Ahead, men in black cloaks stood, the same cloaks the bandits who raided our village had worn. My father stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "What do you want? We’re poor villagers, no supplies left. Find better prey."

The largest bandit stepped forward, his mask coming off to reveal a scar that ran the length of his face, gray hair, and a wild gleam in his eye.

“Supplies? This ain’t about that,” he sneered. “You really thought you could slaughter our crew and just walk away?”

That hit like a punch to the gut. These were the last of the bandits—the ones who stayed home during the village raid. My heart sank, but I couldn’t let fear take hold. We had a chance, but it was slipping away fast.

My Dad commanded the militia to get in formation, but before they could finish the bandits began launching spells which tore through the air violently.

The militia responded in unison. Magic exploded in the air—fire, earth, water, and wind—clashing, lighting up the night sky. Spells collided, filling the air with deafening noise. It was chaos.

One bandit lunged at me, fists wrapped in gauntlets made of earth. He swung a left hook, and I slipped underneath it, twisting my body to the side.

My first encounter with another brawler... what a shame his form is so sloppy.

My ki surged, multiplying, and I shot forward, landing a brutal uppercut to his liver. He grunted, staggered back. A water blade followed, cutting through the air and finishing him off.

That one was the weakest of the bunch. Probably why they sent him after the child.

But we weren’t out of the woods yet. The militia was already tiring, the exhaustion from our journey hindering our combat skills. We were barely holding on, one for one.

I can’t let my family die... not like Grandma.

A scream pierced the air. A militia member fell, and I saw the numbers dwindle—five of us, five of them. I had to fill in the gap.

I darted forward, my body moving on instinct as the fight surged around me. The air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat, and the crackling of magic in every direction. My ki enhancing every cell in my body, making it hum with power.

I shaped the water magic in my mind, felt it snap into place. A blade of water formed, slicing through the air with a sharpness that cut the chaos of the battle down to its core. I thrust my hand forward, the blade slamming into the bandit’s chest, the magic punching through his armor, carving deep into his flesh.

His eyes widened, shock flashing across his face before he staggered back, blood mixing with the water that evaporated in a steam hiss. He stumbled but didn’t fall, grinning despite the wound. He was desperate.

His mouth twisted into a grim smile, blood dripping down his chin and chest. Mana crackled around him, his body surging with power as fire magic erupted from his body.

He’s burning through all his mana to take me down with him, I realized.

I quickly conjured a water blade, slashing it toward him with precision. But as it sliced through the air, the intense heat of the bandit's fiery aura met it—and in an instant, the water evaporated into steam. His body shook, and then he lunged, throwing a massive punch. A ball of fire erupted from his fist, shooting toward me like a cannonball.

I dove to the side, narrowly missing the explosion of heat that followed. My heart pounded in my chest as I scrambled to my feet. Water magic wouldn’t do anything and my skill with fire magic wasn't enough to outclass his.

I’ll have to rely on the one thing that’ll work here—my battle IQ.

I gritted my teeth, eyes scanning the battlefield. The bandit was still grinning, his mana crackling, his aura flaring brighter.

Wait him out. Make him waste it.

A smirk crept onto my face. I called out to him, “Is this really the best you can do? All this for a child?” His pupils constricted to pinpricks. His aura flared again, his rage palpable in the air. “What did you say!?” he screamed, voice dripping with fury.

He leapt at me, fire erupting from his fists like a beast unleashed. But this time, I was ready. I sprang to the side, rolling behind a jagged rock, just as a wave of fire slammed into it, splintering the top of the stone.

I braced myself, breathing heavily, but something felt off. I could feel the surge of mana from the mage—it wasn’t just wild anymore. It was controlled, deliberate. Too deliberate.

Shit. He’s conjuring a powerful spell.

Instinct screamed at me to move. I didn’t wait. I sprinted from my cover, just as a beam of condensed fire shattered the rock behind me. Heat billowed around me, the flames like a wall that I barely managed to avoid. The rock melted under the intensity of it, and my mind raced. **

Wait, seriously? You can manipulate the temperature of fire... but is there a limit?

His fiery aura flickered. I understood now. He was channeling everything into one last desperate strike.

A roar filled the air as he summoned a fireball the size of a wagon, the flames scorching the earth around him as he sent it careening toward me. I had no time to think, no time to breathe. The fireball was coming too fast.

I summoned water, wrapping it around me like a cocoon, just as the fireball slammed into my barrier. The heat was suffocating, but I held firm. My body strained against the pressure, but I refused to let go.

I had to do something, I couldn't let my barrier boil away. If it boiled away I was toast. A few moments passed until suddenly an idea came to mind.

If you can control temperature of fire magic, what’s stopping you from controlling the temperature of water magic?

I willed it, imagining the water growing cold, my energy flowing into the barrier like a steady current. Slowly, the steam that rose from the water dissipated. The fireball’s heat waned. It worked. The fire fizzled out, the explosion muted by the water’s cooling effect.

But the mage... He stood there, shaking, his breathing ragged. His fire magic flickered, flickering out of existence. The edge of his mouth twitched as he looked at me, and in that moment, I saw it—his mana core, it was gone. His mana core had shattered from overuse.

His left eye twitched, then went wide with panic as he staggered, his knees buckling. He collapsed to the ground, the blood loss from his wound finally catching up with him.

5 versus 4. We can win this.