One hour later:
Tia, donning her sleek black hat, nestled herself discreetly behind a massive wooden crate, only her head peeking out of the cover.
Her eyes pierced through the veil of darkness as she scrutinized a yard shrouded in a mist of smoke and shadows, with a formidable brick warehouse looming ominously at its far end.
'So this is their base.' Her target was right before her. The last thing she needed to do to get what she needed was within her reach. 'If I knew how expensive and hard it would be to get this, I would have brought something even rarer.'
Suddenly, her ears sprung as she caught the distant sound of steps quickly approaching.
'A patrol.'
She ducked behind the crate and halted her breath. The two sets of steps quickly passed by, followed by a bright light that cast shadows of the two men with crossbows and oil lamps in their hands.
'They look weak.'
A gentle gust brushed past Tia, causing her hair to flutter momentarily as she turned to trace its origin.
From another hideout, the figure of the old mage, Sebas, became discernible. He hunched behind a crate, his face hidden in the deep shade thrown by the brim of his fedora. He gestured subtly in her direction.
'So we are attacking head-on. Damn them...' She hated the idea of getting used like she was now, but she wanted that artifact no matter the price. She was even willing to offer her services as a hired weapon.
She waved back at Sebas and started to count silently.
'Three.'
'Two.'
'One.'
Springing from her cover with adrenaline-charged agility, Tia brandished her wand, which erupted in a maelstrom of spiraling flames. She channeled her telekinetic power, sending the roaring blaze rocketing toward the unsuspecting warehouse like a comet.
Steam hissed upwards as puddles on the cobblestone path evaporated instantly, and the yard was bathed in an intense orange glow.
Almost immediately, the warehouse roof erupted into a roaring inferno. Distressed shouts and cries punctured the night.
"Fire!"
"We are under attack!"
With a swift, powerful motion, Sebas thrust his cane forward, unleashing a titanic orb of blistering flame. It struck the warehouse's facade with the force of a meteor, shaking the ground beneath her feet and spewing forth a lethal shower of molten brick shards in every direction.
"Attack!" The elderly white-haired mage roared at full lungs.
The ground seemed to tremble in response. Menacing footsteps resonated, announcing an army of henchmen storming in from all corners.
More than two dozen hooded figures, cloaked in pitch black, surged forward. Darting with predatory grace, they took up positions behind the clutter of crates and aimed their crossbows.
'We should win...'
With a sudden gust of wind, arrows screamed across the yard, striking patrols so swiftly that it sent them sprawling, lifeless, onto the blood-streaked cobblestone before they could even raise their own weapons.
'This is it! Tia's mind raced. Clenching her wand so hard that her knuckles went white, her steely gaze locked onto the massive warehouse doors. Thoughts of barricading them flickered in her mind, but they were swiftly dismissed as she doubted they were the only exit.
Then, with an explosive force, the doors were blown off their hinges. Emerging from the blaze like demons from the abyss, a swarm of tattooed Asians covered in soot and scars stampeded forward.
The menacing gleam of their machetes and the jagged tips of their crossbow bolts shone wickedly, all set aglow by the erratic light of the ravenous flames.
Tia didn't rush. Instead, she remained in her position, carefully awaiting her opportunity to strike the enemies while observing the tactics and strength of the fighters on the battlefield.
"Fire!" The mage commanded, and in quick succession, the air was filled with the symphony of crossbow bolts tearing through the air.
As the barrage descended, men fell, bleeding, with the arrows jutting out of them.
The pungent scent of blood melded with the acrid stench of burning, further intensified by the heavy fumes billowing from nearby factories.
"Rip these fools to shreds!"
"With the ferocity of the Crimson-blood Wolves!" The wolf gangsters roared as they took their own machetes and rushed to welcome their enemies escaping from the fiery hell.
The two groups clashed together like two tidal waves, and the clanging of metal resounded throughout the battlefield.
'They are still amateurs and a mostly untrained group of lowlifes.'
She shifted her attention as three large men split from the main group and charged straight at her. Their machetes glinted in the firelight, and their eyes, full of anger, zeroed in on her. It was clear her wand and appearance had grabbed their attention.
'Let's test the combination of my esper powers with magic.' There was no sense of urgency in Tia, as all the low-level thugs were nothing more than ants she could squash with a mere thought. They were ideal targets to test her ideas and theories.
As Tia lifted her wand, her heart thudded with anticipation. The runes etched onto its polished surface ignited with a radiant glow. Guided by the fleeting memories of her former existence, she funneled a torrent of raw energy through her wand.
'Infuse, connected with sharp.' The vivid image of the two runes formed on the first thread of her mind, while the second one channeled energy into their mental image, projecting them into the real world. Almost instantly, both runes formed above her wand's tip, dimly glowing in the dark yard.
The four men quickly closed in with a sprint that would put even the fastest Olympic athletes to shame.
With a lightning-fast reflex, Tia tapped into her third mental strand, sending a torrent of kinetic energy cascading from her mind, down her arm, and into her wand. As it expelled from the tip, the force tore through the air, whistling as it pierced the glowing spell array.
The four assailants were abruptly halted. Shock registered on their faces before ominous crimson blooms spread across their garments. They crumpled, twitching grotesquely, as the ground beneath them became a macabre canvas of pooling blood.
Ding!
//
You have learned a new witch skill on your own: [Novice Runic Spellcraft]
Reward: 3 WP; +1 INT; +3 ENE
//
With a gleam of joy, Tia stared at the result of her attack, surprised by its deadliness.
'This is great! No, this is more than just great!'
The rune simply added the property of being sharp on anything. It didn't even have to have an edge for it to work. Still, already sharp objects would get much sharper.
With a masterful flick of her wand, Tia unleashed waves of this honed kinetic energy, sharpened by magic. The waves of kinetic force tore through the air like the whips of razor blades.
Within moments, geysers of red erupted like grotesque fountains across the battlefield. Severed heads tumbled, leaving the ground awash in crimson, followed by the thuds of the headless bodies collapsing to the ground.
The combat, once frenzied, now came to a chilling standstill.