I got out of the bath and stood against the wall. The door flung open. “Sir, I’ll have you…” I was behind it, he couldn’t see me.

It was the clerk’s voice. “I’m behind the door.” The man’s hands peaked around the door with brown armour, a sword, and my other belongings in hand. “Please get ready, the civil war may start sooner than expected.”

I grabbed my new armour. First, I slipped on the undergarments, a simple set of black pants, and a brown shirt. I then threw on the leather chest piece, and protective pads for my thighs, knees, and shin. Dressed up, I peeked round the door. A man lay against the clerk’s counter. An arrow stuck in his gut; he applied pressure around it. The tailor hid behind the counter, and when he saw me, he waved me over. I ran over and crouched. “What happened?” I asked.

Screams and the clatter of metal rang in the distance.

“A noble attempted to assassinate the Duke of Forange. The lord is now hunting him down, but it seems that the now-dead noble had the support of others.”

I peeked over the counter. There were many casualties in the streets. Most suffered minor wounds, suffered slash and puncture wounds. I hid back under the desk. “The knights are attacking at random?” I asked.

The man struck by an arrow groaned.

“Anyone in their way, yes.”

We waited in the store until the clatter of metal stopped.

I decided to head out and check out the scene. Some of the injured had left, but others had yet to move, including the one indoors.

As I made my way down the street, a voice reached my ear.

“…All gathered here, let it be known that Count Villa has rebelled against the Lord, Duke of X, and has been killed. His assets within the city will be confiscated and used to treat the victims of this incident.” In the town square a town crier spoke on stage. “All gathered here, let it be known that Count Villa has…” he repeated.

I had to level up and get new skills before I could act in the conflict.

I ran to the city gates, but they were closed shut, and a great number of guards stood watch. I ran along the wall until I reached another exit, but this one too had been shut.

I didn’t know what to do. I shouldn’t have entered a human city; now I couldn’t even leave. There were no trees here, no earth, just houses, shit, and humans. The smell of iron permeated the city. My heart ran and my stomach rumbled.

I couldn’t help it. If I got caught, I got caught. I ran into a side street where the smell of blood was especially strong. There five men lay on the ground, arrows peppered throughout their poorly armoured selves. One still lived, his dull eyes set on me, but he couldn’t speak. I ran his way and plunged my new sword into his chest. I stripped him of this chest armour and took out his heart.

“A demon! There’s a demon!” someone yelled from the other side of the side street.

My vision had pinholed earlier. I created a black haze, formed two fire bolts, and shot them at the man. Through my dimmed vision, I saw him burn. “A mage!” he screamed. Then the water fizzled, and my flames disappeared. A bright light shined. They had a mage. I ran the other way. A pang spread through my shoulder. I didn’t look back to see what had hit me, but I had grown accustomed to it. An arrow.

I ran without stopping, but at the end of the alleyway guards with spears awaited me. I created rose vines below my feet and had them sneak below.

The guards lowered themselves and their spears. Ready to receive my charge they yelled, but before I got within range my vines launched up, restricted their weapons, and consumed them. I rushed past them.

They screamed and struggled, drawing the attention of more people. The crowd stared at me. Confused, but then horrified.

You killed two humans, you gained 400 Exp.

LVL 10. 905/2200

“It’s a cursed mage,” they yelled. In the distance, the clatter of swords and metal armour approached. I had become the main priority.

“How hot must fire burn to melt wood? Was it even possible?”

I ran back to the city gates and shot both guards with fire bolts. It hit one, but a large rock wall rose to block my second attack.

You killed one human, you gained 200 Exp.

LVL 10. 1105/2200

I looked at my mana. I still had a little over three-quarters of it, but I’d needed to heal the arrow wound and I didn’t know how hard melting the wall would be.

“Over here!” yelled the guard from behind his rock wall.

I created a ball of flame and condensed it until the flames turned bright yellow. The mana grew so concentrated it snapped out my hands and flew at the wooden door with tremendous speed.

The large wooden gates blew up, its burning splinters exploded out.

I ran to the rock wall with my sword at the ready. When I reached it, I jumped and struck out with a horizontal strike.

The guard wasn’t there. He lay on the ground, covered in splinters like a porcupine. I looked around–a squad of guards, and what seemed like mounted knights approached.