Saving a village from raiders will be a good start for my final goal. Make it flashy enough and the story could spread like wildfire. It’s even better if I can do it single-handedly. All people love heroic tales, don’t they? Just like the founder of Amisos, I want to take on an army by myself. That kind of feat is a bit out of reach at the moment, but getting rid of a bunch of bandits is doable with the right strategy. The nearby town is about a day’s travel from here. Even if reinforcements were sent, they won’t get here in time.

After I arrive at my destination, I move stealthily and survey the whole area. The village has a basic wall surrounding it, but the two gates are broken down and black smoke is rising. By teleporting onto one of the tallest houses, this gives me a good vantage point from which to see everything. My naïve and selfish thoughts of heroism fade away quickly once I see the horrific situation inside. It’s much more gruesome than expected.

The attackers are setting houses on fire with torches, burning alive anyone who is hiding inside. Anyone who tries to fight back is murdered with little resistance. Groups of panicked villagers are surrounded by cavalry while trying to run and then herded like cattle. The men and boys are cut to pieces even as they plead for mercy on their knees. The older women face the same fate. The younger women and girls are gathered into one area outside the village and forced into cages on wheels, stationed outside the gates. Several of the attackers are brandishing whips made out of iron chains. With sadistic pleasure, they lash out at their helpless captives, even hitting little girls who perhaps weren’t walking fast enough. The victims cry and scream in despair. They endure whiplashes in return. Similar acts of senseless cruelty are happening throughout the village. I can see it in their faces. These barbarians are used to this kind of cruelty. They enjoy causing torment to those weaker than them.

Dark thoughts stir in the back of my mind as I watch the atrocity unfold. Rage rises up within me like a volcano ready to burst. My teeth are grinding painfully against each other.

“These god-forsaken curs… Death is too light of a punishment. It’s regrettable that I can’t take my time and make them suffer. I will settle for slaughtering them like the blood-sucking parasites they are.”

My patience is at its limits. Even with my training, I can’t stay calm in this situation. My usual cautious self is replaced by a bloodthirsty demon. At the very least, I will avoid harming the villagers even if it might be difficult when there are more than a hundred enemies. Magic with large area of effect is necessary and its power is indiscriminate. Without proper control, a mage is a bigger threat to his allies than his enemies. However, I am not an average spellcaster.

My first victims are a group of scumbags outside the village wall who are shoving prisoners into metal cages. I build up a huge electric charge in the air above them and release it downward at full power.

“Lightning Spire”

They are caught completely unaware due to their lack of mana detection. Their bodies start convulsing violently as the lightning passes through. Eyes and other organs are roasted from the inside while the skin turns dark, cracks and starts bleeding. The cages are also caught on the edge of the area of effect, but the women inside are safe. Electricity is channeled through the exterior of the cage without harming the interior. A large group of horses stationed nearby, presumably those of the raiders, are scared by the light show and run away. Good. Now they need to run on foot to escape.

This single spell killed about 20 enemies. A few others who are outside the area of effect start looking around in a panic, trying to understand what just happened. Of course, I don’t give them any time. I support my right arm using the left and then carefully take aim. I hit them one-by-one with a spell called ‘Sonic Resonance’ right in their heads. This purple beam of arcane and air magic can hit distant targets very precisely which is perfect for hunting down the stragglers. Its effect is not strong enough to instantly kill a human, but it will cause internal bleeding. I’m sure it also hurts so badly that they will wish for death. If hit in the head, important blood vessels can be ruptured which will eventually lead to death if not treated. The biggest downside is that it reveals the caster’s location.

I watch with revulsion as my victims cover their faces and fall to the ground screaming in pain. Unlike them, I find no joy in causing pain and suffering to others, but I have no sympathy to spare for these parasites.

After eliminating all threats in sight, I move on to the village. There is no time to open the cages or talk to the prisoners. More people will die the longer this battle takes. I must finish it as fast as possible. This is easier said than done because there are still dozens of enemies remaining. Their strength is on par with an average warrior. The mana-auras are above average yet still too weak for a mage. Even if some magic is thrown at me, it won’t be strong enough to penetrate my mana shield. I’m also wearing a mage’s robe weaved out of synthetic fiber that protects against physical attacks and low to mid-level spells. Similar to the one Nashira is wearing, the robe was designed to prevent injury during magic experiments.

There are no guards at the broken gate. Surely they never expected to be attacked from the outside. These kinds of savage raiders attack poorly defended settlements, pillage anything they can carry and then leave before the kingdom’s army can find them. In this case they’re even kidnapping women. They must be quite confident. Let’s see if that confidence is justified.

I’m spotted by a group of the savages. One of them yells something in a language I’m not familiar with and then runs in the other direction, presumably to warn the rest. The others start to encroach on my position like a pack of wolves.

Even against the large number of enemies I’m about to face, victory will come as long as I avoid being surrounded and prevent them from getting too close. There is a certain spell that was recently developed with Nashira’s help which is perfect for this kind of one-versus-many battle. It can absorb energy from the environment and consumes far less mana than if I simply casted one spell after another. A catalyst is necessary to properly control it, which will eventually be phased out with experience.

I take out a small crystal with a teardrop shape, about the size of a human eye. The magic lock on it is released by my unique aura which acts as a signature, after which I toss the catalyst into the air. It stops moving in midair as if it’s stuck. Some of my mana is drained as a large magic field is emitted with the catalyst as the point of origin. The radius is about 50 meters, which is also the maximum range of the spell I’m about to cast. I named it after the god who is said to control fire.

“First craft of Hephaestus: Fire Tempest”

A sizable chunk of earth is sucked up from below and compressed into a ball around the catalyst. At the same time, heat energy is drained from nearby burning houses. To someone with no magic training, it must seem like everything is floating in midair. The fire is absorbed by the ball of earth while I supply some mana of my own, turning it into what looks like a ball of burning magma. All of it happens in less than 3 seconds, excluding the chant, as measured during our experiments. The attackers are staring at the molten ball with their mouths hanging open.

“It’s too early to be surprised.”

My evil grin makes them take a few steps back, unsure of how to react. I make the first move. The molten ball flares up and 1 meter long blades of fire extend outward. The bladed sphere is propelled forward as it begins to spin rapidly, crashing into the confused men and slicing them to pieces before they can even react.

“That’s it? At least put up a fight you filthy parasites!”

I start running toward the next targets while holding the ball at a safe distance from myself. All of my enemies have shocked expressions as I continue to swing the ball around me, leaving nothing but burning corpses in my wake. This spell allows me to freely control the shape and movement of the ball as long as I stay inside the magic field, all while using very little mana. The bandits were even nice enough to create fires for me to use as energy. Now it is turned against them, burning them alive or cutting them up as I please.

After a while, the surviving bandits realize that I’m alone and try to surround me with their superior numbers. I bring the spinning orb above my head and extend the tendrils outward into 4 meter long whips of molten earth that lash out against anyone who dares to approach. They scream in agony as the whips leave behind charred flesh and bone. A few bandits try to throw their weapons at me. I block them by morphing the orb into a shield. After that, I reward their efforts by shooting spikes of molten earth at their faces.

With a catalyst aiding me, I can control the ‘Fire Tempest’ with one hand while using the other to cast more spells. This strategy turns out to be very effective as I kill dozens after dozens of bandits without taking any injury. Archers try to shoot me from what they think is my blind spot, only to realize I have no blind spots. I can sense their auras in all directions without having to look at them. I gain a lot of information from sensing how mana flows in their bodies. I can tell if they’re swinging a weapon or shooting a bow or running away. This also allows me to tell the bandits apart from the surviving villagers. My boosted speed is good enough to dodge anything I don’t have time to block. Plenty of structures around here can be used as cover if necessary.

The bandits do not have the equipment or magic skills to stop my attacks. They may be used to slaughtering helpless villagers, but now they face an opponent they never dreamed of. Anyone who tries to attack suffers a painful death. Some even had the bright idea to try and take hostages. An accurately fired flaming tendril solves that problem. I could use ‘Sonic Resonance’, but the pulse would also cause significant injury to the hostage. It’s not focused enough.

I whittle down the attackers’ forces while scanning the village. ‘Fire Tempest’ continues to absorb energy from burning buildings within range, putting out the fires at the same time. Seeing that the tides have turned, a few brave villagers pick up any weapons they can find and begin fighting back. The bandits realize they have no chance and flee out of the second gate in droves. I decide to let them go. My purpose here is not to take as many lives as possible, it’s to save this village. This world is filled with trash. If I went after every single one that entered my sight, my quest would never end and I would eventually turn into a savage killer just like them. I will not let them bring me down to their level. My pride will not allow it.

The battle ends in less than an hour. Total number of lives claimed by me: 58 parasites and zero villagers.