Chapter 3: The Stranger

The stranger then took his right hand in the open and spread his fingers, facing Lennard and the guards, suddenly a dark blue magic circle appeared on the stranger’s right hand with rotating symbols, marking the heads of the two guards and their captain, they now each have their own symbol appeared above their heads.

“Wait what?!” Lennard panicked. “Ice magic…” Lennard said while losing his agitation.

After the symbol appeared on each of the three, they now have lost their movements in a frozen trance like state, unable to move a single bone in their bodies like an animal stuck inside an ice.

“Boy, quick get one of the guard’s sword, we have no seconds to spare and we have to fight through this!” the stranger said to me.

Without a doubt I quickly took action and stole a sword from the nearest frozen guard, and gained distance out from their reach making me far away from the middle, outside I taken form a battle stance expecting a combat, my right hand holding the sword while my left holding the dagger with a reverse grip. I prepared myself for this is my only chance of survival.

The stranger then jumped from the tree and onto the ground, facing near the frozen captain with two guards, and on mine are the two remaining ones.

“I’ll take this three, while you take on those remaining, ten seconds from now my spell will ran out so be ready!” the stranger shouted with haste.

And as the stranger warned, I saw all of the three came back to their senses after ten seconds have passed, the spell symbols above their heads banished.

“Just who the heck are you?!” Lennard asked the stranger.

“Cowards like you who take on the weak should just shut up!” the stranger shouted at Lennard mockingly.

“And yet you cover your face, well then we shall see about that…” Lennard followed with a grin.

“Scorched Earth!!” the stranger shouted at the three, after he touched the ground with his right palm.

A large orange magic circle then appeared below the three, encircling them in inferno, engulfed with flames burning the two guards to death.

“Aaaarrghhh!!” Lennard screamed as he was being burned.

Now only the remaining in his group, Lennard then slowly managed to raise his hand up in the air while being burned alive by the spell.

“W-water Splash!!” Lennard shouted with his right hand up in the air.

Suddenly a large sky blue magic circle appeared above the inferno, gushing out water and splashing onto Lennard making the fire die out.

“Gah, dammit I’m worn out already…” Lennard said while panting from the exhaustion.

I took my glance back into my opponents, the unarmed guard now have started to rush towards me followed by the other with a sword. As he reached onto me I kicked the unarmed guard away, and the other one coming from his left side I parried the sword with my dagger. I then kicked him in the face and made him fall over, from there I decided to rush towards the unarmed guard and jumped straight towards him piercing into his chest, and now towards behind me, the one with the sword was about to strike my back, but I evaded quickly by rolling to his left side, and to his back I raised my self from the ground, now behind him I stabbed his nape with my dagger.

“I’m sorry…” I said to the dead guards laying on the ground, as their body slowly disappeared out from existence.

After my battle I looked towards the direction of the stranger and Lennard, and saw him staring at the captain, approaching as he got closer and closer for the kill.

“Ice Wall!!” Lennard shouted as he summoned a magical wall of ice blocking the stranger’s path.

Lennard then unsheathed his sword and climbed the top ice, making him jumped from it and onto the stranger, but while the captain is up in the air, the stranger moved his hands forward and quickly summoned a dark green magic circle in front of him, while facing the ice wall.

“Wind Push!!” the stranger shouted.

Suddenly a push of strong wind came out from the magic circle, which carried the captain away and smashed him against the ice wall.

“Aargh!” Lennard squirmed in pain, as he spitted blood after hitting the wall of ice.

I then ran towards the stranger and threw my sword over him.

“Hey, use this!” I shouted at him as I thrown the sword.

And from there he caught it, he gripped the handle and once more continued walking towards to the captain, Lennard then struck the ground with his sword emitting a bright golden shine from its blade.

“Wait, a gold rune?” the stranger said with confusion.

“Heh heh, now if this won’t work, I don’t know what will…” Lennard said while smiling with a bloody mouth.

And to our surprise, he banished and reappeared behind the stranger.

“Behind You!!” I shouted in panic.

“Wha—“and before he can even look behind, the stranger got slashed from his right side.

“Agh!” the stranger squirmed as he rubbed his wounds.

Bloodied from the attack, he quickly leaped away from the captain and blocked his wounds.

“Great Healing…” the stranger said while applying magic circle onto the wounds, closing it.

“Just who the hec—“Lennard said.

And before he even realized, in a flash of speed he didn’t noticed that the stranger was already closing in to his position, leaping forward and using its momentum to kick his face.

The blow was so powerful that Lennard’s body got turned around from the impact that his back is now facing the stranger, and before he even knew it, as he turned again the stranger slashed his face making his left eye split open

“Aaaaaarrrgghhh!!!” Lennard screamed in agony as he hold his bloodied face, his left eye dripping blood.

Lennard dropped to his knees, and on the ground holding his left eye, he struck the ground once more and glared at the stranger.

“You will pay for this, whoever you are!” Lennard shouted at the stranger.

He then looked at me, glaring with anger.

“Svend, you may have escaped my grip, but I will hunt you down!” Lennard shouted at me.

The bright shine from his sword blinded us that we cannot go near him, after it stopped he banished without leaving any trace and finally escaped.

The stranger then walked towards me while holding his healed up wound.

“Damn it, I should’ve finished him…” the stranger said while walking towards me.

And as he faced me, he slowly took off his face cloth and revealed his identity. An Oldman with long gray hair and beard, and up close I saw all of his outfit clearly, on top of his head is a crooked violet wizard’s hat and on his body is a long traditional wizard’s robe with matching colors, as I stared at him and realized that his a powerful man, not even carrying a magic staff but just using his hands, a truly majestic person indeed.

He then pat my left shoulder with his right hand.

“You did a good job there lad, but questions later, he might call for reinforcements so we should be going inside the tree line and far away from this opening.” He said with a lively face.

I nodded at him and followed inside the forest.

“I live in an underground basement in this deep forest, it’s a fifteen minute walk from here, so please bear with me for a little while.” He explained.