Thanks to Soren's empathy magic he could visualise the killing intent in front of him, it was like an imaginary line that connected to his body that extended from it's origin in the shadows. Soren turned his whole body around sensing the deep killing intent and he took a large step back as when he looked up he saw a smaller women with long brown hair wielding a massive war hammer leaping into the air, swinging the ginormous hammer down at him. Soren's instincts screamed at him before his mind could catch up. He threw himself to the side just as the weapon crashed into the ground where he had been standing. The impact shook the alley, the stone beneath his feet cracking under the force
'What the hell was that?'
He barely had time to breathe before the ground in front of the hammer exploded with movement. A jagged spike of ice burst upward from the earth. Then another. And another. They shot forward in a straight line toward him, each one erupting from the ground with a sharp crack as frost spread across the stone
Soren's eyes widened
'Ice magic?'
His body moved before he could fully process it. He twisted away from the first spike, stumbling backward as the second burst from the ground inches from his leg. The cold air bit at his skin as shards of ice sprayed past him. Another spike shot up and Soren pushed off the wall beside him, forcing his body to the side again, but without a weapon he was used to, like the sword that he had trained with since his time coming to this world he couldn't defend himself properly leaving this last shard of ice to pierce through his left calf, the spike drove clean through his leg. Soren felt the impact before the pain fully reached him. For a split second his mind went blank, his body locking up as the jagged ice forced its way through muscle and out the other side .A sharp, burning agony tore through his calf and shot up his leg like lightning. His breath caught in his throat as he staggered, nearly collapsing
'Damn it-'
His teeth clenched as a wave of pain pulsed through his leg. It felt like his entire calf had been torn open. Cold from the ice spread through the wound while the surrounding muscle throbbed violently. He grabbed the wall beside him to steady himself, his vision tightening for a moment.
'Move. You have to move!'
If he stopped now he was dead. Blood slowly began running down his leg, dripping onto the stone beneath him. Every slight movement sent another surge of pain through his body
'It hurts… it hurts like hell'
He forced himself to breathe through the pain, his empathy magic still stretching outward, searching for the woman's intent to try pinpoint her position
One mistake
That was all it had taken
"Wow," she said, letting out a small whistle. "You actually dodged that"
Her eyes narrowed slightly as a faint grin spread across her face
"Looks like getting that bounty won't be so easy after all"
She shifted her grip on the war hammer and planted it firmly against the ground
"Name's Rin," she added casually, as if they were meeting in a marketplace instead of a dark alley. "And you must be Soren"
She slowly started walking closer to Soren, walking in small steps dragging her massive hammer across the floor, ''We were watching you for a long time you know, but that was quite the commotion you made in that tavern over there.'' Now she started grinning, ''Unfortunately for you now you ran into a place away from eyes''
Soren despite the pain took a step back and activated his rank 1 regeneration magic. As slow as it may heal him any little bit could still provide him with a better chance of escaping, but Soren's mind went back to the few previous words his attacker said
''We?''
Soren's eyes widened at the realisation, this time he wasn't getting attacked by individuals but a group. Without moving his head, Soren expanded his empathy magic outward. To anyone watching it looked like he was simply standing there, tense and wounded. But inside his mind his magic spread through the surrounding space like invisible threads, but there was a limit. Rank 2 was impressive at Soren's young age but there was still limits to what he could do. HIs mind strained trying to sense where her potential companions could be, but if they weren't directly focusing their intent or emotions at Soren he wouldn't be able to sense them
At first he felt Rin directly in front of him. Her killing intent burned like a torch in the dark, sharp and focused entirely on him. But he pushed his senses further the alley walls, the rooftops, the narrow street entrances behind him, but then he felt it a wave of excitement being directed towards him. Too strong to be from one person. Maybe two?
'I can feel it they are on the rooftops!'
If he ran blindly he would run straight into one of them, who said that there were only three of them. There could be more people coming
"I thought bounty hunters were supposed to fight alone, don't you want that bounty all to yourself" Soren muttered, his voice strained but steady
Rin let out a small laugh
''Normally yes, but who'd be stupid enough to go after someone with a bounty like yours alone. A bounty that high must mean your someone dangerous''
Her grin widened
"So of course I brought friends" Now she raised her voice ''Guys get him his leg is injured! Kael stay back and support us and cast it now!''
Two figures leaped from the rooftop. The first was a man who looked to be in his mid thirties. He had a lean but muscular build and carried a curved sword in one hand. As he dropped, a burst of fire erupted from his feet, propelling him downward with explosive speed. Right beside him another figure jumped. A woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She carried a straight sword and landed with surprising balance and She had an annoyed expression on her face. The ground beneath her boots cracked slightly as small pieces of stone shifted upward around her feet
They had not even fully landed before they started arguing
"Move!" the man barked, shoving the woman slightly with his shoulder. "You idiot let me take the lead your gonna mess up our chance of getting the bounty!"
The woman pushed him right back.
"Shut up," she snapped. "You're too slow, Varik. I'll take his head before you even swing that sword."
Soren blinked in confusion for half a second
They're fighting each other?
Varik scoffed and flames burst from his boots and elbows, launching him forward in a sudden blur of movement. His body shot across the ground toward Soren with frightening speed, his sword already swinging
"You can argue after we get paid!"
Before he could reach Soren, a chunk of stone suddenly ripped itself out of the ground and flew straight toward him
Varik twisted mid dash as the rock slammed into his shoulder, forcing him off balance
"Watch it!" he snarled
Talia stood a few steps behind him with her sword lowered, one hand slightly raised. Her short blonde hair fluttering in the wind caused by Varik flying forward. The ground around her boots shifted again as small stones lifted from the pavement
"I told you," she said coldly. "You're too slow"
With a flick of her hand, several jagged rocks launched forward like crude projectiles, flying straight toward both Varik and Soren
Varik cursed as he kicked off the ground again. Fire exploded behind his feet in short bursts, propelling him sideways as he narrowly avoided the stones
"You trying to kill me too?" he shouted, fixing his long brown hair brushing it out of his face
"If you get in my way," Talia replied flatly
Soren stood frozen for a brief moment, watching the two swordsmen begin fighting each other before they had even properly attacked him
'One uses earth magic and another fire magic, but the way he uses it in short bursts to launch him forward, that dangerous. I need to move to a place with less open space to restrict him, but my way out is blocked by the one with the big hammer behind me'
A loud voice sounded behind Rin, a large, muscular bald man bathed in a field of light sounded, ''I have casted my magic on all of you now get him, your magic reserves with deplete slower''
Soren's brows furrowed and he kissed his teeth, 'There goes another one of my advantages. My magic doesn't drain my mana reserves fast like others but the trade off is that I lack strong offensive output. Now that guy in the back did something so they can fight for longer'
Soren exhaled slowly while focusing his eyes his gaze sharp
'I can't drag this out while running, I'll have to end this quick'