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Astral Mage
A Fight for the Lake

A Fight for the Lake

With his tiny feet thumping the sandy ground, Xez frowned looking at the number of soldiers surrounding his mother.

"You're all bullies! Why are you attacking my Mama?"

"Mama he say?" the soldiers began murmuring in confusion."Who's the kid anyway?"

"Ah! You're that little thief!" one of the soldiers pointed at him. "It's the kid always giving us complaints from merchants!"

"Oh! You're right!"

"Eh, uhh..." despite his small size, he cannot hide the guilt written all over his reddening face.

"Oi, you're stealing?" Felgard wiped his wet face. "That's bad you know."

"I-I only steal a few things to eat!" defended the guilty.

"Still, stealing is bad," Felgard looked like he was giving a sermon. "No matter how small, if it's not something you own or earned, it's stealing."

"W-well..." the defendant looked admitting. "A-anyway! That's not the issue right now!"

"You're right about that," Felgard walked in front of him and pulled his wooden sword from his back. "Let us deal with them for now."

"What's this?" the soldiers began to grin. "A kid with a wooden sword?"

"The sword doesn't even look perfect," mocked one.

Felgard gave them an intense stare. It made the soldiers somehow feel somehow looked down upon.

"Never underestimate the enemy," said the leader person as he unsheathed his sword. "Do so once you win." He then pointed it at me, "I believe you agree miss mage."

"Indeed," I agreed as I slowly levitated lower. "You seem to be a respectable man."

"I am grateful for the praise," he then took a fierce fighting stance, with his sword in front of his face as the tip continued pointing at me. "Now, if you surrender peacefully, I shall make sure no one will lay a finger on you until I deliver you to the high king. Although whatever his decision may be, is out of my control."

"Worry for yourself sir knight leader person," in response, I too pointed my staff at him. "For you shall return to him empty handed."

He immediately leaped towards me as fast as he could, I was amazed at his speed. However, his strong slash only hit a green barrier I formed by combining wind and space magic. I waved my staff and pushed him away back to the ground where he landed with extreme force.

"Crunch, earth!" I raised my staff above and the soil surrounding him rose like the mouth of a dragon. Obviously, he was able to protect himself by slashing the soil about to devour him, breaking it into pieces. "Well then..."

I waved my staff and the broken soil pieces froze on air before breaking into smaller pieces. As I waved my staff, it pulverized into a sand twister surrounding him.

"How's this?" I raised my staff upwards and the sand twister grew in size and speed.The soldiers near him were nearly sucked closer to his direction. "I see."

I halted the sand twister and confirmed what I sensed that he did. I looked up and blocked his attack from above with another barrier, with much strength this time. It turned out he let himself get carried away by the twister's force and slammed his sword from above, giving more speed and strength to his attack. I deflected him again and he fell back into the ground, shaking the earth around him.

"Sir Hadenbridge, the slime," a soldier pointed at the slime who began to wave on a rampage, hitting some soldiers like last time.It somehow overlooked that Felgard and its adopted child was there mixed up with the soldiers, as the two could only dodge and move away from it.

"Mama! What's wrong?!"

"Xez! Watch out!" Felgard tackled the worried kid down to the ground to avoid collision from his adoptive mother.

"Continue what we did last time. The same round of attacks," commanded the leader person.

"Understood!" responded the loyal soldier before informing his comrades.

"Sir Hadenbridge!" one soldier called out from afar. "The chemists!"

The leader person then saw how the chemists were tied to the trees they were hiding from, exposing their location. What tied them was the tree itself.

"That's what happened to us!!!" screamed the usual loud one.

"Don't scream right next to my ear!!" shouted the other.

"You're the one screaming next to my ear!!!"

Without realizing, a huge slime slap was headed towards them. Both then screamed so loud before being toppled down and absorbed inside the slime together with probably half of the number of soldiers.

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"Sir! What should we do?!" screamed a soldier to his superior.

Hadenbridge just looked up at me with sharp narrow eyes. In return, I gave him a huge smirk.

"In a pinch sir knight leader person?" I asked sarcastically.

He then looked around him for quite a while, gazing the predicament they were in before asking with a mere puzzled expression, "What happened here?"

"Sir!!! We're losing!!!"

"Oh, I see..." he crossed his arms before nodding as if to understand the situation. "Well then, we retreat."

"That's all?!!" screamed the soldier who looked like he was about to cry.

"I believe having people with me in this fight is my disadvantage miss mage," he looked up to me. "Would you do me a favor and release my comrades?"

I cannot believe this person. How could he talk so casually about this situation? However, as things were going, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if any of these people were to die.

"I would like to have a proper match with you, without hindrances," he even lowered his head to me. The feeling of a human superior to lower his head was truly great.

"W-well, if you were to beg like that," I could feel my face fluster from pride and joy.

"You're too easy Friesha!" shouted the airhead.

I then raised my staff above me before suddenly lowering it with force. By that, the trees let go of the chemists.As for the slime... it was already in a rampage.

Soldiers were drowning within as it continues to whirl and smash random areas. It even tried smashing me with its gooey hand, if it was a hand.

"Mama! Please calm down!" the tiny boy desperately raised his voice. However, it could not reach the creatures ears. Does it even have one?

Out of rage, it spewed out all the people drowning inside, saving their pitiful lives from death.

"I'm all covered in goo!!!" screamed the loud one. "Aaaahhhh!!!!"

"Why are you screaming this time?!" asked his companion.

"Look!!!" he pointed at the slime.

Suddenly, the slime lake raised itself above us, covering even the sun with its size. It continued to rise until almost the entire of its volume towered over us. It felt like a mountain was about to collapse.

"Mama!!" and after that desperate call, the slime fell towards us.

"Aah!" Felgard braced for impact. So did the Hadenbridge person and his soldiers.

However, I had other plans. I raised my arms in a cross formation with my body, my staff in hand. I closed my eyes and concentrated, since I will be requiring a lot of realea for this one.

A huge cold force was flooding out of me as a gigantic magic circle formed beneath the slime lake. I opened my eyes and screamed, "Freeze!!!"

In that very instant, the slime lake froze before it could drown us all. Just a few feet from us and we would all have been covered in slime goo. Only cold air was successful enough to waft at us before some soldiers fell on their knees.

"Wow," some soldiers whispered to themselves.

"Big sis Friesha!" I heard Xez run towards me. I looked at saw his face all teared up. "Mama! Mama!"

"Yes yes, don't cry too much," I assured him. "I'll turn her back to normal."

"She-she's not hurt right?" he said with continuous sniffs with a snotty nose.

"Don't worry, slimes don't feel pain aside from Borlinne flower extract," I then glared at the chemists as I spoke. "Adding melted gold and silver intensifies the flower's effects, making it twice, no, five times painful."

The chemists then began whispering to each other.

"Don't humans know how to restrain against those not their kind? Oh yeah, they don't," I glared at every single one of them before asking. "What do you even want with the slime?"

"Is it not obvious?!!" screamed the loud one. "It is a menace to the town!! People would swim in it without knowing what it is? What if that slime gives them diseases? Or worse, drown them intentionally?!! We cannot take risks!!!"

"I agree!" supported his companion, the normal sounding one. "I heard one time a group of kids were swimming when suddenly, one vanished from sight. He emerged nearly lifeless about an hour later!"

"Ah! That kid?! He got cramped on his knee!" Xez retaliated. "Mama wanted to help him but I already warned her not to involve herself with humans. Yet, she still decided to help him! It took him nearly an hour to emerge because Mama and I were thinking on what to do. But he was safe in my hideout!"

"Lies!!! Who would believe a thief like you?!!"

"I don't lie!"

"Either way," I raised my arm in front of the tiny boy. "I won't let you have your way. If you still want to pursue the capture of this slime..." I pointed my staff at them. "Do so with your corpses under my feet!"

There was silence as those in front of my staff looked so solemn. In the midst of it all, Felgard ran next to me and pointed his wooden sword to where I was pointing my staff.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Joining in on the intense stare," he winked like the fool he was.

"How troublesome," the leader person sighed as he moved closer. "Is there a way for the slime to leave?"

The people with him began murmuring to each other.

"But sir-" the leader person halted his words by raising his hand.

He sighed before saying, "I believe we are only the citizen patrol group. As much as I want to capture that slime, we aren't the forward capture infantry. If we were, I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice all of you for the mission. As of now, our priority is only the safety of the townsfolk."

"Th-that's why-"

"Both capturing the slime and having it leave means the same thing, the safety of the townsfolk," he glared at the soldier. "Am I right?"

"Well yes..."

"Miss mage," he then turned towards me. "Is there a way for the slime to leave?"

I could only answer based on what I read on books, "I believe slimes to be territorial. Therefore, it mattered on how long the slime existed here, or in other words, how long the people knew about the lake."

"It doesn't matter!!!" screamed the loud one. "I have already bought this land, or supposedly the lake for my grand summer vacation mansion!!! To find out the lake is a filthy goo monster!!! Eeewww!!!"

So that's why they were stalking the lake. No wonder he looked fancier than the rest, he was a noble.

"No way! Mama and I have been here first than you!" argued the tiny boy.

"I care not!!!"

"Like I said, slimes are territorial! You won;t be sending it off easy, especially if it has stayed here longer than you people," I supported the tiny boy.

"Hmmph!! This lake has been discovered for only five years ago!!!" screamed the noble, seriously, I want to silence him myself. "However!!! It does not justify whether it has been here for longer!!!"

Dang it, what should I do? Why should I even pressure myself with someone else's problem? Why should I care what happens to this boy's illusion of a mother? I already have my magic book and have successfully played with the humans. However, seeing that boy so happy with his mother, it just made me feel too annoyed.

"Who cares!!" Felgard shouted. "Who cares who discovered the place first! Or whoever owned it! It doesn't matter!"

We all looked at him.

"Can't you all just understand each other and get along?!" he continued shouting. "Seriously, what is wrong with all of you?!"

"Wh-who do you think you are?!!" screamed you know who. "You-"

"Who am I?!" he then took a deep breathe, stood firm and shouted. "I am the future king of Pheremoor!!"