Life for life!

- That's what we're about to find out. Responded the leader of the merchants before saying, "Guys, ATTACK!!!"

...

Bandits and merchants were now running towards each other, charging as if their lives depended on it.

And indeed, it was the case for every merchant, whose fear could be seen on their faces, facing stronger and more numerous opponents.

Sword strikes began to echo throughout the area. And as the fights were already in full swing, the leader of the bandits slowly approached his opponent, the merchant who led the group.

As he approached, he noticed that two people were sitting on one of the carts, seemingly paying little attention to what was happening. Atlas and Alpheus' calmness annoyed him, he couldn't understand why a bandaged kid and someone who looked like a nobleman, not to mention a daddy's boy, remained so serene when it could be their last moment.

- I'll quickly chop off your head before eliminating those two brats you're protecting. He said as he began to run towards the merchant.

- Tss... you'd better run while you still can. Advised the merchant to his passengers, while remaining focused on his opponent.

Despite these warnings, Atlas and Alpheus pretended not to hear. They didn't react and didn't say anything either.

Barely having time to notice the passiveness of the two young men, the merchant had to already prepare himself to endure, as the bandit leader was almost in front of him when he cast a spell:

Earth Magic: {EARTH SPIKES}

Huge spikes of earth began to emerge from the ground beneath the merchant's feet, who made a big leap to dodge them before casting a spell of his own in the air.

Fire Magic: {FLAMING ARROWS}

Under the effect of this spell, several flaming arrows appeared out of nowhere and rushed towards the bandit. The bandit dodged some and parried others with his machete. The fight continued like this for a few moments until something caught everyone's attention.

After only a few minutes of fighting, the leader of the merchants was on his knees, covered in blood and barely conscious. Then the bandit raised his machete, preparing to decapitate his opponent.

While tension reached its peak in the merchant's camp, as they feared the approaching death of their master and their own, Atlas smiled. He smiled at the luck he had not to be indebted for life.

Then, he looked at Alpheus and simply nodded as if giving a signal.

And just as the bandit's machete sliced through the air to sever the merchant's neck, the weapon suddenly broke in front of everyone's astonished eyes. No one understood what had just happened until they saw Alpheus step down from the cart, a magical water ball in his hand.

"Let's say we're even after this, shall we?" he said to the still shocked merchant, who simply nodded in agreement.

The merchants, having left the combat zone without opposition from the bandits who were too focused on their new enemy, were able to safely reach the cart where the doctor and Atlas remained.

- Your plan could have been perfect, except for one detail. You picked the wrong people to mess with. Said Alpheus, looking confidently at the bandits.

- Tss... let me remind you that you're alone against ten, you'll never defeat us.

- Let's try, and we'll see. He replied, shrugging.

- You won't be so cocky in a few moments.

- Are you going to attack me or not!? I don't have time for this!

- Tsss... KILL THIS BASTARD!!! Ordered the leader, annoyed by Alpheus' insolence.

All the bandits began to advance towards their lone adversary, machetes in hand, full of hatred and anger on their faces.

But unexpectedly, they couldn't lift their feet anymore. The bandit leader also hadn't escaped what was happening. They all felt like their feet were sinking into the solid ground. And with a simple glance downwards, they realized they were trapped in quicksand.

Panicked by what was happening, they started struggling with all their might, which only resulted in them sinking even faster.

The bandits tried everything they could, including casting the few low-level spells they knew at Alpheus, who effortlessly dodged them, or even at the quicksand which didn't move an inch.

Alpheus let them do that for a few moments before finally getting bored. He crouched down in front of them, and while their bodies were half submerged in the quicksand, he chanted:

{TRANSFORMATION}

With a simple hand gesture accompanied by that word, the quicksand turned into a pool of water. It was the same technique he had used against captain Clifford, with the elements being the only difference.

While the thieves struggled to get out of the water, Alpheus had time to mockingly say to them:

"Believe it or not, but what is about to happen to you deeply saddens me."

Then, he raised his fully healed right hand, courtesy of the stone's effects, and performed an incantation:

Lightning Elemental Magic: {DIVINE SANCTION}

Before lowering his arm, letting the lightning strike his still submerged adversaries.

One thought crossed their minds at that fateful moment:

"Three... three elements... this guy masters three elements." Little did they know that Alpheus had command over far more than they could imagine.

...

The merchants were all amazed, realizing their own weaknesses and how their two passengers could have easily done the same to them, if they hadn't chosen to act like virtuous people.

A silence fell over the area, which was soon broken by Atlas applauding the spectacle he had witnessed from the front row.

- You're quite powerful, I must say. He said, a wide smile on his face before freezing in pain from the effort of clapping.

- One must be powerful in this world. The weak are mere pawns, not even worth exploiting.

- Yeah... By the way, I need to let off some steam too. I haven't quite digested my defeat against the captain. Added Atlas, lost in thought.

- We'll talk about serious matters first," Alpheus quickly replied.

- Hmmm... yes, but it's getting dark soon, and you know how dangerous it can be to travel at night.

Atlas then turned to the merchants, who were already being healed by their doctor, and asked:

- I think we're even now, right?

- Yes, absolutely! Their leader replied. "We are grateful to you. Thank you."

- Very well! I'm off then! Said Atlas, struggling to stand up with the exceptional care provided by the doctor, making his recovery remarkably quick. He made his way towards the electrocuted bandits, limping.

- We'll search these bastards to find something interesting. Then we'll take two horses and find a good place to spend the night. He daid, addressing Alpheus.

- Are you aware that it's still stealing to take what these bandits have on them? Alpheus asked, crossing his arms.

- Yeah... but it can't hurt to steal from thieves. He replied, heading towards the horses, which had remained a little further away from the combat zone. "I'll leave the search to you, Alpheus."

While Alpheus began his search, the merchants had already set off, bidding their benefactors a final farewell. The horses were being led by those who were in the best condition.

The others were completely out of commission, having used their last bit of strength to escape the combat zone after their defeat, they could only sit and wait for the doctor's care.

Alpheus, on the other hand, continued his work calmly. He had found a total of three storage bags on the bandits.

These were small bags that could easily fit in one hand, containing a spatial-temporal spell that allowed for storing a large quantity of different items. The spell caused the bags to expand to the appropriate size for each item you want to put in them before returning to their initial shape after storing it, as long as it didn't exceed the bag's capacity.

The bags of these thieves contained all sorts of highly useful products that could be sold for a fortune. Among them were intermediate-level healing potions, mats and tents, likely used by the thieves to rest outside of towns. There were also gold and silver coins, both in the bandits' bags and in pockets on the horses' saddles.

Satisfied with the loot they had found, the temporary companions set off to find a place to spend the night.

...

After a few minutes of searching, Atlas and Alpheus managed to find the perfect spot to set up their camp.

Wanting to give his muscles as much rest as possible, Atlas left Alpheus to take care of setting up the camp, lighting a fire and setting up two tents they had found in the storage bags.

Leaving his temporary companion to do the hard work, Atlas took advantage of his free time to drink a few healing potions to speed up his recovery.

These potions were usually a liquid placed in a small vial. They are concocted by alchemists using healing magic. The effectiveness of the healing, of course, depended on the quality of the potion. The one Atlas had taken was of medium level and could take the whole night to heal his wounds.

Atlas then sat down, leaning against the trunk of a tree, near the fire that illuminated the dark night.

While Atlas daydreamed in his own world, Alpheus had all the time to finish setting up and could finally discuss the topic of the relic with his companion.

He could finally find the answers to all his questions:

"Who this guy really is? How could he take the relic behind the magic barrier? But most importantly, why does he need this relic? ..."

****