Bell's first fight
Then, as Bell kept his focus on the front, a knight from the slave carriage rushed forward from behind with heavy steps, trying to ambush him.
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The knight behind Bell lunged forward, sword raised, aiming for a killing blow. Bell did not even look back. He stepped aside and the blade slashed past empty air.
Bell then cast a magic. "Earth spear."
A sharp, piercing sound cut through the night, hardened spike of earth shot up from the ground and drove into the attacking knight. The knight froze mid-lunge, then fell forward, blood seeping through his armor. He stopped moving.
The nobleman at the ground front was confused when his knight collapsed. He barked orders in rage. "Hey! You stupid knight! What are you doing? Are you betraying me now??? These knights…" He turned his fury on the remaining two and ordered them to kill Bell immediately, promising generous rewards.
[The knight who attacked Bell from behind died because Bell forced a small portion of earth to condense into a needle shape. The needle slipped through a gap in the knight's armor and pierced his heart.]
The third knight smirked as he approached. "Hey kid, I don't know what you did to that man but you're unlucky going against me for I—["Shut up."]"
Bell cut him off.
Bell's voice was flat and bored. "Shut up already and come die." The third knight's smirk vanished, he snapped in anger and ordered the first knight to come with him to hold Bell down while he pierced him.
The two knights charged.
Bell briefly raised his hand, ready to cast another magic, but then he changed his mind. He wanted to test his physical ability instead. He canceled the magic and prepared to fight without using magic.
As the two knights swung, Bell dodged their strikes effortlessly. Each blow missed him by inches. He moved with calm precision, slipping through their attacks as if the blades moved in slow motion around him. The knights lunged and cut the air, panting in frustration, unable to land a single hit.
The two knights continued slashing their swords again and again, but no matter how wild or fast their attacks became, they still could not hit Bell. They could not even graze him. Panic started to creep into their movements.
The nobleman, watching the scene unfold, felt fear crawl up his spine. He slowly stood up, planning to flee with one of the horses while the knights kept Bell busy. But before he could even take a step, Bell pointed his index finger toward him. Mana gathered at the fingertip, forming a small glowing orb that compressed tighter and tighter.
At the same moment the two knights swung their swords in unison, Bell jumped high above their heads. While upside down midair, he released the shot.
The mana bullet fired from his fingertip and struck the nobleman's knee. It pierced through flesh and bone. The nobleman screamed, the pain so sudden and intense that he collapsed and clutched at the wound, crying in panic and agony.
Bell was still descending from his jump, but he was in an awkward upside down position. The two knights saw the opening and quickly rushed in, trying to slice off his head while he was vulnerable.
Bell whispered a magic. "Zwet Pop."
The effect was immediate. The heads of both knights suddenly burst like balloons, filling their helmets with blood. Their arms and legs followed, popping violently and spraying red across the ground. What remained of them was nothing more than scattered armor and pools of blood soaking the grass.
Bell landed safely.
[Zwet pop is an original magic that the past Bell created, causing people around him that has sweat on their body to pop, It's a double edge sword since if the caster is also sweating his sweat will also explode.]
The nobleman, shaking and pale, stared at the scene in disbelief. "H-HUH?! A-AH! Wait! kiD W- Why dont y–"
His words ended abruptly. His head was sliced clean off by a basic wind magic, wind slash.
Bell looked down at the headless body twitching on the ground. Then he turned his attention to the slave carriage. Slowly raising his hand, he extended his palm toward the children inside and cast a magic.
"Warmth flow."
A soft current of air flowed from his hand into the carriage, but the breeze was warm instead of cold. It wrapped around the frightened children, keeping them from freezing and giving them a chance to calm down, their small bodies slowly warming under the gentle magic.
Bell still had his palm pointed toward the carriage as he slowly approached it. The warm air continued to flow, keeping the shivering children from freezing. At first, the kids looked terrified of him, their eyes wide and filled with fear. Bell noticed their worried expressions and gently removed the cloth mask covering his face.
"Calm down, calm down. I defeated the bad guys already. You can all take it easy now," he said with a calm and gentle tone.
One of the girls tried to speak, but her voice strained and choked. Bell realized the metal collar around her neck made it hard to talk. Without saying anything, he quietly formed mana around the collars of all ten children. The mana shaped itself into thin straight lines hovering near the metal. In an instant, the mana sharpened into slicing air, cutting through each collar cleanly.
All ten collars dropped to the floor.
The kids stared at him in amazement. Their fear slowly faded, replaced by growing trust and fascination at what they just witnessed.
Bell smiled softly and gave them a small wave. He started talking to the girls to help them relax. As the conversation went on, he learned the truth behind their situation. Every single one of these children had been sold off by their own parents, who wanted quick money in their pockets.
Bell fell silent for a moment, thinking deeply about what he should do with them. His hand stayed pointed toward the carriage, maintaining the warm flow of air so the kids would stay comfortable.
"Hmm.. I can't just leave them here obviously… err… I guess the only hope for now is the orphanage… but how do I even explain this situation… alright let's just go with it…"
He sighed lightly and began asking the girls about their ages. There were two girls who were nine years old just like him. Three girls were seven. Four girls were six. And the youngest was a five year old.
Bell told the kids that he would be right back and went to check inside the nobleman's carriage. Inside, he found a sack filled with silver and gold coins. He opened it and counted everything carefully. There were 30 silvers and 10 gold. He also spotted a shiny small dagger resting under some folded cloth, and without hesitating, he decided to keep it for himself.
After pocketing the coins and dagger, Bell stepped out of the carriage and dragged the nobleman's corpse toward the front. Once there, he stripped the body of its clothes. Fortunately, the nobleman was on the bigger side of the scale, so his clothes were loose and large. Bell carefully ripped and divided the fabric so he could use it properly. He then broke the lock on the slave cage and gently covered the children who had no clothing, using both the nobleman's clothes and some random cloth he found inside the carriage.
One of the two nine year olds tugged lightly on his sleeve and asked in a small, worried voice, "Uhm… what are we supposed to do now… we can't return to our homes…"
Bell smiled softly at her and patted her head to comfort her. "Don't worry. I know a perfect place with a great lady who will take care of all of you."
Even though he said it confidently, a part of him was honestly worried about running out of mana. His plan was to carry all ten children through the sky using wind magic alone, and he wasn't entirely sure how long he could maintain it. Still, he pushed the concern aside and asked the kids to gather tightly together and hold each other's hands and arms.
Bell pointed his palm toward them. Mana began to flow out from his hand, surrounding the group of children with a circular swirling motion. Slowly, the mana shifted into wind, lifting the children gently off the ground. Bell also rose into the air with them. They gradually ascended higher and higher, and the kids stared in pure amazement as the world beneath them shrank.
As they moved through the sky, the children looked up at the stars and the three glowing moons, their eyes sparkling with wonder. Meanwhile, Bell was sweating on his forehead, trying hard to maintain control over the mana wind magic and keep their speed steady. When he glanced down, he noticed a lone man outside the village, gathering herbs and berries under the night sky.
Bell thought of an idea while hovering above, looking down at the man. "Maybe I can bribe that man with a gold coin, and if he has other intentions… I'll just kill him."
Bell and the girls slowly descended behind the man. He suddenly felt a breeze of wind from behind. Turning around, his eyes widened in shock as he saw eleven children standing before him.
The man's expression was a mixture of confusion and fear as he stammered, "Wha—what happened? Where did all of you kids come from?" His gaze naturally wandered over the girls and their ragged, tattered clothes.
Bell noticed where his eyes lingered and subtly readied his dagger, preparing for the worst. To his surprise, the man's confusion melted into a look of worry and seriousness.
Kneeling down to meet Bell's eye level, the man asked what had happened. Bell quickly spun a story, explaining that he found the kids wandering in the forest and that they had run away from a slave market.
The man's eyes narrowed with caution as he then asked Bell why he was outside the village and the orphanage if he was originally from there.
Bell offered a partial truth, saying he had sneaked out to explore the forest because he enjoyed the night sky view.
The man remained skeptical but didn't press further. Bell then asked if he could help them. Just as Bell was about to mention the gold coin as a reward, the man surprisingly accepted the request without any hesitation.
Bell was caught off guard but couldn't help a small, silent smile. He then began explaining the plan to the man.
The man held the hands of the two nine-year-old girls on his left and right, and the nine-year-olds each held the hands of four other kids. As they walked through the quiet village, Bell asked, "What time is it?"
The man replied, "It's already past three in the morning."
Bell led the way, walking slightly ahead of the group. As they approached the orphanage, the man exclaimed, "For a nine year old kid, you speak so maturely and even act like a grown man."
Bell laughed awkwardly before responding, "I guess I'm just one of a kind, huh."
When they reached the front of the orphanage, Bell told the man to wait outside. He moved to the side of the building, lightly channeling mana into his fingertips, and quietly climbed back up the wall. Using the same window he had sneaked out from earlier, he slipped silently into his room.
The man chuckled to himself, "Yup, that ain't no ordinary kid…." He looked down at the children, reassuring them, "The lady in this orphanage is really kind. You'll all live happily here."
Bell quietly walked to Jenna's room and knocked on the door. Jenna opened it, rubbing her eyes as she noticed him. Nelly was still asleep on the bed, curled up under the blankets.
Jenna asked, "Why are you up this early, Bell?"
Bell replied softly, "There's someone at the door."