12 – Episode 12
# 12
‘Bloody John’ wasn’t a nickname he got from playing cards.
Typically, he was sneaky and lewd. John was a competent mercenary.
“Die! Die!”
John charged at the monster in the lead, his face hidden behind a mask. But he quickly realized that the opponent was also a sellsword, just like him.
“That tiny sh*thead hurt my brother!”
John swung his sword at the monster, furious as a wild boar.
The monster had no choice but to toss his cash on the ground and pull out his sword, deflecting John’s.
“Captain! We’re going in!”
“YaaaH! You damn bastard!”
John’s comrades too, roughly charged after their captain.
They paid no attention to the enemy numbers or who was being targeted. After all, it was the middle of the night, and they couldn’t see such things.
They simply charged at whoever seemed like the e
Toward the magician only.
She never pauses her strides.
#
“Master magician! Master magician!”
Startled by the urgent call, Ian opened his eyes.
‘What is happening?’
As soon as he regained consciousness, Ian could hear the thunderous pounding on the ground.
The earth seemed to be alerting Ian with its furious trembling.
[It’s a human! Humans are coming!]
“What is going on?”
“A disaster! Bandits! Bandits everywhere!”
Rick spoke in a rush.
The other workers were hurriedly gathering their minimum belongings, ready to evacuate.
‘Bandits?’
Ian was slightly taken aback, but the situation seemed plausible.
Although this was a spot known for a drake’s appearance, for those starving to death tomorrow, a drake would matter the least.
If the drake appears, accept imminent death, otherwise, choose the gamble of survival.
Ian and his group had stumbled upon such bad luck.
‘The mercenaries… must be fighting.’
Ian conjectured the mercenaries’ situation from the ground-shaking noise. Judging by the sounds of people tossing and tumbling in a not-so-far distance, it looked as though a battle was underway.
“The mercenaries are buying us time. You must get out of here now!”
Rick ruthlessly wrote off the mercenaries.
No one thought Rick’s actions unusual. Mercenaries were hired for such situations, to fend off enemies, or else.
‘Damn it.’
Ian slowly took a breath, calming down his racing heart.
In the dead of night, being attacked by a horde of thieves wielding swords was truly a singular experience. The word “singular” is far too soft to describe it. It was more akin to a dreadful experience. It was like having a bucket of cold water dumped over your head, harshly waking you to the bone-rattling realization that you’ve been reincarnated into a godforsaken medieval fantasy world!
“Mr. Rik.”
“Yes, yes! Wizard!”
“If we’re caught, we’ll be killed, won’t we?”
“…They probably won’t kill us. But they’ll definitely sell us off as slaves.”
A shadow fell across Rik’s face.
Those who fall into the hands of thieves are usually sold into slavery.
Unless their relatives pay a ransom, they must work off their own price through labor.
Most of the top brass in Rabbitfoot are patriarchs with no other source of income. If they fall, so does their entire family, like dominoes.
The wives descend into severe labor or prostitution. The children go into slavery, suffering unpaid labor in exchange for mere food and shelter.
This is usually the devastating fate of a family losing its master.
“So we need to skip town as soon as possible.”
Thinking of the future makes the present go dark.
However, in Ian’s composed tone, Rik’s heart bloomed with hope.
The top brass, like a bunch of crawling bugs, cannot easily escape from the cruel grasp of thieves.
But here, there is the ‘wizard’, one of the top-tier personnel of the empire.
The other name for the wizard is ‘the one who performs miracles.’
Making the impossible possible, creating miracles – that’s a wizard.
The workers quickly packed only the valuable items. The abandoned goods would serve to distract the thieves.
A quick escape while the thieves are engrossed in sorting through the goods. That’s the plan!
“Did everyone grab what they needed?”
“Yes!”
Ian was about to leave the site with his workers.
That’s when it happened.
“Huff… huff…”
Through the darkness, Cash appeared.
“Magician!”
She gasped and rested her hand on Ian’s shoulder.
“Help… me a little.”
Ian looked at her drenched in sweat and nodded.
It seemed as if she was being chased by a thief. Of course, he had to help.
Wouldn’t it be wrong to blatantly run away because she arrived late?
“Follow closely behind me.”
“… Okay!”
All the workers and travelers were watching Ian.
He closed his eyes momentarily and collected his thoughts.
[Human! come here!]
[Play with us!]
[Let’s do something fun! Us!]
A voice teasingly whispering to him.
A voice that was barely audible usually, but in complete darkness, it was a shy voice that could faintly be heard.
The voice of darkness.
“[O Darkness].”
As soon as Ian began spellcasting in the ancient language, darkness as black as ink enveloped his surroundings like a swarm of clouds.
“Eek!”
“M, mage sir?”
The innocent attendants let out screams in surprise at the terrifying spectacle.
Thanks to the faint moonlight, they could barely distinguish the outline of objects. But the darkness invoked by the mage turned their surroundings into a perfect space of utter darkness.
“Everyone, hold onto the person in front of you. We are escaping this way.”
“Y..yes! Everyone hold hands among you. Quick!”
After conjuring the perfect darkness, Ian activated his next spell.
“[O Darkness, light the way!]”
[Shadow Magic – casting Dark Vision.]
A spell that allowed visibility as if it were broad daylight, even within the darkness.
In the impenetrable darkness where one could barely see a foot ahead, let alone find the hand of the person right in front of them.
Once the spell was cast, Ian could see the people around him flailing about in confusion.
Ian kindly found those who were unable to find a partner and helped them connect with each other.
Since Kashi was also wandering around lost, he lent him the edge of his robe.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Wrapped in the pitch-black darkness, Ian walked down the nighttime road.
Before long, the band of thieves was at their heels.
“Damn it.”
Ian watched as the thieves blatantly showed their dismay.
Black darkness, thick enough to be a curtain, blocked their way ahead, deterring them from leaping into it.
One brave thief stepped foot into the darkness.
“Oh Earth, spring forth.”
Ian summoned a small rock, tripping the thief’s foot and causing him to fall over.
Tumbling over in an environment where nothing could be seen sapped their morale, and they were unable to muster the courage to pursue any further.
“Sir… Sir Wizard…”
“Everyone be quiet. Don’t make any loud noises and follow me slowly.”
The upper servants were startled by the occasional sounds of footsteps, but still, they trusted Ian and moved slowly.
Their tactic started to show its results.
Inducing confusion by moving quietly shrouded in darkness…
As they kept scattering in different directions, they eventually lost the ability to pursue.
“Damn it! Search! Find them somehow!”
The thieves belatedly lit their torches, but there weren’t many of them.
The few torches were easily suppressed by Ian’s magic.
“Wind!”
Ian summoned wind to extinguish every visible torch flame.
Cries and screams of distress emanated from among the band of thieves.
“It’s a wizard! He’s a wizard!”
“Damn it! There’s a wizard over there!”
“Relight the fire! He can’t keep this up forever!”
They were on the verge of giving up, but the bandits, tenacious as rabid dogs, refused to abandon the chase. At this point, Ian’s curiosity was piqued.
Seriously, what sort of honey did these assholes have slathered at their destination to have them press on even with a magician on their tail? Why wouldn’t they just give up?
“Over here! He’s this way!”
Finally, one of the bandit bastards cleared the darkness with a torch.
[Ouch! I don’t like this!]
The darkness cried out in pain.
Ian immediately spat out his spell language, targeting the torch-bearing bandit.
“[Oh fire! Engulf him!]”
With a voracious whoosh, the torch erupted like an explosion, grotesquely incinerating the upper half of the bandit.
“Argh! aaarrrgh!”
The sound of crackling flesh and an acrid smell filled the shadowsy forest.
‘It’s about time to escape.’
Ian caught his breath.
They had just witnessed him roast a man alive. Were they still determined to attack? These goddamn fools.
Yet, while their comrade burned alive, the remaining bandits were stealthily approaching.
“Here! Kill the wizard!”
‘These guys are crazy, aren’t they?’
Ian was beside himself. Strangely enough, the bandits did not flee..
What kind of bandit risks their own life to launch an attack? Is this the new standard for bandits these days?
“Everyone…prepare for battle.”
Ian calmly issued the battle command, catching his breath.
If they’ve already drawn this close, they had to handle the situation with close combat.
Yes, in the end, even a magician who has exhausted all magic, becomes a warrior.
Destroying the enemy’s resistance with weapons!
At Ian’s command, the upper-class henchmen brandished close combat weapons such as daggers and clubs, their hands trembling with anticipation. As the tense atmosphere sucked the air from the room…
“Kill them!”
The robbers’ order was given. At the very moment they charged…
Crunch!
A massive maw emerged from the darkness, tearing off the upper half of the thief.
“…what?”
The firelight from the burning corpse illuminated the monster’s body. Glowing scales; a dreadfully terrifying face that made your legs give out; a massive bulk resembling a moving rock… This was a drake.
The true ruler of the mountains, lunging and gnashing down on the torso of the thief, exactly like a chicken leg…!