Crunch.

  The sound of a single blade of grass being pressed down.

  Quiet, but a clear presence.

  In that moment, Ivela raised her hand.

  Aira took a short breath and spread her fingers.

  Sssshk.

  A spell circle traced in the air slowly drank in light.

  A pale green aura spread in a round, and the flow of wind wrapped around them.

  “It’s coming.”

  Before Ivela even finished.

  Rustle.

  The brush shook all at once.

  Short arms, a snout baring teeth, pointed ears.

  Yellowed eyes sprang out from the forest shade.

  A pack of goblins.

  “Goblins!” Rynel shouted.

  “Spread out!”

  The three of them fanned out into a triangle, as if trained for it.

  Without a second to hesitate, six goblins boiled out from all sides.

  The ones crouched in the shadows of the woods burst out together.

  A pale green spell circle rose from Aira’s fingertips.

  Air currents gathered, and the goblin charging in front was knocked back as is, rolling across the ground.

  Ivela was already cutting into the middle of them.

  Daggers in both hands, she ran, parting branches like thick grass.

  In the instant she slipped past one at its flank.

  Sssshk.

  A short, precise line.

  One goblin collapsed without even managing a scream.

  “Ivela, behind you···!”

  Rynel tried to shout, but—

  Bang!

  A sharp presence surged up behind him.

  A goblin kicked off a branch and leapt like it was springing from the trees.

  Straight for Rynel’s back.

  Straight for the cargo bag.

  “···That thing’s aiming for the cargo?”

  Aira muttered, snapping around like her body bounced on instinct.

  Mana and airflow compressed at her fingertips.

  “Wind, become a barrier···

  Wind Guard!”

  A pale green spell circle spread in midair.

  A wall of wind formed in an instant and took the charge head-on.

  Thud!

  The goblin was thrown back before it could even touch the cargo, slammed onto the ground.

  It bared its teeth and flipped itself over, but its eyes never left the bag.

  “···Thanks, Aira.”

  Rynel spoke through a short, forced breath.

  His gaze still tracked beyond the cargo.

  Then.

  Piiing.

  A blue light seeped into his irises.

  A cold ripple shivered inside his eyes, then spread to his fingertips.

  “···Back off.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The moment Rynel reached out, the air warped like it was being crushed.

  From the center, an unseen force burst outward.

  Bang! Thump! Crash!

  Three goblins were blasted away at once.

  They tumbled through the air, slammed into trees, and dropped.

  Short. Violent. Complete suppression.

  That was when—

  Inside the bag on Rynel’s back.

  Inside the small, hard box.

  A faint blue light blinked, almost imperceptibly.

  Crackle, crackle.

  A rapid, tiny vibration.

  No one noticed, but the light was there.

  Thud!

  A goblin rolled across the ground.

  Even then, its gaze stayed locked on the cargo bag to the very end.

  Rynel’s eyes followed that stare on instinct.

  ‘These goblins··· they’re after what we’re carrying.’

  And then.

  Rustle.

  One side of the brush sprang up.

  A goblin flew in from the flank.

  A presence he hadn’t caught. His attention had split.

  Rynel reflexively lifted his hand, trying to trigger his telekinesis.

  But—

  Before the blue light could rise, his focus broke.

  Sssshk.

  A goblin’s dagger grazed his arm.

  A thin line of blood ran down his sleeve.

  ‘···If my sight gets stolen, the power cuts too.’

  Rynel grit his teeth and stepped back.

  Because it activated without a spell circle, his gaze and will mattered more than anything.

  “Rynel!”

  Aira shouted toward him.

  “I’m fine··· it’s nothing.”

  Rynel forced himself back, jaw clenched.

  So the bag wouldn’t jolt, he tightened the strap and held it down.

  Ivela cut down another target and shifted her angle.

  Her eyes flicked toward Rynel for a moment, but her body didn’t move.

  There were still too many goblins.

  Even Ivela still had at least two on her.

  No room to help. No reason to help.

  Her daggers chased the next target without hesitation.

  “Aira, take defense.”

  Rynel steadied his breathing.

  “Got it.”

  Aira answered shortly, sweat beading at her brow.

  Her fingertips drew through the air once more.

  Crunch··· crunch···

  Another group showed themselves from the forest darkness.

  Two more.

  On top of the first six, the battlefield became eight in an instant.

  The woods were already chaos.

  One cluster stirred the area to create openings, while the rest rampaged, their eyes drawn to the cargo.

  Ivela cut through the forest without a word, without even a breath.

  Shoulders low, she flowed along tree shadows.

  The daggers were already in her hands, as natural as an extension of her body.

  Sssshk.

  When one sprang from the left, Ivela twisted her waist without even turning her head.

  The blade drew a half-moon line and brushed across the goblin’s neck.

  Chhk.

  Hardly any blood splashed.

  Not “cut” so much as “severed.”

  Clean. Exact.

  “Next.”

  Ivela’s eyes slid calmly to the side.

  Two goblins charged at once.

  One from the front, one dropping from above by climbing the trees.

  But Ivela didn’t stop.

  If anything, she sidestepped only a single step, as if measuring distance and speed.

  Sssshk.

  The goblin falling from above had its arm cut off in midair.

  At the same time, a dagger drove into the nape of the one charging head-on.

  As if it had been decided from the start.

  Her gaze didn’t even shake.

  Bang!

  She kicked off the ground, stepped on a tree, and vaulted to the opposite side.

  “Too slow.”

  The two goblins swung into empty air, slashing at the space she’d left behind.

  The next moment.

  Sssshk sssshk.

  Two daggers drove down as her body rotated.

  Falling, she stabbed straight through their throats.

  At the same time she lowered her waist and slipped under the brush.

  Light as a shadow, and still lethal.

  Behind her, the sound of someone getting hurt rang out.

  Ivela didn’t look back.

  “I’m not protecting you.”

  She muttered, almost like she was talking to herself.

  “If you want to live, endure it.”

  One swing.

  Another goblin fell.

  She didn’t move to defend someone.

  Because she believed.

  An adventurer should be able to protect their own body.

  If they couldn’t, then that was all they were.

  Ivela had one role.

  Reduce the enemy as fast as possible.

  That was Ivela’s fight.

  And the way Ivela survived.

  “Flank, two more!”

  Aira shouted.

  She spread a spell circle quickly.

  Aira was better at controlling flow than attacking.

  Slowing danger. Filling gaps for allies.

  She gritted her teeth and deployed another defensive spell.

  Piiiiiing—

  Wind wrapped thinly, twisting the goblins’ approach angles.

  They lost balance for a moment and stumbled.

  In that brief opening,

  Rynel thrust out his hand like it was his last resort.

  And then.

  Something moved.

  A goblin’s short spear cut through the air as it flew in.

  Killing intent closing the distance in an instant.

  Rynel stopped breathing and extended his arm.

  Bang!

  A small stone on the ground spiraled up and slammed into the goblin’s side.

  “Ghk!?”

  The goblin’s eyes went wide as it was flung sideways.

  It wasn’t a rough knockback.

  It was smooth, like something had grabbed and twisted it.

  In that moment, objects around them began to tremble lightly.

  A short branch, a broken piece of wood, and a fallen dagger.

  Wiiing···

  A thin ripple ran along the edge of his arm.

  Like invisible threads linking the surroundings together.

  Another goblin charged.

  Rynel didn’t think twice.

  He threw his gaze to a broken chunk of rock and swept his hand.

  Whoom— thump!!

  The rock that had been floating smashed into the goblin’s head.

  It dropped without even a scream.

  His fingertips shook, barely.

  Will, connected even without a spell circle.

  That was telekinesis magic.

  The goblins froze for an instant.

  As if even they, by instinct, knew this wasn’t human territory.

  And then.

  Rynel’s eyes turned blue again.

  The ripple in his pupils spread like vibration, and mana compressed around his body.

  Boom···!

  The air itself rang, and the goblins’ bodies stopped in midair.

  The next instant.

  An unseen force shoved from the inside out.

  Crack, thump!

  Torsos caved, limbs bent into wrong angles.

  Some folded inward at the joints, and quiet red blood scattered.

  Soundless, but certain death.

  Then a brief silence.

  Thud.

  The last goblin fell.

  A short stillness settled over the forest.

  Ivela flicked blood off her daggers and adjusted the cargo strap again.

  No wasted motion. Like this kind of fight was routine.

  Rynel braced one knee on the ground, breathing hard.

  The stench of blood clung to his throat.

  That was when.

  Thump.

  The air pulsed, faintly.

  Too clear to dismiss as imagination.

  Rynel’s eyes snapped past Ivela’s shoulder, straight to the metal box.

  Thump.

  This time it was certain.

  Something inside writhed like it was alive.

  And then.

  Blue light.

  A faint glow seeped from the gap in the box.

  Almost invisible to the naked eye, but Rynel felt it clearly.

  Clear and cold, and somehow familiar.

  A trace of mana.

  The light wavered quietly, then flowed into his sight.

  Briefly, sharp enough to steal his breath.

  “···Did you see that?”

  Rynel asked low.

  “See what?”

  Aira tilted her head, looking at the box.

  “Just now, from there··· there was light.”

  Rynel slowly rose to his feet.

  But Aira stared at the box for a moment, then shook her head.

  “I didn’t see anything.”

  Ivela didn’t respond.

  As if she had no interest in the conversation to begin with, she only tightened the strap again with a blank face.

  Rynel pressed his lips together in silence.

  Only he had sensed that light.

  And the fact that the tremor felt exactly like his telekinesis.

  “Rynel, your arm··· are you okay?”

  Aira asked as she came closer.

  Blood had spread down his sleeve more than a little.

  “It’s not deep. It didn’t hit the bone.”

  Rynel said, carefully covering his arm.

  His voice stayed calm, but his face looked tired.

  “Still, you can’t push it right now.”

  Aira crouched in front of him and opened her palm.

  “Hold still. I have to follow the flow of wind.”

  Her fingertips began to draw a small line in the air.

  A low, clear chant flowed softly.

  “Quiet cycle, wrap the flow of blood,

  soothe the wound, and stitch flesh once more···”

  Sssrrr.

  A pale green current shimmered from her fingertips and spread.

  It wrapped Rynel’s arm quietly, like someone’s breath.

  Heat at the wound dropped fast. Blood coagulated. The pain dulled.

  Rynel let out a quiet breath.

  “···That’s amazing.”

  “I borrowed a little of a spirit’s power.”

  Aira smiled like it was nothing.

  “Wind is specialized in controlling flow.

  Stopping blood, or closing small wounds, it can do that quickly.”

  That smile wasn’t her usual mischief.

  Quiet,

  and strangely warm.

  Without even looking back, Ivela spoke.

  “If you’re done, we move.

  If we stay long, they’ll come again.”

  Instead of answering, Rynel gripped the bag strap again.

  From the box’s direction, a leftover tremor tickled the back of his hand, faintly.