"Ahh."
: "Ok, calm down. I have the advantage here. I'm using a circle here, and they don't. The difference is in the circle, mana circulates through your body, so it's easy to cast a spell, with no need for incantation and no side effects. And for those who don't, because mana doesn't circulate through their body, they have to incant to cast a spell, and it has a chance to backfire on a user. It's also a side effect that exhausts the body."
He's not incantating to cast a spell'.
'There are three possibilities for that. The first is to use a circle, which should still not be discovered, so it's gone as a choice. The second is to use a gem because a gem usually has a high flow of mana; it's easy to cast magic without needing to incantate. The third is planting a core inside their body, making a monster, because a core can usually store mana. Some mages plant it into their body so they can negate the exhausting of the body as a side effect, and when casting a spell, they don't need to incant but give another side effect: they have a high chance of slowly losing themselves and turning into a monster.'
'Ok, I need to know which of the two.'
"Magic missile."
The white-hooded mages counterattack.
"*Freeze."
'Ha, just as I planned.'
I rush behind the white-hooded mages as they cast a spell.
"Doom."
It hit the white-hooded mage and tore off his left hand, revealing a huge core.
"Ok, third option, huh?"
'Though the core is mostly used with a risk, it has a capability to enhance a cast spell, and with great power comes a great weakness by destroying the core.'
I cast a spell and throw a rock, hitting his eye. Having this opportunity, I quickly close our distance and stab his core with a dagger, making him back away.
"Shit, it's hard that my dagger didn't pierce into it."
Suddenly I notice the chandelier hanging that can fall at any moment, and it gives me an idea on how to defeat him.
I stall some time by dodging his spell and hiding behind the chairs, and when the timing is right, I rush into him and push him into the chandelier, trapping him.
The white-hooded mage spoke.
"Dammit, do you think my organization is just going to let this off easily? You got it wrong because—"
*Boom.
I cast a spell, interrupting what he was saying.
"Magic missile."
"Damn, I might poke something big."
The two mages early on were frozen in fear, and I dealt with them easily.
I rescued the child and went to the city. Lord told what had happened.
"*I didn't know that was going on. Thanks for your information. I will look into it, and I will return the child to his parents.
"I will also warn my people of how the children were kidnapped."
"*Thank you very much; here's your reward."
I nodded and accepted the payment.
"You're welcome."
I leave the place and go to the Lionheart Knight training hall and report the situation.
"Hmm...So something like this is going on; this might be a disaster if not avoided early."
"Ok, thank you for the information. I will investigate into it and also call Matt."
"What? I can't do that. You're a commander and—"
"Don't worry, my friend; you help, and that's enough to call me by my name."
"O-okay, Matt."
"I'm going to leave; you might be busy."
"Oh, and here's some advice that I think will help you to perfected your skill."
"Bye then."