Out in the open air like this, Aidan truly considered where he was at the moment. He had always been traveling around in his spiritual form during Soul Meditation, but traveling in the carriage was an entirely different experience.
For one thing, he wasn’t alone. Despite her usual timidness near the woman, Haley was chatting energetically with Nina, with Nina returning it in equal zeal. It was more like hearing an older woman advising a younger one from the way they talked, Nina giving off the air of someone who had lived lifetimes to her impressionable student.
Then again, Haley was just a teenager compared to Nina, who was 23 years old. That would normally make her two years older than him, but he was in his thirties before he was reincarnated here into this world as a 21 year old.
Even so, he knew Nina certainly lived quite a life, her stories impressive even for him. As for himself, he was just chilling on the top of the carriage, enjoying the scenery around him. They were currently making their way through the forest, going through the road that had been made for this very purpose. While the ride was fast, they were going at a steady casual pace, the Capyra in the front running without a single trace of effort from its soul.
He closed his eyes, letting his senses expand to view the world around him. Though they were traveling through the beaten dirt road, that didn’t mean that there were no monsters to look out for. But despite going as far as he could, he hadn’t found any trace of life outside of a few creatures that lived in the forest peacefully.
As the hours passed, Aidan went back into the carriage, facing the girls.
“Time for me to switch.”
“Make sure to tell Yin that our departure has been smooth. She tends to worry,” Nina said, nodding to him.
“Tell Yin hi for me!” Haley called out, looking rather giddy which Aidan mimicked in return.
“I’ll be back in three hours. Van, keep an eye out!”
“You got it, boss,” Van said from the front, even lifting his hand to show it to the opening of the carriage.
With that, Aidan pulled out his harmonious sword and handed it to Nina. As she took it, his relay point established, Aidan activated his spell Teleport.
Unlike the first time before he received the spell, where he had to delicately place the framework for his magic to activate, there were no risks involved. The process came extremely fast as space warped around him. In just a second, his body vanished, becoming nothing for a mere instant before appearing again in the physical world.
He found himself right in his room, his second harmonious sword laying on the side of his bed. Even with all that he had experienced, knowing that he could teleport was still an exciting feeling as he opened the door from his room to enter the living room below.
“Ah, Aidan, welcome back.”
He spotted Yin greeting him with a warm smile, drinking what smelled like coffee from a cup while sitting down. It looked like she had herself a break in their home, a building that Nina had them stay within the center of Forontia as part of the governor’s people.
As such, the building they stayed at was quite luxurious, the furniture nice and pleasant, with plenty of decorations to make it stand out compared to their usual storefront. He did miss the Raining Treasures store, but realized that they had better things to do as he greeted her back.
“Thanks, glad to be back for a while,” Aidan grinned. “Doesn’t really feel like I left, does it?”
“Being able to teleport back whenever you want is quite a blessing,” Yin said, enjoyment flowing out of her. “Though if I recall, it has a cooldown of three hours, correct? Then that means you have some time for a drink with me?”
“I would love nothing more than that,” Aidan smiled.
He happily took her offer, getting a cup of that sweet joe as he told her Nina’s words along with Haley’s greeting. Yin laughed, a pleasant melody that might as well be a part of harmony to Aidan’s senses.
“How are things going now that we left? Any people rioting all of a sudden?”
“Everything is just the same as when you left,” Yin answered. “Everyone is working smoothly and picked up the schedule left behind by Nina. Though she did tell me that things might change the longer she is away. I’m always keeping a close eye out for that reason.”
Aidan nodded as he recalled what Nina warned them about. Because she had to leave on business, it was natural that some people would learn of it and might make plans during her time away from the city. There might be some unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of that, trying to shift things into their way. The Church of The One was one such example.
“Just remember you can always contact Nina and me in case anything happens. I’ll be here lickety split and help you out. And just to be safe, Nina told me to come back here every half a day or so for a better look. It’s not that she thinks you’re not capable, but because I just have the skills for it, alright?”
“I understand,” Yin nodded, clearly having no issue with that. “Despite how I look, I have many years of experience. Should anything occur outside of my expertise, I’ll be sure to report in time.”
Aidan nodded in return, taking another sip of his coffee. “Mmh, this is some great coffee.”
Aidan and Yin chatted for a bit longer before he left to take a better look around the city. Then he spent the remainder of his cooldown spying on people and ensuring that things were okay before meeting Yin again to offer a goodbye, saying that he’ll return to bother her once again.
“You have never been a bother for me. I hope to see you again.”
He was trying to joke but hearing her earnest response made him feel embarrassed, so he quickly teleported back to the carriage before things got awkward. When he returned, he found himself within the back of the carriage, noticing that it had stopped and was completely empty.
He jumped out of the back of the carriage, seeing the group chilling around with Haley and the Capyra gone from sight. He did notice with his sense that she was currently near a lake with the Capyra, drinking its fill.
“Welcome back, Aidan,” Nina said, noticing his appearance. Van looked a bit surprised, but quickly acclimated to him appearing.
“I’m back,” Aidan waved. “Yin’s doing great, if a little bored.”
“I bet,” Van nodded. “I still can’t get over what you can do. We’re so far away at this point, yet you can go back and forth whenever you want. I’m jealous.”
“Learn how to do magic and you might be able to do it yourself,” Aidan teased. “On that note, how about we start practicing?”
“Ahh, I’ll take a rain check for today,” Van said, lifting his hand with an apologetic smile. “I wanna make sure I’m in top form when I drive again after this short break.”
“Gotcha,” Aidan nodded. “Guess I’ll go annoy Haley.”
He went and did just that, walking to Haley and the Capyra and giving her a lesson while the Capyra drank some more. He was just bewildered at how much the capybara creature could just drink like that without rest.
He heard something like how camels have sacs that can hold water for them to use while on long ventures, but he didn’t figure the Capyra could do the same. Then again, it wasn’t a capybara, but an entirely different creature. Maybe it did have such things. Either way, the two practiced how to use magic, with Haley concentrating on learning how to use mana now that she learned how to sense it.
Aidan crafted the air around her for her to fully understand how it worked, with Aidan adding in his own thoughts on the feeling of using his willpower. He made sure to cram it into her head that her willpower is the one working factor that could make it work.
A short time passed with Haley not really understanding it, but she swore that she was getting close. Aidan decided to leave it at that. There was no point in trying to rush it as, in the end, it was something they were both new to. He couldn’t exactly teach someone how to use magic as he could only just feel it naturally due to his talent, so someone like Nicky would’ve been perfect for this.
The two returned with the now full Capyra beside them, greeting Nina and Van who were ready to go. They still had some sunlight before it completely went dark, and they wanted to be at least closer to their destination.
“Ready to go!” Haley said, grabbing the Capyra by the reins as it followed. Aidan was just about to enter the back of the carriage while everyone moved to their positions before he sensed something.
He sensed someone close by, but at a reasonable distance. However, Aidan could easily tell from the vibrations the soul was giving off, and Aidan understood immediately what it was.
They were being watched.
Despite this, Aidan didn’t really feel any danger. Still, he entered the back before sitting down, the two girls sitting across from him as Van drove the carriage forward.
“Looks like we’re expecting company soon,” Aidan simply said, catching Haley’s attention.
“Looks like it,” Nina said, understanding in her eyes. It looked like she also knew what was coming.
“What? What’s going on?”
“We’re being watched,” Aidan said to fill her in. Haley looked alarmed at that, turning to Nina.
“Is it a monster?”
“Not sure,” Nina answered. “But I do feel a lingering presence around us. Aidan?”
“Definitely not a monster,” Aidan said. “A human.”
“Bandits?” Haley muttered, her voice low. “I never heard of bandit attacks around Forontia…”
“Looks like they heard about the attack and figured they could come after the refugees that would leave the city,” Nina stated. “It’s not surprising, honestly. I bet they were desperate to find anyone as nobody really did leave the city for a long while.”
Aidan could guess that, considering that the soul watching them seemed almost agitated, the vibrations coming off like crazy.
“Aidan, how much can you fight at the moment?” Nina asked. It was a reasonable question considering his current weakened state.
“I can still use magic, but it might be troublesome if they have anyone with special tools like Nicky has, or anyone with a talent like Ander.”
“In that case, we should be fine,” Nina said, putting a comforting hand on Haley who still looked concerned. “As long as Aidan’s here, I can only pity the poor fools, so don’t worry.”
“Yeah…” Haley slowly smiled back. “You’re right. Plus Van hasn’t been slacking off either.”
“There’s that too,” Nina said, as if just realizing that.
Aidan could only feel a bit guilty for Van’s treatment like that. He really has been working hard, his level rising and his sword skill reaching appropriate levels. He was going to have to keep raising levels in order to show off to Nina at this point.
About an hour passed, with Van having already been told about the warning from Aidan before finally, it happened. Aidan sensed someone approaching closer, then from the forest beyond, a figure stepped out into the middle of the beaten road path, standing in the way.
Van slowed the Capyra down, frowning ahead. The figure in question was a rather scrawny-looking man wearing beaten clothes and a bandanna tied around his head. At his hip was a sheathed sword, his hand leaning on top of it.
“That’s right,” The man said, grinning. “Stay right there. Let go of the reins and raise them hands, boy.”
Before long, the man was surrounded by several more men, each one dressed nearly the same as the first. More men also appeared behind the carriage, each one looking eager and ready to go.
Eventually one from the front stepped forward, brandishing his sword straight at Van.
“All of you, step out of the carriage, and hand over your bags. I know you got them spatial bags, so don’t even bother lying. Hand them over, and the women too, and nobody has to die today.”
He spoke candidly, as if what he was demanding was as natural as asking for a service. Van frowned even harder, one of the women they were trying to claim being his sister and all.
“I’m giving you a warning,” Van said once the silence took over for a breath. “Leave now, and we’ll pretend this never happened.”
That caused raucous laughter to ensue, the entire bandit group acting as though he made a joke to ease the tension. The one in lead however looked annoyed, his tone sounding like he was dealing with a petulant child.
“Boy, you really need to work on your acting skills. Ain’t nobody here believes a single bit that you can do anything about this.”
“You’re wrong if you think I’m the one that has to do anything,” Van replied easily. His tone sounded less than pleased himself, though Aidan could tell immediately from his soul that he was hoping for this. “I’m being sincerely honest here–you do not want this to happen.”
“Let’s just get ‘em already!” One of the bandits shouted in clear impatience.
“Yeah, let’s get on with it!”
“...See, this is where you fucked up,” The lead said, shaking his head. “Now I can’t stop them from doing whatever they want. Get him!”
Right when the bandits cheered, their weapons high in the air as they charged, the situation completely changed.
Suddenly each bandit let out a piercing wail that counteracted the excitement, a rising number of shrieks echoing and reaching the lead’s ears. He looked back in shock as each of his men stumbled and faltered, yet were unable to move at all.
That is until he noticed that they couldn’t move at all. Looking below, a spike pierced through the top of their feet from the bottom, blood gushing out and keeping them in place. Even when one of the bandits managed to pull their foot out, when they put their foot back down, another earthen spike pierced right through again, leaving the poor bandit to scream in terror and pain.
It was the same for every bandit around them, screaming and groaning in pain as blood coated the ground. The lead looked horrified, shifting his attention to Van before pulling his sword at him.
“W-What are you doing?! Stop this now!”
“I told you, didn’t I?” Van said. A smile slowly crept up his lips. “You wouldn’t want this.”
Before the man could say anything more, the ground suddenly turned alive as tendrils of earth appeared and wrapped around the lead, along with the other bandits. The tendrils wrapped around their faces, covering their mouths before they could let out more screams.
What happened next was something Aidan was glad that Haley didn’t have to see from within. Muffled screaming echoed, a haunting melody that would send chills down anyone’s spine, all except for Aidan and Nina as she replied.
“Make sure not to kill them,” Nina said simply, looking absolutely bored while studying her fingernails for any dirt. “I like to know where they keep their valuables.”
“Roger dodger,” Aidan said, more than pleased to bring out the good old torture technique he made back during the store days.
Meanwhile, Van watched with pleasure from the outside, with Haley just shaking her head at the entire situation occurring here.
“Really makes you think who’s the real villain here,” Haley muttered to herself, expecting no one to hear or even care.
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