C6

Ymdall's simple light kick shattered the metal that had become brittle from long term exposure to extreme cold. Leaving the ice room, the corridor beyond was reminiscent of a castle hallway, with neatly arranged slabs of stone, red tapestry and the occasional metal decor. The "Freezer" room was at the end of this castle, meaning that there was only one way out. Strangely, enough there was a chair to the right of the door with peculiar oddities resting at its side. Was there meant to be a guard?

Inspecting the pile, Ymdall discovered a warmth rune, an armour Thul rune, an intermediate health potion and a decently luxurious blanket. Why would they kidnap and almost freeze people to death, then heal them back to health? Either way, they couldn't do that again until they remade the room. Welp, thanks for donating lots of useful items to me, mister preoccupied and not doing his job guard.

Waltzing quietly down the hallway Ymdall was not met with any resistance and came across a four-way junction, looking left and right, the left corridor was clear. In contrast, the right passage had what appeared to be a man dragging a child of no distinct gender due to the captive wearing rags and having a sack on their head. The man was well equipped but did not have any visible weapons, this and the fact he was dragging a child made him quite vulnerable. Ymdall wasn't proficient enough to cast magic via the mind only, but whispering would do. So far Ymdall had used two level-one spells and one level-two spell, what he had left was one more identify, a magic missile and a web spell.

A lack of knowledge is fatal, so if an enemy is unaware of your presence, it is recommended to use a spell to identify the enemy, or at least observe possible weaknesses. Unfortunately, "identify" which is the only inspection spell Ymdall has should only be used for items. When used on a living creature, it will only show their level and race.

"Identify."

Race: Human

Level: 67

Other data: $"!%^**(^~#|\\/"%&$*(()#$';.^&*)%^*0111001011@2$24&*2£$%^**&£!"!$!%%$£??/./<';7$^*^()456"$!£$%"%$%&^&!!"?(((057@#|+=9875

Level: 67 meant that this man could break boulders and could dent skulls. Taking a punch from him would be like wearing knuckle dusters over plaster and facing against someone wearing boxing or sparring gloves, an unfair fight, by far.

(Ymdalls perspective)

I won't be winning without a weapon since this guys fists could pound me to death. They probably patted me down but I might as we check my person. Side straps empty, leg straps empty, neck knives are gone. I wonder if they checked my hair. Nope, my hair knife is still there. Pulling on a loop disguised to keep my hair in a ponytail, I could feel the blades in my hair moving, pulling the ring away from my head I had one knife, a fragile knife, but still a weapon. So, taking an inconspicuous leather cloth from my breast pocket, I turned the blade from dull and hard to use to an ultra-sharp razor. It was sharp enough to cut through bone and possible cut metal.

Throughout this ordeal, I made sure to follow the man and keep my attention on him, but every now and again, I risked a casual glance behind me, just in case. After all, no human has eyes in the back of their head. Although there are skillsets to counter this

And finally, we have come across a new area, the one distinct landmark for this 'labyrinth', a wooden door inlined with metal. The man put the child down to open the door, taking out a large keyring which had at least two dozen keys. Chance!

Moving swiftly, I slid my knife up through his armpit and into his heart. I then promptly pulled away, to avoid flailing, which was lucky as he swung widely backwards with his right arm and was now facing me. However, the fatal wound wasn't superficial, he looked drunk and woozy as if he was going to fall over. Throwing a punch was not in this guys self-interest, and he recognised this, so instead of attacking, he lifted his hand against his wound and cauterised it.

He is a flame mage of the newer system, likely to be his first-class considering his level. He can channel mana into his element to blast me with flame, but this system of magic puts a strain on the body and mind. So he will either throw one last ball of fire or use his fists and waste away at his stamina. No stance hands up near his chest but practically useless. And as expected, he attacked, but unconventionally. Different mages different egos, fame and asperations, this mage was about to use what is known as a flame breath, quick and powerful, able to cover a large area.

Dodging would be pointless, so I leapt into his attack range and pushed my palm up into his jaw, shifted around to his back, and switched to a headlock. And whoosh, a torrent of flame extended fifteen feet with an acute angle, melting the floor a shiny reddish-yellow until the breath stopped abruptly.

The man's pulse became shallow until it faded away, leaving him presumably dead. Not wanting to continue to hold a dead body, I pushed it aside and assessed the damage. One dull knife and a bruised left arm, possibly fractured. Investigating the dead man's pockets and person, he had a wand, a bit of cash and a magical necklace.

The cash and necklace were welcome. I could use the money to receive several goods or services once I escape, and the necklace could be sold or gifted. The wand was as good as a match or stick, but I could take it with me to sell. Oh, the man also had a set of keys and a pocket watch one was on a chain and was a low-class mechanical good, and the other was on the floor. It was four o'clock, so I could cheekily reset my spells considering it had been eight hours since I had prepared them. So I forgot the Melf acid arrow spell and one identify spell, replacing them with a knock and a magical arrow spell. So now I had two "identifies", two magic arrows, a web spell and knock. Repetitive, I know, but deal with it.

"Identify."

Race: Dragonkin

Level: 0 - Level a result of age

So our little kidnapped friend is a dragonkin. Seeing a dragonkin is rare, not just because of their scarcity, but because they are discriminated against as dreadful monsters. With the speed of leopards, the strength of giants and the mana capacity of elementals, encountering an enraged dragonkin is similar to a calamity. So helping the little fella would be to my advantage, and I can use him/her to distract mum and dad so I can run away from studying, dragon friend for the win.

Removing the sack from the child's head. It was still hard to differentiate the gender of the individual, fair skin, puffy cheeks, silk albino hair and small black horns, was it a girl? Maybe? Not gonna check but that can be left for later, I shifted the individual to the side and fiddled with the keys. Nope, not this one or this, or this one, not... After messing with the keys for several minutes, I was finally in, and what I was greeted with was morbid.

Steel cages on either side, with individuals bound, scarred and collared in each one. It was sickening to see people bound and tortured. Looking around, I did not find any guards but saw some boxes near the end of the room, so I brought the dragonkin into the room along with the deceased guard and then locked the door.

What should I do? What should I do? Aunt Lora taught me medicine, but what should I do without supplies? The potion that I have is only able to save one. Wait, those boxes should have supplies, especially water if nothing else. Rushing to the wooden boxes each roughly a meter by a meter, I threw off the first lid, torture tools. Second lid, filled with useful healing ointment. Third lid, food and water.

Good, I could heal the captives. Rushing to the first steel door, I fiddled with the keys until the door opened. Luckily they were not in critical condition, or otherwise, by the time the door opened, they would have died. The first person seems to be another dragonkin, one is a coincidence, but two is a conspiracy. Deep lacerations marred the figure, it was blindfolded, the upper torso was naked, and another characteristic of the dragonkin was visible—their tough scales. I went to unlock the dragonkin's bindings. But its arms shook fiercely, and his chest lurched forward before he started shouting with a gravelly commander like voice.

"HUMAN! I DARE YOU FACE ME ONE ON ONE! FACE ME!"

Hmm, not any more. Carelessly removing the cuffs would backfire. Let's see if I can calm him down, and if that doesn't work, I will just move onto the next area and hope to appease that person to appease this person. Three things not to mention, my family, the other captives and the lack of guards, I should also avoid challenging him.

"Calm down. I'm here to rescue you. I have healing ointment and can get you out. However, if you remain hostile and don't cooperate, I will leave you here until later. So either work with me and receive medical attention or don't and I will leave the healing to your overtaxed body. You choose."

"Release me first, boy. Then we will talk further."

"Sure, but do anything funny and expect resistance."

I had not removed the blindfold in consideration of my safety. And preparing my knife, I quickly moved to the cuff to start unlocking it. Luckily, the second key I tried was the cuff key. After removing the cuff, I hopped back, and the dragonkin immediately tore off the blindfold.

"Whoa there steady."

"I was mistaken. You are not a boy but a babi. Undo the last cuff then we will see if you live."

"Bold words for a man who is cuffed and bound. Lose the babi description, and I might release you."

"Boy, release me now, and we can discuss what I call you."

Hmm, the first impression seems good, this guy is the blunt kind who appreciates strength, so after releasing him, he will probably square me up and might take a swing. However, he is injured, exhausted and doesn't have a weapon. I, however, don't want to kill him am weaker than him and if we fight it will be like a bear vs, well, a child.

Releasing his other cuff, he predictable walked towards me and squared me up, 8ft and scales vs 4ft foot and gambeson/ fabric. However, he didn't take a swing and gave the vibe of taking over. That, however, would not be allowed. There are roughly thirty dragonkin of unknown levels chained and cuffed. And, angry, pissed off dragonkin's introduced to a town of non-combatants, would tarnish Clover's reputation and a lot of civilians would die. So knowing his personality, let's break some rules.

"I am the son of the lord Clover. So to protect unarmed and civil subjects, I will be vying control over any militia dragonkin to prevent them from rampaging in vain. If you have a problem, then bring it, I can take you in your current state."

"Hahaha, boy, do you think a level less newborn could take me, ha, think again. For you, challenge Quillon the feral." ( Quillon is pronounced kill-on)

Great, a cringy title. At least it isn't undeserved. His stance was overbearing yet steady, similar to a mountain. And not intending to kill, I put away my blade. The saying goes he who goes first, gets the early worm; however, if the pigeon eating the worm isn't cautious, it would be attacked by a sparrow hawk.

So how should I engage him?