Dangerous

"What was that sound?!"

Ronan's expression tightened. His eyes shifted for a moment before he finally began walking step by step toward where the sound had come from.

Curiosity was human nature, especially now that both Ronan's physique and cultivation had improved, and his confidence was soaring.

Trying to hold him back from going over to watch the excitement was harder than reaching the heavens.

"Just one look. One look... The moment I see what made that sound, I'm leaving!"

Ronan repeatedly warned himself in his heart. When all was said and done, he was still a little scared.

But sometimes, the more afraid you were, the more you wanted to uncover the source of that fear.

Ronan did his best not to make a sound.

His Deerskin Boots stepped on the soft, damp earth, occasionally making faint snapping sounds as dead branches broke beneath them.

He pushed aside a patch of Dark Green bushes, and a scene came into Ronan's view.

He saw a devastated clearing strewn with broken, fallen trees, blasted turf, and pitted, sunken ground. A person lay stiffly across a charred, shattered boulder, surrounded by dark red, thick splatters of blood. His entire chest cavity had been blown open, and wisps of green smoke rose from within. He was clearly dead beyond doubt.

About a dozen meters away from the corpse, a pale-faced man with a red mole on the left side of his nose leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.

The intense stench of blood and burning, mixed with the fermented rot of fallen leaves beneath his feet, kept pouring into Ronan's nostrils, stimulating his blood, which had only just calmed, to begin flowing faster again.

The lingering traces of energy particles in the air and the attire of the two people in the clearing indicated that a fierce wizard battle had just taken place here.

The exact cause was unknown, but judging by the current situation, it had clearly ended completely.

"These two must both be intermediate, maybe even advanced Wizard Apprentices..."

Ronan's heart hammered in his chest. As he thought this, he carefully began backing away along the path he had come from.

He had no intention of scavenging any spoils.

Logically speaking, he should not even be watching something like this.

Still, Ronan did not feel any regret. This was the third time he had encountered something like this, and he had handled it far better than the last time.

For a moment, Ronan even felt that running into something like this once in a while was not so bad. At the very least, it let him witness the cruelty of the Wizard World and forcefully rein in his steadily swelling confidence.

He had only taken a few steps back when a new change suddenly occurred in the clearing.

Ronan stopped and looked curiously toward the scene.

He saw that the surviving wizard seemed to have recovered somewhat. His lips moved, and obvious energy particle fluctuations rippled around him. He was clearly casting a spell.

"After killing him, is he getting ready to destroy the body?"

Ronan casually wondered.

Then, in the next instant, an icy, sinister gaze suddenly locked firmly onto him.

"Go!"

The chanting wizard spat out a hurried, clipped syllable and waved his hand. A huge burning fireball materialized out of thin air, carrying wave after wave of heat as it shot straight toward Ronan.

"Fuck!"

Ronan, locked onto from afar by intense killing intent, felt every hair on his body stand on end. A chill flooded his heart, and only then did he realize that he had been exposed long ago.

He did not have time to curse. Without hesitation, he turned and ran.

Boom!

The scorching fireball exploded behind him, and the burst of flames instantly set a whole patch of nearby bushes and grass ablaze.

Ronan rolled across the ground, narrowly dodging the terrifying Fireball. His face darkened as he reached back to touch his back, only to find his hand slick.

It did not hurt much, but his back was burning fiercely. He had probably already been scalded.

When he looked up, the wizard who had thrown the fireball was now strolling toward him.

As he walked, he continued chanting a spell. His eyes swept coldly over Ronan, filled with nothing but icy contempt and disdain.

Ronan had no time to worry about anything else. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled to his feet and continued sprinting.

After only a few steps, he once again sensed distinct energy particle fluctuations behind him. His scalp tingled, and he sprang forward onto a tree. When the wave of heat behind him came rushing in, he timed it perfectly, kicked hard against the trunk, and lunged in another direction.

Bang!

Creak, creak—

The blazing tree let out a teeth-grinding groan as it slowly toppled over, turning into a pile of charred black in the blink of an eye.

Ronan did not even spare himself time to catch his breath. He immediately dove forward and rolled again. Boom!

The third fireball flew past, almost grazing the back of Ronan's head.

If my body refinement hadn't broken through... I'd probably have died several times already!

Ronan roared inwardly as he fled, then suddenly felt like crying.

If his body refinement had not broken through, he would never have come here and run into something like this in the first place.

After the third fireball, Ronan ran for a while and suddenly realized there was no movement behind him.

He wanted to stop and check what was happening, but he was afraid that the moment he turned around, another fireball would hit him and kill him outright.

"I can't keep running like this. The Wizard World has plenty of methods to follow a trail and track someone down. Since this guy already wants to kill me, he definitely won't let this go easily..."

After thinking it over, Ronan gritted his teeth and simply stopped.

Then he began walking back step by step.

"That guy just finished a major battle. He must have won with great difficulty.

His strength definitely hasn't fully recovered yet. Right now should be when he's at his weakest.

If I wait until he recovers, then I'll truly have no chance of survival."

Ronan's eyes flickered as his mind rapidly analyzed the situation. Without realizing it, he quickened his pace.

He admitted that he was gambling, but he was only a mere Level Three Wizard Apprentice facing an opponent whose strength was clearly far above his own. If he gambled, he still had a chance. If he did not, he could only find a place to wait for death.

At that thought, determination flashed across Ronan's face. With a swift motion, he drew the dagger he carried with him.

He quickly chanted a spell, and as the energy particles in the air began to flow, a thin layer of shimmering light gradually coated the bright blade.

Charged Weapon.

Ronan gripped the charged dagger in reverse and hid it beneath his robe, advancing step by step with a grave expression.

He only knew two spells. Although Charged Weapon was rather useless and its power was extremely ordinary,

combined with his current physical condition, it should still allow him to display some fighting strength.

After walking for a while, Ronan once again spotted the wizard who had chased him.

The man was standing where he was, slowly pouring an unknown potion into his mouth.

Although Ronan did not know what the other man was drinking, he could guess with his heels that it was definitely some kind of restorative potion.

The situation was just as he had guessed! Ronan could not help but feel invigorated.

But things still did not seem promising.

When the wizard saw Ronan return after leaving, exposing his weakened state before him, there was not the slightest hint of panic or nervousness on his face. Instead, the mockery and disdain in his gaze toward Ronan only deepened.

"Damn it!"

Ronan had been somewhat afraid and nervous before, but when he saw the way the other man looked at him, the frustration in his heart turned into rage. Instead, he stopped being afraid.

His heart hardened, and he charged straight at the other man.