Volume 1 Chapter 2 Friend's Crisis
"Haha! Surprised, huh? The leader of the Blood-Soaked Bandits can use magic too! You must be some noble kid relying on your guards to protect you. Let's make you regret this! We'll capture you and demand a huge ransom!"
"Ohh!"
The bandits surrounding Naresh shouted loudly. They were completely pumped up and tried to attack Naresh with their weapons, while his guards desperately defended him. The circle around Naresh was getting smaller, and it was only a matter of time before they would be defeated. Behind them, Al was hiding in the shadows, staring intently at the bandit leader. At first, he thought about escaping at any moment, but he couldn't just leave his friend, who he had been in the same class with for 5 years, in danger.
'Sensory Boost'──Enhanced Visual
The bandit leader's armor was simple, only protecting his chest. Because of the enhanced vision, Al could see the leader's fingers shaking as he aimed, but he steadied himself by resting his elbow on a rock. Now was the best chance since he hadn't been noticed. Al aimed for the leader's neck.
'Magic Missile'──Focused Power
From Al's fingertips, a glowing arrow about 30 cm (≈ 11.8 in) long shot out, similar to the one the leader had used earlier. There was only one arrow, but it hit the bandit leader's neck from about 50 meters (≈ 164 ft) away and sliced through.
"Wh-what?! What's happening?!"
The leader and the bandit splattered with blood screamed. Blood gushed out from the wound. Not fully understanding what had just happened, the leader hurriedly tried to cover the wound, but the blood wouldn't stop flowing.
"Something flew in and cut my neck. There's someone over there. Is it magic? An arrow?"
The man who was giving orders right next to the leader glared at the direction where the magic had come from, where Al was. He hurriedly hid behind a rock.
'Illusion'──The Magician and His Guards.
Al quickly created an illusion of a figure wearing a wide-brimmed black hat and a black robe, along with knights in metal armor on either side. The bandits were shocked by the sudden appearance of the 3.
"Damn it, what's going on? There was no one in armor like that!"
"Cough cough, ugh!"
Next to the panicking bandits, the leader, who had lost a lot of blood, started to tremble and made strange noises before collapsing.
"Boss?! No way, the boss is down! We have to run!"
"Wait, don't run!"
The man who was giving orders next to the leader tried to stop them, but the other bandits were already backing away in fear of the strong enemy.
"Alright, now's the time. We won't lose!"
Naresh stood up unsteadily. Taking advantage of the stunned bandits, one of the guards jumped forward and slashed at the man who was giving orders next to the leader. The man, distracted by his surroundings, let out a pained groan and fell.
"Don't! Run!"
The bandit group began to flee after losing their leader. The two guards chased after them, taking down a few more.
"Do not pursue. Raise a victory cry and bind the fallen bandits. I don't know who you are, but thank you, magician, for your help."
Naresh gave instructions to his guards while calling out to the illusion. Al, watching from the side, shouted and jumped down from the rock. At the same time, the illusion he created disappeared.
"Eh? Al, is that you?"
Naresh was surprised to see Al suddenly appear. Al's real name was Alfred Channing. Al was the nickname he used at the Adventurer's Guild in the capital. However, since he decided to live as an adventurer, he always introduced himself as Al. Even though it was only a few months ago, being called Alfred felt strangely nostalgic.
"Hey, Naresh. I'm glad it worked out. It's been a while. I didn't expect to see you here."
"What about the magician and the knight from earlier?"
Naresh compared Al, who was getting closer, with the rock where the illusion had vanished.
"Ahaha, that's nice to hear. Did they look real? All 3 of them were illusions I created."
"Wha, really?"
Naresh couldn't help but say that. The two guards nodded a few times, seemingly impressed.
"I'm still practicing. If you looked closely, you would have noticed something was off."
Al sounded like he wasn't satisfied yet. Naresh, having sheathed his sword, pressed his left hand against his chest, feeling pain from a wound. His shirt was stained red. The bleeding might not have stopped yet. One of the guards lent Naresh a shoulder.
"Are you okay? It looks like you're bleeding a lot."
Al rushed over, looking worried. Naresh's breathing was heavy.
"Yeah, let's head back to the carriage for now. I'm just glad you showed up. Tell me more later."
Al let out a sigh of relief and hurried towards the carriage that had been attacked by the bandits, along with Naresh.
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