Instant Kill

After Ian completed the formalities, he thought of what had happened at the Library and decided to pack up when he returned and move here.

From now on, he could be considered an apprentice with some backing. As long as he stayed cautious and did not provoke trouble, his safety should be assured.

Fortunately, that awful trip to the Academy had not been entirely fruitless.

"At least I got a spell for free."

An ordinary intermediate spell was worth around thirty magic stones.

Even using the High Tower's Memory Crystal would not cost more than a hundred magic stones.

Apprentices who were not short on money would choose to buy new spells directly from Shadowmoon Tower.

Those with tight purses could only learn from fellow students, and the price difference between the two was enormous.

On his way back, Ian stirred his thoughts and summoned the Status Panel.

[Spell: Eye of Vigilance (0/100)]

After this spell was cast, an invisible eye of Magic Power would rise into the air and keep watch for the caster.

Its initial altitude was only ten meters, and its vigilance range was only around fifty meters.

He felt that his offensive spells were powerful enough to protect himself for now. What he wanted most was a shield-type spell, but there had been none in the catalog.

He could only settle for second best and choose this vigilance spell.

After getting settled, Ian planned to grind this spell to at least proficiency first, to prevent anyone from sneaking up on him for an ambush.

Not long after leaving Nightfall Town, Ian sensed that something was wrong.

At some point, a young apprentice in a gray robe had begun following him from behind.

His golden-red hair was tied behind his head, and several Rings adorned his hands.

Ian sensed faint Magic Power fluctuations from the Rings. They were spell Rings, something intermediate and low-level apprentices rarely wore.

His mind raced as he secretly surveyed his surroundings, then he quickly darted into the woods.

Gavin Monroe had long since grown impatient.

His subordinate had spent magic stones to hire him, and he had waited in this damned place for an entire day before the target finally appeared.

Seeing Ian run toward the forest, he was in no hurry. A cruel smile spread across his lips.

Someone had already blocked the way ahead. Capturing a mere Low-Level Apprentice would be effortless.

Faintly, Gavin heard a soft scream.

"Simon caught him that quickly? He moved fast."

Afraid Simon might hide Ian's magic stones for himself, he hurried over as well.

The view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a clearing in the woods. Ian stood at the far edge.

"Why did you stop running? Hm? Where's Simon?"

What angered Gavin was that Ian was sizing him up with a strange look.

"Bug, I'll slowly gouge out your eyeballs."

Gavin glared viciously at Ian, his expression utterly savage.

"Sigh... you're so weak. How did you dare chase after me so directly?"

Ian found it rather strange. Were intermediate apprentices all this arrogant?

To his keen senses, this man posed no threat whatsoever.

When he had first noticed someone following him, he had indeed been somewhat nervous.

Ever since transmigrating, he had never fought another person.

Not long after entering the woods, he ran headlong into Simon, who had been lying in wait to intercept him.

Simon's sudden appearance made Ian tense, and he immediately pointed a Finger at him.

The result greatly surprised him. Simon had no time to react at all. He stood there like a piece of Wood and had his head easily blasted apart.

Ian froze for a moment, finding it hard to believe.

Simon, who had been powerful in the original owner's memories, was actually so weak.

Seeing the absurdly high proficiency of Lesser Frost Ray on the Status Panel, a sense of confidence welled up within him.

Then he changed direction and lured the enemy behind him over.

At the edge of the clearing, Ian looked at Gavin's twisted expression and could not be bothered to waste any more words.

With a whoosh, a streak of blue light flashed through the air.

A warning surged within Gavin, and he tried to activate the spell within his Ring.

With a snap, his vision turned completely white, and he could not see anything.

At that moment, an oval shield covered in cracks enveloped his entire body.

Looking at the pendant on his chest, which was on the verge of shattering, a chill rose in his heart.

This pendant was the life-saving trump card his brother had given him. How could it be about to break after taking just one hit?

His brother had once said that even Advanced Wizard Apprentices rarely had a single spell capable of shattering this shield.

"Bastard! Stop at once! Do you know who I am..."

However, his voice was completely blocked by the ice and could not travel out.

Another muffled pop rang out, and the shield shattered outright.

Gavin's expression changed drastically as he was about to beg for mercy.

Out of the corner of his eye, he only caught a flash of blue light before his consciousness sank into endless darkness.

[Lesser Frost Ray Proficiency +1]

Ian looked at the ice lump before him, somewhat surprised as well.

It had taken three consecutive rays to kill him. He was far stronger than Simon.

"That turtle shell was pretty tough. It seems intermediate apprentices differ too. I'd better stay cautious in the future."

Ian was calm at the moment and did not feel any discomfort.

An additional benefit of killing enemies with this spell was that there was not a single bloody sight.

Next came the most important part: looting the bodies.

Both corpses were encased in ice. He cast Wizard's Hand, and it took quite a while before he could retrieve the items.

As for disposing of the corpses, this was the wilderness. Before long, nothing would remain.

After sorting through everything, the two did not have many magic stones, only sixty-three. The greatest gains were two spell Rings.

There was also a well-preserved potion formula on Gavin.

Rock Bear Potion!

Ian was delighted. Several thoughts flashed through his mind, only to vanish just as quickly.

"Eh? It feels like I've overlooked something."

He thought for a long time but could not remember, so he could only set it aside for now.

When he had gone to the High Tower yesterday, he had originally intended to seek out formulas in this area.

Instead, he had been frightened into fleeing the Library in a miserable state.

"What is lost in the east is gained in the west!"

Ian also realized that if that old bastard from the Library went outside to lure low-level apprentices, he should have found it easy to succeed.

Yet he had chosen to act within the High Tower. There must have been some restriction preventing him from leaving.

"Good. It's better if he can't come out!"

The knot in his heart had loosened considerably after what he had gained just now.

After returning home, he took a comfortable hot bath.

With his mind empty, the previous details began replaying in his head like a movie.

Today had been his first battle with wizards. Though it had happened suddenly, the outcome was not bad.

However, there had not been much useful experience to gain from that brief battle.

The two were too weak. Before he had even exerted himself, they had both fallen.

Suddenly, Nolan Monroe of the Shadow Society, whom he had seen in the square, appeared in his mind.

The blond man who had followed him today looked very similar to Nolan and dressed similarly as well.

Ian's eye twitched as he tried to comfort himself.

"It can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"

Sigh... it seemed Simon had been wary of Kenna and had brought this blond man here.

That guy really had to disgust him even after dying.

"So I somehow gained another genius archenemy for no reason?"

Ian felt rather depressed. As long as the other party investigated carefully, they would definitely find clues leading here.

He simply could not deal with an advanced genius apprentice right now.

A Junior Wizard Apprentice could learn at most three low-level spells. Any more, and the Will Rune would become unstable.

Upon reaching the intermediate level, one could learn three intermediate spells, while learning more than a dozen low-level spells was not a problem.

An Advanced Apprentice could learn six advanced spells and more than a dozen intermediate spells.

An Advanced Apprentice who had lived for a long time and possessed decent talent would have an imaginable level of combat power with a reasonable spell combination.

Ian currently only had Lesser Frost Ray that was somewhat presentable. Everything else was garbage.

"Sigh... I'll deal with things as they come. Hopefully, they won't trace it here too soon."