I didn't rush straight at them because they would expect me to go for the weakest one first.
Instead, I decided to prioritize the fire mages: they were the ones who posed the biggest threat from a distance, and they had already burned part of my clothes.
I used wind to propel myself to the left, circling around the group in a fast semicircle. The dry forest leaves swirled around me like a natural shield, making it harder for them to see.
One of the fire mages fired a ball of flames straight at me. I dodged it by rolling on the ground, and in the same movement I shot out a compressed wind slash with my sword.
The invisible edge cut through the air and severed the mage's right arm before he could prepare another spell.
"—Aaaaargh!" he screamed, falling to his knees and clutching the stump.
Three fire mages remained, two earth mages, and the one who didn't use mana. Six in total.
The two earth mages raised stone walls from the ground to protect themselves and advance toward me.
Bad idea.
I focused mana into my feet and jumped high, using a burst of wind to gain extra altitude. From above, I could see their positions perfectly.
I descended like a hawk directly onto one of the earth mages. My sword, wrapped in a small green cyclone, shattered the wall he tried to raise at the last second and stabbed into his shoulder, knocking him down.
I landed between them. The one who didn't use magic—a big guy with a double-bladed axe—roared and charged at me.
"—Die, brat!"
I dodged his sideways swing by a hair; the axe split a tree behind me. I used the momentum of his attack, spun around, and slashed the tendons in his leg with a low strike. He fell to his knees screaming.
A second clean cut to the neck, and he no longer screamed.
Five left.
The fire mages regrouped and launched a coordinated barrage: three pillars of fire converging toward me.
There was no way to dodge them all.
I unleashed all the mana I had been storing.
A compact tornado exploded around me, diverting the flames to the sides and burning one of their own mages who stood too close. His clothes caught fire and he rolled on the ground screaming.
The other two stepped back, terrified. The last earth mage tried to trap me with pillars rising from the ground, but I was already in motion.
I ran straight toward one of the remaining fire mages. He raised a wall of flames to block me.
I broke through it — the wind around my body pushed the fire aside just enough for it to only graze me, burning my left arm, but I reached him.
A diagonal slash.
His head rolled across the ground.
The last fire mage paled. He tried to run, but a wind arrow launched from the tip of my sword pierced his back. He fell without a sound.
Only the earth mage remained.
He trembled, hands raised.
"—P-please... I surrender... I don't want to die..."
I was breathing heavily. The forest smelled of blood, burnt flesh, and torn earth. My clothes were charred, my left arm burned, but I was alive.
I slowly lowered my sword.
"—No," I said in a cold voice, "you and your companions killed innocents. There is no surrender for people like you."
One last wind slash.
Silent.
Precise.
The forest fell quiet, only broken by the crackle of burning leaves.
I wiped my sword on the cape of one of the fallen, sheathed it, and looked around.
Fifteen bandits. Zero survivors.
I smiled a little, though my whole body hurt.
"—Master... I think I passed the lesson."
I walked away limping a bit, but with my head held high.
The hunt was over.