Picking up Girls With My System

The situation was worse than Arthur thought. He had seen the gloomy faces of the people in every city he passed through, but the attacks on the roads were getting more frequent as the time passed.

Most of the mages who attacked travelers weren't Official Mages, and some were even as low as a third circle mage, but those people were invincible when fighting against the non mage population.

Everyone was fearful, and the number of rich merchants hiring people to protect their convey was getting more frequent. Even Arthur received the offer, and he accepted it.

Inside the town, which was not that far from Odemore, a merchant saw him, and offered him a job to protect them on the road.

Arthur wasn't willing to accept it, but the destination of the merchant was not that far from the One Hundred Thunder Academy, plus the payment was not that bad!

He was expecting gold or something like that, but the merchant actually offered him mana stones, which was an important currency now that Arthur was an Official Mage.

These two things alone made him accept such an offer, riding on a carriage toward his destination. Laura, Jeremy, and Richard would not receive any payment, but they were more than happy to travel on a comfy carriage. Chilling.

"How do you think the school is?" Laura said.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I hope things are doing alright." Arthur said.

There was no way Arthur could be certain about the situation at the school, but he hoped everything was okay. Also, it was not impossible for a powerful school like the One Hundred Thunder to fall, but it was impossible for it to happen so fast.

So he was very optimistic about the situation, but was uncertain about the future. What worried him the most was not the rank 2 mages, not at all!

Arthur was certain he would eventually reach the level of a rank 2 mage, and usually wars took a long time to end, especially one covering the whole continent!

What worried him, though, was the rank 3 mages. These people were powerful beyond imagination, and it would take him quite some time to reach that level. So the side who has more rank 3 mages would win.

Now, how many rank 3 mages did the dark mages have? They had been keeping a low-profile for a long time, meaning the top schools did not know the extent of their powers, and that could be their downfall!

"I cannot believe they did not keep track of them. Why were they so certain the dark mages would never attack them?" Arthur thought.

It made little sense. A potential enemy was living inside your continent, yet no one paid attention to them, allowing them to grow and grow until reaching the point of a war.

Anyone who had half a brain would not let that happen so easily, or at least would keep track of their movements, and in case something suspicious happened, then actions would be made.

But now it was too late! All the schools, all the civilians, could be in danger.

"Why are they attacking the continent, anyway? What do they have to gain?"

That was another doubt Arthur had. These mages, who were called 'dark mages', killed innocents without problem and usually practiced necromancy, blood magic, and some forms of magic which were labeled as 'prohibited'.

But the other mages weren't saints either. Everyone killed each other. No matter if they were dark mages, or the other mages, they all killed others while seeking riches and power.

The entire world was like that. If you had the power, then the others could only obey you with their heads down.

Arthur was a lot on his thoughts during the travel, but the merchant who hired him dragged him back to reality.

"A group of mages is ahead of us. Can you deal with them?" A fat merchant said.

Laura was ready to get out of the carriage, but Arthur stopped her and said, "don't worry, I will handle this."

She could not tell why, but for a moment Laura felt pity for those mages who were trying to ambush the convoy.

"Look what we have here, boys, six carriages filled with goodies! We are rich, hahaha!"

"This is only the start. We will take everything from them and rule this entire continent!"

"Huh? Who is that? An armless man?"

Arthur got out from the carriage, which was at the front of the convey, and strolled toward a group of mages who ranged from the third circle to the seventh.

For him, they were as weak as a bug. Laura or the others could deal with those people just fine, but he was getting bored inside the carriage.

"Leave now, or die. It is up to you." Arthur said.

"What? Are you insane? Kneel and maybe I will grant you a quick death!"

With a sigh, Arthur vanished from where he was, appearing in front of their leader, punching him in the chest. It exploded, with his organs flying everywhere, and the blood turned the ground red!

None of that touched Arthur, as his magical barrier kept these body parts and fluids away from him and his clothing.

After mercilessly killing their leader, Arthur smirked at the rest of them, sending a shiver down their spines! He wanted to return as fast as possible to the school, so he killed them as fast as possible as well!

A kick, another punch, and a few sword slashes. Arthur killed each one of them using a different way, trying to make the fighting more exciting, but that was not possible.

"Fighting these weaklings is so boring." He thought while returning to the convey where all the merchants had fearful faces when looking at him.

"Who is the monster Mr. James hired?"

That was what all of them had in mind, but no one knew the answer…

~~~~

During their trip, more groups of mages and bandits tried to steal from the convey, but to no success. Arthur easily dealt with them, making the rest of the merchants feel more relaxed about the journey, but with even more fear toward him!

After one week, they reached the city which was close to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and that was where Arthur agreed to scout the convey.

"Here, this is yours."

A leather purse with a few mana stones. It was not an exorbitant amount, but it was still decent, considering it was not an easy currency to get.

After that, they all left the city, going directly toward the school.

As they got closer and closer, all of them had a strange feeling inside, as if things weren't as good as they expected.

"What… is… this?"

The first building they came across was where the gatekeeper was, keeping track of anyone who wanted to cross the school's barrier. He was not there. As for the house he lived? Well, it was destroyed!

They hastened their steps, passing through it, and realizing the magical barrier around the school was not there anymore. When they finally reached the main part of it, it was in wrecks!

It was clear someone had attacked the school, but even though some parts were destroyed, the main building and other important things were still in a decent condition.

"This means they won, but suffered…" Arthur thought.

"Who's there?"

A man flew from the sky, dropping right in front of them. It was Seth, and he had a faint smile after seeing Arthur and the others alive and well.

"Ah, Laura, Jeremy, Richard! I am glad you are safe," Seth said, gazing at them, but changing it back to Arthur.

"We had a few problems while you were away…"