Chapter 9: Money is Everything(3)

Jane kept running with her black coat fluttering and saw the black beast appeared beside her. He looked at her and talked in her head with a voice of pity.

• Poor driver, is it okay to leave him alone like that?"

"Well, we have no choice but to leave him. If we take our time and took the carriage, we might be too late."

• Who did you say we'll save? A woman loved by God?

"Yes, we need to save her before she gets executed."

• I don't understand, why would they kill a woman loved by God? Aren't they supposed to worship those kinds of people?

"The village where she'll be executed is now under a mind-control spell by some bad guy. Her execution will take place in Hak Village's plaza two days from now."

• Oooh, so we'll save her and defeat the bad guy?

"...I guess?"

Jane turned her head from the black beast who seemed to be excited about defeating bad guys and frowned.

'The plan was supposed to just save the woman loved by god but... Ah, what the hell am I worrying about? I have a powerful beast with me so it should be fine.'

Jane didn't think much about it and just continued to run faster. While running, she heard a cry from the woods.

"Hick! Please! Somebody! Save my family! Hick!"

• Hey! A child is crying in the woods!

"Shit."

Jane abruptly changed directions and went in the direction of the cry. As she got close she saw a child who is about 10 years old crying while her shoulder is bleeding. Jane frowned and clicked her tongue. She ran towards the kid and grabbed her. She then carried the child while running in the direction in which the child seems to come from based on the blood tracks on the ground.

While running, Jane pulled out a healing potion from her pocket and gave it to the child. The child seemed surprised and held the potion while looking at Jane. Jane noticed that the child still didn't take the potion and speak.

"Drink that. It's not poison. It will heal you."

The child nodded and drank the whole bottle. Her bloodied shoulder seemed to have fully healed instantly. After the wound healed, Jane started to ask the child some questions while running in the forest with the child in her arms.

"What happened? Why do you have such a deep cut? And what happened to your family?"

The child seemed to remember something horrible and started to cry.

"S-some bad guy took my brothers and sisters. Hick! They put some weird collars on my brothers and sisters and dragged them away... Hick! My older brother managed to somehow hide me behind a tree, but got hit by an arrow in my shoulder when I tried to run away hick! Please save them. S-ave them uwwaaahh-"

"Thanks for the information. Don't worry, I'll save your siblings and beat up the bad guys for you."

• Yeah! I'm going to beat them to a pulp! How dare they harm a child?! Now they are making me angry!

'Whoever those dudes are... There is nothing I can do, you angered a legendary beast so I could only say rest in peace.'

Jane thought that those bad people's fates are probably sealed and now will travel to the afterlife. Jane sighed and patted the child in her arms while still following the tracks of blood made by the child. At the end of those tracks, She saw a bunch of bandits laughing in front of four tall wooden poles. Jane immediately hid behind one of the bushes and observed the situation. She then hears the child in her arms. Her voice is shaking.

"T-those are the bad guy... My family..."

"Don't worry, those guys will disappear soon. You did a great job enduring the pain of your wound so you should rest. After you wake up, everything will be fine so sleep."

The child nodded and instantly fell asleep. She pats the child's head and then looked at the situation.

"Tsk! What is this? They are so poor! They don't even have a single coin in them."

"Hahaha! Don't be like that, at least we will have four new target practices!"

"The other one escaped though. Meh, who cares? She'll die anyway."

"I know right?"

Tens of bandits started to laugh in unison. Jane stared at them with cold eyes and turned her head towards the people tied up on the poles.

"Hmmph! Hmmph!!!"

"Hmmm! Mmm...!"

Jane saw three children, two boys, and one girl, who is about the same age as the girl in her arms, and one man that looks like to be twenty years old, just like Jane.

They all seemed to be struggling to escape from the ropes covered in mana tied around them and struggled to speak because their mouths are gagged. Jane then noticed a black collar around each of their necks.

• Hey, those collars... they are mana restriction collars. How do these ugly thugs get them?

Jane didn't need to ask because a bandit answered the question for them.

"But aren't we quite lucky today? Today, we stopped the carriage of a pretty wealthy merchant and got these mana enhanced tools and these mana restriction collars. We hit a pretty big fish this time."

"I know right? Thank goodness we have the mana restriction collar with us. If we don't we'll be pretty beaten up by these kids."

"Yeah, I didn't know they are talented in magic. Especially that old one. He almost burned my head. Damn brat."

Jane could see the man tied on the pole glaring at the bandits. The bandits just laughed at him. Jane flinched when she heard the voice of the invisible black beast.

• I'll kill them... Damn bastards. I'll rip them to shreds.

Jane sighed and concluded that the bandits are as good as dead now. She then whispered to the black beast.

"Match my movements. If they noticed your existence, you'll be in danger."

The black beast is silent for a moment and answers.

• Fine, but let me shred them to pieces.

"Yes, they deserve it anyway."

Jane didn't wait for an answer and stood up with the child in her arms. She then started to walk towards the laughing bandits. The children at the pole and the bandits who are laughing noticed her and picked up their weapons.

Jane also heard the children trying to say something to her but can't because their mouths are gagged. The eldest seemed surprised and looked at Jane with wide eyes. Jane didn't care and just focused on the bandits in front of her.

"What? Who are you?"

"Hey! She has the kid that escaped earlier!"

"Damn! I thought no one comes in here?"

"Who cares? Let's just kill her!."

The bandits all agreed and started to rush towards Jane. Jane then waved her hand that is not holding the child and suddenly a stupid amount of pressure started to surround her and pressured the bandits.

Each bandit held their necks while trying hard to breathe. Jane then raised her hand and countless sharp wind spears appeared one by one. Hundreds of wind spears appear beside her making her coat and hair flutter but she just ignored it and looked at the kids in the pole looking back at her with surprise.

"It is best if all of you close your eyes."

The children followed her and closed their eyes but the eldest didn't and just stared at her. Jane sighed at the eldest and then proceeded on what she was doing.

She pointed her finger at the bandits, and once she did that, the hundreds of wind spears beside her attacked the bandits.

The wind spears then pierced through the body of the bandits making the bandits fall on the ground making them looked like skewered meat. Blood splattered everywhere but Jane didn't even bat an eye and just looked at the dead bandits coldly. She then whispered something.

"Gather them in a corner. The children might not like this gruesome scene."

•Fine...

Jane did some hand signs and the corpses of the bandits piled up one by one in the corner of the forest. They were placed in the dark corner of the forest, no, it's more like they were dumped at a corner than being placed.

Jane just ignored it and made hand signs while facing the people tied in the pole. The rope that tied them and their gags started to turn into dust and they are being supported with flight magic so that they can safely land down on the ground. The children opened their eyes and rushed at Jane, more precisely, they rushed at the child that she is holding in her arms.

"Lily!"

"Lily you're okay! Thank goodness!"

Because of their loud voices, the child that Jane is holding, Lily, is now slowly waking up. As soon as she woke up she saw me and asked.

"Is everything over now?"

"Yes, your siblings are safe."

Lily smiled brightly at her and Jane slowly put the child down from her arms. Lily then rushed towards her siblings and fell into their embrace. They all cried while hugging each other. Jane just stares at this but stopped when she noticed the eldest looking at her. She then exclaimed as if she remembered something.

"Right, the collars."

Snap!

Then after a few seconds, the collar in their necks suddenly snapped and fell apart. The children looked at me with amazement but the eldest just stared at me. I stared back at him.

The man has long green hair and golden eyes, and it is the same with the other four children. I frowned and tried to remember where did I see that kind of description before. My thoughts are disturbed by the voice of the man staring at her.

"You must be forgetting someone."

Jane looked at the man with a confused expression. He then started to cast magic in front of her. Jane frowned and thought that the man was planning on attacking her but...

"Ugh!"

She heard a groan behind her and turned her head. She then saw a large man floating up in the air while holding his neck. She then heard the man's voice behind her.

"You should know that if every thug is gathered in one place, there is always a leader."

The bandit leader floated up in the air while coming in their direction closer and closer. She continues to hear the cold voice of the man behind her.

"And these kinds of leaders..."

"Ugh! L-let me go...!"

The man ignored the bandit leader's cry and continued.

"Should be exterminated."

And in a split second, the bandit leader's head suddenly exploded from a mana arrow piercing through it. The black beast created a transparent shield to prevent blood from splattering on Jane and the children. The transparent shield disappeared and the now headless bandit leader is now in front of them laid on the ground.

Jane looked back to the children and saw their cold gazes directed at the bandit leader and thought.

'As expected, there are no normal children in fantasy novels.'

Jane sighed at that thought and pass healing potions to the eldest and turned around to leave. She said something to them while leaving.

"Drink that, that's a healing potion."

Jane said those words and continued to walk away from them. She then suddenly stopped walking when she felt someone tugging her coat. She turned around and saw four children holding the end of her coat. Lily, who is one of the children tugging her coat spoke sadly.

"Don't go..."

Jane patted her head.

"I can't, and besides you have your family here."

"Then..."

One of the children started to speak, it's the boy who almost cried while being tied up to the pole. He then asked in an embarrassed manner.

"Can we come with you?"

"...What?"

I asked in confusion, the child seemed to be even more embarrassed so the other boy, who seemed to be his twin, continued the embarrassed boy's words for him merrily.

"Please let us come with you!"

Then this time, the girl besides Lily butted in in a quiet voice.

"W-we have no home..."

Jane frowned.

'What does being homeless got to do with me?'

Lily noticed her frown and talked nervously.

"W-we are helpful! We promise we will not be a burden!"

"Yeah! We hunt animals well!"

"W-we know how to pick herbs as well."

"Please take us with you."

Jane sighed and caressed her head. She then stopped when she heard the voice of the man who has been quiet until now.

"Why don't we strike a deal?"

"...A deal you say?"

"Yeah, please take care of my siblings and I'll work as your guard."

The man looked at the woman in a large black coat in front of him. He didn't feel any mana inside her, but the power she just displayed earlier was magic. He just thought that her level is too high for him to notice.

That is why he was trying to stick to her as much as possible.

Jane felt a headache brewing within her head and holds her palm up to stop the man from speaking.

"Hold up, why me...?"

At that question, the four children butted in and flooded Jane with compliments.

"Because you're powerful!"

'I'm not powerful, it is the beast beside me who's powerful.'

"You're trustworthy!"

'Do I really?'

"Y-you're cool."

'What's cool about me? I'm completely bland.'

"Y-you seemed to be the type of person who is very knowledgeable."

'If I'm that type of person then I should be graduating college and find a decent job instead of being a janitor.'

Jane looked at the children holding her coat who were also spouting nonsense. She then heard the man's voice again from beside her.

"The way you use magic earlier... It is extraordinary and very precise. I would also want to learn from you."

Jane looked at the man beside her like he was crazy and then stopped when she heard the voice of the black beast inside her head.

• Hey, these kids... They are mid-grade mages...

Jane froze and her eyes began to shake.

'...What? Who is a mid-grade?'

She looks at the children innocently clinging onto her coat. She then froze even more when she heard the black beast dropping another bomb on her.

• And that man... He is one step away from being an archmage.

'Archmage? Then he must be a highest-level mage. That's crazy...'

Jane looked at the man in front of her who was also looking at her.

'No way, This kid is about exactly at my age... Is he that talented in magic?'

Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally starting to speak.

"What's your name?"

The man slowly opened his mouth.

"My name is Spencer Sujin."