Chapter 2

"Hahaha, surprised, are you? The leader of the Blood-soaked Thieves can use magic too. You must be a noble's brat relying on your guards, no doubt. I'll make you regret this. We'll capture you and extort a hefty ransom."

"Ooh!"

The thieves surrounding Narush and his party let out a war cry. They were fully riled up and ready to attack Narush with their weapons, while his guards struggled to defend him. The circle around Narush and his party gradually shrank, and it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. Behind them, Al hid in the shadows, staring intently at the thief leader. Initially, he had planned to escape at any moment, but he couldn't abandon his friend, with whom he had studied in the same class for five years.

**Enhanced Perception** - Enhanced Vision, Zoom

The thief leader's armor was a simple piece that only protected his chest. The tremor in Al's finger, magnified by his enhanced vision, was significant, but he steadied it by resting his elbow on a rock. This was the best opportunity while he remained unnoticed. Al aimed for the leader's neck.

**Magic Arrow** - Converge

From Al's fingertips, a glowing, arrow-like object about 30 cm long shot out, similar to the one the leader had used. Though there was only one, it struck the thief's neck as intended, piercing and tearing it from a distance of about 50 meters.

"Wh-what?!"

The leader and the thieves splattered with his blood screamed. Blood gushed from the wound. Confused, the leader desperately tried to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop.

"Something flew and cut my neck. There's someone over there. Was it magic? An arrow?"

The man who had been giving orders next to the leader glared in the direction the magic had come from, where Al was hiding. He quickly hid behind a rock.

**Illusion** - Mage and his Guards

Al immediately placed a wide-brimmed black hat on the rock and created the illusion of a figure in a black robe, flanked by two knights in metal armor. The sudden appearance of the three figures startled the thieves.

"Damn, what's going on? There were no knights in that armor."

"Cough, cough, ugh"

The leader, rapidly losing blood, convulsed and fell, making strange noises.

"Boss?! Shit, the boss has been hit. It's no good, I'm running!"

"Wait, don't run!"

The man who had been giving orders next to the leader tried to stop them, but the other thieves, intimidated by the appearance of strong enemies, fled in a panic.

"Alright, now! We won't lose!"

Narush, despite his wobbling, stood up. Seizing the opportunity while the thieves were stunned, one of the guards lunged forward and slashed the man who had been giving orders next to the leader. Distracted, the man fell with a groan of pain.

"It's no good, run!"

The thieves, having lost both their leader and the man in charge, began to flee. The two guards pursued them, taking down a few more.

"There's no need to chase them. Raise the victory cry and tie up the fallen thieves. Whoever you are, Mage, I thank you for your assistance."

Narush gave orders to his guards and called out to the illusion. Al, watching from the corner of his eye, called out and jumped down from the rock. The illusion he had created disappeared simultaneously.

"Huh? A-Alfred?"

Narush exclaimed in surprise at Al's sudden appearance. Al's real name was Alfred Channing, and "Al" was the nickname he used at the adventurer's guild in the capital. Despite having decided to go by Al in his adventurer career only a few months ago, being called Alfred made him feel a strange sense of nostalgia.

"Hey, Narush. I'm glad it went well. It's been a while. I didn't expect to meet you here."

"This... the mage and knights from earlier, were they...?"

Narush compared the approaching Al with the rock where the illusion had been.

"Hehe, that's great. Did they look real? All three were illusions I created."

"Wh-what, really?"

Narush was taken aback. The two guards nodded in admiration.

"I'm still practicing. If you looked closely, you would have noticed something was off right away."

Al sounded unsatisfied. Narush, sheathing his sword, pressed his left hand to his chest, which seemed to be paining him. His shirt was stained red, and the bleeding might not have stopped. One of the guards supported Narush.

"Are you okay? The bleeding looks pretty bad."

Al rushed over, concerned. Narush's breathing was heavy.

"Yeah, let's get back to the carriage. At least we're safe. I'll hear your story later."

Al sighed in relief and hurried with Narush to the carriage that had been attacked by the thieves.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for the corrections. I always appreciate the help.

I would be very happy if you could give me likes, points, and feedback. Please, I would really appreciate it.

May 26, 2023 - Corrected "far-sighted" to "zoom"