Test Subject
“Why don’t you just kill him? What if he suddenly wakes up?”
“Ah… I'll just cast a few more spells.”
I decided to tie him up a little more carefully, just in case he could suddenly break free from the magic.
[Shackles]
[Gravity]
[Sensory Distortion]
I cast three magic formulas at the same time and pour mana into them.
Then, the one-eyed bandit collapses on the spot.
But he didn’t faint.
That was fortunate.
Because he couldn’t faint.
“Oh, you didn’t faint. That's a relief.”
It was better for the one-eyed bandit to stay awake so I could check the power of the magic.
That way, I could properly check the power of the magic.
So I woke the one-eyed bandit up, and was thinking about what magic to use next when…
“Uwaaagh…!!”
The bandits around me left, looking fed up.
“Hmm? You didn't run away yet?”
I thought they would have run away.
Usually, a disorganized group like that would scatter when their leader was neutralized like this.
It seemed like they had a little bit of loyalty.
Of course, that loyalty soon crumbled.
With that thought in mind, I said to my companions around me.
“Ah, would it be alright if we rested here for about 10 minutes? I have something to do.”
If they didn’t allow it, well, it couldn’t be helped.
I’d just have to take the Gold Plate hanging around the bandit’s neck and leave.
When I asked, they started answering one by one.
“Well, I don't mind. Do as you please.”
“I don't mind either. The sooner the better, though.”
“Well… you caught them all, so do whatever you want.”
Fortunately, they allowed it.
Expressing my gratitude, I upload a picture of the one-eyed bandit lying on the ground to the forum.
Along with a short explanation.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Caught a bandit on the road, what do I do with him?]
[Content: (Picture) I luckily caught him alive, does anyone know what I should do with him?]
As I uploaded the post and waited for comments, I tested out some magic.
[Water Bomb]
I was curious how powerful it was.
It was a magic spell I hadn't used yet.
I had a feeling it would kill an ordinary person instantly, but seeing the bandit’s recovery ability, I didn't think it would kill him.
So I cast the formula and poured mana into it.
And a moment later.
Bang-!
A bomb made of water explodes instantly, inflicting damage to the bandit.
Of course, it didn’t do much damage.
His wounds were even healing in real time.
It was an amazing regenerative ability.
“Why are you a bandit with that kind of ability?”
I was genuinely curious.
If he was born with that kind of talent in this day and age, he could have succeeded in other fields without resorting to banditry.
It was pure curiosity.
Of course, I didn't think he would answer, but the one-eyed bandit answered more kindly than I expected.
“...It’s the family business. It’s been passed down for generations.”
"...Oh, a real dysfunctional family."
How could banditry be a family business?
It made no sense.
If you were born a human, you should at least try to do something productive.
Of course, I hated being productive too.
“Don't mock the family business…!”
“Ah, yes sir.”
I had a lot to say, but since he told me not to mock him, I couldn’t.
He was a big help to me right now.
This was my first time using magic on a person, so I had to use this opportunity to find out how much my magic affected people.
[Fire Sword]
I cast the magic formula and pour mana into it.
A sword of fire forms in the air.
It then plunges into the bandit.
“Kyaaagh…!!”
Of course, it didn't pierce his body.
It wasn’t that Fire Sword was weak, but that the bandit's defense was absurd.
If he was wondering how he lost to me, it was because he let his guard down.
What were the chances of a mage being among the adventurers hunting near Baruk?
Almost none.
The bandits that surrounded us earlier seemed to number at least 30.
So he must have let his guard down.
And he wouldn't have thought that the barrier wouldbe so strong.
Of course, it was a good thing that he jumped up and attacked me as soon as I started casting the formula, but the barrier was much stronger than the bandit expected.
That was why I became the victor.
‘This is pretty good.’
Barrier.
It was a really good spell.
It didn’t consume that much mana or concentration to maintain, and it could block several sword strikes from a Gold Plate bandit.
As I was thinking that, I experimented with other spells.
How long had I been experimenting?
“Kill…me…”
The words “Kill me” came out of the bandit’s mouth.
But I had no intention of doing that.
The bandit had to pay for his crimes.
I would take him to Baruk.
And at that moment.
I saw that the comments had stopped coming.
I guess all the comments that were going to be posted had been posted.
So I immediately accessed the forum.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Caught a bandit on the road, what do I do with him?]
[Content: (Picture) I luckily caught him alive, does anyone know what I should do with him?]
L: Wow, a Gold Plate at that ㄷㄷ
ㄴ: Seriously, a Gold Plate
ㄴ: You call yourself broke, but you capture a Gold Plate? What are you up to?
L: If you capture them alive or kill them and bring them to the city, you get a reward.
ㄴ: How much do they give for something like that?
ㄴ: They’d probably give around 100 gold, but if it’s a Gold Plate, and a famous one at that, they might give you more.
“Oh.”
I had one more reason to capture this bandit alive and take him to Baruk.
They give a reward.
I needed to make some money anyway, so this was fortunate.
What a chance to make some money.
“Shall we get going now?”
“Hmm, alright. But aren’t you going to kill that guy? It'll be hard to take him with us.”
“Ah, I heard there’s a reward for taking him alive, so I'm going to take him with me.”
“Hmm, it'll be hard to restrain him.”
“There was a magic spell for that, hold on a moment.”
I searched my memory for a spell to prevent him from escaping.
But I couldn't think of anything specific, so I decided to modify an existing formula.
[Chain Lightning]
I cast the magic formula and poured mana into it.
A ring of lightning formed around his neck.
If the one-eyed bandit tried to escape, he would be knocked unconscious on the spot.
“Kill me, kill me…!”
“No, I told you I’m not going to kill you.”
I really had no intention of killing him.
How could a person kill another person?
Of course, if it was a situation where I absolutely had to kill him, I would have no choice but to do so, but that wasn’t the case right now.
Therefore, there was no reason to kill him.
With that, I led the one-eyed bandit toward Baruk’s 3rd district.
[Fire Spear]
Woong-
A spear of fire strikes the back of the bandit as we’re walking along.
“Kyaaagh!!!”
“Hey, stop exaggerating. I know you won’t die.”
When I said that, the one-eyed bandit staggered to his feet.
As we continued walking, I thought of a spell I wanted to practice.
So I cast the formula and poured mana into it.
[Ice Sword]
A sword of ice falls from the sky and strikes the bandit precisely.
“Kyaaagh…!! Damn it, why are you doing this to me!!!”
“Well… I have no one else to practice on. I can’t practice on ordinary people, can I? And please be quiet, you’re bothering the others.”
I calmly persuaded him.
Judging by the bandit's regenerative abilities, it might hurt when he gets hit by the magic, but it wouldn’t hurt that much after a while.
So I could use magic on him to my heart's content.
[Stone Hammer]
Thud-!
A rock hammer that appears in mid-air slams into the bandit as he's walking, and he collapses to the ground, writhing before getting back up.
Then he glares at me as if he’s going to kill me.
Of course, I was wearing my robe, so our eyes never met.
How long had we been walking?
We finally arrived at the gate of Baruk’s 3rd district.
If you were an adventurer, you didn’t have to wait.
You could just show them your Silver Badge and enter.
This was the life of an adventurer.
You could say it was very convenient.
“It’s convenient being an adventurer. You don’t even have to get inspected.”
“Ah, that’s because of the Silver Badge. It’s not easy to steal a Silver Badge, you know. They inspect Copper Badges more thoroughly than ordinary people.”
“Ah, I see. No wonder it took so long.”
It was times like these that I was glad I chose to be a mage.
If I had foolishly chosen to be a warrior or something, I would probably be in a death match with a slime somewhere near Baruk.
And after getting beaten by the slime and having my entire body melted, I would be receiving treatment and would most likely be back to being broke.
And after all that, I would blame myself for choosing this job.
As I was having these foolish thoughts, I took the one-eyed bandit and entered the 3rd district of Baruk.
But at that moment.
“Damn it!!!!!”
The one-eyed bandit suddenly broke free from all the magic on his body and lunged at me.
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Mc sliwly becoming the prejudice that all lages are psychos crazed on experimenting on others
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