Five Years Later (2)
“Isn’t that Bon?”
“Ugh, he’s here again.”
Murmurs rose around them. He seemed to be a well-known figure in these parts.
“What are you all staring at?”
Bon said, scanning the inn. The noisy establishment fell silent at once.
“Hey. Get lost.”
Bon approached a nearby table. He was a giant of a man, a full two heads taller than most people. With a threat from someone like him, the others had no choice but to take the hint.
In the end, the guests seated at the table slowly rose and vacated their seats, and he sprawled into a chair.
Thud.
“Innkeeper, bring me whatever these guys were eating. Looks good.”
He planted his feet up on the table as he spoke.
Ellen's brow furrowed as he watched.
“So you have no intention of giving me that key?”
“What?”
Boom.
Bon slammed his fist—as large as Ellen’s head—down on the table. A silent threat that he could hit him any moment. At the sight, some people set down their food and left the inn entirely.
“Would pissing yourself make you come to your senses?”
Bon picked up a plate from beside him and hurled it at Ellen.
Shield.
Crash.
The plate flying at Ellen smashed against an invisible wall.
“Magic?”
Bon’s face went blank with confusion. Then he bared his yellow teeth in a grin.
“So you’re a Magic Assistant, huh? No wonder a little brat was so cocky in front of me. But listen, kid.”
Whoosh.
He suddenly swung his fist.
“Do you have any idea how many Magic Assistants I’ve beaten senseless right in front of me?”
His punch looked determined to give Ellen no time to chant a spell. When fighting Magic Assistants, the effective approach was to knock them out in one blow before they could finish their incantations—and Bon’s fists were fast and powerful enough to do exactly that.
Shield.
But Ellen was no ordinary Magic Assistant.
Thud.
It didn’t feel like hitting a person. Through his fist, he felt the same shield from a moment ago.
“Be grateful the shield was still up.”
Bon assumed it was residual from the one just used—because he had never heard of, much less seen, anyone cast magic without an incantation.
“This time I’ll plant one right on that face of yours.”
This time Bon swung his foot toward Ellen’s body—with a speed hard to believe from such a massive frame.
Grease.
Ellen’s hand moved slightly.
“Huh?”
For a moment, Bon thought the world in front of him had tilted sideways.
Crash.
His body hit the floor with a tremendous noise. The instant he fell, Ellen’s hand moved again.
Strike.
Crack.
“Ugh!”
Sprawled ungracefully on the ground, Bon felt a sudden, dizzying pain shoot through his head.
Strike. Strike. Strike.
Ellen cast Strike three times in succession.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The crisp sounds of Ellen’s mana slamming into Bon’s head rang out.
“You—how are you using magic without…”
The continuous pain left Bon unable to collect his thoughts. But what was even harder to believe was the magic itself.
Bon had faced Magic Assistants several times before. He had never once seen someone cast without an incantation.
“You’ve got quite the toughness, I’ll give you that. I held back on purpose, and you’re still conscious after taking four Strikes.”
Ellen approached the fallen Bon, who still couldn’t get up—likely from the blows to the head.
“Strike.”
Crack.
“Guh…”
Bon made a gurgling sound and lost consciousness.
Ellen took the key from his hand.
“I’ll take the room. And one bowl of warm soup, please. I’ll just drop off my things and come right back down.”
Ellen said to the innkeeper as he tucked the key away.
“Ah, y-yes. Of course.”
The innkeeper stammered, still in shock. Ellen was already climbing the stairs before he finished speaking.
“Anyone know who that kid is?”
“Never seen him before.”
“He wrecked the famous Bon.”
“Is he here to enlist as a soldier too?”
The inn, quiet for a moment, grew lively again with talk of Ellen. And no wonder—Bon was a notorious thug in the area. And a young boy had subdued him with ease.
“Thanks to that fellow, I won’t need to call the guard tonight.”
The innkeeper felt privately relieved. Until now, almost no one could stop Bon when he caused trouble, so he’d always had to call the guards. Today, there was no need.
“Still, incredible. He looked so young, yet he took Bon down. Is he a mage?”
The owner said as he and another worker dragged the unconscious Bon outside.
“Right? Maybe he came for the soldier recruitment?”
“Could be. Either way, Bon won’t show his face around here for a while.”
By the time the owner had cleared Bon away and prepared the soup, Ellen came back downstairs. As he descended, every guest’s gaze locked onto him. Everyone was curious about his identity.
“Thank you for earlier.”
The innkeeper set down a bowl of freshly made warm soup.
“Not at all. I needed a room myself.”
“Did you come for the soldier recruitment by any chance?”
At his words, the surrounding guests pricked up their ears.
“Yes. I intend to join as a war mage.”
“Ah. So you’re a mage. My apologies—I failed to recognize a mage, sir.”
The innkeeper bowed deeply.
Of course, using magic didn’t automatically make one a mage. Magic Assistants were far more common. But mages held a status equivalent to nobility. For a commoner like him to fail to recognize a mage would have been a grave rudeness—so the commoner innkeeper hurriedly bowed his head, lest he commit such an offense.
Ellen was used to this sort of thing. Whenever he used magic, people couldn’t tell whether he was a mage or a Magic Assistant.
“No, it’s fine. But have you heard anything about the war mage recruitment?”
“Anything in particular you mean…?”
“Anything at all is fine.”
The innkeeper tapped his head, searching his memory.
“Ah. I heard the exam proctor changed. The Magic Assistants were complaining that the new one always starts by checking your background.”
At that, Ellen smiled.
The change of proctor for the war mage recruitment was exactly as he remembered from the future. That meant he could proceed with his plan as intended.