"Ahh, what a hellish headache!" Alex groaned, just waking up, holding his head with both hands.

Trying to open his eyes, Alex quickly closed them, while covering them with his hands. "My god, what is this brightness!"

Struggling against the throbbing headache and uncomfortable clarity, Alex strained to sit up: "Damn, where am I? I don't remember anything!" He grumbled.

As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Alex realized he was lying in a bed, wrapped in sheets. A smiling Kelvin sat in a chair next to him and watched him wake up.

"Kelvin? What happened?" Alex asked, bewildered.

Hearing the sprawled Alex's question in bed, Kelvin laughed as he said: "Alex, all my life I thought I started drinking too late, my first sip was at 13 years old. When you said you didn't drink, I didn't think you actually never drank! You passed out with just one sip of mead!".

The stunned Alex just covered his ears with a pillow, hearing the shrill sound of the bald man's mouth. "Damn, Kelvin, speak lower!"

Seeing Alex's deplorable condition, Kelvin nodded and, as he headed out of the room, said: "Little brother, it was my fault, so I'm going to delay the guys for at least another hour. Get yourself together in the meantime. Oh, I almost forgot, eat the food that's on the table. She'll help you a little bit with the hangover.".

*Door slam*

*Sigh*

~~~

“To think that my mental space would help with the hangover…” Alex thought, swaying as the carriage moved.

Despite feeling better, Alex was slightly nauseous, so he sat alone in one of the cargo carriages.

Looking at the blue sky with rosy hues, Alex sighed and, putting his arms behind his head, he lay down on the grain sacks, lost in thought observing the sky: large birds like hawks flew freely and disappeared amidst the white clouds, the rhythmic trotting of the huge horses sounded, and a fresh breeze caressed his face.

“So much peace. I’m starting to think that I had the bad luck to see the ugliest part of society first.” He murmured softly.

Observing the stunning landscape, Alex noticed a small black dot in the sky. Like a swift bird, the small black dot was getting closer and closer to the caravan.

Like a hot knife through butter, the small black dot descended swiftly, lodging itself in the middle of the forehead of the mercenary at the front of the traveling group, instantly falling to the ground, lifeless.

“ENEMY ATTACK, DEFENSIVE FORMATION!” Shouted the guard who was riding next to the slain unicorn.

"Women, children, and the elderly, get into the covered wagons. Men, grab your swords and make the last line of defense behind the mercenaries!" Kelvin instructed, drawing his sword and removing his shield from his back.

Alex, who was cursing his damned mouth, ran along with the other travelers and mercenaries, standing in the second line of defense with a not very reliable wooden stick given to him by Kelvin. "Here, boy, protect yourself!" The bald man affirmed seriously, before turning around and shouting: "MAKE A TRIANGULAR FORMATION WITH THE WAGONS, PROTECT YOURSELVES FROM ENEMY ARROWS!".

At the same moment, a young mercenary next to Kelvin was desperately trying to remove the shield from his back, which was stuck to some piece of his armor, while cursing: "Damn, damn!".

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Here, let me help you." Kelvin said, helping the young man remove the shield from his back.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Kel-"

*Piercing noise*

The young man, who was extending his arms to grab the shield, froze. An arrow piercing the back of his head, exiting disturbingly through his eye socket, with his eye stuck on the tip of the black arrow.

"DAMN, FORMATION!" Kelvin shouted quickly, not frozen by the scene or even by the blood splattered on his face.

Right behind, Alex watched the grotesque scene in surprise, a female scream echoed from inside the carriage behind Alex, from a girl who was watching the whole scene through the side window.

In the midst of adjusting the defensive formation, Alex swallowed dryly as he observed that his traveling group was already being surrounded by bandits.

"1, 3, 7, 9.. Damn! Counting those who must be behind my field of vision, there must be about 20 bandits!" Alex cursed in thought.

"Hahahahaha! Is that you, Kelvin?" A deep voice echoed through the woods, right next to the dirt road.

A large man, with big, disheveled hair and a wild look, showed himself.

"Ed?! You're still alive, you damned scoundrel!" Kelvin shouted, recognizing the man who seemed to be the leader of the bandits.

"I'll be brief, take your men from here and we'll leave you in peace... You can even take the travelers, but of course, you must leave all the goods and at least 13 women for us to play with." Ed said, without ceremony, with a wicked smile.

"13 women?!" Alex thought.

"Are you crazy?! Get out of here! Even if we are outnumbered now, I want to see who will want to be the first to die!" Kelvin threatened.

Hearing the threat, the face of the bandit chief wrinkled. "Indeed, this fight is already won, but no one wants to die for nothing. Kelvin's resistance would make our life very difficult." Ed thought, cursing Kelvin's resistance, who refused to abandon the clients.

"Kelvin, Kelvin, Kelvin. I see that you and your companions are doing this escort together." Ed said, pointing to the rosy fat man and the bald old man. "Do you really want to die and take your friends to hell for just a few coins and some strangers?".

"You piece of shit, you wouldn't dare risk your life-".

*ZAP*

Interrupting Kelvin, a blue flash passed by his shoulder, followed by an electric noise, landing directly on Ed, the enemy leader, instantly exploding his forehead.

His body, still standing as if it hadn't understood that it had already died, gave a grotesque view of twisted flesh stuck to what remained of a neck.

*Thud* At the sound of the thud of the dying body of the enemy leader, the mercenaries didn't waste time. Having lost two of their companions, they used hatred and took advantage of the shaken morale of the bandits, launching a quick attack with Kelvin leading.

Alex, who had just released the magic, widened his eyes at the sight of the damage done by his magic, but still thinking actively: "If they want 13 women, there are 13 of them. We have 7 living guards and I can release 6 spells with my reserve.".

Kelvin, who was battling an enemy, skillfully cut his enemy stomach while dodging a thrust with his shield, defending himself right after an enemy attack from behind.

*Surgat fulgura*

Kelvin, who was defending himself from the cowardly sword blow of the enemy, was surprised to see his head exploding, but not to the point of making him foolish. After a nod towards Alex, with a complicated look, he turned to help one of his companions who had been injured in the arm and was about to be finished off.

~~~

*Panting breath*

On the ground, 6 guards sat panting, some with scratches, others with deeper cuts. All being helped by the travelers, grateful to have been protected.

At that moment, a fat man dressed in a more refined suit approached Kelvin, who was leaning his back against a carriage wheel. "Mr. Kelvin, I come to thank you immensely for your bravery and that of your comrades. It's a great pity that we lost 3 men, rest assured that I will compensate their families and give more to all of you for the incident." The man said, truly grateful.

Kelvin, on the other hand, just nodded, his mind distant. The fat man, noticing Kelvin's thoughtful state, nodded and politely withdrew.

"Hey, baldy, are you okay?" Alex asked, approaching and sitting next to him.

"Ah... Boy. It's not easy to lose men. That young man with the shield joined us just before we set off. This was his first mission." Kelvin replied, pausing to take a metallic flask from his jacket and take a sip, before continuing between sighs: "I promised his mother that I would take care of him."

Not knowing what to say, Alex just put his hand on the bald man's shoulder who, after a small exchange of understanding looks, sighed and observed the sky, which didn't seem as beautiful as it was a few moments ago.

After a moment of silence, Kelvin spoke: "Magic, huh. Who would have thought."

Hearing the comment, Alex retorted: "Even I wouldn't have thought...".

And, in each other's silent company, the two men digested what had just happened.

Kelvin, lamenting the lost companions and Alex, stunned by taking his first lives.