"Whoosh!"
With only a faint, clear ring, the greatsword seemed to disregard the distance of space and time, slicing through Adelaide's body in an instant.
The greatsword's slash was so fast that before Leo could even stop the thought, it had also cleaved through the two Stone Golems beside him. The thunder power on the blade erupted, blasting both to pieces.
The massive Stone Golems that even Alice needed two rounds of attacks to break—Leo had easily killed two with a single slash.
Even then, the third massive Stone Golem's fist was still on its way.
With a casual sweep, thunder sword energy swept out, instantly blasting the Stone Golem into powder.
Leo's chest heaved violently. His body, which had grown taller twice in succession, began shrinking back to its original form. It looked as though he had exchanged only one blow, and the move had been nothing more than a simple horizontal sweep.
But only Leo knew that this single sweep had already used everything he had.
His aura, which had surged to its limit, rapidly plummeted. Sweat steamed off him in clouds, leaving Leo looking as though he had just been fished out of the water.
Mana poured into the Healing Rune Array on his chest, and streams of healing power began restoring his exhausted body.
"Impressive. I never thought I'd misjudge you. I still don't know your name."
Adelaide turned his stiff face toward Leo and asked with admiration.
"Body refinement wizard apprentice, Leo."
Adelaide struggled to tug up one corner of his mouth, perhaps trying to smile, but the moment it moved, thunder engulfed his entire body.
In a single breath,
he was electrocuted into charcoal.
That final slash had looked effortless, but that one slash had killed Adelaide outright.
It had even broken through the power of Adelaide's single-use teleportation.
"Is this the power of an elemental body refinement wizard?"
Looking at Adelaide's charred corpse, Leo still found it a little hard to believe. This was someone on the same level as Alice.
The two of them had fought for ages without a winner, yet he had killed Adelaide with a single slash.
Although it had partly been a sneak attack, Shadow Jump was part of his strength too!
Leo stroked the blade, which no longer rumbled with thunder. It was scorching hot, but nowhere near as hot as his heart.
This was the first time he had truly, tangibly felt power!
Wonderful power, so captivating!
The energy crystal had exhausted its energy, turning into a completely useless piece of crystal.
Thunder Plow Sweep was a spell Leo had created using all the knowledge he possessed, wielding a thunder sword infused with thunder power through his formidable physique.
This was a typical elemental body refinement wizard's spell.
Elements and body refinement, combined, could unleash extraordinarily terrifying offensive power.
Back in Tiyama City, Leo had specifically read books on elemental body refinement wizards and had been deeply drawn to the power described within.
At the time, Samatchi had even told Leo that the path of an elemental body refinement wizard was too difficult.
It truly was difficult. Even if Leo could unleash such an attack, he still could not call himself an elemental body refinement wizard.
That was because Thunder Plow Sweep was only a spell, not a complete system. Apart from this one move, Leo was still a body refinement wizard who could only use simple elemental spells to attack.
But even this single spell already satisfied Leo immensely.
His attack power instantly soared to 120%, raising his original 485 points straight to 582. That did not even include the wizard robe's bonus to elemental attacks; his actual combat power approached 600 points.
With 600 points of attack power, he had easily pierced Adelaide's first layer of defense, like a mischievous child poking a soap bubble with a wooden stick!
That was a defense Alice had failed to break despite fighting him for so long!
Especially when the energy crystal released its energy at full capacity, Leo estimated that his attack power had soared to 150%.
150%...
727 points of attack power.
What a terrifying number!!
This was not an attack a wizard apprentice could unleash!
Any wizard apprentice faced with that number could only let out a helpless groan!
Even thinking about it left Leo shaken afterward, his mouth dry and a chill running down his spine.
For any wizard apprentice, whether an elemental wizard or a body refinement wizard, that attack value was an absolute nightmare!
Unfortunately, unleashing such terrifying power required an energy crystal, and each energy crystal could only be used once!
The cost was too high!
At 200,000 wizard coins apiece, energy crystals were treasures few wizard apprentices could possess!
Apart from the crystal he had used up, only two remained in the Shadow Space. In other words, Leo only had two more chances to unleash 150% attack power!
As though it had been starving and parched for decades, Leo's body ravenously absorbed the elemental power in the air to replenish his mana!
That sudden burst beyond his limits had left Leo's body feeling different. In particular, the second increase, which had exceeded his understanding, had clearly been the emergence of a power within his body that he could not control.
Several ice spells blasted the remaining two massive Stone Golems apart, and Alice slowly approached from a distance.
Alice, too, had been startled by the attack power Leo had suddenly unleashed. Only after a long while did she walk over, looking at him with a complicated gaze, as though meeting him for the first time.
Leo picked up Adelaide's academy badge and wizard ring and put them away. He had made this kill alone and did not need to share it with Alice.
The spoils from a top-tier wizard apprentice were enough to make up for Leo's spent energy crystal.
Wonderful!
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Seeing that Alice was still staring intently at him, Leo asked quietly.
"I underestimated you. So did a lot of other people."
Alice fell silent for a while, then hesitated before continuing, "You're very good."
"I believe you'll become an excellent wizard."
"Thank you."
Leo smiled happily. Receiving Alice's recognition truly was something worth celebrating.
After all, throughout their time together, Alice had treated him as someone to protect. That might have had something to do with their earlier experiences, since she had begun secretly protecting him when he was still very weak.
Leo did not know when she had begun protecting him. Sometimes he felt a little awkward around Alice, because he did not know whether she had witnessed all his embarrassing moments too.
Having a peerless beauty watch me eat, drink, relieve myself, and bathe...
What kind of social death was that!!!
Don't think about it. Don't think about it!
"Let's go. Our fight with Adelaide was enough to bring every wizard apprentice within dozens of kilometers rushing over."
Perhaps because she now recognized Leo, Alice's tone was considerably more relaxed than before. Its chill was gone, replaced by a touch of human warmth.
"All right."
Leo put away his greatsword and activated his elemental aura again, instantly changing from a peak body refinement wizard apprentice into an advanced elemental wizard apprentice.
This battle had perfectly demonstrated the success of Leo's playing the pig to eat the tiger!
Had he revealed his identity as a body refinement wizard apprentice outright, there was no way the battle could have ended so easily!
Alice and Leo moved swiftly, hoping to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. After that major battle, both had expended considerable mana, and encountering other apprentices now would be far more dangerous.
Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Before they had gone very far, they sensed the auras of a large number of wizard apprentices surrounding them.
And even when Leo and Alice changed direction, they found that the encirclement could always pinpoint their position.
"This luck really is something else."
Leo could already faintly make out the figures of the approaching apprentices. From the auras he sensed, more than two hundred apprentices were surrounding them.
Two hundred wizard apprentices.
That was not a number the two of them could fight!
Even if they were only two hundred intermediate wizard apprentices, two hundred weak spells raining down would still be enough to kill them.
Leo reached to draw the greatsword from the Shadow Space. With so many enemies, he could not afford to hide his strength.
As long as the two of them found a suitable opening and Leo withstood the attacks in front, they stood a very good chance of breaking out.
His depleted mana, which had yet to recover, needed time. Leo took out the Black Pearl Potion Gavarci had given him twenty years ago. It could replenish his mana ten times, and eight uses remained.
Leo took a mouthful, and the mana in his body instantly returned to full. His aura surged, and his eyes shone brightly.
"Have a sip."
Leo handed the Black Pearl Potion to Alice. In the past, Alice had never given her mana consumption any thought, but this battle with Adelaide had used up a considerable amount.
Especially to help Leo launch his sneak attack, she had overdrawn her mana without regard for the cost, weakening her aura considerably.
Originally, she would have needed only half a day to recover, but now there was no time.
Alice glanced at the Black Pearl Potion Leo had just drunk straight from the bottle and furrowed her delicate brows. "I don't need it."
"Let's not worry about things like that now. Staying alive matters more."
Leo had thought Alice disliked drinking after him, but immediately saw her take an identical bottle of Black Pearl Potion from her own wizard ring.
Leo sheepishly put his away. Alice really was the disciple of someone important, so it was only natural for her to have a Black Pearl Potion, something only official wizards would use.
As for exactly which important figure Alice's teacher was, Leo really did not know!
One bottle of Black Pearl Potion could replenish all the mana of a first-level wizard and was worth more than 500,000 wizard coins.
If Gavarci had not given him a bottle, Leo would never have had a chance to own one!
Alice's mana rapidly recovered. With a grave expression, she said to Leo, "There's something strange about their auras. If I'm not mistaken, they should be wizard apprentices from the Soul Death Knell Wizard Academy."
"The Soul Death Knell Wizard Academy?"
Leo's expression instantly darkened. This was an academy focused on cultivating secret soul arts, taking a more unconventional path than ordinary academies, with bizarre methods.
It was the second-strongest wizard academy, behind only the Black Skull Academy!
"Protect me. I have a way to wipe them out."
Leo looked at Alice in astonishment, wondering whether he had misheard. Alice had said "wipe them out"!