178 Pretty Good Gains, All Things Considered... (1/2)
After ending the lackluster battle between herself and the two residents of the Shadow Realm and restraining the two without getting so much as a reaction due to her overwhelming speed, Elizabeth asked, ”Now then, why'd you attack me?”
”Lok enebi ovat onagov ida nega...” The man had much more to say but Elizabeth stopped him as she couldn't understand a word.
”Fucking perfect! We can't understand each other. Mhmm...” Muttering a string of curses, Elizabeth sat down thinking of what she would do with these people. 'Should I gesture? No… It would be a waste of time. Maybe I could…. Huh? What's this?' Momentarily, she had grown annoyed as the man who instigated their fight was grunting to get her attention, but after finally turning in his direction Elizabeth didn't flare up; if anything she grew calmer.
Before her, there was clearly a Magic Circle slowly revolving. 'A Neutral Magic Circle without offensive or defensive properties? Mhmm...' Moving her hand to interact with the Magic Circle, Elizabeth had total confidence in herself to be able to deal with the consequences should this turn out to be a trap. To her side, the younger of the two residents of the Shadow Realm had the stressed expression on his face softened as a smile dawn on his face; he was obviously happy with the way Elizabeth acted.
Once Elizabeth finally touched the Magic Circle he chuckled, ”Now we can talk.” Stunned, Elizabeth said, ”You… Could this be a form of Communicative Magic?” A light of anticipation had lit in her eyes as she awaited his answer.
”Of course! It may be a crude method only capable of letting two parties understand each other's intent, but for our current circumstances it's more than enough...” At first, the man had a confident tone as he was showing off his knowledge in Neutral Magic. But as he progressed in his speech he recalled the situation he was in; it was no laughing matter.
Returning to a somber silence, it didn't take long for the man to hear Elizabeth say, ”I'll have to talk to you about this Magic later. As for now, I'll ask again. Why'd you attack me?”
”Huh?” The man was startled, thinking Elizabeth would ask something less… obvious. ”Why? Heh, you demons know fully well how much damage you've done in the name of your shitty Empire! I happened to be someone who's suffered from your actions, so it's only natural for us to fight!”
”Uh… Look buddy, I think you're confused. I'm not a part of any Empire, got that? Now, why would you assume I am a part of this 'Empire' you keep taking shots at?”
”Wh-You're not from the Agrian Empire? But your armor...” Choking on his words as he took a closer look at Elizabeth's armor, the man paled.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as the man brought up her armor as a point of reference. With just a hint of arrogance, she said, ”What about my armor? I forged it myself, so there's no chance it came from some stockpile.”
”I… I was wrong...” The man looked at the ground distraught by his grave mistake. He had just attacked someone much stronger than him and his associate and for no good reason. Defeated, he said, ”The armor you wear… the black part that covers your dress, it looks almost identical to the elite armor sets given to those with noble titles in the Agrian Empire. Taking a closer look now… I see you don't have the Empire's emblem on your chestplate...”
”Mhmm… Well, whatever, next time just think a bit longer before you act.” Elizabeth shook her head even as she unsealed the restraints of the two men. The younger man was an Early Phase Soldier Stage Mage while the older man was assessed to be Late Phase Soldier Stage Strength. Now that Elizabeth was in the Shadow Realm — and more importantly, now that she came across another Mage — she couldn't confidently label people as Mages or Martial Practitioners without them showing their Qi or Magic.
”I'm what you could call 'new and lost,' and I just so happened to be looking for residents of this di… region to show me around.” Catching herself before she let her secret of coming from another dimension slip, Elizabeth jumped straight to the point.
”You're new and lost?” Looking at Elizabeth, the youngster's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything as it was neither his business nor did he have the relationship to butt around in her affairs. ”What do you want to know?”
”Mhmm… I guess it would be best if you could point me in the direction of a city and told me how to use that Magic.” The most convenient thing for her at the moment would be if she learned the Communicative Magic the youngster had casted between the two of them and which way to the nearest gather stop for residents of this world. Though it could turn out faster if she had the men show her, she honestly didn't have a good impression of them after being attacked and it would probably be faster if she were told where to go instead of following these two Soldier Stage 'weaklings' as she thought of them.
”Y-you're a Mage?!” It was inconceivable to the youngster to hear that Elizabeth was a Mage, but he couldn't be blamed. After all, throughout her short ”battle” with him, she had refrained from using any Magic; that would be beyond overkill.