L.E. Miranda
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SSR - Chapter 61: Prelude (3)
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 22:17:52 +0000 UTCThe horses sunk their hooves into the ground as the coachman pulled the reins, making the carriage stop in place. The door immediately opened, and the young woman popped out with an angry look. She only reached Rylan’s shoulders and looked weak, but he could feel the level of mana within her. She was at the Second Circle, getting close to the Third.
Not bad.
She took firm steps toward the bandits, as if they would never be able to hurt her. A middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage as well, following her closely. Rylan narrowed his eyes. Surprisingly, he was at the Third Circle, which put him on the same level as Sarah. Given that the gap between each Circle increased the higher one went, he was a powerful Mage in his own right. Two women and a man walked out of the carriage, but they remained some distance away. The young woman looked at Aelfric.
“Are they trying to rob you?” she asked with a grave expression. Still with his eyes on the bandits and with his wand raised, he nodded. Rylan smiled at this. Even though the situation had changed, he hadn’t let his guard down and was still focused on his immediate enemies.
As I thought.
Aelfric had potential that went beyond his mana control or his ability to quickly form Circles. Fights weren’t about who had the higher stats and the strongest Skills; many other factors, such as judgment, decisiveness, planning, and more, influenced the outcome. Those were traits that were far harder to learn than simply increasing one’s stats and Level.
She turned to the bandits with a hard expression.
“In the name of the Gallohan house of Dalen city, I command you to stop.”
The bandits looked at each other. Rylan raised his eyebrows in surprise.
There’s no way that she thinks just saying the name of her family will solve this, right?
Without mentioning how they could think she was lying, dead men – or women – told no tales. If she died here and they moved to another town, it was unlikely that they would have to face the consequences, no matter what they were.
It seemed like the middle-aged man understood this well. He pulled out the wand on his waist; the air around him trembled as he freely emitted his mana. This time, the bandits flinched and froze in place. The atmosphere became heavier in nothing but a few moments. Sarah stepped closer to Rylan while grabbing her wand, but stopped in place after he raised his hand.
The bandit leader stepped forward as the others grabbed their injured comrades and carefully lifted them up.
“We had a minor disagreement, is all. Nothing to worry about. We were just leaving,” the leader said with a nervous smile, throwing a glance at Aelfric, who remained silent. “There’s no need to keep fighting.”
The young woman frowned, but the leader didn’t even look at her. His gaze remained on the middle-aged man.
“And you expect me to believe that?” she pointed at Aelfric, “He has already said you’re bandits.”
“What would we gain by robbing people like them?”
Her words caught in her throat as she threw a glance at Rylan and Sarah, running her gaze over their clothing and carriage. Almost as if looking for guidance, she looked at the middle-aged man, who gave her a small nod.
“My lady has commanded you to stop, but we aren’t after your lives. Leave this place and never do something like this again. Don’t make us regret sparing you,” he said with a firm voice, but Rylan could see the traces of disappointment in his eyes. As she nodded in satisfaction, he felt like he had an idea why.
Letting the bandits go is the same as letting them continue to rob others.
Based on the leader’s words and the looks he threw at Sarah, it wouldn’t end at robbing. The girl lacked the necessary decisiveness to nip this problem in the bud. Aelfric looked at her and the attendant with a serious expression.
“What? You can’t let them go!” he exclaimed.
“There’s no room to take them to the nearest city and have them answer for their crimes there,” the girl said while shaking her head.
The middle-aged attendant and Rylan frowned at the same time, while Aelfric blinked. Rylan carefully observed his brother as he opened his mouth and then closed it again, hesitating. Aelfric looked at the bandits as determination filled his eyes.
“You can’t let them go,” he repeated.
She frowned.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
Aelfric stared at the bandits for a few seconds. The leader raised his hand, palm facing forward.
“We don’t want any more trouble.”
Hidden in his eyes, Rylan could see a sharp edge. This was the kind of man who couldn’t be spared. His hand slowly wrapped itself around the wand on his waist. Aelfric looked at him with a conflicted expression, but he only shook his head.
“It’s your choice,” he stated with serene eyes.
Aelfric turned to the bandits. Silence. After a few seconds, he pointed at the leader.
“The others can go, but you’re staying behind.”
The bandit leader frowned, while the middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.
“…Why?” the leader asked.
Aelfric gritted his teeth.
“Because my brother said you would die here. I have no desire to spare you.”
The young woman nearly jumped in place.
“You want to kill him!? We don’t need to go that far!” she exclaimed loudly. The middle-aged man, on the other hand, smiled lightly.
Aelfric kept his eyes on the leader. The other bandits looked at each other before slowly stepping back. In a sudden movement, the leader raised the hand holding the wand and pointed the weapon at Aelfric, starting his chanting. However, it was as if Aelfric had been expecting it; he immediately dashed to the side, also raising his wand.
Different-colored Magic Missiles pierced through the air, colliding against each other and dispersing. The pressure the middle-aged man exuded increased as he also started chanting. The girl flinched before raising her wand with trembling hands. Rylan watched all of this happen with a calm expression, ready to jump into the fray at a moment’s notice. Sarah got closer to him.
“I don’t think it’s time for young master Aelfric to kill someone yet,” she said with a furrowed brow.
Rylan nodded.
“I know, but it’s something that he’ll have to go through eventually. Let’s see how he does.”
She glanced at his face before turning her gaze to the battle.
The other bandits started running into the forest in random directions, abandoning their leader.
“You fuckers!” the leader yelled, but his words were interrupted by a pained scream as a Firebolt landed on his left thigh. His posture collapsed, making him kneel while grabbing his injury with his open hand. The man continued to scream.
The girl’s attendant, the one who had shot the Firebolt, approached Aelfric and stared at him with a curious but appreciative look.
“What will you do now?” he asked, sounding like he needed to know the answer.
Aelfric looked at Rylan, at the kneeling leader, and then back at Rylan.
“…I can’t do it. I’m sorry, Rylan,” he said as he lowered his head. Rylan smiled and grabbed his shoulder.
“You’ve done well, Aelfric. These things take time.”
Rylan pulled out his wand and pointed it at the leader’s head. The man looked at him with a venomous gaze, marred by agony.
“You! When my boys find you, you—”
Rylan’s eyes were completely calm. He finished his chanting as the girl yelled.
“Wait!”
“Magic Missile.”
Blue mana coalesced into the shape of an arrow and pierced through the air, landing squarely on the bandit’s forehead. It drilled past skin and bone amidst a burst of scarlet, reaching the brain and shredding it. The spell came out on the other side of the now-dead man’s head. His corpse fell to the ground.
Silence.
Rylan looked at Aelfric, who was staring at him. His brother turned to the bandit’s corpse.
“…I won’t hesitate again,” he said with a serious expression. Rylan wrapped his arm around Aelfric’s shoulders.
“Don’t worry about that.”
“…We’ll talk about this later.”
The two of them turned around to face the girl and her attendant. She was staring at the bandit leader’s corpse, looking a bit pale. The middle-aged man nodded at Aelfric and Rylan but didn’t say anything.
Several seconds passed before the young woman ripped her gaze from the corpse and looked at Rylan, myriad emotions in her eyes. She glanced at the sword on his waist and furrowed her brow. As she looked at Aelfric, however, her gaze softened.
“…You did a great job protecting your friends from those people. Even if,” she threw Rylan a sharp look. “They could’ve helped you too.”
There was no need to correct her. Rylan simply nodded.
“Thank you for your willingness to help us. I wish we could compensate you somehow, but as you can see, we don’t have much. We’re still a long way from Caer Rhelon, so we should go,” he said with a light smile. The bandit’s death didn’t weigh on him at all. It was a trace of Roland's experiences.
She blinked, a bit of color returning to her face as her eyes focused.
“We’re also going to the capital! For the Magic Academy entrance exams.” Her eyes moved back to the corpse before she closed them and let out a deep breath. Once she opened them again, she looked like she’d calmed down. She looked at Aelfric. “Why don’t we travel together?”
Rylan raised an eyebrow as his brother looked at him without answering. She turned to him too, looking a bit confused.
“I’m Luna Gallohan. He,” she pointed at the middle-aged man, who bowed. “Is my friend and attendant, Karune.”
Interest danced in Karune’s eyes as he looked at Rylan’s trio, especially when his gaze ran over Sarah. It was obvious that he had noticed that she was hiding her power, but he said nothing.
“Are you sure? You don’t even know us,” Aelfric said with a furrowed brow, looking back at her. “What if we can’t be trusted?”
It was a fair point, but she only smiled at him.
“I think someone who fights against bandits to protect his people can’t be a bad person.”
And here I thought she couldn’t get more naïve.
Rylan slowly shook his head while Karune bowed toward her.
“I still think we need to be careful, my lady,” he said, then looked at Rylan with amusement. “How about we travel together, but you guys go in front?”
He had realized that Rylan was the one making the decisions. After thinking for a few seconds, Rylan nodded.
“Sure. It might help us avoid more bandits like those.”
Since the plain carriage hadn’t kept them away, maybe the threat of fighting against a noble house’s forces would. It would be best to avoid too many fights on the way to the capital since they needed to reach the city in time for the entrance examinations.
Luna smiled, but her eyes as she looked at him were strange. It wasn’t hostility, but she clearly didn’t like him. Was it because he had been the one to kill the bandit leader?
Maybe she thinks I should’ve fought alongside Aelfric.
Rylan inwardly shrugged. He didn’t really care about what she thought of him.
The group talked for a few minutes before each party went back to their carriage. After some time, the two vehicles set out, one following the other.
The remaining days of travel were peaceful.
Aelfric rejoiced at the opportunity to see scenery different from Cantavega; even Sarah seemed a bit happier. Forests and hills gave way to towns and cities. Finally, on a road at the top of a hill, Rylan managed to see the city in the distance. Countless roads led to imposing, thick city walls, which cradled buildings that rose toward the sky. The city was far larger than he expected; it crawled over the horizon, bathed by the yellow sunlight. The cloudless blue sky helped paint a picture of serenity.
Caer Rhelon.
The place where he would begin his journey to surpass Roland and become able to protect his family from anything and anyone.
Comments
L.E. Miranda
He hasn't gone through Class Evolution yet! He concluded that it would be best to do it only after the entrance exams, since it is affected by everything he does. The Dungeon will come into play a bit later.
EsZeus
Good chapter. But its still weird to leave out the new dungeon forming AND what happened with his class evolution. Especially the class topic is strange for me.
musashi
What a relief it is to have a character exp!ain the logical probability and potential consequences of letting a bandit/robber/thief or worse free. Sometimes it really shows a lack of empathy for innocents in the character or author.
Ananiash
Nice
