Considering expenses, it would take me about ten months to gather 100 silvers. Which means 10 months of interacting with the stupid people of the Gray Cobra gang. Whatever, you have to do what you have to do.

And so, the days began their monotonous dance of banality. The routine unfolded like this: wake up, eat (because, of course, I deserve the finest sustenance), go to work, return, eat again (because my gastronomic preferences are of utmost importance), change bandages, and sleep.

Three months in, I deemed that it would be safe to stop bandaging my face, which is odd because you'd think it would take a longer time to heal a burn wound with just bandages than three months, but oh well, I’m not a doctor.

Ahh, my face, my poor burned and charred face, only a shadow of its formal self.

I actually made a couple of visits to the academy. I figured out that if you are wearing decent clothes, which are stolen, because I am not paying 5 silvers for a hat, and the streets are actually busy, you can sneak past most of the guards.

The entrance to the academy is mostly busy; there are many people dressed in wizards' clothes pouring in and out of the entrance. Which gives me the idea of pretending to be a wizard and just entering nonchalantly.

Other plans were considered, naturally, but every avenue seemed to be fortified against my ingenuity. Tunneling, for instance, was dismissed, as I suspected they possessed magical means of detecting such subterfuge.

After another month of enduring this unbearable existence, I, with my unparalleled dedication, received a promotion. Annoyingly, even the two imbeciles I tolerated were elevated in rank. Finally, after enduring the agony of nine whole months in the company of these lesser beings, I managed to scrape together 100 silvers. I handed the money over to the insatiable dealer, who promised the information in a month's time. I suppose there is no other choice but to continue working with these commoners.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

But one day, as I am beating up a man with my minions in front of 5 gang members to set an example because he decided that it would be a good idea to embezzle funds from the gang, someone broke the door in the gang building I was in.

Turning around, I see a woman dressed in wizard's robes. It's that wizard from before—the one that burned my face! I barely hold my anger back, this rat bastard will pay for what she did to my divine face!

She casts a fireball, and the three of the five gang members are evaporated into dust. And of course, mostly everything in this dam building is made of wood.

As I hear the flames eating away at the house and turning it into smoke, I try to think of a way to kill this damn wizard. From what I remember last time, the shield she has around herself is weak to stabbing. I charge towards her, not afraid of facing this damned wizard.

One of my minions follows me, probably thinking that I am making a break for it. The annoying wizard probably won't let anyone leave anyway.

But still, it’s a good thing he does follow me, as the woman casts 4 fireballs toward the three remaining people.

I don’t have enough time to look at what happens. I stab at her magic shield, and the sword goes in a little. But she immediately casts that stupid spell to push me back. As I start flying back, I notice something, the sword that I have stabbed into her magic shield is not hindered by it anymore. She can't cast two spells at the same time!

This evens the odds a lot more. Looking around, I see the only gang member in one piece is the idiot who followed my lead. The rest are either burning alive or dead. I sigh at the uselessness of the dimwits I work with.

To be heard above the sound of the crackling fire, I yell at the minion, “I’ve got a plan!”. “The wizard can only cast one spell at a time!” I add Whilst, also sidestepping another fireball. “She has a spell that pushes people back when they get too close, so after you get close to her, shill cast it, and while that happens, I’ll throw a dagger at her!".

The idiot nods, a miracle that the words I said got through his thick skull.

He charges at the wizard, sword in hand, barely dogging all of the fireballs. After he gets close, the wizard, the predictably idiotic person she is, casts the spell to push people back.

I throw the dagger, and it stabs into her shoulder. She cries out in pain but still remains standing. In anger, she casts a fireball straight at the fallen man. It crashes into him, erupting into an explosion.

The building shakes the faulty medieval architecture, barely holding against the fire and explosions.