Suddenly, I awoke to the sound of the people chattering. I didn't notice how long I slept. I felt myself tied up completely immobilized and opened my eyes. What greeted me was the view of different shoes and boots. I looked up a bit and saw a whole crew of bandits joyfully clinking their mugs. They seemed to be in some kind of celebration. I moved my feet a little and touched something, which turned out to be a still passed out Felgard. That was when I noticed the ground was seemingly moving. It turned out to be a large carriage able to carry maybe about twenty people or so while being pulled by dessert horses, a kind of horse which is about forty percent larger than an actual horse. I closed my eyes and tried feeling the realea around me to find if the damsel and her Butler were here. Successfully, I sensed them in a different carriage. I then pretended to still be asleep and listened on to their conversation.

"So, what're we supposed to do with the daughter?" one of the bandit's said.

"We can do anything we want with her since the client paid in advance," another one replied.

"Surely today is a lucky day!"

"Well, we do have found a jackpot here," as he was saying this, I felt my foot being caressed.

"Who would've thought we'd run into a mage!"

I felt my eyes widened as I heard the conversation while still pretending to be asleep. The fact that they found out I'm a mage gave me fear. However, I felt quite relieved after hearing a loud piercing voice scream in terror followed up with a...

"Oh, oh, oh oh oh oh oh!! The shock! The suspense! Oh, ohh! Woe truly is me! Woe truly is mee!!" screamed the damsel from the other carriage. Hearing that gave me assurance of their safety as of now.

"Miss Millavuenoghatthendillia Edelvoughahndi Mayoubhoughergoise!! Are you alright!!" was also heard together with her.

"Yes, yes Sebas," was her only response.

I really felt the need to get free but thought of no other idea than through magic.Only that my staff is not in my hands, a huge requirement when casting magic. Hopefully the bandits did not throw it away, or it could spell total disaster. However, as I was out of options, I ended up chanting a spell.

A mage's staff allows us to channel our realea inside us outwards in a proper manner. No matter how we release our realea, our staff makes it so it wouldn't hurt ourselves from too much realea movement. Like a funnel when transferring water from one container to another, where you can pour out the water with ease. Without a funnel, water could scatter about, being a waste.

Spell chanting is one option when casting without a staff. One must chant to oneself a pattern in casting the spell, be it orally or by thought. Based on how long the spell is chanted, is how strong or successful the magic will be. It's like transferring water slowly from one container to another.

"Light my blood, control my pulse, into thine heart, burn my soul. Heed my prayer and descend upon this place the judgement it deserved..."

"Hey the mage looked like it's awake!" seemed like I was noticed.

"Hey she's cursing something!"

"Too late" I gave them a faint smile. "Fire bomb!!"

Immediately, a massive explosion of fire destroyed the carriage I was with and flew me towards the ground face first (it hurt, it hurt so much I'mma tell you that). I too was burnt on some places but thankfully I'm fine. Even though the intention was complied by the spell, it was unstable as it was bigger than intended. I wasn't used to spell chanting after all.

The horses carrying the carriage behind us got frightened and suddenly halted, which somehow lost the carriage 's balance and hit a tree next to it.

I stood up and patted myself but suddenly was hit on the head by a falling Felgard (it hurt, it hurt so much I'mma tell you that again).

"Oi that hurt!" he somehow woke up from that, which was kinda nice for the situation as the bandit's started getting up one by one. "Oi, who're they?'

"Bandits," I stood up half ready for battle.

"You filthy mage!!" one by one, the bandit's began taking up weapons. "You will pay!"

"Hooo? How much? Will sparing your lives be enough?" I smirked despite the pain I was feeling. I looked around to where my staff could've flown off to.

Looking at my side, I just saw Felgard cracking his knuckles with that annoying smirk of his. He looked completely fine despite his loss against that Sebastian fellow, Sebas fellow, or whatever..

"Oi, what are you looking at me for?" he suddenly asked out of nowhere.

"H-huah? Haah? Looking at you? No I wasn't!" I suddenly got flustered out.

"Oi, you were just watching me just now. Something wrong? Is it my face?"

Dang it, I wanna say yes so bad at that question but focused my attention more on the incoming enemy. I counted about twenty of them but increased the chances of having more hiding behind bushes.

"Hey you," I suddenly called his attention to which he immediately responded.

"Felgard's the name!" he sounded angry, which I do not care.

"Take care of them while I find my staff. There might be more of them hiding like last time. And if you see someone with a sleeping mushroom head, take him down immediately first."

"So I will like, defend you for a while?" he asked, puzzled.

"For now, since we are completely in a disadvantage..."

"I understand," he faced the enemy, pointing his wooden sword at them.

Just then, the bandits began attacking the two of us, "Beat em up!" I closed my eyes and began reading the realea around the area to sense my staff. I felt everything that's happening in the area, every slash and dodges, every movement done, they were all actions recorded on my memory. Finally I read the realea past these, and noticed my staff a few distance from here.

"There it is!" I immediately ran towards it, behind the ruined carriage. I jumped over it, and there it was.

"Where are you going?!" below me, a hand was about to grab my foot.

Just then, the bandit was hit on the back of his bald head by a wooden sword.

I landed safely and picked up my staff. I raised it, prepared for a full assault until...

"Kyaaaahhhh!!!" the door of the other carriage flung open and *BONGK* hit a random bandit on the head. There emerged the damsel and her Sebas holding each other's hands coming down from the now-ruined carriage.

"Fifirisha?! Dear?! Oh, where could fate have hidden thee from me? Oh, oh! What despair!" she was tiptoeing all the time while holding her dress at the side as she looked for me. Sebas trailed from behind, punching and kicking bandits that would come out unexpectedly. Just a few spins and prances was all it took for her to see me.

"OH, OOH! FIFIRISHA!! Dear me what happened!! What is this mess?! Oh, the tragedy! Oh, the confusion!" Oh shut up was what I thought of for a moment as she came closer.

She then took out her delicate lace handkerchief and attempted to wipe my small bruises with it before saying, "Sebas, you do it," and handed the handkerchief over to him.

"As you wish milady!" was Sebas' willful acceptance of the task.

"I'm fine. Felgard needs more help than me, " I then pointed out to the barely breathing yet still fighting Felgard from a distance.

Felgard took a step back after seeing the bandits just stood up again after being attacked, "Oi, they're cheating!"

"No, they're just strong. And have the advantage in numbers," Sebastian then took a step forward next to Felgard.

The two stared at the enemies in front of them for a while then...

"Young one, I hope you wouldn't mind to have this old generation fight with you."

"Heh, not at all old man butler. Instead, show this young one what you can do!"

Immediately, the two sprung towards their enemies with full strength.

Meanwhile, I was left to be tended by the damsel. Was her name Milla-something? It sounded like that. I looked at how she was carefully putting bandages around my arms. It would've probably touched my soul if she wasn't being too interactively noisy.

"Ah, ah! The blood! The blood! All these pain must've hurt right? Oh, pity! Ah, dear heavens!!!" she was too shaky the bandage would fall from her pinky up fingers. There wasn't even that much blood from the bruises anyway.

"There is no need ,really," I moved my arms around as proof. "See? I'm completely fine."

"Oh oh oh! The burden of solitude must have gripped tightly to you! Oh, ah! What tragedy! Ah! Where could my worth be at times like these?" she then covered her face with her hands. Where did she get the bandages anyway?

Unknowingly out of nowhere, a bandit rose out of Milla's back and swung an axe towards her. I didn't have any time to think, what currently was present on my mind was her safety. However, using magic would reveal my identity. Still, I was left with no other choice.

"Kyaaahhhh!" was Milla's response after facing the sharp edge of the axe right at her face.

I blocked the neck of the axe with my staff, embedded with a barrier to strengthen it. However, my physical strength wasn't enough to push the axe away, as the bandit was masculine and huge. The barrier itself was in an instant, a reason for it to not last long without enough force. As a tragic result... my staff broke.

As it did, a huge force blew off, blasting the three of us away for a short distance.

I stood up with my broken staff in hand, "Now this is a huge problem..." I looked around and saw Milla unconscious on the ground. I immediately went to her, and turned out another bandit had the same idea. There was no time for me to think. I immediately cast a teleportation magic to the bandit ahead of me, "Vanish!!"

It turned out Milla wasn't really unconscious, "Fifirisha, you're a..." her words were cut off by the spell and teleported me with her, and the bandit too, to a nearby high mountain.

What happened was a huge malfunction. Without a staff, and without chanting the spell, the magic used up too much realea, too much space, and went out of control. Instead of just the bandit, all three of us were affected by the abnormal magic. Well, it could've been much worse.

When I opened my eyes I saw trees which weren't that green and grasses which weren't that tall and thick. I looked around and there she was, cowering in a corner as she hid her face. As soon as she noticed I was awake, she flinched and turned her back towards me.

"Well, uhmm... You see..."

She just flinched again and started rattling, muttering to herself. I stood up and went to touch her but she suddenly...

"KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Don't come closer!!" her voice still as piercing as ever. I took a step back and sat down on the ground.

"You're afraid of me..." I knew this would happen.

She just covered her face and nodded.

"I see..." I wondered why, this time was quite different. The feeling that I had before every time people fear me. Now seemed different.

Come to think of it, my veiled hat wasn't with me when i woke up from the carriage. Perhaps she did not notice my ears from the commotion. What gave away my identity was the spell I cast.

'Why are you afraid?" I asked, despite knowing the answer.

She then revealed crying face with cheeks red as ripe tomatoes, "Because you'll eat my brains right?"

"What?"

"They said mages eat human brains and sacrifice their bodies to the devil! Oh, oh! The horror!!" she went back to covering her face. "How will we be friends if that happens?"

I just stared blankly at her without anything in mind of what I just heard.

"Although once you do eat my brains, at least make sure to sprinkle it with moonflower sparkles to make it look classy. Or maybe fairydust sugar? Ah! the greenbell corn powder may blend well with the flavor. Also, please make me wear my best pink dress in my third room upper closet? The pink dress in the second room is quite worn out. Oh! and the coffin must be made of pure crystalwoods to emphasize my beauty despite..."

As she continued to blabber, I began to question my existence, "What am I again?"