"I don't get it, how do they know where we are? They're heading straight for us, and from multiple directions," Remarked Rex with a grimace. "We should go...I'm pretty sure that there's an Apex Mage among them," I responded warily. "Come on, there's just no way...what reason would an Apex Mage have to lead a group of bandits made up of low level Mages?" He pointed out, before forming a couple of swirling fireballs in his hands and adding, "Let's take out the underlings quickly and then deal with the leader. They may know where we are...but I can sense them too. Just a little closer and they'll be well within my range..."Damn it, there's no way to convince him without revealing my Class. We're running out of time fast here, I can clearly hear them coming now, the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs as several footsteps came into earshot. They're fifty meters away and closing in fast...our best bet is to slow them down with flames and then escape, but I need to convince this
I felt a sharp rise in the temperature around me as the vines restraining me burst ablaze with flames, turning to ash and freeing me, a few small burns on my skin as I backed away in a hurry, getting some distance away from the woman. "You know, it's only been a few months since I became an Apex Mage, but even so...this is the first time I've ever bled since then. Well, not counting the monthly, you know...period of time! Hahaha, see what I did there?" She laughed in amusement, as she wiped away the blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. "Save it for after you're behind bars!" Snapped Rex, racing forward and unleashing a massive burst of flames at her. "Nice, you can both use chantless casting, what a promising, talented pair," She remarked, as the branches of the trees around her extended out in front of her, blocking the flames. She then sent the flaming branches zipping out towards us rapidly, before I unleashed an Ether-enhanced punch at the branches shooting towards me
Point-of-View: Rex Arbell———————————————————————————"...-any day now. Come on, you insufferable shithead, wake up already. Hey, you still alive in there, Tomato Head?" Came an annoying voice, as I felt something splash onto my face before a hand repeatedly smacked my cheek over and over. "Wha...?" I muttered, slowly opening my eyes with a weary groan, sitting up and rubbing my head. Where am I? What happened? My cheek is stinging with pain... "Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?"Huh? There's a hand in front of me...flipping me off. "Ugh, I feel so-...," I began groggily, before my eyes widened and I sat up abruptly as it all came flooding back to me, blurting out, "What happened!? Where is she!?""Sheesh, relax. It's all taken care of, all the bandits, the leader included, are locked up in the carriage. Good thing we brought so many handcuffs, there were just about enough to shackle all of them. I also found a roll of tape in the back of the carriage, so I put rocks in their
"What? An Apex Mage? You encountered an Apex Mage!?" Blurted out Ifeus in disbelief. "Yeah, you can check with the Knight Mages if you don't believe us, we just turned all the bandits in before coming back to the Guild," I informed him. Knight Mages are Mages who work under the command of the nation's Royal family, the majority of the Knight Mages are located in the capital, but there are small outposts in every city as well. They mainly serve as guards and also as a police force, and they're the ones in charge of the various prisons in the nation. They basically cover the bases that Guild Mages don't. "It's not that I don't believe you, I know you wouldn't lie about this, but...it's just that it's hard to believe, I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that you encountered an Apex Mage and made it out alive," He responded in bemusement. "Truth be told, we almost didn't make it out of that battle alive, that Apex Mage was seriously powerful," Chimed in Rex with a grimace. "Hm
Point-of-View: Ifeus Lero ———————————————————————————"Who the hell are you, old man? Come on, I'm sick of seeing so many old farts around me, I'd much rather spend time with some cute young boys instead, like that spicy redhead and the twink with two-toned hair.""Yes, I heard that you showed my Guild members quite a time," I responded icily. "Hm? Ohh, I see, you must be the Guildmaster of those two cuties! The redhead wasn't bad, but the slender one with the two toned hair was especially tantalizing...mm, I was saving the best for last, but I got too caught up in pounding the redhead," She laughed as she let out a wistful sigh. What's with this woman? She's hot, but seriously revolting. Cesla Knois, a wanted criminal in our neighboring country, Anthro. About a year ago, there was a massive jailbreak in Anthro, several dangerous criminals escaping, she was one of those criminals. The nation was already plagued by the actions of a certain dark cult, and the sudden outbreak of jai
"You know, I'm starting to get kinda worried about Iris. It's been over a month since we last saw her, I hope she's okay," I remarked thoughtfully, as Lilac and I strolled through the city. "Oh, I'm sure she's just fine. There aren't a lot of things out there that can take down that gorilla, you know," Shrugged Lilac wryly in response. She says that, but I know she's worried too. I've seen her sleeping in Iris's room a couple of times over the last week, and she's not as energetic and upbeat as she usually is. Today's the 22nd of May, 505 PA, and a bit over two weeks had passed since that bandit Quest. I got paid quite substantially the following day after that Quest, which I used to buy myself some new novels to read, plus some snacks to munch on while I'm lazing about in my room.I decided to take a day off today and just laze about all day, but Lilac had other ideas. She insisted on showing me around the city, which I honestly couldn't care less about, but she wouldn't stop pest
"It exploded the instant you pointed at it...uh, you aren't the one who did that, right?" I inquired incredulously. "H-hey, don't say that, of course I didn't! It was just a coincidence!" She snapped indignantly. "We should probably get out of here. That explosion might've set some of the prisoners free...if that Apex Mage broke free, we'll be screwed. Let's go report this to the Guild, quickly," I remarked, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away, as several Knight Mages who'd been outside the building rushed towards the wreckage that was left of it. Yeah, realistically speaking, it's unlikely that anyone who was inside survived that explosion-...no, wait. I thought back to the explosion as it happened...whatever caused that explosion came from the inside the prison, the building exploded outwards. Hm, furthermore...there's a big dust cloud rising up from the rubble, but there's no smoke, at least not a significant amount. So it wasn't a fiery explosion...let's see, what are the
"Well, that really sucked...I mean, I was the one who told them about your deduction regarding the fact that it was most likely an Apex Mage of the Space Class who destroyed the prison, and as soon as I finish, they suspect me and detain me for questioning. I don't think I've ever felt so insulted in my life," Sighed Ifeus with an exasperated look on his face. "Sounds rough," I responded absent-mindedly, leaning back in my chair. "More importantly, let's go on a Quest, To," Chimed in Lilac, shaking my shoulder a couple of times. "M-more importantly...?" Muttered Ifeus in dismay."Just to make sure, you weren't the one who did it...right?" I inquired, feigning a doubtful look on my face. "Of course, not!" He protested indignantly. It was the next day, the 23rd of May, 505 PA, and I was currently at the Guild. Normally, I'd have stayed at home and trained today, but since Ifeus was taken in for questioning yesterday, I came to the Guild this morning with Lilac since the Knight Mage