Fear Not The Elf Who Knows 10,000 Spells - Chapter 14

It was like walking into one of the nightmares constructed by the Ancient Einsam.

I walked around a familiar city that was no longer so.

I saw bakery I knew. A blacksmith's shop. An apothecary's shop. A tailor's building.

And so on and so on.

All familiar places I've seen or visited, they were damaged, charred, or were still on fire.

The occasional corpse littered the street. Splatters of blood showed the memories of battle. Or a slaughter.

The smell, the sights, the heat, it all seemed like one of the Ancient Einsam's illusions.

I checked myself right away, checked my body and my mana. The Einsam's illusions can't be maintained forever. It does get tired and was forced to retreat a few times when I faced it.

So I wasn't in a long term illusion that only now set up this place.

I even checked if any of the monster's lingering mana was on me.

Usually whenever I leave the Einsam's radius and successfully break its link to my mind, there is some lingering connection. Sort of like mana residue carrying a lingering will, a want to harm.

It would cause me nightmares if I don't get rid of it before sleep. Sometimes when awake, it causes me paranoid, and imagine that there might be something out of the corner of my eyes, or that I just missed a shadow moving.

I have trained in mana detection till I could detect dust mites if I stand still and focus on an area they are in.

So I know. There was no Einsam lingering mana on me.

This time, it wasn't an illusion.

I could feel the people of the city. Those still hiding and those still fighting. I could feel the people they were fighting. The Anti-Elf Coalition that made it to this city.

I ignored them all and headed to the orphanage.

It wasn't on fire. Good.

But the building's door was broken.

I was instantly inside with a Jilwer movement. The scene inside of the place was of a wreck.

There was no blood, thankfully enough. Or maybe I'm not noticing it because I'm not looking. I'm not focusing on the details.

I'm just looking at the inner decoration, the furniture and other things inside the building, and seeing how the image I have in my mind from when I last was here, is constantly breaking.

What I remember versus the reality before me. I'm just taking everything in, but not able to focus on it. Not able to process it.

Some part of me still wants this to be just an illusion. That I was stuck back in the tunnel. 

This is shock, right?

It might be why I didn't notice that part of the building. In the dinning hall, at the very back, at one of the corners.

Where the walls intersect, where a lot of furniture and others things of the room were missing.

There was just a wide empty area at that corner. That corner was completely black.

Charred.

The walls and floor were completely burned. I could still feel remnants of the heat of whatever spell caused this. The burned out fire had extended all the way to the ceiling, but was focused mostly on the corner.

At least that's what I could tell from the black soot covering this space.

There were no bodies. Just a pile of ash. And next to that charred out area was a red shoe with a white sock inside.

I blinked a few times and looked again.  

I rubbed my eyes, I stared, and my brain refused to comprehend what I was seeing.

I went to chair near by, and sat down. I took a few breaths, closed my eyes and shut off everything. My mana detection was pulled back to just the orphanage just in case.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

...

I opened my eyes to face the scene from before. The wrecked halls and rooms. The destroyed dining hall. The charred corner wall.

And the severed child foot neat the charred area.

There was only one child in the orphanage at the time I was here.

Rein.

There was no one else that young, or wore shoes that size.

Could they have gotten another girl soon after I left—?

I shook that thought away. No. Best not get my hopes up.

I look at this scene, I don't turn away from it, I accept it and feel...

Not sad?

I'm angry. Yeah, it's probably that.

I frown and extend my mana detection to its full range. If another mage comes here I'll deal with them.

...Okay, that's odd. There are pockets of people and mages fighting.

Well, more like one mage I think feels familiar, so likely someone from the Elves Shield. The rest are warriors fighting against what I'd assume are mages and warriors on the Anti-Elf Coalition side.

The odd thing was that none of them react to me. My mana detection can feel them, but none of them are acting like they can sense it.

No. It's probably that they're too busy focusing on their battles to focus on some random mage trying to find out what's going on from far away.

Alright, if that's the case, I'll just take a full view with my complete world sight (I really need to come up with a name for this version of mana detection).

I focus and the full sight of the world comes into view. I can feel, smell, hear and see the battles across Schwanz through my mana detect. I looked to see the Elves Shield shoulders holding out in quick-made barricades. For the civilians most of the women and children are in hiding, while the men are forced to fight with bows and arrows. Some even engaging with the Coalition soldiers with weapons.

There are eight mages on the Coalition side. The Elves Shield only have one mage but a lot more warriors.

I don't sense Trottel. Guess he died. Or ran away. Wouldn't be surprised by either.   

My range has increased over the past year. It's why I can feel something at the edge of my senses, far outside the city. I stop focusing on Schwanz in it's entirety and just focus on a single direction. Making my detection zone rather than sphere, more into a line or a cone with me at the base looking at what the apex point sees.

I saw a camp a mile or so outside of the city. The number of mages there was much more worrisome.

Thirteen. Twenty. Twenty eight. Thirty.

Thirty three.

A total of thirty three mages on with the Anti-Elf Coalition encampment. There mana levels don't seem full. Guess they are resting from the battle?

Again, none sensed or reacted to me. Seriously, what's going on? Minus sensed me easily. As in, right away.

Maybe these are the novice mages sent here to overwhelm the city with numbers.

Regardless, I need to do something about the mages within the city.

I turn my attention back to Schwanz, making my mana detection spherical shaped again.  

Locating the eight mages in the city is easy—Again, they still don't notice my mana detection or the advanced version. What the fuck?—now the trick is to kill them all at once.

Firing spells by making them originate from a point outside of skin range, or from my palm in general, isn't something I could say I've master.

Sure I can create and fire a Zoltraak from meters ahead of me, or any point in my full vision mana detect range, but the spell is only at it's strongest, and quickest to form when cast from my hands, or something I'm holding.

Not only that, but the moment I cast the spell, it's going to be obvious and the mages will deploy Defensive Magic.

After that they'll look for me or hide, and that sounds like a pain to deal with.  

I create a casting point behind each mage about three hundred them. They are eight casting origin point. I still can't do multiple spells ready at once. I have to make them one at a time.

Still they don't notice me. I slowly ready the spells, while adjusting the Zoltraaks to be made for speed. If I hit them once in the head, they die. I don't need that much penetrative power.

I shrink down what the rays will be and concentrate them for that speed enhancement.

Smaller. Smaller.

The magic energy spheres are about a golf ball in size now, and will main that width when fired.

Okay, spells ready. And just in case I cast Jilwer for the increased perception.

Wait, if something happens or the mages move, or they manage to dodge, I have to cast the spells again quicker to not give them time to react.

What to do? Risk it?

No wait. I have a way to mark them!

I look toward the mana signal spell Minus cast on me. I read how it was structured as it was cast, and can still read the spell in its current state.

Good thing I didn't dispel it.

The mages are in my full mana detect. My mana is brushing against them.

They are bound to feel it if I cast that mana signal spell on them. I mean, I think Minus was being sneaky, but I still felt it. Or was my detection that good?

Hmm... Better be cautious, and didn't I train for this all this time?

I cast the mana signal using a Non-Form Spell structure. I don't need it to hold on for long, but I already know I can do this. My visualization and will are firm on this.

I first single a lone mage to try this on just in cast.

Okay. Focus, cast on just his coat, not need to cast it on him. Aaaaand...

Done!

Now... No reaction. He didn't notice.

Yes!

Okay, now all preparations done. Here goes.

The world is moving much slower now thanks to Jilwer.

I cast the Offensive Magic spells one after another, firing them at full speed. They are even faster than when I normally fire them. Must be an effect of casting while Jilwer was active.

The spells were all angled in a way, that they can be fired in a straight line.

Immediately all eight Zoltraak zip through the air like a stream of light.

The pass through the eight mages and... nothing?

There was no effect?

I definitely felt the Zoltraaks hit. So what gives? Did I make them so fast that I put zero offensive power in them? Would that be like them being penetrated by a nail? 

It's a hit but there's no effect because the damage is so small?

Wait, one of them is beginning to lean down. Is he going to sit down? What the hell? He's in the middle of an active shoot out. Spell cast out.

No. Wait. I'm an idiot. He's falling in slow motion.

I cancel Jilwer and the world resumes moving at normal speed.

One after the other the Coalition mages begin falling to the ground, dead. A coin-sized hole through their head or neck. Oh? Guess I managed to shrink the Zoltraak even more than fired. Neat.

Immediately the fighting starts turning with the Coalition now down all their mages in the city.

Right, now I have... something to deal with. Maybe a part of me held some bits of hope.

That maybe some of the orphanage kids had made it out. If they were in the city I'd have seen them with my full vision mana detect by now.

It seems they really are all gone after all.  

I cancel the full version of my mana detection and keep the standard one as usual.

I stood in the middle of the building wondering what I should do now. I found Löwenjunges. He looked heavily injured but was being tended to by some priests. I don't recognize those. Must be new people.

I don't have confidence that I could cast healing magic long range. Casting those distant origin points, long range Zoltraak took way too much time. Like four whole minutes. It's not a feasible thing in real combat. He looks alive and will survive, so that's all good. I don't need to head there.

Instead I should...

"I should learn their names." I said to myself. There were twenty six kids in the orphanage including my three roommates, Lässig and Rein. I need to find out their names. I should remember them.

At least I should do that. I head to the matron's office to search it.

I ignore the unfamiliar mana signatures heading toward the orphanage. Warriors from the Coalition's side. Hmm, some of them are archers. That would explain their tracking quickness. Flink explained how those of the Archer Class would develop heightened senses, as well as a naturally refined mana detection.

Weird that they only noticed me now after I cast those Zoltraaks. Guess that mana residue was something I couldn't do anything about for now.

Regardless they aren't important right now. I need to find the matron's files on the kids.

As for those of the Coalition? Let them come. They'll die all the same.

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AN: Alright, break's over. Time to get back to work.