Back to Town

Dago barely caught the Black-Robed Wizard's muttering.

The air whined as the Flame Core moved at high speed, friction heating its mental-force shell beyond a thousand degrees. It was about to rupture.

Dago ran toward Selena with all his strength, scooped her up, and fled in the opposite direction of the Flame Core. He roughly knew just how powerful this spell was.

"Boom—!"

There was no warning, no pause. The instant the Flame Core struck the Black-Robed Wizard—

A blinding white light erupted first, releasing a visible shockwave that tore the Black-Robed Wizard into countless fragments.

Then the shockwave spread outward in a ring at tremendous speed. Dozens of meters away, the three of them felt as though someone had violently shoved them from behind, knocking them to the ground.

Next, the ten-meter area around where the Black-Robed Wizard had stood collapsed violently, releasing devastating heat and energy.

Everything within that range instantly melted or caught fire. The ground became scorched earth, and all biomass was burned completely to ash.

Finally, the scorching blast spread in all directions, burning objects farther away.

All of this happened within a single second.

Only when Dago felt the heatwave gradually recede did he force himself shakily to his feet.

The spot where the Black-Robed Wizard had originally stood had become a charred crater more than ten meters across, black smoke still rising from its edges.

The Black-Robed Wizard had died without even ashes left behind.

The evening wind swept across the bottom of the crater, carrying away a wisp of black smoke. That Flame Core had fulfilled its mission...

Through its own annihilation, it had carved an indelible mark into the earth.

When Dago saw that it was finally over, he collapsed to the ground again as if all strength had left his body...

His entire body was drenched in sweat, while Selena lay beside him with her mind completely blank.

A mist rose from Dago's body, carrying away dirt and grass clippings. The Cleansing Rune on his apprentice robe was taking effect.

Not far away, Mariko hurried over. Seeing that the two of them were unharmed, he finally let out a relieved breath.

After an unknown amount of time, the three of them finally recovered enough strength to return to the ruined Treehouse Outpost.

Everything had happened too suddenly. One moment, they had been eating delicious food at the Treehouse Outpost.

The next, the Black-Robed Wizard had wiped out the whole place in one go.

"Thank you for choosing to stay."

Dago sincerely thanked the two of them. As for that academy wizard, he had long since fled without a trace.

The Vine Art Selena had cast at the crucial moment had truly saved Dago's life.

"However, we need to pack up anything valuable and leave the Treehouse Outpost for town as soon as possible. The battle caused too much of a disturbance. It'll soon attract the other Black-Robed Wizards in the forest."

Dago immediately added before they could respond.

After saying that, the three of them immediately returned to their temporary lodgings and selected the valuable, lightweight items to take with them.

Dago still had a storage pouch on him, but he had never figured out how to use it. It seemed he would only understand it after reaching the academy.

At 7:40 that night, Dago took less than ten minutes to pack his clothes and Potion Brewing equipment before going downstairs to meet the other two.

In truth, the three of them did not have much stuff. This was already their second move, and moving to town would be their third.

The three of them stepped through the collapsed wooden door of the Treehouse Outpost. Dago turned back for one last look...

This place held many of his memories as well. Unfortunately, this farewell would also be their final parting.

He buried those thoughts deep in his heart. Once they reached Aina Town, who knew how long they would be able to stay there?

At the moment, all three of them were extremely weak. Their combat strength might not even have reached five...

If another Black-Robed Wizard from the Duskblood Council came after them, they would have no chance of escape.

The three of them set off toward town, their figures slowly blending into the night.

The closer they got to town, the more militia patrols they encountered carrying torches. These were guards recently organized by the Town Guard Office from among the town's ordinary residents.

They usually patrolled assigned areas in pairs. That way, if they encountered a Black-Robed Wizard, one person could escape to report it.

Dago seemed to recall Raymond from the academy mentioning this long ago, yet it had only been put into action now.

That showed just how efficient the noble lords in town were.

Along the way, relying on their academy robes and Wizarding Alliance badges, none of the militiamen dared stop the three of them. In the end, it was because wizards possessed individual strength vastly disproportionate to that of ordinary people.

If Dago wanted to, killing an ordinary person would not be much different from killing a Swift Deer.

On the road, the three of them also saw quite a few wizards coming from the forest. They looked disheveled, their robes torn and filthy, stained with blood to varying degrees, as though they had just gone through a life-or-death battle.

Dago guessed that Aina Town was probably filled with a stifling atmosphere by now.

He rubbed the space between his brows, unable to hide the exhaustion on his face.

All he wanted was a soft, comfortable bed where he could lie down and sleep properly.

At 8:50 that night, in a small room at an inn in the town's noble district.

After finishing his bath, Dago walked over to a silver half-length mirror in the corner of the room, his hair still damp.

The youth in the mirror was tall and straight, handsome and masculine, with an indescribable aristocratic elegance.

He checked the injuries on his body. They were mostly minor scrapes and were nothing serious.

He walked over to the walnut table in the middle of the room, sat down, and reflected on the harrowing day.

The Advanced Apprentice-level Black-Robed Wizard they had encountered that evening possessed powerful mental force, smooth spellcasting, and abundant experience in battle. Even among those of the same rank, he was undoubtedly a true powerhouse.

The fact that Dago had survived against him truly involved an element of gambling.

Especially the Flame Core he had released at the end—it had evolved from Air Bullet, the spell that had accompanied him the longest.

Using it to kill an Advanced Apprentice was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Its power was simply too outrageous.

Dago summoned the system panel.

[Universal Wizard Meditation Method (Metamorphosis 1311/10000); Ice Crystal Cannon (Metamorphosis 1435/10000); Resonance Art (Metamorphosis 83/10000); Detection Technique (Metamorphosis 54/10000); Potion Brewing (Beginner 18/1000)]

Using his thoughts to select Ice Crystal Cannon, the system panel instantly expanded.

Flame Core Air Bullet (Apex) + Ice Crystal Technique (Metamorphosis 8743/10000)

Once the progress value reached ten thousand, not only did the spell's form and strength undergo an earth-shaking metamorphosis, but even its original name changed.

Dago recalled the scene when he had cast Flame Core Air Bullet. That spell had directly drained all of his mental force, compressing vast quantities of free energy particles and air into a Flame Core. Upon impact, it was like a high-explosive bomb.

Its power had already surpassed the entire apprentice wizard stage.

However, the skill carried the suffix "Apex," and no progress value was displayed.

Had this skill reached its limit?

Dago could not help recalling the words the Black-Robed Wizard had muttered before his death.

"Apex of Sorcery."

Even at the moment of his death, he could not believe that an apprentice wizard had unleashed such a spell.

"Could this be a specific term used in the Wizarding World for a spell after it undergoes metamorphosis?"

Dago could not help but speculate, though unfortunately, there was nowhere to verify it.

After all, he had only attended a few lectures at Ainak Wizard Academy before he stopped going. Even Rosalyn, who had treated him very well, had only taught him two classes.

His understanding of all things related to the Wizarding World was far too lacking. There were many things he did not know, did not understand, or had never even heard of.

That was the advantage academy wizards had from receiving systematic education, and the fundamental difference between them and wandering wizards.

Most academy wizards naturally felt superior when facing wandering wizards...

It was contempt born from their understanding of the Wizarding World. Little did they know that Vissel had once looked down his nose at the wizards of their Forest Patrol.

And Dago could not be considered a true academy wizard either. He had only joined the academy casually back then and had barely learned any knowledge about the Wizarding World.

This time, he had returned to Aina Town because he wanted to go back to the academy and thoroughly make up for his lack of knowledge in that area.

Besides, he had Magic Stones now, along with Potion Brewing skills. He should be able to get by quite well.

During his time in the Forest Patrol, no fewer than three Black-Robed Wizards had died at his hands...

All of them had been intermediate apprentice wizards or above, including one Advanced Apprentice.

Unfortunately, he either had no time to loot the later Black-Robed Wizards, or they had been blown apart so completely that not even ashes remained.

Thinking of this, Dago sighed regretfully. He took out the storage pouch and examined it carefully in his hand.

This was the best trophy he had looted. The last Black-Robed Wizard probably had one too, but unfortunately, it had vanished into ash.

Whenever he had spare time before, Dago would often take it out to study it.

However, he had never been able to open the storage space, and there were almost no wizards around him who possessed storage equipment.

There was a spatial rune on the inside of the pouch, and Dago had continuously tried probing it with his mental force.

Unfortunately, the rune seemed to have an owner. It always repelled his mental force...

It was like his account and password from his previous life did not match, so he could never log in.

However, Dago discovered that the mental-force imprint left behind by the original owner could be forcibly erased bit by bit, though the process was rather slow.

"It looks like the dumbest method for now is to spend time slowly erasing it bit by bit with my own mental force..."

Dago suddenly sighed, shaking his head as he helplessly accepted the truth.