The reality of the situation didn’t do him any favors, and the slippery, crushed cabbage leaf in the alley was even more heartless.
*Smack!*
A solid sound of a body hitting the ground echoed through the narrow dead end.
There was no buffer and no cool landing.
The high-spirited youth’s face hit the musty ground as flat as a pancake.
The air seemed to stand still.
Even the two thugs preparing to commit a crime were stunned by this sudden “acrobatic performance,” freezing in their tracks.
“Cough, cough…”
Leo sprang up with incredible speed, quickly dusting off his clothes. He wiped his bleeding nose and held his head high, speaking in a tone that suggested ‘if I’m not embarrassed, someone else will be.’
“Hmph! You actually set a despicable, slippery trap on the ground. It seems you villains have some skill. However, that won’t stump this young master. What happened just now was for the sake of disarming the trap — a tactical prone position!”
Standing to the side, Elia watched the scene silently, her eyes twitching almost imperceptibly.
‘That wasn’t a trap; it was just a piece of rotten cabbage.’
“Hahahaha!”
The duo finally reacted, erupting into a fit of piercing laughter.
Tyke wiped tears from his eyes as he toyed with the dagger in his hand, looking at Leo mockingly.
“A hero saving a beauty? Or is the swelling on your butt from your mom’s beating yesterday not gone yet?”
“I wondered who it was. It’s just the unweaned Young Master Leo. What’s the matter? Instead of drinking milk in your mother’s arms, you came out to play hero?”
“Boss, stop talking. Since he’s delivered himself to us…” The lackey beside him showed a murderous look.
“Don’t use the knife,” Tyke waved his hand, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes. “Just give him a beating. He’s the son of a Marquis, after all; there will be trouble if we kill him. But if a kid gets a little injured during a fight… I don’t think the Marchioness would want to go around publicizing that.”
“Hehe, understood. We’ll take good ‘care’ of the young master.”
The two slowly approached, smiles on their faces like cats playing with mice.
Thoroughly enraged, Leo’s face turned beet red.
He suddenly raised both hands and began chanting an incantation. It was a jerky, long, and obviously unpracticed verse.
‘Too slow,’Elia evaluated coldly in her heart.
“O great elements of fire… heed my command… that… gather into…”
Finally, when the opponents had already reached him, a *pop* sound came from Leo’s palm, and a fireball the size of a fist emerged.
“Ha! Take this — Bursting Fireball!”
The trembling little fireball flew out and hit Tyke square in the chest.
*Bang!*
Like a dud firework, the fireball exploded into a cloud of black smoke, only charring a small patch on the man’s leather armor and singeing a few chest hairs for good measure.
Tyke looked down at the pathetic mark on his chest, then looked up at Leo, who was still holding his casting pose.
Silence.
Then, pure rage.
“You brat! You dare burn my clothes?!”
“Beat him! Kick his teeth in!”
Before Leo could even chant a second spell, he was kicked to the ground, followed by a shower of punches and kicks.
“Ouch! You… ah! Not the face! I’m a mage! I am a noble…!”
The so-called magic duel instantly turned into a one-sided street brawl.
Elia remained where she was, arms crossed, watching coldly.
She was actually a bit bored.
This kind of plot development was like those forced low-level scenarios in early RPG games.
The NPCs had low IQs, the performances were exaggerated, and even the screams lacked originality.
Although she really wanted to continue watching this guy get beaten into a pig’s head, her hearing was too sharp — it was too noisy.
“Tsk, what a pain.”
Elia sighed softly.
In the next instant, her entire aura changed abruptly.
*Thud!*
Her foot slammed into the ground.
The two thugs who were ganging up on Leo only felt a blur before their eyes as a gust of wind approached.
Before their brains could finish processing the visual information, intense pain shot through their chests.
**[Combat Skill — Roundhouse Kick!]**
Elia’s figure cut into the battlefield like silver lightning. Using the momentum from her dash, she leapt into the air, her long legs turning into lethal weapons as they swept outward.
*Crack!*
Accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking ribs, the two sturdy men flew back like broken kites, smashing heavily against the wall and passing out on the spot.
“Wha… What?!”
Tyke was about to deliver another kick when he heard the commotion. He snapped his head back, his pupils shrinking.
The maid, who had been weakly pushing the cart just a moment ago, now stood before him.
Fear made him roar instinctively as he drew a short knife from his waist, a faint earthy-yellow glow radiating from his body.
“Bitch! Die! — Rock Crusher Slash!”
In Elia’s eyes, however, this was nothing more than the most basic warrior skill.
Attack trajectory: Top to bottom, approximately a 45-degree diagonal slash.
Charge time: 1 second.
Hitbox: 0.5 meters in front of him.
‘It’s full of openings.’
She didn’t even fully open her eyes, merely shifting her body half a step to the left.
*Whoosh—*
The heavy blade sliced past her body, failing to harm even a single strand of hair.
Tyke had used too much force and leaned forward, leaving himself completely exposed.
“How… how is that poss—”
Before he could finish his sentence.
Elia’s right hand had already swung in a wide arc.
*Slap!!!*
An extremely crisp sound, like a firecracker exploding, echoed in the alley.
The immense centrifugal force sent Tyke spinning. He performed two and a half rotations on the spot before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
2 seconds.
The battle was over.
Deathly silence returned to the alley.
In the distance, Bella’s mouth hung open, and the bag of flour in her hand hit the ground with a *thud*.
Elia took a handkerchief from her apron pocket and wiped the hand she had used to slap him with disgust, as if she had touched something filthy.
“Trash disposal complete.”
**[Battle Results]**
**[Evaluation: Flawless Victory]**
**[Experience Earned: 15 points]**
**[Character EXP +5]**
**[Basic Combat EXP +10]**
Elia glanced at the screen, her brow furrowing slightly.
‘The experience is too low.’
**[Notice: Detected that enemy units are still alive. Experience gain rate has been adjusted to 50% for non-kill status.]**
‘No wonder.’
Just then, the “rag” on the ground moved.
Leo, sporting two black eyes, struggled to climb up.
His velvet coat was torn, his hair was a bird’s nest, and his face was covered in blue and purple bruises.
Yet, the first thing he did after standing firm was to straighten his bow tie. He then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
“…Not bad, maid.”
“This was all part of this genius mage’s plan. I intentionally showed weakness just now to exhaust their stamina, all to create an opening for you to land a finishing blow.”
Leo sniffled, trying to hold back the snot that was about to run down, his eyes darting around.
“Moreover… the Fireball’s power was a bit low today purely because… because I left the house in too much of a hurry this morning and didn’t eat breakfast! Yes, the lack of breakfast led to insufficient mana! Otherwise, these two would have been turned to ash long ago!”
Elia didn’t even look at him. She walked straight to the unconscious Tyke and skillfully began searching him, confiscating all his coin pouches.
“If your so-called tactic is to test the durability of the floor tiles with your face, then you are indeed a rare ‘physical-type genius.'”
She pushed the small cart without looking back, her voice flat.
“Let’s go, Bella. We need to buy glue. It’s too noisy here; it’ll attract the patrol.”