Town Under Attack

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

It seemed the Town Patrol's crisis had been temporarily overcome.

Last night's events had greatly affected the town. Carriages piled high with belongings constantly rolled through the streets, carrying entire families away.

Once the forest outside the town was completely occupied by the Duskblood Council, Aina Town would be next.

While the forest had not yet fully fallen, many townspeople spent their entire fortunes hiring wandering wizards to escort them out of town to somewhere safer.

The two walked along the cobblestone streets. The sound of wooden wheels grinding over the gaps between stones was especially grating. Most of the windows lining the street stood open, and the bustle of daily life was gone.

The closer they got to the noble district, the lonelier it became. Soon, they arrived at the Wizard Inn.

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

Inside the dim room, thick curtains covered the windows, allowing only a faint sliver of 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 borne by 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 away to another part of his body.

Dago could only set the matter aside for now. According to Raymond, only a Formal Wizard could deal with such a troublesome curse.

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

Dago had some experience dealing with storage equipment. All he needed was to use a large amount of mental power to erase the mental imprint left behind by its previous owner.

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

Soon, it was around 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 more than happy to hide out at the Wizard Inn and stay far away from trouble.

Dark, heavy clouds ruled the night sky, making the already frigid weather feel even more oppressive.

"Boom!"

A thunderous explosion from wizardry echoed from the distant outskirts of town. Dago hurried to the window and pulled open the curtains.

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

"It seemed last night's raid by the Black-Robed Wizards hadn't been an accident. It showed that the academy had lost control of the situation."

Dago stared blankly at the distant blaze.

Since the Wizard Inn was halfway up the mountain and sat at a higher elevation, it was far from the outskirts. Dago could not see what was happening at the source of the fire.

Lights continuously flickered on in homes throughout the town, signaling the spread of chaos.

Many people also ran from their homes in the noble district, their faces filled with fear and panic. One woman wandered the street helplessly, clutching a wailing infant 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 the slaughter and plundering had begun. These Black-Robed Wizards, with their formidable individual combat strength, were in their element fighting through the town's alleyways.

Town mobile patrols and wizards from the academy continuously rushed toward the blaze.

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

Dago guessed that with support from academy wizards, the Town Patrol would soon suppress the Black-Robed Wizards who had infiltrated the town.

Sure enough, the outskirts gradually quieted down, and wizards extinguished the fire with water-based wizardry.

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

Dago drew the curtains shut 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 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 take control of the storage ring!

Then so many Magic Stones would be waiting for him. With that pleasant fantasy in mind, Dago happily threw himself back into erasing Vissel's mental imprint.

The next day, news of the Black-Robed Wizards raiding the outskirts of town, burning, killing, and plundering had 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-ranking academy wizards led teams through the forest, so the Black-Robed Wizards did not dare act too openly.

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

Still, most people chose to risk crossing the southern forest. By now, seventy to eighty percent of the houses in town stood empty.

Ainak Wizard Academy could not be bothered with the lives of commoners. As long as its mountain stronghold remained, the academy wizards would have something to rely on.

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

Mariko, who had neither children nor family, had truly treated Selena as if she were his own daughter.

As the sun sank westward, the two walked down 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 pursuing our dreams or fulfilling our duty to protect our families, those deaths have meaning."

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

"His body may have died, but his soul will remain with us forever. So we must live better, carrying his share with us."

Selena was much more spirited after hearing this. It was not that Dago could not grieve; he simply felt that Mariko had never truly left them.

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

"Get lost! Where did a few hired wizards like you come from? You want to terminate your 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 off several injured wandering wizards as though they were flies.

"You academy dogs deceived us and sent us to the most dangerous places to risk our lives."

One wizard leaning on a cane shouted regardless of the consequences.

Suddenly, a dangerous aura emanated from the curly-haired youth as he said, "We've been too nice to you, haven't we? Keep shouting, and I'll call the academy's supervisory wizards to haul you away. Then this will be very hard to settle."

When the hired wizards heard the words "supervisory wizards," their faces went pale. They stopped shouting and left the entrance of the Wizard Hall in indignation.

Seeing this, Dago thought, The academy is using hired wizards like this. Aren't they afraid those people will stab them in the back someday?

The curly-haired youth noticed Selena in her academy robe, his eyes lit up, and he walked over to strike up a conversation.

"The academy really is something else. Do they seriously expect these wandering wizards, who have never even attended a proper wizardry class, to help turn the situation around?"

But then his face filled with worry as he said, "Still, you can't entirely blame the academy. Those demons from the Duskblood Council have created many Black-Robed Wizards known as Blood Servants. Every one of them is like a madman, killing anyone they see. They're really difficult to deal with."

"Fortunately, 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 youth 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 weak."

Dago nodded, too lazy to argue with him.

Seeing Dago back down, the curly-haired youth turned to Selena with a smug tone. "I killed a Black-Robed Wizard by myself before I was transferred to the Wizard Hall to enjoy this cushy position. Wouldn't you say I'm impressive?"

Selena did not even spare him a glance. The curly-haired youth was so angry that he tossed out, "You don't know what's good for you," before turning and walking back into the Wizard Hall.