Feeling the warmth of the morning sun on my legs, I toss and turn for a bit before reluctantly opening my eyes. Only to see that I am alone and someone left the tent door wide open!
'I'm going to strangle whoever did it.' As we were in a wide-open area specifically cleared out for camping, there were no trees that were close enough to shade my tent.
Feeling hot from the long exposure, I decided to get up and leave the tent. Observing the campsite, I see many kids playing and some of the adults cooking breakfast.
Yawning, I look over to where Dirk and Amelia are sitting. Grinning to myself I head back into my tent and close the door.
Now that everyone is distracted, I decided to create a few more cards.
The possibility of getting ambushed by a predator or bandits around here is low but never zero. I would rather be prepared than have to solely depend on others for protection.
Pulling out an empty canvas, I make an enhancement card.
'Enhancement - Enhanced Perception' My hand moved quickly as I drew a person being able to sense others through a wall. Playing with the opacity function allowed me to create a convincing image.
With that completed, I entered a state of absolute focus, creating card after card until I was exhausted.
I made sure not to create too many mana-intensive cards, focusing more on quantity rather than quality for now.
During the following days, I can try to create better-quality cards but I'm sure the cards I already have would be formidable in their own right.
Enhancement Cards:
-Poison Eater (Resistant to most common poisons and slight resistance to higher quality ones)
-Sun Bather (Resistant to decently high temperatures)
-Water Breather (Able to breathe underwater for 20 minutes)
-Proficient Swimmer (Able to swim as fast as normal fish)
-Oxygen Hater (Able to survive without oxygen for 5 minutes)
-Sturdy bones (Increases durability, +20% bonus for cards relating to Godly body)
Spell Cards:
-Invisibility
-Shadow leap (Move from one shadow to the next)
-Berserker (Gain a 2x boost in all aspects for 30 seconds)
Feeling a pounding headache and a wave of exhaustion, I groan and lay back on my makeshift pillow aka my backpack.
'Fuck! That hurt like hell.' After a few minutes of rest, I was able to finally feel some relief from a lack of mana.
I'm sure that I depleted all of my reserves this time. Berserker took the last few drops that I had left and then some.
I should have known that such a spell would be a lot more costly. Still running empty despite having rested a bit, I hear one of the knights call out that breakfast is ready.
Reluctantly leaving the comfort of my uncomfortable backpack, I head toward the campfire looking sickly. Grabbing my portion of the porridge, I sit on the same log that I sat on last night.
Feeling someone's gaze, I look up to see Dirk looking at me with concern.
Walking up to me after he grabs his food, Dirk followed by Amelia sits down next to me.
"You alright? It looks like a ghost sucked the soul right out of you. Gasp, don't tell me Amelia got to you?!"
"Screw you!" Punching Dirk on the shoulder, Amelia pretends to ignore us as she elegantly eats her porridge.
"I'm good, just didn't get enough sleep." With a look of understanding Dirk grins at me dumbly before eating his food.
"Oi, don't let your food get cold." Complying with his demands, I eat my porridge as well while we discuss some random topics. Soon a knight came around and gave each of us a cup of water.
Once done with our meal, we were instructed on how to dismantle our tents and extinguish the fire.
We resumed our trip only about 30 minutes after breakfast. Our next stop won't be until lunch unless they decided to take a break.
We continued like this for the next 3 days. During this time, I created many more cards.
Enhancement Cards:
-Mana sensor
-Empath (Able to sense the emotions of others)
-Bullseye (Able to hit any target in a 50-meter radius)
Spell Cards:
-Veil (Masks scent and mana from anyone at or below the power level of the user as long as the user has mana)
-Wind Runner (Increases speed using wind for as long as the user has mana)
-Body of diamond (Increases durability for as long as the user has mana)
-Silent area (Creates a barrier that eliminates any sound)
-Wind Cutter (Creates a sharp blade of air)
-Stone spears (Creates spears made out of earth)
-Psychokinesis (Allows the user to move things with their mind)
I tested out all of my new spells as soon as I had the opportunity to do so. The knights were always on guard and using a spell in the middle of a group of powerful knights can be detrimental.
But I discovered that most if not all of the knights can't sense when someone is using mana. I, of course, didn't try testing my luck with Faustus or Sir Burns but I believe they should at least have mana sense just like I do.
Positioning myself between who I deemed as the two weakest knights farther away from the camp was simple and when I was able to shake Dirk and Amelia away, I would try out my spells. I did nothing extravagant, there was still a possibility of my actions attracting attention.
The fields that we have been using are quite big so I'm confident that I was able to stay out of Faustus and Sir Burns' hypothetical mana sense radius. Or else they would have probably confronted me.
On the fourth day when we were setting up camp, something unexpected happened.
Hearing the trotting of horses getting closer to our campsite, I became anxious.
Sir Burns seemed to be the first to notice as he and Faustus rushed us to gather. Having only encountered a few merchants along the way, hearing the fast pace that the horses were going alarmed even the experienced knights.
Soon a large group of what looked to be adventures by the lack of coordination with outfits as knights usually have, began to slow down as they approached our group comprised of mostly children.
The large male warrior in the lead had on beast skin armor and a broadsword on his back, looking like a typical tank in MMORPGs.
"Howdy!" Hearing such an unexpected greeting from probably the largest human I've ever seen since coming here, I and the others just stare blankly at the man before Faustus decides to step up.
"Ehm! I am Armond Faustus, a teacher at Deck Academy. Is there any particular reason why members of Silvervale would approach us in such a threatening way?"
Faustus' smile was as fake as any customer service worker's. On closer inspection, most of them did have a visible emblem of a silver valley on a part of their armor.
Although every one of the adults' faces was calm on the outside, I could feel disgust and anger radiating off of them.
'It seems this guild is probably quite infamous, I hope not for something too bad.'
"Haha, no need to be so on edge. My name is Luis Ramses. We're just here to inform you of a group of bandits that have moved closer to the capital. They've successfully attacked and robbed many merchants that used to have no trouble traveling without high-ranking guards."
With a smirk, he continues. "Seeing as they have gotten a little too close for comfort, we decided to take the quest, as taking down arrogant assholes brings me great satisfaction."
"Alright, thanks for the warning. You can go!" Although he was smiling like a girl scout, Faustus oozed passive-aggressiveness but Luis didn't seem done.
Returning the smile with a shit-eating grin, I could feel that Luis is annoyed with Faustus' attitude. "How about this? You guys act as bait for us and we'll capture the bandits before anyone can lay a finger on you or any of your little brats. Deal?"
'What kind of shitty businessman are you?! Who would agree to such a thing?' Never have I ever seen someone so straightforward. He didn't even sugarcoat it and just outright asked us to risk our lives to help a bunch of crappy adventurers.
Seeing the glare from Faustus, Louis laughs once more before solidifying himself as a complete and utter ass. "Oh, Armond. Do you think you have a choice?" Without saying anything else, I feel an overwhelming energy press down on my very soul.
It was like someone was tightly grasping at my life and could kill me at any time. Feeling the originator was Louis, the already pale faces of everyone present morphed into fear.
Many of the children had already fainted and those who hadn't were on the floor. Dirk could barely remain standing while I, even with all my enhancements, was also struggling but way less than the other children.
Of course, since I wasn't directly targeted, the effect it had on me was minimal compared to the adults.
Sir Burns, the epitome of manliness, stood his ground and glared at Louis, while Faustus also stood firm but his resolve was wavering.
Even with all my inexperience, I could tell that the enemy in front of us was something Sir Burns nor Faustus could stand up to. Not to mention the knights who were barely on their feet.
'What a crappy situation we've found ourselves in.' Sighing in my heart, all I wanted to do was escape but I'm sure if Louis was to only send one of his weakest lackeys, I would not be their match.
"Alright! We'll corporate. Just, please reign in your aura." Faustus was at his witts end. Nothing he seemed to think of could get them out of this situation.
Smiling like nothing just happened, Louis retracts his aura and allows us to breathe once more.
"Get ready, you'll be leaving in half an hour." His smile faded just as fast as it came and his now serious demeanor alarmed some of the knights.
Watching them ride into the forest, I breathe out in exasperation. "What a scary guy."
"No fricken kidding!" Dirk seemed slightly fearful but I know he will bounce back as soon as this is all over.
Stretching out an arm toward the still-recovering Amelia, she grabs on before hoisting herself up with my assistance.
"You alright?" Nodding at my question, I wrap an arm around her in a half hug. Dirk soon joins in, which brings Amelia great comfort.
"What an asshole." Amelia stole the words right out of everyone's mouths. Louis had just made himself the enemy of a group of vengeful children.
'He better keep one eye open when he's sleeping for the rest of his life!' Already creating a plot to make Louis suddenly disappear one day, we all began to gather our stuff and put them back into the carriages before setting off just as the sun set.