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I sneaked into the underground hideout of the bandits that night, accompanied by four other kids my age. We had been tailing these bastards ever since they took everything from us.
Our village was raided by the scum of this world. They killed people indiscriminately, and most of the men who tried to defend us died. Unsurprisingly, they captured most of the women, enslaving them in the process. That night, I was wounded by one of them when I tried to avenge my father. I fell unconscious, and after assuming I was dead, they left me behind.
But I didn't die, you bastards.
Yeah, perhaps I lost my left eye because of it. But unfortunately for you, my right eye can see just fine—enough to let me slit your throats.
My mother and my sister…
"Are you ready?"
A blonde girl my age asked me this question.
"I am. Let's do it."
We saw the bandits celebrating outside their caravan, most of them more or less drunk. We bided our time for the perfect opportunity to retaliate, and eventually, it came.
The night was dark, but they had fires lit to give them some light… however, it was definitely not enough.
We sneaked through the shadows as I found my first victim—a lone bandit. I grabbed my dagger and leaped onto his back, just as they'd taught me.
Slash!
"Grueeggh—"
I covered his mouth before he could make another sound and slashed his throat. His body went limp a few seconds later.
One down.
I sneaked into the caravan he was guarding, finding four slaves caged. They looked at me with surprise.
"Don't say a word," I whispered. Everyone nodded as I took out my lockpick, trying to open their cages as fast as possible.
One by one, the slaves stealthily ran into the forest as I ensured no bandit was looking their way. After that, I glanced at the other side. My partners were doing the same, with four other bandits lying dead beneath the carriages. The slaves inside were in the process of being freed.
We wouldn't have been able to do this without Teacher. Teacher taught us how to fight, even if we were small and weak. Teacher taught us how to kill… and to never forgive the scumbags of this world.
Unfortunately, our plan wasn't perfect. Eventually, a bandit noticed us from afar and alerted the rest.
Shit.
I ran toward the last caravan while the other four began to distract them. And there they were—nasty, rugged, wearing rags, and even slimmer than when I'd last seen them. Looking closer, their eyes seemed tired.
My mom and my sister…
"Mom… Cecilia…"
They looked at me but couldn't quite recognize me. My face was a mess, after all. But my voice… my mother knew it, even after two years…
"Luna…?"
"It's me… I finally found you…"
There was no time for hugs. I had to free them! Quickly!
I took the lockpick—a special magic item Teacher had given us. It could open locks with ease using the Unlock Spell. I was talentless at magic, but even this basic no-attribute spell could be learned after two years of practice.
Clack!
I freed the slaves, including my mother and sister. Their eyes welled with tears as they hugged me tightly.
"Big sis… Sniff… I never thought I'd see you again!"
"I missed you so much… Luna… I-I thought… you were dead…"
"No… I came back… I promised I would… Enough, we have to go!"
My mother and sister nodded as they crawled out of the carriage.
FLASH!
CLASH!
Suddenly, an arrow appeared right beside us, barely missing my head as it struck the carriage instead.
They had archers this good?!
"Escape! Quickly!"
"B-But…!"
"Don't worry about me!"
My mother gritted her teeth as she grabbed my six-year-old sister, soon running into the forest with the rest of the slaves.
I saw two corpses of my allies on the ground. The bandits were stronger and outnumbered us. Two down already… and they, like me, had come to free their families.
Goddammit! I have to stay here. If I run, they'll chase us down. I have to buy time.
FLASH!
Another arrow came, and I dodged it. In response, three bandits rushed toward me, all wielding axes.
"You bitch!"
"You know how much those slaves' cost?"
"Your shitty body ain't gonna sell for that much!"
I gripped my daggers tightly and shrouded myself in mana.
FLASH!
I leaped toward the one in front, dodging his axe before using it as leverage. Then, I vaulted over his face, landed behind him, and slashed his throat.
One down.
The other two were left aghast. I seized the chance to kill them even faster. I jumped at the one on the left, kicked his face, and stabbed my dagger into his forehead. He died instantly.
Two down.
The last one trembled as he swung his weapon at me. I barely dodged and retaliated with a heel sweep. He fell on his butt, and that was the end of him as my dagger slashed his throat. I grabbed his shield and blocked the next arrow.
CLASH!
Who's firing them?!
I scanned the carriages and spotted two archers aiming at me. The two remaining members of my party were desperately fighting off several bandits at once. I could leave them to die here, letting them distract the rest while I reunited with my family.
But I can't. They're my friends, my brothers. I grew up and trained alongside them. With that in mind, I rushed to help. However, a bandit with a spear noticed me and threw it.
I blocked it with the shield, but the spear got stuck and shattered it. Shitty garbage equipment. The bandit fled, but I leaped onto him and stabbed him in the head three times in a row. As his body hit the ground with a shriek of agony, I moved toward my next target.
FLASH!
Sadly, an arrow hit me this time, piercing my back and left lung.
Fuck.
Doesn't matter—Teacher has countless arrow scars. I'll be fine; I just have to bear the pain!
"Luna! Why are you here?!"
"I'm not leaving you behind, Antonia!"
"You're crazy! Go with your family!"
"Albert, we'll stick together! We're family too!"
"You…"
Seeing they couldn't sway me; we teamed up and began to massacre the bandits. But they were stronger and far outnumbered us—way more than three kids could handle. Even though I blocked the incoming arrows, Antonia and Albert were exhausted. Their mana reserves were depleted, and a headache was creeping in.
But thanks to our distraction, the bandits were focused on us. We were doing a great job, Teacher.
I moved swiftly, slashing through the bandits. Their muscular bodies couldn't even defend against the sharp mithril daggers.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
CLASH!
I killed one by slashing through his head, but another struck my back with a sword. A wound opened as blood splattered everywhere.
"I finally got you, bitch—UGH?!"
That wasn't going to kill me.
I swept his legs, making him fall, then leaped onto his face like a wild beast and stabbed him repeatedly in the face.
Die!
"Luna!"
Antonia and Albert were barely hanging on, being pushed into the forest.
That's good.
"I'm going to do it! Run!"
"W-What? Are you crazy?!"
"Why do you think Teacher put this in our chests?!"
"But it's only for emergencies… We can only use it when… when… when we're sure to die!"
"Shut the fuck up and go!"
I roared like a mad wolf. In response, the two kids gritted their teeth, tears streaming from their eyes.
"Please, take care of my family."
After that, they ran without a word as two bandits chased them. I'm sure they could handle two.
The other bandits slowly approached me as they left. I'd set fire around me using their torches. With the ground covered in dry grass, it was easy to make a wall of fire, just as Teacher taught me.
"You want to kill me, you bastards? Come closer…"
"You whore!"
"I'm gonna have some fun with you before I kill you!"
"Grab her, quickly! She can barely stand!"
As they approached, I smiled.
I infused mana into the crystal in my chest—a special crystal called a Mana Core Bomb. Assassins carried these to take their own lives before capture. If you infused mana until it was about to crack, it would blow you and everyone around you to bits.
"Go fuck yourselves."
BOOOM!!!
A searing pain enveloped me as the explosion consumed most of the bandits with it. My body was torn apart as my consciousness faded into nothingness.
At least… I got to see them one last time.
I was ready to lay down my life today.
I'm sorry, Teacher…
.
.
.
"Congratulations, you have been chosen for reincarnation."
A sudden voice woke me from my eternal slumber. I found myself in a completely white space. I looked around—even at myself—but saw nothing. There was no one else, just pure white.
"Oh right. I guess you want an image of me…"
Flash!
Out of nowhere, a tall, bearded man appeared before me.
"Who the fuck are you? Where am I?"
"Isn't it easy to guess? Haven't you ever read… isekai novels?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Hmm?"
The man examined me, then seemed to realize something.
"Ooh… wait, you're not from Earth?!"
"I'm not… Where is that?"
"I think I've made a grave mistake! I brought the wrong person! Oh no!"
The man paced nervously, pondering what to do.
The wrong person?
"W-Well, your karma count is incredibly high. You have such a large amount of positive karma that it's outstanding… However, I messed up. I was supposed to reincarnate a competent Japanese high school student… Damn."
"What? Japanese? Is that some kind of food?"
"You really aren't from Earth. Ugh, my elders are going to kill me if they find out about this bug…"
"Who are you calling a bug?!"
"T-This… haah… Well, I can't change it now. I'll bring another one, even if it means using more energy. And uh… about you… er… head to that world too, I guess? Here, take this at least. It's flawed, but even a flawed system should help. It's the first one I created."
The man, made of white light, handed me a silver cube. It suddenly entered my faceless head and vanished. Moments later, a strange shock of electricity coursed through my body.
"W-What the hell did you just give me?!"
"To see your stats down there, just say 'Status'… Anyway, see ya. Be a good girl and don't interfere with the future hero… Bye."
FLASH!
And just like that, I was gone.
.
.
.
I felt like I finally had a body, but it was drowning in a strange, gooey liquid.
Ugh, what the fuck is going on? Where am I right now? I remember that man saying something about reincarnation. Am I going to reincarnate?! Am I a baby inside a mother's womb, then?
This is… certainly something… ugh… I feel sleepy.
.
.
.
I don't know how much time passed. But when I regained consciousness, I was being pulled out of my liquid prison. It was tight and tough, but someone grabbed my head and tugged me free. The first thing I saw was the face of a youthful man with short red hair and blazing orange eyes.
"Ooh! She's a girl!" he said, kissing my forehead.
What…?
"Let me see her…"
Suddenly, I was handed to a woman. She seemed beautiful, radiant even. Her hair was long and blonde, her ears pointy, her eyes emerald green, and her skin pale white.
"So beautiful… Look, she has your hair color and my eyes… Plus, she's a half-elf. Those pointy ears can't lie… Fufufu… Welcome to this world, Sylph."
I guess she's my mother…
And I guess… I've reincarnated.
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