"Fuck. Ogres," Sam thought to himself as three of the grotesque monsters emerge from the trees.

These ogres were a pale sickly yellow color, standing three feet taller than John, with two longer teeth protruding from their lower jaws, and black beady eyes. Even though their mid section appeared to be bulging with fat, their arms and legs both looked muscular and powerful. Thanks to its limited intelligence they wore loincloths around their waists and ragged cloth wrapped around their feet, and carried basic wooden clubs that looked more like large tree branches they just ripped off.

Ogres were C ranked Monsters, and were considered a serious threat to most villages. Ogres held low intelligence, higher than an animal, but far less than a human. They were pack monsters, usually traveling in groups of around a dozen. Unlike magic beasts they didn't possess magic stones, but they did have a tremendous amount of strength. Coupled with their thick hide that required aura or magic to penetrate, they were a terrifying force for most villages.

Even though they possessed some intelligence, they primarily operated off instinct, mostly driven by their stomachs. Human flesh was something ogres seemed to desire over most other prey, especially small children due to practically being bite sized.

"My parents are both B ranked adventurers so they should be able to handle these three..."

Just then three more ogres emerged from the trees behind them.

"Wait! Was this a trap? But I read in one of my parents books, ogres had limited intelligence. Only...variant forms actually have noteworthy intelligence." Sam wasn't the only one to make this realization, his parents also came to this conclusion. "This isn't good. Ogres follow the strongest, and variants are not only more intelligent but much stronger too."

In a one on one fight John can usually match the lowest variant form of an ogre, the Ogre General. However not only were there more ogres, but his family was there too. Sarah may have been a strong mage, but even she needed time to cast her spells, and these ogres were far too close to give her that time.

The family stood there watching the ogres, as the ogres watched them. The ogres snarled and growled as saliva dripped from their mouths. They were anxious, they wanted to attack. John and Sarah weren't sure what was going on, the ogres should have attacked on site, but were holding back as if they were waiting for something.

"Sarah," John said quietly as his eyes shifted between the ogres in front of him. "Remember that time we were surrounded by red maned wolves?"

"Yeah, I remember," she replied as she prepared her spell.

"Good, on my mark you grab Sam and start running for the village. I'll cover you two."

"Hang on," she replied and used the spell detect to see the nearby area. "There are more coming, what if they try to cut us off?"

"Then I'll hold them off as you get help."

Sam listened to every word and evaluated the plan for himself.

"It took us about thirty minutes to get here, if mother and I both run like hell we might be back at the village within ten minutes. But it'll take time to gather the others, I can't imagine father lasting very long against this many ogres, especially if a variant arrives. What in the hell is he thinking?"

With John's aura and Sarah's mana both surging, Sam decided to take this chance to cast a short range detect spell to get a better idea of the situation. Upon doing so he saw even more ogres closing in along their path back to the village.

"Shit, they're going to box us in at this rate. We need to..."

John's aura covered his sword making it look like it was engulfed in a dark blue flame as he swung it along the ground in front of him. Thanks to the aura a large amount of dirt flew up into the air towards the ogres, temporarily blinding them. At the same the ground in front of Sarah quickly became covered in ice, which also formed over the ogres feet, essentially pinning them in place. As soon as this happened Sarah took Sam up into her arms as she and John started running back towards the village.

The ogres behind them roared in rage, and soon were chasing after them. However they were slower and the distance between them and their prey only grew. Side by side his parents ran, Sam was held tight in his mothers arms so he could only see behind them.

GRAWWWR!

More ogres were heard roaring ahead of them. Sam tried to turn and look, but his mothers hold on him was too strong. All he could see was just a glimpse of his father right before he sped ahead of them.

Soon after, John heard another roar from another group and saw three more ogres emerging from the trees. Channeling aura throughout his body he sped ahead of his wife and son, his sword glowing with a dark blue hue, much more controlled than previously. One of the ogres was further ahead of the others, moving to block their escape, making it John's first target.

The ogre swung its club at John as he moved his shield in his left hand across his chest, then swung  it out deflecting the club. With his opponent wide open John pulled back on his sword as he jumped up, then thrust it forward into its chest. Thanks to his aura his blade was able to cut through the ogres tough skin and bones relatively easily, bringing it down as the blade pierced its heart.

"KEEP GOING!" John yelled as the other two arrived, and the others from before were closing in again.

Gnashing her teeth together Sarah ran past him with John held tight in her arms.

"What the hell!" Sam thought as he saw his father take one more glance at them before focusing on the ogres. "No, this isn't good. He might be able to handle a few, but not these kinds of numbers."

"Mom! What about dad? We need to help him!"

"Your father wants us to get to the village and send help, so that's what we're going to do," Sarah replied, her voice cracking near the end.

"She knows he won't make it. She's only running because of me. He's acting as a shield. I've seen this far too often in my past life. They always came back either as a cripple, or in a body bag. Damn it! I'm the weak link here. If not for me I know that..." Sam paused as he could tell his mother was slowing down.

Once at a complete stop she lowered him to the ground and took a knee in front of him as she held him by the shoulders.

"Sam, I need you to be brave and run back to the village as fast as you can to tell the others," she instructed with a serious tone.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to help your father. It's going to be too hard for him to handle all of them alone and not get hurt. So all you need to do is run as fast as you can to get us help. You can do that right?"

"Damn you woman are you out of your fuck'n mind?! I'm not even six yet! A normal child wouldn't have nearly enough stamina for this kind of run!" Regardless of his thought Sam nodded, as tears started to well up in his eyes.

He may have been almost fifty mentally, but he found himself unable to avoid forming bonds like he did in his previous life. She was his mother, and she was far more loving than the one he had in his previous life. Even his father, despite the trauma his previous one left him with, he cared deeply about. Even though he still was hesitant about him, he still found himself forming a bond with him as well.

"Good, now run! Run as fast as you can!"

Sam did as he was told and started running down the trail away from his mother and towards the village. Sarah held as she watched Sam running away before turning around and running back to support her husband.

After a few seconds Sam stopped and turned to look back and saw his mother running towards the fight. He stood there with his eyes closed and fists both closed tight with frustration.

"This goes well beyond my desire to hide my abilities. Can I even fight those things? What level do I need to be at? The book said aura or mana are needed, and I have both, but at what level would I be strong enough? I do know this, one hit and I'm dead, so I would have to fight at long range. What I wouldn't give for a rifle with a scope right about now." His eyes opened wide with realization. "I may not have a rifle but I do have magic. Magic missile consumes too much mana, and magic bullet lacks penetrating power. Wind blade loses effectiveness at long range, and fireball and water sphere lack power. But..." Sam then started piecing together an idea, an original spell of his own creation.

Creating original spells was normally considered something only higher tier mages could do properly, however Sam wasn't normal. He may have been lacking in his understanding of magic, but thanks to his previous life his understanding of the natural world was on a level rivaling those higher tier mages. The mana requirements of elemental magic didn't necessarily require a large amount of mana, it more so depended on what you were trying to achieve. The larger the spell, or the more one tries to distort it from its current form, the more mana it costs. The biggest thing that held most mages back on elemental magic was understanding of the elements themselves.

"I think this will work, but I don't have enough mana to experiment right now. I guess I'll just have to shoot from the hip and try to make adjustments as I go," Sam thought to himself after working the spell out in his head, then took off running after his mother.

——————————————————————

John deflected a downward club swing with his shield before moving to his right to take advantage of an opening, and slashed a different ogre across the chest. Despite being an eight to one battle John was doing surprisingly well, and had now killed a total of three ogres. However even he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever, eventually he would reach his limit.

He turned his back to his defeated opponent, only to catch a direct hit with his shield and get sent stumbling back before he could regain his footing. He steadied himself and prepared to continue, when an ice spear flew right over his head and pierced through an ogres chest.

"John, are you ok?" He heard from behind.

"Sarah?!" John questioned in disbelief as he sidestepped a club and slashed across the ogres side. "What are you doing here?! Where's Sam?"

Cold air and shards of ice swirled around Sarah as the crystal in her wand glowed from preparing her next spell.

"I sent him to the village. I couldn't leave you like this," she replied, then her spell shot forward. The ice shards peppered an ogre as ice formed on its body.

"Damn it Sarah!" John roared in frustration as he moved to a defensive position to act as a tank for Sarah as the ogres were now seeing her as a target as well.

Three ice arrows fired and struck an ogre in the left knee, causing it to lose use of that leg for now. Sarah was more than capable of using stronger spells, and had the mana pool to handle them, but her problem was time. It might have been the beginning of summer, but it was still hot, meaning it took longer to form ice spells in this weather.

"I won't abandon you. Ten years ago you sacrificed everything for me. Even though I accepted your love you could have stayed back and performed your duty. Instead you were forced to abandon your family for me because of my choice."

John swung his sword in a wide arc and took the head of the ogre Sarah brought down, slashed across the stomach of another, and severed the left leg of one that was moving slowly due to the Ice that formed on its body after being pelted with ice.

Thanks to Sarah's arrival John had gotten some breathing room. Five ogres were now dead, leaving six for them to deal with. However the remaining six were fresh to this battle, while John was already getting tired.

"That's right, it was my choice and I'd make it again. So honor my choice this time too and run!" He yelled as he raised his shield and readied his sword as two ogres were about to enter his range.

The two ogres raised their clubs to strike John, but three more ice arrows hit one in its left shoulder, causing it to drop its club. With only one remaining John prepared to take the attack and counter. However something unexpected happened, a sharpened stone cut through the air and struck the ogre in the throat, causing it to drop its club.

The ogre grabbed at its throat and stumbled back upon being struck, so John took advantage of the opportunity and thrust his blade through its chest, then slashed the other's head off.

"Sam?! What are you doing here! Run to the village!" Sarah yelled in a panic.

John took a moment to look at the wound Sam had inflicted. It struck right in the ogres windpipe, it was shallow but drew blood, and if not for the ogres tough skin then it definitely would have been a kill shot.

"Sam!" John yelled back as the remaining four closed in. "Their skin is too tough, if you can do that again, try and aim for their eyes."

"John?!" Sarah shouted back after hearing her husband give their five year old son battle instructions.

However John didn't reply. In combat he only thought of how the ensure the enemy died while he and his allies made it out alive. Sarah was panicking and not thinking clearly, while John already understood that their son just performed an elemental spell that would have killed the average adult, and quite a few different types of monsters and magic beasts. As far as he was concerned Sam had already committed himself to this fight, and he wasn't going to deny his decision.

"Will do," Sam replied as he prepared to use his spell again.

——————————————————————-

Sam ran down the path as fast as he could, making sure to only use a little bit of aura to help ensure he didn't wear himself out too fast. As his mother came back into view he could hear her and his father yelling back and forth to one another.

"What's this? Something about sacrificing and abandoning? Nevermind, I can dwell on that later, I've got something more important to worry about."

Sam firmly planted his legs and raised his right arm in front of himself as he focused on his spell. A barrel of wind formed in front of his hand that aimed towards the ogres as a white magic circle formed in his palm and eyes also white green. A sharpened stone, about five inches long shot up from the ground and into the barrel as it began spinning rapidly. The wind smoothed the stone and sharpened the tip as he took aim.

"Wind coming from the northwest, maybe ten miles an hour. Target at roughly three hundred feet. Average bullet speed for a sniper rifle is about three thousand feet per second when it leaves the barrel, no chance in hell I can do that, the mana consumption will be too high. Let's see how much of a compromise I can make."

The wind barrel began to collapse from the end at his hand, and began to push the stone forward. With a "thump" the barrel completely collapsed and fired off the stone bullet close to three hundred feet per second. Sam wasn't entirely pleased with the mana consumption, but he doubted any slower would have enough penetration power.

"Damn that's a tough hide, and off target too. Well atleast it hit a good spot, and it seems to have atleast hurt it," Sam thought as his bullet hit the Ogre in the throat, not the chest like he was aiming.

"Sam?!" Sarah shouted in disbelief as she turned and saw him. "What are you doing here? Run to the village!"

"Seriously? That's your first thought?"

Unlike Sarah, John was quick to capitalize on the opening Sam created and took down the two closets ogres.

"Sam! Their skin is too tough, if you can do that again, try and aim for their eyes." John shouted to him.

"Now that's a seasoned soldier. Taking advantage of every advantage you can get." "Will do!"

Sam adjusted the angle of his arm as the magic circle adjusted. The circle was not being used to create the wind barrel, but was instead acting like a scope and linked with another circle he formed over his right eye. Through the magic circle Sam was able to line up his shots more accurately than if he just used his eyes.

Another wind barrel formed and a second stone bullet shot up out of the ground as he adjusted his aim, and worked to increase his bullet speed a bit.

Thump

The second stone bullet fired, and this time it was significantly more successful. Sam was confident this time he would at least get a headshot, and as he fired the stone at the targeted ogre as it opened its mouth to roar. This allowed the stone bullet to enter its mouth, and because of its angle thanks to Sam height the bullet had an upward angle causing it to go through the roof of its mouth. The bullet then went through its brain before shattering on the inside of the ogre's skull, sending small stone shards throughout its skull and shredding its brain. The ogre almost immediately fell to the ground with blood pouring from its mouth.

Thanks to this the remaining three ogres now saw Sam as a threat, and two redirected to him.

"Oh no you don't!" John shouted as he moved to intercept the first one that was trying to bypass him. Unfortunately another decided to attack him instead.

"On your right!" Sarah shouted as she quickly formed three ice arrows.

An ogre swung its club down at John, causing him to be forced to jump back to dodge it. The ogre then quickly followed up to swing its club sideways as John regained his footing. Instead of dodging again he raised his shield, and as the shield and club collided John allowed it to push him back as he redirected the force of the club downward. Once free of the attack he pushed off and lept forward and slashed at the ogres arm, severing it at the elbow. The ogre's balance was completely off, and fell to the ground. John quickly jumped onto its back as he used his aura to form a blade along the bottom of his shield while raising it up, then thrusting it down into the back of its neck.

——————————————————————-

With John focused on the ogre that attacked him the remaining two continued for Sam, who was already forming another wind barrel.

"Stay away from my son!" Sarah yelled, as she cried out as she fired her three ice arrows into the knee of the lead ogre.

The ogre went down immediately as she quickly began forming two ice spears. She technically was capable of forming ice spears all along, but to create them quickly would have been inefficient for a longer battle. To increase the rate at which a mage can form a spell they would have to use more mana. If it were winter or maybe even autumn the mana cost wouldn't have been much of a difference, but with it being summer she would have run out of mana well before the ogres were defeated. But now with her son being targeted mana consumption was the last thing on her mind.

With the spears formed in seconds she prepared to fire at the other ogre which was starting to pass the first. However she didn't get the chance. Blood spurted from one of its eyes and it collapsed dead as Sam fired his third shot, this time going through the ogre's eye before shattering inside its skull and shredding its brain to bits. Sarah was taken back for a second, then sent both spears into the wounded ogres chest.

She looked at Sam to see him standing up straight and proud as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a satisfied smile on his face. Seeing that he was ok she looked to John, and finally allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief as he pulled his shield out from the back of the ogres neck.

With the threat gone her mind finally spun back to the fact that her five year old son just performed magic. And not just any magic, but elemental magic. She turned back to Sam and her eyes widened with fear.

"SAM MOVE!"