“I thought I heard something… This brat… Did you kill them?”
Finding his companions’ corpses in the darkness, the man drew his sword and glared at me, who was holding a knife.
Did he hear the sound when I killed them? Either way, it seems impossible to make him underestimate me as just a child anymore, so I also point my Black Knife at the man.
If Viro doesn’t count, this will be my first real battle.
Even so, having experienced Feld and Viro’s Killing Intent, I don’t feel fear enough to shrink back, even though I’m tense from the Killing Intent emanating from the man.
Hard leather armor and a Longsword. The equipment itself is old, but it’s typical equipment for a ‘warrior’.
He looks to be in his early thirties. There was one Bandit with a Combat Strength of 90, higher than the others around him, but if this man is him, then he’s not just a Bandit, but a deserter or a failed Adventurer.
I’ve heard that even among the soldiers who had only ever faced humans during the Monster Outbreak that killed my parents, some fled from the battle with Monsters.
“…”
If he’s a deserter, my father might not have died if this man hadn’t run away. I know it’s just an after-the-fact argument, but I can’t help but give him a cold look, and the man visibly grimaces.
“…You’re a creepy brat. So, you did do it.”
Even I would think it’s eerie for a child to appear in the depths of this Forest and not be intimidated even when a sword is pointed at them.
Even if this man is a deserter, I don’t hate him. But instead of anger, a viscous, cold Killing Intent oozes out, and the man gasps at my Intimidation.
It’s easier to deal with him if he’s wary rather than charging in fueled by anger.
A Combat Strength of around 90 would make him a [Rank 2] warrior.
Probably Swordsmanship Skill at Level 2, and Defense Skill and Martial Arts Skill at Level 1 or so. His Mana Capacity was about 50, so he might have Attribute Magic, but even if he did, it would probably be Level 1, but I assume he doesn’t have it at that age with that Mana.
As for ranged weapons, if he’s a former soldier, he probably knows how to use a bow to some extent, but [Archery] is a Skill that can be used independently even without [Throwing], so I kept the possibility of thrown weapons like knives in mind at a mid-level of alert.
Analyzing him with a calmness that surprises even myself, we both release Killing Intent while holding our weapons, gradually changing positions clockwise.
This man… I’ll tentatively call him ‘Bandit Leader’ for now, and explore his combat methods.
Assuming the Bandit Leader’s Combat Skill is probably Swordsmanship Level 2, if I clash head-on, I, as a child, would be blown away.
I won’t fight head-on. I won’t let my guard down either. My values are messed up because of Feld and Viro, but even this man’s Combat Strength is a considerable threat.
Shu!
“Tch!”
The Bandit Leader exaggeratedly dodged the iron skewer I suddenly threw.
He’s probably drinking alcohol. He probably thinks that much alcohol is no problem against a child, but that’s because his judgment is impaired by the alcohol.
I don’t have the Throwing Skill, so it would have been deflected by this man’s armor, but thanks to him being wary of me, he was able to lose his balance more than necessary.
Attack in that gap… I didn’t do anything so foolish, and I took distance by jumping backward.
“Running away!”
The Bandit Leader chases after me as I take distance and start running normally from a backward position.
Considering the Bandit Leader’s psychology, he’s wary of me, who killed his companions and released Killing Intent and Intimidation despite being a child. But, because I’m a child, he can’t do something as shameless as calling for his companions, and he thinks I ran away because I saw his weapon and I’m just a child.
He intends to be wary, but his pride as the Bandit Leader is probably getting in the way of being too wary of a child.
That’s why he chased after me without hesitation as I fled into the Darkness where even the light of the bonfire couldn’t reach.
I don’t need to win against this man. If I can buy time until Viro finishes off the other Bandits, that will be my victory. For me, causing a commotion in that place and turning it into a melee involving the other Bandits would be the most troublesome.
There’s a difference in speed between an adult and a child, but if it’s me, unburdened and light, and the Bandit Leader, wearing armor and with his weapon drawn, it’s probably about the same.
The Bandit Leader, who chased after me according to my plan, clearly slowed down when he entered the Forest where even moonlight couldn’t reach, and stumbled on a small tree root, losing his balance.
“Damn it… Light!”
The Bandit Leader chanted Utility Magic, and a small light about the size of a candle lit up at the tip of his sword.
“Dark.”
I easily canceled it out by sending Mana Particles from a distance, and the Forest was once again enveloped in Darkness.
“Damn it!”
Adding enemy information. The Bandit Leader doesn’t have the Night Vision Skill.
“Light!”
“Dark.”
My Dark extinguished the Bandit Leader’s Light several times after that.
It was difficult to send Mana Particles to a specific location, but Dark Attribute Mana could cancel out the light to some extent even if released in a somewhat diffused manner. Also, the consideration of [Noise], which places sound in an arbitrary location, supplemented that.
The Bandit Leader’s Mana Capacity is about 50. In contrast, my Mana Capacity is about 70. Not only that, but the Bandit Leader had been using Body Enhancement ever since he pointed his sword at me.
About a dozen minutes have passed since the battle began. Body Enhancement consumes about 1 Mana every 100 seconds, so the Bandit Leader’s Mana has continued to decrease during that time.
I haven’t even used Body Enhancement for anything other than combat in the first place, so in this Mana consumption battle with no end in sight, the Bandit Leader finally gave up using Light.
“You brat! Fight fair and square!”
He’s saying unreasonable things to a child. And adding enemy information. He hasn’t even been able to grasp my position since entering the Forest, so it seems the Bandit Leader doesn’t have a Detection Skill either.
But he can probably sense presences. When I started moving, he swung his sword at the slight sound of my footsteps.
“Slash!”
The Combat Art of Swordsmanship Level 1, Slash, tore through the Darkness right next to where I was.
That attack is surprisingly accurate. After all, Swordsmanship Level 2 is not a level to be underestimated. At the first Combat Art aimed at me, clammy sweat oozed onto the palms of my hands.
Neither of us has a decisive move. I can’t inflict damage unless I exploit an opening. The Bandit Leader can’t attack unless I attack.
But there’s a decisive difference between me and the Bandit Leader. That is, I have the initiative in the attack.
The passive Bandit Leader can’t stop using Body Enhancement. My goal is to buy time, so I can conserve Mana without rushing.
But, before the time when Viro’s battle seemed to be ending arrived, the Bandit Leader’s Mana, who had used too much Light, reached its limit, and his legs faltered slightly as Body Enhancement disappeared.
“Damn it…”
The Bandit Leader, finally realizing his disadvantage, started running towards the village while distorting his face.
He’s stronger than me even without using Body Enhancement, but because he was wary of me, he used up all his Mana and ran away even though he didn’t have to.
His judgment is bad. He has pride, but no “resolve”.
However, simply letting him get away with it would negate the meaning of my “training”.
When I jumped out from the shadow of a tree, the Bandit Leader, reacting to the slight noise, swung his sword behind him.
But the sword is clearly dull. It’s not just because Body Enhancement is gone, but the Bandit Leader, who was originally a professional warrior, is probably physically shrinking from fighting without Body Enhancement, which is common sense for combat jobs.
Even so, the sword speed of Level 2 is sharp, but it’s no longer at a level that I, with Short Sword Level 1, can’t evade in the Darkness.
“Gah!?”
My knife shallowly slashes the man’s thigh.
Even if the knife is sharp, my strength isn’t enough to deeply slash an adult’s muscles. But that’s not a big problem.
“You brat!”
Even if he raises a shout in anger and threatens me, I won’t be intimidated by you.
On the contrary, the man’s sword tip becomes more and more exaggerated, to the point where it can’t be corrected by the Swordsmanship Skill, due to the fear of being slashed in the Darkness.
“Damn it!!!”
After that, I took my time and repeatedly slashed at the Bandit Leader’s legs, looking for openings.
It was also to keep him from escaping from the Forest, but because of my height, I had to step in quite a bit to reach his upper body. I also wanted to try out my own Combat Art, but it was wiser to refrain from using the exaggerated Combat Art in this situation.
The Bandit Leader is stronger than me. That’s why I immediately take distance after inflicting a blow. That’s why I absolutely won’t let him escape from this Darkness.
None of the wounds inflicted are fatal. The slashed area was large, and his lower body was covered in blood, but there were still no injuries to important organs.
But at that moment, the situation I feared occurred.
“…Heh, haha! I’ve finally found you, brat!!!”
The morning arrives, and the faint sunlight illuminates my ash-covered pink-blonde hair.
“This is the end, you brat!”
“…………”
Looks like time’s up. The “training” is over too.
“Haaah! …wh, …at”
The Bandit Leader, who finally found me and tried to slash, collapsed to his knees the moment he lunged.
The sword slipped from his hand, and I gave a cold look to the Bandit Leader’s pale face, confused and uncomprehending.
“It’s morning already, you know? How many hours do you think have passed since then?”
My aim was ‘death by blood loss.’ That’s why I didn’t pursue him deeply, but instead inflicted wounds that only increased the bleeding.
I used [Heal] on myself to recover the stamina I lost from staying up all night, kicked away the longsword that fell from the Bandit Leader’s hand, and cautiously approached him with my knife ready.
“Do you have any means left to fight?”
“…………”
“I see. Then, goodbye.”
While staring straight into his half-frightened, glaring eyes, I ruthlessly slashed the Bandit Leader’s throat horizontally with my knife.
There’s no need to be careless and step in here. I kept my knife ready and watched him until the blood that spilled from the wound extinguished the flame of his life, dyed with despair.
Dragging the longsword, my spoils of war, I returned to the abandoned village, where an unscathed Viro was drinking fruit wine from a canteen next to the pile of corpses stacked in the center of the plaza, and raised a hand in a casual gesture.
“Yo, you’re late. Was it a tough enemy?”
“Probably the Bandit Leader? This is a spoil of war.”
I think you could be a little more worried…
Viro took the longsword I handed him and narrowed his eyes to examine it.
“It’s a decent sword… how did you manage to win? This is a cheap product ordered by a noble. There’s Baron Horas’s mark on the hilt… well, the origins of a dead bandit don’t matter, I guess.”
“I suppose not…”
“More importantly, light the fire for me. I spread oil on the corpses, but the fire in the firebox went out, and I can’t light my cigarette.”
“Roger that… Maybe you should quit smoking?”
After making sure the fire wouldn’t spread, Viro puffed on his cigarette with relish, and I munched on dry bread. Then, we left the abandoned village.
“Fwaah… staying up all night is too much for me. Let’s get a good inn when we get to the next town. The bandits had a decent amount, so I’ll give you half, try paying for it yourself.”
“Thanks…”
And so, we continued our journey, and three days later, we arrived at Taurus County, a major city in this area.
That was a battle with a rare lack of exhilaration (laughs).
However, Aria’s battles are basically fought with tactics and traps. Please wait until she grows a little more for battles with a sense of exhilaration.
Next time, the last of Chapter 1. The destination of the journey.
I’m running out of stock soon.