Chapter 6: Spring Magic: Nature Guardian

Seeing how the situation suddenly turned in a way no one would expect, the guards turned to look at each other with impure thoughts in their eyes

Truth be told, the fat merchant was kind on the outside but is completely rotten on the inside. The guards were tormented and lead a life full of hardship because of him

In order to at least lessen the burden they would need to endure, the guards acted in a way that will carry the merchant's favor. They displayed an obedient version of themselves

However, the merchant has the capability to destroy them and their family. The power of wealth cannot be underestimated

Thus, they were not able to do anything against the merchant. But what if the merchant died in the hands of this kid?

Wouldn't that set them free and at the same time, gain the treasures of the merchant?

Truth be told, they are also under a contract that will prevent them from harming the merchant. But it was not them that is harming the merchant, it was this kid

The guards seem to have a tacit agreement with each other and they turned Reif as their target. The merchant can't speak now and the guards can use the contract's loophole

If they kill Reif, it might be possible to save the merchant, right? It's not like the merchant has the voice to command them

Reif was sensitive to the kind of looks that the guards were giving him. It was not that hard to understand what they were thinking

They saw how powerful Reif is despite only being a 1st circle mage but he is now in a heavily injured state. Killing him should be easy

Thus, the guards made a decision that will make them know what real regret is

To make sure they won't meet any mishaps, the 3rd circle mage quickly uses magic to catch Reif off guard

Too bad that Reif is already on alert. When the guard just starts to use magic, Reif already moved away

Earlier, the guards saw how Reif limply walks. But now, his body seems to recover to the peak already. They were all shock but they thought that Reif is just pushing himself

"[Cannon Ball!]" The guard muttered as five magic circles formed above him. With a single wave of his hand, the magic circles release one large metal ball each

Getting hit by even just one of them would surely cause Reif's innards to turn into meat paste

Woosh!

The cannonballs all have Reif as their target. He tried dodging them but the guard was skillful enough to change their trajectory and the cannonballs continued chasing Reif

The two remaining guards even fired streams of fiery fire in Reif's direction causing his movement space to lessen

Without a choice, Reif's eyes followed all the attacks coming at him and calculated them in his mind

Reif moved in a certain direction and when he was about to get hit, his body suddenly vanishes and reappeared a few steps away from his original position

"[Shadow Step!]"

Reif's actions cause three of the cannonballs to collide with each other and he is now facing a lesser number of attacks

This .... is this really a 1st circle mage? The large array of magic that Reif can use and the skills he has in using them doesn't make sense

If not for the aura that Reif emitted, the guards would never think of him as a 1st circle mage

Well, this is all because of his constitution. Even mages at the same level don't have the same amount of mana

One of the reasons why a certain family like the Spring Clan can rise above the masses was because their descendants have far more mana than most people. Not to mention, Reif also has a [Nature Vessel] constitution

The amount of mana he has is not something that common people can compare to

"H-how can you move like that?!" At first, the guards thought that Reif was just pushing himself to the limits. But the way he moves doesn't look like a movement from someone that is heavily injured

Reif knows the answer to that question but he didn't bother answering. Before he walks towards the merchant earlier, he uses [Damage Transfer] to the bandit that is already on the brink of death

This magic is one of the things that Reif relies upon in the past. Too bad that he can't indefinitely transfer the damage his body receives to another body. Even if he wants, he can't use it anymore in this instance

With the skills that Reif has, he managed to dispose of the remaining flurry of attacks targeting him. But the 3rd circle mage was further enraged by his actions

This time, the guard uses magic directly in Reif's body as his lips smiled viciously. "[Paralyzed!]"

Magic power suddenly surrounded Reif's body and he found out that he can't move at all

Peasants like this guard might have a low amount of mana compared to the members of a powerful clan but his current level is still 2 ranks above Reif. He instantly managed to prevent Reif from moving

After seeing that Reif can't move anymore, the three guards hurriedly sent another round of magical attack towards the kid

The more powerful Reif looks, the more the guards dreaded him. Hence the reason why the guards want to kill him as soon as possible

Instead of panicking, Reif forcefully circulated his mana all over his body. A 3rd circle mage's magic might be powerful but Reif's magical knowledge and skills are far above the caster

Reif managed to dispel the paralysis spell before winds instantly covered his body and he jumped high

That action of his once again stunned the guards but his next action stunned them more

Reif coated his finger with mana that had a sharp end before he uses it to cut his palm

Reif raises his hand above him as droplets of blood immediately drip down from his palm before a green magic circle appeared behind him

"[Spring Magic: Nature Guardian!]"

From the green-colored magic circle, a male nature guardian suddenly appeared. The nature guardian has long green hair, a white beautiful face, and stunning dark green eyes

His body only reaches up to his waist and he was only made from mana. Despite that, the nature guardian was extremely lifelike as if it was a real living creature

Nature Guardian ... another 'cheat' of the Spring Clan. All Spring Clan descendants have their own Nature Guardian that they can summon using their blood as the catalyst

This nature guardian can be used and develop in various ways depending on what the user wants. They can be developed into an attack, defense, healing type guardians and etc.

The caster is basically the one that will decide the path their guardian will take

At normal times, Reif's measly power as a 1st circle mage is not enough to summon his Nature Guardian

However, the Spring Clan is really a family that is blessed by the world. Their members can summon the nature guardian on their first try no matter how strong or weak they are

Thus, the Nature Guardian was even sometimes used as life-saving magic for the weak descendants that still hasn't advance their level

The first time is like they were given a privileged. They don't have enough capabilities but they can use their nature guardian to some extent

As soon as Reif's Nature Guardian appeared, the world around him was suddenly covered with dark green thorny vines that have blood-colored flowers in them

This was completely different from the normal flowery vine that the other Spring Clan uses

Reif's 'clansmen' can use vines that have a beautiful pink color. Not only was their power strong but they also have an elegant appearance

Whenever a Spring Clan fought, pink petals will surely be left in their surroundings

Maybe because Reif has a mutated [Nature Vessel] constitution, it causes some changes in his magic's appearance

The color was not important though as Reif can feel the same poisonous energy his blood has flowing in the thorny vines and blood-red flowers

Since the Nature Guardian needs the blood of the caster for them to appear, that might have altered Reif's Spring Power to some extent

The world was suddenly engulfed with spring. Blood-red petals flew around aimlessly while the thorny vines wrapped on the remaining three guards

Earlier, Reif was barely struggling with these people but the second that his Nature Guardian appeared, the guards suddenly turned into lambs that are being slaughtered by a big bad wolf

It didn't even take a full minute before all the guards died without offering much resistance

As soon as they died, the image of the nature guardian dissipated along with the thorny vines. Only leaving the bloody petals around

Reif's body descended down with his face pale. Spring Clan might have the power to summon their guardian on the first try no matter how weak they are but it's not like it was completely free

Reif loses a lot of blood energy and if not for his strong willpower, he might have lost consciousness already

Still, Reif forced himself to stay awake as he walks towards the merchant that is still writhing in pain

Originally, Reif thought of using this merchant. He can force the merchant to become his slave using a contract, earning Reif a money bank

However, on the second thought, Reif decided not to do that. A magic contract is not absolute

If a higher leveled mage with enough ability decided to interfere, they can nullify the contract

Reif is still currently too weak and he can't afford to release such hidden danger. In the end, just like the bandits and guards, Reif also killed the merchant by controlling his poisonous blood

It didn't even take a few minutes before the merchant that was in so much pain breathed his last breath

After that, Reif can't take it anymore and took the merchant's spatial ring before he exited the crime scene where the smell of blood was strong. It would surely attract a lot of magic beasts

Reif immediately entered his cave before losing consciousness. He has his eyes in the items inside the wagon of the merchant but his body can't hold on much longer

This forest mostly only has magic beasts. Merchants and other humans are a bit rare. As long as no humans arrived at the crime scene, the items with value wouldn't be taken

Most magic beasts after all don't have that much intelligence. They wouldn't know the value of weapons or jewelry

Besides, Reif already has the most precious item he should take which was a white gem. He felt that it would be the thing that will help him in his future fight with this world's Overseer and enable him to advance further from his previous peak

The spatial ring is also a bonus. It was an item that has huge utility value. Storing items became many times more convenient after having a spatial ring. Even if the items inside the wagon were taken away, Reif won't think much about it. For him, those items are unimportant compared to the items he currently has with him

As soon as Reif entered his cave, he instantly collapsed and fell into a deep sleep. He really pushed his body hard today

Abilities that are not possible for a normal 1st circle mage were uses after one another by him. Most magic spells might not have a level requirement but they still required a level of comprehension that most likely a mage at a certain level will have

It was no surprise that the guards and bandits would be stunned as he uses one magic after another that other 1st or 2nd circle mage cannot use

It was like their life's common sense was being questioned and the words monstrous talent was far from enough to describe Reif

Well, Reif previously reaches the pinnacle of power in his former world. In his eyes, his feat isn't that outstanding