor gleamed faintly under the noon sun, each chestplate marked with an insignia he recognized.

"The Black Hounds…"

It was the mercenary group from whom he had wrestled the children away. He had somewhat expected them to arrive, but the idea of attacking them now was not a good one. Their leader was clearly visible at the front, already prepared for battle. Their numbers were also greater than he had anticipated, around forty mounted men. It was not a force he could handle alone, but even so, he was curious about their intentions.

From his vantage point, using the helmet puppet as his watch point, he felt no fear. There was also a chance that after they were done here, a few sentries would remain behind and then he would strike…