Do you desire power?

"Wind Magic [Wind Blade]"

After a slight daze, the Magic Master displayed his combat prowess. Without a word, he unleashed a Level 6 spell. He was only about ten meters away from the two, and they hadn't erected a magic shield. At such a short distance, he was confident that even if he couldn't kill them, he could heavily injure them, even if they were Grand Magic Masters.

The Magic Master had no intention of negotiating peacefully. That was a joke. Would such powerful individuals come to this remote place to protect a Town Mayor? It was obvious they were here because they knew about the 'Key.' Therefore, from the very beginning, they were in a fight to the death.

Of course, the Magic Master remained suspicious of the two young people who suddenly appeared. Although they looked similar to a certain legend, he still refused to believe anyone could reach the Grand Magic Master realm at such a young age. Thus, he acted as a test for the hidden expert. If the expert had a good relationship with them, they would surely step forward, and then he could launch a surprise attack, still winning the battle.

The semi-transparent wind blade emitted an incredibly sharp sound as it sliced through the air. This was a very insidious spell. Due to its semi-transparent nature and wind attribute, it was difficult for ordinary eyes to discern. Moreover, it possessed extremely high speed, making it a preferred spell for surprise attacks over time.

"Boring trick."

Mayona was naturally unaware that the other party had already imagined them as formidable enemies. From the Archmage's perspective, she didn't need to know what the other party was doing because all the elemental fluctuations around her were under her control. She evaluated the wind blade in the same way. She extended her palm upwards, her fair index finger making a slight hooking motion. The wind blade, as if receiving a command, executed a difficult ninety-degree turn and flew upwards. After creating a large gash in the ceiling, it flew out of the house.

"You, are you human or ghost!?"

The Magic Master was utterly shocked. He could accept his wind blade being blocked by a magic shield, and he could accept it being nullified by a spell of the same level. These two were the basics of combat for mages. But what had just happened? The spell he cast had suddenly become the opponent's. Such a thing was unheard of, and no book had ever recorded it.

In reality, ever since Mayona became an Archmage, she had begun to do things that defied humanity and magic. One of those things was the ability to control others' magic. Archmage – what did the 'Arch' in the title mean? Perhaps it referred to things beyond human capability. Because it had never appeared before and there was no recorded data, the title of Archmage was proposed by dreamers based on Saint of Magic and the possibility of advancement.

"How rude. I'll let you in on a little secret: there's a fool here who can't see circles. All the magic you cast will be absorbed into here. Want to try?"

Mayona gestured a circle in the air with her hands, saying excitedly. Ruby could see that this woman was playing, and she was having a lot of fun.

"You three, buy me some time. I'm going to use a Level 7 spell."

The Magic Master's expression changed drastically. He would rather believe in that fool's invisible item than admit what Mayona had done. Thus, he ordered his three subordinates behind him, then hid behind them and began chanting the incantation. The three subordinates also started unleashing various spells frantically to stall for time. Water balls, electric shocks, earth chunks, wood spikes, and other elemental spells poured forth, but as expected, they were all absorbed into the invisible circle.

"Does a Level 7 spell require incantation?"

Ruby asked doubtfully. He didn't understand magic very well, but the person next to him could cast Level 9 spells with ease, and he hadn't seen her chant any spells, which made him question magic.

"Incantations can speed up casting time. For skilled individuals, they are naturally unnecessary. Since he's chanting, it proves this guy is only a half-baked Magic Master."

Mayona still had the leisure to chat with Ruby, making the three subordinates on the opposite side suffer immensely. Their magic was almost depleted, yet they had inflicted no damage. Their only effect was causing the colorful sphere around Mayona, which absorbed various magical elements, to swell to about two meters in size.

"Finished! Ice Magic [Ice Dragon Descends]!"

After nearly two minutes of magic condensation, the Magic Master finally completed his strongest spell. A giant ice-blue dragon emerged from the magic circle he had drawn, flapping its wings. The ice-blue dragon's body was nearly twenty meters long and resembled a dragon in appearance. This was a creation modeled after the appearance of dragons. However, the person who created this spell had some understanding of the basics of draconic magic, so the spell carried a trace of dragon's might. This ice dragon opened its maw and let out a roar. Everyone in Dris heard the roar and couldn't help but look towards the Town Mayor's residence.

Although the restaurant was large, it could hardly accommodate the ice dragon's body. Upon its appearance, it flipped the roof. Under the Magic Master's control, it flapped its wings and flew into the sky, then swooped down directly, targeting Mayona and Ruby.

"This is unscientific. Why can ice make a sound? Does it have vocal cords?"

Facing the ice dragon with immense power, Ruby showed a confused expression. If conditions permitted, he would definitely dissect this dragon.

"You call this a dragon? It's underdeveloped."

Mayona scoffed. Mors's dragon form was already thirty meters long. This dragon was simply too weak. The reactions of the two made Ette, who was paralyzed, want to grab their collars and roar at them, 'That's not the point!'

As the ice dragon got closer to its target, a sharp ice spike extended from its mouth to increase its power. With a violent collision and a strong earthquake, half of the Town Mayor's estate was completely destroyed, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of frost. Seeing such devastation, the Magic Master finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although his magic was depleted, it was a success, wasn't it?

"Incantation time: zero minutes. Magic power: zero minutes. Magic control: zero minutes. Your teacher didn't teach you the correct casting posture."

Mayona's ethereal voice reached the Magic Master's ears from across the ice layer. Under his disbelieving gaze, the ice layer on the ground gradually turned into blue light and flowed into the sphere beside Mayona. Mayona's three consecutive zeros were a cruel mental attack on him.

"This is impossible..."

The Magic Master collapsed on the ground. However, things weren't over. As if challenging their mental fortitude, Mayona lightly tapped the giant circular sphere with her finger, causing it to begin compressing inwards.

Any mage could feel the immense power contained within. A mere explosion would likely leave everyone here reduced to ashes. Yet, Mayona was still compressing this terrifying object until the colorful sphere was compressed to the size of white, and then she stopped. It felt as if an ancient beast was imprisoned within, ready to pounce and devour anyone if Mayona spoke.

"Hmm, this should be enough to return to you. It contains a large amount of magical elements. Let's call it an Element Concentrated Sphere."

Mayona held the sphere, now condensed to palm size, and weighed it a few times. She then revealed a devilish smile to the four despairing individuals.