The Changes in Magic

Dungeon, 12th Floor.

Above the grassland terrain where white mist wisps curl, countless roars are now reverberating in the air, causing the ground to tremble.

Leo stood at the very center of the tremor, one hand holding a small straight sword, the other hanging naturally at his side, his expression calm and completely unaffected by the strange phenomenon.

"Pa--Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa--"

The ground cracked around Leo, and small mounds of earth gradually rose up.

One by one, enormous orcs emerged from the ground, roaring menacingly as they grabbed the nearest dead trees, uprooted them, turned them into clubs, and gripped them tightly, radiating a ferocious aura.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

The orc closest to Leo launched the first attack, raising its club high and mercilessly smashing it down on Leo's head.

A whistling wind arose, and a strong gust of wind spread through the air. The club that the huge orc slammed down carried a terrifying force and struck the spot where Leo was standing.

"!!!"

The next second, a heavy, booming sound rang out.

The orc's relentless attack shattered the ground where Leo stood, turning it into a deep crater.

Thick smoke and dust rose from above, mingling with the hazy white fog and further reducing visibility.

This power is truly astonishing. Let alone a Lv.1, even a Lv.2 would be seriously injured on the spot if hit by it.

Of course, this is all on the premise that you can hit the target.

"Whoosh!"

A figure moved like a ghost through the hazy mist, instantly bypassing the club that had crashed to the ground and flying towards the orc.

"Pfft!"

A cold glint flashed, and a sharp, small straight sword sliced through the air, cutting through the rising dust, and pierced into the orc's body, drawing out a large patch of blood.

This was an attack aimed at the orc's abdomen.

That was the thickest part of the orc's body, covered in fat and flesh. In the past, even with the sharpness of a small straight sword, hitting that area would be difficult, and it would be considered quite good if you could even make a cut.

However, this time, aided by astonishing force, the slash from the small straight sword became faster and more rapid, with kinetic energy and acceleration far exceeding those of the past. As a result, this strike directly sliced open half of the orc's stomach, making the orc appear as if it had been cut in half at the waist, splattering out the largest amount of blood ever seen.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

The orc let out a bloodcurdling scream, his massive body convulsing as he collapsed into a pool of blood, never to rise again.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoa!"

"Roar!"

Seeing this bloody and terrifying scene, the other orcs seemed to be frightened and couldn't help but take a step back, their originally fierce aura greatly diminished.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Leo, who had just slashed an orc to the brink of death, turned around and his entire figure transformed into a white streak, shooting out at an astonishing speed towards the orcs.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"

With a flash of sword light, in the blink of an eye, three more orcs were sliced open by Leo's small straight sword, their flesh torn open, blood splattering from their bodies as they fell to the ground screaming in agony.

"Hoooohhhhhhhhhhhh--!"

Although the remaining orcs were severely frightened, their monstrous instincts still ignited their ferocity at the bloody scene of slaughter. They roared and swung their clubs, repeatedly striking the ghostly figure in an attempt to stop it.

"Bang!"

The heavy thuds of clubs hitting the ground rang out one after another, sending plumes of dust and gravel swirling in the air.

Leo, however, was completely unaffected by this fierce attack. He dodged and weaved through the clubs that came at him with terrifying force, avoiding all the attacks.

Sometimes he sidestepped, sometimes he leaped, sometimes he dodged, sometimes he soared. Leo dodged the club attacks with the simplest and most effective movements, looking like a trained acrobat. His agility was on a completely different level compared to the past.

The orc attacks, which had previously seemed somewhat threatening, now posed no threat whatsoever to Leo, and were easily neutralized.

No way.

"Compared to Ais's attacks, your attacks are pitifully slow."

I didn't realize it before, but now that I've reached Lv.2, the orcs' attacks are just too slow for Leo, so slow that he can't even muster any sense of caution.

As a result, Leo's actions became bolder and more intense.

"Bang!"

Faced with yet another orc's club slamming down on his head, this time Leo didn't dodge. Instead, he twisted and delivered a flying kick, striking the orc's hand holding the club with a muffled thud, sending the club flying and knocking the orc's hand away.

"Pfft!"

A flash of cold light, and a sharp slash landed on the orc who was completely caught off guard, slicing open its abdomen and causing blood to glisten.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoa!"

"Roar!"

Seeing this, several orcs angrily attacked Leo from behind.

"Snort!"

Leo snorted and, without turning his head, grabbed the thigh of the screaming orc in front of him. With a swift movement, he twisted and appeared behind the orc, then delivered a flying kick that slammed into the orc's back, sending him flying.

"Boom!"

The orc, kicked away, crashed straight into the several charging members of its kind, knocking them all down like a bowling pin.

The remaining orcs were also slowed down by the fallen orcs. Some fell to the ground because they couldn't stop in time, while others hurriedly stopped and went around them, greatly reducing their speed.

Leo narrowed his eyes upon seeing this.

"Perfect, let's see how the magic works."

Having already fought Ais in the Twilight Manor and battled numerous monsters along the way, Leo has begun to adapt to his Lv.2 strength, greatly alleviating his mental and physical disorientation.

Attack, defense, speed, agility— Leo has adjusted in all aspects and understands just how strong he has become.

The only ability I haven't tried yet is magic.

This is Leo's strongest power. Before the upgrade, the "Demonic Power" attribute, which was closely related to it, was already the strongest among all his basic abilities. After the upgrade, he chose "Mage," a comprehensive ability to assist and enhance the development of magic. In this state, Leo could not predict how strong this power would become when he casts magic again.

Now is the perfect time to give it a try.

"[Light of Heaven, Sword of Stars.]"

The extremely brief incantation was uttered by Leo in less than a second, completing the most important and crucial procedure before activating the magic.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Leo did not choose to expend additional mental energy to increase the power, nor did he choose to add more attacks; he simply activated the magic in its most ordinary state.

However, even though he did not choose to expend extra mental energy to increase the power and number of attacks of his magic, the magic he unleashed exhibited a completely different appearance than before.

"Buzz!"

A magnificent magic circle spun and unfolded before Leo, shimmering with dazzling Starlight and slowly shining.

This phenomenon can only be triggered by those who have mastered "Mage." This magic circle is proof of a high-ranking Mage and is a device that comprehensively amplifies, assists, and strengthens magic.

"Boom!!!"

The next moment, a thick, pillar-like meteor shot out from the magic circle, accompanied by a deafening roar that shook the atmosphere, engulfing the attacking orcs.

This time, the large group of orcs didn't even have time to scream. The giant bodies that were swallowed by the meteor were either annihilated on the spot or the parts that were grazed were vaporized, completely losing their ability to fight.

"This----"

The astonishing sight left Leo speechless.

Not to mention Leo, even Lefiya, who was watching from afar and processing the monsters' corpses, collecting Magic Stone and dropped items from them, was astonished by this scene.

"Mr. Leo's magic—it's become so powerful!"

That power, let alone being used to deal with monsters classified as level 1, would probably be enough even to deal with level 3 monsters, right?

Mr. Leo's magic has become far too powerful after the upgrade!

"That magic circle—has Mr. Leo already mastered the development ability of 'Mage'?"

Lefiya quickly realized what was happening and began to understand why Leo's magic was so powerful.

It's not just because the magic has become stronger after the upgrade, but also because with the assistance of a "Mage," this power has risen to another level.

"Hee-hoo-hoo----"

The surviving orcs were few in number after Leo's magical attack, and their charge came to a complete halt, no longer daring to advance.

Their monstrous instincts drove them to attack the adventurers before them, fearless of death. But when their instinctive fear overwhelmed their ferocity, they panicked and chose to flee.

Can they escape?

Seeing the orcs scatter and flee in different directions, Leo, regaining his senses, cast his magic again.

This time, he didn't even bother with chanting; he simply unleashed several meteors that streaked through the white mist and shot towards the orcs.

"Wow, he used magic without even chanting?!"

Clearly, Lefiya was stunned when she saw Leo use magic without chanting a spell for the first time.

Because the power of magic used without chanting is so pitiful, less than half of its normal power, Leo has never used magic like this since teaming up with Lefiya. So the girl had no idea that Leo's magic could be activated without chanting.

Now, after upgrading to Lv.2, Leo's magic power has greatly increased, and it is already causing excessive damage to monsters in the upper levels. Therefore, Leo no longer needs to worry about insufficient power when casting magic without chanting incantations.

Even with less than half its power, [Meteor Dance] was still stronger than before the upgrade, sending streaks of meteors piercing through the thick white fog, dispelling the mist, and catching up with the fleeing orcs.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"--.

An explosive roar rang out, and meteors that tore through space and pierced through the white mist struck the fleeing orcs one by one, instantly turning their bodies into ashes.

"----It seems like this can be done?"

Leo didn't even look at the final fate of the orcs. After casting the spell, he fell into a thoughtful state, looking at his palm. Then, without chanting any incantations, he cast another spell, causing magic circles to suddenly appear all around him.

Shooting stars flew out from the magic circles, but no longer flew in a straight line. Instead, they seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, flying back and forth, changing direction freely, and hovering above the entire grassland terrain.

The sight captivated Lefiya.

"Mr. Leo's magic is always so beautiful, no matter how many times I see it."

The girl was amazed, and her eyes shone with wonder.

Leo was also watching this scene, and he had some thoughts on it.

"It seems that, with the aid of my 'Mage' development abilities, my control over this Star-Attribute Magic has also become stronger."

Leo had previously discovered that the advantage of his Star-Attribute Magic compared to other attribute magic lay in its extremely high controllability.

It is very easy to control, unlike other types of magic which are difficult to control. Now that it has the ability to develop "Mage", its controllability has become even stronger, to the point that Leo can control it freely and change direction like this.

"One of Lefiya Viridis's magic spells has tracking capabilities. If I control my magic properly, I can do the same thing, or even better."

Leo's heart skipped a beat, and the streaks of meteors immediately flew to his side, circling around him.

Leo could even stop them, bring them to a standstill, and then suddenly accelerate them, sending them flying in all directions.

This reaffirmed Leo's belief that his magic was indeed very effective.

Depending on how it's used, this magic can serve a wide range of purposes, including but not limited to single-target attacks, group attacks, tracking attacks, small-area attacks, large-area attacks, wide-area annihilation, and even setting traps. It can accomplish with a single spell what multiple spells might not be able to do.

"Her firepower has also completely transformed. Although it can't compare to Lefiya Viridis yet, it shouldn't be bad compared to a typical Lv.3 Mage, right?"

Thinking of this, Leo couldn't help but look in one direction.

"Perhaps this time we really can go to a lower floor--"