Chapter 44 | That’s A Strike

Whatever Tahf had expected, it wasn’t this. He had been working for The Big Boss for more than five years and had faced many different opponents. Sure, he had stayed a grunt, a mere third-rate, but he could at least pride himself on being experienced.

“Stupid bastards, run quicker!” The second-rate leader of their team shouted. The man could have run forward and caught up with the mage, but there was no guarantee he would be able to take the guy out in a one-on-one. Not to mention, if he left, the rest of the team would be endangered.

That mage was terrifying. Every spell of his was made to hurt the receiving end as much as possible. No one wanted to be the one taking those hits.

One sick bastard… I want to go back.

“Why isn’t he getting tired?” One of his teammates muttered.

“Hell if I know. I’m starting to get tired. Are we sure that guy is a mage?”

“Smartass, what is he if not a mage? What kind of warrior spits out fire from his hands?” A fat bandit was ridiculed.

“I don’t know! If you are so smart, why don’t you explain!?”

Things were getting heated. Tahf didn’t like chit-chatting in the middle of a mission, but bandits were an unruly bunch. He had a bad feeling about all of this.

“You want me to explain!? Alright, I will explain then! I think…” The fat one said, obviously thinking up something on the spot. “I think he is clearly an abnormal!”

For a moment, the bandits around scoffed. They ridiculed, and the fat bandit seemed to go purple from anger. But then, one by one, they all realized something.

That’s not entirely impossible? Is it?

“I mean, the guy is a fucking first robe. Didn’t Ragnar say first robes were supposed to be easy to take out for groups like us?“

“Yeah… Is he using some esoteric magic to shield himself?”

“Do mages run on hopes and dreams, idiot? He would have run out of mana.”

The bandits kept bickering as the mageling kept skittering across the forest. Every now and then, he would toss a sneaky fireball behind him. A few of the bandits, including Tahf himself, had come really close to biting the dust.

“He is an abnormal,” their leader gave the final verdict. If that guy was saying this, it had to be true. “Pick up the pace! The Boss will reward us handsomely if we can make this guy his slave court mage. He might even let us have some rounds on the princess.”

“Heartless bastard, is that a head over your shoulders or a dick?” One of the bandits said. Normally, this would have been met with a clean slice to the neck for a third-rate warrior. But those two were close friends.

“Anyway,” the second-rate mumbled. “I will go ahead. We are not going to catch up like this!”

That made sense. If the team leader didn’t make a move soon, the mage could spin some bullshit and lose them.

As the leader disappeared amidst the woods after increasing his speed, the only remaining noises were the eight third-rate’s breaths. They kept running in the provided direction, the two figures mere silhouettes in the distance. Before long, they started gauging each other with small attacks, like two hesitant predators growling.

As soon as one felt weakness, it would attack.

Then, however, Tahf’s ears twitched.

Footsteps?

Before he could react, a brilliant silver glow shone in the night. His vision spun as his pupils dilated.

The last thing he heard was the clashing of swords.

Kai watched Aiden bravely fight the six bandits into a stalemate. He had managed to take down two in an ambush and wrestle the rest by himself. His every step bled into the next, his sword travelling in dazzling arcs under the moonlight.

He was his most hated adversary, his rival in love, and in everything else. But even now, Kai couldn’t help but admire him. This was how fighting was supposed to look.

As Aiden’s star-lit sword kept parrying the flurry of attacks with unnerving precision, Kai’s hand grabbed at the hilt of his blunt steel sword. But he couldn’t dare pull it. He could only sit and watch like a scared little cat.

He feared the sound would attract the bandits’ attention.

He didn’t immediately buckle when he saw corpses anymore, but that wasn’t enough. He still couldn’t bring himself to fight. What was this fear that kept eating away at his heart?

I always thought I would be decisive… That I could do it. Am I not supposed to be a valiant knight? Then why can’t I smite down these simple bandits?

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“Hey! I’m not asking you to, but I would be grateful if you helped,” Aiden shouted. His voice snapped Kai back. It was getting harder and harder to maintain the 1v6. The blonde young man kept the same elegance in his fighting, but sweat poured from his head in every direction. Unlike that smug grin from before, a frown had settled onto his face.

He had only managed to hurt the bandits a couple of times, a few grazes here and there. On the other hand, he himself had taken some damage in response.

“Y- Yeah!” Kai nodded hesitantly. His chest rose and fell. He finally managed to pull out his blunt sword and stepped forward. Immediately, one of the bandits noticed him and detached from the rest of the group. He brandished his saber and lunged.

Kai eeked in response and roiled an unnecessarily high amount of aura through his traces. What was supposed to be a simple dodge was a launch, causing him to dash meters and slam into a tree to stop.

The bandit’s eyes widened in confusion for a moment, then a predatory grin settled onto his face.

“You are new, ain’t ya?” he said. He licked the blade of his saber from hilt to tip.

Kai shuddered at the gruesome act. His arms shook as he held his sword low.