Chris and Tina

A sled was traveling on the snowfield.

"Matthew Brother is so amazing, he fixed the broken sled back to its original state in one go!"

The little girl excitedly gestured the shape of the sled with her small hands.

Matthew smiled and said gently, "When Tina turns ten, she can go to the Northern United Wizard Academy to study."

Along the way, Matthew learned quite a few things from Chris.

The Northern United Wizard Academy was jointly established by the wizard organizations in the Northern Region. The wizard organizations would select wizard apprentices from the academy's graduates.

The academy would recruit children around the age of ten with wizard qualifications, and they would study the basics of magic at the academy.

This was the easiest way to come into contact with magic.

Matthew couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He was already fourteen years old and had missed the enrollment age for the Northern United Wizard Academy. If he wanted to join a wizard organization, he would have to find another way.

Matthew asked Chris, who was driving the sled, "Chris, besides the Northern United Wizard Academy, are there any other ways to join the wizard organizations in the Northern Region?"

Chris continued to drive the sled, tilting his head and saying, "If you have a letter of recommendation from a member of a wizard organization, you can apply to join."

"Or, you can apply to join a wizard organization by passing the formal wizard assessment."

Formal wizards were still relatively rare. As long as their ideals aligned, most wizard organizations would not turn them away.

Neither method was easy. Matthew pondered for a moment and asked, "Are there any other ways besides these?"

He was new here and had no way to obtain a letter of recommendation. He had not yet come into contact with the magic of this world, let alone pass the formal wizard assessment.

Chris thought for a moment and said, "Several kingdoms in the Northern Region recruit court wizards. My Great Uncle was a court wizard of the Blizzard Kingdom.

However, he has already passed away. He has an empty residence in Whitestone Town, and we can stay there."

Matthew pressed further, "What are the requirements to become a Kingdom Court Wizard?"

Chris explained:

"The threshold for Kingdom Court Wizards is not high. They recruit many non-official members to handle daily affairs.

As long as you have the talent to become a wizard and are not a Dark Wizard, you can join the Kingdom Court Wizards.

However, to become an official member, you need to pass a more difficult assessment."

Matthew nodded, understanding. Court wizards were often bogged down with mundane affairs, leaving them less time to research magic.

However, Chris was just an ordinary person after all. What he said was just his own understanding and might not be entirely correct. He would still need to find a real wizard to understand the situation later.

Matthew's expression suddenly changed. He noticed that the surrounding mist had become hazy, and the forest was completely silent.

In his perception, the mist contained magic. Being new here, he wasn't sure if it was a natural phenomenon.

However, the mist quickly grew denser, and the magic within it became more active.

Suddenly, he felt as if millions of ants were crawling on his back. He whipped his head around.

A lifeless face was pressed right behind him, its pale complexion looking like a corpse.

It was pale and hairless, with a sorrowful expression. Its mouth was slightly open, black pus dripping from the corners, and its eyes were fixed on Matthew.

Matthew's expression changed. He shook his right hand, and a wand slid from his sleeve into his grasp. "Shatter!"

A sharp sound of breaking air rang out as a transparent arc wind blade swept across the lifeless face.

Yet, it wasn't shredded by the magic. Its mouth stretched into a grotesque grin that reached its ears, more black pus flowing out. Its expression remained sorrowful, a bizarre sight. After a strange smile, it dissipated into the air.

Matthew's brow furrowed. "Illusion?"

Chris also heard the commotion and turned his head, exclaiming, "Phantom Demon!"

"Phantom Demon?"

"Phantom Demons are magical creatures unique to the Winter Forest. How could one appear here?" Chris couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, how did this road become so dangerous? It was perfectly safe just a few months ago!"

Beyond this mountain range lay the Winter Forest, a sparsely populated paradise for magical creatures, and extremely dangerous.

Logically, the Winter Forest should have been isolated by a patch of Dragon Snake Trees. Dragon Snake Trees fed on magic, so magical creatures from the Winter Forest shouldn't have been able to get out.

Dragon Snake Trees... Matthew thought of the strange forest he had encountered earlier.

"Chris, how much do you know about Phantom Demons?" Matthew asked.

Chris continued to drive the sled, turning his head to reply, "I don't know much. Phantom Demons are actually just legends used in our region to scare children.

However, I once saw a description of Phantom Demons in my Great Uncle's study, in a book called the Compendium of Magical Creatures.

It stated that Phantom Demons are skilled at Illusion Magic, preferring to use illusions to confuse and toy with their prey. They can also use magic to transform their bodies into a spirit-like state, making most attacks ineffective against them.

The habitat of this species is within the Winter Forest."

The few people in the sled fell silent. The forest within the dense fog was utterly quiet. The faintly visible treetops looked like monstrous claws, lurking menacingly and peeking at the sled.

Tina's small hands tightly covered her mouth, her gaze nervously fixed on the silent forest outside, as if afraid any sound would attract the monsters within.

She had grown up hearing legends of Phantom Demons—that they would snatch away disobedient children.

"All Protection!"

"Peaceful Guard!"

Matthew waved his wand, casting two shielding charms centered on the sled, and an invisible barrier enveloped the surroundings.

However, shielding charms without continuous magical power supply couldn't block strong attacks; they only served as a warning.

Matthew perceived vibrations coming from behind the shielding charms, but saw nothing when he looked!

"Urgent Manifestation!"

A wave of transparent ripples swept through the area, revealing two pale Phantom Demons outside the shielding charms.

"All Petrify!"

A blue beam passed through the Phantom Demons' bodies, but they were unharmed.

He suddenly felt a magic fluctuation from behind. Turning his head, he saw that Chris and Tina had vanished. Four Phantom Demons lunged towards Matthew!

"Illusion?" Matthew's expression shifted. The four Phantom Demons were identical in size; Chris and Tina might be among them.

He pointed his wand at the ground, and the snow transformed into a platform, quickly creating distance between him and the Phantom Demons. Then, he rapidly spun his wand:

"Muggle Repelling Charm!"

He used the Muggle Repelling Charm!

The effect was remarkable. Two of the Phantom Demons stopped in their tracks, turned, and fled.

"Avada Kedavra!" x2

After distinguishing Chris and Tina, Matthew cast the Killing Curse twice in succession. Two green beams struck two Phantom Demons respectively.

Phantom Demons couldn't withstand the Killing Curse, which attacked the soul!

The surrounding mist quickly dissipated like a pricked bubble, leaving only two Phantom Demons lying on the ground.

Matthew rubbed his temples. Although the battle was short, casting the Killing Curse required extreme emotions. Casting it continuously had caused him a slight mental fatigue.

The roadside forest was no longer silent. The sound of wind rustling through the bushes could be heard intermittently.

Chris and Tina, who hadn't gone far, also awoke from the illusion.

Chris hugged Tina, a wave of fear washing over him. Without Matthew, they would likely have been toyed to death by the Phantom Demons' illusion magic.

He said gratefully, "Matthew, thank you for saving us, father and daughter, again!"

Matthew nodded. He glanced at the sparser woods on both sides and asked Chris, "How far is it to Whitestone Town?"

Chris replied, "Soon. After this slope and two more turns, we'll be there."

Matthew observed the two Phantom Demon corpses. The illusion magic used by the Phantom Demons was the first he had encountered in this world.

Magic Creatures, like some Magical Creatures, possess magical abilities.

Matthew was filled with curiosity about the difference between Magic Creatures and Magical Creatures.

He transformed the snow on the ground into a package and put a Phantom Demon corpse into it.

Once the Phantom Demon died, it could be touched.

Matthew touched the Phantom Demon's corpse, and the Metal Disc in his mind emitted a glimmer, a red light floated out from the corpse and was absorbed by the Metal Disc.

He could perceive that the energy within the Crystal was extremely abundant, the energy was full!

From now on, he could return to his original world at any time.