A True Genius Worries

by Sophia Schmidt

  He turned his back at Lith, nagging.

  "Are you kidding me? I deserve my gold, so either I take it from your share or nothing."

  Exploiting the moment Lith could not see him, Terion unsheathed one of the knives hidden

  under his hunter jacket, before continuing to spin on himself, lunging it where Lith's neck was

  in a single, fluid movement.

  Alas, even after his meeting with the dryads and realizing that his third life had indeed been

  quite blessed, Lith was still more distrustful than a turkey the day before Thanksgiving.

  The knife only cut air, since its intended target had promptly backstepped, conjuring four

  icicles that pierced Terion's arms and legs, pinning him to the ground like an insect.

  Lith had reacted on instinct, but now he seemed to be in a daze, uncertain on what to do

  next. He then pretended to be casting a fake magic spell, but the mercenaries had already

  recovered from the shock, quickly adjusting their formation to encircle him.

  "Recca, save Terion before it's too late! Beware, the twerp has magical rings, but don't let him

  run away or we are f*cked!" While screaming orders, Raghul thanked the gods for their good

  luck.

  The kid seemed to be hesitant to kill humans, otherwise the situation would have been much

  worse. For the same reason, Solus was really worried. It was the first time since they had

  merged that Lith showed mercy on the battlefield.

  Even worse, his thoughts seemed to be in disarray, letting himself being cornered that easily.

  The biggest of the group, almost two meters (6'7") tall, with arms as thick as a head, charged

  forward like a boar, blocking the line of sight with his huge body mass.

  According to Solus, he was the other non-mage in the group, but if they kept him around, he

  was bound to have more than one trick up her sleeve. His clothes emitted a yellow glow,

  making his speed increase dramatically, followed by a red glow that seemingly had no effect.

  Lith easily dodged the charge, but he managed to stop abruptly, pivoting on his front leg to

  throw a bullet fast hook at Lith's temple.

  Lith was taken by surprise, the only thing he could do was to jump backwards to weaken the

  strike and use his earth infused right arm to block.

  "Got you!" She said with a grin.

  From the voice, Lith understood that his enemy was actually a woman.

  On impact, her glove released a streak of lightning, that coursed through his body, while the

  strength of the hit was enough to make him slide several meters backwards, right on the

  spear of her teammate that had positioned behind him.

  Everyone expected his arm to be broken and his body paralyzed, but Lith used Full Guard (see

  chap77), emitting a spherical blue aura with a radius of 10 meters (33 feet), dodging the spear

  with a spin, without even looking back.

  Now that he was far enough from the burly woman, Lith could see that the man called Recca,

  probably the healer of the team, had ran to Terion's side, enveloping them both with a

  powerful air barrier, to prevent any further attacks while treating his companion's wound.

  "Got you." He said with a grin, snapping his fingers.

  A sudden flash drew the mercenaries' attention to their fallen comrade.

  A fireball had detonated inside the barrier, but the air dome that was supposed to protect

  them, prevented the flames from expanding, making those inside suffer from both the

  explosion and the recoil.

  The agonizing screams of the two mercenaries filled the air, and while their comrades were

  still trying to make sense of that sudden turn of events, Lith grabbed the spear armed man

  from the back.

  His left arm formed a V, locking the opponent's throat between the forearm and the biceps,

  while the right hand grabbed his jaw with a quick whip-like movement breaking the neck with

  a snapping sound.

  Chapter 109 Struggling 2

  "Why did you kill him?" Solus asked in surprise.

  "Six against one is a little too much, can't afford to miss any chance to even the score."

  "Then why did you let the other one live, before?"

  "A two-stage attack, where the first is aimed to a random target and the second to his

  rescuers is a classic guerrilla tactic. I didn't just pin him down, I also left a fireball ready in case

  someone tried to free him. Divide and conquer." ¨C

  Just like the icicles had missed Terion's vitals, the fireball had been intentionally weak. Despite

  the boosted effect from the barrier, both Terion and Recca were incapacitated but alive.

  They were badly burnt, but the remaining hunters could clearly see them writhing in pain. Lith

  did it on purpose, forcing his opponents to choose between abandoning their companions or

  fall twice for the same trick.

  They had no way to know if there was another fireball ready to explode.

  "You scared the heck out of me, back then. For a moment I thought you had gone¡ soft."

  Solus hesitated before finishing the phrase. It seemed nonsensical to push him to become

  more kind, just to worry whenever he wasn't ruthless.

  "As I told you earlier, even if I decide to change, my opinion on people won't. Especially on

  those who try to kill will me without a reason." ¨C

  In the time necessary for their conversation to happen, the corpse of the spearman had yet to

  touch the ground.

  "You f*cking bastard!" The burly woman took out two short swords from her dimensional

  amulet, dashing towards Lith, hell-bent on avenging her companions. In her hands the

  weapons moved nimbly as knives, cutting the air with a hissing sound.

  Both the fighters moved at high speed, taking each other by surprise.

  "Is he/she even human?" ¨C They both thought.

  While Lith's speed came from air fusion, the mercenary was actually a normal woman, not

  even a mage.

  Among their many defensive properties, her clothes were also equipped with alchemic gems

  that could enhance her reflexes and strength, without having to drink a potion.

  Despite being faster, Lith was having a hard time dodging the incoming attacks. Her arms

  were almost as long as his legs, and to make things worse, any weapon or shield he conjured

  lasted only a couple of hits before shattering.

  "Seems she underestimates me no more. I have to come up with something, fast."

  "Watch out for her blades, they are enchanted" Solus pointed out. "I doubt that your uniform

  can offer any kind of protection from them." ¨C

  Gritting his teeth at the news, Lith saw the mercenary sweep the ground with her leg, forcing

  him to jump.

  Her plan was to follow up with a roundhouse kick while the opponent was still in mid-air.

  Instead of falling down like she expected, Lith darted forward, kicking her face with both feet,

  forcing her to take a step back with a bloody nose.

  Exploiting that opening, Lith closed in, stomping his right leg on the ground, with enough

  strength to crack it.

  The force of the kick was transmitted to the knee, and by bending the knee it was amplified

  and transmitted to the waist, the spine and the shoulder, releasing it through his right fist,

  right in the sternum, making her slide back several meters with a cracking sound.

  Despite all her magical protections and superior physique, the punch empowered by air, earth

  and fire fusion had broken several bones, making even breathing terr
ibly painful.

  The remaining two member of the mercenary squad, Rodimas and Raghul, used that short

  exchange to position themselves behind him, locking Lith in a triangle formation.

  He didn't need to turn around to know that they were probably casting some spell to give

  their companion the second she needed to turn him into mincemeat. They had yet to notice

  that their fight had already ended.

  Lith struck again, this time at her chin, knocking her out before activating the tier three spell

  stored in his magic ring, Checkmate Spears.

  The air was suddenly filled with icicles as thick as a small tree, encircling the Rodimas from all

  directions, leaving her no way out. Inwardly swearing, Rodimas canceled her spell, performing

  a last second Switch to save her life.

  The two found their positions reversed, now Lith was the one under the icicles hail, but

  besides his wounded pride, he had nothing to fear. Checkmate Spears seemed an overly

  pompous name for a spell that had yet to actually checkmate someone even once.

  Being made out of his own magic, the icy darts passed through him like he was a ghost.

  In the meantime, Raghul completed his spell, a tier five Battle Mage one, the fastest one he

  knew. It generated several water spheres that would act as offense and defence at the same

  time.

  They were able to block or dampen air, fire and earth magic spells, and if an enemy touched

  them, they would invade his lungs drowning him. Raghul only kept a handful of them to

  protect himself, sending the remaining ones to kill Lith.

  Like true magic enchantments, they were able to chase their prey, as long it remained in the

  line of sight of the caster. Usually, the only way out was running away or killing the caster.

  Being still at the fourth year, Lith had no idea what kind of spell it was. Not daring to

  underestimate the opponent, he did what seemed to be the most logical thing to do.

  He used spirit magic to grab Rodimas and the burly woman, throwing them at the incoming

  spheres to see what would happen.

  Raghul couldn't believe his eyes, the kid was using his teammates as meat shields. He wasn't a

  newbie, he had already lost more than one ally during a job, sometimes sacrificing them to

  accomplish a mission.

  But that was too much, he had to choose between keeping his defence or killing two of his

  dearest friends for nothing. He could see the water forcibly entering through their noses and

  mouths, Rodimas panicked screams reduced to a handful of bubbles.

  Before he could decide what to do, Lith closed in enough to knock him out with a single

  punch. The water spheres burst open, freeing their prisoners.

  Lith had just knocked out Rodimas too, to calmly decide what to do with them and how get

  the information he wanted, when he noticed that the young Byk had returned.

  "How kind of you, abandoning me like that after I saved your life." Lith said with a harsh tone.

  The Byk snorted, rubbing its snouts to his leg as a thank you.

  "Stop playing dumb. I know you can talk. I didn't come here by chance, but because some

  dryads told me about a fated encounter." The Byk tilted his head sideways, finding hard to

  make sense out of those words.

  "So, tell me. Are you supposed to be my true love, my best friend or what?"

  Chapter 110 Desperation

  The Byk chuckled, an amused light in its eyes.

  "May the Great Mother spare me from such terrible fates. No offense, but to be a decent

  mating partner you are too thin, too small, hairless and too human."

  Thanks to his recently found mana sensibility, Lith realized that the Byk wasn't actually

  talking. It was using air magic to turn the sounds of the forest in words for him to understand.

  "None taken. To be honest, I'm happy to hear that. As far as I know, I'm interested only in

  human females. Just thinking otherwise was creeping me out." He replied.

  "What's a friend?" The Byk asked sniggering.

  "Excellent question." Lith sighed. "In theory is someone that cares for you as much as you do

  for him. Someone to rely on during though times or when you are in trouble."

  "Sounds like a mom or a pack leader."

  Maybe it was because it was young, or maybe just because it was an animal, but Lith had the

  impression the conversation was going nowhere.

  "Do you know anything about the castle?" Lith pointed at the academy's spires, clearly visible

  above the tree line.

  "The man-made mountain? Sure, everyone knows about it. It's the place where the white-

  furred pups like you reside."

  Lith was about to facepalm himself in frustration, but then the Byk asked him an odd

  question.

  "Now that you mention it, can you explain to me why your den mates have gone insane?"

  "What are you talking about?" Lith replied in confusion.

  "Until last winter, the forest folks and the man-made mountain folks coexisted peacefully.

  Sure, from time to time a big fight happened, but that's the nature of wilderness. The strong

  lives, the weak dies." It shrugged.

  "But now things are different. The white-furred roam the forest not for food or herbs, they

  now hunt us actively, trying to kill us. And when I say us, I mean young magical beasts if not

  litters."

  That piece of news made no sense. According to what Selia told Lith in the past, a cub had a

  no market value either dead or alive. The pelt was too rough compared to an adult specimen,

  and no one had ever managed to tame one.

  Magical beasts were not just powerful, they were also strong-willed. If a cub was properly fed

  and cared for, it would soon become able to escape, or at least die trying. If not, they would

  simply die out of starvation or of the abuse.

  Also, killing a cub was bound to incur the wrath of its parents, it was a high risk no reward

  move. A vagrant hunter might not care, but for academy's students it was suicidal to do so.

  They could meet the beasts again during an exam, or even worse, when alone, and that would

  mean either getting a failing grade for receiving a Professor's help or death.

  "Luckily, most of them are stealthy as a storm, so only a few were killed. After we retaliated,

  the Lord of the forest told us to stand down, to try to settle things with the Lord of the

  mountain.

  But then things got even worse. More and more strangers arrived, strong enough to kill

  adults." The Byk pointed at the unconscious hunters with its snout.

  Lith could understand how those events were related to the Headmaster. It was a pincer

  manoeuvre, to make the academy dangerous both inside and outside its walls. If a student

  were to die or disappear in the forest, especially during an exam, pinning the blame on Linjos

  would be child play.

  What he didn't understand was why such events were linked to his own soul. There was still

  something amiss, he could feel that the vision had yet to reveal itself. Lith's heart started to

  pound loudly in his chest.

  An irrational fear was pricking his mind like countless needles, cold sweat covering his body.

  He had no idea what he was supposed to do or find, but he knew that the window of

  opportunity was about to close.

  The only card he had left to play were the hunters. It was still broad daylight, and he couldn't

  afford to be discovered or interrupted, so he changed his clothes again and
cast the Hush

  spell all around them.

  Now no matter what he did or how much they screamed, no one would hear them. And even

  if someone stumbled on him, all he would see was a hunter killing the competition.

  He woke them all up with a jet of icy cold water. They discovered to have their hands and feet

  trapped inside the earth below them, that Lith had turned to stone. Their mouths were

  stuffed with clay, preventing them to talk.

  Lith had searched them one by one, even in the mouth, taken every enchanted or alchemical

  item they possessed, leaving only their clothes. They were at his complete mercy, even

  casting first magic would be incredibly difficult.

  He removed the gag from the burly woman, she was the one less likely to know something

  useful, so was the perfect choice to set an example for the other two.

  "Free me and fight like a man, if you dare, you f*cker!" She spat on him, her wet chestnut hair

  danced wildly while she struggled to break free, ignoring the pain from her fractures.

  Lith's reply was to strike right at the broken sternum, making her cough blood, the agony

  clouding her eyes with tears.

  "You lost fighting three versus one, when you were at your peak condition. You being free or

  trapped would not change the outcome." He said trying to hide the desperate need he had

  for information.

  "Tell me who are you guys and what are you doing here."

  She laughed in his face, showing a wolfish smile of defiance.

  "The little man is on a schedule, uh? Do your worst. Kill me, I don't give a sh*t. I hope your

  master will give you a dog's death for your failure."

  Another chill invaded Lith's body, images of the excruciating cab ride only to find Carl's dead

  body pushed him over the brink, steeling him enough to let the abyss that dwelled inside him

  roam free once again.

  "You had just made your two last mistakes. First, I serve no master, second you have no idea

  what's my worst. I'm a healer." Those words were meant to be a threat, but she found the

  hilarious.

  "A healer? Then heal me so I can rip your head from your f*cking neck."

  Lith removed the glove on his right hand, placing it on her chiselled stomach, right above the

  solar plexus.

  "If you want to r*pe me, that's the wrong spot, kid." Lith ignored her.