At the last possible moment she threw the air crystal at the ground below. It shattered on the ground below, shattering the air mana within. A huge gust of wind flew out, bouncing both of them up before hitting the ground at a normal speed. Now on his back, Ray said-

“Oh, I get it now.”

“Y’know that cost two weeks worth of pay…”

He stood up and reached his hand out to Roxy who was still on the floor.

“Come on, we have to get going.”

She grasped his hand.

“Where to?”

“We’re taking the fight to them.”

“Right now?”

“They are just going to keep chasing us, if anything, now is our chance to surprise them.”

“I suppose it’s too late to talk this out, although that was never an option.”

They hid near the spot they had fallen and waited. Soon they could hear footsteps creep over.

“1… 2… 3 of them… All with their guards lowered. They must think we’re dead.”

“So we just sneak up behind them?”

“Yeah, I’ll signal when.”

“And when we’re behind them?”

“Eh, we’ll figure something out I’m sure.”

“If you say so.”

They lied in wait while listening to them walk by.

“That girl was so annoying, she ran so far.”

“The boss isn’t too happy about the time we took. At least she killed herself in the end!”

“What about that guy she was with?”

“Like that matters at this point.”

“True.”

“Wait… they fell here right?”

“Why are there shards…”

“Now!”

He signalled to go.

“Shit! It’s a trap!”

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By the time they realised it, the two were already behind them. Roxy reached into her bag and pulled out a bola which she threw at one of the bandits. It hit him before they noticed what was going on and tied him to the floor while Ray ran over to the two still standing. One tried to bring out a sword but he targeted him first and knocked him off his feet. For the last one, Ray threw a rock at their arm so fast it seemed to glow, disarming them, but leaving a mark. He finally realised what situation he was in and ran off while Ray held down the one on the floor. Roxy threw another rope at Ray.

“Are we going to let him run off?”

“We can follow him to the rest of the bandits that way.”

“Ah. But how?”

“That rock I threw, did you notice anything about it?”

“...That light? Wasn’t that just enhancement magic?”

“No, that was tracking. Did you see the mark it left on his hand?”

“Oh, I see. We just have to wait and he will lead us to the rest of them then.”

“But more importantly, just what have you brung in your bag? The grappling hook was surprising enough, but who- who brings a bola?!?! How do you even have room for that?”

“If you're thinking it's a magic item- I’m not that rich.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“A budget version!”

She opened her bag to reveal a few different coloured magic crystals stored away.

“Wait, so-”

“Truth is, I just keep mana stored away and use it to make items on the go.”

“You can use creation magic… on the go?”

“Mhmm, it’s mostly earth anyway, it’s my specialty..”

“How is that even possible? How would you even think to store mana in there for this in the first place?”

“Well it’s not like I carry these around just for these situations, but I have to always stay prepared you know.”

She winked at Ray.

“Well, let’s take these two to the guards then.”

“Yup!”

One of the bandits spoke up.

“You guys won’t get away with this… our boss in his prime used to be a rank B adventurer!”

“Is he? Oh I guess we’ll just have to give up and let you free then.”

“Haha that’s what I thought.”

Ray held out his adventurer’s card in front of him for the second time.

“Rank… B too?!??! Please let me go! I didn't mean anything by this, I just wanted some easy money! Please!”

Ray and Roxy got uncomfortably close to him.

“How about you tell us a little about your boss...”

He was visibly in fear. They were now at a warehouse in an empty part of the city.

“And…. they should just be inside.”

“It certainly looks like it.”

Ray walked to the door.

“If I knock do you think they’ll let us inside?”

“Shouldn’t we use the element of surprise we have?”

“There’s no fun that way.”

Roxy looked at him funny.

“Someone’s a little confident.”

“I’d rather get this done sooner than later anyway… Aqua’s probably out looking for me now…”

“Ok, I’ll go around back.”

Ray burst in the warehouse and was face to face with multiple bandits off the bat.

“Uhh… I’ve got a delivery?”

Three bandit’s rushed at him as he held up his sword still in the sheathe. One had a sword and two had daggers.

“Sounds like more are in the back, I’ve got to do this in one motion.”

He held his sword behind him and waited until the right moment. The three were now in arms reach. He flew forwards and slammed all three of them into the wall at once.

“Light and sturdy, ay?”

Ray looked at the unsheathed sword in his hands and saw the shining blade.

“This is a good sword.”

Another four bandits came from behind the crates to replace the fallen ones.

“This is going to be a long night.”

Roxy opened a window and slid through it carefully to not alert anyone. The room was on the second floor. There were two empty bunk beds on the inside with the door still swinging open.

“So much for the surprise.”

She looked out from the door and took in her surroundings. There were crates upon crates full of assumed stolen goods. Silently she creaked open another door, it had an open chain lock on the inside. There was a desk in the middle of the room with papers thrown all over it. Her eyes fell on the one in the center, half covered in rips and tears.

“I suppose this is what they wanted me for.”

She took the sheet of paper and stuffed it into her bag.

“And now you…”

She pointed behind her towards the doorway and a bandit turned visible from thin air.