I'm Not Enough Alone

As the blast heads toward them, I jump and slide down the slope of the wall downward. When I reach the ground, I run as fast as I can using spells to enhance my speed. Yuki and Daichi do the same; there's no turning back now.

We see the two enemies stagger back by the force of my spell, but as it reaches them, the energy dissipates with a faint sound, like the squeak of an insect.

We reach the injured one, avoiding the youngest. I summon my sword and face the enemy, as Daichi does the same with his new war hammer, he is torn between laughter and disbelief at my failed spell. Yuki freezes the severed arm of one of our allies to stop the bleeding.

“You're an idiot,” he whispers. “Didn't you read the skill's description, rank, requirements, or anything?”

“Why ask when you know the answer? I didn't have time,” I reply, still in shock from the shity result of my spell.

“Lucky us,” Yuki chimes in, continuing the joke, though this isn't the place.

“Who are you?” the injured one asks. “You're not from the King.”

“We intercepted the letter,” I reply with a forced smile.

“You did— what?!” the taller one asks, glancing suspiciously at the two foes before us.

The two enemies exchange glances, clearly confused. My Zkan can't detect their levels; all I see are “??” symbol above their heads.

“That's impossible…”

“Well, somehow, I did it. That doesn't matter now. We're here and we need to act," I say firmly. “How can we help?”

Daichi, now more confident talking to these high-ranking individuals from the King's side, says, “We had no other choice. I'm sorry.

The two enemies in the back laugh. “You wouldn't have escaped anyway. You just sped things up.”

One of them moves with blinding speed. The one-armed man, Kian, pushes me aside and blocks the enemy's sword with his good arm. “Protect the Prince,” he instructs, nodding towards his ally, this taller one must be the prince; he exudes an aura of strength and elegance. I give a fast look to the forest behind, it’s a bit far to reach and hide there, the best we can do is fight.

Above their heads I also see the “??” symbol, but it changes in a moment when the kid from the back summons some spells and a gold orange energy surrounds the three of us. Now I see their names and levels: Kian is level 55 and the prince, Loaw, is level 54. The young mage in the back is Raion, level 31.

I glance at the enemies. They must be higher than level 55. A chill runs down my spine and my heart races. Facing them is terrifying. Still, I see Daichi preparing to attack and thankfully, he's back to his incredible self.

Gravity Impact.

He pushes the enemy back, giving Kian an advantage, then casts a lightning spell. I nod at Yuki and we move to assist Prince Loaw.

“Provide support when you can, but don't get in the way,” he instructs.

Even though it's three against one, we struggle to land a hit. Somehow, we can evade him, thanks to Raion's magic, which temporarily boosts our stats.

Yuki tries to slow or freeze the enemy with her spells, but they either fail or he easily dodges them. Despite the enhancements, I can't land a single blow. I haven't learned any skills yet; I wanted to consult a Master first… Damn it.

But I won't give up. I catch my breath and charge again. I almost collide with Loaw, but I regain my balance just in time to narrowly dodge the enemy's attack. I look at Daichi, who seems to be great, landing more hits than us. Focusing on the fight in front of me and Loaw pushes me aside, helping me dodge another attack.

“DON'T GET DISTRACTED!” he shouts, then delivers a powerful, energy-charged kick to the enemy. He then pushes me back again. “Stay back and protect the boy. Don't interfere anymore.”

I feel somewhat useless, but he's right. I can't touch the enemy; he's too fast and strong. I keep my eyes on the battle while moving closer to Raion, who doesn't look at me, also telling me to step aside. We both watch the battles unfold.

The moment his magic seems to wane on our allies, he casts new reinforcement spells, including me. He's focused on the duration of each buff, but I can see he's exhausted, sweat dripping from his face.

I stop watching him and focus on the battle. I feel an urge to use the skill in my right hand, but I can't afford to be distracted. For some reason, I see myself pulling Raion towards me without hesitation.

And I do it.

An instant later, a dark violet beam passes through where he was standing, exploding against the wall behind, sending dust and rocks everywhere. “Are you okay?” I ask, unsure of what just happened.

“Yes, thank you.” We both look forward, unable to see where that power came from or when the enemies could have cast it.

We remain alert for several minutes until we see one of the enemies pierce Kian. He shouts something to Daichi and I see him use a spell charged with blue energy.

Father Earth Gravity Crush.

Kian moves aside and Daichi lands a full blow on the enemy, knocking him to the ground at the same time Kian falls. Simultaneously, the second enemy sends Yuki flying with a powerful blow. Even though she blocked his sword, the force of the impact sends her hurtling. The enemy lands two blows on Loaw, paralyzing him with one cut on his leg.

“Protect the Prince!!” Loaw shouts and my eyes widen in realization.

The enemy approaches us. I raise my broken sword, ready to defend.

In an instant, he's in front of me, slicing through my sword with his bare hand and delivering a blow that sends me crashing into the wall behind.

The impact knocks the wind out of me and I cough up blood. A single punch was enough to send me flying like a rag doll. I see him going for Raion, but the boy doesn't freeze in fear.

Destiny Push.

He sends the enemy flying, but it doesn't seem to hurt him. I try to get up, struggling as my body refuses to cooperate. I fall to the ground, propping myself up with my hands.

Taking deep breaths, I look ahead. A powerful attack is heading straight for Raion. I gather my strength, run and intercept the blow.

The attack engulfs me, burning every inch of my body, I cannot feel my breath.

Will I die here?