It has been nearly three years since I participated in the festival of life. Those three years were uneventful though.

I usually spent all my time at the park with my friends, working on the farm with my father, or reading books in the small library.

The library was usually empty. It was the place I used to go to when I when to relax and separate myself from the world. The library was located in the town centre on the corner, almost out of sight.

Since this town is rural, it is very hard to get information on the current state of the world. There was only basic information on mana and a map of the continent.

The rest of the books were old fiction books and fables. I used to spend hours sitting on the comfy sofa reading different stories that the authors of this world created.

My favourite books were:

Legend of the Pirate King - A story about a group of pirates sailing around the world to find the treasures left behind by their predecessors.

The Lone Survivor - A story about a mage whose clan was annihilated because of their special eyes and how he sought revenge.

One Wish - A story about an omnipotent wish-making device that allows for one wish to be granted by the user. However, it only appears once every few decades, and 12 mages have to battle it out to decide whose wish will be granted.

Dragon Princess - A short story of how a child born from a human and dragon destroyed the greatest city in Midori overnight because they stole something precious from her.

This was based on a true story as in ancient times there was a massive kingdom, far more advanced than other ones, yet somehow disappeared overnight. There is no trace of the city left, just records of its existence. It was like god just plucked the city away leaving nothing but empty space.

The boy with no mana - A story about how a boy with no mana somehow got strong and took the title of the Mage Emperor.

The Mage Emperor title is given to the strongest human mage on the continent. The way to obtain this title is to challenge the current Mage Emperor and win. Coincidentally, the current Mage Emperor is also the Hero. Her name is Rebecca Storm.

The Hero title and the Mage Emperor title are two different things. The Mage Emperor is a title that has existed since ancient times, yet the Hero title was created 3 centuries ago when the morale of the human race was at its lowest.

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The Hero title is a title given to the person who carries the hope of humanity and who leads the charge against the demons. The title is not given to the strongest mage, but to the mage whose ideals resonate with humanity and can inspire hope in the people. Though the receiver of the title has to be at least S rank.

When I was 7, I had to start attending school, learning Mathematics and Zenalense (this world language but I am going to call it English from now since it is convenient). As I had knowledge from the other world, I breezed through the content.

It has been a year since have started school and didn't have a goal in life similar to my previous life. I was just living casually without any care in the world. I didn't understand that my illusion of safety would soon be shattered that night.

***

Outside of Burten Town (Head Bandit POV)

"This operation must be quick. This town is isolated from the rest of Midori so this will be easy. Make sure there are no escapees. We want to get in and out before the government mages realize what happened. I expect perfection. DO NOT make a mistake or you will face the consequences."

All the other bandits shivered. They knew how cruel their leader and they have seen their comrades tortured to death.

It is not like they could go against him anyway. Most of them were low D rank or below and the ones ranked above were absolutely loyal to him.

The leader's name was Carl Ramirez, a high C rank mage. There was no one remotely close to his rank in over 500km (≈311 miles).

He had unkept dark-grey hair and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a while. However, the main feature one would notice is the scars all over his body.

Scars weren't particularly difficult to heal especially with a competent healing mage. However, this man still kept them and they suited his savage nature.

The lack of mages was especially true nowadays since the rumours are that most mages were being deployed in an operation that could potentially end the centuries-long war.

Behind Carl was a massive caravan of humvees. These humvees served as prison cells.

For a bandit group to consist of a couple of hundred bandits was unnatural. This wasn't a regular bandit group. Most bandit groups usually attack merchants who travel between rural towns and big cities.

However, these bandits directly attack towns capturing those who have value in being sold and killing the rest. They also plunder the village of any of their valuables.

"Sir, who should we kill and capture?"

A younger bandit asked this question.

"Based on the reports, the population should be just below 5 thousand. Kill all the elderly and mages. Capture all the pretty boys and girls, and all the children. These will sell the highest. We have been through this situation many times before."

Carl was irritated by the question asked by his men. Though he still gave a genuine answer as the plan must go perfectly if they didn't want to experience any difficulties.

"How about those who possess non-combat roles?"

The same bandit further inquired.

"Hmm, kill them as well. Even though they will earn us quite a bit, they are risky to have and could possess the strength to escape the cells. It would inconvenient if they escape especially with us being so far away from civilization."

"Now then, when the clock strikes midnight I want us to attack the town."