Chapter 11: Trouble

“Huff… huff…”

Panting heavily, I climbed the six flights of stairs, my trembling hand fumbling the key into the lock after several tries.

Twisting it, I opened the small iron door and shuffled into my apartment.

Once inside, my sore, weakened arms dropped the stuffed herb bag to the floor. I unstrapped the backpack from my chest, gently placing it with the two egg babies on the bed, then collapsed, rubbing my throbbing head.

“…Should’ve just used one fireball.”

I groaned, massaging my temples.

I could suppress the pain and dizziness from overusing my mental energy at first, but my limits caught up. By the time I neared home, my head felt like it was exploding, made worse by the aching muscles from earlier exercise. My limbs felt leaden.

Realizing I had to climb six floors, I nearly broke down.

But somehow, I made it back.

Now, I didn’t want to do anything but sleep.

“…Shouldn’t have gone out tonight.”

I muttered, quickly sinking into a deep sleep.

A sudden sense of danger jolted me awake.

“…Someone’s here! Six of them!”

My eyes snapped open, and I bolted upright, grabbing the knife hidden under the blanket!

Though I’m a mage, I was a battle mage in my past life, with combat instincts as sharp as any warrior. To prevent thieves catching me off guard, I’d spread my mental energy to cover every entry point in the apartment.

So when someone tried picking my lock, my mental field triggered, waking me instantly.

I moved slightly, but my head felt heavy, like it was filled with water—clearly, I hadn’t recovered from earlier.

Glancing at the time, I’d only rested for less than three hours.

Six people at my door, radiating malice—I knew instantly they were from that Thunderlash Mercenary Corps.

“Thunderlash, huh? Coming for me? They must be tired of living!”

I gritted my teeth, frantically thinking of a plan.

I only had a knife. Using telekinesis to kill all six wasn’t realistic.

They likely knew I’m a mage, so the moment they break in, a shield-bearing warrior would block my attack.

In other words, once they open the door with their preparations, I’m dead.

“Then there’s only one option… It might leave me brain-dead or kill me, but I can revive.”

I exhaled, closing my eyes to focus.

Just before they breached the door, I unleashed a mental storm!

In an instant, my weak but precise mental energy obliterated one person’s nervous system, then surged to the next.

One by one, they dropped silently.

But after destroying four brains, I realized… my mental energy was spent!

“Sht! Two left…” Panic hit hard.

My mental energy was too weak! Thinking I could take out six with a mental storm was delusional…

Fear surged as my consciousness faded—my brain was heavily damaged from the outburst.

I had seconds before collapsing, and who knows how long to recover.

But then, as I prayed desperately, the remaining two mercenaries—untouched by my attack—suddenly collapsed.

“…Huh? What happened…?”

I was stunned, but before I could figure it out, my consciousness went blank, and my body, no longer under control, went limp on the bed.