The journey from the dense, monster-infested forests of Durtusus back to the main road was uneventful but exhausting. The air grew lighter as the canopy thinned, eventually giving way to the rolling plains that led back to civilization. After days of walking, Zofia and Nathan finally reached the familiar cobblestone streets of Iusium.
Their first stop was the Guild to claim their rewards, but their sights were set further afield. The city of Isciacum, a bustling trade hub to the north, was rumored to have higher-rank quests and better markets for magical materials. With the generous reward from the mining quest and the sale of various monster parts collected along the way, their coin pouches were pleasantly heavy.
"Let's not walk this time," Zofia suggested, rubbing her sore calves. "We have the coin. Let's hire a carriage. We can rest, plan, and I can finally take a proper look at these beauties Gildur made."
Nathan didn't need convincing. He was already eyeing a comfortable-looking carriage with plush seats. They negotiated a price, quite an amount of money, but worth it for the privacy and comfort.
The rhythmic clatter of hooves on stone and the gentle swaying of the carriage soon lulled Nathan into a deep sleep. He snored softly, his head resting against the window frame, the new Lonsdalite sword hugged protectively to his chest even in slumber.
Zofia smiled, shaking her head. She pulled the curtains shut to block out the harsh midday sun and the prying eyes of other travelers. In the dim light, the jewelry Gildur had crafted seemed to hum with latent power.
She held up her wrist, admiring the bracelet. It was a delicate thing, surprising for a blacksmith known for heavy weaponry. The band was made of a dark, almost black metal that felt cool to the touch, and embedded within it was the refined Axingerite gem. It pulsed with a faint, inner blue light, syncing with her own heartbeat. The matching earrings dangled with a similar, subtle energy.
"System, analyze items,"
A holographic window, visible only to her, popped up, overlaying the item.
"Answer. The earrings and bracelet provide no stat bonuses but possess a special effect: Mana Efficiency. Reduces energy cost for all skills by 50%."
Zofia's eyes widened. "Fifty percent? That's insane."
"That means if I channel as much energy as usual, the spell will be twice as effective and large, right?" she asked, her mind racing with tactical possibilities.
"Answer. Correct. Alternatively, you can cast twice as many spells for the same mana cost. The gem acts as a lens, focusing and amplifying your raw magical output with zero waste."
She touched the earring, feeling a slight tingle. This changed everything. Her stamina had always been her limiting factor in prolonged fights, like with the Spider Queen. With these, she could fight longer, harder, and with more devastating power.
She then picked up the staff lying on the seat next to her. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, carved from dark, swirling Bocote wood.
"And this staff?"
"Answer. The staff is made from rare Bocote wood, durable and aesthetically pleasing. The gems are standard decorative stones. Stat bonuses: none. Special effects: none. It is, functionally, a sturdy stick."
Zofia chuckled. "Perfect. A flashy decoy."
She glanced at Nathan's sword. The metal was dark, swirling with the same blue hue as her gems.
"What about this sword?"
"Answer. The sword is made from Lonsdalite mixed with Axingerite. Stat bonuses: +20 Strength. Special effects: Indestructible. It also possesses Mana Absorption: it absorbs low-level magic directed at it or ambient mana to self-repair any microscopic edge dulling. It will never need sharpening."
"Amazing. Truly worthy of a Famous Blacksmith. Next time I visit, I must find a suitable gift for him. Maybe some rare ores from Isciacum," she mused.
Lost in thought, Zofia didn't notice the change in the carriage's movement at first. The rhythmic trotting slowed, the wheels crunching on gravel rather than stone, before coming to a complete, jerking halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Zofia muttered, peeking through the curtain. "Bathroom break?"
She expected to see the driver stretching his legs. Instead, she heard a rough, unfamiliar voice shouting from the front.
"Who are you driving for, old man?"
"I... I don't know who they are!" the driver stammered, his voice trembling with terror. "I just took money to take them to Isciacum! I swear!"
"Get lost before you lose your life. Run!"
"Th... thank you! Thank you!"
The sound of frantic footsteps fading into the distance told Zofia everything she needed to know. Their driver had abandoned them.
"Great," she sighed, the relaxing atmosphere shattering instantly.
She reached over and shook Nathan's shoulder hard.
"Nathan! Wake up!"
"Huh? What? Are we there?" Nathan blinked blearily, wiping drool from his chin.
"No. We've stopped, the driver ran away, and there are angry men with weapons outside. Looks like we've run into bandits."
Nathan's eyes snapped open, his hand instantly gripping the hilt of his new sword. The sleep vanished from his face, replaced by a warrior's focus.
"How many?"
"I hear... a lot. Dozens of footsteps."
"We're surrounded," Nathan whispered.
"I don't want to kill them if I don't have to," Zofia said, her brow furrowed. "Let's try to scare them off first."
She focused her mana. She couldn't see outside clearly, but she could sense the life forces surrounding the carriage. She picked a spot where the energy signatures were sparse, a cluster of trees to the left of the road.
"Lightning Strike!"
She snapped her fingers. Outside, the clear sky darkened for a split second before a jagged bolt of blue-white lightning crashed down.
The sound was deafening. One of the trees split down the middle, exploding into splinters and bursting into flames. Shouts of alarm erupted from the bandits.
"I am a high-ranking Mage!" Zofia shouted, amplifying her voice with a bit of wind magic. "If you know what's good for you, stay back! The next one won't hit a tree; it will turn you all to ash!"
Silence stretched for a moment, heavy with tension. Zofia hoped they would run.
Then, a rough, mocking laughter broke the silence.
"Ha ha ha! Nice light show, girly! But we have nearly a hundred men surrounding this tin can. Do you think you have enough mana to kill us all before we turn your carriage into a pincushion?"
Another voice chimed in. "Besides, you're in a box! You can't see us to aim. Come out and face us, or we'll burn the carriage down with you inside!"
Zofia's face darkened. "He's smart. He pinpointed our weakness immediately."
"They're not going to let us talk our way out of this," Nathan said, drawing his sword. The Lonsdalite blade shimmered in the dim light.
"No. We have to go out," Zofia agreed. She grabbed her decoy staff. "I'll take the lead. You cover my blind spots. Don't let them flank me."
"Got it. I'll protect you so you have space to cast spells."
The two looked at each other, a silent communication passing between them. They were ready.
"On three," Zofia whispered. "One... two... three!"
Zofia kicked the carriage door. The wood splintered and flew off its hinges, slamming into a bandit who had been creeping too close. He went down with a grunt.
Zofia and Nathan burst out, back-to-back, weapons raised.
They were on a dirt path surrounded by dense woods. True to the bandit's word, they were surrounded. Men in ragtag leather armor, holding rusted swords, axes, and bows, circled them. There were at least fifty visible, with more likely hiding in the trees.
Zofia raised her staff high, letting the ruby catch the sunlight. She channeled a small amount of mana into it, making it glow menacingly.
"We're just travelers," she announced, her voice steady. "We don't have much coin. Robbing us won't make you rich, but fighting us will cost you lives. Why risk dying for pocket change?"
A man stepped forward from the crowd. He was lean, dressed in dark leather that allowed for easy movement, and he twirled two serrated daggers in his hands. A long scar ran down his left cheek. He looked like the leader.
"Travelers?" He sneered, eyeing Zofia's staff and Nathan's gleaming sword. "Travelers don't carry a gem-encrusted staff worth a small fortune. And that boy's sword... I've never seen metal like that. You're adventurers, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are adventurers," Zofia admitted, keeping her chin high. "Be smart. Let us go."
"With items like that, you must be Amber rank or higher," the leader mused, greed flashing in his eyes. "Which means you're loaded. And that gear... it'll fetch a high price on the black market. Get them, boys! Strip them of everything!"
"Here they come!" Nathan yelled.
The bandits swarmed in like a pack of wolves.
"Earth Trap!" Zofia shouted, slamming the butt of her staff onto the ground.
A ripple of magic shot out. The ground in front of them turned into a quagmire of mud. The first wave of bandits stumbled, their feet sinking deep, halting their charge.
"Now, Nathan!"
Nathan leaped over the mud pit, his sword flashing. He moved with a speed and grace Zofia hadn't seen before. The lighter, perfectly balanced Lonsdalite sword allowed him to strike faster. He parried a clumsy axe swing and riposted with a flat-blade strike to the bandit's temple, knocking him cold.
"Don't kill them! Just incapacitate them!" Zofia reminded him, launching a Fireball at a group of archers in the trees. The explosion knocked them from their perches, singed but alive.
"I know!" Nathan grunted, ducking under a spear thrust and elbowing the attacker in the gut.
The melee was chaotic. Nathan was a whirlwind, holding off the bulk of the infantry. His sword clashed with theirs, and every time, the bandits' rusted weapons notched or broke against the superior Lonsdalite. He was confident, aggressive, and skilled.
Meanwhile, Zofia found herself facing the leader.
He didn't charge blindly like his men. He moved with a fluid, predatory grace, weaving through the chaos. He looked at Zofia, analyzing her.
"A mage with a big stick," he scoffed. "Let's see how you handle close quarters."
He vanished.
Zofia blinked. Speed enhancement? No, Assassin class footwork.
She sensed a shift in the air behind her. She swung her staff and unleashed a crescent of pressurized water.
The leader dodged it effortlessly, ducking under the blade as it sliced through a tree trunk behind him. He used the momentum to close the distance, sliding under Zofia's guard.
He slashed upward. Zofia leaped back, but not fast enough. The dagger tip grazed her arm, slicing through her sleeve and drawing a thin line of blood.
"Stings, doesn't it?" the leader taunted, dancing back out of range.
Zofia glanced at the wound. It was shallow, but it burned.
"Heal."
A soft green light enveloped her arm. The skin knit together instantly, leaving not even a scar.
The leader's smirk vanished. He halted, his eyes narrowing.
"What kind of mage are you? You use Lightning, Fire, Water, Earth... and now Healing? I've never seen a mage who can both heal and fight like a vanguard."
Zofia smirked, sensing his hesitation. "I'm the kind of mage who ruins your day."
She sensed his growing anxiety. Assassins relied on quick kills. A healer who could fight meant a prolonged battle, which he couldn't win.
Zofia secretly channeled mana into the ground, preparing a trap, but kept her eyes locked on his.
"Scared?" she taunted.
"Die!"
Provoked, he lunged. He moved faster than before, a blur of leather and steel, aiming straight for her throat.
Zofia didn't move. She waited until he was mid-air, committed to the strike.
She triggered the mana she had buried. The ground directly beneath her feet and where he was about to land, turned into quicksand.
He landed, expecting firm earth to push off for the kill strike. Instead, his foot plunged deep into the muck. His momentum threw him forward, off-balance.
Zofia sidestepped his dagger easily.
"Earth Trap Reverse!"
The mud hardened instantly, trapping his leg in stone up to the knee.
"You're trapped," Zofia said, leveling her staff at his face, the tip glowing with fire. "Surrender now, or I'll roast you."
The leader struggled, but the stone held fast. He looked at Zofia, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face. It wasn't a smile of defeat; it was a predator's grin.
"You're good, girl. Very good. But you forgot one thing."
"What?"
"You have a partner."
He whistled sharply.
Zofia spun around. Her heart dropped.
Nathan was on his knees, surrounded. Four bandits held him down. One had a serrated knife pressed firmly against his throat. A trickle of blood ran down Nathan's neck. He looked groggy, his eyes unfocused.
"We used a paralytic powder," the leader explained casually. "The boy fights well, but he breathes like a horse. Easy target."
"Let him go!" Zofia shouted, the fire at her staff tip flaring brighter.
"Do it, and he bleeds," the leader warned. "Surrender or I order my man to open him up from ear to ear."
Zofia looked at Nathan, then at the leader. She gritted her teeth. She could kill the leader, but not before they killed Nathan.
"Fine!" She extinguished the magic. "I surrender. Just don't hurt him."
She waved her hand, and the earth binding the leader's leg crumbled back to dust.
The leader pulled his leg free, shaking off the dirt. He walked up to Zofia and snatched the staff from her hand.
"Smart choice," he sneered. "Tie them up! And bag their heads. You two are dangerous. We're taking you to the Boss. Let the Red Widow decide what to do with a freak mage and her swordsman."