Attack on Town

After Dago and Selena left the Academy, neither of them spoke.

It seemed the Town Patrol's crisis had temporarily passed.

Last night's incident had greatly affected the town. Carriages loaded with residents and their belongings constantly rolled through the streets as entire families relocated.

Once the forest outside the town was completely occupied by the Duskblood Council, they would begin invading Aina Town.

While the forest had not yet fallen completely, many townspeople pooled all their savings to hire wandering wizards to escort them out of town and relocate somewhere safer.

The two walked along the cobblestone streets, the sound of wooden wheels grinding over the cracks especially grating. Most of the windows along the road stood open, and the town had lost its usual liveliness.

The closer they got to the noble district, the more desolate it became. Before long, they arrived at the Wizard Inn.

As they passed through the noble district, nine out of every ten houses were already empty. Most people had fled town with their families long ago.

In the dim room, the windows were covered by heavy curtains, allowing only a faint light through.

Dago sat at the table, examining the storage ring in his hand by the light of an oil lamp.

It contained all of Vissel's possessions, along with Hyram's Tear, the curse tied to his family's bloodline.

Thinking of this, he touched Hyram's Tear on his chest. It seemed to possess a will of its own; whenever Dago tried to remove it, it would slip to another part of his body.

Dago could only put the matter aside. According to Raymond, only a Formal Wizard could resolve such a troublesome curse.

This was also the main reason Raymond had not dared touch Vissel. He feared retaliation from the Hailam Wizard Family.

As for storage equipment, Dago had some experience dealing with it. All he needed was to use a great deal of mental power to erase the spiritual imprint left by its former owner.

So he began working diligently, meditating to restore his mental power while erasing the spiritual imprint on the storage ring's spatial runes, over and over again.

It was soon eleven or twelve at night. Ever since the Town Patrol's incident, no one from the Academy had come to interfere with his mission.

Dago was therefore happy to lie low at the Wizard Inn and stay away from the conflict.

Dark, gloomy clouds ruled the night sky, making the already cold weather feel even more oppressive.

"Boom~~"

At the roar of a spell explosion from far beyond the outskirts of town, Dago hurried to the window and pulled open the curtains.

A wooden house on the town's outskirts had been set ablaze, flames shooting into the sky.

"It seems the Black-Robed Wizards' raid last night wasn't a coincidence. It showed that the Academy had lost control of the situation."

Dago stared blankly at the distant fire.

Since the Wizard Inn was located halfway up the mountain, on higher ground and far from the outskirts, Dago could not make out what was happening at the source of the fire.

Lights kept coming on in houses throughout the town, signaling the spread of chaos.

Quite a few people ran out of their homes in the noble district as well, fear and panic written across their faces. One woman wandered helplessly down the street with a wailing baby in her arms.

A trace of pity flashed through his heart, but there was nothing he could do.

If Black-Robed Wizards had broken into the town, it meant slaughter and plunder had begun. These Black-Robed Wizards, with their formidable individual combat ability, were in their element fighting through the town's alleys.

Mobile Town Patrol units and wizards from the Academy kept rushing toward the fire.

Before long, even more explosions caused by spells rang out.

Dago estimated that with support from Academy wizards, the Town Patrol should soon be able to suppress the Black-Robed Wizards who had infiltrated the town.

Sure enough, the outskirts gradually quieted down, and the fire was extinguished by the wizards' water spells.

Seeing that the danger had passed, the people on the streets returned to their homes in fear. They were destined to fall asleep in terror that night.

Dago drew the curtains and returned to the table, tightening the Level-Two Apprentice robe he had kept from before around himself.

Once he had Magic Stones, he would need to buy a rune-enhanced robe. He had already experienced the convenience of runes, and they truly were extremely useful.

As for the Third-Level Apprentice robe awarded by the Wizarding Alliance, it had been completely ruined. Even the Shadow Leopard hide sewn into its inner lining had been destroyed beyond any value.

Five days... At most five more days, and he would completely claim the storage ring!

Then countless Magic Stones would be waiting for him. With that wonderful fantasy in mind, Dago happily threw himself back into erasing Vissel's spiritual imprint.

The next day, news that Black-Robed Wizards had ambushed the town's outskirts, burning, killing, and looting, had already spread throughout the town. There were even rumors that three Black-Robed Wizards had wiped out a patrol composed of ten hired wizards and one Academy wizard.

Many townspeople no longer bothered selling their property to hire wandering wizards. They simply took their cash and fled town with their families.

During the day, high-level Academy wizards led teams through the forest, so the Black-Robed Wizards did not dare act too openly.

Yet many civilians were still seized by Black-Robed Wizards while crossing the southern forest, taken away to unknown places.

However, most people still chose to risk crossing the southern forest. By now, seventy or eighty percent of the town's houses stood empty.

Ainak Wizard Academy could not be bothered with the lives of ordinary civilians. As long as its mountain stronghold remained, the Academy wizards still had confidence.

Near dusk, Dago invited Selena to eat in town with him. Recently, Selena had been immersed in grief over Mariko's death and rarely left her room.

Childless Mariko had truly treated Selena as though she were his own daughter.

As the sun sank in the west, the two walked through the desolate streets. Dago said to the haggard Selena, "Everyone dies, Selena, but whether that death has meaning is important to us."

"Whether we die while pursuing our dreams or while fulfilling our duty to protect our family, those deaths have meaning."

"One day, when we're chatting, we'll say, ah, there once lived a wizard named Mariko in Aina's forest. He was our family, and the finest old man in the wizarding world."

"Though his body has died, his soul will always be with us. So we must live better, carrying his share with us."

Selena was much more encouraged after hearing him. It was not that Dago did not know how to grieve; he simply felt that Mariko had never truly left them.

After the two laughed and chatted over a hearty meal at a restaurant, they passed by the Wizard Hall.

"Get lost, get lost! Where did these hired wizards come from? You want to terminate your employment contracts? Do you think you can come and go from the Academy whenever you please?"

At the entrance to the hall, a curly-haired young man in a robe embroidered with the Academy emblem impatiently waved away several injured wandering wizards as if shooing flies.

"You Academy dogs tricked us and sent us to risk our lives in the most dangerous places!"

One of the wizards, leaning on a cane, ignored everything and shouted outright.

Suddenly, a dangerous aura radiated from the curly-haired young man. He said, "We've given you enough face, haven't we? Keep shouting, and I'll call the Academy's battle wizards to take you away. Then this will be very hard to settle."

The hired wizards went pale upon hearing the words "battle wizards." They stopped shouting and left the Wizard Hall entrance in resentment.

Watching the scene, Dago thought to himself, The Academy exploits hired wizards like this. Aren't they afraid those people will stab them in the back someday?

The curly-haired young man spotted Selena in her Academy robe, his eyes brightening as he walked over to strike up a conversation.

"The Academy is ridiculous too. Do they really expect these wandering wizards, who haven't even attended a proper spell class, to help turn the situation around?"

But then his face filled with worry as he said, "Still, you can't really blame the Academy. Those demons from the Duskblood Council created a lot of Black-Robed Wizards called Blood Servants. Every one of them is insane, killing anyone they see. They're really difficult to handle."

"Luckily, we have hired wizards to take the bullets for us. What a bunch of idiots."

Dago and Selena silently watched him complain, making the curly-haired young man feel insulted. His expression darkened.

He looked at Dago and said mockingly, "Don't tell me you've never even seen a Black-Robed Wizard before? That's really pathetic."

Dago nodded, too lazy to argue with him.

Seeing Dago concede, the curly-haired young man turned to Selena with a smug tone. "I killed a Black-Robed Wizard all by myself, which is why I was transferred to the Wizard Hall to enjoy this cushy position. Don't you think I'm impressive?"

Selena did not even spare him a glance. Furious, the curly-haired young man threw out, "You don't know what's good for you." Then he turned and returned to the Wizard Hall.