Sam's eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed the two presences behind the truck. His Perception had already mapped their positions, but he didn't immediately act. He was still tired from the fight, and neither presence felt hostile.
Slowly, he spoke.
"You can come out."
Behind the rusted vehicle, Simon Petrikov stiffened.
"…He knows we're here," he whispered.
Floating lazily, Marceline shrugged.
"Relax. He didn't fry us already."
She floated out first, boots barely touching the cracked asphalt. Simon followed cautiously, adjusting his glasses nervously.
Sam studied them. His perception immediately flagged Marceline as dangerous... strange energy, undead signature, but not hostile. Simon, on the other hand, felt… normal. Weak. Human.
"…You were watching," Sam said calmly.
Marceline smirked.
"Yeah. That oozer was nasty. You handled it though."
Simon stepped forward slightly.
"We didn't mean any harm. We were simply scavenging. I am Simon, and this is Marceline."
Sam nodded once.
"Sam."
A brief silence followed. Wind blew dust between them. The remains of the oozer continued dissolving into harmless residue.
Marceline tilted her head, studying the faint lightning still flickering around him.
"You always spark like that? Or just when you're stressed?" she asked casually.
"…Habit," Sam replied.
Simon looked around the battlefield, analyzing the acid burns and scorched asphalt.
"That creature… it was unusually large. A fused oozer. They've been appearing more frequently," he murmured thoughtfully.
Sam's system pinged quietly... subtle recognition that Simon possessed knowledge.
Before he could respond, his perception suddenly twitched again.
Far away.
Someone moving fast.
Magic signature.
Not natural.
The rogue wizard bounty hunter.
Sam's eyes sharpened slightly, but he kept his expression neutral.
Marceline noticed.
"You sensed something," she said.
"…Maybe," Sam answered.
Simon looked between them, concern growing.
"If more creatures are nearby, we should relocate."
Sam considered for a moment. He didn't want to drag civilians into danger and something about them didn't feel like enemies.
"You should head north," he said. "Less activity."
Marceline floated backward.
"You're not coming?"
"…I have things to deal with."
She grinned slightly.
"Storm guy with secrets. Got it."
Simon nodded politely.
"Thank you for the warning, Sam."
They turned and began walking away, Marceline walking lazily beside him. As they disappeared behind the broken highway ridge, Sam finally relaxed slightly.
System notification appeared:
Hidden Bonus:
Encountered Unique Survivors
Perception +2
Magic Control +2
Sam exhaled.
"…nice."
But his attention shifted again.
The approaching presence was closer now.
In the distance, a figure in dark robes stepped onto the highway ridge. Wind blew dramatically around him, arcane symbols faintly glowing around his hands.
The rogue wizard bounty hunter had arrived.
He looked down at Sam and smirked.
"So… you're the Lightning Wizard."
Lightning crackled faintly around Sam's arms.
"…and you're in my way."
The tension in the air thickened instantly.
As Simon Petrikov and Marceline disappeared over the broken ridge, the wind seemed to still.
Only Sam and the rogue wizard remained on the ruined highway.
Dust swirled between them.
The bounty hunter raised his hand, arcane circles spinning around his wrist.
"So the rumors were true… lightning, speed, raw mana," he said, studying Sam carefully. "You're worth a lot."
Sam didn't reply. Lightning crawled across his shoulders, faint but ready.
The wizard moved first.
Three glowing chains shot forward, snapping through the air like serpents. They weren't physical... pure spell constructs meant to bind mana itself.
Sam blurred sideways, dodging two, but the third clipped his arm. Instantly, his lightning flickered as the chain tried to suppress his mana flow.
"…binding magic," Sam muttered.
The wizard smirked.
"Hard to fight when your power's sealed."
Sam didn't panic. He overcharged lightning internally, forcing raw energy through the binding. The chain cracked.. then shattered in sparks.
Before the wizard could react, Sam vanished.
Speed: 500 km/h burst.
He appeared in front of the bounty hunter and swung his sword.
The wizard barely reacted, conjuring a hexagonal shield. The blade slammed into it, sending shockwaves across the road.
CRACK
The shield fractured but held.
The wizard jumped backward and slammed his staff into the ground. The asphalt beneath Sam liquefied into glowing runes.
Trap.
Gravity suddenly increased.
Sam's knees bent under the sudden pressure.
"Gravity well," the wizard said smugly. "You're fast, but let's see you run now."
Sam gritted his teeth. Lightning surged down his legs. The electricity counteracted the pressure, but movement became sluggish.
The wizard began charging a large spell... a rotating sphere of compressed mana.
Sam reacted instantly.
Static Field activated.
Electricity spread across the ground, interfering with the rune circle. The gravity field flickered.
Sam forced one step forward... then another then burst free.
He raised both hands.
Rapid-fire mana beams shot forward. The wizard dodged two but one grazed his shoulder, tearing cloth and drawing blood.
The bounty hunter's expression hardened.
"…you're dangerous."
He slammed both hands together.
Dozens of floating sigils appeared overhead.. then rained down as explosive magic bolts.
Sam dashed erratically, lightning enhancement active. Explosions tore the highway apart behind him. He zigzagged, closed the distance, and leapt.
Midair, he summoned a lightning lance and hurled it downward.
The wizard rolled aside, but the blast threw him off balance.
Sam landed and immediately followed with a sword strike... forcing the wizard to block physically with his staff.
The impact shook both of them.
Close combat.
Unexpected.
The wizard grimaced.
"You're not just a caster…"
Sam replied quietly:
"I fight to survive."
He released a point-blank lightning burst.
The wizard screamed as electricity surged through his defenses, launching him across the road. He crashed into a wrecked truck, coughing.
But he didn't stay down.
He wiped blood from his mouth and smiled weakly.
"…worth the bounty."
He raised a final spell,a glowing teleportation rune forming beneath him.
Sam's perception flared.
He sprinted forward and fired a concentrated mana bolt.
It struck just as the teleport activated.
The wizard vanished but his arm remained behind, severed by the interrupted spell.
Silence returned.
Sam stood still, breathing heavily. The rogue wizard had escaped.. barely.
System notification appeared:
Combat Result:
Bounty Hunter Repelled
Bonus EXP: 2,000
New Status: Targeted by Bounty Hunters
Sam exhaled slowly.
"…so it begins."
Thunder rolled faintly overhead as storm clouds began to fade....