Oswin suddenly lifted his staff to block a flying rock. He was very relaxed with his movements, to the untrained eye, it looked like he was simply adjusting his staff.

Pak!

"Did you think that was enough to distract me?" Oswin turned to his left side where Sebastian was now standing, with his swords out. "So you found out. I'm impressed with your speed and reaction."

[Augment] Steel body and mind, flow mana into retinas, reinforce leg muscles, increase synapse flow. It was a result of Sebastian's nightly practice - a set of [Augment] skills which he dubbed as the 'Mage Killer' set. With the various augmentations involved, it was geared towards tracing an opponent's flow of mana and in the immediate surroundings as well. Coupled with physical augmentations focused on speed and evasion, it proved its efficiency when dealing with the mage's surprise attack.

However, Sebastian was continuously maintaining his [Augment] skills ever since they arrived in Erimead Village. It was slowly taking a toll on his body as his mana dwindled to dangerous levels and his physical augmentations were becoming drawn out.

"Hooo... Let's go." Starting off with a deep breath, Sebastian kicked off with his foot as he dashed towards Oswin without further talk.

"Hmph." Oswin responded in kind as he drew a large circle on the air with his staff.

'You think a mage's weakness is close-ranged combat. Die like the others before you. [Stoneskin], [Explosion]'

BWOOM!

The explosion area was wide enough to engulf both Oswin and Sebastian!

cough cough "Are you suicidal?" Sebastian cleared out the smoke he inadvertently inhaled as he evaded the explosion at the last moment. Considering how close they were, Oswin seemed to be in the middle of the explosion but Sebastian still kept his guard up. He had trouble sensing Oswin's mana through the dust and the smoke in the air. He belatedly realised how foolish it was for him to rely on his visual senses to trace the mana in front of him. Sebastian made a mental note to revise this the next time he did his training.

SSHWOOM WHOOM WHHOO!

[Ice Lance] suddenly pierced through the smoke cloud heading towards Sebastian!

With an increased reaction time and sensitivity to mana, dodging the projectiles was easy for Sebastian.

's.h.i.+t. If this goes on I'll just collapse from mana burn out or I'll eventually slip up. He's not their party leader for nothing.'

As the dust settled, Oswin was still standing in the middle of the explosion crater as he continued to cast offensive spells like there was no tomorrow. [Ice Lance], which was the favoured attack of mages for its speed and lethality kept coming at odd angles no matter the distance Sebastian placed between him and Oswin. Occasionally Oswin threw some [Fireball] spells to push Sebastian back.

"You can't win in a battle of endurance with me. Die!" As if he read Sebastian's mind, Oswin increased his casting speed!

BWOOM! SSSHHHAAK!

'I'm almost there. Endure it!' Sebastian kept evading and appearing at Oswin's blind spots, although Oswin seemed ready every time he did.

BAAAM!

Another [Fireball] exploded near Sebastian when he ducked out of an [Ice Lance]'s trajectory!

BAM BAM WHOONG!

"[Signal]? Wh Bodeth and Sylvie!" Oswin momentarily turned towards the source of the [Signal] spell, which was enough for Sebastian to take advantage.

'Now! [Augment] Steel mind, triple physical augment!' Muscles and veins bulged all over Sebastian's body as he dashed once more towards Oswin with blinding speed!

SAK SAK SSASAK SAAK SSHAK!

With his newfound speed, Sebastian appeared in front of Oswin and slashed with speed and fervour that Oswin didn't have time to react or defend. With his speed, Sebastian unknowingly created an afterimage in front and behind Oswin, although the slashes from all sides felt real.

Thud

Only when Sebastian stopped his slashes that Oswin finally fell back on the ground, dropping his staff in the process.

"Haaah. Haaah. ... I'm, I'm still alive?" Oswin couldn't move any of his extremities, but he was still able to breathe and speak much to his surprise.

"I simply cut your tendons and the blood supply to your extremities - they're useless now. I've also fractured your cervical spine with some of my blows. You won't be able to move anything below your neck."

"Ahahaha!"

"Have you gone mad old man? Is this funny to you? Was this all a game to you?!" Sebastian couldn't hide his frustration as he gripped his swords tight again. He already released the [Augment] spells on his body, but he was still able to fight if needed - even if he simply relied on his rage-fueled adrenaline.

"I'm just laughing because this is truly a fate worse than death itself. You are a sick and twisted person Sebastian, even if you pretend you're not."

"Shut the f.u.c.k up! It's not as worse as you. You turned on the villagers and your battle slaves! You thought we wouldn't know?"

"You're not making sense. What was I supposed to do! We were sent here to defend the village. We tried to make a stand. You were not here when we were overrun! We weren't willing to die here. You think you're high and mighty to pa.s.s judgement to us when we only did what we needed to survive!"

"What about the villagers and the battle slaves who depended on you! To them, you were their only hope! They died facing rat imps while their so-called allies pointed swords at their backs! Do you think no one would be able to see the wounds on the corpses? Rat imps bite their victims to death, while swords stab and slas.h.!.+ Huh?! Why just why." Sebastian dropped his swords as he knelt down beside Oswin's paralysed body.

"Adventurers are not the saviours for everything. We can't fix everything! Don't be so b.l.o.o.d.y naive!"

"Then should we throw away the people around us just so we can survive? Is that what justifies your actions?"

"I did it to survive! Why can't you understand that part? I acted for the greater good. I didn't decide on it myself, my hand was forced!"

TWOK!

A dagger suddenly flew in the air before lodging in Oswin's skull, silencing him. When Sebastian lifted his head, he saw Becky and Mel slowly walking towards him. Becky's [Dagger throw] found its mark while proving its lethality.

"Sebastian, we heard everything. We only arrived when Oswin was already unable to move."

"Why. Just -"

"Don't dwell on his reason. Although they were placed in a desperate situation, sacrificing people for your own survival is still despicable and unforgivable. Mel, help Sebastian back to the warehouse. He's had a long day." Becky removed her dagger from the deceased adventurer's skull as she motioned for Mel to help Sebastian.

"Let's go, Sebastian. Rest on me." Mel propped Sebastian to lean on her shoulder as they walked back to the aforementioned warehouse. Without Sebastian's [Augment] in effect and the abating adrenaline rush, waves of pain and fatigue came was.h.i.+ng over him as an after effect of the battle and his prolonged [Augment] use. When they arrived at the warehouse which they also used ironically as their makes.h.i.+ft base, Mel placed Sebastian down gently as she used [Heal] and herbal teas for his recuperation. Not long after, Jin trudged back as he made his way to their safehouse as well.

"Is it just you Jin? What happened to Aima?" Mel briefly looked up from tending to Sebastian as she waited for Jin to answer. She personally knew that she was more troubled by Sebastian laying in front of her than the current location of Aima. Although she was curious and concerned about Aima, Jin's answer wouldn't elicit any reaction from her.

"She's gone to meet up with Becky. They're just scouting the outside perimeter. Although there were rat imp burrows, it's empty at the moment. We destroyed one before she sent me here to rest and recover. What happened to Sebastian?"

"He fought and won against Oswin by himself. However, I think he really pushed himself too far this time. He almost had a mana burnout and he was also mentally shocked by what Oswin and his party did. He's just taking a nap at the moment, he's safe. Stay with him, I'll prepare dinner for everyone."

Mel quietly got up as she started to gather the cooking utensils from the warehouse. With the supplies left in the warehouse coupled with their own supplies, it was enough for their party and the villagers to survive for 3 days - 4 if they pushed it.

*

"Hm? Where is Mel? Where are the others Jin?" Sebastian woke up moments later to find only Jin beside him, resting. The villagers were outside tidying up their immediate vicinity and helping Mel prepare their dinner. No matter their weakened state, they were still willing to help their new saviours, who liberated them from the heinous party before them.

"You woke up Sebastian. Aima and Becky are still scouting outside and closing off the burrows. Mel is outside with the rest of the villagers cooking our meal."

"I see. Is everyone safe? Are you hurt anywhere Jin?"

"Ahaha. This is like you to place others before you. I'm alright. Just a few bruises here and there, it was mainly exhaustion close to mana burnout that prompted my rest. I think the same goes for you as well?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I was easily exhausted from using [Augment] ever since we came to this village. When I fought with Oswin I thought that I could overpower him with specific skills I developed. I didn't expect he would use reinforcement magick on top of his offensive magick. Truly wicked in a lot of ways."

"That does make sense for a combat mage, although the mana needed for that would have been tremendous. More importantly Sebastian, how are you feeling? Ending another person's life is never easy." Jin s.h.i.+fted as he got up from the floor and opened the door to let the breeze in. He knew from experience that killing beasts and even mutated beasts could never compare to ending another person's life. Jin personally knew of some adventurers who were unable to hold their weapons again even after legitimate self-defence against bandits and greedy adventurers.

"sigh. You know that I was a nurse specialist in my previous world right? In one of my areas, I was tasked with bringing medications to a remote area with an army escort since there was a civil war ongoing in the area. Without warning, we were ambushed. We were pinned down by hostile forces at all sides. With my army escort falling one by one from attacks by unseen enemies, everyone including me was left with one option. Can you guess Jin?" Sebastian also sat up as he picked up the now-cold herbal tea beside him placed by Mel.

"Did you fight them?" Jin closed his eyes as he tried to imagine the grim scenario described by Sebastian.

"Yes. I picked up a weapon beside me and decided to fight back. I told you we didn't have magick in my previous world. However, we had weapons that could fire projectiles at lethal speeds. I used it to shoot blindly in the direction I thought enemies were holed up. When backup came and the situation quieted down, they discovered a few bodies in the direction where I fired at. It was chaotic back then, but I'm sure that I had a part played in killing a few of them. My hands that were supposed to heal and help others are not pure." Sebastian's voice trailed off as he started to reminisce how he felt at that time when he was sure he injured and even killed a few other human beings, how he felt helpless during that encounter.

"I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but you were left with no options. It was for your defence, and they were out for your blood. The situation here and now is different from your previous world Sebastian."

"I know. It's just frustrating to realise again and again that your limitations can cost the lives of others. If Oswin's party was stronger then things would have turned out different. The same goes for us, especially me as well. I need to get stronger Jin so my allies can depend on me and I can ensure their survival."

cough "Like what Jin said, this is different Sebastian. Don't be too hung up about it. You realise that you have a tendency to carry the entire responsibility on your shoulders. Here you have a party - you can also depend on us." Mel stood standing on the doorway as she gave her opinion on the current situation. It seemed that with this quest, she inadvertently honed her eavesdropping skills. "Dinner's also ready so we can prepare to eat. Becky and Aima should be coming back shortly."

Both Sebastian and Jin nodded silently as they went out of their safehouse to eat, and formulate a plan for the rest of the village survivors. They quietly hoped their outcome would be better than the previous party before them.