"Ugh… I feel sick."
Soren couldn't help but agree with Felix.
So far, they had watched a total of three matches with the fourth currently ongoing, but Soren had vastly underestimated how different this world was from the one he knew.
Unlike the cute autobattler mini-game, what was taking place in front of him was a brutal show where familiars would fight until their opponent had reverse summoned, or in other words, died.
'At least familiars are immortal..' He had thought that way at first, but as the rounds passed, he quickly realised that it may be even more brutal because of that fact.
He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the sight before his eyes any longer.
Familiars were meant to be creatures made of mana that people bond with, who stick by your side for life, similar to pets, and yet now he was watching such beings fight to the death for the enjoyment of their summoners.
"At least we're winning…"
It was a cold statement, unfitting of Soren, but it was also true that was the entire reason he had bothered coming to such a place.
Felix looked at Soren with a strange look before responding.
"True, but—"
So far, they had both won all three rounds.
"—let's leave soon."
"Sure."
Soren wasn't against the idea.
Initially, he had planned to stay until the end, but after seeing how the familiar ring operated, that idea had long vanished.
'In future I'll use the other ones.'
The only reason he had come to this specific one was convenience.
'I've already earned enough money anyway.'
By the time the fourth round ends, Soren would have won close to six gold.
'I'll need more in the future, though.'
For now, though, six gold was more than enough.
Felix had also managed to win quite a bit, even if it wasn't as much as Soren.
After the round ended, Felix and Soren went over to the counter to receive their earnings, but something strange happened.
"Wow! Ma'am, you've won 6 gold! And the handsome man next to you has won 3 gold! Could it be beginner's luck?"
The man at the counter spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone nearby, quickly drawing the attention of other customers.
"Tch."
Felix clicked his tongue, immediately realising what was going on, whilst Soren was slightly slower thanks to being caught off guard by being called 'ma'am.'
Upon realising the situation, they both grabbed the money before leaving the basement with quick steps, hoping to get out as quickly as possible.
Not a single word was spoken between the two as they both understood their current situation.
The moment they escaped the building…
"Run!"
Ting-♪
Soren heard a familiar sound, but he was unable to check, given the situation he was in.
It was clear what the clerk was attempting to do earlier, purposely putting a target on their backs, thanks to them both winning more than they should have.
'I feel stupid.'
Soren couldn't help but be annoyed with himself for being surprised by such an obvious outcome.
He wanted to beat himself up for being so naive, but there was no time.
"Soren, there are three people following. How long does it take to get back to the main street?"
Long gone was Felix's usual frivolous demeanour, his eyes now filled with experience that one wouldn't expect from an 18-year-old boy.
'Had he been expecting it the entire time?'
"10 minutes if we keep running as is."
Soren didn't bother to add the fact that it was only the case as long as their pursuers didn't catch up, as Felix would already be aware.
"They're faster than I thought."
Previously, only Felix had been able to sense how close and how many people were chasing them, thanks to his enhanced senses given by being a half-elf, but now even Soren could feel them.
The problem, however, was that Soren's ability to sense them was a bad thing.
'They're too close.'
"Felix, we'll have to fight."
They couldn't keep running.
Although they had almost left the sketchy back alleys, they were still roughly five minutes away from the main street, and with how close their pursuers were, it was clear they would catch them before they made it.
The moment Soren spoke, Felix stopped running and started chanting without even waiting for the opponents to appear.
'If they're this fast, then they're probably strong…'
Soren was worried about his current situation.
Their current party was that of two mages, which meant they were at a considerable disadvantage with no warrior or priest to protect them.
This led him to the conclusion that he would have to protect Felix.
The bigger problem was that Felix's speciality was defensive magic; being a class B student meant he was pretty powerful, but his main spells all lacked power.
"「Gaia」"
Felix chanted the spell he had been preparing.
Suddenly, the floor around him began to soften.
It was a method of using [Gaia] that Soren had also used many times before.
Felix was a support magician, lacking firepower but being useful in defence missions thanks to his speciality of earth and plant magic, which is why he had immediately altered the terrain.
In response to Felix's spell, the enemy magician also started chanting, causing a pale-blue light to emanate from his palm.
Recognising the colour, Soren turned towards Felix.
"They're using an ice spell!"
Felix nodded and began chanting once again.
"「Freeze」"
The previously softened floor quickly hardened as ice froze the area beneath them, even extending past Felix in the rear.
'He's not aiming for us.'
Flicking his head around, Soren saw a wall of ice forming behind him and Felix, completely blocking off their escape route.
'That level of proficiency is insane.'
He couldn't help but be impressed seeing some random street thug using [Freeze] at such a high level, but now wasn't the time for that.
Bringing his attention back to his current situation, he started casting [Ignition] with the thought of at least melting the wall, but…
Thud—!
Out of nowhere, Soren was kicked in the stomach.
"Cough!"
He staggered back, but thanks to [Concentration], his magic circle didn't shatter, letting him cast the moment he regained the ability to speak.
"「Ignition!」"
Fwoosh!
Flames burst forth from his palm, causing the thug to pull his arms up to his face with a surprised expression.
"Shit! Fucking brat!"
The sleeves on his arms had been incinerated, and even some of the flesh had been burnt, causing the thug to curse in pain, but it wasn't over yet.
"「Gaia」"
Before the newly-burnt thug could regain his senses, Felix had cast another spell.
Rumble rumble
The ground beneath them rumbled and shot up around the thug, locking his legs in place.
Upon seeing that Soren had instantly picked up on what Felix was aiming for.
Wooonggg—
A yellow light shone from Soren's hand as another light came from the enemy magician, but Soren was already aware of how much faster his own casting time was.
"「Shock」"
But just as the electricity was discharged from his palm, he suddenly remembered something that Felix had said earlier.
– Soren, there are three people following. How long does it take to get back to the main street?
'Where's the 3rd?'
"Keuk!"
The spell hit the thug that had previously been burnt, knocking him out instantly, but Soren couldn't cheer; instead, he turned and called out to Felix.
"Felix, where is the third—"
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt an overwhelming amount of pain coming from his abdomen.
'Fuck! It was an assassin type.'
"「Bloom」"
Felix's spell came a beat too late, but it was able to push the assassin away, giving Soren a moment to check his condition.
Drip… drip…
When the assassin was pushed back by Felix's spell, he had also pulled his dagger out, which meant blood was pouring out of Soren's body at an alarming rate.
His legs felt unsteady, and his eyes were shaking, but the enemies didn't even give him a chance to think.
The magician's magic circle had been formed.
"「Freeze」"
"「Shield」"
Luckily, Felix had already prepared a spell in advance, stopping the ice from reaching them, but Soren's situation was still dire.
'What do I do?'
'I should've learned how to use divine power.'
'Should I cauterise it?'
His brain was flooded with ideas, but none of them seemed useful.
He was panicking, unsure of what to do; he was used to injuries, but they had never been this bad.
'Am I going to die?'
"Soren! Snap out of it already!"
Soren looked up. Felix was standing in front of him, still holding onto the [Shield] spell he had cast earlier.
"It's going to break, so hurry up!"
The barrier was cracking at an alarming rate; they had only a few seconds left at most.
Soren knew he had to get a hold of himself; if not, then everything would be over.
"Hooo…"
He exhaled a deep breath and formed a magic circle in his palm.
Usually, such a situation would be impossible thanks to the pain and dizziness, but Soren was different.
'Please work.'
He brought his palm to his chest and spoke.
"「Freeze」"
He froze the area that had been spewing blood, and thankfully, it stopped.
"Kuek! Shit!"
He knew that he could cauterise the wound with [Ignition], but he was also aware that his pain tolerance would have made it impossible for him to move afterwards, so in his desperation, he decided to use [Freeze] instead.
'It burns..'
His skin felt tingly, and there was a burning sensation where the ice was, but for now, it was all he could do.
'I should learn how to use divine power when I get back.'
Upon finishing his emergency first-aid, he brought his attention back to the situation before him.
'The close-range dealer is unconscious, the assassin was revealed, and the mage wasn't much of an issue.'
The barrier was on its last legs, but Felix's face lacked worry; instead, he looked relieved when he noticed that Soren was back on his feet.
"I can stop the assassin for a moment, but you need to deal the finishing blow."
Hearing those words, Soren's eyes widened in shock.
"What!?"
Shatter
Before Soren could even comprehend Felix's words, the barrier crumbled.
'Is he being serious?'
Woonggg!
'But do I even have the means?'
Even if he was at full strength, Soren wasn't sure if he could follow Felix's request, but with his current state, it was even less likely.
None of the spells at Soren's disposal were powerful enough to be considered a finishing blow; even using [Shock] on the burnt thug was only possible by catching him off guard.
He had already prepared an [Ignition] spell, but against someone as strong as the assassin, he was sure it wouldn't be enough.
'Then what?'
His offensive spells were weak, his support spells didn't help finish someone off, and the pain in his abdomen left him unable to move as fast as normal.
Unable to think of anything else, Soren whispered in the smallest voice he could manage.
"「Inventory」"
Ting-♪
A screen appeared before his somewhat hazy eyes.
Subtly reaching his hand towards the screen, he remembered the time after meeting Louise, when he was wandering the streets near the academy, so he could map out the area in case anything went wrong, when he came across a weapons shop.
Naturally, such a shop reminded him of both Rena Forest and the mock duel where he had used a weapon while casting magic, which led him to step inside such a place.
In the end, thanks to his meagre amount of money, he was unable to buy anything special, a simple iron handaxe, similar to the one he had used in his mock duel.
He didn't carry around the weapon for two reasons.
One was the reaction of the combat studies students who thought he was mocking them, and the other was that he simply didn't feel it was necessary to carry it on his person.
.
[Iron Handaxe]
[2★]
[A handaxe made by a mediocre blacksmith.]
.
[Withdraw [Iron Handaxe]?]
[Yes] [No]
.
[Yes]
.
Suddenly, a handaxe materialised in his hand.
Seeing that the assassin muttered to himself.
"She's got a spatial ring, what a catch."
Soren felt his eyebrow twitch at the words that he was hearing more and more frequently as time passed.
'Are they doing it on purpose?'
WOOONGGG—!
"「Nature's Strength!」"
'Intermediate magic?!'
Soren was left slack-jawed at Felix's spell.
As per the setting, some class B students were close to learning intermediate spells, but Felix already being able to cast one was far outside of Soren's expectations.
'This guy's talent is insane..'
Rumble–! Rumble–!
Boom—!
Vines shot up out of the ground and surrounded the assassin, whilst also cutting off the magician's vision.
"I'll leave the rest to you!"
Felix rushed towards the magician, leaving Soren with the assassin.
Thanks to Felix's magic, the assassin was now unable to run and hide, instead being stuck in a dead-end, surrounded by vines full of thorns that could pierce the assassin's flesh if he made even one wrong move.
'At least he can't use mana enhancement…'
He had already come to this realisation back when Felix had shielded him with a barrier, since if he had the ability, he would've used it to shatter the barrier and taken out Felix during the time that Soren was panicking.
Tightening the grip on his handaxe, Soren started moving, ignoring the pain coming from his frozen abdomen.
The assassin also brought his attention back to Soren upon noticing his movement.
"「Ignition」"
Fwaaaa–!
The assassin raised one of his arms to block his face.
Unlike with the thug earlier, Soren wasn't expecting his spell to damage the assassin; he would have been grateful if it did, but his purpose was different.
Thanks to his raised hands, the assassin was left blind momentarily, and with vines surrounding him, he was trapped, with nowhere to go.
"Heup!"
Soren raised his arm and, without hesitation, swung the handaxe down at the assassin.
Whoosh
After blocking the flames of [Ignition], the assassin was able to see Soren's handaxe slicing down at him, but it was too late, leaving him to block with his dagger awkwardly.
Clang!
But the handaxe slid off the dagger, continuing onto his hand.
Thud
Half a hand fell to the floor.
"Arghh–! Fucking brat! I'll kill you–!"
It was a messy, unrefined slash, but it worked nonetheless.
Soren felt his breathing getting rougher and his vision blurring, but he couldn't stop.
The ice he had used to freeze his wound had already shattered, meaning he was once again bleeding out.
'If I stop now, I die.'
The only way he could live was by defeating… by killing the person in front of him.
He once again cast a spell.
"「Shock」"
Crackling–!
"Keuk—!"
Lightning shot from Soren's hand, hitting the assassin and freezing him in place for a moment, but that moment was all Soren needed.
Clench
He gripped the handaxe tighter as he brought it down on the assassin one last time.
Slash!
The handaxe roughly drew a line through the assassin's neck, stopping halfway thanks to Soren's pitiful strength, but it was enough.
He had won.
"Ahh! Agghhhh—!"
Thud
"Hah…! Hah…! Hah…!"
He looked around for Felix and saw him driving a dagger into the thug that Soren had knocked out earlier.
Then Felix looked up at him.
There was genuine concern on his face.
"You okay, Soren?"
As if those words were the trigger, Soren's head started spinning.
'Am I alright?'
He questioned himself while looking down at his hands.
His pale-white skin was stained red with sticky blood.
"Hah…! Hah…!"
His body started shaking uncontrollably at the realisation of what he had just done.
Clatter
His handaxe fell to the floor, and Soren's vision blurred even further.
"Hah–! Hah–! Hah–!"
"–Ren, –e y– o–y?"
He could hear Felix's voice, but it was impossible to tell what he was saying.
Then a sudden wave of nausea came over him.
"Blerchhhh–!"
'What did I do?'
He covered his face with his blood-stained hands.
The tangy, metallic scent of blood flooded his nose.
'Why did I do that?'
'Couldn't I have just knocked him out like I did with the other one?'
'Am I going to get in trouble?'
Thoughts such as those kept swirling around in his head, and before he knew it—
—Thud!
Soren collapsed onto the floor, losing consciousness.
————「❤︎」————