Surprise Attack
An ambush.
Honestly, it wasn't that hard.
I used two spells at once, but it wasn't that difficult.
I didn't use much mana either.
‘Hmm, it's easier than I thought.’
Of course, I was able to catch them so easily because Teron had warned me that the orcs were coming.
If I hadn't known the orcs were coming, I would have had to quickly deploy the technique... It wouldn't have been more than two seconds late to catch them.
It wasn't bragging, it was just a plain fact.
However, I felt a bit awkward to express this feeling outwardly.
Wouldn't it sound like I was boasting?
So I smiled and said.
“Ah, I was lucky. I guess they were vulnerable to lightning magic.”
“...Orcs are known to be resistant to lightning magic.”
Violet told me a fact I didn't know.
Hearing those words, I felt a little embarrassed.
I tried to act like I knew, but I failed right away.
“What are you all standing around for! The mage has done his part, so we have to do the butchering.”
“Ah, right.”
At Dontas's words, Teron and Violet approached the orcs and began to butcher them.
All three of them seemed to have done this kind of work a lot, as their hands moved very skillfully.
Swoosh, swoosh.
They cut through the leather and stripped all the flesh from the bones.
As I watched the process, I became curious.
“Is orc meat not worth much?”
It seemed a shame to throw away all this meat.
I wanted to keep it if it was worth any money.
When I asked, Violet smiled and said.
“It's too smelly, so it's not very valuable. Of course, we have to eat it when there's nothing else... but we don't have to eat it now.”
“Aha, I see.”
We caught a total of five orcs.
We decided to divide the orc bones equally and carry them.
There is a prejudice that mages are weak, but I am not particularly weak.
Rather, I was on the strong side.
Of course, I might be considered weak compared to adventurers, but I could say that I am on the strong side among ordinary people.
So we talked about each of us carrying the bones.
“...You're making it look so easy, mage.”
“That's why I became a mage. It's convenient, isn't it?”
“Ugh, I hate that kind of thing. It makes my head hurt.”
“Hey, it's not that hard. I'm an idiot and I learned it quickly.”
“Huh, that's the first time I've ever heard anyone say a mage is an idiot.”
Of course, I said I could carry the bones, but I never said I would carry them myself.
I was using telekinesis to float the bones in the air.
If I wanted to do them a favor, I could float their luggage in the air too, but... that was a bit of a hassle.
Because it would require me to use more mana.
So I was only carrying my share of the bones.
And then.
“By the way, are you ever going to show us your face? I'm curious. I have a feeling you're going to be famous someday.”
“I'm curious about the mage's face too. I'm not usually interested in other men's faces, but... I'm a little curious today.”
Teron and Dontas said they wanted to see my face.
I had no reason not to show them.
My face wasn't ugly.
But I was a little hesitant.
My master told me not to show my face unless absolutely necessary.
He said it could attract unwanted hostility.
‘Hmm... They seem like nice people.’
From what I've seen so far, they seemed like good people.
So I thought it would be okay to show them my face.
And it's not like we're going to be anywhere but Baruk District 3 anyway.
Thinking that, I briefly lowered the robe that was covering my face.
“...You look like a gigolo.”
“I agree.”
“Haha... I'll take that as a compliment.”
That was the first time I'd ever been told I looked like a gigolo.
Of course, I wouldn't have heard it before, since I used to be a beggar.
With that, I covered my face with the robe again and started walking.
Naturally, we began to chat.
“By the way, I heard that adventurers are going around subjugating the Demon King's army these days. With your skills, you could go and make a fortune.”
“Teron's right. This isn't really the best place for a mage to be.”
Teron had a point.
With my skills, I could join a party to subjugate the Demon King's army and make a fortune.
But then I thought.
‘...Do I have to?’
There was no reason for me to do that.
If I just stayed put, it would be taken care of, so there was no need for me to go out of my way to clean up.
If there was someone strong enough to deal with it, they would take care of it, and I wasn't that strong anyway.
So I gave an awkward smile and replied.
“Um... I like it here. Lukphelton didn't really suit me.”
“Hmm, so where do you stay in Baruk?”
Violet's question caught me off guard.
I wondered if I should tell her the truth.
Why would Violet want to know where I live?
After a moment's thought, I decided to tell her the truth.
There was no reason to hide it.
If Violet was after my belongings, I could just pay her back.
There was no way I would lose to a mere Silver Badge adventurer.
“I'm staying at the Moose Inn. It's the closest.”
“Aha, the Moose Inn. I stayed there once, it's a good place for a short stay.”
“Oh? It's not good for a long stay?”
“Actually, I'm not a big fan of the Moose Inn's soup. It looks dirty, don't you think?”
I actually enjoyed that soup, even getting a refill.
I thought she might look at me with disgust if I told her that, so I just smiled and continued the conversation.
How long had we been walking?
“Hold on, someone's coming.”
Not long after Teron's words.
A group of people surrounded us.
They were in bad shape.
They looked well-fed, but extremely dirty.
It was my first time in this kind of situation, so I was a little flustered.
Meanwhile, the other three, except for me, put their bones on the ground and stretched.
And then.
“Hey, how's it going?”
A man with one eye missing and half his face covered in burns greeted us with a long sword in his hand.
So I greeted him back.
“Hello.”
Immediately, I felt the atmosphere turn frosty.
And then.
Violet whispered in my ear.
“...That guy, he has multiple Gold Plates.”
“Oh, I see.”
Hearing those words, I glanced at the one-eyed bandit who was grinning, and I saw multiple Gold Plates hanging around his neck.
“...And?”
“...And? That means he's a Gold Plate Rank expert. Strong enough to take on several people at once.”
“Ah... That's amazing.”
To be honest, I didn't quite understand the situation.
Why were these people surrounding us?
I wanted to get back to the inn and sleep.
I couldn't understand why they were blocking our way.
If they were going to attack us, I thought they would have done so already, which made it even more questionable.
“Um, excuse me, but could you tell me why you're blocking our way?”
“...Are you crazy? Or can't you read the room?”
With those words, the one-eyed man suddenly leaped towards me—
And pointed his sword at my neck.
Of course, the sword bounced off my barrier.
And at that moment, I knew.
These people were bandits.
Since beggars in this world usually looked like that, I naturally thought they were beggars here to beg for money.
But to think they would point a sword at me and try to attack me.
I was a little offended.
“Is it okay if I catch them?”
I asked Violet, who was behind me.
I felt like Violet would know about these kinds of things.
When I asked her—
“Yeah, you can kill them.”
“Well, I'm not really into killing people. I'll just knock them out.”
As soon as I got Violet's permission, I immediately prepared to deploy the technique.
This time... I thought it would be good to knock them out with water attribute magic.
Of course, it would be easier to use lightning magic, but I needed to practice other magic as well.
As I was thinking about that and deploying the technique, the one-eyed man must have sensed something because he immediately rushed towards me again and swung his sword
Clang-
Naturally, it was blocked by my barrier again.
This barrier might not look like much, but it was a very useful magic because its strength varied depending on the user's mana level.
I blocked the enemy's attack once and immediately deployed the technique.
And then I poured mana into the technique.
[Water Prison]
As the name suggests, it creates a prison of water.
Even though there was no water around, water suddenly appeared, constricting the bandits' airways.
However, the one-eyed bandit in front of me was different.
“Gasp, gasp!! Huff... You, bastard. I'll kill you.”
It was a little funny that he was saying that after almost dying from lack of air, but I tensed up.
You never knew what might happen.
[Water Cannon]
I immediately deployed the technique and poured in mana.
A cannon was created out of thin air, and instead of cannonballs, it fired water.
At an incredibly fast speed.
Naturally, the one-eyed bandit couldn't get close to me.
He could only barely hold his ground.
“Um... Just a moment.”
As long as it had come to this, I thought it would be a good idea to test out some other magic.
Opportunities like this didn't come around often.
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