- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 434
“Not bad, they even have a mage.”
With a wave of his hand, Leo deflected the incoming fireball. In a flash, he appeared in front of the fleeing bandits.
“Slash! Slash! Slash!”
In an instant, sword light flickered, and the leather armor and robes of the remaining three men and one woman were shredded into pieces, scattering across the ground.
“I suggest you don’t move again, or next time, it won’t be your clothes that get torn apart—it’ll be your bodies.”
“N-no, we won’t dare,” they stammered.
Seeing how Leo had closed the distance in a blink and effortlessly shredded their armor without them even reacting, the bandits now understood they were facing a warrior far beyond their abilities.
In the face of such an overwhelming presence, if they wanted to stay alive, they had no choice but to obediently follow orders.
“Where’s your camp? And besides you, are there any others?”
“We’re just a small group, only five of us. No one else. The camp is over there,” said the leader, a bearded middle-aged man, trembling as he pointed toward a nearby forest, using a piece of torn armor to cover himself.
He felt like he was cursed today. Earlier, they had seen a dragon—long thought to be extinct—flying overhead, scaring them half to death. Then, after waiting all afternoon in ambush for what seemed like a weak adventurer, they’d encountered a warrior so strong he could have killed them all effortlessly.
Now, he could only hope that by cooperating, this terrifying man would spare their lives.
“Lead the way properly, and if you don’t play any tricks, I might consider letting you live,” Leo said, his tone calm as if reading the bandit leader’s thoughts.
Indeed, Leo had already read his mind. When he glanced into the eyes of the robed mage earlier, he had used *Legilimency* to read his thoughts.
He wasn’t sparing the bandits out of mercy, but because he wanted to gather more detailed information about this world through them. These five bandits included a Nord warrior, a Dark Elf mage, and a Wood Elf archer. They surely knew more than the simple-minded Lokir.
Plus, it was getting late, and he could use their camp to spend the night.
While Leo and the bandits spoke, the Wood Elf, who had been shot in the stomach by the arrow Leo had thrown earlier, gritted his teeth and pulled the arrow out. He then downed a bottle of red potion.
To Leo’s surprise, the Wood Elf’s wound began to close and heal rapidly, the bleeding stopping in mere moments.
“That’s quite effective,” Leo remarked, somewhat impressed.
He knew this world had magical herbs that could be brewed into potions with various effects, but he hadn’t expected them to work so well.
The red potion the Wood Elf had used was clearly a low-grade healing potion, yet it allowed his wound to heal visibly in real time. Not even modern technology could achieve something like that.
This discovery made Leo more excited. If this world offered such potent items, it was definitely worth exploring.
“*Reparo!*”
With a flick of his hand, Leo cast a mending spell on the shredded armor and robes, quickly restoring them to their original state.
“Now, take me to your camp.”
The bandits, a bit surprised to see their clothes restored so easily, quickly dressed and led Leo to their makeshift camp in the middle of the forest.
Night fell, and in the center of the camp, a fire burned brightly, casting flickering shadows across the clearing. A half-roasted grey wolf was turning on a spit over the flames.
Leo sat by the fire, watching the five bandits devour their meal, while he sorted through the new information he had gathered from them.
These bandits weren’t particularly knowledgeable, but having been mercenaries before turning to banditry, they had at least traveled around Skyrim. This made them far more informed than Lokir.
For instance, Lokir didn’t know that Skyrim had nine major cities. He didn’t know about the ranks of warriors and mages in Skyrim, nor was he aware of the existence of the College of Winterhold, a place specifically for learning magic.
Lokir had lived his entire life in the small town of Rorikstead and its surroundings, never venturing far.
“First, I’ll head to Riverwood, then to Whiterun, and from there, I’ll make my way to the College of Winterhold.”
After processing all the information, Leo formed a rough plan for his next steps.
The nearest settlement was a small town called Riverwood, which was on the way to Whiterun. He planned to stop by Riverwood first, as it was possible he could purchase some magic books from the shops there.
Magic in this world wasn’t particularly revered. In fact, most warriors held higher social status than mages. However, powerful mages were still valued by the jarls, with most jarls hiring court wizards for their expertise.
Thus, common magic books, especially for basic spells, were often available in shops for anyone to buy and learn.
The black-robed mage among the bandits had saved up enough money to purchase a *Flame Arrow* spellbook, allowing him to become a low-level combat mage through self-study.
According to the black-robed mage, the magic in this world was divided into five main schools: Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Illusion, and Conjuration.
The most common school was Destruction, also known as combat magic, which used fire, ice, and lightning to kill enemies.
As for the intricacies of each school and their differences in principles, the bandit mage didn’t know much more. Such knowledge was reserved for higher-level mages or those who studied at the College of Winterhold.
This was why Leo’s third destination would be the College of Winterhold.
No one understood the nature of magic and the world better than scholars who dedicated their lives to research. At Winterhold, not only could he learn more about the world’s magic, but he could also delve deeper into the nature of the world itself.
It was said that the College of Winterhold housed Skyrim’s largest library, filled with books that contained the secrets of this world.
(End of this chapter)