Arcane Innovator

I threw one last look at Jenny's lifeless body, and then, with a heavy sigh, I stood up. 'I need to get moving...'

With a sense of urgency, I tried my best to overcome my tiredness as I started making my way back toward the surface.

But as I was approaching the spiraling staircase that would take me out of the dungeons, I heard the unmistakable sound of clinking armor.

I widened my eyes as I came to a sudden stop. 'They're already here...' I hurriedly looked around, searching for some hideout, but I couldn't find any.

'Ah, whatever… I'm so tired of always running away. If they want to take me out so badly, they might as well try!’ I smiled with cold resolve as I assumed a wide stance at the base of the staircase.

Right now, I stopped caring about keeping my abilities a secret as I knew there was no point in holding anything back.

Not after I broke into the Fortress in the middle of the night and killed Sir Roderick's prized apprentice - despite it being only self-defense. So, I might as well show them that they should never have picked a fight with me in the first place.

With the help of my earth magic, I ripped out a few sizable-sized stones from the nearby wall and then simply waited for the guards to show up.

I didn't have to wait for long as, very soon, several guards appeared on top of the staircase. After making a quick turn, they continued to hurry down, not slowing at all.

Alas, before they had a chance to realize what was happening, the couple of stones I was holding just a moment ago were already hurling at them at tremendous speed like an oddly shaped cannonball.

The guards didn't even have time to widen their eyes before a gaping hole appeared in the middle of their chests. The stone projectiles then went right through them before splattering at the opposing wall, raising a cloud of dust.

They were dead in an instant. Their corpses lifelessly rolled down the remaining few meters of the staircase, coming to an abrupt stop right before me. I only spared them a single glance before I overstepped them and hurried upstairs.

'Hmm, I thought there would be more of them...' I wondered as I scaled the long, winding staircase.

When I finally made it to the ground floor of the barracks, I was left panting with exhaustion. Yet I couldn't afford to linger as I heard more footsteps, and by the sound of it, this time, there were a lot of them.

I desperately searched for a way out, but there was none. With horror, I suddenly realized that they were coming from all directions, and I had nowhere left to go.

I could, of course, decide to make a stand here and fight them. Yet I knew very well that I couldn't afford to let myself be bogged down here while fighting dozens of guards as my reserves of essence were not endless.

Especially since I had already spent a significant portion of it while fighting Jenny a short time ago.

'Well, if there's no way out, I will simply have to make my own...' I chuckled as I looked up at the vaulted ceiling.

I focused intently, using earth manipulation to collapse a part of the ceiling in front of me, creating a large hole in the process.

"Cough, cough, this will do..." I cleared my throat, quickly summoning a small gust of wind to remove the massive cloud of dust this had generated before compressing the air around my feet and propelling myself onto the upper floor.

After I landed, I quickly dusted myself off before I started running across the long hallway. I sprinted without rest, trying to get as far away as possible from my relentless pursuers.

However, as I turned a corner, I came face to face with three unsuspecting maids who were holding baskets full of freshly washed clothes.

They stared at me for a moment in utter bewilderment before they dropped their loads to the ground, scattering clothes all around as they began screaming with all their might.

I uttered a silent curse, as this certainly must have alerted all the guards in the vicinity about my current location.

Yet despite this, I donned a victorious smile as behind the terrified maids, I spotted a lone window at the end of the hallway large enough to squeeze through. 'Ah, finally...' I thought with elation.

Not paying any attention to the maids, I simply pushed them out of my way and kept running, heading straight for the window.

Taking a deep breath, I briefly focused before sending a small shockwave forward. As the window instantly shattered, I jumped through without any hesitation.

Feeling a cool air brushing against my skin, I quickly generated a cushion of air beneath my feet to slow me down, and in the next moment, I gently landed on the cobblestones below.

I raised my head cautiously, observing my surroundings as I wondered where I ended up. At first, I couldn't recognize the place as I was looking at it from a different angle.

But then a subtle smile crept up on my face as I realized it was the same courtyard where I had taken down the two guards not so long ago. And surely, as I turned my head to the right, I spotted them still lying motionlessly some distance away.

I then turned my head toward the still fully opened gate that led out of the barracks area and away from all those pesky guards still pursuing me. Not wasting a single moment, I quickly made my way toward it.

'Could it be... that I finally got lucky?' I thought with elation as I ran across the courtyard.

But my joy didn't last for long. Before I could even make it halfway toward it - the gate suddenly creaked, shutting down right in front of my eyes.

I came to an abrupt stop as I instantly became alert. Activating my magic sense, I frantically searched for any signs of danger.

At first, I couldn't detect anything. The whole area seemed quiet and peaceful as when I checked it just a moment ago.

But then I paled as guards began swarming out of the surrounding buildings, quickly surrounding me from every direction.

Archers took positions in the courtyard gallery above while the infantrymen formed a tight line in the barracks courtyard, pointing their spears at me - there were dozens of them.

I watched everything unfold in awe, unable to move a muscle as a sudden realization dawned on me. 'Ah, so this was the trap all along...'

From the very start, I thought it was quite odd that the nobles would entrust such an elaborate scheme to a young, inexperienced girl. Not to mention that right after our battle, there should have been a lot more guards coming into the dungeons, given the fact that I was right under their living quarters.

But it all made sense now... Jenny's task was probably only to lure me here, and those two guards were placed in front of the gate to slow us down before they could close the trap.

Yet I threw a wrench into their plan because I was able to take those two out too quickly, thus forcing Jenny to improvise.

A bitter smile forced itself on my lips as I realized I had just walked straight into the supposed trap on my own.

'Well, not like there was any other convenient way out of the dungeons. That's probably why they still waited here instead of running after me...'

I watched the somber expressions on the guard's faces as they prepared for battle. However, I couldn't help but notice these looked much different than any other guards I had seen until now.

All of them were tall and muscular, with an unmistakable look of seasoned warriors. They were also armed to the teeth, all wearing matching capes, signaling these were not any regular guards but instead elite soldiers.

I gulped nervously, not sure if I still had enough essence left to take on all of them. Looking around, I slightly tilted my head to the side, wondering what they were waiting for and why they were not attacking.

Not that I was complaining, as every second of extra rest allowed me to restore a small part of my depleted energy, so I simply waited to see what they were up to, not keen on making the first move.

But I soon got my answer as, after a few tense moments of utter silence, the front row of the soldiers slightly swayed before separating as they all made way for a tall, imposing figure who regarded me with a hard, piercing gaze.

I widened my eyes as I instantly recognized him from our previous encounter - the Magistrate.

Not to mention, seeing the large bastard sword leaning against his broad shoulder, I could tell at first glance that he didn't come here for a small talk.

Dressed in full plate armor, he was nonchalantly walking toward me. "So, we meet again..." He greeted me with a strange glint in his eyes.