Lyra POV

  Alright. Let's see what kind of mess I just signed up for. I didn't warn him of the bandits on purpose. If he gets robbed or killed, he can be repced; it just means that the fates were wrong, like they have been for the past few years, and if he gets past that, then I might not be wasting my time.

  I pulled up the glowing parchment with Leonardo Silver's profile. My ticket to the council. And maybe, finally, an office with actual walls and not just a glorified cubicle. That cafe was so nice too...Maybe I can ask for that as my next office.

  Name: Leonardo Silver.Status: Demigod. Age: 18.Personality: Carefree, humorous, and sarcastic.

  Figures. Let's see…both adoptive parents were killed in gang violence when he was a kid, and then he was raised by his grandfather. Grandfather passed two years ago. Lived alone ever since. No siblings. No strong emotional ties.

  Social circle: Minimal. Combat skills: Advanced.Magical talent: Very high

  If Leo actually pulls this off, I get promoted. Council seat. Youngest goddess to ever make it at 67.

  He has potential. That's not the issue. The issue is his attitude. He's already compined more than I expected. Humans are usually in awe when chosen by the gods. They weep. They vow to do their best. He's mostly grumbled about the heat and how I haven't been helpful, while also talking about how he should have asked for a phone with working wifi instead. Maybe this is a part of my trial.

  Still, the ripple his existence has caused is...monumental. His mother hid him, but it didn't take long for her husband to find out. Which caused her to be imprisoned, luckily, that man can't touch him. Let's see what he can do.

  Leonardo POV

  "Look, guys, I'll just head that way and y-"

  "Do we look like idiots?" One of the bandits retorted loudly.

  "If you weren't, you wouldn't be bandits and trying to rob me."

  "You're the one who assumed that we were bandits." Another accused.

  "See that camera over there? Yeah, that's right, we're in a fictional world, and getting robbed by bandits is one of the stereotypical clichés that we have to go through. I can tell from a gnce that you are some no-good bandits. And I'd rather not have to fight off people today."

  [I know that you have experience, but these bandits are in the 10th tier. They may be on the lowest level, but they should know enough basic spells to take you down if you're not careful.]

  Great. So death by budget mages. Good to know.

  "John. Deal with him. Keep the screams to a minimum, would you?" Their scarred-faced leader ordered.

  A bald man then stood up with a wide grin as if he had been given free dessert.

  "I love me some young boys." He muttered.

  "I'm 18, I wouldn't call myself young...at least compared to you."

  "A legal one, even better."

  Why is everyone so weird?

  He drew a dagger and charged, and I drew my own dagger. John lunged. I parried. He swung again. I ducked. I better thank grandpa for this, because those csses he forced me to be in really came in useful in a few more occasions than I can count. He overextended. I twisted his wrist, drove my shoulder into his chest, and smmed him to the ground. The knife cttered away as he dropped onto the floor.

  Then I felt arms wrap around me from behind.

  Another bandit had snuck up while I was focused on John. He gripped me tightly, locking my arms in pce.

  "Feisty. I like that. You've got some fight in you. That'll make breaking you in all the more fun." The leader ughed.

  "I was hoping to hear that line from a beautiful female antagonist instead, damn." I muttered, then smmed my head back into the guy behind me.

  His nose crunched with a very satisfying sound. He yelped, grip loosening just enough for me to twist and elbow him in the ribs. I dropped low, grabbed the dagger I'd knocked out of John's hand earlier, and spun up to face them again with both daggers.

  "Back off. I'll take care of this brat myself." The leader ordered and held up a hand.

  The others obeyed instantly, stepping away like this was routine. He drew a sword, a jagged-looking thing pulsing faintly with red veins of energy. Great. That's never a good sign.

  "Fireball." The leader chanted as a ball of fme rocketed toward me before I could move. It smmed into my chest like a battering ram, unching me backward into a tree. I hit the trunk hard enough to make the leaves above shudder. The world rang in my ears as I slid to the ground, smoke rising from my cloak.

  Through the ringing, I could hear them ughing. I was groaning in pain, but I then had the armguard switch into a pistol and tried to find myself some cover as their voices got closer.

  "How do I use mana? How do I charge this thing?"

  [Will it. Focus your intent. The weapon is linked to you. Mana will flow automatically if you're ready.]

  Still, I gritted my teeth and pointed the weapon in their direction. The gun whined. Light built at the barrel. Then it fired. Not a bullet. Not a burst. A blinding beam of raw energy ripped from the barrel, tearing through the air and smashing into the ground at the bandits' feet. Dirt exploded. Two of them were flung like rag dolls. The others scrambled, cursing.

  [Control your output! That could've drained you dry.]

  "This is my first time using it! I wouldn't know that!" I snapped back.

  [You also missed.]

  "I know."

  [Talk quieter, they can hear you.]

  The smoke cleared just enough for me to see the leader again, stumbling back from the bst radius. His smug expression was gone.

  "Enough games," he growled.

  I squeezed the trigger. A clean shot bsted forward, smming into his leg with a sharp crack. He screamed, dropping to one knee, clutching the smoking hole in his thigh.

  "Get him! Kill him!" He roared, voice ragged with pain.

  I aimed again and fired. The shot hit square in the chest of the first guy, sending him flying. Another came at me with a short axe. I fired again, but this time the bullet barely sparked off his shoulder. He grinned. Then I shot again and overcompensated. A full-on beam exploded from the barrel and vaporized the axe. And half his arm.

  "Damn, this thing is good."

  The third one got close. I ducked his swing, jammed the weapon against his gut, and fired a close-range burst. He colpsed with a grunt. The st bandit was already running by then. Luckily, they haven't used any spells, but like all beginner criminals, they're not necessarily smart.

  "First rule of self-defense against a guy with a gun: run away. Smart guy."

  [You wasted a lot of energy, control your output or you'll burn yourself out.]

  "I'm learning on the job here," I snapped. "There wasn't exactly a tutorial."

  I saw the leader get up and shoot a few more shots toward his legs as he cried out in pain and fell back down. He cast a few more fireballs my way, but I shot them out of the air. The leader crawled backward, dragging his wounded leg through the dirt. He tried to lift his sword again. I stepped on it and caused him to look up right into the barrel of the gun.

  "I've got questions and you've got about five seconds to become very cooperative."