I sigh in relief once the notification pops up. Although I'm not happy with how I finished my mine, since Zale was the one who caught those bandits while I took his credit. It feels a bit wrong, but he doesn't seem to see it the same way as I. Then again, he did take down the leader of the robbers with only 2 players helping him. I guess he doesn't want too much attention after that shocking victory. All that's left is to watch the cutscene playing in the background as some soldiers interrogate the mastermind while the players are complaining how being in prison is much worse than the [Death Penalty].

  "You okay, Kaz?"

  I turn around and see Yur1 approaching me with most of his [HP] recovered, and his bruises and burns having disappeared from his body.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," I answer. "What about you? You had to catch those bandits at the last minute to finish your [Quest]."

  "Heh... I completed it just before those jerks grabbed a horse carriage," Yur1 says in a confident tone. "But I'm more worried about you than me. You didn't stand a chance against that brute. I feel like it might have hurt your pride or something."

  Oh... So that's what he's worried about. Other than feeling than a bit guilty with my [Quest] completion, I just shake my head with a smile and say, "I told you I'm fine. Sure, I'm a bit annoyed at how I ended my [Quest], but no one, including the NPCs, got hurt, and the players who attacked us got arrested. I don't know how prison works in [Isekai], but that should teach them not to be cruel against NPCs and kids."

  "And underestimating the latter, too." Yur1 lets out a sigh as he joins me in watching the event end. "But I'm surprised how you managed on your own before I arrived and without using your [Sign], too."

  "Same to you. You said you didn't need your [Familiar] for the battle." When I say this, Saphi flies onto my shoulder and cuddles me with a bright smile. "Where are they?"

  "They're currently resting. I may have gone overboard with the training. But I'll give them a rest day for being a good sport tomorrow. As for you, I'm surprised that you have a rare [Sapphire Dragon] as your [Familiar]. Where did you get him?"

  I sheepishly chuckle at this while gently petting Saphi's head. "It's a long story."

  "A long story that I want to hear."

  My eyes widen upon hearing Zale's voice again, and I turn to see him crossing his arms. "Zale! Are you done with the interrogation?"

  "Yep. Lucky for you two, those players were nothing more than hooligan-level mobs that were on power highs, thanks to that leader's support," Zale answers. "So you won't get interrogated. Trust me, it's much worse than a real-life one."

  "Right..." I quickly shake off that thought before it starts rooting in my head. "What happens now? Are you going back or logging out for the day?"

  "I still have somewhere to be, but I think my NPC colleague wants to meet your friend. It seemed like his little trick caught his eye, and he wanted to meet him."

  Colleague? He must mean Xiri. Does that mean he's planning to scout Yur1 for the academy or something? He looks at me with a serious expression on his face right after hearing this.

  "Don't worry about it, Yur1. Zale might be a bit rude, but his friend is trustworthy," I say with a smile.

  "Hey, what do you mean by that?! I'm not rude, I'm judgmental!" Zale protests.

  "Yeah, I just see you as a latter," Yur1 counters. "But if Kaz says both of you are trustworthy, I guess I should. But that doesn't mean my suspicions are gone. Besides, we haven't seen you contribute to the random event."

  "Well, that's because you two were busy dealing with those players until I showed up. Maybe you should stop judging and try focusing on your own thing."

  "Now you're just being hypocritical!"

  Uh... This is a bit awkward. Seeing these two players arguing reminds me a lot of when Zac and Damon do it in both realities. I would try to stop them. But then...

  New development?! So it's not over yet?!

  [YOU D*MN [ELF]!]

  Before I can draw my staff, I find myself being grabbed by a muscled man NPC (for the second time, I might add). But looking closely, I gasp to see that my attacker is none other than the Leader of the Bandits himself: .

  "Kaz!" Yur1 quickly draws his sword and points at the NPC. "Let him go or I'll go medieval on your face!"

  [Try me! But you're welcome to fight me.] Vainsly quickly pushes me in front of Yur1 while tightening his grip around my neck. [Unless you don't want anything to happen with your magic friend.]

  I can feel the pain around my neck as I start to lose my breath. "Y-Yur1... No..."

  "Kazu!" He screams before growling. "You monster...!"

  The bandit cackled as he continues strangling my neck. At this rate, he will kill me and might get to Yur1 after that. But I can't breathe, and I'm slowly losing [HP] because of how he mishandles me. Plus, considering how his name is colored in blood red, there's no way either of us can stop him! I decided to try screaming for Yur1 to run...

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "You again?" Zale suddenly steps forward with a frown on his face. "If it's one thing I hate about enemy NPCs, it’s when they treat players and innocent NPCs as meat shields. Maybe sparing you might be too lenient for someone so vile like you."

  He raises his hand and snaps his fingers.

  "[Cyclone Force]."

  Before I realize what he has said, a strong gust of wind suddenly erupts beneath us. Both me and Vainsly find ourselves flying out of the ground as he unknowingly releases his grip from my neck, letting me breathe again. Unfortunately, I'm way too high to land safely back on land thanks to Zale's spell.

  [RAWR!!!]

  But my fear is brief as Saphi flies towards me and grabs me by the shoulders. While I'm too heavy for him to carry, he does use [Tempest Blow] away from Zale's spell to help me fall more slowly so I can land on my feet without any issue. However, I can't say the same thing once I look up to check on Vainsly. Because, unlike me, he has flown way farther up into the sky, and when the spell expires, he starts falling a lot faster than I had. Unlike the players, NPCs can permanently die in the game. So if we don't do something...

  "Lower your staff, kid," Zale says just as I did so. "I told you, he's mine."

  "But...!"

  I can't get another word in as he pushes me away and raises his arms towards Vainsly. It's as if he's trying to catch him, but how can he when he's falling from that height?!

  "You know, I can save you if you let me," Zale calls out with a smirk. "You can be stubborn about it, but I doubt you will survive if you don't."

  That's great for him to say that. But can Vainsly hear him with his low voice?

  [S-Save...]

  Huh?

  [...me!]

  Wait, seriously?!

  [SAVE ME!!!]

  I gasp once I hear his scream from above.

  "Is he seriously gonna save a criminal after what he almost did to you?!" Yur1 exclaims just as he joined my side.

  I want to save him, too. He has to face justice in this world, but...

  "Okay, it's a deal."

  Huh? Did he accept his plea like that?!

  "But... I forgot to mention..."

  My eyes widen as I notice Zale with electricity starting to wrap around his body.

  "I'm very prickly when it comes to hugs."

  Wait, is he trying to...?!

  Before I could finish, the bandit leader lands on his arms, and Zale smirks as he uttered two words.

  "[Discharge Bolt]."

  The electricity around him grows wildly as Vainsly find himself being electrocuted by it. I try my best to back away and cover my eyes to avoid the blast. Yet I can't help but take a few peeks and see his [HP] going down much faster than a train. Eventually, Zale's spell disappears, and to my relief, Vainsly is still alive with only 192 [HP] left, albeit knocked out with foam coming out of his mouth. And thank God too, because if it had gone down below 10, I wouldn't forgive Zale for going too far.

  "Consider yourself lucky, I'm a merciful person. To be honest, I'd rather let the law dictate your punishment than doling out mine," Zale says as he gently put the unconscious bandit on the ground. "You should take this time to reflect on your crime until then. Take him away."

  I silently watch the NPC soldiers take Vainsly away. I can't believe it. He was scary when he tried to take me hostage, and now, I feel a bit sorry for him after enduring that attack. But it also makes me wonder how strong Zale is. I know he's a [Role Player], but he might be a bit too strong compared to me, Wind, and Yur1. But more importantly, the way he cast his spells earlier. He didn't utter any invocation, and yet, he managed to cast two spells without them. It's just like when I managed to cast my spells during the dragon fight a week ago. Just who the heck is he?

  "Are you okay, magic kid?" I snap out of my thoughts and turn to Zale, who has just finished talking to the NPC soldiers after Vainsly's arrest. "You don't seem to be traumatized after that sudden hostage event."

  He's right. It is a bit shocking, but I’ve never thought of it as traumatizing until now. Even if I don't, I would’ve ended up endangering everyone including Yur1 if I tried fighting back.

  "No, I'm okay. Besides, I'm not alone." I turn to Yur1 with a smile. "I know you didn't do anything to help me. But without you, I wouldn't have the courage to save face until Zale saved me."

  "Thanks, I guess," Yur1 say. "But you're still brave with or without me. You didn't let that guy get what he wanted as a hostage. That takes guts even if Wind isn't on your side today."

  My eyes widen at his compliment. "R-Really? You think so?" I say while trying to hide my face becoming red. "I don't want him to hurt anyone, and it wouldn't be fair if I start screaming for help with a chance of him threatening them afterwards."

  "The magic sword kid's right, magic kid," Zale says with Yur1 glaring at him with that corny nickname he gave him. "The only reason I managed to get him without more casualties is how you press forward and never surrender, rather than becoming a hostage as that guy intended. Then again, it's my fault I took my sight off that guy until it's too late. Sorry about that."

  Well, at least he's aware of that fact. I won't argue about it since he apologized. "But what will happen to that guy now? You almost killed him with that evolved spell."

  "Yeah, I didn't expect him to have a lack of magic resistance. I'm just lucky I didn't get a crit on that guy, or I would have been in a whole other trouble."

  "Speaking of which, that [Discharge Bolt] spell..." Yur1 speaks up with his eyebrow raised. "You didn't do any incantation, and yet, you cast it successfully. Was that a unique passive skill just now?"

  A "unique passive skill"? But I don't have one, and most of the instances I had were only pure chances. Heck, I even failed on trying to invoke it during the dragon fight a few times.

  "You could say that. Although to be honest, the [Quest] behind it was a pain to complete as an [Elf] character. However..." Zale turns to me so suddenly. "I think you and the magic kid might have more luck with it than I. But it's still difficult on your current [TML]. If you continue training, I'm sure you two will cast spells much faster than I. Just a forethought, that's all."

  Faster...than him? I feel like he's giving us a challenge from those words. If that's the case, it would be wrong for me to ignore it.

  "Anyways, you should meet up with my superior immediately, magic sword. I think he will give you a [Quest] you won't refuse. As for me, I need to make some finishing touches before I log out for today. See ya."

  With that, the [Elf] mage walks off while waving goodbye at us.

  Zale... He's mysterious and shady. But he's also insightful when it comes to magic-related [Masteries] as well as my [Ancestry]. I'm still suspicious about him. But I can't help but feel excited and fired up to take on his challenge.

  If that's the case, I won't back down. With or without Wind, I will become the strongest mage has ever seen before!

  Christine Luu, join my to read them along with some bonus content!