The Teaching Assistant's Capital

Vereesa was not flustered by these words; on the contrary, the other party's reaction only confirmed the label she had mentally pinned on him.

Since he was someone targeted by the Farstriders, he must be a villain. Sooner or later, I will bring you to justice!

"If you have the guts, let me go, you petty man who only knows how to run his mouth."

Seeing the girl's eyes blazing with fire, clearly itching to give him a beating, Lanlos didn't even know what to say. Twice, you've lost to me twice—where does this confidence come from?

"Fine."

Vereesa was caught off guard when the ropes binding her suddenly loosened. This mage, at such close range, actually untied her?

Suppressing the impulse in her heart, Vereesa picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and slowly stood up, quickly adjusting her blood flow, which had been sluggish from the binding. "Hmph, don't think I'll show mercy just because of this. You must pay for what you've done."

It was true that she had lost twice, and both times were due to sneak attacks. But this time it was a trap, and last time, if she had been holding a blade instead of a wooden stick, this guy's shoulder would have been carved off.

In terms of experience and wit, I am far inferior to him, but in close-quarters combat, he is just a mage in a robe—how could I possibly lose!

Staring at the provocative mage, Vereesa gritted her teeth, gripped her dagger, and prepared to pounce.

"Roar!"

A wild, low growl suddenly intruded into the space. Both of their expressions changed, and they looked in the same direction simultaneously. The bushes rustled, and a robust Mana Saber emerged from the thicket. Unlike the smooth, tawny fur of its kin, this Mana Saber's coat was matted and lusterless, with patches missing and dried blood covering its body. It possessed no beauty; instead, it radiated a sense of ugliness and terror.

More importantly, where the fur had fallen away, irregular blue veins were visible on its skin.

Mana erosion.

Though there were no signs of crystallization yet.

Recalling the markings that had appeared on his own face not long ago, Lanlos's expression grew increasingly grave.

While conventional magical energy is stable, it cannot be considered orderly; it wanders aimlessly in every corner of space. When this energy reaches a certain concentration, it manifests as a blue glow. Purple, however, appears when a certain amount of magical energy is structured into an orderly configuration.

For example, solid mana crystals, liquid Well of Eternity water, and the fixed spell nodes when constructing a spell array all share this color.

Purple magical radiance is generally referred to as Arcane energy. Never assume that because this energy is orderly, it is safe. On the contrary, because of its uniformity, this energy possesses a property of "like attracts like."

Once an individual is invaded by mana, and a portion of that mana forms Arcane energy, if the intensity of the Arcane energy exceeds the individual's own magical resistance, it will cause all other mana—even the mana within the individual's own flesh and blood—to convert into Arcane energy.

Severe cases quickly lead to crystallization. Even if one resists crystallization due to insufficient mana concentration or high individual resistance, Arcane erosion still leads to magic vulnerability and increased spell failure rates. At this point, whether the enemy is a mage or you are a mage, it is extremely dangerous.

The mana erosion on this Mana Saber had already reached the point of affecting its physical and mental health.

As if to confirm Lanlos's thoughts, the Mana Saber that had broken into the clearing did not avoid the nature-attuned elf as it usually would. Instead, it kept emitting terrifying low growls at the two of them, viscous saliva dripping from its fangs.

The bloodstains on its body and those bloodshot vertical pupils unabashedly revealed its murderous intent, the overwhelming ferocity locked firmly onto Lanlos and Vereesa.

"This is your chance to prove your strength." The mage suddenly relaxed his brow and looked at the young girl with a smile. "Make the most of it."

"What?" The latter was stunned, and just as she was about to ask, she found that this guy had waved his hand at her, and then his entire person vanished before her eyes as if erased by an eraser.

2nd-circle spell, Invisibility!

Coward! Scoundrel!

This display of maneuvers made Vereesa's scalp tingle. What infuriated her even more was that the disappearance of one of the two targets clearly stimulated the Mana Saber; the beast no longer hesitated and charged toward her.

The magic of her cloak was merely a disguise, not as thorough as Invisibility, and the effect was better the less she moved. In the current situation, it was impossible to use this ability to escape danger.

Raising her dagger, Vereesa caught a glimpse of the bandage on her wrist.

"Tch!" She curled her lip in frustration and immediately leaped toward the large tree behind her.

Bang!

Almost the moment she jumped, the Mana Saber had already crossed dozens of meters to pounce on her. Thanks to the ranger's agility, she used the momentum of stabbing her curved blade into the trunk to climb rapidly, narrowly escaping disaster.

The Mana Saber could even feel its claws brushing against the soles of her boots, but she had escaped, and it slammed hard into the tree. Pain turned into rage; it roared and embedded its claws into the trunk, attempting to climb up.

Vereesa was not just running away. Stopping on the branch that had been used to bind her, she took out her bow and arrow. Without even needing to aim, she fired a shot directly at the rampaging beast below.

"Awoo!"

The sharp arrow pierced its shoulder, grazing the corner of its eye. The piercing pain made the beast whimper, and after throwing a vicious glare at the elf, it turned and bolted into the forest behind.

Likewise, it was not fleeing; it was heading to a denser area, leaping between several trunks, and vanishing into the thicket in the blink of an eye.

Vereesa gripped the fletching and bowstring, following the sound of the beast weaving through the brush, constantly adjusting the direction of her arrowhead.

Closer, even closer...

Vereesa's brows furrowed, her eyes unblinking. She was fully focused, waiting for the moment the beast would burst from the bushes to loose an arrow at its vitals.

The first shot had been off due to the injury on her wrist causing a discrepancy between her muscle memory and reality, but for this shot, she held her breath and steeled her nerves, confident she could bring it down!

Swish!

The sound of rustling leaves vanished in the nearest thicket. Vereesa's fingers remained motionless, staring intently at the patch of foliage that was still swaying slightly.

A bead of cold sweat slid down from her temple, soaking her eyelashes and invading her pupil with an unbearable, burning pain. Yet, she still did not blink. Even as her furrowed brows trembled violently, her entire body remained perfectly still.

She felt as if she could see through the cover of the leaves, seeing the beast crouching low, its robust limbs slowly tensing, as if she could see those fierce, vertical pupils.

Now!

Whoosh!

Twang!

The Mana Saber tore through the thicket and lunged into the air; almost simultaneously, a sharp, piercing whistle erupted from the shortbow in Vereesa's hands.

Yet, neither party noticed two streaks of purple light crossing from the distance, slamming violently into the Mana Saber's head the moment it appeared.

BANG!

The beast's sturdy body was sent flying by the immense force, blooming with a spray of crimson blood that splattered everywhere. Vereesa wiped the blood from her face and turned to look toward the direction from which that incredibly tyrannical Arcane energy had originated.

Sure enough, Lanlos was standing in the clearing, waving at her with a faint smile, as if showing off.

Empower, Arcane Missiles.

With the benefit of ample casting time, the power of this 2nd-circle spell had been enhanced to a terrifying degree, nearly blowing away half of the Mana Saber's head.

Although the head was a vital point, the skull was the hardest bone in any creature. Even so, this Arcane Missiles strike had produced such an exaggerated result. It was likely due to the effects of magical erosion.

Looking at the gruesome corpse, Lanlos felt a genuine sense of discomfort. He then retrieved the one arrow that remained intact from the beast's eye socket and walked toward Vereesa, who was behind him. As for the one in its shoulder, it had long since been blown away by the Arcane Missiles.

Seeing Lanlos approach, Vereesa, who was leaning against a tree trunk, swallowed hard. Although her legs were too weak to stand, her left hand stubbornly raised her short blade, and she glared at him, refusing to show weakness.

The speed of the Mana Saber was astonishing, and coupled with its berserk ferocity, the sheer brutality of the encounter had been a massive shock to Vereesa, who was experiencing real combat for the first time.

Not to mention her lingering fear now, but just moments ago while they were locked in a standoff in the trees, terror had been written all over the girl's face. Yet, to Lanlos's surprise, even with her pale complexion, constricted pupils, and a wounded wrist, her movements had remained flawless—she had even managed to strike the Mana Saber's eye under such circumstances.

Such willpower was worthy of admiration.

"Well done." Lanlos wiped the arrow clean and slowly placed it at her feet. "This time, you win."