Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1)

by V. A. Lewis

  The Goblin’s forehead creased at the comment, and he folded his arms. "Are you saying this was pointless?"

  "W-well, no. I’m just saying that if I’m too weak and slow to do anything, how can this help me?"

  "It helps for later. For when you grow up. Just because you’re a child now, does not mean you’ll forever be one. You’ll grow stronger one day. Learning this now just prepares you for then. And even if you’re— for some reason— physically incapable as an adult, there’s always body enhancement magic."

  I took a second to register what he said. "You mean Shamanism?"

  "That is not the only school of magic that focuses on that. But yes. Shamanism is one such example."

  I stirred at that. I am good at magic— the best in the world, even!

  "So if I learn this type of magic, I can make myself stronger?" I asked excitedly.

  "Yes. And it is in fact far more beneficial for you, at your age. Making yourself as strong as an adult as a child is much easier than making yourself stronger than one once you’re an adult. Doing both may alter your body so you can exceed your limit, but the spell required to do the former is much simpler than the latter."

  I eagerly roused to my feet. "Wait, so there’s this Dark Acolyte coming who can heal me—"

  "Jasmin the Voodoo."

  "Yeah, that person," I nodded excitedly. "If they’re here, can I also ask them to help make me stronger, faster, and whatever? Since it’s easy."

  Karna scratched his head in thought. "If she is willing to come all the way to us just to heal you, then probably yes."

  I felt my lips curling up into a smile. If I can protect myself, I don’t have to worry so much anymore! The happy thought crossed my mind, but was interrupted by a shout.

  "Yo, Karna. Melas. We’re leaving soon. Come on, stop standing around."

  Ihsan was yelling at us from the side. Most of the camp was cleared out, and everyone was getting ready to leave.

  "Coming!" I called back to him.

  Karna was already walking towards the rest of the camp. I stepped up right next to him and we walked in silence for a bit.

  After a minute, I finally broke the silence. "Thanks. For teaching me."

  He continued facing forward as he replied. "It’s nothing. I simply owed you."

  "Well, not really. You already paid me back by not being a jerk anymore. That’s what I told you, remember?"

  The Goblin gave me a grunt, which I was not really sure how to interpret; I remained silent, before he finally spoke up.

  "...if you want, I can continue training you."

  I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

  "Yes." He turned to me slightly. "It won’t help you much right now, but it will still help you a little bit. Although I do believe it would be better for you to learn some sort of defensive magic— like a barrier spell— to protect you if anyone gets close. You should only ever have to pull out your dagger as a last resort."

  Karna continued talking, as I slowly trailed behind him. I looked heavenward— at the blue sky overhead and at the white clouds that partially obscured the sun for that briefest of moments.

  Things are finally starting to get better. I smiled.

  Hopefully it stayed that way.

  Chapter 34: Choices, Choices, Choices

  For the next few days, I spent most of my time studying magic and training with Karna. Not only did he teach me how to fight with a dagger in close-quarters combat, he also gave me practical tips on casting spells in a combat situation.

  The scenarios would vary, but he typically would have me use every tool in my disposal to fend him off and escape his attacks. He would not go easy on me; he would scale his efforts of trying to catch me with how well I was doing that day.

  And today, I was doing quite well.

  I felt my feet burning as I weaved my way through the trees. I could see the camp in the distance— its palisades visible through the thicket. Almost there, I thought to myself.

  I heard the sound of the leaves crinkling with each of my steps. A fallen twig snapped in half as I ran over it. There was no subtlety to this: I was simply trying to escape.

  But it came.

  It was a faint sound at first— not of footsteps catching up to me, but the whirling of something flying through the air.

  I dodged to the side, as the projectile whizzed past my shoulder. I kept up the pace, but I heard more arrows being loosed in my direction. I spun around. I saw the volley of arrows coming at me. There were too many to dodge! I was going to get hit—

  The sound of wood snapping filled my ears.

  I watched as the blunt wooden arrows smashed into the barrier. It was a large translucent rectangle of energy with an outwards curve that hovered in front of me, deflecting the attack. A small magic circle was glowing in its center, as if it were holding the blue shield together.

  I let the spell dissipate and the mana circle disappeared. I held the spell at the tip of my fingers— I was prepared to cast it, waiting for the followup attacks to come.

  My gaze swept around the forest. Where is he? I narrowed my eyes.

  I saw a flicker in my peripheral vision. I stepped back, barely dodging the arrow as it landed right at my feet. I instantly fired a Magic Bolt in the direction it came from, but the figure was gone.

  I stood on guard, amongst the trees. It was noon, yet shadows moved around me. I waited. And finally, he came.

  Out of the thicket and bushes, Karna dashed out at an inhuman speed. I backed up, magic circles forming on both my hands. I only managed to throw another three Magic Bolts at him before he closed the distance. He reached for me, but I raised my other hand.

  My second spell went off. A horizontal line of crackling energy swept at him. He’s going to get hit!

  The brief glimmer of hope I felt immediately went away as the Goblin sidestepped under it. The snare wrapped around itself like a magical bolas that caught nothing, falling to the ground in a limp roll.

  Karna charged me once more, and I found my back against a tree. I cast the Force Barrier again, unable to do anything else. He tried to go around it, but I kept the magical shield facing him.

  I watched the Goblin draw an arrow from his back. In an instant, a magic circle went over the projectile, enchanting it with sharpness to increase its damage. He jammed it at my barrier with his full strength, and I saw cracks form on the translucent surface. I unsheathed my dagger from my sides, and gripped it tightly behind my back as I watched him slowly break my last line of defense.

  He struck the barrier two more times before it shattered completely. And at that moment, I rushed at him. I swung sideways at his chest, running forwards as I went. He skirted just past the blade, narrowly dodging it like he always did. He readied himself for my next strike—

  But I continued running.

  I ignored him completely. There was no way I was going to beat him in a fight, so I made a mad dash for the camp. It was a brilliant strategy! There was no way it could fail!

  He caught me after a few seconds.

  "Nice try, but you can’t outrun me either," Karna commented dryly.

  "I know," I sighed, as I lay panting on the floor. "But I had to try, right? I’m supposed to escape, not fight, after all."

  He grunted in affirmation. "You did well today. You caught me completely off guard with that snare spell, and nearly made it to the camp. Good job." He offered me a hand, and I accepted it.

  "Thanks," I said, smiling slightly. "I learnt it just this morning. I was hoping to catch you off guard, but you’re just too… fast."

  "Another new spell?" Karna considered this. "It would take me at least a week to learn a spell like that, let alone master it. It has been less than a month since you started training as a spellcaster, but you’ve already learned over half a dozen spells. Your magical proficiency is... I’ve never seen anything like it."

  I ducked my head down shyly. "Oh, well. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered these spells. And it’s no
t really, uh, you know…" I trailed off as we walked towards the camp.

  "‘It’s not what?" The Goblin turned to me with a frown. "What you’ve done is truly impressive. To say otherwise is an insult to everyone below you."

  "That’s not what I’m saying!" I protested.

  "Then what are you saying?" His large yellow eyes bore into me. I hesitated. We stood at the entrance of the camp for a moment, a slight tension in the air.

  And I was saved by a voice coming from the side.

  "I think she’s just being modest, Karna. Come on, don’t needa take things so seriously."

  Ihsan strolled over to us, hands raised behind his head. Karna opened his mouth to respond, but the other Goblin just spoke over him.

  "And before you lecture me on why being humble is a sign of weakness— just don’t. The Commander is looking for you."

  Karna sighed. "Where is he?" he asked.

  "Usual place. With the Dark Acolyte. I think it’s important."

  "Of course it’s important, fool. They wouldn’t summon me over something trivial."

  "How about me?" I piped up from the side. "Are they looking for me?"

  "Nope," Ihsan answered. "They didn’t ask for you. Just Karna."

  I closed my eyes slowly, and exhaled. To be honest, I expected that; I hadn't spoken with Victor since he scolded me a week ago. Gerritt told me that he was apparently still unhappy over what happened, which only made me feel bad.

  I wanted to speak with him— to make it up to him. But I wasn’t sure how he would react. I did not know what to do, I just knew that I had to speak to him soon before things got worse.

  I resolved myself on that, and opened my eyes. Karna was already gone, but Ihsan was still there. He grinned.

  "How’d training go? I only saw the end, but you made it so close to camp. I thought you had it!"

  "I thought so too," I said, nodding. "But Karna is too fast. And he’s going easy on me. I probably never had a chance."

  "Karna doesn’t go easy on anybody— he’s a show off! Sure, he’s talented and he totally deserves to act like that." Ihsan waved his hand dismissively. "But a show off is still a show off! So don’t be so hard on yourself. You did great."

  "No— I mean, I could’ve done better…"

  He nodded in agreement. "Anyone could always do better. And it’s good that you want to be better. But just so you know, never reject a compliment from a Goblin. It’s considered rude."

  "Really? I’m sorry— I didn’t mean to offend you."

  "Yes. Goblin society is based on respect and power. But there’s no need to apologize to me. I’m fine with it, since I grew up with Dwarves. ‘Tis just some general advice." Ihsan gave me a cool shrug.

  "Oh, thanks." I bowed my head slightly. Then I paused. "Wait you grew up with Dwarves?"

  "Yep. Born and raised in Taw."

  That surprised me. The Taw Kingdom was allied with the Holy Xan Empire— they even supported the Empire during the Free Wars! If Ihsan really grew up there, why was he a Dark Crusader now?

  He grinned. "I know what you’re thinking. ‘Why did you join the Dark Crusaders, if you grew up in Taw?’ Well, the answer is simple: money."

  "What?" I stared blankly at him.

  "You heard me right. I joined them for the money." The Goblin gestured to a pouch on his side. "I know it’s not some grand reasoning. But cut me some slack. I grew up poor in a big city, and wasn’t always treated fairly just because I was a Goblin. So I turned to crime to survive.

  "So I joined some small gang, but it got busted. Found a bigger gang— got kicked out. And that was around the time I heard about the Dark Crusaders. I talked to some shady people, learned some magic, and somehow found myself here."

  "But… couldn’t you have done something else? If you just need money— to survive— can’t you… find a job?" I asked stupidly.

  "Not really, no. The only thing I’m slightly good at doing is fighting. I could try becoming a Hunter or a Mercenary, but as I said, very few people would hire me because, y’know." He shot a thumb back to himself, and I grimaced at the implication. "Plus, I’ve got what I want here. Food to eat, a bed to sleep, and money to spend. Well, I can’t really spend money here. Got to be careful in the Free Lands. Someone might try and capture me into…"

  "Slavery." I felt an itch right next to my eye, as I finished his sentence for him.

  His gaze slowly slid off my face. "Yeah..." he trailed off.

  I ignored that.

  "So, you can actually go out and spend money? And you’ve done this before, outside of the Free Lands? Despite siding with the Demons during the Holy Wars."

  "Of course. And we didn’t side with anybody. No Goblin alive today was alive back then. And half of us here on this continent come from families that left Hell even before the Holy Xan Empire existed. Sure, the other half ran here seeking refuge after the Demon Lord was killed a hundred years ago, and that does make other species’ hate us. But if someone in this continent stabs us while we’re out and about— and that does happen more than we would like— they’ll still get thrown to jail. Well, they’ll get thrown to jail most of the time. But we’re Goblins. Just another species, and not... pests."

  "I didn’t mean that. I just thought… since you’re a Dark Crusader..." I fidgeted on my feet.

  Ihsan gave me a blank look. "...just because I’m a Dark Crusader doesn’t mean I carry around a sign saying that I am one."

  "It’s just… the cave, you know?"

  I did not know. But I was hoping he knew.

  "We’ve only been in the Free Lands for less than a year. That cave you were in for over a week? Three months," Ihsan explained. "We tend to keep mobile. Take advantage of the disunity of the Free Cities. And escape into hiding if things go bad. Sort of like bandits or pirates, except we don’t just enrich ourselves or cause chaos. We further our agenda by listening to what the Infernalis tells us to do— kind of like rebels, if you will— which are sometimes vague directions, and other times specific orders, like what we’re doing now."

  "I knew the second part. But the first is… I didn’t think you guys were pests. I just never really thought about it."

  "Don’t worry," he chuckled. "Your questions were pretty amusing. I guess you thought being a Dark Crusader was a lot more formal than that, huh? Well, it kinda is formal. But we’re not a country or an army. We’re a lot more decentralized than that."

  "And that lets you go out and buy stuff that you want, right?"

  "Yep. And enjoy ourselves too." He stared off into the distance, as if he were reminiscing. "As long as we’re smart with it. If I go into a city full of Humans, and they know about Dark Crusaders in the area, obviously I’ll be taken in for questioning. So I usually go out in a disguise or something. Unless we were being covert like when we were at the cave, there’s really no problem with going out and about."

  He gestured vaguely in the direction that we came from.

  "Anyways, that’s enough about that. Too much serious talk bores me. Let’s talk about how you duped Karna. That last part where you feinted an attack into a run— you should’ve seen the look on his face!"

  "That’s the only way I can catch him off guard. I can’t land a hit on him, he’s too fast!"

  "Maybe try hitting him when he’s standing still?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Good idea! Next time I’ll only swing at someone who can’t move. That’ll surely work!" I said, feigning excitement at his suggestion.

  He laughed, and I snorted. We continued talking for a bit— ust chatting and quipping— but the thought stayed in my mind.

  Ihsan gave me his reasoning. He told me why he wanted to be a Dark Crusader.

  And I thought about myself.

  What do I want to do?

  After three more days of travelling, we finally arrived. We were not exactly at Fort Conon just yet; we were a few miles away from it, setting up camp.

  Karna left two days earlier with a small party to scout out the ar
ea, and returned yesterday. There was some discussion on what to do: the strategies and tactics on how we would be taking the fort.

  Apparently we were outnumbered by over two-to-one. There were more soldiers than was expected, which was an issue— not because Gerritt thought we could not win since he thought we would win pretty easily— but because we were trying to win as quickly as possible while incurring as few casualties as possible. It was not the biggest dilemma, but it was a dilemma nonetheless.

  Because of this, no one could train me. I had to practice my magic mostly by myself. Ihsan sometimes tried to help, but he was not that good when it came to magic. Most of the time, I ended up having to teach him!

  He was trying to learn how to enchant his arrows with the explosion spell. The same one Karna demonstrated two weeks ago when we were still at the cave.

  Unfortunately, I owned no books on Enchantment magic, so I did not really know how that type of magic worked. All I could give him was vague advice, which probably did not help him that much.

  Anyways, I learned another new spell during that time. It was a basic fire spell: Fire Arrow. It was as effective as a Firebolt in terms of firepower (no pun intended) from what I tested out, with the only only difference being that it flew much slower through the air. However, unlike Firebolt— which I could only cast one at a time— I could summon a hail of Fire Arrows at once.

  I wanted to show it to Karna or Gerritt, so I waited outside the command tent for them as I flipped through the pages of the book on Pyromancy I was currently reading. They were having a meeting, planning what to do once tomorrow came. After a while, the flaps flew open—

  And I saw Victor step out of the tent.

  The young man paused when he saw me. I did too. But after a moment’s hesitation, I spoke up.

  "Victor, i-it’s been a while. Is everything going ok in there?"

  "Yes," he replied briskly. "Do you want something? I’m busy."

  "No—"

  "Good," he interrupted me. He began to walk past me. "I assumed you wanted to trouble me with something. But since you’re not, I have things to do. Now if you’ll excuse me."