“Are you okay?” Brian asked as Alessia stared at him.
“I’m fine,” the woman sighed, sitting back at her table, and starting to eat her food again, “You can go now.”
“Oh, right, uhm…” Brian replied, “I forgot to give you your share of the money from the bear meat! Here.”
Alessia looked at the small purse as the man placed it on the table, before shaking her head.
“I already have my share, I kept in in my ring, you owe me nothing,” she said flatly, “You can go now. And take your money with you.”
“You did?” Brian blinked, “Oh, then sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Your honesty is appreciated, but unnecessary,” Alessia sighed, “Please leave me be.”
“Right,” Brian nodded, turning away, and coming face to face with a young woman who had a wide grin on her face and a tankard of something in her hand, “Can I help you?”
“So, you’re the man Lessie found in the woods?” the waitress asked, holding out her free hand, “I’m Veronica, closest thing Lessie has to a friend in this town, nice to meet you!”
“Brian An-, I mean Brian Scribe,” Brian replied, taking the hand and shaking it firmly, “Uhm…I’m going to go now, I don’t want to disturb you any longer.”
“You’re not,” Veronica grinned, “Come, sit down with us, have a drink! On the house for getting rid of that rude ass just now.”
“I probably shouldn’t,” Brian said as he heard Alessia give an annoyed sigh behind him, “Like I said, I don’t want to intrude an-.”
“You’re not,” Veronica huffed, grabbing his shoulder, pushing him down into one of the chairs with surprising strength before placing the tankard of ale in front of him, “Now, why don’t you tell us about yourself? Lessie was saying some interesting things about you before Tobias interrupted us.”
“She was?” Brian asked, Veronica nodding enthusiastically, “Well, I suppose I can share a bit.”
Alessia let out another annoyed groan, earning her a slight glare from Veronica as she did so.
“Don’t be like that, Lessie,” the waitress said, before turning back to Brian, “It’s not every day a dashing young man comes in and saves you of all people. So, how’d you do it?”
“Dashing? Young?” Brian chuckled, “I wouldn’t call myself either of those things, honestly. I’m just a regular guy with some strong Abilities. I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“Oh, it was an Ability, sorry,” Veronica said hurriedly, “I didn’t mean to offend.”
“And you didn’t,” Brian assured her, “I’m just…I’m sort of from out of town, well, more like out of the entire country, so I don’t mind you asking those kind of questions.”
“Oh, good to know!” Veronica smiled, “So, who are you, and how did you come to find yourself lost in the Blackleaf Woods?”
Brian glanced at Alessia, who was ignoring the pair of them as she ate her food, before he gave a shrug.
“Well, it all started when I was summoned from another world…”
------
“Wow, so they’ve really summoned more Heroes?” Veronica asked, Brian nodding for a moment before he stopped.
“Wait, what do you mean by more Heroes?” he asked the waitress.
“Oh, they summoned a bunch of Heroes about ten years ago,” the waitress answered happily, “Though apparently they were all defeated in the last attempted invasion by the Demon Lord. Even so, they managed to drive his army off, so it’s fine.”
“Were all defeated? Like…they died?” Brian paled slightly at the thought of those kids he’d barely met getting killed on the field of battle.
“Some of them,” Veronica shrugged, “Others were too injured to keep fighting, and there are even rumours of some defecting to the Demon Lord’s army.”
“Veronica,” Alessia said sternly, the first words she’d spoken since Brian had started his story, “Don’t talk about that, you could get in trouble.”
“Oh, right,” the barmaid blushed, “Sorry.”
The three of them sat in awkward silence for a moment as Alessia finished her meal, before standing up from the table and draining her tankard.
“I’m done eating,” she said, “I’ll be back after my next hunt.”
“Right,” Veronica nodded as she hopped to her feet, “Well, I’d better get back to serving! Have a pleasant rest of your day.”
“Right, thanks,” Brian nodded as he also drained the last of his drink, getting up and following after Alessia as she headed towards the door.
“What are you doing?” she asked, not turning around.
“Uhm…leaving?” Brian said in confusion, “I mean, this place looks nice, but I’d prefer to find a cheaper inn to stay at for now, so I was going to go do that. I’m not intentionally following you or anything!”
“Fine,” the woman replied flatly as she opened the door, stepping outside and letting out a tired groan.
Brian followed closely behind her, looking out at the crowd that had gathered outside the inn, a familiar face smiling at them as he stood at its lead.
“Well, well, well,” Tobias chuckled, “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Enough, Tobias,” Alessia sighed, “Can you truly not leave me be? Do I need to emasculate you again?”
“I’m not here for you, this time, Lessie,” the man huffed, “I’m here for him!”
Brian narrowed his eyes slightly as he ignored the man, instead trying to extend his new senses into the crowd surrounding them. His Mana Manipulation Ability had claimed that he could sense and manipulate the mana in others, so he was unsurprised when he could feel the rough power level of each of the twenty or so people in the group. Most were quite weak, though he quickly spotted four that had far higher mana than the rest. Hiding the smirk that threatened to cross his face, Brian activated another of his Abilities.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Mana Drain targeted the four probable Mages, Brian using it at about half power more as a test to see how quickly it worked, blinking as their mana dropped down to almost nothing instantly. He quickly cut off the Ability, watching as the four robed figures suddenly collapsed, their eyes rolled back in their heads as they foamed at the mouth.
“What?” Tobias said as he looked back at the startled shouts of the crowd, “What did you do?!”
“It’s rude to ask others about their Abilities, you know?” Brian chuckled, “And I just removed the biggest threats first. It’s a pretty common tactic in a fight.”
“You think you’re so smart?” Tobias grunted as he yanked the pair of short swords from his hips, “Let’s see you run your mouth when we’ve broken your jaw!”
“You and what army?” Brian asked flatly, the other man freezing in place as he heard the sound of multiple bodies hitting the ground behind him, “You seem to have forgotten, but I can disable multiple people in a moment. Now, how about you and your friends all leave, and I won’t turn you into a puddle of mush.”
“Puddle of…mush?” Tobias blinked, his face going pale as he looked back at the entire crowd of frozen people behind him, “Y-you can do that?”
“I can do worse,” Brian shrugged, “But it’s still rude to ask about others’ Abilities, so I won’t go into details. Now, leave.”
“You…DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” Tobias roared, “I am the son of the Mayor! I will not be disrespected like this in my own town!”
“And you’ll be a dead man if you don’t back off, now,” Brian hissed back, making the other man step back in surprise at the venom in his voice, “Of course, I don’t actually want to kill anyone here, but if you force my hand, I won’t hold back.”
“You…you bastard!” Tobias screamed as he leapt forwards, raising his swords, his body suddenly feeling extremely weak as he swung them down, both being easily blocked by the Mage’s staff, “What did you do to me?!”
“Stop asking questions I’m not going to answer,” Brian sighed, before shoving the man back, causing him to fall on his backside, “Now, leave, and I won’t actually hurt you.”
“Enough!” the shout went out as the larger crowd that had formed to watch the fight suddenly stepped aside, forming a clear path for a group of four lightly armoured men to walk through, the man in the front wearing a steel helmet, “What is going on here?”
“This man tried to ambush us,” Brian started, before the guard held up a hand to his face, turning to look at Tobias.
“Your lordship, what happened?” the guard asked flatly, Tobias already grinning as he struggled to his feet.
“This…invalid, thought it was a smart idea to attempt to attack me and my friends as we were entering the inn for a quick drink,” the man lied through his teeth, “I have no idea why.”
“I see,” the guard nodded, turning back to Brian, “Then you’re going to have to come with m-.”
“That’s pretty poor work you’re doing there, officer,” Brian interrupted the man as he suddenly stiffened, “You haven’t even heard our side of the story yet.”
The guard remained silent as his eyes darted around frantically, obviously trying to break out of the spell that had been cast on him.
“As I’m sure you can tell, I am quite the powerful Mage,” Brian continued, making the crowd gasp as he spoke, “And while it is somewhat of a faux pas, I am going to tell you that I am currently at level thirty-three. Judging by the feeling of your mana, you can’t be much more than level ten yourself, so I’m sure you understand what I’m saying here.”
The look of fear in the guard’s eyes only increased as he stared at Brian, the man scowling back at him.
“So, unless you want to be paralyzed for the rest of your life, I suggest you actually do your job, and don’t default to believing the words of a temperamental brat.”
“What? Who are you calling a bra-?!” Tobias started to say, before he froze and fell flat on his face.
“It’s rude to interrupt others when they are in the middle of a conversation,” Brian growled at the prone man, “So be quiet. Now, I am going to release you from my Ability, Mr Guard, and I expect proper justice to be enacted when I do.”
“Y-yes, Sir Mage!” the man barked fearfully as he suddenly found himself back in control of his body, “I apologize for my earlier actions! W-what would you have me do with these ruffians?”
“Nothing,” Brian shrugged, “They aren’t enough of a threat to me to warrant their arrest but let this be a warning to all of them. What I used on you was only about a third of the true power of my Ability. If I use it at full power, you will die. Instantly.”
The group of thugs all shuddered as they suddenly collapsed flat on the ground, released from the spell, before they staggered to their feet and started running away, some carrying off the four Mages as well. Brian paused as he looked down at the still paralyzed Tobias, walking over and poking him in the ribs with his staff.
“As for him,” Brian hummed, “A report to his father of what he did and a few days in prison should be a good reminder that status does not equal power.”
“R-right away, S-Sir Mage!” the guard nodded, the others swallowing as they hurried past Brian and picked up the still frozen Tobias, looking at Brian in expectation.
“I will remove the effect in an hour,” Brian nodded, “To make sure it’s easy for you to get him in the cell.”
“Thank you, Sir Mage,” the Guard nodded, before the four of them hurried off.
“That wasn’t very smart,” Alessia sighed from behind Brian as he turned to look at her, “Now you’ve made an enemy of the pettiest person in the whole town.”
“If he comes after me again, I’ll do worse than make a fool of him,” Brian shrugged, “I mean, it’s not like he has a chance of actually getting to me.”
“Perhaps,” she sighed, before whispering to him, “But why lie about your level? If they discover that you are actually far weaker than you claim, they will definitely come after you again.”
“The only person that knows my actual level is you,” Brian whispered back, “And I trust you enough to not go shouting it from the rooftops. Plus, I can just stop you if you do.”
Alessia glared at Brian for a moment, before letting out a sigh.
“That is most probably true,” she muttered, “Anyway, if you want to find a cheap but good inn, look for the Silver Bell near the east gate. But don’t mention my name.”
“Got it, thanks,” Brian nodded, “See you around, Alessia.”
“Hopefully not,” the woman replied as she turned on her heel and walked off.
------
Tobias was furious.
Not only had he been repeatedly insulted and made a fool of by that damnable Mage, but now he was locked in the town gaol at the man’s orders. It had been almost an hour since the confrontation in front of the inn, so he was just waiting for the effect of whatever gods forsaken Ability the man had used on him to wear off. And once it did, that bastard would regret ever having set foot in his town.
“Tobias,” the stern voice sent a shiver down his spine as a nervous sweat formed on his brow, “What have you gotten yourself into now, boy?”
Tobias looked towards the bars of the cell, seeing his father standing there looking wholly unimpressed, the young man trying to speak, but finding himself still paralyzed.
“I have received quite the damning report about your actions today,” his father continued, “One that tells me you not only went after that girl again, but also that you picked a fight with a high-level Mage. You are lucky to have not been reduced to ash!”
“Father! He attacked us first!” Tobias said, blinking as he suddenly felt his control of his body return, “You have to get me out of here and capture that man! He’s dangerous!”
“Of course he is!” the older man shouted back, “He’s a high-level Mage! As I said, you are lucky to even be alive! As for your request, I refuse, you shall be staying in this cell until such a time as the Mage leaves Blackleaf. For your own safety.”
“My own safety?” Tobias spat, “How can you say that? That man shamed me and my men! How are you taking his side?!”
“I am not,” his father snarled right back, “I am protecting my son from his own stupidity! At level thirty-three that man could have Tier Five Abilities! Multiple of them even! Do you even understand what that means? He could reduce this entire town to rubble with a thought! And you angered him!”
“But father!” Tobias whined, the older man just glaring at him.
“I do not want to hear it,” he growled, “You are to stay in this cell until the Mage has left. If I find you have left it, or have sent someone else after him, I will ensure you spend a month in here! Is that understood?”
“I…Yes, father,” Tobias sagged as he glared at the floor, listening to the short sharp footsteps as his father walked away, “Bastard. You’ve ruined everything! I’ll get you yet, you bastard Mage!”