Limitless Summoner

Ethan's grip on the sword tightened. "You were in on it from the start," he said, his voice steady despite the fury building inside him. "You sold me out."

The driver laughed, his dagger glinting in the sunlight. "Oh, don't act surprised, boy. You're nothing but a job to me—a lucrative one at that." 

He motioned toward Scarface's lifeless body with his dagger. "You weren't supposed to be this much trouble, though. I'll give you credit for that."

Ethan gritted his teeth. He had a feeling that the man in front of him was not at all simple. He was cruel enough to watch his teammates die right in front of him and confident enough to let them die even after learning about the goblins.

Ethan tried to ask the system but no matter how much he willed it, he was unable to observe the level of the carriage driver in front of him. Just how strong was he?

The carriage driver stopped playing with the dagger and Ethan immediately tensed up. "Attack!" He shouted as he commanded everyone to charge at the man at the same time.

The driver raised an eyebrow, clearly unbothered by Ethan's summons. "Do you really think your pet goblins and that mangy cat can save you? I've dealt with worse."

Ethan didn't respond to the driver's taunt, his focus entirely on coordinating the attack. Snarl and Grug surged forward with primal ferocity, while Shadow darted low to the ground, a blur of black fur aiming for the driver's legs.

The carriage driver smirked, his posture loose and casual despite the onslaught. 

As Snarl's massive fists swung toward him, the driver stepped aside with uncanny speed, the goblin brute's attack crashing into the ground, sending dirt and debris flying. 

Grug followed up immediately, his club swinging wide, but the driver twisted his body just in time, dodging by a hair's breadth.

The driver then laughed mockingly. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the dagger flying—not at Ethan, but at Shadow. The sleek cat dodged mid-leap, but the dagger grazed her flank, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain.

"Shadow!" Ethan shouted, his heart pounding. He saw the flash of blood on her black fur, his anger flaring.

Ethan lunged forward with his sword. He aimed for the driver's midsection, but the man parried the strike effortlessly with another dagger he pulled from his belt. Their blades clashed with a metallic clang, the vibration rattling up Ethan's arm.

"You're not bad," the driver admitted, his voice calm even as he twisted to avoid Grug's follow-up strike. "But you and your level 1 goblins are no match for me. Go to hell you little bitch."

Snarl, meanwhile, roared in frustration and swung again, this time with both fists. The driver immediately leaped back, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow. Grug capitalized on the moment, slamming his club toward the driver's exposed side.

But the man was quicker than seemed humanly possible. He caught Grug's wrist mid-swing and wrenched the goblin sideways, sending him sprawling to the ground. As he fell on the ground, a dagger was sticking to Grug's side making the goblin shriek in pain.

One more down. Ethan now had only Shadow and Snarl by his side. They were losing the fight. He was going to die within a week of starting his new life. No. He did not want to die. He will not let that happen.

Ethan charged again at the man waving his sword madly. The driver mockingly blocked him and pushed him down.

Ethan hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him as he landed in the dirt. His sword skidded a few feet away, leaving him momentarily defenseless. The carriage driver loomed over him, a mocking grin plastered on his face, dagger gleaming ominously in his hand.

"You're done, boy," the driver sneered, taking a deliberate step closer. "You should've just rolled over and died quietly. Now look where that defiance got you."

But before the driver could get to him, Shadow and Snarl both lunged at the man without caring about anything. Ethan's mind raced. His body screamed in pain but the fear of death screamed louder. I can't die here. Not like this.

He scrambled toward his sword, ignoring the pain lancing through his body. His fingers closed around the hilt just as the driver broke free of Snarl's grip, delivering a brutal slash across the goblin's chest. Snarl staggered but didn't fall, roaring defiantly as blood dripped from the wound.

All of a sudden, Ethan's chaotic mind calmed down. The enraged guttural roar had forcefully flushed away all the thoughts in his head. In that split second of calmness, his gaze fell on the dead bodies of the two other bandits.

A crazy thought popped into Ethan's mind.