Chapter 13 - Gravity Bomb

Andric kept moving down the road, but he cast a defensive spell on himself just to be safe. It was a one-time shield spell that could stop a crossbow bolt or a powerful arrow, so he felt pretty secure against any surprise attacks from bandits lurking in the forest.

The sight of the dead bodies earlier still haunted him. It was just six corpses, and he’d seen—and caused—much worse in his past life. But the partially decomposed remains still made him shiver.

“Fifteen years of peace must’ve made me soft,” he thought. His time in Einburg had made him appreciate human life more, and he wanted to change that.

He was still in his plain clothes and golden ring, and as evening approached, he slid his straw hat onto his back and kept walking. After a few hours, he stopped to rest and recharge, then continued on his way.

When night fell, Andric used a spell to make up for his need for sleep, and then he cast another spell to start flying into the forest. He used a continuous spell to keep him airborne, another spell to create a barrier that blocked air resistance, a third to eliminate any noise, and the last one to detect anyone’s line of sight. The noise-cancelling spell made everything silent, but he didn’t need to hear anything with the line of sight detection.

Flying under the cover of darkness, Andric moved fast and checked his detection spell every few seconds. If no one was looking at him, he could spot them himself. He could’ve used different detection spells to find someone quickly, but without knowing if they were bandits or innocent travelers—and how far away they were—he opted for a stealthy approach and planned to scout during the day.

It didn’t take long. A few hours into his flight, his sight detection spell picked up four red rays of light. He followed them to a small clearing deeper in the forest where a bunch of bandits were gathered around a fire pit. The fire was contained in a pit so Andric could only see it up close. He landed a few dozen feet away from them and canceled his spells.

“What’s this red light?” one bandit asked, patting his clothes. The red glow from Andric’s detection spell surrounded some of them but not others.

“You must’ve been marked by whatever you saw. But why just these four?” another bandit wondered, thinking it was some beast marking them.

Several bandits drew their weapons and peered into the forest, but none saw Andric. The red light temporarily blinded those who were looking in his direction, giving him a chance to hide. Leaning against a tree, he cast an invisibility spell. It drained a lot of mana and could drop if he moved, but it was fine as long as he stayed still.

He couldn’t tell the bandits’ exact levels, but from what he’d heard in the merchant caravan, most were either Human or Novice realm. If there was an Apprentice realm bandit, they’d likely be the leader of a large group and not here with just a few followers.

“I told you we should’ve gone back to the fort. If we’re facing some beast, I’m making you go first,” one bandit grumbled, glaring at another.

“This red light must be killing intent. If a beast can mark its prey, we’ll need to fight it together,” the leader said, looking in the direction where Andric was originally spotted. Andric could tell from his voice that he was older than the rest.

Andric quickly planned his attack. He formed a spell in his hand and tossed it toward the bandits. It exploded in their midst, sending out a powerful suction force that pulled in the fire, stones, dirt, and the bandits themselves. They were caught off guard and couldn’t escape in time. The suction force continued pulling everything into its center until it had collected all the bandits and debris.

After about ten seconds, the suction stopped, and a huge mass of dirt, debris, and mangled bodies fell to the ground, releasing a strong stench of blood.

“What?” the bandit leader shouted, stepping back. He survived due to his cultivation and looked around at the survivors—only two others. One was a Novice realm bandit like him, and the other was a Human realm bandit who had been outside the spell’s range.

Andric stepped out from behind his tree, his invisibility spell fading. He glanced at the surviving bandits and the gruesome pile of remains. He raised his hands and shot a spell at the two Novice realm bandits, then targeted the last Human realm bandit.

The two Novice realm bandits tried to dodge, but Andric’s spells turned mid-flight and hit them anyway. The Human realm bandit was too slow and got hit directly. All three had their heads blown off in a spray of blood.

‘Guess I need to be a bit cleaner with this,’ Andric thought as he watched the blood spray into the air. The bodies fell over, and the forest fell silent except for the sound of liquid flowing.

Andric cast a detection spell to make sure the area was clear, then started looting the bodies. Normally, he’d search the bandits’ clothes for valuables, but he couldn’t stomach it with the bodies fused into the rubble. Instead, he cast a disintegration spell to clear away everything that wasn’t rock or metal. The spell left only the weapons, armor, and valuables behind.

He collected a good amount of silver, copper, and jewelry. He had more than he could fit in his pockets, so he had to use his extra clothes and shoes to carry it all. He wasn’t interested in the bandit armor but found the leader’s sword appealing, so he swapped his old one for that.

Andric didn’t know much about swords, but he picked the one that looked best. If it wasn’t a spirit weapon, he could always make a better one with his magic. He examined the sword for a moment but had no way of telling if it was special. In the end, he chose it just for its appearance.

He couldn’t estimate the value of the jewelry but counted over fifty silver coins and a few hundred copper coins. The copper coins were heavy, but he stashed them in his extra pair of shoes for easier carrying.

In just over twenty-five hours since leaving the merchant caravan, Andric had collected more than three times the fare he’d paid. For a moment, he felt a pang of regret about destroying the wagon driver’s cart, but he brushed it off. The wagon driver had it coming, no matter how well things turned out afterward.

After checking for any missed loot, Andric deactivated his light spell and set off again. From the little he’d overheard, the bandits’ base couldn’t be too far, especially since he was flying. He used his spell to detect a large group of people in one direction and set off toward them.

He flew low and fast, using a shadow spell to cover his presence. Silent as a hawk, he zeroed in on his target.