The Power of Magic 2

"Haha, 100 gold coins! None of you better try to snatch them from me!" In the short span of time, the bandits had already closed in on Ryan. The leader had promised a reward of 100 gold coins for capturing the girl—100 gold coins, a massive fortune in their eyes.

"Ryan! Ryan, run! Run now!" Tori shouted hoarsely, looking up at the bandits charging toward Ryan. However, Tori had already lost most of his strength and could only scream in a hoarse voice. Chuck had already passed out, and Darlis, watching the scene unfold, was filled with tears. Faced with 20 armed bandits, even a fully armored swordsman wouldn't stand a chance. And Ryan, wearing nothing but a light robe, was no match for them. Darlis closed her eyes, unwilling to witness what would happen next.

"Hmph! I know magic, do you think I'm scared of you?" Ryan said, though he was really just trying to pump himself up. His legs were trembling—this was nothing like dealing with the Ape Demon. The Ape Demon was only one, but there were 20 bandits here. Fortunately, the narrow mountain path only allowed two people to charge at him at a time.

"60 meters, 55 meters, 50 meters, 55 meters... Fireball!" The mountain path was steep, but almost a straight line. Ryan was calculating the distance and, fearing he might misjudge, waited for the bandits to close in a bit more.

"Haha, this kid is scared stiff. Charge! Huh? A magician?! What the hell?!" The bandit at the front, seeing Ryan standing there dazed, looked at the bright red object in Ryan's hand. His mind went blank. A magician? How could a magician be here? He then screamed out, and as he did, the fireball Ryan launched hit him squarely. His arm was shattered, and his body tumbled into the deep ravine, his screams echoing.

The rest of the bandits froze, stunned. How could they run into a magician here? In the eyes of these bandits, magicians were mysterious figures capable of soul extraction, curses, and other terrifying feats. To them, a magician was a nightmare. Now, they realized that the short distance of just a few dozen meters had become a death trap. The thick snow, the uphill climb, and the knowledge that it would take at least half a minute to reach Ryan—half a minute during which a magician could cast how many spells? And it wasn't like Ryan was retreating.

"This... this...?" Tori was also stunned, his mouth agape. Initially, he had planned to sacrifice himself once he reached Ryan, but the situation had changed so quickly—what was once a helpless lamb had transformed into a saber-toothed tiger, and the saber-toothed tiger had become the lamb. It was unbelievable. Tori blinked hard, realizing that the bandits were now fleeing. On the steep path, most of them rolled into the ravine below, their screams filling the air. Darlis stared, wide-eyed, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. Was this really the same weak slave from before?

"Stop! Stop! If you don't stop, I'll cast another spell!" Ryan was on the verge of collapsing. What was going on? He'd cast just one spell, and now they were all running? He was practically penniless—capturing prisoners meant loot!

"Run! They're catching up! Oh no!" The bandits, seeing Ryan chasing after them, dropped everything they were carrying and scrambled down the mountain. The last few bandits, in a panic, pushed the others ahead of them. The majority fell screaming into the ravine, while the few remaining were hundreds of meters away from Ryan. He turned and started climbing up the mountain.

"Sigh... even mosquito legs are still meat." Ryan muttered, taking the weapons from his waist and shoving them into a bag, a sack he had specially set up for carrying supplies.

Ryan couldn't believe how a single fireball had solved everything. He thought to himself, "What a powerful magician I am! I just wiped out 20 fully-armed warriors." He felt ecstatic. Then, he remembered the girl and hurriedly collected the loot—seven swords, two helmets made of leather armor, and a few pairs of boots. That was about it.

As Ryan climbed the mountain, he noticed his physical strength had improved. Carrying a person on his back and hauling a sack of supplies didn't seem to slow him down at all. He was practically floating, feeling on top of the world—just like in a video game, defeating a whole group in a one-on-one duel.

"Wait, why are they all unconscious?" Ryan reached the top of the mountain and found that Chuck had already passed out, Darlis was unconscious, and Tori—was he pretending? Was he faking?

Ryan first checked on the girl he had been carrying. She was wrapped in a robe, but her clothes were too light, and Ryan had no clue what her name was.

"Uh, she's a little beauty?" Ryan unwrapped the girl's robe and found a 12- or 13-year-old blonde girl inside. She had an oval face, long golden lashes, delicate lips, and a slender neck. And yes, she was still breathing.

Ryan didn't have time to think much. He quickly stripped her down and checked her condition, then blushed and sighed in relief. She was just frozen, nothing serious. Ryan immediately carried her into a cave and placed her on the grass inside. He poured hot water from a metal jar into a wooden tub, adding cold water to balance the temperature. But it still wasn't warm enough, so Ryan cast fireballs into the tub—about seven or eight in total. The cave quickly filled with smoke, and Ryan, sensing the water had warmed enough, hurriedly undressed the girl, tossing her clothes into the tub. He then blushed and ran out of the cave, as they didn't wear undergarments here. That's why he had blushed earlier when he checked her.

Chuck was also undressed, his clothes frozen from the cold, and placed by two large bonfires on piles of dry grass. The front part of the cave was warm, but the back, where Ryan had previously stayed, had a small, smooth-skinned beauty. Ryan certainly wouldn't have dared to put Chuck in the back of the cave, but the place was large enough, at least 4 or 5 meters high, so he didn't have to worry about the smoke.

Tori was undressed and placed beside Chuck. Ryan then prepared some hot water, planning to treat Tori.

"Niu Niu, go ahead and heal them. I told you to heal them, so do it," Ryan said, calling for Niu Niu, who was his light magic pet.

"Heal them?" Niu Niu, who was a light-elemental magic pet, had mentioned her legacy memories while teaching Ryan magic spells. Ryan hadn't realized just how powerful she was before.

Ryan didn't immediately let Niu Niu heal. He first let the blood flow from the wounds by removing the arrows, then cleaned the wounds before allowing Niu Niu to heal them.

After Niu Niu had finished, Tori woke up, his eyes wide with shock. "Not only is Ryan a magician, but he also has a high-level magical pet, a humanoid light-type pet. This, this..." Tori, who had seen battles on the battlefield with Lord Terry, understood what this meant. Looking around, he finally allowed himself to rest, realizing that recovery was the most important thing.

"Well, this is a bit troublesome," Ryan muttered as he looked at Darlis' blueish limbs. He sighed and moved her to a safer distance from the fire. Then he went outside to gather snow and brought it inside.

"This woman's beyond saving. Why bother?" Niu Niu asked curiously.

"What do you mean she's beyond saving? You're just a kid, don't question me!" Ryan hastily stripped Darlis and found something strange. Why were they all wearing formal dresses while running for their lives?

Darlis, who seemed to be in her twenties, had golden hair and an oval face. But now, her body was covered in a bluish tint from the cold, which made Ryan wince.

Ryan used the snow in the basin to scrub her down. Niu Niu stood nearby, confused as she watched Ryan's actions, unsure of the purpose behind them.

Ryan continued rubbing vigorously, changing the snow in the wooden basin twice. The effect was clear: the once bluish body of the innkeeper's wife had turned red, a result of Ryan simultaneously using his healing magic and scrubbing her skin. As he kept working, he suddenly heard a faint, delicate voice.