章節 11: Chapter 11: Perfect
Darius came to wake me up. I got out of bed and headed out to begin my watch-duty. There, I found Telara already up and waiting for me. Darius usually takes the first watch, whereas Alan prefers going last. In between the shifts, were me and Telara. Whilst Darius and Alan are both proficient in melee combat, the same can't be said for Telara. Her spells aren't exactly made for close quarters. Thus, we decided that base on the line-up, I should be on watch-duty with her. A few days ago, I had asked Telara a little about magic and she started telling me about it. I learned that Telara is a mage that specializes in Evocation magic, the type that utilizes magic to cast fire, lightning, frost, even summon defensive barriers. Seeing her talking about magic surprised me since I've never seen her so full of life before. In the spur of the moment, she decided it'll be fun to teach me. She taught me some basic spells and told me to emulate them. The possibility of being able to use magic infatuated me so much that despite my failed effort in Arthuri, I decide to give it another shot and practiced.
"Show me what you've got. As usual, start by feeling the magic around you and try condensing the particles between your hands," Telara instructed.
"Got it," I closed my eyes and groped against the air. Nothing. I don't even know how magic feels like in the first place.
She sighed, "You've been telling us the truth all along, haven't you?"
"Uhh, yeah? What made you believe me after all this time?
"Because the probability of livestock suddenly being able to do magic seems better than yours."
"That bad?"
"When Liarelle failed to heal you, I had assumed that it's because she isn't competent enough since you're the only person she'd ever tried to heal since I met her."
"Yeah, I'm careless. Got it."
She scowled at my interruption and continued, "But after seeing as how you failed to so much as stir the magic around you, despite your relentless effort... I had decided to put a curse on you," she said nonchalantly.
"You put a what on me!?" I shouted in alarm.
"Relax, it's just a simple curse. It's not like it even worked," she avoided eye contact with me.
"Would you mind elaborating?" I narrowed my eyes on her.
"You see, magic is a ubiquitous force that permeates through everything in this world and resonates with any being that possesses consciousness. Imagine every single living organism as a fish in a vast ocean. Whatever action you take, whether physical or not, are bound to cause some disturbance in the water, regardless of how minuscule. But for some reason, magic just doesn't interact the same way it does for everything else compared to you. I don't really understand why, but it's as if… you're just background…"
I listened to her explanation dejectedly and asked, "No magic for me?"
"No magic for you," she shook her head.
This absolutely sucks, I guess I'll just give up again for now. I still got the issue with Ellariel on hand.. Adventures and heroism does sound great when you're reading stories or watching shows, but now that I'm living it, it actually just seems like a pain in the ass.
"Oh, and Mike," she regarded me with her amber eyes. "A word of advice, don't go telling anyone else that you're not from this world."
"Uhh, why?"
"About ten years ago, when I was still a girl-"
"Aren't you still one right now?" I teased.
"Smooth. Now shut up and listen. It concerns your safety," she glowered at me but I could tell that she was affected by my sudden compliments.
"Sorry, please continue."
"Ten years ago, after a great war has ended. There was a certain Emperor who suddenly rose to power, giving birth to the Mesorean Empire. His emissaries spread far and wide across every major continent, decreeing an invite to any 'transcenders' who came to this world. Needless to say, this invitation wasn't any merit. It's rumored that any transcender who came and passed the test would be granted wealth and position, as well as a direct audience with the Emperor."
"And?"
"When the few of them who passed the test finally gathered in the palace halls... They were all slaughtered. No explanation given, and nobody ever understood the Emperor's intentions, since he never issued any new decree to hunt down any of them down. Point is, you'd better keep to yourself regarding your origins."
Holy crap, I didn't know that. All this time, I've been blabbering to everyone about how I'm a transcender and it's a good thing I've been lucky twice. Once with the Elves and another with Telara and her party. If I hadn't met with Telara, I might've been long captured just for being a Transcender or worse - killed on the spot.
"Got it. Thanks for the heads up, Telara."
"Sure."
"Oh, and regarding my situation. Do you know-"
A shadowy figure leapt from above and landed between me and Telara. I materialized my soulblade and Telara leaped to the side, ready to unleash hellfire. I studied our opponents and noticed a set of familiar eyes shining underneath the hood.
"Ssshhh, bandits. I counted fifteen of them. Two scouts, one caster, the rest of them fighters - longsword and axes. I've notified Darius, him and Liarelle are currently evacuating the merchants. He'll join us after."
Me and Telara nodded and proceeded stealthily alongside Alan. While I was in Arthuri, I had taken an opportunity to learn more about this world. Murder, rape, genocide, slavery, discrimination. I chuckled, feeling a twisted sense of comfort at the fact that all the ugly side of humanity are still prevalent, no matter which world we're in. Since then, I've been mentally resolved to take lives in case I needed to. Those who are prepared to kill should be prepared to be killed in return. Time to neutralize the threat.
"Hey, why are you up anyway? Your watch doesn't begin in another two hours," I asked.
"They disarmed some of my explosive and dart traps but triggered the detection ones."
"Wait, you had those dangerous things set up near our camp?" I lifted my eyebrows.
Alan shrugged, "It's not deadly. At worst, it'll only cripple them."
We circled around, aiming to ambush them from the rear, and found the rear guard consisting of one scout and four fighters. Alan pulled his bowstring and let one loose. It landed on the back of a man's head and he fell. I dropped from above, using my weight to drive through my soulblade through the person behind the fallen scout. Before the bandit beside him could react, I pulled my soulblade out of the dead man's chest and plunge it through his unarmored throat. My heart pounding with adrenaline. I know I had simulated killing multiple times before, but actually seeing fresh, warm human blood flowing out like a stream made my stomach churned. I froze on the spot, my mind numb. The other two guys behind, now fully aware of the situation brandished their swords against me. One of them rushed forward, preparing to part my head with his steel, and another arrow swiftly flew, lodging itself through his neck from behind. He died, and came crashing down on me. Alan leaped from a tree, unsheathing his short-sword and bringing it down on the last man. He turned and parried with his shield. Alan swiped his legs, tripping him down and stabbed the man squarely in his chest, piercing through his leather armor. He helped me off the body and asked, "You good?"
"Perfect," I responded with a shaky voice. Telara walked out of hiding and we moved on to the main group.
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