"You seem a bit too young, why did you leave your home?"
"I'm an orphan, I left the orphanage to lessen the expenses. Besides, I can try finding work to support them."
"Is that so? What a thoughtful kid."
We are currently on a carriage heading toward the kingdom of Bosco. The one I was talking to earlier was just someone curious.
"Hey kid, what's your dream? I know kids your age are dreaming of becoming a magician, right?"
"Becoming a magician? Surely you jest, I know my talents well enough that isn't possible."
"Hahaha true that us, commoners rarely have the talent to become a proper magician. They mostly come from those nobles or wealthy merchant families."
"..." We stopped talking by then.
Speaking of which, a dream huh...I don't think I have that thing, what I have is merely a borrowed dream. My goal in this life is fulfilling my promise to that person. I couldn't fulfill it in my previous life due to a lack of talent but in this one, I will surely do it.
I didn't dwell further on that subject and closed my eyes. What I currently lack is sufficient strength. I'm only at 2nd circle currently but to reach my goal, I at least need to reach my previous life's rank and higher.
There's still a long way to go, I still need to go from the 3rd circle to the 10th circle, then to master rank after that is my previous life's rank, the grandmaster rank. Still, I think I would need to attain the next rank, monarch rank to raise my chances of reaching my goal.
'Haaa, it's still too far from now. I should focus on small steps.'
I decided on doing mental phantom training so my skills will not stagnate. This type of training is where one would need great concentration and create an image of someone you want to fight. Then you can fight them in your mental space.
'Now, who should I fight?'
I'm only at 2nd circle so I should pick someone at the 4th or 5th circle to fight otherwise it would not be effective training.
Hmm, I have decided, let's fight that guy. He was a decent opponent in my early years.
.....
Unknown PoV~
"Are all preparations ready?"
"Yes, sir! We have come to terms with the bandits. They are already waiting for an ambush."
"Good job, all of you should prepare as well."
"Yes, sir!"
After giving orders and checking that everything is all right, leaned on my chair.
"Kuhuhu! How pitiful," I shook my head at the thought of that trash. The patriarch has ordered us to eliminate him.
It is only right, for that trash has become a stain on the family's reputation. How dare he! Well, it is to be expected of someone born from a filthy woman.
"Kuhuhu, Alaric, you shall die by my hands. I will erase this disgrace of our family."
....
Normal PoV~
"Whew"
I need to strengthen my mental strength, I only lasted for 30 minutes of mental training before being tired. I could only fight three 4th circle opponents.
Well, no use in complaining, this body is still young. Next to focus on is reaching 3rd circle. Though it may take weeks to a month with my current speed, I'm not so sure.
"What the–!? Why did it suddenly stop?"
"Hey, coachman, what's wrong?"
"It's a bandit attack!"
"Oi, you lot, get ready!"
"You don't need to say, we know what to do!"
I heard our escorts outside bantering. I didn't get out of the carriage, those escorts should be able to eliminate those bandits. Soon enough we heard swords clashing and flesh tearing. There were no magicians among our escorts as they were mostly a pompous bunch.
"Ahhh!"
"Kill them!"
"Shit!"
The screams shook the other passengers but I ignored all of them. Instead, I focused on gathering mana for my 3rd circle. Some time passed and the fight is continuing when a shout got me out of meditation.
"It's a magician!"
"F*ck! They have a group of magicians with them!"
"What?! Magicians?"
We had no magicians in our escorts so they can only be enemies. Something clicked into my mind as well which made me chuckle.
"Haha, so that's it huh. It was not enough that they exiled me but wanted to finish the job...?"
Fighting bronze-ranked magicians isn't a problem for me but silver-ranked ones would be a stretch. But it's better not to risk confrontation, and with that in mind, I concluded.
"I need to escape..."
I immediately grabbed my dagger and hopped off the carriage. I also covered my head with the hood of my cloak, I bought it before riding the carriage.
"Hey kid, why did you get off, it's dangerous!"
I ignored the man who called out to me and immediately took off. And by spreading my mana and concentrating it on my feet, I reinforced them making me faster.
"One of the passengers is escaping!"
"That's the target, run after him!"
"Some of you, kill all the witnesses!"
I heard shouts, presumably from the magician group. I feel bad for implicating the others but survival comes first.
"Ahhhh!!"
"Please spare us!"
"I beg you, let me live!"
"Die!"
I kept running, ignoring the screams of despair. I'm not turning back, it wouldn't change a thing even if I did, not only that but I will be risking my life unnecessarily. They were just acquaintances at best.
"Flammia family...'Father', how vicious of you."
I muttered as I ran. I glanced behind me and saw the magician group running after me. They probably used support magic to catch up. Luckily I ran fast otherwise the distance between us would be shorter.
[Fire Arrow]
[Volley of Flames]
I felt the mana fluctuate and immediately knew they were casting spells. Glancing back, sure enough, I saw offensive spells coming my way.
"How persistent..."
I simply raised the mana output on my feet and jumped sideways and running a different direction. I also put mana in my eyes to enhance my sight and saw thick woods in the distance. I took off in that direction, fighting these magicians would be easier there.