As I approached the clearing, I noticed that there was a small stream nearby. A frozen stream. However, I couldn't be happier than that as I could just unfreeze it with time. It was such a good sign for me as I would need water to survive.
Though, it seems that it will have to wait for a while as I didn't have any magic power right now.
And as if lady luck wasn't on my side at all, I heard the frozen herb crack under someone's footstep.
*Crack*
*Crack*
*Crack*
I quickly hide behind a giant boulder while my nano-creatures hide in the trees around me. I needed to be careful as I wasn't in my best form right now.
"I'm telling you, I definitely heard footsteps earlier." Someone said.
"Are you sure?" Someone else looked at her companion with doubt. "You always say that, yet you're never on the spot."
"No, this time, I'm sure of myself. I definitely heard someone. Even my spirits are telling me that there's someone."
"You said that earlier as well."
"Please believe in me, I'm telling the truth right now."
"As I heard those two people talk, I quickly glanced at them to know what they looked like. There was a man who has a long robe and what looked like a fire spirit on his shoulder.
Was it a salamander? I couldn't tell.
As for the woman, she carried a katana on her waist and had a strange bracelet on her wrist.
'How did they get such gear? It doesn't look like they have anyone who could make weapons. And they look unique as well, not like those I made.'
"Hey you, we know that you're hiding behind the boulder, come out already!"
The woman, or should I say this teenager? Anyway, she asked me to come out.
Though, I didn't. She could as well just bluff.
"I'll burn you down if you don't." The young man said as well.
Did they think I was a pushover?
In the end, I just stood up and met their eyes.
"See? I told you there was someone." The young man busted his torso proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She waved her hand and put her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to unleash it if I were to move a finger.
"What do y-you guys want?" I asked. It seems that my stutter made them think that I was scared of them.
"Can you really address us like that? Don't you see the situation you're in?" The young man said as the salamander on his shoulder released some flames from its mouth.
"I'm s-sorry."
"Good, now tell us what you're doing here." She asked as she walked toward me.
"And why s-should I?"
"Because we have reason to believe that you're up to no good. You were sneaking around in this area and we don't take kindly to trespassers." She replied with a stern voice.
I sighed as the situation started to annoy me. Though it seemed that I had no other choice but to explain myself.
"I was just p-passing through, looking for a place to r-rest. I didn't mean to cause a-any t-trouble." I said with as much sincerity as I could muster while still stuttering. I never expected that this annoying side of myself would be appreciated one day.
They both exchanged a look as if silently communicating with each other, then looked back at me. The woman unsceathed her sword. "Such a liar. You were sneaking around to ambush us, right?"
"Huh?" I was baffled as the next moment, she dashed toward me.
I sighed as this fight will just make me use more magic power. Nonetheless, I've decided to finish it as quickly as possible.
*Bam*
*Bam*
"Arghhhh!!!"
She started crying and screaming because of the pain.
I shot two ice bullet to her legs, and they froze in an instant, so it was quite normal, I guess.
The man seeing this got scared as well and was about to start running away, leaving her comrade behind. Unfortunately, the moment he turned around, he met my creatures that were menacingly stopping him from moving.
He looked back at me, and I gave him back a smile with a wave of my hand holding the gun.
And he must have been scared as he fainted on the spot.
"Sigh, for real though, we didn't need to come to this situation." I shook my head after seeing both of them having fainted
***
Thankfully not a single monster came afterwards, and the moon was now high into the sky. It was really dark and exrtemely cold.
"Guess it's my first night in this new age." I said as I looked at the night sky from the window, grateful that I've met Lyra and got his fire affinity. Without it, I would have died from the cold.
And it seems that my two prisoners liked this warmness as they both started to open their eyes slowly.
"Where am I?" The woman shot up and asked. Alas, her hands and feets were restrained by wires and fell back to the ground, head first.
"What are you going to do to us?" The man added as he looked at me, fear clearly visible in his eyes.
"Introduce yourself f-first." I asked them, trying to stutter as less as possible.
Strangely enough, they answered immediately. "I'm Léa, a student." She said once she regained her composure. I then turned my head to the man.
"I'm Marc, and was a stundent as well." Now fear dissapeard from his eyes and reminescence was present instead.
Seems like they missed they old life.
"W-who are you?" Léa asked. "Are we going to die?"
"Huh?" I was puzzled. "Why would I kill you?"
I felt dumb once I saw her looking to her legs. The injury had now started to heal back thanks to the ice stopping the hemoragy immediately.
"Well, you guys started first, right?" I smiled wrily. "I just defended myself."
"Why were you hiding in the first place?" Marc asked. "If you're this strong, you could have just stopped us immediately."
"Would you have really stopped though?"
I looked at them and an ankward silence chimmed in. No one said anything for a while until Léa asked me. "Excuse me, but where are we? And why is it so warm here?"
She looked around. Indeed I was waiting for that.
"You are in my shelter right now. It's a little small, but it's better than nothing, right?"
"Shelter?"
"But how?"
"You guys are asking a lot of things, huh?" I raised an eyebrow as they both quivered in fear. Was I that scary? No I didn't think so. Maybe my nano-creatures. "Well whatever. I'm not asking if you want to leave as I don't think you will anyway. So tell me more about your post and all, please. It'll be better if we were to work together in the future."