The sun passed, the hours counted as we prepared to find the first stopping point, a tree was on our way.
First instinct was to think of an accident as a tree fell and blocked the road, but as adventurers the second option was probably more accurate.
Bandits cut down the tree to stop the convoy from advancing.
I shook Reina's hand and assured her that everything would be fine.
Bandits are generally low level, not that we would have a very high level. The Transport Guild usually provides the escort, but this merchant had fallen out with the guild over fees, so the Adventurers Guild was providing manpower for the escort.
I prepared my staff in hand, Reina took her saber and we positioned ourselves around the carriage.
The attack could come from the front, from the sides or even from behind. We remain alert to act at any time.
I concentrated my mana, waiting for the bandits to appear, depending on the situation the magic I would need to use would be different. Reina in turn swung the saber a few times, testing the still not completely familiar weight and remained on guard.
In the worst possible scenario, I could use my Warrior strength to get through this situation more safely.
Rena had reached 3rd Star Nage, but without time to train spells she was just a shell without substance.
This needs to change in the coming days, so we would have more ways to guarantee our safety.
The first arrows reached the carriage, scaring everyone. Despite being an efficient form of hunting, they are not very common for bandits. More direct confrontations tend to be more efficient, as Mages can create Barriers that negate the arrows' effectiveness.
With that in mind, I created a barrier for myself and another for Reina using earth magic and remained alert for the first sign of the bandits.
Although the attack was from both sides, the few arrows that flew in our direction indicated that there were no more than two or three archers.
"Good thinking kid, but don't let them corner you against that wall!" – Rubens shouted towards me.
"Yes sir!" – I returned, trying to demonstrate determination.
It didn't take long for the bandits to appear, there were 10 of them plus the two or three hidden archers.
They surrounded the convoy and had a numerical advantage, I couldn't say how powerful their leader was, but he would hardly be as strong as Rubens.
Two came towards me and then I asked Reina's situation.
"Reina, two on my side, how many are out there?" – I shouted worriedly.
"One!" – she replied confidently.
Although her star level would be enough to be an adventurer, Reina didn't have much combat experience. Just one enemy would be perfect for her to test her skills.
I wasn't too worried because her evolution on the warrior path was mainly focused on dexterity and vitality. This had also been one of the main points of her weapon.
While I had grown on the Mage path my intelligence and wisdom had increased greatly, reducing the preparation time for spells and increasing my mana capacity.
I prepared two stone globes and fired at my enemies. The first managed to dodge but the second wasn't so lucky.
The stone globe hit him directly in the chest, sending him to the ground. The speed of the globe was only enough to deal with someone one level below me, so I could speculate that I and the other was also at the 4th Star like me.
While the one who fell tried to get up, the other rushed towards me, brandishing a sword bravely and letting out a war cry.
I heard Reina's opponent doing the same, but I couldn't divert my attention.
That was the first serious fight I would have in my life. All missions, until then even those at the academy, were just Training Missions, despite the dangers they were not really life or death.
I prepared a gust of wind to destabilize my opponent, then prepared another stone globe.
Just before he reached me, the gust of wind caused him to lose his balance to the right, so the stone globe hit his leg without difficulty.
He was not completely out of action, but his mobility was significantly reduced.
I probably wasn't ready yet to attempt a more fatal attack. But I knew that at that moment I couldn't deny the possibility.
The aggressiveness of my attacks was little compared to my enemies. My stone globes, despite hurting, didn't do enough damage.
Fearing what was about to happen, but knowing that I didn't have much of a choice, I summoned a new stone globe and with it a gust of wind to accelerate.
My target was the weakest opponent, the stone globe zoomed like never before towards the individual's chest, the poor man stumbled and the globe headed towards his head.
The impact was quick, the noise was shocking, I felt my spine go cold.
At that moment I took my first life.
The other, seeing his colleague death, had his eyes filled with hatred, so scarlet that they could put the bravest fear in the adventurers.
The effect was such that his strength mysteriously grew, all I could do was raise my staff to stop the sword.
A loud impact vibrated the air.
The sword hit the Cold Iron reinforcement and my lack of preparation sent my knee to the ground. I resisted using my strength, trying not to alert him too much and summoned a globe of wind.
Unlike a gust, a globe of wind has penetrating power, but loses its effect very quickly at a distance. My hand released the staff and pointed directly at the bandit's stomach and I threw the globe of wind and everything turned red.
I was bathed in blood as my enemy fell back, he didn't have any type of armor and at that distance, even with armor, the damage would be tremendous, even if he didn't die he would still be seriously injured.
When my fight was over, those few seconds, maybe minutes, had felt like an eternity. I looked around and noticed others still fighting, but there was no noise on the other side of the carriage.
"Reina, are you okay?" – I shouted worriedly.
Seconds passed without a response until she came.
"Yes! He was only a 2-star warrior." – she replied in a spiritless voice.
I sighed with relief, but also worried. The fight was no preparation for it, it was just a senseless massacre.
Looking around me, I saw the others finishing their fights, the captain finished off the leader and two more bandits while the Mage provided cover, the others managed to repel the bandits but without finishing them.
Fatigue got to me. Despite the little magic I had used, my mind was extremely tired from dealing with that situation.
"How are you, son?" – asked the captain worriedly.
I woke up from my thinking and saw the captain approaching. Between the moment the battle ended and the captain approached, Reina had arrived at my side.
For both of them, it had been a very strong experience.
"You are still very young, you did your job, you don't need to feel guilty." – he consoled when he saw how shaken we were.
Listening to the captain's words, I could only agree, but the first time you take another human life is different.
Until that moment all I had fought against were unranked beasts. I had killed a few, but nothing as horrifying as facing one's own kind.
The bandits were all Warriors, even low-level Mages still find opportunities in cities or even villages, Warriors end up having a slightly more difficult life.
Their leader probably didn't qualify to become an adventurer and ended up in this life and gathered others who faced the same fate.
Graves were dug at the side of the road, the bodies were moved, traces of blood eliminated and we continued our journey to the first resting place.
Reina and I sat inside the carriage without talking much, each other's warmth was all we needed at that moment.
Words wouldn't make a difference, we had chosen this life and we knew it wouldn't be peaceful.