The Ambitious Rat

Crouching down in the bushes, Athen had to cup his hand around his mouth to prevent his astonishment from leaking out.

Magic wasn't just real...it was unfair... a cheat code.

Two people, without even moving more than a step, had taken out two fully armed men... with just their wands.

Swords, daggers, any weapons, fists... they couldn't even compare to the power of a simple and small stick.

After seeing magic in use for the first time, Athen was mesmerized.

How could anyone not be after seeing that display?

Maybe his time-stopping ability was magic or was somewhat related, at the very least?

Snapping Athen out of his trance, Caldris turned to Alaric before loudly saying,

"Let's just leave them here. Someone will find them eventually."

As the two figures reentered the carriage, leaving behind a small square prison that had the two mercenaries inside, Athen got ready to run.

However, as the driver tipped his cap and began controlling the horses, Athen did not follow the carriage.

While the carriage slowly moved forward, Athen rushed towards the square prison after making sure the carriage was far enough away.

Staring at two unconscious figures in the makeshift prsion, Athen took a quick look at their bodies before rubbing his hands together.

Free loot?

Now, how could he pass that up?

Twisting his body, Athen was relieved to find that, somehow, he could actually fit in between the bars of the prison cell.

Glancing at the carriage, which was getting further and further away from him with every passing second, Athen muttered.

"Did they purposely make the gap this big?"

The gap between the bars was just small enough that the mercenaries couldn't fit through it with their muscular frames and iron chest plates, yet Athen, alongside any beggar, could squeeze through just fine.

Shaking his head, Athen turned sideways and sidestepped in the prison cell, showing no fear at the two unconscious bodies.

Glancing at the ground, Athen alternated glances between the sword and pair of daggers... before ignoring them.

After all, he had his trusty stick!

Also, he doubted that the security of the school would let him walk in with a bunch of weapons, even if he had one of the invitation diamonds.

Finding two bronze coins on the body with the sword next to it, Athen was practically jumping for joy.

Calming himself down, Athen quickly searched the other figure, and though he found nothing, his happiness was already through the roof.

Tucking the two bronze coins in his pocket, Athen turned sideways and prepared to exit the prison cell.

However, as he lifted his right leg out of the cell and on the path, Athen suddenly realized that his left leg wasn't moving.

Rapidly turning around, Athen saw the figure with the daggers next to him latched onto his leg.

Barely conscious, the figure, with his hair all frizzed up from being electrocuted, managed to mutter out.

"i-it's you. all y-your fault, it's all your fault."

"...?"

Then, before Athen could react, the figure suddenly reached for his daggers.

Desperately attempting to free his leg, Athen kicked it up and down; however, the grip of the dagger-using mercenary was simply too strong for Athen's frail body to resist.

As the mercenary's free hand gripped one of the daggers, Athen shrieked back, but no matter how hard he tried, his left leg remained still.

Seeing the mercenary raise his dagger, Athen reached into his pocket and grabbed the two copper coins.

Not skipping a beat, Athen cocked back his hand and threw the coins right at the mercenary's forehead.

Surprising by the two hits to his forehead, injuring him even further, the mercenary weakened his grip on Athen's leg.

Taking the chance, Athen, instead of simply escaping, kicked up his now-free left leg.

Catching the mercenary by surprise, the top of Athen's left leg surged forward, luckily hitting the mercenary straight on the bottom of his chin.

Letting the dagger in his hand drop to the floor, the mercenary once again slumped to the floor, falling unconscious.

Athen, his heart beating fast and mind running in circles, took a second to realize that he had actually knocked out the mercenary.

This wasn't his first time getting in an altercation, as expected of a street rat who had to fight others for scraps... but this time, his leg was at stake.

In those simple town altercations, one party would always give up before anyone got seriously hurt, so there were no stakes.

But this time, if Athen had messed up his throw or acted a second too late, he could have lost his leg permanently.

Paranoid, Athen grabbed one of the bronze coins before leaving the other as it was far too close to the other unconscious mercenary.

Stuffing the single bronze coin in his pocket, Athen sprinted away from the cage and towards the carriage in the distance.

This time, a bit more gracefully, Athen grabbed the steel pipe that connected two back wheels of the carriage before eventually climbing on.

After lying down on the metal beam to prevent himself from being seen, Athen simply stared up at the sky for the next few minutes.

As his heart and breathing pace slowed to a normal pace, Athen sighed, glancing at his surroundings.

Athen couldn't even fight someone for real without being paranoid and scared.

Yet, he was envious of the two magicians inside the carriage who used violence to suppress the two mercenaries easily.

He was like a rat.

Athen would rob and steal from others without any fear, but whenever things got real, he would run away like a coward.

He wanted all the glory and power without any of the consequences.

However... he was a rat with goals as he took the risk of heading to the academy, which was in the far and distant capital city.

Suppressing his self-deprecating thoughts, Athen looked around, surprised to see the fields of golden grass had transformed.

Signs of civilizations could be seen in the distance as fences and herds of animals entered Athen's vision.

Recalling the "flight" that two rich men had mentioned earlier, Athen's anticipation grew as he spotted a couple of buildings in the distance.