Liz the Mage

Damn it… I’m just a burden.

I wanted to help with the bandits to rescue Lui, but my level isn’t enough. My sword skills don’t improve no matter how much I train, and now I’m only slowing Naoya down, forcing him to come save me.

I’m pathetic. I should have stayed behind, but I wanted to help my sister…

“They’re mages!” shouted one of the adventurers.

“Naoya, let’s get them!” Clay suggested, and both started running.

They caught up with them quickly, and Clay managed to take care of one of the mages, but Naoya had trouble. Another bandit intercepted him and attacked, giving the remaining mage a chance to cast one of his spells.

“Die!” he shouted as he launched his attack.

The mana sphere struck Naoya directly in the chest, knocking him down. The bandit who had attacked him earlier took advantage of that and tried to stab him in the face, but Naoya managed to grab the blade, though he clearly struggled.

Clay tried to help him, but another bandit ambushed him and he had to defend himself.

“Naoya!” I screamed desperately, grabbed my sword, and ran to help him.

I can’t lose him! I refuse to lose anyone else!

Lui and Naoya are the only ones I have left now… I won’t lose them for anything in the world!

I didn’t care about anything except saving him in that moment, so I ran as fast as I could, but I ended up tripping on the uneven ground, dropping my sword.

I’m pathetic… I don’t have the strength to help Lui, and now I can’t save Naoya either.

What do I do? What do I do!?

As I tried to reach my sword to get back up, I noticed it had fallen near a red mana crystal. The cave was filled with them, so they must have had a huge stockpile. That explains why they can afford to use mages.

Besides being used to treat Lui’s condition, mana crystals also work as a kind of external mana source for mages to cast spells. But it’s not common, given their price—not to mention that the red ones don’t hold much power and only allow for a single basic spell before being depleted.

“Die already!” shouted the bandit over Naoya.

“Tsk!” he exclaimed, probably from the pain of the earlier spell.

He was holding on, but it was only a matter of time before the bandit killed him. I won’t make it in time if I just use my sword— I need to help him now!

I stretched out my hand, not to grab my weapon, but to seize the mana crystal beside it. It was about time all the practice I’d had over the years finally became useful.

“Leave him!” I shouted, raising my arm and pointing directly at the bandit.

***

“Die already!” shouted the bandit, putting more strength into his blade.

Getting him off me shouldn’t be too hard, but my position is awkward and his grip is strong, not to mention the mage’s earlier attack still burns.

“Tsk!” I groaned from the pain, which the bandit used to press his attack even harder.

Clay was still fighting the other guy who ambushed him, and the rest were struggling against the bandits’ numbers.

I’m really in trouble.

“Leave him!” Liz shouted from afar.

When I turned, I saw her holding a mana crystal the same way the mages did, her arm aimed at the bandit on top of me. Then her hand began to shine, and moments later a glowing sphere shot forward.

She’s a mage too!?

And her attack was nothing like those of the bandit mages. Hers was bigger, brighter, and even faster.

She has talent for magic? When did she learn to do that?

“What the he—!?” shouted the bandit in shock, but before finishing, Liz’s spell cut him off. The attack hit directly, knocking him completely out of the fight.

It wasn’t just its appearance and speed—her spell was also much stronger than the others’. With that much skill, why does she use a sword?

“What the hell!?” shouted the remaining mage, but he was silenced shortly after by Clay, who stabbed him in the back. Looks like he managed to finish off the other guy without much trouble.

“Naoya!” Liz cried as she rushed to me. “Are you alright!?”

“Yeah, my chest just burns a little…” I said, referring to the mage’s attack. “But Liz, are you a mage?”

“Ah… Yes. I’ve been training since I was little, but I had to stop when I took on caring for Lui and started using the sword,” she answered.

I see. While she had been training in magic for most of her life, she’d only been with the sword for about a year. She didn’t seem to have a master or instructor, so it’s no wonder her sword skills aren’t up to par.

“But are you alright?” I asked. “Earlier you said casting spells drained mages and turned them into undead.”

“Ah! Don’t worry! If I use the mana from these crystals, there’s no risk since it’s not my own mana,” she explained. “It’s a shame buying them is so expensive, and all just to be used once.”

I understand. Even if she had trained slowly over the years to avoid depleting her mana, she couldn’t take full advantage of her talent in battle because of the risk of being emptied. And using mana crystals wasn’t much of an option either, since they’re expensive and only good for a few uses—plus those same crystals were needed for Lui’s condition.

It made sense she chose to prioritize her sister while searching for other ways to defend herself.

Being a mage really is complicated, huh?

“We should keep moving, the others can handle things here,” suggested Clay.

“Alright,” I replied.

The sooner we find Lui, the better. And if there’s someone leading these bandits, then we should track them down and end this as well.

“Let’s go!” Liz exclaimed, raising her sword.

“Wait,” I said.

“What is it?” she asked.

If we go on, there will most likely be more bandits, and maybe even stronger ones. Clay and I can handle them without too much trouble, but letting Liz fight with the sword would be a problem.

I went over to one of the corpses of the mages who had attacked us earlier and took his sack. It was full of red mana crystals.

“If we’re moving ahead, it’s better that you support us with what you really excel at,” I said, handing her the sack.

No matter how much someone wanted to help, if they weren’t good at something, they would only cause problems for everyone else. The best thing was to support with what one did best, and in Liz’s case, that was magic.

“Support us from a distance and take out the mages or archers. We’ll cover you, alright?”

Liz received the sack of crystals and hesitated for a moment, but soon after her eyes showed strong resolve and she nodded.

“Yes!” she replied.

A fighter, a mage, and a swordsman. This was finally starting to feel like a more typical isekai fantasy novel.

Once ready, the three of us headed deeper into the cave, prepared for whatever we might encounter.