Chapter 36: Ambush

After a comfortable night, I woke up in the small and slightly hard bed of the garrison. It had been a long time since I slept so well. In fact, it had been a long time since I slept at all. The tiredness I had accumulated during my trip seemed to have subsided considerably.

I still wanted to enjoy the warmth of the bed, but I knew I couldn’t.

The light of the sun was still dim, but its presence couldn’t be denied. It was time to leave this camp.

I slowly got up and stretched my sore limbs.

I tried to focus my gaze, but the hazy figures in front of me were the only result I got. I wasn’t disappointed though. I already knew that it would take some time for my sight to recover completely.

I was already glad not to be in total darkness.

I was also aware that the time I spent focusing on my other senses instead of my sight was really beneficial. My ability to sense the mana around me greatly increased. The movements of the particles of mana around me were still chaotic and mysterious, but I had the feeling that I was starting to understand them better. It was like looking at a gigantic moving picture. It was incomprehensible at first, but I was able to gradually expand the sight and the comprehension I had of it.

If I could progress by doing this, I was sure that my ability to handle my own mana would skyrocket.

With such thoughts, I finally gathered my stuff and headed out of my tent. As soon as I was out, I noticed two soldiers standing guard a hundred feet away with their eyes on me. I smiled wryly after seeing them.

I was already aware that I was under surveillance the moment I set foot in the camp. I didn’t care about that as long as they didn’t harbor any ill intent toward me.

While thinking that, I remembered the three men I encountered the day before. They clearly didn’t have any good intention toward me the moment they saw me. If I was the same as before then I would be worried about them, but now that I could use the sacred magic of ice, I was sure that I had enough power to protect myself from these men.

I quietly left the camp after thanking Farris one more time.

He quickly nodded and turned heels. He clearly was a little rough, but he didn’t seem to have a bad personality. Without his help, things could have become quite problematic.

The huge wooden gate closed behind me the moment I stepped outside. I followed the map I acquired and walked once again while closing my eyes with a slight smile on my face.

This time I knew where I was going.

After several hours of walking, the weather had deteriorated. The particles of mana above me began to move faster. It became quickly impossible for me to analyze their movements anymore. Therefore, I opened my eyes.

Even if my vision was blurry, I was still able to somehow discern my surroundings. Dark clouds were starting to form above my head. Soon, droplets of water began to fall.

After a couple of minutes, the light rain became heavier until it became difficult to see more than a few feet ahead.

I was already soaked, but I didn’t care. I was more concerned about the inability to see clearly what was going on around me. The dense rain obstructed my defective sight while the loud noise created by the droplets of water bothered my hearing.

I hesitated a moment, not daring to move.

After a while without moving, I gritted my teeth and steeled my resolve before resuming my journey.

I couldn’t waste any more time than I already had.

The noise of the rain around me made me more vigilant than ever. Any suspect sound made me turn my head.

My advance was slow because, for the first time since the start of my journey, I tried to sense the mana around me while keeping my eyes open and my other senses ready. It was quite challenging and required all my focus.

It was like having six senses instead of five.

Disturbing and difficult, but incredibly appealing.

After a couple of hours, the rain finally decreased.

I was exhausted mentally but I was happy in my heart. I knew that it was possible to sense the mana around me despite keeping my eyes open. With more practice, it would probably become easier until it became a natural thing.

However, for now, it was too tiring to keep doing that.

I let out a sigh of relief and closed my eyes once again. As soon as I stretched my senses, I felt my heart skip a beat.

Three lights were surrounding me.

They were nearly two hundred feet away from me. I didn’t sense them earlier because, even if the effective range of my sense had increased since the start of my journey, it still decreased without my eyes closed and my mind entirely focused on this task.

However, once I closed my eyes and focused my mind, I didn’t have any doubt.

Three lifeforms were following me. Two were together while the last one was further away from them.

I continued to walk while sensing their movements. I kept changing my pace and direction, but after a couple of minutes, the lights were still at the same distance from me. They stayed this close despite my movements.

I felt my heart grow cold as I realized what was following me.

I had some doubts at first because I couldn’t discern animals from humans based on their mana alone. However, I was now sure that my followers were humans.

It can’t be them, right?

I furrowed my brows thinking.

Three humans following me.

There wasn’t much possibility except for the three soldiers who were with Farris and who tried to leave me to my fate.

I didn’t know why they were following me, but if they continued for several hours despite the rain, then they clearly were not here just to see me off.

I was at a loss about my next course of action. By following me so far from their camp, they clearly had no good intention. I could run away but I quickly dismissed this idea from my mind.

No matter how fast I ran, it was useless, because they knew where I was going. I didn’t plan to let them ruin my unique chance to send a letter to my parents.

I had to fight them, but they were too far away to attack them by surprise.

I was still thinking about my next move when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. The path I was taking led me to a hill that I had to climb to continue. I opened my eyes to see this unexpected obstacle.

The flat ground was replaced by many rocks obstructing my way on an irregular ground. The slope was steady at first before becoming harsher after a hundred feet.

This couldn’t be considered a challenge to climb, but my speed would definitely decrease a lot. Also, once I start climbing, I would have no other choice but to continue to the top.

I didn’t have much knowledge of strategies, but I still knew that this field was perfect for an ambush.

As if to confirm my thoughts, the lights kept moving while I was motionless.

Despite changing paths, they maintained the same distance this whole time.

However, they started to come closer.

It was obvious that they knew the way toward the advanced town and simply waited for me to reach this place before making their move.

I began to slowly climb the slope.

I was waiting for them to make their move. I had enough confidence in my senses and my evading ability for that.

When they reached the nearest tree behind me behind which they could hide, they finally ran forward. A few seconds later, I felt a magic aimed at my back.

Without any time to think, I used my wind magic to propel me into the sky.

*Bam*

Two waterballs crashed where I was standing just a second earlier.

While I was still rising, several water tentacles approached me swiftly. Without my feet on the ground, I was unable to avoid by any normal mean.

I gathered my mana around my feet and used my wind magic once more. I avoided two tentacles by rapidly changing trajectory, but more were coming. I used this magic several times, moving in the sky along the wind as if walking on the air. With this magic, I continued to decrease the distance between us.

The field was perfect for an ambush, but only if your feet were tied to the ground. With my wind magic, I could escape and move toward them at a fast pace.

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The tentacles’ movements weren’t able to match the speed of my change of direction.

After a final move, they finally disappeared, only leaving a pool of water where they fell.

Without their threat, I let my feet rejoined the ground at the base of the slope. I fixed my posture and looked at my surroundings.

Three men were standing less than fifty feet away. Two were together while the other one was on the opposite side with his hand still raised.

Even with my defective sight, I was able to immediately recognize them.

As if to confirm my thoughts, a high pitch voice, unsuitable for a grown man resonated in my ears.

“You’re quite fast for a kid.”

He clearly intended to speak more, but I didn’t care. They attacked me already. No matter what he had to say, their intentions were clear.

I wasn’t going to waste words with them.

I raised my right hand and shoot an earth bullet as fast as I could toward this man.

Ever since I developed this magic, its speed increased by a large amount. The time needed to activate my magic also lessened considerably. Although I didn’t formally master the scholar barrier magic of the earth element, the speed of my attack was enough to make the man's face turn pale.

He clearly didn’t expect a sudden and mortal attack like that. He didn’t have any time to activate a magic to counter mine, but his reflexes as a soldier were clearly top notch. He evaded my earth bullet and got ready to counter-attack.

“Earth arrow.”

A large earthball left his hand and headed in my direction at high speed.

His mates didn’t stay idle either. Without wasting another word, one of them launched a waterball while the other one ran toward me at full speed.

The earth magic was the first to reach me but, this kind of attack shot from this distance could never possibly touch me.

I bent over to let the magic pass just above my head and quickly straightened up while avoiding the waterball with minimal movements.

Immediately after these attacks, I faced the man running toward me as fast as his large body allowed him. His height was impressive and his massive body testified of his strength far surpassing mine.

A fist covered with hard earth headed in my direction. I avoided, but instead of retreating, I advanced by a single step. My reach was shorter than his, so it was more difficult for him to touch me if I was closer.

Nevertheless, he had enough experience to fix his posture and aim his fist at my head a second time almost immediately. I walked on his feet before retreating with my wind magic.

I avoided his fist with this magic and used the propulsion to hit him in the jaw with my foot.

Speed gave weight to attacks.

I didn’t forget these words from the old hyena.

Despite the difference in physical abilities, he stumbled backward while I was already several feet away from him.

"What's wrong with this kid?" one of his partners screamed in anger and frustration.

Seeing this short exchange of blows in my favor, his mate, who was as big as him, started running toward me. At the same time, the man with a high-pitched voice shot other water tentacles.

They knew that if this water magic succeeded and grabbed me, then it was their victory.

Therefore, their faces couldn’t hide their surprise when I shifted my focus on the huge man running toward me instead of evading the tentacles of water.

“Earth bullet”

The man was also surprised by my choice and didn’t have any time to avoid. He could only move his body slightly to the side to avoid a fatal injury. The bullet pierced his armor but didn’t go through him.

It was still enough.

The big man coughed blood before falling on his knees with one hand on his chest to stop the bleeding.

However, I didn’t have any time to rejoice.

Before I could turn my head, the tentacles of water reached from behind and quickly wrapped around my arms and legs.

Nearly at the same time, the man I hit in the jaw raised his hand to the sky and shot a fireball.

I just had enough time to notice this signal when the man with a high pitch voice showed a triumphant smile on his face despite the injury of his comrade.

“Don’t resist anymore, it’s already over.”

His voice had trouble hiding his excitement.

“I know”

Mine had trouble hiding the coldness of my heart.

If I was the same as before, then I probably would have already fled. I spent too much time fighting in my previous life without gaining anything. Instead of strengthening my will, my failures had shaken my resolve.

I didn’t want to fight in this life.

I didn’t want to kill for my sake.

However, I already awoke from these disillusions.

I wouldn’t have any regret anymore.

The moment they launched their attack, I was ready to kill them.

“Arg”

The voice of the first man I directly confronted finally resonated. His sudden cry startled his companions, but they immediately discovered what was wrong with him.

A translucent spike of ice pierced his feet.

I started my magic the moment I stepped on his foot. The ice was slow to form, but the result was sufficient.

Their faces showed their incomprehension and slowed their reaction.

When the man with a high pitch voice turned his head to look at me, his tentacles of water were almost completely stopped by the ice that was heading toward him.

I already suffered from this magic. 

Thanks to my ice magic, instead of a threat, this magic became an opportunity. There was just no way I would lose because of it.

I already broke free from my restraints and coldly watched as a coffin made of ice once more appeared.

I watched the scene without looking away.

I was taking another life.

I didn’t want to become accustomed to that, but I was also aware that I had to take his life.

While the ice was slowly trapping him forever, the man with an injury on his foot launched a waterball toward me.

However, with this injury, he was already no match for me.

I evaded and prepared to kill him with an earth bullet. My magic was ready when I felt a different kind of mana behind me.

Without turning my head, I quickly jumped to the side.

An earthball with sharp spikes around it missed me by a hair’s breadth. I rolled on the ground and turned to counter, but before I could gather my mana, three more of these deadly earthballs came toward me.

One of them scratched my arm and opened a large cut on it. I didn’t have any time to worry about that as more magics were heading my way.

As I was desperately evading, I saw a glimpse of my assailant. A man with long dark hair and a proud appearance stood on a huge creature similar to a horse.

The animal was running toward me at top speed while its rider was furiously firing his magic at an alarming rate.

The number and the speed of the attacks made my heart waver as I realized that this man was different from the ones I fought.

“Water sphere…”

I used the scholar barrier magic of the water element while running at top speed to avoid. After a few seconds, I expanded my magic to create a wall of water a few feet away from me.

The projectiles of earth were nearly unperturbed by it, but I didn’t care.

“… Break”

The wall of water surrounding me suddenly busted apart sending various balls of water flying in every direction.

The rider skillfully avoided being hit directly, but he had no choice but to stop shooting to control his mount.

I didn’t miss this chance.

The entire area was already covered with water.

“Ice field”

I put my hand on the ground and released my magic as fast as I could.

The ice began to spread around me. As soon as I felt the cold reaching my feet I used wind magic to escape.

I already knew that this magic was wild and unpredictable after all.

It was dangerous even for me.

However, if the ice didn’t touch me directly, then I didn’t have to worry about it.

Guided by the water, the ice quickly spread around me.

It was possible to use ice magic without creating water first, but I discovered that the speed of ice creation was higher and that it was possible to guide my magic in this way without requiring more effort.

The water turned into ice while the rider was approaching at a break-necking speed. He was nearly a thousand feet away when he launched his first attack but he was now only a hundred feet away.

His face betrayed his anger and surprise as he saw the ice forming and engulfing his subordinates who didn’t have the time to get out of my reach.

The ice quickly covered their bodies and their screams forever.

With this kind of speed, he didn’t have any time to stop his mount even after seeing this scene. 

The ice reached his mount in a few seconds.

The crunching noise of the horse-like creature walking on the ice began to resonate. Its speed was too high to allow ice to form. However, with its legs obstructed, its speed lessened until more and more ice formed.

The eyes of the creature betrayed its fear, but even with its furious movements, it wasn’t possible to escape by sheer force anymore.

The man with the long dark air gave up his mount and used it as footage to leap beyond the range of effect of the magic.

I only turned my head to see the result of my attack but didn’t stop in my tracks. I quickly overcame the hill with my wind magic and disappeared from his sight.

I didn’t want to run away, but this man was different from the opponents I faced until now. He was able to hurt me despite shooting on a moving mount a thousand feet away from me. This kind of achievement wasn’t possible for everyone.

Moreover, the earthballs he launched had spikes on them. It was the sign that he was able to manipulate the form of his magic. Therefore, this man was at least a Wise earth mage.

A rank higher than Amanda in this element.

She had to use a model to create a different form than the simple earthball. During our fight, she used a twig to create a long stick. This move startled me, but according to Hirillë, it was a trick commonly used by earth mages who weren’t able to freely manipulate the form of their magic.

If this man was only a Wise earth mage then I wouldn’t hesitate to fight him head on even with his mount, but the number of attacks he launched in a short time was enough to leave me speechless.

I wasn’t sure if a Wise mage was able to do that, but I had trouble believing it.

If he wasn't a Wise mage, then was he a Saint mage?

I didn’t really know how to differentiate a Wise mage from a Saint mage before encountering Hirillë. According to her, these ranks were an illusion. Something used to rank the mages between them. However, she still explained them to me.

A Saint mage mastered the three barrier magic of his element.

The first barrier magic was about the speed, the second about the form and the third about the control.

Once a mage mastered the three barrier magic corresponding to these three abilities then he was titled as a Saint mage.

Only a Saint mage was considered as a true mage by the Dorell kingdom.

As I was pondering about his strength and about my chances of victory if a fight broke out, I heard a sharp cry filled with rage and resentment.

I turned my head only to see the figure of a furious man emerging from the hill.

After crossing it, I didn’t stop for a second but I was still not really far away from him. On a bare plain, he just had to raise his head to see me running.

After uttering his furious roar and catching a glimpse of my small figure running, the man finally chased after me. He didn’t use any magic nor did he have his mount anymore but was still faster than me.

The body of a child couldn’t compete with the physical abilities of trained soldiers. If not for my wind magic propelling me a dozen feet ahead at a regular interval, he would have caught up with me already.

While running away from him as fast as I could, I was furiously thinking of a way to get out of this situation.

Even if I was able to outrun him, it wouldn’t make any difference as he probably knew where I was heading. I didn’t plan to change my destination either.

I couldn’t waste this chance to send a letter to my parents.

I had to fight him, but for that, I had to find a field where I would have an edge against him.

After several minutes of intense running, I found what I was looking for.

I knew what I had to do, but even with this method, I wasn't sure I could come out victorious.

I clenched my fists and headed as fast as I could to the arena of my fight.