Chapter 16: It's Really Not Hard [4.5]
I grinned at them, "Alright. First question. Who else is here? It can't just be you two."
The smaller one went to speak but was elbowed by the other. They gave each other a glance and began to speak almost telekinetically. The smaller one thought: What?
The burly one thought: If we tell her, then we have a fate much worse than death by her!
The smaller one quickly nodded in agreement.
I frowned seeing their unspoken conversation. I tapped my finger in annoyance, "I don't like asking twice." The ice began to grow at a more rapid rate. I forced on a smile, "As you can see, I can be impatient sometimes."
The small one spoke quickly, "AHH! We will talk! Just stop!"
I motioned him on and halted the ice growth, "Well?"
He gulped, "There are four of us. We are supposed to guard the packages-"
"Children." I interrupted in irritation.
He nodded trying to placate me, "Yes, sorry… Children. The other two are supposed to walk around the perimeter and watch for any magicians who might be tracking us down."
I lifted an eyebrow, "What magicians?"
The burly man let out strange laughter, "They are always after us! Good thing they never think to look near the western border in the North!"
My eyes widened, "We are in the North-west?"
His face grew serious once he realized he just let the location slip.
I suddenly recalled Miss Dean speaking to Bea about traces of magic. My eyes lit up in a realization, "You weren't using large amounts of mana so you could avoid being tracked. Then, if we could send a signal or something, they may be able to find us."
Both of their faces paled from my realization. The burly man shouted, "Are you sure you are a child?! How could you figure that out!? NO! How can a child be so skilled at magic?! It's impossible!!"
I scoffed, "If I said I wasn't a child, would you believe me?"
Both of their expressions revealed that they wouldn't.
I moved on to the next question, "Did you also bring another little girl? She has glasses, is very short, has brown hair, and looks like a total nerd?"
The burly man let out a dark chuckle, "How would we remember what trash we bring in- URK!" He twisted as he gurgled out strange noises.
I frowned at him, "Since you can't be trusted with that tongue, then I will just freeze it so you can never use it again. Besides, I don't need both of you to be able to speak." I turned to the smaller man who was looking at the burly man with a frightened expression. I grinned at him, "What do you have to say? And please don't say anything stupid either."
He shook his head quickly, "I don't know a thing about her! Honest! We get a lot of children, but our last batch was sent off months ago! If she isn't here, then we haven't seen your friend!"
"She's not my friend." I cut in suddenly. He closed his mouth afraid that I would freeze off his tongue as well. I took a deep breath, "Okay. Where are the other camps?"
"Eh? Other camps?"
I nodded, "There's definitely more. I want you to draw me a map."
He held up his hands that were covered in a block of ice. He gave a forced smile, "How can I draw a map when I am like this?"
I grinned maliciously, "Oh, I think I have an idea."
He immediately regretted asking.
The ice encasing one of his hands slowly receded, leaving only a small ice ring with small magic circles carved into it. His fingers were blue and very numb from the ice. He wasn't even sure if his hands could be rescued or if they would be numb forever.
"Alright. Now draw me a map."
"With, uh… With what?"
I felt my clothes and realized I was missing something important. I looked around, "Does anyone have a pen and paper?"
The boy's face twitched as he replied sarcastically, "Do you think we would have one?"
I frowned, "Is there a magic spell to make them appear?"
"... No."
"Oh…"
Note to self: Figure out if there is a way to make things appear out of thin air.
I looked at the men. "Okay, but you must have some nearby. Shouldn't you have an evil lair where you keep your valuables and sleep?"
The man nodded, "Yes. It is next door."
"Great. Oh! Where is my wand? Is it in your lair too? I must have dropped it when I was attacked by you idiots."
He shook his head, "If you dropped it, then it's gone. We don't keep things like that unless it's valuable."
When I heard it was lost, I felt a strong emotion stir up inside of me. It felt like something was squeezing and tugging at my heart. It made my chest tighten and my stomach feel empty.
I nodded trying to shake off the somber feeling, "Very well. I will go to your lair and pick up a pen and paper. I will return in a moment. If either of you moves even a tad, I will turn you into icicles."
The boy stopped me before I left, "What about those two men guarding the perimeter? Don't you think they will be back soon?"
My eyes widened in realization, "Oooh. You're right. I didn't think about that. I guess I should take them out first and then get the stuff." I nodded in admiration, "You're a smart kid."
His face twitched as he muttered, "I didn't mean that you should attack them..."
I ignored his muttering as I noticed the tight collars still around the children's necks. I spoke quickly, "I should probably take those collars off of you children. It must be uncomfortable."
The children's faces paled and even the boy took a step back in fear. He shook his head quickly, "No need! I don't want to be shocked and burned!"
I rolled my eyes, "Relax. I can get them off of you without getting hurt. I just couldn't do it to myself before because overloading it was just easier."
He looked at me as if he didn't believe me, "There's no way."
I directed my mana to my hand to create an extremely sharp and unbreakable icicle. The effort made my head feel a bit dull, but I ignored it. I motioned him over, "Just trust me. Would I hurt you after I went through all this effort just to save you?"
He still didn't trust me, but he slowly walked over. He was a bit cautious, "Fine. But if you shock me in the slightest-"
I shook my head, "I won't."
I stuck out my tongue as I concentrated on the collar. Usually, I would just go for it and not be as careful. However, this boy had already been hurt enough. I don't want to hurt him even more.
One thing I learned was that altering these magic symbols can change the purpose. In this case, if you mess up you could cause severe damage. Since its purpose is to electrocute when detecting mana, it will dole out an electric shock if it is being tampered with. So to avoid that, you need to be extra careful.
It wasn't really that hard though.
You just had to be good at finding and understanding patterns. This wasn't really difficult for me. We had hieroglyphics at the art museum I worked at. I spent many days observing them and figuring out their patterns. It was a fun hobby. It also helped me pay attention to finer details which came in handy now that I had to figure out what the weak spot in the collar was. When I finally found it, I added a small umlaut to it.
The collar broke apart and fell to pieces on the floor.
I let out the breath I had been holding, "Alright. Who is next?"
The children were hesitant, but I eventually was able to convince them to believe me. I wiped the sweat from my brow after finishing with the last collar. It's a bit exhausting trying to concentrate for that long, but at least the children won't have to worry about that tight collar anymore.
I nodded, "It's done. Now watch these two idiots while I freeze the other two. If they try to use magic or if something goes wrong, just beat them up."
"Beat them up?" The boy raised an eyebrow, "How can I do that?"
"Duh. Magic."
He clicked his tongue, "I'm not like you. I can't just use magic."
My eyes widened, "Eh? Why not? What attribute do you have?"
Perhaps different attributes aren't able to use magic like I am with ice?
He flinched and flushed slightly as if surprised I asked him. He spoke evasively, "T-That doesn't matter. I just need a wand." I flicked his forehead and he shouted, "Oi!"
I put my hands on my hips as I lectured, "Don't confine yourself to a wand. Relying on it too much will weaken you."
He stared at me in confusion, "But there's no other way!?!"
"You can just use mana without the wand. It's not as accurate and it is a bit messy, but you can still do it."
"No, I can't!! No one can!!"
"I can."
"That's because you aren't human!!"
I ignored him, "Since it can't be helped..."
I reached towards the men who flinched away from me. I ignored it and pulled out their wands. I compared them. They both looked extremely expensive and their designs were so intricate, it seemed as if a professional artist had carved them. One wand was wooden with green leaf-like designs, while the other felt like pure gold with white designs that were far more pleasing to the eye. I think a golden wand would suit the golden-haired boy.
I handed him the golden wand, "Take this one to use."
The burly man gave a chortle and I cast him an angry glare, shutting him up immediately. The boy shook his head when I tried to give him it, "I can't use it."
"Why not?"
"Because it doesn't belong to me."
"So? What's the problem?"
He sighed, "So, wands will only respond to their owner. When you use a wand, you imprint your mana and form a signature."
"Eh?! I had no idea! How can you tell?"
"You have to probe it."
"Probe it?"
The boy looked at me like I was an idiot. He muttered aloud, "How are you this skilled at magic and not know something so simple?!"
I frowned, "Don't be a hater. Now tell me how to probe it."
He let out an exhausted sigh, "Close your eyes and insert your mana into the wand. You should see his signature appear in your mind."
I closed my eyes and channeled my mana into the wand. Sure enough, a bright name flashed in my mind. Huh. I guess wands do have signatures. But it looks like it was just written with a pencil. Can't I just erase it?
In the darkness of my mind, I looked down and imagined my own two hands. They suddenly appeared as if they were real. I concentrated further and an eraser materialized in one of my hands. I reached out and erased the name. I opened my eyes and tossed the boy the golden wand, "There. Now you can use it."
He looked at it in confusion, "I think you are missing the big picture. His name is on it so-"
"No, it's not." I interrupted.
He blinked, "Huh?"
I replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "I erased his name. You can put your name on it now."
He furrowed his brow in disbelief. Then he closed his eyes and used his mana to probe it. His eyes flashed open, "H-How?! I-Impossible!!"
I shook my head, "Go ahead and try it if you don't believe me."
He pointed at the ground, "Crescere!"
A delicate green light shot out from the tip and entered the soil. The ground sparkled in a lime green color before a stem started rising from the ground. A white peony started blooming on the top.
Everyone's mouth dropped at the sight.
I don't understand why everyone is so shocked to use another person's wand. It can't be that unheard of. Wasn't I doing that the entire time? It's not like the original body's wand belonged to me before. It didn't have my name on it, but I was still able to use it.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Nekoru
Nekoru I know a different kind of probe~
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone