Transforming Woman

"We're lost. Aren't we?" Carla said while walking beside Leon and Rick.

"The moment we woke up outside the village, we were already lost. What more could possibly be worse?" Rick replied with a lazy smile.

"Get eaten by fierce magical beasts, maybe? Or meet bandits and get tortured like the ones from the novels" Carla said in a joking manner.

"Hey, watch your words. Don't jinx us" Rick retorted.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Zap!

Suddenly, they heard noises of clashing metals and waves crashing. The trio looked at each other for a while.

"Should we.. check it out?" Leon asked as he looked at Rick.

"Let me observe from a distance. You still have the crumpled paper I gave you both, right?" Rick said as he looked at Carla and Leon. They nodded and grabbed the crumpled paper from their pockets.

"Good. Just wait for me. I'll be back" Rick said as he rushed forward, following the direction of the sounds.

...

At this time, in an open area somewhere in the Loren Forest, six figures can be seen. Five men surrounded one black haired woman with rugged clothes. The woman seemed to be injured as wounds could be seen on her right hand but she stubbornly held a broken sword.

She grit his teeth as she looked at the five men warily.

"Lady, just give up and obediently let yourself be captured" One man said as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Alright. But at least, tell me. Who do you work for?" the woman replied weakly as she grit her teeth and tightly held the hilt of the broken sword.

The five men were taken aback by her unexpected lack of resistance and looked at each other. Another man replied "No, we don't work for anyone. We're just bandits"

"Bandits? I believe you're bandits. In that case, I'm free to kill you" the woman said as her lips showed a faint smile.

"What was that, huh!?" the bandit shouted as he fiercely looked at the woman in front of them.

Suddenly, the woman's figure deformed hideously, slowly transforming into the figure of an elegant blue-haired man.

The bandits had their eyes pop out of their sockets as they looked at the scene before them.

"That can't be anything good!" one bandit exclaimed as he watched the woman's transformation.

"Kill her!" another bandit shouted as he brandished his sword and rushed towards the now blue-haired man.

The blue-haired man's neck was about to be cut in half by the bandit's sword but the man shot up to the sky with a grin. He then raised his arms forward as he cast a spell. Five spears made of fire appeared in front of the woman.

"[Flaming Spears]"

Suddenly, the spears shot in five different directions at breakneck speed, piercing the chests of four bandits while the last one was barely able to dodge it with a leap backwards.

"Who are you!?" the last bandit asked with a frown on his face. Fear could be seen in his eyes as he looked at the blue haired man from above.

The blue haired man slowly landed on the ground and replied "Who am I? You attacked me without knowing me? I guess no one really sent you after me" as he flashed a wicked smile.

"Just before you die, I'm Leah, a woman" Leah said as she transformed back to the figure earlier.

'Leah? Who the f*ck is that? Just what monster have we provoked!?' was the bandit's last thought before a flaming spear pierced his chest from behind.

The bodies of the bandits lay on the ground burnt black with a hole on their chests. The black-haired woman looked at the bandits' dead bodies with disdain as she flicked her hair.

Meanwhile, on a nearby tree, Rick sat on its branch while he silently observed the scene before his eyes with the corners of his eyes widened from shock.

'That woman is.. dangerous' Rick thought to himself as sweat covered his face.

Suddenly, the woman turned her gaze towards a nearby tree and said "Have you seen enough?".

'She found me!?' Rick inwardly said as he raised his eyebrows.

"No reply? That's cold. Then how about this" the woman said as she transformed back to the blue haired man earlier and cast a spell.

"Flaming Arrows!"

Countless arrows made of fire appeared in front of the blue haired man and shot up to the nearby tree. The tree was intensely burned until it fell down. The man approached the tree but saw no signs of a burnt figure.

"Strange. I could have sworn someone was here earlier. Am I mistaken?" the man said as he raised his left eyebrow before he transformed into a woman.

"Well, whatever" the woman then flicked her hair and walked away.

...

At this time, Carla leaned on a tree while Leon sat on the branch of the tree Carla was leaning unto. Suddenly, Rick's figure appeared beside Carla out of nowhere.

"Whew, that was close" Rick said as he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hey Rick. You're back. So, how was it?" Carla said as she looked at Rick's figure. Leon jumped down from the branch and looked at Rick.

Rick then narrated the scene he saw earlier including how the woman transformed into a blue-haired man and how he made his escape.. which was just him using [Phantom Rush].

"I've never heard of a magical affinity that allows its user to transform into another figure" Leon said as he rubbed his chin with furrowed eyebrows.

"Maybe that was an illusion? Something with Light affinity" Carla guessed as she looked at Leon.

"That's possible" Rick replied with a nod.

"In any case, there are many things we don't know here in the outside world. That woman can transform into anything and she might just transform into one of us. We don't even know if there are others who have the same ability. We have to be careful." Rick said with a solemn tone as he looked at both Carla and Leon who listened attentively.