"You're right, Bernard. Spiders probably aren't bulletproof."
Eugene—or rather, wizards in general—had little understanding of how powerful bullets were, but Adam knew.
"But you also have to consider the difference in size between a bullet and a spider. One bullet might not kill that huge thing outright. It could just drive it mad."
Just as Bernard pulled out a White Phosphorus Grenade, preparing to argue, Adam continued,
"As far as I know, there is only one kind of magical creature that can grow that large: Acromantulas. They can usually reach fifteen feet in height."
Bernard fell silent and quietly estimated just how tall fifteen feet was.
"And they usually live in colonies. Smaller groups can have dozens or hundreds, while larger ones may number in the thousands or even tens of thousands. Given the Forbidden Forest's ecosystem..."
Bernard put away the White Phosphorus Grenade.
"Ahem. How about we turn around instead? This direction seems rather dangerous."
Uther, Klon, and Eugene all nodded in agreement.
As the saying went, if you knew there was a tiger on the mountain, you simply did not go up the mountain. There was no reason to stubbornly charge ahead when they knew there were masses of dangerous creatures in front of them. What would be the point?
However, after they had walked a little farther, Adam suddenly called out to stop the others.
"Wait a moment."
Facing everyone's puzzled looks, Adam sighed.
"It seems we noticed too late..."
After Adam spoke, the surroundings fell silent. Without the sound of their own footsteps, the rustling noises coming from every direction suddenly became clear.
"Have we been discovered?"
"Maybe they discovered us long ago. Perhaps we touched a strand of web? Or maybe we simply entered their territory and were treated as prey—spiders fifteen feet tall probably couldn't survive just by waiting on webs for food to deliver itself."
Everyone looked grim and tightened their grips on their wands.
"Spiders should be afraid of fire, right?"
Klon suggested.
"But if we start a fire in the Forbidden Forest, what if it spreads..."
"That's still better than losing our lives!"
"Starting a fire would cause too much of a commotion. The holidays are almost here—do you want detention?"
Adam clenched the Wand of Darkness and looked around.
"Let me try..."
A huge magic circle spread across the ground, centered beneath Adam's feet. It remained hidden beneath the layer of humus, but the Acromantulas lying in ambush seemed to sense danger. Their rustling footsteps fell into momentary disarray.
"This is my first time trying something like this. If it doesn't work, I'll have to ask the Tree Card to handle it itself..."
Adam swept the Wand of Darkness in his hand. Magic power surged like a tide into the magic circle beneath his feet and into the towering trees around them.
Under the astonished gazes of Klon and the others, the surrounding trees suddenly began moving like animals. Branches swayed one after another, while roots buried deep underground grew wildly, churning up the soil and spreading outward—
The next moment, bloodcurdling shrieks rang out from every direction.
"Those are all Acromantulas?"
Klon's face turned somewhat pale.
"What kind of magic is this?"
Uther was also slightly pale, but he still stared at Adam in astonishment.
"The Tree Card. It can control trees."
Adam's expression was grave. There were far more Acromantulas around them than he had imagined. It was his first time controlling multiple trees at once, much less such an enormous number. This was far from easy for him.
The shrieks drew closer and closer. The trees of the Forbidden Forest were immensely tall, nearly blocking out all sunlight overhead. Thus, even in the afternoon, they could only vaguely see countless clawing shadows behind the curtain of trees.
Perhaps they were roots moving under Adam's magic, or perhaps they were Acromantula legs. Klon and the others all hoped it was the former.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, a spider climbed up a tree, then leaped along the trunk several times before arriving not far in front of them. It pounced toward them!
"Ah—Shield Charm!"
"Confringo!"
After Klon screamed and cast a Shield Charm, Uther, standing behind him with a livid face, directly hurled a blasting curse at the giant spider. The Acromantula's basketball-sized head exploded into fragments amid a flash of fire.
"There are far more of these giant spiders than we imagined!"
Adam said through gritted teeth, frowning.
Hundreds? Thousands? Adam did not know. He only knew that every part of the Tree Card's sensing range was filled with Acromantulas. Had they unknowingly wandered near an Acromantula nest?
"Adam, don't force yourself too hard."
After taking several deep breaths to steady his heartbeat, Uther looked around.
"You don't need to stop all of them. Let some through and just tell me the direction. I can handle them one or two at a time!"
"I can help too."
Eugene, who had been watching another direction and had not reacted in time, said in a low voice,
"Because of my parents, I know a few defensive spells."
Bernard's face paled at the sight, and he clenched the White Phosphorus Grenade in his pocket.
"The Unforgivable Curses are the most vile curses, but they are not the most powerful."
While controlling the trees, Adam spared some attention for their surroundings. Seeing the spider dealt with, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, noticing Bernard's state, he took half a step back and spoke beside Bernard's ear.
"Wizards have survived in this world until now not merely by isolating themselves from society. Don't place too much faith in the power of technology."
Bernard looked at Adam and nodded.
"East!"
Adam suddenly warned them.
"Which way is east?"
"Reducto!"
Eugene blasted away nearly half the Acromantula's body with one spell, then immediately followed up with two more Reductos to kill the off-balance Acromantula.
Glancing at the still-dazed Klon, Uther—who likewise could not distinguish east from west without landmarks—shook his head.
"Those capable of dealing with Acromantulas should each take responsibility for a fixed direction. That'll make it easier for Adam to warn us!"
"Alright."
Eugene nodded.
"I know the Freezing Charm. It should be able to delay the Acromantulas a little."
A faint flush rose to Klon's pale face. He had originally thought that being capable of this much as a first-year was already quite impressive, but compared to the others...
"That's enough. And you have the Shield Charm, so you can block them for a while too."
"I... can deal with Acromantulas too."
Bernard said through gritted teeth.
"You?"
Uther glanced at him.
"Did you bring enough bullets?"
"Not with bullets."
Bernard had already put away his gun and held his wand in his hand.
"Trust me. I won't gamble with my life."
"Alright."
Uther nodded.
Thus, the five formed a formation in which Uther, Eugene, Klon, and Bernard each faced one direction, surrounding Adam in the center.
"How many Acromantulas can each of you handle at once?"
Adam thought for a moment and came up with an idea.
At present, his magic power was not enough to use the Light Card, the Dark Card, or the four higher-ranking Clow Cards of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire. However, he could still use the other cards without issue.
Yet these Clow Cards lacked any area-of-effect means of dealing with large targets. If they could scatter them apart...
Before you continue