Volume 1 Chapter 1 Attack Site [Local Map Included]
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(I've created the map using the Inkarnate map-making site.)
- Truth Magic, also known simply as Magic, is a miraculous power generated by accumulating thought energy extracted through a special method called mana, following a set of ritual-like procedures written in spell books.
On a certain day in April, a young man was walking along the seaside road on the eastern side of the Sipree Mountains. His name was Al. Born as the third son of a lord of a poor village in the southwestern part of the Sipree Mountains, he had just graduated from the middle school in the capital this year and was heading towards the border city of Lester, the southernmost part of the Rain Frontier Margrave territory.
His height was around 150 cm (≈ 4 feet 11 inches). He was lanky and thin, and his face still retained a youthful appearance. His dull, dusty, golden hair, which had grown out, was tied back carelessly, and he wore a thick brown leather cuirass over his thin brown clothes. A large knife and a slightly bulging pouch hung from his waist, and a fully packed backpack was slung over his back.
He was currently in the Sipree Mountains, located in the southwestern area of the Rain Margrave territory. To the west, there was the Nash Mountain Range, where snow never melted even in summer, and to the east, a highland area spread about 25 kilometers (≈ 15.53 miles) between the mountains and the sea. The southern part was still an undeveloped region, home to many barbarians and magic beasts, and the people living in this area were always exposed to those threats. However, on the flip side, it was said that the undeveloped region held many possibilities since it had not been touched by human hands. Especially near the border city of Lester, where he was headed, many ancient ruins had been discovered, attracting more people looking for ancient treasures and magical tools. And Al was one of those who dreamed of such things.
He passed through the large port city of Milton just before noon. It had already been about 2 hours. The sky was dark and cloudy, threatening rain, and even though it was spring, the temperature was still quite chilly, but a light sweat was forming on his forehead.
He had heard that if he walked for about another hour, he would reach a large river. There, he could take a ferry, and then it would be just a short distance to the border city of Lester. However, he also heard that the area before that was a difficult path filled with large rocks, where visibility was poor, and many magical beasts and bandits lurked, ready to attack. Feeling a bit annoyed, he stopped for a moment to look around. Then he suddenly noticed a faint sound of fighting coming from a distance. He listened for a while, but there was no sign of it stopping. Having been active as an adventurer since his school days, he had dealt with barbarians and bandits before. He thought he couldn't completely ignore it, so he decided to go check it out.
As he got closer, the sounds of battle grew louder, and voices began to mix in. It seemed like a large number of people were fighting. However, the rocky terrain blocked his view, so he needed to get even closer to see what was happening. He crouched behind some cover, knelt down, and took off his left leather glove, placing his palm on the ground.
'Sensory Boost'──Enhanced Touch
Sensory Boost was considered a rather useless spell among magicians. Even when used, it only allowed one to see a bit farther and become slightly more sensitive to smells. However, this boy named Al used it a bit differently. He limited the senses he enhanced, which increased the effectiveness of the spell. Some animals can sense vibrations through their feet to detect distant enemies, and by using Sensory Boost, he could do the same and feel the vibrations in the ground.
When he combined the information he gained with the sounds of battle and voices he heard, it seemed like the attackers were bandits. There were probably just over 20 of them. It was unclear how many were being attacked, as there were wagons and such, but it looked like at least 8 were fighting back. The attackers outnumbered them by more than 2 to one, but if those 8 were guards, they should be skilled fighters. In that case, the chances of the attacking bandits winning seemed low.
I'm sure it's fine──just as he was about to think that, he noticed something strange. Would bandits really attack someone like this? They usually target the weak. In other words, they only attack the weak. There's no way a group of about 20 bandits would attack someone with 8 bodyguards. Unless they were very confident in their skills, or the bandits were in a desperate situation, it didn't make sense. Feeling uneasy, he decided to widen his search and check the surroundings.
──As expected, there they were.
Another group of about 20 was moving quietly, keeping their voices low. It was a considerable number, but they were on the opposite side of the wagon from where the guards and bandits were fighting, closer to Al, but they hadn't noticed him yet.
This is dangerous, he thought, and after hiding his backpack in a gap between rock, he approached the group. Climbing up on a slightly higher rock to get a better view, he saw that they were wearing mismatched armor over dirty clothes, clearly looking like bandits. He cast a spell to enhance his hearing and listened in on their conversation. From what he gathered, the bandits attacking the caravan were called the Skeleton bandits, and they themselves were part of a group called the Blood-Soaked Bandits. It seemed these two groups had a mutually beneficial relationship and were planning to cooperate to attack the caravan this time.
He understood the situation, but he had just graduated from middle school and couldn't possibly take on so many people at once. After a moment of hesitation, he decided that at least warning the guards before a surprise attack and offering help would be better. Of course, he wouldn't just shout out loud, as that would put him in danger, so he made sure he could escape quickly if things got risky. With that in mind, he began to chant a spell.
'Illusion'──Sound Illusion.
"There's a bandit over here!"
Al made a hallucination shout from a different place than where he was. He had cleverly focused the hallucination on just the sound, allowing him to adjust the volume. It was loud enough that the caravan would definitely hear it.
"Did they find us?!" "Where's the lookout?!" "It's your fault for making such a loud noise!" "It's not me, it's you!"
The Blood-Soaked Bandits shouted at each other, blaming one another loudly. After a command from what seemed to be their leader, they started running towards the sound and the caravan. Al avoided the group heading towards the sound and chased after those going towards the caravan. They weren't far from where the caravan was fighting another bandits, the Skeleton bandits, so within a few minutes, he could hear the sounds of that battle. Just as they were about to pass through some rocks that were blocking his view, the Blood-Soaked Bandits suddenly stopped.
"You're not getting past here!"
Al was surprised by the shout that came from where the bandits had stopped. He recognized that voice. It sounded a lot like his classmate, Naresh, who had just graduated from middle school a month ago.
Al quickly climbed up a nearby rock to peek at the source of the voice. There stood a young man with short blonde hair and a big body, accompanied by 2 guards in leather armor. That young man was definitely Naresh.
He was the second son of the Viscount family that ruled Lester, and fitting for his background, he had been one of the top students in class, planning to advance to a higher school. It made sense that he was back home at this time. It wasn't too surprising that their paths crossed since he had started his journey after graduating from school.
Naresh seemed to be planning to use the narrow path made of rocks to face off against 20 bandits with his 2 bodyguards. The battle between the 3 of them and the bloody band of bandits quickly began. Naresh's 2 bodyguards were quite skilled, supporting the young Naresh while skillfully using the surrounding rocks to their advantage. The fight looked evenly matched. However, the leader of the bandits, who was making his underlings fight, suddenly began to chant a spell.
'Magic Missile.'
From the leader's outstretched left hand, 3 glowing arrows, about 30 cm (≈ 11.8 in) long, flew toward Naresh and his 2 bodyguards. The two bodyguards seemed to be fine thanks to their metal chest armor, but for Naresh, who was only wearing regular clothes, one of the glowing arrows pierced deeply into his chest. In that moment, the arrow blinked once and then vanished, leaving a gaping wound from which fresh blood began to spill. He groaned and fell to his knees. One of the bodyguards hurriedly stood in front of Naresh to protect him, but the bandits began to surround the 3 of them upon seeing this.
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