Time passed swiftly, and the ogre sorcerer soon drained his barrel of wine, all the while grumbling incessantly. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I never would have imagined an ogre could be so full of complaints. But at last, his muttering ceased, and he turned to leave the room, likely to fetch more drink.

As the ogre sorcerer departed, he didn’t even bother to close the door properly. He clearly wasn’t worried about the princess escaping—after all, where could a little girl possibly flee without aid?

I slowly approached the curtain. Perhaps it was enchanted in some way... To my surprise, it was just an ordinary drapery with no signs of magic. I easily lifted it, but doing so also dispelled my invisibility spell, revealing me to anyone who might be watching.

The little girl sat on the carpet, her large eyes already fixed on the stirring of the curtain. As I entered, she gazed at me, tear-streaked but hopeful.

“It’s you! You’ve come to rescue me, haven’t you? I knew someone would come...” She leapt up, a smile breaking through her tears. “If you’re here, then Raith must be... You’ve defeated him and his minions, haven’t you?” She rushed toward me, clinging tightly, her tear-stained face rubbing against my robe—which, thankfully, was already soiled enough not to matter much.

“It’s not that simple... I slipped in while he was out. We need to leave immediately, or we’ll be discovered!” I admitted, watching her face fall in disappointment.

“Is that so... But what did you do? Raith brought me here, threatening to make me marry him, but then he suddenly grew anxious and rushed out, looking both surprised and enraged! Did you defeat many of his followers? And... what about my father?”

“Enough talking, Your Highness!” I finally interrupted, unable to hold back any longer. Time was running out; if we didn’t leave soon, the ogre sorcerer would return. I had no desire to emulate those legendary heroes who carry a princess in one arm while battling enemies with the other—especially given the princess’s young age. “We must find a way out now. Whatever you want to say can wait until we’re safe!” My tone was severe, and the girl fell silent, looking at me with a hint of fear.

I grabbed her hand and led her outside. Though using a teleportation spell would have been the best option, I only had one left—a last-resort spell for life-or-death situations, and I wasn’t willing to use it lightly. That was my principle.

What if we encountered enemies? Though I had noticed on my way in that most of the guards had left, there were surely a few still around. If we were discovered, a fierce battle would be inevitable. Still, the place was vast, with many corridors and few people remaining inside. Perhaps I could slip out unnoticed. I remembered clearly that there were only two ogres guarding the entrance, and they were likely more decorative than functional. Even if I blasted them with a fireball, the others inside wouldn’t hear it.

With that hopeful thought, I moved cautiously, making no sound, so I could hear any approaching footsteps. The girl beside me was equally silent—perhaps not out of deliberate caution, but because she was light-footed. If we met enemies in the cave, I’d have the advantage of surprise.

This nerve-wracking journey finally ended, surpassing my wildest expectations. We encountered not a single enemy—not an ogre or any other creature. It was so smooth that it almost felt like a trap.

But all doubts vanished when I incinerated the two guards at the entrance with a fireball. They never expected an attack from within the cave, dying in their confusion. I was now certain this was my lucky day—such a smooth adventure was rare.

The entrance was now clear, and by the time any enemies returned and discovered the charred ogre corpses, it wouldn’t matter. From the ogre sorcerer’s mutterings, I knew the necromancer and his army wouldn’t be back until nightfall, and by then, I would be far beyond his reach.

“Hurry!” I urged the girl, pulling her toward where Brian was hiding. She stumbled as I led her, and at that moment, a sharp explosion echoed in my ears.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What was that!” I let go of the girl’s hand and ran forward, realizing the sound came from Brian’s hiding place. Could it be...

“Wait for me...” the girl called after me. Her elegant dress, beautiful but impractical for the rocky terrain, hindered her movement, preventing her from catching up.

Another explosion, followed by a scream—thankfully, not Brian’s voice, but more like that of a goblin.

The boy had encountered a group of goblins, and I knew it had to be a group because of my deep understanding of the race. They would never attack unless they outnumbered their enemy several times over—though that logic didn’t apply when bullying someone obviously weaker. But Brian, dressed as a wizard, despite his youth, would need at least ten goblins to dare attack him, simply because of his robes.

By the time I arrived, the fight was over. The ground was littered with over twenty goblin corpses, likely a whole patrol. Most were charred, clearly killed by fireballs. Brian stood there, staring in disbelief at the dagger in his hand—a magic apprentice who couldn’t even cast Magic Missile had somehow wiped out an entire well-equipped goblin patrol. Though goblins were the lowest of the evil creatures, even a competent wizard could find himself overwhelmed by a sudden goblin attack, let alone an inexperienced apprentice.

I approached Brian, who was too excited to speak coherently.

“I... I, Mr. Ryder, look... I, I defeated them all... The dagger you gave me, it...”

He had two wounds from spears, but they were already healed, clearly indicating the dagger had drained the goblins’ life force.

“I see... Well done! Very well done!” I praised him, while my eyes scanned the area. The fact that the ogres hadn’t allowed goblins into the cave meant there were likely more goblins nearby, and the loud explosions could attract unwanted attention. We needed to leave quickly.

“Wait for me!” the girl’s voice came from behind. She was practically tumbling down the rocky path, her once-neatly arranged hair now disheveled, and her beautiful dress stained with dirt.

“Your Highness?!” Brian, just recovering from his victory, was struck by another wave of emotion. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Your Highness, I’m glad to see you’re safe. I am Brian...”

The girl ignored him, instead jumping—well, as much as her dress allowed—back to my side, grabbing my hand.

“Wow... You did this? All these goblins... You’re amazing... Teach me magic, please? I promise I’ll be a great apprentice and won’t be any trouble...”

“Sorry, but this was all his doing!” I interrupted, pointing to the awkwardly standing Brian. “The fight was over when I got here. He took down all these goblins by himself!”

“Him?” The girl finally took a closer look at the boy, her disbelief evident.

“I did it. I killed them all!” Brian declared, standing tall. At his age, if a boy didn’t show his bravery in front of a girl, he might never have the courage to pursue heroic deeds—or beautiful women—in the future. Despite the terrifying experience, Brian was an optimistic youth, unlike me...

...Unlike me... My chest tightened with a familiar, suffocating pain. Why had I been thinking of the past so much these days? Could it be some kind of omen? No... I was being paranoid. It was all over, everything buried deep. What I needed to do was forget it all completely.

I forced myself back to the present. The sound of those fireballs must have carried far, and if we didn’t leave soon, this artifact might have to work overtime.

“We have to go now!” I cut off the princess’s scrutinizing gaze at the boy. “Brian, give me that dagger!”

Brian hesitated but handed me the dagger. I took it in hand. Now wasn’t the time for chatter; we had to leave Raith’s territory as quickly as possible. During my earlier journey with the goblins, I’d learned the correct path and distance from their conversations. If we left now, we could reach the mountain’s base by nightfall and be safely beyond Raith’s reach. Though Raith’s army was formidable, they wouldn’t dare stray far from the mountains—for on the plains, human cavalry would be a force to reckon with.

The princess stumbled again after just a few steps. It was clear we wouldn’t get far without some solution. I bent down, grabbed her dress, and sliced through the long skirt with the dagger.

The dress was now a short skirt, revealing her slender, delicate ankles—I couldn’t help but glance at her feet. This little girl wasn’t bad-looking; give her five more years, and she’d surely become a beauty...

Enough, I stopped myself from entertaining pointless thoughts and began to move forward, with Brian following behind.

“Mr. Ryder, that dagger... Is it...”

“You mean this,” I said, holding up the artifact, “This is a legendary artifact!”

“An artifact?”

“Yes, a treasure of great renown among wizards,” I casually explained the dagger’s abilities, leaving the boy in awe.

“Could it... Could it kill the necromancer?” he suddenly asked.

“Of course! But not with its magic. If you can get close to him and hit him, the necromancer will be doomed! Haha, but first you have to have the ability to get close to him. You have to learn from me for fifteen years to reach this level!" I answered casually without looking at the boy's expression.