One hour later:
Tia, donning her sleek black hat, nestled herself discreetly behind a massive wooden crate, only her head peeking out of the cover.
Her eyes pierced through the veil of darkness as she scrutinized a yard shrouded in a mist of smoke and shadows, with a formidable brick warehouse looming ominously at its far end.
'So this is their base.' Her target was right before her. The last thing she needed to do to get what she needed was within her reach. 'If I knew how expensive and hard it would be to get this, I would have brought sothing even rarer.'
Suddenly, her ears sprung as she caught the distant sound of steps quickly approaching.
'A patrol.'
She ducked behind the crate and halted her breath. The two sets of steps quickly passed by, followed by a bright light that cast shadows of the two n with crossbows and oil lamps in their hands.
'They look weak.'
A gentle gust brushed past Tia, causing her hair to flutter montarily as she turned to trace its origin.
From another hideout, the figure of the old mage, Sebas, beca discernible. He hunched behind a crate, his face hidden in the deep shade thrown by the brim of his fedora. He gestured subtly in her direction.
'So we are attacking head-on. Damn them...' She hated the idea of getting used like she was now, but she wanted that artifact no matter the price. She was even willing to offer her services as a hired weapon.
She waved back at Sebas and started to count silently.
'Three.'
'Two.'
'One.'
Springing from her cover with adrenaline-charged agility, Tia brandished her wand, which erupted in a maelstrom of spiraling flas. She channeled her telekinetic power, sending the roaring blaze rocketing toward the unsuspecting warehouse like a cot.
Steam hissed upwards as puddles on the cobblestone path evaporated instantly, and the yard was bathed in an intense orange glow.
Almost imdiately, the warehouse roof erupted into a roaring inferno. Distressed shouts and cries punctured the night.
"Fire!"
"We are under attack!"
With a swift, powerful motion, Sebas thrust his cane forward, unleashing a titanic orb of blistering fla. It struck the warehouse's facade with the force of a teor, shaking the ground beneath her feet and spewing forth a lethal shower of molten brick shards in every direction.
"Attack!" The elderly white-haired mage roared at full lungs.
The ground seed to tremble in response. nacing footsteps resonated, announcing an army of henchn storming in from all corners.
More than two dozen hooded figures, cloaked in pitch black, surged forward. Darting with predatory grace, they took up positions behind the clutter of crates and aid their crossbows.
'We should win...'
With a sudden gust of wind, arrows scread across the yard, striking patrols so swiftly that it sent them sprawling, lifeless, onto the blood-streaked cobblestone before they could even raise their own weapons.
'This is it! Tia's mind raced. Clenching her wand so hard that her knuckles went white, her steely gaze locked onto the massive warehouse doors. Thoughts of barricading them flickered in her mind, but they were swiftly dismissed as she doubted they were the only exit.
Then, with an explosive force, the doors were blown off their hinges. Erging from the blaze like demons from the abyss, a swarm of tattooed Asians covered in soot and scars stampeded forward.
The nacing gleam of their machetes and the jagged tips of their crossbow bolts shone wickedly, all set aglow by the erratic light of the ravenous flas.
Tia didn't rush. Instead, she remained in her position, carefully awaiting her opportunity to strike the enemies while observing the tactics and strength of the fighters on the battlefield.
"Fire!" The mage commanded, and in quick succession, the air was filled with the symphony of crossbow bolts tearing through the air.
As the barrage descended, n fell, bleeding, with the arrows jutting out of them.
The pungent scent of blood lded with the acrid stench of burning, further intensified by the heavy fus billowing from nearby factories.
"Rip these fools to shreds!"
"With the ferocity of the Crimson-blood Wolves!" The wolf gangsters roared as they took their own machetes and rushed to welco their enemies escaping from the fiery hell.
The two groups clashed together like two tidal waves, and the clanging of tal resounded throughout the battlefield.
'They are still amateurs and a mostly untrained group of lowlifes.'
She shifted her attention as three large n split from the main group and charged straight at her. Their machetes glinted in the firelight, and their eyes, full of anger, zeroed in on her. It was clear her wand and appearance had grabbed their attention.
'Let's test the combination of my esper powers with magic.' There was no sense of urgency in Tia, as all the low-level thugs were nothing more than ants she could squash with a re thought. They were ideal targets to test her ideas and theories.
As Tia lifted her wand, her heart thudded with anticipation. The runes etched onto its polished surface ignited with a radiant glow. Guided by the fleeting mories of her forr existence, she funneled a torrent of raw energy through her wand.
'Infuse, connected with sharp.' The vivid image of the two runes ford on the first thread of her mind, while the second one channeled energy into their ntal image, projecting them into the real world. Almost instantly, both runes ford above her wand's tip, dimly glowing in the dark yard.
The four n quickly closed in with a sprint that would put even the fastest Olympic athletes to sha.
With a lightning-fast reflex, Tia tapped into her third ntal strand, sending a torrent of kinetic energy cascading from her mind, down her arm, and into her wand. As it expelled from the tip, the force tore through the air, whistling as it pierced the glowing spell array.
The four assailants were abruptly halted. Shock registered on their faces before ominous crimson blooms spread across their garnts. They crumpled, twitching grotesquely, as the ground beneath them beca a macabre canvas of pooling blood.
Ding!
//
You have learned a new witch skill on your own: [Novice Runic Spellcraft]
Reward: 3 WP; 1 INT; 3 ENE
//
With a gleam of joy, Tia stared at the result of her attack, surprised by its deadliness.
'This is great! No, this is more than just great!'
The rune simply added the property of being sharp on anything. It didn't even have to have an edge for it to work. Still, already sharp objects would get much sharper.
With a masterful flick of her wand, Tia unleashed waves of this honed kinetic energy, sharpened by magic. The waves of kinetic force tore through the air like the whips of razor blades.
Within monts, geysers of red erupted like grotesque fountains across the battlefield. Severed heads tumbled, leaving the ground awash in crimson, followed by the thuds of the headless bodies collapsing to the ground.
The combat, once frenzied, now ca to a chilling standstill.
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