The alarm bell was still ringing in my ears when Oliver kicked the door open.

  ?I expected a scout. Maybe two thieves.

  ?I did not expect an army.

  ?Outside, illuminated by the torches they carried, stood a mob. There were more than twenty of them, men and women with hardened faces, leather armor, and drawn weapons.

  ?Alicia stepped out past Oliver, her wand already in hand. Her voice cut through the night air, cold and sharp.

  ?"What is this?"

  ?A woman at the front stepped forward. She held a curved saber. "Did you save a merchant named Kael a few months ago?"

  ?Alicia blinked, genuinely puzzled by the specific question. "The spice merchant? Yes. I healed him."

  ?"Because of you," the woman spat, pointing her blade, "five of our crew were caught. My brother included. They were sentenced to the mines. Twenty years."

  ?She grinned, a nasty, jagged expression. "That is a death sentence. So now, we are here to collect the debt. Starting with your head, healer."

  ?"Kill them all!"

  ?The mob roared and surged forward.

  ?It was chaos instantly. The night patrol came running from the village square, shouting alarms, but the bandits swarmed them.

  ?Oliver didn't wait. With a roar that shook his chest, he charged.

  ?Milo, his familiar, streaked past him, a grey blur of fangs and fur.

  ?I watched, stunned, from Nora’s arms. I had never seen Oliver fight.

  ?He was a whirlwind. He didn't hack like a brute, he flowed. The heavy longsword he had pulled from his bag moved like a ribbon of light. He parried two spears at once, spun, and slashed a bandit across the chest.

  ?Seven of them surrounded him. Seven. And he was holding them back without breaking a sweat.

  ?Alicia was even more terrifying. She stood in the center of the path, barely moving. A bandit lunged at her, she flicked her wand, and he was blasted backward as if hit by a cannonball. She was toying with ten of them, her eyes bored.

  ?Some bandits, realizing they couldn't touch the "healer" , broke off to attack the villagers.

  ?'No!' I thought.

  ?But Alicia just sighed. She flicked her wrist again. A pulse of wind slammed into the stray bandits, tossing them into the mud.

  ?"Focus on me, idiots," she taunted.

  ?Then, the dynamic shifted.

  ?A massive man, easily head and shoulders taller than the rest, spotted us. He saw Nora clutching me in the doorway. He grinned and charged.

  ?Oliver turned, his eyes widening. For a split second, he was distracted.

  ?A spearman seized the opening. He thrust low. The tip tore into Oliver’s calf.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  ?Blood sprayed. Oliver grunted, stumbling, but recovered instantly to decapitate the spearman. But the damage was done. He was limping.

  ?The giant was closing in on us.

  ?Nora’s grip on me tightened, then released. She set me down behind a barrel.

  ?"Stay here," she whispered, her voice trembling but hard. She kissed my forehead. "Do not come out. Whatever happens."

  ?She stood up. She reached into her belt and pulled out her herbalist knife.

  ?The giant laughed. "A kitchen knife? cute."

  ?Nora didn't laugh. Her stance shifted. Her shoulders dropped. The fear vanished from her face, replaced by a cold, deadly focus.

  ?She didn't wait for him. She lunged.

  ?She ducked under his massive swing, slashed his hamstring, and rolled away before he could grab her. She was fast. Unbelievably fast. She was standing toe to toe with a giant.

  ?'I need to see,' I thought. 'I need to know.'

  ?I looked at the silver band on my wrist. Alicia’s lesson echoed in my head: If you cut yourself off from the world, the world cuts you off in return.

  ?I didn't care about the side effects.

  ?I pushed mana into the bracelet.

  ?Vwoom.

  ?The world warped. The roar of the battle muffled into that dull, underwater thrum. My vision fractured into a kaleidoscope of shimmering reflections.

  ?It was disorienting, but I moved.

  ?I crept away from the barrel, my footsteps sounding like thunder in my own ears. The mana drain was fierce, gnawing at my core like a hungry rat.

  ?I made it to the stone well access the hut and ducked behind it.

  ?"Off," I gasped, cutting the flow.

  ?The sounds of battle crashed back in. I leaned against the cold stone, panting, focusing on my breathing to replenish my mana.

  ?I peeked out.

  ?Oliver was bleeding, his leg dragging slightly, but the seven men were now five. Two lay motionless in the mud. Alicia had whittled her group down to three mages who were frantically casting shields just to stay alive.

  ?But then, movement to my left caught my eye.

  ?The house nearest the well belonged to Elder Harlan. The door was open, and screaming, not from fear of bandits, but from anger, spilled out.

  ?"I don't care what you want!" a woman’s voice shrieked. "You will marry him!"

  ?I stared.

  ?Inside, Mira—the girl who had cried about pig farming—was sobbing. Her mother was slapping her arm. "We are moving to the city! I am done with this mud!"

  ?"He's sixty!" Mira wailed. "I won't!"

  ?"Leave the girl be!" Elder Harlan shouted, banging his cane. "She stays here!"

  ?"You old fool!" Mira’s father yelled.

  ?They were arguing. In the middle of a raid. With bandits twenty feet away.

  ?Mira saw her chance. She wrenched free from her mother’s grip and bolted out the door.

  ?"Mira!" her mother screamed, chasing her. But she tripped on the doorstep and face planted into the dirt.

  ?Mira didn't stop. She sprinted past the well, past the fighting, heading straight for the dark tree line of the jungle.

  ?Her father and grandfather ran out, screaming at each other, screaming at Mira. They ran past the bandits. They ran past Oliver. They chased the girl into the dark, completely oblivious to the life or death struggle happening around them.

  ?'Insanity,' I thought. 'Absolute insanity.'

  ?I turned back to the real threat.

  ?The battle was turning. The bandits were falling.

  ?Only three remained standing. The woman boss with the saber, and two elites in heavy chainmail.

  ?The boss looked around, saw her crew decimated, and whistled.

  ?The two elites stepped forward to cover her.

  ?Alicia raised her wand.

  ?"Mine," Oliver growled.

  ?He stepped forward, limping but radiating menace.

  ?"Oliver, your leg!" Nora shouted, having just finished forcing the giant to retreat with a nasty gash across his eyes.

  ?"Alicia, hold her back," Oliver commanded.

  ?Alicia grabbed Nora’s arm. "Let him ."

  ?The two elites charged.

  ?Oliver didn't brace for impact. He breathed out. The white glow of his sword shifted, deepening into a crimson red.

  ?Then, he vanished.

  ?It wasn't magic like the bracelet. It was pure speed.

  ?He reappeared behind the first elite. The man took a step, then collapsed, his armor split clean through.

  ?The second elite skidded to a halt, terror washing over his face. He dropped his axe.

  ?"I yield!" he screamed, backing away. "Boss! Help! This guy is a monster!"

  ?He looked over his shoulder for his leader.

  ?"Boss?"

  ?She was gone.

  ?Oliver stepped toward the man, sword raised. "Where is she?"

  ?"She... she ran!" the bandit cried, raising his hands.

  ?"Did she?"

  ?A voice called out from the edge of the torchlight.

  ?We all turned.

  ?The bandit boss walked back into the light. She was smiling.

  ?And she wasn't empty handed.

  ?She was dragging a child by the hair. A girl in a torn dress, sobbing.

  ?Mira.

  ?She had caught her at the tree line.

  ?The boss pressed her saber against Mira’s throat. A thin line of blood appeared.

  ?"Drop the weapons," she hissed, her eyes locking on Oliver. "Or the brat dies."