Necromancer 10

Test

10. Thieves

"Whoa, that's far enough. We're gonna strip you bare."

Before I knew it, we were surrounded.

"You guys are—"

Maybe around twenty in total? They look like a band of thieves.

"Coming here with just the two of you? You've got a death wish."

"There are twenty-one of us. You know you don't stand a chance, right?"

"And of course, there's no escape. Give it up."

Each one of them held a sword or a knife in their hand.

It's just Mirage and me, who are not in perfect shape. If this were before my skills were unlocked, I would have been trembling in fear.

But now, it's different. I felt no fear, no anxiety whatsoever.

"I'll go first. Mirage, cover me."

"Understood."

I stepped forward with my sword drawn, while Mirage stood behind me, sword at the ready. "You seem like you want to die!"

Two of the thieves slashed at us together.

One more from the right side, and another from behind—

I could react to all of it with ease. Because my stats increase according to the number and quality of my subordinates.

On top of that, Mirage's combat ability is far beyond what you'd expect from a lower-ranked fighter.

Thanks to that, my own combat ability was probably on par with, if not greater than, a top-tier knight.

"I can see it—"

Their attacks were so slow, they looked like they were in slow motion.

I easily dodged their swords and knives and counterattacked. I had no real experience with a sword, but my body moved on its own, reacting instinctively.

Thud, thwack…!

One by one, I knocked them out with the flat of my blade. Unlike fighting monsters, I didn’t have the resolve to kill without hesitation.

"I guess I'll knock them all out and hand them over to the military police."

I stared down the remaining thieves.

"Urgh…"

They backed away.

"I won’t kill you. You'll face justice."

I declared to them.

"D-damn it, everyone, charge at once—Gah!?"

Just then, out of nowhere—a 'longsword' appeared in the air.

That longsword sliced one of their necks.

Then two more, three more—

More and more longswords appeared, slashing and stabbing them to death. In no time, over ten of them were killed.

"H-hiiiiii!?"

"W-what is this attack!?"

The surviving thieves were thrown into a panic. And then,

Whoosh!

A ball of fire roared in from the front, swallowing the remaining group. In an instant, all the remaining thieves collapsed, reduced to charred ashes.

"That was…"

Both the sword and the flames—I recognized them.

They were the hero’s skills.

"Well, if it isn't Shigure. I heard you were missing, but looks like you're still alive."

"Would’ve been better if you had just stayed dead."

A pair of a man and a woman walked towards us.

The man was bald and muscular, while the woman had flashy, shoulder-length light brown hair.

"Tanaka and Suzuki…"

I muttered.

Tanaka was the man, and Suzuki the woman… To think I’d run into two classmates here.