Chapter 11: 11. The Test Subjects 3
Have you ever seen something so beautiful, so incredibly stunning, to the point where you were sure that something like that couldn't be natural.
Something that, even though it was beautiful, gave you a certain feeling of fear?
Perhaps the closest thing you could get to that would be to look at a storm up close. Something impressive, potentially deadly, but still beautiful from a certain point of view.
That was the feeling that everyone who looked at the young man who appeared out of nowhere had.
'A camouflage spell? Not teleportation? These bastards managed to hire even a wizard of that level? But if that's it, why did he only show up now.'
"Weasel" thought upon seeing the newcomers, but seeing the astonishment in the eyes of the members of the convoy, he realized that it wasn't that.
'No, it seems to be someone unrelated. But that doesn't help much. Someone of that level could very well wipe out our forces. The best course of action would be—??!!'
"Hey!! What do you think you're doing?!!"
'What are YOU doing, you damn brainless bastard?! Isn't it obvious that he's stronger than you?!'
Everyone in the place thought the same thing. Unfortunately for the bandits, their boss only understood things based on strength. If he felt an opponent's strength and judged it to be less than his own, he would go forward without thinking and crush him.
If the strength was greater, he would try his best to escape, even sacrificing his subordinates.
The problem was that this only applied when he felt it, and stronger individuals usually know how to hide their strength. And when the boss didn't feel the strength, he assumed that the opponent would be weaker.
"Do you think you can just appear out of nowhere and say whatever nonsense you want?! Don't think you're great just because you used a teleportation scroll or something like that!!!"
Some of the bandits, desperate to make sense of the young man's appearance, anyone other than him being a ridiculously powerful magic user, were relieved and excited by their boss's comment.
'Come to think about it...'
'Yes, that could very well be it!.'
'Why would someone like that help a common convoy?'
The more they thought about it, the more they believed in the idea, and soon their fear of the young man's arrival dissipated.
The young man dressed in black, in turn, just smiled, seeing the bandits who were previously starting to retreat gain confidence. Which only infuriated the boss even more.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!! GET THIS DAMN GUY RIGHT NOW!!! Just don't hit him too hard in the face. He'll be worth a lot of money to some of the more peculiar nobles."
With that shout, several of the bandits came out of their stupor and readied their weapons. Those who were fighting with the knights took advantage of the fact that they were still a little shaken by the young man's appearance and attacked them as quickly and brutally as they could.
"Aaaaahhhh"
These, in turn, upon hearing the scream, were able to come out of their stupor and continue to defend themselves as best they could. A bandit who was closest to the young man came running with a short, rusty sword raised above his head and shouting.
"You little shit, you better stay right there if you don't want your little face to look as bad as mine."
It should be noted that the bandit really did have a terrible face, with both scars from cuts and unidentified pimples, warts and blisters.
'Maybe from some disease in this world or a hereditary family condition?'
Helion thought as he saw the bandit approaching.
Seeing Helion standing still as he had ordered, the bandit believed that he had been scared by his threat. And just as the boss had said, he wasn't a powerful wizard as he had thought before.
'Really, how stupid, to think that a wizard like that would be in some backwater place like this, and not in the capital surrounded by luxury.'
However, before he could think of anything else, he realized that his body had suddenly stopped. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move. At most, he could breathe and move his mana, but when he tried to release it, nothing happened.
"Hmmm interesting. Can't you do magic because you can't speak? Or do you need to better direct your body in certain positions to release it?"
The young man in black said something nonsensical again, but the bandit didn't even pay attention. His mind almost stopped working when he saw his eyes, an unnatural golden tone that looked at him with an almost childish curiosity. But beneath that curiosity there was nothing.