"Master, since you left, everything has been quiet. This time-…" I interrupted her.
"They're coming. Get ready"
"!!!"
Without my UI map, I would have the same assumption as Alessia, but thanks to it, I can see how dozens of red dots entered the alleyways during my search. It is at these moments that the map shows its greatest importance.
'4, 5… 7… 9, 10.'
Groups of nine and 10 criminals are approaching us. They seem to have understood that they are dealing with an advanced adventurer and will no longer skimp on resources. Even though I am just a simple adventurer who started a few days ago.
'Why aren't the knights doing their job? It is unthinkable that so many criminals would act inconspicuously! They must have a hidden access area that they are mining to enter the city without their class being identified by the authorities. If I ever find it, I won't hesitate to let the knights know about it!'
'[Reset Status Points]'
[MP=10]
[MP=10]
I sacrificed all the [Luck] points and transferred them to MP. Not only for me but also for Alessia. So, from my inventory, I took out some scrolls. Specifically, [Snow Wolf Scroll] and [Hellcat Scroll].
"Take this, Alessia. We will fight with these."
"Huh? But scrolls are expensive-…Oh, right." She paused for a second, and then she understood.
"We have a lot; don't worry."
Even if we use all of them, we can go and collect more at any time we want.
'The Mage class requires a baby to kill a person using magic stored in a grimoire. For this, the nobles, somehow, incite the baby to perform this action. The thing is… is it necessary to be a baby? Does it have an age limit? What other hidden requirement is needed to get the class? There are many unknowns. Even when the book released some information regarding the class, I'm sure the really important secret is being protected by the nobles. I have no choice but to use these scrolls to make some experiments.'
On my map, I found a group of nine people. Their red dots are smaller than the others, indicating that their level of difficulty is not enough to cause us any threat.
"Come this way, I found the first group of guinea pigs."
"What?"
"Nevermind"
We both ran through various alleys until we reached the backs of the enemies.
"There they are… How did you know, master?"
"The stronger I get, the better my instincts."
Alessia: "…"
'— Nobody will believe that!'
'Um, I feel like Alessia is being too suspicious of my answer, and well… I don't blame her. It's fine to say 'instincts' in the context of the labyrinth, but outside of it, it's rare to find someone capable of finding enemies in an environment as vast as a city.'
Even so, I put on a serious and cold look, indicating that I never lie.
"On the count of three, we will approach them and activate the scrolls. Ready?"
"Mn, yes"
"One, Two, Three!"
At the end of the count, we quickly began to run in their direction. When our distance decreased enough, the criminals noticed us… But it's too late.
"Activate!" we yell at the same time.
With our words, the parchment was consumed as if it were burned by fire. The next moment, I felt as if I had lost something important inside my body, something that was always there in an intact, limpid, and unalterable form.
In just the blink of an eye, the feeling disappeared, and then an extraordinary event occurred right before my eyes.
Little, fragile, and adorable. Only like that can I describe how the fireballs looked in front of my hand. They gave off a maternal warmth, one that will never hurt me but will protect me.
Just by looking at my enemies, the fireballs headed towards the criminals at great speed, leaving traces of fire in the air. At the very moment of touching them, they disappeared for one second and the next…
"AAAH!"
The people were surrounded by fire.
No matter how much they rolled on the ground, trying to turn it off, the fire didn't disappear until they lost their lives.
On the other hand, ice particles immediately encircled Alessia when she activated her parchment. With extremely cold air coming out of them.
In a fraction of a second, a blizzard sped past her, heading towards the criminals. Their skin has turned a different color due to the cold, and you can see it with your naked eye. In the next few seconds, their bodies stopped moving and fell to the ground. And, with the sound of breaking glass, some parts of their bodies were separated without even bleeding. Not unlike a broken glass.
Just 5 seconds after the scrolls were activated, all 9 of the enemies died, leaving behind only their bodies.
"I always heard that to advance inside a labyrinth, it is necessary to have a magician in the team; only now can I understand why this is." After speaking, Alessia looked at the place where the criminals' corpses were and sighed.
"Let's continue; there are still more enemies following our trail."
"Mn"
Again, we ran through the alleys and found the next group, but this one has a very special person in it.
[Christian] [Assassin Lvl21]
Just looking at it is enough to subconsciously clench my teeth.
The assassin class appears when the person kills more than he or she steals... That's simple, right? But… How many people does he have to kill to raise the class to that level? Did I say that the person should kill innocent people? Because that's how it works!
It would not be that infuriating if they killed knights or adventurers since they are people who can defend themselves and live in an environment where they know that one day they will die, but it is not like that. A murderer is someone who takes pleasure in killing innocent people, the kind of people who don't have any fighting qualities.
With more anger than ever, I started the plan.
Our magic was activated again, killing the criminals without even giving them a chance to defend themselves. This is magic, only magical objects can protect you from it, and it is unthinkable that simple thieves and murderers carry such high-quality goods.
***
'The red dots are retreating. I never thought that such reckless people would step back and leave without caring for their fallen comrades… But unexpectedly, it was very smart of them. We have many scrolls in our hands, and if they kept getting closer, they would simply end up suffering the same fate as the others.'
"Thanks for the MP potion," Alessia said.
"No problem"
That time Erick asked me to buy MP potions to make the sword with three skills, I bought some extra potions, just in case he would ask me again for them to make a rune fusion.
Who would have thought I would end up using them to restore my own and Alessia's mana. Because, unlike grimoires, scrolls require the user's mana to activate.
"We can continue if you want." She looked at me with a serious and determined expression, hinting that she is willing to continue murdering criminals if I ask her to.
"It's not necessary; it's over. Let's go home," I patted her head.
"Mn"
On the way, we were not able to take a carriage, so we walked to the house. Luckily, we were relatively close, so it didn't take long.
"I want to take a bath… I still feel the blood of those people on my body," Alessia said.
"... I'll accompany you."
'She seems affected by the deaths of the thieves.'
That is not normal in this world. It is strange to find a young person under 15 years of age who has not witnessed someone's death. Even more so, thinking that she is 18 years old and that she fought against thieves in one of her missions.
In my case, I witnessed the death of a thief when I was 10 years old. As a child, my parents told me that death is a normal thing and that I shouldn't worry too much about the deaths of bad men.
With complex feelings, I agreed, and since then, the death of third parties does not affect me.
Not only me; everyone is like that. Even the humblest farmer has a certain degree of resistance to seeing the deaths of others.
"Is it because of your mother?" After thinking about it several times, that's the only possibility that occurred to me.
"Partly. I do not deny that seeing the deaths of those people reminded me of my mother's death, but it is also due to the large number of criminals I killed trying to protect the Saint. I and my companions bathed in blood that day, and if it weren't for our teamwork, I wouldn't be here with you."
Without any lust on my part, I rubbed the soap over her body, trying not to interfere with her words.
"In itself, the important thing is not the deaths but the circumstances. All of them were in front of me, and they died so easily... Situations that are out of my control…"
She was silent for a few seconds and then said, "Don't worry, it's just an up and down. Tomorrow I'll be better."