The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 41 - Goodbye For Now

By the time the fireball exploded, Foster had already dispatched the two non-mage assassins, and now he was charging toward the downed third circle mage.

Foster expertly swung down with his sword once he reached him, but the third circle mage quickly rolled to the side to avoid it. The third circle mage tried to raise his body, but Foster's oncoming boot collided with his face and sent him tumbling backward.

Arthur watched as Foster prepared another spell and felt confident about his victory, so he changed his focus toward Jeren's battle. On the other side of the alleyway, The fifth circle mage appeared bloody, burnt, and ragged while two fresh bodies lay motionless between him and Jeren.

Arthur felt a surge of greed well up from within him. He was curious about what would happen if he used his mana soul spell on a living target, but he quickly pushed his greed back down. A fifth circle mage was too dangerous of a test subject, and crippling him would defeat the purpose of the experiment. Not to mention, they'd have to drain all his mana first.

Thoran impatiently peeked over Arthur's shoulder as Foster rushed to Jeren's side, having already dispatched the third circle mage. Arthur couldn't help them anymore now that both his guards were fighting on one side of the cramped alleyway.

It would be too risky to try firing off magic with the corpse, considering he wasn't proficient with it yet. With that in mind, Arthur willed his blade from his sleeve and sent it to follow in Foster's shadow in case they needed help. However, before Foster could join the battle, a spinning ball of icy water appeared before Jeren's hand.

As it grew in size, it seemed to freeze with each revolution before returning to a liquid state and emitting a fog in the way of dry ice or liquid nitrogen. As the spell was fired, a burst of cool air filled the alleyway, and raindrops turned to hale as it passed them by.

It was a frostbolt, and it was similar to an ice version of a fireball, or at least that's what Arthur knew it as. He was well aware of it from Earth since it was often a staple spell of mages in fantasy works, but he wasn't sure if it existed on Nithe until now.

The fifth circle mage panicked and tried to dodge, but his legs refused to move, no matter how desperately he struggled. Only now did Arthur notice the transparent tendrils of ice wrapped around the mage's legs, locking him in place to the frozen ground beneath him.

"Wait! I—" The fifth circle mage called out in a last-ditch attempt to save himself, but it was too late.

The frostbolt hit him with such force that the ice binding his legs shattered as the frostbolt transferred its forward momentum to his body. The fifth circle mage flew back a couple of feet before the frosty liquid of the frostbolt wrapped around him and froze, locking him into a falling motion like an ice sculpture.

Arthur felt like he worried for nothing and recalled his hidden blade. Jeren was also a fifth circle mage, and he came from a noble background, meaning he had access to more advanced spells than some rabble hired by Elyria to murder a child.

It might've been a different story had Kyren not noticed them, but in a fair fight, even the bottom-of-the-barrel Revan house guards were still a step above most, it would seem.

"Are you guys alright?" Arthur asked, having to shout to be heard over the rain.

"We're fine, lord." Jeren replied as he and Foster walked toward the smithy.

"Wait!" Arthur shouted. "Get that guy down from there and bring his body. Foster, you get the third circle's body, too."

"Young master, you promised!" Foster cried out as if he'd been wronged.