The Magic Net

Violet Iris Territory.

A carriage slowly rolled in and stopped by the roadside.

The curtain was lifted, revealing half of Iliya's face. She sighed wistfully. "Three years... I've come back here again."

Last time, she had been an ignorant young girl, running away from home in pursuit of the extraordinary and the mysterious.

But this time, everything was different.

"Should we pay the baron a visit?" Phil asked, his eyes also carrying a trace of nostalgia.

"No need..."

Iliya shook her head. "We're wanted now. Though they don't have our exact appearances, it's still not ideal. We shouldn't drag them into this... The few spells our teacher displayed back then probably weren't leaked, but we still can't let down our guard."

As for regret?

The three mages had never felt such an emotion as they stroked the Obelisk inside the carriage.

"What do we do next?" Tuckerau asked.

"Find a place. I know this area well. We'll settle into seclusion and study the secrets of the Obelisk... Once our magic reaches a high enough level, once we become fourth-level mages—or even fifth-level archmages—then we'll have nothing to fear."

"Emperor Jupiter may have had his reasons for cutting off the spread of extraordinary power," Iliya said, "but we will never agree with him!"

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

With Tuckerau, an illusion master capable of controlling humans, their secluded life went smoothly.

In particular, after studying the Obelisk, Tuckerau's research into illusions advanced another step. He could even forge the memories of ordinary people, and had touched upon the fringes of divination magic.

With the barriers and protections he created, even though the Empire had relentlessly pursued them for five years, it still failed to find any trace of the three thieves from back then.

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