It had been two weeks since that night, and I had been treating the villagers, but it wasn’t simple. If I wasn’t careful, I might damage their souls.
To minimize the risk, I had been experimenting—using a live monster, of course. There was no way I would use the villagers as guinea pigs.
"Haaa… as expected, this is tough," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "It’s nearly impossible to do this without harming the soul."
A person’s soul isn’t just a reservoir of life energy; it’s the core of their existence, shaping their consciousness, emotions, and even their ability to wield mana. If damaged, the consequences could range from loss of memory and magical ability to a complete collapse of the self.
At first, I had assumed I could simply sever the foreign mana like cutting away a tumor. But it wasn’t that simple. The mana had already begun to entangle itself with their souls, feeding off them and slowly becoming a part of their very being. If I forced it out too recklessly, it could tear away fragments of their soul along with it, leaving them hollow—lifeless husks.
I have believe that the awakening of my dormant power during that last battle should allow me to treat the abnormal mana easily, but that was the real problem. If anything, the increase in my strength made it even harder to extract the abnormality. My mana was now too overwhelming, making delicate procedures even riskier.
'Mmm'
Something entered the range of my detection magic. I focused, sharpening my senses toward that location.
"Soldiers… wearing heavy armor… accompanied by giant catapults and mages," I murmured, my expression darkening.
Their movements were coordinated, methodical—this wasn’t just a scouting unit. The presence of siege weapons confirmed it. This was a full-scale assault.
Without wasting another second, I turned and made my way toward the village center. "Where’s Garrick?" I asked one of the villagers.
"Watchtower," he replied hurriedly.
I found him where I expected—standing tall, peering into the distance, his face shadowed with worry.
"Garrick," I called out.
He turned, and upon seeing my expression, his face hardened. "You sensed something."
"An army is coming. Heavy infantry, siege weapons, mages… It’s not just a raid. They’re coming to wipe this place out."
His jaw tightened. "Damn it. I was hoping we’d have more time."
"We don’t. We need to evacuate those who can’t fight. Now."
He exhaled sharply. "I’ll gather the others. Can you stall them?"
A smirk tugged at my lips. "I wouldn’t have come to warn you if I wasn’t prepared to deal with them."
But then—
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: IMMEDIATE RESTRICTION INITIATED]
A crushing force clamped down on me. It wasn’t pain—it was worse. My connection to mana twisted, then snapped like a taut string suddenly cut. I staggered, gripping my chest as a chilling sensation ran through my core.
[Due to excessive power of the candidate, a balance correction has been applied. Sealing primary abilities until further notice.]
I sucked in a sharp breath. "You’ve got to be kidding me."
Garrick shot me a look. "What?"
I quickly shook my head, forcing my expression neutral. "Nothing. Just thinking about how annoying this situation is."
I clenched my fists, trying to summon even a trickle of power—but nothing came. My magic, my strength, even my enhanced senses—it was all gone.
Damn it.
A question gnawed at me.
Why is there a system in the first place?
It had sealed all of my abilities but why now, why didn't it appear during the fight with that guy on the lower floor?
But now wasn’t the time for answers. I had to adapt. Fast.
"You still got those spare weapons hidden under the tavern?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
Garrick furrowed his brows but nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"Because we’ll need every sword, bow, and spear we can get. I’m going to help set up defenses."
He didn’t question me. Good.
The village square was packed. Men, women, even teenagers stood in a tight circle around Garrick and me. Their faces were tense, some determined, others barely hiding their fear.
I stepped forward. "Listen up. We’re outnumbered, and we don’t have the luxury of fighting head-on. So here’s what we’re going to do."
Phase 1: Luring Them In
"We won’t block the entrance completely. Instead, we leave just enough of an opening to make them think they can push through. The entrance will act as a funnel, forcing them to come in small groups instead of overwhelming us. Once they step inside, we’ll collapse part of the barricades behind them, trapping the vanguard."
Garrick nodded. "Like trapping prey in a bottleneck."
"Exactly."
Phase 2: Dealing with the Siege Weapons and Mages
I turned to the village hunters. "Your job is to take out their siege operators. If they have shields, we switch to fire arrows."
Lyle, an archer, shifted nervously. "Fire arrows? Against armored soldiers?"
"Not them. Their supplies. Their siege equipment. Their food carts. We don’t need to kill everyone—just make it so they can’t fight properly."
Derik, the burly hunter, grunted. "We’ve got barrels of oil. Not much, though."
"Then we use them wisely. We soak parts of the road before the battle. One fire arrow turns the whole thing into a furnace."
Garrick let out a dry chuckle. "That’s damn ruthless."
"It’s necessary. We’re not fighting for honor. We’re fighting to survive."
Phase 3: Psychological Warfare
"Most of you aren’t trained soldiers. That’s fine—we don’t need to beat them in a straight fight. We just need to make them think they’re losing."
I pointed at the rooftops. "We’ll position people there to create noise—shouting, banging weapons against metal, making it sound like we have more numbers than we do. We’ll also set up fake dummies in armor around the village walls. If they believe we have hidden reinforcements, they’ll hesitate."
Garrick exhaled. "You’re turning this into a mind game."
"That’s the only way we win."
I took a deep breath. "If we fight smart, we can win. We don’t need to be stronger than them. We just need to outthink them. And if we stick to the plan, by the time the sun rises—they’ll be the ones running away, not us."
The crowd stirred. Determined expressions replaced fearful ones. Garrick stepped beside me and crossed his arms. "Alright then. You heard him. Get moving! We have a battle to win!"
As the villagers scattered, I exhaled.
Now, all that’s left… is to see if it actually works.