Entrapment

Sven opened the pouch.

Inside, he found several medium-sized mana stones, the kind found within magical beasts such as shadow wolves and flaming tigers.

He moved his hands deeper inside and was shocked to find a round-bottomed bottle filled with a dark red liquid. He knew exactly what it was.

A magic awakening potion.

He had drunk similar potions three times while he was still living in the manor as a noble, hoping to awaken some kind of magic. But he had failed every time. He hadn't awakened even the weakest form of thin mana magic.

These kinds of potions cost a fortune, even for nobles to procure. He immediately realized their worth. The mana stones were expensive as well. Combined, they were probably worth almost as much as the amount of money he had lost when his mother was robbed.

"Where did he get this potion? Is he really related to someone noble? Or maybe he is a noble himself?"

Sven hadn't been able to learn much about the man. What he did know was that someone had hired him to rob them of their money, but not to kill them. Someone wanted to watch him and his mother suffer.

'Leave it.'

He had already tried to figure out who was behind it, but he hadn't gotten anywhere. Besides, there were more pressing matters to deal with.

---

Sven stepped out of the alley. He scanned the surrounding.

No one was around.

He rushed toward the doctor's office and opened the door.

"Is the doctor available?"

He found the clinic empty, with just a boy rummaging through some supplies.

"Oh my, you look like you're in pretty bad shape," the boy gasped.

"The doctor is out on a visit. Come sit here. I'll patch you up until he gets back."

The boy pointed toward a chair that looked sturdy enough to support a water rhino.

He was thirteen years old, with a bowl cut that nearly covered his eyes. He had a habit of fiddling with whatever he happened to be holding.

"How long will I have to wait?"

Sven sat down in the chair. The boy took out some cotton cloth, mana-clean water, mana ointment, and bandages.

"I don't know. He left early this morning and hasn't come back yet. It seemed to be for someone important."

The boy began cleaning Sven's wounds and fixing his broken nose. Sven didn't think of him as clumsy. His hands were rather dexterous. The boy seemed quite skilled at his job.

Instead, Sven's mind wandered to what he should do with the magic potion in the pouch.

The mana stones were easy enough to deal with. He could sell them in the market. He would just have to give a plausible explanation for where they came from, and that could easily be fabricated.

The magic potion, however, was another matter.

The only place that would buy something like that without asking too many questions was the Black Market. He could ask around in the market and find out how to reach it.

"It's done."

The boy had finished treating him. He had secured Sven's broken nose with bandages and small pieces of wooden sticks to keep it in place. Then he had applied mana ointment to every bruise he could find.

Sven was about to pay him and leave when...

_Creak_

A tall and lean man entered the room. He wore a long coat, a top hat, and spectacles. He looked to be in his forties.

Dr. Higgs Brown.

Behind him followed a young lady. She looked to be around Sven's age, perhaps a little older. She had slanted eyes and sharp facial features.

But she was in terrible condition.

Half of her left leg was charred, and bruises and burn marks covered nearly every inch of her body. Yet somehow, she had walked in on her own.

Sven assumed some kind of unusual incident must have occurred. Perhaps there had been a fight between mages.

"Doctor Brown," Sven called.

Sven had heard of the doctor many times but had never had the chance to meet him, since he had never been in a situation that required a doctor's help until recently.

Brown looked toward Sven.

"Looks like Chris here already patched you up, young man. So, can you leave now? You don't need to pay."

"Father! What happened to Sister?" Chris was visibly shaking on his knees.

Sven understood the situation. He nodded.

He glanced at the young lady, and their eyes met for a moment. Sven quickly looked away and moved toward the door, his hands in his pockets.

"Wait!"

Sven looked back.

"What are you carrying?"

The lady's question stopped him in his tracks.

"Nothing."

Sven hesitated. He gripped the pouch tighter.

'How did she notice?'

"I'm sorry. I need to go."

The lady didn't stop him a second time and let him leave.

Sven turned around and walked away, increasing his pace as he headed toward the market.

Little did he know that an insignificant-looking ant was following him.

---

Sven reached the market. The sooner he could get rid of the potion, the better.

But on the way, Sven realized how foolish it had been to think he could simply sell the potion on the Black Market. He had already been targeted by someone noble. Not only that, he had nearly been killed while trying to track down the robber.

He had somehow escaped, but there might not be a second chance.

More importantly, he didn't even know how to find the Black Market.

Sven realized that he needed to become stronger so he could defend himself and his mother. But the only path to strength in this world was magic, which he was denied.

He had a bottle of magic awakening potion in his hands, yet it was worthless to him.

'If I can't rely on strength, I'll have to use my brains.'

Sven was confident in his intelligence.

'I just need to be more careful from now on and stop doing stupid things.'

Sven passed through the market and headed straight home.

---

Sven opened the door to his room.

"Sven, where have you been...?"

Shirin had been preparing some kind of porridge for lunch.

"Goodness! What happened to your face?" Shirin was shocked to see the bandage on his nose.

She came closer.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked, fixing his bloodied collar, clearly worried.

"It's okay, Mother. I just tripped and fell on the stone road while visiting the Sheriff's office..."

"Stop. Don't lie to me. Tell me everything."

Sven paused. He looked down and sighed.

"Hurry up. Tell your mother," Shirin insisted.

Sven had no choice but to tell her the whole story: how he had followed the landlord to the robber and how he had gotten into a fight with him.

He omitted the part where he had nearly been killed and simply said that he had been lucky enough to have a mutant bear distract the man. He also hid the fact that he had taken the robber's belongings.

"Why did you have to get yourself into this kind of situation, Sven? You could have just stopped looking for the money and minded our own business. Now you don't even know when we might get into trouble again."

Sven also realized only now that the robber would most likely win the fight. He'd definitely come searching for what he'd lost. And annoyingly, he knew exactly where to look.

"And what should I do if the same kind of situation happens again and again? Do I concede every time? Do I just curse my luck and myself? Do I just watch you die while I'm powerless to protect you?"

Sven poured out all the feelings he had been holding inside.

He hadn't had a chance to clear his mind until now.

"I'm sorry, Mother."

He apologized for lashing out.

"It's okay, Sven."

Shirin caressed him, tears welling up in her eyes. She knew her son had been through a lot.

"We need to prepare. He might come looking for us at any moment," Sven said in a low voice.

They couldn't leave the place. They had nowhere to go. Even if they had somewhere to go, they had too little time.

"What do I do?"

Shirin straightened up.

"Find anything that can be used as a weapon. Keep it on you at all times. Also, do we have any leftover tallow?"

"Yes. I haven't had a chance to use most of it."

Shirin opened the cupboard and handed Sven a jar.

"We need to prepare some traps in case he comes."

---

A rough-looking man walked out of the local church.

He had healed most of his injuries, but one of his eyes was still covered by a bandage. The scar on his jaw hadn't healed either.

He took large strides toward the fountain at the center of town. He was on his way to get his revenge, as well as reclaim his lost possessions.

A hissing sound accompanied each step. It was unclear whether it came from his rapid breathing or his anger.

He reached the third street and made his way toward the potter's house. He scouted the surroundings to avoid spectators.

He climbed to the second floor with quiet steps, making sure that nobody heard him.

He molded his right arm into the shape of a knife using thick mana, then covered it with metal on the outside using thin mana.

Contrary to what people believed, he was only a utility-type two-star mage. But his application of magic made him appear to be a three-star mage.

Before going inside, however, he placed a pyramid-shaped artifact about the size of a kettle outside the door.

_Boom!_

He kicked the door open.

"Hello, my friend."