"Earth Fence!"
A wall of stone, nearly twice the height of a grown man, erupted from the earth. It instantly formed a barrier between the thugs and the six young scavengers, snagging one of the men in the process and hoisting him high into the air.
The man thrashed and tumbled back to the ground. The sudden appearance of the barrier forced the others to recoil, creating a pocket of space. I stepped directly into the opening. It would be a headache if they tried to take the kids hostage.
"Ow... what just happened?"
"It’s magic!"
"The hell is this? You do this, brat?"
"You drew your weapons, so I reacted instinctively. By the way, this spell is called Earth Fence. It’s essentially a row of Earth Needles treated as individual pillars. The tops are as sharp as spears... If your friend there had taken one more step, things would have turned gruesome. I'm glad it ended with just a fall."
As I explained the spell’s mechanics to keep them at bay, the men’s expressions stiffened. They clearly didn't like what they were imagining.
In any case, this was a waste of time. My meeting time was approaching; I needed to wrap this up. I’d said something similar to them earlier, but the meaning had completely flipped depending on the context. Language really can be tricky.
Joking aside, these guys were clearly practiced in this sort of thing. While the ones in front aimed their weapons at me, two others had immediately moved toward the rookies. They had likely planned to seize them as collateral.
They hadn't even needed to coordinate after Satch spoke. Either they’d planned this beforehand, or they had enough experience that they didn't need words.
That kind of bandit-like coordination wasn't something an adventurer picked up just by hunting monsters. It was clear these men were the aggressors here, and I suspected this wasn't their first crime.
"Stop making pathetic excuses, you morons," Satch barked.
"Boss..."
"A brat’s magic only goes so far. It’s over the moment you stop giving him room to breathe. Are you losers really going to tuck your tails and run from one kid? I don't need cowards like that in my crew."
"Hey... Hey!"
I heard a low voice from behind me. It was the short human boy from the group of six. He was gripping the fence and leaning over it, looking almost like a prisoner behind bars. I remembered him well—he was the one who had bluntly called me a burden back in the tunnel.
"Run! These guys are for real! It doesn't matter how good your magic is, you can’t take on this many people!"
It seemed he’d acknowledged my magical skill, but he still judged me to be weaker than the mob.
"In that case, you guys get ready to run, too," I whispered back using Wind Magic. I told them I’d drop the barrier the moment I saw an opening.
However, it was impossible to hold a secret conversation right in front of the enemy. Whether Satch had overheard the faint whisper at their ears or simply deduced it from the children’s reactions, he barked a new order.
"You lot over there watching—lend a hand! This kid looks like he’s used to slipping away."
"Hehe, thanks, Boss."
"A shame. Nothing would have happened if you’d just stayed away."
"It’s too late for talk now, but we would’ve let you go if you’d just handed over your gold."
"So," I said, "the claim that they stole your prey was just a lie?"
"Nah, we believe they stole it. They're slum rats, after all. The kind of people who’d steal anything once they get desperate enough."
"If you're willing to pay their debt, maybe we'll let you go. You look like you've got much deeper pockets than those brats."
"With armor like that, you can afford it. We'll even take installments. And if you can't pay, maybe we'll pay a visit to your parents and collect from them instead."
Satch’s command to the bystanders emboldened the group. Even those who had been hesitant began to draw their weapons.
A cold flash of irritation flickered through me.
I’d dealt with bandits who saw me as just a child and got cocky, but these men were particularly grating. This was probably the single most irritated I’d been since arriving in this world. I wasn't entirely sure why it hit such a nerve. Maybe it was the threat to "visit my parents."
The parents from my previous life were long dead. In this world, I didn't have any—unless you counted the gods. Between the dead and the divine, any "visit" would likely be a one-way trip to the afterlife. As for the Jamils, who had been so kind to me, there was no way I was letting these thugs anywhere near them. They wouldn't even get past the front gate, and I wouldn't allow them to try.
My gaze sharpened as I looked at the group, who were clearly overestimating their strength.
"W-Wait!"
One of the younger adventurers, who had been a bystander until now, cried out. The others glared at him for killing the mood, but he was too panicked to notice. I hadn't even made a move yet.
"That kid—could he be the one from the rumors? If he is, we can't touch him!"
"The one who's been at the guild with the slimes?"
"The kid in the weird clothes wandering around town?"
"So what if it is? What's the problem?"
"You're just a coward," another mocked.
The young man's face paled as he continued. "Someone saw that kid in the weird clothes entering a high-class inn with the Ducal House! He might be an associate!"
"A kid like this?"
"No way. Why would someone like that be out here?"
"...Wait, wasn't the client for today's request the Ducal House?"
"N-No way!"
"I heard members of the family are staying in Gimul right now. The Town Office got hammered for it—half the staff got fired!"
I finally understood his panic. He hadn't wanted to join in, and he was terrified of offending the Duke. But he was a little late to be worrying about that.
The spreading doubt and confusion provided the perfect opening. There were six men on each side. The square was to the left. The kids were ready.
"Create Block."
"Hey!"
I transformed the ground beneath the fence into a solid slab of stone and reinforced my entire body with ki. Ignoring Satch, I ripped the entire fence out of the earth and swung it like a massive club toward the left.
"Stop—!"
"Gah!"
The fence became a wide, blunt instrument, swatting three men aside simultaneously.
"Now! Run! That way!"
"Right!"
"Don't let them get away!"
"Get back here, you little—!"
I let out a low shout and brought the fence down on the group approaching from the right.
"Wha—!?"
"Wait!"
Five of the men who had been closing in were flattened like flies under a swatter. Satch was the only one who dodged. He glared at me, his face twisted with rage, and raised his axe. I threw the slimes from my shoulders toward the left.
The two who had avoided the first swing were about to intercept the fleeing children. The slimes flew straight at their faces. The men instinctively swung their swords, but slimes are unaffected unless the core is struck.
With a loud, wet thud, the slimes latched onto the blades. A second later, blood-curdling screams tore through the air.
"Gah! Ack! My—my legs...!"
"Aaaagh! My arm! My arm!"
I had thrown a Poison Slime and an Acid Slime. Their respective secretions were already eating into the men's flesh.
"You little BRAT!"
Satch’s axe whistled toward my neck. I stepped back, letting the blade pass harmlessly.
"You bastard... you really did it now."
His previous composure was gone. His face was flushed crimson, veins bulging in his neck.
"How long are you idiots going to stay down? Get up and chase those runts!"
The men trapped under the stone fence began to crawl out, while the ones I’d swatted away staggered to their feet, clutching their sides. Only the one struck by the Poison Slime remained down.
"Don't stop! Keep running!" I shouted to the six kids. They looked back once before sprinting away as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Tch! Chase them! I don't care if he’s connected to the Duke or not; if they tip off the guild, we're finished! Rookies disappear all the time—catch them and 'educate' them!"
"B-But Satch... this is getting out of hand!"
Because I’d prioritized clearing a path, the men who could still stand weren't seriously injured yet. But they were wavering. They were the type who only acted tough when they held all the cards.
"I’ll handle the kid," Satch growled. "I don't care who’s backing him; I'll just 'educate' him so he can't go crying to anyone. I made you idiots practice Healing Magic for a reason, didn't I?"
"But—"
"Shut up! We're committed now! Do it!"
Satch roared and lunged, swinging his axe in a wide arc. He closed the distance with animalistic speed. He was aiming for my shoulder with the back of the axe—it seemed he didn't want to kill me yet, just break me. But even without the edge, a mass of metal that size was more than enough to shatter bone.
I stepped inside his guard and struck his right wrist with my left arm, deflecting the swing.
"What!?"
As his arm overextended from the swing, I hooked my right arm behind his elbow. Simultaneously, I kicked the back of his right knee to break his stance. As he dropped to one knee, I locked his arm in place. For a split second, our eyes met. His face was a mask of pure shock.
Then I applied pressure. A sickening crunch echoed from his shoulder.
"Gaaaagh! Damn it!"
His right arm hung limp the moment I released it. He dropped his axe, unable to even grasp it.
Sweat poured down his face from the agony, but he managed a desperate left hook. It had no power behind it. I caught the arm, stepped on his grounded right foot, and applied leverage. I felt a sensation like snapping a dry twig. As Satch's body buckled, I finished him with a knife-hand strike to his left arm.
"—!! —!!? Guuh..."
"...Eh?"
"The boss..."
"He took him down in seconds?"
Satch collapsed into the dirt, groaning in a heap. Two broken bones and a dislocated shoulder—the pain must have been excruciating, but some shred of pride kept him from screaming out loud.
The sight was clearly more than his followers had bargained for. The men who were supposed to be backing him stood frozen, their faces pale.
"Who's next?" I asked, offering them a bright, cheerful smile.
"W-We, uh..."
"!!"
"Ah!?"
"Don't you dare run!"
"Teleport."
I blinked across the space, appearing directly in front of the first man to turn tail.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Hieee!"
"Space Magic!?"
"What is this kid!?"
"Forgive us! We couldn't say no to Satch!"
"You can tell that story to the Guild Master. For now... I can't have you chasing after those children, so I'll need you to stay here with me a while longer."
It took a bit more time than I expected to finish rounding them up. With the help of my slimes, I eventually managed to restrain the entire disorganized mob, their screams echoing through the clearing.
I was definitely going to be late for the meeting.