Chapter 29: Chapter 2
Outside the city of Faltra.
Khali and Athos met outside the city to perform Athos’ first combat test.
“How are you feeling, Athos? Are you nervous?” Khali asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer. He was wearing a blue hooded cloak and carried only a wand at his waist.
“It’s not my first time killing.” Athos responded, trying to sound confident, but he was a nervous wreck inside. Unlike Khali’s plain appearance, he was wearing a hunter suit made of monster hide.
He carried an iron sword and a reinforced wooden shield on his back. Athos had retired the short sword because of the ongoing damage he received in training. He was 12 years old now and had left his thin frame behind.
His body had already built up muscle from the constant diet and training regimen, maintaining a good balance between muscle and flexibility. His face still had childish features, but there were already hints of facial hair starting to grow.
“No need to be nervous. Let’s go over the mission to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.” Khali spoke seriously.
.....
“The gangs have blocked off the city, preventing any caravans from entering the city. The baron is desperate and has sent a caravan with a squad of guards to nearby villages to collect resources from nearby villages.” Athos said.
“The problem is that the gangs know this and plan to attack the caravan after they leave the last village and are heading back to the city. Our mission is to wait for the convoy to be attacked and one of the groups annihilated, then attack the victor and take the resources to us, putting all the blame for the attack on the gangs. Afterwards, we will secretly return everything that was taken back to the villages and the baron will not be able to bother them until the next harvest.” Athos said, still skeptical about the whole plan.
He didn’t contest the plan just because it was a mission his teacher gave him. Athos didn’t care for any of those villagers, but he couldn’t pass up the chance to test his power against anyone other than Khali.
His teacher was a monster in his eyes and he wanted to know how strong he was compared to others. Fighting this group of enemies would be good practice when he faced the baron’s personal guard.
“How many guards are expected in the caravan and their power level?” Athos asked, curious about the enemy he would face.
“20 guards have been dispatched and a platoon leader.” Khali responded instantly. “What about the bad guys? Did you investigate them?”
“A little over 40 bandits. They have more than twice the number of guards, but they’re undisciplined and unorganized and poorly trained, so there’s not much difference in the overall strength of the two groups.” Athos yawned as he reminisced.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Athos. I saw 3 guards with mana capacity guarding the caravan. The difference between a mana user and an ordinary person is bigger than you think. The guards will feel cornered because of the numbers. , but I’m sure they will win.” Khali declared confidently.
They had bet on who would win the fight and Khali was confident in the guards’ chances. He bet an enchanted weapon with Athos that the guards would win, while Athos bet he would clean the rock worms’ coconut for 1 month if the bandits lost.
“3 mana users can overcome the bandits’ numerical advantage.” Athos said in a bitter tone.
“It’s too late to give up. You were the one who wanted to bet, you can’t run away now.” Khali boasted, but Athos smiled cruelly before continuing.
“It’s a shame that bandits have 5 mana users in their group. 2 of them are also archers, can do a lot of damage from a safe distance, while guards have no way to attack from a distance and need to stay in formation to protect the caravans.” Now it was Athos’ turn to brag.
“Are you kidding me? How did the gangs get enough manpower to send 5 mana users for a single raid?” Khali asked in disbelief and regret. If what Athos said is true, he can now say goodbye to his enchanted sword.
“Many adventurers left the guild and turned to crime in these 2 years. It may not seem like it, but the gangs take good care of their own and if you can use mana, they also take care of your family, so the bad guys are much stronger than appear.” Athos laughed in his face, almost feeling the enchanted sword in his hands.
“Hey Athos, what do you think about us forgetting about this bet? As your teacher, I believe I shouldn’t encourage this kind of behavior-” Khali started throwing up a lot of nonsense to try to get away with it. An enchanted weapon was expensive, even for him.
“It’s too late to turn back, professor. The sword will be mine.” Athos prevented him from evading responsibility.
“Damn, you’re greedy as a dragon. When will this caravan arrive? I want to freeze some stuff to vent.” Khali asked sullenly.
“It will still be a few more hours for them to get through here. Are you sure the ambush will take place here? I still think we should hurry up and follow the caravan from afar.” Athos asked worried about the mission.
Khali, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. “Don’t worry. They’ll certainly attack here. You’ve been spying on them and heard the location of the ambush, haven’t you?”
“About this, I want to ask you a favor. Can you leave the attack to me? If you get involved it will be over in seconds, but this might be good practice for me.” Athos asked using the skill, puppy dog gaze.
A tiny stream of mana spread through his pupil, dilating beyond what should have been possible. Athos still had many childish traits, further adding to the damage.
“I refuse.” Khali looked with distaste at Athos. “And don’t ever try to look cute in front of me again, it’s disgusting. You’re more suited to those evil smiles and murderous looks.”
Athos just snorted in response, turning around as he crossed his arms. “Why don’t you let me do the attack alone? They’ll be tired of the fight and I’ll have the advantage of the surprise attack. It’s a guaranteed victory.”
“No, it’s only a guaranteed victory if I attack. You’re still not strong enough to deal with dozens of enemies at once. You’ve barely begun to learn elemental spells.” Khali chided him for being overconfident.
“Actually, I am. You’re only considering my skill as a warrior and mage, but you forgot that I’m also an alchemist. I came prepared.” Athos pointed to his own belt and khali’s, both of which were filled with different potions created by Athos.
“Still, it’s very dangerous. Your combat experience is very limited and you could end up getting seriously injured or even killed because of a single moment of carelessness.” Khali insisted, worried for his safety. After spending two years together, he became attached to Athos and now saw him as a little brother.
“That’s why this is the perfect situation. I need that experience and I have you here even if I’m careless. You know all the training in the world is useless without real combat experience.” Athos didn’t give up either, determined to fight that fight alone.
“Haah...ok, you won. I’ll let you do this attack yourself, but if I see you can’t handle it I’ll intervene, am I clear?” Khali looked into his eyes until he saw him nod.
“Thanks brother.” Athos smiled happily at him, before turning around. They were on a hill a little farther from the supposed site of attack, but thanks to a magical binocular-like tool, they had no trouble keeping an eye on the site.
Athos anxiously waited for his enemies to arrive.