《The Greatest Sinner》


 Chapter 1 - Pride

    Thousands of people had gathered in the square, waiting for one event.


    Today would be the execution of the most dangerous criminal in the history of the "Empire of Heavenly Pearls".


    Wrapped in thick chains, Evan looked calmly at the crowd before him. His face waspletely unemotional, and his gaze was incredibly cold. He despised each of these people, as well as the whole rotten world.


    <I went against the power and rules of this world, and at the same time, I was able to kill the emperor with my own hands>.


    Evan had no regrets. He hadmitted the worst crime imaginable. It was also his greatest aplishment.


    He was sentenced to execution by the "Heavenly Thunder". It was a capital punishment designed especially for him.


    The clouds had already thickened over the square. Very soon, the punishment woulde upon Evan and his life would be cut short.


    No one smiled or showed joy. Evan was an incredibly strong man. One of his looks was enough to keep the whole crowd in fear. And the pressure that came from him terrified everyone in the square.


    After the verdict was pronounced, a bright light gathered at one point and there was a deafening explosion. A furious roar could be heard in the sky, echoing for dozens of kilometers.


    Bam.


    A devastating, snow-white lightning bolt in the shape of a dragon struck Evan. It swallowed him whole. After that, Evan''s body slowly fell to the ground.


    At that very moment, the life of the greatest sinner was over.


    ...


    "Hey! Wake up, mealtime."


    <What? I`ve just died...> Evan was awakened by the loud voice of the guard. He looked around and realized he was wearing tattered clothes and was in a dirty cell.


    But, most importantly, he was not in his body. As soon as Evan realized this, his head began to explode with pain.


    A multitude of memory fragments began to fill his head. It wasn''t until a few minutester that he was able toe to his senses.


    Evan sighed heavily.


    <I see, I''m in the body of a ve who died from constant beatings. That''s just great> The name of the previous owner of the body was Trevor, he was neen years old. Evan had learned this and much more, by going through the memories of a young man who had only recently been alive.


    When he put his thoughts in order, he saw a bowl of some cold and unpleasant-looking porridge in front of him.


    Evan didn`t want to eat such disgusting food, but at that moment he simply had no other choice. His body was very skinny and weak. He needed at least some food to gain strength.


    As soon as he finished his meal, another guard came up to his cell. He opened the cage and told Evan to follow him.


    Evan didn`t resist. Naturally, he wasn''t going to stay in that prison for long. But at that moment, he was too weak to fight back.


    After a few minutes, he was led to the other ves. After which they were all sent to mine ore in a nearby mine.


    ...


    Swing.


    Each swing of the pickaxe was difficult for Evan. He had never felt so weak before.


    After a few hours of work, his hands werepletely numb, but he kept working. After all, anyone who allowed himself to rest was beaten with a whip.


    After a couple of hours, all the ves were gathered together and sent to the canteen. From the memories of the body''s past owner, Evan learned that this was the only time when it was possible to have a proper meal. He just couldn''t pass up that chance, he needed food and energy.


    Upon reaching the canteen, Evan sat down at the very corner, to avoid unnecessary trouble. He took his portion and quietly began to eat. But no sooner had he eaten half of it, than a huge, muscr, middle-aged man approached him.


    Evan immediately realized who it was. The man in front of him was called John, and he was known for taking food from the weak and making them do his work.


    "Trevor, buddy, will you share with me?" John smiled weakly, and his voice was pleasant and friendly.


    "Fuck off." Evan wasn''t going to talk to him, and just kept eating.


    Such a rude response made John frown heavily, and quickly attacked Evan.


    Evan had expected something like this to happen, so he easily dodged his punch.


    <Although, this body is very weak, I still have my experience and skill.> Evan wasn''t sure if he could beat John, but he had to try. If his food was taken away from him, it would be like agreeing to stay here forever.


    Evan was surprised that no one was paying attention to their skirmish. Not the prisoners, not the guards, it seemed to be a verymon urrence.


    "Hey, you!" Seeing that Evan dodged his attack, John became very angry and began to strike with all his might. Before, he just wanted to teach him a lesson, but now he was ready to kill Evan!


    Even though John was rarely weak by Evan''s standards, it was Evan, who was at a disadvantage right now. He dodged every punch and tried to attack. But his blows did little or no damage to John. It was at that moment that Evan decided to take his chances.


    <Damn it, this mountain of muscle can''t be knocked down, I''ll have to kill him.> Thanks to Trevor''s memories, Evan knew that fighting in prison was not punishable in any way. Nevertheless, murder was a different story, but at that time it didn''t bother him at all.


    John kept swinging his massive fists, and Evan easily dodged every punch. Eventually, John began to tire. He was big and strong, but his endurance wasn`t enough.


    Evan noticed this, and decided it was time to act. If not to deal with this situation now, he might die next time. Evan once again dodged John''s blow, now it was a bit slower.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan grabbed a wooden chair and smashed it over his opponent''s head.


    Bam.


    "You, bitch!" John was still on his feet, even as his entire head was covered in blood. In a rage, John unleashed a whole hail of blows on him, but Evan''s aim was quite different.


    He grabbed a broken chair leg and drove it with all his might right into John''s throat.


    Whoosh.


    The man vomited out a full mouth of blood, and fell to the ground exhausted. He had no chance of survival.


    The prisoners and guards looked at Evan with a shocked expression on their faces.


    But he wasn''t interested. Evan simply went back to his table and continued eating. At that moment, he saw one of the guards run off somewhere. He understood that he was likely to be in trouble.


    So, Evan decided not to waste any time, quickly finished his meal and started on John''s portions.


    He didn''t care who he had taken them from, he wasn''t going to give them back to anyone. After killing John, no one would bother him.


    A few minutester, a tall man with long ck hair came into the canteen. He walked slowly toward Evan.


    Evan knew who this man was. His name was Aron, and he was one of the wardens. His favorite pastime was beating ves for any misconduct.


    Aron leisurely walked up to Evan''s table, and said harshly: "Bastard, don''t you want to exin yourself?! Who allowed you to kill our ve?!"


    Evan looked at him and calmly said: "I want to tell you, this is the shittiest food I''ve ever seen."


    Aron''s face turned red, and he quickly attacked Evan. Surprisingly, the blow was very fast. Because of this, Evan was unable to dodge and flew back several meters, coughing up blood.


    "I give you onest chance, get down on your knees right down and beg me for mercy!" But, his words had no effect. Evan struggled to his feet and spat blood at the warden''s direction.


    From such insolence Aron even angrier and instantly got in front of Evan.


    Bam.


    Aron kicked him right in the chest. The blow broke several of Evan''s ribs. He was on the verge of death.


    Suddenly the voice of one of the prisoners rang out: "Trevor, don''t be an idiot, don''t make such a mistake! Get on your knees and apologize."


    Evan didn''t know the man, but his words reminded him of something important.


    He gathered what little strength he had left, and with great difficulty got to his feet. There was only one thing on his mind at that moment.


    <Mistake... Am I wrong? Some part of him really wanted to get down on his knees and beg for mercy. But it wasn''t Evan, it was Trevor, the previous owner of the body, weak and miserable, whose spirit had long ago been broken by a cruel fate.


    The real Evan was thinking about something else: <In my past life, the whole world was against me, and it didn''t stop me! And now I''m thinking this kind of nonsense?!>


    Evan finally decided for himself that even if it cost him his life, he wouldn''t bow his head!


    He looked at Aron and said with thest of his strength: "Fuck you!" while showing his middle finger.


    Seeing this, Aron just lost his temper and hit Evan, after which, it seemed there was no way for him to survive.


    ...


    [The Sin ¨C "Pride" was opened]


    [You have received Lion Sigil]


    In an instant, the whole world froze, and Evan felt an extraordinary surge of strength. In that moment, Aron felt like some bug trying to fight the sun that towers over all life.


    Then he saw a giant fist in front of him.


    Sigh.


    Evan was breathing heavily, every muscle in his body insanely tense. But he felt great. Evan was full of strength and he felt as if he was above the whole world.


    "Huh, even in this world I''m the greatest sinner." Said Evan with a slight smile on his face. He stared at the giant hole in the wall, with the big bloody stain in the middle of it.

 Chapter 2 - The Imperfect Ideal

    With a slight smile on his face, Evan walked over to Aron''s corpse, and took off his long ck coat.


    "Well, at least something." Evan changed his clothes and looked exactly like the warden.


    After Aron had been killed, a huge number of ves began to run out of the canteen and attack the guards.


    Watching this scene, Evan smiled broadly and thought to himself: <AHAHAHA, this world is definitely better than mine. At least for the people here, the rules are nothing!>


    Shaking off the dust Evan walked out of the already empty room, skirting the lying corpses of the guards.


    Evan wanted to get out of this perilous ce and head for the nearest town. He needed to figure out where he should go next. But he had one more unfinished business.


    ...


    He walked down a dark corridor, lit only by a pair of dim torches. Evan muttered quietly: "Trevor, this will be the price I pay for upying your body."


    Evan headed toward the head of the prison.


    From the memories of the previous owner of the body, Evan learned that the head of the prison was the reason Trevor became a ve. And the reason was insanely idiotic.


    The name of the prison`s head was Abigail Whitehead. She turned Trevor into a ve, only because he did not kneel down at the sight of her. Moreover, she killed his entire family. She was an incredibly cruel and selfish woman.


    No one could help Trevor. Because Abigail was a noblewoman and her family was very powerful.


    Trevor''s hometown belonged to her family. And this prison, where she could do as she pleased was Abigail''s property, too. Besides being from a noble family, Abigail was also very powerful. Trevor couldn''t even get close to her.


    Evan despised rules with all his soul. He hated it even more when people obeyed them without question. But to bitches like Abigail, he had no good feelings.


    <Trevor, I promise you, pretty soon, she''ll be begging for mercy.>


    Evan could constantly hear people screaming and the sounds of fighting. He was well aware that right now there was a real riot going on in the prison. After a while, there would be the corpses of guards and prisoners, unlucky enough to survive, lying all over the ce.


    At that moment, however, he didn''t care it at all. Evan climbed the high stairs, heading for the topmost room.


    His footsteps grew louder and heavier with each step, and his desire to tear everything apart grew stronger all the time. As he walked, he kept going through Trevor''s memories, and the anger was overwhelming him.


    ...


    "Stop! Mistress Abigail is resting, return..."


    Bam.


    The guard didn''t even have time to finish his phrase. Evan simply smashed his head against the wall in one easy motion. Then he walked over to therge wooden door and knocked it out with a sharp kick.


    Crack.


    Abigail''s voice was immediately heard: "What the hell! Who, the hell, are you? Do you have any idea what you''re doing?!"


    "What a bitch are you!" Evan saw a tall girl, with long, snow-white hair and ocean-like blue eyes.


    Right now, she was torturing some ve girl. The girl''s body was full of cuts and bruises. Abigail was a real sadist.


    Hearing his words, Abigail went to the table, took the scabbard and quickly drew her one-handed sword out of it.


    "Hmm, and you''re rather pretty, I like your temper. If you swear that you will be my ve for the rest of your life, I won''t kill you, so be it." Saying this, Abigail pointed her silver sword at Evan.


    "And what happens if I refuse?" Evan grinned and prepared for the battle.


    Abigail frowned and said stiffly: "You''re about to find out."


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after her words, there was a sh of bright light on the end of the sword.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion. A snow-white ray flew from the tip of the sword, sting the wall behind Evan.


    "You''re pretty good at dodging. Would you consider my suggestion after all?"


    Evan was surprised by this attack. He didn''t know at all how this world worked or what the people here were capable of. But thanks to his extensivebat experience, he was able to avoid the attack and not get hurt.


    "And that`s all you can do?" Evan grinned, which greatly infuriated Abigail.


    The next moment Evan appeared right in front of Abigail, and swung his fist at her.


    But, his attack was unsessful. The girl skillfully blocked Evan''s blow, holding the de of her sword out in front of her.


    A momentter, Abigail swung her sword from top to bottom and inflicted him a terrible wound.


    The young man quickly bounced off. Blood flowed steadily from the huge cut on his chest. It seemed that a little more and there wouldn''t be a drop left in his body.


    "You thought you could beat me, Abigail Whitehead?! My skills are perfect! I am perfect! And you''re just a pathetic worm! When I offered you to be my ve, you should have fallen to your knees and started thanking me."


    Saying those words, Abigail slowly approached Evan intending to kill him.


    <Damn, she''s really going to kill me now, if I don''t bleed to death sooner.> Evan looked at his bloodstained hands and remembered something very important.


    Evan didn''t know why, but he hadpletely forgotten who he had been in his past life.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHA." Suddenly, Evan startedughing like some crazy person, which really shocked Abigail.


    "Have you lost your mind? Why, the fuck, are youughing?" She couldn`t understand what was going on.


    The next moment Evan started doing really crazy things.


    With his own blood, he began to draw some strange circle on his body. Abigail didn''t know what Evan was doing, but for some reason she felt a strong chill. It was as if death itself had put a scythe to her neck. She decided not to risk and kill Evan as soon as possible.


    But just as she swung her sword and was about to cut off his head, Evan shouted loudly: "Sigil of 72nd demon Count Andromalius - activation!"


    Whoosh.


    The bloody circle on Evan''s chest glowed brightly, and a giant snake appeared around his arm.


    "Well, it''s time to pay your debts, bitch." The snake opened its mouth wide and quickly swallowed the entire sword, along with Abigail''s arm.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH." Abigail screamed in pain, and a boundless terror appeared in her eyes and gripped her heart.


    "No, stay away from me!" Abigail tried to escape, but her attempt was in vain. The snake grabbed the girl''s leg, preventing her from moving.


    "You say you`re perfect, but the concept of an ideal is wrong itself and even cannot exist. An ideal implies that there are no disadvantages you, but that`s itself a drawback. Because of that, the whole concept copses and bes meaningless. What''s more, an ideal can''t be better."


    Evan took a deep breath and continued: "I''m talking too much..."


    Whoosh.


    He took onest look at the girl, then the snake devoured Abigail, like some kind of rat.


    Having disposed of Abigail, Evan slowly walked over to the ve girl. She was unconscious. Evan gently opened her mouth, and a purple drop of venom from the snake''s fang fell directly onto the girl''s tongue.


    "Duty done." Evan said slowly and the snake disappeared without a trace.


    Whoosh.


    A small replica of Abigail''s silver sword appeared before Evan. The sword flew right into his wide chest wound.


    "Huh, there goes my fee." After a few minutes, all the wounds on Evan''s body were healed, the bloodpletely disappeared, and not just from his body, but from his clothes, too.


    After the girl swallowed the snake venom, all the bruises and injuries quickly healed. Moreover, Evan felt that she was gradually bing stronger, much stronger than an average person.


    "Well, I guess it''s time to go." Evan headed for the exit of the room. As he approached the doorway, he heard the faint voice of the girl who had just woken up.


    "Thank... you..."


    "You''re just lucky, consider itpensation for all your previous suffering, goodbye."


    The girl did not know what her savior looked like, for all she could see was his back.

 Chapter 3 - The Demonologist

    Evan slowly descended to the lowest floor of the building. Thanks to Trevor''s memories, he knew several exits from the prison, but now he could just walk out the main entrance.


    "It only takes one little impulse for people to start total chaos." Evan muttered quietly, watching the prison riot.


    Abigail`s killing took Evan a long time. But there were still screams and sounds of battle everywhere.


    Step. Step. Step


    Evan paced quietly through the main square of the prison. There was constant fighting and killing all around him. The whole ground was drenched in blood. That day the prisoners made a living hell there, just because of one spark in the form of Evan.


    Thunder.


    At the end of the whole picture, there was a sudden heavy downpour with raging thunder and lightning.


    Evan was in no hurry at all. He walked slowly toward the exit, not paying attention to what was going on around him. Evan waspletely calm and didn''t worry that the chaos around could affect him somehow.


    He tried to make sense of the memories of two people at once and, also with what happened after Aron''s murder.


    <So many memories... By the way, what kind of Sin is the Pride?> Evan didn''t understand how he had healed all his wounds in an instant. In addition, he had be strong enough to kill Aron with a single blow. Then he realized one simple thing.


    <In my past life, I wasn''t strong enough. I couldn''t change the whole world because I was too weak... This time, I won''t make the same mistake.>


    Evan was one of the strongest people in his past world, but it wasn''t enough. Eventually, many organizations had united and captured him, after which he was executed.


    ...


    Evan left the prison through the main entrance and walked along the narrow, stone road.


    He knew that very soon, special people would arrive at the prison and quickly put down the riot. By the time they did it, Evan would be long gone.


    The closest town was Snowflower City, but it was run by Abigail''s family. So it wasn''t the best choice. If word got out what Evan had done, he wouldn''t live long.


    From Trevor''s memories, Evan knew the location of another city, Aerilon.


    Aerilon was much farther away than Snowflower City, but it was a safe and quiet ce. It was just what Evan needed.


    All the way Evan pondered his current situation and what he should do next.


    He needed to rest and get his thoughts in order. Also activating the sigil of one of the 72 demons, required an enormous amount of energy and put a lot of strain on his entire body.


    In his past life, Evan was the strongest dark magician, a demonologist to be exact. In his world, dark magic was strictly forbidden. Anyone who studied and used dark magic, was found and killed. There were no exceptions.


    Naturally, there were strong enough dark magicians which was a very difficult task to kill. Unfortunately or fortunately, there were very few of them. Even fewer were those who were only slightly inferior to Evan in power.


    He didn''t know why, but his memories of dark magic were sketchy and inurate.


    It was only when he was on the verge of death that he remembered being a Demonologist. So Evan was able to use the power of the 72nd demon, Count Andromalius, at the veryst moment.


    "All right, I think in time I''ll understand everything, both about myself and about this world." Evan sighed and continued walking forward.


    ...


    After about half a day, Evan reached Aerilon. It was a very small and poor town.


    But for Evan, it was the best option of all. In the clothes of the warden he had killed not long ago, there were a few silver coins. Evan didn''t know how much it was, but he figured it was enough for him.


    Without thinking long, Evan headed for the nearest inn. During this day, he had experienced too many amazing events, as well as several dangerous battles. He needed rest and sleep.


    To Evan''s surprise, two silver coins was enough to rent an inn room for an entire week, including three meals a day.


    <Sounds like the wardens make a pretty good living>. He realized that he was lucky that he decided to kill Aron, otherwise, he would have had to sleep outside in the pouring rain.


    No one was surprised by Evan''s appearance. It''s just that no one simply knew that his clothes were the uniform of a prison warden.


    After paying for his hotel, Evan walked slowly straight to his room. He was hungry and thirsty, but even more he wanted to sleep. He needed a long, restful sleep that would put his thoughts in order.


    "Huh, I could say thest time I slept, was in my previous life." After these words, Evan copsed on his bed and instantly fell asleep.


    ...


    Evan slept for a very long time, only three dayster he wake up.


    "How long have I been sleeping?" He felt that it had been much more than a few hours. Evan''s hunger was incredible, and his thirst was so intense that he was ready to drain an entire river.


    After such a long nap, Evan felt just fine. His mind was clear and his body was rested.


    No more excruciating headaches, no more confusion in his mind. Also all the consequences of the using sigil hadpletely passed.


    In his past life, he could have used stronger spells without blinking an eye. But now he was not at the top, but at the bottom of the "food chain". What''s more, he still didn''t know how he should move up in this world.


    If you were weak, you could simply die if you used dark magic. This often happened to the vast majority of novice and inexperienced dark mages.


    <Damn, why am I so lucky to have been reborn into the body of a ve, who has seen nothing but bars and chains in his life>


    Evan was already out of the prison, but Trevor just didn''t know anything about the world outside the cage. Evan would have to find out for himself.


    He ate a quick breakfast and got plenty to drink. Evan was about to leave, but just as he got to the door he heard the loud voice of some man.


    "All mene out to the main square! I repeat, all mene out to the main square!" Someone kept shouting the same words.


    Evan didn''t understand what was going on. When he looked out the window, he saw a small detachment of soldiers in ck and red armor. And in the very center of the troop was a man in crimson armor, riding a ck horse.


    Evan immediately realized what was going on. As he entered the city, he found it strange that he saw almost nothing but women, old men, and children. The few men he saw looked as if they had to go to the scaffold tomorrow.


    Evan rejoiced, for this was his chance to learn more about this world, and to be stronger.


    <The talented soldiers are always valued in any war. They get the best equipment and resources. Also, chances are that such promising people will be promoted by their superiors, providing them with information and the best training conditions.>


    As soon as Evan saw what was going on, he was immediately determined, that he would join the squad. This would be his starting point. After all, it was in war that the most ordinary man could be significant and important in the shortest possible time.


    But, there was one problem, and that was Evan''s clothes. If anyone guessed, that he was connected to the prison riot and the murder of Abigail Whitehead, his life would not be long.


    Evan bought the simplest clothes he could find from the innkeeper and threw the warden''s suit as far away as possible.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly walked out of the building and stood next to the other men.


    "All right, I guess that''s all you can expect from this ce. The speaker was a squad leader named Zak Hart.


    Zak had a strong build, short gray hair, and deep brown eyes.


    He looked carefully at each of the twenty men and said loudly.


    "You, you, you, and you, step forward." Zak pointed his finger at four young men, each of whom was skinny and looked very weak. One of those four men turned out to be Evan.


    The young men stepped forward, whereupon Zak gave amand to his subordinates.


    "Give them your swords." Hearing his order, the four soldiers quickly handed their swords to the young men.


    None of them understood what was going on, but Zak''s next words made everything clear.


    "Only one of you is worthy toe with us, the rest of you will just be the food for worms."


    The three young men shuddered with fear. They could not have imagined that today they would have to fight for their lives.


    Evan wasn''t the least bit worried, on the contrary, his eyes were incredibly cold. Just a few secondster, he killed the first man.


    Evan simply chopped his head off, then stepped over his body and chopped the second man in two.


    "No, please don''t kill me! I beg you!" Thest young man trembled in fear, begging Evan for mercy.


    But, Evan didn''t care at all. He swung his sword and pierced the young man''s heart with a long, iron de.


    p. p. p.


    When only Evan was left alive, Zak began pping his hands and praising him, "Good boy. I didn''t expect to meet such a capable young man in such a small town. What''s your name?"


    Zak was very pleased with Evan''s actions.


    The young man quickly replied, "My name is Evan Lynch."


    "Fine, take your sword and let''s go." Zak was about to leave the vige, but Evan''s words stopped him.


    "Mr. Zak, I want his ce!" Evan raised his sword and pointed at one of the soldiers. His eyes were incredibly dark, like the abyss itself. And the murderous intention that emanated from him was unthinkable for an ordinary skinny guy.


    Zak was greatly surprised, but after a second, a wide smile appeared on his face.

 Chapter 4 - Becoming A Soldier

    Zak was surprised by Evan''s actions, but after a short thought, he replied, "Guy, it''s all in your hands. Do you want to die? Go ahead."


    "Mr. Zak! Do you really allow him to act like that?" The soldier Evan had pointed to, was clearly not thrilled with such turn of events.


    Zak looked at the soldier and grudgingly said: "What? You''re afraid to take on some kid who''s still wet behind the ears? Maybe I should pick a worthy one myself!"


    At the harsh voice of hismander, the soldier fell silent. He drew his sword from its sheath and stood in front of Evan.


    "Sucker, I don''t know what demons are in your head. But that was the worst decision you`ve ever made."


    Evan, on the other hand, only muttered quietly: "You''re not a soldier, you''re just a talkative idiot."


    Whoosh.


    Without warning, Evan attacked his opponent. He swiftly attacked with his sword from top to bottom, hoping to kill the soldier with a single blow.


    ng.


    The man reacted instantly and blocked Evan''s blow. However, Evan`s attack didn''t end there. He simply continued to press on with his sword, exerting tremendous force, which he had acquired after receiving the Lion Sigil.


    <HAHAHAHA, this is just unbelievable. I don''t know what it is, but that physical power is just beyond praise!


    On the inside, Evan was jubnt and insanely happy about his power. Right before his eyes, his opponent''s legs were gradually sinking into the ground, and the soldier''s hands were trembling violently. It seemed that in a few seconds he would no longer be able to maintain his block.


    "Is that all you can do? Garbage!"


    Crack.


    Evan put even more force into his attack. He snapped his opponent''s sword in two, slicing through the soldier''s chest in the process.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A terrified cry of hellish pain echoed around the area, but Evan didn''t stop there. While the man was trying toe to his senses, Evan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and pierced his heart.


    Ssh.


    Blood streamed from the wound. Evan quickly pulled the sword from the soldier''s body, and their fight was over.


    p. p. p.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, young man, that''s the second time I''ve apuded you today, you''re just some kind of find. I''ve never seen people as crazy, cold-blooded and bloodthirsty as you. Moreover, you''re also very young."


    Zak didn''t care at all that his man had died in front of him. Truth be told, he didn''t care about any of them. In his opinion, every member of his squad was a real wimp who had to go to the war. He was more than sure that ny percent of his squad would die in the first battle.


    "Does that mean I''m a full-fledged soldier of your squad now?" Evan''s voice was hard and clear. He had a goal and he was definitely going to achieve it.


    Themander''s answer shocked him greatly.


    "No, you will not be a soldier."


    Hearing Zak''s answer, Evan frowned heavily and prepared for battle. But the most unbelievable words followed then.


    "You are worthy of so much more. You will be my helper and the second man in the whole squad."


    Zak pointed to the saddle of his horse, "Get on, ride with me."


    Besides Evan, absolutely everyone was surprised, from themoners to the soldiers. Before that, they hadn`t even had anyone in such a rank as an assistantmander.


    Moreover, there was only one horse and it wasmander`s one. He was the only one who couldn''t be bothered to walk. Now, there was somed, who in an instant became practically the most important man in the squad.


    Evan smiled and quickly climbed onto his horse.


    Then the squad moved on. As time passed, the number of people only increased and increased. They constantly visited small towns and viges where Zak recruited new people.


    Also in one of the viges, Zak was offered a sturdy stallion to keep the son of the vige chief from going to his death.


    Normally, Zak was not interested in such offers and declined them. But this time, with a big smile on his face, he epted the horse and gave it to Evan.


    The stallion was fairly ordinary- brown color, short ck mane, and average size. But in that situation, it was truly a royal conditions.


    After about half a day, the squad had reached a base of sorts, where more than five hundred people were waiting for Zak.


    At a de, right next to the forest, there were a lot of the simplest tents. They contained the soldiers, who, by andrge, were cannon fodder.


    All the soldiers had gone to their posts or to their tents. Zack gave the order to take the horses to the stables and called Evan to him.


    "Evan, let''s go, you deserve a bigger reward for your performance than some second-rate horse."


    Zak headed calmly toward thergest and tallest tent in the camp. Next to it, there were several other slightly less imposing, but still wide and spacious tents.


    Zak was the full-fledgedmander of the entire squad and this huge tent was his personal property.


    "Come in."


    Inside the tent, Evan saw a wide table with lots of papers of all kinds and several stands of armor and weapons.


    <Compared to a prison cell, these are simply royal chambers.> Evan appreciated the interior decoration. But he still didn''t know the purpose why themander called him there.


    Zak walked over to the stand, and picked up one of the swords.


    "Here, it''s yours now." The sword scabbard was made of good quality leather. The sword itself was wide and long. It was forged of steel. Evan''s attention was drawn to the strange green color at the edges of the de.


    "Thank you, but what are these strange green pigments?" Evan was certain that this sword was far from as simple as it appeared at first nce. It was definitely different from other most ordinary steel swords.


    "This sword was sharpened using such amazing stones called - ''Sharpening Stones'', a simple but most appropriate name. These stones are filled with mana, and when you sharpen a sword with such stones, you can achieve unparalleled sharpness. The sword you had before isn''t even sharp byparison. It''s apletely different level. I give it to you, in the hope that you will aplish great things in the future."


    A pile of information poured out at Evan, but he understood it all easily. Once again, he thanked Zak for such a valuable and rare gift. Evan didn''t know why he was so good to him.


    If it was because the squad leader saw some potential in him, all that was good for him. You could say that to a certain extent that was what he wanted.


    The most important thing wasn''t even the gift. From Zak''s words, Evan learned that mana existed in this world, too. Just like in his home world, which couldn''t help but make him happy.


    Of course, he had previously used the sigil of one of the 72 demons to kill Abigail. But for that, in addition to mana, he could use the life force. So it wasn''t a hundred percent proof.


    "But that''s not all, my young friend, tell me what type of armor do you like better?"


    "If it`s possible, I would like a light type of armor, preferably leather." Evan had never liked armor. In his opinion, it was too big, heavy, bulky, and terribly ufortable.


    Hearing Evan''s answer, Zak hesitated, and after a while, he walked out of the tent.


    "Evan, follow me!"


    The young man quickly followed Zak. A few minutester, they reached the huge tent, which appeared to be a kind of warehouse for all the equipment.


    At the entrance, Zak was greeted by a pair of guards. They looked in amazement at the youngd walking behind theirmander.


    ...


    "What do you think of this one? Made of ck wolf hide. It''s light, supple, and will provide quite a bit of protection. I think it''s just what you need." Zak pointed to the ck leather armor, which Evan immediately liked.


    "Yeah, it looks pretty good, I think it''s exactly what I wanted." Evan inspected the armor from top to bottom, then put it on.


    "Well? How does it fit?"


    Evan smiled weakly and said contentedly: "It''s like it was made for me. Commander Zak, when we are going to battle?"


    Zak smiled broadly, patted Evan on the shoulder and replied, "As I see you''re ready to fight. Don''t worry, very soon we will be on a real battlefield. Death will be everywhere. We move out tomorrow."

 Chapter 5 - The First Battle In The New World

    After fitting the armor, Zak showed Evan his tent and left, leaving the young man alone. The first thing Evan did was to look around his small dwelling.


    Inside he saw a simple sleeping bag and a backpack, that`s all. As Evan realized, only Zak''s tent was significantly different from everyone else''s.


    "Well, I don''t really need much more for now." Evan took off his armor and headed straight for the nearest river.


    He was dirty, and he didn''t smell very nice. After all, he had lived like a ve in a filthy cage before. Moreover, he had slept for three days to the raw. He just needed to wash off all the dirt and dust.


    The river was fairly close to the camp, and within ten minutes, Evan had reached the shore. It was the middle of the night, and the moon brightly illuminated all around.


    In the reflection of the water, Evan saw a thin young man, with thick ck hair and violet eyes like amethyst.


    Evan slowly stripped off all of his clothes and gradually plunged into the water.


    The water was really icy, but that didn''t bother Evan at all. He did not see anything wrong with it. So despite the temperature of the water, he continued washing until his body waspletely clean.


    About twenty minutester, Evan got out of the water, changed his clothes and headed back to the camp. Everything was calm and peaceful.


    A few people were on duty, and everyone else was either sleeping or resting.


    Before going to bed, Evan ate what was in his backpack and went to bed.


    ...


    But, unfortunately, for everybody, they failed to sleep well that night. Deep in the night, in the sky above the camp you could see a lot of bright red dots. They were swiftly falling directly on the tents.


    They were fire arrows, which caused the camp to be immediately engulfed in raging mes. Then panic and utter chaos came to the camp.


    The soldiers did not immediately realize what was happening, and it cost some of them their lives. In addition to the arrows that had already killed several people, the men in silver armor burst into the camp and began killing everyone they saw.


    They broke into the tents and killed the soldiers.


    The enemies quickly made their way to Evan''s tent. But as soon as the man in the silver armor entered Evan''s tent, his head fell from his shoulders to the ground.


    The young man looked at the man''s head and all the chaos going on around him, then smiled brightly, <This world is just some kind of madness. I''ve been here less than a week, but I''ve already seen so much fighting and killing. It''s just amazing!>


    He stepped out of the tent and started fighting with the other soldiers.


    A few minutester, Evan saw a giant column of me on the other side of the camp, not far from where the squad leader''s tent was.


    <Hmm, Commander Zak is the magician? Evan still didn''t know much about who was in charge of this world or how it was set up. All his knowledge was limited to the fact that there was mana in this world, and that was it for now.


    <Okay, that''s not really important right now.> Evan continued to chop down his enemies. You could tell that in the eyes of his opponents, he was a true madman and a ruthless killer. Not counting Zak, Evan was the one who had killed the most people, and the number kept growing.


    Evan''s clothes, armor, and sword werepletely covered with blood. His eyes shone under the light of the moon, which was particrly bright that night. He looked like a demon who hade to the earth from the hell itself to spill as much blood as possible.


    <Well, I guess I should see a more interesting battle.> Evan had already dealt with quite a few enemies. So there was nothing stopping him from going straight to where the giant pir of fire erupted.


    ...


    A momentter, Evan saw an incredible scene. Hismander''s sword was enveloped in red mes, and his crimson armor shimmered with the fire.


    Opposite Zak, there was a man in a snow-white mantle, with a long, wooden staff in his hand. Several sharp ice crystals were hovering above his head.


    Seeing it all, only one word popped into Evan''s mind: <Magic>. That was the real cherished word for him, the word on which almost everything depended.


    It was magic that would allow him to perform miracles and climb to the top of the world. But there was still one unresolved problem, and that was power levels.


    Evan hadn`t learn about that yet. Right now, however, he didn''t care about that at all. He was mesmerized by the battle of the two men using magic.


    "Ermis Tassilis, you act like a pathetic coward as always! You`ve never had the courage to fight me in a fair fight, face to face!" This was clearly not the first time Zak had encountered a man in a white mantle.


    "Zak, my friend, what are you unhappy about again? Here I am, standing right in front of you, ready to fight. It''s not my fault you weren''t ready for me. I guess by the end of our battle there won''t be anything left of your men, ahahaha."


    Ermis raised his staff in the air, and several ice crystals flew toward Zak.


    They quickly reached Zak, but he simply swung his ming sword and the ice crystals shattered.


    <Hmm, from the looks of it, Commander Zak is much stronger. This Ermis doesn''t stand a chance. He just can''t do anything.> Evan watched their fight closely, analyzing everything in his head at the same time.


    Every movement and every attack they made could be an important lesson that would help him be stronger in the future.


    Ermis kept attacking Zak with his ice crystals. Unfortunately, each of his attempts was unsessful. Zak gradually came close to his opponent.


    "You''re just a weakling and a coward, die and go to hell!" Zak''s voice was hard and incredibly serious. He raised his two-handed, ck sword up, and brought it straight down on his opponent.


    The ming sword should have easily killed Ermis, but something went wrong.


    "I''m no coward. I''m just prudent. I''m not an idiot like you, who only knows how to swing his sword." The voice of the man in the snow-white mantle was quiet and calm. Whoosh.


    Suddenly, Zak saw an ice shield around Ermis, and it was this that blocked his crushing attack. But, that wasn''t all Ermis had in store.


    Before Zak could take a single breath, several sharp, icy spikes burst from the ground. They were rushing towards his feet.


    He hadn''t expected such a development, but he was able to dodge. However, Zak''s left leg was injured, and he would have to limp for the next few days.


    "Ugh! And after that, you say you''re not a coward? You''re much worse than that." Zak''s wound was not serious. It made him very angry, however, and let him know that Ermis was actually far from an easy adversary.


    Ermis didn''t answer anything and just kept attacking Zak with a lot of ice crystals. Zak easily fought off all of his opponent''s attacks and suddenly he decided that the right moment had arrived.


    "You are nothing but an amateur and a coward who understands absolutely nothing about magic. Watch carefully. Burn that picture out into your soul and remember it in the afterlife!"


    Zak''s sword began to burn even brighter. The ck steel began to rapidly heat up and glow red. Once that happened, the crimson me artificially lengthened the sword and Zak struck the ground with all his might.


    Whoosh.


    From where Zak struck, a wave of fire went straight to Ermis, turning him into a pile of coals. The attack was too powerful and lightning fast. There was no way Ermis could dodge or somehow counterattack. That was the end of the battle between the two magicians.


    Their approach to magic was very different from each other, but Evan hadn`t understood it yet.


    After the fight, Evan smiled cheerfully and walked out to Zak while waving, "Commander Zak, I had no idea you were so strong."


    Zak didn''t immediately realize who was pacing in his direction, but after a second he smiled weakly: "I''ve fought this guy a few times now, and today was ourst encounter."


    Evan wanted to ask him more about the fight. Instead, he had to fend off arrows that suddenly flew right at them.

 Chapter 6 - Scavengers

    Suddenly, many arrows flew toward Evan and Zak, which should have killed them. But Zak was no ordinary man. Such a pathetic attack would not kill him.


    Whoosh.


    The moment the arrows were very close, Zak swung his ming sword. He threw aside all the arrows, slicing them in two in the process.


    <Commander Zak is incredibly strong, indeed. His skills are almost wless.> To himself, Evan appreciated hismander''s abilities, and prepared for battle.


    Immediately after Zak''s sweep, six men came out from behind the trees, clearly unfriendly at all.


    "Well, Evan, show me that I wasn''t wrong in my choice. Those two are on you, I''ll take the others."


    In fact, Zak was well aware that Evan had already killed quite a few people, because he was covered in blood from head to toe. He wanted to see Evan fight with his own eyes, and he got an unforgettable experience.


    When he heard Zak''s words, the young man instantly attacked the two men in silver armor.


    Each of them was armed with a short one-handed sword. The weapon was very sharp and, most importantly, light. Evan felt just fine in his new armor.


    He got to his first victim in one fell swoop. Evan swung his sword sharply, and brought the blow right down on the man in front of him. But his attack was easily blocked.


    "HAHA, boy, you''re being too cocky, that''s what you''re going to pay for now."


    Evan didn''t appreciate his opponent''s tteringments and only frowned, without responding.


    Their swords shed and the other man was about to attack Evan from behind. However, his n didn`te true. Evan was not a valiant knight who fought by the rules and with honor.


    He thought such people were either madmen or idiots. That''s why seeing that his attack had no effect, Evan simply loosened his grip and punched his opponent right in the stomach with force.


    Bam.


    The man flew backwards and started coughing up blood. Evan''s blow was hard enough that his fist left a dent in the silver armor.


    He also sustained a minor wound. His knuckles began to bleed. After all, hitting the sturdy metal armor with his bare hands was not easy and rather painful.


    "So, you`re the next." Evan quickly turned around and swung his sharp sword right into the side of his second attacker.


    The sword went through the silver armor like a red-hot knife through butter and left a deep wound on the man''s body.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He squealed in pain, clutching at his wound to stop the flowing blood anyhow.


    "Ugh. You`re wimps who can''t stand the pain of even such a small wound. Just wimpy." Evan slowly approached the man, gripped the sword tighter and decapitated his opponent with a single swing.


    After massacring his first opponent, Evan headed toward the second, who was also writhing in pain and vomiting blood repeatedly.


    "Please don''t kill me..." The soldier begged for mercy. But when he lifted his head and looked at Evan, all he saw was his ruthless expression and incredibly cold gaze.


    Swing.


    After killing his second opponent, Evan swung his sword sharply, knocking all the clinging blood off him.


    p. p. p.


    As soon as Evan finished his battle, he heard pping behind him. Turning around, he saw Zak and four burnt corpses beside him.


    "That was a great fight, a sight I haven''t seen for a very long time. And I probably won''t see something so brutal and at the same time beautiful for a long time. I haven`t miscalcted about you."


    Zak was very pleased with Evan''s performance. A wide smile shone on his face and a small light burned in his eyes.


    "Thank you." Evan simply epted the praise. He had originally wanted to ask Zak about magic and mana, but the sounds of battle were still constantly being crushed around him. Evan decided this was far from a good time for such talk.


    Zak hurriedly went to his men and gestured for Evan to follow him.


    "Commander Zak, to your mind, how many more enemies are left?" All Evan knew was that they were under attack. Neither more nor less. Not the number of their enemies, not who they were, not even whose side he was on. None of this Evan knew.


    At that moment, he was just fighting on Zak''s side. He needed to get more information about outside factors and the whole situation.


    "I think there''s about a hundred more soldiers. I`ve already killed the strongest man and theirmander, Ermis. If there aren''t any unexpected things, even if with losses, we''ll easily fight back."


    Zak took a deep breath and continued: "Our enemies, though they acted rather sneakily by attacking at night, on the other hand they did us several favors at once..."


    Zak wanted to continue, but Evan hastily interrupted him and said in a quiet voice: "Weeding out the weak."


    Hearing the young man''s words, Zak once again smiled and loudly replied, "Yes, you are absolutely right. We also didn`t have to look for our enemies. They came to us by themselves and we thank them for that. The sooner we`ll kill them, the sooner we can get away from here."


    Evan listened attentively to Zak. From his words, he understood that all this gathering and the hiking in the viges, was only for this battle, after which Zak and all those who had survived would return back to the city.


    This news couldn''t help but make Evan happy, as he was in desperate need of information about this world. The city was the perfect ce to get it. In part, he had already achieved his goal and had distinguished himself with his skills, his cold-bloodedness, and his ferocity.


    "Well, then, we need to kill everyone as soon as possible. I don''t mind fighting, but I just hate when somebody interrupt my sleep."


    "AHAHAHA, I know what you mean kid, well since you''re full of fighting spirit, let''s not dy it." After these words, Zak quickened his stride, and headed in the direction of the battle`s sounds.


    The attack on the Zak` squad was quite serious. It was arge-scale operation, which goal was theplete destruction of all Zak''s soldiers and himself.


    Ermis and Zak were the heads of the two sides, and it was their duel that was the most important. Zak could have handled everything himself, but it would have taken too long. He needed to help his soldiers to quickly deal with this problem.


    In fact, there was nothing to worry about. Zak was sure that it was Ermis who represented the biggest threat among the attackers.


    He was a skilled magician who could cause trouble for Zak. Ermis had even managed to wound him, and that alone showed how strong he was.


    But, Zak still could not be sure that they had finally won the victory over their enemies until he was personally convinced of this. Something out of the ordinary could always happen and you had to be prepared for it.


    After a while, they arrived at the center of the action. Bodies were piled everywhere, both of their people and the enemies. The ground was drenched in blood, and dozens of tents were aze.


    Any normal person who saw such a scene would have begun to tremble with fear. But Evan felt himself like a fish in the water in such atmosphere.


    In his past life, he''d been in so many different battles. Both in the very small ones and the incredibly great ones. He had seen horrific scenes, brutal murders, and burnt cities.


    It wasn''t the first time for him and instead of fear, he felt only excitement and inspiration about the whole situation. Evan could feel he was alive again and his blood was boiling.


    In the distance, Zak saw his soldiers fighting someone, so they rushed to their aid. What they saw at the scene shook them badly.


    His men were fighting againstrge brown hyenas. Several tattered corpses in silver armor were lying beside them, along with a couple of Zak''s subordinates.


    Watching this strange scene, Zak frowned heavily and said rudely: "What bitches they are. They`ve figured out we are killing each other here and decided toe in for the fresh flesh and blood."


    Zak drew his two-handed ck sword and said loudly to his men, "Hey, dummies. Stay away from them. I still need you alive."


    Hearing theirmander''s voice, the men in ck armor breathed a sigh of relief. Each of them was sure that for Zak, dealing with this gang of hyenas would be no problem at all.


    And they were absolutely right. With just a few swings of the ming sword, a couple of the hyenas were badly wounded. The others quickly fled as far away as possible.


    Watching the beasts flee in terror, Zak muttered: "Well, all that''s left to sort out thest problems and we can go home."

 Chapter 7 - The Beginning Of Magic

    After the massacre of the hyenas, Zak and Evan went to other hot spots together. For all those battles, Evan got used to his new body.


    He saw a lot of new things and also realized how strong Commander Zak really was. Watching his battles, he began to slowly understand what magic was in this world. However, he was still woefully short of the knowledge he needed.


    Swing.


    Zak killed thest soldier in silver armor and turned to Evan: "So kid, will youe with me to Mossy Vulture? You have all the makings to be a great warrior. But in many things, you are still an ignorant who doesn''t know how wide and great this world is."


    Evan calmly replied, "Okay, Anyway, I have nowhere to go back to, but..."


    "But, what?" Asked Zak.


    "I am genuinely impressed by your abilities, and the power of magic. I want to learn it by all means!"


    Evan was determined to follow the path of magic and be a demonologist as he had been in his past life. He had already figured out that he could use the power of demons in this world. All he had to do was to deal with the magic then, he could climb to the very top.


    Hearing his words, Zak frowned heavily, and asked uncertainly: "Evan, what do you know about magic?"


    He heard the expected response, "Nothing."


    Zak sighed heavily and shook his head, "Not everyone can master magic, I would even say there are incredibly few of them. Even the very rich and powerful people cannot expect that they or their children will be ever able to master magic. If a person doesn''t have a shred of talent to begin with, no amount of money or resources will help. At least that''s what I know."


    "Then, how to know if there''s a chance of mastering magic?" Evan knew he was going to hear something like this, so he didn''t get worried or upset in any way. The rules were pretty simr to his past world.


    "We will get to the town and I''ll arrange everything, but I can tell you that chances are slim. Only one in a thousand has the potential to be a magician. If it doesn''t work out, don''t feel bad. You''ll be an excellent warrior even without magic."


    Zak didn''t hide the brutal truth from Evan, but he didn''t bury all his hopes at once, either.


    "Okay, when are we leaving? And how long before we get there?" Evan was already itching to touch the magic of this world and see if his luck was favoring him.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, I see you''re ready. Don''t worry it''s not far, it''s usually two days away. But considering we have less than a hundred people left, we''ll make it in a day. We are leaving in an hour, get everyone together."


    Actually, Zak didn''t want to be in such a hurry; he just didn''t need to. He wanted to strengthen his rtionship with this talented young man.


    Evan didn''t answer anything, and just ran to tell the order to anyone who was still breathing and able to move. Truth be told, if it had been up to him, he would have left them all there. But right now that was not an option.


    One hourter, exactly sixty-seven people, including Zak and Evan, gathered in one ce. They took all their surviving supplies and headed for the Mossy Vulture.


    ...


    The whole journey of their small group took about fourteen hours. It was less than a kilometer to the city. Evan could see from afar all the magnificence of the wonderful ce he would soon find himself in.


    The Mossy Vulture was a huge city by a gigantic cliff, with dense, green forests all around it. A huge stone peak hung over the city itself, covering part of the city from sunlight and rain.


    The city itself looked like the picture from a fairy tale. Some of the houses were of wood, some of them of stone. From afar, you could see a lot of high towers and buildings.


    The city got its name because of the natural wall around it. It was a stone, mossy barrier in the shape of vulture wings.


    Suddenly, Evan heard Zak''s voice. He decided to tell him a little story about the ce: "It is said to be one of the oldest cities where, long ago, arge number of magicians were born. No one knows why, but in ancient times, almost every second native of the Mossy Vulture became a magician."


    Evan said nothing and simply admired the view. In his past life, he had seen more beautiful and astonishing scenery. So he wondered why he was so fascinated by this simple green forest.


    Evan thought to himself at that moment, "Oh, how simple, but how beautiful.


    ...


    A few minutester, they reached the gates of the city. As soon as the guards saw Zak at the head of the group, they bowed respectfully and quickly let them all pass through.


    Once inside the city, Zak handed out instructions to everyone. Although, by andrge, he just sent them to the four winds without any support or information.


    "So, kid, are we going straight to the Tower of Magic or are we going to take a break and eat first?"


    Evan replied without thinking, "I think my answer is obvious".


    "AHAHA, okay, okay, I see, follow me."


    On their way to the Tower of Magic, Zak and Evan left their horses in Zak''s personal stable. They had less than a mile to go to the ce where everything would be solved.


    Evan didn''t really know what he to do if he didn''t have a talent for magic. After all, everything would all depend on it.


    ...


    After a few minutes, they reached an incredibly huge and tall tower. There were many guards around it, as well as arge number of people constantly running back and forth.


    As before, when they saw Zak, they were let through without any problems. To Evan''s surprise, they did not go upstairs, but downstairs.


    The lower floor was a vast room of colossal size, with many rooms and passageways.


    They went to a central room with arge, wide door made of some kind of light-colored wood.


    When they opened the door, they saw a rather simple room. In the center of the room, there was an old man with a long white beard. He was writing something with a quill pen.


    "Oh, look who is it! Zak, who is that you brought? That doesn''t sound like you." The old man''s name was Rait Sokk, and he knew Zak very well, as he had seen Zak awaken his magic many years ago.


    "Hey, old man, that kid is like me, when I was young. He''s hot, tough and determined. Anyway, he wants to try awakening his magic."


    Like Zak, Rait was well aware of the odds of sess in this difficult endeavor. But there was no point in refusing Evan. Every day there were dozens of people like Evan who wanted to try their luck.


    "All right, since this is your request I''ll deal with it personally, you may go."


    Rait put the papers aside and headed with Evan to one of the rooms.


    As for Zak, he left hurriedly, quickly saying goodbye to Evan.


    Upon reaching the small room that contained only one bed, Rait proceeded to exin.


    "To find out if you have talent is quite a long process. It will take about one week, which you will spend here without leaving this room."


    Rait pointed to a crystal ball in the middle of the room and said clearly: "Put your hand on that ball and try to enter "Nirvana". If you seed, you''ll find out what it is. You don''t have to do anything special, just concentrate. The talent will show itself."


    Rait turned around and said onest word: "Boy, even though I said seven days, and since Zak personally cares about you, I''ll tell you a secret. If it doesn''t work in three days, there''s no point in trying any more. I''m off, see youter."


    The old man said nothing more and just left.


    Evan, on the other hand, did not waste any time. He immediately walked up and put his hand on the crystal ball.


    ...


    Exactly four days had passed, and Evan had only a displeased grimace on his face. For in all the four days he had aplished nothing. That meant that he had no talent for magic.


    Crunch.


    With anger, Evan mmed his fist into the crystal ball with all his might and shattered it.


    His eyes grew bloodshot and his gaze grew incredibly cold. Kicking the door out, Evan left the Tower of Magic and left the Mossy Vulture.


    After that day, both gangs of bandits and ordinary merchant caravans suddenly began to disappear.

 Chapter 8 - The Duke Dantalion

    "Well, it`s time to start." Evan was sitting on a thick branch, high up in a tree, and watching a small gang of bandits. At that moment, they were drinking and partying. There were six men in the gang, which was just fine for Evan.


    He didn''t want to attack head-on. Evan had got Lion Sigil and gained incredible physical strength. Without Lion Sigil and with such a weak body he would never have reached this level. But he still didn''t know how "The Sins" worked. In his opinion, there was no point in taking any chances.


    The young man simply waited for one of the bandits to decide to retreat into the woods, and it happened soon enough.


    A tall man, carrying a bottle of some kind of drink, was slowly going toward the bushes. This was a sign to Evan and the beginning of his action. He quietly jumped down from the tree and cautiously crept up on the bandit.


    Swing.


    With a single movement of his hand, Evan slit man`s throat and dragged his body deeper into the woods.


    ...


    "Hey? Where''s Richard?" One of the bandits noticed his friend missing, but the others immediately exined to him the reason.


    "Where? He`s probably drunk so much again that he fell asleep in the woods with a bottle in his hand. If you''re so worried about him, go and look for him."


    Such situations weremon. They didn''t know what they were doing when they drank a lot of alcohol. So it often happened when a person disappeared and came back in the morning in a not very sober state. So no one was embarrassed by the disappearance of one of them.


    "Well, anyway, I''ll check it out. I don''t want him to get bitten by some creature and then he `ll be whining for the week."


    The short man picked up his small, one-handed axe, and headed straight for where his friend had gone earlier.


    Unfortunately for him, his end was just as quiet and inglorious as his partner''s.


    Swing.


    <So, well, I guess there''s no point in waiting any longer.> Evan was very pleased with this result. He had originally intended to lure out and kill at best one. However, his catch was far greater than his expectations.


    Whoosh.


    Evan stormed toward the bandits and quickly attacked two of them. Two lightning swings of his sword and the number of opponents dwindled dramatically. They didn''t even have time to react or understand anything. All they saw was a de rushing toward their necks.


    "What the hell! Who the hell are you!?" The bandits quickly drew their weapons and prepared to fight. But, Evan wasn''t going to fight alone against two. It was too disadvantageous to put himself in that position, so he gripped his dagger tightly and threw it at one of the bandits with all his might.


    "Right in the bull''s-eye." Evan made a perfect throw, leaving the dagger in his opponent''s throat.


    Seeing how strong Evan was, the remaining bandit gave up all thoughts of fighting and tried to run away.


    Whoosh.


    Unfortunately, before he could walk ten meters, the small axe was in his back.


    So simply and gracefully, Evan killed six people in a short time without getting a single scratch.


    Evan didn''t do it because he just wanted to kill someone or take what little the gang had.


    Whoosh.


    Evan took a short dagger from the corpse of one of the bandits, and began to cut out his heart. He performed such procedures on absolutely everyone.


    "All right, that`s enough, let''s get down to business."


    These bandits were not Evan''s first victims. He had already killed thirty people before. And not all of them were bandits.


    For his own safety, he hadn`t attackrge caravans, where there were many guards and where there were rich traders. Such actions were always fraught with huge problems.


    Most of his victims were simple bandits, petty thieves, and the like for whom no one would take revenge.


    At this moment, he had exactly thirty-six human hearts. He needed them all for one purpose.


    ...


    Finished with the bandits, Evan made his way to the cave, which had already be his temporary refuge.


    The cave was quite deep and vast. Its size would be more than enough to hold all the loot from thirty-six people. But Evan wasn''t interested in treasure right now. So the cave waspletely empty, except for thirty hearts slowly floating in the cold water.


    Evan put the remaining six hearts in the water and muttered quietly: "The easy part is over, now let''s get to the main part."


    After these words, he pulled his razor-sharp sword from its sheath and made a long, deep cut on his arm.


    He could, of course, use the blood of the men he''d killed, but Evan had to be one hundred percent sure of the result. He couldn`t allow any mistakes or inuracies.


    Using his own blood, he began to draw arge sigil on the floor. Evan had wasted a lot of blood on this, so he was very weak. Before long, however, it was almost done.


    "And the finishing touch." Evan took the thirty-six hearts, and ced them at equal distances from each other all around the perimeter of the sigil.


    After which he said loudly: "Sigil 71 of Demon, the Duke of Dantalion - activation!"


    Whoosh.


    The bloody sign lit up, and all hearts burst in an instant. A few secondster, there was no trace of the sigil, but that''s exactly what Evan needed.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly an ordinary, worn-out book appeared in the air.


    It opened and the pages began to turn quickly. After some number of pages, the book finally stopped at one of the pages. In capital letters, there was written the following, "What do you wish?"


    Evan said confidently: "I want a talent for magic and a basic knowledge of it!"


    Hearing his answer, the book began turning pages again and after a while showed another inscription, "Fifteen Years."


    Evan knew exactly what these words meant. Even so, without blinking an eye, he quickly agreed, "Okay".


    In fact, thirty-six hearts was already a pretty big sacrifice, since these were thirty-six lives. Nevertheless, it was not enough for such a ritual. That''s why, Evan had to give as much as fifteen years of his own life.


    After Evan agreed, the book began to turn the pages again, then stopped at one of them and opened wide.


    Whoosh.


    A multitude of unknown symbols flew straight from the pages to Evan''s be, going through his head.


    At that moment, he was experiencing an incredibly intense headache and a burning sensation throughout his body. Before thirty seconds had passed, the capiries in his eyes began to burst, his nose and ears were bleeding and many areas of skin were cracked.


    After a minute, the whole procedure was over. Evan lost consciousness and fell to the cold stone floor.


    He had just performed an incredibly cruel and demanding ritual. But it was definitely worth it.


    Evan saw nothing but total darkness, but it wasn''t long before everything changed. It wasn`t the end yet. He''d only gained minimal knowledge of magic, but so much of it just made him overworked.


    While Evan was lying unconscious, exactly thirty-six spirits flew out of the book floating in the air. They quickly entered Evan''s head. After that, the strange book disappeared without a trace, and Evan''s consciousness underwent a colossal change.


    Instead of utter darkness, he saw a gigantic explosion that colored everything white. It stretched infinitely far away.


    It was neither a dream nor a hallucination. Evan was indeed in a space called "Nirvana" while his physical body was lying dormant.


    "I assume this is mine?"


    Evan watched as a small, crimson sphere was floating in the air in the middle of the vast emptiness. Deep within it, one could see a scythe as ck as the abyss itself, with a de sprinkled with blood.

 Chapter 9 - The Last Flower

    Evan stared at the small crimson orb and pondered the information he had just received.


    The deal with the Duke Dantalion''s book had brought Evan a basic knowledge of the magic of this world. But most important and most precious was the talent for magic. For before the appearance of the crimson orb, nothing existed in his mind, only emptiness.


    After a while, the smile left Evan''s face and he frowned, "What color is that?"


    After he had gained the knowledge of magic, Evan realized that the system here waspletely different from his previous world. In terms of magic, he would have to learn everything from scratch. He learned the very basics, he simply didn''t have the strength to do more.


    The sphere floating in the void in front of him was called - "Warp". It is the base of every magician and everything was built on it. Otherwise, it''s also called - "The Star Without Ends."


    In all, the "Star" can have nine ends. Each new end is an entire new world for the mage, which greatly increases his power and elevates the mage to an entirely different level.


    The color of the "Warp" can also vary. There are white and purple ones. Those who had purple "Warp" were hailed as true geniuses in the field of magic. However, Evan had no information about crimson one.


    He didn''t know for sure if he was the only one with such "Warp", or if his knowledge was simply too limited. Furthermore, he also didn''t know what the bizarre, ck scythe inside the orb meant either.


    "All right, I''ll deal with thatter. There are bigger problems at the moment. I need to find a teacher or an academy, if they exist at all."


    Evan still didn''t know how to use magic, he needed a mentor for that. All he had was the most basic knowledge and a forcefully acquired talent.


    Having determined the next goal for himself, Evan left "Nirvana" and immediately fell asleep. Like thest time, he slept for a very long time.


    With all the sacrifices, both his own ones and the others, he was simply too weak to use even a fraction of the power of 71 demons without a corresponding return.


    Ten dayster, Evan woke up hardly, feeling a terrible headache. He didn''t know what the cause was. Because of the information that had directly entered his head or because he had been lying for so long in the cave,pletely reeking of blood.


    "I need to wash up and eat something." Evan reached into the bag he had taken from one of his victims, but when he saw the contents, he frowned. All the food inside was spoiled, and even the jerky lookedpletely icky. Unfortunately, he had no choice.


    Gathering his strength, Evan put a bad- looking piece of meat in his mouth and swallowed it quickly.


    "Fuck, that''s disgusting. I feel like this meat is older than me." It tasted even worse than he could have imagined. Evan thought he had made a big mistake, but it was toote.


    After his little snack, Evan headed straight for the exit of the cave. To his surprise, he found that it was the end of the night and the dawn was nearing.


    <I''ve been asleep most of the time in this world, it''s time to correct this disappointing trend>


    Evan walked slowly toward the nearest river, feeling the cold of the night rather intense. Aside from his ck, leather armor and a simple shirt underneath, he had no other clothing.


    The armor didn''t cover his whole body, and didn''t keep him warm at all. But thefort and maneuverability were excellent.


    No sooner had Evan walked a hundred yards than his stomach began to rumble violently. After all, a small piece of meat after ten days of sleep was simply not enough to satiate him.


    In any case, he had nothing else to eat. Heading toward the river, he found a stick of suitable length, which he quickly hacked off and made into a kind of spear. A very simple and primitive weapon, but that was all he needed.


    When he got to the river, Evan washed and cleaned up first. He just couldn''t stand the stench that wasing off of him anymore.


    After that, it was time for a little hunting. Evan took his self-made spear in his hands and began to watch the fish in the river carefully.


    Whoosh.


    After a couple of minutes, he made a few pinpoint strokes into the water and three small fish were unting on his spear.


    "Hmm, not bad, but it probably won''t be enough." Evan took the fish off the stick, set them aside, and continued hunting.


    ...


    "Well, I guess that''s enough." Evan picked himself up about a dozen fish. So even given their not-sorge size, he was sure he could get enough.


    The only thing left to do was to make a fire. Evan had no problem with that and ten minutester, he was roasting his prey.


    "Eh, normal food atst. It was just a nightmare before."


    Taking one of the fish, Evan took a big bite out of it with pleasure and began to eat. It tasted very ordinary, but in that moment, it seemed magical to Evan.


    As he finished the third fish, the sun began to rise and the first rays of sunlight illuminated his meal. About half an hourter, when the entire forest was covered in sunlight, Evan finished hisst fish.


    "§¡h?". As soon as he finished his meal, he saw blood slowly flowing toward him across the water. There was more and more of it by the second.


    Evan wanted to go back to the Mossy Vulture, but he couldn''t pass up the chance to get some benefit from other people''s fights.


    Standing up and shaking off all the dust, Evan headed straight for the bloody trail.


    When he reached the right ce a few minutester, he saw a very ordinary picture.


    A lot of broken and fallen carriages and wagons. The bodies of bandits and guards were lying all over the ce. A pile of dead bodies justy right on the riverbank. It was obvious that the battle was not yet over, for the biggest and most beautiful carriage was still intact.


    There were two men in brass armor and five bandits near the carriage.


    Well, the forces were at very different levels. Only unlike the bandits, the soldiers were not in the best shape. They were not wounded, but their heavy breathing clearly indicated that they were very tired.


    Behind the soldiers, right in the doorway of the carriage stood a short girl with curly, blond hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. She was obviously the main target of both defense and attack.


    Evan simply stood leaning against the tree and watched the whole situation unfold.


    The bandits were no use to him, but some important person or rich woman might well be. He had to figure out whether he should protect her and deal with the bandits, or take on their role himself.


    While Evan was thinking, one of the soldiers had already been killed, as well as the two bandits. And after a few minutes, thest defender of the carriage was left to fight alone against two and it was clear that he would soon lose.


    It was obvious from the girl that she was very afraid and nervous, and there was despair in her eyes. Apparently, she had never been in such a bad situation in her life.


    Crack.


    The armor of thest soldier was shattered by the hammer of onerge bandit. And now, the girl was left all alone against two opponents.


    It was at that moment that she noticed Evan, standing by the tree with his arms crossed.


    "Please, help me!" At that moment, the two bandits turned around and saw Evan walking slowly in their direction.


    They immediately prepared to fight, but Evan wasn''t about to do anything.


    "What can you offer me? I''m interested in money and magic." Evan''s voice was calm and clear, he wasn''t nervous at all.


    When the girl heard his words, her eyes glittered and she quickly replied, "I have money and ..."


    The girl did not have time to finish because Evan was attacked. However, the first part of her remark was already enough for Evan to make his decision.


    He easily dodged a sharp blow with the big hammer, driving the de right into the attacker''s throat. However, the second bandit was not confused and swiftly attacked Evan with his spear, aiming straight at his chest.


    In response, Evan simply let down his sword and grabbed the attacker''s spear with two hands. He easily ripped him out of the hands of a bandit and quickly pierced the man with his own spear.


    "Well, I''ve held up my end of the bargain. Now it''s your turn."

 Chapter 10 - Returning To The Mossy Vulture

    Seeing Evan''s strength and how quickly he`d dealt with the bandits, the girl calmed down and sighed with relief.


    She looked at Evan and said quietly: "I''m sorry, but I have no money right now..."


    Whoosh.


    Before she could finish her sentence, the de of the sword was at her snow-white neck. The very end of the de had already managed to plunge into the flesh, causing a thin trickle of blood to flow.


    "You, wench, don''t y with me." Evan''s voice was calm and his gaze`s cold. If Evan wasn`t satisfied with her answer, he would take her head off without blinking an eye.


    The girl was greatly frightened, but then she pulled herself together and timidly replied, "If you will allow me, I can pay you in the town. The purpose of this convoy was to take me to the Mossy Vulture. I have nothing now, but in the town I can pay you back..."


    While speaking, she felt the cold metal of the sword still presented to her neck.


    The girl''s name was Rosa van Erden, she was 19 years old. Rosa could not have imagined that she would ever get into such trouble.


    Evan looked at Rosa intently, and at the same time, he thought about what she had said. He knew there was no point in killing her. There was, however, a small chance that when they returned to the town he would be in big trouble.


    He looked her over from head to toe once again and made a decision.


    Evan removed his sword from her neck and slid it into its scabbard, then stepped closer to the girl.


    Rosa didn''t know what he was up to or what he was going to do. The fact that Evan put his weapon away was a little reassuring to her.


    Once close enough, Evan roughly took Rosa by the chin and lifted it.


    He stared coldly into her eyes. Rosa didn''t know how to react. She just waited and did nothing.


    After a few seconds Evan, pulled her to him and touched his lips to her neck. He slowly licked where the blood was flowing.


    At that moment, Rosa was petrified. There was no way she could have expected this.


    Evan looked into Rosa''s eyes once more, and they both headed inside the carriage.


    The carriage swayed from side to side for a long time before it finally subsided.


    ...


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    They both breathed heavily and intermittently, and their bodies burned.


    For the next few minutes, they uttered only a few short phrases.


    ...


    "That was unexpected..." There was a real storm in Rosa''s head, and all her thoughts were jumbled.


    Evan only sighed and slowly replied, "It was a rest after a hard working day."


    After these words, he got up and began to dress.


    "Come on, it''s time for us to head back to the Mossy Vulture. I still haven''t gotten my award."


    Rosa was surprised and muttered uncertainly: "But what it was ...?"


    Evan smiled weakly: "Didn`t you like it? I''ll wait outside."


    He just left the girl alone and quickly got out of the carriage.


    ...


    After about ten minutes, Rosa slowly opened the door and stood before Evan. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were badly rumpled. There was no resentment on her face, just a faint smile and satisfaction.


    Evan saw Rosa''s emotions as well as her flushed face. Nevertheless, he didn''t stress it in any way.


    "Well, shall we go?"


    The girl nodded in response and stood behind Evan.


    They didn''t say anything for the next couple of hours and spent part of the journey inplete silence. They still had about two more hours to get to the town, when they had one little problem.


    "I... can''t walk anymore, I need to rest." Rosa was not used to this kind of exertion.


    Frankly, any unprepared person will get pretty tired of walking the winding trails and woods for hours.


    "All right, let''s stop for a while. Don''t rx, we don''t have to waste much time here."


    Evan left Rosa alone and went deeper into the woods himself. He wasn''t worried that the girl could run away. It was still a long, long way to the town. She had practically no strength, and she couldn`t rely on anybody`s help.


    So Evan was the best option for her, who would protect her and get her to the right ce.


    Evan, on the other hand, went to scout the area and in a few minutes was already back to the girl.


    "Here you are." He tossed toward Rosa one ripe pear he had just picked from a nearby tree. He didn''t do it out of the goodness of his heart, but so he wouldn''t hear whining about hunger in a mile.


    Rosa was d of such a gift, and quietly thanked Evan and began to eat. She saw an apple in his hands, which only made her feel better. She knew very well how much rarer and more expensive a pear was, so she thought that he was giving her attention in this way.


    The reality was a little different. It really was easier for Evan to find an apple than a pear. But it wasn''t the rarity of the fruit or his special attitude to her. He just liked apples much better than pears.


    To his surprise, with a little effort he was able to find many more big, green and most importantly very sour apples. Evan loved apples like that.


    Having had a bite, Rosa and Evan moved on. The sun was high and the heat was very intense. Fortunately, the thick crowns of the trees saved them a lot. They shielded them almostpletely from the fierce sun.


    Evan knew where the city was, but he had no information about the roads there. So his initial goal was to find a road and stick to it. It would save strength and time for both him and Rosa.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Suddenly Evan heard the sounds of fighting in the distance. He quickly ran over there. There was a good chance that it was another bandits, attacking some kind of convoy. There were plenty of robbers in these woods.


    Seeing his haste, Rosa quickened her stride as well. She tried to catch up with Evan, but it wasn`t easy to her. Luckily, they didn''t have to run long.


    Just two hundred meters away from them, Evan saw the scene he had expected to see.


    One wagon of goods, a merchant, guards, and bandits, just the way it was supposed to be.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    A few secondster Rosa run close. Seeing this scene, she shouted, without thinking before: "We have to save them..."


    Sigh.


    Before the girl could finish her sentence, Evan covered her mouth with his palm.


    "Be calm, there''s no need to hurry. Keep in mind, if you try to save everyone, after a few idiotic decisions like this, you''ll die and be the food for worms. So, just stay still and watch."


    Evan''s voice was firm and hard, which frightened Rosa a little.


    The girl nodded confidently, and Evan removed his hand.


    Right before their eyes, the guards were dying, and so were the bandits. Except there were more bandits than guards.


    Rosa would never have thought she would just watch at people`s killing and do nothing. But if she ran forward now, she would just die. She knew exactly what awaited her.


    "You stay there ande out only when I put together two fingers behind my back, is it clear?"


    The girl nodded and Evan headed straight for the wagon. All of the guards had been already killed. Only three bandits and the merchant were alive. And he was destined for a sad fate. Luckily for him, Evan needed him alive.


    Unlike Rosa''s caravan, the mercant''s horses were peacefully standing in the harness. Evan also didn''t want to miss the opportunity to get something of value from the him.

 Chapter 11 - The Worthy Deed

    The bandits had already surrounded the merchant and Evan headed straight for them. This time he wasn''t going to be ceremonious or negotiate anything. He had a goal, but there were some obstacles to achiving this goal. Right now, he was going to get them out of the way.


    The bandits had their backs to Evan, but the merchant could see the dark-haired young man walking toward him.


    Unlike Rosa, who had shouted and asked for help at once, the merchant didn''t show that he had noticed Evan. The man calmly continued ying the part of the victim.


    The merchant''s cold-bloodedness pleased Evan and a slight smile appeared on his face.


    Swing.


    Getting close enough, he struck one of the bandits` back with his sword. To his deepest shock, the blow was blocked. Nevertheless, he managed to inflict a serious wound on the man.


    Evan didn''t understand how the bandit he was about to decapitate had time to react to his attack. But he had no time to think. As soon as the bandits became aware of his existence, Evan started a battle - one against three.


    He decided not to wait for them to attack and crush him in numbers. The first attack in their direct confrontation wasunched by Evan.


    Whoosh.


    As he swung his sword and struck, his opponent''s head fell from his shoulders, but that wasn''t what surprised him.


    <How has he dodged an attack in the back if they are so weak?> That was interested Evan the most.


    He surmised that one of them might just be several times stronger than the others. But Evan refused to believe such nonsense.


    Whoosh.


    Deciding not to waste time, he struck another blow to the second bandit. Once again, he easily pierced his opponent''s heart.


    Having dealt with two weak opponents, Evan quickly retreated. The whole situation seemed very strange to him. And it all started because of the wounded man.


    "Boy, what organization are you from?" The bandit was holding his hand to the spot where Evan''s sword had hit him.


    Naturally, Evan didn''t understand the question and didn''t know what he was being asked about. Nevertheless, his answer followed immediately, "A dead man doesn''t need to know that."


    "Heh, well, as you want." Despite all the pain from his wound, the man gripped his two-handed sword tightly and prepared to fight for his life.


    Whoosh.


    Evan ran straight at his opponent while maintaining full concentration. He kept his eyes on everything going on around him, as the situation was still quite unclear. Surprisingly, it was his opponent, who attacked first. He raised his sword high above his head and brought it down directly on Evan.


    <Yeah, he''s strong, but it`s not enough.>


    The blow was incredibly powerful, but it didn''t matter how strong the blow was if he could dodge it. Evan was simply too fast for such a slow attack to catch up to him.


    So he bounced to the side, and quickly plunged the de of his sword right into his opponent''s side.


    "AAAAH!" At that moment, the bandit could no longer stand the pain, and screamed loudly. Unfortunately for him, Evan wasn''t going to stop.


    Whoosh.


    Taking the de out of the bandit''s body, Evan grabbed his sword with a reverse grip, and thrust it into his opponent''s heart from the back. After the deadly attack, he quickly drew his sword and swung it sharply, shaking off all the clinging blood.


    "Thank you, young man, I don''t know how to thank you." Seeing that Evan had dealt with all the bandits, the merchant thanked his savior.


    As for Evan, he wasn''t going to talk at all.


    Rosa wanted toe out of hiding, even though Evan hadn`t shown the signal yet, but she quickly dismissed the idea.


    For while the merchant was trying to make contact with Evan, the young man was looking somewhere in the distance. He waspletely focused, his gaze was icy and his eyes were unbelievably cold.


    Rosa didn''t know how, but she realized that Evan didn''t think it was over at all. That''s why he didn''t give the signal.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, Evan saw a bright glint of metal among the trees, and a momentter, there was an arrowhead before his eyes.


    Swing.


    As he had already prepared for something like that, Evan had time to react and deflect the arrow flying at him.


    In one motion, he blocked the attack and flung the arrow aside.


    "Come out, there''s no need to wait." Evan wasn''t going to y with anyone. He wanted to see his opponents and deal with them quickly, without ying hide-and-seek. Fortunately, he was heard.


    As soon as Evan finished talking, he heard rustling in the woods and a couple of secondster, two men appeared in front of him. They were dressed in ck leather armor.


    One of them had a bow behind his back and a short sword in his hands, while the other had two sharp daggers.


    Seeing these two, Evan realized that this was one more party interested in the situation. Unlike the merchant''s guards and the thugs who wanted to make a profit, these men were of a different level.


    You could see it with the naked eye: their equipment, behavior and posture. All this showed that they were no weak adversaries at all.


    "Boy, if you''d left right away, we might have even kept you alive. But now that you''ve seen us, you don''t stand a chance of getting out of here alive anymore", said the man with the green daggers in his hands.


    Whoosh.


    He quickly attacked Evan, trying to strike him with lightning- fast blows. Evan was far from an easy man and such attacks could not kill him. As he blocked the hail of blows, he pondered what kind of goods the merchant was carrying, since so many people were interested in him.


    ng. ng. ng.


    His opponent''s blows were getting faster and faster and the attacks were as swift as the wind.


    It seemed to Evan that if this continued, he would simply not be able to keep up with his opponent''s movements.


    Evan was surprised that the other man was taking absolutely no action. The only thing he was doing was staring intently at the merchant and the cart beside him.


    The merchant hesitated to make any movements, and simply hoped for Evan''s quick victory.


    ng. ng. ng.


    After a few dozen blows, Evan realized what the problem was. The problem wasn''t that he was too weak or that his opponent was just incredibly strong, it was all about the green daggers.


    Evan''s sword wasn''t the easiest either. It was sharpened with a special stone as Zak had told him, so its sharpness was incredible. The man''s daggers seemed to elerate their owner constantly.


    Deciding that this couldn''t go on any longer, Evan began to take risky actions.


    Bam.


    Reflecting another lunge, he quickly lunged forward and hit his opponent with the shoulder. Evan sessfully knocked him down with his amazing physical strength.


    The man didn''t expect that, and the next moment he saw the point of his sword heading for him. Nevertheless, Evan only pierced the ground.


    The man quickly rolled over and dodged Evan''s attack with ease.


    "And you''re not a bad guy, but we don''t have time to y with you."


    He realized that Evan was strong enough, so their tactics needed to change.


    The man with the daggers attacked Evan again, diverting his attention, while the other pulled an arrow from his quiver and prepared to shoot.


    Whoosh.


    The arrow went off instantly, but the target wasn''t Evan at all, but the defenseless merchant, standing off to the side.


    Evan wasn''t about to risk his life for some merchant, so he only frowned slightly and made no attempt to protect the merchant in any way.


    Whoosh.


    The arrow hit right on target.


    <§¡?>


    Suddenly Evan realized that not the merchant was wounded, but Rosa. When she saw that the merchant was about to be killed, the girl lunged forward in an attempt to stop it. All her life the others had cared for her, protected and solved all her problems. Rosa had never had the opportunity to save anyone herself. Perhaps, that is why she did such a noble but foolish thing.


    Fortunately, the arrow did not hit her, but only grazed her arm and flew on. Thanks to Rosa, the merchant was able to stay alive. The arrow still pierced his shoulder, though, and the man passed out from the pain.


    Rosa received a rather serious wound. Blood flowed steadily down her arm.


    Whoosh.


    Evan backed down from his opponent, and slowly approached Rosa.


    The man with the daggers did nothing. He didn''t want to attack an opponent like Evan, who chose to retreat on his own. It was too dangerous.


    Approaching the girl, Evan reached to her and...


    Swing.


    With one swift blow to the neck area, he rendered her unconscious. Then he gently ced the wounded girl on the ground.


    Evan stripped off his armor, opened his shirt and ripped the sleeve off it. He dipped his fingers into the girl''s blood and tied the cloth around her wound.


    He muttered: "You''ve done an incredibly stupid and apletely unnecessary thing."


    Evan sighed.


    "But, it was a worthy deed and you`ve earned my respect."


    After these words, Evan stood up and looked icily at the two men standing in front of him.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, the two men saw a huge snake appear around Evan''s arm.

 Chapter 12 - Devouring

    "What the..."


    The men in the ck armor were shocked to the core.


    As soon as they were alone, the bloody sign on Evan''s chest glowed brightly and a giant snake began to appear around his right arm.


    They instantly prepared for battle. They just couldn''t retreat. The goods of this merchant were too valuable to them.


    Evan wasn''t about to be ceremonious. He had already used his trump card to deal with them quickly. So even before the snake had fully emerged, he pounced on his enemies.


    His first victim was a man with a short sword and a bow, not the one with the daggers. Since fighting someone, who had support from a long distance was stupid and impractical.


    Whoosh.


    He swung his sword from the bottom up, but the man was an experienced fighter, so he easily blocked Evan''s attack.


    Whoosh.


    The moment when he thought he could attack Evan in response, trickles of blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.


    The snake pierced through the man''s body, mmed its mouth and swallowed his heart.


    This scene sent the second man into a rage, and he attacked Evan with all his might.


    His speed was incredible. The wind seemed to swirl around the green daggers, but it wasn''t enough.


    "Too slow." Evan blocked his opponent''s lunge, and the snake got to its work.


    Whoosh.


    In an instant, it bit the man''s arm off to the elbow, and Evan decapitated him.


    Two, brutal and bloodthirsty murders had just taken ce in the forest. As for the culprit of this celebration, he was calmly heading toward Rosa, who was still unconscious.


    He opened her mouth and the venom from the snake''s fang fell directly on her tongue. It was exactly like thest time: the giant snake disappeared without a trace, and the girl''s wound began to heal quickly.


    In truth, Evan could have healed the merchant as well. For he, too, had been seriously wounded by the archer, but his life was of no concern to Evan.


    He really cared only one thing- what was in the wagon. It was the reason why so many people hade here.


    While Rosa and the merchant were unconscious, Evan was alone, so he began to explore the wagon.


    No matter how much he looked for, he couldn''t find anything worthwhile. Vegetables, old cheap clothes, a few kinds of berries- that was all and nothing else.


    He thought the merchant might have what he needed. So, he searched him, but the man had nothing. It looked like amon bandits` attack on a merchant for a couple of coins.


    There was nothing inside the wagon or on the coachman`s seat. The horses stood peacefully, waiting for someone to pull the harness.


    <It''s impossible, everything is too strange, there must be something.>


    After pondering the situation for a while, Evan realized that there was one ce he hadn''t checked yet. It was right under the seats inside the wagon. However, in order to find out what was inside Evan would have to break them down.


    Crack.


    As soon as that idea popped into his head, he broke the wooden panels under the seats without hesitation and smiled contentedly.


    "Well, what have we got here?"


    In the farthest corner, Evan saw a small pouch covered in dust.


    Evan pulled it out and quickly opened. As soon as he did, he smelled a pleasant odor that instantly filled the entire wagon.


    To Evan''s surprise, there wasn`t some fragrant flower inside, but a strange root, dark green in color.


    The young man did not know what it was or how valuable the nt was. However, he had no doubts that it was a rare and unique thing.


    After such a lucky find, Evan checked everything again, but he found nothing else.


    Sigh.


    He sighed in frustration and thought to himself, <So, what should I do now?>


    He had two options - to kill the trader and head for the Mossy Vulture or let him live.


    Once he`d made his decision, Evan stuffed the pouch of root into his bag and headed for the men in ck armor.


    He dragged them farther into the forest so that they would be very hard to find, even if someone wanted to do so.


    He did the same with all the other corpses. You could tell that Evan had covered his tracks and now it was impossible to connect him to this ce.


    Evan wasn''t a bloodthirsty killer or some kind of madman. If there was a point and a need, he killed. If there was no need, he didn''t touch anyone. It was simple.


    That`s why he left the merchant to his fate. If he was lucky, even with a wound he would survive and make it to the city. Evan had his own worries.


    He put on his armor, walked over to Rosa and gently lifted her. With the girl in his arms, Evan came up to one of the horses. Evan put her on the horse, saddled it himself then, cut the harness.


    Evan was an excellent rider. The horse instantly galloped forward.


    ...


    "§¡? Where am I?" After about twenty minutes, Rosa opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the forest flying before her eyes.


    "Good morning, sleepyhead."


    "Would you mind stopping?"


    Such an unexpected request surprised Evan, as they were only a short distance away from the Mossy Vulture.


    "Is there no way to be patient a little? There''s not much left." Evan didn''t want to stop, but Rosa''s answer made him change his mind.


    "There''s just a little bit left for me, too."


    Realizing that his stubbornness might create unnecessary problems for him, he stopped the horse.


    "Be quick."


    Rosa didn''t hear him at all, for she ran off at all speed deeper into the woods.


    "How many troubles..." Evan had nothing to do but wait for her return.


    A few minutester, the girl returned and struggled to climb onto her high horse.


    "Hey, Rosa, don''t you know what this is?"


    Evan pulled a green root out of his bag and showed it to the girl.


    Rosa examined it carefully, but only shook her head in response.


    Truth be told, Evan was sure Rosa knew something about this thing. However, he seemed to have underestimated the rarity of this nt.


    Fortunately, he had one other person to ask about it, and that was Zak.


    Evan put the root away in his bag and went on his way.


    "Hmm? Where''s...my wound?" Rosa didn''t understand how the deep wound from the arrow had already managed to heal.


    What''s more, she expected to see a wide scar. But all she saw was smooth, snow-white skin. There was no mark there moreover, the skin looked even better than before.


    Without waiting for the obvious question, Evan answered everything himself: "Don''t be so surprised and don''t ask anything, it`s a secret. Oh, and another thing. Next time I''ll leave you for dead and won`t even think about saving you. Why the fuck did you run out if I didn''t give the signal?"


    In fact, that senseless act of defense only improved Evan''s attitude toward Rosa. He liked people like that. They were rare. Few people would put their lives in danger to protect another person.


    He scolded her because, aside from the fact that it was a decent deed, it was also foolish to put yourself in danger. Moreover, in that situation, it had given Evan a little trouble, so he was obliged to teach her a lesson.


    In response, the girl only blushed in shame and mumbled quietly: "I''m sorry...I just wanted to help someone for once in my life."


    Evan said nothing, and they just continued on their way to the city. The huge iron gates were just around the corner.

 Chapter 13 - Great Plan

    Evan and Rosa finally got to the Mossy Vulture. The sun was already high in the sky, illuminating thend.


    They were allowed inside without any problems, which surprised both Evan and Rosa. They thought they would, at least, be asked the purpose of their visit.


    Evan thought it was all thanks to Zak, who had warned the guards to let him in. The girl, on the contrary, thought it was her brother, who had solved this problem.


    Once inside, Rosa quickly said: "Mr. Evan, my brother lives nearby. You can get your reward there." Rosa''s voice was quiet and slightly sad.


    Evan jumped off his horse and asked: "Can you ride a horse?"


    Rosa nodded confidently in response.


    The young man smiled weakly: "Well, go ahead, then."


    p.


    And at the same moment, Rosa rode off somewhere in the distance. Evan didn''t take any money from her, only because he had already found something much more valuable. He also couldn''t wait to start learning magic. So he decided a few coins weren''t worth his time.


    He was partly right. Of course, he had yet to find out the true value of the root in his bag.


    After parting with Rosa, Evan went to the only ce he knew in this town besides the Tower of Magic, namely the stable, where his horse should still be.


    ...


    "Oh, it`s really here." Just as Evan had expected, his horse was there. Realizing all was well, he approached the caretaker and asked about where Zak was.


    "If I''m not mistaken, Mr. Zak is resting in his mansion right now. I don''t know why, but for thest ten days he''s been so angry that all the servants are afraid to go near him."


    Evan was politely exined and shown everything. The man''sst words made him wary. After all, he was the one who had broken the crystal ball in a rage ten days ago and left the town.


    "Thank you".


    After getting all the information he needed, Evan headed for Zak''s house.


    ...


    < Is Zak a warrior or a rich man of unprecedented heights?> Evan looked at the huge mansion, the size of half a ser field. The area around the mansion itself was ten times its size.


    He didn''t understand how a warrior, even such a strong one, could have so much money. Evan simply didn''t fully understand how high the status of magicians ispared to ordinary people.


    The young man didn''t know how to get inside, so he decided to just go to the main entrance. It was a big, ck, metal gate.


    As soon as he got close, the guard stopped him immediately: "I''m sorry, but Mr. Zak isn`t receiving guests right now."


    Evan doubted that Zak was really doing anything. So he decided to try again, only more convincingly.


    "Are you sure? Maybe, I cane in?" Speaking, Evan looked directly at the guard with his amethyst eyes.


    His voice was calm and steady. Seeing Evan''s gaze, the guard seemed to remember something and began to examine Evan.


    "Excuse me, what`s your name?"


    Evan simply answered, "Evan Lynch."


    The guard quickly opened the gate and stepped aside.


    "Please,e in. Mr. Zak is waiting for you."


    The guard''s attitude to him changed at once. Evan went through the gate and found himself on the grounds of the mansion.


    To his right he saw a small pond, and to the left of the building there was a training ground, where Evan headed. The sound of non-stop blows could be heard from that ce.


    When Evan reached the right spot. He saw Zak training and two maids, standing on the side.


    Evan did not call out to the owner of the house. Instead, he walked over to one of the girls and took a cooling drink from her tray.


    "What are you doing!" The maid didn`t expect this. But Evan paid her no attention.


    He took a sip and looked up at the sky slowly said: "You have a good taste, Commander Zak."


    It was only at that moment that Zak realized someone hade. When he heard Evan''s voice, he turned around immediately.


    But, his reaction was quite unusual. Without saying anything, he gripped the hilt of his sword with force and threw it directly toward Evan''s head.


    Whoosh.


    The young man quickly dodged the sword and took another sip of his fresh cocktail.


    "Mr. Zak, please calm down." The maids were frightened and tried to calm him down.


    "Come on, get out of here. I need to talk to this idiot, one-on-one." His voice was loud and his tone harsh.


    The girls quickly ran away in silence.


    Zak also grabbed a cocktail and took a seat at the table.


    "Sit down."


    Evan sat down silently, putting the ss aside.


    Zak was the first to speak: "Why the fuck did you break the fucking crystal ball? Do you even know how much trouble I''ve had because of that?"


    It was obvious to the naked eye that as soon as he remembered that fact, the anger engulfed him at once.


    "I admit, I had a temper, but it`s worked out. I`ve got into "Nirvana"."


    Those words were like a thunderbolt out of the blue sky. All of Zak''s resentment and anger evaporated in an instant.


    He asked uncertainly: "Evan, are you sure? If what you say is true, it changes everything."


    Zak nodded satisfactorily, took the ss in his hands and then took another sip.


    He did not think Evan would lie. But magic was too serious a thing to be taken lightly.


    "What did you see in there?" Zak stared at Evan as if he wanted to examine every millimeter of his body.


    "A round sphere, white in color, nothing else but boundless emptiness." Evan didn''t mention that his "Warp" was crimson, and he certainly didn''t mention the ck scythe inside it.


    A wide smile appeared on Zak''s face and heughed out loud, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, I` ve known it! Boy, you are a miracle! Just to go there, crash everything like a wild animal, and then toe back and say you`ve got into "Nirvana". I certainly wasn''t wrong about you."


    Evan didn''t interrupt Zak''s joy and just waited for him to calm down on his own.


    "Boy, since this is the case and you have a talent for magic, would you like to enroll in the Academy of Magic? One of them will begin recruitment in two months and it''s located not too far from the Mossy Vulture. What do you think?"


    Evan wanted to bring it up himself, but Zak was the first.


    "I don''t mind, but what will I need to do to sessfully qualify?" Evan didn''t want to spend so much time on his way to school and then to go back in a bad mood because he failed.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. They take everyone who was able to get into "Nirvana". It proves the talent for magic."


    Zak drained his ss in one fell swoop and continued: "There will be a selection process and each apprentice will be divided into two types - Outer Students and Inner Students. I think you see by yourself which is better and harder to get into."


    Evan listened to Zak carefully, and thought about every word he said. After all, a lot could depend on his performance in the selection process.


    "So, we''re leaving in two months?"


    "Yes, and until then, you''ll be training and learning. There''s a whole library in my mansion with quite a few books on magic. I think you''ll find them useful. As for your physical training, I''ll take care of it myself. Who knows, maybe you''re like me."


    Evan smiled and replied, "Great n".

 Chapter 14 - The Types Of Magic

    Evan and Zak were talking to each other while sipping cocktails and paying absolutely no attention to the two-meter sword stuck in the wall.


    "Commander Zak, what did you mean when you said I `m maybe like you?" This phrase didn`t make sense to Evan, for he did not understand why physical training was necessary for a magician.


    To him, physical training was only necessary to keep the body fit. After all, in his past world, physical strength was practically unappreciated.


    One thing Evan kept forgetting, that he had entered apletely different and new world, with its own rules and priorities.


    "Ah, I`m sorry I keep forgetting what hole you''re from." For Zak, Evan''s whole life had been spent in the very small vige, where, by coincidence, he had actually taken him from.


    "Well ,I think it''s time for the first lecture on magic, so listen carefully." Zak took a sip and continued.


    "There are three basic types of magic: Amplification Magic, Creation Magic and Summoning Magic. People, who use one or the other type of magic, are called respectively: Amplifiers, Creators, and Summoners. Simply put, there are three sses of Magicians."


    This information threw Evan into a stupor. It was a real break of stereotypes for him. There were only two types of magicians in his past world: the Light and the Dark ones, and that was it. The entire world was built on the confrontation of these two forces and all the wars took ce because of it.


    "And what`s the difference?" Evan couldn''t help but ask. He was just desperate to know. Magic and its study had always interested him.


    "One second."


    Zak took a deep breath and shouted very loudly: "Margaret!"


    Evan didn''t know who themander was calling for, but it seems this girl was an important figure in his estate.


    After a while, Evan saw an enchanting girl heading toward them. She was walking slowly in their direction with her arms folded around her waist.


    Her hair was red and she had a bob hairstyle that suited her perfectly. The wind blew her hair, and her emerald eyes enchanted the heart of any man at first sight.


    She was dressed in a ck maid''s suit. It seemed to Evan, though, that it was too revealing in all her squeamish ces.


    "Mr. Zak, why are you yelling so loudly? I`ve reminded you for many times that I have a very sensitive hearing."


    Her voice was calm and her facepletely unemotional. She seemed to be used to these situations a long time ago.


    "Get my gear ready in the underground hall and send someone to get us a drink."


    "I see. And how should I treat this man?"


    Zak looked at Evan and thought for a while. After all, if Evan was going to stay here for as long as two months, the servants had to address him somehow.


    Zak had epted the decision, believing that it was a right one then, replied, "Consider him my sessor."


    Evan was surprised, and Margaret covered her mouth with her hand and said reproachfully: "Mr. Zak, didn''t you always say you would marry me? And it turns out you`ve got such a grown-up son?"


    Zak waved his hands and immediately began to make excuses: "No, no, no, I don''t have any children and my heart belongs to you. It''s just a special situation with him."


    Margaret stared at Zak with eyes as cold as ice. Then he shifted his gaze to Evan and back to Zak, and so several times in a row.


    "All right, I believe you. I''ll let my ckers know and get everything ready." After these words, Margaret went away.


    "I don`t like to repeat twice, but Commander, you do have excellent taste. She`s a real irondy."


    Evan was stunned by the scene he had just seen. Realizing that there was a special rtionship between these two, despite the difference in status. So things quickly fell into ce.


    "Right you are. Well, let`s back to our business. Here`s the right aperitif for that."


    Not two minutes after Margaret had left, one of the maids approached them. She was carrying arge bottle of some strong drink.


    The girl poured the liquor and hurried away.


    <Hmm, so Margaret controls all the servants on this estate.> Evan drew certain conclusions about Zak''s woman.


    "Well, what is the difference between the types of magic?"


    Realizing that he had already kept Evan waiting too long, Zak became more serious and put the alcohol aside.


    "Creators use magic directly, and only in free form. For example - the zero-level spell "Fireball". It creates in the magician''s hand a small, round blob of fire that carries destructive power. Spells of this type can only be used by Creators, I hope that''s clear."


    Evan nodded satisfactorily, then Zak went on to the next type: "Summoners use magic to summon various creatures to their aid. If don''t go too deep, it''s simple."


    Evan listened to him carefully, analyzing his every word. All this was new to him. In his past world, the power of the magicians resembled only slightly the way the Creators used magic.


    "And thest type of the three, these are the Amplifiers, I`m the one of them. I think you remember my battle against Ermis. He was a Creator and attacked me with ice crystals, while my fire was only on my sword and armor."


    "You mean that even though I saw you covered in mes then, and your sword was zing brightly, you can''t use the same "Fireball"?"


    It seemed strange to Evan, why a man, who used the fire can`t make a ball of fire.


    "Yes, you could say that. Creators have their limitations, they can''t enhance themselves, their equipment, or their armor through magic. But that''s not really correct."


    The next moment, Zak picked up a knife from the table.


    "Look, as an Amplifier, I can shroud this simple knife in me and turn it into a deadly weapon. In fact, the Creator can do the same thing, but in his execution the effect will be much weaker. Like if I tried to create a fireball. I can do it, but it just doesn''t make sense."


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, the knife went up in mes, and the mes seemed toe straight from inside it. The scene reminded Evan the moment in the battle with Ermis, when Zak`s sword had burned brightly.


    "I think I get it. Different approach and, therefore, different effect. Amplifiers` magic goes right inside a certain thing, which is why it creates such a powerful effect."


    After Evan''s words, the knife just fell out of Zak''s hands and he hesitantly asked: "Boy, did you draw all these conclusions just because of my example and because of my exnation?"


    Evan only nodded affirmatively in response.


    "Yeah, you just catch it on the fly. Well, I think that''s enough for the first lesson. You should think about what you''ll do if you develop a talent for one type of magic or another."


    "But, Commander Zak, you still haven''t told me what it means to be like you?"


    "It''s simple. Because of the specific nature of Amplifiers, in addition to magical power, physical strength is extremely important to them as well. That''s why I train every day." The answer was simple and straightforward, without any tricks.


    Zak thought their short lecture was about to end. So he drank his drink and was about to leave.


    But Evan suddenly stopped him, with a very important question. The young man looked at themander with a calm look and slowly said: "Which of all the types is the strongest?"


    Strength was a fundamental thing in his past world. In the new one as he understood things were the same and so he wanted to know which was the best direction he should develop to.


    Zak thought for a while, then grinned and just confused all of Evan''s thoughts with one sentence: "It''s obvious right away that you''re just a brat. Everything depends on the situation. Life isn''t so simple, and it`s impossible to say at once what''s the strongest and best thing. Let''s consider the situation...."

 Chapter 15 - The First Sparring

    Evan and Zak had been talking for hours. Several bottles of various drinks had already piled up on the table.


    Evan listened intently to Zak. Evan was the strongest dark magician in his past life and knew his worth well. However, he was not an arrogant fool who thought he was the best at everything.


    Zak''s words were useful to him. They were the words of a skilled warrior and a magician who had seen and experienced a lot.


    Most of the time they were talking about what kind of magician would perform himself best in different situation.


    Evan got the general idea that if it was a one-on-one fight, the Amplifiers were the undisputed favorites in that situation. If we''re talking about massbat, the Creators were the best option. And when it came to aid, reconnaissance, and defense, the Summoners were unbeatable.


    Naturally, everything depended on the magician himself. If you were strong enough, even as a Summoner you could defeat an Amplifier when met him face to face.


    But that''s more of an exception to the rule. Zak easily defeated Ermis, who was a Creator. Even though Ermis had prepared for their duel thoroughly, Zak just crushed him by force. That was it.


    "Let`s go, I think Margaret`s been waiting for us." After their conversation was over, Zak told Evan to follow him.


    They headed toward the entrance of the mansion. As soon as Zak opened the front door, many surprised looks were directed at Evan.


    All the servants in the house, most of whom were the girls, looked at Evan with interest. In all the time they had served Zak, they had never seen him allow anyone to stay in his house for long. And here was the man, the owner of the estate had called as his sessor. This news was a real sensation among the servants.


    Evan didn''t pay any attention on them, but Zak was of a different opinion.


    "What are you staring at? Get down to work!" After his shout, all the servants shuddered and went about their business.


    While they were walking through the central hall, directly toward the underground stairway, Evan had time to appreciate the interior.


    Lots of expensive furniture, decorations, paintings, and fabrics. And in addition just phenomenal work by the maids. Evan didn''t notice any speck of dust wherever they passed. He didn''t know if it was Margaret''s merit, but the result was worthy.


    Just before going downstairs, Evan saw the entrance to the library. He decided to go there as soon as possible. The more you know, the stronger you are - a rule that works in all worlds.


    It took them quite a while to get down. The stone steps brightly lit by the torches on the walls. After a few minutes, Evan saw a huge, circr tform, something resembling an arena.


    He saw a room with equipment, as well as a room where some books were kept. There were not many of them.


    Next to all the necessary equipment, there was Margaret.


    "As always, the best in her biz." Zak seemed pleased with Margaret''s work, but Evan didn''t understand anything yet.


    Seeing the owner of the mansion, the girl bowed and quietly asked: "Mr. Zak, everything is prepared, anything else?"


    "Nothing else is needed, if you want you can look."


    <Look at what?> Evan wondered.


    But, he hadn`t time to develop his thought, as Zak gripped the hilt of arge two-handed sword tightly. The weapon was made of some kind of ck metal. Zak raised it high, gradually pointing the point of the sword at Evan.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Get your sword out. If youst a minute, I''ll show you the spell book."


    These words lit a fire in Evan''s eyes and he instantly pulled his sword from its sheath.


    Whoosh.


    Evan prepared for battle and Zak attacked him at once, unleashing a deadly blow on the young man. He didn''t use magic in that attack, it was just pure physical force and nothing more.


    Evan took their sparring seriously, but he just wasn''t ready for such a strong push. With great difficulty he was able to dodge the first blow and backed up a few steps.


    He watched Zak closely. He just had to hold out for a minute.


    Whoosh.


    Zak made a quick dash toward Evan, and attacked him with his sword from the side. Evan reacted with lightning speed and blocked themander''s blow.


    However, that was not all. What followed was an unceremonious knee strike to the stomach, but Evan had already prepared for it. He would have done the same thing himself.


    Whoosh.


    Before Zak''s knee reached Evan, he had quickly blocked it with his palm. But Zak was too strong. He put even more force into his attack and sent the young man flying, forcing him to squirm with pain in his abdomen and cough up blood all the time.


    However, Evan wasn''t the only one who was surprise.


    <Where has that boy got so much strength?> Zak looked at the torn fabric around his knee, thinking about what had just happened.


    "He''s pretty good, though. Now I understand your decision to make him your sessor."


    While the two men were fighting, Margaret made tea as if nothing had happened. She watched them fight, slowly sipping the hot drink.


    She also drew certain conclusions about Evan from this fight.


    After a while Evan stood up, and spitting a mouthful of blood, said: "One more try!" He knew he hadn`tsted the minute, but he wasn''t going to put up with it.


    "You don''t have to, kid, you`ve made it." Saying that, Zak pointed to his skinned knee.


    "So that means that..." There was a wide smile on Evan''s face. He was looking forward to opening the spell book.


    "Yeah, you can go into that little library over there anytime. You can find many different spells for each ss there."


    Evan didn''t know what type of magic would work best for him, so he wanted to learn everything at all.


    "Margaret will prepare a key for you. But right now there''s no point in reading books or going to the library."


    Evan frowned at these words and asked a little grudgingly: "Why? I was able to get into "Nirvana". I can use magic. What''s the problem?" Evan didn''t understand what other barriers remained between him and the magic.


    Zak simply replied: "There isn`t a drop of mana in you and we''re going to fix that little problem right now."


    Zak looked at the closed iron door.

 Chapter 16 - Void Liquid

    Looking at the closed door, Zak headed straight for it. Margaret put her cup of tea aside and pulled out a small, silver key.


    Click.


    The door creaked open, Zak and the girl stepped inside. Evan dusted himself off and quickly followed them.


    They walked slowly down a long, stone corridor until wooden doors began to appear. Evan saw four more doors.


    Without any prompting or reminder, Margaret opened one of them and went away, leaving them alone.


    "Come in." Zak stepped into the room and Evan followed him.


    Once inside, Evan didn''t know what to say. He was stunned by the sight of the room. The room was small, but just right for one person. However, that wasn''t the most important thing.


    Crystals, an insane variety of crystals, all different colors and sizes were inside the walls throughout the room.


    Evan didn`t know what they were for, but they looked magical.


    As for Zak, he seemed to pay no attention to all the beauty in the room and proceeded to exin.


    "Take a seat. No magician can call himself one unless he has mana." Saying this, Zak sat down on the cold, stone floor.


    Evan did the same, still staring mesmerized at the dozens of crystals in front of him.


    With a sigh, Zak said seriously: "The main difference between the magicians and ordinary people, is not that they are able to use magic, but it''s all about the ability to umte mana and use it."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, just nodded his head affirmatively.


    "Magicians can get mana almost anywhere and anytime. Even in the middle of a clearing or dense forest where there seemed to be no hint of magic. Mana hovers right in the air."


    Zak spoke slowly and clearly. He didn''t feel like repeating it all over again. So he hoped Evan would understand everything at once.


    "These crystals are special, each of them costs a lot. But they greatly increase the rate of mana umtion. In other words, the "Creation".


    "Creation?" Evan didn''t really understand the meaning of the word. He still knew very little about this world, and about the system of magic, which turned out to be much moreplex and interesting than in his past life.


    "Yes, it`s the period of time when a magician is busy umting mana. As well as trying to increase his powers, but all in order. Close your eyes and enter "Nirvana"


    Evan did exactly as Zak said. A momentter, Evan saw again the crimson orb hovering in the middle of the vast void in front of him.


    "I''m in "Nirvana." The young man said quietly.


    Zak smiled slightly: "Your task is to feel the mana around you. There''s plenty of it, and make your "Warp" rotate, thereby infusing it with mana."


    The exnations were ratherplicated and unfamiliar, but Evan seemed to understand everything.


    He was focused and rxed. Evan understood that this was aplicated case, so he needed to take time.


    Whoosh.


    Gradually, the pale blue particles, resembling bubbles appeared in the middle of the void in his "Nirvana". They floated peacefully next to each other.


    Then, all he needed was to make the crimson orb rotate. But it was much easier than he had imagined.


    As soon as he thought about it, his "Warp" began to rotate slowly, gradually gaining speed. Eventually, because of the high speed of the crimson orb, the pale blue bubbles began to fly toward it.


    Seeing this scene, Evan smiled contentedly, but this was only the beginning. The best part was yet toe.


    After a while, the "Warp" elerated quite a bit. Its speed was so high that it was literally sucking mana into itself like a vortex.


    <Unbelievable>. Evan watched as pale blue streams resembling rivers swirled around the crimson orb and gradually disappeared into it.


    From the satisfied expression on Evan''s face, Zak knew it had gone well. Once again, he was sure he had not made a mistake about this boy.


    Without disturbing Evan, Zak quietly got up and left the room, leaving him alone.


    It was difficult to say how much time had passed or how much mana Evan had managed to get, but suddenly, a transparent blob appeared inside the orb, at the very top. It slowly fell to the bottom of the "Warp".


    ...


    Swing. Swing. Swing.


    Zak trained hard, swinging the giant sword with the incredible speed.


    The sun was high in the sky, scorching furiously. The heat was so intense that shade seemed to be the only escape. Even so, Zak continued to train, for he was used to this extreme.


    <I think it''s time to check on Evan. It''s been four days and I haven''t heard anything from him.>


    In fact, magicians could work on "Creation" for many days. For powerful magicians, a few years was like a blink of an eye. But not for a rookie like Evan. He was supposed to be exhausted in a couple of hours. But it`s been four days.


    Zak wiped the sweat off and headed for the underground floor, straight for the room with the crystals.


    Click.


    He opened the door and was about to say something, but he couldn''t get a word out.


    An unbelievable picture that he simply couldn`t have imagined appeared before his eyes. Some of the crystals were very pale, as if they were living out theirst seconds. And next to Evan, there were the gray fragments ofpletely depleted crystals.


    You could tell that in four days of being in this room, Evan had somehow managed to drain a good quarter of all the crystals.


    Zak was amazed to the core for he had an idea why it had happened.


    ...


    Every magician has his or her own "Warp", which looks like a sphere. Most have it white one, but those who arebeled geniuses have it purple. It''s a well-known fact.


    A magician''s power depends on how many ends his or her "Warp" has. And here wee to the most important andplicated thing. How do you increase the number of ends on your "Warp" and turn it into a real "Star" instead of a floating sphere?


    Imagine the most ordinary white "Warp" of an average magician. In fact, inside the white sphere, there is another sphere into which the already condensed mana enters and turns into a transparent substance called - "Void Liquid"


    The moment when the magician begins to "Create", only the outer shell of the "Warp" begins to rotate. The inner shell in which "Void Liquid" is located remains stationary.


    And what about mana? While the outer shell is spinning, it collects mana from its surroundings. It enters the space between the two shells. This is the mana the magician consumes while using the various spells.


    Excess mana condenses and turns into "Void Liquid". But even for one drop, you need a huge amount of mana, for the collection of which you will have to spend a lot of time. This is where the first difference between the white "Warp" and the purple onees in.


    Magicians who have purple "Warp" absorb mana from the environment much faster. Even condensing and turning the excess into "Void Liquid" noticeably increases its rate.


    That''s why the scene where the magician with the white "Warp"pletely depleted several crystals filled with mana seemed to Zak just an impossible thing.

 Chapter 17 - Lunch

    "Warp" is the cornerstone of all magicians and their beginning. The very first step to increasing one''s power and moving to the next level was to obtain the first end of one''s "Warp".


    In order to get the first end and transform your "Warp" into a "One-pointed Star" you need a certain amount of "Void Liquid". You won''t need much for the first stage of development, just a thousand drops.


    ...


    "I''ve been "Creating" for about four days now, but all I''ve achieved is some measly twenty-five drops. It looks like I''m still a long way from being truly powerful."


    The crimson orb swirled nonstop, swirling many pale blue streams around it.


    Evan watched as a small amount of a strange, transparent substance, namely "Void Liquid," was inside his "Warp".


    He didn''t know how much of it was needed to get to the next stage. He assumed that first he would need to fill the entire "Warp"pletely for something to happen. The results for four days disappointed him a lot, but Evan epted them anyway.


    If Zak or any other magician found out what Evan was thinking about, they would consider him a real cheeky. After all, even geniuses with purple "Warp" could achieve on average two drops a day.


    Evan just hadn`t known yet how incredible his speed was.


    ...


    Aftering to his senses and realizing that Evan was far from simple one, Zak decided to call him out.


    "Hey, kid, it''s time to get some rest, I''m already worried about you. To "Create" four days in a row for such inexperienced magician like you, isn`t good. It could be harmful for your health."


    Zak wasn''t too worried about the crystals. Sure, they were very expensive, but Evan had depleted nothing but a quarter and only in one room. As ast resort, Zak could buy more. It would cost him a tidy sum, but it wasn`t a problem for him.


    Hearing Zak''s voice, Evan slowly opened his eyes and walked out of "Nirvana".


    "I haven`t even noticed how much time passed by and I am not tired at all."


    Evan sighed, and then he froze in shock. For like Zak, he was stunned by what he saw.


    "What`s happened here?" Evan didn''t understand why there were so many pieces of depleted crystals lying around him. Some of the crystals on the walls were very dim.


    Zak waved his hand and replied, "It''s you, don''t worry, there are still plenty of crystals. I''ll take care of a supply of new ones. However, what you''ve done in four days is truly amazing."


    Even though it was fraught with great expense for Zak, there wasn''t an ounce of sadness or annoyance on his face, just a wide smile.


    Evan breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that nothing bad had happened. He didn''t want to cause Zak any unnecessary problems.


    "Evan...how many drops have you condensed?" This question was very important to Zak. If Evan had managed to get three, no, even two drops in four days, that was already an amazing result.


    Without thinking about the consequences, Evan answered honestly, "Twenty-five..."


    Evan was extremely unhappy with this ridiculous number, as he didn''t think his results were actually incredible. On the contrary, he thought he was just moving at a snail''s pace.


    "How many...?!" Never in his life had Zak heard anything crazier. Twenty-five drops of "Void Liquid" in four days. It sounded like the ravings of a madman.


    Themander was about to scold Evan for lying, but suddenly he saw his frown face and disgruntled look.


    <Wait a minute, there''s no point in him lying since he doesn''t know if his score is good or bad. It''s entirely possible that he thinks he''d achieved too little. He is still a novice.>


    Zak realized that even though his theory sounded crazy, it really could be.


    "AHAHAHAHA, Evan, you shouldn''t get so upset. It''s a pretty normal result. I''d even say above average. Keep it up and you''ll reach great heights!"


    He did not tell Evan that he was a hidden genius. Zak was worried that if he praised him too much, the young man would be overconfident and would not make the effort in future. He couldn''t make such a stupid mistake.


    And Zak''s n worked, Evan''s mood visibly lifted and a fighting spirit appeared again.


    < You say it''s quite a normal pace, well, okay>. With these thoughts, Evan got up and started warming up.


    After four days of sitting in the same position, his whole body was slightly sore. He needed to stretch.


    "Boy, lunch ising up, let''s go. You need to gain strength and energy and get some rest."


    Evan grinned weakly: "Good idea, what''s on the menu today?"


    Evan didn''t mind eating. So far, the best thing he''d eaten was a fish roasted on the fire, which was certainly not bad, but clearly not enough to enjoy the taste of the food.


    "AHAHAHA, boy, take your time, you''ll see it soon." Zack closed the door to the room with the crystals and headed for the stairs.


    A few minutester they were already in the main hall. After a couple of turns, they arrived in a room with arge round table in the center. There was a huge amount of food on it.


    "I say it for the third time, Commander Zak, you have a great taste."


    The food looked simply gorgeous, and its variety was astounding. What else would one expect from a man who owned such a huge estate and had so many servants in the house.


    "Are we going to eat alone?"


    Zak sighed slightly, sat down at one of the seats and said: "Well, not really. You take a seat for now and start eating, if you need anything you''ll be served it."


    Zak pointed to several maids standing quietly behind the table.


    Zak seemed to be used to eating in this atmosphere, but Evan was not. He did not say anything, the presence of other people was not such a problem as he hade here to eat after all.


    After Zak''s words, he took one of the seats. He quickly got down to his meal- the grilled pieces of meat, which smelled so good. The meat was juicy and the crust was crispy.


    "Straight for the meat, good, very good." Unlike Evan, Zak hadn''t touched his food or alcohol yet, he seemed to be waiting for something.


    Whoosh.


    The door opened, and Zak''s waiting stopped.


    "Sorry for the dy." Oddly enough, it was Margaret.


    Without further ado, she sat down next to Zak and began to eat.


    From this scene, Evan was once again convinced that even though she was dressed in a maid''s suit and run all the other servants in the mansion, she had a unique status.


    After all, it seemed that until Evan came to the house, Zak and Margaret always ate together, which had be the customary norm for everyone.


    Besides, as soon as Margaret entered the room and sat down at the table, Evan noticed the envious nces of the maids behind them, and not only that.


    He could clearly see that in addition to envy there was boundless fear in them. And he didn''t fully understand whether it was Zak or Margaret they were afraid of.


    Deciding not to think about it anymore, he put another piece of meat into his mouth and then decided to get up and take a jug of wine, since he could not reach it with his hand.


    But, he was instantly stopped by Margaret: "No need, Mr. Evan, sit still".


    After these words, she looked at one of the maids and waved her hand. The girl quickly walked over to the table, picked up jug of wine, and carefully poured Evan a full ss. Having done this, she returned to her former ce.


    ...


    After about half an hour, all the food had been eaten, mostly by Evan and Zak. Margaret, on the other hand, hardly touched a thing.


    "Well,d, I see you''ve got quite an appetite. Isn''t it time to learn the first spell of your life?" Zak shook his wine ss slowly from side to side in his hand and smiled faintly.


    Hearing his words, Evan unceremoniously stood up and took the jug of wine from the table. He drank it all in one fell swoop.


    Then the young man put the already empty jug back on the table and said confidently: "I''m ready."

 Chapter 18 - The First Spell

    "That''s the spirit, boy." Zak got up from his chair, looked at Margaret and said.


    "We''re off to the site, bring us this." Zak left the hall, gesturing for Evan to follow him.


    The young man left the room just as quickly.


    Left alone, Margaret looked at the maids and calmly said: "Cleaning up!"


    The girls quickly began to clean the table where there was a pile of empty tes, many sses and jugs.


    Margaret was not going to help them. She simply left the room and went to the underground floor, where Evan had previously "Created".


    ...


    "Commander Zak, if I''m about to learn my first spell, doesn''t that mean you know what my ss is?"


    Evan didn''t quite understand how Zak could talk about spells if it wasn''t yet known what type of magic Evan had a greater predisposition to.


    "Evan, I don''t know what type of magic suits you best. As I said before you can find out at the Academy of Magic, I hope you remember what I told you. Even if it''s not your type of magic, you can still use it."


    Even though Zak had tried to exin everything as thoroughly as possible Evan still had some questions. You could see it in the look on his face. So Zak decided to approach the matter from a different angle.


    "Okay, let me put it another way. If you don''t go to the Academy of Magic, you can find out what type you''re most prone to on your own. But that''s a very long and painful thing to do. After all, you will need three spells of the same level. You will have to practice using each of them for at least three months. Only after that will you be able topare results and then figure everything out."


    Zak hoped that at least now he had managed to exin everything to Evan.


    Evan kept silent for a while. He thought about the information he had just obtained.


    The young man nodded and asked a rifying question: "All magicians can use each type of spell, but they do not do so because of their low effectiveness. So now I will be learning my first spell for experience, right?"


    Zak smiled and nodded positively.


    "Theory is good, of course, but you learn things much faster in practice. While Margaret''s not here yet, I''ll give you a little master ss."


    Whoosh.


    Zak extended his hand forward and a small, round blob of me appeared in his palm.


    "It''s a level zero spell, Fireball, pretty easy to use. And it''s not hard to learn, but look at the effect."


    Whoosh.


    Zak swung his hand and sent a blob of me straight at the nearest, wooden dummy.


    Evan was surprised by what he saw and the only word that came to his mind was, "Weakly..."


    Zak wasn''t offended by that, but justughed out loud, "AHAHAHA, you''re absolutely right. It''s just stuff, not damage."


    There was virtually nothing wrong with the dummy. Except for a small ck spot at the point of impact. Nothing else had happened.


    Of course, if Zak had used more mana there wouldn''t have been a trace left of the dummy. It was just too inefficient and costly for an Amplifier like him.


    Evan didn''t understand why Zak was so excited, but it was quickly exined to him.


    "As you can see because I''m an Amplifier and used a spell based on Creation Magic, the efficiency was just terrible. Now look at the difference."


    Zak picked up his mostmon sword and walked closer to the already metal and clearly very sturdy dummy.


    Whoosh.


    The sword burst into a bright me and the temperature multiplied in an instant. Evan felt like he was next to a huge bonfire that could burn anything.


    Zak raised his sword up and made a diagonal swing at the dummy in one swift motion.


    As a result, the top part of the dummy fell to the ground. And at the site of the cut, the metal, red-hot from the incredible temperature, was still bubbling.


    "You see it. That''s the difference between when you use your type of magic and when you don''t have a predisposition to it." Zak removed the me and returned the sword to the rack.


    <It`s unbelievable power, all because the right type of magic was used>. Evan drew certain conclusions from this demonstration. He began to delve deeper and deeper into how magic worked in this world.


    Zak didn''t distract him. He simply began to do the exercises as in his routine training.


    ...


    After a while, Margaret came up to them. She had a in gray book in her hand.


    "Mr. Zak, here is everything you asked for." The girl handed the spell book to Zak.


    "Okay. Send someone to bring me a drink, my throat is dry."


    Margaret nodded and walked slowly away from the practice area.


    Evan stared intently at the book in Zak''s hand. He understood what was waiting for him and this thought brought a wide smile to his face.


    "Boy, let''s go sit down, now you you''re going not to fight but learn. Let''s see how fast you learn." Zak made his way to the very table they had sat at thest time.


    To Evan surprise the hole in the wall that was left by Zak`s sword had already been filled.


    They sat down at the table and Zak handed the book to Evan.


    "Start reading. If you don''t understand anything, ask."


    Of course, Zak could exin everything to Evan right away. But he did not want to spoil his first impression of learning magic with his advice. In his opinion, it should be an unforgettable and unique experience. Without anyone else''s interference.


    Evan nodded and opened the book with anticipation. There was nothing on the cover. In appearance, the book looked more like a shabby nt book than a spell book. But you can''t judge a book by its appearance. It''s the content that counts.


    <So, what do we have here?> The first thing Evan saw, was arge inscription - Zero level spell "Magical Missile".


    After reading those words, Evan was no longer stopped. He kept reading and reading, soaking up all the information like a sponge and making his own theories and assumptions along the way.


    Zak saw how deep into his studies Evan was, he left him continue studying on his own.


    ...


    <Astonishing. The spells in this world are radically different from the ones I used in my previous life.>


    Evan had been reading for an hour and during that time he had received a lot of new information.


    Zak had chosen this particr spell for a reason. In his opinion, "Magic Missile" was the best option for beginners who had never cast a spell before. Regardless of ss.


    The young man learned about the nature of the spell itself and how to use it. He also learned how to channel his mana and how to interact with it to make it sessful.


    Evan had thought before that magic was as simple as ABC. But in fact it was harder and wiser than he could have imagined.


    ...


    About five hourster, as it was getting dark and sunset was approaching, Evan sighed and closed the book.


    The information was overwhelming. Any other person would have had a headache after an hour of intensive study, but not Evan. He was simply too involved in the process.


    Evan was projecting in his head how the "Magic Missile" process itself should happen.


    "Well, I see you''ve got a lot of persistence. Don''t you want to put what you''ve learned into practice?" Zak had finished his training long ago. He wanted to see what Evan would do. He was bursting with interest.


    Evan looked at hismander and nodded confidently. Evan got up from his desk and walked over to one of the wooden dummies.


    He closed his eyes and rehearsed his next move once more.


    <Okay, it should work>


    Evan opened his eyes and stretched his hand forward, pressing all but his index finger against his palm. He pointed his index finger directly at the dummy.


    The next moment the crimson orb inside "Nirvana" began to rotate, setting the mana in motion.


    A pale blue liquid-like substance began to gather around Evan''s finger.


    <Not bad. He` s managed to release and channel his mana on the first try> Zak made certain notes for himself.


    <Done>.


    Bam.


    The moment Evan realized he had gathered enough mana, the cluster of mana at the end of his finger glowed brightly. And Evan shot a pale blue beam directly at the dummy, which was torn to splinters in an instant.

 Chapter 19 - Choosing The Spells

    p. p. p.


    Zak was standing and pping his hands. He was very pleased with what he saw. Such sess and power from the first try, struck him to the core.


    Evan, on the other hand, was looking at his palm, namely his index finger, where a pale blue beam was emerging.


    <Huh, I haven`t experienced that for a long time.> And Evan wasn''t talking about magic or power, but the euphoria he was feeling right now. He had discovered something new, unusual, and amazing. The realization that he was only at the beginning of the journey, and had taken only his first step into the world of magic made him burst with excitement.


    "Well done, guy, you''ll go far. Remember this feeling and never forget it."


    In fact, Zak knew that what Evan had just done wasn`t normal. No ordinary boy from the backwoods could cast a spell at the first try, even a simple one.


    Zak had seen enough wonders, geniuses, and inexplicable urrences in his life. Chances are slim, but Evan could be a diamond in the rough, so he did not rule it out.


    Because of recent events, Zak was confident in his theory. So he decided that he would spare nothing for Evan.


    "Commander Zak, what other spells do you have?" Evan got right to the point. He wanted to learn as many spells as he could.


    Zak smiled and tempered his ardor, "Evan, that kind of attitude is certainly a good one. But if you keep trying everything indiscriminately, you won''t learn anything. Let''s do this right."


    "You`ll choose one spell from the Magic of Amplification and one from the Magic of Summoning. And you`ll practice using three spells of three different types at the same time. How about that?"


    Zak didn''t want Evan to make the mistake,mon to all neers. Magic was not some kind of a toy, it was a science that had to be taken seriously. So he thought three spells would be more than enough to get him started.


    Evan thought about it, and after a moment nodded in agreement. He realized that he had sumbed to emotion in a case where it was unnecessary. Evan didn''t regret it, though. He seldom enjoyed himself as much as he did now.


    "Let''s go to the underground floor, where Margaret got that book from." Saying this, Zak was pointing at the gray book lying on the table that Evan had been reading not long ago.


    ...


    As they`re walking down, Evan asked Zak one more question, "Commander Zak, how many different spells do you have?"


    Zak only smiled in response: "You won''t be disappointed,d. I''m sure."


    No one else said anything else.


    ...


    A couple of minutester they were already in the underground library, which didn''t have many books. Although, this was not surprising. Unlike the library upstairs, every book here contained a spell.


    "Well, I''m off. I think Margaret has been waiting for me too long."


    From these words, Evan finally realized what kind of rtionship Zak and Margaret had. But he didn''t really care. It was the other thing, that bothered him.


    "Commander, wait, please answer one more question."


    Zak waved his hand, "All right, ask it. I`ll help, if I can."


    "Every magician has a predisposition to one of the Types of Magic, but what about the elements? From what I''ve seen you use fire spells exclusively. Why?" Evan said slowly.


    Zak thought for a while and then answered, "You want to know if the magicians have a predisposition to certain elements, am I right?"


    The term - "Element" wasn''t quite right. But Zak didn''t want to burden Evan with information he didn''t need right now and wouldn''t need anytime soon.


    Evan nodded and quickly got an answer to his question.


    "No, any magician can use any element, and concentrate on learning it, but there is one very important point."


    Zak put his hand out in front of him, and a small, bright light appeared on it.


    "You can choose any element. Usually everyone chooses the one he likes best. After all, if you practice what you like, you''ll get great results, won''t you?"


    Evan understood Zak''s thought and didn''t ask him anything else. This was a good development for him. The more options you had, the better.


    As he had understand the rigid division into sses because of the Types of Magic, in the case of the elements he hoped there would be no such restrictions. And it was so.


    With a smile on his face, Zak left. He was satisfied with today''s events. Evan''s results had pleasantly surprised him. And now, he would spend the whole night with his beloved, not a day, but a fairy tale.


    ...


    Evan, on the other hand, was left all alone in the small library.


    "Well, what should I choose?" He had already had a "Magic Missile", a Creation Magic spell. He needed to find the right spells for the other Types of Magic.


    There books weren`t enough to drown in their number, but there was a choice anyway.


    ...The moon had already been illuminating the earth for some time, while Evan was still rummaging through the library. He`d approached his choice of spells very thoroughly.


    When it was three o''clock in the morning, Evan finally made up his mind.


    There were three books on the table in front of him, with three different spells.


    < Zero level spell - "Magic Missile", Element - Neutral, Creation Magic>.


    <Zero level spell - "Ice Veil", Element - Ice, Amplification Magic>


    < Zero level Spell - "Summon Thorny Ivy", Element - Dendro, Summoning Magic>.


    Those were the three spells Evan had chosen for himself. Summoning Magic was new to him. Unlike the other types, he had never seen it in action.


    In the entire library, he did not find a single book with a Summoning spell that summoned a living creature, which surprised him greatly.


    Only nts, of various species and ssifications, nothing more.


    He could have chosen a Magic Amplification spell very simr to the one Zak used. But he didn''t want to repeat himself.


    "I think that''s enough. I''ll start studying tomorrow." Evan put the books in his bag and left the library.


    In fact, he could read them all night long. He didn''t see the point, however. Excessive reading would only slow his progress, not increase it.


    There was also another factor. Evan was hungry. He hadn''t eaten anything since lunchtime until deep into the night. So he headed straight for the kitchen. Evan didn''t know where it was, but he didn''t think it would be hard to find it.


    Just as he expected, after a couple of minutes he found the kitchen. To his surprise it wasn`t empty.


    Several maids were busy preparing the food. It was remarkable that their faces were not tired and they looked quite cheerful.


    <Do the servants work in shifts? This fact amazed Evan.


    The maids quickly spotted Evaning in.


    "Young Master!" They all broke away from their business and bowed to him.


    Evan didn`t like so much attention to his person. He hade here for something else.


    "I need some food. Give me something to eat."


    The girls nodded, followed his request and after a while, Evan was eating meat with a sd of fresh vegetables.


    He was eating right in the kitchen. The maids tried to set a table for him in the hall, but in his opinion it was an unnecessary thing.


    "Oh, Mr. Evan, are you still awake?" Suddenly Margaret walked into the kitchen.


    Only she didn''t look as usual. The girl was practically naked, covered only by a white cloth.


    "I see someone''s having a busy night?" Evan couldn''t help but notice that fact.


    "Yes. Mr. Zak is just getting ready for his next run. Well if you don''t need anything I''ll go." She came here for some water, and to check on the work of her subordinates. So the girl turned around and was about to leave.


    "Margaret, where is my room?" Only now did Evan realize that he didn''t know where in this manor he could sleep.


    Margaret turned around, looked at Evan and asked: "Who do you like best?"


    She pointed to all the maids in the kitchen.


    Evan found the question rather odd, but he said, "That one".


    His choice fell on a red-haired girl with a pretty face, with a few freckles.


    "E, escort Mr. Evan to his chambers." After these words, Margaret left, and Evan followed the girl.


    He did not understand why he had to choose someone to show him his bedroom.


    The girl led Evan to his room, and opening the door said: "Please,e in."


    The young man nodded, came into the room and the door closed.


    But, the next moment he heard clothes falling to the floor.


    Evan turned around and saw Epletely naked.

 Chapter 20 - The Bathroom

    The sun was already high in the sky and illuminating the whole earth. All living creatures had long ago awakened from their sleep, but there was one, who was still sleeping.


    "Cool." That was the first word Evan said as soon as he woke up.


    A night with E was an unexpected but very pleasant surprise that he simply could not refuse. But Evan''s good mood was not due to that at all.


    It was all about magic. Evan had already chosen three spells, and today he was going to practice using them.


    It was almost ten o''clock in the morning. E had left long ago, leaving Evan alone.


    The young man got out of bed and quickly changed his clothes. Evan didn''t put on his armor, as he didn''t see the point in doing so. He didn''t think there was any chance of them being attacked right there in the mansion.


    Evan was about to leave when he noticed one unpleasant thing, and that was the smell. He certainly didn''t smell disgusting, but a rxing bath wouldn''t be a bad thing.


    He did not know where the bathroom was, however, it was no problem to get the information he needed. Once out of the room he quickly met the maid, who took him where he needed to.


    ...


    <Yeah, Commander Zak is really incredibly rich>. Evan found himself in a separate building. There he could take a bath and rx.


    When the maid had taken him to the exit of the manor, Evan already suspected something, but not that. It was a real mini-mansion, which could easily be lived in by a very wealthy man. But to Zak, it was just a bathroom.


    There was a couple of showers, bathrooms, hot springs, pools, and the so on. Firstly, they passed the servants'' area and Evan was shocked that the servants had such good facilities. He saw many servants showering and bathing in the hot springs.


    "Mr. Evan, this way." While the young man marveled at the strangeness of the whole estate and the position of the servants in it, the maid took him to another part of the building.


    It was empty because no servants were allowed in.


    The girl was about to leave. After she had shown him everything here, she was about to get back to her duties. But, the young man suddenly stopped her: "Who''s allowed to take a bath here?"


    Evan roughly understood the answer he was going to hear, but he was still curious. Maybe there was someone else important in this mansion that he didn''t know about.


    The maid hesitated for a moment and then answered, "Only you, Mr. Zak and Miss Margaret."


    It was just as Evan had expected. He got the answer to his question and headed forward, but now the maid asked him a question, "Mr. Evan, what kind of clothes should I bring you? in or expensive?"


    <Huh, you can tell about the master by his servants>. Evan fully appreciated the meaning of this question. The maid''s words showed what kind of man Zak was. Other rich people might go around even in fancy dress, but not Zak. This made Evan very happy.


    He looked at her and answered with a small smile on his face.


    The maid nodded and left.


    Evan liked the fact that he would be bathing alone, in absolute silence. Without thinking long, he threw off all his clothes and headed straight for the hot springs.


    <Yeah, I certainly haven`t got the best body> Evan looked at his still skinny and weak body that Trevor had left him. It was fixable, though, and only meant that he had room to improve.


    Ssh.


    Evan plunged into the warm water and at once felt himself much better.


    The hot bath had a wonderful tonic effect that helped Evan not only to rest, but also gave him time to think about magic.


    <I have three spells, and just under two months to go to the Academy of Magic. I hope, I`ll make it all in time>.


    Evan wanted to learn everything he could from Zak and practice his spells.


    He even had the idea of checking out how the "Magic Missile" worked underwater, but he knew that if he did, he would ruin everything here.


    After all, Evan was a guest and he had got a shelter here, moreover provided with regal conditions.


    ...


    After about twenty minutes, Evan heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around and saw the maid, with a set of clothes in her hands.


    The girl said nothing, bowed, and left the clothes beside him.


    "Wait a minute." Evan called out to her.


    "Do you need something, Mr. Evan?"


    The young man grinned and answered lightly, "Just want to ask you something. Do you know where Zak is?"


    When they were going to the bathroom, Evan looked around, but he didn''t see Zak anywhere.


    The girl calmly replied, "Mr. Zak has gone into town on business. He shouldn''t be back until tomorrow evening."


    Evan nodded and let the maid go.


    <I should go around the town one day, too. Maybe I''ll find something interesting and useful to me.>


    Mossy Vulture was a veryrge city, but Evan had seen very few there, only the Tower of Magic, Zak''s mansion, and that was about it.


    <Okay. There`s no point in thinking about it now. I have better things to do.>


    After lying in the hot water for a while longer, Evan reluctantly got up and put on the clean clothes.


    "Really simple. I''d even say it''s the simplest." Evan looked at his new outfit with a smile, in fact, it was really the clothes of the simplest man.


    But, Evan liked this outfit.


    "Simple andfortable, what else do you need?" With those words, he headed straight for the kitchen, where he had a quick nosh.


    After that, it was time for practice and the long-awaited study of magic. He quickly went back to his room for his bag of books and ran to the practice area.


    While Zak was gone, Evan didn''t want to spend much time on physical training. So after a few simple exercises on the training ground, he sat down at the table and started reading.


    The next spell he was going to learn was the "Ice Veil". Evan was interested in the spell of Summoning Magic as well, but he wanted to save that forst.


    He was curious as to what result he would be able to achieve for the first time using the Amplification Magic spell. Evan had seen Zak use the fire spells of Amplification Magic for many times, enveloping his weapons in mes, thereby increasing their power by several levels.


    Evan read thoughtfully and rather slowly. He saw no point in hurrying. Every word was important and he enjoyed the process itself. If he didn''t seed on his first attempt, he would have to read it again. It was illogical to make such silly mistakes.


    "Whew."


    A few hourster, Evan closed the book, put it aside and looked up at the beautiful blue sky. He reyed all the information he had received in his head, looking at the clouds floating peacefully.


    "Let`s go."


    He got up and picked up a one-handed sword from the stand on the training ground. The sword was simple, short, and light.


    Amplification Magic was radically different from Creation Magic. What''s more, unlike "Magic Missile", which had no element, the "Ice Veil" had it.


    So Evan was a little worried, but at the same time excited with anticipation.


    Whoosh.


    He put the sword out in front of him and began to cast the "Ice Veil".


    You could feel a slight chill around his palm, getting harder and harder with each passing second.


    Crunch.


    Starting from the hilt, a thinyer of ice began to appear all over the sword, gradually making the weapon stronger.


    Evan smiled contentedly. He thought he had seeded, as the ice almost reached the end of the sword. However, it wasn''t as easy as it might have seemed at first nce.


    At one point Evan felt a searing pain and quickly tossed the sword aside.


    "Huh, it''s not as easy as I`ve thought." Evan looked at his right hand, which waspletely in ice. He could hardly squeeze and unclench it.

 Chapter 21 - The Mistake

    Evan was in great pain. Despite the incredibly cold, he felt a searing pain. He could barely squeeze and unclench his hand, and his fingers could barely move.


    There was no grimace of pain on his face. On the contrary, he was smiling like some kind of madman, pleased he had injured himself.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH, fuck, that hurts, but how fucking good is that!" Evan wasn''t a masochist. It wasn''t the frostbitten hand that made him happy, it was the magic.


    Evan had been careless and got the punishment he deserved; it was a good lesson for him. It also meant that magic was even harder than he had first thought and that amused him.


    In terms of magic, Evan was a real psycho. In his past life, he could spend decades in a closedb to improve just one spell. He had never lost his interest in magic even for a second. And in the moments of study, he looked like some kind of fanatic.


    In his new world, things were even moreplex, more varied, and more twisted. That only made the desire to immerse himself in magic even stronger.


    Evan keptughing, forgetting all about his hand. He was too excited to think about it. It was a serious mistake, but he was lucky.


    One of the maids was nearby and upon hearing Evan''s loudughter she decided to see what was wrong. When she saw Evan''s hand she got really scared.


    "Mr. Evan you need to go to the infirmary right away!"


    The girl''s voice knocked Evan out of his strange state and he began to realize the situation he was in.


    "Shit, I`ve overyed a little. You could lose an arm like that."


    He looked at the frightened maid and quickly said: "Come on, we don''t have much time."


    The girl nodded and ran quickly toward the infirmary. Evan followed. It wasn''t the injury itself that bothered him most, but the possible consequences - he wouldn''t be able to train because of it.


    The situation was serious, so a minuteter they were in the infirmary.


    Like all ces in this mansion it was terrific. Unlike the bathroom, the infirmary didn''t take up an entire building. Evan was amazed at the number of different herbs, ointments, oils, pills in front of him.


    He was sure that with such an arsenal, his arm would soon be fine. The first thing to do was to ce his hand in hot water and while the ice was melting, the girl was searching for the right medicine.


    She was concerned about Evan''s condition not because ofpassion. If anything happened to him, Zak would skin everyone alive in the mansion and nothing would stop him.


    <I should be more careful next time. If it weren''t for this girl, things could have ended sadly.


    Evan looked at his inmed skin and frowned heavily. He''d received emergency treatment, but he wouldn''t heal in a couple of hours, it would take at least a few days. It pissed him off.


    Click.


    Suddenly the door to the infirmary opened and Evan saw Margaret, as calm and cold as ever.


    She looked at the maid and said briefly: "Go away."


    The news had quickly reached Margaret as everyone saw Evan and the maid walking to the infirmary.


    "Mr. Evan, you should be more careful next time."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, but just smiled. He didn''t know why she came here, but then he realized.


    There was one door in the infirmary that only Marguerite could open, which she actually did.


    She came back in a minute. She had three small leaves in her hands, a strange blue color.


    <§°? Does it only seem to me or I`m feeling mana from these leaves?> Involuntarily he remembered the root he had taken from the merchant. From these leaves he felt the same as he did.


    "What is it?" Evan was interested in the nt.


    "These are the leaves of the Frost Nettle, it will be painful, in return your frostbite will be cured in no time at all."


    Evan didn''t know what kind of nt it was, but he realized that it was probably an expensive and rare medicine that magicians use. Evan realized that his root was probably, not the most ordinary nt, either.


    He could have asked Margaret about it right then, but he trusted her a lot less than Zak, so he decided he shouldn''t rush into it.


    "When the ice melts, just put the leaves on your hand and everything will be okay." Margaret put the leaves next to Evan, closed the door, and left.


    Evan smirked and muttered to himself: "Well, let''s see what kind of miracle nt this is."


    After a while, the ice had meltedpletely and all that was left was pain. The young man carefully took each of the leaves and ced them on his hand.


    As soon as he did, he instantly felt his skin literally burn.


    "And she hasn`t lied, it`s really a hell, not a cure." It was quite difficult to endure such a thing. Evan hardly held back from screaming.


    A minuteter, Evan saw the effects of the Frost Nettles.


    He could feel himself getting better by the second, but the leaves, on the other hand, were wilting.


    ...


    Evan felt fine. He could control his arm as if nothing had happened before he was wounded. The whole treatment took him only half an hour. The only downside was that the blue leaves hadpletely wilted. There wasn''t a drop of life or mana left in them. It all went to curing Evan''s wound.


    Without thinking, Evan left the infirmary and headed straight for the training ground. That mistake didn''t stop him in the slightest; on the contrary, he was even more interested in this challenging spell.


    <Commander Zak is certainly a master of his craft. To be able to warm up a sword to such a state in such a short period of time, is simply impable craftsmanship.>


    Evan once again appreciated Zak and his abilities in magic, but Evan was not a simple one, too.


    Evan took the sword in his hands and began casting the spell again. His "Warp" began to rotate, and after a couple of moments a thinyer of ice appeared on the sword.


    This time Evan was doing everything much more slowly and carefully. Last time he had hurried, for which he`d paid the price. He wasn''t going to make the same mistake twice. We all learn from our mistakes.


    The ice only spread across the sword itself, not touching his hand.


    Sigh.


    Evan sighed heavily and smiled contentedly. The second time he seeded. Right in his hands was the most ordinary sword and the fullypleted "Ice Veil".


    Evan thought he could have done better, but as for the second try, he was pleased with his result. Now it was time for the most important and interesting thing of all - the strength.


    Evan slowly walked up to the iron dummy and struck a diagonal blow with lightning speed, just like Zak had done itst time.


    ng.


    "Shit!" There was a loud thud as he struck, and Evan felt an unbelievably strong recoil in his hand. He had underestimated the hardness of the dummy. Evan could not cut it in two, the way Zak had done, but he still managed to do something.


    The sword had cut through about a third of the dummy. Evan simply could not go any farther. He didn''t know if it was due to his poor physical training or the spell, but he was pleased with the result. If he had achieved that, in such a short amount of time, what would happen next?


    <If I had a man in armor in front of me, I''d chop him up in a heartbeat. Of course, I`m still far away from Commander Zak.>


    Evan was thinking of his results and didn''t notice Margaret, standing on the roof of the mansion and watching him carefully.

 Chapter 22 - Training, Training And Once Again Training

    Evan spent all his free time doing just three things: sleeping, eating, and training. He didn''t shy away from constant exercise, but he was more interested in magic, of course. Evan cast "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil" many times.


    He hadn''t yet done a Summoning Magic spell. He wanted to get some mastery of those two spells, before he took on the third.


    It was about a couple of hours before Zak`s return, and while he was away, Evan had almostpletely destroyed the training area.


    Dozens of swords had been broken, many dummies had been cut open and blown up. Even on the field, there were several small craters from a direct hit by the "Magic Missile".


    From the outside, it might seem that a real battle had taken ce there. However, Evan was the only one to me. No one stopped or restricted him.


    He hadplete freedom of action. Margaret took care he had new mannequins, but he destroyed them very quickly.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan was drenched in sweat and trying to catch his breath. He had spent thest few hours practicing the spells continuously. Of course, he needed mana to cast spells, but that wasn''t a problem. "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil" were low level spells, so not much mana was needed either.


    Thanks to the incredible speed of "Creation", Evan could quickly get enough mana to continue his training.


    You need to know one important fact. He didn''t cast the spells nonstop ten times a minute. At that rate, he would have simply died of exhaustion, and his mana would have run out in an instant. So he did everything deliberately, slowly and precisely. He put all his strength into making sure that the result would lived up to his expectations. And in some ways he really began to use the spells much better.


    For example, now he could cut through to almost half of the same iron dummy, when hisst result had been only one-third. The power of "Magic Missile" had also increased slightly.


    <Fuh, I think I need to eat and rest.> Evan had been training all day long, just like yesterday. He was very tired and hungry.


    Zak would be back soon. Evan had many questions for him. He needed advice on certain things. He also wanted to know about the dark green root he still had in his bag.


    The first thing he did was to head to the kitchen and eat the first thing he saw. The maids no longer tried to talk him into eating at the table, instead of in the kitchen, for every their attempt ended in failure.


    Then he went to the hot springs and plunged into the water in total silence.


    <Well, that''s a quite good start, except for the fact that I spent my first day in the jail.>


    Evan was happy with his current situation. He had food, water, and everything he needed. And most importantly, he had an enormous amount of time to improve himself.


    Evan didn''t care much for riches. But if Zak hadn`t had money, Evan wouldn''t have been able to start studying magic.


    While Evan was thinking about his life and which direction he should go next, he heard loud, heavy footsteps heading toward him.


    "Evan, how`s the water? AHAHAHAHA."


    Seeing the man walking toward him, Evan smiled broadly: "Really cool. Don''t get scalded, Commander Zak."


    Whoosh.


    Zak quickly plunged into the water, or rather jumped into it sshingrge amounts of water around the edges.


    "There''s nothing like hot water after a hard day." Just like Evan, Zak appreciated all the enjoyment of the hot springs.


    Evan wanted to ask something, but no sooner had he opened his mouth than he saw a maid with a tray in her hands.


    The girl put the tray next to the pool so they could reach it without getting out of the water. On the tray, there was the standard Zak''s set: alcohol, alcohol and more alcohol. There were also some snacks on the tray.


    "Will you?" Zak took two bottles in his hands and held one out to Evan. The young man didn''t refuse, nodded and took the bottle.


    He didn''t drink it right away, just put it aside.


    "Commander Zak where have you been?"


    Zak took a sip and waved his hand in reply, "At my good friend`s ce. He also lives in the Mossy Vulture, oh, we had a lot of fun."


    Zak sighed and continued: "By the way, you have a fight in a month. I`ve made a deal."


    "§¡?" Evan didn''t understand what Zak was talking about.


    "AHAHAHAHA, don''t look so surprised, my friend''s daughter is about your age. She just like you has recently awakened her talent for magic. My friend and I had a bet about which one of you would win in a sparring match."


    Evan didn''t answer anything. He pondered whether such a development was favorable to him. If he fought an opponent who was about on the same level with him, he could get a lot out of it.


    "The winner will receive a secret prize from us that we have already prepared. Try to give your best!" Zak decided to increase Evan''s interest by motivating him with a secret prize.


    "Okay, I agree. But what format of thepetition will it be? A simple one-on-one battle?" Evan saw no reason to refuse. Thebat experience was already a worthy reward in itself, and with the extra prize the offer was even more attractive.


    "Good spirit! However, Evan, I think you''re going to have a very hard time." Zak''s voice became even more serious and even a little somber.


    Evan didn''t understand what Zak was worried about. After all, if they were both newbies, the chances of winning shouldn''t be too different.


    "Why do you think so?"


    "Evan, I just know that sly old fox too well. He showed his daughter and her abilities quite well. But when I asked him what color her "Warp" was, he quickly told me - white. I''m willing to bet my head that he''s lying. He can fool whoever, but not me."


    Evan realized that this couldplicate things. Zak hadn''t told Evan that his mana condensation results in the Void Liquid, surpassed even those who had purple "Warp". Therefore, Evan mistakenly believed that his level was about the same as those with a white colored "Warp".


    However, this did not frighten him. On the contrary, he wanted to test his strength and defeat that girl at all costs. Evan was deep in thought and his face was concerned.


    Zak smiled and mentally praised himself for what a good teacher he was. His lies only motivated Evan to keep going and to get better.


    But, Zak had only lied about the rate of mana condensation in the Void Liquid. His friend''s daughter really had purple "Warp". He was sure of it a hundred percent.


    Sip.


    Zack enjoyed his drink and Evan dealt with his thoughts.


    After a while Evan came to his senses and took a few sips just the same. For the next month, he would train like the damned, and he would reach an incredible level. That was his decision.


    "Evan, I think you need to reach the first stage of "Awareness" in one of the spells to win."


    "What does that mean?" Once again, Evan heard a term unknown to him.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, I''ll tell you, here, take this." With those words, he threw a fork from the tray toward Evan.


    The young man caught it easily and looked at Commander Zak puzzled.


    "Use the "Ice Veil" on that fork. Try to give your best. I guess it won''t hurt if there are sudden shifts in temperature of the wat....."


    Whoosh.


    Before he could finish his sentence, the fork in Evan''s hand hadpletely covered in ice.

 Chapter 23 - The "Awareness" Of Spells

    The fork in Evan''s hands was covered in a thinyer of ice in a second. The temperature around it quickly began to drop, which was also reflected in the water.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, as I see you don''t like to wait. I think I should join." Zak took a small knife from the tray and in an instant he heated it to unbelievable temperatures.


    He didn''t stop there, however. Zak dipped the knife halfway into the water, and it boiled over in a second. This was in stark contrast to the icy water next to Evan.


    Whoosh.


    He swung the knife sharply toward Evan, unleashing a wave of boiling water on him. The young man didn`t expect that, but he was able to react. Evan threw the fork straight toward the wave and plunged deep to the bottom.


    Ssh.


    Water spilled all over the room, spreading its hot steam.


    Evan dived out of the water and looked with surprise at Zak, who was twirling the fork in his hands at that moment.


    "Now I''ll exin what this whole demonstration was for. Either way, though, I''m pleased. Watching your face was a lot of fun. AHAHAHAHAHAHA."


    While Zak wasughing, Evan pondered what had just happened.


    <How strong is he if he could create a wave with such a small knife? What if he had a huge sword in his hand?> Evan was once again amazed at Commander Zak''s abilities.


    "Evan, listen to me carefully. Now I''m going to tell you about the "Awareness" of spells and how many stages it is divided into."


    The young man immediately became serious. Everything about spells and magic was very important to him.


    "But, first. Evan, tell me what people train for?" Zak asked Evan such an unusual question.


    The young man replied, without thinking a lot: "In order to hone their skills in one thing or another."


    Zak nodded satisfactorily: "Well, you''re right, but there''s a nuance. For example: let`s take cksmiths and cksmithing. If a cksmith has to forge swords all his life, he will be a master at it. But if he has to forge spears he will make it poorly, to say the least."


    Zak took a sip and continued: "That''s what I''m trying to exin to you. By practicing a spell you increase your awareness of that spell."


    Evan wasn''t too surprised by these words. It made sense that the more energy you put into a particr thing, the better you were at it.


    The "Awareness" of spells is divided into five stages - "Beginner", "Intermediate", "Medium", "High" and "Absolute."


    <There is such a strict definition in this world..> Evan was shocked by such a thing. He didn''t think a person`s skill could be defined by any framework.


    "Commander Zak, what stage is my "Ice Veil" at?" It was the spell Evan had trained the most. So he was confident in himself. However, all he heard in response was a loudugh from Zak.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, man, it''s obvious. You haven''t even made it to the "Beginner" yet." These words were like a bucket of cold water, poured over Evan''s head, which cooled his ardor.


    "But, no need to get upset. Margaret has told me of your progress. I can tell you''re moving at a very good pace. And even though the first stage is called "Beginner", it''s not as easy to reach as it may seem at first nce."


    For two days, Margaret had been following Evan''s progress and told Zak about his progress when he returned home. Margaret had known Zak for a very long time, so she could appreciate Evan''s aplishments quite well.


    "Okay, I have another question, will I be able to reach the "Beginner" stage in at least one of my spells in a month?"


    In about thirty days, he would have a duel with another novice mage. Naturally, Evan wanted to win. It would be his first victory in the mage world.


    Zak smirked and answered briefly, "Yes."


    Evan didn''t need more than that. He quickly climbed out of the water, looked at Commander Zak and said: "I''m off to the training ground."


    Zak didn''t answer anything and just continued drinking and enjoying the hot water. He wanted to talk to Evan about "Creation" and "Barriers" at the way to the "Void Liquid" condensation, but seeing his fighting attitude he couldn''t stop him.


    ...


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The explosions and sword banging against hard, metal dummies could be heard on the training ground all night long. Because of Evan, half the servants didn''t get enough sleep that night, but since Zak didn''t mind, there was nothing to be done about it.


    About an hour before dawn, Evan copsed without strength and remained lying on the cold ground. He nonstop used "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil". And as soon as he ran out of mana, he started to "Create".


    He hadn`t condensed a single drop of "Void Liquid''. Because to do this, it was necessary that the gap between the external and internal shell of the "Warp" bepletely filled with a manna.


    Step. Step. Step.


    "Get up, boy, stop sleeping" When the sun was high in the sky, Evan was awakened by Zak''s loud voice.


    He opened his eyes and reluctantly got up. He didn''t look his best, but that didn''t bother him.


    Evan looked at Zak and said with a slight smile on his face: "We are going to start the day with a training?"


    Zak nodded: "Yeah, just for starters you should eat."


    Saying this he pointed to a table nearby that already had several dishes and drinks on it.


    Evan silently made his way to the table and ate everything. He had expended an enormous amount of energyst night; he just needed a recharge.


    After eating breakfast, Evan took his sword from a nearby stand and prepared to spar with Zak.


    Just before it started, he noticed Margaret, who walked up to and sat at the table. She had a small basket in her hands.


    "I''m not going to babysit you. So you''re one hundred percent going to get hurt, but Margarita will quickly lead you into feelings."


    Whoosh.


    After these words, Zak pulled a simple sword from its sheath and attacked Evan.


    ng. ng. ng.


    Commander Zak attacked very quickly and his blows were serious. If Evan missed one of them, he would really get hurt.


    Though it was difficult, Evan blocked Zak''s blows. After each lunge themander made, the young man''s hands trembled, but he still didn''t back down.


    <I''m so weak even considering the incredible physical strength this body has gained because of Sin>. After a couple of strokes, Evan''s hands were already numb. However, he realized that Zak hadn''t even begun to fight seriously yet.


    Whoosh.


    <There it is!>. Evan was focused so he saw that Zak''s attack was only a feint and that the real punch was a left fist.


    The young man didn''t block Zak''s massive fist. He was sure he would take a lot of damage. So he just did a roll and jumped back.


    "Not bad, Evan, not bad. Learn from your mistakes, huh?" Zak was pleased with Evan''s actions.


    <Evan was able to assess his strength to the fullest as well as my capabilities. He really is talented>


    It was worth realizing that they were not having a knight''s duel where only sword strikes were allowed - that was nonsense from fairy tales.


    In a real fight, no one would wait for you to make another lunge. Rather, the sand will be thrown into your eyes, after which you will be punched to the gut and be killed. It was the truth and it was what really happened. That was the truth and it was really going on.


    Evan didn''t attack, so Zak did it. He got to the young man with one tug and he brought the blow right down on him. In the next moment, however, he did a strange action. Zak let go of his sword and struck Evan in the side with his left hand just like thest time.


    < Again?> Evan didn''t understand why to do the same action and repeat his mistake.


    The young man tried to dodge again, but...


    <§¡?>. In the next moment, the world before his eyes was turned upside down.


    Zak knocked Evan down with one hard blow. There was no way Evan could have expected that.


    Bam.


    It wasn''t over. While Evan was trying to figure out what had happened, Zak hit him hard with his right hand right in the stomach, sending him flying several meters away.

 Chapter 24 - The Pill

    Evan wasn''t expecting such a move from Zak, so he missed the punch and flew back a few meters.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan was covered in dust and breathing heavily. Zak`s blow was monstrously strong. He was in great pain and spit out a clot of blood. He could have easily endured it, but his weak body couldn`t. His organs were nearly crushed, and the bleeding didn`t stop.


    "Mr. Zak, it`s too much. Mr. Evan''s body is not yet capable of withstanding such a force."


    Margaret rose from her seat, opened the basket, and took out a small, round pill. The girl walked over to Evan and said slowly: "Mr. Evan, it`ll cure your wounds in a few minutes."


    The young man didn''t hear her at all. His head was buzzing and his eyes were blurry. He took the green pill from Margaret''s hands with thest of his strength and swallowed it quickly.


    Zak was standing calmly and looking at Evan, who was almost dying. He was not worried about anything, because he had been prepared for this from the start. This was also the reason why Margaret was there with all the different pills.


    You could get such drugs only if you had a lot of money and necessarily connections. Without all these, you could never get something like that at least not in the Mossy Vulture.


    Honestly, Zak was one hundred percent sure Evan would win the sparring match in a month. He had seen with his own eyes Evan''s mana condensation rate in "Void Liquid". And he had it much faster than the average magician with the purple "Warp".


    Zak didn''t really need to load Evan with such physical activity because of the battle that wasing up in a month. However, Zak had his own purpose that he hadn''t told Evan about yet. His n had to do with the Academy of Magic, but it was too early to tell Evan about it.


    Zak was going to squeeze all the juice out thatd. He wanted Evan to get as strong as he could in those two months.


    ...


    <What kind of pill is that?!>


    Ten minutester, Evan''s wounds were almostpletely healed, there was no trace of them.


    Evan was shocked at the effectiveness of one small, green pill. As soon as he swallowed it, he felt more pain, which came from the emergency healing of his wounds.


    After about seven minutes, however, he rxed. The pain was over and only a pleasant feeling remained.


    Evan quickly rose from the ground, shook off the dust and said: "Shall we continue?"


    Zak smirked and extended his right hand forward, moving his palm back and forth. Evan understood him, and in one sharp jerk, he got to themander.


    Whoosh.


    Evan decided that he wouldn''t make such a stupid mistake again, and for once, he could strike and damage Zak. The young man attacked with his sword from bottom to top, aiming at his opponent''s chest.


    Zak reacted instantly, and dodged back two steps to his right. He kicked Evan in the stomach. However, the young man merely repeated Zak''s movements and took two steps to avoid the blow.


    Whoosh.


    But just when Evan thought he had seeded in outsmarting Zak he saw the sword de hurtling straight at his head. He had almost no time left to save his life. He mechanically crouched down and barely avoided the razor-sharp sword that flew right over his head.


    Evan counted himself lucky, for this attack really could have killed him.


    Bam.


    Suddenly he felt a terrible pain in his stomach area.


    As Evan dodged the sword thrown at him, Zack quickly rushed to the young man and kicked Evan in the stomach with force. Such a powerful attack sent Evan flying into the air, but that wasn''t enough for Zak.


    Whoosh.


    He grabbed Evan''s leg and threw him sideways with a U-turn, dooming him to get multiple bruises all over his body.


    "Fuck!" Evan had already run out of his strength, and it wasn''t because of the horrible pain he felt. It was because of Zak, as he had a counterweight for every Evan`s move. At first, Evan had thought he could dodge and get used to Zak''s moves, but finally, he had been beaten like thest weakling.


    In his past life he had been the strongest dark magician. Now he was simply overwhelmed by physical strength and skills. A lot of feelings raged inside Evan, but after a while he calmed down.


    <What an idiot I am! It''s obvious that being reborn in the body of a ve, and without enough knowledge about this world, you can''t be all-powerful right away. I`ve made a mistake, but I won''t make it next time. And that will continue until I sharpen my skills and defeat Commander Zak!


    Evan was full of fighting spirit, and, at some point, it appeared thanks to Zak''s unprincipled rigidity.


    He didn''t spare Evan at all and it paid off.


    With difficulty, Evan stood up to see Margaret beside him. She was standing near him, holding another pill.


    The young man quickly shoved it into his mouth and attacked Zak.


    Punch. Punch. Punch.


    Evan attacked Zak many times, but each his lunge was calcted. He made only urate and necessary strikes, without forgetting to defend himself.


    "You''re a fast learner." Zakmented it, and then punched Evan in the side for the third time.


    <The third time I''m not doing it again.> Evan had been ready for it.


    So instead of doing a roll likest time, he took a step back and jumped up, avoiding Zak''s fist and the leg kick he''d usedst time.


    "Not bad." Zak said dryly, then instantly stepped forward and tried to hit Evan with his forehead.


    Whoosh.


    Zak''s eyes went wide at what he saw. He stared at Evan''s cold and hard gaze. At that moment, Zak realized that the young man was ready even for such a crazy development.


    Evan''s amethyst eyes stared at Zak coldly, and there was a clear murderous intenting from the young man himself.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s palm was headed for Zak`s throat, intent on piercing him like a sharp de. It almost reached his neck, a half breathter, his throat would have been pierced and Zak would have died.


    But, suddenly, Zak was a blur, and his legs were covered in crimson mes.


    Whoosh.


    With incredible speed, Zak dodged Evan''s blow, and after making a three hundred and sixty-degree turn, struck Evan with a lightning strike.


    It may have seemed like a long time, but in fact, not even a second passed after Evan jumped.


    From such a crushing blow, Evan flew backwards like a bullet.


    Whoosh.


    Zak quickly rushed after him. He overtook the flying Evan and caught him carefully.


    When Margaret reached them, she saw a frightening sight. Evan''s entire chest was bruised, and there was a huge,cerated wound in the middle of his stomach. The young man was unconscious and barely breathing.


    "Now I`ve really overdone, but what kind of a crazy guy he is! He could really kill me right now."


    While Zak was muttering something, Margaret quickly opened the basket and pulled out a blood-red pill.


    "Mr. Zak." The girl held him out the medicine.


    "Are you really sure?" He asked seriously and looked at her.


    Margaret only nodded slightly in response.

 Chapter 25 - The Pillar

    Zak carefully ced the blood-red pill in Evan''s mouth. Unlike the green pills, this one was of much higher quality and price.


    It was a rare medicine that Zak had only a few grand. The effect of this pill was unimaginable. Despite all his extensive wounds, Evan would be okay in a couple of hours.


    All that time he will be in agony from the pain and the way his blood will be bubbling and flesh will be knitting. This was a powerful and dangerous drug, that should only be used in emergencies.


    As soon as Evan swallowed the pill, his body gradually began to heat up.


    When Zak and Margarita saw this, they quickly carried him back to his room. Evan needed time to heal his wounds, gain strength and recover.


    "Mr. Zak, was it really necessary to go this far? I`m amazed that the boy is still alive. Although I''m not a doctor, I can confidently say that he has several broken bones and some organs have almost turned into a bloody mess."


    Margaret didn''t quite understand why a simple training should be brought to such an unfortunate oue.


    Sigh.


    Zak took a deep breath and said slowly: "If I hadn''t done that, he would have killed me at that very moment."


    Margaret couldn''t believe her ears. It was hard for her to imagine that some novice magician and physically untrained person could kill Zak.


    "I didn`t understand myself what had happened then. Maybe that attack wouldn''t have killed me, no, I`m sure it couldn''t have killed me. But his look and aura made me believe it."


    Zak was no less amazed than Margaret herself. Only when they carried Evan to his room did he realize that his actions had been unnecessary. At most, he would have gotten a couple of scratches, but Evan certainly wouldn''t have been able to pierce his throat with his hand. But in that moment, Zak was doing everything machine-like.


    "Okay, I''m going to go get some rest. Gotta get my thoughts in order." Zak waved his hand away, leaving Margaret alone.


    The girl said nothing and went about her business. She had to check what her subordinates were doing.


    ...


    Evan was breathing heavily, and steam wasing from his body. His skin was very red because of a very high fever. It was the result of a pill, that was literally pulling him out from the dead.


    Zak did not take into ount one very important point: Evan''s physical strength was not due to his good health and a naturally strong body, but because of the "Lion Sigil". Thanks to the unknown power, Evan had gained while fighting Aron.


    Simply put, with his frail ve`s body, Evan simply will not be able to survive the treatment from the bloody pill Zak gave him. His blood vessels will burst, his muscles and tendons will tear, and his heart will explode. It was a fatal mistake, that no one could have known about.


    ...


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan was breathing heavily, and he was getting worse by every second. Suddenly an extraordinary change began to ur in his "Nirvana".


    A red substance began to fill "Nirvana" negatively affecting even it. Since Evan was unconscious at the time, there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, however, an unbelievable scene urred.


    Whoosh.


    A small ck dot appeared in the vast white void. It gradually began to growrger andrger. And after a while it transformed into the terrifying and creepy maw of a demogorgon.


    All the red substance quickly began to flow into its maw until it waspletely engulfed.


    There was not a drop of red substance left in "Nirvana", everything was as before. The crimson "Warp" was floating peacefully in the middle of the void.


    ...


    The next moment Evan opened his eyes, but he saw another room, not his.


    "§¡? Where am I?" Evan didn''t realize where he was. It wasn''t "Nirvana." He saw something entirely new and terrifying.


    There was a white space around Evan, which in the distance was turning to pitch darkness. But Evan''s attention was attracted not by this, but by the huge creature he saw.


    It was a huge, ck as the abyss itself, a lion, with a thick mane, razor-sharp ws, and a long tail. Fortunately or unfortunately for Evan, at that moment, the lion was sleeping peacefully and wasn`t paying any attention to him at all.


    The lion was in the center of a giant magical circle, with many symbols, runes, and writings unknown to Evan. He had never seen anything like it before, but that was not the end of his surprise.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the maw of the demogorgon slowly began to appear from above, and a crimson magic circle formed beneath it.


    <Wow...>. It was the only word, that came to Evan''s mind at that moment. He had never before seen such a horrifying picture in contrast to the magnificent magic.


    Magical Circles were not new to Evan, they existed in his past world as well. But there they were only used to summon the power of demons and this he had already practiced in his new life.


    The Magic Circle that gradually appeared under the maw of the demogorgon was unlike anything he had ever seen before.


    By the time the Magic Circle was almostplete, Evan realized one thing: the demogorgon''s maw was right above the ck lion that was sleeping peacefully in the middle of the void.


    Whoosh.


    A tall pir of ck metal slowly began to emerge from the magic circle. The pir was wrapped in many chains and exuded a terrifying aura that startled even Evan.


    He had seldom felt such pressure on him. It was so huge that it seemed as if an ordinary person would be ttened in the blink of an eye.


    Evan realized this and looked at his body. He did not understand how he could withstand such pressure, but when he looked down he was struck to the core.


    Evan''s body was as it had been in his past life when he was still alive. Evan did not understand what was happening, but as soon as he blinked he was back in his current body.


    However, he did not have time to think it over. For suddenly he saw the Magic Circle close and the pir begin to plummet downward rapidly.


    Bam


    The pir fell down with a rumble right to the edge of the ck Magic Circle, in the middle of which the lion was sleeping. Evan was surprised that the pir fell into the spot in the Magic Circle that seemed to have been originally prepared for it.


    The maw of the demogorgon disappeared, the pir fell down, and Evan was left in the vast emptiness alone with the sleeping lion. He didn''t know what he had to do, but he didn''t have to do anything.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, the lion opened its deep, ruby eyes. He looked at Evan, and then just continued sleeping. Evan didn''t understand what had happened, but immediately afterward his mind went nk.


    ...


    While Evan was unconscious, an amazing change had happened to his body.


    All of his muscles swelled greatly, then, they began to rapidly contract and shrink. And because he still had a high temperature, a lot of steam started toe out of his body.


    A few hourster, Evan opened his eyes and finally found himself in his own room. This time he woke up for real.


    "§¡? What''s going on here?" Evan didn''t understand why there was hot steam around him. What bothered him most, however, were the words he saw in his mind.


    [Received the first Pir of Lion Sigil]

 Chapter 26 - Whos Stronger?

    Evan didn''t understand what the phrase meant.


    <The first Pir of Lion Sigil?> He was in shock from the previous incredible scene: the maw of a demogorgon and a huge ck lion, and now this strange thing.


    <Well, at least I''ve made some progress in this Sin system, that''s good enough. I think I''ll learn more and more over time until I understand absolutely everything>.


    Evan slowly got up from the bed and looked at the steam that filled the room.


    <Is this all because of me? By the way, why did I see my past body in that dimension?> Evan had died in a past world and had no chance of survival. He was well aware of that. But that''s also why he was so shocked by what he had seen.


    "Eh, the longer I''m in this world, the more mysteries and questions be, and there are almost no answers."


    Evan shook his head and headed for the exit of his room. To his surprise, he felt just fine. The marks from Zak''s attack werepletely gone and there wasn`t any pain at all. On the contrary, he felt even better than before.


    Evan couldn`t look at himself from the side since there was no mirror in his room. But if someone had seen him, they would have been very surprised at how much Evan had changed.


    His body was even thinner than before, but it was muscr, as if Evan had trained for years on end. Every muscle in his body was sculptured quite well. His hair had grown back slightly and was much thicker, and even his height had increased by a few centimeters.


    Despite the steam that filled the room, Evan easily reached the door and touched the handle.


    Click.


    "What!?" It took only a little effort for Evan to pull the door off its hinges.


    <What? I`ve be several times stronger while I was sleeping...> While Evan was thinking about it, one of the maids ran up to him.


    As soon as Evan came out of his room all the steam abruptly escaped outside, which caught the girl''s attention.


    "Mr. Evan do you have a problem?" The girl stared in amazement at the outgoing steam, the broken door, and Evan''s changed appearance.


    The young man came to his senses upon hearing her voice and carefully ced the door on the floor trying not to break anything else.


    "Don''t worry. I`m okay. Do you know where Commander Zak is?" It felt like Evan had only slept a couple of hours, so by his calctions it should be lunchtime by now.


    Strangely enough, he turned out to be right.


    "Oh, Mr. Zak is having lunch right now. Would you like me to take you there?"


    Evan shook his head in response and said calmly: "Don`t bother yourself" After these words, he headed toward the dining hall.


    <Hmm? What''s wrong with my hands?">. Evan noticed how his arms had visibly thinned out, but were also much more muscr.


    <Okay, it''s not that important. I have to meet Zak.>


    Evan walked into the dining hall a few minutester and saw Zak. Unlike thest time, he was all alone now. There was no Margaret or any maids, just Zak and a mountain of food that was rapidly disappearing in his mouth.


    "Oh, Evan. You''re finally awake!" Said Zak, tearing arge piece of meat off the bone.


    "Yeah, you`ve certainly hit me hard."


    "AHAHA, don''t be mad, I only did it because I thought you were dangerous. Which means you outdid yourself. And as I see it, the pill did its job to the best of its ability. Except I don''t understand why you slept all day."


    "All day?" This news was shocking to Evan.


    "Okay, never mind. Sit down and eat, I think you`re very hungry."


    Evan nodded and walked over to one of the seats. He slowly sat down on a chair, but immediately a loud crackling sound was heard.


    Crack.


    The chair broke apart and Evan fell to the ground in surprise. He wasn''t the only one surprised, Zak didn''t understand what had just happened either.


    "Did they really sell me a defective chair?!" Zak thought he had been cheated and slipped some fake furniture, made of cheap materials.


    "I don''t think it was the seller''s fault." Said Evan and walked over to the next chair. As soon as he pressed down on the seat...


    Crack.


    Just like thest time, the chair just fell apart.


    Zak looked at Evan in amazement, not understanding how Evan could have such power.


    Evan shrugged and answered simply: "I don`t know. When I woke up, there was a lot of steam around me. And as soon as I tried to open the door, I broke it out of the opening."


    Zak put the cutlery aside and looked intently at Evan. His gaze stopped at Evan''s suddenly muscled muscles, and Zak came to a definite conclusion.


    "Maybe it''s all because of the pill I gave you. Maybe, because your, such a serious wound healed so quickly, then your whole body got stronger. You''re like an anomaly."


    "Maybe"


    Crunch.


    While Zak pondered Evan''s unusual transformation, he had already begun eating. The young man didn`t sit down in the chair and was very careful to take food from the table. He understood that he needed to get used to his new power so he wouldn''t break everything.


    "Commander Zak, I assume you had a rough night?" Said Evan pointing to the bandage on Zak''s neck.


    "AHAHA, yep. Margaret and I got a good night''s rest. You can pick any maid you want and brighten up your evening, too."


    "Thank you, but don''t. I don''t like it when my partner has no reciprocal interest and desire. It''s too boring and uninteresting."


    Zak stared at Evan and said slowly: "And I''m not talking about those who have no desire. We''re not barbarians after all."


    Evan smiled weakly in response and continued eating. He loved women, but at that moment, training was more important to him. Evan wanted to get stronger and get deeper into the world of magic as quickly as possible.


    Sigh.


    Evan ate to his heart''s content and drank half a y jug of wine.


    "Evan, since you''ve gotten stronger, would you like to spar, just not the usual one? You need to take a break from fighting and work your magic hard. How about a quick arm wrestling?"


    The young man was interested in the proposal and easily agreed, but one thing bothered him.


    "Commander Zak, can this table really hold our strength?" The chairs had broken very easily so Evan thought the table would suffer the same fate.


    "No need to worry. This table is a gift from my good friend. It''s made of Crystal Oak. A very rare and incredibly strong wood. This table will easily withstand at least ten of my blows at full force." Saying this, Zak had a big smile on his face. He was obviously very pleased with his table.


    "Well, since you say so, let''s get on with it."


    Evan, along with Zak, struck a pose and squeezed each other''s hands together. Naturally, Evan knew there was no way he could win this contest against Zak. But he certainly wanted to test his strength.


    "Ready? Then on three. One, two, three!"


    As soon as the signal sounded, their arm wrestling battle began.


    In the first instant, Zak felt Evan''s incredible strength.


    <What''s wrong with this guy? Only a day ago I could have easily handled with him, without any problems>


    Zak was surprised by Evan''s strength.


    Bam.


    Their battle was over in one second. For as soon as Zak felt Evan''s strength, he instantly put in some effort and defeated the young man.


    Sigh.


    Evan smiled and sighed. He wasn''t surprised by the result. At least he got Zak to strain in a duel of pure physical strength, which pleased him a lot.


    "Well done, Evan. You''re still a long way from me, of course, but you''ve really gotten a lot stronger. I think you should concentrate on magic for now and leave some time for training." Zak decided to praise the young man to boost his morale.


    "Commander Zak, I''d like to show you one thing."


    Evan had been putting it off earlier. At that moment, he thought it was the right time to find out what kind of root he had taken from the merchant.

 Chapter 27 - A Valuable Find

    After Evan''s words, Zak looked at him seriously and said quietly:" Bring your thing. I''ll wait for you at my ce."


    Evan nodded, took onest sip of red wine and went for the bag with the dark green root. Evan knew it was at a valuable nt. He was sure he needed to show it to Zak for evaluation.


    In his opinion, Zak must have known something for sure. Evan was naturally most interested in the effect of the root and its value.


    The young man quickly ran to his room, picked up the root and headed for Zak. The root was in a small pouch, so none of the servants saw it.


    Click.


    Evan opened the front door and entered Zak''s private quarters. To his surprise, there was pretty simple there. A table, a chair, a closet, a couple of paintings, and that was it. The only luxurious thing was the huge, solid bed. He walked over and sat down in the chair across from Zak, cing a sack of roots on the table.


    "What`s there?" Zak didn''t know what Evan wanted to show him.


    "Look at this. I got it as a reward from a merchant for rescuing him from bandits. I''d like to know how valuable this thing is." Evan spoke slowly and clearly, while pulling a green root from the pouch.


    Zak took the nt and inspected it carefully. From his gaze, Evan realized that themander definitely knew something about the root and wasn''t the first time he''d seen it.


    "Not a bad haul, boy, not bad at all. It''s one hundred percent the "Fragrant Swamp Root". Zak said confidently, putting the root back where it belonged.


    "And what good is it?" That was all that mattered to Evan.


    Zak grinned and said slowly: "Well, there are two options here. The first is to turn it into an ointment, which is excellent for burns and poison. And the second is to make a pill that speeds up your mana umtion rate by 10% for a week, and well, you can also make tea from it, ahaha."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, he was thinking about the best way to use the root.


    <If I make a pill out of it, I can train more. Except the ointment mighte in handy in an emergency.> Evan knew that Zak had many different herbs, too. But he needed to have his own resources, which would always be at him.


    After a while, Evan made a decision, "Let''s make a pill of it. And one more thing, I''m not going to sell it, of course, but how valuable is it?"


    Evan wondered about the origin of this mysterious root that the trader had hidden so carefully.


    "It is not a particrly rare nt. However, it is very difficult to obtain. The thing is that it grows in the marshes, more exactly, at the bottom. Moreover, it has a weak poisonous effect. The poison of the root itself is not able to harm a man. But water, which has been infused with poison for years can be deadly.


    Zak let out a small sigh and continued: "Fragrant Swamp Roots" are quite plentiful. The problem is that they take a very long time to grow. It takes as long as fifteen years to be considered mature and have all the right qualities."


    "Hmm, it turns out I was rewarded handsomely. I hope this root is ripe?" Because of Zak''s story, Evan began to worry that the root might bepletely useless.


    "Yeah. I''m no expert, of course, but I think this root is at least twenty years old, it`s just you need."


    "When will the pill be ready?" Evan didn''t know how long it would take to prepare the cure. But he needed that information to make a training n.


    "Don''t worry, I think it''ll be ready in a week."


    These words shocked Evan, causing him to frown slightly, "Does one pill take that long to prepare?" He thought it was rather strange.


    In response, Zak onlyughed out loud, "AHAHAH, no, of course, not. The process itself will only take a couple of hours. The problem is that you need an alchemist to do it. I have an acquaintance, but he lives very far away. So three days there and three days back, plus the process, that''s your week."


    Evan nodded and immersed himself in his thoughts. The existence of alchemists gave him many perspectives.<So, in addition to magic, this world also has a lot of medicine and alchemy. My new life is getting more interesting every day>


    Evan has always had a taste for the unknown. In his past life, even though he was the strongest dark magician, for example, he could easily spend a lot of time researching an unknown insect. All because of a big interest and excitement.


    "I''ll leave the root to you and go practice." Evan was about to leave when suddenly Zak stopped him.


    "Wait, Evan, while you''re here, there''s something else I need to tell you. It has to do with the "Void Liquid."


    The young man quickly returned to his seat and began to listen him intently.


    "As you know, when there is no room left for mana in the "Warp", it begins to condense in the "Void Liquid."


    Zak''s voice was quiet and his tone serious. Likest time, he wasn''t going to tell Evan about his incredible speed.


    "Yourst result was 25 drops in four days, pretty good.


    Now let''s talk about the "Warp"`s ends. You only need a thousand drops to get the first end and turn the "Warp" into a One-Pointed Star."


    Evan was surprised by such arge and small number at the same time.


    <If you''re unlucky and have absolutely no talent for magic, it can take several years to get a thousand drops and vice versa>


    At that moment, Evan realized how important talent was in this world.


    It seemed that Zak had read his mind: "Don''t think about speed. You cannot get a talent for magic by force, but you can speed up the "Condensation". But it takes money and resources and connections."


    This was good news for Evan, for he considered his speed to be quite normal. Evan thought that if there were any problems they could be solved with wealth.


    "But it''s not that simple. You can''t break through "Barriers" with outside resources. And even if talent helps, nevertheless it doesn''t help very much."


    "Barriers?" Evan didn''t know what the word meant. But he knew from Zak''s voice that it was something important.


    "Yes, on the way to the One-Pointed Star, absolutely every magician encounters what are called Barriers"". There are usually three of them before the first end. In short, once you get to a certain point, you''re just no longer able to condense the "Void Liquid."


    Zak told it that it wasn''t a problem at all, but Evan understood theplexity of the situation.


    "So, how do I break through the "Barriers"?"


    Zak smiled and slowly replied, "You need to get better at magic. Money or talent won''t help you. The better you understand the magic itself, the easier it will be for you to break through the barrier."


    Evan didn''t really understand what Zak meant, and it could be seen it in his face.


    "It could be your experience, your skills, your spells, even your skills in alchemy. It all has to do with magic and can help you break through "Barriers"."


    In fact, a talent influences how fast you will advance in a particr field. However, it wasn''t umon for magicians with white "Warp" to outperform geniuses with purple "Warp" a hundredfold.


    It was all about perseverance and the desire to be better. No matter how much of a genius you are, you won''t get anywhere if you don''t put in some effort. Geniuses can master a spell faster than other people, but if they''rezy they''ll be banally overtaken.


    "Well, you could just say I have to train like the damned."


    "AHAHAHA, yeah, you''re right. I told you that, so you could concentrate on training. You''ll still have time to do the "Creation". It wouldn''t do any good if the thoughts about the "Star" distracted you."


    Zak intended to bring his n to fruition, the denouement of which he would see at the Academy of Magic . So he tried to provide Evan with the mostfortable and efficient conditions.


    Evan didn''t answer anything, but simply nodded and left for the training ground.


    Thus, a whole month had passed and it was time for a sparring session between Evan and the daughter of Zak''s good friend.

 Chapter 28 - A Beautiful Night

    A whole month had passed since Evan started training. This evening he and Zack were going out for a visit.


    Evan ate and slept well, he spent a tremendous amount of time on magic without forgetting about physical activities. For the first time in his new life, Evan didn''t look skinny. He was a tall young man with an athletic build.


    As Evan had nned from the start, he had been practicing the three zero-level spells he had chosen. It was in "Ice Veil" that he had the most sess. In one month alone, he had raised his "Awareness" of this spell to the first stage- the "Beginner".


    Evan spent considerably less time on the other two spells. Not because he hoped with all his heart that he was an "Amplifier," not at all. His task was to win in sparring, and ording to Zak, "Amplifiers" were the best one-on-one fighters.


    ...


    "Yeah, magic isn''t easy at all. It''s a hell of a thing." Evan muttered quietly, sitting in his room and looking at his hands. They were intact, with no scratches, bruises, or scars. But that was all a merit of the healing herbs Zak provided for him. Only in one month, he''d suffered dozens of frostbites, hundreds of bruises from the "Magic Missile" sts, and countless minor cuts from the "Summon Thorny Ivy".


    In all this time, Evan had learned one very important thing about magic in his new world.


    <Without money, power and connections, you either get nowhere, or you move at a snail''s pace.> Deep down Evan was discouraged by this truth. Well, he was lucky, Zak had seen the potential in him and provided him with food, resources, spells, lodging, and all kinds of help.


    The same pill Evan had already used, without Zak he would never have been able to get such medicine and alchemist`s help so quickly in his life. And it wasn''t the money that had an impact there, it was the connections.


    <What would I do if I didn`t meet Zak? Shit.>


    Knock.


    Evan spent some more time thinking about how this world worked and suddenly he heard a knock on the door and the voice of one of the maids.


    "Mr. Evan, everything is ready, Mr. Zak is waiting for you." After these words, the girl quickly left.


    Evan sighed, put on his armor, took his sword, and headed toward Zak.


    ...


    "Well,d, are you ready?" Zak was standing at the exit of the manor. Unlike Evan, he hadn`t put on the armor and was in his usual shirt and pants. There was a big, ck sword hanging on his back.


    Evan looked up at the brightly shining moon and quietly replied, "Yes."


    For Evan it would be the first real battle against another magician, or in other words, the first magical battle of his new life.


    The house of Zak''s good friend was not far away at all. It would take them only two hours to reach it on horseback.


    They went to the stable where Zak kept all his horses. It seemed strange to Evan that Zak''s stables were in the city and not at his estate.


    However, to his surprise, Evan did not see hisst horse there.


    "Evan, this is my little gift to you."


    Zak showed Evan arge and sturdy ck stallion, with a thick, long mane.


    "Thank you."


    Zak didn''t answer anything, but just climbed on his horse and galloped forward. Evan quickly did the same and followed him.


    ...


    After some time they arrived at the right ce and Evan saw the estate. It looked very different from Zak''s one. Unlike Zak, his friend was clearly enjoying his wealth.


    At a nce, one could notice the magnificent work of the gardeners, many rare nts and flowers. The majestic architecture of the house itself and the precious metals skillfully used in its decoration struck the imagination. Not to mention the luxurious fountains, ponds, tea houses skillfully blended in the overallposition. All this spoke of the indescribable wealth of the owner.


    "I see you and your friend are diametrically opposed in terms of luxury." Evan said slowly.


    Zak immediately realized what he was talking about andughingly replied, "AHAHAHAHAHAH, yes, that old fox just loves to show how rich he is."


    Once they reached the main gate, the guards quickly bowed and let them inside. Zak was a frequent visitor to his friend''s house, so all the servants knew him very well.


    To Evan''s surprise, Zak didn''t head straight for the manor. They left their horses with the servants and went to another ce not far from the mansion.


    "Evan, I hope you are determined to win?"


    The young man didn''t answer anything, but Zak understood it without words when saw the fire in Evan''s eyes.


    They walked up to a structure that resembled an arena. A couple of stepster they saw the owner of the ce, Marcel Vierdag.


    He was a very tall man, with long blond hair and blue like azurite eyes. He was on the second floor of the arena with a ss of red wine in his hands.


    The arena dome was ss, so the beautiful, bright moon was perfectly visible. It also illuminated the entire arena.


    Marcel''s clothes were very elegant. Even the wine ss looked very spectacr.


    Upon seeing Zak and Evan, Marcel put the ss aside and instantly appeared before them elegantly jumping down from the second floor.


    "Look who is here!" Marcel bowed slightly and put his hand forward for a handshake.


    Zak, on the other hand, did not bow. He simply walked closer to his friend and hugged him very tightly. It was obvious from Marcel''s face that he was not thrilled by this greeting, but he was used to it.


    "So, my friend, where is your "talent"? AHAHAHA." Everyone understood what they were there for - a fight between Evan and Marcel''s daughter.


    "She''ll be soon, take a seat."


    Whoosh.


    Marcel returned to his seat in one leap.


    "Evan, good luck." Zak followed his friend, leaving him alone in the arena. Soon he would see his opponent.


    "So, ready to lose? §¡?" Zak said loudly, opening one of the bottles of wine.


    "Soon you`ll see it for yourself," replied Marcel slowly. He was sure of his victory. However, he dared not underestimate the man Zak had personally chosen.


    Zak knew that Marcel liked to cheat and Marcel was well aware of Zak''s knowledge of this. So they were literally ying a game to see who could outy who.


    After a while, Evan saw his opponent, it was Marcel''s daughter Fien Vierdag. The girl was dazzlingly beautiful and quite simr to her father: blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair.


    On her belt, there was a very unusual weapon- a silver-colored rapier with a beautiful guard in the shape of an angel''s wing.


    Since Fien was a novice magician, like Evan, it was not yet clear what her ss was.


    "I knew it." With a slight annoyance in his voice, Zak said. He was an experienced magician and could easily tell that Fien had purple "Warp". This time he was absolutely certain of it.


    Hearing his words, Marcus smiled at first, but then frowned.


    He had expected to see a look of shock on Zak''s face. But his friend was just calmly watching the fight with a slight smile on his face.


    <He`d already guessed, but is Evan the magical with the purple "Warp", too?> Marcel decided that it didn''t really matter that much, since it was the duel that was about to begin that would decide everything.


    Marcel and Zak couldn''t see what color of the "Warp" Fien or Evan had. However, an experienced mage like Zak took a second to figure it out from Fien''s confident gaze.


    Of course, there were ways to know what a magician''s "Warp" was. But, that required either special spells with the necessary resources or special tools.


    Zak and Marcel could get what they needed if they wanted to, but there was no point. They were already one hundred percent sure of what color the "Warp" of their young talents was.


    Fien pulled out her weapon and bowed. Evan did the same, after which their duel began.

 Chapter 29 - The Unequal Battle

    Evan and Fien''s duel was about to begin, but suddenly they were stopped by Marcel''s voice, "Before you fight, I need to rify one thing that none of you know."


    Everyone but Zak looked at Marcel in anticipation of his words.


    "Even though this will be a friendly sparring session, we don''t want you to hold back. So fight to the fullest, you can even throw lethal blows. Zak and I will easily patch you up after the fight, or stop you if we see one of you wouldn`t survive the next attack."


    Evan and Fien nodded, then Marcel mmed his palms together to signify the start of their duel.


    Whoosh.


    The girl attacked first. Marcel''s words aboutplete freedom of action pleased her. Now she could do as she wanted.


    With lightning speed, Fien got to Evan, stabbing him squarely in the chest with her rapier. Evan saw this and jumped aside, bypassing the whole hail of attacks.


    Evan decided not to rush his attack. He understood that it`s a battle between two magicians and his opponent hadn''t used any spells yet. So he wouldn''t be in a hurry, either.


    "Marcel, your daughter is good enough. I think if she bes an "Amplifier", she will have a great future." Zak remarked, putting a couple of grapes into his mouth.


    Marcel did not answer and only smiled slightly. While Zak was staring at Fien, he observed Evan''s actions.


    The girl wasn`t upset that her attack hadn`t worked and went back to attacking Evan. He ducked, dodged and parried the blows. Until Fien cast her spell, Evan wouldn''t take any chances.


    After another series of attacks, Evan saw what he had been waiting for.


    Whoosh.


    Mana had gathered at the girl''s hand then, a wind began to appear around the rapier. Evan immediately felt the danger.


    He didn''t know what kind of spell it was, but Zak was well aware of it.


    "Zero Level spell -"Humble Whirlwind", element - wind, Amplification Magic. Pretty good, though I haven`t expected anything less from your daughter." Zak said slowly, looking at the swirling wind around Fien''s sword.


    "You''re absolutely right." Marcel took a sip of wine and continued with a slight wistfulness in his voice: "Fien is a precious flower, too bad that her life used to be hell.


    Fien was not Marcel''s biological daughter; Marcel had no wife or children. Years ago, he had picked her up on the street, dirty, skinny, shabby, miserable and weak.


    Marcel had seen potential in her, so he adopted her and helped her in every way he could. It wasmon for a magician to do such a thing. For the most part, magicians were free people who didn''t want to bind themselves with family ties.


    For them, it was real chains that only restrained their movements. But the most important reason was something else. Because of the reluctance to create a family, a magician had little chance of having a child of his own. So, practically no magicians had their own children.


    It was all about talent. Magicians knew very well how hard life was for people without a talent for magic. So they did not want to condemn their children to such an existence.


    There were of course those who killed or abandoned their children because they had no talent for magic, but there were not many such bastards.


    ...


    <Wow, her sword emits power>. Evan was wary and prepared to use his spell on Fien''s next attack.


    Evan''s "Warp" began to spin and the girl attacked.


    Fien quickly reached Evan and swung her rapier several times, striking.


    The Amplification spell had greatly increased the power and the speed of her weapon, and Evan felt it with his own skin.


    Ssh.


    Suddenly blood gushed from Evan''s body, and his face froze in shock.


    <What?! I`ve dodged it!> Evan didn''t understand what had happened. He was sure he''d managed to avoid the blow, but suddenly he felt a searing pain in his chest.


    A secondter, Evan realized that it was all about the spell the girl had used. He just wasn''t used to the new speed of the sword, and the slightly increased area of impact.


    "I thought you are stronger." Fien said calmly, and continued to bring down a hail of attacks on Evan.


    He quickly came to his senses, and decided it was time to act. He had already made the mistake of underestimating all the features of Fien''s spell.


    Whoosh.


    His sword was covered in blue ice in a sh, and the temperature around him dropped drastically.


    Evan then counterattacked. He aimed for the head and quicklynded several blows, but Fien easily dodged each of them.


    But, that was only the beginning of Evan''s offensive. The moment Fien dodged his blows, he instantly put his hand forward with his fingers clenched besides his index finger.


    Boom.


    As soon as enough mana gathered around his finger, there was a deafening shot and a pale blue beam flew toward Fien.


    There was no way the girl would have had time to dodge. She simply didn''t have time for that, so Evan thought she would be seriously wounded and their fight would be over. The next moment, however, he saw an incredible scene.


    Mana quickly gathered on the end of her rapier after which she made a wide swing.


    Whoosh.


    A wind de appeared at the site of the cut, which crashed into a pale blue beam, followed by an explosion.


    Boom.


    <Another spell?> Evan was surprised that his attack could be blocked by a counter spell.


    "You are sly fox." Zak said quietly. Unlike Evan, he had seen every detail of their fight.


    Marcel said nothing in reply, but smiled weakly.


    Fien cast a spell called "Wind Cutter", it was Creation Magic. There was nothing supernatural about it, but that wasn''t what Zack was talking about.


    "It`s your own fault for not providing Evan with the proper weapon." Suddenly Marcus said.


    After all, it was all about Fien''s rapier, which was not just a piece of metal, but a Catalyst.


    You don''t need a weapon for Creation Magic, the ''Fireball" or the "Magic Missile" are cast directly from your hands. Sure, you could run mana through a sword and fire a "Magic Missile" from the end of it, but that`s ineffective. It would look as if the Creator were trying to use Amplification Magic.


    But there is a special weapon called Catalysts. They are dozens of times better at conducting mana than ordinary ones. That''s why it took Fien simply gathering mana at the end of her de and swinging her sword to cast the "Wind Cutter".


    Thanks to the fact that her rapier was a Catalyst, the spell lost virtually no power. A small amount of mana dissipated, but it was only a tiny fraction.


    Of course, if she had used her hands, the effect would have been slightly better. But Catalysts are for convenience or emergencies, not to enhance the spell itself.


    Evan wasn''t aware that such things existed, but that didn''t change his tactics in any way.


    He quickly attacked Fien, striking the girl swiftly with his icy sword. Unlike Fien''s spell, the "Ice Veil" did not increase the damage area in any way. However, if the girl missed the blow, it would be very difficult for her to get back into the fight.


    Fien ably dodged and blocked blows, and asionally she sent wind des towards Evan, which Evan exploded casting the "Magic Missile".


    Because he was crowding her and the girl was using more spells, Fien slowly began to run out of mana. She was breathing heavily, she had significantly less strength left than Evan.


    <Now!> Evan realized that it was the right moment.


    His "Warp" began to spin even faster, and his mana began to disappear rapidly. The next second, a green magic circle appeared beneath Fien.

 Chapter 30 - The End Of The First Battle

    Whoosh.


    A green magic circle instantly appeared beneath Fien, and the next moment a thorny ivy coiled around her body. It was the spell of Summoning Magic, which Evan decided to use as his trump card.


    Unlike "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil", the "Summon Thorny Ivy" could immobilize a victim for a while. It did little or no damage, just a few scratches at most. But that wasn''t its main purpose.


    Fien hadn''t expected this to happen, and she didn''t have enough strength to break free of the nt''s grip quickly.


    Whoosh.


    Evan was instantly in front of the girl and swung his icy sword at her.


    The blow was powerful and lightning fast. It could have easily killed Fien, and in theory, Marcel and Zak should have stopped Evan, but they did nothing.


    Swing.


    Evan inflicted her a terrible wound. The blood quickly gushed out, and Fien''s face contorted in great pain. But, even then, their fight continued as if nothing had happened, and the next moment Evan understood why.


    While he was attacking Fien, he didn''t even notice a green magic circle very simr to his had appeared on the ground behind him. It was Fien''s spell, which she had cast with thest of her strength.


    Whoosh.


    After Evan struck, a thick, sharp tree root emerged from the magic circle. It instantly pierced Evan''s chest.


    <What the?!> Evan was in real shock, because just like him, Fien had also trained as many as three spells of different types of magic.


    The young man felt incredible pain, and his mouth was already filled with blood. However, he had no intention of giving up. Clenching his teeth firmly, he turned around and chopped the root in two.


    He was in real agony, but that didn''t stop him from doing the next thing.


    Despite the pain, he pulled the remaining piece of root out of himself, grabbed it tightly and attacked Fien with it. The girl had no more aces up her sleeve: she had no strength or mana left.


    At that moment, Evan didn''t think that his blow could kill Fien, he just intended to pierce her neck with that root. The sharp end of the root had already reached Fien''s neck and it was only at that moment that Evan realized that he was about to kill her.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly he felt like he was trying to move a whole mountain. Evan couldn''t move his arm. It was as if he faced an insurmountable obstacle.


    "That''s enough, boy, you`ve won, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." It was Zak, who appeared beside Evan in a split second and gripped his arm tightly. Crimson mes were burning brightly around his feet.


    Evan smiled slightly, tossed the root and sword aside, and fell to the floor without effort. The Thorny Ivy, immobilizing Fien, was gone, and their battle was finally over.


    Zak went back to Marcel to make fun of him.


    <This guy is not bad. He''s about on par with Fien in magic and skill. But, this cruelty to himself and his opponent is beyond the praise.>


    Marcel was not upset that Fien had lost. On the contrary, he was d that she hade face to face with such an unusual opponent. Thanks to this encounter, she was able to learn a lot.


    "Marcel, stop hovering in the clouds. They''re bleeding and dying right here, AHAHA."


    Zak was right. Evan had inflicted a terrible wound on Fien, and Evan''s own chest was pierced and the blood wouldn''t stop pouring out.


    However, Zak wasn''t worried about their condition at all.


    Hearing his voice, Marcel emerged from his musings.


    "Yes, you''re right," Marcel said quietly.


    He slowly stood up and spread his hands apart, palms up.


    Whoosh.


    Two small pale green magic circles appeared next to Evan and Fien.


    Unlike Zak, who was the "Amplifier", Marcel was the "Summoner". For him, healing Fien and Evan''s wounds was a piece of cake.


    Two creatures slowly emerged from the magical circles, namely lettuce-colored slimes. They looked very cute and even a little clumsy.


    The two slimes slowly crawled towards Evan and Fien. After that, they began to increase dramatically in size until they wererge enough topletely engulf the young people.


    These slimes were notbatants, they could do nothing but heal, and they were excellent at that task. Their slime had excellent healing properties, and Evan and Fien''s wounds healed right before their eyes.


    It was no problem for Marcel to cast such a spell. And given Evan and Fien`s level with, he could even sew them together piece by piece if he wanted to.


    "I`m looking at these cuties and it makes me want to be a "Summoner" myself." Zak said slowly, looking at the wonderful work of the slimes.


    "AHAHAHAHA, I could say the same about you." Marcel finished his spell and left the slimes to mend Evan and Fien`s wounds.


    ...


    Ten minutester, not a single wound, scratch, or bruise remained on Evan and Fien''s bodies. It was as if the terrible duel had never happened.


    <Has Marcel done this?> Evan was shocked by Marcel''s skills. His wide chest wound was gone without a trace, and he felt just fine.


    <So simple and easy to heal our wounds... Doesn''t that mean he can heal us indefinitely if he wants to?>


    Evan was both right and wrong. Marcel could, indeed, practically resurrect Evan and Fien, if he wanted to. But, if a wound like Evan''s had been inflicted on Zak, Marcel would have had to use a much more powerful spell to heal him.


    Zak was stronger than Evan, which meant it would have taken more effort to heal him.


    "I`ve lost, I admit you were stronger than me." Fien walked over to Evan and held out her hand for a handshake.


    Evan smiled and was about to shake her hand. But suddenly he saw that his entire palm was covered in blood.


    Cough. Cough. Cough.


    Suddenly Fien began to cough up a lot of blood. Her condition was clearly not a good one.


    "§¡? Has she any wounds left? Haven''t the slimes been enough?"


    Marcel didn''t understand why Fien suddenly got worse, but then he remembered something.


    "AHAHAHA, Zak, your boy has rightfully won. I hadn''t even noticed that his awareness of "Ice Veil" is at the first stage."


    When a magician''s awareness of the spell increases, it bes stronger. Damage, area, duration, and other increase. Some spells change all at once, while others may only increase one parameter.


    In this case, the freezing effect of "Ice Veil" went to a new level.


    Whoosh.


    Marcel appeared next to Fien and calmly said: "Calm down, and open your mouth wide, honey. This is going to get nasty, but there''s no other choice, I''m sorry."


    Fien did as Marcel said and one of the slimes instantly flew into her mouth.


    Because of Evan''s blow, a small part of her organs was frozen, so the external effects of the slimes were not enough to heal such a wound.


    Feeling a slime inside her wasn`t the best feeling, of course. After a minute, the slime came back out, and Fien sighed in relief.


    Looking at Evan and at his daughter, Marcel involuntarily thought: <Hmm, if she wants to outdo this guy, she''ll have to try very hard. His skills are very good, and his unwavering spirit inspires respect>.


    During the sparring, both Evan and Fien had been injured. Moreover, the girl even had a slight advantage because of the Catalyst. Her attack with the root caused Evan a truly frightening wound. Still, that didn''t stop the young man, nor did it cause him to give up.


    <If Zak hadn''t interrupted his attack, it would have been very difficult for me to heal Fien and she would have been at death''s door".


    While Marcel was pondering his thoughts, Zak came up to him and said loudly: "Marcel, stop hovering in the clouds. It''s time to give out the winner''s reward, don''t you think?"


    Hearing his friend''s words, Marcel came out of his musings.


    "The reward, of course, of course, I have it with me."


    Marcel pulled out of his pocket a square carved, wooden case that looked very exquisite. With a slight smile on his face, he handed it to Evan.


    ...


    And while Evan was receiving his prize, many people in ck robes appeared around Zak''s estate.

 Chapter 31 - Bloody Night

    The sparring between Fien and Evan came to its logical end and Evan as the winner received his reward from Marcel. But while one battle had been over, a second one was in the offing.


    A multitude of men in ck robes were gathering around Zak''s estate, with definite intentions.


    Strangely enough, the culprit of their appearance was Evan.


    The day he had taken the dark green root from the trader, he had not only fought the bandits. Then two men dressed in the same ck clothes had wanted to kill Evan. In the end, however, he had killed both of them.


    They were members of a bandit organization called the "ck Thorn". Unlike ordinary bandits, their skills were on apletely different level, as well as their equipment and organization.


    Two weeks before Fien''s fight with Evan, the "ck Thorn" had found out Evan''s whereabouts. They waited until Zak wasn`t at the estate.


    Their main target was not Evan, not even the root he had stolen from under their noses. They had gathered enough information and Zak''s wealth had turned their heads. The "ck Thorn" didn''t know exactly what Zak had, but they were sure that he was fabulously rich.


    Naturally, they were well aware of how powerful Zak was and would never dare to break into the manor when he was inside. But when they saw Evan and Zak leaving home, they immediately began to act.


    Moreover, night was the best time to attack.


    ...


    "Commander, we''re ready."


    The man with the long ck hair nodded slightly and said quietly: "All right, let''s go with the n. Kill everyone in our path, if the servants don''t interfere, there''s no point in wasting time on them. If we don''t get there in time, we won''t get away alive for sure."


    Liam was the one who hade up with this treasure-stealing n. Each of his subordinates respected his power and obeyed him without question.


    There was a very strict hierarchy in the "ck Thorn", and the most important thing was that your position did not depend only on your strength.


    Liam was very strong, of course, but it was also necessary to be cold-blooded and reasonable. Without these qualities, it was impossible to run an operation of this kind.


    After Liam''s words, their n was in motion.


    Their tactics were quite simple, but effective. Maximum speed, stealth, and ruthlessness were the three basic criteria by which they operated.


    In all the time, they had figured out where the servants'' quarters were located. So Liam''s n was to go in from the west side of the manor, just beyond the training ground where Evan had recently trained.


    They bypassed the guards easily, the servants were sleeping in another wing of the mansion, and the training ground was empty. Everything went ording to Liam''s n without a hitch.


    Liam''s group was approaching the entrance to the warehouse where they were going to start their operation.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Suddenly they saw two maids, walking toward the door of the grocery store with small crates in their hands.


    Liam gave his subordinates a sign and a secondter darts of sleeping pills were thrust into the necks of the girls.


    The two men quickly approached them, caught the crates of some groceries in the air, and quietly ced them on the floor. Liam didn''t know if there was anyone strong left at home. He wasn''t going to risk his and his men''s lives.


    The man in ck robes was about to open the door and burst into the warehouse, but suddenly they heard a quiet voice behind them.


    "What kind of ck rats are these? Are you tired of living?" It was Margaret. She was standing next to the tall oak tree that grew between the manor house itself and the training ground.


    Margaret stared at them coldly, there was not an ounce of fear in her eyes.


    "Damn, kill her, quickly." Hurriedly Liam muttered and two men in ck robes instantly attacked Margaret.


    They thought she was an ordinary maid just strolling around the mansion, but they were deeply mistaken. And that mistake cost many of them their lives.


    Margaret easily dodged their lunge and attacked her first opponent herself. She moved as fast as a storm. In an instant, she hit the man hard in the sr plexus then, turned to the second one.


    She dodged the knife flying in her direction and kicked the second thug in the stomach so that he flew back several feet.


    Everyone was stunned by the skills of a seemingly simple maid.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Liam appeared in front of Margaret. He decided to act on his own, for he was far stronger than all his subordinates.


    His speed was incredible and Margaret just didn''t have time to understand anything.


    Whoosh.


    In one easy motion, Liam twisted Margaret''s neck one hundred and eighty degrees and that was the end of their fight.


    "What''s up, you dummies? Let''s get to work. We don''t have much time."


    To Liam and everyone else, Margaret was just a surprisingly strong maid, nothing more. Their boss had straightened out the problem, hence their operation continued at its nned pace.


    "Boss...!" One of Liam''s subordinates was pointing a finger behind hismanding officer''s back, and there was indescribable fear in his eyes.


    Liam immediately turned around and he saw an eerie picture.


    Crack.


    With a loud crack, Margaret grabbed her head with her hands and turned it back around like nothing had happened.


    "I guess I was too confident." Margaret said slowly. However, there was apletely different girl standing in front of them. Margaret''s emerald eyes changed to scarlet, and the moment she opened her mouth, two sharp fangs appeared out of nowhere.


    Margaret wasn`t an ordinary maid, such a person couldn`t have caught Zak''s attention. She was a real vampire, one that could not be killed simply by snapping her neck.


    Liam and the others were shocked, but they quickly came to their senses and attacked Margaret.


    Whoosh.


    But, their attempts to kill her looked so pathetic. Within seconds, she had killed several people by stabbing them through their hearts and necks.


    Margaret wasn''t interested in the little bastards, she attacked Liam because she`d already realized he was the only one who could be dangerous. It might have seemed that Liam didn''t stand a chance, as Margaret seemed like a veritable demon, ready to kill all living things. However, Liam was far from weak.


    Realizing she was a serious opponent, Liam drew his sword from its sheath and began to defend himself.


    Margaret was aiming at vital points, but Liam blocked each of her blows with ease. His skills were at a very high level, and his sword was no ordinary sword.


    Margaret''s blows were not just fast, but also very strong. A simple weapon would have been crushed and destroyed in a few blows, but Liam''s dark blue sword didn''t have a scratch on it.


    His sword was made of a special super-strong alloy, making it highly durable and deadly.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    A blow to the stomach, to the legs, to the head, to the neck, to the shoulder - all these were easily blocked. Liam expected Margaret to eventually begin to tire. But after a few minutes of fierce fighting, he realized that wasn''t going to happen.


    So he decided to attack her himself.


    Whoosh.


    Liam barely dodged Margaret''s lunge, then gripped his sword tightly and attacked her.


    The girl expected something like that, but Liam''s speed was incredible. The moment Margaret was about to dodge the razor-sharp sword, it was already toote.


    Bam.


    Liam plunged the sword straight into Margaret''s heart then sharply twisted it, turning her heart into bloody shreds. A fountain of blood gushed from Margaret''s mouth.

 Chapter 32 - Nightmare

    Whoosh.


    Liam pulled the sword from Margaret''s body and shook off all the clinging blood. Margaret was surprisingly strong; there was no way Liam would have expected the maid to have such power, but he won anyway.


    <Well, any treasure house has its own Cerberus guarding it from thieves like me. It was to be expected>.


    "Boss, you''re unbelievable. I thought we were all going to die." One of Liam''s subordinates said excitedly. He was in awe of hismander''s skills.


    Liam let out a light sigh and said quietly: "Come on, let''s get into the warehouse quickly, we don''t have much time."


    As the men in ck robes headed for the warehouse door, Margaret was still standing in the same spot. Not even a vampire could survive after his heart was turned into a bloody mess.


    Margaret was on the verge of death, and everything was blurring before her eyes, in that moment she thought, <I didn''t want to bring it to this. His blood is still too powerful for me, but it seems I have no choice.>


    With thest of her strength, Margaret drew a small vial of thick, crimson blood from her pocket.


    Her hands trembled and she barely had the strength to bring the ampoule to her mouth, and the blood slowly poured onto her tongue.


    Gulp.


    There wasn''t much blood, and just one gulp was enough to empty the ampoule.


    ...


    "Boss, we''re entering." Said one of Liam''s subordinates, but the moment he pulled the doorknob both his and the other men`s heads flew off their shoulders.


    "What the?!" Liam was shocked by the scene he saw. In an instant, all his men were killed. They didn''t even have time to understand how it happened.


    Liam looked at the oak tree next to where he had killed Margaret, but the girl was gone. That''s when Liam realized that Margaret had miraculously survived, and had also gained new powers. He braced himself for the fight, and the next moment the girl was right in front of him.


    ng.


    Margaret attacked Liam with lightning speed, but he managed to block her deadly blow. Liam could hardly withstand the recoil of Margaret''s attack. His hands went numb and there were several scratches on the sword itself.


    Seeing Margaret''s immense power, Liam decided to run, but it was toote.


    Whoosh.


    The girl kicked him in the stomach with a swing, sending Liam flying several meters away.


    Bam.


    The man mmed his back into the sturdy bark of an oak tree and copsed with no strength. His whole body ached and he couldn''t move a finger. All he could do was watch his death was slowly walking toward him.


    Margaret looked like a real monster. Her scarlet eyes had turned crimson, the capiries in her eyes burst, and her veins swelled. Her fangs had tripled in size, and her fingernails had be a real murder weapon, designed to dismember all living things.


    All of this was the effect of blood. All Margaret''s wounds healed in an instant, and her powers reached an entirely different level. But, if she had drunk the blood of an ordinary person, nothing of the sort would have happened.


    It was because that vial contained Zak''s pure blood. He was much more powerful than Margaret, so to her, his blood was a real treasure, but also a curse.


    Margaret was growing stronger, but she could not yet take the full power of Zak''s blood without a corresponding return.


    Liam looked at the bright moon shining through the oak leaves and muttered quietly: "Well, this is the end..."


    He turned his head toward Margaret and smiled weakly. There was no fear in his eyes. It was the look of a man, who had lived the life he had chosen.


    Whoosh.


    Margaret grabbed Liam by the neck and lifted him up, then pierced his body with her other hand, ripping out his heart from the other side.


    Crack.


    The next moment she squeezed his heart with force and it burst - that was the end of Liam''s life.


    From the moment Margaret drank Zak''s blood until Liam was killed, 57 seconds had passed. In three seconds, it will be time to pay for the power she`d gained.


    Before, Margaret couldn''tst ten seconds in this mode. Now the result reached a full minute.


    Margaret''s payback was that she didn`t resist her instincts and be insane for a time. Only for one minute could she keep her sanity normal. It usually went on until shepletely satiated her hunger or enough time passed for her to calm down.


    Naturally, the second option was out of the question. As at that moment, there was a real delicacy in front of her.


    She opened her mouth wide and began to eat Liam. In that state, it wasn''t enough for her to just drink blood. She needed real flesh.


    It wasn''t until dawn, when there was virtually nothing left of Liam''s body, that Margaret finally came to her senses. The side effect of taking too much blood waspletely gone, and her appearance returned to normal.


    The girl looked around her and, with a slight wistfulness in her voice, muttered: "Well, it''s time to start cleaning up."


    ...


    After the sparring between the two talents, Zak and Evan stayed the night at Marcel''s home. As the owner of the manor, he gave his guests a great wee. Even though Zak was his frequent guest, he treated him to his best food and alcohol every time.


    Immediately after the fight, they made their way to the dining hall, which looked amazing.


    The furniture, the decorations, and even the maids'' uniforms, all looked very exquisite. And above the table, there was a colossal-sized crystal chandelier.


    Evan was thrilled with the award Marcel had given him, but such avish meal could count as a prize in itself.


    "Evan don''t be shy and eat as much as you want." Marcel said calmly and poured himself a ss of white wine.


    A great variety of dishes appeared before Evan, most of which were seafood delicacies: all kinds of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and other underwater creatures.


    Evan didn''t know if this was due to Marcel''s love of seafood or just a coincidence. Evan gently took his te and began to eat.


    Marcel and Evan looked elegant, while Zak looked more like some kind of barbarian.


    He had already drunk several liters of wine and emptied some tes. But Zak was not alone in his passion.


    Fien''s appetite and manners were very different from those of the neat Marcel. You could say she was simr to Zak in this respect.


    Marcel didn`tment on Fien''s behavior in any way. It was unclear, either he was used to it or didn`t consider it necessary to pay attention to it. But, in general, the picture looked very unusual.


    "Marcel, it''s a pleasure to be your guest, ahahaha." Zak said loudly, shoving another piece of lobster into his mouth.


    Marcel smiled slightly and said slowly: "You''re not a simple guest, but rather a regr visitor. Every time after your visit, we have to restock the entire estate."


    Zak and Fien had eaten a colossal amount of food. As for Evan, he`d tasted everything he thought was most interesting, and Marcel had gradually drained the bottle of wine.


    "So, Evan, are you ready to go to the Academy of Magic yet? It''s less than a month away from selection."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, just nodded confidently.


    "So, is Evan just like Fien going to enroll this year? It`s interesting." Marcel said, calmly looking at Evan.


    Fien wasn''t surprised, if she was going to enroll, why couldn''t Evan do that, too?


    "Yes, that''s right. He''s definitely ready. Evan, if you want we can stay here for a while longer or we can go home now."


    Marcel didn''t react to that in any way. He did not mind Zak''spany, no matter how long he stayed with him.


    Evan thought for a while and then said seriously: "I''d like to live alone until the departure."

 Chapter 33 - Money

    Evan''s words, surprised Zak, but after a while, he said with a broad smile on his face: "Well, if you think it''s for the best, I don''t mind. With your current skills, you''re a hundred percent able to get into the Academy of Magic. So, go ahead, just get back in time."


    Zak was confident in Evan and he knew for a fact, that Evan wouldn''t chill out too much. So he didn''t mind the young man`s decision. Zak couldn''t influence Evan''s decision anyway, and he was well aware of that.


    In the short month he had spent with Evan, Zak had realized that Evan didn`t back down from his goals, and his determination knew no bounds.


    The young man only nodded in response.


    Zak took a sip of wine and said: "Evan, if you want to live alone you need money and I can give you what you need, just say."


    Zak was rich, very rich and strong. In one month, he had spent more on Evan alone than amon man made in ten years, but to him such spending was absolutely insignificant.


    Evan was about to say something, but he was suddenly interrupted by Marcel.


    "Wait, you are my guests, which means I am responsible for each and every one of you. Moreover, I think it would be good if I gave the winner of the sparring an extra prize personally from me."


    Marcel spoke slowly and calmly.


    After these words, he pulled out of his pocket a small, rectangr ck card with a gold border.


    Evan didn''t know what it was, but Fien and Zak were surprised to see the card.


    "AHAHAHA, Marcel, it looks like I''m going to owe you." Zak said it,ughing.


    Marcel smiled slightly and put the ck card on the table right in front of Evan.


    "It''s one of my cards that I use rather infrequently. There''s not much money left on it, but I don''t think you''ll be disappointed. You can use it until you spend it all."


    Marcel spoke as if the card were some kind of insignificant little thing he didn''t mind giving away. If an ordinary man or a merchant of average means had heard Marcel''s words, they would have fainted from his generosity.


    Evan took the card from the table and bowed slightly in gratitude. He was ruthless to those who went against him, but he remembered help and kindness forever. Evan understood that Marcel had given him something incredibly valuable.


    "Thank you, but unfortunately I don''t know how to use it." Evan had been very little time in that world, and he hadn''t extracted anything worthwhile from the memories of the body''s past owner.


    All Evan had managed to see was a prison, a poor vige, and Zak`s manor. For all the other magicians, using a card was a trivial thing, but not for Evan.


    Marcel looked at Evan puzzled, but Zak quickly exined it to him.


    "I picked him up over a month ago from a very perilous and backward ce, so it''s no wonder he doesn''t know these things."


    Marcel nodded and said slowly: "Okay, I get it. Then I guess it`s a good time to tell you all about it."


    Marcel pointed to the card and continued: "There are banks in all of the big cities, including Mossy Vulture. There, as you understand, you can keep money, but to avoid carrying sacks filled with coins on your back, they invented these cards."


    "You just give the bank the coins, and it puts them on the card, and with the card itself you can buy anything. As soon as you spend any amount, it''s instantly deducted from the card thanks to a special spell."


    Once again Evan was amazed by the magic of his new world.


    <Unbelievably, they found a use for magic even in such mundane things. It''s just genius.>


    "Mr. Marcel, how do I know how much money I have on my card?" Evan asked quickly.


    Marcel smiled: "It''s simple, you just have to pour some mana into it and it will activate itself. You''ll see all the information you need on the back of the card. Also, for security reasons only the owner can use it, but I''ve already cast the right spell so you have full ess now."


    A seemingly simple card, but howplicated everything really was. A few spells and a whole system to make it work right, even though there were far fewer magicians than ordinary people.


    It wasn''t that surprising. Unless you''re some kind of merchant, there was almost no chance of getting rich. Whereas finding a poor magician was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.


    Evan took a card from the table and his "Warp" came into motion. Mana flowed directly into the card, after which numbers and symbols began to appear on the back of the card.


    Looking at the card Evan involuntarily wondered, <Five hundred gold coins... I wonder how many is that?


    He had used this world''s money once before - when he escaped from prison and rented a hotel room in a poor vige, then he had only spent two silver coins. At that moment, Evan thought that Warden Aron had quite a lot of money. However, when he saw the number on the card, he began to realize that they were probably ridiculous numbers.


    In addition to the gold coins, there were also blocks for copper and silver coins on the card, but their number was zero.


    Evan did not ask how much money he had been given, in any case he would soon find it out for himself.


    The young man put the card in his pocket.


    Zak and Fien had eaten almost everything, but there was still alcohol. So after everything was solved with the card, they continued talking on various topics and it was until the morning.


    ...


    At sunrise, all of them, besides Fien, headed for the hot springs. There were separate bathrooms for the women in Marcel''s manor.


    After that, it was time to leave, but Zak decided to stay here for a while longer, so Evan went to the city alone. Marcel wished Evan all the best, and Fien looked at him silently.


    Evan could have gone back to Zak`s manor and continued his training. But he made the decision to be alone until he left for the Academy of Magic.


    "Okay, the first thing to do is to find temporary lodging, and to see what''s even interesting in this city."


    Evan didn''t know at all how Mossy Vulture was set up. He could certainly ask Marcel for a map of the city, but Evan liked exploring cities and finding interesting ces on his own.


    Evan''s most important goal was to study magic. But since he was about to leave the Mossy Vulture, he wanted to get all he could out of this city.


    The money he received from Marcel could help him considerably in that endeavor.


    "So, where should I go?" Evan had already left the district where the huge mansions like Marcel''s estate were located. Except that, he didn''t know any other ces in the Mossy Vulture.


    After thinking for a while, Evan decided to go to the main square, because it was the center of the city, which meant that the best stores were there.

 Chapter 34 - The Kingdom Of Fallen Hopes

    It was not difficult to find the main square, for all roads led there. The center of Mossy Vulture was the most popted and unusual ce in the whole city. There you could meet whoever you wanted: from poor people begging for alms, to merchants hurrying about their business.


    You could also meet the magicians there. In general, it was a very lively ce.


    After an hour or so, Evan reached the main square. He was impressed by its view, especially by the tall statue of a huge vulture with wings wide open. The statue had been made long time ago, as evidenced by the stone already covered with moss in some ces. This did not spoil the overall appearance, but only gave the statue a beauty and ancient aura.


    After a while, Evan realized that he was acting strangely, as he was the only one who was looking at the statue of the proud bird with a sparkling gaze. The truth was that he didn''t care about the opinion of those around him.


    <To admire the beauty is one of the pleasures life gives us>. Evan thought to himself, then looked around.


    He did not know where he should go, but one building caught his eye immediately. On the signboard inrge letters was written: "Azure Shine Library". The building looked rather unusual on the outside, it was a tall, dark blue cylinder.


    Evan had very little information about his new world. All of his knowledge was limited to what Zak had given him, but obviously, it was not enough at all. So the library was the best possible option. Without thinking long, Evan quickly headed inside.


    Click.


    Evan opened the door and saw the librarian standing behind the counter. He was reading some very thick book, but he was clearly bored.


    "Hello, I''d like to visit the library." Evan said softly.


    The man looked at Evan with no interest and said slowly: "Entrance to the hall on the first floor is twenty-five copper coins."


    The librarian expected Evan to reach into his pockets and provide him with the coins. However, all he heard in response was Evan''s puzzled voice, "I''m sorry, but I don''t have any copper coins, only gold coins, can I pay with them?"


    Evan didn''t know how the money system worked in his new world, so he didn''t think he said anything strange.


    The man adjusted his sses, looked at Evan again, and said rudely: "Boy, don''t talk nonsense. Either pay up or get out of here. I''m not in the mood to y your games."


    The librarian didn''t believe that Evan actually had gold coins. The reason was the young man''s unkempt appearance.


    Evan did not look like a rich man, on the contrary, he was dressed like a real poor man. A cheap shirt, pants and shoes. No essories or expensive items to indicate wealth.


    Evan was surprised by this response, but quickly figuring out what was going on, calmly said: "I actually have money. Here they are, you can see for yourself.>


    With these words, Evan took a ck card with a gold border out of his pocket and showed it to the man.


    The librarian was surprised that a seemingly ordinary boy had such a thing.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" began to spin, and the mana quickly flowed into the card thereby activating it. Evan held the card so that the librarian could not see the back of it, which showed how much money he had in total.


    The librarian was taken aback, "I apologize for being rude, I didn''t know you were so rich and that you were a magician, I am sorry." The man said timidly.


    But as soon as he looked Evan in the eyes, a shiver immediately gripped him. Evan''s eyes were cold and his gaze was icy. Evan hated people like that, the ones who would start cringing under him as soon as they knew the man was above them.


    Evan looked at him as if he were a small bug he could crush at any moment. The man was well aware of that.


    Of course, Evan wasn''t going to kill him right in the middle of the city. However, his contempt had no end.


    "How much is the most expensive pass?" Evan said grimly.


    He understood from the librarian''s words that the higher the floor, the better the books, and therefore, the higher the price.


    Evan''s words made the man shudder and he answered quietly, "Fifteen... silver... coins..."


    Evan nodded: "I can pay by card, can''t I?"


    "Sure!" After these words, the man pulled out a small stone que from a shelf. In the center, there was a small, rectangr recess. On the que itself, there were several symbols, unknown to Evan.


    "Please, enclose the card."


    Evan looked at the stone que with interest and put the card in the right ce.


    Whoosh.


    The card glowed and fifteen silver coins were deducted from the it.


    "Thank you, here''s your pass, you''re on the top floor." Said the librarian politely, handing Evan a small, round locket.


    "Can I enter all the other floors with this pass?"


    "Yes, of course, now you can visit any hall."


    Evan nodded and left in silence, but he didn''t head upstairs, but directly to the hall on the first floor. He decided he would definitely visit the topmost floor, but a littleter. First, he wanted to have a quick look through each of the halls.


    Evan was interested in any kind of knowledge. Of course, the rarer and more unique they were- the better. Expensive books were unlikely to contain the basic information Evan needed so much.


    After paying fifteen silver coins Evan was left with 499 gold coins and 85 silver coins, from that fact Evan could draw a very simple conclusion.


    <So, one gold coin is a hundred silver coins, and one silver coin is probably a hundred copper coins.>


    Walking a little further, Evan got to a special door. He had to put his amulet to it to get inside.


    To Evan''s surprise, the library was quite crowded.


    A lot of people were sitting at the tables and reading. Most of them were ordinary people, Evan noticed no one magician there.


    That was not surprising, since the pass to the first floor was the cheapest. There were also no magic books in the library itself. All the spell books were in the Tower of Magic.


    He headed to the department where the geography and map books were. Evan still didn''t even know what cities there were besides Mossy Vulture, which made him very sad.


    He took one of the books from the shelf, sat down at the table, and began to read.


    After about an hour, Evan had read itpletely and he had plenty of information. Evan learned that he was in the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," and that Mossy Vulture was located to the east of that very Kingdom.


    "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" was by the sea, between the other three kingdoms. "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" had friendly rtions with two of them. With thetter, however, there had been war for years on end.


    After reading the first book, Evan quickly went through the others, but nothing caught his eye. Evan knew he might have missed something important, but he didn''t have that much time to research every book.


    In Evan''s opinion, there was no point in hoping for anything out of the ordinary in the public library. All the books there contained basic and well-known information. Therefore, he could go back there at any time if necessary.


    It is worth noting that the library was simply enormous. The hall alone was as high as several ordinary floors. There were a total of three halls in the library, one per floor. Evan had already looked through the first one quickly and even had learned a lot, so he headed further.


    On the second and third floor, Evan found nothing useful to him. It wasn''t because there was nothing interesting in these books, it was just that none of it fell into his sphere of interest. He was interested in magic and basic concepts he didn''t know.


    This oue upset Evan a little. He decided to check thest shelf on the third floor and leave. Evan picked up one of the books and began flipping through it, unfortunately he found nothing of note in it.


    Evan didn''t know why, but all the books on that shelf were old, dusty, and worn.


    <These books are in the very corner and they look unsightly. No one seems to be cleaning up around here> With these thoughts, Evan reached for thest book.


    It didn''t have a title, as several of the previous books did. Evan blew off the dust, opened the book and began to read.


    His eyes burned brighter and brighter with each page.

 Chapter 35 - Blood

    The tattered book Evan was reading was a simple diary. Evan didn''t know whose diary it was or if its owner was even alive. The book looked definitely more than a hundred years old. Many of the pages were practically, crumbling at any touch, and a third of the pages weren`t there at all.


    Evan, however, was truly enthralled. There was no information in the journal about rare artifacts or incredibly powerful spells. Evan wasn''t lucky enough toe across anything like that. Nevertheless, there were some researches and results of the author''s experiments in the diary.


    There was still a whole month before the departure to the Academy of Magic. Evan could have returned to Zak''s estate and continued training, but he`d made a different decision.


    To study, to learn new and interesting things, and to enjoy the process. That''s what drove him now and always. After reading the old book, Evan learned something new, such kind of information he could only get at the Academy of Magic. But it wasn''t the basic information that caught his attention, it was the author''s thoughts and research. Evan intended to repeat them and figure it all out himself.


    "I hope I can take the book away...". Evan muttered thoughtfully as he flipped through thest pages. Evan didn''t know if he would be allowed to take the library property for a while. But he needed this book if, he wanted to do magic experiments.


    He took the book from the shelf and slowly made his way to the first floor. While he walking down the wooden stairs, Evan was pondering what he had learned in this library. Naturally, he hadn''t read a hundredth of all the books that were here.


    He was interested in knowledge from various fields, but he didn''t have enough time. He`d learned a little about the geography and history of Mossy Vulture, about the mostmon beasts that inhabited this world, and about monsters as well.


    Some were simr to creatures from his past world, while others were strikingly different. One of the books detailed how ordinary people and magicians lived, and in this regard, his new world was simr to his old world.


    Magicians were not just higher caste like nobles, but almost the creatures from other universes. The difference was colossal. The most ordinary and weakest magician was valued more than an aristocrat or a merchant. Magicians were practically a separate racepared with ordinary humans.


    After a while, Evan approached the librarian and calmly said: "Can I borrow this book? If it`s necessary, I can pay."


    Evan didn''t like people like this man, but he wasn''t going to break the library rules and steal a book. He didn''t want any unnecessary trouble.


    When he saw Evan, the librarian flinched and then looked at the book in Evan''s hands. He was looking at the tattered diary as if he had never seen it before. It was obvious from his face that he didn''t know what he should do.


    After thinking for a while, he turned respectfully to Evan: "This book is no further use, you can take it away, if you want."


    Actually, the librarian had no authority to give books to anyone, even temporarily, much less permanently. However, he felt that no one needed the book in Evan''s hands and there would be no problem if he gave it away. The librarian wanted to improve his rtionship with Evan.


    Even though Evan was a neer among the magicians, he was apparently very rich since he had a card.To have such a man among his acquaintances was a real jackpot for amon person.


    Unfortunately, for the librarian, Evan did not appreciate his gesture. The young man simply nodded and headed for the library exit. He had already visited the temple of knowledge, now it was time to move on.


    The book appealed to Evan not only because he was curious to do some experiments, the second reason was the "Barriers" that Zak had told him about.


    Of course, he hadn''t even gotten close to the first "Barrier" yet. However, it would happen at some point anyway.


    <Zak said that in order to break through the "Barrier" you have to get better at magic. I could just practice, but that''s so boring... Much better to broaden your horizons by trying somethingpletely new, isn''t it?>


    Evan preferred to enjoy the present. However, if you can solve a problem that will necessarily be in the future, then you shouldn`t miss this chance.


    Evan looked around, choosing where he to go. He wanted to rent a small, cozy house where he could spend the rest of the month. He liked living at Zak''s ce, but it wasn''t exactly what he needed.


    It wasn''t the riches or the size of the estate, but the fact that there were too many people there. He needed to be alone, alone with himself and his thoughts.


    Evan didn''t know where he could rent a ce to stay in Mossy Vulture, but he quickly found a solution to his problem. In the distance of the square, he saw a sign that caught his eye.


    It was a big inn and a hotel at the same time. Such a noisy ce did not suit him. But further down the street, he saw houses with signs saying, "For Rent."


    Step. Step. Step.


    At Evan''s leisurely pace, he headed down the street. As time went on, he began to notice more signs like this. It could only mean one thing - he hade to the right ce.


    Evan had chosen a house he liked and was about to walk over and talk to the salesman.


    <§¡h?>


    Suddenly he noticed something interesting.


    One of the buildings had a sign that was very different from the previous ones. It was made of more expensive material, but the most important thing was the text - "For Magicians Only".


    Evan was curious about it. However when he approached the building he did not see andlord.


    When he inspected the sign once more he noticed that it had an indentation in the shape of a palm. He was surprised, but he quickly understood what he had to do - his experience with the card in the library helped him with that.


    Whoosh.


    Evan put his palm to the hole and began to infuse mana. The sign glowed brightly and then went out. At the same moment, Evan felt that he could no longer infuse mana.


    "Huh, they use magic almost everywhere. I''m starting to like this world more and more every day."


    He was pleased. After all, if magic is so heavily integrated into society, it meant how meaningful and multifunctional the magic of this world was.


    "I guess I''ll just have to wait a little while..." Slowly Evan muttered looking at the house.


    ...


    About ten minutester, a short girl with short red hair approached Evan. She was dressed simply and her face shone with a slight smile.


    The girl bowed slightly: "Sorry for the wait. Do you want to rent a house for a while or do you want to buy it?"


    "To rent for one month, is that possible?"


    Evan didn''t ask about what was inside the house, since the most basic information was written on the sign. All he wanted was privacy and nothing more. Furniture, garden or decor didn''t concern him.


    The girl nodded and quickly said: "That''ll be three gold pieces. Will you pay cash or by card?"


    Evan was surprised that such a seemingly ordinary girl knew about such a thing as a card. He didn''t answer anything, but simply pulled a ck card with a gold border out of his pocket.


    The girl glimpsed it and then pulled a small wrapped scroll from her leather bag.


    Whoosh.


    The girl unfolded the scroll, "Please, you may read the contract."


    Evan took the scroll in his hands and read it quickly and nodded. There was nothing interesting in it, the most usual terms and nothing more.


    The girl nodded, and to Evan''s surprise pulled a sharp, silver needle from her bag. Without blinking an eye, she pricked her finger and a crimson drop of blood fell on the bottom corner of the scroll.


    She carefully wiped the needle with a silk handkerchief and offered it to Evan.


    "Oh, I''m sorry, you probably have your own needle, that was extremely rude of me." The girl said hastily. The stunned look on Evan''s face confused her. She couldn''t imagine he saw such a procedure for the first time.


    The girl was about to take the needle away when Evan suddenly stopped her. With a wide smile on his face he said: "No need, it''s okay.


    "Sorry, I was just thinking."


    Whoosh.


    Evan took the needle and the next second a drop of his blood fell on the scroll. The girl nodded approvingly, and stowed the scroll in her bag and pulled out a stone que. It was exactly like the one he''d seen at the librarian''s.


    Evan held the card to the stone que and three gold coins instantly disappeared from the ount.

 Chapter 36 - Azure Stone

    Evan paid for the rent, the girl thanked him and went away. Before she left, she had given Evan a small, blue locket that was the key to the house. Since the house was adapted for magicians, it was equipped with a magical barrier. Without the locket, it was impossible to get inside.


    Evan examined it and moved toward the entrance.


    Click.


    Applying the locket, he opened the front door and got through the barrier without any problems. On his way to the building Evan reflected on the money he had just spent.


    <Marcel gave me 500 gold coins for nothing. With that money, anyone could live for several years without denying himself anything. I wonder if Marcel is the only one that''s that rich, or if every magician in this world has that kind of money>


    Evan was once again convinced that money was an important factor in a magician''s life. How can you be great if you don''t even have money for a roof over your head?


    There was a simple, but beautiful garden around the house, Evan had rented. The building itself wasn''t particrly remarkable: a wooden frame and a red tile roof. Simple and cozy, just the right thing.


    Click.


    Evan stepped inside and took a quick look around - a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom, nothing else needed. However, Evan wouldn''t have rented this house if it was that simple. Obviously, three small rooms just weren''t enough for experimentation or training.


    He`d chose this house for one reason- the contract stated that there was an undergroundboratory there. Evan didn`t expect anything supernatural, but since this house was meant for magicians, he shouldn''t be disappointed. After all, this would be his first such experience in this world, so he didn''t need much.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Without staying long on the first floor, Evan headed down the long wooden stairs. Every time he stepped on a step, there was a creaking sound, that spoke volumes about the age of the house.


    Click.


    The young man unlocked the heavy, iron door and saw the covetedb.


    "Hmm, not bad, not bad at all." Evan muttered slowly.


    Theb was a vast room most of which was designed to test the spells. The far side of theb was full of deep cuts, st and fire marks, and other misceneous damage.


    Evan wasn`t the first person to be here. And it was obvious, because many magicians traveled to learn more about the world around. Houses like this were a great temporary solution for them.


    The walls of theb were made of very strong and stable stone. The smaller and most important part of theb didn''t contain many things. There was arge, wooden table against the wall, a cab with a few shelves and that was about it.


    It might seem too little for a productive work, but Evan didn''t think so."I wonder if it''s thendlord who takes such good care of the customers or if the past resident was so generous." Evan said contentedly, looking at the shelves.


    There was a great number of necessary items there: parchment scrolls, tassels, a stone board, pieces of graphite, and a few Azure Stones.


    Almost every one of these items, would be needed him very soon. Evan had originally nned to go to the city and buy everything he needed. Now he wouldn''t have to go anywhere.


    Evan learned about the purpose of these items from a shabby diary he took from the library.


    The parchment scrolls were used to draw Magic Circles on them. You could also draw Magical Circles on the floor with graphite or chalk, but it wasplicated and not as convenient. Parchment Scrolls cost money, but they saved the magician`s time and energy.


    You could draw Magic Circles with many things, but it was not as simple as it might seem at first nce. The Azure Stones were the most valuable and necessary thing in this room.


    Mana is necessary for the Magic Circle to work, but not everything can hold and conduct mana. Paint, graphite or chalk can''t do that, that`s why Azure Stones are needed.


    The Azure Stones were a rather soft and crumbly mineral. Evan didn''t know how much such a thing was worth, but he knew it wasn''t little. After all, anything in this world about magic cost too much for most ordinary people.


    There weren''t many on the shelf, only three of them, but that was enough for Evan for a long time. He could buy more if it necessary. Thanks to Marcel''s kindness, he had enough money to afford it.


    Evan took some scrolls, a brush, paint, a stone board, and the Azure Stones. He ced these on the wooden table and got down to business. He opened an old book and began to do everything ording to the instructions.


    Scribble. Scribble. Scribble.


    Evan grinded up a small piece of Azure Stone, turning it into a blue powder. Then he took a mortar from the table and stirred the blue paint into the blue powder.


    It was necessary for a Magic Circle painted with this kind of paint would function. Of course, if you painted a Magic Circle using only Azure Stones, it would hold much more mana, but it was too expensive.


    Moreover, even if Evan had an unlimited number of Azure Stones, he wouldn''t do that. Parchment scrolls with Magical Circles drawn with the Azure Stones alone were not exactly suitable for experimentation.


    They could certainly be used, but that would be a waste of resources. They were very expensive, because if you put mana into them, you could cast a spell. The advantage of this method was that the magician would spend very little mana, but the price was very high.


    So stirring Azure Stone powder with paint was an excellent and verymon solution. The mana would fill the scroll and stay there, and that was more than enough for research.


    Evan took a ck, wooden brush and dipped it into the paint and began to draw the first Magic Circle of his life.

 Chapter 37 - The Magic Circle

    Evan decided to do some experimentation and research, because of the information he had read in the diary. But, before starting a more difficult stage, you first need to go through an easy one, namely, learn how to draw Magic Circles. That was exactly what Evan was trying to do at the moment.


    It was his first experience of this kind, so he acted slowly and carefully. Step by step, the Magic Circle of one well-known spell began to appear on the scroll.


    Whoosh.


    "Damn!" Evan said. His hand suddenly shook and he made the wrong smear, causing the whole system to copse. He wasn''t upset by this oue. Evan thought it was normal for a first time. He put the ruined scroll aside and began to draw on a new one.


    On the one hand, you have to be an artist to draw a Magic Circle, but on the other, you have to be pretty good at drawing geometric shapes. The Magic Circle is aption of twopletely different sides that get along together in one drawing.


    Most magicians knew how to draw Magic Circles, it was the norm for them, but Evan did it out of his own interest.


    Whoosh.


    Another blunder and a w.


    Whoosh.


    Evan had gone more than a halfway through, but he justcked precision and skill.


    Whoosh.


    The young man came to the final stage, but because of his inexperience, he was unable to make the final touch that wouldplete the whole system.


    ...


    "Phew...didn''t think it was such a difficult and meticulous job, even no strength to rejoice."


    Evan muttered slowly, looking at thepleted Magic Circle.


    Considering that today it was the first time he''d ever drawn Magic Circles, he''d done it well and fairly quickly. What''s more, Evan hadn''t spent that many "Azure Stones", he still had plenty left over for further research.


    Every spell has its own Magic Circle archetype. Evan had just finished creating the Magic Circle of the zero-level spell, "Magic Missile".


    It was one of the most popr yet effective spells in the entire world. What''s more, many magicians consider it the best option for anyone who has just stepped onto the path of magic. It is often the first thing mentors teach their students.


    Magical Circles is a whole system, which is difficult both in theory and in practice. Let''s take for example the Magic Circle - spell of the zero level - "Magic Missile" and consider it in detail.


    To begin, imagine arge, blue circle. Next, ce an inverted triangle on top of it. The points of the triangle are the three Seals that hold the entire spell system together.


    The shape of the Seals can be of three kinds: circle, square and triangle. The shape of the Seal depends on what type of Magic the spell is. If it''s a Creation Magic spell then the Seal is round, if it''s Amplification Magic- it''s triangr, if it''s Summoning Magic-it''s square.


    We have a circle and three Seals. Since "Magic Missile" is a Creation Magic spell, the Seals will be in the shape of a circle. Each of the three seals contains a special Rune.


    Go from left to right. In the first Seal is a Compression Rune. It looks like a lot of arrows, pointing at one point. At the bottom, in the second Seal, there is the Vortex Rune. It looks like a swirl. In the third and final seal, there is an Explosion Rune. It looks like a burst of torn energy.


    Each of the Seals has its own important function that affects the entire Magic Circle. The Compression Rune activates first and gathers the required amount of mana into a single point. Next, the mana passes to the Vortex Rune, which transforms it into the desired form for the spell. The final stage of the spell cast is the Explosion Rune. When the mana reaches thest Rune, it bursts out into the outside world as a finished spell.


    It''s pretty hard to imagine, so it''s best to see it in action. When Evan casts "Magic Missile", he first collects mana in the Compression Rune, thanks to the Vortex Rune, mana transforms into the desired form, and then the Explosion Rune gives mana the impetus it needs toplete the spell sessfully.


    The Runes work the same for all spells, regardless of the type of magic. But that''s not all. The Magic Circle is much moreplex, and that''s just the tip of the iceberg, so it''s time to get to the main part.


    In the middle of the Magic Circle, between the three Seals there are three other smaller Magic Circles. They are arranged in the shape of an inverted triangle. Each of these three Magic Circles has a core in the center, around which there are three shells.


    These shells are the mostplex and important part in the whole Magic Circle of any spell. Each shell is divided into nine equal sections. Each section contains one of the three Runes. Each shell contains a total of nine Runes, three of each kind. They are arranged in a certain order: Compression Rune -> Vortex Rune -> Explosion Rune. There are 27 Runes in one small Magic Circle, and 81 in all three.


    While the Runes in the three Seals affect the creation of the spell itself, these Runes affect the characteristics of the spell.


    The Compression Runes affect how fast the spell is cast. If the Compression Runes weren''t 27, but 54 for example, then the speed of casting would be a lot faster.


    The Vortex Runes affect how much mana it takes to cast a spell. The more Vortex Runes you have, the less mana you''ll need to spend.


    The Explosion Runes control the power of the spell. The important thing to understand is that power doesn''t necessarily mean damage. For example, if you increase the number of the Explosion Runes in the "Magic Missile'', the beam will be much more powerful. But if you do the same in the "Summon Thorny Ivy", you''ll increase the number of vines, and it`ll increase the power of the spell.


    The system is quiteplicated, but everything is clear and in its ce. Nevertheless, there remains one final unresolved issue. If everything is clear with the creation of the spell and its characteristics, then how do you increase the number of any kind of Runes?


    It''s very simple, this is where the magician needs "Awareness" of the spell. As you know, "Awareness" spells are divided into five stages - "Beginner", "Intermediate", "Medium", "High" and "Absolute".


    Back to the three Seals, which are the outer structure of the Magic Circle. Around each seal are five very small round cells. Usually they are blocked and inactive, but that''s all because the magician doesn''t have enough experience with the spell.


    For example, Evan''s "Awareness" of the "Magic Missile" hasn''t even reached the first stage, so all of his cells are blocked. On the other hand, "Awareness" of "Ice Veil" is at the "Beginner" stage, so one cell of each Evan`s Seal is active. In other words, because the "Awareness" of the spell was in the first stage, Evan had a total of three cells unlocked.


    The unblocked cells can be used to copy the Runes that are inside the three small Magic Circles.


    If the magician wants to spend less mana on a spell, he needs more Compression Runes, which means he must use unlocked cells to copy those runes. If his "Awareness" is on the first stage, he can get three Compression Runes or any other ones.


    However, it wasn''t that simple. As you know, the number of spaces for Runes is limited to 81, which means that you will need to remove some Runes to rece them with others.


    Therefore, a magician wishing to spend less mana on a spell, will need to copy the Compression Runes and rece any others with them. You can remove both the Explosion Runes and the Vortex Runes.


    If the magician copies three Explosion Runes and reces three Vortex Runes with them, less mana will be needed to cast the spell. But it will take more time to cast, and its power will remain the same since the Explosion Runes weren''t affected.


    Let''s take another look at what a Magic Circle is - it''s a circle with an inverted triangle on top of it. On the points of the triangle, there are three Seals inside which there are the Runes. Runes create spells from the mana in three stages, each Rune is responsible for a specific process. Around each Seal are five cells denoting the "Awareness" of the spell. In the center of the Magic Circle, there are three smaller Magic Circles. Each smaller Magic Circle contains three shells, each of which contains Runes.


    Understanding such an intricate system is difficult, but quite possible. Drawing something like this is even harder, but after a few tries Evan was able to pull it off.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, this world really is wonderful! Magic is, indeed, an amazing thing," Evan muttered.

 Chapter 38 - Ice

    Evan had finished drawing the Magic Circle of the level zero spell, "Magic Missile". Considering that today was the first time he''d ever done it, he did it pretty quickly. Just a few tries and the Magic Circle was drawn.


    "Now, that it''s done, I think I''ll put it to the test." After saying that, Evan took the parchment scroll and turned it with the Magic Circle side toward the wall.


    Whoosh.


    Evan concentrated and his "Warp" began to spin and mana slowly flowed to the scroll. Since he used a small amount of "Azure Stone", not much mana was needed.


    Whoosh.


    The Magic Circle on the scroll glowed brightly, another confirmation that Evan had done everything right. The next moment, a ray flew out of the center of the Magic Circle, which dissipated a momentter.


    "As expected, I`ve wasted almost no mana, but this spell can hardly do any damage." Evan muttered contentedly, looking at the scroll in his hands.


    He had diluted the "Azure Stone" powder with the paint and so the spell was weak. You could even call it an idle spell: it didn''t take much mana, it had no power, but it was perfect for research.


    Evan had found an old diary of a magician in the library, detailing how to draw Magic Circles. He would have learned itter, but fate had decided otherwise. Usually novice magicians shouldn''t take on such things so early.


    The journal had many pages torn out or ruined, but that didn''t stop Evan from understanding the general gist. After some trial and error, he`d got through the first stage. Now it was time to move on to the second, more interesting stage.


    Evan drew the Magic Circle of the "Magic Missile" for practice, because this spell had been chosen as an example in an old journal.


    Evan realized that the owner of the diary apparently hadn`t attended the Academy of Magic and learned everything on his own. The reason was that the first half of the book was devoted to trying to draw a Magic Circle, and the second half to "Transforming of Spells" Evan didn''t know if that was the author''s decision or if the reason was in other circumstances.


    Evan had dealt with the first part and was about to move on to the second. "Transforming of Spells" is the process by which a magician changes the structure of a spell, namely recing some Runes in small Magical Circles, with others.


    The information in the journal was inurate and sketchy, but Evan understood roughly what the author meant. The thing is, he had actually known what the Magical Circle of the "Magical Missile" looked like before he found the diary. In every spell book, there was a drawing of the Magic Circle, so Evan knew exactly what the Magic Circle of all three of his spells looked like. When a magician learns a spell he must memorize its Magic Circle, it is necessary in order to use the spell correctly.


    Evan didn''t know how to draw Magic Circles so he had to learn it. Of course, the vast majority of the time scrolls are not needed for spells, but for experimentation.


    Evan could start "Transforming of Spells" without drawing a Magic Circle on a parchment scroll, but that option had many disadvantages.


    First, if you dilute the "Azure Stone" powder, the scrolls require much less mana. Secondly, for greater effect, it is necessary to see all changes with your own eyes. Thirdly, a mage can cause damage to his body by making a mistake during a "Transforming of Spells".


    This is why all magicians use the scrolls as consumables to bring the Magic Circle of their spells to the right form. Particrly strong mages didn''t use scrolls, they had their own techniques, but Evan was a long way from that level.


    "Okay, it''s time to get started, and I''ll also check something." Evan said calmly, looking at the Magic Circle scroll.


    He had read in his diary about a method that could be used to remove the Magic Circle from the scroll. The essence of the method is quite simple - it`s necessary to channel more mana than required. Then the dust from the "Azure Stone" will not withstand such a strain and the Magic Circle will disappear. There will be no trace of the paint either, as it`s homogeneous with the blue powder.


    Evan concentrated and his "Warp" began to spin, the mana was immediately going to the scroll and its flow did not stop. The Magic Circle glowed, but instead of activating the spell, it began to fade away. After a few seconds there was nothing left on the scroll, it looked as good as new one.


    Evan had spent less mana than it would have taken to cast a full-blown spell, but considerably more than to simply activate the scroll. He wouldn''t do it again, because he still had plenty of nk parchment scrolls, and there was no point in wasting mana. This time he just wanted to see if he could erase the Magic Circles.


    This trick only works on Magic Circles that were drawn with "Azure Stone" powder. If you draw a Magic Circle using only "Azure Stone", the Magic Circle will disappear after the first use.


    "Great, now we can get to the main thing."


    Evanid out the scroll on the table and began to draw the Magic Circle of "Ice Veil". Drawing the Magic Circle of the "Summon Thorny Ivy" was pointless. Evan had only reached the first stage of "Awareness" with "Ice Veil," which meant that only that spell had the first cell of five unlocked.


    The "Awareness" of a spell was very important, because as many as two factors depended on it. The first is the passive amplification of the spell. In the battle with Fien, Evan had given her a very serious frostbite just because his "Awareness" of the "Ice Veil" had reached the first stage. The second is the opportunity to engage in the "Transforming of Spells."


    By increasing his "Awareness" of a spell, the magician not only greatly enhances the spell itself, but also gets the opportunity to adjust it to himself using the "Transforming of Spells".


    Evan already had a little experience in drawing Magic Circles, so the process was slow but steady. Nevertheless, he had to decide which Runes he would rece with which ones.


    Whoosh.


    Evan practically finished drawing the Magic Circle, but he stopped at creating thest small Magic Circle. He pondered how he should use the Runes and if he needed to change the spell at all.


    <I can greatly reduce the amount of mana needed to cast the spell, I can also reduce the time it takes to cast the "Ice Veil". But I didn''t feel like I was missing anything while using it.>


    Whoosh.


    After a while, the young man smiled weakly and picked up his brush. He dipped it into the blue paint and continued to draw the Magic Circle. Evan had already made a decision.


    Whoosh.


    After making thest stroke, Evan put the brush aside and looking at thepleted Magic Circle he muttered contentedly, "All done, it`s time to test it."


    He examined the slightly altered Magic Circle of the "Ice Veil" and rehearsed all the actions in his mind. It was as if he was re-learning the spell and preparing to use it for the first time.


    After a few minutes, Evan nodded to himself and headed for the damaged wall of his smallb.


    Whoosh.


    He slowly drew his sword and at the same moment, his "Warp" began to spin. Mana began to leak out of the "Warp" inrge quantities, and the sword was covered in ayer of ice.


    This time it was harder for Evan to cast the seemingly familiar spell. He had to get used to the changes he himself had made.


    Whoosh.


    The" Warp" stopped spinning and the mana stopped flowing out. The sword was covered in ayer of blue ice, emitting danger. It seemed that just touching the tip of the de would turn you into an ice statue.


    Evan grasped the hilt of the sword with both hands, raised the weapon above his head, and swung it as hard as he could toward the wall.


    Whoosh.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    The sword de quickly entered the dense stone and the weapon lodged in the middle of the wall. The sharpness of the sword wasn''t enough to cut through the wall any further. Evan was breathing heavily, he had expended a lot of energy on one single blow, but he had a satisfied smile on his face and fire burning in his eyes.


    "Huh, I didn''t increase the number of the Explosion Runes by three for nothing. Taking away the Compression Runes wasted a lot more mana, but it was definitely worth it."


    Evan said it happily, looking at the result. Everything within a one meter radius of the incision had been turned to ice. In all, a third of the wall was frozen through despite the stability of the material it was made of. It was amazing power for someone who had just stepped on the path of magic.

 Chapter 39 - Berries

    Evan was pleased with the result, thanks to the "Transforming of Spells" he had greatly increased the power of the "Ice Veil". Of course, he sacrificed three Compression Runes for this and now the spell required much more mana, but it was definitely worth it.


    Whoosh.


    The young man gripped the hilt of his sword tighter and pulled it out of the wall with one tug. As soon as he did so, however, the sword de began to fall apart. There was nothing Evan could do about it, so he just watched his weapon was breaking before his eyes. After a couple of seconds, all that was left of the sword was the hilt and the guard.


    "Well... Looks like I need a proper weapon for such a powerful spell." Evan said calmly, looking at the remains of the sword in his hand.


    The altered "Ice Veil" was too powerful for such a simple weapon. Evan decided to find something stronger and more durable. He couldn''t let something like that happen duringbat.


    At that moment, he immediately remembered his fight with Fien. Her rapier looked many times better than his sword. Although, Evan didn''t need the "Catalyst", but he wished he had something of simr quality.


    "I think it''s time to have a meal and spend some money."


    Evan hadn''t eaten anything since he left Marcel''s mansion. He''d only had time to visit the library. Initially, he had ns to explore the city carefully, but then he wanted to get right down to the experiment he had read about in the old diary.


    Evan put the hilt of his sword aside and went to take a shower. The bathroom in his new home couldn`t even bepared to the hot springs at Zak''s mansion, but it suited him fine.


    After the shower, Evan quickly got ready and left the house. He took only his amulet and the card. Evan was dressed very simply, from the outside he did not look like a magician, but like a poormoner. However, he did not care what others thought of him.


    Evan believed that clothing should befortable and to the wearer''s liking. If he isfortable in the cheapest things he will wear it, but if he likes something expensive, he won`t spare the money. You have to enjoy what you wear, the rest is not important - that''s how Evan reasoned.


    Evan left the house and headed back to the center of the Mossy Vulture. Since he wanted a new weapon, he needed either a forge or a gun store.


    Moreover, since he now had plenty of money thanks to Marcel, Evan wanted to have lunch somewhere nice. He was curious about the cooking in this world and how much different it was from his past one in terms of food. When he was at Zak''s he had tried some unusual and strange ingredients, so he wanted to try even more new things.


    ...


    After a while, Evan found himself again at the Vulture statue in the center of the town. Initially, he had first wanted to go for weapons, but an interesting sign at one of the restaurants caught his attention. It depicted strange-looking berries, which he had not seen at Zak''s mansion, so he immediately headed for the restaurant.


    <I wonder if they''ll let me in. Huh, I hope it''ll be fun.> Evan thought to himself as he looked at the entrance to the restaurant called "Berry Paradise". Before Evan''s eyes, a lot of people in expensive suits were entering the restaurant with a pompous look.


    Against their backdrop, Evan looked quite unpresentable, but that only made him more curious.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan entered "Berry Paradise" and to his surprise, he was easily allowed inside. Moreover, he was smiled at and bowed respectfully, as were all the other guests in expensive clothes. However, the opinion of the visitors of this ce was strikingly different from the behavior of the staff.


    As soon as Evan walked into the hall, a lot of people were paying attention to him. Evan looked around, grinned, and sat down at a table by the window. Mossy Vulture was a beautiful city and sitting by the window Evan was simultaneously admiring the decorations of the restaurant and the beauty of the central square.


    No sooner had a minute passed than a waiter came up to him and left a menu. As he expected the vast majority of the dishes were rted to different berries. They cooked everything from hot dishes to desserts and cocktails, and in every dish, berries were an obligatory ingredient.


    Evan wanted to eat and lots of it, so he ordered whatever he wanted. His choice was the steak marinated in "Cave Blueberry" with "Frosted Berry" sauce. For dessert, Evan chose chocte fondant with "Air Raspberry" syrup and a scoop of vani ice cream. For his drink, he ordered a mint cocktail with a small amount of "Lemon Strawberry".


    The young man was pleased with his choice and couldn''t wait to finally try these amazing dishes. By the way, the prices at the restaurant were quite high. Evan would have to pay a total of thirteen silver coins. With that amount of money, he could buy himself food for a few days or even a week. Nevertheless, Evan was not going to regret spending the coins. First of all, he had a lot of money, and secondly he did not want to limit himself.


    There were more expensive items on the menu, one dish even cost twenty silver coins. Evan`s dishes were in the above-average price range.


    While his food was being prepared, Evan was looking at the people passing through the square. He was surprised by the fact that everyone looked very wealthy. Sure, downtown is one of the most expensive ces in all of Mossy Vulture, but it''s also one of the most popr.


    The only ones who didn''t look like aristocrats were the few people in long cloaks and mantles. Often they were in a hurry and holding books, and such people were bypassed and made way for them. It was easy to guess who they were.


    Magicians were respected and feared at the same time. Other people tried to present themselves in the best possible light in front of them. While most magicians didn''t give a damn about others. Even Marcel, a man who liked to enjoy his wealth, wore expensive clothes because he liked it, not to assert his status.


    Ordinary people tried to establish themselves in society through things, money, connections, power, and other factors. With magicians everything was much simpler, only one fundamental factor was important - power. There was no point in having power and money if you were weak. With power, you can get everything you need, that''s why magicians strive to increase their power at all costs.


    Naturally, ordinary people understood this as well, but there was nothing they could do about it. If you don''t have a talent for magic, you''ll never be able to fight for a ce under the sun in the same arena as magicians. So all most people have to do ispete against each other, as magicians are at an unattainable level.


    While Evan was looking at the passersby, the waiter had already brought him three excellent dishes.

 Chapter 40 - The Third Headman

    <Oh, there''s my food. I hope it tastes as good as it looks>. Evan thought to himself, watching the waiter ce the dishes on the table.


    First of all, Evan started with the steak as the main course. He quickly picked up a piece of meat with his fork and took a big bite out of it. From the outside, Evan looked rather wild and uncultured. But he didn''t care about the opinions of others. At the moment, he just wanted to eat and get full. He didn''t have the slightest desire to monitor how he was holding the cutlery and so on.


    The people sitting at the neighboring tables looked at Evan with disdain. He had initially attracted attention by walking into such an expensive ce in very cheap clothes, and now things had only gotten worse. Even though no one was admonishing him, and, certainly, no one was going to interfere with him in any way, Evan could clearly see their scornful looks.


    <Huh, I wonder what a cool ce is that all these pompous turkeys are afraid to even squeak anything?> Evan thought to himself.


    He could tell by the looks on their faces that if it were up to them they would throw him out, they were disgusted to be in the same space with a poor man. Of course, Evan had already ordered, but he hadn''t paid for it yet. Other people didn''t know that he actually had a lot of money.


    However, contrary to their wishes, they were holding back, and you could see it in their faces. Obviously, they were not afraid of Evan, they were afraid of causing trouble in this establishment because of its owner.


    While Evan was eating his steak he thinking about who could be the owner of this beautiful restaurant. The food wasn`t only was delicious, but also quite unusual.


    Honestly, it''s not that hard to make a delicious dish. All you need are quality ingredients, an uplicated recipe and proper cooking. Any cook can cope with this set of tasks. It`s much more difficult to make a delicious dish from unusual and rare ingredients.


    Unfortunately, man is so built that he always gets fed up with everything. No matter how much you love to do something, if you do it every day, you will soon get bored with it. Everyone needs constant variety in their lives, whether it''s food or magic.


    <Okay, now to dessert>


    Dessert is the most satisfying part of a meal. Many people love sweets more than anything else. Evan ordered a delicious dessert. Hot chocte with cold ice cream. This contrast only gives the dish an original taste.


    Click.


    While Evan was enjoying his dessert, the door of the "Berry Paradise" opened and an adorable girl stepped inside. Everyone present immediately drew attention to her, except Evan. He was indifferent.


    People were not paying attention to her because of her beauty, but because she was a very special person: the daughter of the owner of the restaurant.


    One of the waiters quickly ran up to the girl and respectfully said: "Miss, we are pleased to wee you, do you have any special instructions?"


    The girl was about to answer when her attention was caught by loud noisesing from the table by the window. She turned and saw Evan sitting there, the only one still eating at that moment.


    The pompous customers in expensive suits smiled snidely, and the waiter was confused. The first ones thought Evan was about to be thrown out of the ce, while the waiter didn''t know what to do.


    "Miss...your father ordered everyone to be allowed in, no matter what he looks like..." The waiter tried to justify himself, but the girl paid him no attention at all.


    She walked slowly toward Evan''s table. Everyone was watching the situation with awe. The girl was known to be very appreciative of manners, just as her father was. Nevertheless, none of them knew that it was all just a grandstanding. Only one person knew how she behaved at home.


    The girl sat across from Evan and quietly asked: "Well, is it really good?"


    Evan looked at the girl in surprise, "Fien? What are you doing here?"


    "Same as you, I`vee here to eat, isn''t it obvious?"


    Evan smiled, took a sip of his mint cocktail, and said excitedly: "Great ce, special praise to the owner for the idea and creation of this restaurant."


    Fien smiled and mouthed contentedly: "Huh, you''re eating on the money of the owner of this ce."


    "§¡?" At first, Evan didn''t understand what Fien meant, but then he remembered the card and everything fell into ce.


    "So, Marcel owns this restaurant? Well, there''s really nothing surprising about that." Said Evan as he finished his dessert and put the ss aside.


    While Evan and Fien were talking everyone looked at the two of them in disbelief. Everything had turned out exactly the opposite of how the visitors had originally assumed.


    "Berry Paradise" was only frequented by very wealthy people, so they quickly realized that Evan''s personality was not as simple as it seemed. Moreover, the fact that he knew Fien already gave him a special status.


    "I think you''ve already understood how rich my father is, many people even call him the third head of Mossy Vulture, but he doesn''t care for such a title."


    "The third head? What does that mean?" Evan didn''t know how power was arranged in Mossy Vulture. He had originally assumed that the city had no ruler at all, but he seemed to be wrong.


    Fien nodded and continued: "Yes, there are many very powerful and influential people in Mossy Vulture, but the city is ruled by two families. Koen van Erden and Fane Cross - they are the most respected and influential people in the whole town. Fortunately, there is no animosity between them and they just cooperate with each other."


    "So, what does this have to do with Marcel?"


    "It''s simple, Koen and Fane own most of the city, about sixty percent. Ten percent is under the influence of other, lesser families. The remaining thirty belong to my father, but there''s one thing to understand. Unlike Koen and Fane, my father has norge territories except the estate. The Erden family and the Cross family own whole neighborhoods, and my father''s is a little different. His thirty percent is a variety of restaurants like this one, wineries, bakeries, cksmith stores, stores, and so on. My father also has connections with an alchemist-a mutual acquaintance of his and Mr. Zak''s."


    Evan was shocked to hear something like that. Mossy Vulture was a gigantic city and to own nearly a third of it was an incredible aplishment. Moreover, many people referred to Marcel as the third head of Mossy Vulture because of his great influence.


    Marcel himself did not enjoy his influence. He had no goal of owningrge territories, he simply invested money into projects that interested him. Marcel did notpete with such forces as the Erden family and the Cross family. Just because he was buying up everything, he happened to have quite a lot of influence.


    <Koen van Erden... I think Rosa''sst name is Erden, too... so it must be her brother or a rtive?>


    Evan thought to himself. Now he understood why Rosa was apanied by so many people and her carriage was so luxurious.


    "No wonder Marcel is called the third head. He is very rich and influential, indeed. By the way, Fien, do you know where you can get some really good weapons?" Evan said calmly, looking at the girl.


    Fien smiled and said slowly: "Sure, there are a couple of such ces"

 Chapter 41 - The Disgruntled Blacksmith

    Evan needed quality and decent weapon. He was sure that the money Marcel had given him would be enough for even the most expensive one. Evan was going to visit the ces Fien had advised him.


    "There are many terrific cksmith stores and gun stores in Mossy Vulture. However, first you have to decide what you want. Do you want a regr weapon or a "Catalyst"?" Fien said calmly.


    Evan answered quickly and confidently, "Regr, I don''t need the "Catalyst" right now."


    During the dinner with Marcel, Fien, and Zak, Evan had learned a lot about the "Catalysts". First, Catalystse in many varieties. There are "Catalysts" that enhance a spell, but as a price for such a service, the magician spends much more mana than usual.


    The "Catalysts," simr to the Fien rapier, were quitemon. They could be used as a regr weapon and still cast spells, losing only a fraction of power. Some wizards used special "Catalysts" that allowed them to cast a spell, using less mana. Of course, in that case the spell itself would also be quite weak.


    Evan didn''t know what type of magic he was prone to, so he didn''t see the point of looking for the right "Catalyst". He could cast Creation Magic and Summoning Magic spells with his hands, but Amplification Magic spells required a sturdy weapon. In fact, Evan had an interesting idea for a weapon. But he doubted there was anyone in Mossy Vulture who could make what he wanted.


    Upon hearing Evan''s answer, Fien nodded: "Okay, I see. Wait a minute, I''ll be right back."


    Fien quickly left leaving Evan alone.


    ...


    A momentter, Fien returned with a small parchment scroll in her hand.


    "Here, take this. It lists all the best forges and gun stores in Mossy Vulture". The girl put the scroll on the table and was about to leave when suddenly Evan called out to her.


    "Wait a moment, the map is certainly good, but maybe you know some unique ce that is not marked on this scroll?


    Just because a forge was the most prestigious and its services were the most expensive didn''t mean it was the best one. It guaranteed a high quality product, but it wasn`t the best. Evan, on the contrary, wanted not just a good weapon, but the best possible one.


    Fien was surprised by Evan''s question, but after a while thoughtfully replied, "There is one ce. But... they''d rather kick you out than make a weapon."


    "Never mind, just tell me where it is. At the very least it sounds extremely intriguing."


    Fien nodded and pointed her finger at a point on the north side of Mossy Vulture. The building was fairly close to the center, so Evan could easily get there.


    Evan nodded, took the scroll in his hands, and quickly left "Berry Paradise". He was so curious about what weapons was possible to find in these forges and stores that hepletely forgot about the bill.


    Fien wanted to say something, but before she did it, Evan had already mmed the door. She looked at the bewildered waiter and said with annoyance in her voice: "Write down this order at the expense of the restaurant."


    ...


    "So... it looks like I`m in the ce. I think my expectations were overstated regarding this forge." Evan came to the ce Fien had pointed him. Hammer strikes on the anvil were heard from the forge. Evan had ignored all the prestigious forges and stores marked on the scroll and headed here first. ording to Fien it was a very unique ce with a not particrly friendly owner.


    From the outside, the forge looked rather in. A dpidated building, an old wooden door, and a nearly broken sign. To put it mildly, the appearance was extremely unsightly. Evan headed for the door and quickly stepped inside.


    Bang. Bang. Bang.


    He turned toward the sounds and saw an elderly man standing at the anvil. The man''s name was - Sitreg Stormfall.


    Sitreg looked like an ordinary cksmith:rge build, long gray hair, and calloused hands.


    "Hello, I would like to buy a weapon." Said Evan watching the cksmith at work.


    Bang. Bang. Bang.


    Sitreg paid no attention to Evan, he just kept hitting the de with his hammer.


    Whoosh.


    Evan wanted to repeat himself, but suddenly a piece of metal that had just been on the anvil flew toward him.


    "Take it, I can''t offer you any better." Sitreg said grudgingly, without even turning his head toward Evan.


    The young man raised the de, measured him with a nce, and said dryly: "Old man, this is a garbage." Then he tossed the uneven de aside.


    Sitreg finally turned to Evan and said angrily: "What impertinent youths are now! Boy, get out of here!"


    The cksmith''s shout would have frightened anyone. No sane person would ever mess with a Sitreg again after that.


    Nevertheless, Evan had no intention of leaving, on the contrary, he slowly came up toward him.


    The cksmith did not understand what was going on and why there was so much insolence and impudence in this youth.


    "Old man, you can''t hide your skill from a skilled eye, even if you try very hard. Why don''t we discuss something really interesting instead of throwing vegetable peeler knives around?"


    Evan decided to stay in the forge for one simple reason-he realized that Sitreg was a skilled craftsman. Sitreg''s movements were honed by years of practice and it was obvious. Evan had met countless geniuses and masters in his past life. He could easily tell the difference between them and ordinary people. Of course, the de Sitreg had thrown at Evan''s feet was of terrible quality, but there was an exnation.


    Sitreg had lost all interest in cksmithing. Evan could see this in his wistful and devastated look. There was nothing in his eyes, when he was striking the de with his hammer, only emptiness. This wasn''t the first time Evan had met people like that, and he knew what such people needed - to regain their interest and joy in their craft.


    The reason why such people had lost their zeal for their favorite work was the same. They were talented and wanted to create truly masterpiece and unique things, but no one wanted it. Wealthy customers wanted to give them money and get good quality goods, but riches were not the goal of people like Sitreg. To get these craftsmen back on track, you had to get them interested in their work and Evan had one such project.


    "§¡? Kid, what do you mean? I wouldn''t advise you to mess with me." Sitreg said glumly.


    Evan waved his hand and simply replied, "I want you to make one custom weapon for me. I don''t have a blueprint, but I''m sure I can exin it to you with precision. You don''t have to worry it won''t be a simple sword or anything like that."


    Evan was sure it would be enough to get Sitreg interested, but it was moreplicated than he had thought.


    "No, get out of here. I don''t believe a brat like you has anything worthwhile in his head." Despite Evan''s suggestion, Sitreg did not want to listen to him.


    Evan bit his lip as he heard the cksmith''s words, "Damn, that old fart is more stubborn than I thought. What to do...>.


    Evan thought for a while and suddenly a brilliant idea popped into his head.


    "Hey, man, how about a little bet? If you get excited about my idea and take my order, you`ll do everything for free and give it your all. However, if you''re disappointed I''ll be your errand boy for three months!"

 Chapter 42 - The Order

    "§¡?"


    Sitreg was surprised at Evan''s words. He wasn''t interested in the money, but he was getting pretty fed up with the daily grind. Moreover, he wanted to remove the smug smile from Evan''s face and teach him a lesson. So, after a little deliberation, Sitreg, though with difficulty, agreed.


    "All right, brat, have it your way. Tell me your idea, but if I don''t like it, you''ll do whatever I say for the next three months."


    Evan nodded and headed for the anvil. Of course, Sitreg could have fooled Evan by saying that his idea wasn''t interesting at all. Evan was well aware of that, but he was sure that wouldn''t happen.


    If Evan''s idea sparks interest in Sitreg, then the cksmith won`t want to pass up such a chance for the sake of not having to do the chore for a few months. Naturally, Evan was taking a big risk, for if he lost, he wouldn''t even be able to go to the Mage Academy. Nevertheless, he was a hundred percent sure of his idea. There wasn''t a shadow of doubt on his face, just a determined look and a cocky smile.


    "Well then listen old man, you won''t be disappointed I assure you"


    ...


    "Yeah, boy... what demons you have in your head, how did you even manage to think of such a thing. I guess this generation isn''tpletely lost yet." Sitreg said thoughtfully, pondering Evan''s words in passing.


    Hearing what kind of weapon the young man wanted, Sitreg forgot all about their argument and thought only of how he could forge one.


    "Old man, you better tell me, can you do it?" Evan asked calmly.


    Sitreg nodded and muttered slowly: "Yeah, I think I can, but I don''t have the materials. I''m ashamed to admit it, but I''ve been living in this crumbling forge for the past few years and haven''t forged anything worthy. I have nothing but the cheapest iron, and even that is running out."


    This was a serious problem for Sitreg. After all, without the right materials it`s impossible to make decent weapons, but he had no money for them.


    "Don''t worry, old man, I''ll buy everything, just tell me what you need and in a couple of hours and it''ll all be here." Evan said confidently.


    In response, Sitreg looked at him thoughtfully and asked: "Kid, how much money do you have? The materials for quality weapons are very expensive."


    Evan answered quickly, "Practically five hundred gold coins, you don''t have to worry about money."


    Sitreg looked at Evan with disbelief and said grudgingly: "Boy, don`t talk such nonsense. You have an interesting idea, but you don''t seem to have any idea how much money you`ve just named."


    Sitreg did not take Evan''s words seriously. In his opinion, Evan was talking nonsense.


    Evan said nothing and simply took a ck card with a gold border out of his pocket and showed it to the old man. Sitreg''s eyes went wide with surprise, and he muttered uncertainly: "Kid, so, you''re a magician...but why are you asking me to make a regr weapon and not the Catalyst"?


    "I don''t need it, I need what I`ve told you. The weapon must fit the wearer both in appearance and in spirit, that''s even more important than its characteristics." Evan said calmly.


    Sitreg should have named Evan the necessary materials, but for some reason he was silent. Moreover, it was evident that Sitreg had doubts about something.


    "Hey, Old Man, have you fallen asleep?"


    After Evan''s words, Sitreg came out of his musings and said: "Kid, I think you know very well that the better the materials, the better the quality of the weapon."


    Evan nodded in response.


    "I didn''t expect you to have so much money. It really shouldn''t be too hard to buy everything you need for your order. Still, that doesn''t mean it can''t be done better."


    "What are you talking about, Old Man?" Evan asked seriously.


    Sitreg sighed and said slowly: "As far as I know, tomorrow there''s going to be an auction in Mossy Vulture. There will be many interesting things for sale, including materials."


    "So, you want me to participate in the auction and buy some rare material?"


    "That''s right, but five hundred gold coins probably won''t be enough. You''ll need to buy the "Cave Troll Crystal" and the "Horn of the Sacred Deer". These are very expensive materials, but their quality is beyond praise. There''s hardly anything better in Mossy Vulture."


    Sitreg''s voice was dejected, for he was well aware that Evan had no money for such things. The old man really wanted to work with such materials and create a true masterpiece, but his options were limited.


    Evan also understood the difficulty. However, unlike Sitreg, he was not going to pass up such a rare opportunity.


    "Old man, maybe I can get some more money. Tell me what you need to buy and get ready in the meantime."


    Evan himself only had the five hundred gold coins Marcel had given him. Nevertheless, he was sure that if he asked Zak for some money, he would not be refused.


    Sitreg wanted to argue something, but when he saw Evan''s confident look he decided to believe him. Then the cksmith began to list the materials needed for the weapon.


    "Well, that''s all we need. If it doesn''t work out with the auction, don''t worry, I can make a decent weapon out of these materials either."


    Evan smirked in response: "You shouldn''t hope for the worst, you should aim high no matter what. Speaking of which, old man, I see you''re pretty good with rare materials."


    "Well... I really know the names of some rare things." Sitreg quickly replied.


    Evan smiled and reached into his pocket.


    The next second he had a square wooden case in his hand, the reward for winning the fight against Fien that Marcel had given him.


    Click.


    The young man opened it carefully and showed the contents to Sitreg.


    "Do you think you can use this in making my weapon?"


    "Hmm, not bad kid, not bad. Let''s see whates out of it. However, if I add thisponent it will take longer to make." Said Sitreg looking at the thing in the case.


    "That''s not a problem. Then, I''m off to get the materials, I''ll be back in a couple of hours." After these words Evan quickly left the forge and headed for the nearest gun store.


    Sitreg didn''t say anything back. The cksmith closed the case Evan had left him and put it aside. Sitreg looked around and muttered quietly: "Eh, it''s time to tidy up this totally unworkable ce."

 Chapter 43 - Shopping

    While Sitreg was tiding up his old forge and getting ready for work, Evan headed to one of the gun stores. Thanks to Fien, Evan knew where all the decent stores with a good selection were, so he quickly made his way to the right ce.


    <Hmm, looks pretty decent, but why is the name so unoriginal?> Evan thought to himself.


    He was looking at arge two-story building with a name that spoke for itself, "Ore Paradise". The name was very simr to a restaurant he had visited not so long ago.


    <Maybe this store belonged to Marcel, too?> With these thoughts, Evan opened the front door.


    He turned out to be absolutely right. Just as Fien had said in Mossy Vulture, one-third of all the establishments and stores belonged to Marcel. So bumping into one of them was very easy.


    Click.


    Once inside, Evan was struck by the interior. Bright walls, crystal chandeliers, lots of stands with ss cases. It looked as if it was not a store, but a real museum, and the staff here were also dressed ordingly.


    <Huh, this store probably does belong to Marcel. It''s too simr to what I saw at his house.>


    Not ten secondster, a short girl with a pretty face approached Evan.


    "Hello, can I help you?" As in the "Berry Paradise", the staff was not embarrassed by Evan''s unkempt appearance.


    The young man nodded and clearly said: "Five kilograms of "ck Iron", 300 grams of "Rain Steel", some oil of the "Volcanic Flower", and 100 grams of "Amber Powder."


    Evan''s order was quiterge, but there were many more such materials to be found at the "Ore Paradise".


    The girl was a little surprised at such a request, but after a second, she smiled and quickly said: "Sure, please follow me."


    <It''s time to do shopping>. Evan thought to himself and followed the girl.


    They stopped at one of the stands where "ck Iron" was located. The girl put five identical pieces of iron into the store cart and went to the next stand. So after a couple of minutes, there were five pieces of "ck Iron", one small, blue piece of "Rain Steel", a bottle of red "Volcanic Flower" oil, and a bag of yellow "Amber Powder" in the cart.


    While they were shopping, Evan saw a lot of interesting materials, but nothing super outstanding. Sure, there were expensive ores, oils, and various minerals, and there were plenty of them all. This only meant that they were easily renewable resources, without uniqueness.


    That''s when Evan realized why Sitreg had told him about the auction. It would be the only ce to get something truly extraordinary.


    After getting everything he needed, Evan headed to the cash register with the girl, and suddenly Evan remembered that he had forgotten something important.


    "Excuse me, I also need some "Coal of Centennial Birch" Calmly Evan said.


    The girl turned around and said thoughtfully: "Mister, pardon my rudeness, I take it you''re going to forge weapons out of these materials?"


    Evan simply nodded. He saw no point in going into detail and saying who was going to do the work.


    Seeing that, the girl muttered: "Then, maybe, you''d like to see the smith hammers? There are many worthy choices for both beginners and masters of their craft."


    <So, she thinks I''m going to learn cksmithing? Hmm, I don''t need a hammer, but...>.


    Evan really didn''t need a hammer, but when he thought about it he remembered the state of Sitreg''s tool. He wasn`t going to buy the anvil, as Sitreg had it in good order, but his hammer looked quite unsightly.


    Evan nodded and with a slight smile on his face, said: "Okay, I''ll take your offer right after we take the coal."


    "Okay"


    After buying the coal, Evan and the girl headed to the second floor of the store. There were no weapons, armor, shields and such on the first floor, only materials.


    Unfortunately, Evan had absolutely no knowledge of cksmithing, so all he could rely on was his intuition and a keen eye. He didn''t need to buy the best hammer in the world anyway. Just a good one would suffice. Moreover,pared to what Sitreg was using now, any hammer would look like a masterpiece.


    "You can choose any one, but personally, I would rmend this one."


    With these words, the girl pointed to a small hammer hanging on the wall. On the outside, it looked quite ordinary, nothing supernatural.


    "Of course, it''s a rather simple andmon model, but of very high quality. Not rare, but good materials were used in its creation. I think it''s one of the best options when viewed from the quality-price side."


    The girl spoke at length about the hammer she offered. It was clear from her words that she has a lot of experience in sales.


    <Hmm, she certainly speaks very well. I even wanted to buy this hammer. Nevertheless, her words do make sense. I don''t know all the ins and outs, and I know basically nothing about cksmithing. So, I have to choose a hammer that doesn''t have any specific parameters.>


    Evan''s thought was simple. If he bought a specialized hammer, he would probably make the wrong choice. However, if he chose a hammer with all the parameters equally good, from the material to the price, the so-called "golden mean", he would most likely get a good tool in his hands.


    So Evan looked around and pointed to one of the hammers, "I''ll have that one, please."


    Evan chose one simr to the one the girl had rmended to him. It also looked quite ordinary. The materials were different of course-they were better quality, but nothing unique. However its price was three times the price of thest one, 150 gold coins. This difference in price was because this hammer was better than the previous one in every way, which was why there was such a difference in price.


    "Mister, are you sure?" The girl asked calmly.


    Evan only nodded in response.


    ...


    Evan paid exactly 400 gold coins for everything. It was actually a little more than that, but they gave him a small discount. Shopping in the "Ore Paradise" cost him a lot of money. It is worth noting that 400 gold coins was simply an astronomical sum for the average person.


    If Sitreg hadn''t found out how much money Evan actually had, he would have ordered the ingredients much cheaper. Of course, only 250 of the 400 coins went for the materials, but it was also an impressive sum.


    The staff did not expect to see a credit card at such a man like Evan. But they calmly epted the payment.


    <Eh, unfortunately, just like in my past world, money is a very powerful force in this one, either> Evan thought to himself and headed for the exit of the store.


    Click.


    Evan walked out of "Ore Paradise" and with a backpack full of materials went in the direction of Sitreg''s forge.


    ...


    Click.


    Evan opened the front door of the forge and said loudly: "Old man, take it all. Delivered in the best way." Saying this Evan put the backpack on the table.


    "Oh, kid, you`ve got back so fast. I was just in time to clean up. Well, it''s time to get to work."

 Chapter 44 - Auction Time

    "Kid, Have you bought everything I said?" Sitreg asked earnestly.


    It was extremely important to him that he had all the materials he needed. Otherwise, he would not be able to make Evan''s idea a reality.


    The young man nodded and said contentedly: "Don''t worry, everything is perfectly fine and more over."


    "§¡?" Sitreg didn''t understand what Evan meant, but the next moment he understood.


    Whoosh.


    Evan pulled out a small, green hammer with a ck handle and said: "I''ve decided that you need the proper tools to make good gear, so now it''s yours."


    On the one hand, it might have seemed like Evan was being too generous and it wasn`t worth giving such expensive gifts to a man you barely knew. However, Evan didn''t buy the hammer out of the goodness of his heart.


    For one thing, Sitreg''s hammer was no good. Evan didn''t want it to fail because the cksmith had bad tools. This way he could strengthen his rtionship with cksmith, it would boost Sidreg`s spirits and motivation.


    Sitreg said nothing for a while, but after a few seconds, he frowned and muttered: "It was no need to spend the extra money. I''ve got great tools and don''t think I''m going to thank you for it."


    Evan only smiled in response and said onest word: "Okay, old man. Well, I won''t bother you any more. Wait for me tomorrow from the auction."


    After these words, Evan quickly left the old forge and left Sitreg alone.


    ...


    <So, now we need to get more money.> Evan knew that with the small amount of money he had now, there was no point in going to the auction. So, the young man headed straight for Marcel''s estate.


    He had left less than a day ago and Zak should still be there. Evan was sure that Zak wouldn''t mind giving him some gold coins for the auction.


    Evan got to Marcel''s estate fairly quickly. The guards let Evan through without any problems and he found himself at the grounds of the manor.


    Evan didn''t know where to look for Zak, so he decided to head for the tea house that was closest to the exit. If Zak got tired of emptying Marcel''s kitchen, he would decide to get properly drunk, so that was where Evan went.


    The area around Marcel''s mansion looked luxurious. Evan could not even imagine how much all those fountains, artificial ponds, intricate gardens and parks cost.


    Compared to Zak''s mansion, Marcel''s estate looked many times more respectable. Of course, the reason was not that Zak did not have enough money or that he did not care about the condition of his house. It was just that Marcel was meticulous and careful about his home.


    Oddly enough, Evan''s assumption turned out to be correct and there really was someone in the tea party house.


    "Evan? You''re back so early, have you forgotten something?" Marcel said calmly without distracting himself from reading his book.


    "Well... Mr. Marcel, where Zak is? I need to talk to him." Evan wasn''t surprised to find Marcel here, but he was a little confused not to find Zak.


    "Unfortunately, he''s gone. It''s not like him, usually hepletely empties the whole kitchen before he thinks about leaving. Nevertheless, this time he came home rather quickly. Perhaps, he had some things to do." Slowly Marcel said while flipping a page of a book.


    <Damn. Do I have to go back to Zak''s manor? I''ll waste a lot of time... Wait a minute, though. They say cheek brings sess, don''t they?


    "Mr. Marcel, can I ask you something?" Evan said seriously.


    Marcel took a sip of wine from his crystal ss and said with a slight smile on his face: "Sure, I`m d to help."


    "Do you know where and when the auction will be held and how much money is needed if I want to buy a few things?" Evan decided not to ask Marcel to help him with the money right away. He decided to bring it up carefully.


    Hearing his words, Marcel closed the book and put it aside.


    "And where did you manage to find out about the auction in half a day? Well, it''s not that important. The auction will be held at the auction house, which belongs to the Erden family, today at midnight. But I can''t answer the question of how much money you need. The lots will vary, as will the bids. However, if you have less than a thousand gold coins, it''s definitely not worth going to such an event."


    <At midnight? Yes, and still at least a thousand gold coins... Why did the old man say the auction was tomorrow?!>.


    Evan was surprised that the auction would happen so soon. There were less than twelve hours to go. Nevertheless, time was not the main issue. Evan needed to get the money, and urgently.


    "Evan, is something bothering you?" Marcel said quietly, looking closely at Evan.


    "Oh, no, nothing like that. I was just a little surprised that the auction would start at midnight. I was told it would be held tomorrow."


    "You were told all the right things. Because technically, the auction will start right after the current day is over."


    Evan wanted to say something, but Marcel beat him to it.


    "We can go together if you want. After all, it would be a rewarding experience for you. Of course, I''ll pay for you if you like something. It''s my duty to help the younger generation."


    Marcel''s voice was pleasant and friendly, as if he, not Evan, would benefit from this offer.


    In fact, Marcel was interested in Evan. The young man was able to defeat Fien in a one-on-one fight, even though the girl had an expensive Catalyst.


    Marcel thought Fien was a genius and he was pretty sure he was. Most interestingly, he didn''t see any genius in Evan. Evan had prevailed in the duel because of his spirit, crazy and inexplicable. That''s what Marcel was curious about.


    "Oh, thank you. I will not turn down such an opportunity. Do you know how to get to the auction?"


    "That''s a rather silly question, because obviously I''ve been personally invited there by the heads of the two Families. You and I will have the best seats, so enjoy this evening to the fullest." Marcel spoke up slowly.


    "Are we going just the two of us? Should I call for Zak?" Evan asked puzzled.


    In response, Marcel waved his hand elegantly, "You shouldn''t. Thest time I was with Zack at an event like this, he almost got kicked out. How can I put it... he does what he wants to do."


    Evan smiled broadly: "And isn''t that wonderful?"


    Marcel nodded in response: "Of course, you have to let your desires run wild. However, if you want to buy the things you want, you''d better not take any chances."


    "Okay, I get it."


    "Ah, yes Evan. Don''t think I''m being rude, but I will have one requirement." Marcel said, smiling.


    Evan was wary, "What kind of requirement?"


    "Don''t take it so seriously. We''re going to the auction at midnight, so I want you dressed appropriately-that''s my requirement."

 Chapter 45 - The Shadow Of The Thread

    "Properly?"


    Marcel only nodded in response.


    Evan didn''t care expensive or cheap his clothes were. The most important thing for Evan was that he liked what he was wearing. Nevertheless, he understood that going to the auction in his outfit was not the best decision. Moreover, Marcel was doing him a great favor, so Evan agreed to such a simple request.


    "All right, I agree. Only if perhaps I don''t want to look too pretentious."


    "Don''t worry. I know exactly how an aristocrat should be dressed. shy clothes are the lot of pompous ignoramuses who only try to appear to be powerful people. We''ll find you something refined and daring, I`m sure you`ll like it."


    Evan didn''t answer and just nodded. In his past life, Evan had worn both the most ordinary clothes and incredibly expensive ones. It was all purely a matter of taste and his desire.


    "Okay."


    "Well, then, I expect you here at eleven p.m., don''t bete." Marcel said calmly and opened the book again.


    Evan nodded silently and just left.


    ...


    Evan headed downtown, he wanted to go shopping. Originally, Evan was going to go back to his house and work out for a while. However, the conversation with Marcel about clothes made him want to buy something interesting for himself.


    He did not mind to wear what Marcel would prepare for him, but in this clothes he would only go to the auction house and that was all. He had to find something that suited his style and preferences.


    Evan''s favorite type of clothes were the coats. Of course, the rest of his clothes were also very important for the whole image, but he had a special feeling for coats.


    <First, I woke up in tattered and dirty clothes in my cell. Then, I got armor and a in shirt. It was time to change my style a bit, to get back to the canons, so to speak.>


    Evan thought to himself and went into a clothing store called -the "Shadow of the Thread". While Evan was choosing which store to go to he saw a lot of names with a talking prefix - "Paradise".


    Roughly, every third store had this word in its name, which once again confirmed Marcel''s enormous influence in Mossy Vulture. Marcel''s style was elegant and refined, but it wasn''t exactly Evan''s taste. So he knowingly bypassed all the stores that were Marcel''s.


    The interior of the "Shadow of the Thread" was far inferior to Marcel''s stores. It was a private store that belonged to neither of the two main Families.


    Nevertheless, Evan had chosen this store for a reason. He liked the clothes disyed in the windows. They were mostly long coats in dark colors. Also all the clothes were made in roughly the same daring style.


    The interior of the store itself was rather simple, but the owner definitely had taste and his own vision. All in all Evan was happy with everything so far.


    Whoosh.


    <Huh, you definitely don''t see that in Marcel`s establishments. The first thing Evan saw when he walked into the store was the thick smoke of cigarettes that filled the room.


    It came from the counter where a man was sitting with his feet high on it. The man''s name was Demien Onyx and he was the owner of the "Shadow of the Thread". What''s more, he had personally designed every coat and the rest of the clothes in the store.


    Demien''s appearance was appropriate: thick, ck hair slicked back and eyes dark as night. His torso was covered in many tattoos and scars, and a stylish jacket was casually draped over his shoulders. Around his neck hung an amulet in the shape of the wing of a fallen angel.


    Looking at Evan, Demien pulled a cigarette from behind his mouth, shook off the ash and said rudely: "What''s up, kid?"


    Evan didn''t answer and just stepped closer.


    "Just picking out a coat. I like the style of clothes you sell here. But I''d like something special."


    Evan did like the coats at the store, but they couldn''tpare to having a custom-made ones.


    Demien measured Evan''s gaze and said dryly: "Your right. If you want it made to order, you owe me ten gold coins. Payment at once, if you don''t like the end result, no refund."


    Ten gold coins was a very impressive sum of money for almost anyone in Mossy Vulture. Even aristocratic clothes for balls didn''t cost that much. Of course, Evan had recently spent as much as 400 gold coins. But he spent that money on expensive and rare materials for forging weapons.


    What''s more, out of the 400 gold coins, 150 went for the hammer, which was made of high quality materials. So it was a normal price for such things.


    Demien was asking as much as 10 gold coins for the coat. The materials to be used would be the mostmon - what everyday clothes were made of. It was definitely overpriced.


    Of course, there were more expensive things in the world. Magicians often had armor made of rare metals or robes made of the skin of unusual and powerful monsters. Such things, apart from their beauty and cool appearance, gave certain advantages to their owner, and they could cost fabulous sums of money.


    Demien was well aware of that, but he still would not agree to a lesser sum. The fact was that, if anyone ced an order with the "Shadow of the Thread", it was Demien himself, who carried it out. All other clothes, except of custom-made ones, were made by Demien`s tailors. He scrupulously supervised their work, giving instructions and making alterations.


    Initially, Demien thought Evan would turn around and leave, because he couldn''t afford the prices. However, Evan smiled, pulled out a ck card and held it out forward, "Ten gold pieces, right?"


    Demien smiled broadly in response, sharply snatched the card from Evan''s hands, and said, "That''s right."


    He put the card on a special que and returned it to Evan.


    "Well, now I''m ready to hear your order. I`m even interested in what hase to your mind."


    ...


    About two hourster, Evan walked out of the store in high spirits. He told Demien his idea, and he drew a sketch right on the spot pretty quickly. Despite his menacing appearance, Demien was a master of his craft.


    On first impression, you might think Demien was a very rude man, but when it came to the work, he was serious and attentive to detail. The only thing that discouraged Evan was the turnaround time - a full ten days.


    Sure, it wasn''t that long for quality work, but it still wouldn''t speed up the wait.


    Evan looked at the setting sun and said slowly: "Okay, it`s done, now I can go home."

 Chapter 46 - Clothes

    There wasn''t much time left before the auction started. Evan was supposed to meet Marcel at 11 p.m., so the young man decided to go home and practice a little.


    Before going to the Academy of Magic, Evan wanted to achieve the first stage of "Awareness" from the "Magic Missile". He was confident that he could achieve this goal.


    It should be understood that the "Beginner" level is only the very beginning. As in Evan''s case, some magicians reached this stage even before they knew what their ss was. And it wasn''t because they were learning a spell of the Type of Magic they were most inclined to. While a talented magician could reach the "Beginner" level in a month of hard training, for many it was an impossible task to reach the "Intermediate" level.


    Don`t forget that Evan''s spells are the simplest of the 0 Level spells. In the future, he will learn much more powerful and unique spells.


    Evan has thought many times about which ss he would rather be. "Amplifier" and "Creator" suited him equally well. Each of these sses had their pros and cons, but to Evan they were still better than "Summoner".


    Evan had seen the experienced the "Summoner", namely Marcel, in action. What''s more, he himself had one spell of the "Summoning Magic". Nevertheless, in Evan''s opinion, the "Summoners" had one fatal w. Namely, the vast majority of the time they were weak on their own.


    If you imagine a war between magicians, each ss will have its own role on the battlefield. "Amplifiers" will definitely be in the vanguard. They are the strongest fighters in a one-on-one battle among all three sses.


    "Creators" will be behind "Amplifiers", but they will also be heavily involved in the battle. As Zak said, "Creators" are the best when ites to massbat.


    "Summoners" will be the rearguard. Because of their specifics, they will not be able to defeat "Amplifiers" in one-on-onebat. And their destructive power usuallygged far behind that of "Creators". There were exceptions, of course, but that''s why they were exceptions: they were very few.


    Only when teamed with another ss, the "Summoners" could reach their full potential. Even Evan, who knew only one spell of "Summoning Magic", was able to immobilize an enemy for a while. That was already a big help during a battle.


    Experienced "Summoners" had a wide range of spells. They could protect and enhance themselves and others. They also had the ability to heal their partners'' wounds, such as when Marcel had healed Evan and Fiennes after their duel. The list went on and on, including scouting, immobilizing the enemy, slowing down, poisoning, and so on.


    "Summoners" were a kind of universal force capable of both helping allies and hindering enemies. Furthermore, top-ss "Summoners" were highly valued in the world of magicians. They were a perfect addition to any team.


    If a "Summoner" and an "Amplifier" fight against a team of two "Creators" or "Amplifiers", they will win an unqualified victory. Thanks to the invaluable support of the "Summoner", the "Amplifier" can easily deal with two opponents equal to him in strength. Moreover, the "Summoner" himself, though notparable to his partner in firepower, is also able to attack.


    For example: suppose, Marcel and Zak are attacked by a team of three "Creators", and their strengths are roughly equal. On the one hand it seems that there is no way two mages can stand against three, but in fact it is not so.


    Marcel and Zak are masters of their craft, moreover they are best friends and their teamwork is top-notch. Marcel will distract one "Creator" and strengthen Zak with one of his Spells. Moreover, if Zak gets injured, Marcel will heal him.


    Of course, it won''t be easy for the two of them to fight against three, but they will win, albeit with difficulty. Nevertheless, if the enemy team has one mage of each ss, the duo will have very little chance of winning.


    Evan understood the importance and power of the "Summoners", but he didn''t want to depend on anyone. Evan was selfish and single-minded, and he was well aware of that. He wanted to be able to defeat the enemy alone if he had to, not rely on someone else to do it for him. There was nothing wrong with believing in the strength of his allies, but that was not Evan''s style.


    ...


    After leaving the "Shadow of the Thread", Evan returned to his home. Nothing much he did. The young man just practiced using "Magic Missile" and "Create", when he ran out of mana. He didn''t have much time, so it could hardly be called full training.


    When it was about 10 p.m. Evan took a shower, got dressed, and walked toward Marcel''s estate.


    By eleven o''clock he reached the right ce. He met Marcel at the same tea house.


    "You''re just in time, Evan, you''re here minute by minute." Marcel said contentedly, inviting Evan to sit down.


    "So, what am I supposed to wear?" Simply said Evan looking at Marcel''s exquisite attire.


    This night he looked not just like a rich man with taste, but like a real aristocrat of the high ss. Evan had expected nothing less from Marcel. Looking at Marcel, Evan even found something attractive in such stylish clothes.


    p.


    Marcel smiled and made a faint p with his hands. At the same moment, a maid appeared behind Marcel with three different suits in her hands.


    "We''ll be back in ten minutes. Pick the suit that suits you best." Marcel said calmly and left with the maid.


    Evan looked at the three choices and thought to himself, "Well, Marcel''s choice is not bad".


    The clothes came in three colors: ck, white, and scarlet.


    ...


    After the specified amount of time, Marcel returned, followed by the maid.


    "Evan, you have pretty good taste. It''s certainly not the standard of elegance, but it''s definitely your style." Said Marcel looking at Evan''s peculiar style.


    Evan had chosen a long white loose cut coat, ck cks and a shirt.


    Marcel looked Evan over again and calmly said: " It`s interesting... there is aggressiveness and elegance in you, I think it''s all about your genuine charisma."


    Evan didn''t answer and just smiled.


    Marcel pulled out a silver tinum-rimmed pocket watch, and looked at the time calmly and said.


    "Since we are ready, it is time to depart. The carriage is already waiting for us at the exit."

 Chapter 47 - Wine

    After getting ready, Evan and Marcel set off for the auction. An exquisite carriage with a coachman and two snow-white stallions was already waiting for them at the manor gate.


    Click.


    The coachman opened the door and Marcel and Evan went inside. Everything was as elegant and luxurious here as it was outside. There were two wide armchairs covered with expensive leather with engraved handles, and in the middle was a small round table, on which there was already a bottle of red wine and two crystal sses.


    Click.


    The coachman closed the door and headed for his seat, a minuteter the carriage moved.


    "Evan, will you keep mepany?" Sweetly said Marcel gracefully taking the bottle of wine.


    The young man nodded silently in response.


    The next moment, the scarlet liquid poured into Evan''s ss and then a third of Marcel''s ss was filled, too. The wine was of a rich ruby color, and as soon as Evan put the ss of wine to his face, he felt a light berry vor. It was clear at once, how expensive and high quality wine Marcel had treated him.


    Evan put the ss to his mouth, took a sip of wine and enjoyed the tartness and refinement that only an aged wine had. He sensed top fruity tones and a light berry aftertaste.


    It didn''t end there, suddenly, instead of the usual warmth Evan felt a strong chill prating his bones. It wasn''t unpleasant though, on the contrary the cold refreshed him and took the taste to a new level.


    "What do you think about it?" Marcel asked, slowly swinging his ss from side to side.


    "Amazing, but that chill at the end, I don''t quite understand what it is." Quietly Evan said, trying to understand what he had just experienced.


    "This wine is called ¨C "Ice Glitter", a special kind of wine that uses an extract from the sap of the "Frosty Lily", a rare and valuable nt. That''s what gives it a wonderful and iparable sensation". Slowly said Marcel.


    Evan nodded and took another sip.


    <The feeling is indeed unforgettable> Evan enjoyed the taste and reflected his own thoughts.


    Of course, such wine was very expensive and only very rich people could afford it.


    "By the way, why didn''t Fiene with us? Isn''t she interested in such events?" Marcel had exined to Evan why taking Zak along wasn''t the best decision, but Marcel hadn`t said anything about his daughter.


    "She''s busy right now. You know, your winning made a big impression on her. Having been defeated in your friendly duel, she has changed her attitude toward training. In fact, I think, she realized that yourst attack could have easily killed her. The feeling when death is at hand and soon you together with Charon will be crossing the River Styx is impossible to forget. She`s never experienced anything like it before."


    "Dedicated herself to training, then? That''smendable, but as with anything else, it''s important not to overdo it." Evan said calmly.


    Marcel nodded: "That''s right. Evan, I`d like to ask you something. I hope you will answer me honestly."


    Evan was wary, but after a second, he said: "Okay, I agree."


    Marcel smiled and leisurely began: "Where are you from? Although, wait. Where have you got this aura of death? Zak maybe hasn`t realized it yet, but I can clearly see that you''re not just some guy from the backwoods. That''s impossible."


    Evan did not answer immediately, pondering what Marcel wanted to know.


    However, after about one minute Evan decided that there was no point in hiding anything. Marcel and Zak would be on his side anyway.


    The young man smiled and said: "Really, Zak doesn''t care about such things, you''re different, so I''ll answer."


    Evan began his story.


    "I am ashamed to admit it, but until recently I was a weak and miserable man who was broken by fate. When I was a child, a noblewoman visited my home vige, and she was very cruel. Because of I hadn`t bowed to her, she punished me, killed my whole family and turned me into a ve. I spent all the following years in prison as a real ve. I was doing as I was told, and behaved obediently. Nevertheless, this did not make my life any easier. One day I was beaten and almost died. I did not understand why I deserved such a fate, and at that moment, it was as if I had been switched. It was as if I was a different person."


    Marcel didn`t interrupt and listened him attentively, he was fascinated by Evan''s story.


    "I don''t know how, but I got strength in me that I didn''t have before, and I''m talking about fortitude. First, I killed a prisoner who was disturbing me, and a few minutester, the warden was beating me. I ended up killing him as well, thereby starting an uprising in the prison. In the end, I killed the bitch, responsible for all my misfortunes. I think it was at that moment, when I waspletely reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.


    Marcel took a sip of his wine and said slowly: "I see, it''s not a good story, thank you for telling it. Do you know what prison you were in or the name of that noblewoman?"


    Evan dryly replied, "Abigail Whitehead."


    There was silence for a second, but the next moment...


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." There was Marcel''s loud and joyfulughter, which was not at all typical of him. At that moment, Marcel was not like himself.


    Evan didn''t know what had cheered him up so much, in his memory, Marcel had never acted like that before.


    "Oh, I''m sorry, but that kind of emotion can''t be contained. I know the Whitehead Family, I`ve never liked them. Too arrogant and conceited, and this little brat is the worst offspring in the family''s history. Strangely enough, your tragic story turned out to be wonderful news for me."


    Marcel didn''t ask Evan how he killed Abigail-it was none of his business. Everyone must have their secrets and skeletons in the closet that no one would ever see.


    Of course, Evan didn`t tell Marcel that he''d actually been transported to this world after he''d died in his old one. Evan told the story as if he would have lived in this world from the beginning. In his opinion, it turned out pretty believable.


    Evan and Marcel didn`t touch on such serious and personal topics any more. They were enjoying a fine wine, slowly draining the bottle and having a casual conversation.

 Chapter 48 - Beginning Of The Auction

    After about forty minutes, the carriage stopped. Evan and Marcel stepped outside and saw an ancient building - it was the Erden Family''s auction house called - "The Stone Verity". The building wasrge and had an ancient aura about it. From the first nce, you could understand that it was not an ordinary house.


    By the time Evan and Marcel arrived, a lot of people had already entered the auction house through the main entrance.


    "Evan, let''s go, it''s less than twenty minutes before the auction starts, hurry up." Marcel said calmly and headed toward the "Stone Verity". Evan quickly followed him.


    There was a man at the entrance, checking the invitations. People handed him letters with signatures and seals, and the man scrupulously checked them.


    Marcel, however, was not going to wait for anyone. He simply walked forward and nobody stopped him. On the contrary, many people bowed slightly when they saw Marcel.


    Evan was once again convinced of Marcel`s power. He was aware that everyone present was not ordinary people. Evan could see that a certain part of the people were magicians.


    Of course, people were looking not only at the magnificent Marcel, but also at the unknown young man. After this auction, many rumors about Evan would circte through Mossy Vulture, and he would be a real sensation in certain circles.


    Everyone knew perfectly well that Marcel had a daughter and that he didn''t let anyone near him. And suddenly, it was an unknown guy who appeared next to Marcel himself.


    Like Marcel, Evan wasn''t paying attention. He hade to the auction for certain things, not for the looks of the crowd.


    Most people were headed forward down the corridor, ignoring the other aisles. Suddenly, Marcel turned left, where no one else was going but him.


    After a few turns, they reached the downstairs where the guards were standing by.


    They bowed low when they saw Marcel, and did not raise their heads until Marcel had gone far enough. Marcel and Evan reached another corridor, there were several doors on the right side.


    Marcel went to the fourth of the five doors, looked at its number, and slowly opened it.


    "Here is my ce in this auction house, quite luxurious, isn''t it?" Marcel said with a slight smile on his face as he took a seat on the velvet sofa.


    The young man looked around and thought to himself, <It`s like a king''s suite. Was it all built only for influential people can enjoy the wine and rx during the auction?>


    Evan was surprised that the Erden family''s auction house had such incredible facilities for some guests. What''s more, besides Marcel, four other people had simr amodations.


    The most interesting part of the room was the huge panoramic window that overlooked the colossal size of the amphitheater. Evan''s gaze was fixed on the wide, round stage on which the lots would be disyed.


    In front of the stage were many chairs, the simplest seats. Evan didn''t know it, but there were two more simr floors below their room with Marcel. The first floor had 25 rooms, they were much more modest than Marcel''s one, but much better than a simple chair. On the second floor, there were 10 rooms where very wealthy visitors were amodated. The higher the floor, the fewer seats there were and the more influential people were there.


    "Mr. Marcel, who are the other two rooms on this floor for?" Asked Evan looking at the scene below.


    He knew from Fien''s words that there were two of the most influential forces in Mossy Vulture - the Erden Family and the Cross Family. Marcel was a unique person with no small amount of influence over the whole town, but those were only three forces, so who were the other two?


    "I don''t know myself; they''re not assigned to anyone. Perhaps, there will be some visitor, a powerful magician or an influential politician."


    < By the way, since this auction is hosted by the Erden Family, it''s likely that Rosa will be here as well> Evan thought to himself.


    Marcel walked closer to the window, sat down in the leather chair, and said:


    "It''s three minutes to go. Honestly, I don''t know what lots we''re going to see today. I went to this auction spontaneously. Normally, if I''m not sure what''s going to be on disy, I don`te here. I think it''s even good, tonight will be full of discoveries for me''.


    "And as for me, this is the first time I''ll ever be in an auction at all, pretty exciting." Said Evan and took a seat next to Marcel.


    While they were talking, most people had already gathered and taken their seats. Almost the entire upper ss of Mossy Vulture had gathered at the "Stone Verity" that evening. Everyone was curious about what the Erden Family had prepared this time.


    Click.


    Evan heard the doors on their floor opening. If he was not mistaken, four rooms out of five had been already upied.


    "It''s starting." Marcel said quietly. At the same moment, everyone stared at the stage.


    Whoosh.


    The red screen covering most of the stage moved aside and everyone saw the auctioneer with the first item on the stand.


    The auctioneer was dressed formally: a suit, a tall cylinder and a long cane in his right hand.


    "I am pleased to wee you all to this magical auction, where each of you may participate and purchase something of interest." The man took off his cylinder and bowed with his hands spread apart.


    "And of course, this auction would not be possible without the efforts of the Erden Family." The auctioneer said loudly, pointing to the center room on the third floor.


    Everyone immediately turned around and saw one of the most powerful men in all of Mossy Vulture, the head of the Erden Family - Koen van Erden!


    Koen was sitting in a big chair wearing a long gray mantle. His hair was shoulder-length, the right side of his hair was ck, while the left side was snow-white. His deep, amber eyes stared calmly at the scene. Under his left eye was a tattoo of a flowing tear. Even despite the gray mantle covering his body, you could see how graceful Koen''s physique was. The most notable detail of his appearance was the horrible scar on his neck.


    Beside Koen there was a short girl in a blue dress, with blond curly hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. As hard as it was to guess, it was Rosa van Erden, Koen''s younger sister.


    Despite the raucous reaction in the audience, Koen said nothing. He simply gave a slight nod to the auctioneer, signaling the start of the auction.

 Chapter 49 - Bidding

    After Koen had given the sign, the auction officially began. The first lot, which the auctioneer kindly introduced, had already been on the stage.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, for the opening, we`ve prepared something really interesting." Saying this, the man was pointing his cane at a paintingpletely covered in fabric.


    It might have seemed like an unfortunate decision to put the painting on the first lot. Usually the best and most interesting things are always left for the end. Nevertheless, the first lot should show the general mood of the whole auction. A simple painting could not be an attractive enough lot to bring excitement among the auctioneers.


    But, it wasn''t as simple as it might have seemed at first nce.


    Whoosh.


    The auctioneer threw the cloth aside and showed everyone what the painting looked like. However, instead of admiration or indignation, people were puzzled. The canvas of the painting waspletely nk, moreover, the painting didn''t even have a frame, just a white canvas.


    The auctioneer immediately proceeded to exin: "I can see the doubt in your eyes, but don''t worry, there''s nothing wrong with the painting. It''s a very special painting, and it won''t appear until you put mana into it. It''s a high ss painting, and in the paints that were used the powder of "Azure Stone". That''s what makes it possible to hide the painting until the very end."


    "Before I announce the price, you must remember that the pattern can be anything. You may like it, or you may find it so awful that you will regret your purchase. The starting price for this unusual painting is 100 gold pieces, with a minimum bid of 10 gold pieces. The bidding begins!"


    Immediately after the auctioneer''s words, many people began shouting out the price and outbidding each other.


    "110!"


    "120!"


    "150!"


    Even though the painting was essentially like a pig in a poke, it was unique. Moreover, the unknown has always not only frightened people, but also attracted them. Also 100 or 200 gold pieces was a pretty small amount, which could be called a warm-up before the main part.


    "200!" Shouted one man, and the bidding stopped for a while.


    The auctioneer was about to close the bid and hand over the painting. But suddenly he said loudly: "Room 19 - 400 gold coins!" and pointed with his cane to one of the rooms on the first floor.


    Obviously, the people sitting in the rooms on three floors could not shout out a price like the other guests. The rooms were very far from the stage, and they were also obstructed by ss. A special mechanism was devised so that the distinguished guests could call out their price.


    In every room, without exception, there was a special sphere on a stand by the window. A magician had to touch it, name a number and pour mana into the sphere. After such simple maniptions, the sphere would glow brightly and numbers would appear in the air. Through the wide windows the numbers were easy to see, so as soon as the auctioneer saw them he immediately announced the new price.


    The bid of the man in room 19, wasrge enough to scare away most of the guests. It wasn''t that 400 gold coins was an unaffordable sum for them. It was just that the painting and the element of surprise weren''t worth that much. For that kind of money, you could buy something more useful and interesting.


    Seeing that no one was offering arger sum, the auctioneer began the countdown.


    "400 once!"


    "400 two!"


    "400 thr...!"


    The auctioneer was about to close the bidding on the painting and move on to the next lot. But, suddenly, he raised his cane up and said loudly: "Room number 4 - 1,000 gold coins!"


    The man who called this amount was, oddly enough, Marcel.


    "Fien loves surprises, and this picture is two surprises in one, I think she will like it." Marcel said calmly, removing his hand from the sphere.


    No one interrupted Marcel''s bid and a couple of minutester, the girl brought the painting to its new owner.


    In fact, several people were also interested in the painting and were willing to give impressive sums of money. But, 1,000 gold coins was too much for most of them. Nor did they want to outbid and spoil their rtionship with the man from the third floor.


    It was worth understanding that if the man was on the third floor it meant that his influence and authority was about the same as that of the Erden Family and the Cross Family.


    At that moment, Evan once again realized how rich Marcel was. Even of those who were present at this auction, few were willing to give 1,000 gold coins for a painting. Nevertheless, it was easy for Marcel to pay this sum.


    When the first lot was finished, it was time for the next lot.


    A girl came onto the stage with a dark, rectangr box in her hands. She carefully ced it on the stand and hurriedly withdrew.


    The auctioneer said loudly: "d to introduce you to our second lot."


    Whoosh.


    After these words, he opened the box and everyone could see what was inside. It was a short dagger with an emerald de and a ck hilt. The de of the dagger was curved and on the de itself, there was a skillful carving.


    "This is neither a simple dagger nor a decorative weapon, but a "Catalyst" called the "Falling Leaf". The de is made of the "Heart of the Ore Golem", and the hilt is of high quality obsidian. This is a perfect weapon for "Amplifiers", as all spells cast with this dagger are a bit stronger, but it also spends more mana. With the "Falling Leaf", you can defeat your opponent in one mighty blow." The auctioneer exined it calmly.


    "The starting price of this deadly weapon is 1000 gold, the minimum bid is 100 gold!"


    After his words, an active bidding began immediately.


    Marcel and Evan calmly watched this and did nothing.


    "Evan, if you want I can buy you this toy." Marcel turned to Evan.


    In response, the young man shook his head, "No need. I''ve already ordered my own weapons, especially since the "Catalysts" don''t interest me right now."


    "Oh, I see. Then we''ll wait for something more interesting."


    While Evan and Marcel were talking among themselves, the bidding came to the end. The man from the second floor took the "Falling Leaf" for an incredible 2,500 gold coins. It was a huge sum for the vast majority of people. Nevertheless, it was a reasonable price for the "Catalyst" they could have been worth many times that.


    It was the turn of the third lot. Just like thest time, the girl took the stage and put the lot on the stand. This time the item was in a small, rectangr chest of green.


    Whoosh.


    The auctioneer opened the chest, and everyone in the audience saw the bright blue crystal in it. You could tell at a nce that it was something very valuable and rare.


    "It is my pleasure to present to you our third lot, the "Cave Troll Crystal"!

 Chapter 50 - The Cave Troll Crystal

    The third item up for auction was the "Cave Troll Crystal", one of the two items Evan wanted. Just to get it, he`d gone to this auction.


    "This crystal is quite rare. It''s not often youe across such a special item. Of course, it''s not aplete weapon. But it is an essentialponent for the creation of a truly powerful weapon. Moreover, as you can see by the bright glow, this "Cave Troll Crystal" is of high quality. The starting price is 500 gold coins, with a minimum step of 50 gold coins. The bidding begins!" The auctioneer said loudly.


    Immediately after his words, dozens of people began to offer their prices. Strangely enough, the demand for this crystal was much higher than for the already finished weapons.


    "Mr. Marcel, this is one of the items I`vee here for." Evan said seriously.


    Marcel nodded. He was going to keep his word and buy whatever Evan needed.


    "While the bidding is going on, Evan, tell me, how much do you know about this crystal and especially about its mining?" Marcel said calmly.


    "Not much. I learned about this crystal from the cksmith from whom I ordered my weapons. He said that if I could get the necessary items, he would make something really worthwhile."


    "I see. Then listen carefully. Since you''ve lived in prison most of your life you know next to nothing about the world around you."


    Marcel pointed to the crystal and continued: "As you might have guessed this is the crystal of a monster called - "Cave Troll". They are quite dangerous and rare monsters that live in caves, and the crystal grows in the center of their forehead. You might think you have to kill the monster and that`s all, but it''s not that simple."


    "First of all, the "Cave Trolls" are serious adversaries, and it takes a lot of effort to defeat them. It''s not umon for adventurers seeking profit to go to trollsir and nevere back. Secondly, not every "Cave Troll" has a crystal growing on his forehead. Only the strongest species possess this feature. And thirdly, even if you kill a "Cave Troll" with a crystal, it''s no guarantee of sess."


    Marcel sighed and said calmly.


    "Once the "Cave Troll" is dead, the crystal can be destroyed or faded, losing all its qualities. Only in one case out of three will you be able to obtain a whole crystal. And as you can see, even that''s not so simple. Different crystals have different rarity and, therefore, different prices. To get a crystal like that, you have to kill at least thirty "Cave Trolls".


    Evan had expected to hear something like that, but he didn''t think it was thatplicated.


    <It looks like in the future I''ll have to turn over half the world to find something incredible. On the other hand, it''s only more interesting that way. The more variations- the more anomalies and rarities>.


    Concluded Evan after listening to Marcel''s lecture.


    "2500 once!"


    "2500 two!"


    While Evan and Marcel were talking the bidding for the "Cave Troll Crystal" was almost over.


    Realizing it was time, Marcel put his hand on the sphere and the next moment numbers were in the air.


    "Room number 4 - 3,000 gold coins!" The auctioneer said loudly, pointing in Marcel''s direction.


    "3,000 once!"


    "3,000 two!"


    The auctioneer was about ready to call the final price, but suddenly someone interrupted Marcel''s bid.


    "Room number 6 is 3,500 gold coins!"


    The auctioneer pointed to the room on the second floor.


    "Looks like someone has his eye on that crystal, too. At least something interesting is happening." Calmly said Marcel with a slight smile on his face.


    Whoosh.


    He put his hand to the sphere and the new numbers appeared.


    The auctioneer was taken aback by what he saw, but he quickly pulled himself together and said loudly: "Room number 4 - 5,000 gold coins!"


    Immediately there was amotion in the hall. People whispered among themselves. No one could have imagined that such a fabulous sum would be offered for a simple material.


    ...


    In Room 6.


    "Damn! What the hell did Marcel want with that crappy crystal?!" A middle-aged man muttered in fury.


    It was Bryce Davey, head of the Davey Family. Compared to such giants as the Erden Family and the Cross Family, he was a minnow. Nevertheless, among the other families, Bryce was a very influential person. He could not openly go against Marcel, so all he could do was to mutter something to himself angrily.


    ...


    A couple of minutester the casket with the crystal was already in Evan''s hands.


    <Great. Just one more thing left and Sitreg will be able to create a real masterpiece for me>.


    Evan thought to himself while the auction was going on..


    The next, namely the fourth item in the auction wasn`t a material, weapons or armor. The auctioneer immediately presented the lot.


    "I am pleased to present to you a set of three potions. Each of them is created with high-ss ingredients. One potion will heal your deadly wounds, another will strengthen your body and make it virtually invulnerable, and the third will strengthen your attacks. The effectsts long enough for you to escape or take out your enemy. The starting price for all three potions is 1500 gold coins. The minimum step is 100 gold coins!"


    Evan looked at the three vials filled with liquids of different colors with interest. There had been potions in his past life as well. But the vast majority of them were either for treatment or as poison.


    <So, if I drink the right potion I can fight an opponent, which is stronger than me? Hmm, if these potions have a kickback?>


    Though the potions only made the wearer stronger for a while, they were exactly what could save a life in a critical situation. Of course, it wasn''t worth relying on external powers like potions and scrolls, but having a couple wouldn''t be out of ce. Still, Evan wasn''t going to buy them. It would bepletely unnecessary waste at the moment.


    "Hmm, the potions aren''t bad, but you could get something better." Marcel said calmly.


    "Are these potions bad?" Evan asked puzzled.


    "Oh, no, of course not. It''s just that if you''ve seen a real alchemist''s masterpiece once, most of the potions seem too simple. In fact, in my opinion, these three potions are even too cheap. Koen seems to be in a good mood."


    Evan didn''t answer anything and just continued to watch the auction. In the end, a set of three potions went to the man on the first floor for - 3000 gold coins.


    <Ten gold coins is enough for a simple man from the vige to live for a year. But, the people here spend more on one thing than a simple man can earn in a lifetime. What a strange feeling...>.


    While Evan was thinking, a fifth item was brought to the stage. It was a small bracelet, red in color.

 Chapter 51 - The Element Of Fire

    Every item in the Erden Family auction was special. Whether it was material, potions, weapons, armor, or artifacts. Everyone could find something he liked. Of course, some lots were more interesting, some less. But in general, the auction was exciting.


    As always, the auctioneer cheerfully introduced the next lot: "This bracelet is a Magical Artifact called "Merciful me". The bracelet itself is forged from "Volcanic Iron", with three "Fire Crystals" iid into it. The owner of this artifact will receive an amplification of all his spells with the element of fire and it does not matter what is your ss. The starting price is 2,000 gold coins, with a minimum step of 200 gold coins!"


    This was the first time Evan had seen anything like that in this world. While the bidding was going on, Evan pondered about this bracelet.


    <What a specialized item, just wearing this essory increases the power of your spells. I''ll have to find something like that when I decide on my element. I wonder if that bracelet would be suitable for Zak. All the spells he used were of fire>.


    "Evan, what do you think of this thing? Would you like something like that for yourself?" Marcel said calmly, pointing to the bracelet.


    In response, the young man only shrugged, "To be honest I don''t know. I''ve never seen such special objects before. I think if a mage has fire spells in his arsenal, this bracelet would be a great buy for him."


    Marcel nodded: "That''s right. Evan, why do you think Zak doesn''t wear essories like that? He could easily get something like that, and yet he has nothing wearing on his hands."


    Evan thought about it and after a while said: "I think it''s all about spirit and his character? Even though I don''t know Zak as well as you do, I can safely say that he''s just not interested in such things."


    In Evan''s opinion, it all made sense. The man''s spirit and character was as powerful as the Artifacts. There was nothing strange about Zak''s actions, given his character, but Evan wasn''t quite right.


    "Then why don''t I wear such Artifacts?"


    Marcel asked a question that Evan could not answer. Of course, he could have said that Marcel just didn''t want to, but that would obviously have been wrong.


    Realizing that Evan didn''t know what to say, Marcel proceeded to exin: "Magical Artifacts, such as bracelets, amulets, earrings and so on are very useful . "Merciful me" is actually very useful for the magicians using fire spells. However, Magic Artifacts have one fatal disadvantage - you have to pay mana for their power."


    "Huh, that''s not surprising. Everything in this world has a price." Evan said quickly.


    "Yes, but my words don''t mean you shouldn''t use Magical Artifacts because of that disadvantage. It''s everyone''s choice. It''s easy to meet people like me and Zak, but it''s just as easy to see a magician decked out in various Magical Artifacts." Marcel summed it up.


    "Merciful me" was sold for an incredible 4,000 gold coins to the man from the second floor.


    The next auction items were not as interesting as the first five ones. You could say that the auction took a break for a while. It was a good time to purchase not expensive but quality items. Various ores, materials but not as rare as the "Cave Troll Crystal", spell scrolls, potions, and so on were on disy. Such things were out of interest for the guests in the rooms on the floors. As for the other guests, it was a great opportunity for them.


    "Hmm, most likely nothing interesting will be shown to us anytime soon. I think it''s about time we diluted the boredom with a fine drink."


    Naturally, Marcel was talking about the bottle of wine that was on the table in the center of the room the whole time. However, Marcel wasn''t going to get up and go get the bottle, he had better methods.


    Click. Whoosh.


    Marcel snapped his fingers and a green magic circle appeared next to the table. The next moment, several long roots emerged from the magic circle. One of them grabbed a bottle and carefully ced it on a stand next to the sphere. The root then sharply stabbed into the cork like a corkscrew and slowly pulled it out. The remaining roots took sses from the table and ced them in front of Marcel and Evan, respectively.


    Whoosh.


    The root lifted the bottle into the air and slowly poured the wine into the sses, whereupon the roots disappeared without a trace.


    Marcel raised his ss and took a sip of wine.


    Evan was shocked by what he saw. What surprised him more was not that Marcel had used a spell for such a simple thing, but how he had done it.


    <Marcel used a spell very simr to my "Summon Thorny Ivy", I think they are on the same level. But, Marcel''s control is off the charts. >


    Evan had used "Summon Thorny Ivy" in a duel with Fien. The roots just had wrapped themselves around the girl and immobilized her, but it had been quite difficult for Evan to concentrate on controlling them properly.


    Even if Evan had wanted to repeat Marcel''s trick he would not have seeded. He was well aware that his control wasn''t good enough to simply lift the bottle without breaking it. That''s not to mention the more subtle nuances. That''s why Evan was so amazed.


    It would seem that Marcel wasn''t using spells at all to fight, but to pour himself a drink. Nevertheless, it showed off his skill and strength in the best way possible. Of course, not everyone could understand and notice it. One had to be careful and see something like this by his own eyes.


    Like Marcel, Evan also took a sip of the crimson drink.


    After a while, the boring part of the auction came to an end and finally the auctioneer presented something interesting.


    It was a metal chestte of a light green color. It looked quite simple, but at the same time, it was clear at first sight that it was no simple thing. In the center of the chestte it was engraved three seals, each of which greatly strengthened it.


    The auctioneer instantly said everything he knew about the item: "This chestte is a Magical Armor called the "Mchite Guardian". It will provide you with terrific defense, as well as greatly speed up your movements. The starting price is 5000 gold coins, the minimum step is 500 gold coins!"


    "Such a big price...is it worth that much?" Said Evan.


    Marcel paid 5000 gold coins for the "Cave Troll Crystal", but that was the final price. Evan even wondered what amount would be offered for the item.


    "Why not? Many people value armor even more than weapons. It will help you survive and fight longer, like this chestte. If I were an "Amplifier", I wouldn''t be stingy with such a thing."


    Marcel said calmly, taking another sip of wine.


    The stakes were non-stop and the amount quickly reached 8,000 gold coins. Perhaps people would have continued to raise the amount by 500 or 1,000 gold coins until suddenly the auctioneer said.


    "Room number 9 is 15,000 gold coins!"


    A sum, which horrified everyone present at the auction, except the people on the third floor. Naturally, no one outbid this and the "Mchite Guardian" went to the person on the second floor.


    The next couple of lots and cuoldn`t bepare to the excitement over the chestte. A couple of minutester, two girls came onto the stage with a long, ck box in their hands. They carefully ced it on the stand and hastily withdrew.


    The auctioneer clearly said: "Ladies and gentlemen. Unfortunately, our auction hase to its logical conclusion. But before that, I''m ready to present you with one more, final item!"


    Click.


    He opened the chest and said loudly: "The Horn of the Sacred Deer"!

 Chapter 52 - The Elders And The Head

    The auctioneer showed everyone present thest lot and said loudly: "The "Sacred Deer`s Horn" is a rare and precious material. It would make a fine addition to any weapon or armor. I think each of you understands how difficult it is to obtain something like that. So be prepared for a fierce bidding battle! The starting price is 10,000 gold coins!"


    The "Sacred Deer''s Horn" was white in color with a slight blue glow. As the auctioneer said this horn was a true dream of any craftsman. This material required craftsmanship, and with the right processing could turn out a true masterpiece.


    As soon as the auctioneer called the price, many bids were immediately made. People on the floors and in the hall called their price. Most of the guests had been waiting for this item to be shown. All the most interesting things were always left for the final, so such a stir was not surprising.


    In just one minute, the price had risen to 15,000 gold coins, and it continued to rise relentlessly.


    <Here it is... And why am I not surprised that everyone wants that horn at once?> Evan thought to himself as he watched the bidding.


    Still, he wasn''t going to back down or be modest. He needed that horn and he would get it by all means.


    "Mr. Marcel, I want that horn." Evan said seriously.


    Marcel grinned and said calmly: "Huh, you''ve got a lot of nerve. I guess fate has decided that one man without a conscience isn''t enough for me. Well, there''s nothing you can do about it."


    Marcel reached for the sphere and the next moment the auctioneer said loudly: "Room number 4 - 20,000 gold coins!"


    The bid was enormous, but in spite of the fact that it had been made by Marcel, it was outbid almost instantly.


    "Oh, it looks like I`ve a bit underestimated the others'' desire to get this thing. Well, it''s even more interesting that way."


    When the price got to 25,000 gold coins, Marcel made another bid.


    The sphere glowed brightly and a beautiful number of 33.333 appeared in the air. The auctioneer immediately turned his attention to it.


    Marcel was sure that this price should be thest and he would get the "Sacred Deer`s Horn", but it was not that simple.


    The auctioneer was about to start counting down as he suddenly said with excitement in his voice: "Room number 3 - 40,000 gold coins!"


    After he said this, a wave of astonishment spread throughout the hall. It was not the amount that was surprising, but the room number. There was the owner of this auction house, Koen van Erden.


    On the one hand, it could seem rather strange that Koen for some reason decided to participate in this auction, because all items were already the property of the Erden Family.


    Some items did not belong to the Erden Family, they were the property of their acquaintances or merchants who were lucky enough to present their goods at the auction and make huge profits from it.


    With the "Sacred Deer`s Horn" was a unique situation at all. The reason was that the material had been miraculously obtained by Fane Cross, the head of the Cross Family.


    Koen wanted to buy the horn, but Fane offered him a different deal. The "Sacred Deer`s Horn" would be auctioned off as thest lot and could be purchased by whoever wanted it. Of course, Koen offered Fane a tidy sum, but Fane was sure he could earn more at the auction.


    Fane didn''t expect to get much more than Koen''s offer, but the fact that Marcel was also interested in the horn changed everything. As a result, the two titans would fight over one single item, and the price would rise inexorably. This couldn''t help but pleased Fane.


    ...


    In room number 3.


    "Hmm...I didn''t expect Marcel to be bidding. I wonder why he needs that horn..." Koen muttered slowly to himself.


    "Maybe Mr. Marcel wants to make something out of it." Said Rosa sitting next to him.


    Koen thought about it, shook his head and said: "Very unlikely. The "Sacred Deer`s Horn" is indeed high-ss material. However, it is within Marcel''s power to obtain something more substantial. After all, the world is huge and there are plenty of different unique materials."


    "It''s amazing how powerful Mr. Marcel is..." Rose muttered.


    It''s worth noting that the Erden Family, the Cross Family, and Marcel maintained a friendly rtionship with each other. Marcel had been in contact with Koen more than once, which meant that Rosa was familiar with him as well. Of course, her knowledge was limited to the fact that Marcel was a very influential person in Mossy Vulture.


    "Certainly, his influence is no less than that of our Family and the Cross Family".


    "But, how can one man be so powerful?" To Rose, her brother''s words sounded strange.


    The Erden family never tried to unt their power. They believed that only ignorant people did that. All of the offspring were taught modesty and restraint by the Erden Family. ording to the elders of the Erden family, such a method was good not only for the authority of the family, but also for the future of the younger generation.


    Young men would not behave arrogantly and think that they were better than others, just because they were lucky to be born in the Erden Family. They would try to achieve their goals by doing their best, without relying on the help of their powerful family.


    Of course, the Erden Family helped their younger generation in every way possible. Rosa, like the rest of the Erden Family''s youth, was well aware of how powerful their Family was. But because of her upbringing, she tried not to take advantage of it.


    "It''s not just about Marcel. Wealth alone is not enough to have power, power is also necessary. Of course, Marcel is very powerful, but I think you understand that its power is notparable to that of our Family and the Cross Family."


    Koen sighed and calmly said: "Zak, or Zak Hart is Marcel''s best friend and he is also one of the reasons why many people call Marcel the third head of Mossy Vulture."


    "Zak...Hart?"


    Koen nodded.


    "Yes, you don''t know him since Zak, unlike Marcel, has no interest in aristocratic society. The following words will seem strange to you, but they really are - when Zak and Marcel are together, they can fight on an equal footing with the heads of our Family. Marcel is the "Summoner," but far from the most ordinary. Zak doesn''t have any special features, but his pure power is all he needs."


    It''s worth noting that both the Erden Family and the Cross Family were led by elders. They ran the Family''s business, oversaw its development, allocated resources among its members, and so on. However, the Elders had no power over the head of the Family.


    Koen and Fane could do as they wished. They were the strongest despite their young agepared to the elders. Recently, Koen caught one of the Elders bullying the younger ones - he was hindering their progress and taking advantage of them in every way. As a result, Koen beheaded the elder right in front of the youngers. There were no proceedings, no dissatisfaction with his actions, for in the Erden Family, Koen''s will wasw.


    "Rose, I think you know that years ago the Cross Family was divided and Fane was able to unite it?"


    The girl nodded confidently.


    "Except, what you don''t know is that thest head of the Cross Family, wanted to get his hands on everything Marcel owned. He was a real fool, and he paid the price for it. Marcel and Zak teamed up and unceremoniously killed him, after which the Cross Family was finally able to rebuild and end their infighting."

 Chapter 53 - Meeting

    Koen''s words were like a bolt from the blue sky. There was no way she could imagine that two people could just kill the head of the Cross Family.


    "Brother...if they killed the former head...couldn''t they have subjugated the entire Cross Family?" The girl said uncertainly.


    Koen shook his head.


    "Marcel and Zak weren''t interested in that. They were attacked and they attacked back, that''s all. Especially Fane is far from a simple man, too. He wouldn''t let them do something like that."


    While Rosa pondered her brother''s words, Koen mouthed thoughtfully, "Hmm, I think we should talk to Marcel."


    Koen waved his hand and the servant at the door headed for Marcel''s room. Koen didn''t mind buying the "Sacred Deer`s Horn" for a decent price, but he didn''t see the point in paying three times as much. Especially since the money would go to Fane, who wasn''t bidding at all.


    A minuteter, the servant knocked and entered Marcel''s room.


    "Mr. Marcel, Mr. Koen invites you."


    Marcel smiled and said quietly: "Well, I guess it''s better to talk face to face than to wait until one of us runs out of money."


    After these words, Marcel stood up and gestured for Evan to follow him.


    Click.


    The servant opened the door and Marcel and Evan went into room number three.


    Koen looked at the servant and he immediately knew what his master meant. The door closed and there were only four people left in the room.


    "Koen, why did you get rid of him? Who''s going to pour us wine?" With a slight smile on his face, Marcel said, taking a seat on the wide couch.


    "We`ll manage ourselves, I guess."


    Koen rose from his seat and headed toward the conference table. Rosa followed him.


    Koen was the first to speak.


    "I was wondering why you need the "Sacred Deer`s Horn". Will you introduce us?" Said Koen looking at Evan.


    "Ahhhh, that''s Evan. The man Zak`s picked out personally. I just decided to go out and take him with me to the auction."


    Rosa looked at the ck-haired young man and thought to herself, <Wait... is..it.. Evan?!


    The thing was, Evan had changed quite a bit in appearance since theirst meeting. His hair was thicker and longer, he was a little taller, and his body had changed from thin to athletic. Rosa just didn''t immediately recognize him. But when she heard his name and looked into Evan''s amethyst eyes, she quickly realized who was sitting in front of her.


    Evan, on the other hand, instantly recognized Rosa. Unlike him, she looked the same as she did a month ago. Especially from Fien''s story about the three heads of Mossy Vulture, Evan recognized that Rosa was from the Erden Family. This encounter was no surprise to him.


    "Marcel, I''d like to give you this horn, but I wanted to give it to Rosa. Maybe I could trade some things for the "Sacred Deer`s Horn"?"


    Marcel looked at Evan, but didn''t say anything to the young man. Marcel understood everything from Evan''s serious look.


    "It`s impossible, we might just have to bet further if we don''te to anything." Marcel said thoughtfully.


    Koen was thinking about how he could resolve the matter, until Rosa suddenly whispered to him, "Brother... let''s give them the Horn, the thing is..."


    After a moment, Koen nodded and said: "So that''s how it is... what an amazing meeting we have. Marcel, I''ll give you the Horn, and I''ll pay for it as well. It turns out Evan is that man who saved Rosa from the bandits` attack not so long ago".


    There was silence in the room for a moment, and then Marcel said with satisfaction: "Great, that''s the best turn of events I could imagine. Then shall we drink to Rosa and to Evan?"


    Koen didn''t turn down the offer.


    ...


    The auction was over, most of the guests had already left, and all the purchases had been given to their new owners.


    Marcel, Evan, Koen and Rosa were drinking wine and chatting about various topics. To Evan, Koen made an impression as a cold, sensible and tough man.


    Everyone was about to leave when suddenly Koen spoke to the young man: "Evan, there will be a small tournament in two weeks. The organizers are my Erden Family and the Cross Family. The participants are all talented young people from our Families, but also other gifted young men from Mossy Vulture. I will be d to see you among the participants. The purpose of this tournament is to allow the youths to fight among themselves and test their skills before going to the Academy of Magic."


    <Hmm, before that, of the magicians, I''ve only fought Fien. I think it will be a great practice>. Evan thought to himself and quickly agreed to Koen''s invitation.


    "I will participate, Mr. Koen. I hope there''s an award for the winner?"


    "Huh, of course, of course. Fane and I`ve personally chosen the prize, I don''t think anyone will be disappointed."


    Marcel entered the conversation: "It would be pretty funny if you and Fien met again at the tournament."


    <So, Fien will be participating, too, well, that makes sense>. Evan concluded.


    "Koen, thank you for such a warm wee, but I think we should go now." Said Marcel.


    "Okay."


    Click.


    Marcel and Evan went away, and Koen was left alone with Rosa. He needed to talk to her about something.


    ...


    As soon as Marcel and Evan stepped into the corridor, a nasty voice was heard from the left: "Marcel Vierdag is so powerful, but he takes away materials from the ordinary people. What a shame!"


    It was Bryce Davey. Oddly enough, unlike everyone else, he was still in the auction house. Bryce was purposely waiting for Marcel toe out of his room. He was very unhappy that Marcel wouldn''t let him buy the "Cave Troll Crystal".


    However, neither Marcel nor Evan paid any attention to him. Evan didn''t know who it was, so he didn''t care what Bryce said. To Marcel, Bryce was nothing more than a barking dog. If he paid attention to everyone who disliked him, he wouldn''t even have time for breakfast.


    Nevertheless, Bryce was not going to back down. He was determined to get back at Marcel.


    "Marcel, you are nothing but a foolish ignorant, who thinks too much of himself! Just like your friend Zak!"


    Marcel didn''t care what Bryce said about him. But the moment Bryce talked about Zak, Marcel''s behavior changed dramatically.


    He stared at him with a cold stare, and at the same moment dozens of spiky vines wrapped themselves around Bryce''s body. At the same moment, Marcel''s "Warp" began to swirl violently, putting Bryce under serious pressure.


    "§¡? What are you doin...!" He didn''t even have time to say anything as the vinespletely immobilized him and squeezed his neck.


    "Hey, you, walking trash, what do you think of yourself?" Stiffly said Marcel looking into Bryce''s eyes.


    Marcel`s pressure made it hard for Bryce to even breathe, he was in a very dire situation.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the pressure stopped, but the spiky vines didn''t go anywhere. Another man partially suppressed Marcel''s pressure, which made Bryce feel better.


    "Mr. Marcel, it''s not good to treat this way the head of one of the big families in your city." The speaker was Cade Shepley.


    Cade was a visitor from another town, who had been kindly invited to attend this auction. What''s more, he had been even given the room number 1 on the third floor. It must be said, Bryce behaved so brazenly only because of Cade''s presence in the city.


    The whole point was that Cade wanted to extend his influence to Mossy Vulture as well. He needed a foothold and he had chosen Bryce, because the Erden Family and the Cross Family were simply out of reach for him.


    "Who are you?" Said Marcel rudely.


    Cade smiled grimly and said: "Oh, no one, a mere guest. You''re quite an interesting person, and so is your daugh..."


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Before Cade could finish his sentence, the pressure emitted by Marcel multiplied. It was so intense that Bryce immediately vomited blood. And Marcel''s murderous intent sent shivers down everyone''s spine.


    "Piece of shit... Who the hell do you think you are?" Marcel muttered grimly.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, many purple Magic Circles appeared on the walls in the hallway. Dozens of dark hands quickly emerged from them, rushing toward Cade.


    Initially, Cade was acting cocky and defiant, but he quickly realized that he had underestimated Marcel. Cade was about to defend himself against the creepy hands reaching for him as amanding voice was suddenly heard.


    "Marcel, calm down, please." It was Koen.


    Strangely enough, after his words, Marcel came to his senses and tempered his ardor a little.


    Koen calmly walked towards Cade without saying anything.


    Cade thought Koen was on his side and all was well again, but he had yet to find out how wrong he was.


    "Mr. Cade, I was kind enough to invite you as a guest to this auction. However, you`ve spit on my kindness, caused problems in my auction house, and disturbed other people."


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly Cade felt a monstrous pressure. It was so powerful that he could barely keep his feet.


    "I''m not as kind as Marcel, so if something like that happens again, I will personally ensure that there will be no trace of you in this world. All the best."


    p.


    Koen patted Cade on the shoulder once and walked away. At the same moment, Cade fell to the floor in a cold sweat and greedily began to gulp air with his mouth. His face was contorted with a pain, since Koen had broken him the shoulder with one single p.

 Chapter 54 - Weapons

    After the auction had been over, Marcel and Evan were returning home together. While sitting in the carriage Evan was looking up at the beautiful night sky and the myriad of stars. He was impressed by the auction very much.


    He had seen many interesting things, learned more about the world and understood how serious the gap between people in this world was. Someone was capable of spending as much money on one item as another person would not make in 500 years of hard work.


    When Bryce''s words, and then Cade''s words caused Marcel to lose his temper, Evan saw how scary the magician was in his anger. He was able to handle the pressure Marcel was putting on everyone around, but he was well aware of how great it was.


    <Those dark hands... what a curious yet frightening spell>.


    Evan sensed an aura of death from them and he was sure that if it hadn`t been for Koen, Cade would have soon died.


    <Koen... he is not the head of a powerful Family for nothing. What a pressure, equanimity and strength! Huh, he reminds me something of the dark magicians from my past life.>


    "Mr. Marcel, my house is nearby, I''d like toe out." Evan suddenly turned to Marcel.


    "Okay, then we''ll meet in two weeks. I hope you`ll perform even better thanst time."


    Evan nodded and at the same moment, the carriage stopped.


    ...


    Evan was going to prepare properly for the tournament. Unlike their duel with Fien, there he would have the opportunity to fight different opponents. He would be able to gain valuablebat experience that could only be gained during a battle.


    Of course, the experience would be more vivid if they were fighting to the death, but for the ordinary tournament it was too much. Evan was going to train before the tournament began, but before that there was something he needed to do.


    He`d got the two things he needed at the auction, so it was time to get back to Sitreg.


    <I hope the old man doesn''t let me down. If I''m going to take part in the tournament, I''ll have to do my best.>


    Evan smiled and walked into Sitreg''s forge.


    Click.


    The door creaked open and Evan saw an old man sitting at the table reading the paper.


    "Oh, boy, you''re back. I need to talk to you about something."


    Sitreg didn''t think Evan had been able to get the "Cave Troll Crystal" and the "Sacred Deer`s Horn". Getting something like that was akin to a fairy tale, yet as they said: "Hope always diesst".


    "Old man, it can wait. You''d better see what I`ve brought."


    With a satisfied smile, Evan pulled a blue crystal and a snow-white horn from his bag.


    "What...boy, how did you do that?" Sitreg couldn''t believe his eyes. Two of the rarest and most precious materials were right in front of him.


    "Does it matter? The important thing is that now you have something to work with. It''s time to create a masterpiece, isn''t it, old man?"


    "AHAHAHAHAH, all right, all right. You''re right, kid. I''ll finally be able to give it my all, it''s been a long time since I''ve felt such excitement of work."


    Sitreg picked up the materials and set them on the table.


    "Evan,e here in five days. Everything will be ready by then. I''ll try to execute your idea as urately as possible."


    He nodded and was about to leave, when Sitreg called out to him.


    "Wait a minute, boy, I''vepletely forgotten. I need your help with something. It`s necessary to consult about that item you gave mest time."


    Evan wasn''t quite sure what Sitreg was speaking about.


    "Well, show me. I`ll try to help you."


    Sitreg nodded and led Evan into another room.


    "This is what I`ve wanted to show you."


    "And what''s that?" Evan asked puzzled, as Sitreg pointed to a simple flower pot with soil.


    "Let me exin." With those words, Sitreg pulled out the wooden case that Evan had given him. Evan had received it from Marcel, after defeating Fien.


    Click.


    Sitreg opened the case and pulled out a small purple seed in the shape of a drop.


    "When you showed me this seedst time, I thought it was "Bloody Fern", amon herb in medicine. Of course, it''s not my field of activity at all, but I''ve used it myself when I needed to stop bleeding."


    "§¡? But you said you could use it to forge weapons." Evan didn''t understand how a medical nt could help with cksmithing.


    Sitreg quickly answered, "The leaves themselves are of course, useless, but their sap can be very useful. If the sap from the leaves of the "Bloody Fern" is heated to high temperatures, then it can be used to temper various metals. Although I said that this nt ismon, yet only wealthy people can afford it. As it turned out, I was wrong, it is not the "Bloody Fern".


    Evan looked questioningly at Sitreg, he was curious to know what it was.


    "The first time I looked at the seed, I didn''t notice the three little dots right there. They are not typical for the "Bloody Fern". After rummaging through the encyclopedia, I found what kind of nt it is - it''s a "Bloody Perversity". It''s in the same family as the "Bloody Fern", frankly, I hadn''t heard of this nt until recently."


    Sitreg sighed and continued.


    "Oddly enough, this nt is very useful to magicians. Here you can read it for yourself, I''ve written out the main points." The old man took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Evan.


    The young man began to read at once.


    <"Bloody Perversity" is a very rare nt, and it`s a great fortune to find a seed of it. Yet apart from its rarity, it has nothing to brag about. Its lifespan is very short, and it increases the mana concentration around it by only a small amount...>


    Evan was frustrated and puzzled at the same time.


    <Of course, the increase in mana concentration is very good, but this flower is really more rare than useful.> Evan thought to himself.


    "Old man, what are you going to do with it?"


    Evan realized that it''s likely that the "Bloody Perversity" ispletely useless at cksmithing, and he was right.


    "Like I said before, this nt will be useful to you. Even though I am not a magician, I know very well that you get your mana from your environment. There is no use for "Bloody Perversity" in forging weapons." Sitreg said clearly.


    <Sadly, but there''s nothing to be done. "Creation", on the other hand, will happen somewhat faster>. Evan was frustrated, but he realized that his expectations were a little high.


    "Evan, what I`ve just said is absolutely true, but..." Sitreg suddenly said.


    "But...?"


    "But that''s so if we''re talking about the conventional weapons. Your order, on the other hand, is strikingly different from standard weapons. I have an idea of how the "Bloody Perversity" can be used. However, you will have to give up all the other qualities of this nt."

 Chapter 55 - Bloody Perversity

    Evan was interested in Sitreg`s words. He wanted a powerful weapon for himself, and if using of the "Bloody Perversity" could help him to achieve that goal, he had no pity for the nt.


    "All right, I agree. What will you do with it?" Evan asked seriously.


    "I''ll take the stem and use it in creating your weapon. I''ll have to remove the leaves and roots of the nt. All of its useful properties will be lost, but we''ll get a clean stem. When I''ve done that, you''ll see for yourself how perfectly it will fit your order." Sitreg said clearly.


    Evan nodded.


    "Okay, but will you make it in five days? It''s just a seed. It takes a long time for the nt to grow, doesn''t it?" Evan asked puzzled.


    Sitreg shook his head in response.


    "If it wasn''t "Bloody Perversity", you''d be absolutely right. This nt will grow very quickly, in four days. However, it requires special conditions, namely blood, lots of blood, and preferably of a strong person, of a magician."


    Evan smiled and said quietly: "Huh, so that''s why you need me. So how much blood do you want to squeeze out of me?"


    Sitreg scratched the back of his head and replied, "Half a liter, I think that''s enough."


    He didn''t feelfortable demanding something like that. Half a liter of blood was a lot of blood, after losing it Evan would feel bad enough.


    "You sure you''re not going to kill me, old man? Well, okay, I hope it works out and my sacrifices aren''t in vain." Evan joked.


    "AHAHAHAHA, just trust me. Have a seat, I''ll get you all set up."


    Evan''s actions will seem silly to some, because how can you trust someone you''ve only known for a couple of days so much? Evan had left him rare materials, spent an impressive number of gold coins for the order, and now he was going to give half a liter of his blood. Of course, this may have been illogical and inconsiderate, and some might call Evan a gullible fool, but the young man thought differently.


    More than anything, Evan believed in himself, and therefore in his decisions and feelings. He was sure that Sitreg would never deceive him. Evan''s confidence was groundless, but he didn''t need proof of Sitreg''s honesty either. His unquestioning faith in himself and his choices were enough for him.


    When they first met, Evan had determined what kind of man Sitreg was, so that was it. Evan was obviously not immune to betrayal by other people he believed in. But it happened very rarely and he had nothing much toin about. He was well aware that everyone made mistakes, especially in rtionships between people.


    In a minute Sitreg brought a small, sharp dagger, some vials, and a couple of crimson leaves. Evan wasn''t going to feel sorry for himself or be ceremonious so he simply said: "Old man, put the vials under my hand, and I''ll do everything by myself."


    Sitreg nodded and did as Evan had said.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Evan took the dagger in his hands and, without a shadow of doubt on his face, made a deep cut in the wrist area. The blood quickly poured out and began to fill the vials. Cutting veins might not have been the smartest decision, but Evan knew what he was doing. The crimson leaves Sitreg had brought, were the "Bloody Fern", which easily could stop bleeding.


    Now Sitreg had no money for such a nt, but he still had one from long ago. The lifespan of the "Bloody Fern" was very long, so it was no surprise that Sitreg still had this nt.


    As Sitreg had said before, the leaves of the "Bloody Fern" were great for dealing with bleeding. Evan wouldn''t die of bleeding, he just needed to put a few leaves on the wound and that was it. Of course, the effects of losing five hundred milliliters of blood were not the most pleasant, but bearable.


    After a while, Evan grabbed the leaves and applied them to the wound, while Sitreg quickly closed the vials and set them apart. He would gradually water the seed of the "Bloody Perversity" with the young magician''s blood, which would ensure that the nt would grow as quickly as possible.


    "I don''t often meet such cold-blooded young men, the weapon you`ve ordered really suits you." Sitreg said with a slight smile on his face.


    Evan removed the leaves of the "Bloody Fern" and when he saw that the blood had stopped he smiled contentedly.


    "Old man, I''m off. The rest is up to you. Wait for me in five days."


    Evan left the forge, leaving Sitreg alone. Evan needed to prepare for the tournament properly. He wanted to give it his all. Evan wasn''t about to learn new spells. Very soon, at the Academy of Magic he would learn what his ss was, so it was best to just keep practicing.


    Only when he knew who he was: "Amplifier," "Creator," or "Summoner," he would learn other spells.


    At that moment Evan had only reached the first stage of "Awareness" spells in "Ice Veil". It was impossible to get to the next stage in such a short period of time, so he decided to concentrate on "Magical Missile".


    Evan was going to practice was the use of the "Summon Thorny Ivy"st . He was quite happy with the fact that this spell could immobilize an enemy for a while. He needed the firepower that "Magic Missile" could give him.


    Soon Evan reached his home and immediately went to theb.


    In order to achieve the first stage of "Awareness" in a spell, one had to better understand the spell itself. The magician had to feel it, understand how it worked and what it could do. Of course, practice was an integral part of the process. But just using a spell was unlikely to make you understand it better.


    "So...I think it''s realistic to make it in ten days. I''d hate to go to a tournament without some progress." Quietly Evan muttered and put his hand out in front of him.


    Since this was the beginning of his training, he decided to take things slowly. Mana gathered at his index finger and began to slowly turn into a bright, white dot. The next moment the dot turned into a beam that instantly flew into the wall of theb and immediately there was an explosion.


    "Perfectly well..." Said Evan.


    Evan cast the spell perfectly. The explosion was powerful and expansive. The beam was fast and deadly, and there was exactly the right amount of mana.


    It is worth understanding that the exact amount of mana is needed to be spent for the spell to be cast correctly. If there is not enough mana, then the spell will be too weak or not cast at all. If there is too much, the spell will be out of control.


    The first time Evan had used "Ice Veil", he`d used too much mana and got badly frostbite as a result.


    "Magic Missile" could even explode in his hand, with dire consequences. It''s the same as detonating a bomb in your own hand.


    Evan looked at the scene of the explosion and muttered quietly: "That was perfect...but is it any good? It''s just an indication that I''m stumped!"


    Evan got angry and the next moment his "Warp" started spinning furiously.

 Chapter 56 - Emotions

    Emotions are one of the most important aspects of every person''s life. Not only do they brighten and add variety to life, but they also give strength at certain moments. A person overflowing with joy can easily do things that he has not been able to do before. If someone is enraged, he will lose hisposure, but he will acquire the strength to break down all obstacles.


    Of course, emotion works the other way, as well. A person who is depressed or apathetic is unlikely to do anything heroic. But sadness and longing may well lead to an unusual oue.


    Nevertheless, all of this can hardly be called a real strengthening or weakening. One does not truly be weaker or stronger. It just seems to him that way, which makes him confident in his actions and vice versa.


    It seems to be simple and almost everyone knows or understands this, but the world is a veryplicated thing. Ordinary people really can''t get supernatural powers just because of the feelings they are experiencing right now.


    As for magicians, there was a little different situation with them. They were people capable of creating natural disasters out of an unusual substance called mana. Their emotions did affect them, but not all of them, not always.


    Simple anger or resentment won`t give strength to a magician or to an ordinary person. But when the magician''s emotions intertwine with his aspirations and reach his soul, then the magician can fall into - "Gust".


    When all of the mage''s thoughts and desires are focused on one goal, he tries to achieve it. However, it is not always possible to achieve the goal, and then bright and strong emotionse to the rescue. They dominate in this triplet and at that moment, the magician falls into the "Gust".


    In this special state, the magician can indeed perform miracles. Depending on the emotions that gripped him, the effects can vary: all five of his senses can be heightened, his body strengthened, his speed and the strength of his blows increased, or, as in Evan''s case, the magician can ovee his limits.


    Emotions are, literally, imbued with mana and be something real from a material and physical point of view. Evan was lucky to be able to get into "Gust". But it''s not luck that should be thanked, it''s his drive, self-confidence, and selfishness.


    If another man had done something perfectly, he would have been unspeakably happy about it, because he had reached the limit of skill. Evan thought very differently. He had surpassed himself countless times in his past life. Those who were content with their perfection, were left far behind and died because of their weakness, not even understanding why they could not advance further.


    As Evan said in his battle with Abigail Whitehead: " Ideal is impossible". Not being able to be better and not having mistakes is a w, but only a few people understand that.


    In the same way, if a person does not seed in something, he tries again or changes his approach. In some cases, that''s actually the right thing to do. Evan, however, wasn''t about to walk around obstacles. Why keep away from them when you can destroy them with your own hands? That way you be stronger and more willful.


    Evan was angry that he had cast the "Magic Missile" perfectly, and trying to outdo himself, he made his "Warp" spin furiously. He poured far more mana into the spell than was necessary. As punishment for such an overconfident act, the "Magic Missile" should have destabilized due to the overabundance of mana and exploded in his hand. His action was one hundred percent a mistake.


    Nevertheless, life is amazing and inexplicable. Strangely enough, it`s only because Evan gave inpletely to his selfish desire to do things his way, the mistake ceased to be a mistake. It`d be his blessing and a gateway to a still uncharted path.


    As ironic as it sounds, Evan was able to enter the "Gust'' only because he intentionally had made a gross mistake.


    Whoosh.


    Evan was in the "Gust" and didn''t quite know what was going on. He was concentrating only on surpassing his past score.


    The bright white dot that should have turned into a beam began to increase dramatically. Evan wasn''t just using ten or twenty percent of mana more than he needed, he was using it several times as much!


    It was a grave mistake that should have caused the "Magic Missile" to explode.


    Whoosh.


    The dot grew to arge size and was ready to explode, when suddenly the following happened. The dot shrunk to a microscopic size in an instant and then exploded.


    Boom.


    Evan covered himself with his arm as quickly as possible, trying to shield himself from the st. The force of the impact sent the young man flying into the wall, and the cab, the table, and everything else was shattered. However, that was not all.


    Simultaneously with the explosion, a dense white-white beam flew out from the other side of the dot. It reached the wall in a split second, and there was another deafening explosion.


    This was due to a huge overabundance of mana and it was enough to overload the spell and destabilize it, as well as to cast the spell again. Nevertheless, it was wrong. The "Magic Missile" should have just exploded, that''s all.


    It was the effect of the "Gust". As it had stated earlier, Evan wanted to outdo himself and the mana-soaked emotion helped him do so. Despite his injuries, he had ovee his limit.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    Evan struggled to get up and looking at the mess in theb that he himself had made, said harshly: "Bitch! It hurts so badly, and theb is totally unusable now. Fuck!"


    He was very angry. His hands were covered in burns as well as part of his chest. The st was powerful enough to tear the ordinary man to pieces. Evan was only able to get rid that easy because of his strong body.


    Evan stood up and headed to the table with the scrolls, he hoped that at least something was still intact. But as he took a few steps, something else caught his eye. There was arge hole in the middle of the wall where the dense white beam had hit. If it had been ordinary wood there would have been no surprise, but the walls in theb were very solid.


    Moreover, in that moment Evan realized that he had not only been wounded, but he had managed to outdo himself. The situation was dangerous though, but Evan was able to increase the power of the "Magic Missile". This was the first step in reaching the first stage of "Awareness".


    "Hahahahaha, looks like I was able to get over the threshold after all. Then let''s not stop there!"


    Despite the pain and burning from the burns, Evan put his hand out in front of him and began to gather mana for the "Magic Missile" cast.

 Chapter 57 - Crossing The Limit

    Everyone reaches his limit at some point and finds himself at an impasse. You shouldn`t fear it, for it is inevitable. In such a case, one must try with all one''s strength to break through the barrier and move on.


    Often it takes one step, one small step to cross the line that separates you from reaching new heights, and Evan took that step. The moment of entering the "Gust", the explosion and the devastating beam, it''s all a small but extremely important step.


    Sure, Evan hadn`t reach the first stage of "Awareness" in "Magic Missile," but he now knew where he''s going and, most importantly, he could step forward. Evan continued casting "Magic Missile", regardless of his condition.


    He wasted everyst drop of mana, and then began to create. That''s how the first, second, and third day went. By the fourth day, most of the burns on Evan''s body were gone, and the wall in theb had sustained serious damage from countless explosions.


    By the fourth day, Evan could see the results of his training:pared to the results before he got into the "Gust", the beam became denser and the st more powerful. Evan was slowly but surely getting closer to his goal. He was now certain that he could reach the first stage of "Awareness" before the tournament began.


    On the fifth day, Evan stopped his training. Something very intriguing awaited him, namely, Sitreg`s work. Evan had used many weapons in his past life, but there were some that he particrly liked. One such weapon Evan had ordered from Sitreg.


    After taking a shower, Evan headed to Sitreg''s forge. By now, all the effects of the "Magic Missile" detonation had beenpletely gone. His hands were safe and sound, and there was no trace of the burns.


    Evan had bought a simple green apple on his way out and while enjoying it, opened the door of the forge.


    "Old man, was there a typhoon here?" Evan said in amazement.


    Thest time he had brought Sitreg materials, the forge had been perfectly clean. Now it was the opposite. There was soot everywhere, the tools and debris were scattered all over the floor. Moreover, in the corner of the forge there were empty bottles of alcohol that were obviously unnecessary for the work.


    In the corner of the room next to the anvil was Sitreg, sitting in a chair and reading a newspaper as if nothing had happened. Hearing Evan''s voice the cksmith immediately perked up.


    "Oh, Evan! You`re just in time. I barely had time to finish everythingst night. Sorry about the mess, but I guess you didn''te here to check how tidy I am." Sitreg said tiredly, putting the paper aside.


    Evan nodded.


    "We both know what I`vee here for today. Show me what you`ve forged for me!" Evan wanted to see Sitreg''s work as soon as possible.


    "Okay. I''ll bring it now, wait here." Sitreg got up and went into the next room, kicking the garbage.


    A minuteter, he returned with a long object wrapped in a thick cloth. With a smile on his face, Sitreg handed it to Evan.


    Evan instantly removed the cloth and saw his order, his coveted weapon.


    It was a long spear of "ck Iron". The weapon itself had beautiful and unusual carvings, from top to bottom. The tip of the spear was a polished "Cave Troll Crystal". Around the spear, from its base to the crystal, was a thin, crimson stem of "Bloody Perversity". The spear looked deadly and impressive.


    Without saying anything, Evan smiled, gripped the spear tighter in his hands, and made several lunges into the air. His movements were smooth and precise, although in fact Evan could not be called the "Master of the Spear".


    Sitreg was pleased with his work, and for good reason. It was the most challenging and interesting thing he had ever done in his life. One might ask, how could a simple spear be Sitreg''s best creation? It''s simple - it wasn''t just a spear.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, old man, and you''re really good. The weapon lies in my hand like it was made for me." Evan noted with satisfaction.


    "Well, it was really made especially for you. Since you like it so much, don''t you think it''s time to get to the fun part?" Sitreg said with anticipation.


    The young man nodded and said: "I agree."


    Click.


    Suddenly there was the sound of gears working and a perfectly straight, snow-white de protruded from the spear. Now it was no longer a spear, but a scythe. As it was not hard to guess, the de was made from the "Sacred Deer`s Horn".


    Sitreg had spent a great deal of time to properly polish, machine, and sharpen it. Sitreg''s goal was to make the de perfectly t so that it couldpletely hide in the spear, and he`d seeded a hundred percent.


    What''s more, the gears were made of "Rain Steel", which moved the whole mechanism. The oil of "Volcanic Flower" and ''Amber Powder" gave it stability. One moment it was a spear, and the next moment it was a scythe.


    At the moment, Evan was holding a scythe as ck as the abyss with a glowing, blue tip and a snow-white de. The crimson stem of the Bloody Perversity"" gave the weapon an unusual appearance.


    Evan gripped the scythe tighter, and at the same moment, Sitreg felt a peculiar aura from the young man. When Evan had the spear in his hands, Sitreg felt nothing and simply watched his attacks, but now it was different. It seemed as if Evan had used the scythe hundreds and thousands of times on the battlefield before.


    Evan adored scythes and used them skilfully.


    <Good weight and bnce. Sitreg did a good job. Now would be a good time to check it out in action> Evan thought to himself and held the scythe high up.


    Swing.


    The next moment Evan swung the scythe from top to bottom in a sh. The action was simple, but deadly. Sitreg could even hear the air being shed by the white de.


    After his attack, Evan took another look at the scythe thenughed out loud:


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, that''s great! It''s been a long time since I''ve experienced anything like this! It seems like a lifetime has passed."


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Evan started waving his scythe nonstop. Sitreg tried to calm him down, but the young man just couldn''t hear him. Evan was in a real euphoria, he just wanted to wave his scythe as fast as possible.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan''s "Warp" started spinning and mana was gathering in his hand. Evan was casting the "Ice Veil" and wanted to see what woulde out of it.


    Normally when you use "Ice Veil" the entire weapon is covered in ayer of ice, but this was a little different now.


    <§¡?>. To Evan''s surprise, the ice did not begin to spread across the base of the scythe. All of the ice was taken up by the stem of the "Bloody Perversity". It covered itself in ice after which it transferred it to the blue crystal and the white de.


    The point was that, unlike the base, made of "ck Iron", the "Bloody Perversity" stem, the "Cave Troll Crystal", and the "Sacred Deer''s Horn" could conduct mana.


    It could be said that Evan''s scythe was partly a "Catalyst," though initially that wasn`t his goal. Evan was pleasantly surprised by this discovery.


    Evan looked at the ice-blue covered white de, smiled, and gripped the scythe tighter.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment he swung the scythe and without even knowing it, split part of the Sitreg`s forge, causing it to copse.

 Chapter 58 - Reverse Death

    The scythe de was covered in ice and the next moment Evan swung his weapon with lightning speed. He had miscalcted its power a bit along with the "Ice Veil". A thickyer of ice spread across the wall, followed by many cracks. Evan had sumbed to his emotions, causing the Sitreg`s forge was crumbling now just before their eyes.


    As for the cksmith, he didn''t even understand what was happening. He could never have imagined that Evan would do something like this.


    Crack.


    "Oh..." Evan was discouraged, but he quickly came to his senses. The forge was about to copse so he had to get out, and as quickly as possible.


    Like Evan, Sitreg also hurried to the exit, but suddenly, right above him, the stone ceiling copsed. The pile of stones practically copsed on the cksmith.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Suddenly a green magic circle appeared next to Sitreg, from which several vines sprang out. Each of them rushed toward the stones and held them up for a while.


    Whoosh.


    Evan swung the scythe and rushed to Sitreg. He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out of the forge, which in a minute was nothing but ruins.


    Crunch.


    Evan removed the green apple from the tip of his de and nonchntly proceeded to eat it.


    "Boy...what have you done?" Sitreg asked confusedly.


    Sure, his forge was very old and decrepit, but it was still a long way from being destroyed. What''s more, Sitreg had no other home, much less money for one.


    Crunch.


    Evan took another bite, looked at his scythe, and muttered.


    "How should I name you..."


    "How about ¨C "Reverse Death"? As for me, it`s a great name."


    "Evan!"


    Sitreg didn''t understand why Evan wasn''t paying attention to him.


    Click.


    The white de of the scythe went back inside and the weapon became a spear again. Evan turned around and said: "Don''t worry, old man, follow me. I think I can solve this problem, it won''t be long before you have a new forge."


    The young man went forward with a gesture calling Sitreg to follow him. Evan understood that destroying the home of the man who forged your weapon was not good to say the least. But it had already happened and he couldn`t change it. So as there was no home at all now, a new one should be found.


    Sitreg was a talented cksmith and his talent should not be lost in such a rotten ce. Of course, Sitreg was partly to me for this situation, since he hadn''t want to take boring orders. Nevertheless, Evan had one person who could unleash his talent.


    "Hey, boy, where are we going?"


    "To someone, who will look at "Reverse Death" and give you the best materials and orders in all of Mossy Vulture." Calmly Evan said as he finished his apple.


    Sitreg tried to find out more about where they were going, but Evan simply said: "You''ll see for yourself soon. Why spoil the intrigue, aren''t you curious?"


    ...


    After a while, they reached the big, snow-white gate. And while Sitreg was amazed at the size of the manor, Evan was already used to the sight. Just like thest time, the guards let Evan inside without any problems. Lately, he had been stopping by Marcel''s house even more often than Zak.


    Evan quickly found Marcel, he was still in the same tea house. Marcel was drinking red wine and thinking about something.


    "Evan, who is with you?"


    Marcel was not surprised to see Evan, but he had never met Sitreg before. Moreover, because of recent events and many days of work on "Reverse Death" Sitreg looked rather unsightly, but Marcel did not pay attention to his appearance. His gaze was directed to Sitreg''s hands. They were dirty, all sooty, but Marcel knew immediately that Sitreg was some kind of craftsman.


    "This is the man I ordered my weapon from. Here it is."


    Evan brought the "Reverse Death" forward so Marcel could get a good look at it.


    Marcel thought to himself, <What an exquisite spear! The materials are not ordinary and hard to work with, but the weapon is perfect. Wait a minute, what is that?>


    Click.


    The moment Marcel noticed the recess in the weapon itself, Evan pressed a button and the gears came into motion.


    Whoosh.


    The snow-white de came out, slicing through the air.


    When Marcel saw it, he said: "This is a very interesting weapon. I did not expect that it is not really a spear, but a scythe. It proves the skill of the cksmith who`s forged it, I am amazed."


    Evan and Sitreg smiled. Sitreg was pleased to hear his praise, and Evan was pleased that everything was going ording to his n.


    <Isn''t that the stem of "Bloody Perversity"? Why is it here and why did he cut this nt?>


    Marcel did not understand Sitreg''s actions. He thought that because of his limited knowledge, the cksmith did not even know that he was working with the "Bloody Perversity" and that`s why he spoiled the nt. In this case, however, Marcel was wrong.


    Whoosh.


    Evan squeezed the "Reverse Death" tighter, and the next moment there was ayer of blue ice on the crimson sprout. Like thest time, the sprout was a kind of guide for the "Ice Veil". The sprout transferred the ice and all the power of the spell to the white de.


    "That''s just superb work. I didn''t expect to find such a skilled and talented cksmith in Mossy Vulture." Marcel muttered slowly.


    He turned to Sitreg and asked: "And why haven''t I met you anywhere before? What is your name?"


    "Sitreg Stormfall." The man answered quickly.


    Marcel wanted to say something, but Evan beat him to it.


    "Mr. Marcel, I have some business to attend to, so I''ll tell you at once why I came here. It just so happens that Sitreg''s forge has been destroyed, but it was clearly not the best ce for such a master." Evan said calmly.


    Marcel nodded.


    "Of course, I see."


    After these words, Evan said goodbye and left hurriedly. Like he`d said, he was a bit busy and wanted Sitreg and Marcel alone.


    "Mr. Sitreg, have a seat. I would like to offer you a mutually beneficial cooperation."


    Sitreg nodded confidently and sat down next to Marcel. Because of his hard andborious work, Sitreg was dusty and his clothes were dirty, but Marcel was not at all embarrassed by this. All he saw with his own eyes was the talent and the man who had managed to forge the unusual weapon.


    "I believe the proper conditions are necessary to give you your best exposure. Mr. Sitreg, do you specialize only in weapons or are you capable of making armor and essories as well?" Marcel began.


    "Weapons are my forte, but I''m not afraid to take on other work, as long as the idea is interesting..."


    ...


    While Sitreg and Marcel were making small talk, Evan was on his way home. He needed to reach the "Beginner"`s stage of the "Magic Missile" before the tournament. What''s more, he wanted to practice his new weapon to the fullest.

 Chapter 59 - The Coat

    While Marcel and Sitreg were negotiating a mutually beneficial partnership, Evan was training hard. But at the moment he wasn''t practicing using the "Magic Missile".


    Swing. Swing. Swing.


    He swung the "Reverse Death" methodically, slicing through the air with the snow-white de. In his past life, he had used scythes very often. Few mages used edged weapons, but Evan had a different opinion on that. There could always be a situation where your enemy got too close to you. Moreover, if Evan wanted to fight with a scythe, why not?


    Evan was a little frustrated that his current result was far from what it had been. His body wasn''t keeping up with his skill and Evan felt it wasn`t the only problem. This world was very different, even the air was different.


    He hadn''t noticed it before, but when Evan started training with the scythe, he felt it clearly. He realized that he would have to get used to his new world and improve his skills. Of course, he had skills, experience, and intuition, he just had to train his body and get used to his surroundings.


    Deep down, Evan was d. He could finally wave his scythe in plenty.


    He could enjoy the breeze, the power felt from every swing, and its excellent mobility.


    He wasn''t going to stop there. Evan wasn''t just aiming to reach the level of scythe handling he''d had in his past life. He was determined to surpass himself.


    If another person saw Evan, he would consider him a true master.


    As for Evan, he was unhappy with his present results.


    "What a fine weapon Sitreg has made!" Said Evan and continued swinging his scythe.


    Technically the "Reverse Death" was also a spear, but Evan wasn''t going to use it as a spear weapon. He didn''t handle spears well, and he didn''t want to learn. In his opinion, though the spear was a strong and urate weapon, it was too simple and uninteresting.


    He understood that a true master of the spear could instantly pierce his enemy and bring down a hail of blows on him. But in case with Evan, it just wasn''t "his" weapon.


    Besides, "Reverse Death" wasn''t just a scythe for Evan. His experience with the "Ice Veil" had made it clear that his weapon was partly a "Catalyst", and it could be used so.


    Aside from the white de aside, the ck base and the blue crystal tip were very reminiscent of a staff. It was exactly like that- for Evan, "Reverse Death" was not as a scythe and a spear, but as a scythe and a staff. A strange and seemingly impossiblebination, but nothing is impossible in the world.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan was breathing heavily after an endless series of blows, and the sweat was dripping from his body.


    "Well... at least I''ve warmed up... I feel better now..." Evan muttered intermittently, trying to catch his breath.


    ...


    Evan spent the next four days practicing both "Magic Missile" and "Reverse Death".


    The tournament was five days away, and during that time Evan had already made some progress. The "Magic Missile" beam was almost the same as at the beginning of training, but there were some changes, and significant ones.


    The beam became a little denser and more urate. But the main change wasn`t in the spell itself, but in Evan. He was rxed, and his gaze was calm. In the beginning, when he had just learned the "Magic Missile", he had tried his best, but now there was no need.


    Now he could cast "Magic Missile" without any training. He had gained experience and a better understanding of himself, and how the spell worked. It can bepared to when you first start doing something. You are stressed and spend all your energy and time for a great result. But, as time passes and you be more experienced, then you can do what was previously difficult for you, practically with your eyes closed. The previously unattainable level bes quite ordinary.


    Evan felt that a little longer and he would reach the first stage of "Awareness" in the "Magic Missile". There wasn''t much time left before the tournament, but there was one more thing Evan needed to do before it.


    Tomorrow Evan was going to go to the "Shadow of the Thread" to pick up his new coat that he had ordered from Demien.


    "Hmm, maybe I should get a change of scenery..." Evan decided to pick up his order and go for a walk out of town. It was quite safe near Mossy Vulture and there were beautiful views there. He thought the new surroundings would be able to help him achieve his goal. So the next day Evan quickly packed up the essential things and headed to the "Shadow of the Thread".


    By lunchtime, Evan was outside the unusual clothing store.


    Click.


    The young man opened the door, and just like thest time, he was confronted by a puff of smoke floating in the room. Demien was sitting in the same ce and smoking. The day was hot, Demien was sitting in a rxed pose, he did not seem to want to do anything, he was even toozy to move.


    He didn''t even immediately react to Evan''s appearance in the store. Demien didn''t want to see anyone today and he wasn''t in the mood for work.


    "Hi, it''s time to get your ass up and show me my coat!" Said Evan dly as he approached the counter.


    Demien looked at Evan and said: "Oh, you`re a cheeky boy, as I see. I thought you''d forgotten about your order and I was going to take the coat for myself. What a pity you came. Well, it can''t be helped."


    With an obvious reluctance to move, Demien rose from his seat and headed for another room. Before he did so he extinguished his cigarette and the smoke slowly began to disperse. He gestured for Evan to follow him.


    "Shouldn''t the coat be in the main room?" Evan inquired.


    "Well, I worked very hard on your order, as I do on any of my work. I wouldn''t want it to stink of cigarette smoke." Demien replied simply.


    It turned out there was a descent down in the room.


    At that moment, Evan remembered that there wasn''t even a mirror in the main room for the customer to see what he looked like in his new clothes. Everything seemed to have been done so that the number of customers was minimal, and Demien himself had even fewer orders.


    When they came down, Demien took out the key and opened the iron door.


    They crossed the threshold and found themselves in Demien''s private workshop. It was quite different from the way the store looked like. Everything was clean, neat and in its ce. It was as if someone else worked here.


    Demien pointed his hand at a mannequin in the middle of the room and said: "Here''s your coat, boy."

 Chapter 60 - Hidden Calamity

    Evan smiled, headed for the coat, and quickly put it on.


    Looking at Evan, Demien muttered: "Boy, now I can see why you wanted a coat like that. You look like you came off the cover."


    The coat did indeed fit Evan perfectly. It was long, ck with crimson trim and a scarlet cor. It had knot-like patterns on the sleeves and shoulders, made of a pale yellow metal called "Sandy Iron". It was a very flexible and pliable metal, and it had been also used to make a pattern in the form of a straight olive branch stretching from the cor to the waist. There were no buttons on the cape, just a few decorative rivets.


    Evan came to the store in a loose white shirt and dark pants. Andbined with the ck raincoat, it was a beautiful contrast. Toplete the look, Evan bought a massive thick belt wrapped in two gold chains from Demien.


    Evan looked in the mirror, assessed every detail of his new look, and said contentedly: "Well done. You really have a talent, Mr. Demien."


    Demien grinned: "I can say the same about you, it`s a beautiful and daring outfit, as well as its owner. Well, I''m off, if you like you can continue to admire yourself."


    He walked away leaving the young man alone.


    Evan looked at his new outfit and thought to himself, "I had the same coat in myst life, but this looks even better! I should give it a name... hmmm... how about - "Hidden Cmity"?


    The young man smiled and muttered: "That''s a great name, just right. Okay, well, let`s go now."


    Evan said goodbye to Demien and left the store. He had only the bare necessities with him: some food, water, and, of course, "Reverse Death". The weapon was in an upright position on his back. The snow-white de was inside, so "Reverse Death" looked like a spear.


    Evan wanted to rest and get some fresh air in nature. But if any danger arose he would be only too happy to put his new weapon to work. He had already decided where he would go - to a high hill not far from Mossy Vulture. Evan expected to get there by evening.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t fly or teleport, so he had to get there by himself. Evan did not want to ride a horse, as he was in no hurry and wanted to take a walk. He was going to enjoy the nature away from the big city, since he would leave that ce very soon.


    After the tournament, there won''t be much time left before the "Academy of Magic" began to enroll the students. This would be an important event in Evan''s life. He was very interested in the libraries of the "Academy of Magic" and was sure that there was a lot of useful and unique knowledge there.


    Evan walked through the main gate of Mossy Vulture and headed into the forest. The young man was surprised by the flow of peopleing in and leaving the town. Last time there had been many people, too, but this time there were many more.


    <What was the reason for all this? Is Mossy Vulture really such a popr ce?> Evan thought to himself as he passed hundreds of people.


    Actually, Mossy Vulture had always been very popr with all the inhabitants of the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". But, now it was about the fact that in a few days there would be a tournament between young talents.


    The Erden family and the Cross family didn''t invite anyone personally. Anyone could enter the tournament if they had proved their strength before. Evan didn''t know this fact, but right now there were qualifying trials in the city.


    It wasn''t a one-on-one fight, but the Erden and Cross families had appointed special people to determine whether or not a person was worthy of participating in the tournament. Evan didn''t have to go through such a selection process, and not because Koen had invited him personally. But because he`d defeated Fien, which means he was more than worthy to fight in this tournament.


    While walking, Evan didn''t meet any more people. He left the main road and went deep into the woods. Every once in a while he encountered an animal that ran away as soon as it saw him.


    <Hmm, when you think about it, I know nothing at all about the inhabitants of this world. This three-tailed fox and that hare with the sharp horn on its head are rather curious creatures.>


    On the one hand, Evan was feeling sad and wistful as he realize that his life in the former world was over. On the other hand, he was d to see so many new and interesting things, from magic to simple forest animals and this was just the beginning of his journey.


    It wasn''t a long trip for Evan, and he got to the right cete at the afternoon. Nothing had happened on the way, he just underestimated the distance he had to walk.


    Evan, however, was in no hurry; he had nowhere to go. He enjoyed the cool breeze, the pleasant forest air and the beautiful nature around.


    <From the moment I came into this world I haven''t had a chance to just rest and do nothing. I fought for my life, fought to take the lives of others and fought to be stronger. I studied, trained and learned new things, it''s time to take a day off.>


    Saying this Evan made his way to the top of the hill and for the first time he looked at Mossy Vulture from above. When he had been going back to town with Zak, he had already seen it from afar, but the view from up there was very different.


    It was already deep in the night and the bright blue moon behind Evan illuminated the whole town. He could see the tall Tower of Magic in the center of the city, the few neighborhoods with huge mansions, and the narrow streets with simple houses.


    Countless lights burning in the streets and in the houses created a calm and beautiful picture. Evan crouched on a rock on the slope and just admired the nighttime of Mossy Vulture, the city that had be his home for a while.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a small butterfly with bright glowing blue wings flew to Evan. It flew several times around him and thennded on his arm. Evan was fascinated by its simplicity and beauty. He felt peace and tranquility deep inside. It was at that moment that Evan was finally able to forget everything and to rest, even if only for a moment.


    Crack.


    Suddenly there was a loud cracking and nking of chainsing from nowhere.


    To his surprise, Evan intuitively knew what was happening, for the ringing and crackling wasing from his "Warp", and only he could hear it. He concentrated, and in a second, he was in "Nirvana".


    <What is this?>


    Evan looked at his crimson "Warp", with a scythe as ck as the abyss itself, inside it. There were three iron chains wrapped around his "Warp", one of which was shaking and crackling incessantly.

 Chapter 61 - Barrier

    Evan looked at the three iron chains wrapped around his "Warp" that hadn`t been there before. Moreover, he didn''t understand why one of them was shaking and jingling violently. It seemed as if it was about to be broken.


    The young man didn''t know what to do, he was just standing and watching this amazing scene. Evan felt strange, but he felt no danger from the situation. It seemed as if everything should be so.


    Whoosh. Crack.


    While Evan was in "Nirvana" the blue butterfly had already flown away and at the same moment one of the three chains broke into hundreds of pieces. They turned into dust and scattered all over "Nirvana". At the same moment, Evan felt an unusual rush of strength.


    He had never experienced anything like that before. He felt as if mana was literallying out of his "Warp". Evan couldn''t control it and didn''t want to.


    Evan smiled as he remembered Zak''s words.


    <That''s what it means to break through the "Barrier", it''s like dozens of shackles fell in an instant and you''re freer>.


    The chains that Evan looked at in "Nirvana" were the "Barriers" that Zak had told him about before. The "Barriers" are special obstacles in the way of every magician, and they are the ones that give anyone a chance to break through to the top.


    The point is that, neither "Creation" nor the color of "Warp" affects whether or not a magician can break through a "Barrier". This requires a better understanding of magic and oneself. A magician must understand himself and the way magic works. This is a very vague definition, which makes it incredibly difficult to break the "Barrier".


    Training, rare artifacts, exceptional talent, and so on are all shattered as soon as they meet the "Barrier".


    Yes, magicians with Purple "Warp" are faster at "Creation" and mana condensation, and easier at learning spells. Talent alone isn''t enough to understand the magic itself. Of course, the more time passes, the greater the chance that a magician will be able to break the "Barrier". But it was not umon for magicians to die of old age before they could climb higher.


    Whoosh.


    After one of the three chains had been destroyed, the other two quickly went out of sight. They didn''t disappear, Evan still had two "Barriers" to break if he wanted to reach the "One-Pointed Star".


    Evan smiled and walked out of "Nirvana" back into the real world.


    <§¡?>. Evan couldn''t figure out what was going on.


    "What is it...?" Evan muttered to himself looking around.


    While Evan was in "Nirvana" and when one of the three chains was destroyed there was an energy surge. This burst of energy is called - "Ssh". At that moment, a strange change began to happen to the area next to the young man.


    To his left Evan saw thick, tall grass and many flowers blooming in it. To his right, the grass was dry and dead, but a secondter Evan noticed something strange. On the left, under the many bright flowers, he saw some dry grass, and under the dead grass on the right, he saw a variety of flower petals.


    They were deep under the grass, so the wind couldn''t have brought them in, much less in such a short time. It seemed as if the grass was beginning to grow and bloom then, quickly drying up, and it was all happening in a strange order.


    A puzzled Evan slowly stood up from the stone ledge he was sitting on.


    Crack.


    Suddenly part of the rock turned to sand and Evan fell on his back. Evan was dumbfounded by what was happening. He quickly shook off the dust and examined the rock carefully.


    "What? Why has part of it be very loose like sand and the other half be as strong as granite..."


    The change was magical and inexplicable. Evan was alone on the hill, so he knew it couldn''t have been some other person.


    Whoosh.


    As Evan pondered what was happening, the butterfly that had been circling around him not so long ago flew up to him.


    "You too...?" Evan said uncertainly, looking at the butterfly, which had also undergone some changes.


    Its wings used to be a nice blue color, but now everything was different. The left side was not just blue, but icy. The wings were covered in a thinyer of ice, which spread cold. The right side was red and burned brightly with crimson mes. Evan didn''t understand how, but despite all the amazing changes, the butterfly continued to flutter quietly. Neither the ice nor the zing fire disturbed it.


    Whoosh.


    The butterfly flew around Evan and quickly flew away. Evan had no exnation for what had happened. He decided to check his surroundings, but he found nothing else strange. Only the grass and the butterfly, which were very close to the young man, were subject to strange mutations.


    After a while, Evan calmed down and returned to the ledge he was sitting on. All night Evan watched the beautiful city, enjoyed the gorgeous blue moon, and pondered what had happened during the breach of the "Barrier".


    Unfortunately, he never came to anything, but he put his thoughts in order.


    Evan waited until dawn and was about to leave when suddenly he saw the first rays of sunlight. It was a very ordinary dawn, but the sun''s rays caught the young man''s attention.


    <So bright and beautiful>. Evan thought to himself, he was ready to return home. He didn''t know why, but because of the simple sunlight, he was sure that he would soon reach the first stage of "Awareness" at the "Magic Missile".


    Evan returned home by lunchtime and immediately went to bed. He wasn''t physically very tired, even though he hadn''t slept a wink all night. Evan had seen something really magical that night and it was beyond his understanding. He needed to rest and regain his strength.


    The tournament hosted by the Erden Family and the Cross Family would begin in just a few days. Evan had gotten the good weapons and clothes he wanted, all that was left was the finishing touch and he would bepletely ready.


    ...


    Evan woke up a dayter, the tournament was only two days away. Evan hadn''t expected to sleep that long.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t immediately take up training. He ate, took a shower, walked around town, and put his thoughts in order. He felt like he had almost reached a new level, only onest step left.


    Evan hadn''t done anything much all that day and it wasn''t until the next day, thest day before the tournament, that he went to theb.


    The young man stood in front of the sturdy, stone wall and put his hand out in front of him. Evan wasn''t focused and concentrated on the spell cast, he was rxed and calm. Mana slowly gathered at the end of his index finger and in the next instant turned into a dense, snow-white beam.


    Boom.


    With incredible speed, it flew into the wall and there was a deafening explosion. At that moment, Evan saw the difference between a normal "Magic Missile" and "Magic Missile" with the first stage of "Awareness".


    The speed of the beam was much faster than before, but that wasn''t the main thing. Evan looked at the hole in the wall next to which there were many cracks. What was remarkable was that the beam first pierced through the wall and only then, going deep into it, exploded.

 Chapter 62 - Ale

    "Great..." Slowly Evan muttered as he looked at the result. He had finally reached the first stage of "Awareness" in the "Magic Missile".


    Now the beam passed through and contained much more energy. Evan hadn''t nned to do the "Transforming of Spells" with the "Magic Missile" because he didn''t yet know exactly what he wanted to change in it and if it was necessary. Moreover, nothing had changed since hisb had been destroyed. Evan had no materials, no scrolls, no desk, just nothing. Nevertheless, he had no desire to do the work of rebuilding theb either, he just didn''t need it now.


    "Tomorrow it will finally be a good time to give it my all. I wonder how strong are my opponents ?" Evan muttered as he pondered the uing tournament.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Suddenly Evan heard loud thumps outside, as if someone was trying to break in and beating the barrier. He didn''t understand what was going on. The young man thought he was being attacked or that someone was fighting right next to his house. Evan quickly ran outside and saw the man who was beating on the barrier around the house with a satisfied smile.


    "Evan! You''re finally out. I was getting tired of calling out for you, so I decided to knock. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Zak said loudly.


    Evan didn''t know what Zak was doing here or why he hade, but the young man was d to see him anyway. He hurriedly walked over to Zak.


    Themander looked Evan around and said: "And you''re looking pretty good. Marcel told me that you were lucky enough to meet a talented cksmith, but I see that you`ve found a tailor just as good."


    Zak assessed Evan''s appearance and his weapon. The young man took "Reverse Death" with him because he`d thought he was being attacked.


    Evan nodded in response and said: "Commander, d to see you, how did you get here?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? You have a tournament tomorrow and of course I''ll be rooting for you, so today we need to get properly drunk!" Zak said cheerfully.


    Evan was taken aback by that suggestion, but after a few seconds, he smiled and replied, "Your treat, then."


    "Okay, kid, whatever you say. Let''s go to one of Marcel`s bars, he said he had something special for us."


    Said Zak and gestured to follow him.


    ...


    After a while, Evan and Zak had arrived at the right ce. Evan was surprised to find that the bar looked nothing like the other Marcel`s ces, it was called "The Falling Drop".


    It was rather closer in style to Zak: simple, spacious, and unpretentious. No expensive materials or borate decorations. The furnishings inside were, exactly, the same as in any ordinary bar.


    Zak saw Evan''s puzzled face and decided to exin: "Don''t look so surprised, Evan. Of all the establishments that Marcel owns, this bar is special. You know that unlike Marcel, I don''t like expensive restaurants, stores and so on. Marcel didn''t like that I drank in cheap taverns instead of what he thought were decent ces. He wanted to give me one of his bars and after much persuasion I agreed, but on certain demands."


    While Zak was telling Evan about the "Falling Drop", they walked leisurely over to the bar.


    "My terms were: no fancy furniture, finishes, uniforms for the staff and decor and all the things you might find in any Marcel`s establishment. Though it was difficult, he agreed. The only thing he insisted on was really high-quality expensive alcohol. As you can imagine, I didn''t mind."


    Evan and Zak sat down at the bar and themander immediately ordered.


    In fact, Zak was the owner of the "Falling Drop", but since he didn''t want to get involved in running the restaurant, Marcel had to take matters into his own hands.


    Marcel had tried many times to change things at the Falling Drop, but Zak was adamantly opposed to the vast majority of the ideas.


    The barman quickly poured them two full sses of ale.


    Zak took the ss firmly and drank about half of it in a second. He put the ss back down with a tter and said: "Evan, how do you rate your chances?"


    The young man took a few sips and replied, "I''m going to go all the way, and I intend to win."


    Evan understood that the opponents in the tournament would be serious, but he wasn`t going to lose. A tough fight in which he had to give it his all was what he needed. Evan would have wanted a fight simr to his and Fien''s duel, but more fierce one.


    "Good spirit, but I want you to know that this tournament is not as easy as it looks. The Erden family and the Cross family are very influential and many magicians respect them. Lots of talented young men from nearby towns havee to Mossy Vulture just topete in the tournament. It''s going to be really hard to win". Zak said calmly, taking another sip of ale.


    "I understand, but all I have to do is defeat every opponent, that''s all. I hope to see only worthy and interesting opponents, otherwise, the tournament won''t be interesting for me." Evan said slowly.


    He was d to hear that it wouldn''t just be the young men from Mossy Vulture who would be participating.


    <That''s why I met so many people then...> Evan thought to himself.


    "Well, Evan, I want to tell you something. Marcel told it to me in confidence and asked to tell you.


    The tournament will also feature the Whitehead Family`s offspring, I hope you know what that means."


    <Whitehead... this is going to be pretty interesting.> Evan wasn''t intimidated by this high-profile name.


    Well, Evan''s previous body owner had gone through a lot of misery because of Abigail Whitehead, but Evan had already dealt with her. He got his revenge on Abigail in full.


    From Marcel he heard a lot of "ttering" things about the Whitehead Family, but he himself only met one person with thatst name. Maybe this Family is terrible indeed, but maybe there are decent people in it. Evan judged each person by their personal qualities, otherwise he could make the grave mistake ofbeling them.


    Of course, Evan knew that most of the Whitehead Family weren`t, probably, the best people, but it was all because of his first impression.


    "Is there anything I should be afraid of?" Evan asked calmly.


    He knew that Zak wouldn''t just mention the Whitehead Family, it was obvious that themander knew about what had happened to Evan before they met. Initially, Marcel wasn''t really going to tell Zak


    anything, but when he found out that a member of the Whitehead Family would be participating in the tournament, he decided to let Zak know.


    Zak shook his head, "No, they don''t know that you killed Abigail Whitehead and started the riot. Even if something does happen, then me, Marcel, Koen, and Fane won''t let them run amok in Mossy Vulture".

 Chapter 63 - The Whitehead Family

    Evan and Zak were drinking great ale and talking about the uing tournament, and also about the Whitehead Family.


    Even if the Whitehead Family were to do something at the tournament, Evan would be protected by the strongest men in all of Mossy Vulture. Evan was a little relieved to hear that. He was confident in himself and his strength, but he was well aware of one thing - if a manparable in strength to Zak or Koen wanted to kill him, there would be no way he could survive.


    "Commander, do you know how strong is the young talent from the Whitehead Family? I''d like to see a decent level."


    Evan would be interested in fighting the offspring of the Whitehead Family. Abigail was arrogant, but rather stupid and weak. Evan had been able to kill her, despite his horrible physical and emotional condition.


    Of course, he`d used the power of the 72nd demon, Count Andromalius, to defeat her, otherwise he would have died in that prison. But, for that kind of power, he`d expended a lot of life energy.


    Evan considered Abigail as a weak magician, but given her age, that wasn''t surprising. Especially, since there was no way she could have expected Evan to be capable of harnessing the power of demons. He caught her off guard and was able to attack just in time.


    Zak took a sip and calmly said: "I think the offspring of the Whitehead Family will be a problematic, but not a strong opponent. ording to Marcel, they have talented young men, but they are far from geniuses. Nevertheless, I think their young man will be able to get a decent ce."


    "Why? Won''t only the most talented and strongest young people participate in the tournament?" Evan didn''t understand how a weak participant could get very far in the tournament.


    Zak quickly replied, "They aren''t capable of making it to the quarterfinals or semifinals by themselves, but the Whitehead Family is known for its untold riches. I''m sure they''ll dress their contestant in high-end artifacts and provide a quality "Catalyst". It''s not against the rules, so there''s nothing we can do about it."


    Evan wanted to ask something, but Zak beat him to it, "Besides their riches, the Whitehead Family is also known for their terrible reputation. They are not liked bymoners, nobles, or magicians. The only ones who deal with them are scum and greedy bastards like them."


    Roughly said Zak draining his ss and immediately ordering another.


    "Commander Zak, is it okay to allow a fight with a lot of artifacts against someone who doesn''t have any?"


    Evan didn''t understand why it was so.


    He was sure that Koen and Fane knew very well that there were people who would seed not thanks for their own power, but external one.


    Nevertheless, there was logic in the actions of the two heads of the big Families.


    "On the one hand, you''re right, but it doesn''t really matter whether it''s external power or your own. If you meet on the battlefield, you won`t tell the other man to fight fair, are you? This is the same logic Koen and Fane used when they wrote the rules. They want the tournament fights to be as close to the real one as possible, that''s why it''s allowed."


    Zak exined everything in detail.


    Evan nodded, and thought to himself, <Hmmm... there''s some truth to that, but a tournament isn''t a battlefield anyway. There''s an audience, an arena, rules, and a reward.>


    Evan didn''t think it was the right thing to do anyway, but after a moment, there was a wide smile on his face.


    <But on the other hand... How nice it will be to defeat these pompous turkeys boasting about their wealth, and how wonderful it will be to smash their artifacts to pieces! I`m just itching to...">.


    Evan didn''t like the rules, but since he couldn''t change anything, he would just have to crush every opponent with his power.


    Zak said nothing and just drank his ale.


    Evan asked the question that interested him, "Commander, is the Whitehead Family really that awful?"


    From Marcel and from Zak, Evan had heard only bad things about this Family. It was strange to him how the Family that everyone hated still existed.


    In his past life, the dark and light magicians stuck together so that they could fight against each other. If someone came along who could disrupt one side''s cohesion, they were quickly destroyed.


    Evan understood that it was a different world, but if the Whitehead Family was hated by many, then why not get rid of it? Evan''s thinking was logical, but he just knew too little about this Family.


    Zak nodded confidently: "Yes, I and many others, consider them one of the worst. Where do you think they got all their wealth?" Zak asked such a simple question.


    Evan calmly replied, "From trade and controlled territories, but I take it that''s far from all of it."


    "Yes, you''re right, the Whitehead Family does have it all, but it''s only a small part of what they do. First of all the territories the Whitehead Family owns. Their main center is Snowflower City, where they have their base, resources, wealth, and so on. This is a small town where all members of the Whitehead Family and their allies live and where all their powers are concentrated."


    Zak took a sip and continued: "If someone visits Snowflower City, they will think it is a real paradise on earth, but in fact it is a paradise built on bones and suffering. Besides Snowflower City, the Whitehead Family owns a dozen different viges, each asrge as the town itself."


    <Hmm...looks like Trevor was born in one of those viges. I even wondered how that bitch had found herself in a poor vige>. Evan thought to himself.


    From the memories of the previous owner of the body, Trevor, Evan knew almost everything that happened before he came into this world. Aside from the prison, he still distinctly remembered the dpidated houses, the very skinny people, and the endless hunger and cold.


    While Evan pondered, Zak continued: "The viges are big, but their residents are miserable, the Whitehead Family doesn''t even consider them people. They make them work and give almost all their resources to Snowflower City. Every year, a lot of people die of starvation or disease in these viges."


    "Work? That sounds more like very to me." Evan said seriously.


    Zak nodded: "Yes, you''re absolutely right. They send people to the mines, prisons like it happened with you, make them work in the fields and haul loads. All these people end up dying in poverty. Unfortunately, that''s not all."


    Zak was silent, but then said quietly: "The Whitehead family is not only cruel and inhumane to the people living in their territory, they are also involved in the ve trade. They sell their people as ves, and it doesn''t matter if it''s a man, woman or even a child. I think you know that the Whitehead family also sells sex ves."

 Chapter 64 - The Stone Of Split

    Evan wasn''t surprised by Zak''s words. He understood that most likely the Whitehead Family had such a bad reputation for certain reasons. They were vile and cruel people, but not unique. Their methods were no different from those who were so full of themselves.


    The young man took a sip and said quietly: "Commander, does all their wealthe from selling ves?"


    Evan understood that the ve trade was very lucrative, though immoral for many people. He thought it was what brought the Whitehead Family most of its ie, but that wasn''t quite true.


    "Sure, they get a lot of money for selling ves, but that''s not their main profit. They do something worse than that. I told you before that the Whitehead Family makes people in the viges work in the mines. But one of the mines is rather special."


    Evan didn''t interrupt and listened intently. He wondered what was in this mine if it brought in so much money.


    "This mine produces an extremely rare and useful mineral for magicians, namely, the ''Stone of Split''. In fact, the "Stone of Split" consists of twoyers, and the outeryer ispletely useless. However, the outeryer emits a poison that poisons everything around it. You have to break the outeryer and take out the inneryer -- this is what they call cleansing the "Stone of Split".


    "I take it the poison is deadly." Evan said slowly.


    In that moment he realized that on one hand he was still lucky to have been reborn in the body of a ve in prison. If he had woken up in a mine filled with poison, he would have died in a couple of days. In that case, he would have had no future.


    Zak nodded confidently: "Yes, but it doesn''t kill immediately. If you inhale those poisonous fumes once, all you have to do is just waiting for your death. Every day you''ll get worse and worse. Eventually, you`ll just die in agony and that''s it. None of the inhabitants even live to be thirty years old."


    "Isn''t there any cure?"


    "Of course there is, the poison, though dangerous, is not the strongest in the world. If you can get certainponents, it shouldn''t be too hard to neutralize the poison. But how can people, who even have no money for grain have an antidote?" Zak said slowly, finishing another ss of ale.


    Evan nodded. He understood the deplorable situation these people were in and it was incredibly difficult to fix.


    "Commander, why can''t you just destroy the Whitehead Family? No one likes them and that way you can save the people and get a mine of precious material into your possession."


    Evan didn''t understand why no one had done that until now.


    "Well, boy...it won`t be that easy...Well, okay, suppose some powerful Family attacked the Whitehead Family, you do realize that they wouldn''t just give up their territories and base."


    Zak ordered another ss of ale and continued.


    "First, the Whitehead Family will put up stiff resistance and so there will be a fierce battle between the two Families, and that''s already a huge loss for both. Second, even if the Whitehead Family were to be defeated and give up all their possessions, would that be beneficial? The victorious Family will lose a great number of their people and resources, and in return, they will get thousands of hungry and unskilled people. Zak said calmly.


    Evan nodded, Zak''s words were pure truth. Even if another Family wanted to save the oppressed people, they still couldn''t do it. There was no point in sacrificing their own people for others.


    "What about the cave with the "Stone of Split"? Wouldn''t it be enough to make a huge profit and recover quickly? Some of the money can be given to maintain the acquired territories, and some of it can be kept." Evan asked thoughtfully.


    Zak shook his head in response, "I don''t know, but it just doesn''t make sense. If you want to mine the Stone of Split, you have to buy medicine for people so they don''t die. In this case, it will bring too little profit or it will not be profitable. You could also buy protective suits, but that''s a very big expense, too."


    Zak took a sip and continued: "Only if a few Families equal in power to the Erden Family and the Cross Family attack the Whitehead Family will they have enough resources and strength to take care of the people and put the territories in order."


    Evan nodded, he didn''t know it was so hard to mine the "Stone of Split" and that the overall situation was so bad.


    <It turns out that even if someone saves them, there''s practically no change. The world really is cruel... they don''t even have a chance to achieve anything just because they were born in such a rotten ce.> Evan thought to himself.


    Just like hisst world, this one was just aspletely unfair. He had no intention of saving these people, he just wanted to know more about the situation. He couldn''t put his own life in danger because of simple pity for others. As cynical as it sounded, this was reality.


    "Evan, I don''t want to keep you any longer, I think you should get ready for the tournament, but before you go I wanted to tell you something. Marcel told me there''s a rumor going around that there''s a very talented girl in the Whitehead Family. What''s interesting, she''s not their offspring and that fact became known around the time you killed Abigail Whitehead." Zak said slowly as he drained his ss of ale.


    "The ale is really good, I''ll see you tomorrow." Evan said with a slight smile on his face and walked out of the "Falling Drop".


    He headed towards his house thinking about Zak''sst words. He had an inkling of who this girl was and it was curious.


    <I wonder if all of Abigail''s powers had been passed on to her... or maybe they were just the impetus to unlock her potential. We''ll have to check that out sometime.>


    ...


    Evan didn''t make any special preparations for the tournament. He did a little training and that was it. The young man felt that he was ready for any opponent and any situation.


    The next morning Evan got up and took his time heading to the tournament. To his surprise, when he left the house, a carriage with a coachman was already waiting outside.


    The man bowed and said respectfully: "Mr. Evan, Mr. Marcel has ordered to escort you to the tournament."


    Then he opened the door of the carriage.


    Evan nodded and was about to go inside when suddenly he heard the loud tter of hoof beats and saw a horse galloping towards him.


    The ck horse stopped and Zak shouted loudly: " Hey, guy, get in, I''ll give you a ride!"


    Evan smiled and quickly climbed onto the horse, and then they quickly rode away.

 Chapter 65 - The Beginning Of The Tournament

    Evan and Zak were riding together, hurrying to the tournament. The tournament was still about two hours away, but the ce where it was being held was quite far away. Zak and Evan still had time to spare, so there was no need to hurry.


    The tournament was called - the "Tournament of Precious Stones" and was held in thergest arena in all of Mossy Vulture. The arena was situated in a unique ce- on the border of the possessions of the Erden and Cross families.


    The two Families didn''t want to fight over the arena and simply decided to share it and hold simr tournaments and events there. The arena had a beautiful view of the Tower of Magic.


    Evan didn''t know exactly how many participants there would be in the "Tournament of Precious Stones", but he was sure there would be a lot.


    Evan only took "Reverse Death" and "Hidden Cmity" with him, he didn''t need anything else. Before leaving, he "had been creating" until he hadpletely filled his "Warp" with mana, so he was absolutely ready.


    "Evan, look we''re almost there!" Zak said loudly, pointing ahead.


    In the distance, Evan saw a colossal arena that looked more like a coliseum. At a nce, you could tell how majestic this structure was. There really was no better ce in all of Mossy Vulture to hold a tournament of this magnitude. There was an ancient aura emanating from the arena that everyone could feel.


    Besides the appearance of the arena, Evan was also surprised by the number of people. Hundreds of people were standing around the arena and quickly going inside. By the way, people were from thepletely differentys of society.


    Evan spotted both poor people and artisans, merchants, and nobles.


    While Evan was watching this scene, Zak also saw someone, "Oh, that''s Marcel''s carriage".


    Whoosh.


    As soon as themander said this, the horse elerated considerably.


    Besides Marcel''s carriage, there were others visible in the distance. In each of them was an important person, whether it was the head of some Family or a powerful magician.


    After a few minutes, Evan and Zak reached the entrance. They were slightly faster than Marcel, who pulled up a minuteter.


    Marcel and Fien got out, saw Zak and Evan, and headed toward them.


    "I see that everyone is already assembled." Marcel said calmly.


    Zak replied confidently, "Of course. I hope we have an amazing show tonight!"


    Marcel nodded and they all went inside the arena together. Marcel and Zak went upstairs to the auditorium, while Fien and Evan stayed downstairs.


    Special rooms had been prepared for the contestants to rest and prepare for the fight.


    Fien and Evan didn''t talk, they just kept quiet and thought about their own things.


    Suddenly the girl said: "I won''t lose to you this time. Be ready."


    After these words, Fien quickened her stride and headed forward. Evan only smiled and continued walking slowly.


    After a minute, Evan reached the main room where most of the participants were.


    <So many?>


    Evan was amazed at the number of people. He saw about fifty people, but that wasn''t all. Since, they were on the left side of the arena that meant that there were actually twice as many participants.


    ording to Evan''s calctions, the total number of participants was about 110-120, maybe even more.


    As one would expect, each of the people present looked very formidable and strong. At a nce, Evan noticed a dozen different Magic Artifacts and "Catalysts". Many also wore Magical Armor, be it gloves, breastte, or pants.


    Of course, most people didn''t use too many of these items, but there were exceptions.


    That was also where Evan saw Fien. The girl was leaning against the stone wall, with a cold expression on her face. People came up to her from time to time, but she did not say a word to anyone.


    Unlike Evan, who no one knew, Fien was quite a popr person. She was known as the daughter of Marcel Vierdag and as a very talented novice magician.


    There were there not only talented young men from all over Mossy Vulture, but from other cities as well. Evan just stood back and waited for the tournament to begin.


    He hoped his fight would take ce soon, as he was looking forward to fighting someone.


    As Evan pondered his thoughts, more and more people came. Both spectators and participants.


    ...


    After about half an hour, everyone was in their seats, and the tournament was about to begin.


    The arena was crowded with spectators. Everyone wanted to see interesting and exciting battles. As for the powerful Families, it was a very important tournament for them.


    Now their offspring would fight each other, win and lose. It''s a reputation game, because the stronger the younger generation, the stronger the Family will be in the future.


    Many influential people sat on the highest ranks. The organizers of this tournament, Koen and Fane, were seated next to each other in luxurious armchairs. Not far from them there were other important people, but of a lower level. They were various heads of the weaker Families, magicians, and so on.


    Besides Koen and Fane, three other people had special seats. One of these people was a gray-haired old man with a long beard, wearing a white mantle. It was Gilbert Jellis, the head of the Tower of Magic.


    Aside from the Tower of Magic, he had no other territories in Mossy Vulture, for he was only interested in magic and nothing else in this world, and he`d got his ce not because of his status, but because of his power.


    The remaining two ces were upied by his two best friends, Marcel Vierdag and Zak Hart.


    All of these people were doing different things. Some increased their Family''s influence, some studied magic, some found talented people and invested in them, and some took a different path. But they all had something inmon, and that was power.


    Each of them was the most powerful magician in all of Mossy Vulture.


    Dong!


    There was a loud ringing of the bell and the entire arena fell silent. This was the moment when the "Tournament of Precious Stones" officially began.


    Since Koen and Fane were the organizers, they were supposed to open the tournament, but Koen was inactive. He wasn''t going to take part in it, but Fane didn''t mind at all doing it.


    Fane had thick green hair and gray eyes. He stood up from his seat and said with a satisfied smile on his face: "Hello, everyone I know and don''t know, maybe we''ll be friends or maybe enemies, it doesn''t matter that much. What did I want to say...? Well.. Ah! Congrattions to everyone on the start of the "Tournament of Precious Stones"! I hope it will be interesting!"

 Chapter 66 - Fane Cross

    Fane officially announced the start of the tournament and began exining the rules.


    In fact, most people were aware of the rules of the tournament. But Fane thought it would better to reiterate them, especially for the young men who would be fighting.


    The arena was huge, but all the people in the stands and thepetitors in the halls could clearly hear Fane. Before he began his speech, he discreetly cast a simple spell that greatly amplified his voice.


    "Before I announce the first contestants, I will repeat all the rules one more time." Fane said loudly.


    "You may use any spells, artifacts, and various tricks for your victory. The purpose of this tournament is to give you the opportunity to do your best and to provide the necessary conditions for that. You don''t have to worry about the safety of the audience, there is a very strong magical barrier around the arena that you will never break through."


    Fane looked around the arena and continued: "And most importantly, you are allowed to inflict absolutely any kind of wounds. You can even cut off a limb from your opponent, and more than one if you wish. Our special "Summoners" will heal such wounds quickly, so don''t be afraid to hurt your opponent."


    After finishing with what was allowed, Fane moved on to the prohibitions: "The only prohibition is that you cannot kill your opponent. You''ll be stopped if your attack is fatal, but we can easily tell if it''s idental or on purpose. If you deliberately meant to kill your opponent, then you''ll be killed on the spot and no one will save you, just like that."


    Although Fane said directly that any contestant who would break the rule would not just be punished, but actually killed, there was no dissatisfaction among the audience. Of course, not everyone agreed with such harsh punishment, but no one dared to show it.


    After all, for the most part, the rules were fair. There were almostplete discretion, what could be better?


    Many feared Fane, he was a powerful magician and it would be a great mistake to contradict him in the arena.


    After finishing with the rules, Fane announced the first twopetitors: "Now that the rules are clear, it is time to name the two people who will start this tournament! Ladies and gentlemen! I''d like you to meet Dirk Lazoe and Fien Vierdag!"


    No one had known about the first two participants before Fane''s words, so this announcement was unexpected both for the audience and for the participants themselves.


    Hearing her name, Fien stepped away from the wall without any emotion and walked slowly into the arena.


    Watching this, Evan thought to himself, <Hmm... Fien is the first, good choice for the first fight. This is going to be interesting."


    Evan could have stayed in the hall and watched the fight from afar, but he wanted to get a closer look. After all, he was curious how much progress Fien had made since theirst duel.


    The young man followed the girl and stopped in the corridor that led from the hall directly to the arena. He leaned his back against the wall and watched the start of the first duel.


    Fien was already in the arena, while her opponent was justing out.


    Dirk was a tall guy ofrge build with tanned skin. He had short ck hair and pale green eyes. He was dressed in the most ordinary clothes. He wore no Magical Armor or Magical Artifacts. His only weapon was a huge ck hammer, which he easily held with one hand. Of course, it was the "Catalyst".


    He stood in front of Fien, smiled and said: "Let''s show everybody what we can do!"


    The girl didn''t say anything back and just nodded.


    Dirk wasn''t originally from Mossy Vulture, but he had heard of Marcel Vierdag and his talented daughter all the same. He was excited that his opponent would be a serious opponent.


    Everyone was watching these two, including the two best friends.


    "Marcel, I think Fien is going to be pretty hard to beat this guy. I look at him and I see an unshakable mountain. I like him, ahahahahaha!" Zak said cheerfully.


    Marcel smiled and calmly replied, "You''re right, Dirk Lazoe is an interesting guy indeed. But, Fien can beat him. After losing to Evan, she''s gotten a lot tougher and stronger."


    Marcel was confident in Fien, and it was reasonable. He''d seen firsthand how Fien had worked her hardest to outdo herself.


    Everyone waited for Fane to announce the start of the fight, but instead he began casting one of his spells. Mana gathered at his hands and he said loudly: "When the drop drops, you may begin."


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after his words, a sphere of green water appeared in the sky, above the arena. The moment the first drop appeared, the green sphere immediately disappeared. Fane simply cancelled his spell.


    Everyone, participants and spectators alike, watched as one single green blob slowly fell down.


    Fien and Dirk quickly prepared for battle.


    Drop.


    The drop fell and at that moment, the first duel at the "Tournament of Precious Stones" started.


    Dirk instantly swung his hammer and attacked Fien. The girl had no intention of blocking this crushing blow and decided to retreat back quickly. It wasn''t the hammer itself that she was afraid of, but what would follow that blow.


    Bam.


    The hammer thundered to the ground, and many cracks appeared from the impact, but that was only the first part of Dirk''s attack. His hammer was "Catalyst," so it was no surprise, that he attacked and cast the spell at the same time.


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after the strike, three stone blocks flew towards Fien from the hammer, leaving a deep mark on the ground behind them.


    It was - < Zero Level Spell - "Stone Wave", Element - Earth, Creation Magic>.


    The girl had expected something like that, so seeing the stone blocks rushing towards her, she simply jumped over them.


    Bam.


    The stone blocks crashed into the wall, but the arena itself was unaffected. The blocks were stopped by the barrier Fane had mentioned earlier. They just turned into dust, that''s all.


    Dirk''s attack wasn''t sessful, but he wasn''t going to stop there.


    Whoosh.


    The young man stretched his free hand forward and while Fien was still in the air began to cast another spell - <Zero Level Spell - "Summoning the Stone Bay", Element - Earth, Summoning Magic>.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment, a thick stone bay appeared beneath Fien and rushed towards her at lightning speed. Thanks to the rules, Dirk was not afraid to pierce through Fien, so he didn''t hold himself back. This attack could indeed do critical damage to the girl.


    Nevertheless, Fien was not about to fall for such a simple attack. She arched sharply at a strange angle and pushed back with her hand from the stone bay that had rushed past her.


    At the same moment, she began to gather her mana and prepare for the attack.

 Chapter 67 - Stone And Wind

    Fien dodged two of Dirk''s attacks and now it was her turn to attack. Like thest time she had fought against Evan, her weapon was a snow-white rapier.


    Pushing herself back from the stone bay, she began to gather mana and in a moment, a wind vortex appeared around her rapier. She cast - "Humble Whirlwind", now her weapon was more deadly and had an increased area of damage.


    Fien understood that she was faster and more agile than Dirk, and she needed to use it. Moreover, the hammer was a slow and heavy weapon, while the rapier could attacked dozens of times in a matter of seconds.


    Shended and rushed toward Dirk at lightning speed. The young man wasn''t going to dodge, he was just going to take a blow and block it.


    ng.


    Fein swung her rapier from top to bottom, intending to wound her opponent. But Dirk simply set the hilt of his hammer to the blow andpletely negated the girl''s blow.


    Nevertheless, Fien wasn`t upset by this oue, for her n was fully executed.


    Whoosh.


    The girl jumped aside and looked at her opponent. At this moment, Dirk''s face contorted in pain, as Fien didn''t just attack him. When she had struck, she`d cast her summoning spell and a thick root pierced Dirk''s leg.


    Dirk clenched his teeth in pain, broke and pulled the root out. Now Dirk realized that he had underestimated Fien, and that he needed to pull himself together. Now he realized how many opportunities the rules that Fane had set up could give.


    Whoosh.


    Dirk''s "Warp" spun and changes began to happen to his hammer. A thickyer of stone began to cover the weapon. Sharp, stone spikes grew on the striking part of the hammer. The hammer looked more menacing now. The spell Dirk had cast was very simr to Evan''s "Ice Veil".


    The hammer was stronger, but much heavier. In his normal state Dirk could swing his hammer with one hand with ease. Now as he was wounded and the hammer was covered in ayer of stone, he needed to hold the weapon with both hands.


    On the one hand, it might seem that Dirk made a mistake using this spell, as he became even slower, and he was well aware of that.


    He couldn''t be as fast as Fien, much less with an injured leg. Therefore, Dirk staked on slow but very powerful strikes.


    The young man did not attack, but kept a close eye on Fien and her actions. He intended to block each of her attacks and look for the right moment to his attack. If Fien wanted to win, she simply had no choice but to attack him herself.


    However, she was in no hurry to attack. Her opponent was already wounded, which meant she just had to build up her advantage.


    Whoosh.


    Fien gathered mana and a green magic circle appeared from the ground behind Dirk. Just likest time, the thick root rushed to pierce her opponent''s leg, but this time Dirk was ready for such an attack.


    Whoosh.


    He swung his massive hammer and smashed the root into pieces.


    Fien frowned, her attack was ineffective, but to drain her opponent''s strength she cast the spell several more times. Dirk destroyed each of the roots before they got to him.


    After several unsessful attempts, Fien stopped attacking Dirk, as it was a waste of mana, which she had less than Dirk.


    Their duel slowed for a few seconds, but Dirk''s next actions shook everyone in the arena.


    Whoosh.


    Two magical circles instantly appeared next to Fien and the stone bays flew straight at her. Of course, she had expected such an attack, so she could easily dodge them.


    However, Dirk had no hope that such an attack could hurt Fien. It was a distraction.


    The moment the stone bays appeared next to Fien, another appeared next to Dirk. The young man was wounded, but seeing that their fight was not moving from a dead point, he decided to act.


    Whoosh.


    Dirk jumped into the air and pushed himself back from the stone bay with all his might.


    Crack.


    Dirk was incredibly strong, so at the same moment the stone bay fell apart. He flew toward the girl like a bullet.


    A secondter, Dirk was at Fien''s side. The girl hadn`t expected such an entric and daring attack. She only had time to dodge the two stone bays as the massive hammer was already bearing down on her.


    Bam.


    Fien tried to block the blow, but it did her no good. The spiked hammer mmed into the girl''s left arm, sending her flying back several meters.


    Dirk spent quite a lot of mana and strength on thisbination. One bounce from the stone bay brought him terrible pain, but he was pleased with his result.


    With her face contorted with pain, Fien slowly rose. Her left arm was not just broken, but shattered by the spiked hammer. It was a terrifying sight, but you could get worse wounds on the battlefield.


    Of course, Dirk''s blow was very powerful, such an attack would have easily killed an ordinary person. But magicians were much stronger, and their bodies were stronger than others.


    When a person bes a magician, even if he is just a beginner, he is already strikingly different from those who have no talent for magic. Not only does mana allow magicians to use spells, but it also allows them to be stronger.


    That''s why Fien was able to withstand such a powerful blow. If she hadn''t been a magician, she wouldn''t have been able to survive the attack of such a physically strong opponent.


    For the same reason, there was no inequality between the two sexes in the world of magicians. Whether you were a woman or a man, it didn''t matter. The strongest person decided everything. If a man and a woman were equal in strength, then they had the same status.


    No advantage was given to either side, nor were any indulgences given. For some, absolute equality was a real curse, but for others it was considered the ideal treatment of one another. Everyone was free to go his or her own way and not to conform to anyone else.


    Why made up something, putbels on a person or treated him with witting dislike if it simply made no sense? Power decided everything, and this applied not only to gender equality, but to the whole structure of ns and Families and politics.


    Of course, humans are not soulless tools and they all have feelings. Freedom is also about being free to do what you want and think. But, if you turn out to be wrong in that case, you have to be prepared for the consequences.


    Fien was seriously injured. Her left arm was nowpletely useless, but that didn''t mean she was going to give up because of it. Her opponent also didn''t have much strength left, which meant she had a chance to win.

 Chapter 68 - The Simple Outcome

    With an icy stare and a calm face, Fien rushed toward Dirk. They were both wounded: Fien could no longer use her left arm, while Dirk had great difficulty moving.


    The wound that the root had left was not serious itself, but the tremendous strain to which he had subjected his leg during the jump made himself felt. If he did something like that again, he would suffer a serious fracture and then he would definitely lose.


    Both Fien and Dirk had three spells of different Types of Magic. Evan also had the same, because it was logical. As you don''t know what ss you have, so it''s better to prepare for all oues at once rather than betting it all on one.


    But, this choice also has its disadvantages. First, you have to fight as if you are both "Creator", "Amplifier" and "Summoner" at once. You can''t concentrate on just one type of magic.


    Secondly, your weapons also have to fit all sses. For example, "Amplifier" will never fight in closebat with a staff or a wand. In general, this choice makes a beginner magician an all-rounder, but it also prevents him from concentrating on only one type of magic.


    Fien still had one spell she hadn''t used yet, and that''s "Wind Cutter". Fien couldn''t find the right moment to use it, since she was well aware that Dirk''s hammer would easily take a hit. But, now, she had no choice but to get close and try to finish things off with one blow.


    Dirk could hold out for a long time, but if Fien got another hit, she would definitely lose. You can''t fight when you have two arms broken.


    Whoosh.


    In a second, Fien got to her opponent. Dirk prepared to block the attacks that were alreadying at him.


    Swing. Swing. Swing.


    Fien swung her rapier several times swiftly and inflicted several shallow wounds on Dirk. Dirk tried to block the attacks, but he was no good at it. He knew that sooner orter he would get too many wounds and wouldn''t even be able to hold the hammer in his hands.


    Swing.


    Dirk swung the hammer and brought it down on Fien. The girl reacted instantly and jumped back.


    <Now!> Fien thought to herself and swung her de in the air.


    Whoosh.


    A crescent-shaped wind de instantly formed in the air and headed straight for Dirk. The young man hadn''t expected it, there was no way he could dodge it, but he could defend himself.


    His "Warp" spun, and instantly a stone bay appeared in front of him. He intended to defend himself with it against the "Wind Cutter"ing at him, and he seeded.


    Bam.


    The wind de mmed into the block of stone and shattered it, but on impact the de dissipated and Dirk was safe.


    Fien should have attacked, but she did nothing. The girl just stood there looking at her opponent with a calm face.


    Bam.


    Suddenly the massive hammer rumbled to the ground just as one of Dirk''s hands did.


    It was all about the fact that during her diligent training Fien had made some progress, namely that her "Awareness" in "Wind Cutter" had reached the "Beginner" stage.


    As the "Awareness" grows, not only does the magician be more experienced, but the spell itself strengthens.


    "Wind Cutter" didn''t be more powerful,rger, or faster, it underwent other changes. There were two des instead of one, but the second was close to the first, so it was almost invisible.


    The first de pierced the stone bay and the second hit the exact target, cutting off Dirk''s arm.


    The young man was in pain, but he did not scream. Dirk clenched his teeth and held the bleeding wound. Fortunately, he didn''t have to endure such agony for long.


    "I give up!"


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after Dirk''s words, a man in a white mantle appeared beside him. He was one of the "Summoners" of the Erden Family, who was supposed to treat all the participants.


    He easily loosened the dead grip of Dirk''s hand, threw the hammer aside, and returned the severed limb to its ce.


    The man put his palm to the wound, and the next moment his palm glowed brightly with a pleasant light. After a few seconds, he canceled his spell and moved to thed''s leg. When he was done with Dirk, the man moved toward Fien.


    He did the same with her. A glowing palm went over every millimeter of her shattered arm, and then the man was gone in an instant.


    It took him less than a minute to heal such terrible wounds. Fien and Dirk felt just fine. They felt no difort, and there was no trace of pain. The only mention of their wounds was their clothes torn in some ces.


    Whoosh.


    As soon as the man in the white mantle withdrew, a girl in a ck suit appeared next to Fien and she held Fien''s hand high up.


    "The winner of the first round is Fien Vierdag!" The girl said loudly, then instantly disappeared.


    p. p. p.


    At the same moment, apuse erupted from the stands. Lots of people pped in recognition of Fien''s victory.


    This fight was the very first and opened the tournament, and as one would expect, it turned out to be a worthy one. Each of the contestants skillfully used their spells and came up with unusual ns as they went along.


    Fien looked around and saw Marcel, who was pping his hands with a satisfied smile. The girl headed for the exit.


    As Fien passed by, Evan said with a slight smile: "Not bad, this guy really is a tough nut to crack."


    Unlike the other spectators, Evan didn''t have any enthusiasm on his face. In his opinion, the fight was quite interesting, but both Fien and Dirk had made many mistakes. He couldn''t call their duel terrific or incredible.


    Fien replied, "I hope you don''t lose before you meet me."


    Evan remained silent. He didn''t return to the hall because he wanted to watch the other contestants fight until it was his turn. He hadn''t had the chance to see so many magicians fight each other before, even if they were beginners.


    The next round was supposed to start immediately after the first one, without any dys. But if the spectators and participants were ready, the arena wasn`t ready at all.


    Fien and Dirk hadn''t ruined it much, but the numerous ditches, cracks, and ces from roots and stone bays needed to be cleaned up.


    "Oh...interesting." Slowly Evan said as he watched three brown magic circles appear in the center of the arena.


    Three Earth Golems emerged from them in turn, each heading toward the damaged areas of the arena.


    The golems were summoned by one of the "Summoners" responsible for repairing the arena.


    When the golems got close to the cracks or trenches, their body parts would simply turn into the ground, thereby filling the voids.


    <The golems... they''re just perfect helpers> Evan thought to himself as he watched the golems at work.


    A few minutester, the arena was cleaned up and the golems were gone. Immediately after that, the second round began and Fane announced the names of the contestants.

 Chapter 69 - Deadly Attack

    When everything was ready, Fane immediately called out the names of the following contestants: "Vinor Guillerm and Katlyn van Erden!"


    Immediately after his words, a girl in a white robe with short ck hair and a short young man with thick brown hair entered the arena.


    They had no weapons in their hands, but both Vinor and Katlyn each had a Magic Artifact.


    Not every mage used Catalysts. They were not a necessity, and without them the mage felt self-sufficient. "Catalysts" were only an addition to their fighting style. Sure, some Catalysts enhanced spells or made them require less mana. But, everything was strictly individual. Everyone had their own peculiarities and disadvantages.


    So it was no surprise that mages were going to fight with their bare hands. It wasn''t the Catalysts that were their weapons, it was the mana and spells.


    Evan thought the second fight would be pretty boringpared to the first. But seeing that one of the contestants was a member of the Erden Family made him interested in this fight. He was sure of the oue, but he was curious to see what Katlyn van Erden was all about.


    It is worth noting that Katlyn was an unusual person for the mage world. She was strong enough to represent the Erden Family in this tournament, but that was not what was noteworthy.


    Only a small number of mages were known to have children, because riches and rare artifacts could not help a person awaken a talent for magic.


    Fien was Marcel''s adopted daughter and bore thest name, Vierdag, though he never actually had children of his own. It was the same situation in the Families. Each member of a Family was not a blood rtive, but a person whose talent the elders or head of the Family noticed and therefore offered to join them.


    For example, only one person with a talent for magic was born in a Cross Family for several generations. This was very rare. The birth rate among mages was catastrophically low, so such a thing could be called a miracle.


    In arge Family or n there could be tens, hundreds or even thousands of people, but even then the chances that a person with a talent for magic would be born were very small. During the time when one child is born in one Family, tens of thousands of ordinary people will be born.


    Also, unlike nobles, magicians did not seek to maintain the purity of their blood, they never cared about such things. The family name or the name of the n was established by its founder, and most members of the Family hadn`t been rted to each other before they joined it. They were not born at the Family, but became part of it in the course of their lives.


    The birth of a child with a talent for magic in the Family was an incredibly rare event, but possible. That was exactly the kind of child Katlyn was. Not only was she the daughter of one of the elders of the Erden Family, but she was the best of the younger generation.


    That was rare in the world of magicians, that`s why Katlyn was at the center of everyone`s attention right now.


    Both participants were already in the arena, standing in front of each other and waiting for the signal from Fane. Unlike Koen, Fane liked to participate and lead such events. It was fascinating and funny for him.


    Whoosh.


    A green orb appeared high in the sky and a green blob immediately fell from it. Katlyn and Vinor quickly prepared for battle.


    Drip.


    The drop reached the ground and at the same moment their duel began. Katlyn was the first to attack, she was going to quickly overpower her opponent and dominate the battlefield.


    Whoosh.


    Her hands were enveloped in crimson mes and she instantly attacked Vinor. It was the Amplification Magic spell - "Scorching Palm".


    To use such a spell you had to control it well, so as not to set yourself on fire.


    Vinor wasn''t about to miss Katlyn''s swift attacks. His "Warp" spun, and in the next second, a tall wall of sand appeared between him and the girl.


    His n was to stop Katlyn, but the girl wasn''t going to slow down. She struck into the wall for several times and easily destroyed it. At the same speed, she continued to attack Vinor.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Soon the young man was missing several blows, and as a consequence, suffered severe burns. He could barely withstand the hail of blows Katlyn unleashed on him.


    Vinor couldn''t counterattack from that position, so he decided to change the course of the fight.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, two yellow magical circles appeared next to Katlyn, then two sand chains emerged from them in a sh. They enveloped the girl''s arms and immobilized her.


    This was the second Summoning Magic spell Vinor had used. It''s worth noting that all zero-level spell of Summoning Magic had one fatal w - they couldn''t summon living creatures, only tools or nts.


    This was a serious limitation for "Summoners" who had only recently learned their ss or for newbie magicians like Vinor.


    While the chains held Katlyn down, he cast another spell, namely "Sand Spear".


    Whoosh.


    A long spear of sand appeared in the air, and a secondter, it wasunched at Katlyn. Vinor thought the girl was about to get seriously wounded, but he underestimated her.


    Boom.


    Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion in the air. Vinor was stunned by what he saw.


    His spear that he had hoped to pierce Katlyn with was sted by a crimson fireball! As the sand spear was hurtling towards Katlyn, she also cast one of her spells in opposition.


    A crimson fireball appeared in the air and crashed into the spear, tearing it apart. Vinor was shocked by this development. He hadn''t expected Katlyn to be able to react so quickly.


    Bam.


    The girl raised her hands up and hit the ground with force. The fire tore the base of the chains apart and the spell was undone.


    Whoosh.


    Katlynshed out at Vinor and at the same time two fireballs appeared over her head. From the first minute, she dominated the battlefield and had no intention of stopping.


    Vinor didn''t know what to do anymore. Katlyn easily broke through his defenses and negated all of his attacks. He decided to use thest trump card he had left.


    Whoosh.


    The amulet around his neck glowed brightly and the next moment a giant and very strong wall of sand formed between him and Katlyn. Using the Magical Artifact required a lot of mana, but it greatly strengthened the spell in which the magician poured his mana.


    The wall seemed impassable and moreover, it was slowly leaning down intending to fall and crush the girl with it, but...


    Bam. Bam.


    Unfortunately, for him, the two fireballs instantly changed their direction and crashed into the same point. There was a deafening explosion and then, a hole appeared in the wall through which Katlyn quickly ran. She was close to her victory and she wasn''t going to let this chance pass her by.


    Whoosh.


    The silver bracelet with the big red crystal glowed brightly, and the mes on her arms began to burn even brighter. She used her Magic Artifact to strengthen her spell.


    Whoosh.


    Katlyn gathered all her strength into a single blow, her attack almost reaching Vinor.


    Bam.


    Suddenly a girl dressed in ck appeared between Vinor and Katlyn. In her hands, there was arge blue ss shield, with which she easily blocked Katlyn''s powerful blow.


    Katlyn knew what that meant, so she cancelled her spell with a satisfied smile on her face.


    The girl dressed in ck walked over to Katlyn and, lifting her by the arm, announced the winner of the second round.

 Chapter 70 - The Quietest

    At the "Tournament of Precious Stones", there were two special people who performed certain functions. The first was a man in a white mantle, an experienced "Summoner" of the Erden Family. He healed all the participants, and with the help of Earth Golem brought the arena into proper form.


    The second such person was a girl dressed in ck from the Cross Family. Her job was to announce the winner, as well as to intervene in dangerous situations.


    Katlyn''sst attack would have killed Vinor. She didn''t realize it herself, but to a stronger magician it was obvious. Vinor would have burned to the ground in seconds. Sure, he probably would have been saved, but why bring it to such a sad oue when everything could be solved in a much simpler way?


    At the veryst moment, when everything was already decided, a girl in ck clothes appeared and easily blocked Katlyn''s attack. It was impossible for a novice magician not to break through the sturdy shield she was defending herself with. Not only did it block the attack, but itpletely absorbed it.


    Of course, this shield would not withstand a single blow from Koen or Fane, but as for the contestants they could not even scratch it, it was an unattainable level for them.


    Without these two people, the tournament would not have gone as smoothly and quickly. Naturally, they had a huge responsibility, but there was nothing to worry about, they had never yet given a reason to doubt themselves.


    "The winner of the second round is Katlyn van Erden!" The girl said loudly and immediately disappeared.


    Katlyn headed for the exit and at the same moment, a man in a white mantle appeared next to Vinor. Unlike the young man, Katlyn didn''t need any help. She hadn''t received a single wound during the entire fight.


    The man in the white mantle began to heal Vinor and at the same time called Earth Golem''s to repair the arena.


    While there was a short break between the second and third rounds, Evan reflected on what he had seen.


    <What a bore... when is it my turn?>


    Evan didn''t like this fight. As he had expected Katlyn won, but her opponent was too weak to make her give it her best, which made the whole fight uninteresting.


    When one of the contestants wins the fight by shutout, then all the intrigue disappears.


    Evan wasn''t happy with the duel between Vinor and Katlyn, but he watched their every move closely.


    Even from this short and predictable fight, there was much to be learned.


    He had seen Magic Artifacts in action, and learned even more Spells. He wasn''t really impressed with Katlyn''s performance, but he couldn''t underestimate her either.


    Evan thought her opponent was simply too weak. Since Katlyn wasn''t a stupid, she hadn''t shown everything she could.


    While Evan was thinking about the past fight, it was time for the third round.


    Evan looked at Fane with hope in his eyes. He hoped that now his name would be called and he would finally fight someone, but his wish was not destined toe true, at least not now.


    "Two rounds has been already over and the great thing is that we still have a lot to look forward to! d to introduce you - Rnd Jellis and Jurian Hoekman!" Fane said cheerfully.


    After his words, there were whispers among the audience. It was the name of one of the participants, Rnd Jellis that made such a stir.


    He was the son of Gilbert Jellis, the head of the Tower of Magic. Rnd was known as the most distinguished young man in all of Mossy Vulture. Gilbert had seen an incredible talent in Rnd and put all his efforts into making sure that Rnd could be the best of the best.


    It''s no exaggeration to say that in addition to the Erden Family and the Cross Family, Rnd was the top favorite in this tournament. Many even considered him the undisputed winner.


    Jurian had already entered the arena and was ready to fight, while Rnd was walking slowly towards his opponent. He was in no hurry, as if he was not at the tournament, but out for a walk.


    The dark-haired Jurian held a short mahogany staff with a blue crystal at its tip. Obviously, he wasn''t going to fight in closebat, since the staff was certainly no match for the Amplifier.


    Rnd was a tall blond man with short hair and azure eyes. He wore a long blue coat with a white cor. He had no weapons in his hands, only a small palm-sized shield hanging from his wrist.


    He calmly walked over, stood in front of Jurian, examined him, and said: "I''m sorry if I act tough. I just don''t want to drag out this obvious fight."


    From the outside it might have seemed like Rnd was a very arrogant man, but that wasn''t quite the case. He knew that a lot of people thought he was being overconfident, but he just didn''t understand them.


    In his opinion, he was not trying to show that he was superior to anyone, or worse, trying to belittle anyone. Rnd believed he had simply told the truth and warned his opponent to be ready for anything.


    Rnd often openly told the other person that he was much stronger than him and things like that. Most people thought such remarks were arrogant, but in Rnd''s opinion, he was just telling it like it was.


    He saw nothing shameful or disgraceful in anyone being weaker or stronger, so it was always surprising to him to hear from other people how arrogant he was.


    Of course, this is far from the mostmon way of thinking, but it has its own logic. Unfortunately, a society mired inpetition can never understand people like Rnd.


    ording to Rnd, if you were in fact better than others, this did not mean arrogance, but simply a statement of fact.


    Jurian didn''t appreciate Rnd''s words and only frowned. He did not like him at first sight.


    Whoosh.


    Fane cast his spell and the green blob was already falling down. Jurian was quick to prepare for the fight, but Rnd was as rxed as before.


    Drip.


    The drop crashed to the ground and their fight began instantly. Jurian quickly cast one of his spells.


    He wanted to be the first to attack and gain the advantage in their duel, but he just didn''t know yet that it was already over before it could begin.


    Suddenly Rnd''s gaze turned icy, and his "Warp" furiously spun.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment, four gray magical circles and an equal number of iron bars appeared from beneath Jurian''s feet. They quickly enveloped Jurian''s legs and arms, immobilizing himpletely.


    A momentter Ronald cast another spell.


    Whoosh.


    A man-sized sphere of water appeared in the air, quickly engulfing Jurianpletely. He was immobilized and denied ess to the air. Eventually he should have suffocated and died, but that was not Ronald''s intention.


    Crack.


    Water and iron have one simrity - they conduct electricity perfectly.


    Immediately after the water sphere engulfed Jurian, Ronald cast his third spell - "Strike Lightning".


    The mana gathered in his hand and gradually turned into electrical discharges, and then into actual lightning.


    Whoosh.


    Ronald swung around and threw a powerful white lightning bolt at his opponent with all his might.

 Chapter 71 - The Desirable Duel

    Whoosh.


    Lightning flew swiftly toward Jurian. The snow-white lightning itself was very dangerous, but the presence of water and metal around Jurian made it several times stronger.


    There was no way Jurian could avoid the lightninging at him. He was restrained by iron rods and imprisoned in a watery prison.


    Bam.


    The lightning almost reached Jurian, but at the veryst moment it was blocked by a ss shield.


    The girl in ck clothes waited until thest moment and realizing that Jurian had no trump cards she decided to stop this fight.


    Unlike Katlyn who was rejoicing at her victory, there was no emotion on Rnd''s face. He didn''t even bother to wait for the girl toe up and dere him the winner. He simply walked away from the arena, which at that moment was inplete silence.


    Everyone had already known who would win in the third round, but no one would have thought it would end so quickly. Rnd did not give his opponent a chance to win.


    What''s more, everyone was surprised by how quickly Rnd cast three spells ofpletely different elements. Each of them required control and a certain skill to immobilize his opponent so easily.


    It should be noted that Rnd didn''t use the water spell of the Creation Magic to attack, but to further immobilize the Jurian.


    Of course, Gilbert and the other strongest magicians of Mossy Vulture were surprised neither by the oue of the fight, nor by Rnd''s performance. Each of them knew very well how talented this young man was. In addition, during the fight Rnd always became really serious, which made it impossible to beat him.


    Evan watched Rnd leaving the arena and thought to himself, <This guy is interesting. So calm, arrogant, skilled and strong, just the thing. I hope we`ll meet as soon as possible.>


    Rnd was the first contestant who managed to impress Evan. Sure, Katlyn and Fien were strong, but Rnd stood out among them.


    Since Rnd outdid his opponent, their fight was over in no time at all. None of thepetitors were injured and the arena waspletely intact. That''s why the next, fourth, round began a few minutes after the end of the third one.


    Like all the other times Evan had hoped Fane would finally call his name, but unfortunately it was not what he wanted.


    The contestants for the fourth round were announced. They were two girls from noble Families, their fight was very long and in Evan''s opinion incredibly boring. He almost fell asleep while watching them.


    The thing was each of the girls had three spells of Summoning Magic. They tried to immobilize each other and find a chance to attack, but time after time, they failed. It was like a battle between two shield-bearers who could only defend themselves.


    The fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds followed. They weren''t as boring as the fourth, but they were still a long, long way from the Rnd`s battle. Evan had already lost all hope of a quick exit, and in fact, he had to wait a long time.


    ...


    Bam.


    Another fight was over and the girl in ck clothes announced the winner of the sixteenth round.


    Like all the times before, Fane pronounced the names of the contestants for the next - seventeenth round: "Soren Whitehead and Evan Lynch!"


    As soon as these words reached Evan''s ears, he felt an unprecedented relief and joy.


    It''s always nice to get something you''ve been waiting for.


    <Wait a minute... who''s my opponent? A member of the Whitehead family?>


    A satisfied smile appeared on Evan''s face.


    <It looks like I didn''t wait so long for nothing, it was definitely worth it>.


    Whoosh.


    Evan gripped Reverse Death tightly and headed for the center of the arena.


    Evan was a no one to most of those present, but Marcel, Zak, and Koen were watching him curiously. They all wondered how he would perform.


    "You know, Zak, from the first time I saw that boy he''s changed a lot. What''s more, Fane has put them in the same round, as if fate itself wanted to see a confrontation between these two."


    Marcel said calmly, looking at Evan. The young man walked slowly, holding his weapon tightly in his hands, and his long coat fluttered in the wind.


    Zak smiled and replied, "Yes, we''re really lucky, the contestants are picked right. It''s going to be exciting - I''m sure!"


    Soren also entered the arena after Evan.


    He had thick blond hair and bright green eyes. What strongly caught everyone`s eyes was that he differed from all the previous contestants by therge number of Magical Artifacts he had.


    Soren was, literally covered in them. He had rings on his hands, bracelets, an amulet on his neck, and earrings in his ears and all of them were Magic Artifacts. He was also wearing a full set of silver colored Magical Armor, from his boots to his shoulder pads.


    In his right hand, there was a snow-white long sword with a square guard and in the left hand - arge triangr shield with a blue gem in the center. Naturally, both the shield and the sword were "Catalysts."


    The Whitehead family had done everything in their power to make sure Soren won this tournament. They`d spent a lot of money to purchase Soren''s equipment.


    You could tell at a nce that Soren was a very arrogant man. He knew he was strong and rich and he was going to take advantage of that. Soren looked at Evan as if he were a bug he could easily crush.


    He couldn''t even entertain the idea that anyone other than Rnd would be able topete with him in this tournament. Soren was sure that with the help of the Whitehead Family he would never lose.


    The participants of the seventeenth round stood in front of each other, and Evan once again examined his opponent. He was amazed that a man could look so pretentious and ridiculous.


    Nevertheless, Evan was only happy about it. He could see perfectly well that Soren was looking down at him with a smug grin. Putting people like that in their ce was true bliss.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan swung his spear and pointed it at Soren.


    Everyone in the arena was surprised by his action, no one had ever behaved so boldly before.


    Evan said coldly: "Take off all your armor and artifacts or I`ll break them into small pieces."


    Soren didn''t expect this development, but he quickly pulled himself together and rudely replied, "Huh? Wearing Magical Armor is not forbidden by the rules. If you''re a miserable pauper, that''s your problem!"


    Evan answered nothing and simply lowered his weapon.


    At the same moment, Fane said loudly: "Wow! It looks like this fight is going to be different than the previous ones. None of the contestants had ever greeted each other like this before. Well, let''s hurry up and get started!"

 Chapter 72 - The Rushing Pressure

    Whoosh.


    Fane quickly cast his spell and the green blob was already hurtling toward the ground. Soren quickly prepared for the fight, as for Evan, he was standing rxed in his ce. He had been waiting a long time for this fight, so he was going to give all his best.


    In this short amount of time, he had already managed to get his impression about Soren. People like that think they are superior to others. Evan just loved to shatter all their illusions and show how wide and tough the world really was.


    Drip.


    The drip reached the ground and at the same moment, the duel between Evan and Soren began.


    Soren''s "Warp" instantly spun. He quickly cast a spell, and a multitude of blue lightning discharges went through his sword. Soren was about to attack his opponent, but Evan was faster.


    Whoosh. Bam.


    Before the lightning hadpletely covered the entire silver sword, Evan quickly stepped forward and punched Soren in the stomach with his fist as hard as he could. He didn''t waste time casting any kind of spell- striking first was far more important.


    Because of the Lion Sigil, Evan was incredibly physically strong. Even the high grade Magical Armor could notpletely suppress such a crushing blow.


    Whoosh.


    The force of the blow sent Soren flying backwards a couple of meters, but he quickly regrouped and rolled back to his feet. He was in great pain, he was sure that if not for his armor Evan''s fist would have made a hole in him. He had never met such physically strong opponents before. But no one gave him time to rest.


    Whoosh.


    As Soren came to, a white-hot ray, namely the "Magic Missile", which Evan had cast just after his punch, flew toward him.


    He quickly put his shield in front of him and the snow-white beam reflected into the arena barrier. Soren was saved, at least he thought so.


    Bam.


    The next instant Evan appeared beside Soren and instantly attacked him. He aimed his fist at his opponent''s head, but Soren had time to react and put his shield under the blow.


    Bam.


    Thanks to his shield, Soren was able to withstand this terrifying blow. The force of the blow pushed him back several meters, but he remained on his feet. His hands went numb and his legs trembled.


    Soren did not understand what was happening. He had been overwhelmed and humiliated since the beginning of the fight. He had already missed several blows, while he himself had failed to attack even once. Evan just didn`t give him that opportunity.


    Evan looked at his hand, especially his bleeding knuckles, and said coldly: "You have tough armor, but that won''t save you."


    Whoosh.


    Evan lunged toward Soren and at the same moment, his "Warp" began to spin violently. Soren also decided to attack back, he couldn''t defend himself anymore or he could soon lose. He couldn''t let that happen!


    Whoosh.


    The bracelet on his right hand glowed brightly and he cast the zero level spell of the Creation Magic - "Ice Hail".


    At the same moment, a huge blue magic circle appeared in the air above Evan. In the next second, hundreds of ice needles exploded out of it, destroying everything beneath them.


    If Soren had cast this spell himself, without the Magic Artifact, the magic circle would have been many times smaller, as well as the number of ice needles. Sure, he had wasted a lot of mana, but that''s what Magic Artifacts were great for. For the right price, they gave a tremendous power.


    Soren didn''t stop there. The amulet around his neck glowed a pleasant blue light and arge magical circle appeared in front of him.


    Whoosh.


    A momentter, a veritable river gushed out, rushing straight for Evan. When the water almost reached Evan, Soren raised his lightning sword and struck the flowing river with all his might. Instantly blue bolts of lightning struck the water.


    In just a few seconds, Evan was trapped. Hundreds of icy needles were flying on him from top, while the river, charged with lightning, was rushing just towards him. It was difficult to dodge it, because the stream of water was too wide and too close.


    Evan, however, was not about to give up. He had his own way of avoiding such a formidable and diverse attack.


    Whoosh.


    Without any hesitation, Evan quickly thrust his weapon deep into the ground and then jumped over the river. Of course, Soren''sbination had its results. To avoid serious wounds, Evan had to use his weapon as a fulcrum and leave it deep in the ground. But, that wasn''t a problem for him.


    Evan was able to dodge the hail of ice needles and the river with lightning, and beating up Soren he could even with his bare hands.


    Soren did not expect Evan to do something like this. He couldn''t have imagined such a development. He didn''t have time to be surprised as Evan had already attacked him.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Evan threw several swift blows, aiming at different parts of Soren''s body. His opponent, though barely, managed to block every one of his blows. Of course, without his shield Soren would have lost long ago.


    His hands had long since gone numb, and every Evan`s blow made his body shiver. It was as if Evan wasn''t striking with his bare hands, but with a huge hammer.


    As strange as it sounded, as Soren took up a defensive position, not he, but Evan was losing. Evan''s blows were very strong, but his arms weren''t strong enough to withstand the recoil of the blows without consequence. Each blow to the shield wounded his fists and brought a dull pain.


    So Evan decided there was no point in trying to prate such a powerful defense without a weapon anymore.


    Whoosh.


    His "Warp" spun furiously and a magic circle appeared next to Reverse Death stuck in the ground.


    Whoosh.


    Thorny Ivy quickly climbed out of the magic circle and immediately wrapped itself around the spear. In one swift motion, the ivy pulled the spear out and threw it in Evan''s direction.


    Whoosh.


    The young man turned and caught the flying ck spear with ease. At the same moment, Evan''s pressure on Soren increased manifold. It had been difficult to him to block Evan''s blows when he was unarmed, but now when Evan had a powerful weapon in his hands, things had gotten really bad for Soren.


    Evan quickly attacked him, aiming at different points. There was no counting how many blows Soren had already had to block to avoid being seriously wounded.


    Bam.


    Another of Evan''s punches was blocked, but instead of striking the next one, Evan quickly flipped the spear and hit Soren in the knee with the hilt. The blow was powerful and painful, causing Soren to lose his bnce for a second.


    At the same moment, Evan''s left hand gathered mana, and the next moment a snow-white beam pierced Soren''s shoulder.

 Chapter 73 - The Unexpected Result

    Whoosh.


    Immediately after the blow, Evan quickly cast the "Magic Missile" and the snow-white beam rushed toward Soren''s shoulder. The beam easily pierced Soren''s armor, punching a hole through his shoulder.


    It was worth noting that Soren''s armor was high ss and should easily withstand the "Magic Missile", but, unfortunately for Soren, the spell was not the most ordinary one.


    Thanks to Evan reaching the first stage of "Awareness" in "Magical Missile," he was able to prate Soren''s tough armor.


    Evan was aiming for his right shoulder and for good reason now Soren would have a much harder time wielding his sword.


    "Bastard!" Soren shouted loudly, gritting his teeth in pain. He quickly stepped back trying to buy some time, but Evan wasn''t about to let him go.


    Bam.


    Seeing his opponent retreat Evan cast another "Magic Missile". The white ray flew swiftly towards Soren.


    Bam.


    Soren reacted in time to put up a shield, which the "Magic Missile" wouldn''t be able to prate. Evan didn''t expect to hurt Soren again with the same action.


    The moment Soren deflected the beam with his shield, Evan had already gotten close to him.


    Whoosh.


    He made a sharp lunge with his spear, aiming right where the "Magic Missile" had hitst time. Evan was about to wound Soren''s left arm even more.


    Crack.


    The spear sank deep into Soren''s flesh and he howled in pain the same second.


    "You allow yourself too much!" Soren shouted loudly and the two rings on his left arm glowed brightly. This time he used two Magic Artifacts at once, which greatly strengthened his next spell.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the lightningpletely engulfed his triangr shield and a secondter turned into a giant ball of lightning.


    Bam.


    He mmed his shield into the ground with all his might, then there was a deafening explosion.


    Evan and Soren were thrown several meters away from each other. The st was powerful enough to cause serious wounds to the rookie magician. But to the surprise of everyone present, Evan was not injured as badly as expected.


    Once in the air he regrouped andnded smoothly. His left arm was badly burned, but he didn''t sustain any other wounds thanks to his sturdy body. Although, even Rnd would have been badly hurt by such a powerful blow.


    Of course, Soren was unharmed. His armor protected him perfectly, but his condition was terrible. He was wounded and exhausted. He had spent most of his avable mana on this spell.


    Using two Magical Artifacts at the same time had put a lot of strain on his body. If Evan hadn''t pinned him against the wall, he never would have done that. Soren only had mana left for one spell and he had no way to enhance it with Magic Artifacts.


    As for Evan, he was perfectly fine. The burns on his left arm were nothing. He''d had worse wounds in his training, and it didn''t matter to him at all.


    Whoosh.


    Without a second thought, Evan dashed straight for Soren. Victory was nearly in his hands, and all that was left was the final step.


    He quickly reached Soren and began to attack him. He made several quick lunges with his spear, which Soren easily blocked, but his n was a bit different.


    After another blocked blow, Evan changed his tactics. His next punch he was going to hit into apletely different ce.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the spear changed its trajectory and went towards Soren''s foot. He saw it and hurriedly ducked, but suddenly he felt something hard squeeze his left arm.


    "Now you''re caught, now the fun part starts." Evan said coldly with a cruel smile on his face.


    His original purpose was not to wound Soren''s leg, but to distract his opponent and get close to him.


    Evan squeezed Soren''s arm with all his might and the next moment attacked him again.


    Whoosh. Bam.


    Evan threw aside his weapon and grabbed Soren by the hair with his free hand. In the next moment, he delivered a crushing knee strike to Soren right in his face.


    It all happened too fast for Soren to react at all, much less defend himself.


    The force of the blow was so great that Soren''s teeth were knocked out and he almost lost consciousness.


    Everyone was surprised by Evan`s actions. No one had expected to see such a thing from a young man unknown to anyone. While the other participants were popr in certain circles or belonged to a noble family, Evan was a no one.


    His connections and acquaintances in Mossy Vulture were limited to Zak, Marcel, and Koen. He knew none of the other powerful magicians.


    Everyone was amazed at Evan''s power, and they knew that Evan''s full victory was just around the corner. But, none of them even suspected that Evan''s main goal was not victory at all.


    Whoosh.


    In one swift movement, Evan twisted Soren''s wrist, thereby breaking it. The triangr shield fell to the ground.


    Evan then did the same to Soren''s right arm. Within seconds, he had broken two of his opponent''s arms, and Evan had no intention of stopping.


    He picked up Soren''s silver sword and gripped it tighter. He was going to overpower his enemy with his own weapon.


    When the girl in ck clothes saw Evan attack, she was about to intervene in the fight and stop Evan, but suddenly she heard Fane''s harsh voice.


    "Don''t move."


    The girl was taken aback by Fane''s words, but she dared not move.


    "Mr. Fane, he''s going to kill him now!"


    The girl tried to save the situation, but Fane simply replied.


    "Do you really think he''s going to kill him? You are deeply mistaken. Evan will do anything to keep Soren alive as long as possible."


    She didn''t know what Fane was talking about, but when she saw Evan''s next move she understood. She had never imagined that one of the participants would be so violent.


    Whoosh.


    Evan gripped his sword tighter, and the weapon was instantly covered in a thickyer of ice.


    Whoosh.


    Evan swung the sword and cut Soren''s right arm off in one swift movement. As Evan had used the "Ice Veil", the flesh was frozen and bleeding had not begun.


    Soren was in real agony, he felt like he was in hell with his personal demon-executioner.


    Unfortunately for him, Evan wasn''t going to stop there. He swung his sword once more and Soren''s left arm flew aside.


    Bam.


    Soren just fell to the ground without strength. He no longer thought of winning he had been smashed to smithereens. For him, it was the greatest failure of all.


    Crack.


    Suddenly Soren heard a strange sound, as if something was breaking. Lifting his head, he saw that Evan had broken one of his rings. Soren was horrified. These Artifacts were far more valuable than his victory.


    "I surren..."


    Soren tried to surrender so that this fight would finally be over. He had already lost, but he couldn''t let Evan destroy his Artifacts.


    Whoosh.


    However, no sooner had he uttered two words than two spiky ivies emerged from the ground and wrapped around his mouth like a gag.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." At the same moment, Fane''s eerie and satisfiedughter spread through the whole arena.

 Chapter 74 - Rules Are Rules

    There are only two ways to stop a fight between two contestants. The first is if the referee, a girl from the Cross Family, intervenes and personally stops the fight. The second is if one of the contestants decides to surrender.


    These rules are quite simple, which is why you could maneuver well between them. There must be a good reason for the referee to intervene in a fight.


    Of course, the main reason is a deadly attack by one of the contestants. If the participant''s life is not in danger, the referee will not interfere. In that case, if the contestant wants to stop the fight he must ept his defeat. Evan knew that very well.


    He had cut off Soren''s hands, but it did not threaten his life in any way. The cut ces were not bleeding because of the thickyer of ice, and Soren was still conscious. ording to the rules, there was no reason for the referee to intervene.


    Initially, Soren thought Evan had given him the fatal blow and their duel would be stopped. But when he saw what Evan was doing with his Magic Artifacts he immediately rushed to surrender. Except Evan was ready for that, so he quickly cast the Thorny Ivy Call and didn''t let Soren say a word.


    It was clear to everyone in the arena that their fight was over, but the rules allowed it to continue. Evan was about to take full advantage of that.


    Whoosh.


    Evan took the bracelets off Soren''s hands lying on the ground and began squeezing them as hard as he could. Unfortunately, the bracelets were much stronger than the previous ring and Evan had no luck to destroy them easily. But the solution quickly came up.


    "Your bracelets are quite tough, but don''t worry, I''ll break them for sure. AHAHAHAHAHAHAH." Evan said loudly and put the bracelets on the ground.


    The next moment he gripped Soren''s sword tighter and mmed it into the bracelets with all his might.


    Crack.


    The force of the blow shattered one of the bracelets into many pieces. Evan had just destroyed an artifact that cost several thousand gold coins. And he wasn''t going to stop there.


    Bam.


    A second blow and a second bracelet was simrly shattered into pieces.


    "How satisfying, and the best part is that this is just the beginning!" Said Evan contentedly and headed for the immobilized Soren.


    The audience was in shock, suddenly the battle between the two young men took a very strange turn. Evan''s actions were not only very brutal, but also extremely thoughtful. It amazed everyone in the stands.


    Marcel was no exception, even he hadn`t expected something like that from Evan: "Zak, it seems to me that even when you were young you didn`t dared to do something like that. Everyone is just confused, this is the most unusual fight I''ve ever seen."


    Zak smiled and replied contentedly, "Oh, yep. I didn''t take this guy with me for nothing. I found him interesting at first sight. Look at Ralph, he''s about to explode with anger. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."


    In saying this, Zak was pointing at Ralph Whitehead, one of the elders of the Whitehead Family. Soren was his apprentice whom he had personally trained and equipped.


    Ralph was extremely unhappy that Soren had so shamefully lost to some unknown guy. But when he saw Evan destroying expensive artifacts he could no longer contain his rage.


    Crack.


    The moment Evan destroyed another ring, Ralph stood up from his seat and shouted loudly so everyone could hear him, "Stop the fight, everyone`s already known the winner!"


    He wasn''t particrly interested in Soren''s condition, he was more worried about the artifacts, which were fewer and fewer by the second.


    Everyone except Evan turned their attention to him. As for Evan, he continued doing his "hard work".


    Fane looked coldly at Ralph and said rudely: "Why the fuck does the fight have to be stopped? Do you see any vition of the rules?"


    Ralph frowned and quickly replied, "One of the contestants can''t fight anymore, and Evan Lynch did a mean thing that`s why Soren can''t give up!"


    He wasn''t going to back down, but that was his big mistake.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly a terrifying pressure began to emanate from Fane and everyone in the arena felt it. Fane and Ralph were far apart, but Ralph felt he had chosen the wrong opponent. Fane looked at Ralph like he was nothing.


    "Listen, you, piece of shit. The rules haven`t been broken whatever you say. If you don''t agree we can have another fight right now, just without rules. If you don''t have the balls to ept my challenge, then shut up and don''t open your fucking mouth again."


    Fane was never known for his manners, so his response was as rude as possible. In fact, he didn''t really care what Ralph thought. Evan''s fight was interesting to Fane, and he wanted to keep watching it.


    Ralph didn''t say anything back. He couldn''tpete with a man like Fane Cross. All he had to do was to watch Evan making aplete mess.


    While the two were talking, Evan had already destroyed all the Magic Artifacts. The audience had already realized what Evan''s goal was, so they decided the fight was over.


    A girl dressed in ck appeared next to Evan and wanted to dere him the winner, but Evan suddenly said: "Wait, I''m not finished yet."


    The girl as well as the audience did not understand what Evan meant, but soon they did.


    The young man had already destroyed all the artifacts, but there was something else that was intact, namely the shield and sword. The shield was very strong and breaking it was not an easy task, but Evan had an idea.


    He put the shield under his feet and grabbed Soren''s sword with both hands.


    Whoosh.


    He used the "Ice Veil" once more to renew theyer of ice that was already cracked in many ces. In the next moment, he brought the point of the sword down on the shield with all his might, namely the jewel in the center.


    Crack.


    The shield could not withstand as much pressure as the sword. The gem cracked and all the energy burst out of it in an instant. There was a deafening explosion in which both the shield and sword were severely deformed and turned into mere pieces of metal.


    Evan tossed the weapon aside and took "Reverse Death".


    Whoosh.


    He canceled his spell of the Summoning Magic and Soren was finally free. Evan raised his free hand high up and slowly walked out of the arena.


    There was no apuse for the first second, but then some people started pping loudly, namely Zak, Marcel, Koen, Fane, and even Gilbert.


    Seeing that, the others joined in, and Evan left the arena to loud apuse, not just for his skill, but for the entricity of his actions and decisions.

 Chapter 75 - Two Problems

    Evan''s performance was an indication not only of his strength, but also of his character. All spectators were amazed by this extraordinary young man, and Gilbert Jilles was no exception.


    He attended the "Tournament of Precious Stones" only out of personal respect for Koen and Fane. No one but Ronald interested him, at least not until Evan showed up.


    "Ronald, what do you think? I think you and he probably will meet in the finals." Gilbert said calmly.


    Ronald''s fight had finished long ago, but not to be bored he went up to the bleachers and took a seat next to Gilbert.


    The young man looked carefully at Evan leaving the arena and said quietly: "It''s hard to say...I can''t exactly determine his true strength, since he wasn''t fighting, he was having fun. Nevertheless he looked very powerful."


    Rnd hadn''t met people like Evan before, as he was something of an outlier. Because of his status, Ronald only dated geniuses or young men from noble families. Most of them were either very arrogant or very polite, no variety.


    "You don''t know where this guy came from? I haven''t heard of anyone like him in Mossy Vulture or the nearest towns." Rnd said thoughtfully.


    Gilbert stroked his beard and replied, "Oh, I don''t know this young man, but it''s not hard to guess where he came from. One look at Zak''s contented face and it''s obvious. By the way... wait a minute... about a month ago I got the news that a guy Zak brought to the Tower of Magic had destroyed a crystal ball in a fit of rage. Well, now I think I know who did it."


    "Zak? Isn''t he just a simple hillbilly?"


    Gilbert rarely told Ronald about anyone else, so besides Koen, Fane, and Marcel, the young man knew almost no one. Since Zak had no contact with anyone but Marcel, there was little point in talking about him.


    Hearing Ronald''s words, Gilbert smiled and nodded: "That''s right, he''s a real hillbilly. But, this hillbilly can fight me on equal footing."


    Gilbert didn''t say much, those words were enough to make Rnd understand.


    Of course, it was Fane who enjoyed Evan''s performance the most. He was quite an entric person himself, so he liked Evan immediately. It''s safe to say he was thrilled.


    "Koen, what do you think of this kid? I wonder where he''s from, I need to get to know him better. Oh, no, I''ve thought of something better. We should invite him into the Family! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Fane said happily.


    The girl dressed in ck reacted immediately to his words, "Sir! You can''t invite a stranger into the Family!"


    She could not stop Fane, she simply did not have the strength or power to do so. But, she had to at least try.


    Fane wanted to answer something, but he was interrupted by Koen: "It won''t work. I''m the one who invited him to the tournament."


    "What?! So you''ve already got him for yourself?! Give it back!"


    Koen smiled, looked in the direction of where Zak was sitting and calmly said: "If you want Evan for yourself, you''ll have to talk to Zak personally. Good luck."


    Realizing what Koen was talking about, Fane quickly calmed down and said slowly: "It''s not even worth trying here, more trouble than he`s worth. Instant capittion."


    Evan himself was pleased with the fight, but he was missing something.


    <He was too weak. Even that attack with the multiple spell boosts, didn''t hit me. Looks like I`ll be waiting for a worthy opponent for too long, only the finale will be really interesting.


    Evan didn''t go back into the hall, it was a boring there. He continued to watch the next fights, waiting for his soonest performance.


    After Soren''s wounds had been healed and the arena had been cleaned up, the eighteenth round began. The opponents were quite strong and their fighting was dynamic, but they could not bepared to Rnd and Evan''s fights.


    The next few fights were not much different from each other. In all of them, the rookie magicians used different spells, Magical Artifacts, and "Catalysts". Of course, Evan learned something new, but the skills of the contestants did not satisfy him.


    When it was time for the next round, Fane said loudly, as always: "Anika Horn and Enni Cross!"


    Upon hearing the names of the contestants, Evan thought to himself: "A girl from the Cross Family? I wonder if all the family members are like Fane?"


    Evan wasn''t familiar with the head of the Cross Family, but he roughly understood what kind of person Fane Cross was. Evan liked people like that, bold, strong, and a little crazy.


    The contestants quickly entered the arena.


    Anika was a short girl with long red hair.


    She was unarmed, but she wore an amulet around her neck with arge blue stone in the center.


    "Wow, looks like Fane isn''t the only entric person in the Cross Family.


    Said Evan looking at Enni.


    It was a tall girl with shoulder-length hair. One side was ck as pitch and the other was crimson as blood. She had gray eyes, just like Fane, but the most interesting thing was her weapons.


    "Brass knuckles? Seriously? Looks like somebody''s about to get beaten up." Evan said with a slight smile on his face as he looked at Enni''s two silver brass knuckles.


    It was clear at a nce that the girl was betting everything on the fact that her ss was an "Amplifier". Her stance, her weapons, and her gaze. It all pointed to her goal of being a great "Amplifier."


    Of course, if she got lucky with her ss, she could advance faster than other "Amplifiers".


    As for Anika, she didn''t catch Evan''s attention. In his opinion, she was an ordinary, unremarkable contestant.


    In fact, Fane and Enni were some kind of exceptions, the Cross Family was always famous for its manners. Every member of the Cross Family was a very polite and courteous person, but there are always exceptions.


    Fane and Enni said and did what they wanted, and their actions often caused the Cross Family great problems. You may ask, why did''t the elders punish Enni to keep her temper in check? It''s simple - because of her character she was a favorite of the Fane. She was, basically, the only person Fane cared about.


    Naturally, there was nothing the elders of the Cross Family could do about Fane, so all they could do was put up with his antics and hope that someday it would stop. In addition to having the same horrible manners as the head of the Cross Family, Enni also had an amazing talent. Enni was a capable magician and she was going to do anything to be stronger.


    Even though Fane was impressed with Enni, he wasn''t the one to choose the person who would perform in the tournament. Sure, he could have used his authority to decide for himself, but he was no fool. Only the most worthy and strongest people, not someone''s favorites should take part in the tournament.


    Drip.


    The green drop dropped and the twenty-fourth battle of the "Tournament of Precious Stones" began.

 Chapter 76 - Hardness And Bravery

    Immediately after Fane''s signal, Anika cast a spell. Ice crystals began to form around her, but Enni was not going to wait for her opponent to attack.


    It wasn''t even a second before the fight began, but Enni already began to attack. Her brass knuckles were enveloped in orange mes and she punched Anika in the stomach with all her might. Her attack was very fast and swift, she far outnumbered her opponent in physical strength.


    Anika tried to somehow block the blow, but the moment she tried to do so she already felt a terrible pain in her stomach area.


    Whoosh.


    The force of the blow sent Anika flying back several meters before she could cast her spell. Enni wasn''t going to let her do anything.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment the wind flowed around Enni''s legs and her speed increased dramatically. This was the second spell of Amplification Magic she had cast in this fight.


    Whoosh.


    In a split second, she reached Anika and hit her with the right arm. That strike was enough to knock Anika out and end this fight.


    However, Anika wasn''t about to give up so quickly. She`d missed a powerful blow, but she hadn''t lost yet.


    Suddenly the amulet around her neck glowed brightly and arge blue magic circle appeared beneath her. The next moment thick ice spikes emerged from the circle. They surrounded Anika protecting her and attacking Enni at the same time.


    Thanks to the use of the Magic Artifact, the spikes were many and each one was veryrge and sharp. They could easily pierce Enni and seriously injure her.


    There was no way Enni had time to dodge. She didn''t expect Anika to use such a powerful and massive spell so abruptly. She simply had nowhere to run, especially since she was in the air. She only had half a second to make a decision and she was able to make it.


    Whoosh.


    The girl folded her arms in front of her, the brass knuckles quickly extinguished, and a thickyer of wood began to appear across her arms from wrist to elbow. It was another of the Amplification Magic spells that Enni wielded.


    The "Amplifiers" could not only make their weapons more powerful, they could also buff themselves in all kinds of ways. From the "Amplifiers" `point of view, Enni was an all-rounder. She had a spell to enhance her brass knuckles, to speed and to protect herself. No matter what happened, she was ready for anything.


    Anika didn''t expect Enni to have such a thing in her arsenal, but the ice crystals had dealt Enni damage anyway.


    Crack.


    Two thick and sharp crystals crashed into the wooden armor, but broke it quite easily. The crystals went through and stuck inside bringing Enni terrible pain.


    "You, bitch!" Enni said loudly and one of her earrings glowed bright red. The brass knuckle on her right arm red sharply, and her whole arm was in brutal mes.


    Anika tried to dodge, but that was the end of it. She had no chance of finding a way out of this deplorable situation. The heat from the fire was so powerful that her ice crystals began to melt quickly, her skin to burn, by the way the same thing was happening to Enni.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a figure appeared in the arena to stop the fight.


    "Quiet." Said Fane, stopping Enni''s ming fist with a single finger. The next moment the spell dissipated and both girls were safe.


    To everyone''s surprise, it wasn''t the girl dressed in ck who appeared in the arena, but Fane Cross himself. It wasn''t his job, and he had no right to interfere or stop the fight, but he didn''t care.


    Naturally, no one was outraged by Fane''s actions. Everyone was well aware that Anika had no chance and if the fight had not been stopped, both contestants would have been seriously injured.


    The girl dressed in ck should have intervened in the fight, but since Enni was performing, Fane decided to do a bit of self-will. In any case, he showed up when everything was already decided.


    "Fane..." Enni spoke, looking at the head of her Family.


    He smiled in response and disappeared. In an instant, he was in his ce.


    As always, after the battle was over, all the contestants were healed and the winner was announced.


    Evan standing in the distance was pleased with the fight: <Huh, even though her hands were pierced with ice crystals she still continued to attack. This girl is a little crazy.


    If she had been more careful, she wouldn''t have turned herself under the attack, but then she wouldn''t have won so quickly.


    As he assessed Enni''s performance, Evan reflected on the fact that he had never seen the strong magicians` fighting before. Sure, he had managed to see the Zak vs. Ermis fight, but only the finale. It wasn''t enough to fully understand the power of magicians in this world.


    <I wonder how Fane and Koen fight, watching their fight would be a very valuable and rewarding experience.>


    Evan understood that for Koen and Fane there was no point in fighting as well as the other magicians. To see such battles he needed to go to a ce where there were no rules and chaos was rampant.


    <After the Academy of Magic, it`s necessary to take part in some sort of battle. Knowledge and experience in duels in the arena is certainly good, but it can''tpare to the real battlefield and war. It''s the only ce where you can outdo yourself.>


    While Evan was thinking about his future ns, there were other battles in the arena. He''d already seen enough, so all he had to do was wait either for something really interesting or his turn.


    ...


    Thus many fights took ce, and each of the participants entered the arena and fought. Anyway, in all that time there was no one topare with Rnd. He was still the main contender to win.


    As for Rnd his fight was just starting.


    "Fien Vierdag and Rnd Jellis,e on out into the arena and give us a show!" Fane said loudly.


    At the same moment, the eyes of every spectator were fixed on the two young men entering the arena. It was a fight between some of the main favorites of this tournament.


    Of course, more people thought that Rnd would win, his fight made it clear to everyone how skilled and strong he was. But, Fien was also very strong. The voting ratio was about 70/30.


    Marcel watched the arena intently. He was not na?ve and was well aware that Fien had little chance. Moreover, his score was even more critical than that of the other spectators, 90/10.


    He did not have a bad opinion of Fien''s skills, for her age she was a genius. It''s just that Rnd was really monstrously strong and his actions were impossible to predict.


    After Fane announced the participants in the fight, Fien immediately entered the arena. She had only her favorite snow-white rapier in her hands.


    Just likest time Rnd took his time. He cameter and on seeing him, everyone was surprised. Last time he had performed unarmed, but now he was armed with a huge axe, which he ced on his shoulder and held with one hand.

 Chapter 77 - The One Who Cannot Be Defeated

    To everyone''s surprise, this time Rnd was armed with a huge axe with a gray de and an azure handle.


    He leisurely walked up to Fien and waited silently for the fight to begin. Fien looked at the rxed Rnd, frowned, and said: "You`ve decided you couldn`t do without a weapon this time?"


    Rnd nodded and calmly replied, "You''re stronger than my previous opponent, but I don''t want to drag out the fight so I`ve brought it."


    As always, Rnd''s words were very arrogant, although he was simply answering a question. He didn''t mean to belittle Fien, but he really didn''t want to drag out this fight.


    Fien became angry at his words, and said nothing more.


    After the two participants had said a few words to each other, Fane began casting a spell. Fien quickly prepared herself for the fight, while Rnd was still indifferent.


    Roldan pissed Fien off. She didn''t like the fact that he acted as if she had no chance of winning. Fien was well aware of her worth and was not going to let other people look at her as if she was nothing.


    Drip.


    The green drip dropped and their duel began. Fien instantly pounced on Rnd. She was going to give him a few pointed blows with her rapier, but she underestimated her opponent.


    As soon as the drop crashed to the ground and their duel began, Rnd changed dramatically. His eyes became cold and his gaze serious.


    Whoosh.


    Before Fien could even do anything, Rnd quickly rushed toward her and grabbed her by the wrist with lightning speed. The girl had not expected Rnd to act so quickly and sharply.


    The young man wasn''t going to attack Fien right away, he gripped her hand tightly and threw her upward with force. He greatly outnumbered Fien in physical strength, so he had no trouble pulling off such an attack.


    As a result, a couple of seconds after the fight had begun, one of the contestants was already in the air. Fien was not injured by this throw, but she was very vulnerable while in flight. She had no way to defend herself, and Rnd knew that.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment his "Warp" spun, and arge magical circle appeared on the ground beneath Fien. In an instant, iron rods emerged from it and rushed toward the girl. Fien wasn''t confused and instantly cast "Wind Cutter". Two dense wind des mmed into the iron bars and cut them into small pieces, but Rnd was ready for such a development.


    He knew that Fien would destroy the iron bars he had summoned, so he cast two more of the same immediately after the first spell.


    Fien couldn''t destroy them all at once, so she was soon grabbed by the iron bars right in the air. She couldn''t even use her rapier, because Rnd made sure that the bars were wrapped around her right arm as tightly as possible.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Rnd appeared next to the bars, and electric shocks began to umte on his axe. Gradually they grewrger andrger, until they became a huge bolt of lightning.


    Rnd brought this weapon for a reason. The axe in his hands was a "Catalyst," which greatly strengthened the spells. When a mage casts a spell with this axe, he spends five times more mana.


    After this attack, Rnd will have less than a third of his mana left, but he didn''t think he needed it.


    Crack.


    When the lightning reached its maximum, Rnd did not hesitate to bring the axe down on the iron bars.


    Boom.


    The explosion was incredibly powerful and it was unlikely that Fien would be have able to survive it. Moreover, Rnd himself would also have suffered very serious wounds. Naturally, Fien had no chance to escape, she had no power to do so and did not know the right spells for it.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly two shadows darted into the arena and at the same moment, the fight was over. Rnd''s attack could have killed not only Fien, but himself as well, so it was necessary to save them both.


    The girl in the ck robe destroyed all the iron bars in an instant and rescued Fien from captivity, while the man in the white robe protected Rnd from the terrible st of lightning.


    Rnd looked at the bewildered Fien and silently left the arena. Despite the fact that Fien was much stronger than his previous opponent, Rnd defeated her just as easily.


    Until recently, Fien had never lost to anyone. But, then Evan beat her in a duel, and now at a tournament she had to fight Rnd, whose level was beyond her reach.


    What upset her most wasn''t that she lost, but how easily and quickly she was defeated. It saddened her to realize that she was far from the most talented novice magician, but she wasn''t going to stop at it.


    No one in the audience pped this time except for one person, Marcel.


    p. p. p.


    He was standing quietly and pping his hands with a smile. To his opinion, Fien had really performed well. Sooner orter, everyone meets an obstacle he cannot ovee. At such moments, one must not give up, but ept the defeat and go on. Only by oveing such obstacles, you can move on.


    Fien was relieved, she smiled weakly and slowly left the arena.


    As Fien passed Evan, he calmly said: "I won''t console you. You`ve lost because you were weaker."


    Fien said nothing back. Evan''s words were harsh, but it was truth. In such moments like Fien''s, the truth was very helpful. Only a full-fledged awareness of the cause of failure could help you to prevent something like this from happening in the future.


    ...


    Then the "Tournament of Precious Stones" continued at its usual pace. The participants fought, fought, and fought again.


    There were a few curious fights, but mostly nothing interesting. Rnd and Evan, from whom the audience expected the most exciting fights, just kept beating their rivals time and time again. They didn''t even have to work hard for their victory.


    Besides these two, a lot of attention was drawn to Enni and Katlyn, members of the two strongest Families in Mossy Vulture.


    Luckily for the audience, these two nice girls met fairly quickly in the arena. The fight was exciting, dynamic and brutal.


    Each of them wanted to win, no matter what, but there was one major difference between their aspirations. Katlyn wanted to defeat Enni to strengthen her family''s status, in other words, she was fighting for her family''s reputation. Enni, on the contrary, was fighting for herself. She wanted to be the only winner, and other reasons were not important to her.


    As a result, it was not the desire to help the Family that won the battle, but entricity and selfishness. Enni had a hard time, but she was able to defeat Katlyn.


    Naturally, their duel had no effect on the rtionship between the two Families, and in some ways, you could even call it a friendly match.


    Step by step, the tournament was nearing its logical conclusion.


    Fane stood up from his seat and called the names of the twopetitors for thest time: "Rnd Jellis and Evan Lynch!"

 Chapter 78 - Finale

    The finale is always the most interesting event of each tournament. Only the strongest and most capable make it to the finale, which means they give the audience the best show possible.


    What''s more, this time the finalists were two truly unique characters. The calm Rnd and the entric Evan. While most viewers expected Rnd to make it to the finals, no one thought Evan would do it, too.


    With each Evan''s fight, people became more and more convinced of how special this young man was. The closer the tournament approached the final, the more certain the audience was about who would make it to the final.


    It is worth noting that there was no tournament grid at all. Fane at his will called the participants for fighting.


    Some may say that this was wrong, and on the one hand it was. For example, Fane made Fien and Rnd fight fairly early, so some people who were weaker than Fien had moved far. But, it didn''t really affect anything.


    At the "Tournament of Precious Stones", only one person, the winner, was awarded the prize. If a participant wanted it, he had to defeat all of his opponents anyway.


    Moreover, the experienced magicians didn''t look at how early a participant dropped out of the tournament or on the contrary, how far he was able to move. All that mattered to them was the performance itself.


    After hearing their names, Rnd and Evan slowly entered the arena. Evan was smiling, he was expecting a lot from this fight. Every Rnd fight ended with him winning uncontested and Evan wanted to break that trend.


    As always, Evan was in his ck coat and with "Reverse Death", though he had never used his weapon to its full potential in the entire tournament.


    Everyone thought "Reverse Death" was a spear. On the one hand, it was Evan''s n, he wanted to take advantage of the surprise, but on the other hand, he always liked to leave the fun part to the end. Moreover, none of his opponents were strong enough for him to fight with a scythe rather than a spear.


    Rnd walked slowly toward the center of the arena. Oddly enough, he didn''t have his axe with him this time. Rnd had only used it against Fien, the others he defeated without using this powerful "Catalyst".


    To everyone''s surprise, he was holding a long katana with a blue hilt. He had never used this weapon during the entire tournament. It showed that Rnd treated Evan in a special way.


    In fact, very few people have seen Rnd use a katana. These people can be counted on their fingers. But there was a man in the arena who was well aware of how well Rnd handled the weapon.


    Gilbert had watched Rnd practice diligently with his favorite katana more than once. Gilbert did not know why Rnd liked this particr weapon so much, but he could say with certainty that Rnd''s progress was incredible.


    Not long after the finals were announced, Rnd and Evan stood in front of each other.


    Rnd was as calm and rxed as ever, and Evan had a slight smile on his face.


    "Katana? I haven''t seen you use something like that before." Said Evan pointing at his opponent''s weapon.


    Rnd nodded: "Yeah, I`ve figured this fight will be pretty tough without it. With it, I`ll beat you a lot easier."


    "Huh, whatever. You''re right, you better use everything you''ve got. I want an interesting fight, but you can''t dream of winning."


    Rnd calmly replied, "And you''re pretty arrogant as I see it. How can you tell another man that he doesn''t even have a chance?"


    After these words, the whole arena was in turmoil. People were more surprised, not that Rnd was saying this, but that he sincerely believed that there was nothing strange in what he was saying.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, and this ising from you? That''s the most contradictory thing I''ve ever heard." Evan was amused by Rnd''s response.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, a sphere appeared over the arena and everyone froze in anticipation. As soon as the drop dropped the fight between Rnd and Evan would begin.


    Normally, everyone in the tournament would begin to prepare for battle at the sight of the green drop, but Rnd and Evan continued to stand there with a rxed look on their faces.


    Drip.


    The green drop crashed to the ground, and in that same second, Rnd and Evan''s auras changed significantly. The young men became extremely serious and focused.


    Evan was the first to attack. He swung his spear and pounced on Rnd. Evan wasn''t going to reveal all the features of his weapon yet, so he decided to just make a few quick attacks to the same ce.


    Usually Rnd either attacked first or immediately counterattacked his opponent''s attack, but this time he did not respond in any way to Evan''s lunge.


    Whoosh.


    He swiftly bounced back to a safe distance and began casting one of his spells.


    Whoosh.


    His "Warp" spun and certain changes began to happen to his weapon. The katana began to be covered in ayer of water. From the outside, it didn''t look very dangerous, but it was deceptive.


    Even if the weapon was covered in water, the weapon still became much stronger. It was not just water, but a substance created with concentrated mana. In this case, the water coating became deadly.


    Moreover, the spell that Rnd had cast had another function.


    Whoosh.


    Rnd swung his katana. At the same moment, droplets separated from the water surface and flew at very high speed toward Evan. Now every time Rnd swung his katana Evan would have to watch out for the many lethal, like a bullet, drops.


    Evan was surprised by such an unusual attack. He easily dodged the drops rushing toward him and began to attack.


    His "Warp" spun and mana gathered at his hand.


    Bam.


    The snow-white beam flew out and reached Rnd in an instant. To Evan''s surprise, he didn''t try to dodge it.


    Whoosh.


    Rnd took one precise swing with his katana and destroyed the snow-white beam.


    Evan''s "Magical Rocket" was on the first stage of "Awareness". It was considerably stronger than its normal version, but Rnd destroyed the beam with one single swing.


    That swing showed not only how good and fast Rnd''s reaction was, but also how strong his katana was.


    <Hmm, the armor of that offspring of the Whitehead Family wasn''t as strong as this katana. What else would you expect from a Rnd weapon, though.>


    He was pleased with the quality of his opponent''s weapon. The more he learned about Rnd, the more interested he became in him. With each passing second, his desire to win their fight grew stronger and stronger.


    Crack.


    While Evan was pondering the katana, a white lightning bolt was already flying in his direction.

 Chapter 79 - Self Confidence

    After Rnd destroyed the "Magic Missile" beam with his katana, he quickly cast the "Strike Lightning".


    The snow-white lightning bolt flew swiftly towards Evan. Rnd''s counterattack was instantaneous, but Evan wasn''t about to miss such a blow.


    Whoosh.


    He reacted easily and dodged the lightning and dashed toward Rnd. At the same moment, he cast the "Ice Veil".


    Ice quickly appeared on the crimson sprout of "Bloody Perversity" and covered the tip of the spear. Evan''s "Ice Veil" was in the first stage of "Awareness," and this spell was also modified through the "Transforming of Spells".


    Evan reced the three Compression Runes with Explosion Runes, which greatly increased the power of the spell itself. Of course, he had to spend more mana than usual for this enhancement, but it was definitely worth it.


    Whoosh.


    Evan got to Rnd and swung his spear. Rnd was focused and watched his opponent''s every move closely. It was no problem for him to block and strike back quickly.


    Bam.


    The tip of the spear met the razor-sharp de of the katana. In the next moment, however, something strange began to happen to Rnd''s weapon. He dared not continue their exchange of blows and quickly bounced back.


    Rnd looked at his katana with surprise, <What the fuck? Why did this happen?">


    Part of the de, namely where Evan''s blow had hit, waspletely in ice and it was slowly spreading all over the weapon. On the one hand, there was nothing surprising about that, since his katana was covered in ayer of water and Evan''s spear in ayer of ice.


    It seemed as if the ice had simply frozen the water, but it wasn''t really that simple. The water and ice on the two young men''s weapons were impregnated with mana, and had differences from ordinary water and ice.


    Rnd was certain that Evan''s ice could do nothing to his water. In the young man`s opinion, his spell was much stronger than Evan''s, and so the ice on his spear should not have frozen the water coating on his katana.


    For example, if a tree encounters fire, it is logical to assume that the mes will engulf the tree and leave nothing but ash. But on the other hand, if the bark of the tree is very strong and the me is not strong enough, it can simply go out without hurting the tree.


    That was the oue Rnd had hoped for. He was discouraged by the situation, for if his water was frozen by Evan''s ice, it could only mean one thing.


    <His... spell is stronger than mine...? This was a real shock to Rnd.


    His spell was at the first stage of "Awareness". He assumed that Evan''s spell was as strong as his, but not stronger.


    This realization left Rnd at a loss. As for Evan, he wasn''t going to wait for Rnd toe to his senses.


    Evan ran towards Rnd and at the same time cast another "Magic Missile". Seeing the snow-white beam flying at him, Rnd came to his senses and reflexively kicked the beam away with his katana.


    The ice was gradually absorbing the water and Rnd knew that this had to be fixed urgently. Hitting the ground with the katana was not an option, it was not strong enough to break such ice. But, Rnd quickly found a solution.


    Bam.


    He ran up to the arena barrier and hit it with all his might. It wasn`t forbidden to use the barrier around the arena for one`s own purposes, so Rnd took advantage of it. He obviously couldn''t hurt the barrier, but the kickback was enough to shatter the ice into tiny crumbs.


    Evan was close by then, and he swung his spear and unleashed a crushing blow on Rnd. Rnd blocked it with lightning speed and stepped forward to grab Evan''s arm.


    Rnd was about to do the same thing he had done to Fien. However, when he wanted to throw Evan into the air, he suddenly met with an overwhelming pressure. It was as if Evan were stuck to the ground. No matter how hard Rnd tried he could not move Evan.


    "Looks like someone`s overestimated his abilities." Evan said with a smile as he looked at the puzzled look on Rnd''s face.


    Whoosh.


    The next second Evan twisted his wrist and grabbed his opponent''s arm tightly in return.


    Rnd knew what was about to happen, but he just couldn''t get out of this trap. Evan simply surpassed him in physical strength.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s muscles tensed and he threw the Rnd sideways with all his might, right into the barrier. Evan had originally nned to toss the Rnd in the air, but he quickly realized that this was pointless.


    Sure, once in the air the Rnd would be a perfect target for the "Magic Missile", but he would just destroy every of the beams with its katana. Using "Summon Thorny Ivy" was just as ineffective, with one easy swing of his katana and all the Ivy''s would be cut into fibers.


    So Evan decided to take advantage of the beautiful properties of the barrier, whose defensive reaction would be very painful for the Rnd.


    Evan threw Rnd with great force, but Rnd was not going to follow Evan''s n without resistance. He knew that it`s better not to fly into the barrier at that speed.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly several magical circles appeared behind him, from which iron bars flew out in an instant. Rnd controlled them and made them perfectly straight, like attice.


    Bam.


    Rnd crashed into the bars, thereby saving himself from the arena barrier. He was about to counterattack, but suddenly his ns changed.


    Whoosh.


    Vines of thorny ivy appeared behind him, quickly wrapped around his neck and thus chained him to the iron bars.


    Evan quickly sprinted toward his adversary. Seeing this Rnd swung his katana with force, severing both the vines and his iron bars.


    Bam.


    Unfortunately for him, Evan was already too close. The young man swung his spear at his opponent''s chest. Rnd fought off the blow, but suddenly he felt a terrible pain. Evan punched Rnd in the stomach with incredible force.


    The young man flew back several meters, and Evan was calmly heading toward him.


    At that moment, everyone in the arena was stunned by what was happening, and Gilbert was no exception. No one could not have imagined such a development.


    Gilbert frowned at Rnd''s sad state, he wasn`t angry, but he feared something.


    <Damn. This guy turned out to be surprisingly strong. It looks like Rnd will be a long timeing to his senses after this fight.> Gilbert thought to himself.


    He thought that Rnd was extremely depressed and disappointed that he was weaker than the other man in some way. Tonight''s fight was a great blow to him. Gilbert thought that Evan''s superiority, would break Rnd''s confidence in himself.


    It was only logical, when an overconfident person meets a harsh reality, he often breaks down, and quite possibly will never again have the confidence he had before.


    Whoosh.


    Nevertheless, even Gilbert was badly aware of how boundless and iprehensible Rnd''s self-confidence was.

 Chapter 80 - One More Time

    Most people think that being overconfident is a bad thing. A person can be overconfident or arrogant only for a short time. Sooner orter such people encounter an insurmountable obstacle. At such times, self-confidence disappears and is reced by self-doubt.


    In such a case, the person''s progress slows down considerably and most likely he will never be able to be fully confident again. And this means he will not be able to ovee some barriers and be even better because he no longer believes in himself.


    So don''t underestimate or overestimate yourself and your strengths, then you can understand what you can improve in yourself and how to avoid making mistakes in the future.


    But maybe some arrogant people just don''t have enough confidence in themselves and that''s why they give up so easily?


    Evan was walking slowly toward Rnd lying on the ground. Ronald could have gotten up, regrouped quickly, and continued the fight, but he had other things on his mind at that moment. He was rethinking what had just happened to him.


    <I`ve almost lost, he outsses me in so many ways, it turns out I''m not the best?>


    Most likely, every person in a situation like Rnd''s would think in a simr way. It''s never toote to realize and ept that you made a mistake or overestimated your strength. It is always possible to correct it, the main thing is to cope with the consequences of such a life-changing moment and endure them.


    As for Rnd his thoughts went in apletely different direction.


    <No, that''s bullshit. No one is better than me. I guess all the previous opponents were just too weak for me to need all my genius. To beat Evan I just have to find the strength, that`s all who was amazed. For a great genius like me, that''s not a problem, is it?>


    Rnd''s arrogance and self-confidence were so enormous that even a seeminglyplete defeat and failure could not shake his unshakable confidence.


    It was Gilbert, of course, who was most worried about Rnd. He watched his son closely, hoping that he would be all right and that this fight would not break him.


    However, when the young man slowly stood up, Gilbert''s eyes opened wide with surprise, and he was not the only one who was amazed.


    Koen, Fane, Marcel and Zak, all of them looked at Rnd in disbelief, they couldn''t believe that a rookie magician could be capable of such a thing.


    Rnd stood up calmly after the crushing blow from his opponent and looked at the leisurely pacing Evan, with a calm face.


    From the outside it might seem like nothing had changed, but it wasn''t. There was a strange aura emanating from Rnd at that moment, it was like a revived emotion, namely an absolute calm because of his self-confidence.


    The five strongest magicians of Mossy Vulture quickly realized what was happening. At that moment, each of them thought, <Rnd has entered the "Gust">


    "Gust" is a special magician`s state that not everyone can enter. Only some magicians and only in special situations are capable of it. Rnd''s boundless self-confidence allowed him to do it.


    In this state, magicians often surpass themselves, and the changes that urred to Rnd did not end there.


    Crack.


    In Rnd''s "Nirvana" something had also changed. Thest remaining chain around his "Warp" was shaking violently and soon waspletely destroyed.


    At that moment, Rnd not only entered the "Gust", but also broke through hisst "Barrier". It was a truly incredible experience. Virtually no one in the arena had ever seen anything like that before.


    Next up was the "Ssh," a phenomenon that urs after a magician breaks through one of his "Barriers".


    Immediately after that, strange changes began to happen to the area around Rnd. The ground next to it began to get wet until it waspletely covered with ayer of water.


    It was as if Rnd was standing in the middle of a small pond.


    Evan didn''t know exactly what was going on, although he had been in a simr situation himself. No one knew that Evan had already entered the "Gust" and broken the "Barrier", followed by the "Ssh".


    Neither Evan nor Rnd knew what these things were called, but that didn''t stop them from understanding what was happening now.


    Rnd looked at the pond beside him and grinned, dipping the de of his katana into the water. He slowly ran the point of his weapon along the edge of the pond. As he did this all the water overflowed into the katana making it much stronger.


    It''s no secret that the denser the stream of water, the more powerful it is. At this moment, something simr was happening. The water on Rnd''s katana became denser with each passing second, until the water around him waspletely gone.


    Evan felt intuitively that the situation was clearly not developing in his favor. He could easily see that, for some reason, Rnd had be not only stronger, but even calmer.


    Swing.


    The next moment Rnd swung his katana and dozens of drops flew toward Evan with incredible speed. He tried to dodge, but he didn''t quite seed. The drops were moving too fast.


    Bam. Bam.


    One of the drops hit Evan''s left shoulder and pierced through him, while another hit his right leg.


    Whoosh.


    Rnd reached Evan in one swift motion, grabbed his katana with both hands and struck with it from top to bottom.


    Despite the pain, Evan reacted instantly and blocked Rnd''s blow. Suddenly, he felt it getting harder and harder to hold his weapon with each passing second.


    Bam.


    His hands quickly went numb from the weight of Rnd''s sword. Evan loosened his grip and instantly flew back several meters. Rnd''s katana could not cut his "Reverse Death", but now he had enough strength to overpower his opponent.


    Evan was surprised by Rnd''s unexpectedly increased strength. At one point, a strange change urred with Rnd, causing Evan to start losing. He did not have enough strength and speed topete with Rnd.


    As a result, Evan was injured, while Rnd was at the peak of his powers.


    Not only were the spectators surprised by this scene, but the tournament participants as well.


    Fien watched the fight between Evan and Rnd in disbelief. She was amazed at how strong Evan really was, but most of all she was shocked by Rnd''s power.


    <It turns out...he wasn''t even at his best then, but...I still lost as soon as our fight even began...>.


    Fien was amazed at how different people could be in terms of talent and strength. If she was a genius, then who was Rnd then?


    But, she was to be surprised one more time.

 Chapter 81 - Cold

    "Zak, things are bad for Evan. I`m surprised he was able to corner Rnd, but now he doesn''t stand a chance." Marcel said seriously, looking at Rnd''s katana.


    Zak frowned and nodded: "Unfortunately you''re right. Not only did he enter the "Gust", but he also broke through one of his "Barriers", it''s unbelievable. He made it look so easy, like it was all just because he wanted to get stronger."


    "Anyway, Evan was more than worthy. I`ve never imagined he''ll be able to make it this far. He was strong enough to give Rnd himself so much trouble. Amazing guy you`ve found."


    "Yes, I agree, considering he has only recently entered the path of magic, his results are incredible."


    Zak and Marcel had a quiet conversation with each other. In their opinion, the fight was already over and the winner was clear. Rnd had only a few more attacks to go and that would be the end of it.


    They weren''t the only ones who thought so. Gilbert smiled contentedly and looked at his son with pride. Even he did not expect something like this to happen. For Rnd it was a real triumph and a step to the next stage.


    <How arrogant Rnd is. When I was young, everybody told me I was too arrogant, butpared to him I was the humblest man in the world>


    Koen and Fane were not left out and also discussed the finale.


    Koen calmly looked at the arena and slowly said: "Zak really found a talented guy, a little more and he could even win."


    "What kind of nonsense are you talking..." Fane said quickly.


    "§¡?". Koen didn''t understand Fane''s reaction, in his mind the battle was already over.


    "You''re great at judging people and their strength, Rnd is indeed superior to Evan in terms of results, but..."


    "But what?"


    "Rnd is absolutely serious and has already shown all his trump cards and more. As for Evan, he is enjoying the fight and this is just the first tipping point for him."


    With a broad smile on his face, Fane pointed to the arena.


    At that very moment, Evan quickly stood up and with a wide grin on his face said: "Well, you never cease to amaze me, now you can fight for glory!"


    Click.


    Evan pressed a button and in an instant, his spear turned into a scythe with a long, snow-white de.


    Rnd was surprised by this development, in his memory Evan had never used this method.


    "A scythe? And how are you going to fight with it?" Rnd asked puzzled.


    To him, as to all onlookers, the scythe was a very exotic kind of weapon. He was sure there was nothing Evan could do with such a weapon.


    But, he quickly stopped thinking that way. When the scythe appeared in Evan''s hands, his gaze turned icy and his aura changed dramatically.


    He was wounded, but if he didn''t pay much attention to the pain, he was quite capable of fighting. Rnd was at the peak of his strength at the moment, but even now he could sense the impending danger from Evan.


    Whoosh.


    Evan sprinted toward his opponent with incredible speed. Rnd swung his katana swiftly and several deadly drops flew toward Evan. He hoped to inflict a few more wounds on Evan, but his n was not toe to fruition.


    Whoosh.


    Evan swung the "Reverse Death" in a sh and the snow-white de sliced the drops in two. When Evan had held a spear in his hand, he couldn''t have achieved such a result. Using the scythe was a sign of his phenomenal skill with this unusual weapon.


    He quickly got to Rnd and began delivering crushing blows to him. Evan swung his scythe at different angles and attacked Rnd at unusual for him trajectories.


    Rnd had to use all his strength to block these strange blows. He could barely keep up with Evan''s pressure and speed.


    <What''s wrong with this scythe? Why isn''t it breaking?!> Rnd thought to himself as he fought off another blow.


    He didn''t understand why Evan''s weapon could calmly withstand the incredible pressure from his katana. The water coating of his weapon waspacted many times over, but it still wasn''t enough to do Evan''s scythe any harm at all.


    It was all about the fact that the "Reverse Death" was made of very high quality materials, moreover the "Horn of the Sacred Deer" which was the de of the scythe, was a very valuable material.


    Rnd was amazed by Evan''s increased strength, but he had forgotten something - Evan had not yet used the "Ice Veil" on the scythe de and there was a reason for that.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s hand gathered mana and a snow-white beam flew out toward Rnd. The young men were very close to each other, so the "Magic Missile" reached Rnd in an instant.


    However, even that attack he managed to block. The beam simply dissipated due to the density of the water on the katana.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Evan kicked Rnd and tossed him aside. The blownded on the young man''s left arm and was powerful enough to do serious damage.


    Rnd frowned, suddenly Evan began to corner him. He decided to act in response.


    Crack.


    A white lightning bolt instantly appeared in his hand and flew toward Evan in the next second.


    The young man didn''t fight it off, he didn''t have time for that.


    Whoosh.


    Evan bounced to the side and easily dodged the sparking lightning. There was a deafening explosion behind him. The next moment, everyone in the arena was in turmoil. Evan had done something no one could have expected.


    Whoosh.


    Dodging the lightning, Evan pulled a silver ring with a pale blue stone from his pocket. It was the Magical Artifact, he had taken for himself in the battle against Soren.


    He was going to break every Artifact, but feeling the aura of cold from this ring, he decided to keep it and save it for the fight with Rnd.


    Whoosh.


    The ring glowed brightly, and at the same moment Evan cast the "Ice Veil" once more. This time the spell would be incredibly powerful. It was on the first stage of "Awareness", had been altered through the "Transforming of Spells", and was now enhanced with a Magical Artifact as well.


    Evan had used almost all the mana he had on this spell, but it was definitely worth it.


    Crack.


    Immediately after using the ring, Evan violently squeezed it and broke it into the pieces.


    The crimson sprout of the "Bloody Perversity" instantly iced over and gradually transferred all of the ice to the white de.


    The ice was so cold that even in the arena, the temperature dropped noticeably, and the ground around Evan began to freeze. If that icy de reached the flesh, it would instantly freeze through.


    Everyone was anxiously waiting for Evan to attack Rnd. The audience couldn''t wait to see the frost scythe in action, but to their surprise Evan started doing some very strange things.


    Instead of attacking Rnd, he ran to the edge of the arena.

 Chapter 82 - Chains

    Evan''s "Ice Veil" was incredibly powerful, the snow-white scythe de exuding a chill so intense that even the spectators could feel it. But, instead of attacking Rnd, Evan for some reasons ran to the edge of the arena.


    No one understood Evan''s actions, including Rnd. He knew better than anyone else how dangerous his opponent''s scythe was right now.


    After a few seconds, Evan ran to the barrier and started doing some very strange things. He raised "Reverse Death" high above his head and thrust the white de into the ground with all his might.


    At the same instant, the ground began to freeze and gradually turned to ice. Evan didn''t stop there. Without taking the scythe de out of the ground, he began to move quickly around the perimeter of the arena. From the outside it looked as if he was encircling the entire arena with a ring of ice.


    All the spectators were confused, they did not understand why Evan was doing this. Rnd was just as puzzled, but he wasn''t about to let Evan do whatever he wanted.


    Whoosh.


    Rnd ran into Evan`s direction, and at the same time he started to cast "Strike Lightning". Hundreds of sparks quickly transformed into snow-white lightning that Rnd threw at his opponent.


    However, it was as if Evan didn''t see him, he continued to do his thing and had already circled more than half of the arena.


    Bam.


    The lightning bolt hit right on target, but Evan just swung his scythe and chopped it apart. Rnd was still pretty far away from Evan, he had to stop him somehow. He didn''t have much mana left, just for a few spells, but that didn''t stop him from doing the following...


    Whoosh.


    A gray magic circle appeared in front of Evan, from which many iron rods emerged. They tried to envelop and grab the young man, but not a secondter, they were transformed into ice and shattered into tiny shards.


    Destroying every obstacle in his path, Evan rushed on. Soon he had the entire perimeter of the arena covered in ice, and he wasn''t going to stop there.


    As a result, the entire arena was covered with a thickyer of ice and there were a lot of cuts from the scythe de there.


    Rnd tried to stop Evan, but he failed. Rnd could no longer afford to waste mana to stop Evan from freezing the arena. He had to save his mana for an emergency.


    When the entire arena was frozen, everyone was waiting to see what Evan would do to finally find out what his n was.


    Rnd was very careful. He watched Evan carefully and was ready for any action. But, Evan himself was in no hurry to do anything. He walked calmly across the cold and slippery ice toward his opponent.


    Like Rnd, Evan had very little mana left, considerably less than Rnd, only for two spells, and he wasn''t going to spare it.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" spun and mana gathered at his hands. It quickly turned into a white dot, and in the next second, a snow-white beam flew toward Rnd.


    Rnd prepared to fight off the attack, but to his surprise, the beam didn''te straight at him, but at his feet. When he realized that, it was toote.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion and a huge crater appeared where Rnd was. Rnd managed to jump away, but because he reacted toote, he got a lot of bruises on his legs.


    The wounds were not fatal, but they may have greatly reduced his mobility. By the time Rndnded, Evan had already been there.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his scythe swiftly. Rnd quickly blocked his opponent''s attack, but suddenly Evan cast another spell.


    Whoosh.


    A green magic circle appeared behind Rnd, and the next moment a spiky ivy vine enveloped his right leg. In any ordinary situation, Rnd would have been safe, but this time everything was different.


    His katana was busy holding Evan''s scythe, and he himself was standing on very slippery ice.


    Bam.


    The vines strained and at the same second, Rnd began to fall. He lost his bnce and the white de of the scythe was already hanging over his head. In half second, Rnd''s head would fall from his shoulders.


    The girl in ck clothes was already about to intervene in the fight, but Fane would not let her do so. He felt that it was not the end.


    Whoosh.


    In an instant, Rnd threw his weapon aside, leaned on the icy surface with his right hand, and quickly bounced back. The scythe de didn''t reach Rnd''s neck, it went past and deep into the ice.


    Evan quickly pulled the de from the ground, but by then Rnd was already striking. He swung his katana and several deadly drops flew toward Evan. The young man didn''t dodge, but simply repelled them with his scythe.


    Whoosh.


    In an instant, Rnd got close and did something very strange. He threw his katana at Evan, and at the same time, a thickyer of water began to appear on his left arm.


    Evan was surprised by such an unexpected attack. He reacted quickly and threw aside the weapon flying at him.


    Crack.


    At the same moment, the ice beneath Rnd''s feet cracked and he was beside Evan with incredible speed. Evan''s attention was focused on the katana flying toward him, so he had no time to dodge or block Rnd''s attack.


    Bam.


    Rnd''s palm slid deep into Evan''s flesh. He instantly cast the "Magic Missile", causing Rnd to retreat. Then Evan quickly bounced back.


    He was in a great pain, his shoulder and his leg had been already hurt, and now a deep wound was in his stomach. He tried to figure out what to do next and how to get out of this situation, but Rnd wasn''t going to give him a chance to win.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Three drops flew lightning fast toward Evan. He reflexively tried to block them, but he had too little power left. He was able to destroy two of the drops, but the third hit his left arm and went right through it.


    Evan fell, and his blood slowly flowed on the cold ice.


    The fight was not stopped as Evan was not yet in death. It was possible that Evan still had some trumps up his sleeve. But, one man didn''t think so. Rnd was pacing slowly toward Evan with a calm gaze.


    Everyone in the arena knew that this was probably the end. Everyone was pleased with the finale, which was much brighter than anyone could have imagined. What could be better than when a dark horse makes it to the finale and fights the main favorite to win?


    Everyone was greatly shocked by Evan and Rnd''s skills. No one could have imagined that newbie magicians could be capable of such a thing.


    Rnd leisurely walked up to Evan and calmly said: "I am stronger than you are. It`s clear, since I am the best. You''re good, but you''ll never be at my level".


    As always, Rnd''s words were arrogant, but there was no malice in them.


    Crack.


    When Rnd''s words reached Evan''s ears there was a loud crackling, rattling and nking of chains.


    But it wasn''t the chains around Evan''s "Warp" that were ringing, it was the ck chains like the abyss wrapped around the first Pir, next to the sleeping ck lion.

 Chapter 83 - Pride And Arrogance

    Every magician has a special space - "Nirvana". The presence of this space is what distinguishes an ordinary person from a magician. In "Nirvana" there is the "Warp" and therefore the whole power of a magician. This is the main and the only factor determining whether a person is able to be a magician or not.


    As you know, the "Warp" is shrouded in chains, in other words - "Barriers". When a magician breaks one of the "Barriers", one chain cracks and rings loudly. After a while, that chain breaks and it means the magician haspletely breached one "Barrier".


    Evan had experienced something simr before, and now again he could hear the chains rattling inside him. The ringing was very loud and eerie, as if it wasing from hell, and the chains themselves were forged in the abyss.


    Evan''s consciousness was in a strange space with a snow-white void transforming into infinite darkness. There was nothing in that space but a giant ck lion. It was sleeping quietly in the center of the ck magic circle.


    At the edge of the magic circle was a tall pir wrapped in many ck chains. They were the ones that were making that terrifying crackling sound.


    Whoosh.


    The ck lion slowly opened its deep, ruby eyes. In that second, Evan disappeared from that strange space and found himself back in reality.


    Evan was in a bad state, it was almost impossible to continue fighting with such wounds.


    Rnd had said hisst words and was about to leave, showing that their fight was over with his victory. But, suddenly, he felt Evan''s aura growing stronger and more terrifying by the second.


    Evan opened his amethyst eyes and looked calmly at Rnd.


    In that same second, Rnd experienced a very strange feeling. Evan was lying on the ground, covered in blood, while he was steady on his feet. But, for some reason, it seemed to Rnd that it wasn''t him, but that he was being looked down on. It was nonsense, nevertheless, it was reality.


    Evan began to rise from the ground, slowly saying, "You are very strong indeed. Your arrogance is justified, but..."


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    The pressureing from Evan increased manifold and in the next moment, Evan and the ck lion simultaneously pronounced: <"You think you can look down on me/him!?>


    No one heard the voice of the ck lion but Evan himself. It was ancient and frightening. Rnd and everyone in the arena were shocked by the sudden change in Evan.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Evan''s silhouette blurred and he reached Rnd in an instant. Evan looked very powerful, and his fist carried death itself.


    Rnd knew that Evan''s punch would smash him into the wall, and if he didn''t try to escape, his life would be over for sure.


    Whoosh.


    But his arrogance was even greater than his fear of death. He had no intention of giving up, even if he had no chance of winning.


    The boundless arrogance of one and the immense pride of the other came face to face.


    Whoosh.


    When Evan''s fist was about to reach Rnd, a girl dressed in ck appeared before him. This blow could have been fatal, so she had to stop him.


    "Get away!" Evan''s voice sounded, and he swung his fist into the girl''s ss shield with a swing.


    His attack was not capable of prating a Magical Artifact of such high ss, but it still didn''t save the girl.


    The shield absorbed the full force of the blow, but because of such incredible power, the girl''s hands instantly went numb, and she flew away at the speed of a bullet. The girl hit the barrier with her back and numerous waves of energy spread across it.


    Evan had no intention of stopping, and neither did Rnd. Their blows had already almost reached each other. It didn''t even bother them that Evan had got rid of the referee with one attack.


    Whoosh.


    A man in a white mantle appeared behind Rnd and instantly carried him out of the arena.


    "Fuck!"


    Evan wanted to punch Rnd properly, but they wouldn''t let him do it. The desire to destroy something overwhelmed him.


    Bam.


    Deciding there was nowhere else to vent his umted rage, Evan mmed his fist into the ground with all his might.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    The ice crumbled instantly, and hundreds of cracks went through the entire arena. Since Evan had previously frozen the entire arena, one of his blows was enough topletely destroy it.


    Along with the arena, the protective barrier around it was also destroyed. This was an unprecedented event in the history of the "Tournament of Precious Stones".


    After Rnd had been saved and the entire arena had been destroyed, Evan fell to the ground without strength, breathing heavily. He already had very little strength, so these few attacks took thest drops of it.


    The audience was stunned by such an unrealistic oue to the finale. No one could believe what had just happened. Rnd was not only defeated by the unknown Evan, but also the arena was destroyed.


    What''s more, even the referee was hurt. For the whole tournament, none of the contestants had even moved her with their attack, while Evan easily tossed her aside.


    There was silence throughout the arena, and only Evan''s heavy breathing could be heard.


    "Why is everyone silent? We have a winner!"


    Fane said loudly and began pping his hands. He wasn''t embarrassed by Evan''s strange condition or what he had done to the arena. Evan was stronger and he won-that was the most important thing and the only thing that mattered.


    p. p. p.


    There was a veritable wave of apuse in the stands after his words. They were witnessing a truly amazing event.


    Fane continued: "That fight was the best I''ve ever seen! Memorize what a real fight should look like! You have to use everything to win, even if the way seems impossible, that shouldn''t stop you!"


    "The winner of the "Tournament of Precious Stones" is Evan Lynch!" Fane easily made a crowd go crazy and the entire arena drowned in endless apuse.


    "Zak, this is fantastic. Evan''s even crazier than you are." Marcel was no exception as he was truly enthralled by what he had seen. He pped and reyed the whole battle between Rnd and Evan in his head.


    "I agree! Looks like this guy is going to outdo all of us in the future!" Zak''s joy was boundless. He had never even imagined that Evan would win.


    "Are you okay?" Gilbert turned to his son.


    He was worried about Rnd and his emotional state. To his surprise, Rnd said:


    "Of course, what could happen to me? If Evan won, then it was necessary for me to be even better."


    Gilbert was confused by this response: <Even in such a situation his arrogance has gone nowhere...amazing...>.


    Koen looked at Evan calmly, but there was a real storm of emotions inside him.


    <This aura and the pressure... this guy is bound to be great in the future.>


    Evan himself was lying in the middle of the wreckage of ice and looking at the beautiful blue sky. Clouds were slowly drifting across the vast sky, and the sun was shining brightly, illuminated the earth.


    With a satisfied smile on his face, he muttered: "Victory."

 Chapter 84 - The Pond Of Mountain Crystals

    "The Tournament of Precious Stones" was over. The finalists had been cured, and the arena had been restored to proper condition.


    The spectators had received an incredible spectacle, and the participants had gained valuable experience and knowledge. And the winner was properly rewarded.


    Fane and Cross hadn`t said about the prize in the arena. It wasn''t some secret, but they thought it was better to do it in a ce with fewer people.


    ...


    Koen, Fane, Marcel, Zak and Evan were in Koen''s office. This was where would be announced about Evan`s award. Only Evan was supposed toe here, but when Zak wanted to attend the award, Koen and Fane couldn''t refuse him. Marcel was just curious and joined them.


    Koen looked at Evan calmly and said: "Evan, originally Fane and I wanted to give you the "Catalyst" or the "Magic Artifact" of your choice. But, Fane insisted to me that such a prize won''t suit you. You already have a great weapon, so we have something special for you."


    Fane continued, "As far as we know, you''ll be going to the Academy of Magic in about two weeks. I''m sure you''ll shine brightest there, and I want to suggest that you make the most of the time you have left. For the next two weeks, you''re allowed ess to the fourth section of the "Pond of Mountain Crystals".


    Evan didn''t know what that was, but Marcel and Zak did. Marcel smiled and Zakughed out loud, "AHAHAHAHAHAHA, you''re very lucky Evan, it really is the perfect reward for you."


    Koen quickly exined everything, "The "Pond of Mountain Crystals" is a special ce that belongs to the Erden Family and the Cross Family. There are thousands of mana-filled crystals in this ce. As you might have guessed by now, you can ''Create" there many times faster than usual."


    Evan nodded, the description of the room in the Zak mansion was simr to this pond, only it was a whole other level.


    "The fourth section contains the crystals with the most mana. Unfortunately, they deplete rather quickly and it takes a long time for them to recharge with mana. For this reason, only a select few are allowed to enter there."


    Koen sighed and continued: "Even the most talented members of our Families are very rarely allowed to enter the fourth section. I think you''ll make excellent progress in two weeks and be ready to move on."


    Evan listened intently to Koen, he couldn''t wait to see this amazing ce.


    "Come to the entrance of the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" tomorrow, Marcel knows where it is, I don''t think he''ll have any trouble getting you in. Our men will let you in and take you where you need to go." Koen said calmly looking at Evan.


    This reward was indeed very valuable and useful. Anyone in Mossy Vulture would have wished they were in Evan''s shoes right now. Since Evan was not a member of the Erden Family or the Cross Family, he had almost no chance of being in that ce. Winning the Gem Tournament was the only way to gain ess to this ce.


    Marcel nodded and that was the end of their conversation.


    ...


    Evan was in high spirits. Although he had fought on a muchrger scale in his past life, he had rarely felt such emotion as he had during the tournament finals,rgely due to the fact, that Rnd was an excellent opponent.


    It takes proper opponents andpetition to move forward. An incredible genius like Rnd was able to ignite a fire in Evan, and his me burned just as brightly.


    Evan wanted to go home and have a rest, but Marcel stopped him, "Evan, I think we need to celebrate your victory properly. Let''s go to my restaurant the "Paradise of Bliss."


    Evan thought for a while and then nodded assuredly. He had no reason to refuse the offer.


    Zak wasn''t left out either and said loudly: "Great! This day is worth eating at the best ce in all of Mossy Vulture!"


    "Oh, Zak, are youing too? Unexpectedly..." Marcel said calmly.


    "Of course, what are we even talking about? Such a fight and such a victory I won''t see very soon."


    Marcel was surprised at Zak''s words, because he knew better than most how rarely Zak went to ces like this. He wasn''t much of a fan of such ces, but now he was in the mood to have a good time.


    "Okay, then, I''ll meet you out front in an hour. I still need to talk to Fien about something."


    Evan and Zak nodded and Marcel quickly left.


    "Commander, is Paradise of Bliss really such a terrific ce?" Asked Evan.


    Zak nodded confidently: "Yes, this establishment totally lives up to its name. Marcel likes to use his resources to make each of his establishments look great. But, this restaurant was invested with all his strength and influence. You couldn`t even imagine how long it took him to find the right chef. He''s searched half the kingdom."


    "Hmm, this promises to be interesting, I''ve been to Marseilles stores before, it''s really top notch."


    Evan, like Zak, wasn''t hung up on luxury or sophistication, but he didn''t mind visiting a ce like this. It''s always interesting to experience something new and taste food prepared by the hands of a true master of his craft.


    "By the way, Evan, how did you manage to get up with such serious wounds and keep fighting. Not only did you win, but you also destroyed the arena, I''ve never seen anything like it!" Zak knew that Evan had his peculiarities, but there was no way he could exin that episode.


    Evan shrugged and simply replied, "To be honest, I don''t know. I would say that at that moment, I was angry at Rnd''s arrogant words and I found the strength to punch him. Too bad our fight was stopped."


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, so that''s how it is. Rnd really is an incredibly opinionated person, but I even like this guy. He''s going after his goal and nothing can stop him."


    Zak didn''t question Evan any further about what happened at the end of their fight with Rnd. He decided then that Evan had gone into a brief "Gust" just like Rnd. That was the most appropriate and logical exnation for the situation.


    ...


    An hourter, Evan and Zak made their way to the "Paradise of Bliss" just as they had been told. A few minutester Marcel and Fien arrived. The girl was a little depressed about her results, but most of all she was shocked by the strength of Rnd and Evan.


    The "Paradise of Bliss" itself was a two-story, very elegant white stone building with wide windows. There were massive white columns at the entrance and a transparent door of crystal ss led inside. One could tell at a nce how influential and wealthy the owner of this establishment was.


    "Please". Marcel said calmly, and they all went inside leisurely.

 Chapter 85 - The Fourth Section

    "Paradise of Bliss" was Marcel''s most beloved ce. It was also the most luxurious restaurant in Mossy Vulture, with the rarest and most interesting dishes.


    Click.


    By the time Marcel arrived, everything had been ready. They were greeted by an exquisitely dressed waiter, who led them to the second floor.


    While going up to the second floor Evan was looking closely at the first floor. In addition to the harmonious decor, expensive furniture, marble floor and carved columns of quartz, Evan saw what kind of people attended this ce.


    To his surprise, the people did not look pompous or pretentious. A man in a tuxedo could sit at one table and dine with a man in in clothes. The visitors were all different, dressed in mantles, cloaks, and even armor.


    Evan quickly understood why these people looked the way they did.


    <Well, is this ce so elite that only magicians can afford toe here?> Evan only saw a few merchants, though he wasn''t entirely sure of that.


    <It''s a strange feeling... in the other establishments of Marcel everyone looked so arrogant, but here it''s like apletely different world.>


    Evan was partly right. The magicians weren''t interested in showing off their wealth or influence. Everyone understood that. They came here to enjoy the best food in all of Mossy Vulture, that''s all.


    When they reached the second floor, Evan was surprised by the opulence of the ce once again. What caught Evan''s attention was therge ss dome instead of the ceiling above the entire second floor.


    On the second floor, there was no one there but them. Marcel, as the owner of this ce, could easily set aside a whole floor for eating. He did not usually do this, but today was a special asion.


    They sat down at a rectangr table made of blue crystal, and apart from being incredibly beautiful, it slowly shimmered in different colors from the sunlight like a diamond.


    Marcel ordered, the waiter smiled pleasantly and left. At that moment, Evan noticed something strange.


    <Hmm, it''s really hot outside, but it''s so cool in here.> Evan didn''t understand how that was possible, but then he saw the glistening blue stones in the floor and walls.


    The cool was going from them and it wasn''t hard to guess that they were the reason it was such afortable temperature.


    After a while, they were served dishes. They were varied, differing both in size and appearance.


    There was meat from unusual and rare animals, the freshest seafood, unique fruits and vegetables, and it was all prepared by one of the best cooks in the whole kingdom.


    Evan was very hungry, so he quickly pounced on the meat. Marcel proceeded to his favorite seafood, Zak and Fien were eating everything.


    In addition to the incredible food, there was also a lot of drinks and cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Evan had never seen most of it, so he tried as many as he could.


    While eating, they were chatting about various topics, most of which involved the Academy of Magic and the "Pond of Mountain Crystals".


    Hardly anyone said anything about the tournament that had taken ce. They had already seen everything with their own eyes.


    When it came to the "Pond of Mountain Crystals", Marcel calmly said: "Evan, you are very lucky to have this opportunity. Before you go to the Academy, it''s the best ce to be. Too bad, Fien was only in the first section."


    Hearing Marcel''s words, Evan asked puzzled: "§¡? Has Fien visited the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" yet?"


    He thought that only members of the Erden Family and the Cross Family could enter that ce.


    Marcel nodded and said: "Yes, for a fee or by special permission from Koen and Fane, one can visit the" Pond of Mountain Crystals". However, unless it''s a member of one of the two Families, the first section is the only one that a person will be allowed to visit."


    <They have such severe restrictions on outsiders. I can''t wait to see how amazing the effect will be in the fourth section>. Evan thought to himself, taking a sip of his blue cocktail.


    Marcel wanted to say something, but Zak interrupted him, "What?! You sly fox! You could have told me that. It would have been good for Evan too, if he`d had the opportunity to "Create" there before the tournament."


    Marcel shook his head and said: "I''m sorry, but I really doubt Evan would have been allowed in there. Before he won the tournament, no one had even known he existed."


    "Fien, what do you think of the "Pond of Mountain Crystals"?" Evan asked quietly. He was curious to hear the opinion of someone who had been there and felt the effects firsthand.


    The girl swallowed a piece of chocte dessert and replied, "It''s not a bad ce, but I wouldn''t say the first section is much better than the crystal room at our house. Of course, the fourth section is a whole other level."


    "I see, by the way, where is the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" even located?" Until now, Evan didn''t know exactly where he was to go tomorrow.


    Marcel answered him in detail, "In the rock that is behind Mossy Vulture. There''s a whole system of caves underneath it. Besides the "Pond of Mountain Crystals", there are also various mines where rare minerals and metals are mined."


    "Wow, that rock is pretty useful."


    "Yeah, sure, the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" is the most valuable thing under the rock. The ''Pond of Mountain Crystals" consists of several wide caves. Each one has a different rating depending on the mana saturation of the crystals."


    "I thought there were only four caves, since there are as many sections."


    Marcel shook his head and said: "No, you just don''t imagine the size of all the caves that are there. There are twenty-seven caves in total in the "Pond of Mountain Crystals". Fourteen of the caves have a rating of 1, which means they are the first section. Another eight have a rating of 2, four have a rating of 3, and thest cave has a rating of 4, which is where you will go tomorrow."


    "What an borate system..." Evan muttered slowly.


    "Of course, for it is not only the most important ce to increase the strength of the young men of the Erden Family and the Cross Family, but it is also a very profitable business. Many merchants are willing to shell out thousands of gold coins to send their children to the first section for even one day."


    "Hmm, what about the other caves where the metals and minerals are mined? Do the two families own them, too?"


    Marcel smiled and slowly answered, "It''s a little moreplicated here. Unlike the" Pond of Mountain Crystals", which is owned by both the Erden Family and the Cross Family, only one of the Families owns the different caves. Moreover, I also own several. Without them, I would not be able to grow my cksmithing business."


    Evan nodded and continued eating. During this conversation, he learned a great deal about Mossy Vulture and the influence of the two Families on this town.


    Next, they made small talk and talked on distracted topics. When the sun had been changed by a beautiful blue moon, they left the restaurant and went their separate ways.


    ...


    The next day Marcel took Evan to the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" as he had promised.

 Chapter 86 - Smoke

    In the morning, there was a luxury carriage outside Evan''s house, where Marcel was already waiting for him.


    They exchanged a few brief phrases, and then were silent the whole way. Soon the carriage arrived in a part of the city Evan had never been in before. It was a small, but extremely important sector of Mossy Vulture.


    It housed all the ore and minerals that were mined in the mines, as well as all the equipment needed for the work. It could be said that from this ce Mossy Vulture got the necessary resources for its development.


    Of course, Mossy Vulture had an active foreign trade, but it would be a big mistake not to take advantage of so many mines with valuable ores.


    Perhaps, in other cities a war would have broken out between the main forces in the city over these mines and especially the "Pond of Mountain Crystals", but Koen and Fane were not about to let that happen. They knew it wouldn''t do any good.


    If their Families fought over those mines, at the very least they would destroy half the city and lose most of their power, not to mention the people`s lives.


    ...


    After a while, the carriage stopped and Marcel led Evan into the depths of the central cave. Just as Marcel had said, they were at the cliff behind Mossy Vulture.


    "These caves have been exploited for many years, yet they are not yet fully explored. Every time a certain amount of ore is mined, new, unexplored passages are discovered."


    Marcel said calmly, pointing at the dozens of tunnels around them. They walked through the widest tunnel for a while until they turned left and went down. It was the cave that led to the entrance to the "Pond of Mountain Crystals".


    It wasn''t long before they reached arge iron door with two guards beside it. From the outside it might have looked like the protection was weak, but it was not. There was a strong barrier in front of the iron door, and if anything happened to it, a magician would rush to the aid of the guards.


    "Stop!" The guard said loudly when Marcel and Evan got close enough.


    Marcel smiled and turned to Evan: "This is where I say goodbye to you, they''ll take you from here. Good luck!"


    He left and the young man was left alone with the guards.


    "I am Evan Lynch." Evan said confidently.


    The guards nodded and one of them took out a special amulet. He ced it against the barrier, and then the iron door opened.


    "Follow me." The guard said gravely as he passed through the iron barrier.


    Evan nodded and followed him.


    The guard took Evan to the man who was in charge of ess to the sections of the "Pond of Mountain Crystals".


    Click.


    The man opened the door and a thick puff of smoke flew out to meet him. To Evan''s surprise, this smoke was familiar to him, or rather the smell of it. He had already felt and seen the same thing in some ce.


    "Mr. Demien! This is that man!" The guard said respectfully, after which he hurried away.


    "§¡?"


    "§¡?"


    Evan and Demien met their gazes and looked at each other in surprise. Evan didn''t understand what a simple clothing store owner was doing here.


    Demien took his cigarette out of his mouth and said with a puzzled face: "Boy, so, were you the one who won the tournament? Hmm... if I''d known that, it might have made a pretty good advertisement for my store, but all right."


    "What are you doing here?" Evan didn''t understand what Demien had to do with this ce.


    "Well... the thing is, Fane came to me yesterday and asked me to get a man into section four. I told him to do it by himself, but then... ahem, well, I`ve changed my mind." Said Demien taking another puff of his cigarette.


    <Is he rted somehow to Fane? I wonder>. Evan thought to himself. He hadn''t expected that Demien was actually more than just a clothing store owner.


    "So, do you also work here?" Asked Evan.


    Hearing his words Demien frowned and replied rudely, "What the hell are you talking about? I''m only in charge of section four ess and if you think that''s what I wanted to do, you''re sorely mistaken!"


    Demien sighed and continued: "That son of a bitch, Fane, I owed him and he couldn''t think of anything better to do than to make me do it. It''s only temporary, of course, while the Koen`s man is on assignment, but anyway, I''m sick of it."


    Evan wanted to say something, but Demien beat him to it, "And then you showed up. Kid, why the fuck did you win the fucking tournament? One more week and I''d have been free, and now you have to be escorted to the Section Four. I''m fed up of this..."


    "Before we go, can I ask you something?" Evan said calmly.


    Demien simply replied, "Go ahead"


    "How many people have you led to the fourth section so far?"


    For a minute Demien had managed toin as much as if he''d been working here for decades on end. Evan thought that Demien had peopleing in all the time and bothering him.


    Demien simply replied, "You`re the first".


    "..."


    ...


    Demien was walking slowly through the narrow cave and Evan was following him. They weren`t even talking, Demien was smoking his cigar along the way, and Evan was thinking about a lot of things.


    From their little conversation, Evan realized a lot about Demien. He was far from an ordinary man. He was trusted to escort people to Section Four, but that wasn''t the only thing that was surprising. Fane himself came to see him personally, and Demien could talk to him in a loose manner.


    Of course, there was only one conclusion.


    <Demien is very strong>. Evan thought to himself, looking at the cave they were walking through.


    The stone walls were studded with many small blue crystals and their color changed from time to time. After a hundred meters, Evan was surrounded by yellow crystals, and after another hundred meters the crystals were already pink.


    <Hmm, even here I feel that the concentration of mana here is much higher than outside. I wonder what I''ll see in the fourth section then?


    ...


    After a while, Demien stopped, frowned and said: "Damn."


    There was a wide chasm in front of them, and the other end was too far away to reach it.


    Demien scratched the back of his head and said: "I`ve forgotten my amulet... okay, nothing serious. Kid, I''m toozy to go back, so I''ll cheat a little. Don''t tell anyone about what''s about to happen here now."


    Evan didn''t know what Demien meant, but he nodded anyway.


    The next moment Demien put his hand on the stone floor and poured mana into the seal on the stone.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Immediately thereafter, Evan saw one barrier after another dissipate into the air. It was one of the defenses before the fourth section. A special amulet was needed to bridge the chasm, but Demien didn''t bring one with him. Nevertheless, he found a way out.


    Whoosh.


    Demien''s "Warp" swirled and mana began to gather at his hands.


    He took a long puff and the next moment blew out arge puff of smoke. Evan was shocked by the next scene, as the smoke began to growrger andrger by the second.


    Demien waved his hand and the huge puff of smoke split into dozens of small clouds that quickly lined up and hovered over the abyss like bs.

 Chapter 87 - Monsters And Beasts

    Evan and Demien walked slowly through the clouds of smoke floating in the air, just enough to reach the other end.


    <What an interesting spell. Doesn''t that mean Demien can practically fly, if he wants to?>


    Evan gazed at the bottomless abyss below and at the cave walls studded with crystals, he was enthralled by the beauty and the vast darkness thaty just below him.


    Demien, unlike Evan, had no emotions whatsoever. He didn''t care, he just smoked his cigarette and walked along the bs of smoke.


    After a while, Demien frowned and said grudgingly: "Damn, why the hell did they make this chasm so wide? Why couldn''t they have just put up a hundred barriers and that`s all."


    "Make?" Evan thought he''d misheard. He thought this chasm was of natural origin.


    Demien nodded: "Yes, Fane wanted to put a lot more barriers in front of the fourth section than there are now, but Koen decided that making this chasm would be much more effective. All brawn and no brains."


    "I see you''re a critic." With a smile on his face, Evan said as he pondered Demien''s words.


    <This chasm was made by Koen? Unbelievable, but why are such unusual protective measures for?>


    It seemed strange to Evan, in his opinion it would have been much easier to put people to protect the entrance to the fourth section.


    "Well, to be honest Koen''s actions have some logic. Barriers are good, of course, but they don''t save against some creatures."


    "Hmm? Are there a lot of people trying to get into section four?" Evan asked puzzled.


    He didn''t believe there would be a person in all of Mossy Vulture who would be willing to be an enemy of the Erden Family and the Cross Family.


    "People? Are you a fool? There is no such idiot who would risk sneaking in here. The fourth section of the "pond of Mountain Crystals" has an incredible concentration of mana and if you think it attracts only people, you are deeply mistaken." Demien said calmly as he continued to stride forward.


    Demien''s words led Evan to an unusual reasoning, because he had been in the city most of the time, he hadpletely forgotten how dangerous and diverse this world was.


    <Well, let me think, I''ve never met a monster before. If they use mana the same way magicians do, then it''s no wonder they''re attracted to the fourth section.>


    "So it turns out that monsters sometimes try to get into the fourth section?"


    Demien nodded: "Yes, and not just into it. The other sections, too, and even the numerous caves. I see you''re still wet behind the ears and know next to nothing about monsters."


    Evan nodded. Demien''s words were harsh, but that was all because of his character, it would be foolish to pay attention to them. But learning more about monsters would be interesting.


    "Okay kid, since you won the tournament in the coat I`d made, I''ll give you a little lecture. Don''t interrupt and listen carefully, I`m not going to tell you twice, I''m not getting paid for this." Demien took another puff and began his monologue: "Let''s start with why a magician''s meeting with monsters is inevitable. Firstly, the best resources for weapons, armor, potions, and so on,e from mines, forests, and from monsters. Secondly, in the future you have to travel to learn more about the world and be stronger. In that case, you can easily run into monsters."


    "Thirdly, and most importantly, the reason why monsters attack magicians, and when I say magicians, I mean them specifically. Almost every monster has mana, which means such a monster won''t attack ordinary people, they''re useless to it. Of course, if the monster is hungry it will have no other choice, but that happens very rarely."


    "Monsters attack mages exclusively for one simple reason, magicians have mana and lots of it. Monsters kill us not because they want to, but because eating our flesh makes them stronger. Eh, it''s a shame that people can''t do that, you can''t get any stronger by killing them."


    <It turns out that monsters literally absorb mana from the flesh of magicians? Hmm, although there''s some bnce to it. We kill them for resources, and they for mana. Both we, and they get stronger by killing each other. Pretty brutal.>


    Evan was surprised by this arrangement of the world. In his opinion, it was fair in some ways. Ordinary people who already have a difficult life due to theirck of mana don''t have to worry about being attacked by monsters. Unless in exceptional cases.


    "What about beasts? Do they behave the same way as monsters?" Evan asked calmly.


    "Hey, boy, I`ve told you not to interrupt me. Hmm, beasts are a little different from monsters. How can I exin it to you,pared to monsters, beasts are less aggressive toward humans and other creatures. They have no reason to attack us. If you don''t disturb them, they won''t hurt you."


    "Can''t beasts do the same as monsters? Kill and eat a magician thereby increasing their powers?"


    Demien shook his head in response, "They can, but it doesn''t make any sense. Compared to monsters, the beasts would get a hundred times less mana from such a method, it''s too inefficient and dangerous."


    Demien exhaled a puff of smoke and continued: "On the other hand, unlike monsters, beasts umte mana and condense it into "Void Liquid" much faster. Magicians can do it too, but much slower, and we have a lot more "Barriers" than beasts.


    "It turns out that some be stronger by devouring others, while thetter, on the contrary, gain strength faster from their environment. Both monsters and beasts have one of these parameters very strongly developed, but humans have none of these things..."


    "Yes,pared to beasts and monsters, humans are a real mistake of nature." Demien said calmly.


    His words were harsh, but it was true. Man has no advantage over monsters and beasts. He cannot devour others and be as strong as monsters, and beasts are superior to humans in the rate at which they get mana from their environment.


    Crack.


    Demien wanted to continue, but suddenly, from the left, there were many cracks in the wall.


    Whoosh.


    An armored paw with long ws kicked out ayer of stone, and a creepy lizard-like monster''s head emerged. Its mouth was veryrge with sharp teeth, and the wide tes all over its body provided excellent protection.


    Evan flinched in surprise at the monster''s appearance, but he was not frightened. A few minutes ago, Demien had said something like this could happen.


    Demien grinned and looked into the monster''s eyes and said: "Evan, people this is a mistake, but..."


    Whoosh.


    The next moment a huge amount of smoke rushed toward the monster and it was instantly trapped in a sphere of smoke. The lizard tried to break free from this trap, but the smoke grew denser with every second, and the sphere gradually narrowed.


    Whoosh.


    Demien clenched his hand into a fist, the sphere shrank even tighter, followed by a loud crack.


    Whoosh.


    The sphere dissipated and the corpse of the monster fell into the abyss. Its bones and tes were broken and its organs crushed.


    Demien took a puff and muttered: "But, this "mistake" just doesn`t give a fuck on the rules of this world and it is going to outdo all other creatures."

 Chapter 88 - The Lake

    After Demien had dealt with the monster, they continued on their way. No one said anything the whole way, everyone was busy with his own thoughts.


    Today was the first time Evan had encountered the monster in this life, just as it was the first time he had seen how strong Demien was. He didn''t even know what surprised him more.


    <I haven`t fought this lizard, but it was definitely dangerous. Demien, on the other hand, had so easily dealt with it. Now I understand why Fane asked Demien to rece Koen''s man while he''s on a mission. As long as Demien is overseing the fourth section, no one will be able to get in there".


    No more monsters appeared. Demien had killed the only intruder.


    Demien was pacing the bs of smoke and taking a puff muttered, "Yeah, bad luck that monster, if it hadn''t bumped into me, he would still be alive. It''s sad that sometimes luck determines whether you live or die."


    "Do monsters often attack this ce?" Evan asked with interest.


    Demien shook his head in response, "I haven''t been here that long and as soon as I pay my debt I''ll leave it right away, but I can safely say that monsters pretty rarely try to get in here. For your information, monsters are not mindless creatures. They know they can''t get through these barriers and this ce is guarded."


    "Are you saying that the recent attack is pretty rare?"


    "Not really, this lizard was pretty strong. It sensed the barriers were gone and tried to get through, but it had no luck. Unfortunately for it, I was there." Demien said calmly.


    <Demien killed him in seconds, yet says the monster was strong.> Evan thought to himself.


    "Speaking of which, that monster came out of the wall, couldn''t he have dug his way right up to the fourth section?"


    Evan and Demien had already practically made it to their designated spot.


    Step.


    They moved from the smoky b to the cold, stone floor of the cave. Suddenly Demien stopped and said:


    "No, the entire fourth section is protected by an incredibly strong spherical barrier. That monster didn''t have a chance to break through it. Even I could hardly do that. By the way, we''re here."


    Demien pointed his hand forward at the barrier, which slowly shimmered in iridescent colors.


    "As I said, it''s very dense, so you''ll only see everything once you get inside. This is the fourth section. By the way, as far as I know you''re here for two weeks?"


    Evan nodded.


    "Then, you''ll probably be escorted out of here by someone else. My debt to Fane will be paid in a week, and Koen`s man should be back soon, okay, see youter."


    Demien turned around and left. As always he paced slowly and smoked a cigarette while blowingrge puffs of smoke.


    <Yeah, I never would have guessed that a man who owns a clothing store and can sew fine cloaks himself could also be quite a powerful magician. People can be very strange and surprising at the same time.>


    Evan thought to himself and stepped into the barrier.


    Whoosh.


    "Wow." That was the only thing Evan could say at that moment.


    He had seen many bright crystals of different shapes and sizes before, but what he saw now was on a quite different level.


    The fourth section was a huge cavern with countless incredibly bright crystals. Each one was unique in its own way, and even from a distance, you could feel that they were all filled with mana. The crystals came in a variety of colors and sizes, but the blue crystals were the majority.


    Nevertheless, the crystals were not the most important feature of the fourth section. In the middle of the cave, there was a smallke with aquamarine water that sparkled even brighter than the crystals. In the center of theke was a small, round tform.


    It was perfect for "Creation", and it wasn''t a matter of beauty or convenience, but of its special location.


    The fourth section was saturated with mana, but the center of theke was where mana density reached its peak. It was all about the water, or rather the crystals at the bottom. Unlike the air in which mana slowly dissipated, this water stored and umted it.


    That was why in the fourth section one could stay only a limited amount of time, after which one had to give time for the water to be saturated with mana again.


    But even if theke wasn''t here, the fourth section would still be an amazing ce. Evan hadn''t started the "Creation" yet, but he could say with certainty that the mana density here was many times higher than in the room in Zak`s mansion where he had "Created" before.


    "Well, thest time I condensed mana into "Void Liquid" was over a month ago, time to catch up."


    After these words, Evan quickly made his way to the tform in the center of theke, took a seat, and began to "Create".


    Whoosh.


    His crimson "Warp" immediately swirled, thereby collecting all the mana around it. Gradually, Evan''s "Nirvana" became filled with hundreds of pale blue bubbles that slowly flowed to the "Warp".


    As time passed, the speed of the "Warp" increased significantly, and the bubbles turned into pale blue streams that flowed into the crimson sphere like rivers.


    Thest time Evan "Created" he had achieved a result of 25 drops in four days, six drops per day to be exact. Zak hade in a littlete then, which gave Evan a couple of extra hours.


    It takes a thousand drops of "Void Liquid" to turn the "Warp" into a "One -Pointed Star". At this point, Evan only had 25.


    <This is incredible... so much mana... it makes me want to absorb it all at once!>


    Evan was very happy with the reward he`d received for winning the "Tournament of Precious Stones", it was definitely worth it. The mana hovering in the air and in the water was slowly absorbed by Evan''s "Warp" and condensed into the ''Void Liquid''.


    ...


    In absolute silence, Evan continued to "Create" and after exactly five days, he opened his eyes andughed out loud.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this is fantastic. My condensation rate has increased fivefold at this point! In five days I''ve condensed as many as 150 drops of "Void Liquid", which is probably even more than those who have purple "Warp".


    Quite contentedly Evan muttered. Because Zak had tricked him then, he still didn''t know that his speed was several times faster than the geniuses with purple "Warp". Now he was in the fourth Section, a ce with a phenomenal concentration of mana.


    Thirty drops a day was an unprecedented rate, no magician could have imagined such a thing.


    ...


    Evan continued to "Create" until, by the beginning of the eleventh day, he had condensed 333 drops of "Void Liquid". At that moment, Evan hit the second "Barrier" and even though he couldn''t go further for now, he still continued to greedily absorb mana...

 Chapter 89 - The Library

    Crack.


    "Eh, looks like that''s all" Evan muttered quietly on his eleventh day in the fourth section.


    At this moment he had 333 drops of Void Liquid, and he needed three times more to reach the One-Pointed Star. But, the two remaining "Barriers" would not allow him to go any further.


    The two chains around his crimson "Warp" jangled loudly and the mana stopped condensing, which was the maximum for a man who only broke through one "Barrier".


    <What should I do with all this mana?>


    Evan looked at the thousands of pale blue bubbles in his "Nirvana". They were slowly disappearing. Evan couldn''t use them to condense or to fill his mana reserves.


    Ifst time at the Zak`s mansion he hadpletely depleted the mana in the crystals, now in the fourth section the crystals were still full of mana, though the water in theke began to shine a little fainter. Evan considered that he would be able to condense more than a thousand drops of Void Liquid at this ce, until the mana in the crystals and in the waterpletely dried up.


    "Well, I''ve achieved excellent results anyway. All that''s left is to break through the two "Barriers" and we can move on. That will be enough for now."


    Mumbled Evan and was about to stop "Creating", but suddenly a strange change began to ur in his "Nirvana".


    Crack.


    Thick cracks appeared in the white space from which the jaws of the Demogorgon slowly crawled out.


    When Zak had given Evan a very powerful pill the same thing had happened, but Evan didn''t remember it, he was unconscious then.


    "What is this?!" Evan was shocked to see the mouth of some strange creature creeping into his "Nirvana".


    He didn''t know what it was or how to deal with it. Evan tried to find a way to attack the creature in his "Nirvana", but after a few seconds, he calmed down.


    "Nirvana" is the center of a magician, the most important ce for him in the whole world. This means that it is where the mage''s instincts and emotions are most vivid and precise.


    As strange as it was, Evan felt no threat from that horrible mouth, Even though the creature''s aura was overwhelming and terrifying.


    Evan decided to trust his feelings and see what would happen next.


    Whoosh.


    The demogorgon''s mouth opened wide like five huge petals with a hundred teeth. A crimson magical circle with many symbols and runes unknown to Evan slowly began to appear above it.


    This magical circle was nothing like the ones he used to cast his spells. It was something more powerful and ancient.


    Whoosh.


    The magic circle was ready and it shed brightly once in crimson mes. The next moment, countless pale blue bubbles turned into huge streams and rushed toward the magic circle.


    <Wait... I''ve already seen that mouth and that magic circle. I need to get there!>


    Suddenly Evan remembered that something like this had happened before, only then he was not in "Nirvana", but in apletely different space. It wasn''t hard to guess that all mana was going there.


    Unfortunately, Evan did not know how to get to that ce, each time it happened randomly, without his knowledge.


    Crack.


    As soon as Evan thought about it, the cracks around the demogorgon''s mouth multiplied several times and immediately stopped expanding.


    <Huh, is that an entrance just for me? Well, then there''s no need to dy>.


    Evan''s consciousness quickly passed through the cracks in space and he found himself in that very spot.


    <Well, he''s still sleeping as ever.> Evan thought to himself, looking at the huge ck lion.


    But it wasn''t the lion that caught his attention, it was the pir on the edge of the ck magic circle. In his battle with Rnd, the chains on that pir had been ringing furiously, but now they were atplete peace.


    Whoosh.


    Just likest time, the jaws of a demogorgon and a crimson magic circle appeared at the top of the space above the lion.


    Whoosh.


    A pale blue stream of mana emerged from the magic circle and rushed toward the pir, or rather its chains.


    Evan watched the process closely, he was extremely curious to see what would happen next.


    Rivers of mana began to flow into one single target out of many others, it was at the very bottom.


    Crack.


    With each passing second, the chain rattled and jingled harder and louder, until at one point it burst into ck mes. The me quickly extinguished and the ck chain detached itself from the pole.


    Whoosh.


    The chain flew toward Evan and hovered in the air before his eyes. At that moment it was straight, so Evan could see every link of it.


    "Isn''t that...?"


    Evan didn''t have time to finish his thought as the chain flew sharply to the side.


    Whoosh.


    Another crack formed in space, only blue, and the chain quickly flew into the crack and disappeared without a trace.


    Evan didn''t hesitate for a second to follow it. The presence of another space was incredibly important. Evan had to get a better handle on what was going on here.


    Whoosh.


    Evan easily passed through the blue crack and found himself in an entirely different space.


    "Wow..." Slowly Evan muttered looking around.


    If "Nirvana" was a vast white void, and the space with the lion in the distance was as ck as the abyss itself, here was apletely different palette of colors.


    Right now Evan was standing in the middle of a beautiful blue sky. It was everywhere, from below and above, and to the left and right, on all sides. The space was bright, even though there was no sun, but this sky was no different than usual. White clouds of various shapes and sizes floated serenely across it as well.


    "What is it?" After admiring the beautiful view around him, Evan turned his attention to what was in this ce.


    He looked at three magical circles floating in the air. They were the magic circles of "Magical Missile", "Ice Veil", and "Summon Thorny Ivy", all spells he knew.


    Evan knew each of these magical circles by heart, all their details, symbols, runes, and seals. He could have easily drawn them, but now they were floating in the air in the middle of the clouds and the endless sky.


    "It''s incredible, I don''t even have to draw magic circles to see them. I wonder if I can do the "Transforming of Spells" here."


    Whoosh.


    Evan flew over to each magical circle and examined them carefully.


    He nodded and said quietly: "This ce reminds me some sort of a library, so I`ll call it that way. By the way, where is that chain?"


    Evan looked around for the chain, and he didn''t have to look long. It was on the opposite side of his magic circles.


    He quickly went to it and took another close look at it. When he had seen it for the first time, it seemed to him that there were familiar symbols on the links. He wanted to be sure of his guess.


    As he finished examining it, Evan smiled and muttered contentedly, "So, this chain, is it part of one massive magical circle?"

 Chapter 90 - One Hundred And One

    Evan looked at the straight ck chain floating in the middle of the blue sky. He examined it carefully and could tell with certainty that it was part of one big magical circle.


    Whoosh.


    Then he had understood the meaning of the chains on the pir, the young man smiled broadly and walked away from the "Library" into the space with the ck lion. All the mana umted in his "Nirvana" had already been absorbed by this chain. For this reason, Evan urgently needed to "Create" again.


    He had already condensed 333 drops of Void Liquid, but there were still a lot of chains on the first pir.


    Before he left, Evan decided to count how many there were. After a while, he muttered with a puzzled face: "There are a hundred chains here... and another one already in the Library, so that makes a hundred and one chains."


    Evan was shocked by such arge number. He expected that now he could learn a very rare and powerful spell. But it would take an incredible amount of mana to unlock all the chains.


    "Well, honestly, that was to be expected. I don''t know what kind of spell is painted on those chains, but it''s obviously not a simple one. Now I have more reason to "Create", even though I haven''t broken through the remaining two Barriers."


    Calmly Evan said and returned to "Nirvana".


    There were still three days before he would leave the fourth section of the" Pond of Mountain Crystals". During that time, he had to have time to absorb as much mana as he could at all.


    Soon he would no longer have that opportunity. Immediately after leaving this ce, he would have to go to the Academy of Magic. Moreover, if he were to "Create" outdoors, then it would take a very long time to unfold the chains.


    In the fourth section, his speed was six times faster than in the special room in the Zak`s mansion. That meant that if he were to "Create" outdoors, his progress would slow down ten times or even more.


    He needed to make the most of his remaining days.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s crimson "Warp" swirled again and pale blue bubbles began to appear in "Nirvana."


    They instantly turned into blue streams and were absorbed by the Demogorgon''s mouth.


    With each passing second, the second chain gained more and more mana.


    ...


    Thus passed the remaining three days. Evan opened his eyes and stopped "Creating". He smiled and mouthed contentedly, "Three chains in three days, I''ve got four in total already, pretty slow, but there''s nothing I can do about it."


    Evan stood up and looked around. The crystals that were near him were pretty dull, but it was still a long way fromplete destruction. The water in theke, had turned paler, but it wasn''t critical.


    Two weeks wasn''t long enough to deplete a ce like the fourth section of the "Pond of Mountain Crystals".


    As Demien had warned, by the time Evan emerged from section four, he had already gone. When Evan''s time was up, another man, Koen''s subordinate, came for him.


    Unlike Demien, who turned the smoke into bs and so they crossed the chasm, the Koen man used a special amulet. A path out of the barrier was created and they walked back safely.


    As they walked Evan pondered the chains and the space he`d called - "The Library". There had already been four chains hovering over each other there. Nevertheless, such a small number were not enough to know what kind of spell was behind them.


    <I hope that when I unlock all the chains I''ll get something really worthy for it.>


    ...


    After a while, Evan left the "Pond of Mountain Crystals", with only one day to go. He had promised Zak he would be home by then, so that''s where he headed.


    Zak''s house was very far away, but that wasn''t a problem for Evan. He didn''t mind walking and thinking about everything that had happened to himtely.


    <I need to set myself goals for the near future. I think the first thing I need to do is break through the remaining "Barriers" and reach the "One-Pointed Star". It takes too much mana to unlock all the chains, it''s better to put it off forter.>


    If Evan wanted to unlock all the chains, he would have to "Create" for several years at a time. He had no desire to spend that much time on this case. He needed to get stronger and gain ess to ces like the fourth section. Then he could have unlocked all the circuits not in a couple of years, but in just a few months.


    Moreover, Evan believed that the chains also concealed the power of the pir itself. When he freed it, he would most likely increase his powers many times over.


    ...


    "Well, I am here. Who would have thought that the first ce I would go after prison would be this mansion?"


    Evan muttered to himself and walked quietly through the main gate. The guards recognized him immediately and let him inside.


    Evan didn''t know exactly where Zak was, but he was sure he would find him in the one ce he knew well - the training ground.


    From afar, Evan saw Zak swing his massive ck sword and repeat the same movement dozens of times.


    "Commander!" Evan said loudly as he approached the training area.


    Zak turned around, saw Evan and smiled broadly: "Who I see! I thought you''d forgotten you had to leave tomorrow."


    After these words, he put his sword aside, walked over to Evan, and patted him kindly on the shoulder.


    "Evan, go to the dining room, I''ll be there in fifteen minutes. I have much to tell you about the Academy of Magic you will be going to."


    The young man nodded and headed for the mansion.


    ...


    Twenty minutester, Zak had showered and came into the kitchen where Evan was waiting for him.


    "Evan, let''s start with what the Academy is called and where it is located. Tomorrow you will go to the Academy of Magic - "The Last Moon", located north of the ''Kingdom of Fallen Hopes''." Zak said calmly.


    Evan nodded.


    "I would like to say that both Marcel and I believe that "The Last Moon" is the best Academy of Magic in the entire kingdom. Many people wish to study there, but it is not suitable for all new magicians. The rules there are peculiar, and so is the head of this Academy."


    "I see, if you both think so, "The Last Moon" is indeed a good ce where I can progress quickly. What time are we leaving tomorrow?"


    "Early in the morning, the recruitment will be in exactly two weeks at noon, I think you can get there in seven days. Speaking of which, I''m not going with you, I''d like to, but... the head of "The Last Moon" doesn''t approve of outsiders visiting, believing that students should get to the Academy on their own. It''s best not to quarrel with that man, I think you see."


    Evan calmly replied, "Good, then I`m going there alone?"


    Zak shook his head and said: "No, like I said you are leaving tomorrow morning, but not alone. All the rookie magicians from the Mossy Vulture are going there together. It will be safer and faster that way."

 Chapter 91 - The Way To The Academy Of Magic

    <Zak says that if all the newbie magicians go together it will be safer, but what do we have to be afraid of?> Evan thought to himself.


    "Commander, you mean, we could be attacked along the way?" Evan said calmly.


    Zak nodded: "Yes, but it is unlikely. Even if the beasts or bandits decide to attack you, you will fight back, so you have nothing to worry about."


    "I get it."


    ...


    The next day, early in the morning, Evan and Zak were standing at the gates of Mossy Vulture. Plenty of other newbie magicians were also there with their mentors or rtives.


    "Evan, I don''t know when we will meet again, but I believe you will reach incredible heights! When I first saw you, I had no idea what an amazing guy you really are. Good luck."


    With a smile on his face, Zak said and hugged Evan. Even though they hadn''t spent much time together, it was enough to create a strong bond between them.


    Evan didn''t begin to thank Zak or talk about all the emotions he had experienced in Mossy Vulture, in his opinion it was unnecessary. The young man said briefly: "I''ll climb to the very top."


    They nodded to each other, and at that moment Marcel and Fien approached them.


    "Evan, I see you''re ready to go?" Marcel said calmly.


    "Yes, I hope "The Last Moon" turns out to be a terrific ce."


    "Rest assured, you won''t be disappointed."


    Over the next couple of minutes, they`d exchanged a few short phrases before the gates of Mossy Vulture opened and the newbie magicians set off.


    Since their journey was through narrow trails and little-explored terrain, all of the young people rode horses. There were neither carriages nor wagons.


    Zak and Marcel stood beside each other and watched behind the departing Evan and Fien.


    "Eh, Zak, today is a joyous and a sad day at the same time. I didn''t think this day woulde so soon, but they need to learn more about magic and this world to be stronger and more experienced."


    Zak nodded: "I agree. I`ve never thought some boy could impress me so much."


    Besides Zak and Marcel, there were many other people seeing off their children or sessors, including Koen, Fane, and other influential people.


    "The Last Moon" was one of the best Academies of Magic, but it was quite difficult to pass the entrance exam. Of course, like Zak said, getting into the academy was an easy task, anyone who had got into "Nirvana", could do it.


    Each Academy of Magic had two different types of students, namely the "Outer Students" and the "Inner Students", thetter had much more rights and opportunities. They got more freedom of action, more resources, and better mentors.


    Only in "The Last Moon'', students were distributed differently. In all other Academies of Magic, students were distributed ording to the color of their "Warp". It was logical, because the magicians with purple "Warp" were much more talented and progressed faster than the magicians with the white "Warp".


    However, in "The Last Moon", the color of the "Warps" wasn''t that important. The head of the Academy considered that such a way is inappropriate, because in addition to talent, strength and skills are also determinative.


    For the same reason, many novice magicians with purple "Warp'' were wary of going to "The Last Moon", but that didn''t mean the Academy had a problem with the number of students. "The Last Moon" was one of the most popr Academies of Magic in the entire "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes."


    ...


    <Zak said I''d get there in a week''s travel. I hope he was right.> Evan rode his ck horse and thought to himself


    The road to the Academy was not an easy one. In the three days, he had been on the road he had already been in the woods, rocky terrain, passed through narrow trails with a sharp difference in height, and so on.


    The scenery changed frequently, making the path quite difficult at times, but Evan was used to it by now. He was bored, nothing happened the whole time, and he was tired of waiting until he got to "The Last Moon".


    He didn''t want to talk to anyone, the only person Evan was interested in, was Rnd, but to his surprise, he wasn''t here.


    Evan didn''t know if Rnd had gone to another Academy of Magic, or if he had stayed in Mossy Vulture. He didn''t know anyone besides Fien, but he didn''t particrly want to talk to her or the others.


    He was interested in information about the Academy where he was going, but the others knew as much as he did, so all he had to do was go ahead quietly.


    <Well, I''ve got the map, food and weapons. I think I can speed up a bit.>


    Whoosh.


    Evan pulled the harness and his horse moved forward, overtaking the rest of the group. He decided that if the rest of the ride was going to be as boring, he''d better get to "The Last Moon" as fast as possible.


    The others were surprised by Evan''s actions, but no one was going to stop him. In their opinion, it was foolish to rush when the intake of students was still not be soon.


    ...


    A dayter, Evan was already far ahead of the rest of the group. He was moving twice as fast as they were, and at times even more. By his calctions, he should arrive at the Academy by tomorrow.


    It was worth noting that firstly he would stay not directly at "The Last Moon", but in a vige near the city. He was going to the Academy itself on the day of the intake students.


    Whoosh.


    Evan pulled the harness and stopped the horse. The young man checked the map and then moved very slowly. At this moment, he was in a ce called - "Half- Dead Forest". Besides its strange name, this forest was also known as a very dangerous area.


    Evan wanted to get to the Academy of Magic as fast as possible, but he understood that he should not hurry when he was in such a ce. Once Evan had walked a few meters, he could already feel the tension in the air.


    Fortunately, the road didn''t go straight through the "Half-Dead Forest". The path Evan was taking was on a cliff ledge to the right of the forest. Evan had nothing to worry about, he just had to watch the road carefully to make sure he didn''t fall down, since it was so narrow that only one horse could walk along it.


    "Hmm, this forest is marked on the map as a very dangerous ce. These trees are very strange, it feels as if the whole forest is sick."


    Mumbled to himself Evan looking at the "Half- Dead Forest". It would not be any different from other forests if it were not for one, but very important detail - about half of the trees were dead, while the rest were alive. Moreover, their crowns were very thick and their foliage a rich green color, as if each of the thousands of trees was in its best form.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly Evan felt the ground shake. Evan didn''t understand what was happening, but he wasn''t going to just stand still and wait.


    Whoosh.


    The young man quickly jumped off his horse and lent against the rock. He didn''t know if it was a normal earthquake or something else, in any case he had to keep himself safe somehow.


    The shaking grew stronger with each second and at one point Evan heard a loud crack above his head.


    He looked up quickly and was horrified. The shaking caused dozens of huge boulders to break away from the rock and, like an avnche, crash down on the thin path,pletely demolishing it.

 Chapter 92 - The Tree

    Immediately after the shaking began, Evan leant tightly against the wall, and his horse ran far ahead in fright. Evan didn''t try to stop his horse, he needed to make sure that nothing would happen to him.


    Nevertheless, the worst thing that Evan could have imagined happened - the violent jolting caused a veritable rock avnche. Dozens of huge boulders were flying right at him and Evan needed to do something urgently.


    "Fuck!" Evan didn''t expect the situation to suddenly take such steep turns.


    "Well, why the fuck is this happening right now!" Evan shouted loudly and quickly sprinted off the ledge.


    It was his only chance of survival. The rocks could tear down the entire trail and crush anyone who got in their way. If he didn''t want to be buried under a pile of rocks, he had only one choice - to jump.


    Whoosh.


    In flight, Evan unfolded the white de of the "Reverse Death" and thrust the scythe into the stone wall with all his might. He had no other way to stop his fall and save himself.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    At the same moment, numerous sounds of stone boulders hitting were heard. The de of the scythe cut through the rock and Evan slowly made his way down, but after the rocks had fallen there was another problem.


    The boulders had copsed the narrow path, turning it into another avnche, only this time of earth and stone. Evan descended too slowly, he had to decide something urgently.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Evan pressed harder on his scythe and his speed increased, the de began to cut through the rock much faster, but it wasn''t enough. Soon, the avnche could have reached him and buried him alive.


    Fortunately, thanks to the timely action he had taken, Evan was about twenty meters far from the ground. Jumping from that height was truly suicidal, but Evan had a n.


    Whoosh.


    Evan bounced sharply off the wall and jumped to the side of the nearest tree. In the "Half-Dead Forest", the big trees were very tall, so twenty meters was a pretty normal height for jumping into a tree crown.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    Evan burst into the foliage breaking many branches with his body and reflexively clinging to the tree trunk. He was saved, but the avnche wasn''t over yet.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Tons of earth and huge boulders copsed on the big tree, under such colossal weight it tilted and began to fall slowly.


    Bam.


    The moment the tree touched the ground, the avnche also stopped moving. Evan jumped off the branch and looked around, muttering: "Why couldn''t this have happened after I would have crossed the damn woods!"


    Bam.


    With anger, Evan mmed his fist into the trunk of the tree, causing ayer of bark to break off and fly off to the side.


    "Ugh, okay, at least I`ve made it at least some of the way. The rest of us would either have to go through the woods, or go around. To hurry up was the right decision, but I made it toote!"


    Evan nced at the nearby tree and then at the path on the rock.


    <Hmm, that powerfulndslide haspletely destroyed such a long path, no luck. I wonder what happened? Was it really just a simple earthquake?>


    Evan thought about what he should do next. The "Half-Dead Forest" was a dangerous ce, but going back and looking for a detour was a very long and bad option.


    <I must be careful and cautious to avoid other trouble in this ce.>


    Crack.


    "Yep...looks like today is clearly not my day..." Mumbled Evan as he watched the monster approaching him.


    Evan didn''t expect to meet anyone here, he thought that all living creatures would run as far away as possible when they heard the loud rumble of thendslide, but this monster seemed to be attracted by the noise on the contrary.


    The monster itself looked pretty strong. It had four wed paws, long, ck fur, and bloodshot eyes. The most interesting detail of its body was its tail, with many ck, sharp spikes at the tip, which was obviously its main weapon.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly prepared for battle, he clutched his scythe tightly and watched his opponent closely. If it had been a man or a beast, Evan would have tried to avoid the fight, but from Demien''s story, Evan knew that for a monster, a man was the best delicacy possible. The young man moved closer to the fallen tree and simply waited for the monster''s actions.


    The monster slowly circled around Evan, as if trying to find the right moment to attack. Nothing happened for a while and the two of them just watched each other.


    The tension in the air grew with every second, Evan didn''t know how strong this monster was, nor was his opponent aware of the young man''s skills.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the monster pointed its tail at Evan, and the next moment several long, ck spikes flew toward the young man.


    Evan could have attempted to deflect them, but he instinctively decided to take cover behind a tree trunk. He quickly jumped to the other side and the spikes sunk deep into the tree. Moreover, the force of the shot was so great that the sharp ends of the spikes showed from the other side of the tree. They practically pierced through the huge trunk of the tree.


    <Yeah, better to dodge those thorns, if I miss even one of them, this will probably be my grave.> Evan thought to himself and climbed up the tree trunk.


    He wasn''t going to get close to the monster, it was too dangerous. Evan was sure that his opponent''s ws would easily tear him to shreds.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" spun and mana gathered at his hand. The next moment, a snow-white beam flew out toward the monster and instantly reached it. With casting the "Magic Missile" Evan was about to inflict serious damage on his opponent, but when he saw the result of his attack he was stunned.


    The monster was perfectly intact, not a scratch on it. At most what Evan had achieved with his attack was a burnt patch of the fur where the beam had hit.


    Whoosh.


    The spikes flew again, and Evan ducked and retaliated with "Magic Missile". He didn''t intend to damage the monster with this attack, Evan wanted to blind his opponent by hitting it right in the eye.


    Unfortunately, Evan didn''t seed, the monster was much stronger than him. Evan wasn''t thinking about winning anymore, he was looking for a way out of this trap.


    Whoosh.


    When it saw that his spikes had once again been dodged, the monster grinned and charged straight for Evan.

 Chapter 93 - Raven

    Whoosh.


    At breakneck speed, the monster lunged toward Evan and swung its sharp ws at him. The young man quickly bounced aside and the monster''s blow hit a tree trunk.


    Crack.


    The force of the blow shattered the trunk into splinters and cut it into several pieces. Evan shuddered at what he had seen. He didn''t know how he could deal with the opponent he couldn''t wound but on the contrary, which could torn him to shreds instantly.


    What''s more, Evan now realized that he even couldn''t escape. The monster was not only stronger than him, but also much faster.


    <Damn, it looks like we`ll have to fight. Using the "Summon Thorny Ivy" waspletely pointless, the ivy vine wouldn''t stop it even for a moment. It looks like my only option is to dodge and try to attack.>


    Evan was extremely unhappy with the situation. First he`d had to run away from a hail of rocks and a hugendslide, and now he had to fight a monster.


    Whoosh.


    The monster looked at the young man and pounced on him. Evan wasn''t going to attack, he knew too little about his opponent to risk so much.


    Bam.


    The monster''s massive paws came down on Evan, but the young man just quickly bounced aside. The monster was strong, but Evan was able to dodge its blows. The biggest problem was getting close to the monster and striking.


    Evan didn''t know if his scythe would prate the monster''s dense hide, so if he got the chance to strike, he would aim for the least protected ces: the eyes. Evan saw no other options.


    In the "Half-Dead Forest" there was hardly anyone who woulde to the rescue, Evan could only rely on himself.


    After several unsessful attacks, the monster was in no hurry to attack Evan. The monster understood that it was much stronger than Evan, but that didn''t mean it was going to act thoughtlessly.


    Like Demien had told him before, monsters weren''t wild animals; they''re just like humans, capable of thinking and analyzing situations. When a hunter hunts his prey, he makes every effort to catch it.


    Especially since Evan wasn''t a defenseless victim, he could have caused the monster a lot of trouble, even at the cost of his own life.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" spun, and in the next instant, the white de of his scythe was covered in a thickyer of ice. "Ice Veil" was the strongest spell in Evan''s arsenal, only this way he had any chance of winning.


    Evan gripped his weapon tighter and got into a fighting stance. He was going to take the monster''s next attack and attack back.


    Whoosh.


    ck spikes flew from the monster''s tail and flew toward the young man. Evan quickly stepped back and dodged the spikes, by the time he did so the monster was already close.


    Whoosh.


    The monster swung its ws at the young man and attacked with lightning speed. Evan immediately jumped aside and dashed toward the monster''s belly. His position did not allow him to attack the monster''s head, so this time he decided to try to wound the monster elsewhere.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his scythe aiming precisely at his opponent''s belly. The edge of the scythe de easily mmed into the monster''s flesh, but only a little, Evan couldn`t make it go deeper, but even that was enough.


    Evan bounced back after making his attack. The monster was furious that Evan had managed to wound it, though not seriously. Many spikes flew toward the young man, but Evan had already managed to hide behind the trunk of a nearby tree.


    <Hmm, looks like I underestimated my abilities. Its skin is tough and the "Magic Missile" hasn`t done it any damage, but it doesn''t seem to have any resistance to ice.>


    Evan''s cut was quite shallow, more like a scratch than a serious wound.


    Ice spread from the cut and began to freeze the monster''s flesh. It wasn''t enough to kill it, but it could definitely be called the first step to victory.


    <If I were experienced in fighting monsters, I would do this immediately. After all, there''s nothing like realbat, the tournaments or sparring aren''t as effective.> Evan thought to himself and braced himself for the next monster attack.


    Whoosh.


    Like thest time, the monster pounced on Evan, but this time it didn''t attack with its ws. In addition to its tail and nails, it had another deadly weapon: its sharp fangs. The monster was going to devour Evan and end this fight quickly.


    The monster realized that if it received a few more blows like thest one, it might actually die hunting its prey.


    Whoosh.


    Evan was ready for such an attack, so he easily dodged it. He bounced to his right and swung his scythe again.


    Unfortunately for him, the monster was ready for such an action, too. One attack was enough to make the monster start watching Evan''s movements more closely.


    Whoosh.


    Unexpectedly for Evan, the monster abruptly turned around and swung its massive tail at him. Evan had no chance to retreat, he tried to defend himself from this blow, but it didn''t help him at all.


    Bam.


    The powerful tail strike struck Evan''s left arm. From the force of this attack, the young man flew back several meters and crashed his back into a tree trunk.


    Whoosh.


    No sooner had Evan recovered from thest attack than several ck spikes flew toward him.


    Evan reacted quickly, swung his scythe and could repel all spikes, except one. Thest spike hit his leg and lodged firmly in it.


    <Shit!>


    Evan was in a very difficult position. His left arm was broken and his leg was injured. Now it would be much harder for him to get close to the monster and attack it.


    Whoosh.


    While Evan''s attention was focused on the terrible pain in his leg, the monster rushed toward the young man with lightning speed.


    Crack.


    In one leap, it reached Evan and with its mouth wide open it intended to kill him.


    <Fuck!>


    Despite the pain, Evan bounced to the side and escaped the monster''s terrible attack. Immediately afterwards, his enemy closed its jaws and ripped the tree trunk to splinters.


    <§¡? What is it?">. Evan thought to himself as he watched another contestant suddenly appeared on their battlefield.


    A purple raven, with onerge eye in the center of its head and a sharp beak, attacked the monster. This development surprised Evan as the raven was obviously incapable of doing any harm to the monster.


    < This is my chance!>


    Evan was about to attack, but at the same moment the monster swung its paw away from the bird and pointed its tail at the young man, firing a multitude of ck spikes.


    Evan jumped aside to dodge the attack, but to his horror, he noticed that another sharp spike was already flying toward him.


    Evan didn''t have time to block this attack, it was the end.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a purple raven appeared before Evan''s eyes and took the hit.

 Chapter 94 - The Ice Grave

    Thest spike should have killed Evan, but instead it pierced the purple raven that had suddenly appeared. The spike easily pierced through the bird''s body, its trajectory was altered, allowing Evan to remain alive.


    Evan didn''t understand what had just happened or the significance of the raven''s actions, but he didn''t have time to think about it. The one-eyed raven had given him a chance he wasn''t going to miss.


    Whoosh.


    Evan pulled the spike sharply from his leg and it quickly became covered in a thickyer of ice. The young man threw the spike back at the monster with all his might and quickly sprinted toward it.


    The monster sensed great danger from the amplified spike rushing toward it, so he decided to simply jump aside. Evan knew that his opponent would do so, so the snow-white scythe de was already rushing toward the monster''s head.


    Whoosh.


    Trying to defend itself, the monster moved its head away from the scythe, but it didn''t help it. The snow-white de plunged into the monster''s neck, enough almost topletely freeze it.


    The monster was already nearly unconscious, but Evan wasn''t going to stop there. He swung his de once more and plunged it into the other side of its neck. In the next moment, the ice covered the entire neck.


    Bam.


    Evan let go of his scythe and mmed his fist into the frozen neck with all his might. As a result, the monster''s head flew off its body, and its neck was shattered into many pieces.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan was breathing heavily, this fight was hard for him. But he wasn''t going to rest, he had to see what condition the raven was in.


    The young man quickly ran up to the bird and muttered with annoyance on his face: "Dead..."


    He was sad that the creature that had saved his life couldn''t save its own, but...


    <§¡?>.


    Suddenly Evan saw that the raven was breathing faintly.


    <So he''s alive, but... how do I help him?> Evan thought to himself looking at the dying raven.


    On the one hand, this purple raven was the most ordinary bird and there was no point in putting much effort into saving it. Perhaps another man would have been d to be alive and would have left the dying bird, but not Evan.


    In his mind it didn''t matter who had helped him: a human, a bird, an insect, or even a monster. The creature bleeding before his eyes had saved his life, which meant he would do his best to bring it back from the dead.


    <Wait a minute, Demien said that human flesh and blood can make monsters stronger. Judging by its eye, that''s an unusual bird. Hmm, there''s a chance I might be able to save it that way.>


    Evan didn`t think long and immediately began to act on his n. He put the scythe on the ground, de up, canceled the spell, and ran his palm over the razor-sharp de.


    A wide cut formed on his arm, but Evan didn''t even flinch, and many icy shards fell to the ground.


    He handed his bleeding hand to the bird''s beak and clenched his palm into a fist.


    Drop. Drop. Drop.


    Crimson drops were falling slowly into the raven''s beak while Evan was closely watching its condition. Unfortunately, this method had little or no effect.


    <Damn! It looks like there''s nothing more I can do...>. Thought to himself Evan looking at the dying raven.


    <§¡?>. Evan''s attention was caught by the shards of ice shimmering in the sun. At that moment, another idea popped into his head.


    <That''s right, I`ve got ice, it`s not what I`ve wanted, but it''s better than death>.


    Whoosh.


    Evan gently grabbed the raven with his free hand and headed for thendslide site where there were many boulders.


    Evan''s idea was quite simple - he wanted to make an ice tomb for the one-eyed raven. If hepletely froze the raven and walled it up in the same frozen rocks, he could dy the raven''s death for a long time.


    If he couldn`t save it now, he must at least buy time to find a suitable way to do so.


    Whoosh.


    Evan ran up to thendslide, carefully ced the raven''s body on the ground, and approached the stone boulder hit it with all his might.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    With a few powerful blows, Evan shattered the boulder into many small stones. Then he took the raven and cast "Ice Veil". He did the same with the stones.


    Soon, a small, round grave appeared next to the fallen tree, more like a block of ice. Evan did the best he could. If his blood did anything to help the raven, his savior would definitely survive.


    "Thank you." Evan muttered quietly.


    He touched his hand to the icy grave and the bloody imprint of his hand was left on it. Then he quickly left, without looking back.


    ...


    After a while, Evan stopped to rest. He was wounded, and his endurance was running low. Since he had no horse now, all he had to do was to walk along the border of the "Half-Dead Forest" in an attempt to find his way back.


    If he was lucky, he might be able to find his horse, but if not, then he would have to get to the Academy of Magic on foot. There was one other way out of the forest - to climb back up the narrow path on the cliff, but for Evan that option was impossible.


    There was no way he could have climbed the nearly sheer cliff with only one arm and a scythe. If the monster hadn''t broken his left arm, he would have had the opportunity to do so.


    <This forest is pretty unusual, when I find a way to heal the raven, I''ll have to investigate the ce properly. I''m sure I''ll find and learn a lot of interesting things here.>


    Evan thought to himself and continued walking. Unfortunately, he had no medicine with him, only food and water. The situation he was in was not supposed to happen, but it was toote to think about it.


    With each step, the pain reverberated in his leg, but soon he got used to it, so he kept walking forward until nightfall. No one had attacked him in all that time, though that was logical, since he was in the most remote part of the "Half-Dead Forest".


    <Hmm, ording to the map, I''d be out of this damn ce in three hours, but wandering through this forest at night is clearly not a good idea.>


    Moreover, Evan no longer had the energy to go forward, he needed to have a rest. As strange as it sounded, the "Half-Dead Forest" was full of suitable ces to do so.


    "Well, I guess this will do." Evan muttered, looking up at the tall tree in front of him.

 Chapter 95 - A Day Later

    Thanks to the urrence of the one-eyed raven, Evan had managed to kill the monster, but he`d suffered serious wounds. Evan''s regeneration was quite high, but if the through wound in his leg healed in a few days, it would take him two or three weeks to recover his arm.


    The night wasing and it wouldn''t be long before the blue moon would be illuminating the whole forest, so Evan decided to find a safe ce to sleep.


    <I hope I can climb to the top of the tree using only one arm.>


    Evan thought to himself and grasped the nearest branch with the de of his scythe. He intended to climb higher that way, but he underestimated the sharpness of his weapon.


    Bam.


    The snow-white de went easily through the wood and instantly severed the branch from the tree, and Evan himself fell with it.


    "Damn! How could I have missed that blow! If he hadn''t broken my arm, it would have been so much easier."


    Evan was annoyed at the situation, he couldn''t even climb a tree and rest.


    <So, okay, I need to calm down. Compared to the slope this tree is not that high, and it is enough just to get to that branch over there.>


    Evan thought to himself looking at the thick branch at a height of about seven meters. It was not the top, but at this height, he would feel safe and have a view of the forest.


    On the one hand, it was silly to think about it, because Evan couldn''t even climb the closest branch, but he had one idea. He didn''t like it much, but he couldn''t think of any other way. It was too dangerous to stay near the tree, but he didn''t have enough strength to continue on his way.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" spun, and the next moment a green magic circle appeared on the ground. Evan cast the "Summon Thorny Ivy" and his idea was to use the vine to climb up.


    Evan controlled the vine, and before long, it was wrapped around the branch Evan wanted to get to.


    <Now the hard part.> Evan thought to himself and looked at the thorny vine, but he had thought of a way to make it a little easier.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his scythe several times and cut off the nearest thorns on the vine, but he couldn`t do so further. He would have to climb the vine with only one hand. Unfortunately, he would not be able to avoid all the thorns, but he had no better option.


    <All right, let''s go>.


    Evan thought to himself and grasped the vine tightly. He leaned on the tree with his legs and slowly climbed up. Evan had to endure numerous cuts from the thorns along the way. They certainly would heal quickly, but it was clearly not a pleasant feeling.


    <Yeah, the road to the Academy of Magic is not at all what I`ve imagined.>


    Whoosh.


    Evan gripped the vine tightly and made onest tug. It was hard, but he was able to get to where he wanted to. On a branch as wide as this one, he would be able to rest and sleep.


    Evan looked at his wounded arm and canceled the spell. Despite his wounds, he was safe now.


    <Hmm, this forest is quite beautiful from there. If I''m right, the others will have reached the "Half-Dead Forest" by tomorrow morning, I wonder what they''ll do? ording to the map, it`ll take ten days to go around the forest. Going through the forest is faster, but more dangerous.>


    Looking at the many trees Evan remembered his battle with the monster. Evan had won with difficulty, but he had fought alone.


    <However, on the other hand, even if they were attacked by several simr monsters, such a big group should be able to fight back easily. Someone might get hurt, but they''ll make it through the forest in no time.>


    Evan thought and looked at the rock with the destroyed trail and fell asleep.


    ...


    The next day Evan woke up and went on his way. He had a few kilometers to go and make it out of the forest. By the time Evan had almost reached the fork, the group of rookie magicians had big troubles.


    Fien and the others had reached the very trail where thendslide had urred. Fien knew they could go no further, she frowned and thought to herself:


    <This Evan, he`s as usual one step ahead of not only me but everyone else! We should have hurried too. Father had warned me not to go through the "Half-Dead Forest", but it seems I have no other choice.>


    It''s worth noting that not everyone made the same decision as Fien, about a third of the group decided to take a detour. It would take a lot more time, but they would be safe.


    But, the rest had nothing to worry about, as the strongest members of the group, including Enni Cross and Katlyn van Erden, decided to go to the "Half-Dead Forest". It was a dangerous ce, but that didn''t mean that everyone who entered it would die. You just had to be strong enough and keep a close eye on the surroundings.


    So, they split into two smaller groups, each taking a different route.


    ...


    While the others were trying to catch up with Evan, the young man himself had already traversed the forest and reached the fork. It was a raging river that separated the scary "Half-Dead Forest" from the calm des.


    Far beyond those des were the hills, over which Evan was going to reach the Academy. The hardest part was already behind him, so the young man sighed with relief and headed for the bridge.


    Unfortunately, Evan couldn''t see his ck horse anywhere, he hoped he could find it if he went further, but he knew there was little chance of that.


    <Okay, I''ll make it before the entrance exam anyway, a walk in the middle of beautiful and peaceful surroundings is not so bad>.


    Evan thought to himself and stepped onto the wide, wooden bridge. It had already been four whole days and there were still ten days before the intake. Even without a horse, Evan was sure he would make it in time.


    By his calctions, he should arrive in five days if nothing interfered with him.


    For the next three days, Evan had walked through a lot of beautiful des, until he came across one strange ce.


    <Hmm? Why is the grass turning blue here?>


    Besides the blue grass, Evan also saw a small number of trees with thick blue crowns and purple bark. This ce looked magical and unusual, he had never seen anything like this before. Even the "Half-Dead Forest" didn''t surprise him as much as this location.


    Evan checked the map right away, he was sure he was going the right way as his reference point was the high hills on the horizon. He wondered what ce he had got in.


    He looked carefully at the map and realized that he was now in one of the areas-"The Valley of the Azure Dandelions."

 Chapter 96 - Fruit

    <Hmm, the "Valley of Azure Dandelions," what an interesting name, but why don''t I see any dandelions here?>


    Evan thought to himself looking at the blue fields. The ce was beautiful and unusual, but there was nothing for Evan to do here. He headed onward until something caught his attention.


    In the distance, an unusual squirrel-like beast, only with two long, fluffy tails, ran up to one of the purple trees. It quickly climbed the tree and plucked a yellow and blue fruit from it, then ran off.


    <The beast... it would be nice to wander around for a few hours.> Evan thought to himself and headed toward the same tree.


    He was curious to see what kind of beast it was, and what kind of fruit it`d picked. One monster he had already met, but not the beasts yet.


    Evan walked slowly through the blue grass and wondered: <By the way, how can I tell the difference between beasts and monsters? Unlike the one-eyed raven, this squirrel didn''t look dangerous, but maybe it`s a monster, too?>


    When Evan had seen the purple raven, he`d mistaken it for a monster because of its frightening appearance. Now when he saw a squirrel with two tails he thought he might have been wrong then.


    <Either way, even beasts can be helped a little by magician''s blood, so even if I was wrong it''s not that big of a deal. When I get into the "Last Moon", I''ll have to learn how to tell who''s a beast and who''s a monster."


    Evan thought and picked a yellow and blue fruit from the tree. Evan didn''t know what kind of fruit it was or what it was called, but that didn''t stop him from tasting it.


    Crunch.


    Evan took a small bite and immediately grimaced. He quickly spit out the fruit: "That''s disgusting, it''s so bitter, how can it be even eaten?"


    He`d hoped that he would feel a pleasant taste and a slight sweetness, but instead he felt an awful bitterness.


    Evan didn''t hesitate to throw the fruit away. It fell with a ssh into the stream behind the tree. Evan had already decided that he hade here for nothing and should go back, but suddenly he felt something.


    <Mana?> Evan clearly felt an increased concentration of mana in the area, but he couldn''t figure out what its source was.


    Evan picked another fruit and examined it, but he felt nothing from it. Then he turned his attention to the stream.


    He walked closer to the water and thought to himself, "There is mana in this water, but not much. Maybe, there is a mana`s mine here? I need to see where this stream leads".


    Evan couldn''t "Create" anymore, or rather it didn''t make sense until he broke at least one more "Barrier". Still, he could use the mana to open the chains on the First Pir.


    The most dangerous area, the Half-Dead Forest, he had already traversed, so he could take his time and do the "Creation" if he found the right ce for it.


    Evan walked slowly along the stream through the blue clearing, asionally encountering purple trees with blue crowns. He hadn''t noticed a single dandelion in all that time.


    <Maybe, they called this ce that for some other reason.>


    He didn''t understand why he couldn''t see anywhere the nt after which the ce was named.


    As time passed, the surroundings around Evan began to change slightly, there were more and more trees everywhere and it looked no longer like a clearing, but like a dense forest.


    Evan smiled, he knew that if the trees were growing so densely here, there was a reason for it.


    Whoosh.


    Evan stepped out of the dense forest grove, at that moment he finally saw what was lurking behind those trees.


    "Here are the dandelions..." muttered Evan to himself looking at the thousands of beautiful Azure Dandelions.


    An "Azure Dandelion" looked almost exactly like an ordinary dandelion, except that its stem was not green, but blue.


    In the center of the dandelion de, there was a smallke. Evan immediately realized that it was because of this de, the "Valley of Azure Dandelions" got its name.


    The trees densely surrounded the ce and it looked as if they were trying to protect something very valuable this way.


    <Hmm, the concentration of mana here is slightly higher than in other ces, but it hardly reaches the level of the crystal room in the Zak`s mansion.>


    It should be noted that if a ce had a higher mana concentration than a normal area, it didn''t necessarily mean that there was an incredible amount of mana in that ce.


    The fourth section in the "Pond of Mountain Crystals" was a special ce. It''s very rare to find a ce with a simr mana concentration.


    Evan wasn''t impressed with the mana concentration in the clearing with the Azure Dandelions, but he wasn''t upset. Evan believed that it was in theke where all the mana was concentrated.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan walked leisurely toward theke, but there was no joy on his face. He frowned and said grudgingly: "There''s no mana here at all?!"


    It was a shock to Evan. Even at the city streets of Mossy Vulture there were some amount of mana, but there was none of it in thiske at all. Not to mention the fact that Evan had originally intended to "Create" here using mana from theke.


    "This ce is beautiful, but it looks like I`ve wasted my time." Evan said with frustration in his voice and was about to leave when suddenly he heard the rustling of leaves.


    Evan turned around in the direction of the sound and to his surprise saw a wolf with thick red hair slowly walking toward theke. The young man did not react in any way to its appearance, he felt no danger from the wolf.


    If he prepared for a fight or acted aggressively, he might provoke the wolf into retaliatory aggression. Intuitively Evan knew that it was not a monster in front of him now, but a beast.


    <This wolf is wounded.>


    Evan thought to himself as he looked at the animal''s right front paw, which seemed to be broken.


    The wolf looked at Evan and then calmly continued walking toward theke. As Demien had said, the beasts, unlike monsters, were not interested in feuding with humans. Naturally, Evan had no intention of attacking the wolf, either.


    The wolf came to theke and began to drink the water. After a few sips, the beast turned around and walked back into the woods.


    There didn''t seem to be anything unusual about its actions, but Evan didn''t think so.


    <Hmm, it''s wounded, it needs to rest and regain his strength, but it decided toe here and drink water? I doubt there weren''t any ces closer where it could get drunk. Looks like thiske isn''t as simple as I first thought. We''ll have to check it out.>

 Chapter 97 - The Azure Dandelions

    Evan knew from the actions of the red-haired wolf that most likely theke among the dandelions had healing properties. He had to check it out, or his wounds would take a long time to heal.


    Without hesitation, he quickly took off all his clothes and immersed himself in theke. In his opinion, it was much more effective than drinking it.


    When Evan dipped into the water, he immediately felt a slight tonic effect. A pleasant sensation reverberated throughout his body, especially where he had serious wounds.


    <Cool, I hope no one in this forest minds my using theke this way. Strange ce, there is not a drop of mana here, yet theke has healing properties. I wonder why they haven`t made a notation on the map that it`s such a useful ce?>.


    Well, Evan had been staying in the healing water for about two hours. During all that time, almost nothing had happened. Small rodents came to theke, but they didn''t even pay any attention to Evan.


    <I think it''s time to leave. I don''t feel any pain from my wounds anymore, they''re certainly notpletely healed yet, but it will definitely take less time now.>


    Evan thought to himself and was about to get out of the water when suddenly a woman''s voice was heard behind him, "Hey, guy, who are you and what are you doing here?"


    The speaker was a tall girl with purple hair and amber eyes. She was dressed in leather armor and unusual, tall, metal boots with special engraving. The girl''s name was Sana Rathmore.


    Evan threw his head back, looked at the girl, and with a smile on his face said: " I`m resting. You''re certainly not my type, but if you want to get in, too, I don''t mind."


    The girl frowned and said grudgingly: "You don''t seem to know where you are. Not everyone cane in here, you know. Answer my questions quickly!"


    The girl''s "Warp" twirled and she was already ready to fight.


    Her aggression was beyond Evan''sprehension, he had done nothing to make Sana consider him her enemy. Nevertheless, Evan didn''t care for the girl''s words. He continued to enjoy the healing water and calmly said:


    "Do you want to start a fight right here? I don''t know what you want from me, I was just passing by and happened to stumble upon this ce."


    Evan knew little or nothing about the "Valley of the Azure Dandelions", but it was clear that this ce was not easy and most likely had a patron. The young man even believed that the area was under the control of some powerful beast, that made sense.


    Hearing Evan''s words, Sana frowned, and her "Warp" stopped spinning. Evan''s words were true- she had no right to be wilful in this ce.


    "Who are you and why did youe here? I don''t like being red at, so you''d better leave." Evan said slowly.


    "It`s actually what I`ve asked you! I''m Sana Rathmore, the "Inner Student"'' of the Academy of Magic - "The Last Moon", and I`vee here on a mission to collect the Azure Dandelions. I''ve answered all the questions, now it''s your turn."


    Sana told it like it was. She had nothing to hide, moreover she was proud of her position and wanted to show how much higher she was above Evan so that he would behave more respectfully.


    Unfortunately for her, Evan was not impressed by her regalia. He felt that unlike people like Zak or Koen, there was no powering from Sana. Evan felt that, at worst, they were equal in power.


    "I''m just on my way to "The Last Moon", there will be an intake there soon, I guess you know that."


    The girl was surprised that Evan was going to the Academy of Magic. Of course, she knew that there would be the intake process soon, but she didn''t understand why Evan was alone and why he was here.


    Sana wanted to say something, but Evan beat her to it: "By the way, you mentioned the Azure Dandelions, can you tell me what you need to collect them for?"


    Evan was curious about the purpose of this unusual nt.


    Upon learning that Evan was going to enter "The Last Moon", Sana became more friendly, of course, she still thought she was superior to Evan. She was in her second year at "The Last Moon" and had made good progress even by the standards of the "Inner Students".


    "Since you''re going to be a student of "The Last Moon" very soon, I''ll tell you everything as a senior."


    Evan answered nothing, just listened intently to the girl.


    "My teacher has given me an assignment to collect some Azure Dandelions - it''s quite a rare nt, you can find it in other ces, but this valley is the closest to the Academy."


    The girl pointed to theke and said: "I hope you noticed that there isn''t a drop of mana in thiske, but the water in thiske greatly speeds up regeneration, and there''s a reason for that. It''s because of the Azure Dandelions, these special nts absorb mana from the air and theke, they feed on it. As a reverse effect, they have a positive effect on the environment, especially the water."


    Evan turned around and looked carefully at the Azure Dandelions, now he understood how the ce was set up.


    The young man looked at Sana and pointing to the dandelions calmly said: "I assume they are used for medicinal purposes."


    <If a nt, while absorbing mana, could make in water curative, then it must also be a fine material for medicine itself.> Evan thought, and he was right.


    Sana nodded: "Yes, my teacher is now experimenting with various nts and he needed Azure Dandelions. They have very strong healing properties, but they have one disadvantage - while dandelions heal a magician''s wound, they take his mana for themselves. As a result, the mage heals all his wounds, but he has to spend a lot of energy to replenish his mana."


    <Hmm, and I thought those dandelions were only good for one thing, but if you get rid of that unpleasant side effect, you get a great cure>. Evan thought to himself listening to the girl.


    "Unfortunately, we can''t take all the Azure Dandelions out of here, the owner of thesends would be very unhappy about that. But these dandelions grow pretty fast, so we replenish our supply in this valley from time to time. By the way, I think you''ve noticed that there are a lot more Purple Trees here than in other parts of this valley?" Sana said slowly.


    Evan just nodded.


    Sana continued: "It''s still the same effect of the Azure Dandelions. They make the soil here very noble, so all the nts in this area grow surprisingly fast."


    "Okay, I see. Well, we''ve got it all figured out. Now turn around." Evan said calmly.


    "§¡?" Sana didn''t understand what Evan was asking her to do.


    Ssh.


    The next moment Evan went out of the water.

 Chapter 98 - The Last Moon

    Evan went out of theke and calmly began to dress. He didn''t care that Sana was looking at him right now, but the girl, on the other hand, was surprised by such a thing.


    She quickly turned away and said loudly: "You should at least give me a warning!"


    The young man smiled and replied, "So I did, you''re just reacting too slowly. Okay, take your Azure Dandelions and show me the way to the Academy."


    Of course, Evan knew how to get to "The Last Moon", but he was sure that Sana, as a student of that Academy, knew a shortcut to it. If she often collects nts in the neighborhood, she must know it well.


    Upon hearing Evan''s words, the girl turned around, measured the young man with a nce and said: "That coat looks good on you, too bad you have to say goodbye to it at the Academy."


    Evan looked at the girl puzzled, "Why? Are there any strict rules about clothing at "The Last Moon"?


    Sana nodded: "Yes, of course not all of them, but there are for outerwear like mantles and coats. I''m not wearing a mantle right now, but when I return to the academy, I''ll have to wear a blue one."


    "Do all students wear blue mantles?" Evan asked in surprise. He didn''t really want to change his appearance because of the school rules, but he knew there was hardly anything he could do about it.


    Sana shook her head, "No, I wear the blue mantle because I am a "Creator". Those who are "Summoners" wear green mantles, and "Amplifiers" wear yellow ones. Each student also has an emblem like this."


    The girl pointed to the round purple emblem on her chest.


    "There are two kinds of emblem: white and purple, depending on what color is your "Warp".


    "I see, well, is it time to go back to the academy?"


    "Take your time, I''ll show you the short way, but you have to help me with something." With a smile on her face, Sana said.


    "With what?"


    "My teacher`s told me to gather not only the Azure Dandelions, but also the pits of the Purple Tree Fruit, it will take me a long time to do it myself, so your help won''t hurt."


    <She''s crafty, knows how to take advantage of a situation, but okay. If I help her, I''ll get to the Academy faster and learn more about it.>


    Evan thought to himself and quickly agreed.


    "All right, but you''re going to tell me what''s being made out of these pits.


    Sana nodded, and at the same moment, her "Warp" was spinning. She needed somewhere to put her dandelions and pits, so she decided to create the necessary thing.


    Whoosh.


    Many thin branches appeared in the air and began to intertwine with each other, and in a couple of seconds they turned into a pretty basket.


    Sana took the basket in her hands, plucked three Azure Dandelions and put them in it.


    <Her control is at a pretty high level, I think I couldn`t have done something like that with my spell>.


    "Come on, we need to get to the grove." Sana said and headed towards the dense forest of Purple Trees.


    They quickly reached the first tree and Sana plucked the yellow and blue fruit which taste Evan hadn`t liked so much.


    Crack.


    The girl easily broke it in two and pulled out an oval, brown pit.


    "This fruit just tastes awful, apparently the pit has some special effects?" Asked Evan as he watched Sana pull the pit from the second fruit.


    "Have you tasted this fruit? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I didn''t expect anyone to do such a thing. The fruit itself is pretty useless, the beasts like the taste of it, but to us it''s disgusting. My teacher likes to make tea from these pits, they have an unusual vor, just try it."


    Evan took one of the pits and immediately smelled its light aroma, at that moment he thought to himself, <Coffee?>


    In his past world, it was a fairlymon drink, but here he saw nothing like it. Even in Marcel`s restaurants there was nothing that resembled coffee in taste and smell. He`d thought coffee didn''t exist in this world, but it looks like he was wrong.


    <It''s certainly not coffee, but it reminds quite a bit of it. These fruits are not as useless as I`ve originally thought>.


    "Not a bad vor, but can these pits be used to make anything other than tea?"


    "Well, some potions and ointments, but mostly it''s my teacher''s personal request, since he likes the smell and taste of these pits. By the way, stop standing around and help me"


    Evan grinned and said calmly: "Okay, okay. Oh, before I forget, how many pits do we need in total?"


    "A hundred."


    "Huh, your teacher loves tea too much." Said Evan and headed for the nearest tree.


    For a while, they picked pits from the yellow and blue fruit until there were one hundred brown pits in Sana''s basket.


    The girl looked at the collected dandelions and bones and said with a satisfied smile: "Great, now we can go back. We''ll take a right and go through the woods and soon we''ll be over the hills."


    <Sounds like she really does know the short way to the Academy.>


    Evan thought to himself and said: "Hmm, but the shortest way on my map is to the right, through the des and up into the hills."


    "That''s all because we`re going through the hills, there''s an abandoned mine behind the woods that''s not on the map, only people who frequent here know about it."


    Evan nodded and they headed on. They approached the border of the "Valley of the Azure Dandelions" and in that moment, Evan suddenly turned around.


    Whoosh.


    He stared intently at the blue des as if trying to find something.


    "Is anything wrong?" Sana said puzzled.


    Evan turned around and simply said: "No, it`s just seemed."


    ...


    <Hmm, has this guy really felt my gaze? He`s an interesting young man...>. The unknown being, who was several kilometers away from Sana and Evan, thought to itself.


    ...


    Sana and Evan walked through the forest and talked about various topics. To Evan''s surprise, the girl was very talkative, which was good for him.


    She treated Evan as a neer who knew nothing at all about "The Last Moon", and as a senior she tried to tell him as much as she could. She was right on one hand, though, because Evan didn''t have much information about the Academy.


    "Sana I see you have great respect for your teacher. I''m curious, do you do what he asks of you because you want to, or is that the rules at "The Last Moon"?


    Sana thought for a while and answered, "You''re right, I''m proud to be a student of my teacher, but to be honest I''m not only doing these errands out of good motives."


    The girl sighed and continued: "You haven''t enrolled yet so there''s a lot you don''t know about how "The Last Moon" works. Every student doesn''t just attend sses and spend all day in the library, butpletes assignments given by the Academy, and you receive "Moon Coins" for that."

 Chapter 99 - The Academy Or The City?

    "Assignments? "Moon Coins?" Evan asked puzzled.


    In his mind, the Academy of Magic was something boring, but useful. Lessons, training, and the library- he couldn''t imagine other activities in a ce like this.


    Nevertheless, he had too bad an idea of what an Academy of Magic was, especially "The Last Moon". If all the students did was go to sses and the library, then what was the point of the Academy? It would be much easier to hire a teacher and that would be it.


    Sana nodded: "Yeah, the Academy of Magic, you know, gets resources and money not out of thin air. Any student can take assignments from the notice boards and get "Moon Coins" for doing so. Of course, assignments can also be given to you by your teachers. Usually their tasks are easier and they pay more."


    <Hmm, that''s a pretty good system. Students do assignments, gain experience and knowledge, and get rewarded for it. Whereas the Academy gets various resources all the time and if there''s a problem to solve, it can be just assigned a reward for it>.


    "I see, but what to spend these "Moon Coins" on? For spell books and artifacts?" Evan asked.


    The girl looked at Evan in surprise and said: "You don''t seem to know anything at all about "The Last Moon" or how the Academies of Magic are set up. Where are you from?"


    Evan quickly replied, "I''m from Mossy Vulture."


    "Then why is your knowledge so limited? Last year, the newbie magicians from Mossy Vulture were among the best ones."


    Evan frowned and replied, "I was suddenly able to enter "Nirvana" and be a newbie mage. My case is pretty unusual and I haven''t had much time to learn more about the Academy of Magic."


    "Okay, don''t worry, as a senior I''ll tell you all about it!" With a satisfied smile on her face, Sana said.


    Evan was the first person she had ever taught and she was d for such an opportunity. The thing was, Sana herself had joined "The Last Moon" a year ago, so she still had a lot to learn herself, before she could act like a teacher.


    The young man smiled and nodded. On one hand, he was grateful to Sana for all the information she had given him, but on the other, he was amused by the way, the second year student was acting.


    "Any Academy of Magic is not really an Academy. It would be more correct to say that it is a special mini-city with its own infrastructure, and the more popr the Academy, the richer the city.


    "So, the "Moon Coins" are the currency of this city?"


    The girl nodded: "Yes, furthermore, our Academy even has its own cards, you can''t use regr coins. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."


    "What''s so funny?" Evan didn''t understand why Sana suddenlyughed.


    "Sorry, I`ve just remembered that some students didn''t know that and brought thousands of gold coins with them. Later they had to nearly throw them away."


    "Okay, then how big is this town?"


    Although Sana called the Academy a city, Evan thought that was an exaggeration, because he couldn''t imagine that everyone in the city was a magician.


    "Well, about as big as half of Mossy Vulture."


    "What?" Evan was shocked by this, he couldn''t believe that so many magicians were concentrated in "The Last Moon". Zak had said him that only one person in a thousand had a talent for magic.


    "§¡h? What surprises you? Look, the city is divided into two parts - the main part and the side part. The main part is the huge building of "The Last Moon", while the side part is divided into three zones. Unlike the main part, the side part is where ordinary people can live along with the magicians."


    <So that''s the thing, wait, how do ordinary people survive in this city, if you can''t use regr money?>


    Evan thought to himself and immediately said: "Ordinary people do tasks for the Academy, too? Like gathering herbs and such?"


    The girl looked at Evan puzzled and said: "Well, looks like the situation is even worse than I`ve imagined. Of course, not, assignments are only done by the magicians, ordinary people have other ways to earn "Moon Coins".


    "What ways?"


    "Well, do you think magicians cook their own food, clean, sew clothes, and so on? It''s all done by the ordinary people, and for their goods or services the magicians pay with "Moon Coins". Of course, by doing tasks of the Academy you can earn coins much easier and faster, but that''s as far as magicians are concerned. Even if ordinary people could take assignments, they still wouldn''t be able to do most of them."


    "So you''re saying that collecting three Azure Dandelions and picking a couple dozen fruits is a task that only a magician can do?" Evan said with obvious sarcasm in his voice.


    Sana was confused, but quickly thought of an answer: "I agree that also ordinary people can cope with such tasks, and you know we are not the only ones who understand this. I`ve learned from my teacher that in the past such tasks could also be undertaken by ordinary people. But even if a task seemed safe it wasn''t necessarily so. For example, could a person collecting herbs be attacked by a monster? Yes, and it did happen quite often. When such incidents became too numerous, the head of "The Last Moon" forbade ordinary people to do any tasks, even the simplest ones."


    "I see, there''s some logic to it, although, on the one hand, it''s unfair. So what exactly can the "Moon Coins" be spent on?"


    "For just about anything. Weapons, artifacts, food, water, clothing, living in different zones, ess to the library, and even lessons."


    "How do the zones differ from each other?"


    "There really aren''t any strong differences, just that the closer the zone is to the Academy the more expensive it is, better stores, forges, and so on. It''s mostly where those who have a lot of "Moon Coins" live, as they can afford to live in the first zone."


    Sana continued: "Of course, you can also live in the main area where "The Last Moon" is, but only some magicians have permission to do so and it costs incredibly much. Only teachers and the best students can afford it."


    "I see, Sana, what zone do you live in?"


    "In the third, to be honest I could easily live in the second, but I don''t see the point. In my opinion, it''s much better to save the "Moon Coins" to buy the spell you need or for a lesson with the best teachers."


    Evan nodded and thought, <I''ll have to do the same, money never hurts. Of course, I need to look at the assignments, maybe, I have to do a lot of them.>


    He thought that the assignments were first of all a way to learn new things, to visit previously unseen ces and to gain experience, only then it`s a way to earn "Moon Coins".


    While Evan and Sana were pondering, they were getting closer to the exit of the abandoned mine. With only a few steps to go, Evan would finally see the Academy of Magic, "The Last Moon".

 Chapter 100 - The Inexplicable Incident

    Step.


    Evan, along with Sana, came out of the cave and finally saw what the Academy of Magic, "The Last Moon," looked like.


    They were quite far away, ten kilometers away, but the Academy was perfectly visible.


    Like Sana had said, it was a real city with its own structure. Three outer shells, each of which was a side zone, and the Academy building itself at the very center.


    The city itself was on a huge hill, so the zones were on top of each other. The higher up you went, the more expensive the ce was. Naturally, "The Last Moon" was the highest.


    Unfortunately, from this distance Evan couldn''t get a detailed view of the city, it was too far away, he had to get closer.


    <So, will it be my home for the next few years?> Evan thought to himself looking at the city.


    Then his gaze turned to a small vige a few kilometers from the city, that''s where he would be going. There he would wait for the start of the intake to the Academy.


    "By the way, Sana, how long does the study in the Academyst?"


    Asked Evan, as he wanted to know about how long he would have to stay at the Academy of Magic.


    Sana hesitated a little then, replied, "That depends on your progress. I don''t know everything myself, but the first stagests three years, I''m now in the second year of the first stage."


    "Stage one?"


    "Yes, the first stagests three years and begins when you enter the academy. During those three years you have to break through all your "Barriers" and reach the level - One-Pointed Star." The girl replied calmly.


    "So, if you fail and don''t make it in time you will be expelled from the Academy?"


    The girl nodded: "Yes, by the way, not all the Academies of Magic do that. In some of them, the students have been studying for many years, even if they don''t make any progress. After all, they can still do the tasks and benefit the Academy. "The Last Moon" can afford to turn away students who are not making any progress."


    <Three years to reach the "One-Pointed Star"? Would it really take that long to break through the remaining two "Barriers"?>


    Evan and Sana kept moving forward. Thanks to her, Evan was going to make it to the academy much faster than he`d nned. He was lucky that he decided to visit the "Valley of the Azure Dandelions". Not only was he able to partially heal his wounds, but also to meet Sana.


    The girl was not surprised by Evan''s wounds, as magicians often got into various situations and idents. Moreover, Evan had bathed in theke and thanks to the healing water, his wounds were almost invisible, except for the bloody spot on his leg where the ck thorn had hit.


    "Speaking of which, Evan, people usually arrive to the academy in groups, why are you alone? I''m sure there are a lot of newbie magicianing this year from Mossy Vulture."


    Evan smiled and simply replied, "I don''t like big groups, so I decided to walk alone and fought off the group that way."


    "I see, you''re lucky your path wasn''t through the "Half-Dead Forest", a few students die there every year. Creepy ce."


    "Yeah, I agree."


    Evan didn''t tell Sana what had happened to him and because of a series of unfortunate circumstances he had got to the "Half-Dead Forest".


    To himself Evan thought, <Hmm, Sana says that students often die in this ce, I''m lucky that I was near the edge of the forest, but my group might not be so lucky.>


    Evan had originally thought that traversing the "Half-Dead Forest" wasn''t such a big deal, but based on Sana''s words he realized he was wrong. Evan was now certain that not all of those going to this forest would survive.


    <If it wasn''t for the one-eyed raven the oue would have been sad, that monster was very strong. I wonder if there is anyone stronger in this forest.>


    Without the raven''s help Evan would have died and he knew that perfectly well, but he also knew that if his enemy was more powerful even the raven''s intervention wouldn''t have made a difference.


    "Sana, what do you know about one-eyed ravens? I was told they dwell in the "Half-Dead Forest."


    Evan decided to find out more about the bird that saved him. He was sure the girl knew something about these creatures.


    "§¡? Why are you interested in this? These ravens are the mostmon scavengers and why do you say a one-eyed raven? It''s just an animal living in the "Half-Dead Forest."


    "All right. I was just wondering why they have only one eye, but now I get it."


    Evan frowned and thought, <A scavenger? An ordinary beast? There aren''t any one-eyed ravens in the "Half-Dead Forest"? What the hell was that? Why did this raven help me, then?>


    He didn''t understand how that could be, and it annoyed him. The rest of the way to the vige, Evan thought about the raven''s actions, but came to nothing.


    ...


    A few hourster Evan and Sana reached the vige then, they split up there.


    "I have to get back. Good luck in the exam!" Said the girl and headed in the direction of the Academy.


    Evan nodded and walked down the vige street. As he expected, the vige itself was dull and unsightly. It was no surprise, since for the most part it was a small transit point for travelers or newbie magicians like him.


    The vigers were content with their situation. Newbie magicians in most cases were from wealthy families. They easily paid the big price for the products and services in the vige.


    Without thinking long, Evan rented a room in one of the houses and began to "Create". To his surprise, the entire vige was filled with magicians. He knew it was because of the examing up, but he didn''t think there would be so many applicants. What''s more, not all of the newbie magicians wanted to enter "The Last Moon".


    Evan spent the rest of his time "Creating", until the day he''d been waiting for.


    The exam would be held at noon sharp and from early morning, hundreds of mages were on their way to "The Last Moon".


    Evan, too, packed quickly and left the house he had been living in for the past few days. He had been "Creating" many days in a row, but there was too little mana concentration in this vige.


    He didn''t even have enough mana to open another chain. This discouraged him, but he had expected a simr result. Also by this day, Evan''s wounds had practically healed and were no longer causing him any difort.


    Evan looked at the city in the distance and muttered quietly: "It''s finally time to find out what path I''m going to take in this world."

 Chapter 101 - The Class And The Color

    Evan left the house and headed for the academy. On his way out of the vige, he saw Fien, Enni, Katlyn and the other members of his group, but not all of them. Evan didn''t ask where they were, he`d already known the answer and it didn''t bother him much. Right now, he was interested only in the entrance exam and nothing else.


    Today, at the Academy of Magic it would be decided not only what type of student he would be, internal or external, but he would finally find out what his ss was.


    As Zak had said him earlier, almost all magicians found out their ss at the Academy of Magic. It took special methods to determine this. Of course, one could spend many months studying the spells of the different Types of Magic, but it was impractical. It was much more efficient to go to the Academy of Magic.


    The exam was still about two hours away, so Evan took his time. He walked calmly among the dense green forest heading towards the big city.


    Today it would be the intake in "The Last Moon", so the whole town was in turmoil. To Evan''s surprise when he approached the walls of the city, he saw no guards, only two men in white mantles.


    One was staring at everyone who entered the city, while the other was writing something in a small book. Today was a special day, hundreds of newbie magicians wereing to the Academy.


    As Evan approached the entrance, he was asked his name and told where to go. Evan nodded and headed towards the second zone. Then he reached the first zone and then he was led to the entrance of the main part, namely "The Last Moon" building.


    He was struck by the grandeur of the Academy building. It was a wholeplex of buildings of different shapes, each one huge and looking impressive. Compared to it, the "Tower of Magic" in Mossy Vulture looked pale and ordinary.


    Evan hadn''t been inside yet, but he could safely say that "The Last Moon" was as big as any medium-sized city.


    Unfortunately, Evan couldn''t go inside right now, he had been directed to where the entrance exam would be held. As Evan walked, he looked at the buildings around him with amazement. The buildings were in the Gothic style and created an impressive monumental architectural structure.


    ...


    After a while, Evan reached the right ce and saw a real square with hundreds of newbie magicians ready to take the exam.


    Everyone was waiting for the beginning of the exam, which was supposed to take ce in ten minutes. Everyone behaved differently, some were noticeably nervous, some were excited, and some werepletely calm. Since Evan wasn`t in a hurry, he was among thest to arrive in the square. Almost everyone had already been there.


    Whoosh.


    Exactly ten minutester, the massive gate in front of the square opened. It was the moment everyone had been waiting for.


    Two men and a woman in white mantles walked out to the applicants. At that moment, a sepulchral silence fell over the square. No one spoke, and no small whispers could be heard.


    A woman with long ck hair stepped forward and said loudly: "Wee, everyone! I''ll be brief, you know the purpose you havee here for. Now, each of you will go in turn to the evaluation center. We will know your ss and the color of your ''Warps", and then we will go to the underground arena where the exam will take ce."


    Everyone just nodded silently, waiting for the beginning. Three magicians in white mantles entered the huge building to the left of the square.


    After a while, one of them came out of the building and called out three names loudly. Those he`d called quickly approached him and went inside.


    The evaluation procedure wasn''t long, just a few minutes and the three newbie magicians were back in the square. Some of them were smiling, the others were upset on the contrary. Many young men were walking out of the building without any emotion.


    Every magician prefers one ss over the others. Many newbie magicians even put everything on one ss and learn spells exclusive to that Type of Magic. The color of the "Warp" is also incredibly important.


    Of course, many in the square knew roughly what color their "Warp" was - it was easy to tell by the speed of" Creation", but only at the Academy of Magic everything became absolutely clear.


    <I wonder how they check a magician''s ss and the color of his "Warp"? Evan thought to himself as he watched another trio enter the building.


    Even people like Zak and Marcel didn''t have the proper methods to determine the ss. Sure, they could probably do it if they wanted to, but it was tooplicated and costly. It was much easier to use the methods of the Academy of Magic.


    While Evan was waiting for his turn, he`s looking around. He didn''t stop his gaze on people for long, he was more interested in the buildings around him.


    Evan was interested in the huge buildings around him.


    Compared to them, even Marcel''s mansion didn''t look so big and luxurious. On the other hand, he shouldn''t have expected anything less from the Academy of Magic -"The Last Moon".


    Evan didn''t like waiting, but for some reason the waiting didn''t bother him now. Maybe it was because the whole process didn''t take long and a lot of students had already been tested.


    Fien, Enni, and Katlyn had already been tested. Evan could tell from their faces that the girls had either expected this kind of result or were extremely pleased with it. Especially Enni, she was the happiest.


    <Sounds like she''s an "Amplifier" after all. She was really lucky and she was ready for it. Moreover, her character will make her a perfect "Amplifier">. Evan thought to himself as he waited his turn.


    People were going in and out of the evaluation center. Evan remained in thest hundred applicants but even now, his name was not called. Even though it made no difference who went in first and who went inst, since everyone would go into the underground arena after the evaluation, Evan was getting bored with the wait.


    ...


    <Seriously?> Evan thought to himself with a frown on his face watching another three people enter the building. There were only three people left besides them who hadn''t been tested yet, and one of those people was Evan.


    <Some fairy bad luck, okay, on the bright side I won''t have to wait for anyone and we''ll head straight to the arena.>


    While Evan was thinking, three students came out and a man in a white mantle called out the names, "Mya Berry, Hollie Francis and Evan Lynch!"


    With a sigh of relief, Evan headed toward the ce where he would finally find the answers to his long-awaited questions.

 Chapter 102 - The Scythe

    "Finally." Evan said quietly and headed toward the evaluation center.


    Along with him, there were two girls, who also stayed forst. Evan glimpsed them. They were bothpletely calm, and there was boundless confidence in their gaze.


    Click.


    Thest trio stepped inside and the man in the white mantle closed the front door.


    ...


    The evaluation center was onerge, spacious room, quite unremarkable , except the huge, aquamarine crystal in the center. The crystal was glowing faintly, and a woman in a white mantle was standing beside it.


    Seeing thest three applicants, the man put his hand to the crystal and waited for the test to begin.


    The woman turned to the young people: "Come to the crystal and put your palms to it. At that moment, you should enter your "Nirvana", and then just concentrate. We''ll run a quick check and let you know the results."


    Evan and the girls nodded and then approached the crystal. Naturally, no one was going to exin how the method worked, they just had to follow the directions and that was it.


    Whoosh.


    As they were told, the three magicians put their palms to the crystal and entered "Nirvana".


    Evan thought to himself, <Hmm, and how are they going to test our ss and Color of the "Warp"?


    He was curious about the method itself, because only in the incredible ces like the Academies of Magic, it could be done something like that.


    When the trio entered "Nirvana", the woman made sure they closed their eyes and saw nothing, she made a sign to the man.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment strange changes began to happen to the crystal. Three purple dots appeared inside it, which gradually turned into creatures resembling spirits.


    For a while they swirled around the crystal in a circle, until finally they separated and headed toward the palms of the young men.


    That was the way the magician''s ss and color of the "Warps" were tested. Of course, it wasn''t all about spirits, it was about the crystal and a special spell of Summoning Magic.


    After a couple of minutes, the man calmly said: "Mya Berry, the ss is "Creator", the ''Warp" is purple. Hollie Francis, the ss is "Creator", the "Warp" - purple. Evan Lynch, the ss is..."


    ...


    <§¡? What is that?">. Thought to himself Evan being in "Nirvana".


    Suddenly a purple spirit entered "Nirvana", Evan was discouraged by what was happening, but he didn''t do anything about it. It was obvious that this was all some kind of test.


    Evan watched the spirit closely. It swirled around Evan''s crimson "Warp," and then flew inside. To know the color of the "Warp", the spirit simply had to see it, but to determine the ss, the spirit would have to enter the "Warp". It was a standard procedure, that hundreds of magicians had already gone through today, and Evan was no exception.


    Whoosh.


    The spirit came close to the crimson orb and circled around it once more to enter. Everything was going ording to the usual scenario, but suddenly Evan realized something.


    <My "Warp" is neither white nor purple, if they find out that it''s crimson, I could be in trouble. But...what am I supposed to do?!>


    Evan didn''t know if that was good or bad, but he''d never heard of a magician who had crimson "Warp" . Even if it was a good thing, he would draw too much attention to himself from outsiders anyway, and he didn''t want that.


    Tremble.


    Suddenly Evan felt strange, he couldn''t describe the feeling, but at that moment all his attention was on another phenomenon.


    A purple spirit had entered the "Warp" and was about to leave, but suddenly something inexplicable happened.


    Whoosh.


    The purple spirit tried to get out, but it failed. It was as if the crimson orb had thickened. The spirit did not know what was happening, and neither did Evan. He saw that something was not ording to n.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the scythe, ck as the abyss, jerked up inside his "Warp". All this time it had been motionless, but now it was on the move.


    Then the strange things began to happen.


    A toothy mouth and one bloodshot eye slowly opened on the scythe de. The spirit panicked and tried with all its might to get out, but all its attempts were unsessful.


    The bloodshot eye stared intently at the spirit. It scrutinized the creature that had dared to invade its domain.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment the ck scythe came into motion and sliced the purple spirit into hundreds of pieces at incredible speed. All Evan could see was a blurred image, his eyes unable to grasp the speed of the scythe.


    Whoosh.


    Hundreds of spirit parts headed toward the toothy mouth, and were quickly consumed by it.


    Whoosh.


    On the other side of the de another mouth opened, and to Evan''s surprise a whole and unharmed spirit emerged from it, just as it had been a few seconds before. Evan stared mesmerized at this startling and inexplicable scene.


    Whoosh.


    The purple spirit passed through the crimson "Warp", as if nothing had happened, and was outside. Next, the spirit flew upstairs and eventually emerged from "Nirvana".


    Like the other two spirits, the third one returned safely to the aquamarine crystal and gave the man the information he needed.


    "Evan Lynch, the ss - "Amplifier", the "Warp" - White." The man said calmly and took his hand away from the crystal.


    At the same moment, the three purple spirits disappeared and the test waspletely finished.


    The woman informed the three rookie mages of the results and told them to leave.


    "Wait for our instructions, this was only a test, there will be an exam soon."


    The young men nodded and hurriedly left.


    Staring at Evan''s back, the woman thought to herself, <White?! Why is his "Warp" white! How is that possible?!">.


    You could tell that her reaction was very strange. In the world of mages, white "Warps" is the mostmon thing, while purple is a sign of talent and genius. But somehow the woman was surprised that Evan was the only one of the three magicians who had a white "Warp".


    ...


    Evan and the two girls returned to the square. He didn''t know how to react to what had happened. He thought he would finally know his way, but suddenly he encountered a phenomenon unknown to him.


    <White "Warp"?" Has he made a mistake? No, it''s that scythe, it did something to the spirit that caused it to transmit the wrong information. There''s no other way I can exin the evaluation of the magician in the white mantle. Moreover, what the fuck was that all about? That scythe just ate that spirit, but it had showed no signs of life before.>


    Evan''s mind was focused only on that. He could say with certainty that the scythe had influenced what the spirit had reported to the magician. But, there was something Evan was extremely unhappy about.


    <I''ve been told that I have a white "Warp" and I''m an Amplifier, but how true is that information? Because of the actions of the scythe, the spirit determined the wrong color of the "Warp", which means my ss is also in doubt. Damn! How am I supposed to know what type of Magic I''m more prone to?>


    While Evan was trying to figure out what had just happened and resenting the fact that he was still in the dark, three magicians in white mantles came out of the evaluation center.

 Chapter 103 - Examination

    Whoosh.


    Three magicians in white mantle came out of the evaluation center and led all the applicants to the ce where the exam would take ce, the underground arena.


    Evan went with the others. He was still thinking about what had happened during the test. At that moment all his thoughts were focused only on it.


    Slowly the group of hundreds of students approached the underground arena. On their way, they passed through the outer corridors of the Academy. Evan''s thoughts were upied with other things, but the other newbie magicians were extremely surprised.


    The size and architecture were astounding. "The Last Moon" had definitely invested a tremendous amount of resources to look so majestic.


    The group made their way down the wide staircase, the descent taking a few minutes. At the end of the path were massive, jade gates.


    A woman approached it, put her hand on it, and the gate opened. At that moment, every student could see what the Academy''s underground arena looked like.


    It was simr to the arena in Mossy Vulture, only bigger and more luxurious. This arena was not only used for exams during recruitment, but also for fights between students and various tournaments.


    "The Last Moon" encouraged resolving conflicts by force, but everything had to be official and a non-lethal duel only. If there was a disagreement between two students, they could go to the arena at any time and sort things out.


    Moreover, fights were often held with bets by both students and spectators, if the fight was between strong or popr students. All in all, the arena was an extremely important and useful ce in the Academy.


    Three magicians in white mantles only brought the challengers to the arena, but they were not going to conduct the exam. They told everyone to wait and the next moment they were in the stands. As time passed, more and more people appeared in the stands and at that moment, Evan finally broke away from his thoughts.


    <Hmm, so many people will be watching the entrance exam? I thought a couple of people would be more than enough>.


    In fact, all of these people were teachers and they weren''t here for the spectacle. They were looking for capable students and the entrance exam was the best ce to do that. Right now, each student, depending on his or her results, would be either an "Outer student" or an "Inner student".


    Step. Step. Step.


    After a while, a man in a gray mantle with long white hair entered the arena, it was Draven Heliot. He calmly examined each of the newbie magicians and slowly said.


    "The rules are simple, whoever holds out against me for ten seconds bes an "Inner student".


    After his words, a wave of amazement rose among the students and small whispers began. It might seem that ten seconds was very little time and everyone could do it, but it wasn''t that simple.


    <Ten seconds, how strong is he, if he gives so little time?> Evan thought to himself.


    Meanwhile the first contestant came out against Draven. He was a tall fellow, dressed in luxurious clothes, which meant he came from a noble family.


    It was obvious from his face that he was confident and naturally, he was going to be an "Inner student".


    Thed waited for amand, but Draven simply said: "Attack, once you attack, time will go."


    The young man nodded and the next moment attacked Draven. He was a "Creator", and knew the spells of Creation Magic, so instantly fireballs appeared above his head that rushed towards the examiner.


    The young man knew that it was unlikely to do Draven any harm, but his goal was not to win, but tost only ten seconds.


    Bam.


    <Okay, ten seconds is an incredibly long time...>. Evan thought to himself as he watched Draven knock out the newbie magician with a single blow.


    Draven''s movements were lightning fast. The moment the fireballs had not yet formed he instantly reached the young man and ended their battle with one powerful blow to the stomach.


    The fightsted about half a second. Nevertheless, it was enough for the magicians in the stands to draw certain conclusions for themselves.


    The first contestant performed badly, half a second was a real shame. Although on the other hand Draven didn''t hold back in the slightest, he was hitting hard enough to make the students faint with a single blow.


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after Draven''s punch, several people appeared who quickly carried the first challenger away. He was in no danger and would be quickly brought to his senses.


    "Next." Draven said calmly. He didn''t want to spend too much time on this exam. There were plenty of applicants, but besides the exam, there were still lists to be made and an entrance ceremony to be prepared.


    It didn''t take long to wait for the next volunteer. Everyone wanted to be an "Inner student" and show the best of themselves in order to get to the strongest teachers.


    Strangely enough, the second candidate was Katlyn van Erden. She had always been confident in her abilities and especially now. During her checkup, she`d learned that her ss is "Creator" and her "Warp" is purple. This greatly increased her already considerable self-confidence.


    But, unlike the first challenger, she did not attack. This exam was not only a test of strength, but also of strategy. She only had to hold out for a few seconds, which meant that defense was the best option for her.


    Draven measured the girl with a calm gaze and said quietly: "You`ve decided to wait for me to strike? Suit yourself."


    Whoosh.


    Draven stepped forward and turned into a blurry silhouette. He was instantly in front of the girl and delivered a swift kick to the stomach.


    Katlyn hadn''t expected Draven''s attack to be so swift, but she had time to react.


    Whoosh.


    The girl bounced to the side, but suddenly her world was turned upside down. Seeing that Katlyn had dodged his punch, Draven struck again. He attacked the girl with his other foot and the force of the blow sent her flying several meters away. Katlyn''s ribs were broken and she lost consciousness.


    "Two seconds, not so bad, next." Draven said unemotionally.


    Evan thought to himself, <Strong, insanely strong. And he even hasn''t used any spells yet. Just an unimaginable power!>


    He was amazed that Katlyn had lost so easily.


    After Draven defeated the second challenger, a third one entered the arena. It was a guy with a long staff in his hand.


    He wasn''t going to defend himself like Katlyn, he was going to buy time with his spells.


    The young man attacked first, but no sooner had he cast his first spell than a powerful blow struck him in the jaw.


    "Half a second, next." Draven inflicted serious wounds on his students without a shadow of a doubt on his face.


    <Only one of the three challengerssted two seconds, the further it goes on, the longer ten seconds seemed to be. This test is not an easy one indeed.


    Evan thought to himself as he watched the next apprentice enter the arena.

 Chapter 104 - Is It Possible?

    "One second, next."


    "One and a half seconds, next."


    "Two seconds, next."


    "Half a second, next"


    "Three seconds, next."


    The newbie magicians came out to fight Draven, but none of them couldst even five seconds. With each passing moment, the belief that it was possible to be an "Inner student" became less and less.


    Initially, almost everyone in the group were sure that they would pass the exam, but after seeing Draven''s power, their former confidence was gone.


    Nevertheless, it was not as bad as it might seem at first sight. Draven didn''t just call the time that the student was able tost. Every half second showed the challenger''s skills and strength.


    The magicians in the stands judged their apprentices based on how they had performed and how long they`dsted. For some, the second factor was even more important than the first.


    Also, many apprentices didn''t quite understand what it meant to be an "Inner student". They thought of it as a mere privilege, but it was actually much more serious than that.


    "Inner students" did have privileges, but no one in the group had any idea how serious they were.


    Most importantly, the new students didn''t know that bing an "Inner student" wasn''t just a matter of passing a test. Any student, after paying "Moon Coins," could take the test again. It was held once every three months, so the majority of the "Inner students" were actually originally the "Outer students". Moreover, most of the time, disciples managed to pass the exam only when they were in their second or third year.


    For the same reason, every newbie magician who became an "Inner student" in the entrance exam, was considered a genius. In this case, it didn''t matter what color of the "Warp" that student had.


    Evan looked at the faces of the magicians in the stands and thought to himself, <They''re watching every fight so closely, it looks like every one of them really wants a capable student>.


    While Evan was thinking, Draven knocked out a few more students. A little over ten minutes had passed since the exam began, but a dozen applicants had already dropped out in that time. Within the next few months, they would definitely be "Outer students".


    "Two seconds, next." Draven said calmly.


    Immediately after his words, a charming girl with a snow-white rapier entered the arena.


    <Fien... hmm, I bet she`llst for five seconds.> Evan thought to himself, watching the serious expression on the girl`s face.


    She had lost to Rnd very easily at the "Tournament of Precious Stones", but that didn''t mean she was weak. It was just that Rnd wasn''t someone she could do anything against.


    Still, Evan didn''t believe she could be the "Inner student". In his opinion, five seconds would be a true miracle. Ten -was something out of the impossible.


    Fien entered the arena and stepped far away from Draven.


    She prepared for the fight and swung her rapier in an instant.


    Whoosh.


    Two dense wind des appeared in the air, and went straight for Draven. Fien hoped to buy herself some time this way. Draven would have to dodge the des, at least that''s what Fien thought.


    Whoosh.


    Draven lunged at Fien and didn''t care if the wind des wereing at him at that moment. The girl thought that now she could wound the examiner. Then something happened that she could not have expected.


    Whoosh.


    When the des should have reached Draven, he simply swung his arm and swept them aside like from the annoying flies.


    Fien didn''t expect something like that to happen, but she quickly figured out what she should do.


    Whoosh.


    The wind swirled around her rapier and when Draven got close enough, Fien threw her weapon right at him.


    Whoosh.


    The rapier whistled and flew in Draven`s direction. To the challengers'' surprise, he decided to dodge this attack rather than toss the weapon aside.


    In the next second, he reached the girl and struck with his left hand. Unfortunately, Fien was unable to dodge or block this blow. All she had managed was a couple of attacks.


    Bam.


    The blownded on the girl''s right arm and was strong enough to break it, knocking Fien aside.


    "Six seconds, not bad, next."


    Draven''s words raised a storm of emotion among the participants. Fien proved to be the first person tost more than five seconds.


    <It looks like Fien has gotten stronger, or I''m just a bad predictor.> Evan thought to himself looking at the defeated girl.


    Just like all the other times people ran up to Fien and helped her up. They were about to carry her away, but the girl suddenly stopped and said: "Can I ask you something?"


    "Go ahead, just quickly."


    "Why did you dodge my rapier?" It was important for Fien to find out, for if Draven had done it, it showed how capable she was.


    "Ah... if I had fought her off I would have broken your Catalyst, that''s all. Next."


    Those words were like a thunderbolt to Fien. She had no idea that Draven''s reason for acting was so... simple.


    < He dodged because he didn''t want to break it? He answers indifferently, but his words and actions continually increase the fear in the hearts of the challengers. Maybe I should enter there, too.> Evan thought to himself.


    He understood the point of this exam and even came up with a n, so he was ready to enter the arena. But while he was thinking about it, another contender approached Draven.


    He was a blond man of medium height, with a long staff in his hand and lots of Magic Artifacts. Apparently, he had decided to prepare for this exam to the best of his ability.


    Like Fien he stepped away from Draven and all his Magic Artifacts glowed brightly at once. He was going to use all the mana he had, but to hold out those ten seconds.


    Crack.


    Suddenly huge bs of stone appeared from beneath the ground. They looked very solid and dense.


    <If I were in this situation, I''d have to sweat my way out>. Evan thought to himself.


    The bs moved quickly toward Draven and the next second they mmed shut with a rumbling noise.


    Crack.


    Nevertheless, it waspletely useless. With one powerful blow, Draven shattered the stone b into small pieces. He didn''t run at the kid, he had another way to deal with him.


    Whoosh.


    Draven picked up arge stone that had broken away from the b and threw it at the contestant with all his might. The young man saw the attack, but didn''t have time to react.


    Bam.


    The stone hit its target - his right leg. It was broken, and the young man could no longer continue the fight.


    It did not matter to Draven what the student was using: Magic Artifacts, "Catalysts", spell scrolls, potions, and so on. If the contestant could hold out for ten seconds then he was worthy of it, and if not, nothing would help him anymore.


    "Three seconds, next." Draven said calmly.

 Chapter 105 - The Trick

    Draven defeated another student and waited for his next opponent. So far Fien`s result was the best one - as much as six seconds, even for the others it seemed something unbelievable.


    Evan originally wanted to enter the arena, but he decided to wait. He still wasn''t sure he couldst ten seconds.


    <His fighting style is too flexible. He is vastly superior to us in strength, which means he can win even with a simple stone throw. Neither offense nor defense will work against him, I need something in between or a different approach altogether.>


    Evan watched the next contestante out and wondered how he should proceed.


    <Fien was able tost more than five seconds and it was the speed of her spell cast which helped her. He had to dodge and spend a fraction of a second doing so. But, there''s one big problem that makes all my ns fall apart. If you miss one hit, you can say the fight is over.>


    Evan wasn''t sure if he could continue the fight if he took Draven''s punch.


    <I wonder how many seconds Rnd wouldst? This guy''s strength can grow of his own ord. I think that if he had wanted to, he would havested.>


    Bam.


    Another contestant dropped out and Draven calmly said: "Four seconds, next."


    Immediately after his words a young man with thick ck hair entered the arena. It was Bernt Vignes. You could tell at a nce that he was a hundred percent sure of himself and had no intention of losing. Bernt had no weapons as well as Magic Artifacts.


    He stood in front of Draven and attacked first.


    Whoosh.


    Bernt struck Draven, but he ducked lightning fast. Of course, Bernt knew that his blow would not reach the examiner, his task was to buy time, even if he had to suffer for it.


    Draven attacked quickly, and Bernt was ready for it. He was going to take Draven''s punch, but notpletely.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly three thick wooden poles appeared out of the ground in front of the young man. Normally one would have been enough to block the rookie mage''s attack, but now his opponent was many times stronger.


    Crack.


    Draven did not react at all to the wooden poles.


    Crack.


    His fist went through the three wooden pirs like through a piece of paper. The force of his punch shattered the poles into splinters.


    Whoosh.


    Draven''s fist instantly reached Bernt and sent him flying. The young man rumbled into the wall, but the fight didn''t end there. As he had nned, he was able to withstand one punch.


    While Draven was destroying his wooden posts, Bernt managed to take half a step back, thereby reducing the maximum force of Draven''s blow.


    Brent felt a great pain, blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth, but he wasn''t going to wait a second.


    Immediately after the blow, while Draven had not yet reached him, Brent began casting another spell.


    <Hmm, what''s that?> Evan thought to himself. He had never seen a spell like this before.


    Whoosh.


    Smoke quickly appeared at Bernt''s hand, it instantly turned into a sphere. Bernt clenched his fist tightly and mmed the smoke sphere into the ground with all his might.


    Bam.


    The sphere shattered and all the smoke inside came out.


    < The smoke screen? He decided to buy time with a trick like that? It''s actually very clever and effective, but somehow I don''t think even that will work.> Evan thought to himself as he watched Bernt''s actions.


    Bernt quickly plunged into the depths of the smoke, yet Draven had no intention of stopping. He had a very simple way to get rid of all the smoke.


    Whoosh.


    Draven waved his hand and the next moment the smoke headed toward his hand like the water flowing into a funnel. Two secondster, all the smoke was enveloped around his hand.


    Whoosh.


    He shook his hand and all the smoke disappeared. Draven got rid of this spell quickly, but it had done its own good. Bernt gained quite a bit of time.


    Whoosh.


    The ground beneath Draven''s feet cracked and he reached Bernt in one spurt. The young man no longer had time to do anything. All he had to do was take another punch.


    Bam.


    Bernt flew aside and that was the end of their fight. Not only was he strong, but he also approached this fight with intelligence. That helped himst much longer than the other contestants.


    "Eight seconds, very good, next." Draven said calmly.


    Unfortunately, Bernt''s actions were not enough tost the full ten seconds. But eight seconds was also an excellent result.


    Most likely, after one or at least two tries Bernt would be an "Inner student", and that was very good. Some of the teachers watching the fights in the stands immediately wanted to take Bernt as a student.


    <Very good, but as I thought tricks are not the way to achieve the right time. Hmm, although, maybe if Bernt had been a little stronger he could havested. So what should I do?>


    Evan tried to choose a strategy that was right for him. Naturally, he, like the others, wanted to be an "Inner student". But, so far, no one had managed tost ten seconds. No matter what spells the student used, no matter what tactics he came up with, nothing worked.


    <This examiner is indeed the personification of a force and we all are equally helpless in front of it. No matter what you do against such a force, it''s all useless>.


    Sure, Draven didn''t use spells and controlled the force of his blows so he wouldn''t kill the students, but this was the first time Evan had ever seen an experienced mage inbat.


    <I wonder what stage the examiner is at? How many ends does his "Star" have?>


    While Evan was thinking about Draven''s power, the next contestant entered the arena. To the young man''s surprise, it was Enni.


    Today she was more confident than ever. Her "Warp" turned out to be purple, and her ss was "Amplifier". For her, it was the perfect coincidence. She`d bet everything on the fact that she was an "Amplifier" and she didn''t lose.


    Likest time, her weapons were brass knuckles. She stood in front of Draven and prepared to fight. Enni didn''t attack first, but she wasn''t about to retreat either.


    Draven nodded and at that moment, their fight began.


    Whoosh.


    Enni''s brass knuckles were enveloped in crimson mes, and she attacked first. Draven ducked and the next moment swung his fist, aiming for the girl''s stomach.


    Enni knew that Draven would do exactly that, so he was already casting the next spell as he struck. Her legs were enveloped in torrents of wind, though with difficulty she was able to dodge Draven''s attack.


    The newbie magicians were surprised by the girl''s abilities, but Draven still remained unemotional. Not a secondter, he was already striking the next blow.

 Chapter 106 - Ten Seconds

    Thanks to a timely cast spell and lightning-fast reaction, Enni managed to dodge Draven''s first attack. Nevertheless, less than one secondter, Draven struck again.


    Whoosh.


    The girl quickly set her brass knuckles to the blow, she intended to sacrifice them to buy some time. To her surprise, Draven''s fist stopped and suddenly she felt a pain in her stomach area.


    He kicked her and from the force of the blow the girl flew aside. Everything happened as usual, one punch and it should have been over, but to everyone''s surprise Enni was able to withstand it.


    Draven was not embarrassed that she could still stand on her feet. He knew better than anyone that the student could withstand his blow or not.


    Enni could still fight, but her position really wasn''t the best. She couldn''t attack on her own, she wasn''t fast enough for that, but she could try to dodge another blow.


    Whoosh.


    Draven was instantly in front of the girl.


    Bam.


    Enni reflexively reacted and stepped aside. Draven''s blow hit the wall of the arena, and there were a lot of cracksing from the impact site.


    Enni was well aware that Draven would continue to attack. She could dodge the blows and defend herself, but to do so she had to anticipate where Draven would strike.


    Whoosh.


    Even before Draven struck, Enni had folded her arms in front of her and a thickyer of wood appeared on them. She was going to protect her head and she guessed it right.


    Bam.


    Draven struck exactly at the head immediately breaking the solidyer of wood with his fist. This could not protect Enni from damage. One of her arms was broken, but she reacted quickly and was able to bounce back several meters.


    She was the first student who had survived Draven''s two blows and still remain on her feet. Some might say she was lucky that Draven had attacked in the head, but it wasn''t about luck.


    At the moment of the attack, the trajectory to Enni''s head was the shortest, which is why Draven decided to strike there. His goal was not to let the studentsst an extra second if they didn''t deserve it.


    Experience, reaction, and perhaps luck helped Enni buy some more time. Nevertheless, the end of their duel was near.


    The girl watched Draven closely, but suddenly he was out of her sight.


    Bam.


    The next moment she felt her ribs break. Any normal person would have been unable to think at that moment because of the pain, but Enni was capable of it and more then that.


    Suddenly the fire on her brass knuckles zed even brighter and everyone in the arena felt the great heat . This blow would hurt Enni, but she wasn''t going to back down.


    Bam.


    The girl hit the ground with all her might and there was a deafening explosion with the crimson mes. The attack was very powerful, but it didn''t matter to Draven. His silhouette easily passed through the veil of me and struck another blow at the girl. That was the end of their duel.


    It''s worth noting that Enni had got the most serious injuries of all the challengers. Her ribs and one arm were broken and she suffered severe burns from her own attack.


    The mes quickly dispersed into the air. Enni was nearly unconscious, but she managed to hear Draven''s calm voice.


    "Ten seconds, well done, next."


    p. p. p.


    Immediately after Draven''s words, the magicians in the stands began pping. Enni showed a decent fight, she was able tost ten seconds using everything she had. Moreover, she was also the first tost the required time and became an "Inner student".


    The newbie magicians were extremely surprised by this oue. They finally saw someone who had passed the exam. But, they knew that they could not replicate Enni''s sess. They had to find their own way to be "Inner students".


    Evan didn''t expect Enni to perform as well, but something else caught his attention.


    <The goal of the exam is tost ten seconds against the examiner, but is it? I don''t think he was so eager to throw thatst punch. If ten seconds was the maximum, he should have stopped at thest moment, but he didn''t.>


    Evan came to the conclusion that ten seconds wasn''t the limit. <Draven will fight until the contestant is able to continue, not until ten seconds have passed. This means that if you are strong enough you canst eleven, twelve seconds and maybe even more.>


    After the Enni fight, things continued at their usual pace. The students entered the arena and lost in a matter of seconds.


    As time went on, however, Enni was no longer the only one who managed tost the required time.


    "Ten seconds, well done, next."


    The one who hadsted was a tall, muscr guy with thick ck hair. He was able to pass this test because of his superior protection. He had as many as two spells to armor different parts of his body. Thus, he had been able to withstand four Draven blows before he fell unconscious.


    What was remarkable that the second consecutive person to pass the exam, was an "Amplifier". Enni was an all-rounder, while the young man was focused on defense.


    Many students already thought that this test was easier for "Amplifiers" to pass the exam, but in fact, it was just a coincidence. Everything depended only on the student himself and the next contestant was proof of that.


    It was Lars Svenningsen, a tall young man with short gray hair and ck eyes. He was dressed in a pale blue robe and had two identical silver engraved bracelets on his hands.


    During the evaluation, Lars had learned that he was a "Summoner" and his "Warp" was white. Nevertheless, he looked calmer and more confident than everyone in the arena.


    He walked over to Draven and said quietly: "Let''s begin."


    Usually Draven started the fight, but Lars decided to take the initiative. Moreover, unlike Enni, who was ready for being an "Amplifier", Lars didn''t bet everything on being a "Summoner". He had spells of all three Types of Magic in his arsenal.


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after Lars'' words, their fight began. Draven struck instantly, but Lars had no intention of ducking. He quickly cast his spell in response - <Zero level spell - st of the Edge, Element- Fire, Creation Magic>


    Lars''s "Warp" spun and amber threads instantly appeared around his hand. They quickly transformed into a glowing cube, its temperature so high that the air around it began to warp.


    Bam.


    Before Draven''s blow reached him, Lars mmed the cube into the ground with all his might, causing a massive explosion that destroyed part of the arena.

 Chapter 107 - More Than Ten

    Boom.


    The cube consisting of the energy of the explosion touched the ground. At the same moment, there was a deafening explosion and part of the arena was destroyed. Moreover, Lars had cast another spell beforehand.


    He knew that if he blew up the cube right under his feet he would be seriously injured, so he decided to do something to reduce the damage from the st.


    Whoosh.


    Moments before the detonation, a wall of water had appeared between Lars and Draven. It was the best defense Lars coulde up with.


    The shockwave threw the young man to the side, while Draven didn''t even move. To him it was nothing more than a gust of wind. He lunged toward Lars and a secondter, he was in front of the young man, delivering his blow.


    Whoosh.


    Lars reflexively stepped aside and Draven''s fist had gone by a millimeter from his face. Draven turned and kicked Lars with lightning speed. The young man had no time to dodge this attack, but he didn''t intend to.


    At the moment of Draven''s attack, the young man began casting the "st of the Edge" again. The amber threads quickly turned into a glowing cube. Lars swung his arm and Draven''s blow hit right into the cube.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion and Lars flew several meters away. Last time he had been able to protect himself with a wall of water, but now he had no such option. His arms and chest were burned, but Lars was neither a suicidal nor an idiot. He was prepared for such a violent development, and that''s why he took two silver bracelets with him.


    One of the bracelets glowed brightly and Lars cast a spell he hoped, could help him tost ten seconds.


    Ayer of light appeared around his hands. There was a slight warmth from it, and while looking at it, it gave a peace of mind. The burns on Lars'' arms and chest began to gradually heal, not very quickly, but it was enough to keep the fight going.


    Unfortunately for Lars, Draven wasn''t going to wait for him to heal. Draven instantly reached Lars and dealt him another blow.


    Whoosh.


    Lars''s second bracelet glowed brightly and a dense and very massive wall of water appeared between them.


    Thanks to the power of the Magic Artifact, the spell was powerful enough to slow down Draven''s attack a bit.


    Whoosh.


    Lars quickly bounced to the side and miraculously missed Draven''s blow. Lars had almost no mana left and could no longer use his Magic Artifacts. It was the end for him.


    Whoosh.


    Draven dealt Lars a crushing blow and sent him flying. Lars was seriously wounded and put his body under serious strain, but he had a contented smile on his face.


    "Eleven seconds, well done, next." Calmly Draven said without even turning toward Lars.


    Draven''s words stunned everyone in the arena. Eleven seconds was, until now, an unprecedented result. No one would have thought that one of the students could achieve such a level. Nevertheless, Lars pulled it off. He was able to achieve such a feat by sacrificing himself, despite the terrible explosion from his own spell.


    ...


    After Lars'' fight, no one else could break his record. There were a few students whosted ten seconds. One second seemed to be incredibly short, but it wasn''t so.


    Everyone who had passed that exam, failed in a moment after reaching ten seconds. It was as if there was a chasm between ten and eleven seconds.


    Evan thought to himself, "I don''t know if I can even make it ten seconds, but that guy made it for eleven. Maybe I should just do it my own way and that''s it? Either way, the main thing is strength, the rest isn''t that important".


    While he was thinking, a tall guy with amber hair and green eyes entered the arena. It was Kent Waage, the "Summoner" and the magician with the purple "Warp".


    Their duel began rather unsightly and ordinary. Draven was the first to attack and unleashed a crushing blow on Kent. The young man tried to stop Draven with iron chains and ice spikes, but all to no avail.


    When the ice spikes reached Draven''s body, they simply shattered, as if they met an insurmountable obstacle. The same thing happened with the chains, they couldn''t stop Draven for even a fraction of a second.


    Everyone thought the fight was close to its conclusion, but it was not. Kent was seriously injured and should not have had the strength to continue fighting and fighting back, but one moment changed everything.


    When Draven''s fist almost reached Kent, the young man suddenly for himself and the others, went into "Gust".


    At the same moment, he reflexively dodged Draven''s attack and the whole arena was filled with iron chains and hundreds of ice spikes. Of course, it didn''t matter how many there were, they couldn''t stop Draven, but the chains could help Kent.


    With the ice spikes he was trying to buy himself time, and he used the iron chains to speed himself up.


    Bam.


    Draven hit Kent, but the young man managed to dodge. The chain wrapped around his arm and threw him off to the other side. It wasn''t a bad move, but it couldn''t work forever.


    Draven once again tried to hit Kent, and the young man was going to dodge the chains in return, but suddenly things didn''t go ording to n. In fact, Draven''s punch was a simple feint. His original goal was to destroy the chain Kent was going to use, and he achieved it.


    Whoosh.


    Draven appeared next to the chain and with one precise palm strike from top to bottom, cut it in two.


    In the next moment, he took a turn around and kicked Kent in the stomach with a swing. The young man could not withstand a blow of such power and immediately lost consciousness, nevertheless, he had already achieved what he wanted.


    "Ten and a half seconds, well done, next."


    Kent''s fight was not as awesome as Lars''. By andrge, Kent was only able tost the time he needed because he managed to go into a "Gust". But, it showed that he was a very promising magician.


    Unlike newbie magicians, most of whom didn''t even know what the "Gust" was, the teachers were well aware of it. Not every magician was capable of such a thing, let alone an inexperienced and weak Kent by the teachers'' standards.


    Also, the ways and reasons for passing the exam were unimportant, Kentsted just over ten seconds and that was an amazing result.


    After Kent''s bout, no one was in a hurry to get out. The students were trying to make sense of what had just happened. For many of them, the "Gust" was a new and uncharted phenomenon.


    Step. Step. Step.


    The pause didn''tst long. A minuteter, a tall, ck-haired young man with amethyst eyes entered the arena. He walked slowly toward Draven, holding a long scythe with a snow-white de.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his weapon toward Draven and said calmly: "More than ten."

 Chapter 108 - Time

    "More than ten?" Draven said calmly.


    "Then, how about my proposal: if youst less than that, you`ll be expelled right away."


    Draven''s words surprised everyone, both students and teachers. Draven had proposed this condition not because he wanted to punish Evan for his self-confidence, but because he was curious about Evan''s answer.


    The teachers began to worry about the situation, because Draven, unlike them, actually had the right to do something like that.


    At "The Last Moon" not only the students had ranks, but the teachers as well. The ranks were based on their "Power Level". The more ends a magician''s star had, the stronger he was, the same goes for the number of broken "Barriers". Teachers had a total of four ranks in "The Last Moon".


    The teachers of the first rank wore white mantles, and had the sign on their back - I


    The teachers of the second rank wore silver mantles and had a sign on their back - II


    Third rank teachers wore tinum mantles and had a sign on their back - III


    Teachers of the highest rank - the fourth - wore simple gray mantles and had a sign - IIII on their back


    Draven wore a gray mantle and on his back it could be seen the sign IIII. He was a teacher of the fourth rank, such people were very few in the entire academy.


    That was also the reason he was conducting this exam. In fact, he would have liked to do other things, but the head of the academy had asked him to do so personally, so he couldn''t refuse.


    "If Ist less, I''ll be expelled? Then what''s your bet?" Asked Evan in response.


    Draven calmly replied: "Nothing."


    Evan smiled and mouthed: "It''s a shitty bet, but it doesn''t change anything anyway. I agree."


    Draven nodded and said: "More than ten you say, well, let''s see."


    Whoosh.


    The next moment their fight began. Draven swung his fist and instantly attacked Evan. The young man immediately turned around 90 degree and Draven''s blow passed right in front of Evan''s face.


    Evan received no wounds and was able to dodge thanks to his physical strength and incredible reaction. However, Draven had no intention of stopping. When he saw that, his blow didn''t reach its target he turned around and attacked Evan with his foot.


    But, the young man wasn''t going to wait either. Even before Draven made his second strike, Evan''s "Warp" had spun and mana gathered at his left hand.


    Whoosh.


    The white beam flew from his finger, but Evan wasn''t aiming for Draven, he was aiming for the ground beneath his feet. He knew that for the examiner, such an attack was no stronger than a mosquito`s bite.


    Bam.


    When Draven''s blow should have reached Evan, the ground beneath Draven''s feet had been destroyed by the explosion, causing him to lose his bnce for a split second. However, that did not mean that his blow was any less deadly.


    Bam.


    Draven kicked Evan in the stomach and sent him flying. For most students this blow would have been fatal, but Evan was still conscious and able to fight. What''s more, you could say he let it happen on purpose.


    Evan could have blocked the blow with his arm, but then it would definitely have been broken, even if he had used the "Ice Veil". With a crippled arm, he wouldn''t have been able to fight at a proper level.


    <It hurts, but as I expected, my body was able to withstand one blow, though with difficulty>


    Before his fight, Evan had been watching Draven defeat a dozen students with one punch. There were those who could withstand one blow, but fell unconscious immediately after the second one. Evan was well aware of his own strength and for the sake of saving his arm decided to take the hit and he didn''t fail.


    Whoosh.


    While Draven had not yet reached Evan, the young man cast an "Ice Veil". The white de of his scythe was covered in ayer of blue ice. Evan had no intention of attacking Draven with the scythe, he knew that the examiner could easily break his weapon if he wanted to. Evan had a different n, he was going to do about the same thing he had done in the fight against Rnd, but with slight modifications.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his scythe and hit the ground with all his might. It immediately froze through and turned to ice. He was going to use the ice to increase his speed and maneuverability, but Draven didn`t let it him.


    Draven could not stop the earth from freezing, but he could destroy the ice. He swung up and struck it with his palm from top to bottom. Immediately many cracks appeared on the ground, and the ice was shattered into small pieces.


    In an instant, the arena lost its former appearance. It was now a shattered piece of ground with many bumps and cracks.


    Everyone in the arena was surprised that Evan had made Draven do such a thing, because of Evan''s actions, Draven had to take the time to destroy it. Otherwise, Evan could have bought even more time by taking advantage of the convenient location.


    But, that was where their fight could be said to be over. ording to the audience, Evan had already used every trick he had. Moreover, unlike Evan, the destroyed arena could not prevent Draven from moving around.


    However, the moment after the destruction, everybody saw Evan''s wide smile and burning eyes. Then the realization that this was exactly what he had intended from the beginning came to them. His decision to freeze the arena was a total win-win, either way he was buying time.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, four green magical circles appeared in front of Evan. Ivy vines instantly emerged from them, and like tentacles, they encircled therge rocks in the air.


    Whoosh.


    The vines threw them toward Draven. Of course, they were no danger to him, but the size of the stones wasrge enough to block Draven''s view for a fraction of a second.


    During that time, Evan managed to bounce to the side and a momentter, the arena wall behind him was destroyed. Draven hit hard enough to shake the whole building and everyone felt their legs tremble.


    Whoosh.


    Draven''s silhouette blurred and he instantly reached the young man. At that moment Evan was in the air since he hadn''tnded yet. Draven''s speed was incredible.


    Swing.


    Draven grabbed Evan''s left leg and squeezed it with all his might. At that moment, their fight was almost over. Evan was grabbed and Draven only had one, final blow to deliver.


    Evan almost managed to escape, but he was out of luck.


    But, suddenly, both students and teachers were shocked. They didn''t see confusion or anxiety on Evan''s face. The young man was smiling like some kind of madman, and no one understood why Evan was acting this way.


    Swing.


    The snow-white scythe de plunged lightning-fast into the flesh and Evan''s left leg was severed.

 Chapter 109 - The Next

    To everyone''s shock, Evan decided to cut off his own leg. It was really crazy, but it was the way to win. Even the perpetually calm Draven was shocked for a split second; no student had ever done anything like this before.


    Whoosh.


    Draven did not hesitate long, he quickly struck the next blow, but Evan was ready for it. Suddenly, an ivy vine coiled around Evan''s body and tossed him aside. Draven''s fist passed above Evan''s face. At thest moment, Evan threw his scythe toward Draven. The examiner ducked slightly and dodged the flying weapon.


    <Damn, that''s too bad, with wounds like that there''s nothing I can do anymore.> Evan thought to himself watching Draven.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment Draven disappeared from his sight, but Evan suddenly felt a severe pain in his back.


    Bam.


    Evan''s body flew into the ground like a bullet and sank deep into it. That was the end of their fight. Evan''s wounds were already bad without this blow, and now he was near death. People quickly rushed to his side and began treating his wounds.


    Unlike in previous fights, now Draven was waiting for Evan to regain consciousness and stand on his feet.


    After a couple of minutes, most of Evan''s wounds were healed and the young man slowly stood up. He was still in pain, but he wasn''t paying attention, he was interested in something else.


    Evan looked at Draven and said: "How many?"


    The examiner sighed and replied: "Thirteen seconds, just a nightmare."


    Draven''s words were like thunder from out of the blue. Thirteen seconds was a number no one could have imagined. After the sess of Lars, many thought that there would be a man who couldst twelve seconds, but thirteen seconds was out of the question.


    It was the teachers who were the most surprised, because they knew something about this exam that the students hadn`t known yet.


    This exam was very difficult, but still there was a certain number of students who`dsted exactly ten seconds and became the "Inner students". But, those whose time was more than ten seconds, even by half a second, were very few.


    Draven restrained himself, otherwise he wouldn''t knock out a student in one blow, he would just kill him. But if the apprenticested ten seconds, Draven became more focused and faster, and so with each passing second. Each second was a real challenge and a gap between the previous one.


    Hearing Draven''s words, Evan smiled, slowly walked over and picked up his weapon from the floor. At a leisurely pace, Evan headed out into the hallway, but before he left, he turned and pointed to the ground.


    "This is my winnings in our bet."


    Evan pointed to the snow-white strands of hair lying on the ruined ground. When Draven dodged the scythe flying toward him, he received no wounds, but the de of the weapon cut off some of his hair.


    Before the fight with Evan, Draven had long white hair, now it reached only to his neck. The young man left, and Draven didn''t say anything. He smiled weakly and turned to the remaining students and said: "The next."


    Evan''s fight was incredible, but the exam was far from to be over. There were still dozens of students waiting for their turn. The arena was ruined, but one of the mages quickly summoned an Earth Golem who fixed everything.


    ...


    Evan left the arena and was immediately sent to the infirmary. His condition was really terrible, so in order to make sure Evan was all right they decided to check him again.


    At the infirmary Evan was alone, he was thoroughly examined and once again used a healing spell simr to the one Lars had used, only times stronger.


    <This examiner is just some kind of nightmare in the flesh. If he had hit a little harder then, I would have been torn to pieces despite the fact that he hadn''t used any spells yet. Anyway, I''ve achieved my goal. I''m an "Inner student" now, and I''ve managed tost quite a bit. Hell, I even cut off my own leg to have an extra second, crazy as hell.>


    Ten minutester Evan''s wounds werepletely healed, including his severed leg. Luckily, his limb had not been destroyed, but only cut off, otherwise powerful medicine would have been needed and he would have had to wait days for a full recovery.


    "Where do I go next?" Asked Evan to the girl in the white mantle. She was in charge of the medical station for the duration of the exam, as well as assisting those who were badly hurt by Draven.


    The girl looked at Evan and simply answered: "Go out into the corridor and they will take you to the hall. There you''ll have to wait until the exam is over."


    <Hmm, so I won''t even get to watch the others fight, eh, looks like I''ll be bored for the next few hours.>


    Evan thought to himself and quietly walked out. Of course, he could have stayed in the infirmary longer, but there was nothing interesting there.


    On the day of the exam, the infirmary was the emptiest ce in the entire academy, because during the exam, other students were strictly forbidden to enter the arena. Except the day of admission, the arena was constantly busy with various students of "The Last Moon". The infirmary looked dull, but that''s only because Evan hadn''t been to the medicine depot.


    Of course, most wounds could be healed with spells, but sometimes the treatment either took too long or required the help of a strong magician. In such cases, various pills, potions, and ointments were the best option, but they all cost "Moon Coins".


    ...


    When Evan came out of the infirmary, a man in a white mantle took him into the hall, where there were all those who had already passed the exam.


    Evan looked at the faces of the people in the hall and thought to himself: <Well, their emotions are understandable, I didn''t expect the examiner to be such a monster>


    Almost everyone who didn''t be the "Inner student" was very upset. They had hoped that with effort, they would be able to pass the exam, but the reality was more cruel than they had thought.


    Many disciples were also depressed because they couldn''t evenst five seconds. If a student couldst more than half of the required time and show their skills in the arena, then many teachers might be interested in him. Otherwise, he had no chance to get to a teacher of high rank. Unfortunately, such students were in the majority.


    Of all those present, Evan knew only three girls: Fien, Katlyn, and Enni. Of the three, only Enni was in high spirits. Fien and Katlyn were greatly disappointed in their fight. They were considered as geniuses in Mossy Vulture, but here they were no different.


    After looking around the hall, Evan sat in a chair in thest row and just waited for the exam to be over.

 Chapter 110 - Five

    When Evan arrived in the hall, the exam was far from the end. At this point, there were only about half of the students there. Even considering the speed with which Draven handled the applicants, there would still be quite a long wait.


    Evan sat in the back row and thought to himself: <Sana bragged about what a good teacher she had, I wonder who will be my teacher?>


    Evan was a loner and liked to act solely on his own volition, but he knew he needed a wise mentor. A good teacher could help Evan to be stronger and teach him how to ovee obstacles. Evan needed the experience and knowledge of someone who had already seen a lot in this world.


    Of course, Zak was such a person too, but Mossy Vulture and its surroundings were not suited to self-improvement. The Academy of Magic with a huge library, assignments, teachers, and locations filled with monsters was just what Evan needed.


    <Luckily, I`ve be an "Inner student", so my situation should be better than the others. I wonder what''s going to happen next? Will we finally officially be the disciples?>


    <The examiner was very strong, hopefully I will soon reach the same level and surpass him. By the way, why did he say "nightmare" when he announced my time?>


    Evan thought that the more the studentsted the more Draven praised him, but did the word "nightmare" sound like a praise?


    While Evan pondered what would happen next, the exam went at its usual pace. Most of the students didn''tst ten seconds, but the number of persons who reached ten seconds was much higher than it was before.


    In fact, the fewer participants remained, the more likely it was that one of them would be an "Inner student". Observing the fights of others and analyzing their mistakes, talented young people could learn a lot.


    For the same reason, Enni, who was the first tost ten seconds, attracted a lot of attention. This time she was a trailzer, showing others that it was possible.


    "I hope it won''t be long now." Evan muttered quietly.


    ...


    A few hourster, the hall was already full of students, which meant that the exam should have been over by now.


    Click.


    The doors opened and Draven, with already short white hair, stepped confidently into the hall. There were no other teachers, except him.


    Draven stood in front of the students and calmly said: "Each of you has already passed the exam, but you will not officially be the students of "The Last Moon" until tomorrow ceremony. There you will meet the head of this academy and receive your mantles and emblems. The ceremony will be held tomorrow at one o''clock in the amphitheater. At seven in the morning, each of you will be given a list of teachers who want to take you on as the students. That`s all."


    After these words, Draven left the hall, and the students were taken to their rooms. Of course, after the ceremony, they would have to find a ce to live in the city, in one of the three zones, but before the ceremony, they would be allowed to stay one day at the academy.


    Evan, like everyone else, was taken to their temporary housing. Those who`d passed their exams and became the "Inner students" were given their own room. The others had to share their personal space with other people.


    Click.


    The door closed and Evan said quietly: "A whole room just for me alone, not bad, but it`s a pity there''s nothing interesting here."


    Evan wanted to wander around the academy, but, unfortunately, he had been warned it was best to stay in the room until tomorrow, as he was not yet a student at the academy.


    <Okay, anyway I''ll find everything out tomorrow. I wonder how many teachers will want to take me as a student?>


    Evan realized that his timing andbat were at a pretty high level. He was counting on it to pay off.


    <And what am I supposed to do here?> Evan thought to himself looking at the empty room with a single bed in the corner.


    He had two options - to go to bed or to spend a few hours for "Creating". The test and examsted a very long time, the sun had long since set over the horizon.


    "Okay, let''s not waste any time." Mumbled Evan and sat down on the floor, in the middle of the room.


    He didn''t want to sleep, so Evan decided to infuse mana into the fifth chain, at least as much as he could.


    ...


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    In the morning Evan heard a ringing knock on the door. He hardly woke up and walked sleepily to the door.


    <Is it really 7:00 in the morning?> Evan thought to himself. He had been "Creating" untilte at night, so he felt like he had slept very little.


    Evan opened the door and to his surprise saw Golem behind the door, it looked pretty much like a human, but there were still obvious differences.


    Golem beckoned Evan with his hand and headed further down the hall. Evan was confused, ording to Draven at seven o''clock in the morning, they were supposed to get a list of teachers, but instead a strange Golem came to him.


    After thinking for a while, the young man shrugged and followed Golem. It wasn''t hard to guess that Golem had been summoned by one of the teachers and given Golem''s gesture, Evan clearly had to follow it.


    <Hmm? What''s going on?">. Walking past the rooms of the other students Evan realized that no one hade for them.


    <Besides me, there are several other students following Golems, including Enni.> Evan thought to himself looking in a distance the girl he knew.


    Also, there were Kent, Lars and other young men who`dsted ten seconds or more, following Golems.


    Evan didn''t know everyone who had passed the exam, but he quickly realized that the Golems only came to those who had be the "Inner student".


    <Where are they taking us? And why so early? The others are definitely still asleep>.


    While Evan was thinking, their rtively small group was taken to a huge room, deep underground. It was unbelievably huge, about as big as ten of the arena he''d been in not too long ago. The room was alsopletely empty, there was nothing but dusty earth.


    But, this ce was simr to the arena in some ways, there were also spectator seats, located on the left side. Evan was surprised because there was no one there, they seemed to be the only ones there.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the air near the spectator seats began to distort. The barrier slowly disappeared and the outlines of numerous silhouettes began to take shape behind it.


    After a while, the students saw arge number of mages. They were the teachers of all ranks. Teachers in white mantles were the most numerous, and they sat behind everyone else. The closer the seats were, the higher the rank of the teacher was.


    On the front row sat exclusively teachers of the fourth rank in gray mantles, one of whom was Draven.


    But, one person was significantly different from the others. She was a tall girl with pitch-ck hair, pale skin, and green eyes. She was wearing a ck mantle, unlike the others. It was the head of "The Last Moon" - Arabe Velner.

 Chapter 111 - Snow

    <What is this ce? And why are there so many magicians here?> Evan thought to himself as he looked at the spectator seats.


    When the barrier cleared, Arabe looked over each of the fourteen students who had sessfully passed the exam. That was how many of the hundreds of applicants were able to be "Inner students".


    She stood up and slowly said: "Hi, everybody... well, I''m in charge here, someone else will exin the rest to you."


    After this inexpressive and strange speech, she sat back in her chair as if she were incredibly tired from saying these few words.


    The students` first impressions of "The Last Moon"` chapter were mixed. Each of them, including Evan, knew how great the head of this academy was, but there was no sense of power in Arabe''s words or in her appearance.


    Arabe looked as if she hadn''t slept in days. There wererge bags under her eyes and it looked as if she had no strength even to speak.


    Evan looked at the girl in the ck mantle and thought to himself: <So, this is the head of "The Last Moon"? An unusual character to say the least, but I doubt her reputation came from thin air.>


    Everyone can have their quirks, and Evan was well aware of that. Moreover, he had seen Arabe for the first time, it was impossible to form an opinion about a person just from a first impression.


    When Arabe finished her "magnificent speech," Draven began to speak. He looked at each of the fourteen students and said quietly:


    "I think each of you understand that you were brought here for a definite reason. There is one more test for the "Inner students". It''s to take another look at your abilities in a different environment than a simple 1 on 1 battle."


    Draven sighed and continued: "Later on, each of you will receive a thousand "Moon Coins", and the winner has the right to ask the head of "The Last Moon" for whatever they want."


    The students rejoiced at this incredible opportunity. The head of "The Last Moon" was an incredibly powerful person, the mere fact that you could ask such a person for something was already very meaningful.


    "What!? What do you mean "ask for whatever they want"? I don''t agree. Let the winner say his request, but I''ll decide if it''s worth it."


    Suddenly Arabe''s indignant voice sounded.


    Draven pped his forehead with the palm of his hand, shook his head and said: "You said ten minutes ago yourself about such a reward .... This person drives me crazy..."


    <What''s going on here anyway?>


    Evan, like the others, didn''t understand what was going on. Arabe seemed to be stranger and stranger by the every second.


    While the students were perplexed by the situation, Draven said: "Okay, we''ll deal with thatter. Now I''ll exin what your test is all about."


    After these words, Draven pointed to the center of the room and slowly said: "Soon, various monsters caught by the academy students will appear in this ce. There will be three rounds in all, and each round the monsters will get stronger. At the end you will have to fight a particrly strong opponent, the one who kills him will be the winner."


    "But, of course, that''s not all. There are five different magical circles superimposed on this area. Each of them will be activated in random order, they willpletely change the entire location. From blocks of ice and a tone of snow, to burningnds and volcanoes. There are five elements in total - water, ice, fire, earth and wind. That''s it, does anyone have any questions?"


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly one young man raised his hand up and said: "I have. What happens if none of us can defeat the monster at the end?"


    "§¡? Of course, that would mean you all lost and no one would be awarded the grand prize. Anything else?"


    "We don''t have to work as a team, do we?" The speaker was a tall blonde with two long ponytails.


    Draven nodded: "Of course, it''s up to you. But, don''t forget that besides winning the grand prize, your main goal is to show us your abilities."


    Hearing Draven''s answer, Evan thought to himself: <Hmm, I think everyone will be going up against each other. Sure, you could form a temporary alliance with someone, but who would dare take that risk?>


    When people get together in teams they be stronger than others and can do things that they couldn''t do alone. But Evan didn''t think it was worth relying on anyone but himself in this challenge.


    For one thing, since there can only be one winner, team members would have to fight against each other anyway. Also you could be easily framed during the test itself, and not only Evan understood that.


    After what Draven had said, no one dared to form an alliance with anyone. All fourteen of them would fight alone.


    <I wonder how aggressive others will be?>


    Evan was well aware that some of the contestants would try not to fight the monsters, but to beat their opponents out of the ordeal. Evan thought about that too, but until he saw how strong the monsters would be, he decided not to act. Moreover, Evan wanted to see how the trial area would change.


    "Since there are no more questions, then it''s time to get started."


    Calmly Draven said and at the same moment, the ground shook and strange changes began to happen to it.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    The huge blocks of ice appeared out of the ground, filling the entire area.


    <Snow?> Evan thought to himself as he watched a few snowkes falling on his hand and immediately melting.


    A few minutester, the wastnd turned into frozen ground covered with a thickyer of snow.


    "Well, here are the main guests..." Slowly Evan muttered as he watched parts of the wallse into motion and some passageways opened.


    Fifty identical monsters slowly emerged from them. They looked like snow wolves. They had many sharp ice spikes on their backs that gave them excellent protection.


    <Fifty monsters for fourteen people, I don''t think the first wave should be difficult.>


    Evan thought to himself and quickly ran towards one of the tallest blocks of ice. He wasn''t going to fight these wolves, in his opinion it was foolish to waste his strength on the first opponents.


    Two men did exactly the same as Evan, but the rest went off to fight the monsters.


    Evan watched carefully as the other members of the group acted. As he expected, the monsters of the first wave were very weak.


    Enni had already killed three in a minute, but some members had more difficult situation. It was easy for Enni to fight one-on-one because she was an Amplifier. But, that didn''t mean she would kill the most monsters.


    Boom.


    Lars cast his spell. He threw a red-hot cube at the monsters then had a deafening explosion. He killed four of them with one spell.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see a blonde with two long ponytails.


    Evan looked at her puzzled and said: "What do you want?"


    The girl smiled and simply replied: "Do you want to unite?"

 Chapter 112 - The Union

    "Hmm? You want to team up with me, why? By the way, what''s your name?" Evan asked calmly looking at the girl.


    "My name is Gerda Monge, I want to form a temporary alliance with you because you are strong. You have the highest time rate, you are the best." The blonde confidently uttered.


    "Okay, and you?" Evan simply asked.


    Gerda didn''t understand Evan''s question: "What do you mean?"


    "Are you strong enough for me to unite with you?"


    From such a question Gerda frowned and replied: "Don''t be so rude. I certainlysted less than you, but I also have a very good time rate- eleven and a half seconds. So what do you think about my offer?"


    Evan didn''t immediately answer Gerda''s question. Instead of answering, he said quietly: "Time... Tell me, how many peoplested more than ten seconds?"


    Gerda quickly answered: "Five, including me and you."


    "I see. Do you realize there can only be one winner in this ordeal?" Evan said slowly as he watched the other contestants fight.


    Gerda nodded: "Yes, I suggest you overpower everyone else and have a one-on-one duel at the end, that''s how we determine the winner. Pretty convenient and easy n, isn''t it?"


    Evan smiled and said: "HAH, what are you talking about... You''re going to stab me in the back as soon as I turn my back."


    Gerda tried to say something in her defense, but Evan beat her to it: "Okay, I agree. Our partnership begins with the second wave of monsters, now get out of my way and let me watch the show."


    "Oh oh oh oh, how important you are!"


    Whoosh.


    After these words, Gerda jumped off the ice block and quickly climbed onto another one not far from Evan.


    Evan wasn''t going to ally himself with anyone, but he wondered what Gerda would do. He was sure that at her opportune moment, she would betray him and when that happened Evan could take advantage of it.


    <Hmm, don''t they spend too much mana killing these monsters?


    Evan thought to himself as he watched that some members had already cast more than two spells. Evan didn''t take part in destroying the monsters, but he knew it made him look bad in front of his teachers. He had missed the whole round, which meant that he had lost the opportunity to show his abilities in the first wave of monsters.


    Besides Evan and Gerda, two other people were idle, and as a result, only ten participants were fighting against the monsters.


    As time passed, the monsters became fewer and fewer, just as Evan had thought before, it would not take too long to destroy thempletely. It seemed strange to him that some mages used multiple spells when these monsters could be killed with your bare hands, even if you weren''t an Amplifier.


    <I wonder what the opponents will be in the second phase?> Evan thought to himself as he watched thest wolf die at the hands of Enni.


    She had killed the most monsters in thispetition, so far Enni had performed the best. The attention of many teachers had been riveted on her since the entrance exam, and now they were watching her even more closely. Many of the teachers were convinced that Enni would make an excellent Amplifier in the future.


    Crack.


    Immediately after thest wolf had died, the passageways opened up in the walls and a set of different monsters came out of them. There were more of them, about a hundred. They were enormous lizards, about a meter tall. On their backs, from head to tail, they had razor-sharp des. They looked dangerous and very nimble.


    There were also twenty other monsters called the "Blind Death". They had no fur, only smooth, ck skin. Their back paws wererge, their front ones more like long, sharp des. They had no eyes, and their mouths were wide, with many teeth. The monsters looked very intimidating and creepy.


    It was obvious to everyone that "Blind Death" monsters were much more dangerous and stronger than the lizards, that`s why there were far fewer of them.


    <Hmm, the difficulty level has changed significantly. Evan thought to himself and was about to jump off the block of ice when suddenly the whole ground shook.


    One of the five magical circles was activated and the area began to change again.


    The temperature rose instantly, and the snow and ice began to melt quickly. In many ces, the ground cracked and numerous geysers appeared from beneath it, resembling small volcanoes.


    The next moment, most of the geysers exploded and the entire space was filled with red-hot steam. The streams ofva erupted from some of the geysers, filling the area next to them.


    "Damn, it''s hot, but there''s a bigger problem." Said Evan looking around.


    Because of the enormous amount of steam from both the geysers and the melted ice, visibility was practically nil.


    <I guess I understand now why those blind monsters have appeared in the second round.> Evan thought to himself.


    Now this ordeal had be really dangerous. Opponents could easily smell you and attack, while you didn''t even realize where the attack came from.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly two wind des flew in front of Evan, dispelling the steam and increasing his field of vision.


    Evan smiled and then looking at Gerda pacing in his direction, said: "Looks like I`ve teamed up with you not for nothing."


    "Of course, I always keep my word." The girl replied calmly.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s crimson "Warp" swirled and mana quickly gathered at the end of his finger. The young man pointed his hand at Gerda and the next moment a snow-white beam of mana flew toward her.


    Gerda hadn''t expected such a thing, she thought Evan had decided to get rid of her right now and had ruined their alliance.


    Nevertheless, by the time the girl had time to do something about it, the "Magic Missile" had flown over her shoulder and a deafening explosion erupted behind Gerda.


    The girl turned around and saw the lizard torn apart. One precise hit to the head was enough to calm it down forever.


    . Gerda thought, looking at Evan.


    "Come on, we can''t stand and watch this time, we''ve got to deal with them quickly and move on to the next round."


    Said Evan and headed deep into the steam. Gerda nodded and headed after him.


    Both Gerda, and Evan only had a rough idea of where they were. The location hadpletely changed, and the monsters could change their location at any moment, too. Evan decided to just keep moving forward while staying extremely alert. At any moment he could be attacked by the monsters or even by another participant.

 Chapter 113 - The Boulder

    Evan and Gerda were going to one side without any idea of what awaited them next. Because of the enormous amount of steam, visibility was zero and it dissipated very slowly. From time to time, the geysers spewed steam, moreover the temperature was incredibly high.


    Evan could hear the sounds of battle around him, but they hadn''t encountered any monsters yet.


    "Hey, don''t you think we''d be better off climbing somewhere higher? Look these geysers have knocked some big chunks of rock out of the ground, we can wait out the second round on them."


    Gerda didn''t want to put herself in unnecessary danger. Her main goal was to kill the monster in the final round and have a chance to ask the head of "The Last Moon" for his reward in person.


    Evan shook his head and replied, "You can go if you want, but I don''t see the point in skipping this wave of monsters either. Only one person will get the award, but I think having a good teacher is much more important. Besides, I doubt those monsters will be able to hurt us."


    He hadn''t seen all of Gerda''s abilities yet, but Evan could say with confidence that this girl could stand up for herself. Of course, much of his confidence came from the fact, that Gerda hadsted eleven and a half seconds and, also from her defiant actions.


    Gerda didn''t say anything back and just kept following Evan. She could handle the monsters alone, but Evan was more adept at close-quartersbat than she was. If a monster suddenly appeared out of the steam, Evan would be able to deal with it quickly.


    "By the way, Gerda, what is your ss?" Evan asked calmly.


    The girl wasn''t going to hide anything and quickly answered, "I''m a Creator. If we fight someone, I can help you from a distance."


    Evan nodded and continued walking on, until at one point, a monster growled near them.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment a lizard-like monster attacked them from the wall of steam. It opened its mouth wide, about to devour Evan, but a secondter its jaw was crushed and its neck broken.


    Evan''s one powerful blow was enough to deal with this monster. Gerda had already seen Evan''s abilities during the entrance exam, but she was still surprised:


    <It will be very hard for me to beat him if we are one on one. I''m not as fast as he is and our physical strength is atpletely different levels.> Gerda thought to herself.


    For the moment she had no intention of destroying their temporary alliance, but she knew that very soon they would have to fight each other. She wasn''t as confident in her victory as she was in Evan''s abilities.


    Gerda thought about what she should do until she was distracted by Evan''s loud voice, "Break the steam quickly!


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, Evan bounced to the girl and instantly armed himself with the "Reverse Death". His crimson "Warp" swirled and the snow-white de was covered in ayer of blue ice.


    Evan heard several monsters approaching them at once, so he decided not to take any chances and cast "Ice Veil".


    Hearing Evan''s words, Gerda didn''t interfere him and quickly cast the right spell. She waved her hand and two tightly pressed wind des flew toward the steam.


    They flew forward with the whistle and scattered a small amount of steam. Evan and Gerda could now see their opponents.


    They were eight lizards and two blind monsters with sharp des on their front paws. Evan didn''t focus his attention on the lizards, in his opinion they were weak, but the "Blind Death" monsters rmed him.


    He smelled danger from them, if it wasn`t so, Evan wouldn''t be so cautious.


    Gerda also prepared herself for battle. In any case, she could defend herself by relying only on physical strength, she didn''t particrly want to waste mana on such opponents.


    For a while, the monsters did not attack them, they seemed to be scrutinizing their opponents and looking for the right moment to attack.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly three lizard-like monsters pounced on Evan and Gerda. They moved very quickly and on different trajectories, trying to avoid being attacked by Evan and Gerda.


    Unfortunately for them, the girl acted immediately. As soon as the monsters came in motion, she immediately cast one of her spells.


    Whoosh.


    The brown Magic Circle appeared above the lizards and the next moment a huge boulder fell on them. It was very heavy, so two of the lizards were ttened. The third lizard managed to dodge and was already approaching the young men, but it couldn''t attack.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his scythe and the snow-white de sliced the massive lizard in two. The monster''s scales were quite dense and defended well, but it could not save from such a powerful attack.


    After they had dealt with the three monsters, their fight paused again. The monsters were hesitant to move forward, as were Evan and Gerda.


    After a while, a blind monster stepped forward. He walked slowly toward Evan, while the other monsters were standing motionless.


    Evan prepared for battle, as did Gerda. They were hesitant to attack a foe unknown to them first.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly, the monster sped up considerably and ran at them at incredible speed. The monster turned into a ck sh that reached Evan in the blink of an eye.


    ng.


    The young man quickly reacted to the monster''s attack and counterattacked back. The snow-white scythe de met with razor-sharp des, but it failed to cut through them.


    The monster bounced to the side and its forelegs began to be covered in ice. Evan thought it was a definite sess, because now the monster would be slower, but it wasn''t that simple.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The monster mmed its paws against each other several times, causing the iceyer to crack and eventually copsepletely. Evan''s attack did it absolutely no harm.


    <Damn, they''re really fast, just like I thought>


    Evan turned to Gerda, "Can''t you bring another boulder down on them? There''s no other way."


    Gerda frowned and replied, "I''ve already spent too much mana, are you sure we can''t do it any other way?"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll attack together with you, you''ll still have time to recover your mana."


    Gerda nodded and was about to cast her spell when suddenly two blind monsters and the rest of the lizards pounced on them. Evan and Gerda didn''t expect the monsters to decide to attack all at once, they weren''t prepared for that.


    However, not a secondter, Evan began to attack.

 Chapter 114 - Lava

    All monsters pounced on Evan and Gerda at once. The young men didn''t expect such a fierce attack, but when their opponents were close enough Evan began to attack.


    Swing.


    He swung his scythe at lightning speed and sliced one of the lizards in two. The two frozen halves of its body rumbled to the ground, but there were still too many enemies. Evan couldn''t handle them all alone.


    Whoosh.


    A lizard-like monster jumped at him, but Evan took a step back, thereby missing the monster''s blow. Evan quickly turned around and kicked the monster. This attack could not kill the monster, but it immobilized it for a while and now it was no longer a threat to them.


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after this attack, another lizard attacked him. The monster opened its jaws wide and intended to bite Evan''s left arm off. The young man had no time to dodge this blow, but suddenly the monster''s head fell from its shoulders and its carcass copsed right in front of Evan.


    Gerda saved Evan with casting a "Wind Cutter". The girl had a keen eye, so she was easily able to hit the monster at the veryst moment. A little more and Evan would have been seriously injured.


    Gerda was a "Creator", and Evan was an "Amplifier", though he wasn''t sure of that himself. Their duo had a pretty good synergy. Evan would never miss an enemy, and the girl could back him up if necessary.


    What''s more, each of them was an outstanding newbie magician, they could definitely stand up for themselves.


    Whoosh.


    Evan didn''t even look at the monster''s carcass lying in front of him, he didn''t have time for that. He ran swiftly at another lizard. The monster tried to attack Evan himself, but as soon as it opened its mouth, an icy de ripped it open.


    So in just a few seconds, Evan and Gerda had dealt with three lizard-like monsters: one of the remaining ones was wounded, while the other was in no hurry to attack. It hadn`t expected Evan and Gerda to be so strong.


    However, the biggest problem was the two "Blind Death" monsters, while Evan fought the lizards they were looking for a convenient moment to attack.


    Whoosh.


    One of the blind monsters ran toward Evan at incredible speed. Its sharp des rained down on Evan, but the young man easily blocked them with his scythe de. But, the second "Blind Death" was not going to wait for itsrade to be killed.


    While Evan was busy blocking the two des, it attacked Evan from behind.


    Gerda saw this and reacted instantly. A brown magic circle appeared in the air behind Evan and a huge boulder fell on the ck monster.


    Whoosh.


    The "Blind Death" monsters were considerably stronger than the lizard-like ones. They had no eyes, but all their other senses were heightened. The monster easily realized that Gerda nned to crush it with this boulder.


    Whoosh.


    The monster tried to bounce to the side and avoid the boulder, but suddenly it met an obstacle. For some unknown reason it could not move. Evan knew that "Blind Death" would have no problem dodging the boulder, so he cast "Summon Thorny Ivy".


    The ivy vine wrapped itself around the monster''s hind paw and immobilized it. Of course, in half a second, the monster would be free of its bonds, but he didn''t have time for that.


    Bam.


    The boulder came crashing down on the monster and crushed it, the monster''s body was very strong, but even it couldn''t survive the fall of a boulder that size.


    While Gerda dealt with the second "Blind Death", the first monster decided to retreat. Its des were already beginning to cover with ice. Like thest time, it tapped its front paws against each other and knocked ayer of ice off them.


    At this point, there were only three monsters left against Evan and Gerda. Two lizards and one "Blind Death".


    <Victory is already near us, but I don''t want to waste extra mana, what should I do....?>


    Evan thought to himself as he looked at his opponents. The monsters weren''t going to attack them, as they had no desire to die. However, that didn''t mean they were going to let Evan and Gerda go.


    Boom.


    Suddenly, ava geyser exploded a few meters away from the monsters. It posed no threat to them since the monsters were at a safe distance.


    Theva was slowly spreading over the ground, and Evan decided he could use it to win.


    <Why waste mana when you can use the powers of nature, right?>Evan thought to himself and sprinted toward the monsters.


    Seeing him charge at them, the monsters had no choice but to strike back.


    Whoosh.


    The two remaining lizard-like monsters ran at Evan, but he didn''t even pay attention to them. He was focused on the "Blind Death" and theva geyser.


    Bam.


    The two lizards attacked Evan intending to tear him apart with their sharp ws, but the young man just leaned in. The monsters'' ws flew a few inches above his head.


    Swing.


    Evan made two swings with his scythe and the snow-white de plunged into the monsters'' flesh. From this position, Evan could not cut them in two, but he inflicted wounds ipatible with life.


    Only the blind monster remained. It was ready to block Evan''s attack, unaware of what the young man was up to.


    Whoosh.


    Evan swung "Reverse Death" from the top down. The snow-white de covered in blue ice and rushed toward the monster''s head.


    "Blind Death" instantly reacted and blocked Evan''s blow. Nevertheless, it would not be able to retreat this time, Evan would not allow to do so.


    Whoosh.


    Evan took a turn and kicked the monster with a swing. "Blind Death" could not block this blow, since its front paws were busy blocking the scythe.


    In another situation, the monster might have simply retreated, but now the monster would fall not to the ground, but into the red-hotva, right into the center of the geyser.


    Evan hit hard enough to make the monster fly a few feet away and he did it perfectly.


    A few secondster, the monster''s body burned to the ground in theva.


    "Great." Mumbled Evan looking at the scattered carcasses of monsters around him.


    In just a few minutes, the two of them had managed to kill so many monsters. It was an excellent result, but Gerda wasn''t entirely happy with the situation.


    She was d that they had taken out their opponents so easily and without getting hurt, but Evan''s strength amazed her to the core. Every time she saw Evan kill another monster, her confidence in winning a one-on-one fight faded.


    <Damn it, this guy is so much stronger than me, especially since he''s an "Amplifier", I need to think of something urgently>


    Gerda thought to herself and followed Evan.

 Chapter 115 - Danger

    After massacring a group of monsters, Evan and Gerda headed onward. The steam gradually dissipated and their field of vision was growingrger by the second.


    They didn''t know how many opponents were left in total, but Evan didn''t think there were many of them. The monsters were strong enough, but they could well be defeated. They were fighting two against nine, but Evan knew that even without Gerda''s help he could handle them. He might have sustained a few wounds, but they would not have been serious.


    Evan and Gerda were going forward in silence. From the outside, they might have seemed rxed, but in fact Evan and Gerda were focused, because they could be attacked at any moment.


    While walking, Gerda thought about how to beat Evan out of the game and still be on the plus side. She was in a tricky situation. On the one hand, she needed to stay close to Evan and help him in any way she could to make it to the finals. On the other hand, if they fought one-on-one, she would probably lose.


    She could try to exhaust Evan by constantly engaging him in fights, but she had vague doubts that she was already trapped.


    Evan had used far fewer spells during their battles than she had. It was as if Evan could read Gerda''s mindpletely and weaken her himself beforehand. But, that wasn''t the only option that urred to Gerda`s head.


    <Maybe it was an ident, since he fought in closebat and I only with spells. If that''s the case, it''s not strange that he asked me to use spells so often. It''s also possible that he just use me. He reluctantly agreed to the alliance, and he probably decided to get benefits of our alliance, not only help.>


    Gerda was able to reason calmly about such things, for if she had been in Evan''s shoes she would not have been ashamed to use her partner for her own good. Moreover, Evan was not particrly polite or kind. In Gerda''s eyes, Evan was a strong guy with a touch of madness in his eyes.


    ...


    The teachers watched the actions of each of the students closely, and the fight between Evan and Gerda couldn''t help but interest them.


    "This guy is very capable, it''s too early to say anything about the girl, she was only helping him. But, I don''t like that these two didn''t lift a finger during the first wave of monsters. They''re too cynical." The man in the silver mantle said calmly.


    "You''re thinking too narrowly. Their actions are quite logical, I would do exactly the same. Why waste your energy when other people can solve the problem for you? These two didn''t waste mana, they were only gathering information about their potential rivals. I think it''s very clever, and although you say it''s too early to evaluate the girl, it''s obvious she''s much weaker than thed."


    The girl in the tinum mantle said with a smirk.


    "Why do you focus so much on their actions? They''ve only killed nine monsters out of one hundred. Their skills aren''t bad, but something tells me they''re going to have a lot of trouble in the third stage". Said the man in the silver mantle.


    "Draven, what do you think? That''s the guy who gave you a new haircut for the first time in decades." Smiling said the same girl in the tinum mantle.


    Usually Draven wasn''t much interested in anyone, but Evan was something of an outlier. When the students saw Draven knocking out exam participants in a matter of seconds, they retained the sobriety


    of their minds at best. However, Evan had not only challenged Draven in a peculiar way, but, as the girl said, had managed to cut off strands of his hair.


    It couldn''t be counted as a hit with an attack, much less a wound, but it was something special. For the same reason Draven looked at Evan most of the time, he was curious about how far such a man could go.


    Draven sighed and simply replied, "What do you want me to say? It''s pretty obvious, the boy''s strong, the girl''s certainly weaker, my opinion is the same as anyone else''s."


    The girl frowned, but said nothing more. She was clearly upset by his answer, she expected Draven''s opinion to be strikingly different from the others.


    "§¡...? Draven, lying is bad.... You''re practically looking at his every move under a microscope....."


    Suddenly Arabe said slowly. She sighed sleepily and continued watching the performance.


    Draven didn''t answer her and concentrated on the other contestants. At that moment Evan and Gerda were just pacing among the dissipating steam.


    ...


    "It''s been a long time since we''ve seen monsters. This area is huge, of course, but we''ve been walking for quite some time, too." Said Gerda.


    "Do you think something happened? We''re probably a long way from everyone, both monsters and people. I think somewhere the monsters have piled up against a cluster of students." Evan answered calmly.


    Gerda wanted to say something, but suddenly Evan pointed forward and said: " Well, here are the monsters, look, how many there are. I don''t envy him."


    The steam wasn''t as thick as before, so Evan could see what was going on from a distance.


    Gerda looked where Evan was pointing. She saw a ck-haired, muscr guy surrounded by monsters. This particr young man hadsted ten seconds in the exam, thanks to his amazing defense.


    The young man was surrounded exclusively by the "Blind Death'' monsters. As many as six creatures tried to tear him apart. They slowly circled around the young man, the monsters were ready to attack at any second.


    Evan and Gerda watched the young man''s actions closely, they wanted to see how strong his armor was.


    "Aren''t we going to help him?" Gerda asked.


    "You''d think you were going to save him... We''ll just see, either way he''s safe. We need to keep as much strength as we can."


    Evan said calmly as he watched one of the monsters pounce on the young man. The monster was about to cut him open with its sharp des.


    Bam.


    However, the monster didn''t seed. The moment its des reached the young man, the boy''s arm was covered in a thinyer of metal.


    ng.


    The monster retreated. His attack was unsessful, and not for the first time. The monsters had tried to kill the young man, but each time they were met with metal armor that was irresistible to them.


    "He''ll be exhausted soon, his mana is probably already running out, it''s impossible to defend yourself forever, especially against such opponents." Said Gerda looking at the heavily breathing young man.


    <This spell is simr to the one Enni used, only she was protected by wood instead of metal. It would definitely be more effective against those sharp des, but it looks like that''s the end of it.>


    Bam.


    Another monster attacked the guy. Its blow was blocked, but the monster had no intention of retreating. Instead, it attacked again together with two more monsters.

 Chapter 116 - Deception

    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The young man tried with all his might to defend himself against the monsters'' attacks, but sooner orter, there would be a breach in his armor. Blow after blow came down on the young man, and the sharp des tried to cut him open.


    But, to Evan and Gerda''s surprise, he was able not only to block the first monster''s attack, but also the other two behind him. The young man forcefully threw one monster back and at the same moment two of his hands were covered in a thinyer of metal. It was enough to block the attack of the other two. However, his strength was not infinite.


    "He''s at the limit, the other arm isn''tpletely covered, he doesn''t have a drop of mana left." Said Evan watching thed`s fight.


    Like Evan had said, he was already out of mana and these two attacks were thest ones he could block. What''s more, he was already wounded, not seriously, but sooner orter, the loss of blood would take its toll.


    Evan was curious as to what would happen next. He didn''t expect the young man to somehow get out of this situation or someone would save him, Evan wondered when the teachers would intervene and how.


    Bam.


    Evan didn''t have to wait long. One of the monsters attacked the young man, he had no way to defend himself or dodge this attack. A little more time, and two des would have seriously wounded or killed the young man, but he was soon saved.


    Whoosh.


    A white magical circle appeared next to the young man, and a Golem slowly emerged out of it, it was very simr to the ones, that had brought them to this room.


    Bam.


    The des stabbed into Golem, but they didn''t do it any damage. Golem paid no attention to the monsters, it grabbed the young man and made its way to the audience seats in one single leap.


    "I see." Evan said slowly and headed on his way.


    He wasn''t going to fight that many "Blind Deaths" at once. Even if he didn''t lose, he was going to get very seriously injured anyway.


    "We have some guests." Gerda said calmly as she watched three lizard-like monsters running in their direction.


    Whoosh.


    The three monsters pounced on the young men from different directions, but their movements were not fast enough for Evan.


    He took a couple of steps forward and swung his scythe at them. The snow-white de killed two of the lizards instantly, but the third one was able to dodge.


    Initially the monster wanted to attack Evan, but when it saw how easily he killed itsrades, it decided to run away. Evan wasn''t going to chase the lizard, but he didn''t want to let it go either.


    Gerda was already thinking about casting "Wind Cutter", but suddenly Evan gripped his weapon tighter and the scythe de disappeared.


    Evan took aim, and with all his might threw "Reverse Death" right at the monster. The spear flew with a whistle and instantly reached the monster, piercing it through.


    The young man slowly approached the monster''s carcass and drew his weapon from it.


    ...


    As time passed, there were fewer and fewer monsters. Evan and Gerda encountered some enemies on their way, but they quickly dealt with them. They didn`t waste any mana during these small skirmishes, as they tried to avoidrge groups of monsters. There was no point in getting into unnecessary trouble.


    During this short period of time, Evan and Gerda saw two more members drop out. One of them was near death and if not for Golem''s help, he would have been eaten alive.


    "How many monsters do you think are left?" Asked Gerda.


    She wanted to get to the third stage as soon as possible. Although the steam was dissipating, the exploding geysers made it impossible for it to disappearpletely. She didn''t like the feeling of the unknown, and at any moment a monster might jump out of the steam and attack her.


    Evan shrugged, "I don''t know, I think less than a third for sure. The monsters were dealt with pretty quickly in the first stage. They''re much stronger at this stage, of course, but they aren`t able to overpower us."


    In fact, Evan hardly thought about the monsters: sooner orter, they would all be killed, and they couldn''t do anything to him anyway. But, besides monsters they could be attacked by other students and Evan was well aware of that.


    However, it was unlikely that anyone would attack them as long as they were on the same team. There unlikely were any fools, who would go alone against two, and that was one of the great advantages of their alliance. Evan had only other such teams to fear.


    Moreover, ording to Gerda, Evan realized that the best result was his. Even if he hadn''t teamed up with the girl, he probably wouldn''t have been attacked by anyone.


    Whoosh.


    Evan calmly paced forward and thought about what he should do next. Nothing seemed to portend trouble when suddenly a blue lightning bolt erupted from the steam. He hadn''t expected such an attack, but Evan''s reaction was quick enough to reflect the lightning with the white de of his scythe.


    "It''s amazing that someone would dare to attack us." Slowly Evan muttered as he looked at the two figures emerging from the steam.


    It was a tall guy with brown hair, dressed in leather armor, with a silver amulet around his neck. In his hands there was a short, wooden staff, it was Lewis Gyll. In front of him there was a girl with short red hair, she was armed with a long, two-handed sword, her name was - Chloe Morales.


    "And why have you decided to attack us? You''d be better off dealing with monsters." Evan said calmly, looking into Chloe''s brown eyes.


    Chloe replied, "Well, we happened to notice you and decided to attack. You''re the biggest threat, so it''s best to deal with you now."


    Gerda frowned and said grudgingly: "I think you''ve forgotten that he''s not here alone, the two of us can handle you easily."


    Chloe wanted to say something, but Lewis beat her to it: "Don''t worry, we know what we''re doing, this guy is very strong, but we''re not weak like you."


    "What?!" Loudly said an enraged Gerda.


    <Hmm, I haven''t seen all of her abilities yet, but isn''t eleven and a half seconds a great time?>Evan saw no logic in Lewis'' words. They would only make sense if Chloe and Lewis hadsted at least twelve seconds each. In that case, it would mean that they were very formidable opponents indeed.


    Lewis grinned: "Yousted ten seconds with great difficulty and that was only thanks to the Magic Artifacts, you''re just lucky to be here."


    <So that''s the thing... She lied about the time, since I had no way of verifying that information, slyly>. Evan thought to himself, but he wasn''t mad at Gerda, she had been useful to him during the monster battles anyway.


    Unfortunately, Lewis and Chloe were not going to back down and a battle between the two teams was inevitable.

 Chapter 117 - The Scramble

    Chloe and Lewis were ready to attack them at any moment. Before the fight had even begun Evan said:


    "There''s no point in me fighting you, even if you win you''ll get seriously hurt, I think we should just split up. You can attack someone else."


    Evan was telling the in truth. He wouldn''t get anything out of fighting Chloe and Lewis. Sure, if he beat them, he''d get rid of two potentialpetitors, but why would he do that? Sooner orter, Chloe and Lewis would have to face off against the other contestants, in which case there would be fewer contestants, and Evan wouldn''t have to put himself in needless danger.


    Chloe shook her head in response, "No way. We attacked you on purpose, you''re our target, not her. Anyway, we aren`t going away, you''re too much of a threat."


    Evan frowned and said nothing back.


    <It''s me they need, but that''s not the main problem. That wench put it that way on purpose to put me in a precarious position.> Evan thought to himself, looking at Chloe.


    Her words meant that if Gerda decided to run away now, they wouldn''t be chasing her. Chloe and Lewis would concentrate on Evan and the two of them would have an easier time taking him down.


    Gerda was weaker than Evan, but he knew it would be very hard for him without her. She would at least be able to take on one opponent, thereby giving Evan more leeway. That was good enough for an easy victory.


    Chloe and Lewis were in no hurry to attack, it was as if they were waiting for Gerda to decide.


    The girl was just as well aware of the position she found herself in: <Run away? They aren`t going to chase me...>.


    Gerda thought to herself, but she quickly made a decision. The girl slowly stood behind Evan and prepared to fight.


    Gerda could escape and she knew it, but if she left Evan alone, she would no longer have such a strong ally. She would escape now, but she would be all alone from here on out. Of course, Evan''s help wasn''t forever, but she would think about that after the fight.


    Evan smiled and said: "I think it''s about time you showed them that yousted ten seconds not for nothing. There''s definitely nothing wrong with your head."


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after those words, the snow-white de of the scythe was covered in ayer of blue ice. Chloe nodded and stepped aside, she wanted them to fight in pairs: she versus Evan and Lewis versus Gerda.


    "Amplifier vs. Amplifier and Creator vs. Creator, right?" Asked Evan looking at the focused girl.


    She didn''t answer anything and just waited for Evan''s actions. She had already seen him fight, so she hesitated to attack first. Gerda and Lewis did the same. They stood across from each other and prepared to attack.


    Whoosh.


    Evan was the first to act. He quickly ran toward Chloe waving his scythe. The girl prepared to block the blow, but suddenly Evan changed his grip and pierced the air with his weapon like a spear.


    Bam.


    At the same moment, a snow-white beam flew out of the tip, headed toward Lewis.


    "Two one-on-one duels are fine, but I''m not going to y by your rules. We''re on a battlefield, not a tournament." Evan said harshly and lunged toward Lewis.


    "Shit!" Shouted Chloe. She hadn''t expected Evan to act so suddenly and defiantly.


    Chloe thought that Evan was willing to fight her one-on-one and not touch Lewis, but she was fooled.


    Lewis and Gerda were just as taken aback for a second, but they instantly concentrated. Evan wanted to get rid of Lewis right away, and Gerda had to help him do it.


    Boom.


    A white-hot beam flew past Lewis and pierced several trees behind him, followed by a deafening explosion.


    Lewis started to gather mana to cast the spell, but by then a huge boulder was already falling on him. Gerda was a little faster than he was.


    The boulder couldn`t crush Lewis to death, but it did make him distracted by the looming threat. It was enough for Evan to get close enough.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment, three magical circles appeared around Lewis, and three thick roots quickly emerged out of them. They wrapped around the boulder and stopped it, Lewis was saved, but not for long.


    Swing.


    Evan swung the scythe and brought the white de down on Lewis. He didn''t have time to dodge as he was busy immobilizing the boulder before that.


    ng.


    Suddenly, Chloe appeared between Evan and Lewis. She blocked Evan''s punch.


    "Not bad, but you haven`t enough time."


    Evan said calmly, watching Chloe''s sword get covered in a thickyer of ice. The girl, however, had her own way of getting rid of it.


    "You must think this ice is heavy, then let me show you something." Said Chloe and at the same moment her "Warp" spun.


    Whoosh.


    Her two-handed sword began to be coated with a solidyer of stone. The weight of the sword increased with every second, but that wasn''t a problem for Chloe.


    Whoosh.


    Chloe swung her sword and attacked Evan. The young man quickly retreated. Evan had never seen such a spell of Amplification Magic before, he had to find out what its effect was.


    Bam.


    Chloe struck the ground with her stone sword. Dust rose, and a deep indentation formed under the sword.


    <I see...>.


    Evan thought to himself and said: "You are incredibly strong, how much does this sword weigh?"


    Evan was amazed at what he saw, one attack was enough to make him realize how heavy this sword was.


    <Of course, it''s impossible to chop anything with this sword now, but it doesn''t need to. It''s not a sword now, it''s a damn heavy club, if it hits me even once it''ll break a bone or two for sure.>


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Evan was about to attack Chloe, but suddenly several deadly drops of water flew toward Evan.


    The young man reflexively dodged these drops and took a few steps back. It was Lewis'' attack, he`d cast "Water Bullet", a simple but very effective spell. It was perfect for mid-range battles.


    After his attack, Lewis quickly stood behind Chloe, only she could protect him from Evan, otherwise he would die in seconds.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan paced slowly toward Chloe, he watched her intently and her every move. Their duel could only be decided by one sessful attack. If he defeated Chloe, Lewis would have no chance of winning.


    Chloe rose into a fighting stance, she was ready to take any blow Evan might throw.


    Whoosh.


    Evan came close enough, but instead of attacking, he gave Gerda a hand gesture. At the same moment, the girl cast the "Wind Cutter" and two wind des headed toward Chloe.

 Chapter 118 - The Roots

    Whoosh.


    The two wind des headed toward Chloe, and Evan attacked at the same time. Because of Chloe''s interference, he was unable to knock Lewis out quickly, so he decided to deal with the girl first.


    Hisbined attack with Gerda should not have left Chloe a chance to win. The girl was just as well aware of that, but she was capable of defending herself even against such an attack.


    Whoosh.


    Evan instantly approached Chloe and swung his scythe at her. At the same moment, the wind des were quite close. Chloe turned and attacked Evan. It was hard for the young man to bear the weight of her weapon, but now Chloe was defenseless.


    Whoosh.


    The girl put more strength in and was able to hold the sword with one hand, she bent her free hand and her "Warp" spun. The next moment a thick and very strongyer of stone began to appear on her arm.


    Bam. Bam.


    Two wind des mmed into her arm, but to everyone''s surprise, it didn''t hurt her. The stone debris fell to the ground with a rumble, but her hand was unharmed.


    <Damn, so she''s the kind of person who''spletely focused on defense, she''s going to be hard to deal with.>


    Evan thought to himself and threw another punch, which Chloe quickly blocked. Of all the people Evan wanted to fight, Chloe was one of the toughest opponents. Even if he won, he would spend a great deal of strength and mana trying to prate her armor. Moreover, despite her incredible defense, the girl moved quite fast. She hadn''t missed any Evan''s punch yet.


    Evan didn''t want to waste much mana, he had already used "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil". If he didn''t watch his mana supply, he might not have any mana at all by the third stage.


    <Hmm, Gerda has already used so many spells, how do we beat them quickly?>


    Evan attacked Chloe time after time, but none of his attacks reached the girl. Lewis couldn''t stop him, since he was fighting Gerda.


    <It looks like we''ll have to take our chances after all.> Evan thought to himself and at the same moment his "Warp" spun.


    Whoosh.


    A green magic circle appeared behind Chloe, and a secondter an ivy vine enveloped the girl''s leg. The ivy dragged the girl with force, causing her to fall to the ground.


    Evan was already beside her, but to Chloe''s surprise, he didn''t attack her. Evan chose another target, namely Lewis.


    Seeing Evaning at him, Lewis quickly cast one of his spells. Two thick roots rushed towards Evan, but they couldn''t stop him for a second.


    Swing.


    Evan swung the scythe and the snow-white de sliced the roots into several pieces. Lewis tried to defend himself somehow, but he didn''t have the right spells for it. There was nothing he could do against Evan at this distance.


    Whoosh.


    The scythe de rushed toward Lewis and made a wide cut on his chest. The wound immediately bled, and Lewis fell to the ground, trying to stop the bleeding.


    Within seconds, Golem appeared beside Lewis and quickly carried him away. Chloe was left alone against the two and Gerda was about to attack, but Evan stopped her.


    "Don''t be, she''ll run off with her tail between her legs now, won''t she?" Evan said with a cocky smirk looking at the angry Chloe.


    She said nothing and quickly ran off into the steam. She was infuriated by the situation. Instead of getting rid of her main rival, she had lost herrade and was considerably weakened. Their attack turned out to be a real failure.


    Initially, Evan didn''t want to fight, but he had to, he wasn''t looking for a way to defeat Chloe and Lewis. He needed to end this fight as quickly as possible and with little loss of strength or mana. For the same reason, he attacked Lewis in the first ce, forcing Chloe to retreat.


    If Evan would have done otherwise and tried to kill Chloe, he would not have seeded. No matter, whom he attacked, the result would have been the same - the other opponent would have fled, so it was necessary to attack the more vulnerable opponent.


    "Phew, that was dangerous, I hope no one else attacks us, I have very little mana left." Gerda said tiredly.


    Evan nodded: "Yes, unfortunately something like that had to happen sooner orter."


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly the ground shook. Evan knew at once that the area was about to change again.


    The ground cracked in many ces and huge roots emerged from the cracks, they were muchrger than those blocks of ice in the first stage.


    "Oh, it looks like this is just the beginning." Said Evan as he watched the torrents of water rushing at them from all sides.


    The geysers were instantly extinguished, but the huge waves could easily kill the students.


    Whoosh.


    Evan realized it was dangerous to stay where he was, so he ran quickly to the nearest root. Gerda immediately ran after him.


    Climbing up the root was no problem at all. It grew at an angle that was just big enough that they could just jump on it and keep running upward.


    When Evan got to the top of the root he looked around and thought to himself, <Everything''s flooded and there''s no way to fight below until the arena changes again. Well, these roots are big enough not only to rest on, but to attack someone.>


    All of the monsters from the second stage had already been killed. When Chloe and Lewis attacked them, there were only a few monsters left.


    While Evan was thinking, new monsters appeared in the area, to his surprise there were only five, but they looked very formidable. They wererge, five-foot tall Ogres. Their skin was as strong as steel, and their every step left a deep mark on the ground. Each monster had a different weapon in his hand, some with a club, some with an axe, a hammer, and others.


    Gerda looked at the Ogres and said: "They are certainly very big, but they look slow and not so dangerous. What''s more, there are only five of them, and they can''t even get to us. I think the third stage is very easy."


    Evan shook his head and said calmly: "You are mistaken. Those streams of water would kill the other monsters instantly, but these ones don''t care at all, they just keep going. I agree that staying on the roots is safe, but it''s only temporary, look."


    Evan pointed toward the monsters. They moved slowly toward one root. From afar, Evan could see that there was one person there.


    Bam.


    An ogre with a huge axe came up to the root and started chopping at it as hard as it could.

 Chapter 119 - Change

    Evan and Gerda watched as one of the five Ogres chopped a thick root. Its axe was veryrge and its blows strong enough that after a few blows the root slowly fell to the ground.


    The waves dispersed away from the felled root and the Ogres moved on. They weren''t chopping that root for nothing, they had a target - thed, who was there. This time they failed to get there in time. Seeing what the Ogres were doing, the young man quickly jumped to another root next to it.


    Looking at the slow moving monsters Evan thought to himself, <Hmmm, I am very far away from them. It won''t be long before they get to me, but in the meantime, I need to restore my mana reserves.>


    Evan looked at Gerda and calmly said: "I think our cooperation is over."


    "What?" The girl said in surprise and immediately got ready to fight. If Evan wanted to, he would overpower her.


    "You have thirty seconds to get out of here to the another root, time''s up." Evan''s voice was quiet, but very harsh.


    Without thinking long Gerda dashed away. She wasn''t about to test Evan''s patience. She quickly jumped over to another root and with a forceful kick she broke off a part of it, cutting off the way for Evan.


    It might seem that Evan, with good intentions, had given Gerda time to escape, rather than attacking her immediately. If he had, he would have one less enemy to deal with. But, Evan didn''t want to waste precious time and energy on taking Gerda down.


    Sooner orter the Ogres would get him, so he decided to get rid of the girl the quickest way possible. What''s more, he could deal with Gerda at any moment, at this point he had to umte as much mana as possible.


    Evan looked around, sat down on a root, and began to "Create". There was no one nearby, only in the distance he could see the other participants.


    <I hope I can umte enough mana before these monsters get to me.>


    While Evan was "Creating", the teachers were discussing the students'' actions. They were curious as to how each of the students would act under the new changes.


    ...


    "Some members are now uniting, and some are on the contrary breaking alliances." The girl in the silver mantle calmly concluded.


    She was surprised that Evan had broken the alliance with Gerda so harshly.


    "Alliances are important, but if I were them, I''d "Create" like that guy. The Ogres are very strong, but they are slow, it''s not worth wasting precious time making alliances." The man in the tinum mantle said calmly.


    "You think so? Isn''t this the best time to build teams? You can move around the roots and negotiate. The singles just won''t survive, if there are at least three teams." The girl disagreed with the man.


    Draven turned to Arabe, "What do you think the winner will ask for you?"


    The girl yawned and slowly replied, "I don''t know, probably something usual, "Moon Coins", an artifact, or a powerful "Catalyst". There''s really not a lot of options here."


    A special test for "Inner students" was held every year. Each time the winner could ask the head of the Academy for anything. Of course, Arabe might not fulfill the winner''s wish, but usually the wish was simple: an Artifact or "Catalyst", it was very easy for Arabe to give something like that.


    Very rare there were the asions when the winner asked for something intangible She had already heard every possible request in so many years, so she didn''t care anymore. She just waited until this ordeal was over. Some of the students were not bad, but she hadn''t found anybody interesting for herself among them.


    Draven nodded and said: "By the way, do you think they will even pass this test? I think even these Ogres will give them a lot of trouble, let alone the final monster."


    "Of course, there are at least three disciples who can kill this monster, but I don''t think there will be a final battle between the participants after that. Everything will be decided during the fight." Arabe said slowly.


    Draven didn''t say anything back, he watched each student intently, pausing asionally to look at Evan. The young man was "Creating", it was risky because the other students could attack him, but besides him, there was another person who had started "Creating". Oddly enough, it was Gerda.


    She wasn''t stupid and quickly figured out what the point of Evan''s actions was. Without wasting a second she also began to umte mana. She had spent a lot more of it than Evan. Without mana, she would definitely have no chance of winning.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Every minute a new root fell into the water, and the participants had to get closer and closer to each other. Many of them did not think about one very important problem - soon the Ogres would destroy all the roots, and fighting against them in the water would be suicidal.


    But, going down to the monsters was also not an option. Some students understood this and tried to kill the monsters from a distance, casting various spells.


    Fireballs, water spears, sand arrows, and even huge boulders fell on their heads. None of this had any effect, not even a few lightning bolts did much damage to the Ogres. Their defense against the elements was very high, as well as against the physical elements.


    Bam.


    The Ogres had destroyed another root, and at that moment Evan opened his eyes. He was surprised that the monsters had advanced so far in such a short amount of time.


    <Hmm, I`ve managed to replenish very little mana, but they''ll only get to me in a few minutes.>


    Evan wondered whether or not he should continue "Creating". After looking around and realizing there was no one around, Evan decided to close his eyes and concentrate on his mana.


    Whoosh.


    However, that was a mistake. In less than a minute Evan closed his eyes and a ming arrow flew in his direction. Evan felt the threating and reflexively dodged the attack, but his arm was hurt anyway.


    "Damn!" Evan said angrily and quickly jumped onto a nearby root.


    He wanted to run as far away as he could, and even though he was attacked, Evan wasn''t going to retaliate in the same way. His wound was not deep at all, all he had to do was stop the bleeding and there would be nothing to worry about.


    On one hand, Evan''s actions might seem very cowardly, but he hadn''t even seen his attacker. If he tried to get back at him, he would only doom himself to greater danger. He would have time to deal with his attacker yet, there was no reason to hurry.


    Moreover, he retreated for another very important reason. Seconds before he was attacked, he had seen one of the two chains around his "Warp" begin to tremble.

 Chapter 120 - The Second "Barrier"

    After the attack Evan decided to run away, he didn''t want to waste his time and energy, he had better things to do. Unexpectedly for him, the second chain began to shake, which meant he came close to breaking through the second "Barrier".


    "Hmm, is he running away? I think he could deal with his attacker, that cocky guy doesn''t look like a coward." The man in the white mantle said puzzled.


    "Uh, you don''t understand anything, he isn`t driven by emotions, he decided to act pragmatically. That sounds like the surest way to win to me." The girl in the silver mantle disagreed with the man.


    "It seems to me the contestants don''t quite understand the position they find themselves in. He`s got away, but how long will he be safe? I think they all need to band together and kill the Ogres. Otherwise, I''m afraid we won''t have a winner this time." The man in the tinum mantle said calmly.


    Draven watched Evan closely as the young man began to run away, and thought to himself, <Why...why is he smiling?>


    He saw nothing good in Evan having to run away with his tail between the legs, but after a few seconds, he saw something unexpected.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan turned around and started casting the "Magic Missile". A white beam flew toward the root behind him.


    Bam.


    There was a deafening explosion as it collided, a part of the root had been destroyed and fell slowly into the water. But, Evan wasn''t going to stop there.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Evan cast the "Magic Missile" a few more times. His goal was to destroy all the roots behind him, and for that, he was willing to spend most of the mana he had.


    "What''s that psycho doing!?" The young man, who had attacked Evan from afar shouted displeased. He`d expected to take him down quickly, but he was having none of it. He was upset about his failure, but he didn''t expect Evan to suddenly start destroying the roots, including his.


    The guy quickly had to jump to another root. There was nothing he could do about the situation, as Evan was already too far away.


    "''Wait a minute... damn! What the hell has that freak done?" The young man said loudly as he looked at the many roots that had been destroyed. He obviously didn''t expect that Evan will start doing something like that.


    Evan had destroyed exactly those roots to cut himself off from the other participants. The entire area was now divided into three locations. One contained the Ogres, the second the students, and in the third, the smallest, there was only Evan.


    There was no way to get to him except by going down into the water, but that was too dangerous.


    "Why has he done that? He''s putting himself and the others in danger. If the Ogres knock all the other students out, this guy won''t stand a chance of winning." The man in the silver mantle said puzzled.


    Draven said calmly: "He''s created a hiding ce for himself".


    Evan had just spent a huge amount of mana, obviously, this was all part of the n. He had a definite purpose.


    <Great, now no one will bother me for a while. Thought to himself Evan ran off to the farthest corner of the arena. He crouched on a root and looked at the Ogres in the distance.>


    "I`ve wasted a lot of mana, but it was definitely worth it, I don''t have time to deal with these monsters."


    Evan closed his eyes and began to "Create." He was going to break through the second ''Barrier'' right here and now and he didn''t want to put it off.


    There were many ways to break the "Barrier". It could have happened duringbat, during training, or during the"Creation". Each magician had his own unique situations when he broke his "Barrier".


    The chains around Evan''s "Warp" were already shaking badly, all he had to do was put in a little effort. During the battle with Draven and when he had been attacked by Chloe and Lewis, Evan had moved forward. He believed that it was because of these events that he had now almost broken his second "Barrier."


    "I hope I`ll see what happened on that hill again." Evan said quietly as he watched the chain shake violently. With each passing second its ringing grew stronger and very soon, it would be destroyed.


    He vividly remembered the moment when he had broken his first "Barrier". There had been a strange change with the area next to him then. Evan wanted to see that phenomenon again.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    A few minutester there were many cracks in the chain. One of the links broke off and fell to the bottom, then turned to dust. The same thing began to happen to the rest of the links. Step by step, Evan came closer to breaking the second "Barrier".


    When a magician breaks through the "Barrier", he not only increases the amount of "Void Liquid" he can condense, but also bes somewhat stronger.


    The stronger the magician is, the greater is the effect of breaking the "Barrier", so newbie magicians like Evan get only a minor boost. However, breaking the "Barrier" is still the most important event for every magician, because it`s immediately followed by a "Ssh".


    Evan had yet to find out what that was.


    "Come on, just a little more." Evan muttered quietly as he watched another link fall off the chain.


    There were only thest three links left, and Evan finally would be able to take one more step forward.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    With a loud ng, thest links fell down, and at the same moment, Evan felt a rush of strength. A pleasant warmth spread through his body, it was the same unforgettable sensation, iparable to anything in this world.


    "§¡h?"


    Suddenly, Evan felt a strange cold. It was the exact opposite of pleasant warmth, but the cold was not something foreign. A short wave of cold went through Evan''s entire body and vanished without a trace, as did the warmth.


    When a few more seconds passed, Evan sighed lightly and opened his eyes.


    "Again... what is it...?" Like thest time, the area around Evan underwent a strange and inexplicable change for him.


    While he was breaking the "Barrier", he was sitting on a root and the first change happened to him. To Evan''s surprise, strange flowers with colorful petals had grown on the root. Some of them were very tall, the others quite low, and it even seemed that they could die from any blow of the wind.


    Also to Evan''s left, the branches had grown out of the root, as if from the trunk of a tree. Aside from their bizarre shape, they were of no further interest.


    Evan slowly stood up and said puzzled: "Sand?"


    Under his feet, there was a small handful of sand, that had appeared out of nowhere, but suddenly Evan saw something stranger. An ant slowly crawled out of the sand, Evan didn''t understand where the ant hade from because the roots had been summoned by the spell.


    But, that wasn''t what was most unusual. The ant''s whiskers burned with a bright me and, as in the case of the butterfly, the fire did the insect no harm.


    Suddenly the ant threw its head up.


    <§¡? Is it looking at me? Evan thought watching at the strange ant.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the ant''s jaws began to heat up, and a fiery breath headed toward Evan. It couldn''t hurt Evan, of course, but the sand was charred from the mes. Seeing that his attack didn''t work Ant quickly burrowed back into the sand.


    "What the fuck just has happened...?"

 Chapter 121 - Walking On The Water

    Evan was discouraged by what he had seen. Not only had there been another strange change near him that he knew nothing about, but he had also been attacked by a crazy ant. It was really crazy, considering that there couldn''t have been an ant around here, much less a fire-breathing one.


    "All right, I''ve got to get my act together. I`ve broken the second "Barrier" and some unknowable shit happened around me again. Just like before I don''t understand anything, just fine."


    Evan sighed and continued: "Well, on the other hand, there''s nothing toin about, I can finally move on. In fact, I feel like I''m getting a little stronger."


    No one saw that Evan had broken his second "Barrier", including the teachers. Since Evan had gone to the farthest corner of the grounds, the teachers didn''t watch him. They assumed he had decided to recover his mana and prepare for the final battle while the others would dealt with the Ogres.


    However, they were wrong about something, Evan wasn''t going to sit there and wait for it to be over. After Evan broke through the second barrier, he began to "Create" until he had umted enough mana for several spells. Satisfied with the result Evan headed back to the center of the arena, which is where the Ogres were now.


    The monsters were getting closer by the second, and because of Evan''s actions, the other students had little room to maneuver. A little longer and the participants would either have to attack the Ogres themselves, or the monsters would throw them into the water.


    By this point, there were only nine of the fourteen students left. On the one hand, it was a good result, since only five had dropped out, but on the other hand, they hadn''t even made it to the finals yet.


    Whoosh.


    Evan was quickly jumping from root to root, he thought the battle against the Ogres was about to happen and he was going to take part in it. Evan was well aware that he could not handle them alone. Only together, they could defeat them, but Evan was not going to unite with anyone.


    Gerda was his only, albeit temporary ally. In his opinion, it was too risky to form teams with anyone right now.


    Whoosh.


    Evan jumped to the outermost root and stopped in front of a small chasm that he had created by himself. He looked at the students on the other side and muttered quietly:


    "Looks like I''m the only loner."


    All the other participants had joined into teams. Two teams consisted of two people while there was one team of as many as three. Still, except for Evan, there was another loner -Enni, who was standing alone at the root.


    <Well, considering her character, that''s not surprising. Oh, I wondered where that liar was.>


    Looking around each team, Evan quickly found Gerda. He wasn''t surprised that the girl was allied with someone again. She was weaker than the others, and could not rely solely on her strength if she wanted to win.


    <This "living fortress" had also found a new teammate. It will be very hard to deal with them.> Evan thought to himself looking at Chloe and Lars standing next to each other.


    During the entrance exam, Lars had shown his amazing abilities. They were each strong, but that wasn''t what alerted Evan.


    <She has amazing defense, while this guy can heal wounds. It''s just an elite squad, not a team. I definitely can''t stand up to them.>


    Evan was seriously concerned about Chloe and Lars'' coboration. He even considered the possibility that he might need to team up with Enni. Evan felt that only with her would he be able topete with Chloe and Lars. They would simply crush them with their relentless attacks.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    While Evan reasoned, the Ogres were chopping down roots. With each passing second, there were fewer and fewer roots, and the moment of battle was slowly approaching.


    "Well, looks like it''s time for action." Calmly Evan said and in the next moment jumped off the root.


    Whoosh.


    In midair, he cast the "Ice Veil". The snow-white de of ''Reverse Death" was covered in ayer of ice.


    Swing.


    Evan wasn''t sure if he could do it, but he had to try, because there was no other way to get to the other side. Almost reaching the water Evan swung the scythe and the next moment an icy tform formed beneath him.


    He put the scythe forward, plunging the end of its de into the water. So he was running forward and a path of ice was being created right in front of him.


    Chloe watched Evan move calmly through the water, frowned and muttered: "First he cuts us off himself, and now he''sing toward us, and moreover he''s managed to find a way to move through the water. He pisses me off!"


    "Hmm? You mean Evan?"


    "Do you know his name?" Chloe was surprised, because students hadn''t given their names during the exam.


    Lars nodded and said: "Well yeah, he was thest one during the test before they took us to the underground arena."


    "Ah, well, yes." Chloe said slowly.


    "He''s strong and capable of acting boldly and unexpectedly. I couldn''t imagine that anyone would dare destroy so many roots just to be left alone for a while. And as you can see, unlike us, he''s figured out a way to get back."


    "Lars, I think we should attack him, maybe even now. I''m not sure I can beat him one-on-one, but if we attack instead, he can''t do anything to us". Suggested Chloe looking at Evan running along the water.


    "Is he that strong?" Lars asked in amazement.


    Lars had fought Draven before Evan, so he hadn''t seen his fight and didn''t even know how many seconds Evan hadsted.


    Chloe nodded: "Yep, at this point he must be the strongest among us. That''s why I''m suggesting we attack him together."


    Lars shook his head, "Then we shouldn''t attack him. We need his strength to deal with the Ogres. What''s more, where''s the guarantee he won''t team up with someone else and overpower us?"


    Chloe sighed in frustration and replied, "Okay, I guess there''s logic in your words. By the way,st time he was with one girl, it looks like their alliance didn''tst."


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    While Chloe and Lars were talking, the Ogres had destroyed some more roots. At the same moment, Evan got close to the roots and quickly jumped on one of them.


    He looked at the monstersing his way and calmly said: "In a few minutes they''re going to cut down all the roots, I think it''s time to make a move."


    He expected some of the participants to attack the monsters now, but no one was in a hurry to attack, so Evan decided to move things along on his own. He couldn''t let the monsters get any closer.


    Whoosh.


    His "Warp" spun and the next moment a white-hot beam flew straight at the head of the Ogre with an axe.

 Chapter 122 - Falling Down

    Bam.


    "Magic Missile" hit exactly the target - the head of one of the Ogres. Of course, the power of this spell was not enough to kill the monster, but Evan was able to wound it. This was only possible because the "Awareness" of this spell was at the first stage. Otherwise, the Ogre wouldn''t have even noticed that it was being attacked.


    The monster was clearly unhappy with such impudence from some boy and it headed in his direction. The other contestants looked at Evan with pity. They didn''t expect the strongest student to turn out to be a real fool. The Ogre wouldn''t back Evan''s off until it killed him, the young man would have to keep running. But, they didn''t even realize they were the idiots, not Evan.


    Whoosh.


    Smiling, Evan ran to the nearest root next to him. He jumped from one ce to another, and at one point, the group of three began to suspect something. Evan didn''t run away from Ogre, but led him to the other students. He was determined to shake up their frozen fight, and this was the best way he thought he could do it.


    Whoosh.


    A few jumpster, Evan found himself on the same root as the other three contestants. The young man with the brown hair said loudly: "What are you up to! Why the hell are you bringing that Ogre here?"


    They weren`t going to run away because they nned to chase Evan away. The guy thought Evan wouldn''t want to mess with such a big team and would run away quickly to avoid trouble. But Evan had a different opinion about that.


    "Why for? I''m just trying to win." Evan said calmly and the next moment there was an explosion.


    Boom.


    Saying this, Evan cast another "Magic Missile" and shot the young men under their feet. They reacted quickly and jumped up to save themselves from the shockwave, but the root couldn''t defend itself.


    "Good luck." Evan said with a smile on his face and immediately jumped onto another root.


    "You, bitch!" Said a dark-haired girl, slowly falling down into the water.


    By the way, Evan had chosen this team not because it was bigger, but because it was closer than the other two ones. Like Evan had said, his goal was to win, or rather to kill the Ogres. If the monsters knocked out the other contestants, Evan''s chances would not increase, but rather decrease.


    He needed to get the other contestants to fight, and to do that they had to be able to fight on water. One of the group had just the right spell. Evan remembered this man during the first stage while he was sitting quietly on a block of ice and watching the other contestants.


    Whoosh.


    The dark-haired girl`s "Warp" spun and at the same time the azure ring on her hand shone brightly. She decided to use her Magical Artifact to greatly enhance her spell - "Frosty Rush"


    Whoosh.


    A faint blue glow appeared around her hand, which gave off an incredible cold. The girl extended her palm toward the water, and the frosty currents headed toward her.


    Crack.


    A thickyer of ice quickly began to form on the water surface, thereby creating afortable tform to move on.


    The three persons fell quietly onto it, but they had no time to look around.


    Bam.


    The Ogre was already close, he instantly swung his massive axe and hit it down on the icy tform.


    "Damn! That''s not enough!" The girl mouthed anxiously, and she cast her "Frosty Rush" again.


    The ice tform began to grow rapidly, increasing the area in which to fight the Ogres. The girl was unhappy with the situation, since she had to spend a lot of mana just to avoid drowning.


    <Fine>. Evan thought to himself and headed for the next team. He was pleased with the result: the tform had been created and now everyone could fight on the water. Evan was going to throw everyone he could into the water.


    To his surprise, as soon as he looked in the direction of the two girls standing in the distance, they immediately ran away in different directions. Evan''s n was simple and clear to everyone, but no one wanted to participate in it voluntarily.


    "Are we ying catch-up?" Evan said calmly and sped up sharply.


    Evan leaped lightning fast along the roots quickly catching up with one of the girls running away.


    "Get away from me! Better help those you`ve thrown into the water!" The girl shouted loudly, turning to Evan.


    The young man smiled: "Of course I will, as soon as everyone''s assembled!"


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a green magic circle appeared next to the girl, and an ivy vine sprang from it.


    The vine quickly wrapped itself around the girl''s ankle, she was not prepared for such a development. The girl lost her bnce and fell down. She tried to get up quickly and run on, but Evan was already there.


    The young man leaned into her ear and whispered: "I''ve caught up with you."


    Whoosh.


    Evan kicked as hard as he could into the root, causing it to break off and fall down with the girl. The girl had no choice but to bounce off the root and jump onto the icy tform with the others. While Evan ran after her, one of the Ogres was already wounded. It was still a long way from beingpletely defeated, but it was a definite sess.


    While Evan was chasing the second girl, Chloe and Lars were discussing his actions.


    Chloe calmly said: "Well, he`ll hardly dare to do it with us, this guy manages to surprise me every time I see him."


    Lars looked at the wounded Ogre and muttered, "Evan certainly can''t make us jump like that girl, but maybe we should do it ourselves."


    "§¡h? What do you mean?"


    "Well, think about it. Evan''s actions are certainly extravagant, but they make sense. What''s more, his way has been effective. Just look at that Ogre, he''s wounded and they''ll kill him soon enough. But, a minuteter the rest of the Ogres will get to them, in which case they won''t stand a chance." Said Lars watching the students on the ice tform diligently trying to kill the monster.


    "So, you''re suggesting we go along with Evan to defeat the Ogres?"


    Lars nodded confidently. He sincerely believed that the artificially situation created by Evan, was the best opportunity to defeat the Ogres. Any other way, no one would have dared to attack them.


    It was one thing to be in the same situation to begin with, but it was quite another for some people to stay safe on the roots and for others to put themselves in danger, descending from them.


    Chloe stared for a while at the approaching Ogres and at Evan, who had already caught up with the second girl and sent her down in the same way. Now there were only four people left on the roots- she, Lewis, Evan, and Enni, who was standing aside.


    "Okay, I agree, even if we waste a lot of strength and mana because of this, it''s still better than losing and not even making it to the finals."


    The girl agreed and jumped to the bottom herself. Lars quickly followed her.

 Chapter 123 - Killing The Ogre

    Lars and Chloe jumped down and joined the battle. Thanks to Evan''s initiative, the situation had moved on and they had finally stopped running from the monsters.


    After looking around the battlefield, Evan thought to himself, <Hmm, I didn''t expect those two to decide to jump down, too. I think they know very well that they''re taking a big risk by doing something like that.>


    Chloe and Lars thought they were among the strongest in this challenge, their mainpetitors being Evan and Enni. Nevertheless, they had attacked the monsters, even though they knew that Evan and Enni could stay upstairs and just watch them fight.


    Of course, Chloe and Lars had their own opinions on this, they knew what they were going for. Evan was surprised at their decision.


    Whoosh.


    Unexpectedly for Evan, Enni jumped down after Lars and Chloe. Besides Evan, she was the only one without a team. She could have continued to stand on top, but the girl still decided to attack the monsters.


    Evan was faced with a dilemma: he could join the others or watch them fight.


    <This Ogre is almost dead, but the others are just around the corner... what should I do?> Evan didn''t worry that the other participants could be seriously injured, he didn''t care.


    The only question he cared about was <Will I be able to kill the final monster alone?>


    While Evan was thinking, the teachers in the arena were discussing the situation. They were encouraged by such a drastic change in the battlefield.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, this guy has surprised me once again. He started throwing other contestants into the water, it''s absurd! AHAHAHAHAHA."


    The man in the silver mantle was very pleased with Evan''s actions. They were bold and unpredictable, he had rarely seen anything like it.


    "Well, he''s certainly good, but those two decided to jump down themselves. They figured they''d better help the others, so they could definitely make it to the finals. They decided not to take the risk, but to act now. The ability to make the right decisions is more important than most other things." The girl in the silver mantle calmly said.


    "Uh, who says it''s the right decision? We don''t even know what kind of monster will be at the end yet. They are wasting their strength now, maybe then they won''t even be able tond a single blow. I think it''s better to make others fight and leave your strength for the fight with the stronger opponents." Said the man in the silver mantle.


    As in the case with the participants of this trial, the teachers'' opinions differed sharply from one another. Each of them was right on one side. Moreover, as that man said, neither the students nor the teachers had knew yet what the monster would be at the end.


    This was so that they would evaluate the students'' actions without knowing what would happen next. If the teachers were aware of what the monster would be at the end, they would immediately know who acted right and who didn''t. But, that assessment would have been unfair: it''s always easy to speak knowing the course of events ahead of time.


    The monsters for this test had been prepared by the selected older students. Both students and teachers thought these monsters were weak, so the older students risked nothing.


    While the other teachers were arguing, Draven turned to Arabe, "Tell me, are you interested in anyone? You never take on students unless they''ve been at the Academy for at least a few years."


    Arabe was the head of the Academy of Magic - "The Last Moon", it was incredibly prestigious to be her student. It was the best reward for every student at the Academy. Arabe had students, but they were all the older students. She saw no point in personally tutoring someone who had just entered the Academy.


    "No, you know me, maybe one of them will interest meter. What about you? Don''t you want to take someone as a student? I think this guy is quite capable and suits your spirit." Arabe said calmly, looking at Evan.


    Draven shook his head, "I don''t know, I didn''t really want to take anyone as an apprentice yet, but perhaps I will change my mind."


    Arabe knew Draven well and was well aware that Evan had his attention. She was sure that Draven would ask Evan to be his student.


    Evan looked over at the mortally wounded Ogre and quietly muttered, "Well, I guess I should join this mess, too."


    Whoosh.


    Evan jumped down from the root and onto the icy tform. He thought long and hard about what he should do, but in the end, he decided to help with the killing of the Ogres. His main goal was to kill thest monster, so he didn''t want to bet everything on luck and hope that he could single-handedly defeat thest monster.


    Evan couldn''t take that much risk; if it was necessary, he could leave the final monster to die and deal with the rest of the contestants. Right now he needed to kill the Ogres, moreover he didn''t know how the territory would change next time.


    Whoosh.


    Evannded on the ice tform and ran quickly toward the Ogre. The other contestants were attacking it intensely, and Evan wasn''t going to stand by. It`s necessary to kill it before the other four Ogres appeared.


    Bam.


    The monster hit the ice tform with its axe with all its might, breaking it in two, but that attack didn''t stop anyone. The Ogre was strong, but not particrly fast. The "Creators" and "Summoners" were standing behind and out of harm''s way, while the "Amplifiers" were acting directly.


    Their reaction time and speed were high enough to easily evade every Ogre`s attack.


    Evan quickly bounced to the side, bypassing the axe blow, and quickly leaped toward the Ogre.


    Swing.


    The guy swung his scythe and the snow-white de plunged into the monster''s left eye. The monster immediately howled in pain. Evan attacked again, leaving a wide wound on the Ogre''s chest, which was immediately covered by a thickyer of ice.


    Whoosh.


    The monster swung its second arm in an attempt to get rid of Evan. But, by that moment Evan was already on the ice tform. He was pleased with his attack, he had been able to do quite a bit of damage to the Ogre in such a short time.


    The scythe de was sharp enough to cut through the Ogre''s tough armor, Evan was once again d he had such a fine weapon.


    Seeing the Ogre weakened, the other students piled in it all at once. The monster was attacked with various weapons and many spells. Parts of the Ogre burned, while others were pierced by ice spikes.


    Secondster, the Ogre sustained serious wounds and lost an enormous amount of blood. The monster unclenched its fist, dropping its massive axe into the water, then copsed itself.


    This Ogre was the first of five. Each of the participants contributed and they were able to deal with it fairly quickly.


    But, no one was in any hurry to rx, as the remaining Ogres were already close by.

 Chapter 124 - A Shield And A Hammer

    With a concerted effort, one of the five Ogres was defeated, but the others were already close by.


    <We`ve managed to kill one Ogre with such difficulty, but we need to take out four more, there are only ten of us, it will be quite difficult>. Evan thought to himself as he looked at the approaching monsters and the other participants.


    Some of them were very strong like Chloe, Lars and Enni, while others couldn''t even kill one Ogre together.


    Whoosh.


    While Evan was thinking, one of the Ogres had already got to the ice tform and hit it with his massive club with all its might. The tform broke into two more pieces, separating the participants from each other.


    On the right side, there was the weaker half of their group, and on the left one - Evan, Chloe, Lars, and Enni.


    <We need to quickly deal with this Ogre and attack the rest of the group. We can''t let the other members get knocked out of the ordeal ahead of time. Thought Evan watching as another Ogre with a big sword attacked the people on the right.


    Whoosh.


    Without hesitation, Evan quickly ran toward the Ogre with the club. He was quickly followed by the others. Chloe and Lars attacked Ogre''s left arm. Evan, on the other hand, attacked the right where the monster held its weapon.


    Whoosh.


    Chloe''s big sword was covered in a thickyer of stone, and she attacked the Ogre with all her might. It was veryrge, so the girl decided to hit not on its hand, but fingers. She couldn''t cut them off, but given the weight of her sword, breaking them wouldn''t be difficult.


    Bam.


    The stone sword copsed on Ogre''s fingers and immediately a loud cracking sound was heard. As Chloe expected, her attack was strong enough to break them. The Ogre instantly roared and attacked the girl furiously.


    It was about to crush her with a club strike. But just as the monster swung it, he felt his weapon be incredibly light, as if it hadn''t been there at all.


    Whoosh.


    When Ogre turned around, it saw a terrible sight. Three of his fingers had been severed in the middle of the phnx, and there was a thickyer of ice where the cut had been made. Naturally, it was impossible to hold such arge club with just two fingers.


    The Ogre''s weapon fell into the water, and at the same moment, there was a deafening explosion next to its left hand.


    Boom.


    Lars cast - "st of the Edge" and a cube of st energy appeared in his hand instantly. Lars threw it to the monster''s hand and it was torn apart. In just a few attacks, the Ogre was left unarmed and with serious arm damage. This trio was too strong for this monster and there was nothing it could do about it.


    Whoosh.


    The monster was about to run away and hide behind the other Ogres, but as soon as it thought about it, a fist of fire came crashing down on its head. The red-hot knuckles burned through the monster''s skin.


    Whoosh.


    Enni did a somersault in the air and kicked Ogre in the head with all her might. That incredible blow was thest for the Ogre.


    Its huge carcass fell into the water and slowly sank to the bottom. The waves parted from it, pushing parts of the ice tforms farther apart.


    <Why do I feel like this girl`s got stronger? If her punches had been as powerful in the tournament, she would have easily beaten Katlyn. It''s no surprise though, that''s why she''s here and not that girl from the Erden Family>.


    Evan was surprised by Enni''s strength and speed. She had been the first to be able tost ten seconds, and not because of luck, but because her skills were at a very good level.


    ...


    "They`ve taken out that Ogre so easily, that''s what it means to team up and act together!" The man in the silver mantle said loudly.


    "Their attack actually turned out very well, each of them has a lot of power. But, it only works well against such slow opponents. The other team isn''t doing as well, though it''s not bad either."


    Said the girl in the silver mantle watching the five students fight against the Ogre. The monster had already received many wounds and should have died soon, but time was not ying in favor of the participants.


    Bam.


    A wind de and a fiery arrow flew at the Ogre''s head, but a moment before it hit, a huge, iron hammer appeared in front of the Ogre''s face. The other Ogre came to the aid of itsrade and shielded it from the two spells that should have killed it.


    The hammer was strong enough to block the spells without damage. The second group was a little slower than the first, so they now had to fight two monsters at once. Of course, one of the Ogres was already very seriously wounded, but it was still capable of giving them trouble.


    <Some of them are wounded, I wonder if they can handle the second Ogre?> Evan thought to himself as he watched the participants on the other side of the ice tform.


    The Ogre with the sword managed to wound two students, not seriously, but they wouldn`t be able to fight as vigorously as before.


    "Herees our opponent." Evan said slowly, looking at the Ogre walking in their direction.


    It wasrger than the others and looked very formidable. It had a huge shield in its left hand and an axe with a broad de in the right one.


    Neither Evan nor the others, however, were frightened. The Ogre was gigantic, which meant it was even slower than itsrades.


    The other two Ogres were distracted by the team on the other side of the ice tform. Evan and the others didn''t need to rush, they had plenty of time to deal with this Ogre.


    Whoosh.


    When the Ogre was close enough, both Evan and Enni rushed in its direction. They were going to give it a couple of powerful blows and seriously wound it.


    <What?!>


    Evan stopped abruptly when he saw something unexpected: suddenly Ogre began to raise its huge shield high above its head.


    <Damn!>


    The young man quickly realized what was about to happen and ran with all speed away from the Ogre in the other direction. Chloe, Lars and Enni were surprised by the monster''s actions, they immediately jumped into the water.


    Bam.


    The next moment Ogre mmed its shield against the ice tform with all its might, breaking it into small pieces. They had no chance to fight the Ogre in the water.


    Chloe, Lars and Enni were able to save themselves by diving deep under the water, while Evan had already been very far away.


    "I didn''t expect thest Ogre to be so problematic. We need to get over to the right side right away." Evan said with a frown.


    Whoosh.


    The young man plunged his icy scythe de into the water and ran toward the right team. They were fighting two Ogres at once and Evan intended to help them. If the Ogre with the shield broke their part of the tform as well, they might indeed lose without reaching the finals.

 Chapter 125 - The Poleaxe And The Handle

    Whoosh.


    Evan ran across the ice toward the right side of the tform. He had to help the others if he wanted to make it to the finals. He, Chloe, Lars, and Enni were very strong, but the four of them would hardly handle three Ogres at once.


    Moreover, the Ogre with the shield was different from the others. It was sluggish, but it was able to make good decisions. If it decided to attack with a shield not a poleaxe, they would simply dodge that attack and pounce on the monster all at once.


    <This Ogre`s destroyed the tform so we can''t fight anymore. Good thing I didn''t have to dive in.>


    Evan thought to himself as he watched Enni emerging from the water far from the tform. She didn''t take any chances and swam as far away from the monster as possible. Chloe and Lars did the same.


    Whoosh.


    After a few seconds, Evan reached the right side of the tform. He rushed to the aid of the other team. By this point, they had already killed the Ogre with the sword and inflicted several wounds on the Ogre with the hammer. But, two of the students were seriously wounded, and one was carried off the battlefield by a Golem.


    <What?!>


    Evan was about to attack the monster, but suddenly he noticed that the Ogre with the shield was staring at him intently. Evan became wary, he thought that for some reason the Ogre had chosen him as a target, but it wasn''t quite true.


    Whoosh.


    "Bitch, why is it so smart?!" Evan said angrily, and instead of attacking the Ogre with the hammer, he ran off in the other direction.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment the Ogre with the shield raised its massive poleaxe, brought it behind its head, and threw it at the icy tform with all its might.


    Bam.


    The group of five people noticed this attack, but toote. The poleaxe hit the center of the tform and shattered it into many pieces. The weapon plunged into the water, but its hilt was sticking out of the water.


    The students did not expect such an attack and tried to swim as far away from there as possible, but not everyone seeded.


    Bam.


    Without wasting time, the Ogre struck with its hammer where the two students had just dived. Its blow was swift and incredibly powerful. If it hit the target, the participants would definitely not survive.


    Bam.


    The hammer plunged into the water and the massive waves pushing thest pieces of the ice tform apart in all directions.


    At the same moment, Golem flew out of the water with two students in his arms. There was horror on their faces, if it wasn`t for Golem, they would have been crushed into a pancake by that hammer.


    "Huh, this wench is pretty lucky, she''s still here despite all the trouble." Evan said with a smirk as he looked at Gerda floating away.


    Evan''s gaze shifted from the Ogre with the hammer, to the Ogre with the shield, he was trying to figure out what he should do. There were only two opponents left, but they could no longer fight on the water.


    Thanks to the "Ice Veil", Evan could move through the water creating ice in front of him, but he had to keep his scythe de submerged in the water to do so.


    <Hmm, one has a sword and the other a poleaxe and a hammer. Looks like I`m going to have to strain a bit>.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly ran toward the Ogre with the sword. He decided to deal with it himself. It would be difficult, but Evan knew what he was capable of and besides, his opponent was wounded. The biggest problem was still the Ogre with the shield who was slowly pacing in his direction.


    <I think I''ll have time to deal with this Ogre before the second one gets to me.>


    The Ogre with the sword also noticed the young man running in its direction. It was walking toward the young man, intending to take this attack head-on, but Evan had other ns.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan changed his trajectory and a few secondster, he was near the poleaxe. He instantly swung his scythe and the hilt of the massive poleaxe was sliced off. It was no longer possible to use this weapon. Only one de remained of the poleaxe.


    The poleaxe was huge, but it was not made of particrly high quality materials. Evan''s scythe de was made of the high-grade material-the "Horn of the Sacred Deer." Evan had no trouble cutting the wooden hilt of the poleaxe.


    Whoosh.


    Evan changed his trajectory again and headed toward the Ogre with the sword.


    ...


    "This guy is determined to take matters into his own hands! Commendable, but can he handle it?" The man in the silver mantle said thoughtfully.


    "Of course, I think each of them underestimates their abilities. I understand that they are weak, but these Ogres are far from the strongest opponents. Moreover, when your forte is speed, it is a pleasure to fight against a slow opponent." The girl in the tinum mantle said calmly.


    "They`ve prepared interesting monsters this time..." The man in the gray mantle said briefly.


    "Mr. Arve, aren''t these monsters the mostmon Ogres?" The girl in the tinum mantle asked in surprise.


    She turned to a man with short, ck hair and brown eyes wearingrge sses with thin, ck frames. He had been silent during the entire test, but now he decided toment on the situations.


    Arve was a teacher of the fourth rank and just like Draven wore a gray mantle. He was a rather taciturn person and rarely spoke out about anything. Arve rarely said for nothing, that`s why many people listened to his every word.


    Arve adjusted his sses with his index finger and calmly said: "Just keep watching. I think we''ll be surprised by the final monster this time."


    The girl answered nothing and simply followed Arve''s advice. She watched the actions of Evan and Ogre with the shield intently. They were the key characters in this battlefield at the moment.


    Whoosh.


    While the teachers were discussing what was happening in the arena, Evan had already almost gotten to Ogre with the sword.


    The monster decided to attack first. It swung its massive sword and swung it at Evan from top to bottom with all its might. The Ogre wanted to kill the young man in one hard blow, but it underestimated Evan''s maneuverability.


    Whoosh. Bam.


    The moment the sword almost came down on Evan, the young man quickly stepped aside, a momentter a sword de swept behind him and plunged into the water.


    Evan turned, caught on the Ogre''s flesh with the scythe de and climbed onto its arm. The Ogre looked at Evan with fury, but in the next second, the young man''s silhouette blurred and turned into a snow-white sh.


    Whoosh.


    Like deadly lightning, Evan was instantly on Ogre''s shoulder without removing the scythe from the monster''s hand. He sliced through the flesh and inflicted a deep wound from wrist to shoulder on the Ogre.


    Evan looked into the Ogre''s eyes and said with a smile: "Well, big guy, now we''ll see what you can do to me, ahahahahaha."


    It was strange, but Evan''s amethyst eyes frightened the monster, for the first time ever it felt real threat and danger from the young man.

 Chapter 126 - The Sword And The Shield

    Evan''s speed was incredible, he was able to inflict a serious wound on the Ogre in a second.


    Whoosh.


    The Ogre swung its arm trying to grab Evan, but the young man was much faster. Evan easily dodged the Ogre''s massive palm, and the next moment there was a wide cut on the monster''s neck. Evan was already on the other shoulder, staring predatorily at the Ogre''s frostbitten wound.


    The monster was in a bad position, it was big and strong, but that was why it couldn''t do anything to Evan. The young man climbed on top of its body and there was simply no way the Ogre could physically reach him, it wasn''t flexible enough to do so.


    ...


    "That Ogre is finished, it''s amazing, this guy was the only one who could deal with it so easily. It turns out that these monsters aren''t that strong?" Said the man in the silver mantle.


    "I wouldn''t say so, thisd is really about to kill the Ogre, but every action he takes is very risky. If he stumbles and falls into the water or if the Ogre grabs him, that''s the end of it. He has to be extremely careful to kill the Ogre alone." The girl in the tinum mantle said calmly.


    "I don''t think this guy cares about his safety. In the entrance exam, he cut off his leg tost a few seconds longer. He''s determined to kill that Ogre and he''s going to do it."


    ...


    While the teachers were discussing Evan''s actions, the young man continued to attack the monster.


    Whoosh.


    The Ogre tried to grab him again, but Evan jumped lightning fast from its shoulder to the neck. The next moment the monster was in real agony. Evan chopped its flesh until the Ogre no longer had the strength to resist.


    Bam.


    The monster''s huge carcass fell into the water, Evan jumped into the water with a calm gaze and ran off to the side along the icy path.


    Evan killed the monster quickly and single-handedly.


    <Good, I`ve wasted almost no effort, climbing it was the right decision. Now there`s only one hurdle left before the finale begins.> Evan thought to himself as he looked at the shield-wielding Ogre walking slowly towards him.


    It didn''t seem to be paying any attention at all to the fact that itsrade had just died. It was only interested in Evan.


    That interest was understandable: firstly, Evan was the only one who stayed on the water and did not dive into the depths when the Ogre had destroyed their tform. The others just weren''t in sight. Secondly, Evan had destroyed the Ogre''s weapon, cutting down the poleaxe handle. It made sense that it was him that the Ogre wanted to kill.


    ...


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, he really pulled it off by himself, that''s incredible!" The man in the tinum mantle said loudly. He was encouraged by the young man''s actions.


    "That was great. He was able to kill that Ogre because he had a clear n of action. Jumping on the big but slow Ogre was the right thing to do." The girl in the silver mantle said slowly.


    "I agree, each opponent requires a different approach. You have to think with your head to win, not just swing your fists."


    ...


    Whoosh.


    Evan decided not to attack Ogre. He needed to move a safe distance away ande up with a n of action. What''s more, there were quite a few other strong people left in the arena besides him. Evan had already killed one monster alone, but he wanted to conserve his strength before the finale.


    <I need to rest, but this Ogre won''t let me do that, hmm....>.


    The young man quickly decided what he needed to do. He changed his direction and ran toward the remaining roots. There weren''t very many, since most of them had been cut down by the Ogres, but Evan had enough for one.


    After a few seconds, Evan reached the nearest root and instantly climbed it. Evan looked around the arena from above. It was now starkly different from its original appearance. Hundreds of roots were submerged and only a fraction of them were visible outside.


    The carcasses of the four defeated Ogres were also at the bottom, there were only the Ogre with a shield and a few students left.


    "It keepsing my way, I can certainly run for a long time, but it looks like I won''t have to do that." Evan said calmly.


    Boom.


    At the same second, there was a deafening explosion behind Ogre. Chloe and Lars finally decided to act.


    Thanks to her amazing physical strength, Chloe was able to throw Lars right at the Ogre. As for the young man, he cast the "st of the Edge" and threw a cube of energy at the Ogre''s back.


    The monster was severely wounded, its flesh torn and blood flowing relentlessly down its entire back. But, it was not enough to defeat the Ogre.


    For the first time ever, it stopped looking at Evan and turned toward Chloe and Lars, going to kill them.


    Unfortunately for the monster, as soon as it turned around, Chloe and Lars were already deep in the water. The Ogre lost sight of them and could do nothing to them.


    It was furious, but there was nothing it could do. The young men simply ran away from it, taking advantage of its sluggishness.


    Bam.


    As soon as the monster was distracted, two wind des flew into the back of its head. To Evan''s surprise, Gerda also decided to join in killing the Ogre.


    "I thought she was going to wait until the others had dealt with him." Mumbled Evan as he watched the other contestants gradually wound the Ogre.


    The monster hadn''t managed to wound anyone yet, though it had been bleeding itself for some time.


    Bam.


    Roooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!


    Suddenly the monster roared and ran toward his broken poleaxe. Everyone was shocked by its actions, for none of the Ogres had done anything like this before. The other four monsters were unable to run since they were waist-deep in water. In that position, it was very difficult to walk, let alone run.


    Naturally, no one was going to stop the Ogre. It quickly reached for the broken poleaxe.


    Whoosh.


    The Ogre dipped its hand into the water and pulled out the de of the poleaxe, it was impossible to use this weapon without the hilt. The monster hoped that at least part of the hilt had survived, but Evan had done everything to the highest level.


    Snorting, the monster tossed the poleaxe de aside and headed towards where Evan had recently killed Ogre with the sword.


    <Damn, it really is smarter than the others. The most problematic opponent is left at the end>. Evan thought as he watched the Ogre pull a massive two-handed sword out of the water.


    Now the Ogre had a weapon again, and no worse than its previous one. The sword was an excellent substitute for the poleaxe, perhaps, it was even better.


    "With the shield he can defend himself, and with the sword he can attack. A perfectbination, but that''s if it were a human." Evan said slowly.


    The shield and the sword didplement each other perfectly, but not in this case.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Enni jumped out of the water and hit the monster in the wrist with all her might. A secondter, the massive sword fell out of Ogre''s hand.

 Chapter 127 - Broken Thread

    Seconds after the Ogre had armed itself with the sword of its inrade, Enni suddenly attacked it.


    She struck the Ogre''s wrist with all her might, the attack that was very powerful and, most importantly, painful. Enni''s blow burned some of the skin of monster`s hand and the massive sword fell into the water. At that moment, the Ogre wasn`t able to hold the weapon.


    Whoosh.


    The Ogre swung its shield sharply to where Enni had just been, but the girl had already swam away to a safe distance.


    "HAH, they hit it one by one with sharp and unexpected attacks. It just can''t do anything."


    Evan watched with pleasure, as with each passing second, Ogre''s position grew worse. The young man thought that a few more attacks and the monster would be finished with. Evan would have liked to kill this monster by himself, but there was no need.


    This Ogre was not thest opponent in this test, Evan needed to prepare to face the final monster. Moreover, he was thinking about how to pull it off so that he would kill the final monster and no one from the participants could prevent him.


    Bam.


    A ming arrow flew into the Ogre''s head. Unlike Enni''s blow, it failed to burn through the monster''s flesh and cause significant damage, but the monster was distracted and attacked its assant sharply.


    <It was a mistake to show himself, it`s not a good ce for him>. Evan thought to himself as he watched the young man flee from the Ogre.


    He tried to climb the root quickly, but that was a stupid mistake. The Ogre was slow, but every step it took was veryrge. It got to the young man and hit the root with its shield.


    Crack.


    The blow was so powerful that the root broke in two, and the young man fell into the water. The monster had no intention of stopping and immediately struck again. Its fist came down on the young man destroying parts of the root.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a Golem appeared next to the young man and carried him off the battlefield. Another contestant was eliminated from the test. Only five people remained on the battlefield: Evan, Enni, Gerda, Chloe, and Lars.


    When the young man pulled out of the test, the Ogre began looking for a new opponent, but couldn`t find anyone. All, except Evan, had hidden behind the roots and they just could not be seen.


    The previous young man acted rather foolishly, for if he had dived into the water, he most likely would not have been hit by the Ogre. Instead, he decided to climb the root, he underestimated the Ogre''s speed, and he paid the price for it. The guy wanted to do the same thing as Evan: hiding in the water all the time was taking a lot of strength, and he decided to sit and rest on the root for some time. But because he miscalcted his capabilities he could not do what he wanted in time.


    The Ogre decided to head toward Evan as he hadn`t found anyone else, but the young man paid no attention to the monster, he was immersed in his own thoughts.


    < Hmm, well, it looks like , after this Ogre dies, I will have much more opponents. Funny situation >


    In the third trial, most of the students had banded together, causing the strong and formidable Ogres to be killed rather quickly. Of course, it wasn''t entirely voluntary, but rather forced, given Evan''s actions, but the fact remains. In the third round, the contestants barely fought each other.


    Step. Step. Step.


    The Ogre walked slowly toward Evan, but suddenly its face contorted in pain and it dropped to one knee.


    It was thanks to Chloe. She stealthily swam up to the monster and stabbed it in the knee with the sword with all her might. A deep cut would not have prevented the monster from walking, but Chloe''s sword was more than just a cutting weapon because of her spell. Her sword was covered in ayer of stone, it was like an incredibly heavy club.


    Her blow was strong enough to break the monster''s knee, naturally it was quite difficult to move around with such a wound. The Ogre didn''t even attack back, it had almost no strength left. Its body was riddled with cuts, burns, and bruises.


    With each passing second, the life was slowly draining out of the monster. The Ogre tried to get up, but it was at that moment that the thread of its life was severed.


    Bam.


    The monster''s huge carcass fell into the blood-soaked water, right in front of the root Evan was sitting on.


    "That''s it." Evan said calmly, looking at the corpse of the enemy, they had fought for so long.


    Chloe, Enni, Lars, and Gerda breathed a sigh of relief, climbed the roots and tried to catch their breath.


    Unlike Evan, they could rest only now.


    While the third round hadn`t begun yet, Evan nced at the teachers. Some were watching their battle with interest, some were bored, and some were scrupulously assessing their every action.


    Evan looked over to where Draven was sitting and they met eyes.


    <Hmm? Why has he decided to look at me now?> Draven thought to himself.


    The next moment Evan reached into his pocket and pulled out some white, long hair that belonged to Draven.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this guy is really just for you, he''s already starting to tease you!" Arabe suddenlyughed.


    She was as surprised by Evan''s actions as Draven was.


    Draven smiled broadly and said: "Well, I agree, I really like this guy. As you`ve suggested, I''m going to ask him to be my student."


    Evan acted impertinent, showing that he had managed not only to cut Draven`s hair off during the exam, but to grab a few hairs with him, but Draven appreciated the gesture.


    Arabe smiled and praised herself: "I''m always right, it`s obvious."


    "That''s not quite right." Suddenly Arve joined their conversation.


    "What?! What do you mean?" Arabe asked perplexedly.


    "I mean that you''re always right. In my memory, this is the first time in months that you''ve been right about anything, though that''s just luck." Arve replied calmly, without taking his eyes off the participants.


    "It''s not just luck, my intuition never fails me."


    Arve didn''t answer Arabe, he shifted his gaze to Draven and said: "I''m sorry, but I''m going topete with you for Evan, I hope you don''t mind."


    "§¡? Arve, don''t you have students right now?" Arabe said puzzled.


    She hadn''t expected Arve to be so willing to take Evan as a student, considering he had enough of them now.


    Arve adjusted his sses and said: "A good teacher will always make time for his student. I am sure I can teach Evan as well as my other students."


    Draven spread his hands to the sides and simply replied, "I don''t mind, after all, he`ll choose a teacher by his own. He might even choose someone else over you and me. Everyone has an equal chance here."


    Arve nodded and continued to watch the participants. By the way, at that moment, the arena finally began to change and the test moved into its final phase.

 Chapter 128 - The Final Adversary

    Suddenly a strong wind blew into the arena. It moved quickly toward the center and turned into a massive tornado.


    Snow-white hair flew off Evan''s palm, and the young man himself looked closely at what was happening. At the moment, the arena was changing again and now thest and strongest monster shoulde out.


    The tornado was powerful enough to draw in all the broken roots, monsters` carcasses, and tons of water. It looked deadly and majestic. One such tornado was enough topletely obliterate everything that had happened in the previous three stages.


    Whoosh.


    The tornado began to slowly shrink and turn into a dense sphere. It grew smaller with every second until it shrank to the size of a seed.


    Whoosh.


    Evan blinked and there wasn''t even the seed anymore, the tornado had vanished without a trace, destroying everything that was in it.


    Only a few roots there were in the arena that hadn`t been broken yet. The area was once again empty.


    Like everyone else, Evan waited for thest monster to appear. Everyone was excited, they were finally going to meet the main adversary of this test. Everyone was going to give his best and be rewarded personally by the head of "The Last Moon". This was an incredible opportunity.


    Crack.


    A gap was formed in the wall and at the same moment, cumbersome footsteps were heard. Even from the sounds one could tell that the enemy wasrge and strong.


    <So, there it is, the one I will kill very soon>. Evan thought to himself, smiling and looking at the final monster.


    It was an anthropomorphic creature about three meters tall. It had two arms and two legs like a human. Its skin was bloody red and it was dressed in ck armor with silver framing. Its long ck hair reached to the waist, and its wild eyes hiding behind the helmet were terrifying. In its left hand, there was a huge two-handed sword, about two and a half meters long. It was "Bloody Berserker".


    "It looks very strong, but something is wrong with it, why is it so skinny?" Evan said quietly, looking at the monster.


    The "Bloody Berserker" looked dangerous, but its body didn''t look quite up to its image. The monster looked like it hadn''t eaten in months, just bones and skin. But, that didn''t mean Evan was going to underestimate it.


    <It can easily hold that huge sword, and his footsteps sound even louder than the Ogres`, it''s definitely very strong.


    Whoosh.


    Not ten seconds after the monster appeared, a wind de was already flying toward it. Gerda decided to attack first and inflict a serious wound on the "Bloody Berserker". The girl hoped to take advantage of the effect of surprise.


    Whoosh.


    The de almost reached its target, but when there was less than a meter between it and the monster, the "Bloody Berserker" began to move.


    It turned sharply and swung its ck sword in a lightning sh, chopping the wind de in two.


    <It has done it so easily, as if it were not a spell but a simple gust of wind.> Evan thought, looking at the monster.


    The young man was surprised at its strength. The Ogres could also block students'' spells with their weapons, but not as quickly or easily.


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after the "Bloody Berserker" had destroyed the wind de, it lunged toward Gerda, who at that moment was hiding behind a nearby root.


    The monster''s legs possessed incredible strength, and a small crater formed where it had just stepped.


    Whoosh.


    The monster like a crimson lightning, reached the girl. Gerda was frightened out of her wits and quickly cast a spell. A huge boulder appeared in the air and should have crushed the monster.


    However, the "Bloody Berserker" had no intention of dodging. When the boulder was close enough, the monster struck it with its fist and crushed it into many small stones.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword smoothly and split the girl''s arm.


    Swing. Swing. Swing.


    The monster struck several blows and the girl''s entire body was scarred, with small but deep and bleeding cuts.


    The "Bloody Berserker" fought against Gerda, but Evan saw something very strange in their fight.


    <Why doesn''t it kill her? Why is it inflicting so many non-lethal wounds on her? Judging by its strength and speed, it could easily pierce Gerda''s body if it wanted to.>


    While Evan was trying to make sense of the "Bloody Berserker`s" actions, the ground around Gerda was already drenched in blood, and the girl herself fell exhausted to the floor.


    There was nothing she could do in front of the opponent, so superior to her in strength.


    The "Bloody Berserker" raised its sword over the head and brought it down on Gerda. At the same moment, Golem appeared beside the girl and quickly carried her off the battlefield.


    "Bitch..." Evan muttered slowly. He was shocked by the monster''s actions.


    As Gerda was carried away from the arena, the "Bloody Berserker" leaned over and began to drink the girl''s blood.


    ording to Demien''s stories about the monsters, Evan knew exactly what the "Bloody Berserker" was up to. Only now did he understand why it was necessary to inflict so many non-lethal wounds on Gerda.


    Then Evan also understood something about monsters as well: <It seems that the stronger the monster is, the higher is its intelligence. The Ogres thought logically and destroyed the ice tform we were on. This one is even smarter, apparently, it specially tortured its victim in order to gain strength from her.>


    Evan frowned and said loudly: "Damn! That girl`s just made it harder. I should have attacked it at once and not let it drink a drop of blood."


    He was right when he`d thought the "Bloody Berserker" looked too skinny. The monster had been caught and weakened specifically for this test. With each drop of blood it drank, the "Bloody Berserker" would grow stronger, returning to its normal state.


    Other monsters were also capable of bing stronger by drinking human blood. But unlike the "Bloody Berserker", the Ogres and other monsters in the previous stages were not depleted.


    At this point, the "Bloody Berserker" was like a hungry man who has very little strength because of it. If it ate enough, it would be at its best.


    "Okay, on the other hand, it`s drunk not much blood. None of the remaining contestants will let it satisfy its hunger, at least I will hope so."


    Evan said it and jumped off the root. He ran quickly toward Chloe and Lars. He was going to team up with them, because fighting against the "Bloody Berserker" alone was a huge mistake.


    While the monster was busy drinking thest drops of Gerda''s blood, they had time to team up ande up with a n of action. What''s more, until Gerda attacked the monster, the monster hadn`t even noticed anyone.


    Whoosh.


    The young man quickly made his way to Chloe and Lars.


    Upon seeing Evan, the girl said with a smirk on her face: "What, have youe for help? Can''t you attack and kill him yourself?"


    Evan did not respond to Chloe''s sneer and said with a smile: "I suggest to weaken this monster, and then decide who will finish it off, do you agree?"

 Chapter 129 - The Bloody Berserker

    "Do you want to team up with us?" Calmly said Lars looking at the "Bloody Berserker". He was still very impressed by the power of this monster.


    Evan nodded: "Yes, of course, I`d like to kill it alone and not to risk teaming up with someone else, but I can''t handle that opponent on my own."


    Lars nodded: "I agree, I`d prefer to do everything myself, too, but if we don''t act together there will be no winner in this test at all. Chloe, are you in?"


    The girl nodded: "Okay, but as soon as the monster isn`t able to stand up, I will attack you and knock you out of the trial."


    Evan smiled: "HAH, there`s no need to say that, everyone understands that anyway, we all have the same goal, don''t we, Enni?"


    Chloe and Lars turned around and saw Enni standing behind them. During the entire test, she had acted alone, but now even she had decided to team up.


    "Yes, what''s the n?" Enni said briefly.


    Evan shrugged and simply said: "We have a team of three "Amplifiers" and one "Summoner". Lars has a powerful attack spell, and he also knows a healing spell. The three of us will attack the monster, and Lars will stand behind us and help us. Nothingplicated."


    The others nodded, Evan was right. They needed to show the best they could and crush the monster with force.


    "By the way, don''t let him hurt you. It''ll drink your blood and get stronger. Apparently, it hadn''t eaten for a very long time before the test. Look, its muscles have grown bigger, though it hasn''t had enough time to drink much blood." Said Evan and pointed in the direction of the "Bloody Berserker".


    "Every wound we take will increase its power and bring us closer to defeat, I hope you understand that."


    Chloe, Lars and Enni nodded.


    "Looks like our conversation will have to be interrupted." Lars said slowly, watching the "Bloody Berserker" walk slowly in their direction.


    They were behind the root, but it was easy for a monster of this level to smell them and know about their location.


    "Well, let''s get started then." With a smile on his face said Evan and rushed toward the monster.


    The others followed his example. They were the only ones, who still remained in this test, which meant they were the best. Each of them was confident in himself and his abilities.


    Whoosh.


    Chloe was in the lead, while Enni and Evan were running just behind her. Chloe had the best defense of them all, she was going to take the monster''s punch, Enni and Evan nned to attack it in the meantime.


    Lars, on the other hand, stayed behind as Evan had said. He was going to cast "st of the Edge" at an opportune moment and inflict a serious wound on the "Bloody Berserker". He was also going to heal them if it`s necessary.


    Of course, Lars just like the others wanted to kill the "Bloody Berserker" by his own and get a reward from the head of "The Last Moon". But while the monster was full of strength he was going to help his temporaryrades in every way he could.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" sprinted in their direction. From where it had just been, many cracks there were along the ground. In just a few moments, it reached Chloe and attacked her from top to bottom.


    At the same moment, Chloe''s sword began to be covered in a thickyer of stone. She was going to block the monster''s attack, not dodge it.


    Bam.


    The massive ck sword shed with Enni''s stone sword, their collision causing many sparks.


    <Damn, how strong it is!> Chloe thought to herself, feeling her hands grow numb with each passing moment. Even Evan couldn''t match her in physical strength, but the "Bloody Berserker" was much stronger than the girl, even considering its current state.


    Chloe couldn''t hold off the monster for long, but she didn''t need to. Enni and Evan had already attacked the monster.


    Bam.


    Enni''s red-hot fist entered the "Bloody Berserker''s" left side, while Evan attacked from the left. The frosty de of his weapon mmed into the monster''s armor, freezing part of it.


    Whoosh.


    Evan and Enni wanted to continue their attack, but the "Bloody Berserker" prevented them from doing so. It turned sharply, kicking Chloe with a U-turn. The girl managed to react and blocked the blow with her sword. Nevertheless, the monster''s attack was so strong that the stone covering on her weapon was destroyed, and she herself flew several meters away. Now she would have to cast the spell again and waste mana.


    After dealing with Chloe, the "Bloody Berserker" flung Enni away with a flick of its hand and attacked Evan. The young man blocked the blow with the hilt of his scythe, and just like the others, he flew several meters away.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, a cube of st energy flew toward the "Bloody Berserker". Lars took advantage of the situation and attacked the monster, he was sure that his attack would do a lot of damage to the monster.


    "What the...?" Lars muttered in puzzlement as he saw the monster swing, and throw its sword straight at the cube flying at it.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion in the air, the sword flew aside, but a few secondster, it was back in the "Bloody Berserker''s" left hand.


    The weapon was virtually intact, there was only a slight deformation at the very tip, but it was almost imperceptible.


    "Fuck! We haven`t even managed to wound it, whereas it scattered all of us in different directions!" Evan said grudgingly as he looked at the result of theirbined attack.


    The monster blocked Lars'' spell, but Enni and Evan also had little to no sess. Evan was unable to cut through the monster''s armorpletely and reach its body. The "Bloody Berserker''s" armor was very strong and dense. Evan needed a few pinpoint blows to prate it.


    The same was true of Enni. Her fiery fist and fiery knuckles left only a small dent in the armor. She could not pierce or melt it.


    While the four students were nning their next attack, the teachers were actively discussing their actions and the final monster itself.


    "The final monster is great, strong, fast, and able to analyze the situation. If they can kill it, there is no doubt they will be one of the best students in the future!"


    The man in the tinum mantle said enthusiastically. He was thoroughly impressed by the final phase of this challenge.


    "I agree, but I think this monster might be out of their league. If it drinks any more blood, they''re not likely to be able to handle it. What''s more, they need to act in concert and not let anyone drop out. I think only together they can overpower it."


    Said the girl in the silver mantle, scrutinizing the "Bloody Berserker". It was able to take a few hits and was barely even hurt, but that was to be expected.


    "It''s too early to draw any conclusions yet, overall their attack was sessful, they need to keep going. Once they break the monster''s armor, it will be much easier for them."


    The teachers continued to discuss the young men, who were already preparing to strike next.

 Chapter 130 - Two

    The young men''s first attack was not very sessful. Their blows reached the "Bloody Berserker", but it received no wounds. Its armor was slightly deformed and that was it. On the other hand, Evan, Chloe, Lars, and Enni were simrly uninjured. The monster threw them aside, but they each managed to defend themselves then.


    <Enni has been able to bend its armor and I`ve cut through part of it, hmm, we need to team up and hit the same point together.> Thought Evan getting up from the ground.


    Whoosh.


    He quickly ran towards Enni and said: "Chloe, stall him, I need ten seconds."


    Without turning around at either the girl or the monster, Evan continued running towards Enni. Chloe, didn''t answer anything, but as the "Bloody Berserker" headed towards Evan, she began to act.


    If Evan got out of the trial, they definitely couldn''t beat the "Bloody Berserker'' without him. She had to protect Evan and hold the monster for as long as necessary.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword and quickly attacked Evan.


    ng.


    The next moment, Chloe''s stone sword stopped the monster''s weapon. Like thest time, it was very hard for her to contain such a strong opponent, but she was no weakling either.


    <Fine>. Evan thought to himself and with the next tug reached Enni.


    "We need to hit one ce, where I attackedst time. I`ll hit first, freezing his armor, then you`ll smash its defense to smithereens."


    Evan said hurriedly, and without waiting for Enni to answer, he sprinted toward the "Bloody Berserker" and Chloe. He didn''t have time to exin in detail what they would have to do and how. Chloe would only help win them a few more seconds.


    Whoosh.


    Enni nodded silently and ran after Evan. She didn''t need a long exnation, it was clear as it was.


    <Two consecutive strikes to one ce, nothingplicated>. Enni thought, and the fire on her hands intensified and burned even brighter.


    Whoosh.


    When Evan got close enough to the "Bloody Berserker", he swung the scythe and hit the same spot asst time with all his might. Thanks to Chloe holding the monster back, Evan was able to strike with such precision.


    The "Bloody Berserker" instantly reacted to Evan''s attack. It realized that Chloe was only a distraction. It pushed Chloe aside and tried to attack Evan, but instead of the young man, it saw a girl with fists burning with purple mes.


    Bam.


    Enni hit the icy part of the armor with all her might. Evan almost managed to cut through the armor with his second attack, he had attacked first for a reason. Thanks to the "Ice Veil", he was able to freeze some of the armor and make it more fragile. If that was the case, the chances of Enni being able to break it were greatly increased.


    Crack.


    As Enni''s fist reached the ck armor, there was a loud cracking sound. As Evan had expected, the monster''s armor could not withstand so many powerful attacks in the same ce. Moreover, fire and ice were the perfectbination.


    Whoosh.


    Parts of the armor flew off to the sides, and the "Bloody Berserker" realized what was happening and quickly bounced aside. Enni was unable to wound the monster, but she was pleased with her result.


    Evan grinned as he looked at the shattered part of the armor. The breach wasn''t very wide, a little more than a fist in diameter, but this was already incredible.


    They were the first to step forward in this battle, they were unharmed except for minor bruises, and the monster had partially lost its sturdy armor. Now it would have either to purposefully defend the pierced portion of its armor, or would suffer serious wounds.


    <Hmm, it probably has pretty high regeneration, but now that we have the possibility to wound it, it will be a battle of attrition and the monster is clearly not in the advantageous situation. There''s four of us, and it`s alone. We can obviouslyst a lot longer, the main thing is not to let it drink the blood>.


    "Huh, well done, didn''t expect it to be that easy. It wasn''t easy on my hands, though. What do we do next?" Said Chloe kneading the wrists of her hands.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary. We keep attacking in the same ce, sooner ort it''ll be without strength. If we can wound it, it''ll start bleeding. When it''s exhausted, we decide which one of us will kill it. We must be extremely careful, our opponent can be stronger if it drinks our blood".


    Evan said calmly looking at the "Bloody Berserker". The monster stared intently at the young men. He was looking for an opportunity to wound them, feeling that otherwise they would kill it. It would be slowly weaken until it could not stand on the feet.


    "Chloe, what other spells do you have?" Evan asked.


    He hadn''t seen the girl use any other spells besides the two he''d already seen.


    The girl shrugged her shoulders and simply answered, "Only one of the" Summoning Magic", but I haven''t had much practice using it. It certainly can''t hold that monster, I don''t think it''s worth wasting mana on it."


    Evan nodded.


    "Looks like our little break is over." Lars said slowly, pointing at the "Bloody Berserker".


    The monster gripped its sword tightly with both hands and held it out in front of it. It was walking slowly towards the young men looking for a good opportunity to attack.


    Whoosh.


    Chloe ran forward, she was going to repeat their previous sess. If she could hold the monster long enough, Evan and Enni would inflict serious wounds on the monster. Moreover, Lars would also be able to attack if he had enough time to do so.


    Just likest time, the ''Bloody Berserker" swung its sword at Chloe. The girl smiled and was about to block the blow, but suddenly, it happened something that she could never have expected.


    The monster''s blow was a feint. Seeing that Chloe had fallen for its trick, the "Bloody Berserker" grabbed the girl''s sword with its right hand. Its grip was so strong that the thickyer of stone began to crack.


    The girl was surprised by the monster''s actions and even a little frightened, but she reacted quickly to the situation. "Bloody Berserker" attacked the girl, but Chloe had already bounced back leaving her weapon in the monster''s strong grip.


    Sure, it was a big lost to her, but she would be able to fight without her sword.


    Whoosh.


    Her palms were covered in a thickyer of stone. Losing her sword had weakened Chloe considerably, but that didn''t mean her blows were any less deadly. If the opportunity presented itself, she could even kill the "Bloody Berserker" with her fists.


    "Damn, what the fuck is this shithead so smart?" Evan said grudgingly as he watched the "Bloody Berserker" arm itself with Chloe''s sword.


    "It`s managed to be even more of a problem than it was, even without drinking the blood. I hope it wields two swords worse than one, otherwise we`ll lose."


    Lars said seriously, looking at the "Bloody Berserker" walking slowly toward them.

 Chapter 131 - The Blood

    "This monster is quite clever. It took advantage of its superior physical strength and literally ripped the weapon from the girl''s hands. I''m afraid not even every human would think of something like that." Said the man in the tinum mantle, watching the fight closely.


    "I agree, they`ve taken only the first step to victory, but immediately returned to square one. Given the ferocious appearance of this monster, it won''t be hard for it to fight with two swords at the same time." Said the woman in the silver mantle.


    "Draven, what do you think? Can they win?" Arve said calmly, looking at the "Bloody Berserker".


    Draven nodded: "Yes, they need to proceed carefully and take their time and then they can definitely kill it. It''s only a matter of time, do you think differently?"


    "Hmm, I can''t tell yet, I don''t know if all of them will stick to the alliance until the very end. It''s a battle not only against the "Bloody Berserker", but also against their own desires and greed."


    "Well, in this challenge, picking the right moment and breaking the alliance with others is an important part of the strategy. This is the only way to be the one who will deal the monster the final blow." Draven said slowly.


    While the teachers were discussing the duel, the young people were preparing for the next attack.


    In Evan''s opinion, they were in very serious trouble. It wasn''t even the fact that the "Bloody Berserker" now had two swords, but that Chloe was unarmed now.


    She would no longer be able to hold the monster, thereby allowing Evan and Chloe to deal their blows. They needed to change their strategy urgently.


    "Don''t try to attack, let''s see how dangerous it is now and we''ll already act based on that. Right now the most important thing is not to let the monster hurt us." Evan said seriously, as he prepared for battle.


    The others nodded and just as focused on their opponent''s movements.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" rushed toward the young men. It had looked menacing before, but now it was even more dangerous. Blocking two swords at once was nearly impossible, considering that Evan was the only one with a weapon.


    Sure, Enni had brass knuckles, but they were clearly no match for blocking swords, especially used by the "Bloody Berserker".


    Whoosh.


    The monster chose Chloe as its first target. It`d taken away her weapons and had already greatly weakened the girl, so the "Bloody Berserker" wanted to get rid of her first.


    Bam.


    The monster jumped and swung both weapons over the head. Secondster, it brought the swords down on Chloe, and it was going to kill the girl on the spot. But, Chloe wasn''t going to stand by and wait for that.


    Whoosh.


    The girl quickly bounced to the side and a momentter the monster hit where she had just been standing. The rest of the contestants were in no hurry to fight the monster. Everyone acted ording to n. Evan''s words were logical and strategically correct.


    By dodging the monster''s attacks, they risked nothing, but they could gain a lot of information about the enemy''s altered fighting style.


    Realizing that its attack was a failure, the "Bloody Berserker" decided to switch to another target. The monster quickly rushed toward Lars. It didn''t want to attack Enni and Evan right now, since they were the most serious opponents.


    Getting rid of Lars would help it in the battle. Naturally, the monster was unaware that the young man could heal. But the "st of the Edge" was a powerful enough spell to consider Lars a dangerous opponent.


    Bam.


    The young man dodged a blow that came within inches of him, and then bent down to bypass the next attack.


    Whoosh.


    Lars` "Warp" spun and a wall of water appeared between him and the "Bloody Berserker". The young man decided to cast the spell as he feared he wouldn''t be able to dodge the following blows. He decided to be sure and spare no mana.


    <Great, if the monster hurt Lars, we''d be in trouble now.> Evan thought to himself, he believed that the monster wouldn''t be able to get through this wall, however, he was wrong.


    Step.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword cutting through part of the water barrier and stepped forward. It was not about to let go of Lars. Though it was difficult, the monster was going to pass through the wall, and it had no time to go around it.


    Normally, the wall of water would have caused serious wounds to the one who`s passing through it, as the water was under great pressure. But, the "Bloody Berserker`s" armor protected it perfectly.


    "Damn!" Said Evan, he didn''t expect the monster to go all the way so easily.


    Whoosh.


    Secondster, the "Magic Missile" crashed into the "Bloody Berserker''s" back. Evan couldn''t let the monster hurt Lars. However, the "Bloody Berserker" didn''t even pay attention to this attack. The "Magic Missile" had left a few scratches on its armor and that was all the damage the monster had taken.


    Step.


    When it went through a wall of water, Lars had already managed to run back a few meters, but the "Bloody Berserker" was much stronger than the young man.


    Whoosh.


    The monster''s legs tensed up and it lunged at the fleeing young man with a jerk. Lars had practically no way to escape. The water wall didn''t stop the monster like he thought it would, now he had only one spell to hope for.


    Whoosh.


    While the "Bloody Berserker" hadn''t gotten to Lars yet, the young man began to cast the "st of the Edge". The amber threads quickly turned into a glowing cube. Lars threw the cube toward the monster, nning to stop it.


    Whoosh.


    Lars understood that the monster would most likely avoid the attack, but this way he wanted to buy some time.


    The "Bloody Berserker" could have thrown its sword into the cube likest time, but it decided not to act like that now. The monster was well aware that it should not be deprived of such an advantage as two weapons.


    Whoosh.


    The monster bounced to the side, and the "st of the Edge" flew past it and hit a root in the distance.


    Boom.


    Most of the root was destroyed, if that spell had hit the "Bloody Berserker", it would definitely have been in trouble.


    Whoosh.


    A few stepster, the monster reached and tried to cut Lars with its swords. The young man was lucky, the point of the swords went right in front of his nose, a few more second more and he would have died.


    Bam.


    Lars tried to bounce to the side, but suddenly he felt an incredible pain in his stomach area.


    The "Bloody Berserker" failed to wound the guy with its swords, but that didn''t mean it didn''t have other ways to attack.


    The monster kicked Lars in the stomach with all its might. Lars'' face twisted in pain from such a powerful attack, and the young man flew back several meters, but that wasn''t the scariest part.


    "Fuck!" Evan cursed, rushing to Lars'' aid.


    Because of the powerful blow, Lars threw up a mouthful of blood, there wasn''t much of it, but the "Bloody Berserker" was happy even with that amount.


    Evan couldn''t let the monster drink it, but there was no way he could stop it from doing so.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Chloe appeared behind the "Bloody Berserker", and the next moment the monster was thundering to the ground.

 Chapter 132 - Lifesaving Jump

    The "Bloody Berserker" wanted to continue attacking Lars, but suddenly he felt a strong pain in the ankle. Chloe mmed into it with all her might, causing the monster to lose its bnce for a second.


    The next moment, the girl forcefully grabbed the monster''s right hand, struck the wrist and knocked out the sword.


    Bam.


    Without stopping, she pulled the monster''s arm and knocked it to the ground. This attack was hard for her, every muscle in her body tensed and her veins swollen. What''s more, the blow made her right leg burn with the pain, she had hurt it badly when she struck the monster''s sturdy armor.


    However, she wasn''t going to stop there. While the "Bloody Berserker" was still awake, Chloe sprang into action.


    She approached the monster from behind and with one hand began to strangle it, while the other one helped to carry out this strangtion. Although the monsters were very different from humans, nevertheless everybody needed air to breathe. If she cut off the "Bloody Berserker''s" oxygen supply now, it would simply suffocate.


    The armor protected the monster, but Chloe''s grip was too strong. It urgently needed to get rid of the girl, if it didn''t want to die right now.


    Whoosh.


    The monster tried to attack with its left hand, where it still had the sword. The "Bloody Berserker" wanted to get rid of Chloe at all costs. The sword de swiftly approached the girl, until suddenly it stopped a few centimeters from her face.


    The monster''s hand was blocked by an ivy vine, that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Evan hadn''t expected Chloe to decide to attack the "Bloody Berserker", much less this way. But, he had to act on the situation.


    The "Summon Thorny Ivy" wouldn`t be able to hold back the "Bloody Berserker''s" hand for long, but it didn''t need to.


    Whoosh.


    Enni appeared beside the monster. Her legs were covered in wind currents, and she had to speed up considerably to get to the rescue in time.


    Bam.


    Enni struck the monster''s wrist with a U-turn and knocked out a second sword. Moreover, like Chloe, she decided to use her grip, curled around the monster''s arm and began to break it.


    The monster''s flesh was cracking, and there was less and less air with every second. A little longer and the "Bloody Berserker" would be strangled, but it still had one way out of this difficult situation.


    The "Bloody Berserker" tried to throw Chloe off with its other hand, but the girl would not let do it, then it decided to act differently. With great difficulty, the monster managed to get to the feet. Otherwise, Chloe would strangle it in a few minutes.


    Bam.


    The "Bloody Berserker" jumped in the air as high as it could, then turned around and crashed with its back to the ground. The monster made everything possible to hurt Chloe and Enni, and it seeded.


    The girls didn''t expect the monster to do something like that. They were sure that it would suffocate and die, but wouldn`t counterattack them.


    From such a powerful blow, both girls vomited a mouthful of blood and the "Bloody Berserker" quickly tossed Chloe and Enni aside. It miraculously managed to get out of their trap, inflicting wounds on them and getting a few more drops of blood that it was about to drink.


    The "Bloody Berserker" bent down to the ground and quickly drank a few drops of blood while they were still on the ground.


    Crack.


    Its muscles began to increase dramatically, in an instant the monster became considerably stronger. Each drop increased its power and helped it to recover. Oddly enough, Chloe and Enni''s daring and incredibly dangerous attack yed into the monster''s hands. Though the "Bloody Berserker" was on the verge of death, in the end the situation turned out in the best possible way for it.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Lars appeared behind the monster. Despite the monster''s powerful blow, the young man was able to keep fighting. He quickly got to the "Bloody Berserker" and had already cast the "st of the Edge".


    An amber cube of st energy came into contact with the monster''s flesh. Lars attacked exactly where Evan and Enni had destroyed some of the monster''s armor.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion. Lars'' attack was the first, which hit not the monster''s armor, but the "Bloody Berserker" itself.


    The explosion hit not only the monster, but Lars, too. The shockwave threw him back several meters. His skin was badly burned, especially his arms and chest. Most of his clothes were destroyed as well, but Lars was not confused.


    He was in pain, but he still had some mana left to fix the situation.


    Bam.


    Uponnding, Lars immediately cast a healing spell. If he didn''t heal his wounds right away, he was unlikely to be able to continue fighting.


    The "Bloody Berserker" had much more serious wounds than Lars. Part of its left side was destroyed, as were huge chunks of armor. The monster''s body was now only half protected by the armor. The left side of its chest was left without ck armor. Now everyone could see what the monster looked like underneath its armor.


    The monster''s torn wound was bleeding, but thanks to the blood he`d drunk, the "Bloody Berserk" would not die. It only needed to drink some more to speed up the healing process considerably.


    Swing.


    Suddenly, a snow-white de covered in ice swept right in front of the "Bloody Berserker".


    "Damn!" Evan said grudgingly and attacked again. He wanted to blind his enemy, but the monster reacted in time and threw its head back. Because of this, the scythe de failed to wound the "Bloody Berserker''s" eyes.


    Whoosh.


    Evan struck a horizontal blow with lightning speed, but the "Bloody Berserker" once again ducked. The monster couldn''t afford to get more wounds.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" quickly bounced back and picked up its massive ck sword.


    Evan lunged in its direction and instantly cast the "Magic Missile". The snow-white beam flew toward the monster. Just as Evan had expected, the "Bloody Berserker" decided to dodge rather than block the spell. Evan counted on that.


    Whoosh.


    The young man quickly picked up Chloe''s sword from the ground and threw it to the girl, then stepped back himself.


    <Our situation is very bad, but despite our many wounds, we`ve still managed to achieve something.> Evan thought, looking at the monster''s serious wound.


    Its blood was leaking without stopping.


    <Now all we have to do is wait and it''ll die on its own, but I think that''s going to be rather problematic. It knows it''s going to die soon, so it`ll do everything possible to survive. Chloe, Lars and Enni are wounded, but they can move, and... we''re all in different corners of the arena... >.


    Evan thought to himself and the next moment the "Bloody Berserker" ran towards Chloe with an incredible speed.

 Chapter 133 - The Last One

    The "Bloody Berserker" was at the end of its powers, it needed to drink some blood urgently. It chose Chloe as its target. The girl was closest to it, while Enni, Lars, and Evan were quite far away.


    Thanks to Evan, Chloe had her sword again, she didn''t have much strength left, but anyway she would be able to block the monster''s blow. Initially Chloe wanted to run away, but when she saw the speed of the monster, she realized that she had no choice but to take the blow.


    ¡­


    "It looks like we''ll finally see the denouement soon and find out how it all ends. I hope one of them can kill the monster, it will be incredible!" The man in the tinum mantle said excitedly.


    "Their teamwork`s pretty good. I think they were a little unlucky. If the "Bloody Berserker" hadn''t gotten out of that trap, it''d be dead by now." The girl in the silver mantle said calmly.


    "I think the girls rushed the attack for nothing. All they had to do, was stick together and wait for their opponent to fall without strength. Now almost all of them are wounded and far away from each other. We may not have a winner this time."


    "I agree, but I want to draw your attention to the fact that the "Bloody Berserker" is a very serious opponent. It was weakened, but when you`re fighting it, you have to be careful not to get any wounds or your chances of winning will be much less."


    "Draven, what do you think? Will they kill the "Bloody Berserker" or will they lose?" Arabe was curious about Draven''s opinion.


    Draven calmly replied, "It all depends on individual performance. The "Bloody Berserker" is unlikely to allow them to attack it all together again, which is why it attacked Chloe. It will try to get rid of the only one who can stop it for a while."


    "And what about you, Arve? Do you believe they will win?" Arabe asked Arve`s opinion.


    Arve said thoughtfully: "If nothing changes and they lose Chloe, they certainly won''t win. If the "Bloody Berserker" drinks some blood, it''ll be full of energy again, but as for them, they''ll lose a valuable ally. Moreover, the contestants are gradually approaching their limit. With each passing minute they have less strength and less mana, and they have already had some wounds."


    Arve spoke slowly and calmly, as if he wasn''t at all interested in this duel. But, in fact, he was paying close attention to every person in the arena, he was very pleased with the performance of this year''spetitors. The "Bloody Berserker" was a very formidable opponent, which meant that against him it was necessary to show all his abilities.


    ...


    Not a few secondster, the "Bloody Berserker" rushed towards Chloe and attacked the girl. Chloe''s sword was immediately covered in a thickyer of stone.


    Whoosh.


    The monster struck a vertical blow, but the girl didn''t block it. She quickly jumped aside and waited for the next blow. Chloe wasn''t about to repeat her previous mistakes and lose her sword. Herrades wouldn''t get to her until some timeter, she needed to hold out for at least ten seconds.


    Bam.


    Suddenly the "Bloody Berserker" turned and swung again. The girl tried to dodge, but the edge of the sword grazed her left arm. It was a shallow cut, but it bled all the same.


    <Damn! Chloe thought to herself and tried to run away from the monster.


    When the "Bloody Berserker" saw the scarlet blood slowly flowing on the girl''s hand, it got mad.


    Crack.


    The ground beneath the monster''s feet cracked and he reached the girl at lightning speed. Now it didn`t want to kill her, but to drink her blood.


    Swing.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword. Chloe tried to dodge, but just as she was about to do so, she felt a sharp pain in her arm.


    The sword de left another cut on the girl''s arm, many timesrger than the previous one. Blood quickly gushed from it, and a momentter, the red droplets began to fall to the ground.


    Chloe realized that the situation had turned out in the most horrible way possible. She tried to get away from the monster, but at that moment, the "Bloody Berserker" was much faster than she was.


    Bam.


    Half a second after the previous attack, the monster struck again - it attacked Chloe in the stomach with lightning speed. Its palm like a sharp de went through the girl''s flesh and a huge amount of blood rushed to the ground at the same moment.


    Whoosh.


    At the same second, Golem appeared beside Chloe and swiftly carried the girl to safety. The "Bloody Berserker" didn''t even notice Golem''s appearance. All its attention was focused only on the purple liquid it was greedily drinking.


    With each drop, his muscles grew thicker, and the terrible wound in its side began to heal. Just a little longer and it would be at its best.


    Whoosh.


    Fortunately, while the "Bloody Berserker" hadn`t drunk all the blood yet, Enni, Lars, and Evan had already gotten to the monster.


    Bam.


    Enni attacked first. Her fiery fist came down on the monster, but the "Bloody Berserker" managed to react and blocked the girl''s strike. However, Enni was just a bait.


    Boom.


    Suddenly there was a deafening explosion. Lars came from the other side and attacked with the "st of the Edge". Lars was aiming for the weakly protected spot, namely the armpit. It was there that there was a small gap that was not protected by armor. Lars had intended to take advantage of this earlier, but there was still no good moment to do so.


    With numerous burns all over his body, Lars flew backwards and was immediately picked up by Golem. The young man was at his limit, he had no strength or mana left. Lars could no longer continue to fight.


    The monster had also got very serious wounds. Part of its arm was torn to shreds and the blood was flowing inexorably.


    After the monster blocked Enni''s blow, the girl immediately attacked again. At this point, the "Bloody Berserker" was in agony from the terrible pain in the arm. Enni was sure that this was a good moment to attack.


    Bam.


    The girl attacked, but suddenly she was confronted by the monster''s bloodshot eyes. The "Bloody Berserk" missed Enni''s powerful blow, but it also attacked back.


    Enni''s fiery fist copsed on its armor, while Bloody Berserk brought its sword down the girl.


    In the same second, a fountain of blood poured from the girl''s neck. It was unknown if the monster had intended it originally or if it was a simple coincidence, but with its attack it severed the girl''s carotid artery.


    The Golem immediately appeared behind Enni and carried her off the battlefield, while the "Bloody Berserker" was greedily gulping down the massive amount of blood that entered its mouth.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the monster felt a deadly chill. A snow-white de covered in blue ice cut through the flesh of its right arm. The next moment the monster''s hand fell to the blood-soaked ground.

 Chapter 134 - One On One

    Swing.


    Thanks to Lars'' attack, Evan was able to cut off the "Bloody Berserker''s" hand, but the situation was worse than ever. First, the monster was able to seriously wound Chloe and drink her blood, and then it cracked down on Enni and Lars. Thanks to the blood it had drunk, the "Bloody Berserker" became much stronger than at the beginning of the round.


    Whoosh.


    After his sessful attack, Evannded several more blows. He wasn''t about to let the "Bloody Berserker" go. Evan had to kill it right now, or he would have no more chance to win. If the "Bloody Berserker" drank any more blood, Evan definitely couldn''t do anything to it alone.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Evan swung his scythe at lightning speed and struck, aiming for the left side of the monster''s chest. The monster''s armor was destroyed in this area, which meant it was the most vulnerable spot.


    The scythe''s white de came down on the "Bloody Berserker", but the monster reacted quickly and blocked the blow. Evan turned and swung once more, but even that blow failed to hit its target.


    With each attack Evan elerated and his scythe grew faster and faster, like an icy lightning bolt of death.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The "Bloody Berserker" was just as fast as Evan, blocking every blow from the young man. But, the monster''s sword was not capable of withstanding Evan''s attacks indefinitely. Gradually, the scars appeared on the de of the sword, and several pieces of metal fell off. Moreover, the ice had already covered about a third of the weapon. If this continued, the "Bloody Berserker" would be left unarmed. Evan will simply destroy its sword with an endless series of his attacks.


    ...


    The teachers were surprised by the situation, they hadn`t expected it to turn out like this. Evan was the only one left on the battlefield, and, frankly, he had very little chance of winning.


    "They acted so cohesively, attacked all together, destroyed some of his armor and even inflicted some very serious wounds. But, in the end, in just a few seconds, the "Bloody Berserker" took out everyone but Evan. Honestly, I haven`t even expected something like that to happen." The man in the silver mantle said seriously.


    "I agree, I think these four are the best of the contestants over thest few years. It''s sad that it ended up this way. On the other hand, they`ve done a great job. I think each of them will soon be one of the best students at the Academy." The girl in the silver mantle said calmly.


    "Well, their opponent`s very serious. Frankly, I''m surprised they could make it this far. To fight monsters like the "Bloody Berserker", it`s necessary to have some experience, which they haven`t had yet. If they had acted more carefully, the oue would have been different." The man in the silver mantle said slowly.


    The teachers watched each contestant closely in this ordeal and realized that it was almost over. The only one left in the arena was Evan.


    "Looks like I won''t have to fulfill anyone''s request..." Arabe mumbled sleepily as she watched Evan. The young man was swinging his scythe without stopping, and the "Bloody Berserker" blocked his attacks time after time.


    "Is that what you think? Don''t you really believe Evan has a chance of winning?" Draven said in amazement.


    He believed that although the young man''s situation was extremely difficult, one should never give up prematurely. The "Bloody Berserker" was a very formidable opponent, but even it could be defeated.


    Arabe answered nothing, but Arve joined their conversation.


    "Draven, you must understand that only a miracle or an unexpected urrence can help Evan win." Arve said seriously, watching Evan carefully.


    Draven nodded.


    Arve adjusted his sses and continued: "However, I''m not saying it''s impossible. Miracles happen all the time and most of them we don''t even know about."


    ...


    While the teachers were discussing Evan''s actions and what had happened during the test, the young man himself continued to fight.


    <Okay, just a little more.> Evan thought as he struck another blow.


    With each attack, the splinters splintered from the monster''s sword. The de of the weapon was already frozen and very soon, the monster would lose its sword. The "Bloody Berserker" was just as well aware of that, so it decided to be more aggressive.


    Whoosh.


    Evan struck another vertical blow, but to his surprise, the monster did not block it. It bent over and the scythe de struck not on its chest, but on its helmet.


    The scythe''s white de was incredibly sharp, but it couldn''t cut through such sturdy armor with a single hit.


    Whoosh.


    In the next moment, the "Bloody Berserker" stepped forward and swung its sword from bottom to top. The lunge was unexpected for Evan. He tried to dodge the swording toward his head, but he didn''t quite dodge the blow.


    Whoosh.


    The massive sword sliced through Evan''s flesh and cut the young man''s left arm off. Evan bounced back at lightning speed. He immediately applied the scythe de to the wound, thereby freezing it.


    <Fuck! It hurts so bad!> Evan was in real agony. His face was contorted with pain, he''d lost an arm because of one mistake. Victory was now out of the question.


    At that moment, the "Bloody Berserker''s" attention shifted from the wounded Evan to his severed hand. It quickly pounced on it, starting to devour it greedily. It was not a few drops of blood, but living flesh and blood in huge quantities.


    The teacher in charge of saving the students was about to summon the Golem, but suddenly Arve stopped him.


    "Wait, we should only rescue students if they can no longer fight or are in mortal danger. Look at this guy, he has no chance of winning anymore, but he''s still able to fight." Arve said calmly looking at Evan and the "Bloody Berserker".


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, this guy doesn''t even think about losing. Look at that, he gets his hand chopped off and he doesn''t hesitate to start freezing the wound right away. Unreal level of equanimity and concentration." Draven admired Evan`s spirit.


    He liked Evan more and more with each passing second. After the entrance exam, Draven watched Evan almost all the time. To Draven, this young man was more interesting than the others.


    "Wow, I haven`t seen you so excited for ages." Arabe said with a slight smile on her face.


    Draven usually acted calm and cool, just like he had done during the exam, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t let his emotions run wild. Evan''s fight against the "Bloody Berserker" had stirred him up. Now he wasn''t judging his student''s actions like a teacher. Instead, he was enjoying the show like a spectator who hade to see an incredible performance.


    "''What?'' Looks like Evan''s luck has run out. I didn''t expect it to happen now ... but, why ...?" Arve said, staring intently at the "Bloody Berserker".


    The monster had already eaten Evan''s hand, it was full of power, but suddenly strange changes began to happen to it.

 Chapter 135 - Evolution

    Both the "Bloody Berserker" and Evan were badly wounded. They both had no arms, but unlike the young man, the monster just needed to drink blood to regain its strength. Of course, this wouldn''t make the "Bloody Berserker''s" arm grow back, but the monster`s condition would be much better than Evan''s.


    However, that would be so in a normal situation. No one knew why, but when the "Bloody Berserker" hadpletely eaten Evan''s arm, strange changes began to happen to it. Naturally, Evan should not have expected anything good in such situation.


    Evan didn''t understand exactly what was happening now, but it was obvious that his opponent was getting stronger and stronger. Evan was in no hurry to attack since he didn''t know what to expect from the "Bloody Berserker" at this point.


    As for the teachers, they were well aware of what was going on with the monster, but they hadn`t expected it to happen right now.


    Arve frowned and calmly said: "Bloody Berserk is evolving, but why? It was severely weakened, and besides, it was wounded during the fight. It shouldn''t have evolved by drinking some blood and eating some flesh."


    Arve didn''t like when something inexplicable happened. This situation interested him and annoyed him greatly at the same time.


    Draven said slowly: "I agree, it''s really strange. In the usual situation, for a monster to evolve, he needs a dozen years of eating well and fighting a lot. Only then can it make a big step forward. This monster, on the other hand, isn''t even in its best form, and it''s unbelievable that it''s evolving right now."


    Arabe looked at Evan with interest and said quietly: "This guy tried so hard, but unfortunately for him the worst thing happened. There have been a couple of times in my memory when monsters evolved during the test. But, I''ve never seen it happen to a final monster. Evan definitely shouldn''t be gambling."


    Arve looked at Arabe and asked: "Shouldn''t we finish the test? This is unprecedented, we shouldn''t let a student fight the evolved "Bloody Berserker."


    The girl nodded and was about to give the signal to summon Golem, but was suddenly interrupted by Draven. He grabbed her by the arm and at that moment Arabe thought.


    <What is it with Draven?>


    Draven stared madly at Arabe and mouthed, "Wait, don''t you dare interrupt this fight, we''re not likely to see anything like this again."


    Arabe was shocked: she had never seen Draven act so impulsively before.


    "Well, if the guy gets killed, it will be on your conscience." She said it briefly and continued to watch the fight.


    The other teachers were dumbfounded by Draven''s actions and the decision of the head of the Academy. Every one of them was convinced that Evan needed to be rescued immediately. At the moment, he was not fighting a strong opponent, but was trapped in a cage with a wild beast. That was what all the teachers thought, regardless of the color of their mantles. Even the teachers in gray mantles thought that Draven had behaved too recklessly.


    However, their dissatisfaction could not change Arabe''s mind. She decided to make a concession to Draven, but he must see to it that Evan lives to the end of this test.


    ...


    Evan kept a close eye on the changes that were happening to the "Bloody Berserker".


    After it hadpletely devoured Evan''s arm, a terrifying aura began to emanate from the monster, and it itself froze in ce, as if waiting for something to happen.


    Suddenly the monster''s muscles began to shrink dramatically, and, moreover, it became shorter itself. The "Bloody Berserker" was originally three meters tall, but now it was only two and a half.


    After a few seconds, the transformation of the monster was over.


    Crack.


    With a flick of the hand, it flung all of its armor onto the floor, it didn''t need it anymore. Evan gazed intently at the changed monster. Outwardly, the "Bloody Berserker" looked even weaker than when at the beginning of the test.


    It was incredibly skinny, every bone visible under its skin and some strange symbols appeared on its neck.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment, the monster''s severed right arm re-grew in literally seconds. It was covered in the same symbols as its neck.


    Evan didn''t know what to expect. The "Bloody Berserker" was the most formidable opponent he''d ever encountered in this world. Even though the monster was weaker on the outside, Evan knew it wasn''t so.


    The overwhelming aura of the "Bloody Berserker" was felt by everyone in the arena. It was bloodthirsty and crushing.


    Step.


    The "Bloody Berserker" took a slow step toward its severed arm. Its movements were very fluid and light. When it reached the arm, it lifted it unhurriedly.


    The next moment the symbols on its arm glowed brightly, and something incredible began to happen to the severed arm. That was the difference between the ordinary monsters and the evolved ones.


    Evolved monsters had extra abilities besides the ones they already had originally. In essence, they were simr to the magicians` spells, but withpletely unique effects. You could say that the evolved monsters had one, but very powerful personal ability.


    Whoosh.


    In an instant, the severed arm split into thousands of bloody strands. They quickly spliced together and turned into a long sword, with many teeth on its de. The weapon looked very menacing and intimidating. If such a sword hit its target, it would turn flesh into a bloody mess.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" raised its sword, almost broken by Evan. It pointed it in the direction of the young man, then shattered it with its new weapon.


    Whoosh.


    With a slight movement of the hand, the "Bloody Berserker" threw the chopped de toward Evan. The sword''s speed was incredible, it whistled a few inches from Evan''s face and crashed into the root behind the young man. The root immediately tilted and fell to the ground with a crash.


    Evan, however, wasn''t frightened: he didn''t dodge this deadly attack, and he didn''t even look back at the root. He stared at the "Bloody Berserker" with a strange look.


    Evan''s emotions were very difficult to understand at that moment. He was perplexed by what was happening, delighted by his opponent''s strength, and enraged at the same time. When the monster demonstratively destroyed his old weapon, Evan''s attitude toward their duel changed dramatically.


    The "Bloody Berserker" walked slowly toward Evan. It was in no hurry, as it could kill the young man with just a flick of his hand. The monster felt itself overflowing with the great power.


    Nevertheless, the magicians also had their wonders, along with the evolution of monsters. At this point, Evan had another weapon: emotion.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the young man''s aura began to diminish and weaken. After a second, it disappeared altogether, as if Evan had be ten times weaker during that interval of time.


    Evan''s face becamepletely unemotional: there was no surprise, no pain, no tion.


    The young man was walking leisurely toward the monster as if he were now the predator rather than the prey. His amethyst eyes were icy and his gaze was full of superiority. Even though Evan was seriously wounded, he looked as if he was standing much higher than the "Bloody Berserker".


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Dravenughed loudly.


    "He`s entered the "Gust!"

 Chapter 136 - The Weak Points

    During the "Gust", a magician bes significantly stronger for a while. The emotions he experiences at that moment be his weapon. Every magician gets a different amount of power during the "Gust", depending on the situation.


    Evan had been in the "Gust" once before, and then he was able to outdo himself and quickly increase his "Awareness" in the "Magic Missile". Now the situation was strikingly different, Evan was on the battlefield and he had to fight an opponent superior to him in strength.


    "He was able to go into the "Gust", it''s amazing. This is the miracle I`ve talked about, but it''s toote. If the "Bloody Berserker" hadn''t evolved, Evan would surely have won." Arve said calmly, watching Evan carefully.


    This fight amazed even him. Firstly, the "Bloody Berserker" evolved to the next level, and then Evan entered the "Gust". It all happened in an instant.


    Draven didn''t say anything, he was intently watching Evan''s every action. Then he was not interested in anything in this world except the young man''s fight.


    Arabe said thoughtfully: "He`s entered the "Gust", but what emotion is he feeling now? I don''t understand... his aura has not increased, but rather diminished."


    She was also curious to see what would happen next.


    <Hmm, Draven has an incredible gut after all. He knew before anyone else that everything can be expected from Evan. Amazing guy..> Arabe thought, watching the fight between Evan and the "Bloody Berserker" begin.


    The young man was walking slowly towards the "Bloody Berserker". His opponent was already fully healthy and had a powerful new weapon, but it didn''t seem to bother Evan at all.


    Whoosh.


    The monster was the first to act. It ran sharply and got to Evan in the blink of an eye. The "Bloody Berserker''s" speed had been incredible before, but now it was like crimson lightning.


    Swing.


    The "Bloody Berserker" lunged forward, aiming to pierce Evan, but suddenly the guy''s silhouette disappeared right before its eyes.


    Crack.


    The monster''s sword pierced the air and at the same moment, the "Bloody Berserker" felt a terrible pain in its chest area. The monster shifted its gaze and saw a wide wound that immediately began to heal, but the ice that quickly formed stopped regeneration.


    The monster tried to counterattack, but as soon as it thought about it, the world before its eyes tilted.


    Crack.


    A white de sliced through the monster''s Achilles tendon. The "Bloody Berserker" had not expected such a sudden attack. Because of the serious wound in its leg, it lost the bnce and fell to one knee. Moreover, because of the ice from the "Ice Veil", this wound could not heal.


    Swing.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword in an attempt to wound Evan and get rid of the annoying young man.


    Whoosh.


    With an icy stare, Evan jumped up sharply and the monster''s sword flew beneath his feet. Evan swung his scythe from the turn. He aimed for the "Bloody Berserker''s" neck - his aim was to decapitate the monster.


    The "Bloody Berserker" reacted with lightning speed and tilted its head down. The snow-white de sliced through the monster''s flesh, but did not strike the neck.


    Whoosh.


    The monster quickly bounced aside and stared intently at Evan. In an instant, the young man became considerably stronger, and it wasn''t his physical strength or his magic. Evan was wounded and had almost no mana left, but now he was a more formidable opponent than he had been at the beginning of the third stage.


    The "Bloody Berserker" didn''t realize what had happened. Suddenly Evan began to act very quickly and urately, as if this fight was very easy for him. Evan''s incredible speed and his strikes on weak points put the monster on high alert. The "Bloody Berserker" had originally thought it would kill the young man in a single blow, but so far only it itself had been wounded.


    However, the monster had no intention of losing. It had just evolved and was full of strength, these wounds were no problem for it. It would heal them easily, all it had to do was get rid of the ice.


    Swing.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, the monster swung the sword and cut off the frostbitten part of its leg. It was impossible to fight with such a wound, the maneuverability was too bad, so it had to be heal it.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment scarlet threads emerged from the bleeding flesh and in just a few seconds, they cured the wound it had just received. The same thing was happening to the cut on its neck, but the wound on the chest could not heal.


    The "Bloody Berserker" could have tried to remove theyer of ice from that wound, but it didn''t have time for that. The moment its leg healed, Evan was close.


    Swing.


    The young man made a smooth but deadly top-down strike. The "Bloody Berserker" reacted quickly, and fended off the scythe deing at it.


    Bam.


    It stepped forward and punched Evan as hard as could. The monster was aiming for the guy''s stomach, but when the attack was about to reach its target, Evan turned sharply and dodged the blow.


    Before Evan entered the "Gust" his movements and attacks were already quite fast, but now he was on apletely different level.


    Evan looked arrogantly into the monster''s bloodshot eyes and attacked with lightning speed. The "Bloody Berserker" blocked Evan''s strike, but suddenly the young man twisted the scythe in his hand and struck from another angle.


    Bam.


    The monster''s left leg was wounded and hot drops of blood fell to the ground. The"Bloody Berserker" paid no attention to the wound it had just received, instead it attacked again. The monster''s massive fist headed for the young man''s face, but suddenly the "Bloody Berserker" felt a metallic taste of blood in its mouth.


    Bam.


    Evan instantly reacted to the monster''s second attack, and swiftly delivered his blow. The young man kicked the monster in the chin with incredible speed. Evan''s blow was strong enough to incapacitate the monster for a moment, and that was enough for Evan to dodge the his opponent`s attack.


    The monster became very angry and furious. It began attacking Evan with all its might, each of its blows was powerful. Its serrated sword destroyed everything in its vicinity. The ground beneath Evan''s feet flew in different directions.


    Nevertheless, none of the attacks reached the young man. Evan dodged every blow. Despite the incredible danger posed by the "Bloody Berserker", Evan was calm. He took his time attacking and watched carefully for every attack of the monster.


    At that moment, the "Bloody Berserker''s" blows were slow and weak for him. He saw no danger in them.


    Swing.


    The "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword from bottom to top. Evan took a step to the side and the de of the weapon swept right before his eyes.


    Whoosh.


    The scythe twisted in his hand and the snow-white de plunged into the monster''s wrist. Immediately a stream of blood gushed out, after which the torn flesh quickly froze. Now the "Bloody Berserker" would not be able to attack properly with the right hand until it was healed. The monster was left-handed, so it could still fight with its weapon.


    <Now, it''s time to deal with the sword.> Evan thought as he watched the sword''s scarlet de was rushing toward him.

 Chapter 137 - Killing Without Emotion

    After wounding the "Bloody Berserker''s" right arm, Evan attacked his left one. The young man swung his scythe and the sharp de copsed on the monster.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" reacted quickly and blocked Evan''s blow. The next moment the "Bloody Berserker" swung its sword, aiming for Evan''s heart.


    The young man blocked the blow with the de of his scythe. Because of this attack, Evan flew a few meters back. The monster bounced to the side and sharply sliced through ayer of ice along with the flesh. A few secondster, the scarlet threads healed the woundpletely.


    <Good, we need to keep going at the same pace>. Evan thought as he looked at his opponent.


    Over their many exchanges of blows Evan hadn''t received a single wound, while the "Bloody Berserker" had already received numerous cuts and scratches all over his body. Naturally, they were recovered quickly, but the monster had to expend a lot of energy to do so.


    Evan wasn`t tired a lot. Every time he dodged, he did so with extreme precision, which made it take almost no energy to do so. Now he could see through his opponent, as if he were fighting someone weaker than him.


    ...


    The teachers watched this fight with interest. Evan''s strength surprised them, they understood that it was temporary since the young man had entered the "Gust", but it was still an unforgettable experience.


    Moreover, not every magician can enter the "Gust", and even if a magician had once entered the "Gust", it was not certain that it would happen again anytime soon. The "Gust" was a special power that a magician could not use only at will. It all depended on the situation and, of course, emotions.


    "Could this guy really win? Suddenly his movements have be so fast and precise. He hasn`t got under any punches." Arve said puzzled.


    He''d been more convinced than anyone that even though Evan had entered the "Gust", it would be impossible for him to beat the evolved "Bloody Berserker". Now he realized that Evan had every chance of killing the monster.


    "That was an entertaining finale, I see Draven is absolutely thrilled." Arabe said calmly, looking at the excited Draven.


    He watched Evan fight with burning eyes, right now he was enjoying this fight to the fullest. The other teachers were just as amazed by Evan''s abilities. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that every teacher at this moment wanted to offer Evan to be his student. Although, of course, they understood that they had little chance of getting Evan. The teachers in gray mantles would be rivals in this matter. Evan would have to choose one of them.


    ...


    Evan looked at his weapon slowly turning it in his hands. The snow-white braid was covered in ayer of ice that had already turned scarlet. Evan had inflicted a huge number of small wounds on the "Bloody Berserker" in thest minute.


    <I need to finish it quickly, I don''t really have much time either.> Thought Evan and took a slow step towards the monster.


    The "Bloody Berserker" red at the young man and lunged at him. At that moment, more than anything else in the world, the monster wanted to kill the young man and taste his flesh and blood once more.


    Swing.


    The monster threw a horizontal sword strike with lightning speed, but Evan dodged easily.


    Bam.


    Evan bent down and kicked the "Bloody Berserker" in the stomach with a U-turn. Evan''s blow was very powerful, the monster threw up a mouthful of blood, but managed to stay put.


    Whoosh.


    The "Bloody Berserker" tried to grab Evan with its hand, but it failed. Evan sped up and disappeared from his opponent''s sight.


    Crack.


    In the next instant, a wide, bleeding cut appeared on the monster''s right arm, which immediately was covered with ice. The "Bloody Berserker" just couldn''t keep up with Evan''s speed and reaction.


    Whoosh.


    In anger, the monster swung its sword sideways in an attempt to anyhow get Evan. The young man, on the other hand, calmly bounced aside to bypass the blow.


    The "Bloody Berserker" went into a real rage. Nothing it did could hurt Evan. With gritted teeth, the monster lunged at Evan again, intent on chopping him into small pieces.


    Evan looked at the monster running at him with an unemotional face. Any other person would have tried to run without thinking, but not Evan.


    He pointed the scythe smoothly at the monster, tilted it slightly, and at the same moment his "Warp" spun.


    There was less than three meters between the young man and the monster, but Evan continued standing still.


    Bam.


    Mana gathered at the tip of the blue crystal and a white beam flew out of the "Reverse Death".


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion, the spell hitting the monster''s knee and shattering it into small pieces. The monster copsed on one leg, but it had no intention of retreating. Evan was close enough, now it could reach it with it weapon.


    Whoosh.


    Both the "Bloody Berserker" and Evan attacked instantly. Each put all their strength into this attack because now was the time to decide which one of them would survive.


    Whoosh.


    Evan and the monster`s speed was phenomenal. Everything happened in an instant, like a sh that changed everything.


    Bam.


    Evan''s hand along with the scythe fell to the ground and the scarlet blood flooding everything beside the young man.


    Bam.


    The "Bloody Berserker''s" head fell to the ground as well as its sword. The monster''s severed neck gushed a fountain of blood.


    Then the "Bloody Berserker''s" entire body slowly fell backwards to the ground. At that moment, there was a deathly silence in the arena. No one said anything, neither the teachers nor the rescued students. They had just witnessed the unbelievable and very cruel oue of the duel.


    The only one who had decided to break the silence was Evan. His eyes were blurry, he had lost too much blood. He had just lost his other arm, and he was bleeding profusely. There was no way he could stop the bleeding.


    Evan licked his lips and tasted the strong metallic taste of blood. He looked at the "Bloody Berserker''s" head lying on the ground, and in that moment a gleam shed in his eyes.


    The next moment, Evan, like a distraught, leaned over to the monster''s wide wound. The wound still hadn''t healed because of theyer of ice.


    Suddenly, Evan did somethingpletely unimaginable.


    He sank his teeth into the monster''s flesh and began to tear it to pieces. After a few seconds, he pulled with force and pulled the heart out of the "Bloody Berserker''s" body.


    Crack.


    Evan clenched his jaws with force and took a bite out of the monster''s heart. Everyone looked at Evan like he was mad, including Draven, who had a crazy smile on his face and was thrilled with what was happening. He didn''t care at all how it looked, it was an unprecedented fight and a unique finale!


    Bam.


    The monster''s heart and then the young man fell to the ground. Evan had no more strength left, he was unconscious. That was the end of the ordeal for the" Inner Students".

 Chapter 138 - The Treatment

    Everyone was shocked by the ending of the test. Evan''s final actions were inexplicable and iprehensible. Everyone stared dumbfounded at the young man lying on the ground. After thest attack, blood flooded all around, the ground turned dark red.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    There was only one person who was truly ecstatic about this fight.


    "Draven, calm down, you''re going to ruin everything here." Arabe said calmly.


    Hearing her words Draven came to his senses and his aura became calmer. He looked around and saw many cracks spreading over most of the arena.


    "Sorry, I`ve lost control..." Draven said slowly.


    "Arve, it''s time." Said Arabe looking at Evan. The young man had expended an enormous amount of energy and urgently needed treatment and rest.


    Arve nodded and his "Warp" spun. The next moment two identical green magical circles appeared below and above Evan. They formed a transparent cylinder-shaped barrier with Evan in the center. The young man''s wounds began to gradually heal, and his arms slowly grew back. In a couple of minutes, Evan would be perfectly fine.


    "Hey, Arve, I think there''s something else Evan needs to recover besides his arms, don''t you think?" Draven said with a smile on his face.


    Arve sighed and a secondter another magical circle of gray color appeared over Evan. That''s when Evan''s clothes began to slowly regenerate. His coat had been badly damaged during the battle.


    "By the way, I think I figured out what emotion Evan was feeling while being in the "Gust". Said Arve.


    Arabe and Draven looked at him puzzled. They were curious to know what had happened to Evan.


    Arve adjusted his sses and said clearly: "It was superiority."


    "Superiority...?"


    "Yes, when Evan went into the "Gust", he became calmer and his aura diminished. At that point, he didn''t consider the "Bloody Berserker" an equal opponent. For the same reason, during the "Gust" his body was at its limit. For a short time, Evan forced himself to fight at the limit, which is why he now needs to rest. Sure, I''ll heal him, it''s only physical damage. All in all, he just needs a couple of hours of sleep and he''ll be fine."


    "Hmm, you don''t often see such a strange emotion during the "Gust", it speaks to Evan''s incredible self-confidence. Not bad, not bad at all. Okay, I''ll take him to the med-station."


    Draven said it calmly and jumped down to the arena. He got to Evan in one leap and quickly carried him out of arena.


    It was almost seven o''clock in the morning. The test for the "Inner Students"sted practically an hour. It had been quite long and exhausting for many students, especially those who had fought the "Bloody Berserker".


    Now they needed to rest before the opening ceremony and decide who their teacher would be.


    ...


    "Guy, you`ve really done it." Draven said with a smile on his face as he looked at the sleeping Evan. He decided not to take the young man to the infirmary, but to Evan''s temporary room.


    Arve had fully healed all of Evan''s wounds, Draven didn''t doubt Arve''s skills, so he saw no point in the infirmary. Evan just needed to sleep and gain strength.


    <I wonder what this guy is going to ask Arabe for? I don''t think it will be anything ordinary, though who knows>.


    ...


    About three hourster Evan slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, he felt no difort at all. He didn''t have a headache, his bones weren`t broken and he didn''t feel nauseous. Physically, he felt even better than before the ordeal.


    However, he still felt a little emotionally exhausted. Not long ago he had fought, figuring out how to deal with this or that opponent. Now he had a satisfied smile on his face. He realized that he had won, which meant he was the one to receive the reward from the head of "The Last Moon". Evan still didn''t know exactly what he would ask for, but the young man was sure he would think of something.


    Evan got out of bed and looked around.


    "Oh, you''re awake?"


    Suddenly he heard a voice he knew.


    The young man was slightly surprised to see Draven sitting in the corner of the room. He didn''t expect Draven to be here.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, don''t look so surprised, you were cured and I figured you needed a rest so I brought you here. What''s more, I''d like to talk to you about something." With a smile on his face, Draven said.


    He had expected that it would take much longer for Evan to wake up, so he was d that the guy had woken up so quickly.


    Evan looked at his body and was surprised to find his hands back in ce. He wasn''t surprised that he was healed, though he thought it would take at least a few days for his hands to recover.


    <Huh, they even somehow restored my coat, nice surprise, I thought I''d have to find a new tailor.>


    Evan clenched his hands into a fist a few times and stretched himself a little. They functioned exactly as before, Evan didn''t notice the slightest change.


    "What did you want to talk to me about?" The young man turned to Draven.


    Draven smiled and calmly said: "I won''t beat around the bush, I want to take you as my student. You can decideter when you look at this list."


    He pointed to arge sheet with dozens of names on it. They were all teachers of different ranks and specializations. Every one of them wanted to be Evan''s teacher, including Draven.


    Evan took the list and began looking through the names. He was surprised at the number of teachers who were interested in him.


    <Wow, this school even has teachers that specialize in cksmithing and alchemy. Hmm, the teachers of every ss would like to teach me, honestly I didn''t expect that everyone would like my fight so much>.


    In fact, a huge number of teachers had set their sights on taking Evan as an student from the moment he hadsted thirteen seconds on the entrance exam. Now that Evan had won the test for the" Inner Student", their interest had only increased.


    <Hmm, teachers are divided into four ranks, and Draven is the highest ranked.> Evan looked at the list with interest.


    Although the suggestions of the other teachers were tempting, Evan had long ago decided who he wanted to study at.


    The young man put the list aside and calmly said: "Okay, I agree to be your student."


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, great, you`ve made your decision faster than I thought." Draven was happy with Evan''s decision. Every student wanted to have a good teacher, and every teacher wanted to teach capable students.


    "Speaking of which, how many more students do you have?" Asked Evan, he was curious to know how many people Draven was teaching.


    Draven shrugged his shoulders and simply answered, "Thest time I taught anyone was years ago. I''ve been busy with my own experiments and research, so you''re my only student now."

 Chapter 139 - Reward

    <So I''ll be Draven''s only student, great.>


    There is nothing wrong with a teacher having more than one student at a time. A good mentor can give time to each of them. But the option of being Draven''s only student Evan liked much better.


    "By the way, how should I address you now, teacher Draven?" Ask Evan.


    Draven thought for a while and then answered, "No need, you can just address me by my first name, I don''t like all these formalities and I think you do, too. Except you shouldn''t address the other teachers by their first names, I hope, you understand it."


    Evan nodded: "What time is it? Have I overslept the ceremony?"


    He didn''t know how long he had slept. Evan wouldn''t want to miss such an important event as the admission ceremony.


    "It''s ten in the morning, it''s still three hours before the admission ceremony, so there''s quite a bit of time left. By the way, what are you going to ask the head of the Academy?" Draven said calmly.


    He wanted to know what Evan was thinking about and advise him to choose a suitable award. Arabe could fulfill many requests, but not all. For the same reason one must choose the prize wisely.


    Evan thought about it and simply answered, "Honestly, I don''t know. Asking for a Magical Artifact or a "Catalyst" would be too trivial."


    "Not just trivial, but very stupid." Draven said harshly.


    "Why would it be stupid?" Evan understood that asking for the "Catalyst" was quite expectable, but he didn''t understand why it was stupid. If a magician had the right weapon or artifact, it could save his life in times of need. Moreover, the magician would be stronger.


    "It''s simple, since you''re at the level of the "Star without Ends", you can''t use "Catalysts" above rank zero. A littleter I''ll teach you how to determine the rank of items and tell you more about it." Draven said calmly.


    "So, if my scythe were a "Catalyst" one level higher, I wouldn''t be able to use it?"


    Technically, the "Reverse Death'' was not a "Catalyst", since not all of itsponents could conduct mana. You could, of course cast a spell using a regr stick, but in that case, it would take a lot of mana and it would be very weak.


    Evan''s scythe had threeponents capable of conducting mana at a good level: the "Cave Troll Crystal", the "Horn of the Sacred Deer" and the "Bloody Perversity".


    Draven quickly replied, "Well, it''s ambiguous. For one thing, if you use a "Catalyst" rank higher than your power, you definitely can''t cast spells with it."


    Draven sighed and continued: "For example: since you''re a newbie magician, until you reach the "One-Pointed Star", you can''t use a weapon of the first rank one, only a weapon of the zero rank."


    "I see, but if the second rank weapon gets in my hands, shouldn''t I arm myself with it? Yes, I won''t be able to cast spells with it, but the materials it''s made of are clearly of much higher quality than my zero rank weapon. It will be sharper and more durable."


    Evan was pleased with his weapon. The "Reverse Death" was an excellent scythe of quality materials. But, from Draven''s words, he realized that his weapon was of only zero rank.


    "No, in your hands such a weapon would be no different than a piece of rusty iron. The thing is, all weapons, except zero-rank weapons, are the "Catalysts". Since the materials from which they are created are at least of the first rank, which means that each of them conducts mana." Draven calmly replied.


    "I get it, even if I''m not going to cast spells with high rank "Catalysts, I still need to be at a certain level to use them. I need to infuse some mana and then the weapon will show its power." Evan said slowly.


    "You''re grasping all on the fly. Yes, you''re right, it''s all about mana, or rather concentration. Until you reach a certain level, there''s no point in having high ranking Catalysts."


    "I assume the situation is the same with Magical Artifacts, am I right?"


    Draven nodded affirmatively.


    <I see, so that''s why there''s no point in asking the head of the academy for a Catalyst or a Magic Artifact. Hmm, but what should I ask for? I need something non-material>.


    "Draven, I won''t ask the head of the Academy for a weapon or an artifact, but what should I choose then? Maybe there is something of interest in the Academy itself? I''m new here and don''t know anything yet."


    "Hmm, before I answer that, Evan, tell me what interests you?" Draven asked seriously.


    "What do you mean?" The young man asked puzzled.


    "Well, maybe you''re interested in alchemy, cksmithing, formations, monsters, beasts, whatever."


    Evan wondered. He didn''t really know the exact answer to that question. He was interested in magic, but it was too broad and imprecise an answer. Suddenly Evan realized what he wanted to do at the moment.


    "I think at this point I''d like to learn more about this world. I don''t want to dive in and study every area of the world thoroughly. But because of my past, my knowledge of the world is very limited." Evan replied calmly.


    "Evan, sorry for asking, but I would like to know about your past. I won''t say I need it to understand you better, to be honest, I''m just curious."


    The young man nodded and told Draven everything that had happened to him. Naturally, he hid some details that no one should know about.


    After a while, Draven nodded and calmly said: "I see, your life hasn''t been pretty good until recently. You''re lucky you got noticed by Zak."


    "§°h? Do you know Zak?"


    Evan was surprised that Draven knew Zak. Mossy Vulture was a decent distance from "The Last Moon" and Evan didn''t think Zak was such a famous person.


    "Of course, he is one of the four strongest men in Mossy Vulture. Moreover, our Academy is not that far from this town, so it''s no surprise."


    "Draven, so what would you advise me to ask the head of the Academy anyway?"


    "Hmm, there are two ways to learn more about the world. The first is to travel, but that''s what you''ll do when you do your Academy assignments. The second is the library, and I think that''s perfect for you. You''ll gain the knowledge you need and learn more about magic. I''m sure it''s just what you need."


    "Is it forbidden to enter the library?" Evan didn''t understand why he should ask the head of the Academy for such a thing. He was sure that every student could spend as much time in the library as he wanted.


    "Both yes and no. It all depends on your rank. Since you just entered the academy, as an apprentice you will have the first rank. That means you can only visit the first level of the library and not all sections. Some sections you can get into only by paying "Moon Coins," and some require a higher rank. Draven said calmly.


    "I see, then, I guess I''ve decided what I''ll ask for as a reward."

 Chapter 140 - The Color

    Evan decided that asking for the full ess to the library would be a good reward. That way he would gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and not have to wait for permission to visit certain sections. What''s more, he''ll save a certain amount of "Moon Coins".


    "So, Evan, shall we go straight to the head of the Academy then?" Draven asked.


    The young man nodded. He wanted to get his hard-earned reward, and Evan was curious to know more about the Academy itself. Apart from the two arenas and this room, he had not seen anything yet.


    Click.


    Evan and Draven left the room and went towards Arabe''s office. In fact, Evan wasn''t allowed to leave his room since he wasn''t officially a student at the Academy yet. But, he was with Draven, so there shouldn''t be any problems.


    <Hmm, just like Sana said all students wear different mantles depending on their ss.> Evan thought as he looked at the students passing by them.


    Each one of them stopped and greeted Draven respectfully. After all, he was a teacher of the fourth rank, only Arabe was above him. The students looked at Evan in amazement, they had never seen Draven walk with any of the students before.


    <It looks like I will have to say goodbye to my coat.> Evan thought as he looked at his favorite coat. He''s an Amplifier, which meant he would have to wear a yellow mantle. He didn''t like that at all, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a girl came out from around the corner, her purple hair blending well with the blue mantle.


    "Teacher Draven!" The girl said loudly and bowed immediately.


    Draven nodded and continued walking on, but Evan stayed where he was.


    "Sana?" The young man said in surprise. He hadn''t expected to meet her here. As the girl had said before, she wore a blue mantle since she was a "Creator." She also had a small purple emblem hanging on her chest showing the color of her "Warp".


    "Evan?" The girl flinched in surprise. She knew Evan would be entering the Academy, but she hadn''t expected to see him so soon. Evan and the other newly admitted students had to wait for the ceremony before they could walk around the Academy.


    "Sana, why is your mantle different from the others?" Suddenly Evan asked. He didn''t have time to talk to Sana now, but he couldn''t help but ask the question.


    "§¡h? What do you mean?" The girl said puzzled.


    "I mean this." Evan replied calmly and pointed to the ck frame of her blue mantle. In the other students he had met so far, he hadn''t seen anything like that.


    "Don''t you know? Oh, right, sorry, I`ve forgotten to tell you. It is a distinctive feature of the mantle that shows the type of the student. The "Outer students" have a white frame, the "Inner students" have a ck frame." Sana answered quickly.


    "I see. See youter." Evan said briefly and followed Draven.


    The girl wanted to say something, but Evan was already far away. Sana decided not to bother him, she was puzzled to see Evan walking next to Draven.


    "Hmm, do you know her?" Draven asked.


    "Yes, I met her on my way to the Academy, as I recall she was collecting Azure Dandelions." Evan replied calmly.


    Draven nodded and continued on his way.


    As they walked Evan looked carefully at the other students. To his surprise there were very few people in ck-framed mantles. It was no surprise, though, as bing an "Inner student" was a very difficult task.


    "Draven, what exactly is the difference between "Inner students" and "Outer students"? Evan asked.


    He understood that the "Inner students" had their advantages and perks, but he didn''t know what they were. No one had told him that.


    Draven looked at Evan in surprise and said: "You''ve worked so hard to be an "Inner student", and yet you know nothing about them? I''ll exin it to you now."


    "The first thing you have to understand is that "Inner students" have advantages over "Outer students" in almost everything. They have ess to ces closed to the "Outer students," like certain sections of the library. The "Inner students" have the right to take on more difficult, but also more rewarding tasks. They can buy items exclusive to them in stores and much more." Draven calmly replied.


    <Hmm, simply put, the "Inner students" have more freedom of action than the "Outer students". It would be troublesome if I couldn''t visit some ces just because I couldn''t pass an exam>. Evan thought.


    Draven continued: "Other students have a great desire to be "Inner students". Besides, the "Inner students" usually have the best teachers. There is almost no fourth rank teacher who has an "Inner student".


    "Well, it turns out I didn''t try so hard for nothing." With a smile on his face, Evan said.


    Draven smiled and nodded. By this time, they had reached the office of the Head of "The Last Moon".


    Draven pulled the handle, but the door was closed.


    "Looks like the Head isn''t there." Evan said depressingly.


    Draven shook his head and said: "No, I don''t think Arabe''s gone anywhere, there''s a ceremonying up very soon. Well, I think I know what we need to do."


    Click.


    Draven applied a little more force and knocked the door from its hinges. Evan was surprised by his actions, for he had just broken the door of the Head of the Academy''s office. Draven on the other hand walked inside with a calm face.


    Evan followed him, inside he saw Arabe sitting at her desk, or rather at that moment she was asleep.


    Draven sighed and said loudly: "Wake up!"


    Arabe slowly opened her eyes and muttered: "Fuck, don`t yell like that, I`ve just fallen asleep...Draven, what do you want?"


    She was clearly not in the good mood after her sleep had been interrupted.


    She liked to sleep more than anything else in her life, if it had depended on her wish, she would have stayed in bed all her life.


    Draven smiled and waved his hand and said: "Rewards!"


    "What?". Arabe looked at Draven in confusion, but then she noticed Evan.


    "So, you haven`te alone, and what kind of teacher are you if you set a bad example for your students. Was it really necessary to break down my door?"


    Draven just shrugged his shoulders.


    Arabe sighed and the next moment her "Warp" spun.


    Whoosh.


    A purple magic circle appeared next to the knocked door, where strange ck hands, not at all like human ones, emerged from. It was a spell, reminiscent in some way of the one Marcel had used in the Auction House of the Erden Family.


    The hands grabbed the door and slowly pushed it into the doorway. The next second they turned into a viscous liquid that headed for the damaged areas of the door.


    Whoosh.


    The ck hands disappeared and the door was back in ce.


    Arabe looked at Evan and calmly said: "Well, I''m listening and what does our crazy winner want as a reward?"

 Chapter 141 - The Ring

    The moment has finally arrived when the winner of the special challenge for the "Inner Students" will ask for a reward from the Head of the Academy. Arabe wondered what kind of reward Evan would want. During the test, he seemed to her to be a very ambiguous young man.


    Evan calmly said: "I don''t really like the uniforms at the Academy, so I want to wear what I like."


    "What?"


    "What?"


    Arabe and Draven said at the same time. Arabe was extremely surprised by such a strange and in her opinion silly request, and Draven did not understand anything at all. He had spoken to Evan before and they decided that he would ask for ess to the library above his rank.


    Evan didn''t answer anything and just smiled.


    Arabe looked at Evan intently and with a wave of her hand replied, "I didn''t expect you to ask for something like that. This is the first time I''ve heard such a ridiculous request. It is customary for every student and teacher at the Academy to wear a mantle of a certain color, but since this is your request, you can wear whatever you want. I don''t think it should be considered a request. Now ask for what you wanted originally."


    Hearing Arabe''s words, Evan smiled. Everything had gone just the way he wanted. It could be said that technically Arabe would fulfill two of his requests.


    <Great, I won''t have to wear that yellow mantle>.


    Evan thought and calmly said: "I want full ess to the library."


    "Wow, you ask for neither the "Catalyst" nor the Magic Artifact. Okay, I agree with your request, but I can''t let you go into all the sections."


    Evan had expected an answer like that, so he wasn''t too upset. But it was important for him to know which sections he would be allowed to enter.


    Arabe continued: "You will have ess equal to a fourth rank student in the library, but you still can''t ess all the sections of the library for teachers. Just as you are an "Inner student", you can enter special sections at all four levels. That''s it."


    <I wish there was more, of course, but that''s good enough.> Evan was pleased with the award he had received. He knew that it would be a long time before he was a fourth rank student. It would save him an enormous amount of time this way.


    "By the way, why did you decide to ask me for this particr thing? You''re not even a student of the first rank yet, and you won''t be one until you reach the "One-Pointed Star". The spells above zero rank will be useless to you."


    Evan shrugged and simply replied, "I just want to learn more about this world. The library is a great ce for that."


    Arabe: "Well, as you want, I''ve done my part."


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the air next to Arabe began to distort and the next moment a small gray amulet appeared in her hand.


    She tossed it to Evan and said: "Here''s your pass, now let me get some sleep."


    "We''ll leave now, but I need to do one more thing." Draven said calmly.


    He took the ring out of his pocket and handed it to Evan. Arabe looked at Draven with surprise and said: "It feels as if you have been changed for the past few days. Are you going to propose to him? AHAHAHAHAHA."


    Draven didn''t react at all to Arabe''s joke and handing Evan the ring said: "This is my gift to you for a great fight, it''s rare to see something like this."


    Evan looked at the ring, he wasn''t quite sure what it was. The ring was silver with a small gray crystal inserted and looked rather simple. Evan thought it was some kind of Magical Artifact, but Draven quickly exined it to him.


    "It''s a spatial ring, not very roomy, only five cubic meters, but it should be enough for the first time. It''s very hard to find a spatial ring of a zero rank so it can be used by the newbie magicians like you. Use it at your pleasure." With a smile on his face, Draven said.


    "A spatial ring...? I don''t know what it is and I don''t know how to use it."


    "Well, that''s not surprising, put some mana in it and you''ll know right away, close your eyes and just concentrate."


    Evan did as Draven had told him. He poured some mana into the ring and the next moment he saw the small space Draven was talking about.


    Draven then walked over to Arabe''s desk and took the quill from it and handed it to Evan.


    "Here, now take this quill and put it on the crystal. Try to move it into the space."


    Evan nodded and took the quill and held it up to the crystal on the ring. At that moment, the space in front of the gray crystal was slightly distorted, as if to prove that the ring was working properly.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the quill disappeared and was in the space of the ring. Evan smiled. It was easier than he thought it would be.


    <This is incredible, in the future I will be able to get rings much better than this and have a huge amount of stuff with me. It''s very convenient, I can carry everything I need and it will all be in one ring.>


    The spatial ring was a dreame true for any traveler. There was no need to carry anything and use bags. Also the spatial ring could hold much more than a human can carry.


    "Great, now try to get the quill out of the ring, just think about it." Draven said calmly.


    Whoosh.


    A secondter, the quill was already in Evan''s hand. Using the spatial ring was quite easy. All it took was a little practice and a little concentration.


    "You learn fast."


    Evan put the ring on his finger and said with a smile on his face: "Thanks, it''s a great thing."


    "Okay, show''s over, get out of here, there are people working here actually." Said Arabe.


    "Are you working? You''re doing something only between naps." Said Draven and walked out of the office.


    Evan returned Arabe''s quill and followed his teacher. It worked out even better than he thought it would. He got ess to the library, the right to wear any clothes, and the most useful ring.


    As they left Arabe''s office, Draven wanted to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by Evan''s rumbling belly.


    "Ah, sorry it''s my fault. When the students got their teacher lists, they got their food too, but since I took your list myself you were left without breakfast. Hmm, it''s still three hours till the ceremony. Evan, don`t your minding to my ce? I live quite near."


    Evan didn''t think long and quickly replied, "Sure, I don''t want to sit in my room and be bored at all."


    Draven nodded and they headed for the exit of the Academy. Evan wondered where Draven lived. The city at the center, where "The Last Moon" was located, was divided into three zones. At the very center and on the highest point was the Academy building itself.


    After about ten minutes they exited the Academy, but not through the main entrance. When Draven and Evan were behind the Academy and Evan was surprised at what he saw.


    <So, this is what Sana was talking about>. Evan thought to himself looking at therge number of mansions in the distance.


    It was the most elite residential area in the whole city, only teachers and especially distinguished students could live here.

 Chapter 142 - The Teachers House

    "Evan, this is Sector Zero, a ce where only teachers and the most outstanding students can live. There are no stores, forges, or alchemy shops, only dwellings." Draven said calmly.


    The young man nodded and followed him. Evan wasn''t really surprised by the size of the mansion itself, Marcel''s estate was muchrger and looked more luxurious. But, Evan understood that there was no point in having a huge house if the building of the Academy of Magic was nearby.


    Location that was the most important thing here. Each of the areas of the city was quiterge. For the same reason, if you lived in zone three, it would take you quite a while to get to the Academy.


    After a while, they reached Draven''s house. It wasn''t much different from the others, neither in size nor in luxury. An ordinary, cozy house, but in the best part of city.


    Draven and Evan went straight to the second floor. They entered Draven''s study. There was anything unusual here: a pair of leather chairs, a massive wooden desk, and two bookcases at the sides.


    In the center of the room, there was a small round table, where after a couple of seconds Draven ced two sses and a bottle of whiskey. Draven sat across from Evan and poured them both whiskey. Draven''s spatial ring then glowed and arge tter of assorted cheeses and smoked meats appeared on the table.


    "These are my favorite cheeses and the meat of the Wild Sabretooth. Help yourself." Draven said calmly.


    Evan took a sip of whiskey. He had never had such strong drinks in his life. He liked the aftertaste and the warmth that spread throughout his body.


    "I see you liked it." Draven said calmly.


    Evan smiled and nodded slightly taking another sip. At that moment, he wasn''t thinking about anything, he was just enjoying the beautiful view out the window. In the distance, there was a view of part of the city and the beautiful scenery.


    <It only took me a couple of months to get from prison to the Academy of Magic, pretty good. Still, I still have a lot to learn about this world. >Thought Evan looking at the birds flying by.


    "Evan, I''d like to talk to you about your fight." Suddenly said Draven.


    "§¡h?"


    "I think you noticed that you had an unusual sensation in thest minutes of your fight."


    The young man nodded as he walked into the "Gust", he had indeed changed a bit. Evan was curious to know more about it. He had entered the "Gust" once before, but no one had seen him at that moment, which meant Evan still didn''t know what had happened to him then.


    "Evan, you''ve entered the "Gust". It''s a state in which the emotion experienced by a magician bes something material and amplifies him. Not everyone can enter the "Gust", it''s an amazing power. In other words, if you hadn`t entered enter the "Gust" then, you would have definitely lost." Draven said seriously.


    For a while, Evan said nothing. He was slightly surprised by Draven''s exnation.


    <Hmm, did Rnd alsoe into the "Gust" then? Then I can see why he became considerably stronger in an instant>.


    "I get it, but what do you mean when say that emotions bing something tangible?" Evan wasn''t quite sure what that meant.


    "Evan, you are a magician, so even your emotions are imbued with mana and have a certain power. For example: when an ordinary person is full of rage, it''s no surprise that he bes stronger. But, he had those powers at the beginning, he just unleashed them in a fit of rage."


    Draven took a small sip and continued: "When a magician enters the "Gust" he surpasses himself. I hope that''s clear."


    "Yes, I take it, is it impossible to enter the" Gust" of one''s own volition?"


    "Yes, it is. It all depends on the situation, the magician himself and his emotions. It''s all veryplicated."


    "I see." Evan answered briefly and took another sip. He was surprised that such power existed in this world.


    <Emotion is a real weapon here, it''s amazing.> Thought Evan.


    "Speaking of which, there''s something else I''d like to talk to you about. Evan, did you break through your second "Barrier" during the test right?" Draven calmly said.


    Evan understood that it was not unusual for a powerful magician like Draven to realize that Evan had broken through the "Barrier." But, Draven said exactly which "Barrier" Evan had breached.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, don''t make that face. In terms of magic, you''re like an open book to me. I want to talk to you about the "Ssh."


    "§¡h?". This was the second unfamiliar term Evan had heard in thest few minutes.


    "It''s a phenomenon that happens when a magician breaks through the "Barrier". It looks different for every magician. It''s too early for you to think seriously about it now, but I advise you to pay attention to what happens around you during the "Ssh."


    Draven continued: "You could say that "Ssh" is part of your essence and the power you get in the future if you get stronger. It can either change over time, or it can always look the same."


    "Hmm, that''s pretty hard to understand. Can I give you an example?" Evan said calmly.


    "Well... you know that Zak mostly uses fire element spells, right?" Draven slowly said.


    The young man nodded. In all his time in Mossy Vulture he had never once seen Zak use any spells other than fire spells.


    "Now, as far as I know, once when Zak broke through one of his "Barriers", he was in the woods. That''s when the fire spread throughout the grove and the forest burned to the ground."


    Evan didn''t answer anything. Then he remembered his battle with Rnd and how a smallke suddenly appeared beside him. Evan thought it was some kind of spell, but it looked like he was wrong.


    <Hmm, water appeared next to Rnd during the "Ssh", and Zak''s "Ssh" caused the whole forest to burn, that''s...>.


    "Why do you say it''s too early for me to talk about "Ssh", isn''t it just an outburst of the elements?"


    Based on Draven''s words and the fight with Rnd, Evan decided that "Ssh" was some kind of indicator of the element that best suited the magician. Zak had told Evan that every magician chose the element he liked best, so Evan thought that "Ssh" might indicate that.


    Draven smiled and calmly replied, "That''s why I''m saying it''s too early for you to think about it. Of course, you could say that during the "Ssh" the magician emits mana that transforms into a certain element. But, to say "element" is not quite right. When you get strong enough you''ll understand."


    Evan answered nothing and continued to listen to Draven.


    "As I said earlier, you should be paying close attention to what''s going on around you during the "Ssh". Since you''re a newbie magician, the changes shouldn''t be severe. Perhaps fire will erupt around you, the wind will increase, or streams of water will appear, and so on."


    <Hmm, then what happened the two times I broke through the "Barrier"? It wasn''t at all like what Draven is talking about.>

 Chapter 143 - The Pillar Of Soul

    Evan tried to understand why the area around him was changing in a very strange way during the "Ssh". The ground and grass underwent significant changes, the first time an ordinary butterfly suddenly turned into a fiery icy one. When he broke through the second "Barrier" during the test, some strange ant appeared next to him that couldn''t have been there.


    "Is there something bothering you?" Draven asked, looking at the puzzled young man''s face.


    "Yes, my two "Sshes" were quite unlike what you describe. I can''t say exactly what it was. But, it wasn''t like a case of Zak fire." Evan tried to make sense of what was happening to him.


    "You shouldn''t burden yourself like that. Just watch what happens after every "Ssh". Not everyone has this phenomenon as obvious as Zak does. Evan, you have to understand that "Ssh" doesn''t tell you where you should move or what spells to use. You''re the only one who determines what "Ssh" looks like. You just aren''t capable of understanding and controlling it yourself yet, but you don''t need to. You, your desires, and more are what create the "Ssh" you see in the end."


    "Basically, I need to listen to myself, since "Ssh" is part of me, right?"


    "Yeah, step by step you''ll know what direction you''re going to go in next." Draven calmly replied.


    "I see, Draven, I wanted to ask you something, too." Evan slowly mouthed.


    "Of course, ask it. I''ll answer all your questions in detail."


    "On my way to the academy, I encountered some monsters and beasts. One of the monsters I had to fight, though with difficulty, but I won. Then I encountered a monster that was virtually indistinguishable from a beast. I would like to know how I can tell monsters from beasts. Are there any methods other than external signs?"


    Draven smiled and said: "Before I answer your question, Evan, do you think it''s possible to know how many ends the Magician''s Star has?"


    "I think it is. But, it requires special methods or strong spells." Evan found Draven''s question strange. He didn''t understand how Draven''s words had anything to do with the way monsters are distinguished from beasts.


    "You''re partly right, but no tools are needed for that. One zero-level spell is enough."


    Draven got up from his desk and headed for one of the cabs. He took a thin book from the shelf and handed it to Evan.


    The young man quickly read the book''s title: Spell Book - "The Eye of Truth".


    "Like I said, it''s a zero - level spell. You can use it to determine if it''s a monster or a beast, recognize other people''s powers, and much more. We''re a little over two hours away from the opening ceremony. I''ll exin it to you now, and I think you''ll have time to master this spell at the entry level." Said Draven draining the ss and filling it again with the amber liquid.


    "Is it possible to master a spell in two hours?" Evan didn''t understand how it was possible.


    It had taken Evan half a day, or more, to first cast and master the entry-level spell of "Ice Veil" or "Magic Missile".


    "Normally not, but this spell is quite simple, as far as the entry level is concerned. What''s more, I gave you a book to familiarize you briefly with the spell. But, it will be me who teaches it, not the book." Draven said calmly and took a sip of whiskey.


    Evan nodded and immediately opened the book. He was curious to know what kind of spell it was. Moreover, now Draven was teaching Evan the spell for the first time. After about fifteen minutes, Evan had looked through the entire book.


    It wasn''t big at all, for the most part the book contained the Magic Circle of the spell, information about the spell itself, and the method of using it. Evan didn''t read every line because he knew that Draven was about to exin everything to him, but he definitely kept in mind the Magic Circle and how to interact with mana.


    "Oh, I`ve forgotten something, I''ll be right back." Draven said and a few minutester, he entered the room with an unusual rodent in his hand - it was a small rat with white fur.


    At first sight, it seemed to be an ordinary rat, but as soon as you looked closer you could see that it was not.


    Its paws were covered with hard chitin, while its ws were razor-sharp. Just as unusual was its tail. It was covered in a thinyer of ice, yet it functioned perfectly.


    <What?>


    When Draven put it on the table, the rat''s behavior changed immediately. Cold currents of air flew out of its mouth, freezing the area around it.


    Whoosh.


    The rat''s white fur suddenly stood on end and its body was covered in a thickyer of ice. The rat immediately fell asleep, fenced off from the world by its icy armor.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this child is not grown up yet and is scared of everything, well on the one hand it''s even better." Said Draven.


    "And... why do we need this rat...?" Evan was puzzled by what was going on.


    "As you might have guessed by now it''s a monster, I brought it here for your practice. I wasn`treally necessary to bring it here, but you wanted to learn how to tell monsters from beasts."


    Draven took a sip and continued: "You''ve already seen the Magic Circle and spells and read how to use it. I guess you have one question- what is the "Pir of Soul" that the book talks about, right?"


    Evan nodded. There was indeed a term in the book that he had never encountered before.


    "Evan, the "Pir of Soul" is exactly what will let you know your opponent''s strength, distinguish monster from beast, and more. You will use the "Eye of Truth" on this rat until you see a white pir over it."


    "I see."


    "Now listen to me carefully and do as I say. Move the mana from the "Warp" to your eyes. Slowly and smoothly. Next, begin to activate the Magic Circle and only then condense the mana at the eyes, then continue..."


    Evan did as Draven said. However, even with his teacher''s advice, Evan couldn''t master the spell in a couple of minutes. He needed practice. At some point, he wasn''t attentive enough and his mana went to waste. He was in a hurry, which caused the attempt to fail.


    Draven was right that the spell was quite simple, because Evan understood it almost immediately. All that remained was to get used to it and learn how to use it. Draven guided Evan the whole time he was pleased with Evan''s progress because he could see the mana flows flowing through the young man perfectly.


    <I think a little more and he will make it.> Draven thought to himself.


    Whoosh.


    After about an hour Evan had his first sess. He could feel the spell was almostpleted, only one final step was left to be taken.


    Whoosh.


    After another hour, Evan''s iris glowed with a bright white light and he saw the "Pir of Soul" hovering over the rat.

 Chapter 144 - The Power

    "I see..." Evan said slowly, looking at the ''Pir of Soul" floating in the air.


    Draven smiled and said calmly: "Great, you''ve done well in only two hours. Of course, you still need a lot of practice, but it''s a great result. Now you can see the "Pir of Soul" of other beings."


    Evan marveled at what he saw. It was something incredible and amazing to him.


    While the young man had not yet cancelled the spell, Draven calmly said: "Examine the "Pir of Soul" carefully, it shows which race the creature belongs to and how strong it is."


    The "Pir of Soul" was a high, hollow, snow-white pir. At the very top was a mark indicating the race of the creature. That was how you could tell if a creature was a monster or a beast. But, from the "Pir of Soul" one could also determine the strength of the creature.


    "Evan, what you see at the very top is a mark showing that this rat is a monster. I''ll give you the "Pir of Soul" guideter, it waspiled personally by me. But, you do not see the most important thing, this rat is too weak for its "Pir of Soul" to be filled with anything. However, you are in the same situation." Draven finished calmly.


    "There must be something inside the ''Pir of Soul"? That rat has it hollow... and so do I... Is it because I haven''t even reached the "One-Pointed Star"? Evan said slowly.


    He was amazed that there was such a phenomenon as the "Pir of Soul". He would finally be able to distinguish between monsters and beasts, and besides that there was more information to gain.


    "Evan, cancel the spell and when I give the signal use it again, just look at me now. Since I''m many times stronger than you, you won''t be able to see my "Pir of Soul" unless I want you to."


    Evan nodded and immediately canceled the spell. He was curious to know how strong his teacher was.


    "Just don''t be frightened. I''ll have to unleash my aura, for a newbie magician like you it might be too much..." Draven said seriously.


    The young man didn''t answer anything. He waited for Draven to give the signal.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly Evan felt a strong pressureing from Draven. With each second, it grew stronger and more powerful. Evan had felt something simr once before-when Marcel had wanted to kill Cade in a rage-but Draven''s aura was different. It was powerful, without any emotion, pure power.


    "Come on, using the "Eye of Truth." Draven said calmly.


    Evan nodded and began casting the spell. Under such incredible pressure, it was quite difficult to do, Evan even thought he was having difficulty breathing. Evan was stunned by Draven''s power.


    Whoosh.


    The iris of Evan''s eyes glowed with a bright white light and a momentter, he saw a blinding light. Draven''s "Pir of Soul" was much bigger and brighter than the rat''s, a clear indication of his power.


    "§¡h?" Evan was surprised, for Draven''s "Pir of Soul" was not hollow. Three round tforms floated inside it, two of which were burning with three white mes, while the third only by one.


    "Evan, each of the tforms inside the "Pir of Soul" shows what level the target of your spell is at. Simply put, the three tforms in my "Pir of Soul" show that I am at the "Three-Pointed Star" stage." Draven said quietly.


    The young man nodded as he continued to stare at Draven''s "Pir of Soul". Evan was dumbfounded by how powerful his teacher was, but he couldn''t take his eyes off the zing lights. He was mesmerized by their beauty.


    "Each me indicates the number of broken "Barriers", monsters and beasts are very different from humans, but the "Pir of Soul" is the same for everyone. On the third tform, I have only one me, which means that at the "Three-Pointed Star" stage I have only broken one "Barrier" so far. Calmly Draven said as if he were giving Evan a lecture.


    "I get it..." Slowly Evan muttered and canceled the spell. At the same moment, the pressureing from Draven quickly diminished and everything returned to normal.


    Draven took a sip of the amber drink and headed for one of the cabs. He pulled out a thin book that looked more like an old frayed diary and handed it to Evan.


    "You can read about the "Pir of Soul" in the library too, but this little book was written by me personally. It''s yours now, you won''t learn much new about the "Pir of Soul", but reading it will add to your knowledge."


    "Thank you." With a satisfied smile on his face, Evan said and held the book up to the spatial ring.


    Whoosh.


    A secondte,r the book was already lying in a small space inside the ring.


    "I see you''re getting the hang of it and using this ring easily. By the way, don''t dare put another spatial ring inside this spatial ring. Your ring is too low ranked to withstand objects like that inside. It will explode from the overload and you will be seriously injured." Draven warned Evan.


    "Okay, Draven, is the "Pir of Soul" the same as the soul?" Evan asked calmly. In his mind, now he saw the soul of Draven and the rat before him.


    Draven shook his head, "No, the soul is not such a simple thing to see with a rank zero spell you`ve learned in two hours."


    "What did I see then? What is the "Pir of Soul"?" Evan asked puzzled.


    "Pir of Soul" is only a small part of the soul, though no...that''s not right. The "Pir of Soul" does not show the soul of someone, it is aption of the power and essence of the creature. That''s why you saw that rat of a monster and were mesmerized by the white-hot lights inside my "Pir of Soul".


    Draven sighed and continued: "I understand that you might have been confused by the name and what the "Pir of Soul" looks like, but it''s not a soul. To see someone''s soul requires special spells and incredible power. Nevertheless, the "Pir of Soul" can be called something like a soul, it is proof that you exist in this world and that you are recognized by the world."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, he pondered Draven''s words. "Pir of Soul" was a deeper concept than he could have imagined.


    <That you are recognized by the world...>. Evan thought about Draven''sst sentence.


    "Evan, use the "Eye of Truth" on the table we''re sitting at." Suddenly Draven said.


    "What do you mean?" Evan didn''t understand why he would use this spell on an ordinary, wooden table.


    "Just do as I say." Draven replied sinctly.


    Evan nodded and the next moment his "Warp" spun.


    Whoosh.


    The irises of Evan''s eyes glowed brightly and to his surprise he saw the "Pir of Soul" above the table.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, you should see your face right now. Evan, just because monsters and beasts and we, humans, are living beings capable of thinking and acting doesn''t mean we are alone in this world. Even a mere stone in the road has its own "Pir of Soul," for it too exists in this world and is recognized by it."

 Chapter 145 - People

    "Even the stone has a "Pir of Soul"...?" Evan was surprised at Draven''s words. Until this moment, he had never considered the fact that even an ordinary wooden table not only has its purpose, but also its essence.


    "Yes, the same goes for materials. If the "Pir of Soul" of your chosen material has one tform, it means that it can be used to make a weapon of the first rank. That way you can find really good materials and give them to a cksmith who will forge a great weapon. However, there is one problem." Draven said slowly.


    "What''s that?" Evan asked puzzled.


    "You can''t see the "Pir of Soul" of the creatures or things that surpass you by more than one level. For example: if you cast the "Eye of Truth" on a first-ranked sword, you will see its "Pir of Soul", but if you want to do the same with a second-ranked spear, you can''t. The same goes for humans, monsters, and beasts." Draven replied.


    "I see, but if the other person wants to show his "Pir of Soul" himself, then I can see it, right?"


    Draven nodded.


    There was silence in the room for a while. Evan pondered what he had heard, while Draven quietly drank his whiskey. He understood that Evan needed to sort out his thoughts and think over all the information he had received.


    "Draven, I only have one question left about the "Pir of Soul", something I don''t understand." Evan said calmly.


    Draven didn''t answer anything and just waited for the young man''s words.


    "Why was there no mark on your "Pir of Soul"? This rat had, and as I understand it, beasts also have their own unique mark that distinguishes them from everyone else."


    "There is nothing surprising or strange about that, all because I am human. Your "Pir of Soul" doesn''t have a mark either, just like all humans in this world. There are no exceptions." Draven said calmly.


    "But, why don''t people have a mark? Even this table and the chairs we sit on have their own markings. It seems as if there''s something wrong with the human race." Evan said puzzled.


    "Oddly enough, you''re right. I don''t know why, but humans really don''t have the markings. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with our "Warps" and the ways in which we be stronger. How do I exin my point to you..." Draven spoke slowly.


    Draven hesitated for a while, but a few secondster the ring on his finger glowed brightly and the most ordinary piece of paper appeared in his hands.


    Draven pointed to the sheet and said: "It`s we, this sheet is people."


    Evan understood what Draven was trying to tell him. Demien once had broached the subject and made a very "ttering" statement about what he thought of people, the world, and everyone else.


    "Unlike monsters and beasts, we have no inherent advantages. From the birth, we are the weakest creatures in this world, and most remain so for the rest of our lives. Only those with an awakened talent for magic canpete with other races". Draven said.


    He sighed and continued: "Perhaps our "Pirs of Soul" have no marks, because originally we were the weakest beings in this world, i.e., humans. Then we became magicians, who are inherently different beings than humans, but we are still humans. Out of nothing we became something, but our position in the world cannot be evaluated in any way. We''re creatures who can be expected to do anything."


    Evan smiled and said slowly: "One my acquaintance said that humans are a mistake, and to some extent he was right."


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, I agree, okay, Evan, both of us has business to attend to. The opening ceremony starts very soon and we both need to be there. Go back to your room and I''ve got something else to do."


    "Got it, thanks for the lesson and the treat." Evan said with a smile, took onest sip of whiskey and got up from the table.


    Evan headed for the door, but suddenly Draven stopped him: "Ipletely forgot to tell you. Evan, practice using the "Eye of Truth" in front of the mirror. You need to make sure your iris doesn''t glow, it passes you off, and it can get you in trouble. A little practice and you''ll achieve that result."


    "Okay, see youter." Slowly Evan mouthed and went away.


    The only thing left in the room was Draven and a half-empty bottle of whiskey.


    "What a beautiful day it is..." Slowly Draven muttered looking up at the blue sky and the slowly floating clouds.


    ...


    Evan was also in a good mood. The morning of that day had begun very strangely for him. At six o''clock in the morning he was taken to the arena, where he battled monsters. In the end, he won, found a great teacher and had already learned a very useful spell.


    What''s more, he`d learned a lot of new things. Draven told him about things like the "Gust",the "Ssh", and the "Pir of Soul". He only talked with Draven for a couple of hours, but the amount of knowledge he gained was enormous. That''s not to mention the fact that Draven guided him during his "Eyes of Truth" training.


    "If I hadn''tsted ten seconds yesterday and be an "Inner student", none of this would have happened. I would have just woken up at seven in the morning, gotten a list of teachers, and waited for the opening ceremony to begin." Evan muttered slowly as he crossed the threshold of his room. A few hourster, the young man would already be in another house in an area of the city. He would receive a thousand "Moon Coins" for participating in the test that morning. Evan thought that should be enough to rent the right house for him.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    After a while, Evan heard a knock on the door. He hurriedly opened it and saw a girl in a yellow mantle. She had short ck hair and green eyes. She was a student of the fourth rank, as well as an Amplifier and an Inner student.


    "Come, I was told to escort you to the amphitheater."


    Evan nodded and thought, <This time a living person came to me, not a soulless Golem>.


    The young man nced at the sign on the girl''s mantle, <She''s a fourth rank student, I wonder how long it took her to get there>.


    They walked for quite a long time and neither of them uttered a word the whole time. Evan thought about what had happened and what he should do next. It''s worth noting that Evan was not the only one the attendant came for.


    Enni walked past him and followed the guy in the blue mantle, as well as Lars and Chloe who followed the fourth rank students.


    <This is the moment.> Evan thought as he entered the amphitheater hall.

 Chapter 146 - The Mantle

    Evan slowly entered the amphitheater. It was huge and majestic, and this was where the most important events and announcements in "The Last Moon" took ce.


    The seats in the parterre numbered in hundreds, there were also several floors above, offering an impressive view of the stage. Massive crystal chandeliers illuminated the entire auditorium, and the marble, carved columns gave the amphitheater an ancient aura.


    Evan wasn''t the first to arrive, several dozen students were already seated in the front rows. The girl told Evan to sit wherever he wanted and quickly left the amphitheater. Her only job was to escort Evan to the right ce.


    He sat down in the fifth row and waited for the beginning. As time passed, there were more and more students, and the teachers had already filled almost the entire upper floor.


    <Are there all the teachers of the Academy here?> Evan thought as he looked at the upper floors.


    Each one of them was looking intently at the students and was extremely serious. The entrance ceremony was one of the most important events in every Academy of Magic. The new students were the future power of the Academy, and some of them will be teachers in the future.


    "Looks like the ceremony is starting." Evan muttered quietly as he looked at Arabe entering the stage.


    Her appearance was much different now than it had been this morning. Her look wasn`t sleepy now and there were no bags under her eyes. Her movements were not sluggish, and she herself looked alert and energetic.


    Evan was surprised, he thought that Arabe was sleepy and slow in any situation.


    "To begin with, I congratte you all on your admission to "The Last Moon", I hope this ce will be a second home for you, where you can be better and learn many new things. Now, each of you will get your mantle, map and emblem, and then you meet your teacher. In addition, you will be assigned to the sses you will be studying in." Calmly Arabe said.


    The next moment she called out one student''s name and he immediately walked onto the stage.


    Whoosh.


    A blue mantle with a white emblem appeared in the air next to Arabe, which she handed to the young man.


    Arabe said loudly: "Andre Booth - "Creator", white "Warp", F- ss, 100 "Moon Coins", teacher - Thomas Burke."


    After her words, a man in a silver mantle, who was this young man''s teacher, came onto the stage. They quickly left the stage together and Arabe called out the name of the next student.


    In addition to the mantle and the emblem, Arabe also gave out a card with a certain number of "Moon Coins" on it. The better the ss the student was in, the more ''Moon Coins" he got.


    The card was special because only "Moon Coins" could be ced on it. This was done to ensure that there was only one currency in the city and the Academy. It was simply impossible to buy anything with gold coins.


    A tall girl came to the stage and also received her mantle, emblem, and map. A man in a white mantle came out to her. Then Arabe called out the name of the next student.


    <Hmm, I thought we`re going on the stage in alphabetical order, but I guess I was wrong. It''s all about ss, theter a student enters the stage, the better ss he''ll be in.> Evan thought as he watched another student enter the stage.


    Evan was surprised to see that even people with purple emblems were getting into the F-ss. This meant that the color of the "Warp", in this Academy of Magic was really not important. It was the student''s skills, abilities and actions that counted, not his luck. It was impossible to be a great magician just because you were lucky enough to have a purple "Warp".


    Evan liked this system, of course, nothing was fair in this world, but this system was times better than the others.


    As time went on, students stopped getting into the F- ss. The next student who entered the scene was assigned to the E-ss. He received not 100, but 200 "Moon Coins".


    After a while, one girl was assigned to D-ss - the more students entered the stage, the higher was the rank of the ss. Students who got into the D-ss got 300 "Moon Coins". Each time the amount increased.


    One of the students who got into the D- ss was Katlyn van Erden. Her results during the entrance exam were not the best, but not the worst either. Her teacher was of a third rank and wore a tinum mantle.


    After a while, Arabe named the first student to get into the C- ss.


    <Hmm, F, E, D, C... so the best ss is A-ss, right?> Evan thought.


    Evan had already seen many students, but not a single "Inner student" hade on stage yet. Evan assumed that everyone who had taken part in this morning''s test would be assigned to A-ss, including him.


    "Fien Vierdag - "Creator", purple "Warp", B-ss, 500 "Moon Coins", teacher- Lionel Thomas." Arabe said calmly, handing the girl the mantle and the map emblem.


    <Hmm, Fien didn''tst very many seconds during the test, but she still made it to the B- ss, it looks like the teachers liked her performance.> Evan thought and continued to wait his turn.


    Despite the huge number of students, the ceremony went fairly quickly. Arabe did not waste any more time with idle chitchat, she only gave the necessary information.


    However, Evan''s expectations were not matched by reality. "Inner students" did not make it into A-ss.


    "Bernt Vignes - "Creator", white "Warp", A-ss, 600 "Moon Coins", teacher - Valentine Goberd."


    <Bernt... this is the guy who was only two seconds short of bing an "Inner student". If those who could practicallyst ten seconds get into the A-ss, what ss will I get into?> Evan pondered, looking at the contented young man on the stage.


    In Bernt`s family, the magicians with the white "Warp" were considered losers. This had been weighing on Bernt for years, but now he realized that none of this mattered. All that mattered was that he had proved himself far better than most other students. Moreover, he had always wanted to do alchemy, and the teacher of alchemy took him as a student. Today was the best day of his life for Bernt.


    Besides Bernt, there were many other students who were happy with their results. Of course, every of them wanted to be an "Inner student", but they understood that it was almost impossible to do so. Only fourteen people out of several hundred had be "Inner students". Only this showed how difficult it was tost ten seconds.


    After hundreds of students, there were only fourteen people left in the amphitheater who hadn''t received their mantles from the Head of the Academy yet.


    "Kent Waage - "Summoner", purple "Warp", S- ss, 700 "Moon Coins", you also get an extra 1000 "Moon Coins" for passing the entrance exam and bing an "Inner student", teacher - Lourens Vouwe."


    Kent received his green mantle with a ck frame, and then the man in the gray mantle took the stage.

 Chapter 147 - The Learning System

    <S-ss, it`s interesting... So, in this ss, there will be all "Inner students", including me. This academy has a rather strict division of students ording to their skills, but that''s not surprising. Each student needs to be treated differently depending on his abilities. Otherwise, no one will be able to progress properly.> Evan thought as he watched the next student enter the stage.


    Like Kent, he was a "Summoner", but his "Warp" was white. He was proof that it was possible to be an "Inner student" even if you were unlucky enough to have a purple "Warp".


    Following the young man, the other students who had taken part in the morning test took the stage. Each of them received arge number of "Moon Coins", and their teachers were either of the third or fourth rank.


    <Will I be thest again?> Evan thought as he watched Gerda enter the arena.


    Except for her, there were only four persons who hadn`t got their mantles yet: Lars, Chloe, Enni, and Evan. They performed better than the others in a special test for "Inner students".


    After Gerda, a tall young man, who had been trying his best to win the battle against the "Bloody Berserker", took the stage.


    "Lars Svenningsen - "Summoner", white "Warp", S- ss, 700 "Moon Coins" and another 1000 for an excellent result during the entrance exam, teacher - Arve Jansen".


    <Arve Jansen... his name was on the list, he wanted me to be his student, too. Well, I think Lars would be a great student for him, this guy is quite strong.> Thought Evan looking at the teacher in the gray mantle.


    After Lars, Chloe took the stage and then Enni. Each of them had a teacher in the gray mantle. These three were the best, for with theirbined efforts they had practically killed the "Bloody Berserker". Their skills and aspirations couldn''t pass the watchful eyes of the fourth rank teachers.


    <It''s finally my turn.> Thought Evan and a few secondster he heard Arabe call his name.


    At that moment, the attention of all the students and teachers was fixed on him. The "Outer students" didn`t see Evan''s battle against the "Bloody Berserker", but they witnessed that hested thirteen seconds. His result was unattainable for all the other students. Everyone was wondering what Arabe was going to say.


    "Evan Lynch - "Amplifier", White "Warp", S-ss, 700 "Moon Coins" and three thousand more for winning a special test for the "Inner students". The teacher is Draven Heliot!"


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, a man in a gray mantle with snow-white hair was beside the young man. He was one of the strongest men in the entire Academy of Magic- "The Last Moon".


    Arabe handed Evan a card with the right amount of coins, but Evan was not given his mantle and emblem.


    "Evan Lynch''s wish as a winner of the test was - "To walk in what I like." For this reason, Evan Lyn§ãh will not have a mantle unless he himself wishes to have one." Arabe said calmly.


    Evan''s wish was strange, but she took it seriously. He was a winner and Arabe had no trouble fulfilling his wish. She did not mention the ess to the library, because normally a student should not receive two awards from the Head of the Academy.


    All the students and teachers looked at Evan in amazement. They didn''t understand why he had asked Arabe for such an award.


    <Don''t you really like wearing a mantle that much?! Or maybe it''s the yellow color that''s the problem??!!!> Each of them thought looking at Evan''s satisfied face.


    Since Evan was an "Amplifier" ording to the test, he would have to wear a yellow mantle. Evan had nothing against the yellow color, it was just that he liked his coat a lot better than any mantle. That`s more, in the end, he had got permission to walk around in his own coat and to ess the library.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, now there will be two people walking around in ck in this Academy." Dravenughed out loud, seeing the reaction of the others.


    At the same moment, everyone looked at Arabe and then back at Evan. Draven was right, because of Evan''s strange request he would now wear ck like Arabe. It was rather unusual since one of them was a student and the other was the Head of the Academy.


    Evan was thest, which meant that the ceremony was over. It was then that Arabe returned to her familiar image. Her eyes became sleepy again, and all her vigor and cheerfulness had evaporated somewhere.


    She said slowly: "That''s all... The ss schedule will be posted on a special board in the main hall of the Academy. Ask your teachers for the rest..."


    At a leisurely pace, Arabe left the stage.


    <I thought her transformation into an energetic person was forever.> Evan thought, looking at the departing Head of the Academy. Arabe was a rather odd person, but if a person didn''t have any zest then he was no different than anyone else.


    "Evan, what are you nning to do now?" Draven turned to Evan.


    The young man thought for a while and answered, "I think I should start by renting a ce to live. After that, I''ll think about what to do next."


    Draven said: "Right now you have 3,700 "Moon Coins", that amount of money is enough to rent a house in the second zone."


    Evan shook his head because he disagreed, "No, until I have enough "Moon Coins", I will live in the third zone. I don''t see the point in spending extra coins when I don''t have that many."


    "I see, well, the third zone isn''t such a bad ce. The exit from the city is close, which can be considered a big plus. Of course, it''ll take you quite a while to get to the Academy." Said Draven.


    Evan nodded and said: "Draven, where can I find you if I have any questions?"


    Evan didn''t yet know how sses at the Academy were arranged or how long Draven was busy a day. Considering Draven was a fourth rank teacher he had to spend a lot of time teaching, at least that''s what Evan thought.


    "Well, usually I''m either at home, in my office, or theb. Sometimes I`m busy with sses, but that doesn''t take up much time." Draven replied calmly.


    "§¡h? You''re a fourth rank teacher. Shouldn''t you be busy all the time?" Evan asked puzzled.


    Draven looked at Evan in surprise and replied, "Why do you think that? Every teacher has his own schedule, whoever needs more "Moon Coins", works more."


    "What a strange system... doesn''t that mean that if a teacher has enough "Moon Coins", he won''t teach a ss?"


    Draven nodded: "That''s exactly right. But, in my opinion, it''s a great system. The students give the teacher grades and if they are dissatisfied with the teacher, he will either get very few "Moon Coins", or nothing at all. Because of this system, teachers only give lessons when they want them and always at the highest level."


    "Hmm, when you think about it, it''s a lot better than if teachers only taught sses because they had to. They won`t have the proper motivation and the right attitude for it."


    Evan realized that everything at this Academy was thoughtful. Everything had been done so that both teachers and students could progress as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 Chapter 148 - The New House

    "Draven, I know where your house is, but where are your office and theb?" Asked Evan.


    Draven quickly replied: "My study is on the fifth floor, theb is on one of the underground floors, but students aren''t allowed in there. If you need me, just ask in the lobby on the first floor at the assignment desk. Most of the time they know where I am."


    Draven continued: "In general, there''s a lot of interesting stuff on the first floor. There''s a bulletin board and ss schedule, a map of the Academy, as well as training rooms, arenas, and special rooms for "Creation."


    "By the way, how do the sses at the Academy work? Do I have to attend them as it says on the schedule?" To be honest, Evan didn''t n to take all the sses regrly, but only those sses he would be interested in. The young man thought the library and Draven would be far better than dozens of teachers.


    "Well, you don''t have to take sses unless you want to. Your main goal is to reach "One- pointed Star" in three years, the way is not important." Draven calmly replied.


    "I see, thank you, then, I will go to the first floor." Said Evan calmly.


    "Wait a minute." Suddenly Draven stopped him.


    "Evan, you have to understand something about teachers- they''re magicians, which means they can leave from the Academy. They stay here because it either benefits them or because they want it."


    Evan nodded. <Leave the Academy...> Evan thought and remembered something else.


    "Draven, do you know where I can buy a potion or some kind of pill to cure serious wounds of a zero-ranked beast?" Evan was talking about the one-eyed raven that had saved him in the "Half-Dead Forest." The raven was a monster, but Evan decided it wasn''t worth saying that.


    "Hmm? Why would you want to do that? Do you want to be friends with some kind of beast? Well, okay, it''s not that big of a deal. There are such potions and quite a few of them, you can find them in any alchemy store in each of the three zones".


    "Thanks." Evan nodded and headed for the first floor.


    At the moment he had several things to do that he wanted to get done as quickly as possible.


    First, he needed to rent a house, but before he did, he had to look at the ss schedule. Perhaps, some sses would interest him and he would want to attend them.


    <It seems that my wish was a little rash...>. Evan thought as he walked to the first floor filled with dozens of students.


    Every one of them was staring at him, for Evan was the only one not wearing a mantle. Evan didn''t care about their stares, but when you had that many people staring at you, it''s just impossible to ignore it.


    So far, only the students who had been at the ceremony were aware of Evan''s unusual request. It would take some time before the word of this would spread throughout the Academy.


    Evan took his time walking over to the ss board and quickly found his ss on the list. To Evan''s surprise, there were a huge number of different sses there. They were divided not only by letters but also by years of study.


    <Hmm, first lessons will be only in a week ...>. Evan thought as he looked at the ss schedule.


    He had expected the first sses to be the day after the entrance ceremony, but he was wrong.


    <Well, there''s a certain logic to it. New students need time to settle in, find their housing, and learn more about the city and the Academy. Um, the first sses are all about how to "Create" and collect mana from the environment. Better to ask Draven about it than to waste extra time.> Evan thought and quickly walked out of the Academy.


    Evan had been to the city once before, but that day he was in a hurry for his entrance exam, so he didn''t have time to look around properly and walk around the city streets.


    Evan didn''t stop in the first or second zone, he would still have time to go back there. He needed to find a house and an alchemy store in the third zone.


    The zones wererge, but Evan got to the right ce fairly quickly. He made his way down the stairs separating one zone from the other and ended up in the third zone.


    <The third zone is the cheapest ce in this town, but I wouldn''t say that people here are discontent or suffer from ack of something.> Evan thought to himself as he looked at the people passing by.


    Each zone was quite different from the other. Passing by the first zone Evan saw arge number of magicians and people dressed in luxurious clothes. The streets were perfectly clean and the buildings were made of the finest materials and designed by talented architects.


    The infrastructure got worse with each zone, but even in the third zone, there was no dirt on the streets or ruin. The people looked neat and were dressed, albeit in simple clothes, but made of quality materials.


    This was no surprise, though. "The Last Moon" was one of the strongest, and therefore the richest Academies of Magic in the entire "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes." For the same reason, only magicians and people who were allowed to stay here could live in this city. Every person knew his business here and did not cause trouble for anyone.


    < The magicians are walking here all the time, but no one is surprised, it seems that magicians aremonce here.> Evan thought to himself as he looked at the few magicians passing by themon people.


    Even in Mossy Vulture that was home to arge number of magicians, some people continued to look at them with wonder. In "The Last Moon" the magicians lived side by side with ordinary people.


    Of course, magicians andmoners were not equal, there was social inequality between them. Despite this, magicians and humans could coexist peacefully without problems.


    While walking through the streets of the city Evan was thinking about what kind of house he wanted. The previous house in Mossy Vulture waspletely convenient for him, but Evan realized there were much better options.


    <Hmm, maybe I need the simplest house possible. On the first floor of the Academy, there are training areas and rooms for "Creation". All I need is a few spacious rooms and arge underground floor.>


    Evan originally wanted to rent the best house he could afford, but some timeter, he changed his mind.


    Now he was walking around the streets, where some of the houses were for rent. After about thirty minutes, Evan found a suitable option. It was a one-story stone house with a red tile roof and a small but very nice veranda. The house itself and the area around it were not veryrge, but it was more than enough for one person.


    Evan quickly read the ad, and after he learned that there was another floor under the house he immediately decided to take it.


    Last time Evan had waited for the person in charge of renting the house, but this time thendlord was right there. It was an old man in a vest and a in white shirt. He was drinking tea and admiring the small garden in front of the veranda.

 Chapter 149 - The Alchemy Shop

    Evan wanted to call out the old man, but he noticed that the gate was not locked as it had moved a little shifted from a strong gust of wind. He didn''t think long and went inside immediately. The old man did not immediately notice Evan, he calmly continued drinking his tea.


    When he noticed Evan, the young man smiled and waved his hand, said: "Old man! Aren`t you bored alone?"


    "Good afternoon, young man, my name is Eric Lenero, can I help you?" The old man slowly said taking another sip of tea.


    The old man reacted very calmly to Evan''s appearance, even though Evan came inside without asking.


    "I''m Evan Lynch, I want to rent this house," Evan exined the purpose of his visit.


    The old man nodded and said leisurely: "I am leasing the house for a minimum of three months, it will be 900 "Moon Coins", do you agree?"


    Evan didn''t expect to have to pay for three months at once, but he quickly agreed. In any case, he wasn''t nning on moving anywhere soon and was nning on staying in the third zone for a few months.


    "Evan, are you a student of "The Last Moon"?" Eric suddenly asked.


    The young man nodded silently. He understood that the old man was just curious.


    "Then, instead of the former price, you''ll be charged 1,000 "Moon Coins", I don`t want to be rude, but you, magicians, get "Moon Coins" a lot easier than ordinary people," Eric said calmly.


    Evan wanted to object, but after a second, he sighed and said: "Well, there''s some truth in what you say. Well, let`s bring a little more justice to this world, I agree."


    A hundred "Moon Coins" wasn''t much price for bargaining about. Even more so, the price for renting the house wasn''t the highest of the other offers.


    The old man smiled and said: "Have a seat, I should treat my guest and the new temporary owner of this beautiful house."


    Evan did not refuse. Besides the tea, there were also some cakes on the table, and they looked quite appetizing.


    When the young man sat down at the table, the old man carefully poured him some tea from the porcin teapot.


    "How do you like your tea, Evan?"


    "Not bad, old man, I like the ce even better now." With a smile on his face, Evan replied and took a bite of the cake.


    Eric loved to rx this way: just drinking tea and admiring the surroundings.


    "Good, then it''s time to pay." Said the old man and at the same moment pulled a gray card out of his pocket. A bright blue moon was drawn on the edge of the card. Evan did the same, he expected Eric to bring out a special que like the one in the stores of Mossy Vulture. But, instead, the old man asked puzzled: "Evan, did you just get into the Academy?"


    Evan shrugged his shoulders and just nodded. He didn''t see anything strange in that.


    "I see, so you don''t know how to use the card in this town. Look, put your card to mine, so that the moons are touching. Then pour in it some mana and transfer the required amount of coins." Eric exined.


    The young man nodded and did what the old man had told him. This process was very different from the one he had seen in Mossy Vulture. It was much morefortable and faster. A few secondster, the blue moons glowed and 1,000 "Moon Coins" were debited from Evan''s card.


    "What, are you surprised?" With a smile on his face, the old man said, returning the card to his pocket.


    "Not much, but there''s something I don''t understand. If I wasn''t a magician, how would I pay for something in that case? The cards just wouldn''t activate." Evan asked puzzled.


    "HAH, every store has a special que with an iid mana crystal. One crystal is enough to conduct thousands of transfers. Of course, when your customer is a magician, things get a lot easier." Eric calmly replied as he finished his cup of tea.


    After a couple of seconds, Eric put a big old key on the table and said: "This house is yours for three months. I hope everything will be all right."


    Evan nodded affirmatively.


    The old man was about to leave as he had already finished his tea and by some coincidence found a customer.


    Suddenly Evan stopped him, "Old man, you don''t look like amon man, what do you do?"


    Magicians didn''t surprise anyone in this city, but Evan could clearly see that Eric was used to dealing with them. Evan thought the old man might be some kind of cksmith or alchemist or something like that.


    "I don`t work myself anymore. I just have a few of these houses and rent them out, and well, I also own one small alchemy store." Eric said calmly.


    He wasn''t an alchemist himself, but he had connections with some alchemists who made good quality goods for his store.


    Eric talked about having an alchemy store like it was an everyday thing, yet it was a rarity, especially in the third zone. Creating pills and potions took a long time and required good skills. Moreover, it required special ingredients that were sometimes difficult to obtain.


    Evan smiled and said: "Old man, do you have the potions or pills that can cure a wounded beast of a zero rank?"


    Eric nodded: "Sure, if you want the wounds to heal in a few minutes then prepare a few thousand "Moon Coins." But, if there''s no urgent treatment needed, 500 "Moon Coins" will suffice."


    < Well, 500 "Moon Coins", that''s not much. I need to finish this story and nevere back to it again.> Evan thought. He ced the key in the spatial ring and followed Eric.


    "Okay, then, old man, can you show me where your store is."


    "Of course, but I''m not going to treat you this time, you''ve had enough." Eric said calmly and walked out the gate.


    Evan quickly followed him. Now he had a home, which meant he had two more things to do: to cure the one-eyed raven, and finally go to the library.


    All the way to the alchemy store, Evan and the old man were silent. They walked leisurely to the alchemy store that Eric owned. The building was small, of rare mahogany wood, it looked rather old, but well maintained.


    "Come in." Said the old man stepping inside.


    Evan stepped over the threshold and found himself in an alchemy store for the first time in his life. To Evan''s surprise, everything inside was quite simple. Potions and jars of pills stood neatly on shelves with small signs in front of them.


    <Well, actually the store looks pretty good, I''m just used to the pomp of Marcel`s stores> Evan thought.


    "Man, I don''t need a pill that will cure all wounds instantly. Give me the one that''s worth 500 "Moon Coins" that you were talking about."


    "Alright, I''ll get it for you, you can look around for now." Said the old man and headed for the warehouse.


    Evan decided to take a closer look at the store''s merchandise.

 Chapter 150 - The Hall Of Knowledge

    <Hmm, there are so many interesting potions and pills, and medicinal herbs. Herbs, I don''t really need, I''m not an alchemist, but some potions and pills could be very useful>.


    Evan thought, stopping his gaze on an amber-colored potion. There were many other potions here, but that was what caught his attention.


    If he drank it, a thin veil would cover his body. It''s a veil is an excellent defense against fire. Only for a few minutes, but it was enough to survive several powerful spells.


    There were also simr potions that protected against other elements: water, ice, lightning, wind, etc. In addition to these protective potions, Evan paid attention to a couple of interesting pills. One of them can stop bleeding and the other increased regeneration.


    These pills were quite expensive, now Evan couldn''t afford such things now. Nevertheless, they were very useful. Of course, if you took a pill like that, the wounds wouldn''t heal in ten seconds, but the regeneration would still be many times faster than normal.


    Looking at the potions and pills Evan decided what he was going to do for the next few days.


    He nned first to visit the library, then take some kind of assignment. Evan wanted to explore territories around the Academy, but if he took the assignment, he could also earn some "Moon Coins".


    <After the library I''ll head to the "Half-Dead Forest", hopefully, the bulletin board has some tasks that can be done in or around this forest.>


    While Evan was thinking about what he should do next an old man returned from the warehouse. He handed Evan a small baggie with a yellow pill in it and calmly said: "Here. Any beast of a zero rank who takes this pill will be cured in a couple of days."


    "Great." Said Evan and quickly paid with his card.


    The young man moved the pouch into the spatial ring and left the alchemy store. For today he had already spent 1500 "Moon Coins", if he bought anything else he would be left with nothing.


    <I have the pill, I think I''ll spend a couple of hours in the library and then head to the "Half-Dead Forest."> Thought Evan and headed for the Academy.


    It took quite a long time to get from the third zone to the Academy, But there was nothing you could do about it. The city itself wasrge and varied.


    After a while, Evan got to the Academy and headed straight to the library. The young man didn''t know where it was, but there was a map of the entire Academy on the first floor.


    <So, this is the library of the Academy of Magic>. Evan thought standing in front of the small building.


    The library was not in a building in the Academy itself, but nearby. Moreover, most of the library was underground. And now, Evan was standing in front of the entrance to a huge underground structure.


    He did not hesitate and quickly made his way to the entrance. From the entrance, there was a staircase down to a tunnel illuminated by several crystals. When Evan reached the first floor of the library, he was stunned to the core.


    <This was just unbelievable...>.


    The library was huge, with hundreds of bookshelves and thousands of shelves containing all kinds of books. This library was like a small town.


    All the books were divided into categories, just like the library halls themselves. For example, all the books about cksmithing were in one hall. Hundreds of students were sitting at tables and going from one hall to another. This was the first floor, but even here, there were more than ten thousand different books.


    The colossal size of the library made Evan wary. He realized that he wouldn''t be able to read even one hundredth of all these books. Moreover, besides the first floor, there were three other floors, that Evan had ess to.


    <Okay, trying to read all the books in the world is a pretty stupid thing. I need to figure out what it is knowledge I''m mostcking at the moment and choose the books that are useful>.


    Evan pondered and walked leisurely toward one of the sections. Right now, he didn''t need information about any particr craft. He knew little of the world he was in and that knowledge was the most important at the moment.


    So Evan headed to the hall where the books describing the territories of "The Kingdom of the Fallen Hopes", the neighbors of that kingdom, and other such things.


    He was curious to know what cities and ces there were near "The Last Moon". He also needed information about the history, organization, and the most powerful people in the kingdom.


    Evan took a book that seemed interesting from the shelf, sat down at the table, and started reading it.


    The atmosphere of the library was perfect for reading. Pleasant light, almostplete silence, except for the rustling of the pages. There were a lot of students, but no one was noisy. Everyone hade here for new knowledge.


    Evan could have gone to the second, third, and fourth floors of the library, but he decided to start with the first floor. He didn''t have that much time today to devote to reading all day.


    Luckily, Evan could read very fast. It was a skill he had left over from his previous life. He had always loved reading books. He could read a medium-sized book in about an hour. Of course, Evan could read many times faster, but then he would risk missing something or misunderstanding it.


    In spell books, you had to reread many points several times and think about what you were reading. It was impossible to read them like regr books.


    After about forty minutes, Evan closed the book and returned it to the shelf. Most of the book talked about how "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" and especially its capital city was set up.


    <This kingdom is quite cruel to themon people. When a ruler is such a cruel ruler it either leads to prosperity or total copse.>


    Evan had only read one book, but it was enough to draw some conclusions about "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes".


    First of all, it was an absolute monarchy. The king''s name was Vexacion Addington, and he was also the strongest magician in "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". Evan understood that the book might be slightly embellished, but he wasn''t interested in how strong the king was anyway.


    Vexacion was a wise and strong ruler. During his reign, "The Kingdom of the Fallen Hopes" won a war with one of three neighboring kingdoms. As a result, "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" got a huge amount of resources, which meant that the local magicians had increased their power. However, because of Vexacion''s actions, another war began as well, that`s still going on.


    Despite all his merits, Evan thought that Vexacion wasn`t the best king and the reason was that he hated themon people. The book showed very clearly the king''s attitude towards themon people. He exalted magicians like gods and consideredmon people like ves.

 Chapter 151 - King Vexacion

    Vexacion despisedmon people incapable of magic, but for obvious reasons, he could not get rid of such people. The closer the city was to the capital, the harder it was formon people to get into.


    Things were even tougher in the capital. Common people were allowed to live there, but by the order of the Vexacion they had no rights. They could only work for the benefit of the magicians and that was it.


    <I think that if he could, the king Vexacion would destroy all themon people>. There were no king`s quotes or his statements, only his attitude toward themon people. But, that was enough to understand how much Vexacion despised them.


    Evan did not agree with the king''s ideology. In his opinion, it was both unfair and abominable.


    <By this king''s logic, if you''re lucky enough to have a talent for magic then you stand above everyone else without efforts at all. And if you don''t have a talent for magic, you must forever serve the lucky ones. Annoying logic>. Evan thought.


    Evan understood that there was no justice in this world. And although, the status of themon man is in any case is much lower than that of a magician, but still people are not ves. Moreover, if Evan had not used the demon''s power, he would also be amoner in this world.


    The previous owner of his body was not only miserable but untalented. Unlike everyone else in this world, Evan had be a magician by force.


    <Okay, the king''s ideology doesn''t interest me. All that matters is that the "Kingdom of the Fallen Hopes" is really huge and there are a lot of cities and Academies of Magic... There are also different climatic zones, from hot deserts to snowynds. In some ces, there are even crystal caves filled with huge amounts of mana crystals. I wonder what the capital looks like...">. Evan summarized.


    The capital was where the wealth flowed from all over the kingdom. The best magicians and the most talented young men. Mossy Vulture and "The Last Moon" were some of the richest and most powerful cities in the entire kingdom, but they couldn''t bepared to the capital.


    Evan decided to choose the next book. He was going to read another one and go for the assignment.


    After a couple of minutes, Evan decided to choose a book describing the external enemies of ''The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". But, next to that book there was another, more interesting one about the inner enemies.


    <I think, first it''s better to learn about the enemies I might encounter here than to worry about those in other kingdoms.> Evan thought and picked up the blue book from the shelf.


    In Evan''s opinion, learning about the various underground organizations was also very useful. Firstly, this way one could avoid any contact with any of these organizations, and secondly, it could be of great benefit.


    Various bandits, criminals, ck market dealers, and other such people were part of the underground world. Of course, in any kingdom, the authorities try to destroy the underground world, but it just can''t be done at all.


    The underground world is like the flip side of every nation. Its emergence is inevitable. It''s like how light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa.


    Evan didn''t think it was necessary to be afraid of the underground world, it`s better to interact with it as it''s also a part of the kingdom, albeit a dark one.


    <Hmm, in the ck markets or in underground organizations you can buy things you just can''t get in regr stores. Forbidden substances, spells, ves, beasts, monsters, I think, you can get anything you want there.> Evan thought, reading the book.


    Of course, the book didn''t tell him how to contact the underground world, much less be part of it. There was no information about ck markets and other such ces.


    Nevertheless, Evan did get a lot of information about the various known underground organizations, their characteristics, activities, power, numbers, and influence.


    If the opportunity presented itself, Evan would try to establish contact with some of them for ess to the underground world. It wasn''t necessary to join the organization, you could just be a good acquaintance or offer unusual merchandise.


    He had been the strongest dark magician in his past life, so the underground world for him was even closer.


    <I didn''t expect there to be so many underground organizations in this kingdom. Many of them, of course, is more like a big gang of bandits, but there are some really serious ones, too.>


    Evan thought as he flipped through the next page. The more he read, the more he learned about the powerful organizations. Each one had its own purpose and ideology. But, all of them were after two things-- money and power. That''s what everyone was after, though, not just the underground organizations.


    After a while, Evan finished reading this book. Now he was experiencing incredible emotions and a great deal of interest was in his eyes. It was all about thest organization he had read about. It was the most powerful and ancient of all those mentioned ones in this book.


    <Huh, so that''s why the choice of colors for the robes seemed a little strange to me. It''s clear now why I haven''t seen a single magician walk around in a red mantle". Evan thought.


    He was thrilled because the organization he had just read about was called "Demonic Tree".


    From the name alone, it was already clear that it was an evil organization that was despised by almost everyone. The "Demonic Tree" was the worst of the worst.


    Nevertheless, they were respected and feared in the underworld. They possessed many forbidden spells and items, and among the members of the "Demonic Tree", there were many real psychos and murderers.


    But that wasn''t the most important thing, it was the demons: the creatures Evan had never heard of in this world before. He had never heard of, and now he understood why. Moreover, the hallmark of the members of the "Demonic Tree" was that they wore red mantles and demon masks.


    There was a lot of forbidden magic, but magic associated with demons was one of the taboos of this world. Every magician literally hated the "Demonic Tree", as well as there was an impressive bounty on the head of any member of this organization was entitled.


    Yet, there was little concrete information about the "Demonic Tree" in the book. All Evan could learn was about their appearance, the other magicians'' attitudes toward them, and a description of several events that made them famous as ruthless madmen.


    The ''Demonic Tree" was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous organizations. Even the strong magicians avoided meeting with them, not to mention newbie ones. Thetter were horrified only at the mention of the "Demonic Tree".


    And yet, there was one, the newbie magician who was sitting at the table and smiling at that moment. Evan''s eyes burned with fire and emotion overwhelmed him. He had finally taken a step forward.


    There was now one more thing on his list of ns- "To enter the "Demonic Tree."

 Chapter 152 - Demonic Tree

    Everyone fears and avoids evil organizations. The authorities are trying to destroy them. It seems that everyone is against the evil organizations and soon they will be destroyed, but they don`t disappear, they be stronger. There is one simple exnation for that- people are constantly joining these organizations. Darkness is an attraction.


    What''s more, the more dangerous and hateful the organization is, the more people want to be a part of it. Each had its own reasons. Someone wanted to be stronger, someone wanted to be rich and have authority, and someone was looking for a ce that he could call home.


    The underworld isn''t just a gang of thugs, it''s a whole universe with its own rules.


    Of course, usually, the evil organizations are joined by various criminals, bandits, and murderers. But, some people join because of their own motives or because they like the ideology of this or that organization.


    The book Evan just had read was meant to warn the newbie magicians and show them how many dangerous organizations there are in the world. But, it had the opposite effect on Evan. Since that moment to "Join the "Demonic Tree" was his main concern.


    Evan was originally going to leave after reading two medium-sized books, but now his ns had changed. He started looking for books that would tell him more about the "Demonic Tree." He was curious about their purposes and the crimes the organization hadmitted.


    Evan didn''t have to look long, the "Demonic Tree" was a powerful and well-known organization in the underground world. There were several books devoted to it on the first floor of the library. Nevertheless, after reading one of them, Evan wasn`t satisfied with the amount of information.


    <Hmm, most of this book is just a repetition of what I''ve already read. I`ve certainly learned about a few events the "Demonic Tree" was involved in, but it isn''t enough. Moreover, there are virtually no specifics. It`s said that the people wearing red mantles were seen there. The "Demonic Tree" clearly knows how to operate secretly and cover its tracks.>


    Evan thought, putting the book back on the shelf. Two hourster, Evan had read two more thick books that had at least some information about the "Demonic Tree".


    Unfortunately, he didn''t learn much. Of course, Evan didn''t expect to find the books with information on how to join this organization, where their base was, or who their leader was.


    <All right, I`ve got some information. First of all, the "Demonic Tree" never does anything that draws a lot of attention. They''ve never attacked any city or densely popted area. Now I should figure out why they act this way, is it because they''re afraid of something?>


    Evan didn''t believe that the "Demonic Tree'' were cowards and therefore had never acted loudly andrge scale. He thought there was some sense in their actions, for they were not a gang of bandits, but a huge organization with its own goals.


    .


    From the information he had received, all the time someone had spotted members of the "Demonic Tree", it had happened in some very obscure ces. What''s more, the eyewitnesses were, as a rule, ordinary people who simply spoke of seeing someone in red mantles.


    Only once did the members of the "Demonic Tree" appear in one of the viges, but they didn''t touch anyone and quickly left it. Moreover, this vige was on the outskirts of "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes", near the border with another kingdom. In other words, it was a very inconspicuous ce.


    All of the information in the books was collected by ordinary people, independent magicians and in particr, the "Tears of Light" organization.


    "Tears of Light" was a righteous organization, or at least it made itself out to be so.


    The "Tears of Light" caught criminals, took down entire criminal organizations and kept order. They also worked closely with the authorities. They had enormous resources and powerful magicians in their ranks.


    They were the main haters of the entire underworld. The most important task of the "Tears of Light" was topletely destroy the entire underground world. In that case, themon people and the magicians could live in peace and not worry about anything. Of course, they, like other "light" organizations wanted to hunt down and eradicate the "Demonic Tree".


    The motives of the "Tears of Light" were certainly good, but in Evan''s opinion, it was nothing more than a publicity stunt. With their speeches about how they wanted to change the world for the better, they were simply deceiving the gullible masses. Their real goal was to take control of all sorts of territories. That`s why they wanted so vehemently to crush the underworld that was impregnable to them. It was a simple game for power and resources.


    After a few minutes of reflection, Evan realized something: <They''re looking for something...>


    He had no other exnation for the "Demonic Tree''s" actions. They didn''t appear in public, rob or kill merchants or other magicians. They didn''t attack ns or families of any kind. All they did was appear asionally in inconspicuous ces.


    Of course, that was just a guess, but Evan was sure he was right. There were no other reasons.


    Realizing what was the real task of the "Demonic Tree", Evan smiled. For him, it was good news as he immediately came up with a n to find them.


    <So, first I need a map of the entire kingdom, and I should read a few more books and find out about most of the ces they''ve already been. That way I can find out where I shouldn''t go and where I can settle down and wait for them. It''s not a good n, but it''s the only one I have>. Evan thought and quickly left the library.


    He wasn''t going to look for members of the "Demonic Tree" right now.


    To begin with, he needed to gather the necessary information and cure the one-eyed raven. Nevertheless, he had already started his preparations. First, he was going to take the task, then head to the nearest store for everything he needed.


    In high spirits, Evan approached one of the bulletin boards. The Academy was as big as the city itself, so the number of tasks was incredible. The students were constantly taking andpleting them, but they weren''t getting any fewer, conversely, more and more.


    <That''s what Draven was talking about.> Evan thought to himself, looking at the task with the mark indicating that it was only avable to the "Inner students".


    The tasks themselves were a simple sheet of paper where it was written the type of mission, the reward, and other information. In some missions, it was required for the magician to have certain skills, equipment, or experience in some field.


    Evan wanted to go to the "Half-Dead Forest" or another area near it. Moreover, he didn''t want anypanions, so tasks like escort or protection he immediately rejected.


    <I met Sana when she was gathering Azure Dandelions. I think I need a task like "collecting" or "killing">

 Chapter 153 - Return To The Forest

    Evan, like dozens of other students, had his pick of tasks. Many of them he could not take, even though he was an "Inner student". The reason was that these tasks had a restriction on the student`s rank. Evan simply couldn''t take the tasks for the second rank students.


    All the tasks he could take were zero rank ones. He would be a first rank student only when he reached the "One-Pointed Star". Nevertheless, there were a huge number of zero rank tasks. They were the easiest and quickest toplete, so new ones kept popping up.


    It wasn''t five minutes before Evan approached the bulletin board, but other students had already taken several tasks. The space was immediately filled with other ones, that the person in charge brought in.


    At that moment, Evan realized something about this city that he hadn''t thought about before.


    <Hmm, when you think about it that way, the people in this city have a huge number of mercenaries in the form of students of the Academy. They''re the magicians who are just happy toplete a task to get "Moon Coins" for it. What amon man has to do is pay for, and his problem will be solved with a hundred percent probability.>


    This conclusion was pretty obvious, but Evan realized it only when he saw how many students were on the bulletin board.


    After a while, Evan chose the right task for himself. It was not only of a zero rank, but it was also the easiest of all, with only one star on it.


    Each task, in the upper left corner, had the stars drawn on it. The more there were, the more difficult the task was. But, regardless of the number of stars, the task of a zero rank couldn`t be more difficult than the first rank task.


    "I think to collect forty "Sun Clovers" will be quite easy," Evan mumbled and made his way to the assignment desk.


    Before choosing this task Evan looked up where the nt was growing and the location proved to be the right ce for him. It was only a kilometer away from the "Valley of the Azure Dandelions." That way he could easily get to the "Half-Dead Forest" and in addition, earn some "Moon Coins".


    The task was very simple and safe, so the reward was very small - 50 "Moon Coins". It could be considered as a delivery fee, since collecting 40 "Sun Clovers" anyone can do.


    At this point, Evan didn''t care how many "Moon Coins" he got forpleting the task. It would be his first such experience, and he was going to the "Half-Dead Forest" anyway. He couldplete the task on his way there.


    Evan took his time walking up to the assignment desk and handed the sheet to the girl. She was in charge of epting the tasks and their registration.


    The girl looked at Evan and calmly asked: "What''s your name?"


    Evan told his name, the girl nodded and signed the bottom left corner of the sheet and, to Evan''s surprise, handed him the needle, pointing to the lower right corner of the sheet.


    Evan had done something like this before when he had been in Mossy Vulture, so he knew right away what he had to do. The young man took the needle and a secondter, a drop of blood fell on the corner of the sheet.


    That was enough.


    "The deadline for the task is one week, the penalty is 200 "Moon Coins", the subject of the task should be brought to the warehouse." The girl said quickly, pointing to the door behind her.


    Everything she said was written on the other side of the sheet, but she was obliged to repeat such important things.


    Evan nodded, moved the sheet of paper into the spatial ring, and headed for the exit of the Academy.


    Before heading to the "Half-Dead Forest", Evan had some shopping to do.


    After reaching the third zone, he went into one of the stores and bought a very detailed map of "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". He also bought a few more maps of different areas as well since arge map just couldn''t show every detail. To track down the "Demonic Tree", he needed every tiny detail.


    Next, Evan went to the ordinary store that sold all sorts of junk. He only went there for one thing, and that was a demon mask. However, Evan couldn''t find anything like that. He was surprised and frustrated.


    <It seems that I underestimated the influence of the "Demonic Tree". Themon merchants are even afraid to sell masks like theirs. It''s pretty annoying...>.


    Realizing that there was no chance to buy the mask he had originally wanted, Evan started looking for another one. There were a huge number of masks there, so Evan quickly found something he liked.


    "Great, this one will do." Quietly Evan muttered looking at the ck and white mask with a strange smile.


    The left half of the mask was white with a sad expression. The right half was, by contrast, ck with a cheerful expression. There was the contrast not only in color but also in emotion expressed on the mask.


    Evan quickly bought the mask and immediately moved it into the spatial ring. For a few maps and the mask, Evan gave 50 "Moon Coins". He would have spent considerably less if he hadn''t bought such detailed maps.


    <Well, it could be considered that I just have spent the reward forpleting the task. In any case, it was worth it.> Evan thought and headed for the exit of the city.


    But, he stopped in front of the gate because he remembered something. Evan watched at the peopleing into the city and thought, "That''s right... I need a horse."


    Of course, Evan could have gone to the "Half-Dead Forest" on foot, but that didn''t make sense. All he had to do was buy a horse, it would be the right decision.


    Luckily, the stables were not too far from the exit of the city. Evan quickly found the right horse. He didn''t really have any strict criteria in choosing the horse. If he liked the horse, he would just buy it and that was it. There was no point in thinking seriously about such things.


    Evan''s choice fell on a sturdy, ck horse with a thick mane. He looked calm but strong.


    To Evan''s surprise, the horse was quite expensive, as much as 500 "Moon Coins", and that''s even though it was the third zone.


    <It`s quite expensive, but I can get there in no time.> Evan thought and climbed on his horse.


    While Evan was on his way he thought about one thing <By the way, why was Sana without a horse? The "Valley Azure Dandelion" isn''t very far from the city, but traveling by horse is obviously many times faster.>


    <I wonder if this pill really could cure the one-eyed raven? I do not doubt that the old man gave me a good quality pill, especially considering its price, but the raven''s wounds were very serious.


    If I hadn''t frozen it and stopped the bleeding, it would have died the same day.>


    While Evan was thinking about the raven, he had already reached the ce where "Sun Clover" grew.

 Chapter 154 - Sunny Clover

    "Well, I`m here," Evan said calmly, looking out over the spacious, green clearing.


    It was the most ordinary clearing where it was always quiet and nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Only peace and quiet.


    Evan climbed off the horse and headed toward the nt he hade here for. "Sunny Clover" was not rare or unique. It was amon nt used in many different fields of endeavor.


    Externally, "Sun Clover" was very much like themon clover, but its petals were yellow and pointed at the end. Also, unlike ordinary clover, the "Sun Clover" had five petals, no more, no less.


    <I need to collect only forty and the task will be done, it''s pretty easy. Although, why am I surprised if it''s the task of lowest difficulty and the lowest reward.>


    Evan thought, collecting the "Sun Clover".


    Unlike Sana, he had a spatial ring, so he wouldn''t have to lug a basket or a bag.


    Plucking another flower, Evan remembered something: <Oh, let`s use the "Eye of Truth" on them, I wonder what that nt''s "Pir of Soul" looks like.>


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" twirled and a secondter the iris of his eye glowed.


    "Eye of Truth" was very useful, and also required very little mana to activate. You could use it a few hundred times until it ran out of mana, and that''s considering Evan was a newbie magician.


    The "Pir of Soul" of the "Sun Clover" was no different from the "Pir of Soul" of the rat brought by Draven. By the standards of this world, they were creatures with about the same power.


    "How dull it is..." Evan mouthed slowly, remembering how bright Draven`s "Pir of Soul" had been.


    Evan continued to collect the "Sun Clover" until he had forty pieces.


    <Good, a job is done, though it was more like a simple walk. I wonder who and how would use this nt?> Evan thought as he walked slowly toward his horse.


    He only stopped here for one task he had alreadypleted. Now he had to get to the "Half-Dead Forest". By the horse, he would get there fairly quickly.


    "Let''s go" Said Evan and his horse took off into the distance.


    ...


    After a while, Evan reached the "Half-Dead Forest". To his surprise, the road where the rock avnche had struck was perfectly fine now.


    To be more precise, a couple of hours after the path had been destroyed, "The Last Moon" gave the task to create a new one. One of the students who had the right spell took the task and easily created a small ledge along the rock.


    "It was fixed so quickly, how unlucky I was that day. If this had happened a couple of days before I left, I would have been walking on a brand new trail instead of on the edge of this fucking wood." Evan said, heading toward where he had to jump down that time.


    He had originally nned to enter the "Half-Dead Forest" by the path from which he had out of itst time. But, since the trail was back in its ce, he just decided to walk to the fallen tree and jumped down to it.


    If a simr copse and destruction had urred somewhere in the woods, no one would have fixed it. But this road was a very important route for traders and travelers. For the same reason, there had been someone, who paid "Moon Coins" for its restoration.


    Moreover, the fallen boulders were still lying next to the fallen tree. All that was needed only to restore the path, the rest was unimportant.


    "All right, I''m here, now I have to get down." Slowly Evan mouthed as he looked at the fallen tree at the bottom of the slope.


    Whoosh.


    He quickly jumped down and plunging his scythe de into the rock slowly descended. The young man headed toward where he had left the one-eyed raven in its icy coffin.


    "What...? Where is it...?" Evan muttered slowly. To his shock, the ice coffin was shattered.


    The one-eyed raven was nowhere to be seen. Only pieces of ice stone were lying on the ground. Evan was confused, he didn''t expect to see something like this.


    <Is it possible that someone came here and pulled the raven out? No, this is utter nonsense>.


    Evan came to this conclusion because not much time had passed since he had frozen the one-eyed raven. Also, the "Half-Dead Forest" wasn''t a particrly popr ce and much less its outskirts. Besides, the ice tomb was in such a ce that you had to go around a fallen tree to see it. In other words, stumbling upon it by ident was impossible. One had to go to the ce with purpose.


    "So, I`vee here for nothing? Damn, what happened to that raven? How did he manage to get out?"


    On the one hand, Evan was upset that he couldn''t heal the raven, but on the other hand, if there was nothing wrong with the raven, then Evan had nothing to worry about.


    <Is it possible that the blood I gave it had such an effect? It''s possible that it was really enough to keep it from dying and regenerating slowly.>


    The monsters were stronger than humans and their regeneration was many times greater. Nothing was surprising that a monster with mortal wounds could survive. Moreover, Evan had given the raven some human blood, which should have had an effect as well.


    "All right, then, I''d better get back, I''ve got work to do. Raven is alive and that''s all that matters, and what''s more, I still have the pill. I bought it to cure the raven, but I think it can heal a man, too. It should work."


    Boom.


    Evan was about to leave when suddenly there was a deafening explosion to the west of him. He immediately realized that someone was fighting in the "Half-Dead Forest". In such a case, it would have been logical to run far away, but Evan was interested in watching the fight between two powerful opponents.


    He didn''t know who was fighting, humans or monsters, but that wasn''t important to him. It could be a valuable experience, moreover, he was just curious. He wasn''t going to deprive himself of that kind of pleasure.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly made his way to where he heard the explosion. He stood behind the trunk of a huge tree and watched the battle closely. To his surprise, it was two guys fighting against one monster.


    These two had entered the Academy together with Evan and were newbie magicians just like him.


    During the opening ceremony, Evan had been watching carefully at everyone who`d entered the stage.


    For the same reason, he remembered these two.


    One was the "Amplifier" and the other was the ''Summoner".


    <What are these idiots doing here? As I recall even though they have purple "Warp", their results at the entrance exam were just awful. Less than three seconds each>.


    Evan didn''t understand why two rather weak newbie magicians had gone to the "Half-Dead Forest".


    They were clearly losing to the monster they were fighting.

 Chapter 155 - Death Ray

    Evan watched as the two students who had just entered the Academy fought against the monster. At the moment they were in the "Half-Dead Forest", well-known as a home of many dangerous creatures.


    Last time Evan had also fought one monster from the "Half-Dead Forest", but this one was very different at all.


    The monster looked dangerous and intimidating. Its body resembled that of an enormous forest wolf, but that was where the simrities ended. Its entire body was covered in smooth and sharp tes. They were pressed together so tightly that not even a sword de could fit through them.


    To Evan''s surprise, the monster''s ws were very short, but also unusually sharp.


    The monster''s tail was unnaturallyrge concerning its body. It had no tes, on the contrary, it was fluffy and seemed very soft. The monster''s teeth were small and not sharp at all.


    <It looks strange...>. Evan thought, scrutinizing the monster.


    Whoosh.


    One of the young men stepped forward and attacked the monster. He was the "Amplifier" and fought with a long spear with a ck tip. The guy tried to pierce the monster''s tes, but he failed. The tip of the spear slipped across the smooth tes without doing any damage.


    Whoosh.


    The monster swung its paw and made a shallow cut on the young man''s left arm. Since its ws were short they could not prate deep into his flesh.


    The guy retreated immediately, and hisrade cast a spell. Several roots emerged from the ground and wrapped around the monster''s hind legs. They nned to hold it back in this way, but it was very naive.


    Bam.


    Without any trouble, the monster destroyed the roots and rushed toward the "Amplifier". The young man stood in the fight pose and blocked the monster''s attack, but suddenly the monster turned around and hit him with its tail.


    From the outside, it looked very strange. Why attack the opponent with a fluffy tail if you had sharp ws in your arsenal? The answer was pretty obvious - the tail attack did more damage to the young man.


    Suddenly there were trickles of blooding out of the corners of his mouth. Evan knew immediately what was wrong: <I get it, its tail was poisonous. What''s more, one touch was enough to poison the man, it''s a very formidable weapon.>


    The monster''s tail wasn''t actually furry. It was an illusion, for the fluffy fur was actually thousands of thin, poisonous needles. Once the monster''s tail grazed someone, the needles plunged right in the flesh and poisoned the target.


    <They''re so thin and small, it would be almost impossible to get them out. This guy needs immediate medical attention. The bleeding doesn''t stop, and his face has already turned purple. I wonder what the other one will do?> Evan thought, watching the fight.


    To his surprise, the second guy cast a few spells and tried to hold the monster down.


    Evan expected the young man to run away and abandon hisrade. It was the most immoral but the best option for him in such a situation, but it didn''t happen.


    The young man was the "Summoner," but he had only recently learned that. For the same reason, he had one spell of Creation Magic in his arsenal.


    Whoosh.


    A magic circle appeared in the sky and a multitude of wooden stakes came crashing down on the monster.


    The spell was quite formidable and wasted a decent amount of mana. There were a lot of stakes, and there was no way to dodge them. The young man smiled, he thought he`d done it.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the monster curled into a ball. The tes all over its body provided excellent protection, and no attack could reach the monster at all.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The stakes were falling on the monster, but they just bounced off to the sides. They couldn''t prate the tes.


    The young man obviously didn''t expect this to happen, he thought he could save hisrade and kill the monster. However, things did not go the way he had nned.


    <I wonder what task they took if they had to go into this forest? Was it to kill some monster or were they picking some nts and just had bad luck? Either way, they are real idiots foring here.> Evan thought as he watched the monster run towards the young man.


    Even Evan wouldn''t dare go to the "Half-Dead Forest". Sure, he came here today, but only because of the one-eyed raven, and he only had walked the trail and came down. He had already once fought a monster from this forest and almost died.


    Whoosh.


    The monster quickly got to the young man and attacked him. At the same moment, a wall of fire appeared in front of the monster


    A wall of fire should have stopped him, but the monster just walked through it.


    Whoosh.


    It swung its tail and quickly stepped back. The second young man was also poisoned, but he immediately pulled a blue pill from the pouch. Moreover, he threw exactly the same one to hisrade. In just a few seconds, all the poison was neutralized. They were mages with purple "Warp", which meant the Family or n they belonged to had wasted a lot of resources on them. These pills the young man had taken from home, not bought in the city.


    <They had neutralized the poison, but how many more of those pills had left? Moreover, the wounds weren`t going anywhere. If they want to survive they need to run as soon as possible.>


    Evan came here to watch the battle, he wasn''t going to help anyone. He didn''t know these two men, so he wasn''t going to protect them. He didn''t care about them. If they were to be torn apart now by this monster now, they had only themselves to me.


    Evan''s thoughts were quite cruel, but he couldn''t pay attention to all the idiots who had gotten themselves into danger. If they had been his friends orrades he would have saved them, but otherwise, Evan wouldn''t bat an eyelid.


    <One should spend his energies saving the people that really matter to you, not worrying about everyone> Evan thought this way.


    Evan hated people who tried to help and save everyone. Of course, some of them were really sincere. But the vast majority of them were actually hypocrites - that''s what annoyed Evan.


    The young man with his spear in his hands gathered all his strength and prepared to fight again. They were not going to retreat, each of them wanted to kill the monster.


    Nevertheless, they were in a bad position. The monster was unharmed, and they were wounded and had already used up two precious pills.


    Whoosh.


    The monster rushed towards the two youths, opened its mouth, and at that moment, the students simultaneously attacked. Evan watched the denouement of their battle closely, the next moment his eyes opened widely.


    Whoosh. Boom.


    Suddenly a broad purple beam came from somewhere, carrying only the death. Its power and speed were unbelievable. It hit the ground right between the guys and the monster.


    In the same second, there was a deafening explosion. It was so powerful that both the monster and the two rookie mages were blown apart. They died in an instant.

 Chapter 156 - The Purple Bird

    Boom.


    The moment the monster and two newbie magicians attacked each other, a purple beam flew toward them. In an instant, their bodies were torn apart and their lives were over.


    <What`s that? >


    Evan was puzzled. After the beam had appeared, he became alert and prepared for the fight. It didn''t matter who had created the beam, a monster, a beast, or a human, whoever made this attack was insanely powerful.


    The young man could only survive because he was behind the trunk of a huge tree, otherwise, he would have been badly hurt by such a powerful shockwave. The explosion was so strong that it destroyed everything within a radius of a few meters and a crater was formed at the point of impact.


    Evan knew he had to run, he couldn''t beat such an opponent now. But, his interest was too great. Until this moment he had never seen an attack more powerful than this, he was curious whose attack it was.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly a purple bird, about half a meter tall, descended toward the torn bodies. Its wings were wide and looked majestic. On its neck, there were strange symbols that glowed faintly in purple for a while, until they fadedpletely. The most remarkable detail of this bird was...


    <One-Eyed Raven!?> Evan was shocked. He hadn''t expected to find a raven here at all.


    <Well, stop. It''s probably just another one-eyed raven. It`s not the only one in the world. This one''s just stronger, that''s all.> He quickly pulled himself together, as he should not have acted rashly in a situation like this.


    <This raven is a little bigger than an ordinary bird, but its power is extraordinary>.


    Evan was sure there was exactly the raven that had released that ray. If it hadn''t, another raptor would havee for its prey, but since only this raven was here, the conclusion was obvious.


    <These symbols are very simr to those of the "Bloody Berserker". Is it possible that this raven also evolved? I need to check it out>. Evan thought, and his "Warp" spun.


    He was going to activate the "Eye of Truth" and look at this raven''s "Pir of Soul". Evan had already had time to look through the book Draven had handed him, since it was small, he easily read the whole thing.


    Like Draven had said, Evan didn''t learn much new information, but he did manage to pick up a few things for himself. First, he now knew what the mark of the beasts looked like, and also that the "Pir of Soul" also shows the evolution of monsters.


    <When I get back, I''ll have to read more about monster evolution. It''s a pretty interesting and mysterious topic.>


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s eye irises glowed and at the same moment he saw the raven`s "Pir of Soul".


    <No tform yet, that means the raven has still zero rank, but just as I thought, it had evolved.>


    Evan thought as he looked at the streak on the snow-white pir. That was an indication that the monster had evolved. When a zero rank monster evolved, the stripe appeared on the pir itself. But if the raven had evolved at rank one, the stripe would have been on the tform.


    <It turns out that the raven is a monster, not a beast after all. Now I don''t need to guess, I just need to use the "Eye of Truth", look at the mark and I will understand everything>.


    Evan thought as he watched the one-eyed raven devour the flesh of the young men and the monster it had killed. They were the perfect prey for it. They were easy to kill, and their bodies were filled with mana.


    <Hmm, its mark looks a little paler than that rat''s, well, I don''t think that makes any difference. That raven is definitely a monster>.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the raven stopped eating the meat and turned its head toward Evan. The young man didn''t expect the raven to take its eyes off the food and notice him.


    The raven spread its wings and instantly flew toward Evan. The young man tried to run away, but as soon as he thought about it...


    Bam.


    The raven''s ws stabbed into the tree trunk, cracking loudly, and then the tree crumbled to the ground in front of Evan. The raven was not going to let Evan escape. It looked very menacing and dangerous, but ...


    But, the young man was no longer running anywhere. He looked at the raven and said with a smile: "Well, what''s up, buddy? I hope you remember me?"


    When the raven spread its wings, Evan managed to see a scar exactly where his one-eyed raven had been wounded earlier. So Evan realized that this raven was the one that had saved him a few days ago. Of course, Evan was taking a pretty big risk, because even if it was the same raven, where''s the guarantee that it wouldn''t attack the young man?


    But, he had no better option than that. In any case, while he was climbing over the thick trunk of the tree, the raven would have already attacked him several times. Evan knew he was taking a risk, but his decision toe and watch the fight in this forest was already a risk in itself.


    Whoosh.


    The raven flew up and circled Evan several times, thennded on a tree trunk. He didn''t attack Evan, which meant the monster remembered him. It was almost impossible to see something like that. Usually, monsters always attacked people.


    "Great. Of course, it`s too bad that I''ll never know why you saved me back then, but at least I won''t have to fight you. You''re fine and you''ve even evolved, for you that fight was not only deadly but also sessful. You''ve gotten stronger, monsters really are amazing." Evan said calmly, looking into the raven''s big eye.


    Evan had only met monsters and beasts a couple of times, but he liked them. Thanks to the case when this raven had rescued him, he felt a strange attachment to this raven.


    The purple raven stared at Evan for a while and then pointed by its ws at Evan''s hand, or more precisely at his wrist.


    Strangely enough, Evan immediately understood what the raven wanted from him.


    Whoosh.


    His spatial ring glowed and a secondter, the "Reverse Death" appeared in his hand. He swung the de smoothly and made a small but rather deep cut right on his wrist.


    "Well, what are you waiting for!?" Evan said loudly, throwing his arm forward.


    The raven immediately took off and headed for the young man''s bleeding arm. To Evan''s surprise, the raven didn''t sit down on the ground to swallow the falling drops of his blood. Instead, it dug its beak into Evan''s arm, thereby encircling the entire wound.


    "AHAHAHAHA, drink as much as you want, let''s consider it payment for my salvation." Evan wasn''t worried about the lost blood. Raven wouldn''t be able to drink that much Evan would pass out anyway. Moreover, Evan still had the pill he had originally intended to spend on the raven. He had no fear of giving the raven his blood.

 Chapter 157 - The Hunch

    Evan smiled as he watched the one-eyed raven greedily drink his blood. It seemed as if the raven was capable of drinking it endlessly.


    "AHAHA, the monster is drinking my blood and I let it do it. It''s a very strange yet pleasant sensation. If someone saw me now, they''d think I was crazy."


    Evan was right. He was indeed doing something crazy at that moment. Some magicians had strong links with the beasts that were not hostile to humans. Moreover, some magicians fought alongside the beasts as their most loyalpanions. Although such magicians were few in number, they were nothing out of the ordinary.


    Nevertheless, Evan''s case was unprecedented, not only had the monster save him, but now the young man himself willingly let the monster drink his blood. It was strange, creepy, and inexplicable.


    Whoosh.


    After a while, the raven stopped drinking Evan''s blood, took a few ps of its wings, andnded on the young man''s shoulder.


    Evan looked at his wound and thought, "Wow, it''s drunk more blood than I expected. Still, it seemed to be in high spirits. It clearly enjoyed drinking my blood. What''s more, its little scar healed instantly. The monsters'' ability to devour other creatures'' flesh and blood and be stronger is truly incredible."


    The loss of so much blood could not have caused Evan to suffer any serious consequences. But at the moment, his well-being was not the best. He needed to rest, but it was very difficult to find a secluded and safe ce in the "Half-Dead Forest".


    "Hey, do you understand me?" Evan turned to the raven.


    Caw! Caw! Caw!


    "Fine." Evan was d the monster understood him.


    Evan looked at the remains of the students and the monster lying on the ground and thought, <Hmm. I think I need to get out of this forest, I am lucky enough that the raven remembers me and did not attack.>


    As the young man was about to leave the "Half-Dead Forest", suddenly the raven began circling around him, as if trying to say something.


    "§¡? You want me to go the other way?" Evan asked puzzled.


    The raven didn''t respond in any way and just kept pping its wings to one side.


    "Shit, what the hell is going on. Why does every trip, I take to these woods, end in some strange adventure. Come on, let''s go. I`m curious to see what''s there." Evan said with a wave of his hand.


    The raven settled down on Evan''s shoulder.


    Evan didn''t know where the raven was leading him, but he couldn''t turn back now. For the first time in his life, a monster was showing him the way. He couldn''t miss such an opportunity.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan walked in the indicated direction, looking around.


    <What a strange and vast forest it is after all. Dozens of trees are practically right next to each other, but some of them have been dead for a long time. It seems as if the healthy trees are taking all the lifeblood from the dry ones>.


    Caw. Caw. Caw.


    After a while, they approached the wall and the raven beckoned him again, but this time it was much quieter than thest.


    "What? We''re in front of a wall... Where the fuck did you take me?!"


    Evan thought there was a secret door or a secret passage or something somewhere nearby. But, in fact, there was nothing like that, there was just a simple ledge out of the ground in front of them.


    Caw. Caw. Caw.


    The one-eyed raven nodded toward the tree beside Evan. It was much higher than this small ledge.


    He nodded and quickly climbed up the tree. The tree was big and its branches were strong, so Evan was on top of it in a minute.


    <Hmm? A monster?">.


    From up there, Evan could see exactly what was going on below. The young man watched as arge monster about four meters tall slept peacefully among the trees. It had four paws with sharp, blue ws and thick, red fur.


    "Why have you brought me here? Even if you want to kill it, I won''t do it. It''ll definitely bite my head off and not even blink an eye." Evan said calmly.


    Raven didn''t respond, so Evan just continued to stare at the sleeping monster. Next to him, just a few meters away,y the mangled carcass of some animal. Apparently, the red monster didn''t care about it. Whoosh.


    Suddenly the monster simr to that had fought against the two students, emerged from behind the trees. It slowly crept up to the animal carcass and started eating it. It was a simple scavenger. Since the red monster was asleep, it had nothing to fear.


    Bam.


    Suddenly, with the speed of lightning, the red monster''s paw came crashing down on the scavenger.


    <I... didn''t even see anything... unimaginable speed.> Evan was stunned by this sudden and deadly attack.


    Crack.


    The monster''s paw clenched, and at the same moment, the hundreds of tes on the scavenger''s body began to crack and break. They could not withstand such tremendous pressure. In just a few moments, the monster was dead. What''s more, the monster didn''t even rise to his feet, all it had to do was wave his paw. But, then even more incredible things began to happen.


    The red monster wouldn''t eat the scavenger it had killed, but it also wouldn''t toss it aside.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the monster''s blue ws glowed, and the scavenger''s body began to shrink. Its flesh dried out until only skin and bone remained. After a minute, there was nothing left of the monster at all. By now the blue ws were glowing very brightly.


    Bam.


    The red monster dug its blue ws deep into the ground and released all the energy it had stored in them. The next moment, the dry tree next to the monster began toe to life. Its trunk and branches filled with life, and green leaves instantly appeared on its branches.


    Just a few seconds ago this tree was lifeless, but now it was definitely full of strength - in an instant, the dry wood turned into a flowering tree.


    <It''s amazing that it can do this... and what kind of ability is that? Has this monster evolved?>


    Evan thought and at the same moment, his "Warp" spun. He was going to use the "Eye of Truth" and find out the power of this monster.

 Chapter 158 - Two Scrolls

    Whoosh.


    Evan cast the "Eye of Truth" and looked at the red monster. The young man muttered quietly: "The first rank, zero broken barriers, one evolution during the zero rank."


    Evan had never encountered the first rank monster before, only a zero rank one. After reading the "Pir of Soul" guide written by Draven, Evan had learned more about how evolutions were disyed in monsters.


    If the monster evolved while it was at zero rank, the stripe would appear on the "Pir of Soul "itself. However, if the monster evolved during the first rank or any other, the stripe would appear on the corresponding tform.


    The red monster had got its ability after evolving while being at the first rank. It used it to kill a scavenger and turn its body into a life force.


    < Strong and calm, it killed this monster without even opening its eyes. It felt like it didn''t even wake up.>


    "But... raven, why did you bring me here? I''m not going to fight this monster, I have no particr reason to." Quietly Evan said.


    Whoosh.


    The raven was about to object, but Evan instantly grabbed it by the beak.


    "Quiet... let`s go out of here." Said Evan and was about to jump out of the tree when suddenly he understood why the raven had brought him here.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Between the trees, twelve men were moving cautiously.


    <It looks like something interesting is starting.> Evan thought, and began to scrutinize each of the men using the "Eye of Truth".


    "Have you brought me here because of them?" Evan asked quietly, still holding the raven''s beak.


    The bird merely nodded, whereupon Evan released his grip.


    "By the way, you''re pretty strong, can''t you kill them using your beam?"


    Evan was sure that the purple ray was an ability the raven had gained after evolving.


    The raven didn''t answer anything, Evan decided not to ask anything more and continued to watch the people.


    <Hmm, there are no tforms in their "Pirs of Soul", so none of them have reached the "One-Pointed Star" yet. I wonder what they''re going to do? Are they going to try to kill that monster?>


    Evan realized there were quite a few of them, but the monster was much stronger than they were. Even if they could win, there would only be one or at best, two people left alive. No monster was worth that kind of sacrifice.


    Evan''s gaze stopped on thest man in their group. Evan was surprised at what he saw.


    <This mantle and this mask... is he really from...?


    Evan thought the man was a member of the "Demonic Tree", but he quickly dismissed the idea.


    <No, unfortunately, I`m wrong.>


    He was baffled to see the red mantle on the man''s back and the demon mask on his belt. But, the mantle was tattered, only half of it was left, and the mask had been split in two. Moreover, Evan did not believe that a member of the "Demonic Tree" could be here.


    <It''s more likely that the "Demonic Tree" member had fought with someone and was injured, and this person just found his mantle and mask. Moreover, his aura doesn''t look intimidating at all.>


    Evan turned out to be right. This man really had nothing to do with one of the great organizations of the underground world. But, he was themander of this small group that had already moved into action.


    <What are they doing?> Suddenly, the twelve men split into two and quickly surrounded the monster. But they didn''t get within ten meters of it.


    At that distance, the monster could not reach them. Moreover, they acted quietly and carefully, the monster still didn''t notice them. Evan thought that now they would all attack the monster together with long-range spells, but he was wrong.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the six men, one from each team pulled the scrolls from their bags. They ced them on the ground and at that moment, Evan realized something.


    <These are spell scrolls, but why have they put them on the ground? Isn''t that... formation...?">. Evan wasn''t sure if he was right. He had never seen a formation before in his life. This would be his first such experience.


    Whoosh.


    Next, each of the six men took out yet another scroll. They applied them to the first and then began pouring mana into them.


    Immediately after that, various ck symbols began to appear from the scrolls, on the ground next to the monster. Eventually, they transformed into a giant magical circle. Evan didn''t know this spell.


    <How big is it... Its power must be incredible>. Evan was amazed at what he saw.


    <If I''m not mistaken, the first scrolls they pulled out showed this massive magic circle, but why did they need more scrolls?> Evan was trying to figure out how the formation worked.


    <Hmm, they look pretty tired. It''s like they''ve been drained of all their energy, but that''s not surprising. It must have taken an insane amount of mana to create a magic circle like that.>


    These six people were responsible for creating the magic circle, but the formation wasn''t ready yet.


    <Wait a minute, the magic circle only started to appear after they pulled out the second scroll. They poured mana into two scrolls at once, not just one. Is it possible that the second scrolls are needed to create a magic circle of this size, while the first scrolls are responsible for exactly what kind of spell is created?>


    Strangely enough, Evan was right. The second scrolls were special scrolls for creating formations. You could say that they copied the magic circle from the first scroll and projected it into the area within the circle.


    The more scrolls were used while creating a formation, the more powerful the spell itself would be. But, with each scroll, the amount of mana needed multiplied. In order alone to create this magical circle, six magicians had spent all their mana.


    However, this was not the end, the magic circle still needed to be infused with mana and activated.


    Whoosh.


    Each of the six remaining men pulled a stake out of their bags. The stakes were made of ck metal with various runes on the surface. Then the men pierced the scrolls.


    The next moment they began pouring mana into the stakes and the massive magical circle began to fill with it. The ck symbols gradually changed their color to yellow.


    At first, Evan was astonished to see the iprehensible stakes, but he quickly understood their purpose: <They are some sort of spell activator. What aplex system it is! They''ve spent so many scrolls and so much mana. The formation must be incredibly powerful, otherwise, all this is for nothing.>


    While Evan spected about the meaning of creating such arge formation, the magic circle waspletely filled with mana. Everyone in the group looked tired and exhausted. They had spent all their mana on this formation, but now it was ready. All that remained was to activate it.


    The squad leader put his hand to the magic circle of the spell and poured some mana into it.


    Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.


    A momentter, the magic circle glowed brightly and hundreds of yellow lightning bolts rained down on the monster.

 Chapter 159 - Formation

    When the team leader activated the formation, hundreds of yellow lightning bolts struck the monster. They took it by surprise. Because their group acted silently, the monster didn''t even feel it was surrounded. Only when the electric shocks went through its body did it realize it was under attack, but it was toote.


    Mana of the twelve magicians had been poured into that formation. Sure, the monster was of the first rank and far stronger than any of them, but it couldn''t resist that kind of power. In a matter of seconds, its body was toasted by lightning. For thest seconds of its life, it was in true agony.


    <Formations are really serious weapons... I think if they had just activated this spell without formations, it would have done almost no damage to this monster. Now this terrible monster died under the onught of lightning.>


    Evan was stunned, he knew the formation had to be powerful, but he didn''t expect it to be such powerful. Nevertheless, many conditions had to be met to create the formation.


    First, a certain number of people are needed to create the formation. The number depends on how much mana you have and how powerful a formation you are going to create. Secondly, you need two kinds of scrolls: the scroll of the spell used to create the formation, as well as the scroll of the formation itself. Thirdly, you need special stakes to infuse the magic circle with mana.


    So, to create and activate one single formation you needed several people, spell scrolls, stakes, and a lot of mana. Nevertheless, the difficulty and expense are more than offset by the incredible power of the formation.


    <If they had fought this monster, few of them would have survived. But, now the monster is dead, and they are unharmed.>


    None of these people had yet reached the "One-Pointed Star", they were weaker than Evan. The young man realized this from their auras: they were quite weak. But thanks to the formation, they were able to kill such a strong monster.


    "Great, that`s gone just perfect. Be quick, take everything of value, and let''s go." The team leader said loudly and headed for the monster.


    Swing.


    The man drew his sharp sword from its sheath and plunged it deep into the monster''s flesh. Next, he plunged his hand into the monster''s wound and after a couple of seconds, he pulled an apple-sized green crystal from its body.


    <Hmm? What is it?">. Evan didn''t know what the thing was in the man''s hands. The crystal was obviously very valuable since themander had personally pulled it out.


    But, that crystal wasn''t the only thing of value one could get from that monster. The other members of the group took some of the monster''s skin, fangs, ws, and tail. All of this could be sold on the market for good money. Armor, weapons, and artifacts were made from these materials.


    "Hey, let''s go!" Said themander, and the group quickly left.


    <I think I should go after them. Perhaps, this man knows at least something about how to find the members of the "Demonic Tree", I shouldn''t pass up such an opportunity. Any information would be useful to me.> Evan thought and quickly jumped down from the tree.


    He was going to follow their group unnoticed. He knew he couldn''t handle that many people alone, but in any case, he could easily escape. Individually they were weaker than him, even the group leader. What''s more, Evan wasn''t alone now, he had the raven who could kill several people with a single attack.


    Whoosh.


    Evan followed the group and kept about thirty meters away from them. There was no way they could have seen him because Evan was acting cautiously. They had no idea anyone was following them now. Their job was to get the materials from the monster to the base and that`s all.


    <Where are they going?>


    Evan had been following the group for some time, but they were not heading toward the exit of the forest, but instead into its depths. What''s more, not a single monster had attacked them. That''s because they were on a well-tested trail, where the chances of encountering a monster were minimal.


    Evan had originally thought that these magicians lived in some town or a vige nearby, but now he realized that they had some kind of base in the forest itself.


    "Here we are." Said Evan as he watched the group stop next to a huge tree.


    There were many big trees in the "Half-Dead Forest", but this was one of the tallest. Its trunk was colossal, and its roots were very thick and long.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly each of them went under the roots after which they disappeared from view.


    <I see, this is their base, or, perhaps, just a transit point.> Evan understood that they had killed the monster to sell its parts for a good sum of money.


    Evan thought that this was most likely where they rested and stored their loot. It was quite convenient. What''s more, the monsters were close by. All they had to do was assemble a posse and they could go hunting.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed and a map of the immediate area appeared in his hands.


    <So, there''s a small vige to the west of the ''Half-Dead Forest", and there''s already an entire town a couple of kilometers away. It''s certainly no Mossy Vulture, but I''m sure one can sell his loot there>. Evan wondered where these people sold their loot. Looking at the map, he assumed it was in the nearest town.


    "They''re already inside, I think I should sneak in there too and see what''s going on there." Said Evan and headed for the big tree.


    The entrance to the base was among huge roots and, moreover, to prevent monsters from identally wandering in here, the passage had been carefully camouged. In addition, there were special tree fruits scattered around the tree, which frightened off the local monsters with their scent.


    Evan looked around and calmly approached the entrance. There were no guards, but that was no surprise. Why guard the entrance when there was little chance for an intruder to find the ce and get in. Especially now, they were all tired, they needed to rest and umte mana, not to guard the entrance to the shelter.


    Of course, Evan understood that. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have acted so brazenly and riskily. But, now that he was full of strength and the raven which was an evolved monster, was with him. He had nothing to fear.


    Step.


    Evan stepped into the passage and a rather long tunnel appeared before his eyes.

 Chapter 160 - Tunnels

    Whoosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed and the mask he had bought not long ago appeared in his hands. If he was going to fight these people it`s better not to show his face. The same goes for if Evan had to run away, it`s best to keep his identity a secret.


    He only decided toe here because he had seen the demon mask and red mantle at the leader of this group. For now, it was the only clue that could lead him to the "Demonic Tree". Moreover, after using the formation, the group had weakened and posed no serious danger to Evan.


    <They have a real tunnel system here, even the entrance is so long. I thought it was just a small base.> Evan didn''t expect to have to walk through a tunnel.


    Evan walked slowly and quietly, he didn''t want to be heard before time. After a while, he reached another passageway. He looked into it cautiously and saw arge room.


    To his surprise, inside it, he saw not only the entire group but several other people he hadn''t seen before.


    <So these twelve were just the attacking group. The rest of them stayed here, I wonder if they are only killing monsters or doing something else?>


    While Evan was thinking the squad leader turned to his subordinate, "Here you go."


    He handed him a bag of fruits, the same that were scattered near the tree, and said: "Scatter them around the base ande back."


    "But, boss, can''t you do thatter? I''m pretty tired after activating the formation." The subordinate was toozy to do it now, he wanted to rest.


    Whoosh.


    The boss grabbed him by the cor and said stiffly: "Shut up, we have to get out of here soon, we''ve gathered enough material. We need to build up our strength to get out of these woods alive. So do me a favor- scatter that fucking fruit around the base ande back."


    The subordinate nodded silently and headed towards the exit with a disgruntled face. Evan was wary, he didn''t have time to left the ce unnoticed, except running away. But, in that case, they would know he was here. At that moment, Evan was deciding what to do with the man walking in his direction.


    <Kill him or knock him out?>


    After a few seconds, the man came up the aisle. He didn''t notice Evan right away, as the young man had pressed against the wall.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly grabbed the man and knocked him out with one precise blow to the neck, then ced him gently on the ground. He moved the sack of fruit into the spatial ring and began to think about what he should do next.


    <Okay, I''ve got that sorted out, but what should I do now? This isn''t the only room in these tunnels.> At this point Evan watched as the boss and several subordinates left the room through another tunnel.


    <If I want to know anything about the "Demonic Tree", then I need to interrogate their boss. But, that''s impossible to do when there are so many of them. It looks like I''ll have to spill some blood, only how to do it discreetly?>


    Evan looked at the man he''d just knocked out and thought, "Shit, if he''d been wearing a hood, I could go further unnoticed".


    He was confident in his strength, but attacking everyone at once alone was too reckless. Sure, he had the raven with him now, but Evan couldn''t use its strength right now. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to use its help, but that if the raven shot its beam here, there would be a copse and they wouldn''t get out of here alive.


    These tunnels were only a few meters underground, there were no supports and there was only earth around, no solid rock. A powerful st from the beam would destroy everything here.


    While Evan was trying toe up with a n of action, the two men left in the room began to "Create".


    <That''s right, they''ve all used up a tremendous amount of mana. They urgently need to restore it, moreover, themander said that they have to leave here soon. Looks like luck is on my side after all.>


    It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of two more. When a magician "Creates" he concentrates on the mana that flows around him. Those two will definitely not notice Evan if he acts quietly.


    The young man slowly made his way towards one of them. He decided that until he was noticed it would be best to just knock them out one by one. It would be much safer that way.


    Bam.


    As he got close to the man, he knocked him out with one precise blow, now the second one was next in line. Evan approached him, but suddenly the second man stopped "Creating". He saw the body lying to his left and was about to scream, but...


    Crack.


    Without hesitation, Evan instantly snapped the man`s neck. He couldn''t allow himself to be discovered, at least not now.


    <That''ll do, I need to drag their bodies away and move on.> Evan quickly did as he had nned and headed for the next passageway.


    There was a fork and Evan decided to go left. He was going to explore this ce anyway.


    <What do we have here?> Evan thought to himself as he peered into another passage.


    To his surprise, he saw arge warehouse. Here it was everything this group of people had gathered during their time in this forest. There were the materials of the red monster they had just killed, and a great variety of nts and berries.


    <And how are they going to get it all out of here? As I recall the squad leader didn''t have a spatial ring. It takes a few wagons, but it will be suicide to take a wagon through the "Half-Dead Forest".>


    There was one girl inside the warehouse, she was not involved in killing the red monster. At the moment, she was checking to see if everything was in ce and how much material they had already collected.


    Whoosh.


    Evan waited a moment, quickly got close to the girl, and then knocked her out. He didn''t take her body anywhere, just hid it under the fur of one of the monsters they''d killed.


    <I''ve already coped with four, I hope there aren''t too many left besides that girl in that group".


    Evan decided not to leave the warehouse, he was curious to take a closer look at what was there. Since there was really a lot of material here.


    <There are so many bones, skins, and other parts of the monsters here, you could make some pretty good equipment out of it. What''s more, they`ve collected a huge amount of nts and medicinal ones. There are even some unusual insects, but why don''t I see "it" anywhere?>


    Evan was looking for crystals simr to the one the squad leader had pulled out of the monster. It was obvious that it was a very valuable item.


    After a while, Evan looked into the small pouch and said with a smile on his face: " I`ve found it."

 Chapter 161 - Trouble

    After some time of searching, Evan finally found what he wanted. There were four white crystals in the pouch, and they were definitely the same as the one themander had.


    <Hmm, it was definitely them, but why was that crystal green? Maybe it was all about the rank of the monster.>


    Evan didn''t fully understand what the crystals in front of him were yet, but he didn''t have time to figure it out at the moment. Probably, he would learn more about these crystals in the Academy. Right now, he had another task.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed and he put the pouch into it. His ring was an artifact of the zero rank , so the capacity was quite small. Nevertheless, he could take not particrlyrge items.


    Other than the crystals, Evan didn''t touch anything. Nobody would quickly notice the missing of a small pouch. If he sorted out the rest he would just go back and take what he could.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan heard two men walking toward him. One of them said loudly: "Babe, what''s taking you so long, boss is waiting for you."


    Evan just leaned against the wall and waited for the two men to get close enough. He had the element of surprise on his side, so he was sure he could easily take them down.


    "Hey, where are you?" Said one of them looking into the warehouse.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, he saw a white deing at him. He couldn`t even make a sound,as his head fell down the floor. Hispanion suffered the same fate.


    Evan quickly dragged them into the warehouse and hid them under the fur of some monster, just like with the girl before.


    <Good job, I''ve dealt with two more and they haven''t spotted me yet. Everything is working out just fine>. Evan thought and headed further down the tunnel.


    There were no forks in this underground base, just a few turns that led to rooms.


    Evan reached the next room , looked inside, and frowned. There were nine people in there, including themander. He didn`t see any other passages from this room, so it was obvious that all of them were here.


    <Nine men at once... that''s going to be pretty hard.> Five of the men were "creating," but the rest of them could have spotted Evan at any moment.


    The squad leader was talking to some girl, while the other two were just waiting for something.


    Evan looked at the raven sitting quietly on his shoulder and thought to himself, "It would be nice to blow this ce to hell."


    But it was too risky. Thendslide would be too big, moreover, there was no way Evan could let the leader of the group die. A beam shot in such a narrow space would surely kill him and everyone else without exception.


    The young man whispered: "Can you take the two?"


    Raven nodded, it was pretty smart and understood that in this situation it`s better not to make any noise.


    Of course, Evan could have tried to just talk to these people, but that would have been the most idiotic thing to do. He had already killed several of their men, so he was unlikely to be wee here. He should have taken advantage of the surprise and attacked.


    Whoosh.


    Evan ran forward sharply and swung his scythe. His target was the two men who were "creating" at the moment. Naturally, they had no time to react to such an unexpected and deadly attack. They were killed in just a few seconds.


    " Fuck, who are you?!" Themander shouted loudly.


    Immediately after his words, the other six men attacked Evan, but suddenly a one-eyed raven appeared in front of two of them. It was an evolved monster and could easily deal with the two magicians who were at the level of the "Star Without Ends".


    "What?! Where is that monster from? Kill it!" Shouted themander and pounced on Evan by himself.


    He was sure his men would deal with the monster and at the moment, the most important threat was the stranger in the strange ck and white mask.


    Bam.


    Evan was attacked by several men at once, but he retreated and dodged their attacks. No one cast a spell as it was too dangerous, but Evan decided it was worth the risk.


    Mana gathered at the tip of his finger and he cast the "Magic Missile". The snow-white beam hit one man, and immediately there was a deafening explosion.


    It was not as powerful as the raven beam, so Evan decided to cast it. The man who was hit by the ray died instantly, he had no way to defend himself. "Use the spells or he will kill you." Themander said harshly and attacked Evan.


    His sword covered itself in fire and came down on Evan. At the same time, various spells flew at the young man. There was no way he could block all of these attacks.


    Whoosh.


    But he didn''t need to block them. He quickly bounced to the side and quickly cast the "Ice Veil". At the same moment, a vine of thorny ivy grabbed three people and Evan instantly inflicted horrible wounds on them.


    In less than a minute, he had already disposed of six men. Now all that was left was themander and two other opponents who were fighting the raven at this moment.


    "Who are you?" Gritting his teeth, themander muttered. He was out of his mind with anger, most of his men had already been killed. He couldn''t understand why the man in the ck and white mask hade here.


    Evan replied briefly, "I''ll talk to youter."


    Whoosh.


    Immediately after saying that, he lunged toward the two men fighting the raven. The monster had already wounded one of them. It far outnumbered them in strength, and it didn''t even need to use its ability.


    "Stop!" Themander chased after Evan, he wanted to save his subordinates, but he just didn''t have time.


    Evan was like a reaper of death, whose scythe easily severed the lifeline of every person he encountered.


    The two heads fell to the ground, and the one-eyed raven descended on Evan''s shoulder. The young man pointed his scythe toward themander and said stiffly: "Undo the spell and cast your sword."


    Themander frowned but did as Evan said. If he wanted to survive and get his revenge, he had to obey now.


    "Why have youe here? Who the hell are you?!"


    "I''m the one asking the questions here. For starters, what do you do here?" Evan said coldly.


    "We''re simple hunters. We kill monsters in this forest, collect herbs and sell them in the nearest town. It`s not your business after all! Don''t talk like you''re an important person! Both of us haven''t reached the "One Pointed Star" yet, I see that in your "Pir of Soul".


    Boom.


    No sooner had themander finished speaking than a snow-white beam exploded a meter from him.


    "Shut up, I don''t have time to listen to your nonsense. Answer the questions if you want to live. Where did you get that red mantle and the demon-face mask?"

 Chapter 162 - The Unexpected Guest

    "What the mask and mantle? I don''t know what you''re talking about." Themander responded defiantly.


    Evan came at him sharply and punched him in the stomach with all his might. In terms of physical strength, Evan outnumbered him by several levels.


    Themander immediately vomited blood and looked at Evan with a rage in his eyes. If he could he would kill him right then and there. He was bursting with rage, he wanted to strangle Evan right here.


    "Answer the posed question, where did you get that fucking mantle and the mask? My patience is not infinite." Evan said stiffly.


    Themander said slowly: "My men and I wanted to explore the ruins in the "Half-Dead Forest", but as soon as we got close we saw a scary monster. It was at least of the second rank, I couldn''t see its "Pir of Soul". When we went back, not far from these ruins, I found this mantle and mask. I think you can guess, who they belonged to. I couldn''t leave such valuable things lying on the ground."


    <Near of the ruins... so my guess was correct, they are indeed looking for something and one of them appears to have been wounded. But, a second rank monster... I can''t handle that kind of opponent yet.>


    "Who the hell are you? And why does this monster help you? What organization are you from?"


    "That''s none of your business," Evan said coldly and killed him with a wave of his scythe.


    He moved the mantle, the mask, and the green crystal into the spatial ring, then was about to leave, but suddenly he felt the ground shake. Evan thought that it was an earthquake and the ceiling was about to copse on him, but suddenly a hole began to appear from above.


    "What the...?!" Evan knew there was a huge tree directly above the underground shelter. The only exnation for what was happening was that someone had fallen the tree down.


    The massive roots ripped out of the ground, destroying most of the shelter. Evan saw that the huge tree had been knocked to the ground by arge monster. Its paws were very wide and powerful and it wasn''t too difficult for it to do this.


    Evan immediately cast the "Eye of Truth" and looked at the monster''s ''Pir of Soul". The young man was wary as his opponent was of the first rank. It wasn''t evolved, but it was still very powerful.


    "Shoot!" Evan said loudly and the next moment the one-eyed raven released a purple beam. Evan attacked along with it, he cast a "Magic Missile" and both beams hit the monster.


    There was a powerful explosion and the monster was seriously wounded. Evanunched his beam a littleter, causing it to hit an already wounded spot.


    <Great, that should be enough>. Thought Evan and quickly ran away.


    He wasn''t going to fight this monster, it was too dangerous and pointless. He still had enough mana, but Evan had no idea how many more times the raven was capable of firing the beam. He couldn''t take that risk.


    Nevertheless, just as Evan made his way to the surface, the monster''s massive paw blocked his path. It clearly had no intention of letting the young man go.


    It is worth noting that it was Evan''s own fault that this monster had attacked him. Themander of the group knew that the smell of the fruit had practically weathered and had to be reced. For the same reason, he had sent his subordinate to carry out the task. But because of Evan, he failed to scatter the fruit around the tree.


    Because of theck of fruit, the monster smelled blood. If Evan hadn''t killed anyone this wouldn''t have happened, but he had no other option then.


    "Damn, looks like we''ll have to fight, the situation couldn''t be worse." Mouthed Evan grudgingly and got ready to fight.


    By this point, the monster had already attacked the young man. It was about to swat Evan, like some kind of fly, but suddenly jets of blood spurted from the corners of its mouth.


    "What the...?" Evan was dumbfounded. In an instant, the monster''s body was pierced by a huge trident of blue lightning.


    Whoosh.


    A torrent of wind resembling a small tornado appeared next to the monster. Not a few secondster, the monster''s body was torn into small pieces, and itsrge head fell right in front of Evan.


    The young man didn''t understand what had just happened. In an instant, the huge monster was killed by just two attacks. Moreover, they were definitely spells, which means a magician did it all.


    "Good afternoon, young man."


    Suddenly a middle-aged mannded on the monster''s head. He had no weapon of any kind and was calmly looking at Evan with a slight smile on his face. It was Reinier Modders.


    Evan immediately cast the ''Eye of Truth" and to his surprise, this man was on the "One-Pointed Star" level. He stood one level higher than Evan.


    Reiner shook his head and said: "Ay, ay, ay, it''s not nice to examine others without even introducing yourself. But it doesn''t matter, you''ll be dead soon."


    Evan as well as Raven immediately prepared for battle. It was clear from the man''sst phrase that he had note with good intentions.


    Seeing Evan''s reaction the man smiled: "You don''t have to be so serious. Why have youe here? Well, it''s a good thing you killed them, though. I''m tired of working with these useless idiots."


    The next moment the man calmly walked over to the monster''s remains and pulled a green crystal from its body. It was exactly like the one themander had received after killing the red monster, but it was much dimmer. The thing was, this huge monster, though was the first rank one, was not an evolved monster.


    Reinier wasn''t worried about Evan being able to escape. He could easily catch up with him.


    Whoosh.


    The ring on Reinier''s finger glowed and the crystal disappeared.


    <That''s how they would have carried all this stuff away. This man had toe here, get all the stuff from the warehouse, and get their group out of these woods. Fuck!">.


    "By the way, why have youe here? I was just wondering. I wasn''t at all expecting someone to kill them right before I left."


    Evan wanted to ignore his question, but he quickly realized he could take advantage of the situation.


    "What do you care? I''m on a mission, tracking down the "Demonic Tree." The team leader had their mantle and mask. I thought I''d waste no time and find out quickly." Evan answered honestly.


    "Hmm, are you from the "Tears of Light"? You don''t look much like them, although they have any kind of people in their ranks. Sorry to disappoint you, but stumbling across members of the ''Demonic Tree" is impossible. They''ve been in these woods recently, but a dayter there''s no trace of them. They find who they want on their own. Consider this is my gift to you before you die. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Reinierughed loudly and attacked Evan.

 Chapter 163 - The Prince

    Reinier was quick to attack Evan, he didn''t see him as an opponent. Evan was weak and slow by his standards. Though Reinier was puzzled by the one-eyed raven sitting on Evan''s shoulder, he did not dwell on it. The raven was strong, but Reinier had no problem handling it.


    Evan instantly cast the "Ice Veil" and then the "Magic Missile". Honestly, he didn''t see any way to win this fight. He needed to somehow buy time and find a way to escape to survive. It was the best option he could hope for.


    Reinier took a step to the side and dodged the beam flying at him.


    "No need to resist, the oue is already decided." Calmly Reinier said, and the lightning bolts began to umte in his hand.


    They turned into a long spear that he threw at Evan. The speed of the throw was extraordinary, Evan had no time to dodge this attack.


    Boom.


    Suddenly a purple beam hit the spear and there was a deafening explosion. The raven fought together with Evan, for Reinier was going to kill it as well. It was an evolved monster, and therefore very valuable.


    <Damn it, he''s too strong, how do I get out of this trap>. While Evan was trying to think of a n, and Reinier was already near him.


    He attacked the young man sharply, aiming for his head. Evan reacted and blocked the blow, but suddenly he felt a terrible pain in his stomach. Reinier had struck several blows at once, sending the young man flying.


    Reinier put his attention to Evan''s unusual weapon: "AHAHAHA, what a good weapon you have, I think I''ll take it for myself, it''ll probably be worth a lot." Said Reinier with a satisfied smile on his face.


    Evan got up and decided to attack again, and the raven attacked Reinier together with him. But, their attacks were again unsessful. With one smooth blow, Reinier tossed the raven aside.


    Whoosh.


    Evan swung the scythe, but Reinier took a few steps back and said: "Nice movements, but youck speed."


    Bam.


    Reinier spun around and hit Evan with all his might.


    His palm mmed into the young man`s chest and he was thrown back several meters and bumped into a tree.


    Blood trickled from the corners of his lips. Not even a few minutes into their fight, and he was already nearly defeated.


    <Damn, if I miss a few more of these blows, I''ll be dead for sure. I wouldn`t like to use it now, but in this goddamn forest, no one will notice me.>


    "Hey, how have you managed to make friends with a monster? It''s the first time I''ve seen anything like that, you''re a pretty interesting person. Learn me how to interact with monsters and I''ll spare you. Just kidding!"


    Reinier lunged toward Evan. He could have finished the young man off with a spell, but he saw no need to waste mana on it now. In his opinion, Evan had no chance of surviving.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly Evan moved the scythe into the spatial ring and a red glow began to emanate from him.


    "Huh, I wouldn''t tell you, even if I knew. You annoy me too much." Evan said coldly and the next moment a huge snake appeared around his hand.


    Reinier was dumbfounded. He sensed incredible danger from this snake, and Evan''s aura grew considerably in an instant.


    "What a creepy feeling..." Reinier muttered and stepped aside.


    Crack.


    Lightning gathered in his hand and a spear instantly flew toward Evan. Now Reinier wasn''t about to save mana. At the moment Evan was a real threat to him.


    Evan didn''t dodge this attack, he raised his hand and the snake''s mouth opened wide. When the spear was close enough, the snake twisted around it and destroyed it. The spear shattered and there wasn`t even an explosion. Evan and the snake werepletely intact.


    "Who are you?" Reinier asked cautiously. He had never seen a spell like this before, moreover, Evan hadn`t even reached the "One-Pointed Star" yet. Reinier saw this clearly from the young man''s "Pir of Soul".


    "I''m... just a demon lover," Evan answered briefly and rushed towards Reinier.


    "What?! Demons?! You''re not from the "Demonic Tree'', you said you are just trying to find them!" Reinier didn''t understand what was going on. It all seemed absurd to him, but he didn''t have time to figure it out. His opponent was already close.


    Evan attacked sharply, but Reinier dodged, but now everything changed.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the snake extended and bit Reinier. The pain from the bite was eerie, and the snake tore off a piece of flesh, but Reinier managed to concentrate and quickly retreated.


    "Hey, kid, this isn''t fucking funny anymore. I''ve never seen anything creepier before. What kind of snake is that?" Reinier said angrily and the next moment his spatial ring glowed.


    A green pill appeared in his hands, which he immediately swallowed, as well as a blue bracelet on his arm.


    Reinier didn''t use "Catalysts", but he did have some powerful Magical Artifacts.


    Whoosh.


    Evan attacked again, but Reinier managed to dodge. The pill he had swallowed stopped the bleeding and greatly elerated his regeneration. He could easily continue the fight.


    The blue bracelet glowed and the next moment he folded his arms together. Hundreds of sparks began to appear, then Reinier separated his palms. A few secondster, he had a two-meter-long trident in his hands, very simr to the one he had used to pierce the monster. Only, this one was even more powerful, thanks to the power of the artifact.


    He threw it swiftly in Evan''s direction. The raven tried to thwart this deadly attack and quickly fired the beam, but even a direct hit couldn''t change its trajectory. Its power was far greater than the raven''s beam.


    Evan had no time to defend against this deadly attack. He cast an "Ice Veil", covering his hands with ayer of ice, and tried to defend himself against the trident.


    Whoosh.


    The trident hit its target, piercing the snake along with Evan. The young man flew a few meters back pierced by the trident and crashed into a tree. A momentter, because of the tremendous power of the trident, the tree fell to the ground with Evan, and Evan himself was barely breathing.


    Luckily for him, the teeth of the trident hadn`t pierced his vital organs, but Evan''s situation was terrifying. The snake had been destroyed, and he could barely stand on his own feet. Moreover, the one-eyed raven couldn''t do anything to Reinier, he just wasn''t strong enough to do it.


    "Boy, you are some kind of a mystery. I''m not going to lie, I''m bursting with curiosity to know what that snake was, but I think it''s better that this mystery goes with you to your grave!"


    After these words, Reinier began casting one of his spells. He was intent on ending Evan once and for all.


    At the same time, the young man was lying in a pool of his blood and drawing a sigil on the ground. This time he used the strongest weapon he could stand at the moment.


    "Sigil of 70th Demon, Prince Seere - activation."

 Chapter 164 - Knights Spear

    "Sigil of 70th Demon, Prince Seere - activation."


    Evan said quietly, and the next moment the sigil glowed brightly. Reinier felt an eerie and all-consuming aura begin to emanate from Evan. It was many times more terrifying than the previous one.


    He didn''t know what was going on, so he wanted to kill Evan as soon as possible. Reinier was sure Evan had used some sort of forbidden spell.


    The young man himself was still lying on the ground. The moment the sigil was activated, the whole world froze and his consciousness was transported to "Nirvana".


    There was the tter of hooves and Evan smiled and said: "You`vee."


    The young man looked at the incredibly handsome man riding the white horse. His long ck hair reached to his waist and his green eyes were calm and mesmerizing. He was definitely one of the most beautiful men in the entire world. It was the seventieth demon, Prince Seere.


    He nced at the "Warp", then shifted his gaze to the young man. He was waiting for Evan to utter his wish.


    "I need a weapon to kill him!" Evan said loudly.


    Prince Seere nodded and said slowly: "Twenty... years..."


    Evan frowned, <Fuck, I got a lot stronger, but even the help of the 70th demon is just exorbitant.>


    When Evan had enlisted the help of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion, he`d paid 15 years of his life as the price. He was very weak at the time, which is why the price was so enormous. The stronger Evan got, the lower the price for the demons'' services was. But, and the stronger the demon was, the higher the price for his help was, too.


    Evan knew that Prince Seere would demand years of his life as payment, but he hadn''t thought it would be such a big price.


    <It looks like I need to get a lot stronger before I can use the power of other demons.>


    The young man looked at the demon and calmly said: "I agree."


    Prince Seere nodded and a momentter Evan felt the life force drain from him. It was a terrible and disgusting feeling. You were dying while still healthy and young. Life itself was slowly leaving you.


    The demon disappeared, and Evan returned to the real world.


    At that moment, the red waves of energy were emanating from his body. It was proof that the demonic power was filling his body.


    A massive lightning bolt was already flying toward Evan. Reinier quickly cast his spell and was about to kill Evan with this attack but...


    Swing.


    Suddenly the lightning dissipated. Evan was walking slowly toward Reinier with a long silver knight''s spear in his hand. It looked very simple but effective, though there were no patterns or engravings on it. There was an unthinkable menace from this weapon. And Evan himself looked like a real demon from the underworld.


    Reinier wanted to attack again, but he just couldn''t handle the pressure. He was scared, and all he wanted to do was run away.


    Evan looked coldly at Reinier and said briefly: "Die."


    The next moment Reinier saw a silver spear flying toward him. There was nothing he could do about it, for by that moment he was already dead.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The spear pierced Reinier through and destroyed dozens of trees behind him. Even an evolved monster of the first rank couldn''t have done something like that. The plume from the spear left numerous cracks in the ground, and the rocks were crushed into dust. It was unprecedented power for the magician who hadn''t even reached the "One-Pointed Star" yet.


    ...


    Somewhere to the north of "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes". In the depths of an abandoned castle.


    "Have you felt that?" The girl said seriously.


    The man with the sses nodded while mixing two potions of some kind, "Yes, this power... it''s very simr to ours but still different. I can''t figure out what... it happened too far away and the impulse was so weak and short... What a pity... I''d like to see what happened there with my own eyes."


    Saying this he approached the five-meter-long red monster. It was restrained by thick iron chains and could not even move. Only its appearance would have terrified everyone, but now there was endless fear in the monster''s own eyes.


    The monster stared in panic at the calm man before him. His red mantle with the image of ebony was barely visible because of the dim illumination.


    The man bent toward the monster and calmly poured a potion directly into its mouth. The purple liquid quickly disappeared from the small vial.


    Crack.


    After a couple of seconds, strange changes began to happen to the monster. Its skin turned purple, its muscles increased dramatically in size, and its fangs became sharper andrger.


    "Release it." The man said briefly.


    The woman nodded and a secondter, she broke all the chains holding the monster down.


    "What a shame, it`s got stronger, but it couldn''t evolve and wentpletely mad. Another failure." The man said calmly as he watched the monster attack him.


    The monster''s wed paw copse on the man, but he stopped that attack with a single finger.


    Whoosh.


    A small, red magic circle appeared on the tip of his finger and the next moment the monster''s body began to swell.


    Boom.


    The monster exploded, and its parts exploded in all directions...


    The spear disappeared and at the same moment, Evan fell to the ground. Now it wasn''t about the price paid for the spear, though Evan had already shortened his life expectancy by 35 years in total. But while he was still young, it did not affect him. Only as he would approach a certain age, the payment would make itself felt.


    During the battle with Reinier, he had been seriously wounded, especially with the lightning trident. The blood didn''t stop, and everything in front of his eyes was blurring.


    Evan remembered something and quickly retrieved a pill from the spatial ring, but when he wanted to swallow it he dropped it. Neither his arms nor his legs obeyed him. He copsed to the ground looking at a small yellow marble not far away from him.


    <Damn...>.


    Evan looked up at the blue sky and thought his life was about to be cut short. It would be a very sad end to his story.


    Drip. Drip. Drip.


    Suddenly Evan felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He didn''t immediately realize what was happening, but when he saw the raven hovering above him, he smiled.


    The one-eyed raven was hovering over Evan and blood was dripping from its body right into his mouth. The monster decided to do all the same things Evan had done for it not so long ago. With its sharp ws, it made a deep cut on itself. It fed Evan its own blood, just as the young man had done then.


    Nevertheless, it could not save Evan. He was not a monster so that another creature''s blood could hasten his regeneration.


    <Since this is thest thing I''ll drink in this life, I...want... MORE!">.


    Evan couldn''t even speak anymore, these were all hisst thoughts before his mind finally clouded over.


    <MORE! MORE! GIVE ME MORE OF THAT BLOOD!!!>


    As another drop of blood entered Evan''s mouth, his eyes suddenly glowed with a golden gleam. Then the glow waned, his amethyst eyes became as deep as the abyss itself and it seemed to Evan as if he could see the whole world through.


    [Sin - Greed was opened]


    [The Rat Sigil was obtained]

 Chapter 165 - The Rat

    "It`s happened again..." Mumbled Evan rising to his feet. Like thest time, all his wounds had miraculously healed and his eyes had changed.


    Outwardly, they had be very deep and mesmerizing, but that wasn''t the most important thing. Most of the change was with Evan''s sight. He looked around and the world seemed very unfamiliar to him. He could see an ant crawling through the grass a few meters away. Before, there was no way he would have been able to spot something like that from that distance.


    "That strange feeling again...that''s real bliss." Evan was surprised, but he realized what had just happened.


    <Somehow I opened the Sin - Greed and I`ve got another sigil. Hmm, just likest time I was on the verge of death again... Maybe, it all depends on the emotions I''m feeling at that moment, or is it moreplicated than that? Okay, the Lion Sigil gave me incredible physical strength, and the Rat Sigil seems to have greatly improved my sight. But it''s probably only a fraction of all that power, and now I possess only a speck of sand of the whole desert.


    After taking some time to think about it, Evan decided to check something. He concentrated and entered "Nirvana".


    <So... how do I get in? It all worked out pretty spontaneouslyst time>.


    Crack.


    Just when Evan thought about it, a huge crack appeared in the white-white space. This time the Demogorgon didn''t show itself, this crack was a passageway.


    "Oh, so it''s a door made especially for me." Said Evan with a slight smile on his face.


    He headed towards the crack, walked through it, and found himself in the very space where the ck lion was.


    Evan looked around and muttered, "I see, it''s here too..." Evan muttered, looking at the huge rat.


    It was to the right of the lion, and there was a massive magical circle around it as well. It was no different from an ordinary rat, except for one important detail- it had golden eyes. They were as deep as an abyss in which the greed of the world was concentrated.


    <It`a a pity that neither the lion nor this rat talks to me. I think they know a lot about this strange ce.> Evan thought and returned to the real world.


    Just a minute ago, he had been dying, but now he was perfectly fine. He couldn''t even put into words how good he felt. It was like an absolute superiority over all living things.


    Stretching himself, Evan made his way to Reinier, he was sure his opponent was dead. There was no way Reinier could have survived being pierced by Prince Seere''s spear. But, Evan wanted to check something.


    "That power is truly amazing, but... that attack alone cost me twenty years of my life. I have to be more careful, I''ve already wasted thirty-five years of my life. Unfortunately, in this situation, I had no other choice." Said Evan looking around the fallen trees. Everything looked as if there had been a real tsunami here.


    Evan reached Reinier''s body. There was a wide through the hole in the man''s chest, and his entire body was riddled with wounds. He had died in the first moments of the attack.


    The young man leaned over his body and he frowned, "Shit!"


    He wasn''t going to watch his opponent''s corpse, he wasing for his spatial ring. It was surely more capacious than Evan''s, but the young man''s hopes were not destined toe true. Because of the unrealistic power of the attack, the ring had been destroyed, along with all of its contents.


    "Well, I shouldn''t feel sad, as long as I''m alive. We need to get out of these woods soon, I can''t survive another encounter like this."


    Evan decided to go back to the fallen tree and inspect the warehouse. He hoped that at least there he could find something of value. Because of the monster and the battle with Reinier, the shelter was almostpletely destroyed, but something must have survived.


    Caw. Caw. Caw.


    Suddenly he heard the cawing of a raven. The young man turned around and smiled. Evan knew that monsters and humans were hostile to each other, but this bird had saved his life a second time.


    Evan looked at the raven''s bleeding wound and picked up a yellow pill from the floor and threw it right into its beak, and the raven caught it on the fly.


    Their gazes met, and the next moment, a golden gleam shed in Evan''s eyes, and the giant rat''s eyes glowed brightly. The words rang through Evan`s and the raven''s mind:


    [A sufficient level of trust was reached.


    The contract was concluded. Soul Level- 1.


    The spell "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam" was received]


    Both Evan and the raven were in disarray. The young man quickly gathered his thoughts, looked at the raven, and grinned.


    "Since we''re tied now, do you mind if I give you a name?"


    The raven only nodded in response.


    "Okay, then... how about Reykar?"


    Caw! Caw! Caw!


    "Great, I see you like it, but there''s one problem... I can''t show up in town with a monster on my shoulder, what to do..." Evan was puzzled, he didn''t know what to do in this situation. Other people shouldn''t have seen that he couldmunicate with the monster.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly the golden eyes of the giant rat glowed again and to Evan''s surprise, Reykar disappeared. He couldn''t find him anywhere until suddenly he heard him somewhere in the depths of his mind.


    "Is it...?" Mumbled Evan and immediately found himself at Nirvana. He couldn''t believe that his hunch had turned out to be real.


    But, it truly was reality. Reykar was floating in the midst of his "Nirvana". It just didn''t fit in Evan''s mind. He was shocked that a living creature could be in this ce. Nevertheless, it was just great news. Now his mate could always be with him and he wouldn''t have to hide him.


    "Hey, Reykar, can you make it out of here back to the outside world?"


    The raven nodded, and the next moment he was already sitting on Evan''s shoulder. Secondster, he was back in the young man''s "Nirvana".


    "Great, couldn''t be better. By the way, what kind of spell was this talking about at the time of the contract?" Evan wasn''t quite sure what he''d gotten, but the raven seemed to know everything.


    Caw. Caw. Caw.


    He began to caw, getting Evan''s attention. A few secondster, arge blue crack appeared next to Reykar and the raven flew right into it.


    "..."


    "I was under the impression that this raven had settled in even better than me..."


    Evan shook his head and headed after the raven. The young man knew where this crack led, to the Library, the ce where all the spells he had learned were located.


    Whoosh.


    "So I`ve actually got a real spell, amazing."


    Mumbled Evan looking at the purple magic circle, it was floating in the air quite close to his three blue magic circles.


    "Does this mean I can learn an evolved monster skill? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

 Chapter 166 - A Small Reward

    Evan was pleased with the unexpected reward. He hadn`t even thought he would be able to learn the skill of an evolved monster. The skill had already been transformed into a Magic Circle, so all Evan had to do was learn it and practice a little. It shouldn''t have taken long.


    <This all happened after I`d got the Rat Sigil. Being able to get monster skills is really nice, but...I shouldn''t be trying to make friends with every monster. It just doesn''t make sense.>


    Humans and monsters had always feuded, Evan and Reykar were just the exceptions to the rule. The young man himself didn''t know how it all worked out, so there was no point in Evan trying to learn the skills of other monsters.


    First of all, he didn''t even know if it was possible to make friends with other monsters, and trying to make contact with every monster he encountered was too dangerous. Secondly, even if he found a monster that wouldn''t attack him, it was unlikely that Evan would be able to make a contract with it. He and Reykar had saved each other''s lives several times and only then did their level of trust be sufficient to make the contract. Thirdly, it would be preferable for Evan to strengthen his bond with Reykar than to look for his recement.


    "Okay, now we need to look around the warehouse and get as far away from here as possible. Reykar, you stay here, okay?" Evan said calmly looking at the flying raven.


    Caw!


    "Fine."


    The next moment Evan was already in the real world. He quickly made his way back to the underground base, jumped off, and found himself in the warehouse. Unfortunately, most of the materials had been destroyed. A huge monster and then Reinier`s attacks had turned most of this group''s booty into rubble.


    Nevertheless, there were plenty of monsters` skins left that could be sold for a decent amount of money. There wasn''t much room in Evan''s spatial ring, so he couldn''t take everything. But, he did take the skins that weren''t badly damaged.


    There was nothing of value in this underground shelter besides the warehouse, but Evan had something else to pick up.


    Before he left, Evan decided to check every room in this underground base. He knew that other than the contents of the warehouse, there was probably nothing of value here, but he had to see for himself. When Evan got to the room where he had killed the groupmander, he immediately noticed his sword and decided to take it back and sell it in the city.


    Whoosh.


    The big sword moved into Evan''s spatial ring and the young man headed for the exit, but suddenly he noticed something strange.


    <Hmm? Does it just seem to me or is there some kind of red glow under the ground?>


    Evan hadn''t noticed it before, but now with his enhanced vision, he could clearly see that there was something going on right under his feet.


    <The groundyer is pretty thick and I have almost no mana... Reykar, can you help?> Evan asked in his mind and the next moment a raven was sitting on the young man''s shoulder.


    Evan jumped aside and pointing to the floor, calmly said: "Do me a favor and make a hole here."


    The raven nodded, and a violet glow appeared from inside its beak. With each passing second, it grew brighter and brighter until it became a deadly, purple beam. It reached the right spot at the speed of sound, and there was a deafening explosion.


    <This ability is much more powerful than my "Magic Missile", I don''t think even the first level spells would have such destructive power. Monsters truly are superior to humans in every way.>


    Evan pondered, waiting for the smoke to clear and he could see what was hiding under that shelter.


    "What is it?" Evan muttered puzzled, jumping down.


    In the middle of the small room, there was a bright red crystal. It was emitting this glow that Evan noticed, thanks to his sight. Moreover, the crystal itself was in an unusual magical circle.


    Evan looked around and saw roots in the walls of the room, but not big and living ones, but dry ones. Evan quickly realized what was happening. He knew neither this spell nor what kind of crystal it was, but it wasn''t hard to make a logical chain of what was going on.


    <Those roots are dry, just like half the trees in the "Half-Dead Forest". This crystal is directly beneath one of thergest and strongest trees in this forest. Apparently, this crystal sucks the energy from the other trees and collects it into itself. I wonder who put it there.>


    Evan thought about it as he headed for the crystal. He was going to pick it up since it definitely had a huge amount of mana concentrated in it. With this crystal, Evan would be able to "Create" much faster.


    Evan had no problem pulling the crystal out of the ground and moving it into the spatial ring. There was nothing, that protected the crystal since it was already in a ce that was nearly impossible to find.


    <Does that mean there''s a crystal-like that under every huge tree?>


    Of course, Evan was attracted to the idea of collecting as many of these crystals as possible. But Evan thought that some of the underground organizations and maybe even the "Demonic Tree" were connected to them, and so it was dangerous to sell them. But, he could use them for himself. Nevertheless, these crystals weren''t worth risking his life.


    "All right, time to get out of here. Reykar, let''s go!" The raven sat on Evan''s shoulder and ended up in the young man''s ''Nirvana".


    Evan quickly headed toward the slope from which he hade to this forest. He remembered the path the group took to get here, so he didn''t encounter any monsters. After a while, Evan reached the fallen tree, where Reykar''s grave used to be, and quickly climbed the slope.


    He hadn''t been in the woods long, so his horse was still there. Evan''s journey had been very dangerous, but also extremely rewarding.


    As he returned home on the safe trails, Evan thought over everything that had happened to him.


    <I originally came back to this forest to heal Reykar, but in the end, all this happened... The "Half-Dead Forest" is dangerous indeed, I don''t think I shoulde back here again until I reach at least the "One-Pointed Star".


    Evan remembered the group leader''s words about the monster dwelling near the ruins. It was a second ranked monster and Evan would not be able to fight it on equal footing for a long time yet. But most of the other monsters weren''t that strong. But, if Reinier, being at the "One Pointed Star" stage, could move freely through the forest, then a simr strength would be enough for Evan to explore this area.


    <My spatial ring is filled with the skins of various monsters. I think I''ll get quite a few "Moon Coins" for them. I wonder how much those crystals in the pouch are worth? I''ll have to find out more about that when I get back to town.>

 Chapter 167 - The Price

    Evan returned to town without incident. He wanted to rest, physically he was healthy, but mentally he was very tired. But firstly, Evan decided to go to a special store and sell materials from the monsters.


    These stores were in every zone. The higher the zone was, the more expensive the materials could be sold, but also the cost of the appraiser`s service was much higher. For the same reason, Evan decided to sell the materials in the store of the third zone. Most of the skins belonged to monsters of rank zero, but there were a few skins of monsters of rank one.


    Evan also wanted to know what the white crystals in the pouch were. He was sure it was something unique and rare.


    He walked slowly until he reached one such store and went inside.


    Evan approached the counter and was immediately greeted by a pretty girl. Her job was to send customers to the right appraisers.


    "Hello, can I help you?"


    Evan calmly replied, "I need to sell skins and some other materials of the zero and first rank monsters, as well as this sword."


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed and in his hands was the group leader''s weapon. The girl was not surprised that Evan had a spatial ring, many powerful and wealthy magicians had one. But, she had rarely seen a young man have such an artifact.


    The girl glimpsed the sword and pointed Evan where to go. The store itself was huge and looked more like a wholeplex of small buildings and storage facilities. It not only sold but also stored various materials.


    Evan was sent to the "B" section to the appraiser named - Freddie Stone. Each of the appraisers here had a wealth of experience and a great deal of knowledge. Any one of them had no problem appraising most of the materials to be found around town and beyond.


    <Hopefully, I can get quite a few "Moon Coins". Too bad my spatial ring has so little room. If I could carry out an entire monster carcass, I''d definitely get a lot more money>. Evan pondered heading towards the room where the said appraiser was located.


    The spatial ring could hold any item, but there were two exceptions. Firstly, it was any other spatial objects, because if they werebined there would be a terrible explosion. Secondly, it was living beings, but this rule did not apply to a dead being.


    Magicians who had high ranked spatial rings could put dozens of huge monster carcasses in them. It was much more convenient, since then there was no need to cut the monster itself, as whole monsters were much more valuable. But until Evan reached the "One-Pointed Star", he could not use the spatial ring above zero rank.


    Evan reached the right door and quietly opened it. Inside he saw arge tform and a table with many different tools for carcass cutting. In the corner of the room, there was a man with short brown hair. He was writing something down in a notebook, that was Freddie Stone.


    "Good afternoon." Said Evan approaching Freddie.


    Freddie closed the notebook and shook Evan''s hand: "Hello, young man, put all the materials and items on the tform. I''ll estimate everything and tell the price."


    Evan nodded and as he approached the tform, his spatial ring glowed. Dozens of zero and first rank monsters` skins dropped onto the tform, as did the sword of the groupmander.


    "Quite a good catch, young man, I am extremely surprised that you were able to kill monsters of the first rank."


    Freddie wasn`t a magician, but in his decades as an appraiser, he had learned well how to sense other people''s auras. A variety of clients came to him, so he had no trouble determining that Evan had not yet reached "One-Pointed Star". Of course, all this could only be called the guess, but one detail clearly showed Evan''s power. A normal person wouldn''t have noticed it, but not Freddie, he realized at a nce that Evan''s spatial ring was of the zero rank.


    Evan shrugged, "I just got lucky. I found a dead monster of the first rank."


    Freddie nodded, he glimpsed the monsters'' skins and then moved on to the sword. After about one minute, Freddie told the total price of all these items, "There are quite a few skins here, but unfortunately most of them are in bad condition, the sword also has a lot of damage. My price is 900 "Moon Coins", for everything."


    Evan didn''t know how much these things cost on average, so he initially assumed the price would be a little lower. Hearing the appraiser''s offer, Evan smiled and said: "Okay."


    "By the way, I''d like to ask you if you know what this is," Evan said and a pouch with four white crystals and one green crystal appeared in his hands.


    Evan originally wanted to read about these crystals in the library, but since he came here, he decided to ask the appraiser about them. Freddie probably knew all about these things.


    Freddie looked at Evan with surprise, "Young man, don''t you know what these things are?"


    Evan just shook his head.


    The appraiser realized that he was a little impolite, so he decided to cut right to the chase.


    "These crystals are called - Monster Core. Not all monsters have them, only evolved ones. If the crystal is white, it means it was obtained by killing an evolved monster of a zero rank. It looks like you were really lucky to meet that monster dead. It was not only the first rank monster but also the evolved one. That''s why its core is green." Freddie exined in detail.


    Evan nodded: "I see, how can I use these Monster Cores?"


    Evan originally wanted to sell the Monster Cores, but perhaps there was some other use.


    "Alchemists and smiths use them to make equipment or potions and pills. If you are not associated with these fields, then the best solution would be to sell the Monster Cores." Freddie calmly replied.


    Evan hesitated and asked: "How much is all these five Monster Cores?"


    Freddie quickly replied, "300 Moon Coins for each white core and 700 Moon Coins for the green core".


    <So much... looks like I''m actually getting rich today, excellent.>


    Evan smiled and nodded.


    Freddie pulled a card out of his pocket and so did Evan. The young man poured some mana into the card and got his money. Evan said goodbye and left the store in high spirits.


    For a total of four zero rank cores and one first rank core, Evan had received 1,900 ''Moon Coins". He`d also got 900 "Moon Coins'' for the monster skins, so Evan earned 2,800 "Moon Coins".


    That was really a huge amount of money, that he`d managed to get in just one day.


    <Okay, I need to go home and get some rest, then turn in my assignment. I think I''ll spend the next few days at the library, I have a lot to read about.>


    Click.


    Evan thought as he opened the wooden door to his new home.

 Chapter 168 - Attempts

    "So this is my home for the next few months..." Mumbled Evan looking around. The house looked cozy, inside and out. There wasn''t any fancy furniture or expensive decorations- it was just an ordinary house with a nice veranda and small rooms.


    There was also a spacious room downstairs, where Evan could practice or experiment with spells if he wanted to. Evan was very tired, so he headed straight to the bedroom and just copsed on thefortable bed. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sleep.


    ...


    The next morning Evan woke up and immediately headed for the underground floor. Of course, he had to hand over his task to the Academy, but right now he wanted to upy with something else - practicing and learning how to use - the "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam". The Magic Circle of this spell was already in his "Library," but that didn''t mean he could cast it.


    What''s more, he didn''t even know where to start. Usually the spellbook, besides the Magic Circle, detailed how to interact with mana and how to channel it to make it work.


    <I only have the Magic Circle, that should be enough, but I''ll have to do my best.>


    Evan thought as he made his way down to the underground floor. Actually, it wasn''t originally in this house, the old man just didn`t need it. But when Eric decided to rent this house out he spent a lot of money and built an underground floor specifically for magicians. That way, he was able to set a pretty hefty rent price.


    Not only could the underground floor be used for various experiments, but also training. The walls were made of very strong material, they were stronger than the walls of the house that was in Mossy Vulture. Evan''s "Magic Missile" of the first stage wouldn''t be able to prate them.


    "So, where should I start?" Mumbled Evan. He concentrated and entered the "Library''.


    Evan could clearly see every detail of the Magic Circle of "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam". He had taken some time to examine it carefully before practicing it.


    <This spell is simr to ''Magic Missile", both in appearance and structure. I think I should be able to do it in a few hours.>


    Evan concluded, and at the same moment, his "Warp" spun.


    The raven usually fired a beam from his beak, but Evan didn''t have to do it the same way. He directed his mana to his index finger and tried to cast the "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam".


    But it didn''t work the first time. The mana didn''t even transform into the desired form, it reached the tip of his finger and immediately dissipated.


    However, that was exactly the result to be expected. This spell was a little different from the others because it was created from the ability of an evolved monster.


    Evan spent the next few hours trying to cast this spell. He remembered its Magic Circle perfectly, it was all about the difficulty of performance. It was unusual for Evan to use mana this way. Before the mana could turn into the "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam", it would have to change its shape several times to reach the right state.


    Drop.


    The drops of sweat fell from Evan''s face to the ground. He''d already spent most of his mana, the left would be enough only for a few more tries.


    <Damn, I have to admit, this is really hard. I`ve nearly made it a couple of times, but it was more luck than any progress. I don''t understand what exactly it is that I''m supposed to do and why I am not able to cast this spell properly.>


    Evan encountered something like this for the first time. Of course, when he had studied his first spell, namely "Magic Missile", he had spent a lot of time on it. But, thanks to the spellbook he knew what he had to do.


    "Wait a minute, I don''t know how to cast this spell properly, but I know someone who is a master at it! Reykar!"


    Caw.


    As Evan called out to his partner, the one-eyed raven was immediately on his shoulder.


    "Will you teach me how to use that trick?" Smiling, Evan said.


    Reykar nodded and opened his beak. The next moment, purple energy gathered in his beak and transformed into a dense sphere.


    Boom.


    The sphere turned into a purple beam and instantly reached the wall of the room. There was a deafening explosion, but the underground floor was not affected in any way. The material was so strong that not even the evolved monster could destroy it.


    "Once again."


    Boom.


    Another explosion rang out. Evan wasn''t looking at the wall, his attention was focused on how the energy was being transformed. He was trying to figure out what his mistake was.


    <Hmm, he prepares himself before every shot, but I also try to turn mana into a sphere and then shoot a beam like I''m using a "Magic Missile". Maybe since I''m a human and not a monster I need some more preparation?>


    <Every time I tried to cast this spell at one point, the whole chain fell apart: either the mana dissipated, or I couldn''t make thest step. I thought it was ack of experience or that I was doing something wrong. But... maybe it was just the beginning. Unlike the "Magic Missile", there are a few more steps. Hmm, it can bepared to a foundation, you can''t build a tall tower on a bad foundation. At some point, it will just copse.>


    "Thanks, Reykar. I think I`ve figured out what I was missing." Evan mumbled and the one-eyed raven returned to "Nirvana".


    For the next hour, Evan did nothing. He just tried to figure out what kind of "foundation" he needed. Of course, Evan could have gone to the library and tried to find the answer to his question there, but he didn''t do so for two good reasons. First, Evan was sure that the library didn''t have the information he needed. He got this spell because he had a contract with Reykar. Second, he wanted to figure it out for himself. It was like a math problem that no one had solved yet. You try, you search for the appropriate option until you seed.


    <Hmm, when you think about it, I don''t have anything that helps me solve this problem. I use mana and act ording to the Magic Circle...exactly...there it is...>.


    Evan came up with a solution, he found that "foundation" that was constantly right under his nose.


    Evan`s "Warp" spun and mana headed for his index finger, but it began to transform not into a beam, but into the Magic Circle of that spell. That was the "foundation" Evan had been thinking about.


    Once the purple Magic Circle was created mana began to umte in the center of it and slowly transform into a purple sphere. Evan did everything slowly and smoothly, trying not to make a single mistake.


    After a few seconds, the purple sphere turned into a beam and instantly reached the wall. There was an explosion, and Evan smiled contentedly. He''d finally made it, and he was amazed at the power of the spell.

 Chapter 169 - Creating A Spell

    "Magic Missile" didn''t leave a scratch on the wall, but a hit from "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" broke off a small piece of it. Though it was very small, after a few dozen hits, part of the wall would be destroyed. "Great power." Evan summed it up.


    But, the sess with the spell was not the most important thing Evan was able to aplish today.


    "This Magic Circle before casting the spell itself is very simr to the way the spells of "Summoning Magic" work. Unlike the other Magic Types, when you cast a "Summoning Magic" spell, you first create a magic circle from which an object or a creature appears. But, unlike what I`ve just done, in "Summoning Magic" spells this "foundation" is a part of the spell, not a separate auxiliary structure." Mumbled Evan.


    "So I`ve unknowingly created the actual spell myself?"


    It was just as Evan had said. He had actually created a new spell of his own right now. But, Evan didn''t create it from scratch, and he was well aware of that.


    "I`ve only seeded because I got into unique and unknown conditions. If this is a spell of "Summoning Magic", then a Magic Circle, like this is part of the spell. For the spells of "Amplification Magic" and "Creation Magic", you don''t need such a Magic Circle before cast. But, "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" is definitely a spell of "Creation Magic", and I couldn''t have done it without the auxiliary structure."


    "Hmm, this spell, while not exactly conventional and I didn''t create it from scratch, I still think it could be considered of such a kind. Since this is the first spell I''ve created by myself, I need to give it a good and appropriate name. How about the "Foundation?"


    Smiling Evan was about to leave, he was pleased with himself and his progress, but suddenly a very interesting thought urred to him.


    "What if you could use "Foundation" on other spells? "Foundation" isn''t part of the spell, it''s a separate structure, I think it should work." Said Evan and pointed his index finger toward the wall.


    His "Warp" spun and mana headed toward his fingertip. Now Evan cast "Magic Missile" and mana transformed into a white Magic Circle. Then it turned into a sphere, then became a beam and flew into the wall.


    Boom.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH, this is just unbelievable. I`ve spent the same amount of mana, but the spell became more powerful. Thanks to thorough training, the beam is a little denser and its speed is higher. What''s more, the spell itself is more stable now, and it''s all thanks to "Foundation". Just great..."


    Evan was thrilled and then he wanted to test something else. This idea came to him after he had sessfully used "Foundation" during a Magic Missile cast.


    <I don''t have much mana left, but it''ll be enough for the finishing touch.> Evan thought, and his "Warp" spun.


    He put both hands out in front of him and mana went to his two index fingers at the same time.


    Whoosh.


    A white Magic Circle appeared in his left hand, while a purple Magic Circle appeared in his right. The next moment in the center of the Magic Circle, mana transformed into spheres and two beams simultaneously flew toward the wall.


    Just then, Evan cast two spells simultaneously, applying "Foundation" to each of them.


    Boom.


    At the very end, the two beams merged into one and there was a deafening explosion so strong that it shook the whole house.


    Bam.


    Arge splinter broke off the wall and fell to the ground.


    "Fantastic, I''ll have to be sure to do some training. But now I think I need to get some rest and do a few things." Mumbled Evan and walked out of the house in high spirits. He headed for the Academy.


    He needed to turn in his task and visit the library. Last time he had read only a few books on the first level of the library, but he had ess to three others. He should have taken advantage of the vast amount of information avable.


    Of course, Evan wouldn''t be able to read all the books, but there were many topics he wanted to get at least a basic knowledge of, and some he wanted to delve into.


    After a while, Evan made his way to the Academy. The first floor was as crowded as always, especially by the bulletin board. It was worth noting that almost no one was paying attention to Evan''s appearance today. As he supposed, rumors had quickly spread throughout the school. It was good news for him, though. It wasn''t nice to have hundreds of people staring at you everywhere you went.


    Evan walked over to the resource warehouse where he gave away 40 "Sun Clovers" and received a reward of 50 "Moon Coins". Compared to the 2,800 "Moon Coins" he`d received yesterday it seemed like a drop in the ocean, but Evan`s task was the easiest of all. It was safe and the target of the mission was not far from the city.


    Yesterday Evan had sold arge number of skins even though they weren''t worth much because of his condition, and he`d also got money for 5 "Monster Cores". None of this was thanks to the hunt. There''s no way he could have killed an evolved monster of the first rank on his own.


    Havingpleted the task, Evan headed towards the library, but suddenly...


    "Hey, crazy newbie!"


    He was stopped by a girl with scarlet hair and amber eyes. It was - Olivia Marsh. She was an "Inner student", had a purple "Warp", and was an Amplifier. She`d entered the Academy half a year ago, during thest enrollment.


    Olivia had already broken through three "Barriers" and only had onest step to take before reaching the "One-Pointed Star." In the previous entrance exam, she had been one of the best.


    Evan looked at her questioningly, not sure what she wanted from him.


    "I challenge you! Let''s fight in the arena and find out who''s the strongest!" Olivia loved topete with others. She fought every outstanding student who had recently entered the Academy and hadn`t have the first rank one yet.


    Olivia looked forward to the Academy''s recent enrollment to fight the talented new students. Of course, Evan was her most coveted opponent. He was known not only because he didn''t wear a mantle but a coat, but also because he was the best in the special test. Moreover, don''t forget the fact that hested a full thirteen seconds against Draven.


    "Not interested." Evan replied briefly and walked past Olivia.


    She hadn''t expected Evan to say no so quickly, it turned out he wasn''t interested in her offer at all. No one had ever turned her down before, and the Academy itself was steeped in apetitive spirit.


    "Wait a minute! Why are you turning me down? Don''t you want to fight? Let''s fight!"

 Chapter 170 - The Fighting In The Arena

    Seeing that Olivia was keeping up with him Evan frowned and said rudely: "What do you want? What''s the point of me fighting you?"


    Olivia smiled and said: "What''s the point? We`ll find out who''s the strongest!"


    Evan looked at her in bewilderment. The girl didn''t seem to hear him at all.


    <She doesn''t understand that I don''t want to fight her, okay, then let''s do it another way.>


    Evan thought to himself and said: "I won''t fight, I just got back from the task, so I don''t have a drop of mana."


    Evan thought that if he gave some good reason and why he couldn''t fight Olivia, the girl would get off it back, but it wasn''t that simple.


    "Huh, that''s not a problem. There are rooms for "Creation" next to each arena. They''re filled with mana crystals, you''ll replenish your supply there pretty quickly. You just have to pay some ''Moon Coins" and that''s it."


    Evan looked at Olivia puzzled and said: "I don''t have any money." The young man quickly walked away trying to get away from the annoying Olivia, but there was no way the girl was going to give up.


    "Wait, I''ll pay for you, it''s not a problem for me. What''s more, if you don''t have any money, this is a great way to earn it?"


    "What do you mean? How can I earn "Moon Coins" just by fighting you?"


    Evan didn''t want to fight Olivia, as it would be a waste of time, but if this fight could benefit him, he saw nothing wrong with it.


    "You''ve never fought in an arena before, so it''s no wonder you don''t know anything about it, but I''ll tell you anyway. The fact is that not everyone can earn "Moon Coins" fighting in the arena, besides us."


    "Don`t waste time, get on with it!" Evan said sinctly.


    "Okay, okay, you don''t have to be so rude. I mean, I''m a pretty famous zero-ranked student at this Academy, I''m quite popr. And you''re the most famous freshman, because of your actions and results. Of course, you''re still a long way from me, but you''re not bad either. Anyway, there are always a lot of students in the arena, and since we are popr people, our fights will be watched. And most importantly, they will be betting on the oue of our fight!"


    "I take it the contestants themselves get a percentage of one side''s total winnings, right?"


    Olivia nodded: "Yeah, 10%, not bad, right? Of course, if you get caught cheating you get a big penalty. So it''s always better to fight fairly."


    <Hmm, 10% is pretty good, all I have to do is just fight and win. Of course, I''ll draw even more attention to myself, that''s inevitable, but everyone`s already known about me in any way.>


    Evan thought and decided to agree to Olivia''s proposal. Now, this battle didn''t seem like a waste of time to Evan.


    "Alright, let''s go to the arena, but I need to recover my mana first."


    "Fine."


    ...


    A few minutester, they reached the rooms for "Creation". Like Olivia had said, she had paid for Evan to replenish his mana supply as soon as possible.


    Of course, Evan could have paid himself, he had enough "Moon Coins", but there was no point in spending the extra money. It was Olivia who wanted to fight him, not Evan with her.


    "There really is arge concentration of mana here. These crystals are filled with it, this room is much better than the room in Zak`s mansion." Said Evan looking around the room.


    <All right, let''s get started.>


    Evan thought and sat down in the middle of the room and began to "Create". His crimson "Warp" spun at an incredible rate and began to absorb mana.


    Olivia, on the other hand, decided not to waste time and went to the arena. At that moment, she thought: <Evan has a white "Warp", which means it will take him an hour or so to regenerate his mana in this room. Amazingly, he''s been able to achieve such incredible results.>


    To everyone in this world, his "Warp" was white, not crimson. For example, if Olivia had been "Creating" while in this room, she would have replenished her mana in only 15 minutes, but...


    <Five minutes will be enough for me. Evan thought, watching the mana flow towards his "Warp".


    Caw!


    Suddenly he heard Reykar''s voice. The raven appeared in "Nirvana," and at that moment, the symbols on his neck glowed brightly. A small amount of mana headed toward him and Reykar began to absorb it.


    <So, that''s the price for your skill... However, I can feel it getting stronger, moreover it only takes a small portion of the mana, it''s definitely worth it.>


    About five and a half minutes passed and Evan had fully replenished his mana reserves, but he wasn''t about to leave the room.


    He had not yet condensed a single drop of "Void Liquid" since he had broken through the second "Barrier". At this point, he had 333 drops of the 1,000 he needed. But since he only broke through two "Barriers", Evan can only condense 666 drops.


    Nevertheless, even in this special room, he wouldn''t be able to condense arge number of drops in just an hour.


    So Evan decided to channel the remaining amount of mana into the next chain on the Pir. He had already unlocked four chains and he even had already poured some mana into the fifth one . So, now he decided to concentrate on it.


    Evan needed to redirect the mana into the dark space. He would have had a problem with that before, but he was used to moving between spaces a bit.


    As soon as Evan thought about it, a ck crack appeared in "Nirvana" from which the jaws of a demogorgon crawled out. Mana headed straight for it and moved into the dark space, then it slowly reached the fifth circuit and began to soak into it.


    <Hmm. I can move into this space and into the "Library" myself, but the mana requires the creature''s jaws. It''s somehow carrying it around, quite interesting...>. Evan thought, and his attention was caught by Reykar, who didn''t even move when he saw the demogorgon''s jaws.


    It looked menacing and creepy, but it was part of this space, not an enemy. There was no hostile intenting from it, so the raven was not afraid of the creature. He was busy absorbing Evan''s mana now.


    <Huh, Reykar keeps absorbing mana when I''m already fully resupplied. This raven constantly surprises me, I guess I didn''te back to the "Half-Dead Forest" for nothing.


    Evan felt Reykar''s aura slowly increase. Evan didn''t know how long it would take. But he was sure that if Reykar continued to absorb mana, he would take it to the next level.

 Chapter 171 - The Bets

    Thest time Evan had been "creating" in the "Pond of Mountain Crystals," it had taken him an entire day to unlock one chain. Now he only had an hour, but he was sure he could do it. It was all about the fact that he had previously injected some mana into the fifth chain.


    "Just a little more, just a couple of links left..." Evan muttered.


    By now, it had been fifty-five minutes since he had been in the special room for "Creation." It seemed okay if he dyed five or ten minutes. Nevertheless, that was a problem. These rooms were rented by the hour, so Evan could only stay here for the paid time.


    Crack.


    Thest link was filled with mana, and the chain disconnected from the Pir. A blue crack appeared in space, and the chain was quickly in the "Library," joining the others.


    At the exact moment, Olivia''s voice was heard from behind the doors, "Hey, why are you so long? You have one minute left."


    Click.


    The door opened, and with a slight smile on his face, Evan said: "Are you looking forward to losing to me?"


    "You! Go to the arena. I''ve already had time to warm up, unlike you." Said Olivia and headed for the arena. While she was waiting for Evan, she had already had three fights, which she easily won.


    "By the way, Olivia, how will other people know we''re going to fight?" Evan was worried that they would have to wait a long time for enough spectators to gather.


    "§¡h? Don''t worry about that. I''ll exin it. You can go into the arena and fight anybody you want, but you can also register your fight. When you entered the room for "Creation," I put us on the list and set the time of our fight. So there''s already a lot of people waiting for us." Olivia calmly replied.


    <Hmm, that makes sense. Judging by the map of the Academy, there are a lot of arenas in it, so there is enough ce for everyone topete.>


    "By the way, Olivia, since this is the case and other people will be betting on our duel, would you like to bet too?" With a slight smile on his face, Evan said.


    Evan wanted to get the most out of this fight, and he was a hundred percent sure of his victory.


    "But, what can you offer me? You don''t have any money..." Olivia muttered, puzzled.


    "Yes, but you have money! If I lose, I''ll pay you back when I have the right amount. We can make a deal if you want."


    Olivia hesitated and, after a while, replied, "Okay, I agree and no contracts. I''m sure your reputation is more important to you. How much do you want to bet?"


    "5,000 "Moon Coins," is it okay for you?"


    "Huh, okay, I guess I should thank you for practically giving me that much money."


    In fact, 5,000 "Moon Coins" Olivia could earn in a few days. It was a lot of money, but she was strong enough to take the most difficult zero-rank assignments. For her to lose that amount of money wasn''t critical.


    Evan didn''t say anything back. They were both confident in theirplete victory, though they understood that their opponent was far from easy. Evan hadn''t seen Olivia fight yet. Neither she had personally seen Evan fight, but she knew from hearsay that he''d fought fiercely at the test. So, she had some information about Evan.


    Evan and Olivia made their way to the arena. Just like the girl had said, there were already many students in the stands waiting for their fight to start. Honestly, Evan hadn''t expected their fight to draw so much attention, and it also proved that each of them was popr.


    The contestants stood against each other, and at the same moment, one of the students announced the number of coins gambled on the fight.


    "50,000 "Moon Coins" on Olivia Marsh, 12,500 "Moon Coins'' on Evan Lynch, the ratio is 1 to 4!


    <Hmm, so, 1 to 4. They are so sure about this girl, is she really that strong?>


    Evan wasn''t surprised that more people had bet on Olivia. After all, he was a "dark horse" at the moment. Betting on Evan was a bit risky now, but it was well worth the risk considering the odds.


    After the announcement of the bets, there was silence in the arena, and everyone was waiting for the signal of the start.


    Dong!


    Their duel began, but neither Evan nor Olivia moved.


    The girl mouthed: "Hey, are you going to fight without your scythe?"


    Whoosh.


    The ring on the girl''s finger glowed and I a long sword with a scarlet de appeared in her hands. Olivia, as well as Evan, had a spatial ring.


    Evan shook his head, "No need for that now, but don''t worry. I''ve prepared my best attack for you." Calmly Evan said and, in the next moment, pointed both hands in Olivia''s direction.


    His "Warp" spun, and mana headed for the tips of his index fingers.


    Olivia, as well as the others, didn''t understand what Evan was doing. They all knew he was an Amplifier, and they were also aware that one of his spells was "Magic Missile." But, they didn''t understand why he would use that spell when he had his scythe and "Ice Veil." Since Evan was an Amplifier, they thought he was acting illogically and rather foolishly.


    Olivia frowned, and her sword was covered in ayer of light. This light was pleasant, calm, and deadly at the same time. It was like the sun, beautiful but scalding. If she pierced Evan with this sword, he would be badly burned. She thought Evan was not serious about their duel, and so she was angry.


    The girl lunged toward Evan, intending to strike first.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, two Magic Circles appeared in front of Evan''s fingers. Next, a sphere formed in the center of the Magic Circles.


    Whoosh.


    No sooner had Olivia taken a few steps than two beams, white and purple, headed in her direction. Evan was calm, and his gaze was icy, but Olivia panicked.


    It took her a moment to realize just how dangerous Evan''s attack was. The "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" was more potent than the "Magic Missile," but theirbined power became extraordinary if they were used simultaneously. It was the strongest attack in Evan''s arsenal at the moment.


    Whoosh.


    The ne around the girl''s neck glowed, and a triangr shield of light appeared in front of her. It was her protective spell that had saved her many times, but not now...


    Whoosh.


    Before they hit the target, the two beams spliced together, and a monstrous explosion erupted. Part of the arena was destroyed, and Olivia''s shield was shattered. She flew backward a few meters and mmed her back against the arena''s wall.


    Crack.


    Even Olivia''s sword could not withstand such power. The de of the weapon cracked and was finally destroyed. Olivia herself received very serious wounds, and most of her body was covered in burns and bleeding wounds. It was an absolute defeat.


    "The winner is Evan Lynch!" The announcement rang out loudly, but there was silence in the arena. Everyone watched Evan''s actions.


    He slowly approached Olivia, and his spatial ring glowed. A green pill appeared in the young man''s hands, which he gave to Olivia. This pill and several others he had taken from the warehouse in the "Half-Dead Forest." He decided not to sell them but to keep them for himself.


    "Consider it my thanks for your generosity."


    Evan turned around, glimpsed the audience, and said loudly: "If any of you want to fight me, then, go ahead. I am Evan Lynch, challenging every one of you!"

 Chapter 172 - The Next Opponent

    Evan''s words echoed throughout the whole arena. Everyone was surprised by the young man''s audacity and impudence.


    No one knew what kind of spell Evan had used. There were a huge number of zero level spells, for example, "Magic Missile," that everyone knew about. But there were spells that only a few people knew. But even if it was a very rare spell, it couldn''t be much stronger than any other spell of the same level. Simply put, no matter how rare a zero level spell was, it couldn''t be any stronger than the first level spell.


    Nevertheless, the purple beam Evan had cast was significantly stronger than the "Magic Missile," and this alerted everyone present.


    Moreover, Evan hadn''t used any Magic Artifact that could strengthen this spell.


    He had just defeated Olivia Marsh with a single attack and immediately challenged all the other students. Some of them were afraid of Evan''s power and didn''t dare ept his challenge. But some wanted to fight Evan and bring him down to earth.


    Whoosh.


    One of the disciples jumped into the arena. He had long ck hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a blue mantle with a ck frame. It was Carl Hopper.


    "Guy, you''re acting a little too cocky for someone who''s just entered the Academy. If you''re not afraid, let''s fight! You won''tst five seconds!" Carl said loudly.


    He was angry, but not because of Evan''s behavior or the fact that the young man had defeated Olivia. It was all about his ego. Carl and Olivia were outstanding students and often had fought, but all their fights ended in a draw. When he saw Evan defeat the girl with one attack, it hurt his pride. He felt like he was the one who''d lost the battle in seconds, not Olivia.


    Evan didn''t answer anything. He waited for his opponent to act. Honestly, Evan had challenged everyone in the arena for two reasons. First, he decided that if any other students wanted to fight him, he''d better do it right now so that no one would bother him in the future, at least for a while. Secondly, he didn''t get satisfaction from the fight with Olivia, as it was very short. He wanted to fight someone else.


    Whoosh.


    Carl''s "Warp" spun, and the darkness began to thicken behind him. At first, it was a tiny dot like a drop of resin, but then it turned into a dense sphere.


    <What an interesting spell, it looks threatening, but this guy is still too poorly versed in it to make it really dangerous.>


    Evan thought as he watched the orb turn into a ck spear. Carl swung his arm, and the dark spear flew toward Evan.


    Evan didn''t dodge it. He just pointed his hand at the spear and cast "Magic Missile." "Foundation" quickly formed, and the snow-white beam instantly mmed into the dark spear.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion, and a cloud of dust rose in the arena, but Carl wasn''t going to wait for Evan to attack, and he attacked by himself.


    Whoosh.


    The air began to gather at his hand, then transformed into a sphere resembling a deadly tornado. Carl lunged toward Evan, passing through the smokescreen. He should have struck a blow that would have torn Evan''s body apart, but...


    Crack.


    Suddenly an icy fist came crashing down on Carl''s jaw. The blow was so powerful that his jaw cracked, and Carl flew several meters away. For a while, he could not even move.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan paced slowly toward him. The ice on his hands was shimmering in the light. Evan''s gaze was cold, and his face unemotional.


    Carl was still conscious, but he could no longer fight, and he had neither the physical nor the moral strength. Evan didn''t even have to use his most powerful attack to defeat him, just one usual attack one was enough.


    On those asions, when Evan used the "Ice Veil," not on his weapon but on his hands, they became a real weapon. His physical strength was many times greater than that of the vast majority of the students. Of course, there were exceptions like Chloe. Evan''s punch with his fist could bepared to an iron hammer.


    Evan walked up to Carl, took him by the scruff of the neck, and said harshly: "Get out of here!"


    Whoosh.


    Turning around, Evan threw Carl back into the audience stands.


    "Well, who else wants to fight me? Hurry up. I don''t have much time." Roughly said Evan looking around at the students being in shock.


    Whoosh.


    "Well, you are really a mad novice, but even the wildest and fiercest beast can be subdued. I''m sorry, but I think such behavior should be punished. It ruins the wholepetitive spirit." Calmly said a tall guy with short blond hair. He was wearing a green mantle.


    Immediately after his speech, he sprang into action.


    Whoosh.


    Several Magic Circles appeared next to Evan, and ck chains immediately flew out from them. They instantly enveloped Evan''s arms and legs, preventing him from even moving, but that wasn''t the main feature of this spell.


    The blond guy''s "Warp" spun, and the chains began to change at the same moment. Several spikes appeared on each link, which dug into Evan''s flesh and began to take away his mana.


    <These chains are dangerous. After a while, I won''t have a single drop of mana left in me, but... such a powerful spell definitely has a serious recoil. Evan thought as he watched the blood trickle from the corners of his opponent''s mouth.


    The spell was called "Chains of Exhaustion." It was one of those zero-level spells that very few people knew about. Moreover, it took many times longer to master this spell than "Magic Missile." This young man''s teacher had taught him this spell.


    It was stronger than the popr and simple spells, but even it couldn''t bepared to the "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" level.


    The "Chains of Exhaustion" takes a price for its power - the magician himself receives an internal wound.


    It was not fatal, but it was a spell to be used only as ast resort.


    The young man was sure he had already won. There was no way Evan was going to get out of such a serious and dangerous trap.


    The chains were tight around Evan, keeping him from moving. They were sucking the mana out of him, but... this spell had one big disadvantage. The person, shrouded in chains, could still cast spells, though it was losing mana.


    Whoosh.


    Suddenly two Magic Circles appeared behind the blond guy, and the next moment two spiky vines squeezed his neck.


    "Just a little more..." muttered Evan, pointing the finger at his opponent.


    Bam.


    The blond guy quickly got rid of the thorny vines, but a purple beam was already flying toward him by the time he had done it.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion, and Evan won another victory.

 Chapter 173 - The Speed

    After Evan had defeated three outstanding students in a row, no one dared to fight him. For them, today''s event was something unreal. Of course, after every intake, there always were outstanding students who were shining like bright stars. But Evan was more like a ck hole. He''d attracted a lot of attention with his strength, but almost no one wanted to fight him.


    Evan looked around and said: "Since that''s it, it''s time to call it a day." Said Evan and was about to pick up his money and leave when a girl in a yellow mantle with a ck frame jumped into the arena.


    She had short green hair and gray eyes. Her gaze was confident, and when the girl released her aura, many of the students felt intense pressure.


    At that moment, Evan thought, <Hmm, she reminds me of someone...>.


    The girl came up to Evan and said: "My name is Freya Cross. I thought my sister would be the best in this set of students, but someone stronger and bolder showed up."


    <Freya Cross...so she''s a member of the Cross Family, I have to admit she looks a lot like Fane. Same hair color and same gray eyes>.


    Evan knew that the girl in front of him was brave, and she was definitely very strong. Moreover she was an Amplifier, which meant she was perfectly capable of one-on-onebat.


    "I want to say something right away. I''m not fighting you because of your behavior or other nonsense, thest two idiots said. I''m strong, you''re strong too, and that''s why I want to kick your ass."


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, Freya attacked Evan. She threw a straight punch aiming at Evan''s stomach, and the young man reacted quickly and blocked that punch.


    <Damn it, I was able to block her punch, but the ice on my hands has cracked because of just one of her punches. Does it just seems me, or she is even stronger than Chloe?>


    Evan was surprised. He looked at Freya and said: "Wait, I think our fight will be interesting to more than just the two of us. Let''s give people a few minutes to ce their bets."


    Freya smiled, "Well, I don''t like to wait, but your words make sense, one minute."


    There was real chaos in the stands among the spectators. They were betting like crazy, each of them wanting to make a fortune and earn "Moon Coins."


    After exactly one minute, the student in charge of taking bets said loudly: "Freya Cross - 100,000 "Moon Coins," Evan Lynch - 85,000 ''Moon Coins".


    To everyone''s surprise, the odds were almost even. Even Evan didn''t expect him to get nearly as much as Freya.


    Freya smiled and mouthed: "Since you''ve already used a few spells and those chains have sucked a decent amount of mana out of you, I won''t be using many spells."


    "Oh, what generosity..." Rolling his eyes, Evan replied.


    Whoosh.


    Freya''s "Warp" swirled, and her hands were quickly coated with ayer of metal.


    "Well, let''s get started!" The girl said loudly and swiftly attacked Evan.


    The blow wasn''t swift, but it was unusually powerful. Evan felt as if a huge hammer was hurtling toward him, not the girl''s fist.


    Evan reacted quickly and dodged the blow: <If she hits me, I''ll definitely be seriously injured, though her speed leaves a lot to be desired. I think it''s not without problems, but I''ll be able to handle her.>


    Evan thought and attacked back. Freya was right, he really didn''t have much mana left, just for a couple of spells, so he decided to fight her as two Amplifiers.


    Evan decided not to use his scythe for one simple reason - Freya was vastly superior to him in terms of physical strength, which meant she could wait out the moment and grab Evan''s weapon. It would be difficult for him to get it back, and thus he put himself by her hit, so he decided to fight hand-to-hand. Evan liked fighting with a scythe, but that didn''t mean his fists were weaker.


    Bam.


    The girl didn''t dodge and just blocked Evan''s punch, followed by her turning around and kicking Evan. The young man easily bounced to the side, thereby avoiding the blow.


    <Darn it, I can''t get closer, what shall I do...>.


    While Evan was trying to think of a n of action, Freya cast two more spells. Unlike Evan, she only had the spells of the "Amplification Magic" in her arsenal, and when she used a few of them, she became practically invincible.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    The wind swirled around Freya''s legs, and her speed increased dramatically. Now she was not only strong but also fast. With just one spell, she got rid of her fatal w.


    The girl lunged toward Evan and began to attack him with all her might. Evan didn''t have time to dodge, so he put his arms out in front of him and tried to block those formidable blows.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    In just a few attacks, Freya''s fists destroyed theyer of ice on Evan''s hands. Realizing he couldn''t go on like this, Evan decided to retreat. But as soon as he took a step back, an iron fist mmed into his stomach.


    The young man vomited blood, but this blow was followed by another - a kick to his side. Evan didn''t have time to defend himself against it and flew back several meters. Only two blows, but he was already badly hurt.


    <I definitely have one or even two broken ribs, and if I get a couple more blows to the stomach, my organs will turn into a bloody mess.>


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, are you surprised? Guy, you''re powerful, but you''re not the only one in this world acting brave and tough. In fact, your only chance to beat me is to enter the "Gust," but I doubt you''ll be able to do it now. It''s impossible to control. Can you still fight?" Smiling, Freya said.


    Evan got to his feet in silence. Drops of blood were falling to the ground, but he was still able to fight. Though, he didn''t fully understand what he had to do to win. Freya turned out to be an opponent that was out of his league right now.


    Freya looked at Evan and shouted: "I think the oue of this fight is already decided, so I''ll show you somethingst. And all of you, who are watching our fight, observe! Evan, this spell will take all my remaining mana, so try not to die."


    Evan and the students watching the fight didn''t understand what Freya was talking about, but the girl began to act the next moment.


    Her "Warp" furiously spun, and a huge amount of mana began to disappear from it rapidly. All that mana was channeled into the cast of one single spell.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    Streams of wind swirled around Freya and dispersed throughout the arena. It was like an actual tornado.


    "The spell I''m casting now is the "Seal of Pegasus." It''s the "Spell of the Seal." Freya exined.


    Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.


    The next moment all the wind was at the girl''s feet, and it quickly turned into a ck seal with the image of a Pegasus.


    Suddenly, Freya''s figure blurred, and the next moment she was next to Evan. Her incredible speed even created wind currents. She attacked Evan swiftly, and the young man had no time to react to her blow.


    Bam. Crack.


    There were several cracks in Evan''s chest, and he flew off into the arena wall like a bullet. This blow was even stronger than the previous ones, as Freya became many times faster. "Seal of Pegasus" was a formidable and powerful spell, but it was a definite risk. After all, an excessive amount of mana had to be spent to cast it.


    <Fuck, fuck, fuck, It looked like I was going to be turned into a pancake. I can''t even see her moves, shit!>


    Of course, Evan could defeat Freya, but he had to use the power of demons to do so, and he couldn''t do something like that right in the Academy.


    Evan looked at Freya and then at the audience and felt himself very strange. At the exact second, a golden glint shed in Evan''s eyes.


    <Why do I feel like they''re barely moving?>

 Chapter 174 - Hitting The Target

    Evan struggled to his feet and looked at Freya, puzzled. At that moment, the spectators in the stands were shouting something, and the girl was saying something to him, but he couldn''t make out the words. Suddenly all the noise faded into the background, and all he could see was Freya.


    The girl sighed, and her legs tensed. She lunged toward Evan with such force that there were many cracks in the ground. She was moving fast, unusually fast, this attack was going to end their fight. Evan watched intently as Freya ran toward him. Unlikest time, now he could see her movements quite clearly.


    Whoosh.


    The girl swung her iron fist, but when her punch almost reached its target, Evan took exactly half a step back. It was enough for Freya''s fist to pass within an inch of him.


    In one precise movement, Evan knocked Freya off bnce. Next, Evan''s fist was covered in ayer of ice and he punched her in the stomach with all his might. Freya vomited blood, but she quickly was okay. She instantly regained her bnce and hit Evan again, but Evan''s palm was on her face by then.


    Bam.


    Evan pushed Freya and knocked her to the ground. The girl was seriously wounded, but she wasn''t going to give up. The wounds like that couldn''t stop her.


    The young man didn''t have time to remove his hand from Freya''s face and attack her again. Suddenly the girl caught his wrist and used a leglock. Evan saw her movements, but there was nothing he could do about them. Freya had a vicelike grip.


    Crack.


    The girl checked Evan''s arm and instantly broke it. There was a loud crack, and Evan''s face contorted in pain, he wanted to free his arm, but suddenly Freya herself loosened her grip.


    Bam.


    She kicked Evan in the chest, and the young man flew aside like a missile.


    Freya got up from the ground and smirked, and said: "What was that? I''m amazed, but you''re a long way from me..."


    Before Freya could finish speaking, a purple beam was already flying towards her. Freya didn''t have time to dodge, so she put her arms out in front of her. Since they were covered in ayer of metal, this block looked like an actual shield.


    Boom.


    The beam reached its target, and there was a deafening explosion. The "One-Eyed Raven Beam" was a very powerful spell, but Freya could withstand it. She was badly burned, and the skin on her hands burned, but the rest of her body was unharmed. She was quite capable of continuing to fight.


    At the same time, Evan slowly rose from the ground. He was already out of the strange state he had been in recently and now Freya was like a lightning to him again.


    "So,d, shall we move on to the next round?" Freya spoke cheerfully, going to attack Evan, but to her surprise, the young man raised his hand and calmly said:


    "I give up."


    At the same moment, the arena subsided. Evan was serious, he wasn''t joking, and everyone present understood that.


    Freya said nothing and just nodded satisfactorily. She was older and stronger than Evan, so there was no surprise in his defeat. Freya was sure that if they fought in six months, she would have almost no chance of winning.


    <I seriously need to train... otherwise, I''ll never be as strong as the head of my family...>. Freya thought to herself as she watched Evan leave the arena.


    He took his reward of 5,000 "Moon Coins." In their fight with Olivia, it had been bet a total of 50,000 "Moon Coins" on the girl''s victory, and Evan got ten percent of that money as the winner.


    Evan left the arena under the close gaze of the crowd. At that moment, Freya thought, <Why the hell was that guy smiling? He''s wholly beaten, and he walks out of the arena happy?>


    Evan walked slowly toward the infirmary. His arm was broken, his mana was nil, and Freya''s blows had left many bruises on his body. Evan''s condition was horrible.


    He wouldn''t continue the fight, as he had been losing to Freya back when they both hadn''t yet received any wounds. Because of the way the battle events unfolded in the aftermath, there was no question of any victory. But, that wasn''t the only reason why Evan decided to surrender.


    "Damn, I''m really screwed, but it seems dangerous battles like this help you progress very quickly..." Mumbled Evan as he watched the third chain around his "Basis" shake violently.


    It was actually strange that Evan was progressing so quickly, but the whole point was that he had found himself in deadly situations several times over the past few days.


    Evan''s second "Barrier" had broken right through during the test for the inner apprentices, and the third chain began to shake after the fight with Freya. But, that fight wasn''t the main reason Evan came close to breaking the third "Barrier." It was all about his recent battle with Reinier, then Evan almost died, and only thanks to the power of demons and the help of Reykar was he able to survive.


    It doesn''t matter who, whether human, monster, or beast, but when someone finds himself in a particrly dangerous situation, he finds the strength he didn''t have before. Of course, this cannot always help to get out of this situation, and it''s more like ast-ditch effort to survive. But that goes a long way towards moving forward.


    Fighting Reinier had been Evan''s first step towards breaking through the third "Barrier," and tonight''s battle with Freya was the final step.


    Evan won one fight and lost the other, but his strength increased either way.


    Evan originally intended to go to the library after he had turned in his task, but now he had another unscheduled task. He needed to heal from all his wounds and rent one of the best rooms for "Creation." Evan had 9,500 "Moon Coins" at the moment. He was sure that it would be enough money to rent a suitable ce for a long time. What''s more, Olivia owed Evan another 5,000 "Moon Coins," so he wasn''t short of money at the moment.


    As Evan walked toward the infirmary, he suddenly heard the voice of a raven in his "Nirvana."


    Caw. Caw. Caw.


    Reykar sensed Evan''s condition. The young man smiled and mentally said, <Don''t worry, I''ll be back on my feet in no time. Freya''s blows were hard, but I''d got hurt worse in that forest."


    Step. Step. Step.


    He turned, and suddenly he was facing a girl in a blue mantle.


    "Evan? What''s happened to you?!" Sana eximed, surprised, looking at Evan''s shabby appearance.


    The young man only smiled weakly in response.

 Chapter 175 - Crystals

    "Hi," Evan answered briefly and walked past the girl.


    Sana followed him and kept talking: "Wait! What''s the matter with you? It feels like you''re dying."


    Without stopping, Evan replied, "I just got in a fight in the arena with a strong opponent. I missed a few punches and lost, that''s all. What do you care?"


    "You say that''s a few punches ?!" Sana said indignantly.


    Evan really was in awful condition. Blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth, and his broken arm dangled like a sack of bones. Evan wrinkled with every step, which clearly indicated that his entire body was covered in numerous bruises.


    Unlike Evan, Sana rarely got into fights. Of course, Evan wasn''t that kind of person either, but it could be hardly believed given recent events.


    "And where are you going with such wounds?" Said the girl.


    Evan waved a hand and said: "To the infirmary, don''t you see? Don''t bother me! Go, where you''re going."


    Sana frowned at that rude reply, nevertheless kept following him.


    As Evan walked to the infirmary for the next few minutes, she was beside him, constantly saying something. Evan tried to swat her away like an annoying fly, but he couldn''t do anything. He already wanted to get to the infirmary as soon as possible, not just to heal his wounds but to have some peace and quiet finally.


    Click.


    <Finally>. Thought Evan as he opened the door to one of the infirmaries. He wanted to disengage himself from Sana and breathe a sigh of relief, but...


    Before he could fully open the door, Sana was the first to burst in and immediately began saying something to the magician in charge of the infirmary. She pointed at the wounded Evan, staring at him with a strange look.


    <Maybe I shouldn''t have gone to that clearing then... I was cured then, but I''m probably going to die now ...>. Evan thought to himself as he watched this scene.


    A few minutester, Sana came to Evan and gave him a pill and a potion.


    "This pill will heal your bones, and the potion will greatly speed up your regeneration," Sana said seriously.


    Evan nodded and quickly swallowed the pill and the potion. It was a pretty expensive medication so that Evan would bepletely healed in a few hours.


    Evan and Sana spent the next half hour talking about various topics. Evan wasn''t particrly in the mood to talk to anyone, but he couldn''t help it.


    "I''m off, and You don''t need to thank me for my help. It''s my duty as your senior!" Sana said proudly and quickly left the room.


    Evan grinned and just waited for his wounds to fully heal. All the while, Evan thought about what had happened to himtely. He remembered the events in the "Half-Dead Forest," as well as his fight with Freya. Those had been dangerous moments in his life, but they had helped him move on.


    ...


    A few hourster, Evan left the infirmary. His wounds werepletely healed, and his arm was fine. In that time, the third chain around his "Warp" had stopped shaking, but Evan wasn''t worried that he''d missed the moment. He distinctly felt that all it took was one small impulse, and the chain would shatter.


    Evan had initially wanted to go to the rooms of "Creation" near the arena, but Evan decided there was a much better option.


    The Academy of Magic - "The Last Moon" wasn''t one big building, and it was aplex of different structures that each had their function, like a library. It was not in the main building of the Academy but was part of it.


    In addition to the library, one of which Evan was now heading to. There were a considerable number of "Creation" rooms of varying quality. The simr rooms next to the arena were usually just for restoring mana before a fight, and they weren''t designed for long-term "Creation."


    Evan pondered how long it would take him to condense the right amount of "Void Liquid" drops. Thest time Evan had been in the library, he had just as quickly gone over the information regarding "Warp" color and mana umtion rate.


    During thest fights, Evan began to suspect that his mana umtion rate was higher than other magicians. Information about the "Warp" color was publicly avable, so Evan quickly found the right book. That was also when he''d found out that Zak had been lying to him about his condensation rate.


    Evan didn''t hold a grudge against Zak, and in fact, he thought Zak had done the right thing. Evan certainly wouldn''t be a self-righteous fool because of his unusual "Warp," but any other person might very well be, and it could have harmed his future progress.


    In Evan''s case, it made no difference. He had already known that his "Warp" was different from the other magicians` ''"Warp." And that wasn''t very surprising, considering the way Evan had got his talent for magic. Moreover, Evan now knew that his mana umtion rate was higher than the others.


    "Here," Evan muttered as he walked into the colossal building.


    Evan walked over to a special board with a list of all the rooms and began to choose the right one. There was a number next to the name of the room. Evan didn''t know what it meant, but then he stumbled across the exnation on the board itself. "1" meant that in this room, a magician with a white "Warp" could condense one drop of "Void Liquid" per day. That was exactly twice as fast as usual.


    If a magician with white "Warp" would create in a room "2", his speed would equal that of a magician with purple "Warp," and those were not the best rooms yet.


    Evan had 9.500 "Moon Coins" at the moment, but that wasn''t enough money to rent one of the best rooms, even for one day.


    <I thought at first that 9.500 was quite a lot of money, but it seems to be a drop in the bucketpared to what fourth rank students earn>. Evan thought and chose the room.


    Compared to most of the other options, he chose a rtively expensive one, but...


    <9,000 for one month... that''s not prices, that''s some fucked up shit ...>.


    Thought Evan and headed to his room number - "3". A magician with a white "Warp" could condense three drops of "Void Liquid" in a day in this room. The average magician with a purple "Warp" -12 drops. As for Evan - 36.


    < I''m about to break through myst "Barrier," which means I''ll need to condense another 667 drops to reach 1000 and finally get to the next level ...>.


    Evan thought and walked into the room. It was simr to the one near the arena but much more extensive. The mana crystals were brighter and more intense, with a vast amount of mana in them.


    Evan sat down in the middle of the room, concentrated, and his crimson "Warp" spun.

 Chapter 176 - The Last Obstacle

    Evan''s crimson "Warp" quickly absorbed mana. Dozens of streams were directed toward the young man and transformed into the "Void Liquid."


    In this room, Evan could condense 36 drops per day, which means that to condense the necessary amount, namely 667 drops, it would take him less than 20 days. But, before that, he had to get rid of thest obstacle, the third "Barrier".


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    The third chain was shaking and rattling. It tried to resist the streams of mana falling it like the waves, but the cracks in the chain grewrger with every second. Eventually, the splinters began to break off from the links, and then the chain itself began to copse.


    Crack.


    <A little more...>


    Evan thought as he watched dozens of links begin to break and turn to dust. There were only three links left in just a few seconds, which shattered into tiny pieces instantly.


    Whoosh.


    At the same moment, Evan felt an incredible lightness in his entire body. He felt as if he came out of the captivity where he''d been for decades or even hundreds of years.


    "This is fantastic ... I''ve never felt better before," Evan muttered as he felt mana rush to his body with renewed vigor.


    Thest "Barrier" that restrained him had been destroyed, so now Evan could give himself over to "Creation."


    Mana was being absorbed not only by his "Warp" but by Reykar as well. The raven was taking only a small fraction of the mana, but considering the total amount, it was enormous.


    Day after day, Evan was "Creating." His "Warp" was slowly being filled up with a unique liquid. At that moment, Evan didn''t think about what was going on around him during the "Ssh." He was only focused on the flows of mana.


    The moment Evan broke through his third "Barrier," strange energy erupted from his body, just like thest two times. The changes began to take ce around him, affecting only the crystals in the room. They began to grow and expand like branches, some of them faded and crumbled into small pieces, and some were destroyed.


    In the days that followed, the crystals continued to change as well, and eventually, some parts began to break off from them and turn into a pale blue substance, namely mana. Because of this, the concentration of mana in this room increased significantly, and Evan''s "Nirvana" was filled with mana.


    After about 15 days, Evan came to the final stage. He had already condensed 990 drops of "Void Liquid" and had only a few more to go to the next level. Under these conditions, he could condense 10 drops of "Void Liquid" in only 6 hours.


    ...


    <Great, I''m already at the finish line> Evan thought, looking at the 998th drop fell down. He couldn''t wait to see what would happen next.


    "Onest drop is left." Said Evan after the 999th drop fell down. At that moment, he gathered all the mana he had and directed it to his "Warp" at once. He was going to get thest drop right now.


    Drop.


    Thest drop fell, and Evan felt as if he absorbed the whole world at that moment. He looked at his "Warp," filled with "Void Liquid," and slowly mouthed: "Now, all that''s left is to convert this liquid into the" One- Pointed Star. "


    Evan tried to do what he had in mind, but nothing worked. After three days of trying, Evan realized that there was another obstacle he needed to ovee.


    < It''s not the "Barrier"... I can do it ... I just need time ... but this isn''t the right ce ...>


    The room Evan was in was equipped to speed up the umtion and condensation of mana, but not for going to the next level, and Evan needed a different atmosphere.


    <Hmm, my "Warp" is full of mana and "Void Liquid," but I still have about two weeks left ... it''s time to unlock some more chains. "Decided Evan, and at the same moment, a ck crack opened in his "Nirvana."


    Mana quickly prated the dark space and began to fill the chains.


    ...


    In the remaining time, Evan had managed to fill 13 more chains with mana, making the total number of chains equal 18.


    < I''ve spent such a huge amount of mana in all that time, but I could only unlock 18 chains... that''s not even 1/5 of the total number. It would take a really long time to unlock 101 chains. "


    Evan summed up and left the room for "Creation." He didn''t notice the changes that had happened to the crystals for one reason - they looked the same now as when he hade in here.


    The grown parts had broken off and been turned into mana, and the destroyed and extinguished crystals had surprisingly recovered. It was as if everything was back to normal state.


    Evan had spent almost all of his money, but he didn''t regret it. Otherwise, he would have had to spend much more time before he would have condensed the right amount of drops.


    Now Evan was on his way to the first floor of the Academy. He needed to find out where Draven was now. Evan himself intuitively understood how to get to the "One-Pointed Star" stage, but he decided it was worth asking Draven more about it.


    Usually, Evan liked to figure things out by himself, but this was a too important stage in his life. It was entirely possible that any mistake he made could be fatal: he could destroy his "Warp" and stop being a magician or even die. Evan didn''t want to take that risk, so when he got to the first floor of the Academy, he asked where his teacher was.


    "At the moment, Mr. Draven is at his home." The girl replied calmly.


    Evan nodded and headed toward the house he had already known well.


    As he got close enough, Evan saw Draven sitting on the porch. He wasn''t doing anything, and it looked like he was asleep.


    "Draven!" Evan called out to him.


    At the exact moment, Draven opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise.


    "Evan? I''m sorry, I was just thinking. What are you doing here?" Draven muttered in puzzlement.


    Until Evan arrived, he pondered how to improve one of his spells, which was quite difficult. After several days of pondering, he still hadn''te up with an option.


    "I have one question." Evan calmly mouthed and released his aura.


    Draven smiled. It took him just a moment to figure it out, "So you''ve finally broken through the third" Barrier "and evene close to the finish line. It''s amazing how you were able to break through thest" Barrier" so quickly ..."


    Draven realized that even though Evan was a magician with a white "Warp," he only needed to umte enough "Moon Coins" and rent a suitable room for "Creation."


    Over the past month, while Evan had been "Creating," the story about his battles in the arena had spread throughout the school. Draven knew very well that it was easy to earn many "Moon Coins" in the arena if you were strong and popr enough.


    "So, Evan, what question do you want to ask me?" Actually, it was a rhetorical question, as they both knew why Evan hade here.

 Chapter 177 - The First Step

    "Have a seat, we have a long conversation. Turning the "Void Liquid" into the first end of a star is not an easy procedure. Although, you can intuitively understand it." Draven said seriously.


    Evan nodded.


    "You''re right, I do understand what needs to be done, my whole essence seeks to be stronger, and that guides me. But, I''m sure one can make a mistake in such a difficult task, and the cost of that mistake will be exorbitant." Said Evan.


    "You''re right. For starters, you shouldn''t take the next stage in the ces like the city, because it''s too crowded. For this process, nothing should get in your way. You need to eliminate any risks. In such cases, all magicians find some deserted area. It can even be a simple forest. The main requirement is no one should be around."


    "But what about beasts and monsters? They could bother me." Evan asked, puzzled. In his opinion, humans were less dangerous than monsters. At least they wouldn''t attack him without a good reason.


    Draven shook his head, "You don''t have to worry about that. All monsters of the same rank as yours won''t want to approach you, and it''s correct to say that they will even avoid you. The main thing is that high ranked monsters do not inhabit the ce you choose."


    Draven sighed and continued: "I should warn you about what happens the moment you move to a new level. When you break through some "Barrier," the "Ssh" happens. This time it will be the same, only the "Ssh" will be several times stronger. It could be said that it''s this immense and unrestrained energy that scares the monsters away."


    "Got it."


    "I''m not going to give you advice on how to get to the next stage. You won''t make a mistake if no one bothers you. All you have to do is concentrate and disconnect yourself from the world around you. It will be an unforgettable experience, I promise you."


    "Okay, then I''ll go right now," Evan said and quickly left.


    Draven smiled and muttered: "That''s right, fortune waits for no man. I''m sure when youe back, you''ll be times stronger."


    ...


    When Draven spoke of a safe ce, Evan had already decided where he would go. It was a vast area called - "The Forest of Aquamarine Crystals." This area was quite close to the city.


    There were many dangerous monsters and beasts in this forest, but one part was perfectly safe. Ordinary people often went there to gather aquamarine fruit from the trees. But one should not go out of the safe area because one might encounter some monster.


    The "Forest of Aquamarine Crystals" got its name because of the bark of the trees, it looked like crystals. There were also a huge number of different caves in this area, and most of them were abandoned, but for Evan, they might have been the perfect shelter.


    Evan didn''t dy and headed straight toward the forest. He nned to get there in a few hours.


    ...


    While Evan was on the road, Draven was sitting and thinking about their conversation. He looked up at the blue sky and said quietly:


    "You know, it''s not very polite to eavesdrop."


    Immediately after Draven''s words, Arve came out from around the corner. The whole time Evan and Draven had been talking, he had been here.


    "Draven, don''t you think this guy is kind of weird?" Arve asked seriously.


    "Why?" Draven said calmly.


    "Just a month ago, during a special test, he broke through his second "Barrier." Now his "Warp" is filled with the "Void Liquid," and he''s ready to move on to the next stage. That''s just incredible speed."


    "You exaggerate things, as usual, it''s funny to hear you say that at all. After all, you''re the man who reached "One-Pointed Star" only in a month after awakening your talent for magic. Compared to Evan, you''re the real anomaly."


    "Well, we''re not talking about me now. We''re talking about this young man. You know, to be a student of the first rank, you have to reach "One-Pointed Star," and you have three years to do it. Of course, many students enter our Academy when they have already broken their first "Barrier," whereas it takes a few years for most of them. It took this guy a little over a month." Arve said calmly.


    "Youplicate things a little. First of all, three years is a deadline. Evan is just more talented than the others, so he''s faster than the rest, that''s all." Draven said slowly.


    "More talented? Hmm, there''s logic in what you''re saying. He was unlucky with his "Warp" color, but his temper and how quickly he progresses during battles can really be called a real talent. But has he been fighting anywheretely? Not counting his recent arena fights, of course."


    "§¡? I don''t know. Let him do what he wants. My job is to help him when he needs it, not to be a babysitter for him. Some people don''t need control. They want to explore the world on their own"


    "Yeah... in that case, you look more like a living encyclopedia than a teacher, okay, I''m off. I think you''re right, and this guy really is a talented student. By the way, you mentioned my speed to reach the "One-Pointed Star," but my merits are pale before a monster, like you."


    After these words, Arve quickly disappeared from sight. It only took him a few steps to be tens of meters away.


    On the other hand, Draven decided to distract himself from the situation with Evan and concentrate on improving his spell.


    ...


    A few hourster, Evan reached the "Forest of Aquamarine Crystals".


    "It''s very peaceful here, this forest is like a fairy tale..." Mumbled Evan listening to the birds singing.


    The forest was indeed unusual. The crowns of the trees were not only green but also purple, blue and blue. The unique crystal bark of the trees deserved special attention.


    < It''s cool toe to such a ce to just rx and forget about the rest of the world, about its problems and worries>. Evan thought to himself and headed toward the nearest rock.


    Evan knew he had chosen the right ce. There were no monsters or beasts in this area, only small rodents, and birds. At the entrance to the forest, he encountered a few ordinary people and even magicians. The cave he had chosen was rather unremarkable. Lianas blocked the passage, andrge boulders near the entrance hid the cave itself.


    Evan pushed aside the vines and found himself inside his temporary shelter. He could feel the energy seething inside him, which indicated that it wanted to move on to the next stage as soon as possible.


    He looked around the cave and then sat down on the cold, stone floor. Nothing could disturb him now. There was nothing around him except the cool walls of the cave and the calm forest, where peace and quiet reigned. It was the perfect setting.


    Evan concentrated and entered "Nirvana." At that moment, all of his attention was focused on the "Void Liquid" in his "Warp." Evan took a deep breath, and the next moment the liquid came into motion.

 Chapter 178 - 178: The Attraction

    Evan was concentrated and slowly controlled the whole process. The "Void Liquid" came into motion. It unhurriedly left the confines of the "Warp" and began to transform into the first end of the star. Step by step, drop by drop, Evan was getting closer to moving to the next stage.


    His energy increased with each second, and at the same time, the "Ssh" urred. A tremendous amount of energy emanated from Evan. There was so much of it that it became visible. It was like gray waves with a slight purple hue.


    This energy slowly filled the entire cave, and some of it even made its way outside through the denseyer of the vines. Evan didn''t notice these changes. He was focused on creating the first end.


    Reykar emerged from Evan''s "Nirvana." He was drawn to this strange energy, and he began to absorb it, and after a few minutes from so much energy, his body began to change. He got a little bigger, his ws turned purple, and his beak became incredibly sharp.


    The change also affected the symbols on his neck. At one moment, they disappeared, and then two symbols appeared on his wings. Strange transformations were happening to the vines and the whole cave. Just as Draven had said, this "Ssh" was far more powerful than any previous ones.


    The lianas suddenly increased sharply in size, and the stone began to turn into crystal. A few minutester, Evan was already in the crystal cave, which was hidden by the huge vines.


    But Evan wasn''t paying attention to it. He had practically finished transforming the "Void Liquid" into the first end. His and Reykar''s aura grew stronger by the second, and they were both getting closer to going to the next level.


    Without Evan, Reykar wouldn''t have been able to progress so quickly, all thanks to the mana and energy that came from Evan.


    Normally, during such a powerful "Ssh," the monsters of the same rank as the magicians tried to avoid the source of that energy. But, Evan''s situation was radically different.


    It was unknown why, but the dangerous monsters in other parts of the "Forest of Aquamarine Crystals" headed towards the cave where Evan was. The energy emanating from him attracted them, and now Evan was in great danger. If he didn''t make it to the "One-Pointed Star" stage in time, he would most likely be torn apart. A multitude of monsters of rank one and rank zero were rushing towards him, trying to get to that energy as quickly as possible.


    As for Evan, he was smiling happily. He had almost done it, he needed only a few more minutes before he finally reached the "One-Pointed Star."


    Suddenly the cave Evan was in shook. Unfortunately, the monsters had got here before Evan finished. The young man didn''t even sense their presence. He watched intently as thest drops turned into the "One-Pointed Star."


    With each blow of the monsters, huge pieces of rock broke away from the rock, and most of the vines had already been torn apart. But, by then, everything had been over.


    Thest drop of the "Void Liquid" was transformed into the first end, and Evan''s crimson "Warp" glowed brightly. The orb grew slightly in size, as did its internal storages of mana and "Void Liquid." The "Warp" now looked more like a star, albeit in a very strange shape.


    The end created from "Void Liquid" has be crimson, and the concentration of mana inside "Warp" has increased significantly. Evan will now be able to cast first rank spells and use powerful artifacts and "Catalysts."


    When a magician moves to the next stage, each of his parameters from physical strength to magic, bes much higher. Evan''s body became stronger and his spells - more deadly.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment his "Warp" spun, and mana flowed in massive streams toward Evan. The rate of mana umtion also increased significantly, as his "Warp" was now capable of absorbing many times more mana and the first end increased the speed of rotation.


    Crack.


    The paw of one monster had already nearly destroyed part of the rock. One or two more blows and its deadly ws would reach Evan. At that moment, the strange energy emanating from the young man was all the monsters wanted.


    When Evan finally reached the "One-Pointed Star," he felt an extraordinary lightness and how the power overwhelmed him. It seemed to him that he was now the strongest being in the whole world. Then, thest and most powerful release of strange energy came out.


    Gray waves spread out all over the rock and instantly reshaped it. In just a few seconds, the massive rock was transformed into a giant crystal. And one of the monsters trying to reach Evan suddenly evolved.


    Its fangs became sharper and its fur thicker. Its tail burst into bright me, as did its sharp ws. The monster was now like a hellhound. But someone else had evolved besides him.


    The moment Evan reached the "One-Pointed Star," Reykar became a monster of the first rank. All thanks to the enormous amount of mana and strange energy Evan had emitted. Moreover, Reykar evolved again, as evidenced by his slightly changed appearance and the tworge symbols on his wings.


    When the monster punched a hole in the already crystal rock and was about to attack Evan, Reykar immediately attacked it. Not a few secondster, the purple beam reached the monster and killed it instantly. After Reykar had advanced to the next rank, his skill increased significantly, but he gained another new ability as he had evolved once more.


    Reykar flew into the sky through the hole the monster had made and looked fiercely at the multitude of monsters that came here because of Evan''s energy. The raven spread his wings, and the two symbols glowed brightly. The next moment he pped his wings, and dozens of razor-sharp feathers rained down on the monsters. They were so sharp that they could easily cut through a thickyer of steel, and that was the second ability Reykar had gained.


    The deadly feathers killed several monsters of the zero rank in just a few seconds and severely wounded monsters of the first rank. Reykar wanted to continue the attack, but an evolved monster of the first rank stood against him.


    He opened his mouth wide, and the next moment his roar rumbled throughout the area. It was so loud and terrifying that all the birds flew away. The raven tried to resist the roar, but he was not strong enough. He flew aside, trying to hide from that terrible roar.


    That''s when Evan finally got out of "Nirvana." He opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Evan slowly got up and stretched himself.


    "It''s kind of noisy outside. Why did these monsterse here, and what happened to this rock? Eh... more questions every time... okay, first we have to deal with the uninvited guests." Evan muttered, and his ring glowed.


    A scythe appeared in his hand, and the next moment he made two cuts on each hand. Evan returned the scythe into the ring and began drawing two demon sigils on the wall simultaneously.

 Chapter 179 - The Snakes Blade

    Evan was an experienced demonologist and was adept at harnessing the power of many demons. As a price for their power, demons demand the life force of the person summoning them. When Evan first harnessed the power of the 72nd demon, Count Andromalius, he spent almost all of his energy on it, but he didn''t need to give up years of his life as payment. It took Evan several days to regain his energy back then.


    However, when Evan became a magician and broke through several "Barriers," he could already use Count Andromalius'' power using only a certain amount of energy. It became more like a spell that required a lot of mana and stamina. But after using it, he could still continue to fight.


    The same was true of all the other demons. When Evan fought against Reinier in the "Half-Dead Forest," he resorted to the help of the 70th demon, Prince Seere. Evan was able to win but gave up 20 years of his life for it. But if Evan had tried to use this power when he wasn''t yet a magician, the cost would have been not 20 years but his whole life.


    It''s worth noting that Prince Seere and the other demons whose power Evan used weren''t the real ones. It was only a small part of their true bodies that could give Evan only a fraction of all the immense power. For the same reason, Reinier was able to destroy the Count Andromalius snake. If Evan had used more of Count Andromalius'' powers, Reinier would not have been able to get rid of the demon''s weapon so easily.


    ...


    Immediately after Evan left "Nirvana," he began drawing two sigils at once. It only took a master like him a few seconds to do it. Each demon''s sigil was unique. There were many details in it, each of which the mage had a duty to know.


    He put his hand to one of the sigils and shouted: "Sigil of 71st Demon, Duke Dantalion - activation!"


    Whooosh!


    At the exact moment, an old, battered book appeared in his "Nirvana." It floated serenely in the middle of the vast expanse. Last time, Evan had had to pay fifteen years for Duke Dantalion''s help. But a long time had passed since then, Evan had grown much stronger, and now his request was not soplex.


    The young man quickly walked into "Nirvana" and said: "Increase the "Awareness" of my two spells to the second stage: "Ice Veil" and "Magic Missile."


    It would have been impossible for any other person to do such a thing, but not for Evan. Duke Dantalion could teach almost any knowledge in the world. It all depended on the price and the question.


    In order to increase one''s "Awareness" in any spell, one had to spend several years training. Geniuses and particrly talented magicians could do it in a few months.


    But, with Duke Dantalion, Evan could gain the necessary knowledge and experience in just a few moments. He just had to pay.


    The book opened, and the price was written on the page. Evan was satisfied.


    <Sounds like I''ve underestimated the power of the "One-Pointed Star" magicianspared to those who haven''t reached this level yet. This is really impressive.>


    Evan thought the demon would ask for all of his energy, but the price turned out to be considerably less. Only 50% of all his energy and mana. It was a clear indication of how strong Evan had be.


    Of course, the price would have been many times higher if Evan had demanded to increase the "Awareness" of these two spells to the third stage. Moreover, the price was so small only because they were zero-level spells. Evan was going to choose the new spells soon, so he would rarely use those ones.


    "I agree," Evan said calmly, and the book closed.


    The next moment, mana and energy began to drain from him rapidly. It was a rather unpleasant but tolerable feeling. By the end of the procedure, Evan felt as if he hadn''t eaten all day, but it wasn''t anything critical.


    The book reopened, and hundreds of symbols flew to Evan''s be. It was a necessary knowledge that Evan would have to acquire over months or even years of training. But, in addition to knowledge, the experience was also necessary.


    After all the symbols got into Evan''s consciousness, the spirits emerged from the book, and they flew to Evan''s be. It was the experience that would have taken a long time for Evan to receive in any usual case.


    Evan''s head was splitting from the information he received. The volumes were truly incredible. It was pretty difficult for him to cope with so much information, butpared to the day he had forcibly got a talent for magic, it was a drop in the ocean.


    After a few seconds, Evan came to his senses. He didn''t ask for knowledge and experience to increase the "Awareness" of the "Summon Thorny Ivy." This spell waspletely fine with him at the moment. Although it could only hold his opponent for a fraction of a second, it was enough at the moment.


    Once Duke Dantalion had gone Evan immediately activated the second sigil. The monsters were already approaching, and he urgently needed a weapon to deal with them.


    "Sigil of 72nd Demon, Count Andromalius, the second level - activation!"


    Evan said loudly and re-entered "Nirvana," where a demon was already waiting for him. Each demon had its own sigil, but sigils also had variations with slight differences. The higher the level of the sigil was, the more of the demon''s power a person could use.


    While being in "Nirvana," Evan was looking at a snake floating in the air.


    It''s worth noting that this snake and the old book were not real demon bodies. They were only images of them, as it was only a small fraction of their power.


    The snake didn''t listen to Evan. It had already known what he wanted. It stuck out its tongue and slowly whispered: "One year."


    <Surprisingly... such a small price to pay...>.


    Under the circumstances, it indeed wasn''t much because he was in a dangerous situation.


    He had just reached the "One-Pointed Star" and still hadn''t fully mastered all the power he had gained. Evan understood that he would not be able to handle several monsters of the first rank right now. Moreover, among his opponents were those who had evolved, so he decided to resort to the power of a demon.


    Evan didn''t summon the 70th demon, Prince Seere, as it was a different situation now than in the "Half Dead Forest." Evan was pretty strong himself now. Of course, if Evan were to summon Prince Seere now, the cost would be much less than 20 years, but it would still be about 3-5 years.


    Evan nodded and felt the life drain out of him again, but to his surprise, the feeling wasn''t as unpleasant as thest time. It was as if this year was less meaningful to him than before.


    After the price was paid, the snake disappeared, and a long sword with a gold snake guard appeared in Evan''s hands.

 Chapter 180 - The New Powers

    The sword in Evan''s hands was sharp enough to cut through steel. And given his incredible physical strength, Evan would be able to kill monsters of the zero rank in just one blow. This weapon cost him a year of his life, and it was worth the price.


    Evan looked at the snake sword, and the next moment his "Warp" spun. He cast the "Ice Veil," and the sword began to be covered in ayer of ice slowly. Each time the "Awareness" of the spell increased, it became stronger. In this case, the amplification consisted of sharp, icy teeth like a saw on the blunt side of the sword. This sword could now not only cut but also tear the flesh of enemies apart.


    Evan stepped up to the vines and severed them with a single swing, opening a passage into the cave. Immediately he was surrounded by a host of monsters. One of them attacked him at lightning speed. Evan no longer had that strange energy, but he was full of strength and mana. And now, he was the desired target for the monsters.


    The monster opened its mouth wide, but Evan didn''t even flinch. Now such monsters posed no danger to him.


    <Only an hour ago, I would rm if an evolved monster of the zero rank attacked me, but now to me, it is no stronger than an insect.>


    Evan thought and swung his sword. The next moment the monster''s body was shed lengthwise. Ice spikes appeared where the cut was made, and the monster''s carcass fell to the ground. Just one swing and the dangerous monster that could easily tear apart most newbie magicians was killed.


    Evan looked around and saw an exhausted Reykar.


    < He''s got more potent, too, but it looks like he couldn''t handle them alone. There are really formidable opponents among these monsters, but why did theye here...?


    Evan was distracted, and at that moment, two monsters decided to attack him. They thought this was an excellent opportunity since Evan didn''t even look at them.


    The monsters'' sharp ws sliced through the air and copsed on Evan, but a momentter, the world before their eyes turned upside down. Evan swung his sword, and the monsters'' heads fell to the ground. He wasn''t even distracted from his thoughts.


    <Hmm, Draven said that the monsters were supposed to be frightened by the powerful energy emanating from me during the breakthrough. Maybe he deceived me? No, it''s unlikely, it''s probably just the energy I''m emitting. This mystery gets moreplicated every time I encounter it.>


    The monsters of the zero rank were stunned by Evan''s power. Even though there were so many of them, they moved away from the young man. They were afraid to attack Evan, he was dangerous, and they knew they could not win.


    As for the monsters of the first rank, they were not so cowardly. One of them was about four meters tall. It picked up a giant boulder and threw it toward Evan. The monster was powerful but rtively slow.


    Evan turned toward the attacking monster, and mana began to gather around his arm. In addition to the "Ice Veil," "Magic Missile" had improved as well. Evan could cast the "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam," but he wanted to see the "Magic Missile" enhancement in practice.


    First, mana transformed into a white Magic Circle, namely "Foundation," and then into the white beam itself. The difference between "Magic Missile" in the second stage and the first one was that now another sphere was being created within it. This meant that the spell was now two beams. The second one was smaller and weaker, but it was still a very formidable weapon.


    When the boulder should have almost reached Evan, the beam instantly reached it. A stun stpletely destroyed the giant boulder, but that wasn''t the end of the attack.


    A second, weaker beam flew further and hit therge monster that attacked Evan. It didn''t have time to react, and the "Magic Missile" exploded its head. The vast carcass fell to the ground, and the weak monsters bounced away from Evan in terror.


    <Hmm, it wasn''t evolved, but it was pretty strong. If I had fought with this monster yesterday, I probably would have lost and probably even died...>.


    At that moment, Evan once again realized how important strength was. An ordinary man with no talent for magic could die simply because he met a monster, and any magician could easily kill ordinary people if he wanted to. Of course, it would be an absolute atrocity, but there were definitely such cases.


    <Strength is important, but I''ve gained the body of a talentless young man, with no strength, no ability to use mana, just nothing... If I hadn''t been a demonologist in a past life, I would have to eke out a miserable existence in this one.>


    Evan thought, slowly making his way toward his next opponent. It was a monster with a huge left paw. Along its paw were three red spheres resembling some crystal.


    Evan activated the "Eye of Truth" and looked at the monster''s "Pir of Soul."


    <The evolved monster of the first rank, I wonder how strong it is>. Evan thought and quickly cast the "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam."


    The purple beam flew toward the monster. However, it was not going to retreat, the monster raised its strange paw, and three red spheres glowed. Red energy came out of them, which quickly transformed into a triangr shield.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion. To Evan''s surprise, the monster was able to block all damage from the beam entirely. There wasn''t even a crack in the red energy shield.


    Evan stared intently at his opponent, then lunged in his direction. He decided it would be best to attack at close range. His sword could easily cut through that shield, he was sure of it.


    But, the monster wasn''t going to stand still and wait for Evan to kill it. The spheres on its paw glowed again, and the shield turned to red energy again. It turned into arge de that the monster raised high above its head and rained down on Evan.


    At that moment, the young man thought: <What an interesting ability it has... too bad I can''t take it for myself, that monster can create any weapon it wants. It''s hard to think of a more convenient ability>.


    Bam.


    The massive sword practically came down on Evan, but he had no intention of dodging. Evan swung his sword, and the monster''s weapon was shattered. However, some part of the de quickly turned into small des that flew into Evan''s back.


    Evan hadn''t expected that the monster could convert its energy so quickly. The monster''s reaction really amazed him. But, the des posed no serious danger to him. Evan dodged each de with perfect uracy.


    Before, he wouldn''t have been able to do something like that and would definitely have gotten a few cuts, but now he could clearly see all the movements.


    "You surprised me. Well, on the other hand, I wouldn''t expect anything less from an evolved monster of the first rank." Evan muttered and instantlynded several blows on the monster.

 Chapter 181 - The Return

    Evan instantly took several swings with his sword. The icy de sliced through and severed the monster''s flesh, leaving it no chance of survival. A few secondster, the monster''s massive carcass copsed.


    The young man slowly approached the monster and pulled the green crystal from its chest with one precise cut. "Monsters cores" were worth good money, so Evan wasn''t going to pass them up.


    <Well, I guess I should also take this one > Evan thought, reaching out his hand for the spheres on the monster''s paw. He was sure it was also something precious and could be worth a lot, but...


    Crack.


    Thirty seconds after the monster had died, the red spheres cracked and shattered into shards. They couldn''t exist outside the monster''s body or if it was dead.


    "Alright, there''s nothing I can do about it. Now I have to deal with the most formidable foe there is." Evan muttered as he stared at the unusual monster.


    Its roar made Reykar step back. Evan had never seen monsters like this before, for its entire body burned with bright mes.


    Evan used the "Eye of Truth," and when he saw this monster''s "Pir of Soul," he became wary.


    < The first rank monster with one me on the tform and two evolutions...>.


    If a monster''s ''Pir of Soul" has one tform and one me burning on it, it means that its strength is roughly equal to a mage at the "One-Pointed Star" stage with one broken "Barrier." But, evolutions give the monster much power, especially because of the gained abilities.


    In most cases, if a magician at the "One-Pointed Star" stage meets an evolved monster of the first rank, he will lose. A magician can win only if his arsenal has powerful spells or magical artifacts. Otherwise, it''s doubtful that the magician can survive.


    Evan''s spells got stronger, but so far, he didn''t know any first rank spells. He was at quite a disadvantage, but his sword bnced the scales.


    Evan held the sword out toward the monster and cast "Magic Missile." Two dense white beams flew swiftly toward the monster.


    The fire monster didn''t dodge. Instead, it opened its mouth wide, and its roar shook the whole forest.


    It was so strong and loud that Evan had to cover his ears. What''s more, it wasn''t just a loud sound, but real waves that brought down the "Magic Missile." The spell flew off into the crystal rock and destroyed part of it.


    Evan frowned. He hadn''t expected the monster''s roar to be able to throw his spells aside.


    <If the "Magic Missile" hasn''t worked, then the "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" won''t be able to break through that roar, either. I think it''s time to do it...>.


    Evan thought and canceled the "Ice Veil" The monster realized that Evan was about to attack and decided to do the same. Its ws glowed, and the wind swirled around them. With each passing second, the wind grew more vigorous and more furious until it became a tornado.


    On the other hand, Evan quickly cut his palm and sprinkled the de of the sword with blood. This sword was the weapon the demon had given him as payment for a year of his life. So, in addition to its extraordinary sharpness, it had other abilities.


    When the drops of blood fell on the de, they quickly evaporated, and a purple liquid flowed out of the sword guard. It spread all over the edge, causing it to take on a purple hue. It was a deadly poison that could easily kill most creatures in this world. Evan would only have to make one attack, and his opponent would die, but the sword would be destroyed after that. The poison was so strong that it would gradually corrode even metal.


    By the time Evan finished his preparations, the monster had already attacked. It created a terrifying whirlwind that mixed with its fire and turned into a ming whirlwind. The monster opened its mouth wide, and with its furious roar, the whirlwind headed towards Evan.


    The vortex was approaching swiftly, but Evan had no intention of retreating. Unlike the previous time, he didn''t have to get close to the monster to attack it now. Evan slowly raised his sword above his head and swung it up and down with an icy gaze.


    In the same instant, the sword de shattered, and a wave of venom headed toward the vortex. Poison was liquid, and the fire vortex should have vaporized it, but it was too weak to withstand such a powerful attack.


    The wave of venom sliced the vortex in two and continued flying toward the monster. The fire monster began to roar, but even that could not destroy the venom wave. It sliced the monster in two, and its body parts immediately rotted away. Nothing remained of it but a single green pebble.


    This attack was deadly. It killed not only the monster and destroyed the vortex but also poisoned all the nearby vegetation. The grass had changed its color from deep green to purple, and some of the trees were dried out and broken. It looked as if a wave of death had ravaged the area, taking all the lifeblood of the nts.


    Evan watched with a calm gaze as the remains of the sword slowly crumbled. You could tell that this attack alone had cost him a year of his life, for that was the main strength of this sword.


    "Great, there were quite a few monsters, though, but when I dealt with the strongest of them, they decided to run away." Mumbled Evan and headed for the corpse of the fire monster.


    He took the "Monster Core" and called out to hisrade, "Reykar!"


    The one-eyed raven quickly flew up to Evan and infiltrated his "Nirvana." He was exhausted and needed to rest, and the same could be said of Evan. Immediately after the breakthrough, he had to fight, and he used two sigils at once, so he had almost no strength left in him.


    "Well, today is definitely a productive day, I need to head to the library finally. There''s a lot I want to learn about, and given recent events, I need to choose the right spells." Said Evan and headed back home.


    One of the topics he was most interested in right now was the longevity of mages. After recently giving up one year of his life, Evan felt that it had be less important than before. That could only mean one thing - his lifespan had increased.


    It was no surprise though, Evan already knew that the stronger he became, the longer his body would be able tost in this world. He wanted to know exactly how long his life wouldst.


    A few hourster, when the sun was about to set, Evan returned to town. Evan walked leisurely towards his house, walking through the busy streets of the city.


    <Hmmm, it seems as if there are more people in the city at night. This city actually is huge.>


    Evan thought as he entered his house. Today was one of the most important events in his life, but he did not have the energy to rejoice. He wanted to rx and not think about anything and just rx.

 Chapter 182 - Lifespan

    Evan had slept for days after yesterday''s battle. He wasn''t wounded or mentally exhausted, but using two sigils at once took a lot of energy out of him. His body was not yet capable of sustaining such a thing without a corresponding recoil.


    Evan woke up because a loud knock on the door awakened him. If not for that, Evan would have slept for at least a few more hours.


    "What the fuck...who is that?" Evan muttered grudgingly and headed for the door. He had no idea who needed him this early, and Draven would have unlikely bothered him, and Evan had no other variants which it could be.


    When the young man opened the door he saw a girl with red hair, oddly enough it was Olivia.


    Evan looked at her, puzzled. He didn''t know what she wanted, in his opinion, they had already decided everything in the arena.


    Seeing Evan''s confused face, Olivia frowned and said: "I owe you something."


    She pulled out a card depicting a bright blue moon and held out her hand forward. Just then, Evan remembered that Olivia owed him 5,000 "Moon Coins" since she had lost their duel. She was disappointed in her defeat, but she couldn''t help but keep her promise.


    Evan nodded, and a card appeared in his hands. Olivia quickly transferred the correct amount, and her debt was paid.


    The young man put the card into the spatial ring and said sleepily: "Don''t have toe again." Then he closed the door.


    But no sooner had he taken a step than there was another knock at the door. Evan reluctantly opened it and said: "What do you want?"


    He wanted to sleep, but Olivia didn''t leave him alone. This girl was beginning to annoy him.


    "I''ve wanted to ask you, what was that spell you used against me the other day? I don''t know any such spells of the zero rank. Did your teacher teach it to you?" Olivia immediately flooded Evan with various questions.


    "The spell...? It was taught to me by... my teacher when I was still living in Mossy Vulture."


    Evan answered calmly. Initially, he''d wanted to say that it was a spell taught to him by Draven, but then he realized that would not be the best idea. Draven hadn''t taught him anything, and that would be an inconsistency that could get him in trouble.


    "I see, you''re really lucky that your teacher knew such a powerful spell. Without it, you would have had a hard time beating me!" Olivia said loudly and walked away.


    Evan rolled his eyes and went back to his room. Even though his dream had been interrupted, Evan was about to continue it.


    It''s worth noting that Olivia hadn''t yet noticed that Evan had reached the "One-Pointed Star." Evan wasn''t emitting his aura, and there was no reason for the girl to use the "Eye of Truth." She wouldn''t have believed Evan could reach that level so quickly.


    It had only been a little over a month since Evan had entered the Academy, and he could already be considered a student of the first rank. Of course, a magician could get stronger without the Academy. It only elerated the process. Evan could only advance so quickly because he''d quickly received a lot of "Moon Coins" and got into a lot of deadly situations.


    Unlike Evan, most other students and all magicians, in general, didn''t get into that many dangerous battles in a short period of time. For such people, the best option would be toplete tasks, earn "Moon Coins," and spend them to increase the speed of "Creation."


    ...


    After a few more hours of sleep, Evan finally woke up. He wasn''t feeling great because of Olivia''s visit this morning, but his state was clearly better than a few days ago.


    Evan headed straight to the Academy. He had a lot to do there, he had a lot of things to read about.


    After a while, Evan got to the Academy and at once headed to the library. Luckily, no one bothered him this time. When Evan got to the first floor, a lot of students paid attention to him. Evan rarely came to the Academy, but every time he did, something happened.


    It is worth noting that some particrly curious students used the "Eye of Truth" and looked at Evan''s "Pir of Soul." They were shocked to see that a circr tform was now floating inside his pir. Each of them knew what that meant.


    Upon reaching the library, Evan decided to go around all four floors first. Last time he had limited himself to one. This time he was going to see what was on the others as well.


    <Hmm, the floors generally don''t differ much from each other, but the lower the floor, the fewer books, and the more narrowly focused topics.> Evan thought as he strolled around the fourth floor.


    To his surprise, none of the students paid any attention to him. There were only fourth rank students here, and they knew Evan had ess to it. They were quite a fewpared to the students of other ranks, and each of them was very focused. They came here for knowledge that couldn''t be found elsewhere.


    As Arabe had said, though, there was not much for him to do here. All the books with general topics were on the first and second floors, and the third and fourth floors were beneficial for cksmiths, alchemists, formation masters, and other simr people.


    There were also special sections on each floor of the library where there was a huge number of spell books. Evan was going to that section to choose the first rank spells, but a littleter. Right now, he was more interested in the magicians` lifespan.


    There were books with this information on each of the library''s four floors, so Evan decided to start from top to bottom. He headed to the first floor, thinking about how many more floors there were in this library.


    There were four floors of the library allotted for students, one per rank, but that was only part of it. Evan saw several teachers in white and silver mantles going down below the fourth floor.


    He didn''t know what kind of books were in there or how many other floors there were in that library, but Evan was very curious to find it out. He was sure there was definitely something unusual and maybe even forbidden.


    <I should ask Draven about it, he''ll probably tell me something if it''s not such a big secret.>


    Evan thought as he returned to the first floor. He headed to the right section and picked out a red, battered book. Countless people had read it before Evan, just as they were curious to know how long the magicians lived.


    Evan opened the book and began leisurely reading it. From the first pages, Evan was surprised. It told how long an average person with no talent for magic lived in this world. It was as long as 100 years. It wasn''t ordinary for Evan, as the average lifespan of people without magic was about 60 years in his past world.

 Chapter 183 - Life Of The Magicians

    <So, the people here live as long as 100 years, and it''s not umon for ordinary people to live 110 or even 120 years. This is very different from my previous world, and it really makes me happy.> Evan thought as he turned another page.


    At this point, Evan had spent 36 years of his life as a price for the power of demons. Humans lived about 60-70 years in his past world, so at best, he would have lived to be 34. Of course, Evan understood that magicians were unlikely to live that short, and the stronger they got, the longer they lived. But, he didn''t expect even ordinary people to live so much.


    <So, even if I were an ordinary man, given the sacrificed years, I''d live to 66 rather than 34. That''s actually reassuring. I hope that magicians live many times longer than ordinary people.> Evan thought to himself when he finally found out the information he needed.


    He quickly read through a few pages and muttered with a satisfied face: "So many..."


    Magicians didn''t just live longer than ordinary people. They constantly increased their lifespan. Every time a magician broke through one of his "Barriers," his lifespan increased. The same was true when a magician broke through to a new level. Moreover, once a magician got a talent for magic and managed to get into "Nirvana," he could live from 170 to 200 years. This was a tremendous amount of time, considering that you simply had to be a novice magician to do it.


    When a newbie magician broke the "Barrier," his life was increased by about 30 years. Total, if he broke through three "Barriers" and very soon he was about to break through and reach the "One-Pointed Star," then his lifespan was 300 years.


    If a magician made a breakthrough and reached the "One-Pointed Star," his lifespan was increased by another 200 years, and after that, for each "Barrier" he broke through, his lifespan was increased by another 50 years.


    So, that makes Evan''s lifespan at the moment 500 years, or 464 years if you subtract the years he sacrificed for the power of the demons.


    <464 years... that''s fantastic. I thought my lifespan was 200 years max, and here''s such a nice surprise. I guess I shouldn''t hold back much until I''ve spent quite a few years of my life>.


    What''s more, it wasn''t the maximum. Evan was only at the beginning of his way. In high spirits, Evan decided to keep reading. Unfortunately, the book didn''t say anything about the lifespan of the magicians of the "Four -Pointed Star" stage.


    Evan didn''t pay much attention to it, though. It was most likely due to theck of information in this book. Sooner orter, Evan could find out about it anyway.


    It is worth noting that after the person has awakened his talent for magic and be a magician, his appearance practically doesn''t change with age. A magician starts aging only after 90% of his lifespan passes. And his appearance, under the influence of time, stops changing at the age of 25.


    When Evan finished this book, he continued reading another one. He could stay in the library as long as he wanted. He liked getting new, exciting, and, most importantly, useful knowledge. He didn''t mind spending a few days or even months on it. Evan enjoyed the process itself, which was very important while getting information.


    Evan spent the next two months in the library. It was a huge period, but he had nowhere to rush. He had reached the "One-Pointed Star," so he could take a short break and gather the necessary amount of information.


    The first thing Evan did was to read more about monster evolutions. He had already encountered quite a few evolved monsters and understood roughly what caused the evolution. But he wanted to know more about it.


    He had reread more than ten books on the subject and learned a lot about monsters. First of all, evolution was a pretty rare event, only 10% of all monsters evolved. But, some monsters evolved more than three times, being of the zero rank in some incredible way.


    With each evolution, the monster became stronger and gained some kind of ability. It could be active, like Reykar''s beam, or passive, significantly increasing some of the monster''s characteristics. The monster could have tough chitin or tes, its ws could be poisonous, and so on. It really could bepared to the magicians'' spells. With each evolution, the monster''s appearance also changed slightly, from its size to its color.


    There were also special evolutions. When they happened, the monster received a particrly powerful ability, and its appearance underwent significant changes. The monster could change its type to another at that moment, and there were two variants of events.


    Let''s take Reykar as an example and imagine that he has a special evolution. If Reykar has the blood of some very powerful raven or any other bird, he could evolve to be a monster of the same type or close to it. It''s like a bloodline, and the cleaner it is, the more chance that this particr variant will happen.


    But, there is another option - if a special evolution happens with Reykar, he can evolve into an entirely new and unknown to this world type. If Reykar doesn''t have the blood of a powerful or ancient monster flowing in him, it will happen with a hundred percent probability.


    Random evolution can make any monster very strong and open up a whole mountain of possibilities for it, but these chances are minimal. Less than one percent of monsters have undergone special evolution if the book is to be believed.


    Monsters could evolve for many reasons, but the most basic and effective were: fighting and devouring others, especially magicians full of mana.


    Beasts could also evolve, but their reasons were slightly different. As with monsters, beasts often evolved duringbat, but it was little use in devouring others. As Demien had said earlier, unlike monsters, beasts gained hundreds of times less mana by devouring the flesh of other creatures.


    More often than not, beasts evolved when they became sufficiently close and in synchrony with the forces of nature or mana. Compared to the monsters and humans, the beasts were several times faster at umting mana and turning it into a life force.


    If you imagine that a zero ranked beast and a newbie magician will all the time "Create," and there will be no other factors like battles or mana crystals. In this case, the beast will reach the first rank about 5 times faster than the newbie magician will reach the "One-Pointed Star." In this respect, beasts were far superior to humans. Moreover, unlike the magicians, the beasts had only one "Barrier" instead of three. This also made their way easier.

 Chapter 184 - Uncommon Lands

    Evan had read a lot of books about the monsters and the beasts, and he was curious to know more about them, as well as the different species of these creatures. Sure, new species appeared from time to time due to special evolutions, but Evan would know what he should expect from his opponent thanks to this information.


    Information was the as powerful thing as weapons and magic, in some cases, it was even more important. If you knew your enemy''s strengths and weaknesses, you could defeat him even if he was stronger than you. Many people have given up real treasures for some information.


    After reading a little more about the topic, Evan moved on to books about underground organizations. One of Evan''s main goals at this point was- "To join the "Demonic Tree."


    He was in no hurry in this decision, for if he joined the "Demonic Tree," he would most likely have to leave the city and the Academy. Of course, he could pass himself off as an ordinary magician and live quite covertly, but it was too early to think about that. He didn''t even know where to find this organization.


    Thanks to all the books he had read, Evan had broadened his horizons and learned about arge number of underground organizations, as well as the ones simr to the "Tears of Light." There was a lot of information about their battles, former bases, motives, and goals. Dark and light organizations often had opposing views on this world, which is why the battles between them were inevitable and happened constantly.


    One of the most dangerous organizations was the "Merciful Death." Despite its name, the members of this organization were not merciful. They did not hide their actions or their power but constantly robbed and killed. They were a well-known and influential dark organization. If the members of the "Demonic Tree" were like stealthy assassins carrying death behind them, the "Merciful Death" members were more like mad killers wreaking havoc and destruction.


    Even the locations of some of their bases were known, and Evan could well try to join them if he wished. Their distinctive features were the ck mantles with the image of a white scythe on the back. While the "Demonic Tree" used demon magic, "Merciful Death'' concentrated on dark and forbidden magic.


    Unfortunately, Evan didn''t know anything about forbidden magic yet. He hadn''t found any books that dealt with the subject in any way.


    Light organizations often fought with dark organizations, andtely, the biggest confrontation was between the "Tears of Light" and the "Merciful Death". Because of its secrecy, the "Demonic Tree" had faded into the background, but everyone knew that this organization was the main threat to the entire underground world.


    <Damn, I''ve read so many books on the subject, learned about so many organizations, but there''s practically nothing about the "Demonic Tree"....> Evan thought, returning the book to the shelf and picking up the next one.


    Many books talked about the "Demonic Tree" and how scary this organization was, but that''s all.


    Evan only had one clue, and that was his own observations and the words of the group leader he had killed in the "Half-Dead Forest."


    <Members of the "Demonic Tree" are looking for something all over the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," and one of those ces is right in the "Half-Dead Forest." A second rank monster guards these ruins, and it looks like he could fight back against a member of the "Demonic Tree" who came there> Evan concluded.


    The second-ranked monster was a very formidable opponent, so if a member of the "Demonic Tree" who was in the "Two -Pointed Star" stage hade there, he might well lose or even die.


    Evan wanted to join the "Demonic Tree" and learn more about their spells and what they did in general, but he didn''t need to rush. He needed to get strong enough anyway before he could join such organizations.


    For now, he would train, learn new spells, and gather information. Evan already had a rough n for finding the members of the "Demonic Tree". He was going to mark on the map all the ruins, ruined structures, and any abandoned areas that might be of any interest.


    Then he nned to exclude from the list all the ces where the members of the "Demonic Tree" were rumored to have been before, so he could significantly increase his chances of meeting them.


    <Hmm, there are many books in this library, and most of them were written not too long ago. The library is constantly being updated and replenished. But anyway, that knowledge is a little outdated. For more uracy, I need to know what''s going on right this second.>


    Evan had one option for finding out what was going on in the world right now. He needed to find a top-notch informant. And the best informants were known to be on the ck market. Only there could Evan find out what he needed to know.


    <Hopefully, there''s a dark side to this city too. I''ll have to spend some time on this and find an informant. Without one, I''ll be standing in one ce for a long time,> Evan thought and continued reading.


    He had already learned a lot about the monsters and the beasts, as well as the dark and light organizations. He had read about the most important cities in the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" and the various territories.


    In his short stay in this world, Evan had already visited such unusual ces as the "Half-Dead Forest" and the "Forest of Aquamarine Crystals," but that was only a tiny part of the great diversity.


    To the north of the "Kingdom of Fallen Hopes" was a small desert, but it was truly unique. It snowed there every day, and the closer you got to the center, the stronger the snowstorms were. It was more like a snow-coverednd than a desert, but the most exciting thing was in the center of the ce.


    There was a small area in the very center where there was no snow or ice. It was as hot there as any other desert, and no one knew the reason for this strange phenomenon.


    In one unusual forest, the crowns of the trees consisted of ss, and on a sunny day, you could see there thousands of rainbows intersecting each other.


    It''s said that there were caves made entirely of crystals and precious stones.


    There was one interesting ce that used to be a regr forest, but this area has changed considerably over time. It was all about the fact that one of the "Merciful Death" bases was located there.


    This forest was unique in that all the trees there were ck as tar, and only the asional white flower diluted this imprable darkness. Some trees had a special crown consisting of leaves that burned with green mes. They lit up the ce at night and gave a creepy atmosphere.


    The most prominent feature of this ce was its inhabitants, and we are not talking about the members of "Merciful Death." Hundreds of skeletons and monsters alike them walked relentlessly through this forest.

 Chapter 185 - The Books

    Evan had been visiting the library for two months.


    He had spent thest few days reading books about cksmithing and alchemy. He had no intention of bing either an alchemist or a cksmith yet, but he might well devote a lot of time to one of these fields in the future.


    Alchemy and cksmithing were some of the most important crafts in this world. Every self-respecting magician should have a basic knowledge of these areas.


    cksmiths made the equipment for the magicians that could greatly enhance them and even saved their lives, so everybody respected them. Every powerful n or family had their own cksmiths. They were provided with the best materials and conditions so that they could forge superior equipment.


    The high ss cksmiths had an excellent reputation, were wealthy, had connections, and were quite influential. Many magicians dreamed of such a thing, and so they began to engage in cksmithing. But, it was far from a simple path to money and fame but a real test of endurance, strength of mind, and fortitude.


    Hundreds and even thousands of those who wanted to be high-ss cksmiths failed to fulfill their dream. There were few cksmiths for a reason, and each of them was highly valued. The path to cksmithing skill was thorny and often even extremely dangerous.


    cksmiths who created "Catalysts," artifacts, and magical armor were the magicians, and therefore they often worked with unusual, rare, and dangerous materials. They didn''t just glow iron and forge weapons from it but worked with hazardous poisons and acids to harden metals. They often dealt with materials that exploded in their hands at too high a temperature. That''s not to mention the unique parts of the monsters that, if not processed properly, would be unusable and have to be destroyed.


    Evan had learned that in "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," there were even cksmith guilds. There were arge number of cksmiths of varying skill levels working there, and most importantly, they taught it to others. You could say it was a small Academy where only cksmithing was taught.


    After reading about the cksmiths, Evan learned about arge variety of metals, crystals, unique monster parts, and even some of the beasts and the basic hardening method. But there was no point in him delving further into this subject, at least not yet.


    The situation with alchemists was simr. High-ss alchemists were also few, and their work was difficult and dangerous. They used all kinds of herbs, nts, poisons, nectars, extracts, and so on to make potions and pills. Very often, they used rare insects, their chitin and various nds were the main ingredients of many medicines. And, of course, like the cksmiths, they used monster parts.


    Many young magicians wanted to be alchemists, for the same reasons, as in the case with cksmiths. Masters of alchemy were respected and influential people. Without both them and the cksmiths, the magicians would have lost to the monsters long ago and been killed.


    Alchemists also had their own guilds, but as Evanter learned, there was only one alchemist guild in "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes." They didn''t ept just anyone, only those with incredible talent and, most importantly, a desire. No one needed a cksmith with talent but who didn''t make an effort to discover it. All that mattered was your skills and craftsmanship.


    Having talent just helps you to progress but doesn''t do all the work for you.


    cksmithing and alchemy were veryplex arts, so alchemists and smiths were clearly separated by rank.


    The rank of a cksmith or alchemist depended on what stage he was at. If a cksmith was at the "Two-Pointed Star" stage, he could be considered a cksmith of the second rank. But before that, he had to prove his skill. If he wanted to be considered a cksmith of the second rank, he had to forge equipment from the materials of the second rank sessfully. The same situation was with alchemists. They had to create a potion or a pill of the second rank.


    But, ranks were not the only measure of the skill of cksmiths and alchemists. Two cksmiths could be at the stage of "One-Pointed Star" and be the cksmiths of the first rank, but their skills could be strikingly different because of their experience and talent.


    To understand which of these two was better in such cases, they''d invented a system of evaluation by the number of stars.


    For example, a cksmith with less skill had the status - a cksmith of the first rank, one star. A smith with much higher skill had a different status - a smith of the first rank, three stars. The same applied to alchemists. Five stars were the maximum.


    The ranks and the stars for cksmiths and alchemists were assigned mostly by the authorized guilds and cksmiths and alchemists of higher rank. But, some alchemists and smiths were closed personalities and did not like contact with anyone. They came up with their own way to prove their skill, namely to record the process of making an object on a special magic ball. If you put your hand to it and pour a little mana, then the image will appear, and everything will be clear at once.


    Of course, some tried to deceive others by posing as a high-ss cksmith or alchemist, but that was a big mistake. At best, they were severely punished, and if the client was particrly impulsive, he could even kill the deceiver.


    Thest thing Evan had read about were books that talked about such a phenomenon as "Gust." He had already entered this state, and Draven had told him about it, but Evan wanted to know even more about it. The "Gust" was not just something unusual. It was a real weapon that elevated the magician''s power to new limits for a short period of time.


    During the "Gust," emotions became real power and were imbued with mana. Whether it was anger, apathy, joy, or indifference. The type of emotion didn''t matter. The magician was superior to himself anyway.


    Evan decided to read more about it because he thought that the "Gust" hid something unique and powerful behind it.


    <Emotions be power... and the magician has no control over it, that''s all understandable, but can I create such conditions for another person to enter an incredibly deep "Gust"? In that case, perhaps some extraordinary power would awaken in him, but it would be extremely difficult to verify it...>. Evan thought, putting the book aside.


    If he wanted to know the answer to his question, he would have to experiment on people. Evan wasn''t like the nasty bastards who could ughter entire viges for fun. He didn''t see any point in it and didn''t get any pleasure out of it. Killing the weak and helpless was boring, to say the least. But, don''t forget that Evan was not the main hero in a past life, but the greatest viin.


    Viins were not the ones who humiliated and bullied the weak and not those who used them to boost their own egos. Such people had no right to be called viins. They weremon scum who had fallen to the bottom. Darkness was the greatest force that could oppose the light, so such trash cannot call themselves viins. They were not worthy of it, their destiny was to rot from within and die like nobody.


    Viins were those who pursued goals different from those who were on the light side. Of course, they were not as kind, merciful, and noble as the true heroes. But they weren''t savage animals, either. They had their own opinions about the world. Naturally, it was a very fine line.


    A true hero fighting on the side of the world would never use or manipte people, much less experiment on them.


    If it was in his interest, he could easily kill someone. Evan could do it to achieve certain goals. And he had done some creepy and horrible things in his past life.


    <Hmm, this is a very curious but very problematic experiment. I need to find people and a ce where I won''t be disturbed, preferably as far away from any popted areas as possible. I also need to think of ways to evoke different emotions. Eh.... why does it always take so many resources and conditions to conduct an interesting experiment?>

 Chapter 186 - The Spells Of The Seal

    Evan had spent a total of two months in the library. Sure, he went home every day to sleep and have a meal, but he spent the rest of the time here. You could say he practically lived here.


    On one of thest days in the library, Evan remembered something. He had already read about everything he wanted to, but he had forgotten entirely about his fight with Freya. Last time she had cast an unusual spell. Evan had never seen anything like it before.


    <She cast a spell, called the "Seal of the Pegasus," and said it was the "Spell of the Seal" I wonder what it is?>


    Evan understood that it was a type of some spell, and it got its name because of its distinctive characteristics, like fire spells or water spells. But, he wanted to delve deeper into the subject. That time Evan had been amazed when Freya''s speed increased several times. If he had a spell like this, he could be much stronger.


    < I''ll leave after I find out what this "Spell of the Seal" is.> Evan thought and started looking for a suitable book.


    He quickly found what he needed. The book exined in detail what the "Spell of the Seal" was, how these spells worked, and there were some examples.


    The spell that Freya had cast was mentioned here, too. The book didn''t have the magic circle of this spell and how it needed to interact with mana, but the appearance of the seal and its effect were described.


    <Hmm, the "Seal of Pegasus" gives its wearer incredible speed for a while, but this spell requires a simply unimaginable amount of mana. On average, it takes 70% to 80% mana per spell. It should definitely only be used as ast resort.>


    The "Spells of the Seal" were very formidable spells, they could decide the oue of a duel. But, one had to know how to use them properly. First, if a magician wanted to use the "Spell of the Seal," he constantly had to monitor his mana reserve. If it dropped below 70%, the magician wouldn''t be able to cast the spell. Furthermore, if a magician cast any "Spells of the Seal" during the battle, he had to make sure that he wouldn''t need any more mana for the rest of the battle.


    If Evan had been able to suppress Freya after she had cast the "Seal of Pegasus," the girl would have had no chance of winning. By that point, she was practically out of mana.


    Of course, it all depended on the strength of the magician and the level of the spell. If the magician was at the "One-Pointed Star" stage, he could cast several "Spells of the Seal" of the zero level, but only one of the first level. You could try to restore mana quickly with mana crystals, but if you''re fighting one-on-one, your opponent just won''t let you do it.


    Evan put the book aside, sighed with relief, and headed for the library exit. Two months was not a short time. A lot of amazing things could have happened at that time, but Evan didn''t regret his time here.


    Before he left, Evan once again nced at the library. He wished he could have read all those books, but there were too many, and it would take at least a few years.


    <Well, I''ve learned about a lot of interesting and amazing things. Especially about the magicians` lifespan, it really is incredible. Wait a minute... right now, my lifespan is 464 years, considering the donated years for demon power. I think I should try to do that...>.


    Evan thought and grinned. Pretty soon, he would be back to the library again, but for a different reason than just reading books.


    Without wasting time, Evan headed towards his house. As he walked through the first floor of the Academy, Evan felt the sly looks of some students. He didn''t understand what it was all about. They had looked at him before too, but not like that.


    <It seems like something has changed at the Academy, I can tell by their eyes that for some reason they want to fight me>.


    Evan didn''t stop, however. If someone wanted to fight him, it wasn''t his problem. Last time Evan had only fought Olivia because it was to his advantage. It would be a waste of time to fight everyone else.


    When Evan had got to the third zone, he first went to the special store to see the appraiser. He had two "Monster''s Cores" of the second ranked monster, which were worth a lot of money.


    After a while, Evan was already on the premises and showing the "Monster''s Cores" to the appraiser. This time it was again Freddie who was doing it.


    Evan expected Freddie to be quick to quote a price of 1,400 "Moon Coins" sincest time he had offered 700 "Moon Coins" for one "Monster''s Core." But, instead, Freddie calmly said: "2100 "Moon Coins."


    Evan was surprised, such a high price: "Have the "Monster''s Cores" gone up in price in thest two months?"


    Freddie shook his head, "No, it''s all about the fact that one of these "Monster''s Cores" belongs to a twice-evolved monster of the first rank. Its color is a little more intense, stronger, and has many times more mana. For the same reason, such a core costs not 700 "Moon Coins," but 1400. What''s more, don''t forget that twice-evolved monsters are very rare."


    Freddie exined in detail, taking the two green crystals and pulling a card out of his pocket.


    Evan nodded. He got more than he expected, and it was a pleasant surprise to him, though it was logical. The stronger the monster was, the more expensive its parts, and especially its core, were.


    At that moment, Evan thought that he could earn many times more if he sold the "Monster''s Core" and the whole carcass. The volume of his spatial ring did not allow for suchrge items to be ced inside. His spatial ring was of the zero rank and held only five cubic meters. Before, there was nothing he could do about it, but now the situation was quite different.


    Now he was no longer a simple newbie magician. He had already reached the stage - the "One-Pointed Star." For the same reason, he could now use the "Catalysts" and the first-ranked magic artifacts.


    "Freddie, you are an experienced appraiser, and surely you know how much most things in this town are worth?"


    Freddie nodded and said: "Do you want to get yourself something? Ask, I can answer any question you have if it''s about the price of an item."


    He really did know the price of just about everything in this town. From the price of a cabbage head to high ranking artifacts to "Catalysts."


    Evan asked: "My spatial ring is of the zero rank, and there is very little room in it. Where can I buy a spatial ring of the first rank, and how much would it cost approximately?"


    Freddie calmly replied, "There are stores in every area where you can buy magical artifacts, armor, and "Catalysts'', and they also sell any spatial rings.. As for the price, huh, it''s not cheap at all."

 Chapter 187 - Very Much

    "Well, how much does a spatial ring of the first rank cost?" Asked Evan.


    Freddie answered in detail, "The cheapest spatial ring of the first rank holds 10 cubic meters and costs 10,000 "Moon Coins." It is also the most popr option. Of course, there are better spatial rings, but they are much more expensive. A ring with a capacity of 20 cubic meters will cost 40,000 "Moon Coins. If that''s not enough, then for a ring with a capacity of 50 cubic meters, be prepared to pay 100,000 "Moon Coins." Of course, there are even more expensive rings."


    Evan was blindsided by the numbers he heard. He had expected to hear something like 5-7 thousand, but not 100,000 for 50 cubic meters.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, every time someone asks me that, he has the same face as you. Spatial rings are an extremely handy thing. Everyone wants to have one. I am not a cksmith, but I know that the manufacturing process is extremelyplicated and has small chances of sess. You need to be at least a 3-stars cksmith to make the first rank spatial ring. Furthermore, the materials needed to make the ring are very expensive, which is why the price is so high." Freddie said calmly.


    <I currently have 7,600 "Moon Coins," if I go hunting, I can buy a spatial ring with a volume of 10 cubic meters. But, that''s too little, it''s only twice as much as mine.>


    Evan decided that there was no point in spending money on a ring with a capacity of ten cubic meters. The ring with a capacity of 20 cubic meters would do him fine, but 40,000 "Moon Coins" was simply an exorbitant price for him. If he wanted to earn that kind of money, he would need toplete tasks and hunt for weeks or more.


    Of course, if there were no other options, Evan would do just that. He could getbat experience and explore different territories, but he wanted to try another option first.


    "Freddie, do you know how you can make money fast? Maybe some monsters are worth a lot?"


    Freddie shook his head, "Unfortunately, there are no quick ways or tricks. At least, I don''t know them. You''re a magician, it''s not as hard for you to make money as it is for ordinary people. All you have to do is hunt dangerous monsters and sell their carcasses or parts. I know there are tasks at the Academy, and they pay "Moon Coins" for them, I think that''s not a bad option either, but you know that without me."


    "Got it, by the way, Freddie, can''t I just buy, like, four rings and just wear them on different fingers?"


    The man quickly replied, "No, I''m no expert, but there''s a well-known reason why all magicians wear only one ring and not several ones like you just suggested. For some unknown reason, the rings explode at one point, and it''s not because they''re close together. So if you don''t want to lose your hands and your stuff, you''d better not take that risk and earn money for a good ring."


    Evan nodded and left after saying goodbye. His only option for quickly earning arge number of "Moon Coins" was to fight in the arena. But the situation was different now than it had been two months ago.


    Evan had recently reached the "One-Pointed Star," which meant that he was a first rank student. He could no longer fight zero ranked students. Evan was much stronger than any of them, and he would have won 100 percent.


    If he were going to fight anyone in the arena, it would only be first ranked apprentices, but it''s evident that Evan was still a nobody among them. He had only recently broken through and hadn''t even learned a single spell of the first level yet.


    Evan was known as the strongest neer, having defeated several outstanding students in the arena immediately after entering the Academy. Only Freya Cross managed to defeat Evan, and only because she had already broken through her third "Barrier" by then. But as the first-ranked student, he didn''t have any reputation yet.


    To earn it, he had to either do something extraordinary and outstanding or win many victories in the arena fighting against the other students of the first rank.


    Evan was strong enough, especially since he had awakened his talent for magic just a few months ago. But he knew he couldn''t beat everyone right now. There were many talented and even brilliant magicians among the students of the first rank.


    If Evan wanted to beat some of them and be famous to make money, he needed to be much stronger.


    No one would bet on him at the moment. First, he had to prove himself by defeating many students of the first rank.


    Unfortunately, Evan couldn''t just go into the arena and defeat most of the apprentices like he had done thest time. First, he needed to at least learn a few first rank spells and practice.


    When all the conditions were met, and Evan became more powerful, he wouldpete with most of the first rank students.


    He understood all this, and it annoyed him a lot.


    <Because of the many battles and dangerous situations, I was able to break through fairly quickly, but in terms of making money, it would be better if I were a newbie magician. It''s ironic, but it''s a fact.>


    Evan thought as he headed for the clothing store that was close to his home. In order to fulfill an idea he had at the library, he needed gloves. Evan immediately liked the stylish ck leather gloves, and they cost 50 "Moon Coins."


    Then Evan went home. He went down to the underground floor and used the de of his scythe to make a small cut on himself. Evan quickly drew a sigil with his blood and activated it.


    Evan wasn''t afraid of anyone noticing him, his house was in an inconspicuous location, and he was underground at the moment. Even if a magician passed by, he shouldn''t feel anything.


    After activating the sigil, Evan entered "Nirvana." He activated the sigil of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion. The old book was hovering amidst the vastness of space, waiting for Evan''s words.


    "..." Evan had voiced his request, after which the book opened. The pages had been turning for a very long time until they stopped at thest page.


    There was only one word written on it: "Impossible."


    Evan frowned, interrupted the sigil, and left "Nirvana." Evan decided to try his luck, but it didn''t work. The demon couldn''t fulfill his request, not because his request was too difficult, but as the demon''s part that was too weak.


    Evan sighed and muttered: "Well, I''ve known the chances of sess were tiny, looks like I''ll have to put in a little more effort..."


    Evan muttered and began to draw a very simr sigil. It was different from thest one, but not much at all.. When Evan finished, he mumbled quietly, barely audible, "Sigil of 71st demon, Duke Dantalion, the second level, activation."

 Chapter 188 - The Knowledge Is Never Too Much

    After activating the Sigil of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion, of the second level, Evan concentrated and found himself in "Nirvana."


    The demon was already waiting for him, it was also a book, but it was not old and shabby like before. In appearance, it was no different from the most ordinary book thaty on the shelf in the bookstore.


    Evan smiled and said his request, "I want to have the ability to save the contents and all the information from any book with one touch of my hand."


    As Evan was leaving the library, he thought of just that. Duke Dantalion could give him this ability, but the problem was that Evan would have to use the Sigil of the second level to do so. For the same reason, Evan first had tried to use the Sigil of the first level, but unfortunately, it hadn''t worked. To fulfill this request, he needed a stronger incarnation of the demon.


    Initially, Evan had forgotten about this possibility at all. He had enjoyed reading, and even considering all the circumstances, he hadn''t regretted a single second he had spent in the library. Evan only remembered this way when he thought about his lifespan. He would have to give up a lot of years of his life for this power. Moreover, he wasn''t sure if he would ever be able to use this power in this world.


    After Evan had voiced his request, the book opened, and the pages began to turn. After a couple of seconds, they stopped, and Evan read the words on the page, "Twenty-four hours is maximum."


    One might have thought "twenty-four hours" was the price, but that was fundamentally wrong. It meant for how long Evan could use this ability, that was - for only 24 hours.


    At the same second, the calctions began in Evan''s head. He had to quickly figure out if he had enough time and if he could save the information from all the books in the library. It''s worth noting that Evan was going to save the information, not memorize it. Later he nned to use all the saved information to memorize it. Otherwise, he might get severe headaches after the thousandth book.


    < There are about 20,000 books in the library. It takes me one hour to get to the library. It will take me 23 hours, that''s 1,380 minutes or 82,800 seconds. That''s about four seconds per book, I could just run next to the bookshelves, but that would draw extra attention. It wouldn''t be suspicious if I picked up a book, looked at its cover, and put it back. Considering some of the books are pretty high up, and it takes me a couple of minutes to get down to the lower floors...I need to spend three seconds per book to save everything in the library in my mind.>


    Evan did a quick count. A total of twenty-four hours was a long time, but there were a lot of books in the library, either. Nevertheless, if nothing interfered with him, Evan would have time to save all the books.


    Evan said calmly: "Twenty-four hours suits me. Show me the price."


    He had already guessed that the price would be high. The second level sigil had summoned a stronger demon essence, which meant the price for its power was appropriate.


    There was a rustling sound after Evan''s words until the book stopped at one of the pages. He read: "Thirty years."


    Evan frowned but nodded anyway.


    "I agree."


    Thirty years was an impressive price. If Evan hadn''t learned about his unusually long lifespan, there was no way he would have agreed to such a deal. Nevertheless, Evan could now afford to do so.


    Given his previous sacrifices, his lifespan was 464 years. Subtract 30 from that number, and you get 434, which was still a lot. Until his lifespan dropped to 300 years, Evan was not going to be economical and cautious.


    After Evan agreed, the life force began to leave him. The feeling was even worse than in "Half Dead Forest" when he had sacrificed twenty years of his life.


    After a few seconds, red energy began to emanate from the book. It slowly made its way to Evan''s right hand. In time, a mark appeared on the back of the young man''s palm in the shape of a book with arge eye in the center. That was why Evan had gone into the store and bought gloves in advance.


    Sure, the symbol looked like a regr tattoo, but there was no point in taking any chances. These gloves only cost 50 "Moon Coins," and having them on hand eliminated any risk.


    After the procedure was over, the book evaporated, and Evan went out of "Nirvana."


    Without wasting a second, Evan headed towards the library. He was in a big hurry and ran all the way, so it only took him 50 minutes. He had another 23 hours and 10 minutes to keep all the books from the library in his mind.


    When Evan entered the Academy grounds, he stopped running and continued walking at a measured pace. He didn''t have much time, but he would definitely make it in time if he did everything as nned. There was no need to draw attention to himself.


    He walked calmly toward the library. Nothing happened on the way, and a couple of minutester, Evan was on his way down to the first floor of the library. As a full hour passed since the ability had started, Evan touched the first book. He quickly picked it up, looked at its cover, and returned it to its ce. Then he moved on to the next book, then another one and another.


    Everything went as nned. From the outside, Evan looked like the most ordinary student searching the book he needed. Moreover, after about five hours, Evan entered a section where almost no one was present. So he speeded up considerably, and he simply ran his hand over the books and walked on.


    Evan then went down to the second floor, where he did the same thing. Evan was pleased that such an important moment was no problem. After all, this power had cost him thirty years and was only given for twenty-four hours.


    ...


    Evan spent almost 24 hours in the library, and frankly, he was already quite tired. There were 20,000 books on four floors of the academy, which was a lot. During this time, Evan repeated the same action over and over again: he took a book from the shelf and then returned it to its ce.


    The action should have stopped after 30 minutes, but Evan was no longer worried about anything. He had only ten books left to look through.


    After a minute, Evan returned thest book to the shelf and sighed with relief.. Looking around the huge library, Evan muttered quietly: "I''ve done it."

 Chapter 189 - The Long Dream

    In high spirits, Evan headed for the exit of the Academy. He was tired as it was a daunting task. But, he had onlypleted half of the n. He needed to memorize all the information he had saved. Evan was going to do that also with the help of 71st demon Duke Dantalion.


    An hourter, Evan was at home. He had spent the whole twenty-four hours in the library without resting. It really drained him a lot, but he needed to finish the work before going to bed.


    He went down to the underground floor and quickly drew a sigil of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion. This time the sigil was of the first level. Even the weakest demon essence could handle the task he needed.


    Evan activated the sigil, then concentrated and entered "Nirvana." The old, battered book was already waiting for him there.


    He calmly said his wish: "Turn all the saved books in my mind into knowledge. I must know everything so that I can tell in which book, on which page the exact information is written."


    The book opened, and a few secondster, Evan saw the price for his wish.


    "All your mana."


    It''s worth noting that the books were already in Evan''s mind, and he could read each of them if he wanted to. Simply put, Evan was asking the demon for the ability to read 20,000,000 books in one second. Given Evan''s current strength, the price for such a request could not have been the years of his life.


    Evan was very tired, he didn''t have an ounce of energy in him, but it had nothing to do with his mana, which is why the demon asked for just that.


    "I agree." Evan calmly replied, and the mana from his "Warp" began to disappear at the exact moment rapidly.


    When Evan''s crimson "Warp" waspletely empty, the book opened and millions of symbols headed for Evan''s be.


    To endure such a thing was a real challenge. Evan was ready for it, so he gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Countless amounts of information filled his mind. Different topics, knowledge of many fields, about various things, and even people were now in Evan''s mind. Moreover, he remembered it all as if he had read each of these books several dozen times himself.


    But, with each passing moment, he found it more and more difficult to endure that feeling. It was truly unbearable. He felt as if his brain was being torn apart. The knowledge was enriching, but it also strained his brain a lot at the same time.


    There was no telling how much time passed, but when this process was finally over, Evan immediately passed out.


    ...


    Ten dayster, Evan opened his eyes. He slowly stood up and, holding his head, muttered: "Fuck...if I had drained all the bars in this town yesterday, I''d feel better than now. Even now, my head still hurts, but I''ve done it. "


    Continuing to hold his head Evan headed for the shower. Even though he had slept for ten days, Evan had almost no energy. He needed toe to his senses and sort through the almost endless amount of information he had received.


    < It''s tough. I''ve sacrificed 30 years of my life, and in addition, now I have such a severe headache. Nevertheless, I now know everything in every book on the four floors of the library. Honestly, I didn''t expect to be so exhausted. After the battle in the "Half-Dead Forest," I had a lot more energy in me than I do now.>


    Evan thought as he got out of the shower. After that, he began to "Create." Evan was very hungry, but he could wait a few more minutes. He needed to replenish his mana supply.


    After Evan reached the" One-Pointed Star," his mana umtion rate increased significantly, but his mana capacity also became much higher. As before, it took Evan about five minutes to replenish his mana supply. The speed was truly unimaginable.


    Evan left the house and went to the first snack bar he could find. At that moment, he didn''t care what to eat, anything would do. At once, Evan ordered everything on the menu and waited for his food.


    The waitress was surprised by this order, it had never happened before, but she quickly brought Evan his order.


    For the first few minutes, Evan ate like a wild animal. At that moment, he did not care how he looked, and the basic rules of etiquette did not interest him.


    After Evan had eaten a fewrge and hearty dishes, he realized that it had been a little overzealous to order so much food. He wouldn''t have eaten that much food even if he hadn''t eaten in a year.


    Evan drank an entire bottle of wine, paid for all 200 "Moon Coins," and headed for the Academy. He was full now, his "Warp" was loaded with mana, and his strength and energy were overwhelming.


    "Phew, I finally came to my senses. That was really hard." Mumbled Evan as he approached the Academy building.


    He came back here for three reasons: first, he needed to choose his first-level spells. Secondly, he wanted to see what lessons wereing up. He entered the Academy over two months ago, but he had not yet been to a single lesson.


    Evan had been busy up to this point, moreover, he now had the knowledge from the Academy''s 20,000,000 books in his head. Evan was sure that no student before him had read all these books.


    To his surprise, Evan went to the timetable, found his ss, and found that he was no longer in it.


    <I see, since I''m a student of the first rank now, I''ve been assigned to a different ss, but it doesn''t make much difference. If I need any help I can always go to Draven.>


    Evan thought, looking for which ss he was now in.


    <ss C, not bad, do they really think that a person who''s just recently be a first ranked student is stronger than almost half of the other students of the first rank?>


    To be honest, Evan was a bit puzzled by the situation. He would not have been surprised if he had been assigned to ss F, and that would have been logical since he had not yet proven himself as a first-ranked student.


    Many sses did not interest Evan. Most of the lessons to be held soon focused on alchemy and cksmithing. But, something caught his eye.


    <sses on the basic fundamentals of spell making... curious....>.


    As soon as Evan read the topic of the ss, a fire lit up in his eyes. Creating his own spells was an incredible opportunity. Evan understood that it was probably very difficult. Few people would be able to create a powerful spell that was better than hundreds of others. But, Evan never stopped in the face of difficulty. His interest was growing by the second, and he couldn''t wait for ss to start.


    Luckily, the lesson would be in just two hours. You could say Evan was right on time.. All he had to do was keep himself busy until the ss started.

 Chapter 190 - Fireball

    Two hours is not such a long period of time. It will pass pretty quickly, especially if a person is doing something in that time.


    <Hmm, a few days ago, I would have just gone to the library and spent those two hours reading some books, but now there''s no point in me going there.>


    Evan had several options, one of which was to spend those two hours on "Creation," but he immediately dismissed the idea. He wouldn''t have time to condense many drops of "Void Liquid" in two hours. It was better to postpone it forter when he had more time.


    Moreover, thanks to his knowledge from thousands of books, Evan knew how many drops of "Void Liquid" he needed to get to the next level. To be honest, that number scared him a little, this time, he would need not 1000 drops but 5000 drops.


    Sure, after Evan had made the breakthrough, the speed of his "Creation" increased significantly, but not at five times. Moreover, the "Barriers" on the "One-Pointed Star" stage were much harder to prate than the previous ones.


    Each "Barrier" broken in the stage of "One-Pointed Star" wasparable to breaking three "Barriers" in the previous stage at once.


    <By the way, to be a student of the first rank, you need to reach "One-Pointed Star," but to be the second ranked student, you only need to break through one "Barrier"... is it really that hard?>


    Evan thought to himself as he headed for the arena. He thought he would brighten his wait by watching the other apprentices fight. Evan also wanted to think about what he had learned.


    <To be a third-ranked apprentice, you must break the second Barrier, but to be a fourth-ranked student, you must reach the "Two- Pointed Star." Those who break the first "Barrier" at the "Two- Pointed Star" stage can be a teacher of the first rank. I guess I won''t be able to progress as fast as I did before.> Evan concluded as he reached the arena.


    Evan had no intention of bing a teacher, he didn''t want to tie himself to this ce in any way. Sure, he could be a teacher and leave town after a while, but that could be fraught with problems.


    Evan had quite a few things on his mind at the moment. First, he wanted to learn how to create spells by himself. He understood that it might take years to master this art, but he was eager to get started.


    Second, he needed to choose his first level spells and get into training. Third, he had to find the members of the "Demonic Tree," and to do that, he needed to find an informant. If there weren''t one in this city, he''d have to look elsewhere.


    What''s more, Evan wanted to do experiments rted to the "Gust." To do this, he needed power, money, and resources. At the same time, he had to be mindful of "Creation" and breaking through "Barriers."


    As Evan had already be a first-ranked student, he had nowhere else to rush. He had 10 years to be a student of the second rank, 25 years to be a third-ranked student, and 50 years to be a fourth-ranked one. Of course, these were all deadlines, and the vast majority of apprentices progressed much longer.


    Evan didn''t hold on to this Academy much, though. It was only a step up for him. Of course, the Academy was an extremely useful ce. Here one couldplete tasks and fight in the arena, which indirectly influenced the eleration of progress. Moreover, not to forget the rooms for "Creation," alchemy, and cksmith stores.


    Evan spent the next two hours watching the first ranked students` fight. One young man surprised him, he was a "Summoner" and summoned an Earth Golem and Stone Golem to help him. They were powerful, and his opponent could do nothing with these two.


    The first level of the "Summoning Magic" spells helped the magician to summon living creatures, not only roots, chains, or stone spikes.


    Evan wasn''t too impressed with these fights, though. He was even bored, in his opinion, Freya was much stronger. Except, of course, that she hadn''t yet reached the" One-Pointed Star." Her movements were fast and precise, and her spells suited her fighting style and personality perfectly.


    <Well, the lesson should start soon, I need to hurry up> Evan thought and left the arena.


    ...


    A few minutes,ter he was already in the ssroom. Besides Evan, arge number of the other students were interested in this lesson, too. The auditorium was packed, and Evan could hardly find a ce to sit down. The subject was of great interest to many students. The teacher was also a very popr man.


    Evan did not understand why there were students from other sses and even other ranks, but he decided that it did not matter. The most important thing was the lesson itself, everything else was of secondary importance.


    When the auditorium was full of students, it was time for the lesson to begin. A tall man in a gray mantle entered the room. He adjusted his sses and looked at the packed audience calmly said: "I see you are interested in the topic of today''s lesson, well, then it''s time to begin."


    It was Arve, he rarely taught any lessons, but each one was very detailed, thoughtful, and clear.


    "Let me tell you right off the bat, spell creation is a very difficult, time-consuming, and little-sessful process. It will take most mages several years to figure out the very basics, but that is not the main problem. Suppose you learn to create spells, what do you think is the biggest problem in that case?"


    Arve paused for a moment before continuing: "Even if you create dozens of spells, there''s no guarantee that any one of them will be stronger than the already invented andmonly known ones. For example, to create a spell that''s better than "Fire Ball" in every way is already a daunting task, and that''s considering it''s a zero-level spell.


    Everyone listened to him carefully, no one even whispered.


    "Genius mages spend years trying to create spells better than those already known to this world. But an incredibly small number of people can create new spells that are better than the others."


    Arve adjusted his sses and spoke slowly: "I want to warn each of you. If you are not prepared to spend decades of your life on countless attempts and experiments, you had better not waste your time on it. In this field of activity, you have to go all the way, and only then, perhaps, your wasted time and effort will pay off. Now let''s get to the lesson."


    Arve''s "Warp" spun, and a fireball appeared in his hand.


    "Let''s start with the very first step in spell creation, which is changing the simplest characteristic in any other spell. The easiest thing to change is color, which is where I advise you to start."


    After these words, Arve put his other hand forward, and another fireball appeared in the palm of his hand, only it was white instead of orange.


    "Now I''m going to draw two Magical Circles of zero level spell- "Fire Ball" on the board.. There will be a subtle but significant difference between them, which has changed the color of the fireball, but the other characteristics were not affected."

 Chapter 191 - Spell Makers

    Arve canceled the spells and quickly drew two Magic Circles of the zero-level spell, "Fire Ball."


    He then turned and, pointing at a random student, said: "Look closely at these two Magic Circles, do you see the difference between them?"


    The student stared intently at the two Magic Circles for a while but was unable to answer. Then Arve asked several other students, but none of them could see the difference in a minute.


    When another student could not answer, Arve calmly said: "You all understood that the change was small, but you couldn''t see it, now I will show you."


    Arve''s spatial ring glowed, and a pointer appeared in his hands.


    "Look at the left Magic Circle - this is the standard version of the "Fire Ball", and now look at the right one, the difference is right here," Arve said calmly, pointing to one of the runes.


    In addition to the basic structure, Magic Circles consisted of dozens of runes and various symbols. The moreplex the spell was, the more of them there were. One spell might have only a hundred symbols, while another might have a hundred thousand.


    Naturally, if the various symbols and runes were numbered in the thousands, the number of possiblebinations was infinite. Nevertheless, only some of the thousands of thosebinations could be a spell of some kind, and it was unlikely that it would be powerful or useful.


    The rune Arve pointed out was indeed slightly different from the one on the left Magic Circle. But, it was almost impossible to see unless you looked specifically at the ce.


    "That''s the slight change that affected the color of the spell. Probably some of you are thinking right now that actually creating or changing spells is not as difficult as I said. If you think you can just learn all the runes and symbols, their variations andbinations, and use them to create spells, then you are a fool. Even if you spend a million years on it, you still can''t memorize and learn an infinite number of variations." Arve said harshly.


    "But, then, how should we proceed? Can''t some experienced magician who has already created several spells share the studiedbinations by writing, for example, some manual? A girl asked, puzzled. She didn''t understand whybinations that had already been tested couldn''t be used.


    Arve quickly answered, "First, it doesn''t make any sense, and even if it did, no magician would disclose information like that. Secondly, somebination may have no effect, but if you rece even one rune or symbol in it, it can be an incredibly powerful spell."


    "There were cases when some magicians changed already seemingly perfectbinations, and they became even better, of course, these are isted cases. Simply put, if you use tried-and-true variants, you won''t achieve anything. You should go your own way if you want to seed. Arve said calmly.


    Arve adjusted his sses and continued: "As for the question of how you should proceed, I''ll give you a simple example - chess. It''s a veryplex board game with a huge but not infinite number of variations. Let''s assume that you are an unprecedented genius and can calcte all moves without exception. In that case, you will always win. But what if the number of cells on the chessboard increases tenfold? It''s impossible to calcte that many variations."


    "In the process of creating spells, the situation is the same. Unlike chess, the number of "pieces" and "cells" here is many times greater and each Magic Circle has a different number. Moreover, if you put three different chess pieces in a row, they won''t be one, like runes or symbols in differentbinations."


    Arve sighed and said seriously: "How, then, is it possible to find a way to sess if it is not possible to calcte all the options? Rely on luck and conduct countless experiments? Yes, that''s one option. After you make thousands of attempts, you might get lucky. But, if the ingenious magicians who created so many spells relied only on luck, we would have been extinct long ago."


    "It''s all about ir and how well you understand magic and the spell you create or modify." Arve finished his long and detailed exnation.


    He was silent for a while, giving the students time to absorb what he had said. Creating spells was not some coin flip, it was an extremelyplex art. Compared to that, even alchemy and cksmithing were much easier.


    The spell-creators spent years experimenting, honing their skills, trying to find the one path that would lead them to sess.


    True magicians had no problem creating dozens of the 1st and 2nd level spells, as good as the rarest of spells at the same level.


    The point was that if a magician had a talent for creating spells, his skill grew with each attempt. Over time, he intuitively understood which direction he should go and how the whole system worked.


    But even if a magician had an incredible talent for creating spells, it would only make itself known after countless trials and errors. Only then, his talent could unfold, and the magician began to know and understand what he should do to create a spell.


    Imagine a hugebyrinth with endless forks. But, at the same time, there are ces in the maze where you can get out of. What''s more, the maze is constantly changing, making it impossible to make any kind of map.


    The spell-casters with awakened talents would easily find each of the exits. They would need no luck, only a few tries at most, after which their experience, skill, and instinct would lead them to the right ce.


    Spell-making was about as much of a maze as it gets. That''s why spell-creators relied on more than just luck.


    There was still silence in the ssroom. The students were pondering Arve''s words, it was a great shock to them.


    Nevertheless, there was one person in the audience who had very contradictory feelings. It was Evan. He had discovered at a nce the difference between the two Magic Circles while others couldn''t even see it in a few minutes, but that wasn''t what had unsettled him.


    What Arve was talking about was rather difficult to understand. Creating spells was indeed much moreplicated than the students had imagined. And that was considering that now Arve had just warned them, they hadn''t even begun the process themselves yet.


    Evan wasn''t bbergasted like the other students. He knew it wasn''t easy, but what Arve was talking about was very simr to how the sigils differed from each other. It only needed to change one small detail, and the sigil was no longer of the first level but the second one.


    <I originally thought I would do alchemy or cksmithing soon, but spell-making looks more intriguing.>

 Chapter 192 - The Stages Of Creation

    After a couple of minutes, Arve continued the lesson. He gave his students enough time toprehend his words.


    "If you want to learn how to create spells, you should start with the simplest thing: try changing the color of one of your spells. You can trust your intuition, or you can do some experiments, I think sooner orter you will seed. This is only the first step, and it''s the easiest of all," Arve said calmly.


    "The next stage is to change some characteristic of one of your spells. You should understand that even this stage is incredibly difficult to get to, by the way, it is where I am at the moment."


    These words surprised every student. Arve was known as one of the few teachers of the fourth rank. Moreover, he was one of the strongest mages in the entire Academy. Only then did the students truly begin to understand how difficult it was to create spells.


    Arve''s "Warp" spun, and he began casting some kind of spell.


    "Recently, I''ve made some progress and was able to make changes to "Magic Missile." Everyone knows this spell, it''s a straight beam of mana that explodes when it touches something. But, I managed to change its trajectory, to be honest, it took a huge amount of time," Arve said slowly and pointed his hand toward the ceiling.


    The next moment a snow-white beam flew out toward the ceiling, but it was not straight, it was a zigzag. This was the first time the students saw something like this.


    The beam reached the ceiling, but there was no explosion. There was a barrier in the ssroom, which could easily absorb the damage from the zero-level spell.


    It is worth noting that the "Transforming of Spells" was fundamentally different from spell casting. Arve had changed the very structure of the spell by making the beam fly in a zigzag instead of a straight line. In the "Transforming of Spells", the magician could only change one of three characteristics, depending on the stage of "Awareness."


    Arve calmly said: "Of course, the fact that the beam became zigzagging won''t help me inbat anyway, and I don''t think it can be used in practice. But, if you won''t be able to do that, you shouldn''t dream of ever creating your spell."


    He adjusted his sses and continued: "After the second stage, there is the third one, the final- the creation of the spell. You should realize one thing. After you have learned how to modify the simple spells as you like, you can try to create your own. As for me, I have a lot to learn myself, and I may never be able to create my own spell."


    Arve spent the next half hour answering the students` questions, giving them advice on how toplete the first stage sessfully and what direction they should move. When the lesson was over, all the students went away, only Evan was left in the ssroom.


    He was surprised that the creation of spells was simr in many aspects to demon''s sigils.


    <Sounds like creating your own spell will be very difficult, but I have no rush now. I can devote quite a lot of time to this activity. I wonder, among the thousands of the books, there wasn''t a single one that said anything about making spells. Until I''m as strong as Arve, I won''t be able even to change the characteristics of my spells, is it really that?>


    Evan had been pondering for a while and then decided to go home. He couldn''t know that for sure but believed that the books that would have some information about spell-creating were below the fourth floor.


    It didn''t matter, though. Evan knew that Arve was right in saying that you have to work your own way up in this field. How could Evan create a new spell if he would just use thebors of other magicians?


    Nevertheless, Evan had one idea he wanted to test. When he returned home, he went down to the underground floor and drew a sigil of 71st demon - Duke Dantalion.


    After activating the sigil, the young man entered "Nirvana" and wished to learn how to create spells, but the book answered with one word, "Impossible."


    Evan frowned and tried the sigil of the second level. He wished the same thing from the stronger demon''s essence, but the answer didn''t change. This surprised Evan, he hadn''t expected the task to be this difficult.


    <Damn it, it took me a first-level sigil and only 15 years of life to awaken a talent for magic. Yet the demon''s essence summoned by the second level sigil tells me it''s impossible?>


    It would be one thing if the demon had named Evan''s life as a price. But, the demon wouldn''t even name the price of that service.


    Evan wasn''t upset or saddened, though. If a subject was of interest to him, he could easily spend years of his life studying it.


    <Okay, maybe it''s even for the best. There''s something else I need to check out. Evan thought and turned to the book floating in the middle of space.


    He wanted to know what his ss was and what type of Magic he was most prone to, but the demon answered nothing again. Evan had no choice but to sigh in frustration and call the demon off. He decided that in time he would find out it for himself. All he had to do was to train and increase his "Awareness."


    "Before I go deeper into training and spell making, I have one more thing left toplete." Mumbled Evan and headed toward the Academy.


    He had already reached "One-Pointed Star," which meant it was time to choose new spells.


    There were separate rooms in the library with only spell books. Last time, when Evan was saving all the books in the library in his mind, he hadn''t gone there.


    It would have been strange if he had gone through all the spell books that were there in a few minutes. To know if a spell was right for you or not, you had to take some time and read about it and its effects, not just look at the title of the book. What''s more, it wouldn''t have made any sense. To master a spell, you had to take the time to practice it, not just know the book''s content.


    Evan didn''t know what type of magic he had the greatest predisposition for, so he decided to choose the spells he liked. Regardless of their type of magic.


    At that moment, Evan liked the "Summoning Magic" spells the least. He understood that they were great for teambat or immobilizing his opponent. However, most of the" Summoning Magic" spells couldn''t be destructive enough to decide the oue of a fight.


    Of course, that didn''t mean the Summoners were weaker than the others. They were better than the other sses in team fights and were excellent support. Moreover, they were quite capable of standing up for themselves.


    As Evan watched the battles in the arena, he was amazed to see that the Summoner had defeated the Amplifier. The young man simply could not defeat the two Golems the Summoner had summoned.


    Powerful Summoners could defeat their enemies by summoning powerful creatures to help them, but Evan didn''t like to rely on anyone.. He wanted to destroy his enemies with his own hands, and the best spells for that purpose were the "Amplification Magic" and "Creation Magic."

 Chapter 193 - New Spells

    Evan made his way to the Academy and headed for the library. The spellbooks were in separate rooms. Evan had ess to all four floors, so the choice of spells was huge enough for him.


    Entered the first room, Evan began looking for the right spells. He decided to choose two "Amplification Magic" spells and one of "Creation Magic." Evan hadn''t yet decided if he would take any "Spell of the Seal." If he thought a spell would be useful to him, Evan would certainly choose it.


    After looking through most of the spellbooks that appealed to him, Evan went to the next room. He had already liked a few spells, but he would make his final choice only after looking through all of the spells in the library.


    Any student could take a spellbook to learn a spell and then bring the book back to the library. Students didn''t have to pay admission or buy these books, everything waspletely free.


    But, the "Inner students" did have one major advantage. They had ess to special rooms that housed rarer spells. Of course, the regr rooms also had a huge number of powerful and useful spells, but most of them were not unique.


    This was another incentive for the "Outer students" to be "Inner." Naturally, as an "Inner student," Evan would go into these rooms and search for suitable spells there as well.


    After about ten hours, Evan had gone through most spell books and visited every room where these books were located. Of course, there were simr rooms below the fourth floor, but Evan was not allowed to go there.


    <Compared to the small room in Zak''s mansion, this is something incredible. The amount of spells that are in here really boggles the mind. I think just about anyone could find something to do here.>


    Evan thought as he left the library. Evan was pleased with the spells he had chosen. Of course, he could not read all the spellbooks in such a short time, but he did not need to. The most important thing was to understand the essence and learn how to apply the spell. Then all that remained was to start practicing.


    Evan returned home and ced the chosen books on the table. A fire burned in his eyes, he already wanted to learn these spells as soon as possible.


    The first spell Evan chose was "Touch of the Abyss," the element of darkness," Amplification Magic."


    This spell enveloped the magician''s hands or any other object in a shell of darkness. It greatly increased the damage of attacks. What''s more, the darkness had a corrosive effect. If Evan cast this spell and struck the steel wall several times, the point of impact would slowly corrode. It was a bit like a chemical burn or acid, only the effect was stronger, but also shorter.


    Evan really liked his first spell of the "Amplification Magic," "Ice Veil," so he originally wanted to choose a simr first-level spell. But, then he decided to abandon that idea. He wanted to try different spells to decide what suited him best.


    There were a lot of spells of ice element in the library, they worked about the same as "Ice Veil," only they were much more powerful. But when Evan saw "Touch of the Abyss," he decided to choose this particr spell.


    Evan looked at the second book. It was gray and looked old, and unlike the other spellbooks, it had very few pages.


    It was the second "Amplification Magic" spell Evan had chosen, called "Ghost Step."


    If a magician cast this spell, a thinyer of smoke appears around his feet. His steps will be barely noticeable and almost silent, and his speed will increase significantly.


    This spell was in a special room for "Inner students."


    Evan decided to choose this spell because he wanted to increase his agility. Enni had a spell with a simr effect, with wind currents appeared around her feet and made her faster.


    "Ghost Step" was a rarer and more interesting spell, but it had one fatal w. It wasplicated to master. There was no step-by-step description of how to learn how to use this spell. The book only had a magic circle of this spell and a few hints.


    The book was whole andplete, with no torn or missing pages. It was all about the specifics of the spell itself.


    Nevertheless, that only increased Evan''s interest in this spell. It was difficult to use but very powerful and effective.


    Evan did not take any "Amplification Magic" spells for protection. He decided that there was little point in spending time practicing these spells. Moreover, Evan liked to attack, not defend. If he had mastered "Ghost Step" sufficiently, he could have easily evaded many attacks.


    Next, Evan looked at the very thick blue book. It was the third spell Evan chose, "Ball Lightning." It was a "Creation Magic" spell, when cast, the magician created a high-powered electrical charge in his hand.


    It was also a veryplex yet powerful spell. To create a "Ball Lightning," not a single mistake could be made. If the magician made a mistake, the electrical charge would destabilize and explode, inflicting severe wounds on him.


    Evan decided to choose this particr "Creation Magic" spell because once he mastered the "Ghost Step," he would be able to get to his opponents quickly and kill them with a single "Ball Lightning" attack.


    Thest spell Evan chose was a "Summoning Magic" spell, but not the usual one, it was "Spell of the Seal." These spells were very different from the others.


    The name of this spell was "Seal of Cleansing."


    It is worth noting that "Spell of the Seal" was not a separate type of magic but simply a name for spells with certain simrities.


    Evan decided to choose this spell for one simple reason - he had no way to protect himself if something unexpected happened.


    It wasn''t about defending against physical attacks, some kind of "Amplification Magic" spell would be perfect for that. Evan was worried about cases where he would be poisoned or immobilized by some sort of spell or pour.


    Of course, every magician had healing pills and potions for such an eventuality, but what if they didn''t work or the spatial ring was taken away?


    That''s why Evan decided to study - the "Seal of Cleansing." Like all "Spell of the Seal," it required a lot of mana, but the effect was amazing. By casting this spell, Evan could neutralize most of the known poisons and toxins in his body. This spell had no healing properties whatsoever, it only destroyed all the negative effects.


    Evan looked at the four spell books lying on his desk and muttered: "I''ll finally start learning the first level spells, this is really intriguing. Hmm, the "Seal of Cleansing" isn''t exactly the usual spell.. Maybe I should create a "Summoning Magic" spell by myself."

 Chapter 194 - Summoning Magic

    The "Summoning Magic" spells were very different from the spells of the "Amplification Magic" and "Creation Magic." "Summoners" could cast a spell and summon powerful creatures to their aid. The spells of "Summoning Magic" were very expansive and useful.


    There were a huge number of spells that did not summon any creatures.


    For example, most of the healing spells known to this world were of the "Summoning Magic." When Arve healed Evan, he did not summon any creatures. In fact, he even repaired Evan''s torn coat.


    Among the spells of the "Summoning Magic," there were arge number of auxiliary spells. For the same reason, Summoners have always been the most desirable allies in team fights. They could weaken and immobilize enemies and strengthen allies. At the same time, they could summon strong creatures to their aid who would fight for them.


    Moreover, this was not all that the "Summoning Magic" spells were capable of. The spells used to make banks, cards, and magic orbs work properly also belonged to the "Summoning Magic".


    Evan saw a lot of different spells of the "Summoning Magic" in the library. He even thought about leaning one spell that could cover a magician''s body with a thin shell. It would greatly increase the wearer''s protection. Nevertheless, he gave up on that idea.


    He didn''t have enough time to practice using each of them. In Evan''s opinion, he had chosen only the most useful and powerful spells.


    Most magicians also based on these criteria and used only a few spells. Of course, some had several dozen spells in their arsenal and those who had only one.


    If a magician has only a few spells, he can concentrate on training just those spells rather than wasting time on many spells. If a magician has only three spells and reaches the second stage of "Awareness" in each of them, he will one hundred percent defeat the magician who has ten spells.


    Simply put, having three spells with the second stage of "Awareness" was times better than having ten spells that the magician hadn''t reached any proficiency in using.


    Of course, when Evan was in the "Forest of Aquamarine Crystals," he used the power of the 71st Demon, Duke Dantalion, to raise the "Awareness" of his two spells to the second stage.


    But, "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil" were zero level spells. Evan was sure that if he wanted to do the same thing with first-level spells, the demon would ask for some years of his life. Evan didn''t see the point, he''d rather spend a few months training than sacrifice a few years, maybe even decades.


    Demons didn''t make magicians` life easier, they only gave them a way out of a critical situation by taking something of equal value in return.


    < The spells of "Summoning Magic" are indeed much more interesting than I imagined. Initially, I thought their sole purpose was to summon creatures for help, but I was wrong. Hell, there were even spells in the library that summoned the armor!>


    Evan thought, going to the underground floor with four books.


    Among the spells that were in the library, Evan saw some that summoned armor, moreover this armor was not ordinary, but with unique effects. Of course, after a while, this armor would have disappeared, but it would be enough forbat.


    There were even "Summoners" who were very simr to "Amplifiers" in their essence. They didn''t want to rely on anyone but themselves or use amplification spells. Such "Summoners" wore no armor or weapons, they had special spells for that. They were very dangerous and unpredictable opponents. Of course, there were very few such mages, and only a few had the determination to choose this path and enough strength to follow it.


    When Evan went down to the underground floor, he quickly drew and activated the sigil of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion. Evan wanted to know exactly how much it would cost to increase the "Awareness" of one first-level spell.


    When he said his wish, he was greatly surprised by the answer, for the book answered that his request could not be fulfilled. Evan recalled the demon and drew a second-level sigil. He demanded the same and got the answer he had expected.


    "One hundred and fifty years."


    Evan wasn''t upset, he knew the price would be about that. The spells of the first level were many times stronger than the zero-level ones. It was the same asparing a newbie magician to someone who had reached the "One-Pointed Star."


    <Okay, now I can devote my full attention to training, but before I do it, which spell should I try to create?>


    He understood that creating spells was an incredibly difficult art. Even Arve was still only at the second stage and was far from being able to create spells from scratch. Nevertheless, the sesses of others did not interest Evan. He wanted to do it so that he would do it.


    After some time of reflection, Evan figured out roughly what kind of spell he wanted, but there was a problem. He didn''t have a simr spell as an example.


    There were a huge number of spellbooks in the library, but Evan couldn''t find some spells. There weren''t any spells rted to blood magic and soul magic. Moreover, there were understandably no forbidden spells in the library.


    This upset Evan because in his past life, in addition to demon spells, he had used blood magic, the magic of souls, dark magic, and a huge variety of forbidden spells.


    One of the spells Evan had chosen, the "Touch of the Abyss," was of the darkness element. But, it was amon spell, not a forbidden one.


    <Hmm, it seems that besides the demon magic, the blood magic and the magic of souls are also forbidden in this world, as well as the particrly dangerous dark magic. That''s really disappointing. I should definitely look into ces where I can get such spells.>


    Evan began to think in detail about the spell he nned to create in the near future. Evan knew that he would not be able to create any powerful and destructive spell at once. He decided to concentrate on something that would be rtively easy to create and be very useful.


    Right now, he had no shortage of attack spells and no need in any defense spells, either.


    Evan was a prudent man, and so he chose the "Seal of Cleansing." It would save him in most situations, although not in all.


    <What will I do if I am not able to move and only the power of demons could help me?> Evan thought, looking at the brush on the table.


    You have to draw a sigil to use a demon''s power first, but if Evan had been tied up, for example, he wouldn''t have been able to do that.


    <To get out of that situation, I need to be able to draw a demon''s sigil remotely... Right, I need to think of a spell that creates some blood I can control.. That way, I can draw a demon''s sigil with just the force of my mind. Then it will be called "Blood brush"!>

 Chapter 195 - Training

    After Evan had decided exactly what spell he wanted and even given it a name prematurely, he wrote everything down in his notebook. He described in detail what he wanted to achieve and what characteristics the spell should have.


    Evan wanted to work on creating a spell, but it was a very long process, so he decided to take his time. First, he wanted to study the four spells he had chosen in the library. Evan decided to start with "Touch of the Abyss." In Evan''s opinion, mastering this spell was more essible than the others.


    Thanks to his extensive experience with the "Ice Veil," Evan had a rough understanding of how such spells worked. All he had to do was delve into the subject and take some time to practice.


    Evan opened the ck book and muttered: "It took me half a day to master the "Magic Missile." It was my first zero-rank spell. I wonder how long it will take me this time..."


    First-level spells were much stronger than zero-rank ones for two main reasons. Firstly, they required more concentrated mana, which could only be obtained by reaching the "One-Pointed Star." This was also the main reason why a magician couldn''t use the spells of a higher level.


    Secondly, each first-level spell was more difficult to use. There were more stages, and it was necessary to change the mana form more often until the spell was ready. Simply put, the more the power, the greater the difficulty. It applied to all aspects.


    Of course, different people needed different amounts of time to master a particr spell. It depended on many factors: the talent of a magician, theplexity of the spell, and the other conditions, that could somehow affect the process.


    After about two hours, Evan had read the bookpletely. He could have read it much faster, but he decided to take his time. He slowly and thoughtfully read every word and stopped at the points he did not understand. There was no need to hurry in such matters.


    "Damn, it''s really hard...I need to read this book one more time. I can''t remember so many subtleties and minutiae at once." Evan mumbled and reopened the first page of the book.


    ...


    A week had passed, and Evan finally came close to casting the "Touch of the Abyss." It took him a whole day to memorize every detail described in the book and finally start trying to cast the spell.


    Nevertheless, in six days, Evan had not yet seeded. He was constantly making mistakes, correcting his actions, and figuring out what he was doing wrong.


    "One more time," Evan muttered quietly.


    He sighed, and his "Warp" spun.


    Mana headed for his hands and gradually turned into a thin cover. Then it slowly began to turn into a darkyer of energy covering his palms. After almost a week of trying, Evan had finally seeded.


    "Phew, honestly, I didn''t expect it to be this hard. Well, I guess it''s time to test the power of this spell," Evan proimed and headed for the sturdy wall.


    He put his palm to the wall and then struck with lightning speed.


    Bam.


    "Touch of the Abyss" had significantly increased the power of his attack, there were some cracks in the ce he had struck, but the best part was yet toe. A secondter, a corrosive effect began at the point of impact. The area was small, and the effect was short-lived, only a couple of seconds, but it was pretty dangerous.


    A part of the incredibly strong stone was turned into dust. It was the effect of a single blow. If Evan had struck a few more blows, he would have easily made a through-hole in the wall. But, it was not thanks to his physical strength, but because of the "Touch of the Abyss."


    ...


    Evan had been spending the next two months mastering three spells at the basic level. As he had expected, the "Ghost Step" was the most difficult spell of all. Because of the specifics of the spell, Evan had to figure out how to cast it on his own. He tried to adjust it for himself, and eventually, he seeded.


    The "Ghost Step" didn''t require much mana, but it took an impressive amount of energy. Using this spell strained his whole body, but the effect was amazing. Evan''s speed was so fast that he could cover a distance of three meters in a step. In this way, he could quickly get close to any opponent, even if he was very far away.


    "Ball Lightning" was, as expected, the most potent weapon in Evan''s arsenal. The first time he had sessfully cast this spell, he destroyed most of the wall.


    Evan didn''t want to destroy his home because of such training, so he headed to the training ground at the Academy. He had to pay for it, but there he didn''t need to hold himself back and could hit as hard as possible. Moreover, there were a lot of different dummies and targets.


    It was worth noting that absolutely every spell was also dangerous for the magician himself, regardless of the spell''s level. The first time Evan had cast the "Ice Veil," he made a serious mistake and got frostbite.


    This time he tried not to do anything stupid like that. What''s more, he wouldn''t have got away with mere frostbite this time. If the "Touch of the Abyss" had got out of control, that dark shell would have eaten away his flesh. Not only was it a hell of a pain, but it would be difficult enough to heal such wounds.


    Thest spell on the list was the "Seal of Cleansing." It had taken Evan several weeks to master this spell. The spell was not difficult, you may say, it was the easiest spell avable.


    Evan wasted so much time for one simple reason - each "Seal of Cleansing" use required a massive amount of mana. Evan couldn''t cast this spell twice in a row, as he had to regenerate his mana each time. It was exhausting for him, both mentally and physically.


    During the time he tried to cast the "Seal of Cleansing" once, he could have cast the "Touch of the Abyss" about ten times.


    When Evan finally managed to cast it, he was pleased. If the "Ghost Step" was the most difficult spell in Evan''s arsenal, then the "Seal of Cleansing" was the most draining.


    ...


    Crack.


    A multitude of small lightning bolts turned into a deadly electrical discharge in Evan''s hand. In three steps, he reached the dummy, ten meters away from him, and attacked it. The dummy was made of hardened steel, but it still could not withstand such power.


    The destructive electrical discharge destroyed the dummy to pieces. If Evan had attacked the same dummy with the "Magic Missile," it would have left a few scratches on it at best. Of course, if you use the normal version of this spell, not the second stage of "Awareness."


    Evan looked at the shards and muttered: "Okay, I still need to keep practicing, but I can already use these spells inbat. Now I should start creating the "Blood brush.." Even if it takes a few decades, it''s still best to start as early as possible."

 Chapter 196 - The Flow Of Time

    Besides training and "Creation," Evan had two main tasks. First, he had to find an informant to try to contact the "Demonic Tree" members. He was going to be part of this organization to learn about the dark side of this world.


    Secondly, Evan wanted to do his own experiments to understand better how this mysterious force, namely "Gust," worked. To do this, he needed a quiet ce, test subjects, and the resources to organize the whole experiment.


    Moreover, he also had one small task - he needed to earn money. Evan wanted to buy a spatial ring and various medicines.


    ...


    Two years had passed since Evan had chosen his new spells. All that time Evan had been training, "Creating," andpleting tasks. He often consulted with Draven about many things rted to magic. Sometimes Evan woulde to sses that interested him.


    Two years was quite a long time, and Evan had managed to earn a huge amount of coins during that time. A couple of months ago, he spent almost all of his money on a 100 cubic meter spatial ring. It cost him an incredible 300,000 "Moon Coins."


    He''d earned this money by doing various high-difficulty tasks and fighting in the arena. About a year and a half ago, each student who regrly fought in the arena had been given a certain rating. The more students won, the higher they were ranked. The students who were at the top of the table were not only famous but also rich. Many people watched their fights and made bets.


    Evan had grown much stronger during this time and was now one of the three strongest students of the first rank.


    After buying the spatial ring, Evan had almost no money for a while, but he had managed to umte enough "Moon Coins" to buy a house in the second zone.


    Unfortunately, during this time, Evan was not able to find out precisely what ss he had. Moreover, even the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion, could not tell exactly what ss Evan had. This annoyed him because there was only one way left to find out what his ss was. And it was the most extended way of all.


    He had to achieve "Awareness" of the first stage in all his spells topare the results. Naturally, without using the demon''s power, otherwise, all the time and effort would go to waste.


    Regardless of the ss, any magician could achieve "Awareness" of the first stage in any spell. But, that didn''t mean that the effectiveness of those spells was on the same level.


    If an Amplifier in the "One-Pointed Star" stage increased his "Awareness" in a "Summoning Magic" spell in his hands, it would be much weaker than a spell of the "Amplification Magic."


    Moreover, the stronger a magician was, the more the difference between the three sses became. Among the newbie magicians, these differences were barely noticeable. Among those who were at the "One-Pointed Star" stage, the differences were more significant. But, they were felt only when a magician raised his "Awareness" in some spell to the first or second stage.


    For the same reason, Evan needed to reach the first stage of his "Awareness" in all spells to determine his ss.


    Evan also assumed there were two other possibilities, the first was very unfortunate, and the second was terrific. He thought he might have had poorpatibility with spells of all Types of Magic. That option was quite possible, as was the reverse. If he could use spells of all Types of Magic without any penalties, there would be nothing to limit him in this world anymore.


    In those two years, Evan hadn''t been able to increase "Awareness" in any of his first-level spells. It was indeed a difficult task.


    He had spent a lot of time on "Creation" and was able to make some progress. He had long ago condensed 1.333 drops of "Void Liquid." This was the maximum if the magician had not broken through any "Barrier" yet.


    Breaking through the first "Barrier" at the "One-Pointed Star" stage was a real challenge. The higher the magician climbed, the harder the next step was.


    Nevertheless, Evan felt that he was close to breaking the first "Barrier." He estimated it would be within the next few months. He believed that such a low rate of progression was not only due to theplexity of the process itself. It was also since he had never been in a deadly situation in thest two years, although it was well-known to have a powerful effect on a magician''s progress.


    When Evan could no longer continue to condense his mana into the "Void Liquid," he began to channel his mana into the chains on the Pir. It took him a long time, but he had unlocked 100 chains, but he could not fill thest chain with mana. Evan didn''t know the reason, but he couldn''t get any further so far.


    Thest thing worth mentioning was Evan''s tries to create his own blood magic spell. In brief, there was no sess there.


    But, that was only Evan''s own opinion of what he had been able to achieve in the meantime. In fact, he had no problem learning how to change the color of his spells. Simply put, he had sessfully passed the first stage of spell creation and made it to the second. To have that kind of progress in just two years was an incredible sess, even though Evan thought it was a real failure.


    Evan had only reached the second stage a few months ago, so he hadn''t yet been able to change any of the characteristics in any of his spells. So far, it was beyond him.


    He had done countless experiments and many different maniptions with runes and symbols in Magic Circles over those two years.


    Much of his experience with demons` sigils had helped him, but he definitely had a talent for creating spells. All that was left to do was to keep working and hope that he would reveal himself at some point.


    He could create the versions of "Ball Lightning," where the electrical discharge would be red or yellow instead of blue. What''s more, even changing the ck color of the "Touch of the Abyss'' to white wasn''t a problem. Of course, Evan wouldn''t use these spells, they were no different than any other color, and he wasn''t sure if such changes had any negative effect.


    Evan was at the very beginning of this way, and until he created his first spell, he had no right to be called a spell maker.


    ...


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan headed slowly toward the bulletin board, he muttered quietly: "Looks like it''s time to leave the Academy, at least for a while."

 Chapter 197 - The Quest

    In these two years, Evan had explored the city inside and out. He knew every store, every cksmith and alchemist, everyone who could be useful for him. Thus, Evan tried to find a way into the dark side of this city, a way to an informant who could give him the information he needed.


    However, to Evan''s shock, this city had no dark side. He could find no "entrance" to the ck market or contact with any criminal personalities. Of course, it was hard for an ordinary guy to stumble across such people, but Evan had two years and knew the right ces where to look for.


    <But this city is controlled by the Academy of Magic, where there are hundreds of magicians capable of destroying almost any enemy. I should have expected something like this>, Evan thought.


    He was left with no other options but to admit that he couldn''t find any informant in this city.


    Now Evan was going to take one task and leave the Academy indefinitely. This task was no ordinary one. Its difficulty was 6 stars, which was strange because Evan had never seen a task with difficulty more serious than 5 stars before. Until now, he had been sure that 5 stars task was the maximum possible difficulty, but it turned out that such special tasks sometimes appeared, too.


    Evan decided to choose it, not because of the difficulty but because of the task itself. First of all, the deadline for itspletion was ten years. Secondly, as part of the task, Evan had to go to a remote area to investigate it, make a report, and try to understand what caused the strange changes that were taking ce there.


    It was a simple but very time-consuming task. Perhaps that''s why it had such a high level of difficulty. If Evan had time, he was going to take it on since the reward was pretty good.


    Evan took the task and thought to himself, <The task says that the changes in this area could be caused by the ancient ruins there. They also fall under my list of ces where members of the "Demonic Tree" can appear. I should definitely check this ce out.>


    Taking the task, Evan quickly prepared himself by moving a huge amount of food and water into the spatial ring and set off.


    If he didn''tplete the task, there was nothing wrong with it. The penalty was rtively small.


    He was going to a ce called - "The Hills of Bloody Falls." The name was intimidating, but in fact, it was a quiet and peaceful ce.


    The area got its name because of the many waterfalls of deep red color. Initially, people thought it was blood, and that''s why they gave it such a name, but the reality wasn''t so terrific.


    Unique underwater nts grew in this area, the petals of these nts were used as a red dye. It was because of these nts that almost all the water in this area was red.


    Evan had a long way to go, about two weeks, but he was not going there only because of the task and the strange ruins, which could be absolutely useless.


    There was a ratherrge city next to the "Hills of Bloody Falls," called Is. After Evan realized that he could not find an informant in the Academy City, he decided to go to one of the most violent cities in the entire kingdom.


    Is was one of those cities. If Academy City didn''t have a dark side, Is didn''t have a light one. This city was full of criminals, they were both ordinary people and magicians. Illegal trade, the ve trade, beatings, and shes between gangs weremonce here.


    Some Light organizations tried to fix the situation in this city, but they failed, their power was not enough. The "Tears of Light" and other powerful Light organizations were not interested in Is since this city was not under the patronage of the "Demonic Tree" or "Merciful Death."


    This city was the perfect ce for Evan. He felt like a fish in water in such ces. Of course, he had to hold back in part. Earlier, he had had too little information, he needed to get used to this world and understand its rules.


    Now Evan was ready to make his own rules.


    In fact, Is was a gigantic city,rger than Mossy Vulture and the Academy citybined. But, such size was not due to its immense wealth but, on the contrary, to the poverty of many areas.


    Leaving aside the numerous slums, the city''s center, which was indeed rich, was not that big. But we should not forget that the whole essence of this city was not on the surface, you needed to dig a little deeper to get to its darkest corners.


    In a ce like Is, only two things mattered: power and money, especially money.


    Evan couldn''t trade the "Moon Coins" for gold ones, but he had prepared for it. He had recently gone to the "Half-Dead Forest" and killed dozens of monsters there. Now his spatial ring could hold that many carcasses.


    Then he had traveled to Mossy Vulture where he had sold all those carcasses for a tidy sum, namely 50,000 gold coins. Evan wasn''t sure how long this amount wouldst him, but it should be enough for a start.


    Staying in Mossy Vulture, he had been spending a lot of time with Zak and Marcel. Evan was d to see them after two years. These two were the first people in the world who supported him.


    ...


    Fourteen dayster, Evan had already reached Is.


    "Huh, this town is exactly the ce I was looking for, I can see it even from this distance." Evan grinned and headed towards the entrance of the city.


    Mossy vulture and the Academy city were true examples to follow. Beautiful architecture and infrastructure, nice streets, and not a single ruined or abandoned building.


    But, as soon as Evan looked at Is, he saw massive slums, ruined towers, and dpidated city walls. However, it was precisely these details that suited a city like this, creating the right atmosphere.


    Evan approached the gate leading to the entrance of the slums. He was immediately stopped by two guards, though they looked more like ordinary bandits.


    "Wait! Entry price - one gold coin, pay or get out while you''re still intact," The man dressed in leather armor said gruffly.


    Evan looked at him coldly and pulled a single gold coin from his pocket.


    The guard smiled and quickly took the coin and said: "Hey, guy, Is is a pretty big city, would you like a tour for just a few gold coins?"


    He thought Evan was an excellent target on which to make good money.


    Evan stepped closer to him and, with a smile on his face, said: "I usually like to travel around town on my own, but now I really need to find out where one ce is."


    The man smirked: "And what is that ce?"


    "A cemetery."


    Whoosh.


    Evan lightning-quickly thrust his palm into the man''s chest and pulled his heart out the back of his hand, and crushed it.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, well, it''s time for a cultural rest."

 Chapter 198 - Sin City

    The second guard was shocked by Evan''s actions. He had not expected that a seemingly simple guy could do something like that.


    The man didn''t even dare to attack Evan, he didn''t have the courage to do it. He knew that Evan would kill him just as quickly.


    While the man was trying to figure out what to do in such a situation, Evan walked past him with a calm expression on his face.


    Most of Is was the slums, and that''s where Evan found himself. He looked around and thought to himself, <I haven''t seen streets like this in a long time. There was dirt everywhere, broken-down houses, dpidated walls, and lots of poor people walking around in torn and old clothes. Although, only that way such a ce could look.>


    Evan passed a narrow alleyway where three people were talking. A man''s gruff voice was heard, "Listen, buddy, we''re protecting you from bandits, and that''s why you have to share with us."


    He was tall, bald, and dressed in simple leather armor.


    The young and frail-looking guy stammered back, "I don''t have any money...I don''t have enough for food...please..."


    Bam.


    The second man immediately punched him in the stomach and said harshly: "You know, you could be sold on the ck market and get a lot of money. My brother and I are good people, and that''s why we protect you, and you don''t want to share with us?!"


    After such a hard blow, the youngd could barely keep his feet. With trembling hands, he handed them a pouch of copper coins.


    "AHAHA, okay then, we''ll be back next month. Have a good job."


    The bald man said contentedly and headed for the exit. But suddenly they saw a tall young man in a long ck coat. Evan was standing at the end of the alley leaning against the wall. He stared at the bandits with a curious look.


    "You, what do you want?!" One of them asked rudely.


    They thought Evan wanted to deal with them for robbing the guy.


    "You''ve just said you could sell this guy on the ck market. That means you know where it is, right?" Evan said calmly. He wasn''t interested in this guy''s fate, he needed to find the entrance to the ck market, and these two could help him with that.


    One bandit smirked: "Sure, this town is one big ck market, but I know what you mean. Five silver coins, and I''ll take you there."


    Evan nodded and put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out five silver coins.


    Evan''s pockets were not full of coins, they were empty. When he put his hand in his pocket, he simply pulled those coins out of his spatial ring. Evan knew where he was going and prepared in advance by exchanging gold coins for silver and copper coins.


    He tossed them to the man and said briefly: "Show the way."


    The bandit smiled contentedly and, with hispanion, headed for the exit of the alley, "Okay, follow me."


    In the slums, even five silver coins were a luxury. Most of the people here worked all day for just a few copper coins. There were many rich people in this city, but there were hundreds of times more poor people.


    "Wait!"


    They were about to leave when suddenly they heard the voice of the guy who had just been beaten and robbed.


    "§¡? What more do you want?" The bald man said, irritated. He didn''t want this guy to make him look bad in front of a wealthy client like Evan.


    The guy barely got to his feet, looked at Evan, and said: "Please, I need my money. I can''t survive without it!"


    Evan looked at him and calmly said: "What can you do for me? Do you know how to get into the ck market? Maybe you know something that might interest me?"


    The guy hesitated and, after seconds, replied, "No...I..."


    It was actually a rhetorical question. It was obvious that the guy had no way of knowing about such things. Evan didn''t want the guy to keep bothering him, so he let him know he was useless for him.


    "Let''s go." Said Evan to the two bandits as they walked out of the alley.


    The two men went after him, and the guy stayed in the alley.


    Evan wasn''t surprised by what he just had seen. In a city like this, such things were quite normal. The strong oppressed the weak, and there was no one to protect them. Whereas other developed cities had guards to keep order in the streets, here the guards created the mess.


    While following the two bandits, Evan saw a boy of about ten stealing bread from a vendor. Unfortunately, he was caught up, and instead of stale bread, he got a couple of bruises.


    < That''s the slums, but there''s also the central part where all the wealth of this city is concentrated. I wonder how different it is from the slums. There is nothing but poverty here. I hope I''ll manage to find a high-ss informer>, Evan thought.


    Ten minutester, two men had led him into a dark alley. They reached arge, inconspicuous gate.


    The gate was old and dpidated. It looked as if it would fall apart in a few months.


    The bald man knocked on the gate six times.


    The gate creaked open, but only slightly, as it was held back by a thick iron chain. Through this slit, a muscr man could be seen, who said briefly: "Codeword."


    The bald man muttered something quietly, and then the guard removed the iron chain and let them in.


    They entered, and the bald man turned to Evan: "Are you interested in anything else? I know this ce well, it''s one area in the slums that you might call a ck market. Here you can buy anything you want, only pay."


    In Is and especially in the slums, the ck market was not concentrated in any one ce. It was divided into several districts, each patronized by some criminal organization.


    It was impossible to enter these areas unless one knew the code and where the entrance was located. There was not a single soul in that dark alleyway where the gate was located. It was impossible to enter this ce by ident. Moreover, no one was allowed in without the code anyway.


    Evan dipped his hand into his pocket and took out a silver coin, and threw it into the hands of the bandit.


    "First, tell me the codeword, and second, show me where the best informer is around here," Evan said calmly.


    The bald man caught the coin and quickly said: "The codeword is - "The Fallen Coin soars to the heavens." What about the informer... there''s one who''s undoubtedly the best here, but..."


    "But, what?"


    "Well...If you want to meet him, I''ll just tell you where the ce is. No amount of money is worth going back to that psycho..."


    Evan was surprised. He could clearly see the fear in the man''s eyes. Still, Evan had nothing to worry about, he was quite capable of standing up for himself.


    "Okay, tell me where I need to go."

 Chapter 199 - The Blindfold

    Evan asked the location of the informant, and one of the bandits quickly replied, "Just go straight ahead, and you''ll see a big building from the white wood. It''s the only well-kept building in the ce, huh. Next, act yourself, it gives me the creeps when I''m thinking of that psycho..."


    Evan nodded and headed in the indicated direction.


    <Hmm, why are they so afraid of a simple informant? What could be so scary about him?>


    He didn''t understand why when the bandits talked about the informant, there was fear in their eyes. Evan was wary, he sensed that this informant was not simple at all. But, he didn''t change his mind about going to him, only someone like this would be able to answer his questions.


    <This is one of the crime centers of this city, but the streets in the slums look much scarier and horrible.>


    In Evan''s opinion, this neighborhood didn''t look like a den of Is main criminals, but a residential area of wealthy citizens. The buildings were old, but most of them were not yet falling apart. The streets were pretty clean whenpared to those in the slums. There were no bandits taking money from anyone or little thieves. It was quiet here, but that was just a cover.


    Evan could clearly sense a tense aura hanging over the ce. Everyone kept a close eye on anyone who passed there. The main criminal bosses conducted their business there, the ces where they would not be disturbed.


    After a few minutes, Evan came to the ce the bald man was talking about. It was an old,rge building built of valuable white wood. Evan looked at the hanging sign in the shape of a pig''s head and thought to himself:


    <So this is a regr bar? Could it be that those two have deceived me? Maybe I''ve juste to the wrong ce?>


    He didn''t understand how an informant could be in such a noisy and crowded ce. Nevertheless, Evan decided to go inside anyway and see if the ce had what he needed. Once inside Evan was a bit surprised, there was no one there.


    <There are so many tables, but no one is sitting at them and this ce is definitely not closed...>.


    As Evan pondered what was happening here, he saw a tall blond man walk up to the bar. He was dusting a ss indifferently and didn''t even look at Evan.


    Evan took a slow step in his direction and said: "I need to see the informant."


    He decided to cut right to the chase, that was the only way to behave in ces like this. Everyone here understood everything.


    The blond man put his ss aside and looked serenely at Evan.


    He didn''t say anything back to Evan, instead, the man pulled a in parchment scroll from under the table.


    Evan began to realize that something was going wrong, so he tried to cast a spell, but it was toote by then.


    The man poured some mana into the parchment scroll, and the next second, the formation was activated. Evan was right in the middle of it, and now he felt like that monster in the "Half-Dead Forest."


    Whoosh.


    When the formation was activated, walls of darkness appeared around Evan. Evan tried to escape, but he didn''t make it. He was trapped in this dark dungeon, and what''s more, he couldn''t even cast any of his spells. For some reason unknown to him, the mana didn''t want to transform into the form he wanted. The flow of mana was disrupted.


    Bam.


    Evan started pounding on the walls of the dungeon, but it didn''t work. He was strong enough to destroy the steel b with his bare hands, but those walls didn''t care.


    Click.


    Suddenly there was a snap of the fingers, and the walls began to narrow. Evan didn''t know what to do in such a situation. He couldn''t draw the demon''s sigil and activate it, he didn''t have time for that.


    Despite the growing danger, Evan took a deep breath and calmed down. He needed to find another way out of this situation.


    <I can''t break through these walls, but... there''s one ce that''s unprotected. Evan thought to himself and took a powerful punch to the floor. Only there wasn''t a dark wall there, breaking the floor wouldn''t destroy the formation, but Evan had enough power to punch a hole in the floor.


    Bam.


    Evan struck with all his might. The punch was powerful enough to shake the entire room. But, to Evan''s surprise, his punch was stopped by a magical barrier that covered the entire room from the inside. It was a trap from which it was impossible to escape, but Evan had got some results.


    The barrier absorbed the force from his blow, but it didn''t disappear right away. It spread throughout the room until it finally dissipated. The energy waves affected other parts of this formation and prevented it from working.


    Then the dark walls disappeared, and the formation stopped working. It is worth noting that this situation was an exception to the rule. It was impossible to get out of a formation like this just by hitting it correctly.


    This time Evan only seeded because the formation, or rather its supports, were set up within the barrier he hit. Moreover, the formation itself was not particrly stable, while Evan''s blow was very strong.


    When the dark walls had been gone, Evan didn''tsh out at the emotionless blond. He sensed that something was not right here. Thanks to his knowledge of formations, Evan knew why he could get out of this trap.


    Evan had the impression that the whole thing was a setup. If he really wanted to kill him, there was no reason to put the supports of the formations in the radius of the protective barrier. Evan didn''t understand why they would do something like that.


    Click.


    Suddenly a door was heard opening not far from the bar. A middle-aged man with thick ck hair and light stubble walked in. His distinguishing feature was the blindfold, hiding his left eye.


    The man looked at Evan and said with a smirk: "I think you want to kill me now, I see, but you shouldn''t act hastily. You''vee here to learn something, haven''t you? You''ve passed my test, so if you want to know something, follow me."


    As the informant finished talking, he headed for the door, Evan called out to him, "What if I kill you after I find out what I needed to know?"


    The man smiled and said briefly: "You can try if you want."


    After those words, the informant left. Evan decided to follow him. At this point, he was really going to kill this man as soon as he got the information.


    After a while, Evan found himself in the informant''s office. The man sat down in a leather chair and said: "I''ll answer the question you want to ask me right away. Yes, everyone whoes here is subjected to such an ordeal, and some of them die."


    Evan didn''t answer anything, sat down across from the man, and quietly said: "I need to find out where I can find one dark organization, what''s the price?"


    "AHAHAHAHA, guy, I don''t take money as a price, I need something else."


    At that moment, the informant dropped the blindfold from his left eye. It looked as if some sort of seal had been put on it.


    "The price is your memories!"

 Chapter 200 - Memories

    "The price is... memories?" Evan was puzzled, he didn''t understand why the informant would need the memories of aplete stranger. Moreover, Evan didn''t understand how the memories could be a price, though he assumed it was all about the man''s unusual eye.


    "Yes, it is. And if that doesn''t suit you, then get out of here. How many of your memories I''ll look at depends on the price of the question. The more valuable the information is, the more memories I''ll want to look at."


    "So you''re not going to steal my memories. You''re just getting inside my head, but why do you do that? What''s the use of a random person''s memories?" Evan asked.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, it''s obvious, I''m a collector! I collect memories, I think I''m the only one of my kind." The man replied loudly.


    At that moment, Evan realized his question had been a foolish one.


    <Damnit, he''s an informant, obviously, by looking through the memories of others, he can learn about a huge number of things. His strange conditions confused me a little. What''s more, from the looks of it, he''s not going to use any special spell, his eye will do all the work. I wonder how he''s got that ability.>


    "You do charge an unusual fee, indeed. But I''ll ask my question first." Evan said calmly. If the informant would tell him how to find the "Demonic Tree" members, he was willing to let this man look at his memories.


    The man didn''t answer anything and just nodded affirmatively.


    "I''ll be brief, where can I find members of the "Demonic Tree" and how do I join this organization," Evan said coldly. If the informant didn''t give him an answer, Evan would just kill him.


    The man looked at Evan with a thoughtful face and said slowly: "Your question really isn''t an easy one. I don''t know where the members of the "Demonic Tree" are now, they''re a very secretive organization, and they don''t leave any witnesses. But, there have been some rumors recently that will definitely interest you."


    "The price?"


    The informant smirked: "I want to look at all your memories, you''re pretty young and hardly had time to see much of this world."


    <Maybe, kill him and be done with it?> Evan thought after hearing the informant''s demand.


    Evan was puzzled by request. There were a hundred times more memories in his head than the informant could have even imagined. Moreover, they were the memories of three different people: his former, his present, and the memories of the body''s previous owner.


    Evan smiled and said: "Okay, I think you''ll be surprised, but goods first or you''ll get nothing. I assure you, you will regret it if you miss this chance."


    The informant hesitated, normally the customers didn''t put any conditions on him. He was always the one in charge of the whole process. In his opinion, though, Evan wouldn''t be able to go away anyway. There were many more formations set up in this building, and unlike the one in the hall, they werebat, not a simple test for the clients.


    "Okay, you win. But, don''t tter yourself, it''s just a rumor, and most of what I''m about to tell you may be just fiction."


    "As I said before, the "Demonic Tree" is a very secretive organization, and they conduct their business very quietly and inconspicuously. If you''ve delved a little deeper into the matter, I think you''ve already known that there is something they''re looking for. It''s an easy guess. The only thing left to do is find out exactly where the "Demonic Tree" members are right now.


    So far, Evan hadn''t heard anything new. He had indeed long since realized for himself that the "Demonic Tree" was doing some kind of research and searching.


    "For starters, there are ancient ruins in the "Hills of Bloody Falls," and they are definitely of interest to the members of the "Demonic Tree." But if that were all I knew, I wouldn''t charge you even a copper coin. A monster of the third rank guards the entrance to the ruins, and the group that was sent to the ruins can''t deal with it yet. They are preparing some kind of powerful formation, and they need time to do it."


    "Moreover, I know what this monster is. It possesses an extremely dangerous poison. Even if the group can kill the monster, one of them will definitely be seriously injured. That person won''t die, but he will have to retreat and heal his wounds. They don''t have a powerful antidote that would kill the poison instantly. It''s up to you how to proceed. Again, the data can change at any moment." The informant finished his lengthy monologue.


    Evan immediately asked: "How many days are they nning to start this operation?"


    The man held his hands apart, "I don''t know, there''s a chance they''ve even gone by now. That they''re in the "Hills of Bloody Falls" is just a rumor. But, if it''s all true, it might take a few days to prepare such a powerful formation. If I were you, I''d move out as early as tomorrow. By the way, they are unlikely to go back to the nearest base for resources, they can buy everything they need in this town."


    <This is more interesting... even now, some of them may be in the city, but I have no way to find them, and it makes no sense. If they need to use a formation to deal with the monster of the third rank, that means they''re at the stage - "Two-Pointed Star." I won''t be able to deal with such strong opponents right now.>


    Evan nodded and calmly said: "Okay, you can start."


    He was curious to know how this procedure would work, Evan also wanted to ask this informant something else.


    The informant smiled: "You don''t have to do anything, just rx. I''ll supervise the whole process."


    The next moment the seal on the man''s left eye glowed brightly, Evan was immediately hit with a highly unpleasant sensation, as if someone was getting inside his head. However,pared to when life was being taken out of him as payment, the sensation was not as disgusting.


    The informant was surprised at Evan''s restraint. Usually, the other clients were more emotional and even aggressive in such situations. Some of them the informant had to knock out forcibly.


    <So, let''s see what we have here...>. The informant thought, and his consciousness was transported to a strange space. There was nothing there but a single door.


    That door was the entrance to Evan''s memories. The informant opened it and found himself among thousands of shards of constantly changing images. These shards were Evan''s memories.


    Because the body''s previous owner had spent almost his entire life in prison, some of the memories were monotonous and dull. But, Evan had recently memorized the contents of 20,000 books. It was a tremendous amount of information, and thanks to the demon''s power, Evan remembered the contents of each book perfectly.


    Whoosh.


    Hundreds of shards headed toward the informant. He absorbed the information like a sponge, now he knew what and when Evan did, every detail.


    After a while, the informant emerged from this space and returned to the real world, and his eye stopped glowing.


    Nevertheless, he did not notice another door in that space, dark and unusually creepy.. Behind that door were Evan''s memories of his past life.

 Chapter 201 - The Change Of The Parties

    The informant hadn''t seen Evan''s memories from his past life, but he was amazed at what he was able to see. Two things surprised him, the first was the power of the demons Evan used, and the second was the dark space inside the young man where the ck lion and the giant rat slept. It was something unbelievable.


    The informant looked at Evan and asked, stunned: "Who the hell are you? Those weird demon spells and those two entities..."


    The man was in real shock. Evan was also surprised, but for a very different reason.


    <Is... my power different from what the members of the "Demonic Tree" use? I''m sure a man like him must surely have information about some of the spells the members of the "Demonic Tree" use. What''s more, he doesn''t seem to have seen the memories from my past life, otherwise, he wouldn''t have been shocked but horrified. Okay, I''ll find out for myself now.>


    Evan let the informant see his memories not because it was the price for his services. He was curious to know how the ability worked and what the informant''s reaction would be. Now Evan had no reason to let him live.


    Evan had already used the "Eye of Truth" and seen the informant''s "Pir of Sou "l. The man was at the stage - "One Pointed Star" - and had broken through the first "Barrier." He was stronger than Evan from that point of view, but in a real fight, it wasn''t just the strength level that was decisive.


    Evan''s crimson "Warp" swirled, and his arms were enveloped in darkness a secondter. He instantly attacked the informant, aiming straight for the heart. The man managed to bounce aside to activate one of the formations in the building.


    Dozens of chains instantly emerged from the walls and tried to grab Evan, but Evan had already cast "Ball Lightning" by that moment. The high-powered electrical discharge destroyed all the chains in a single attack.


    "You fucking madman! Do you think you can attack me in my own house?! You''re a real idiot!" Shouted the man and activated two more formations.


    Moreover, at that moment, a tall blond man burst into the room. He attacked Evan sharply. The young man dodged a direct hit, and turned around with all his might, and kicked his opponent in the head.


    To Evan''s surprise, the blond man''s head flew off his shoulders and into the wall, but he still continued to fight. What''s more, there was no blood flowing from his neck. Only then did Evan realize that the blond man was not a man but a living puppet.


    < It''s interesting, I couldn''t even tell the difference between him and an average person. I thought it was just some silent and cold person.>


    Whoosh.


    Evan cast the fireball once more and destroyed the living puppet. Its parts were scattered all over the room.


    But, by that point, Evan was already in huge trouble, the informant had activated dozens of prearranged formations. In just a few seconds, Evan was immobilized, and his mana flows were blocked. He couldn''t even move a finger.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you amused me. It''s a shame you destroyed that puppet, they''re worth a lot, but you''re definitely more valuable. You know demon spells that even the members of the "Demonic Tree" aren''t aware of, just great."


    The informant made sure that Evan''s hands were firmly grasped. He couldn''t let Evan draw and activate some demon''s sigil.


    "What am I supposed to do with you? Should I sell you, or maybe you can teach me how to use these strange spells? Then I''ll probably let you go, hahah." He was pleased that he could grab Evan, but a secondter, the man realized something was wrong.


    Evan was calm, and there was no emotion on his face. At that moment, one of Evan''s recent memories shed through the informant''s mind. His face contorted with horror, and he tried to escape, but it was toote.


    "Sigil of 70th Demon - Prince Seere, activation," Evan said calmly.


    At that moment, the sigil drawn on Evan''s back glowed brightly.


    The red energy appeared around him, and a secondter, there was a snow-white knight''s spear in his hand. All chains were instantly destroyed.


    The informant activated the most powerful protection spell he had. Moreover, he used all of his magical artifacts to maximize this spell. A crystal shield appeared in front of him, it was strong enough to withstand the attack of a second-rank monster.


    Swing.


    Evan swung his spear, and the powerful shield was shattered into tiny shards, and the informant''s hand was hurt. Half of the entire building was destroyed, a deafening explosion created by that single swing alone rumbled through the entire area.


    The informant looked at Evan in horror. He was unlucky to have been sote in paying attention to that memory. Before he left for Is, Evan had drawn a demon sigil on his back. He''d made it just right for these dangerous situations. The informant couldn''t go through every one of Evan''s memories in one second, it took time. He had seen the most vivid and memorable ones first, and then the rest, so he didn''t notice this fact, which was fatal for him.


    Evan calmly approached the man. He plunged the spear into the ground, and the whole building shook. This weapon had incredible destructive power.


    He leaned over and calmly said: "You''ve looked at my memories, now it is my turn."


    The man didn''t know what Evan was talking about. Evan didn''t have an eye as unique as his, the man thought Evan didn''t know what he was talking about. But, Evan, too, was capable of seeing other people''s memories.


    Evan quickly cut himself and drew a sigil.


    "Sigil of 71st Demon - Duke Dantalion, the second level, activation."


    The book appeared in the young man''s "Nirvana," and Evan immediately said his wish. As a price, the demon asked for 20 years of his life. It was a lot, but now Evan was willing to make a simr sacrifice.


    Any informant knew hundreds of times more than other people, but this man was a unique case. Because of this man could look at other people''s memories, he knew a thousand times more than others. There were the memories of dozens or even hundreds of people in him.


    When the price had been paid, a tattoo appeared in the palm of Evan''s hand in the shape of a book with its mouth open.


    "No, no, no! Let me go, please!" The informant begged for mercy, but Evan didn''t even move.


    He roughly grabbed the man''s head, and the tattoo glowed. At that moment, he began to devour the informant''s memories.


    Evan was taking them for himself, not just looking at them like the informant did. It could be told that at this point, the informant''s identity was slowly disappearing. There was an enormous number of memories, and it took some time to absorb them all.


    Evan removed his hand from the man''s face, and the tattoo disappeared from his palm.


    "Done." Mumbled Evan looking at the nk stare of the informant. The man was now a mere puppet with no memories. Evan took everything out of him without a trace.


    Bam.


    Evan delivered a swift palm strike to the man''s chest, killing him.

 Chapter 202 - The Chase

    <So many memories... he''s managed to gather a lot of information in his life. But... most of his memories rte to this town, and besides useful memories, he just has a massive amount of junk.>


    Frankly, Evan had expected more. There wasn''t much that was truly useful. Now he was thoroughly familiar with most of Is, except for its central part. Oddly enough, the informant didn''t have many memories of that ce.


    Nevertheless, Evan had learned what he needed. He wondered what this strange eye was, and now he had the answer to his question.


    <That eye is called the "Magic Imnt," hmm... it''s pretty useful but hazardous to put it in the body>.


    Once upon a time, when the informant was still young, he''d received a severe wound and lost his left eye. A cure that could heal such a wound was costly, but he quickly amassed the right amount of money when he started trading information.


    That day he went to the center of Is to buy the necessary medicine, but he bumped into the ce where the so-called "Magic Imnts" were sold. The informant decided to take a risk and install one instead of his eye.


    <Hmm, these imnts can give different abilities. This informant didn''t know the right spell to view memories, but thanks to this eye, he could do it. Simply put, these imnts are a kind of spell built into your body, like evolved monsters. It''s disgusting.>


    Evan was disgusted at the very thought of changing his body and turning into some monster. "Magic Imnts" were incredibly expensive, and there was also a great risk of dying when they were installed. In Evan''s opinion, only real fools would dare do such a thing.


    "Well, I''ve got to get out of here, I''m pretty far along in my quest. My next destination is the "Hills of Bloody Falls." Mumbled Evan as he walked out of the ruined building.


    The snow-white spear was still in his hands. It would only disappear if Evan wished it to, or until all the energy in the spear was used up. He could take a few more swings before all the energy ran out. But the energy was also lost over time, Evan only had about five minutes left.


    Evan knew that his actions would get him in trouble. Obviously, this informant had a patron, and Evan''s actions had caused someone a lot of trouble. Evan, however, was not worried about his safety. He would force his way out of the city if he had to.


    Thest time the help of the 70th demon, Prince Seere, cost Evan 20 years of his life, but he had grown much stronger since then. To use this destructive spear, Evan sacrificed only three years of his life.


    When Evan emerged from the half-destroyed building, three men were already waiting for him. Each of them had an aggressive attitude, they didn''t like that Evan thought he could do whatever he wanted here.


    "Boy, do you have any idea what you''ve done? If you wanted to kill somebody, you should have done it quietly and not in this ce! What''s more, you killed a man who obeyed the very..."


    Before the man could finish his sentence, Evan swung his spear, decapitating all three of them. The building behind those two was destroyed as well, it was unprecedented power.


    <Well, I don''t have anything else to do at this ce, so I guess it''s time to get out of here>. Evan thought and cast the "Ghost Step."


    Evan really had no reason to stay here. He had the information he needed, and fighting the local bandits made no sense.


    When he cast the "Ghost Step'', his speed increased considerably. He turned into a blur and quickly disappeared from the sight of his enemies. They tried to chase him, but by then, Evan was pacing leisurely among the streets of the slums.


    <Damn, this spell is exhausting. I''ve only taken a few dozen steps, and my legs hurt like I''ve been running continuously for a week. But now I can head for the "Hills of Bloody Falls."


    Evan thought as he left Is. He hadn''t been in the city long, but he had made a lot of noise andmotion.


    < They''ll probably send someone after me, but as ast resort, I can use the power of the 70th demon, Prince Seere. Three years for such a powerful weapon isn''t much, especially considering my current lifespan.>


    Evan didn''t hesitate and went in search of the ancient ruins in the "Hills of Bloody Falls." It was there that he would have seen the members of the "Demonic Tree" for the first time. Evan was itching to join the dark side of this world. He wanted to know their secrets, their goals, and to see their power.


    ...


    Somewhere in the center of Is.


    "Boss...he was killed..." A frightened man said.


    The muscr man sitting in the leather chair took a drag on his cigarette and said: "So, find him and fucking kill him! Why the fuck did he even get out of there alive? He killed people and destroyed some houses on my property. I hope you understand that you must put his head on my desk by tomorrow morning?"


    "Yes, boss!" The man quickly replied. He immediately began assembling a team in pursuit of Evan.


    They didn''t know where Evan had gone, for he was too quickly out of sight. But they had a man who was capable of finding Evan. He knew a very rare and extremely useful spell that could be used to track down almost anyone.


    ...


    A few hourster, Evan reached the "Hills of Bloody Falls."


    <This ce is so amazing, these bloody waterfalls look menacing and mesmerizing at the same time. I hope I won''t spend too much time searching for ancient ruins>.


    Evan would find a ce guarded by a third rank monster, climb higher and just wait for his chance. His goal was to track down that "Demonic Tree" member who would be wounded after a confrontation with this monster. Evan was going to talk to him, he couldn''t just show up in front of the group. They would probably kill him.


    But, if his interlocutor were wounded and attacked him, Evan would use the power of the demon and kill him.


    <I hope it works out, of course, they''re a secretive organization, but new peoplee to them somehow? They should definitely be interested in my candidacy.>


    In the meantime, a group of five was going on Evan''s trail. Evan couldn''t get away with what he did.


    They were an elite squad of one of the five strongest organizations in Is. Each of them was at the "Two - Pointed Star" stage, and their leader had already broken through his first "Barrier" at that stage.


    They were vastly superior to Evan in strength and speed. In just a few hours, they would reach him, and then Evan would have no chance of surviving.


    Evan moved leisurely toward his goal.. He decided to climb one of the highest hills to see the valley from above and see where the ruins were.

 Chapter 203 - The Ruins

    Evan practically climbed the hill, and at that moment, he remembered that he had a chance to look at the valley from above. There was no need to explore everything by himself.


    "Reykar!" Pronounced the young man, and the next moment a one-eyed raven appeared on his shoulder.


    "Would you be so kind as to fly around the area and try to find something that looks like ruins? A monster of the third rank guards them, be careful."


    Caw!


    Hearing Evan''s request, the raven pped its wings and flew up. Evan hoped the raven could quickly find the right ce.


    <Well, I should also look at this ce from above>.


    Evan thought, and after a few minutes, he was on top of the highest hill. Evan had taken a long time to climb it, but now the "Hills of Bloody Falls" was at his fingertips.


    Evan looked around, he peered into the farthest corners of this valley, but unfortunately, he couldn''t see anything.


    <Darn it, I doubt these ruins are on the outskirts of the "Hills of Bloody Falls." They''re definitely around here, but they''re too well hidden. Perhaps, they are beyond those hills over there...>.


    Evan thought, looking at the two hills in the distance. They were more significant than the other ones, and there was a very dense forest in front of them. The ruins could definitely be in such a ce, and Evan had no other variants.


    Sure, the ruins could be hidden by some kind of spell or illusion, but Evan knew that as long as a monster of the third rank guarded them, it was not worth even considering those options.


    Evan decided not to waste time and headed towards this forest.


    At the same time, a group of one of the five strongest organizations in Is was approaching. In about two more hours, they would reach Evan.


    Evan moved carefully, trying not to put himself in danger. He didn''t want to encounter any second-ranked monsters that inhabited this forest. But, a group of five elite magicians was moving at full speed, they had no one to fear. There were several third-rank monsters in this area, but each of them spent most of the time in theirir.


    For the same reason, one such monster guarded the ancient ruins, it simply chose it as itsir. And it could not allow outsiders to invade and destroy it.


    When Evan reached the forest, Reykar returned. Unfortunately, he didn''t see anything that looked like ruins. That could only mean one thing - the ruins were well hidden. They could not be seen from above, which meant they were either under dense tree crowns or in some kind of cave.


    Evan hadn''t seen any other such dense forests in the area, so he felt he was headed in the right direction.


    <Members of the "Demonic Tree" could be in this forest right now. Although they might still be in town and preparing to kill the third-rank monster, I can''t know that for sure.>


    The informant hadn''t lied to Evan. He wasn''t sure what the members of the "Demonic Tree" were doing then. Evan found no hidden details in his memories.


    At this point, everything depended on luck. If they were still in town, Evan could wait for them, but his only lead was lost if they had already gone.


    To be safer, Evan decided to climb a tree and move on the treetops. After casting the "Ghost Step," he was able to take very long and high jumps.


    If he was below, he might identally stumble upon these ruins and encounter a monster of the third rank. Being in a tall tree, he would be safe, at least until someone noticed him.


    ...


    Evan jumped to the next tree and held his breath. Through the foliage of the trees, he could clearly see the outline of the very ruins he had been trying to find for so long. They were indeed in this forest. Evan acted very carefully, trying not to make noise, for the very monster of the third rank was also there.


    The ruins were a half-destroyed stone structure going deep underground. A huge wolf with three tails and three eyes slept just in front of the entrance. His fur was turquoise, and from time to time, a lightning bolt passed through it.


    <Hmm, based on the informant''s memories, this monster must possess extremely strong venom, but it didn''t seem to. Perhaps its fangs or ws are poisonous?>


    The wolf''s body was electrified, clearly indicating its ability to harness the power of lightning. But, there was nothing to indicate that this monster had venom. This confused Evan a bit.


    Unfortunately, Evan could not know the exact power of this monster, the "Eye of Truth" could not show the "Pir of Soul" of a creature that surpassed the magician by more than one level.


    The members of the ''Demonic Tree" hadn''te here yet, so Evan decided to prepare for a possible battle. He cut himself and drew two demon sigils on his palms. The monster was quite far away, so it paid no attention to the faint smell of blood.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed, he decided to hide the sigils with gloves and his face with a ck and white mask. Until he joined the "Demonic Tree", Evan wasn''t going to reveal his identity.


    < I''ll have to wait for them, there are no other options>, Evan thought, looking at the monster sleeping in the distance.


    It would be about an hour before a group of assassins from Is would arrive. Evan didn''t still know he had been tracked.


    ...


    He was sitting high up in a tree waiting for the members of the "Demonic Tree" to show up, and then about fifty minutester, he heard some rustling in the woods.


    "Finally," Evan muttered quietly. Evan had waited a long time for this, but atst, he saw members of the most dangerous organization.


    He saw three men in the red mantles approaching the monster. They acted very carefully so that the monster would not notice them before their time. There was an image of ck wood at their mantles, and their faces were hidden with demons` masks. Evan couldn''t make out which one was male and which one was female.


    <Why aren''t they separated? Shouldn''t they set up some kind of formation to kill or immobilize this monster?>


    The Lightning Wolf was an incredibly formidable opponent. Its aura was very powerful, most magicians at the -"Three-Pointed Star" stage wouldn''t handle it. Evan didn''t understand why the members of the "Demonic Tree" weren''t preparing the formation. But, after a minute, it was obvious that they had already prepared everything a long time ago.


    One of them pulled a spell scroll from his spatial ring. He ced it on the ground and began to infuse mana. The point was that they had ced pirs in the right ces beforehand. They camouged them well, so the formation remained invisible and could be activated at any moment.


    Thest missing piece was the spell scroll that a "Demonic Tree" member had pulled out.. Once he filled the formation with mana and activated it, the battle would begin.

 Chapter 204 - The Skirmish

    A formation capable of dealing with a monster of the third rank required the activation of a great deal of mana. It would take the member of the "Demonic Tree" about five minutes to fill it with mana and activate it.


    Evan watched their actions closely. There was a monster, the members of the "Demonic Tree" and Evan near the ruins. The monster didn''t know that it would be attacked soon, the members of the "Demonic Tree" didn''t know that Evan was watching them, and as for Evan, he didn''t know that there were assassins following him.


    <This formation is very formidable, it will be able to kill or at least stun the monster. That''s not really a good thing...>.


    If none of the "Demonic Tree" members were injured, Evan would find himself in a difficult situation. It was too dangerous to just show up in front of them and try to talk. Evan was annoyed, there was nothing he could do about it.


    He had already used the "Eye of Truth" and looked at the "Pirs of Soul" of the three of them. Each of them was at the "Two-pointed Star" stage. Evan wouldn''t be able to handle even one of them.


    After about three minutes, Evan saw a group of five men approaching them. They were moving straight toward Evan, and he quickly realized what was going on.


    <How have they tracked me down? Shit, though... that''s just fine! All I have to do is bump these people and the "Demonic Tree" members together. If they fight, somebody is sure to get hurt. But, what about the monster? I doubt he''ll continue sleeping quietly while eight people are fighting in front of it.>


    While Evan was thinking about what he should do, the "Demonic Tree" members had already noticed that their location had been revealed. They didn''t know that these people hade here to kill Evan, not for them.


    The two members of the ''Demonic Tree'' nodded silently and headed toward the group of five. The third member of the squad didn''t get distracted and continued to fill the formation with mana. The appearance of the group from Is was unexpected, but it wasn''t a problem anyway.


    <There are only two of them, while those are five, and the squad leader outnumbers the "Demonic Tree" members. Will they really be able to handle them? Their battle is going to be fierce and noisy. The Lightning Wolf will definitely wake up.>


    Evan thought, and the next moment one member of the "Demonic Tree" cast an unusual spell. He was wearing a green demon''s mask.


    The transparent dome covered a huge area but stopped expanding when it reached the formation, otherwise, the Lightning Wolf would have woken up. They couldn''t let that happen.


    At the exact moment, Evan felt very strange, it was as if all the sounds from outside had disappeared.


    <I see, so that''s one of the reasons why the "Demonic Tree" is a very secretive organization. As long as they fight within this dome, no one will even know what''s going on here. This dome blocks all sounding in and out.>


    Evan concluded as he watched another member of the "Demonic Tree" attack the group of bandits. He was wearing a yellow mask.


    His "Warp" spun, and a sword created by wind currents began to appear in his hands. It looked like a small tornado. Next, he cast another spell. It was like acid rain that immediately fell on the group of bandits from Is.


    <Hmm, apparently he''s a "Creator," but he''s going to fight at close range. I wonder if that''s his fighting style or if he''s doing it because the size of this dome is limited. If he doesn''t act with the utmost care, a monster of the third rank will wake up, and then none of them are likely to leave here alive>, Evan concluded as he watched the events unfold.


    "What the hell! Why are the "Demonic Tree" members here?!" One of the squad shouted in horror. They''de here to kill a runaway guy, and they ran into the strongest dark organization.


    "Don''t panic, there''s only two of them. We''ll kill them and be done with it!" Pronounced the squad''s leader and cast a spell.


    He sent a yellow lightning bolt toward a member of the "Demonic Tree." At the same moment, one of them cast a spell that summoned a huge wall of ice. It protected them from acid rain.


    Then the rest of the squad attacked the magician in the yellow demon mask. Fireballs, shards of ice, and deadly drops of water flew toward him. Yet, he had no intention of stopping or even defending himself.


    In seconds, the spells should have reached him and killed him, but suddenly a strange ss shield appeared in front of the "Demonic Tree" member.


    It had been summoned by his partner standing behind him. He was a "Summoner" and could easily protect hisrade from such attacks.


    The ss shield absorbed many spells, but suddenly a devastating beam flew out of its center. It was created by the energy the ss shield had just received, absorbing those spells. This spell provided both stunning protection and the ability to counterattack immediately.


    Whoosh.


    The magician in the yellow demon mask swung his sword, and a wind de flew toward the group. It was swift and killed two members of the squad instantly. What''s more, dozens of trees behind them were mowed down and fell to the ground with a rumble.


    The remaining members of the squad tried to run away, they were frightened by the power of the "Demonic Tree." Even though there were many more of them, none of them wanted to keep fighting.


    Unfortunately, they were not destined to escape. When they tried to escape, stone hands appeared from under the ground and grabbed them. Secondster, their heads flew off their shoulders.


    The magician in yellow mantle walked up to them and removed the spatial rings from them. He put them in a special box that was designed to carry the spatial rings. Otherwise, there was always the risk that they might explode if they contacted each other.


    <Astonishingly, they were able to deal with them so easily. Even though they are at the same stage, the "Demonic Tree" members are much stronger. The appearance of this group from Is was unexpected, but it did not change the situation in any way. Because of this dome, the wolf didn''t even notice that there had just been a fierce battle in front of it.>


    Evan decided he had to act on the situation. Maybe something would go wrong for the "Demonic Tree" members, and he could take advantage of it.


    As he pondered, the preparations for the formation had already been finished. The one who was not involved in the battle was the man in the red demon mask. Apparently, he was the head of this small group since he was the one who had filled the formation with mana.


    When everything was ready, he activated it. Only at that moment did the Lightning Wolf realize it was under attack and awaken from sleep.


    Nevertheless, it was already toote. Dozens of chains shackled the lightning wolf. They weren''t capable of killing it, but every link had poisonous spikes on it. After only a few seconds, the monster of the third rank had been put to sleep.


    <What an incredible aura... something simr I only felt when I watched Draven''s "Pir of Soul." If it weren''t for that formation, it would have easily destroyed half the forest...>, Evan thought.


    The man in the red demon mask calmly said: "Let''s go, we don''t have much time, we need to search these ruins."


    The others nodded, and the three of them headed towards the entrance to the ruins, but at that moment, the third wolf''s eye suddenly opened.

 Chapter 205 - The Third Eye

    Before the members of the "Demon Tree" were supposed to enter the ruins, the third eye of the Lightning Wolf suddenly opened. No one expected that something like this would happen. Everyone, including Evan, was sure that the monster would not wake up for the next few hours.


    <What the hell?> Evan thought, feeling the pressureing from the monster increase with every second. Evan even found it hard to breathe.


    A second after the third eye had opened, the lightning stopped appearing on the wolf''s body. His fur turned purple, and at that moment, everyone present vomited a mouthful of blood.


    "Damn... so that''s why it seemed strange to me that this monster doesn''t look poisonous, it was all about its third eye. How is it even possible to fight against such a creature?"


    Evan muttered, feeling the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. When the monster opened its third eye, its entire body emitted a strong poison. It was impossible to defend against this poison by ordinary methods. If you stopped breathing and did not inhale toxic fumes, the poison would still enter the body. A simple physical contact was enough.


    Evan immediately used the "Seal of Cleansing" and popped a few pills into his mouth. He had no other way to deal with such a severe poison.


    The members of the "Demonic Tree" had their own way of dealing with such poison. The man in the green demon mask put his hand to the ground, and a secondter, a white magic circle appeared on it. It glowed brightly and disappeared, but the poison had already been drained from their bodies. Moreover, now their bodies were covered with a transparent shell that prevented the pration of the poison.


    Fortunately, the wolf did not emit poison constantly. Otherwise, they would already be dead. Only at the moment when it opened its third eye was there a significant release of poisonous fumes. Moreover, the poison was dangerous not only for people but also for nts.


    Everything within five meters of the wolf rotted and dried up as if a wave of death had passed here, taking life with it.


    Suddenly, the monster roared, its furious roar shook the entire forest. The monster of the third rank was furious, and it was an absolute nightmare for all the inhabitants of the "Hills of Bloody Falls." No one knew what would happen in the next second.


    The chains were supposed to weaken the monster, but they were torn like silk threads, the members of the" Demonic Tree" clearly underestimated the strength of this three-eyed wolf.


    The wolf prepared to attack. It raised its paw and was about to bring it down on the members of the" Demonic Tree."


    <Are they going to die now?>. Evan had already seen the incredible strength of the "Demonic Tree" members, but there was no way they could cope with a monster of the third rank. They were inpletely different categories.


    Before the monster attacked, the third member of the "Demonic Tree" began to act. He wore a red demon mask and was themander of this small squad.


    At the same time, Evan finally saw the true power of the members of the "Demonic Tree" and one of their spells that was the reason why light organizations wanted to destroy them.


    The spatial ring lit up, and a shield appeared in the man''s hands in the red mask. But, a simple shield was not enough to protect against such a strong blow.


    At that moment, the man in the red mask said softly, "The Art of the Seven Princes of Hell, the first level - Leviathan Scales!"


    Suddenly, the aura of this person increased several times, and many scales appeared on his shield. They were not like the scales of a fish but as the scales of a water dragon. Their strength was extraordinary.


    Bam.


    The monster''s massive paw crashed down on the member of the" Demonic Tree." This strike could quickly destroy any second-rank artifact, but it couldn''t prate all the scales.


    A shock wave spread throughout the forest, and the man''s legs in the red mask sank several centimeters into the ground. Anyone who saw this scene would have thought that it was only his imagination.


    It was impossible for a magician at the " Two¨CPointed Star" stage to survive after being hit by a monster of the third rank. Moreover, the wolf couldn''t even destroy the shield, it only broke about a third of the scales.


    <What the?>


    To Evan''s surprise, the streams of water gushed out of the broken scales, which flooded the entire neighborhood. The monster didn''t like that it couldn''t kill these three with one blow. The wolf quickly waved its paw, and three wind des headed towards the" Demonic Tree" members. Two of them received deep but not fatal cuts.


    At the exact moment, a man in the red mask shouted: "Scatter!"


    Hearing themander''s voice, the members of the" Demonic Tree" quickly retreated. They couldn''t let the monster catch up and kill them, so the best option was to split up.


    Evan also decided to act. Everything turned out not as he initially had expected, but the situation turned out quite well for him. Two members of the "Demon Tree" were injured, and Evan decided to follow one of them.


    He cast the "Ghost Step" and ran at full speed after the man in the green demon mask. In his opinion, the "Summoner" was injured the most.


    < I hope this wolf won''t chase them, it would be very problematic>, Evan thought, following the member of the" Demonic Tree."


    Fortunately, the monster did not chase them. It stayed near itsir. There was nothing to fear since it had already driven away those who wanted to invade its house.


    Evan kept a fairly long distance and acted carefully. It was extremely difficult to notice him. Moreover, the "Summoner" did not think that someone was chasing him, now he urgently needed to find some kind of shelter to heal his wounds.


    <Excellent>. Evan thought as he watched the "Summoner" run into a cave under one of the hills.


    It was a quiet ce to heal the wounds, but it was also a great negotiation ce. If Evan couldn''t reach an agreement, he would simply kill the member of the" Demonic Tree" and look for another way to join this organization.


    After entering the cave, a" Demon Tree" member took off the green demon mask. She was a tall girl with short blond hair and emerald-green eyes. Now her face was distorted with pain.


    "Fuck, why did this wolf wake up?! Bitch!" She was clearly in a bad mood from what had happened. They spent a considerable amount of time and effort to create that formation, but the monster could still free itself and seriously injure them.


    "It''s good that Ryan was with us. If it weren''t for him, that blow would have turned us all into a pancake."


    She was talking about themander of their squad, who had cast an unusual spell and been able to protect himself and hisrades.


    Step.


    Suddenly, the girl heard someoneing in her direction.


    "Who''s here?!".


    Turning around, she saw a tall young man in a ck and white mask. The girl immediately prepared for a fight, but Evan stopped her.


    "No need, I didn''te here to fight, especially since I''m not your opponent," Evan said calmly.


    The girl was injured, but she was still much stronger than him. Evan wanted to talk to her, not fight. Of course, as ast resort, he would have to use everything he has to escape or seriously injure her.


    "Who are you?" The girl asked warily.


    She had already looked at Evan''s "Pir of the Soul" and realized that she was far superior to him in strength. But the girl did not know if anyone else was following her.


    "I think I need to introduce myself first."


    Evan took off his mask and said slowly, "My name is Ev..."


    But, before he could finish, the girl interrupted him: "Evan Lynch."

 Chapter 206 - I Know You

    "§¡? How do you know me?"


    Evan was sure he had never met this girl before. He didn''t understand how she could know him. Evan was wary, this situation seemed very strange to him.


    "Don''t worry, it''s nothing unusual, my name is Avice Ront. As you have already realized, I''m a member of the "Demonic Tree." Before I answer your question, tell me the purpose of your watching us and following me." Avice guessed the reasons for Evan''s actions, but she had to be sure of his intentions.


    Evan was silent for a while. He decided to answer honestly, there was no point in hiding anything, "It''s simple, I want to join you, and so I tried to find members of your organization to talk to. As you can see, I seeded."


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," Avice suddenlyughed.


    "Bitch, it even hurts tough, that monster''s beat me up so badly, sorry, but it''s really funny."


    Avice''s spatial ring glowed, and a small vial of blue liquid appeared in her hands. She quickly drank it and continued:


    "How do you think new peoplee into a secretive organization like the "Demonic Tree"?" Avice said calmly.


    This question threw Evan into a stupor. He wanted to answer that the recruits probably found the "Demonic Tree" members themselves, but he felt he had missed something. Some important detail kept slipping through him.


    "Evan, about a year and a half ago, the "Demonic Tree" found out about you. It''s not the recruits who find us. We pick the ones we want and offer to join us."


    "Hmm, that makes sense, but you took your time, you said a year and a half ago you found out about me? And in all that time, you never once tried to contact me?"


    It was strange for Evan, moreover, he didn''t even know what criteria the "Demonic Tree" used to select people for its ranks.


    "Well, it''s not time yet. You must realize that not everyone is worthy of joining us. Sure, strength and skills are important, but there are many other factors as well. I''m not the one who chooses the decent. But I know that my seniors consider you an up-anding candidate."


    "So why haven''t you stille after me if I''m so important?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    "It''s simple, you''re still too weak. You must break through the first "Barrier" on the "One-Pointed Star" stage to join us. That rule applies to everyone, with no exceptions. I was only noticed when I''d broken through my second "Barrier." If you haven''te here yourself, then as soon as you fulfilled the necessary conditions, you would have been found anyway."


    "I see, but what do they do with those who refuse? I doubt so many people want to join you, you don''t have the best reputation, I''d even say it''s the other way around."


    "Well, there are two options here. If a potential neer behaves aggressively, he will be killed, but they simply wipe their memory in other cases. It''s not that hard to do to someone much weaker than you", Avice replied calmly.


    Evan nodded: "Well, then, what should I do now? To break through my first "Barrier" and wait for youing?"


    "Hmm, not really. You''re a unique case, as far as I know, it''s only happened a few times when a candidate figured out the location of the "Demonic Tree" on his own. You''re really not allowed to join us now, but you don''t have to wait for theiring. When you break through your first "Barrier," you''lle to us yourself. Here it is."


    Avice said and threw a small, scarlet stone in Evan''s direction.


    "When you''re ready, put some mana into this stone, and all the information about one of our bases will appear in your mind. Just be careful, you have to get there without a mask, your face is known, and so you won''t be killed."


    "Okay, to be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be," Evan mumbled, moving the stone into the spatial ring.


    "Alright, I should be getting back now. I''ll be d to have you in our ranks."


    Avice was about to leave, but suddenly Evan stopped her.


    "Wait, I wanted to ask you something. Yourmander, you called him Ryan, what was that spell he used? And what was the "Seven Princes of Hell?"


    Evan was very interested in the spell that the magician in the red mask cast. He had never seen anything like it before, and given the power of this spell, Evan felt it had to do with demons.


    "The thing is, as you haven''t joined the organization yet, I can''t fill you in on the details. I can tell only one thing- to use this spell, you need to learn more about demons. That will be all."


    Avice left quickly, she needed to meet herrades and tell them about her sudden encounter.


    <I see, now I''m pretty sure that the ''Demonic Tree" use some other power, it''s different from mine...>.


    Evan was sure that the "Demonic Tree" knew nothing about the 72 demons whose power Evan used. What''s more, they had some kind of system of their own that Evan knew nothing about.


    <Am I the only one in this world with this kind of power? This could be my greatest trump card...>.


    Evan looked at the forest and wondered what he should do next. He didn''t want to go back to Is right now, but he didn''t particrly want to go to the Academy either.


    Crack.


    "What the..." While Evan was thinking over the situation, a wed paw of a monster appeared in the cave. Sharp ws dug into the stone wall and slowly sliced through it.


    "Fuck, I was too careless. This monster came here following the smell of Avice''s blood."


    Evan realized that he had acted recklessly. Blood attracted monsters, and Evan made the big mistake of staying in the cave.


    The monster was quiterge, it was five meters tall and could not fit into a cave that was only two meters high. It had a lean body, but it had incredibly long and sharp ws.


    Evan used the "Eye of Truth" and frowned. The monster''s "Pir of Soul" had one tform and three mes burning brightly on it. His opponent was equal in strength to the magician on the "One-Pointed Star" stage with three broken "Barriers." Now Evan could not handle such an opponent.


    In this situation, Evan had only one option - to run.


    Whoosh.


    He cast the "Ghost Step" and instantly got out of the cave. The monster didn''t hesitate to follow him. Evan moved as fast as he could, but the monster kept up with him.


    <Damn, I need to change tactics.>


    Evan decided to stop running in a straight line and started changing his direction often to throw the monster off bnce. But it didn''t help. Whenever the monster encountered any obstacle, it simply sliced it apart with a single swing.


    In just one minute of pursuit, the monster had already destroyed about a hundred trees.


    Evan originally wanted to bump this monster into the Lightning Wolf but gave up on the idea. It was too dangerous, the wolf could take them both out with a single attack.


    At that moment, Evan was heading for the two hills behind the forest.

 Chapter 207 - The Village

    Evan was running away from the monster, trying to escape. He changed trajectory and climbed into hard-to-reach ces, but his chaser was destroying everything in its path.


    <Fuck, it''s slowly catching up to me. It wouldn''t be bad to bump it into another monster. But unfortunately, I don''t know this area very well. I have no idea where other monsters might live here.>


    Evan thought, running into the ravine between the two hills. He had already passed the Lightning Wolf, it was too dangerous to approach it.


    The ravine was safe, there were no living creatures there, just lots of nts. Evan hoped there would be monsters, but he was wrong. All the weak monsters had already escaped from here, they sensed that this was where Evan and his chaser were headed.


    As Evan ran out of the ravine, he looked around for other monsters, but he had found quite another thing, to his surprise.


    <The vige...? >He was a bit confused as he unknowingly led the monster right into the vige.


    It was not far from the ravine, and the most ordinary people inhabited it. Anyone could think there was no way a vige could be in a ce that was crawling with monsters. But, there were several reasons for this strange phenomenon.


    First, monsters were not interested in ordinary people, of course, this was not a guarantee that a hungry monster could note and eat them, even though they didn''t have a single drop of mana.


    This vige remained intact and untouched because of its unique location. In front of it, there were two hills and a forest ruled by a Lightning Wolf. Most monsters were afraid to go near it, they had no reason to disturb such a dangerous foe.


    However, the vige was not only protected from the front but also all other sides. The vige was next to argeke that was home to a rtively strong creature. It was not a monster but a beast. The huge crocodile decided to guard this vige, but not out of the goodness of its heart. It was very profitable.


    Since the monsters could not attack the vige from the front because of the Lightning Wolf, they tried to approach from behind, but the crocodile, which had almost reached the second rank, was waiting for them. The predators became its victims. The vige was safe, and the crocodile got its food. For the same reason it decided not to touch people, they were the perfect bait.


    On the one hand, the people of this vige were lucky, their situation was unique. Thanks to theke and the safends, they had sustenance. As long as they stayed within the crocodile''s domain, they had nothing to worry about. But unfortunately, this peace could notst forever.


    Evan and the monster chasing him broke it down. Evan ran out of the ravine and found himself not far from the entrance to the vige. When people saw the monster, they got scared and scattered around the vige.


    <I didn''t expect to see a vige here, how do these people survive here?> Evan thought as he watched as the young ck-haired girl, along with her younger brother, ran towards their home.


    Roooooooaaaar!


    It wasn''t long before Evan had the answer to his question. A giant crocodile was on its way to meet them. It was about twice the size of the monster that was chasing Evan.


    Evan looked at the crocodile''s "Pir of Soul" and grinned.


    <Great, that''s the one I was looking for. It''s about time I got out of here>. Evan thought and quickly changed his direction. He wanted to leave the monster and the crocodile face-to-face.


    Luckily for him, the crocodile was very aggressive. It wanted to kill them both, but as Evan rushed in the other direction, all its attention shifted to the monster.


    Evan sighed in relief, but suddenly goosebumps ran down his body. He turned around and saw the monster continuing to run behind him.


    "Bitch, you got a few tons of meat in front of you, but you decided to keep chasing me. All right, let''s fight." Evan said angrily and cast the "Touch of the Abyss."


    He turned and struck the monster with his fist, but it easily dodged his blow and attacked in return. Its wed paws almost reached Evan, but at that moment, the crocodile''s shadow loomed over the two of them. It opened its mouth wide and quickly mmed it shut. The crocodile wanted to swallow both Evan and the monster at once, but it failed.


    Thanks to the "Ghost Step," Evan was able to retreat in time. The monster was also fast enough to dodge.


    Crack.


    The monster got angry and drove its ws into the crocodile''s mouth. They started fighting amongst themselves and forgot about Evan for a while.


    He backed away and had already covered ten meters when suddenly the crocodile roared. The beast was losing and got very angry.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    The ground shook, and out of it came a multitude of stone bays. They swarmed the whole area, keeping Evan from escaping. Moreover, each of the bays was extremely dangerous and could quickly kill both the monster and Evan.


    Rooooaaaar!


    To the crocodile''s attack, the wed monster decided to respond with its skill. Suddenly its ws burst into bright mes, and with a simple sweep, it created three ming des. They rained down on the crocodile, charring some of its skin. The beast had good defense and high resistance to fire so that such attacks couldn''t hurt it much.


    But besides the monster, the crocodile, and Evan, there were other yers on this battlefield - the vigers. Not all of the ming des hit the crocodile. Some of them hit the vige, and a fire broke out there immediately.


    Most vigers ran away from the fire in fear, but some brave men tried to put out the fire. Even though powerful creatures were fighting a few meters away, they still found the strength to drag buckets of water.


    The crocodile realized that their battle with the monster could destroy the entire vige, so it decided to protect it. If the vigers died, the beast would lose an ideal ce to live and feed.


    It roared furiously and a stone dome formed around the vige. Unlike the monster, for the crocodile, people were more valuable alive than dead.


    Moreover, the crocodile protected the vige and blocked all the exits, creating a high and very strong stone wall. Right in front of Evan''s face, now there was an obstacle he could not ovee.


    "Damn, do you really think that can stop me?!" Evan mouthed angrily and cast the "Ball Lightning." He intended to destroy the stone wall, but suddenly the monster lunged in his direction.


    Despite the furious crocodile, the monster''s main target was still Evan.


    The monster quickly reached Evan and swung its fiery ws in his direction. Evan frowned and retaliated by attacking with the "Ball Lightning."


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion. To Evan''s surprise, the monster remained nearly unscathed.


    <Damn, I knew it''d evolved twice, so this is its second ability>, Evan thought as he looked at the monster''s crystal armor. The monster quickly created it to minimize the damage from such a powerful electrical discharge.


    Crack.


    At the exact moment, several stone bays appeared from beneath the ground. This attack was unexpected, and one of them grazed Evan''s cheek.


    "Looks like you two won''t let me get out of here. All right, have it your way, I''m going to turn you both into mincemeat!"


    The next second one of the sigils on Evan''s arms glowed, and he said loudly: "Sigil of 70th Demon - Prince Seere, activation!"

 Chapter 208 - Sister And Brother

    Evan realized that the monster wouldn''t stop chasing him, and the crocodile was determined to kill them both. So Evan realized that he would have to deal with them himself.


    He had to sacrifice several years of his life, but he got an unusually powerful weapon, and now he could deal with his enemies.


    After Evan had activated the seventh demon''s sigil, Prince Seere, a saturated, dark red energy appeared around him.


    A secondter, a white spear appeared in his hands, which he instantly swung toward the monster.


    Whoosh.


    The shock wave from the swing of the spear instantly reached the monster. It could not react to such a powerful and fast attack. The monster''s left paw was destroyed, as were several houses in the vige behind it. The stone dome cracked and crumbled into a multitude of debris. Evan could get out of the stone cage if he wanted to, but now he would kill those two.


    "Bitch, I had to waste a few years of my life, you could have just let me go, but now you''ll have to run away," Evan muttered angrily and swung his spear toward the crocodile.


    Evan had destroyed part of the vige and killed several people with his previous attack, but he wasn''t too worried about that. If he had to, he would leave no stone unturned here.


    The crocodile did not dodge this attack. Many stone pirs appeared in front of it, the beast thought it could defend itself, but that was a grave mistake.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    The shockwave quickly destroyed all the pirs and severed the crocodile''s front paw. The weapon Evan was now using was strong enough to wound most monsters and beasts that had not yet reached the second rank.


    The monster and the crocodile were seriously wounded, but neither of them was going to back down. Crocodile used its second skill, as he was a twice evolved beast.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly the ground shook, and torrents of water burst from beneath it. They were dense enough to cause Evan a severe wound with one touch. He had to try either to avoid them or just destroy them.


    Whoosh.


    With an indifferent face, Evan swung his spear once more and cut through two such streams. Now he was far superior to his opponent.


    Evan lunged toward the beast, passing and destroying the streams of water the beast was creating. Evan''s strength was multiplied thanks to the spear, but his defense was at the same level. He had to act carefully and attack only at the right moments.


    While Evan fought the crocodile, the monster did not standstill. With one attack, Evan stripped it of a limb, but the monster had a way to recover quickly. Right at the battlefield, there was a veritable warehouse of delicacies.


    The monster headed into the vige and began killing and devouring its inhabitants. Given its size and speed, during the time Evan fought the beast, the monster could eat about 20 people.


    The vigers fled in terror, none of them imagining that something like this could suddenly happen.


    "It can''t be... why did that happen?..." Some man murmured, watching as the monster ate his wife in front of him.


    Secondster, his head flew off his shoulders, and he suffered the same fate. It was the fate of ordinary people, faced with the hungry and wounded monster. They had neither the strength nor the ability to cope with this catastrophe.


    Some people took refuge in their homes, for such an eventuality, they had underground shelters to hide. They hoped it would save their lives, but they underestimated the power of the monster.


    Crack.


    The monster easily tracked them, it could feel them trembling with fear. The monster swung its ws and destroyed several buildings. People''s faces froze in terror, and that was the end of their lives.


    "Glen, run!" Shouted the girl with ck hair, taking her little brother by the hand. She was as frightened as everyone else by what was happening, but she had to care for her brother.


    "Sister, I can''t go on...I have no strength left...why is everyone in such a hurry...?" Said the blond boy. Because of his age, he hadn''t yet realized what was going on.


    "Come on, there''s not much left, our home is just around the corner," The girl said, trying to look calm. She pointed to a house that was only ten meters away from them.


    She wanted to take shelter there with her brother. The girl hoped that soon the monster would be gone away.


    Unfortunately, the girl''s pleas were not heard. The monster chose them as its next target. He rushed towards them, the girl already thought it was the end, but suddenly, there was a furious roar that stopped the monster.


    The next moment a shockwave passed through the entire vige and destroyed several buildings, including the girl''s house.


    Bam.


    The massive carcass of the crocodile copsed on the vige, crushing several residents beneath it. The bleeding beast let out itsst breath.


    Whoosh.


    The next moment a tall young man in a ck cloak entered the vige. He walked slowly toward the monster.


    "You''re the next,e here, I am going to rip you to shreds!" Evan said harshly, pointing his spear at the monster.


    Thanks to the inhabitants he ate, the monster had fully recovered, even growing back the paw Evan had destroyed. It was on full alert.


    Evan''s presence saved the girl and her brother from death, but he''d destroyed her hiding ce at the same time. The girl didn''t know what to do.


    "Gotta...run...." She muttered and tried to get away from the battlefield, but...


    <What...? Why isn''t my body moving...?


    She didn''t understand what was going on. She was a simple person and had been through some powerful stresses in thest few minutes. Now she was so badly frightened she could not even move. Her body was not listening to her mind.


    Bam.


    The monster attacked Evan. He raised his spear sharply, and another shockwave destroyed the house to the girl''s right. If she had taken a single step in that direction, she would have been killed like the rest of the inhabitants.


    The monster managed to dodge the attack and visibly elerated itself.


    <What? Why had you be so fast? Hadn''t you been fighting at full strength before?> Evan was surprised. He could barely keep up with his opponent''s movements. Moreover, the monster easily dodged Evan''s every attack.


    Whoosh.


    The monster''s ws of fire almost hit Evan, but he was able to dodge at thest moment. The mes swept right in front of Evan''s eyes.


    "All right, time to call it a day," proimed Evan and bit his finger until it bled.


    A crimson drop of blood fell on the snow-white spear, and some changes began to happen to it. The weapon glowed, turned scarlet, and spun violently. It was no longer like a spear but an actual drill capable of piercing anything. After this attack, the demon weapon would use up all its energy and disappear.


    Whoosh.


    Evan threw the spear as hard as he could at the monster. It pierced it instantly. The power of this attack was so great that about a third of the vige was destroyed, and dozens of people were killed.


    Half of the monster''s body was destroyed, and even part of its core was visible. It was on the verge of death.


    Crack.


    Evan cast the "Ball Lightning" and headed toward the monster, at the same moment, the girl''s younger brother began to cry.


    "Sister, let''s go home..."


    The girl looked at her little brother and tried to move, but suddenly the boy disappeared.


    "No..." Mumbled the girl watching the monster kill her little brother.


    That''s when the monster''s aura began to increase strangely. Evan became alert he knew what was happening now, "Fuck, is this the exact moment the special evolution has happened?!"

 Chapter 209 - SixtyNine

    Monsters and beasts were capable of evolving, thereby bing stronger and gaining unique abilities. But less than 1% of monsters and beasts had special evolutions. They were extremely rare and gave incredible power.


    Evan had a lot of knowledge and understood that now the monster in front of him was undergoing a special evolution.


    During the special evolution, the monster not only became powerful, but it also changed its type to a different one. The monster had be apletely different creature with a special ability.


    The monster''s terrible wounds quickly healed, and his limbs recovered. Two long horns had grown on its head, and now it had two fiery tails. Its ws were twice as long, and the mes on them had changed their color to blue. Moreover, the monster could now spew me from its mouth.


    Rooooaaaaaaarrrr!


    The monster roared furiously, and its two tails struck the ground. mes spread in all directions from the monster, and half the vige burned to the ground along with its inhabitants. No one who was close to the monster could survive, except for one single person - a ck-haired girl.


    She was able to survive only because she was not in the affected area of the two tails. The waves of the me passed right beside her. You could tell that had it not been for the fear that restrained her movements, she would have died long ago.


    At that moment, the girl was not worried about her life. She still didn''t realize what had just happened. Her native home had been destroyed, her acquaintances had been devoured, and her brother had been murdered. All of this happened in less than an hour, but everything was very different not long ago.


    The girl just stood there, she couldn''t even utter a word. It all seemed like some kind of nightmare to her. The fire monster was like a demon from hell.


    Whoosh.


    Evan threw an electric shock in the monster''s direction. He didn''t want to get close to such a dangerous opponent.


    The fire monster opened its mouth wide and spewed blue mes toward the "Ball Lightning."


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion, and the monster lunged toward Evan. It was much faster, and Evan didn''t even see it move.


    Evan blocked the monster''s blow but suffered severe burns. He immediately pulled a potion from the ring and drank it. The burns began to heal right before his eyes, but it was just a temporary measure.


    The monster continued to attack, speeding up with every second. Evan could have barely kept up with the monster''s movements before, but now he was the outsider in their confrontation.


    <Shit, how has he survived that attack? It''s impossible! It''s too fast, I can''t even see its attacks>. Thought Evan and got punched sharply in the stomach.


    The fire ws dug into Evan''s flesh and pierced through the young man''s body. The monster kicked Evan, sending him flying back several meters.


    Evan squirmed in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood. He was in incredible pain, having just been practically burned alive.


    His spatial ring glowed, and he quickly swallowed three pills. Evan had prepared himself thoroughly before he left for Is he had quite a few quality medicines.


    "These wounds will heal quickly, but this monster is too fast either..." Evan muttered as he watched the monster turn into a blur.


    Momentster, it would rain its fiery ws down on Evan. But, suddenly, Evan''s eyes glowed brightly golden color.


    Crack.


    At the same moment, a huge, yellow magic circle appeared in the dark space. It slowly began to create a Pir. It was simr to the one next to the lion, but it had significant differences.


    This Pir was not ck like the abyss itself, but gold, just like its chains. It was pure gold without any impurities, which was almost impossible.


    It fell with a crash to the edge of the magic circle, which was a huge rat in the center. This had already happened before, now Evan had two different Pirs.


    Whoosh.


    The monster''s ws almost reached Evan, but the monster suddenly froze like the rest of the world. Evan lifted himself up, and the ws cleaved only the air. The monster was only a centimeter short of reaching Evan.


    The monster didn''t realize what had just happened, but that didn''t stop its furious attacks. It turned and attacked Evan with its tails, but the young man dodged at the veryst moment. The monster''s furious eyes widened in surprise. Moreover, Evan disappeared from its sight.


    Bam.


    Evan''s dark fist copsed on the monster''s chest, and its flesh began to corrode, but the monster decided to burn some of its flesh to stop the corrosion.


    Bam.


    No sooner it came to its senses than Evan punched it in the jaw with his fist. The monster decided to retreat, suddenly his opponent was several times stronger. The situation was out of control.


    "Unbelievable..." Mumbled Evan looking at the strange scene in front of him.


    It seemed to him as if the world was slowing down just for him.


    Thanks to the appearance of the Pir, Evan''s vision took on a new level. He could now see clearly the movements that had previously been a blur to him. But, he was still losing in their confrontation.


    Evan had gained the ability not to get hit, but he had already used up all the energy of the demon''s weapon. Sure, Evan could use the demon''s sigil again, but he wasn''t sure if the spear of 70th demon Prince Seere could handle such a strong opponent.


    <Hmm, if I get the spear again, I can definitely seriously wound him, but the ce we''re fighting in is too disadvantageous for me,> Evan thought as he looked at the surviving vigers.


    There weren''t that many of them, about twenty people. If the monster were wounded, it would just kill a few people and recover. The ordinary people couldn''t fight back or run away from it.


    < There''s ake just ten meters away from the vige, I think it''s time to change our battle site,> Evan thought and rushed towards theke.


    This vige was not protected by a wall since they had no one to defend against until today. Evan made it to theke in just a few seconds.


    The monster followed him, it couldn''t let Evan go.


    Whoosh.


    Evan attacked the monster, he intended to throw it into the water. But, his opponent was not stupid. The monster understood the meaning of Evan''s actions perfectly, so it decided to use its most potent weapons.


    In fact, the fire tails and blue mes weren''t the abilities which the monster had got with a special evolution, you could say that it was only a nice bonus. The monster had never used its new ability until now.


    Suddenly the monster''s horns glowed, and crimson-colored energy began to build up between them. The power of the charge increased with each passing moment. Such power could easily wipe out an entire vige.


    "Shit, I wanted to use theke to my advantage, but he decided to move on to the final part of our fight. Fuck, I wasn''t going do that," Evan mouthed, irritated, taking off his glove.


    In the woods, before meeting the "Demonic Tree" members, Evan prepared for the fight. He drew two sigils on the palms of his hands, one of which was the sigil of the 70th demon, Prince Seere.


    Evan hoped he wouldn''t have to activate the second sigil, but he was definitely out of luck this time.


    He sighed and calmly said: "Sigil of 69th Demon - Marquis Decarabia, activation!"

 Chapter 210 - Explosion

    The first demon Evan summoned was the 72nd demon, Count Andromalius. He was the weakest of all the 72 demons, but the price for his power was also the smallest. Of course, each demon had different levels of sigils, and the cost could vary.


    By far, the strongest demon Evan summoned was the 70th demon, Prince Seere. Even considering Evan''s current strength, this demon''s spear was worth three years.


    As Evan prepared for the battle in the forest, he drew two sigils on the palms of his hands. One belonged to - 70 demon Prince Seere, and the other belonged to 69th demon Marquis Decarabia.


    Evan didn''t want to use this sigil because the cost was quite high, but he had no other option. The monster was using his special ability, and Evan needed something equally destructive in return.


    When Evan activated the sigil, his mind was transported to Nirvana. A demon was already waiting for him, strikingly different from all the previous demons.


    It was a five-pointed star hovering in space. At its center was arge human eye, staring intently at Evan.


    Evan calmly said: "Give me the power to kill it."


    The star spun, and yellow energy began to emanate from it. It slowly transformed into a beautiful number, 33.


    That was the price for the incredible power this demon could provide. Evan frowned but agreed anyway, he had no other options.


    <Hmm, my current life span is 500 years, but considering the years sacrificed, I''ve already spent 125 years of my life. I still have 375 years left, that''s not too short, but I need to get as strong as I can right now.> Evan thought.


    The next moment the life force began to leave him. Evan had gotten used to this procedure a long time ago, but it was still very unpleasant.


    When the price was paid, the demon disappeared, and Evan returned to reality. Between the monster''s horns was already arge crimson sphere. A huge amount of energy was concentrated in it. But now, Evan had something to answer with.


    Evan put his palm forward, and it glowed bright yellow. The next moment a golden pentagram appeared in front of his palm. The pentagram became more stronger with each passing second.


    After a while, the pentagram was only half the size of Evan himself. At the same time, the monster also finished its preparation.


    The Crimson sphere glowed and transformed into a massive beam that flew toward Evan.


    Whooosh.


    The pentagram shed, and a golden beam headed toward the monster. Each beam contained a massive amount of energy, and the moment they reached each other, there was a deafening explosion.


    The winner would be the one whose attack was stronger. If Evan''s beam cannot suppress the monster''s beam, then Evan would be burned to the ground in the blink of an eye.


    Boom.


    Gold and Crimson energy shed with each other. A shockwave spread out from the explosion site tens of meters away. The wave caused the trees to sway from side to side and small boulders to be pulverized.


    Half of theke was destroyed, and the water evaporated, and 90% of the vige was burned. It was an unprecedented power that changed thendscape of the area.


    Only one of them could survive. When the dust settled, you could see a figure standing upright in the vast crater. It was a monster, but its body was no longer aze. All his flesh was burned away, leaving only a bare skeleton.


    The wind blew, and the skeleton fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.


    Crackling.


    A crackling sound was heard on the opposite side. The ck-haired young man slowly rose from the ground and dusted off his cloak with a calm gaze.


    At the veryst moment, the golden energy absorbed the monster''s energy and came down on him with all its power. The monster was instantly killed, and Evan was tossed aside.


    Evan looked at the monster''s remains and muttered: "Damn, not only did he force me to use this demon''s power, but he didn''t leave anything useful behind, either."


    The monster Evan fought was a triple evolved, and one of those evolutions was special. If he sold this monster''s carcass, he could make an astronomical amount of money. The chance of encountering such a monster was about 1 in 1000. It was a real rarity, any appraiser would want the carcass of such a monster.


    "Huh, looks like I got lucky today." Proimed Evan looking at the shiny stone beneath the monster''s skeleton.


    It was the "Monster Core," and it had miraculously survived. Evan walked over to the corpse and picked up the core. It was different from all the previous ones Evan had seen.


    The more evolutions the monster went through, the more saturated the color of its core became. But, the core of a monster that had undergone a special evolution had a faint hue.


    The small crystal in Evan''s hands was a rich green color with a slight blue tint. Evan looked at the crystal through the sun.


    "It''s really beautiful, huh?" Suddenly the sun was obscured by dark clouds, and it started pouring rain. The crystal stopped shining as beautifully as before. The rain made everything around it look sullen and dreary.


    "Eh, okay, time to head back." Mumbled Evan as he headed towards the vige, or rather what was left of it.


    The vige had been destroyed because of Evan''s battle with a monster and a crocodile. Monsters were known as the greatest enemies of humanity. But, the monster killed about a third of all the inhabitants, while Evan killed the rest. They just happened to get hit by him, and the recent explosion left no one with a chance to survive.


    The saddest part was that most of the inhabitants died simply because they were in the wrong ce at the wrong time. In order to heal, the monster killed and ate about 20 residents, less than a tenth of the entire poption of this vige. The rest died by coincidence.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Evan walked slowly among the burned and destroyed houses. All that was left of them was rubble and embers. At that moment, Evan had no feelings about what he had done. He was well aware that innocent people had died because of him, and he could have saved them if he wanted to. But he didn''t care about things like that.


    <Hmm, I need to do some experiments with "Gust" for that I need quite a few people, I think I can get everything I need at Is. What? Did someone manage to survive?>


    Evan thought, looking at the ck-haired girl. She was the only one who had managed to survive this terrible disaster.


    The girl was on her knees crying. In an instant, her world was destroyed, and all that was left was ashes and destruction.


    When Evan approached her, she looked at him with her blue eyes and whispered softly: "Help... me..."


    She was broken, she had no strength left.


    Evan looked at her and said quietly: "Do you realize that it was because of me that this vige was destroyed? The monster came here because of me, and I killed most of the vigers?"


    The girl did not know what to answer. She only mumbled like some madman, "It''s you... it''s your fault... you killed them... you..."


    Evan''s "Warp" spun, and darkness enveloped his palm. He was going to kill this girl she had no chance of surviving anyway. This area was filled with monsters, the girl would just get eaten.


    Evan''s palm slowly moved down to the girl''s neck, and at that moment, her eyes lost their blue color. They became ck and empty like the abyss itself.


    The girl stopped crying and said in a strange voice: "No, it''s not you, it''s not your fault, it''s this world''s fault."


    Tremble.


    Suddenly a terrifying aura began to emanate from the girl.. It was the first time Evan had ever felt fear in this world.

 Chapter 211 - Despair

    "What is this?" Evan couldn''t believe his eyes. Terrifying energy was emanating from the girl, and a shiver went through his whole body.


    "Is it...is it "Gust!?" The dark energy emanating from the girl was actually a definite emotion. The girl stepped into "Gust," and the emotion she was now experiencing became tangible. Evan was surprised at the power of this energy, but what struck him more was that the girl was not a mage.


    <She definitely didn''t have an ounce of mana in her. How was it possible for her to enter "Gust"? But, it''s it, and what''s that emotion she''s feeling right now?>


    A few secondster, dark energy filled everything around her. It touched Evan, and at that moment, he realized what it was.


    <That''s despair. It really is an incredibly creepy and powerful emotion. I didn''t think I''d ever see something like that. What''s more, this "Gust" is different from the ones I''ve seen before, it''s much stronger, and that''s considering she''s just a simple person. She''s not a magician, but she''s definitely unique>.


    The despair could bepared to an abyss. It was just as deep and terrifying and all-consuming. Everything that despairs touches was in the deepest depths of darkness, and now the simple girl was emitting an enormous amount of that energy.


    "What a terrible feeling. It''s times worse than when demons suck the life force out of me. Then I lose some of my life, but this darkness makes me think I have disappeared from this world. It''s like I never existed, and I''m nothing more than empty space."


    Mumbled Evan looking at the dark-haired girl. When Evan said that he killed everyone in the vige, she med him at first. But then she concluded that it was all the fault of this cruel world.


    When her eyes turned dark and empty, that''s when her outlook changed. As she continued to emit dark energy, the girl looked at Evan and said, "Help me."


    Evan calmly asked: "How can I help you?"


    For a while, the girl froze. She pondered, and during that time, her eyes grew even darker, and the dark energy suddenly stopped emanating from her.


    "Give me the power to control the destinies of others, for that I will do anything!" She concluded that if she were strong enough, the tragedy would not happen. Even if this world was extremely cruel, with enough strength, the situation could be changed. Evan was the one who had ruined her world, but he was also the one who had shown her how to confront fate itself.


    Evan smiled like the devil and said, "You want power? All right, I''ll give you power!"


    The next moment Evan bled himself dry and quickly drew the sigil 71st demon, Duke Dantalion.


    He activated the sigil, and an old book appeared in his Nirvana. Evan said loudly his wish - "Awaken this girl''s talent for magic!"


    The demon immediately quoted a price, only - three years. Evan nodded confidently, and the life force began to drain from him.


    Evan decided to take such a step, not out of the goodness of his heart, he was very curious why the girl was able to enter the "Gust" even though she was not a mage. Moreover, her "Gust" was very strong, and the emotion she felt could destroy the whole world.


    Originally Evan was going to kill her, as there was no way she could survive in a ce full of monsters, but now his ns have changed. She would be his investment in the future.


    When the price was paid, and the book disappeared from Evan''s Nirvana, strange changes began to happen to the girl.


    Her aura increased again, and she began to emit dark energy, but Evan was sure she was already out of the "Gust."


    <What?! Is that a "Ssh"? But isn''t it only supposed to happen when a mage breaks one of his "Barriers"? This girl is getting more interesting>.


    When the dark energy stopped emanating from the girl, she muttered confusedly: "What is it?"


    "What do you mean?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    "I''m in some strange ce, I don''t know where I am..."


    <I see, she walked into "Nirvana," by the way...>.


    "Tell me, do you see a hovering sphere in the midst of this space?" Evan asked calmly.


    The girl just nodded.


    "Okay, then tell me what color it is? It could be purple and white." Evan was curious to know what color "Warp" the girl got.


    But, the girl''s answer shocked him.


    "But, it''s neither white nor purple, it''s crimson..." The girl muttered uncertainly. She thought it was bad that the color of her orb wasn''t white or purple.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Evan suddenlyughed. He couldn''t believe what he was hearing.


    <Unbelievably, she has a crimson "Warp" too, but I still don''t understand something. If I use the power of a demon to awaken a talent for magic in someone else, is it a hundred percent crimson "Warp," or is that just a coincidence? I still don''t know anything about this mysterious color above purple>.


    The girl didn''t understand what had cheered Evan up so much.


    "Is it bad or good that this orb has that color?" The girl asked, puzzled.


    Evan quickly replied, "It''s excellent, by the way, what''s your name?"


    "Malespera." Calmly replied the girl.


    <Malespera means it really does seem to be destiny, that she is the one with the power of despair.> Thought Evan upon hearing the girl''s name.


    "Congrattions Malespera, you became a magician."


    Evan expected to see joy and tion on the girl''s face, but instead, the girl asked: "A magician? What''s that?"


    "Yeah, that''s a serious case I''ve never encountered before," Evan said slowly. This was something he couldn''t have expected.


    <Well, on the other hand, this vige is isted from the outside world. But, it''s still kind of strange, didn''t any of the inhabitants know about the existence of mages?


    "Malespera, tell me, where are your parents?"


    The girl''s face darkened for a moment, it was obvious she was having trouble talking about it: "They died... because of an illness...".


    "I see, I can''t think of a worse situation, okay, let''s go," Evan said calmly and headed for the exit of Blood Falls Hills. He didn''t have anything else to do in this ce.


    "Let''s go...?" Malespera asked, puzzled, but Evan didn''t even turn around. He just kept walking on.


    Realizing that Evan was about to leave, the girl quickly got up and ran after him. He was the only thread she could hold on to, even if that thread was dark and dangerous.


    "What''s your name?" Asked the girl as she caught up with Evan.


    The young man said his name, "Evan."


    "Evan, who are mages, and why am I a mage now?" Asked Malespera was walking in the pouring rain next to Evan.


    "Mages are those who can change their own destiny and the destiny of others. You ask me why you became a mage, and I''ll tell you - because I wanted to. That is the power to change destiny." Evan said slowly.


    "Evan, when you fought that monster...did you use magic?"


    "Yes and no, I didn''t kill it with magic. Then I used something else. Malespera want to learn magic?"


    Asked Evan, watching as the clouds parted and the earth was again illuminated by warm and pleasant sunshine.


    The girl nodded confidently.


    "Good, then take this." Said Evan, and his spatial ring glowed. He handed Malespera the ck-covered book.. It was the most sophisticated level zero spell he had found in the academy library.

 Chapter 212 - Learning

    "What is it?" Malespera asked, puzzled.


    "It is a spell book, if you study it, you will be able to use the spell written about in this book. You have just awakened your talent for magic, and you are still a novice, so I gave you one of the easiest spells. If we take our time, we''ll be out of this area in about two hours. By then, you should be able to cast this spell. Don''t worry, most people only take one hour, you''ll have a lot more time." Evan said calmly.


    The spell he gave Malespera was called - "Doomsday me." In Evan''s opinion, it was the strongest spell of level zero Creation Magic. But it was also the most difficult of all the spells in the library.


    Evan did not study this spell since he didn''t need the level zero spells anymore. Only level one spells were of value to him.


    Of course, he fooled Malespera. It was almost impossible to master this spell in such a short time. But, Evan wanted to test how talented this girl was. Usually, a mage''s talent was measured by the color of his Warp. But, there were always exceptions to those rules moreover, Evan knew nothing about "Warp," the crimson color.


    Except for him, Malespera was the only person with "Warp," that color. Thanks to the girl, Evan would be able to test his hunches and get answers to his questions, but perhaps the mysteries would only get more.


    "Magic...will I be able to be as strong as you?"


    "Yes, but not right away. Just try, and you will seed, but now stay focused. If someone attacks us, I''ll deal with them." Evan answered, stepping forward.


    The girl nodded and opened the ck book as she went. By Evan''s calctions, he could learn this spell in about 12 hours. That was a tremendous amount of time, considering that "Doomsday me" was a level zero spell.


    Malespera was fascinated by the process. A fire burned in her eyes, just like Evan''s when he had studied the spell the first time. The book wasn''t very big, it could well be read in one hour, but Malespera needed a little more time.


    It was about 30 minutes before they got out of The Hills of Bloody Falls. Malespera had already finished reading the book and handed it back to Evan.


    "Are you sure you don''t need it anymore?" Evan asked, puzzled. Even he couldn''t be sure he could remember all the details and nuances of such aplicated spell in an hour and a half.


    "Well, yeah," Malespera replied as if Evan were asking strange questions. Evan shrugged and moved the book into the spatial ring.


    "Hey Evan, I''m ready, but where do I cast this spell?" Malespera asked, puzzled. She didn''t want to harm the forest and the fields.


    "Are you ready? Well... okay. Hmm, I have an idea who you can use Doomsday me on." Evan muttered and cast "Ghost Step."


    He quickly disappeared from Malespera''s sight and returned half a minuteter, but he was dragging some monster of rank zero behind him. Such monsters were no match for Evan now.


    This monster would be a living dummy for Malespera. Evan didn''t believe that the girl would be able to cast the spell the first time after spending only an hour and a half to learn it. But, if she did, Malespera would feel the power of magic. It would be a very vivid emotion that would help her further advance, she would know what she was aiming for.


    Crack.


    Evan broke the monster''s legs and threw it in front of the girl, he calmly said, "Come on."


    Malespera only nodded. Earlier she had been frightened if she saw such a creature, but today had changed her outlook.


    Her "Warp," spun and she began to umte mana. This surprised Evan since he hadn''t exined to her how to do it. Malespera understood it intuitively.


    Next, she began to create a spell. Unlike Evan, she didn''t act in a measured and precise manner, Malespera immediately poured all her strength into one single attempt.


    Purple mes appeared next to the monster and instantly turned into a sphere that exploded secondster. The tremendous power of the me and the destructive force of the explosion tore the monster to pieces.


    "Not bad," Evan said calmly.


    <Sounds like this girl is the genius of geniuses. But, here''s the exciting thing. Did she originally have this talent or acquired it when she got her crimson "Warp." What''s more, I wonder what her ss is? Maybe crimson "Warp" has something to do with it, and I can learn more about it from her example. I still don''t know anything about this strange kind of "Warp.">


    Evan thought as he looked at the contented girl. She was in a real thrill, she was enjoying killing this monster immensely. But, it wasn''t the act of violence itself that pleased her, it was the fact that she did it with magic.


    "Is that what magic is?"


    "Yes, the power to change destiny. If we weren''t magicians, he would have killed us. But, now, he was nothing more than a mere dummy."


    "Then...I want more!" Malespera said loudly.


    Evan shook his head and said, "You need mana to cast spells, moreover you need to be properly trained. You''ve made quite a bit of progress as it is."


    Malespera looked at Evan puzzled, "What? But it''s so easy, look!"


    "Warp," the girl spun, and the next moment a purple me appeared to the left and right of a boulder not far from Evan. It quickly turned into a sphere, and there were two deafening explosions.


    <It looks like... either I''m unlucky with my body, or there''s someone in this world who is superior to geniuses.> Thought Evan stunned as he looked at Malespera.


    She was a genius, Evan was well aware of that, but everything in this world has its ws.


    <She uses magic as if she were doing everyday things. Perhaps it was all because of her talent, or perhaps it was because she had never heard of what magic was until today.>


    Everyone in this world knew of the existence of mages and magic. Everyone knew how powerful magicians were and howplex magic was, and it was indeed true. But perhaps to use spells, one had to treat it not as some challenge but as a regr activity? That was exactly what Malsepera was doing, albeit unconsciously.


    <She will be a powerful mage and an excellent fighter, she will be unrivaled inbat, but I am sure she will not understand a damn thing about experiments and experiments. She''s not a scientist, she''s a warrior.> Evan concluded.


    "Evan, do you have any other spells?" The girl asked with genuine curiosity.


    "Yeah, here you go, I think by the time we get to town, you''ll have mastered this spell." Said Evan and handed Malespera the book of spells - "Magic Missile."


    It was the simplest spell. It was about ten minutes before they left the grounds of The Hills of Bloody Falls.


    After five minutes, the girl asked: "Evan, why are these books so big? Isn''t there just enough of these?"


    Malespera pointed her finger at an image of a magic circle. If a mage was experienced and talented enough, he could learn a spell from his magic circle, but it wasn''t easy. No neer to the world should have had such skills.


    "What do you mean?" Said Evan guessing what the girl was talking about.


    "Why take the time to read the whole book if this drawing is enough, it''s clear enough. Do you really think I''m too stupid and that''s why you give me children''s books! Here''s how I can do it!"


    Malespera put her hand out in front of her and rolled three "Magic Missiles" in a row a secondter.

 Chapter 213 - Genius

    Malespera thought Evan was underestimating her, and it made her mad. She decided that the books Evan gave her were so detailed because they weren''t meant for the smartest people.


    In just a few minutes, Malespera learned Magic Missile and sessfully cast the spell three times in a row. White beams of condensed mana mmed into the boulder, and there was a deafening explosion.


    "See! It''s too easy, one drawing is enough for me, no need to waste time." Said the girl grudgingly.


    Evan sighed and shook his head. He wasn''t ready to be a babysitter, much less a babysitter for such an unusual girl. But, he decided he would help her, at least for a while. She was an interesting specimen, and more importantly, she would be incredibly strong in the future. Evan would need people like thatter on, which is why he considered Malespera an investment.


    "Okay, you got me figured out, I didn''t expect you to be so smart. When we get home, I''ll give you all the spells I have, but you only took the first step, no need to be arrogant." Calmly Evan said and cast Magic Missile, along with Foundation.


    Two beams flew out toward the rock, and a powerful explosion destroyed part of it. It was many times more powerful than the one Malespera had been able to make. It was obvious, but the girl was thrilled by what she saw.


    "Why were there two beams?" The girl asked, puzzled.


    "Back in town, then you''ll find out," Evan replied and headed on his way.


    "Do you live in this ce?" Malespera asked, pointing to Is. The town was visible in the distance.


    "Not yet, but it can be fixed."


    Malespera didn''t understand what Evan meant, but she didn''t bother him with questions. She wanted to know about something more important.


    "Hey, Evan..." Malespera said shyly. She didn''t have the confidence in her now that she had after the tragedy in the vige.


    "What?"


    "You said you could use magic to change fate..."


    Evan nodded.


    "Then, is there such a spell that can bring my brother back to life?" The girl said timidly.


    "Good question, but I can''t give you an exact answer. I don''t know such a spell myself, and I don''t know anyone who would. But, like you, I''m a long way from climbing to the top of this world. I''m sure that if you be stronger, resurrecting a mere human won''t be a problem for you."


    Evan''s words encouraged Malespera. For her, it was thest ray of hope in this world. She had changed her mind about this world, but her love for her little brother was going nowhere.


    "Evan, do you travel alone?"


    Evan hesitated, and after a few seconds, replied, "Not really, I have anotherpanion besides you, it''s just not human. Reykar."


    Whoooosh.


    As soon as Evan called out to the raven, it immediately appeared on his shoulder. Reykar was not part of the battle against the fire monster. But it was thanks to him that Evan was able to kill the crocodile so quickly.


    "Is that a monster...?" Malespera was frightened. The scene of the monster killing her brother was still before her eyes.


    Evan just nodded: "He''s my mate, but don''t you dare tell anyone about it. Let''s just say it might get me in extra trouble, which I don''t want."


    "Understood."


    ...


    After a while, they reached Is. Evan realized that some organization was after him, he had killed their informant who was bringing them huge profits. But, it didn''t bother Evan, he knew that that group of five was an elite unit of an organization called - "Hell Bulls."


    This organization was one of the five strongest in all Is. Each head of these organizations was at the "Two-Pointed Star" stage and had broken through three "Barriers." They had onest step to take to move to the next level, but it wasn''t that simple.


    When the mage made a breakthrough and passed to the stages - "One-Pointed Star" and "Two-Pointed Star," he didn''t encounter any barriers. But, breaking through to the next stage was many times more difficult. Evan didn''t know the reasons for the increased difficulty, the informant didn''t have that information.


    Nevertheless, he knew that breaking through to the "Three-Pointed Star" stage was several times more difficult than all the previous breakthroughsbined. This stage held some secrets Evan knew nothing about yet.


    When they entered the slums, Malespera asked: "Evan, which way is our house?"


    "Just go straight ahead, it might be too dangerous to live here. We need a quiet and peaceful ce."


    Evan thought about settling in another town, but he decided to stay in Is. Another simr crime town was too far away. Moreover, Evan wanted to conduct illegal experiments, and only here could he find everything he needed.


    Evan wasn''t going to live in the slums, he had enough money to buy his own ce in the central area. Evan had 50,000 gold coins with him at the moment, and that was really a lot of money. People living in the slums hardly ever received a single gold coin in ten years of work. In Is, there was an incredible gap in the poption in terms of wealth.


    Some worked all their lives for a few gold coins, while others ate dinner for the same amount every day.


    As Evan and Malespera walked toward the central area, some of the residents grinned at them. Evan sighed and thought, <I''ll have to buy clothes for Malespera, I''m used to being looked at, but in this town, it''s especially frustrating to feel the stares of others>.


    Malespera came from a vige isted from the world, so her clothes were more like some rags. The poor people around here wore about the same, but the problem was that she was walking next to Evan. His cloak looked very expensive, and so did the ring on his finger.


    Evan wasn''t worried about the head of the "Hell Bulls" or the members of that organization killing him. They weren''t supposed to know about his arrival in town yet, and his power was supposed to scare them. No one but Evan knew what had happened in The Hills of Bloody Falls.


    Moreover, the central area was divided into five sectors. Each one was run by one of the five organizations. Evan simply needed to settle in the territory of an organization hostile to the "Hell Bulls," and Evan had already made his choice.


    He would rent a ce on the organization''s property, "Paper Hydrangea." They and the "Hell Bulls" weren''t on the best of terms. Their heads had diametrically opposed opinions on how Is should be developed.


    But, besides the five organizations, there were quite a few strong loners like Evan. They didn''t belong to any organization, but they were a force to be reckoned with. The usual organizations were very loyal to anyone who was powerful and rich enough to get into the central zone. Such a person could join them in the future.


    ...


    "Stop!" A guard at the gate leading to the central zone said loudly.


    "We need to go further, how much further?" Evan asked calmly.


    The guard gave Evan and Malespera a stern look and said: "Ten gold pieces for you and twenty gold pieces for the girl."


    "Hmm? Why does it cost twice as much to get in for a girl?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    "Boy, don''t talk back to me. You want to go with a ve girl into the central area, you pay. If not, get the hell out of here."


    Evan sighed and threw a small pouch of gold coins at the guard.. He wasn''t going to waste his time on proceedings for the sake of a few coins.

 Chapter 214 - Paper Hydrangea

    Evan and Malespera sessfully entered the central area. The girl was surprised by what she saw inside. She gazed at the tall towers, massive buildings, and clean streets. It was the most elite ce in all Is.


    It was worth noting that not all of the central area looked so neat and tidy, it was all about its owner. The sector where Evan and Malespera were now was run by "Paper Hydrangea." They were some kind of aristocrats from the world of bandits and murderers.


    Everyone who lived in their territory was obligated to maintain order and peace. In other situations, Evan would have chosen a less quiet ce to live. He would have gone where he could fight for glory and kill someone. But, with the arrival of Malespera, the situation changed dramatically. Right now, he had no desire to fight anyone. Evan wanted to learn more about Malespera''s talent, her "Gust," and the properties of crimson "Warp."


    For a while, until the girl got the hang of it, he would have to keep an eye on her. He had to exin to her what she could and could not tell others. If Malespera told anyone about the true color of her "Warp" and demon sigils, both she and Evan would be in huge trouble.


    They wouldn''t be killed, but some organizations would make them work for themselves and reveal all their secrets and secrets under the pretext of death.


    So such a rtively quiet and peaceful ce was perfect for Evan now, and it wasn''t just about Malespera. After thest fight, he felt he was close to breaking the first "Barrier." Evan was sure it would only take him a week for the chain to start breaking. No one was to get in his way during that time period.


    "Evan, what does ''ve'' mean?" Malespera asked, puzzled.


    Evan sighed, "Never mind, remember, you shouldn''t mess with the people here. Also, if anyone asks you, tell them you''re Evan Lynch''s sister, got it?"


    Malespera nodded affirmatively.


    <Based on Malespera''s incredible talent, it would only take her a month to reach the One Ended Star, but... her progress would be hindered by the Barriers. Okay, I''ll deal with thatter. For now, I need to find a ce to live and keep a close eye on Malespera''s progress. Maybe through her, I can learn more about crimson "Warp" and "Gust">.


    Evan had a theory that Malespera was not the only ordinary person capable of entering "Gust." Evan believed there were such people, though they were extremely few.


    <Hmm, is it possible that those who were ordinary people were able to enter "Gust," are brilliant magicians? Or was Malespera just an exception? Moreover, I have no idea if she could have awakened the talent for magic without my intervention. Damn, it''s tooplicated and iprehensible.>


    For the next hour, Evan and Malespera wandered through the sector under the control of Paper Hydrangea," Evan said. Officially, this sector was called Sector Three.


    Evan decided not to be petty and rented one of the best mansions. It was equipped with a lot of protective spells, special rooms for "Creation," and a training ground. What''s more, the house was monitored by servants around the clock.


    Usually, Evan didn''t like outsiders in his house, but this was a particr case. Thanks to other people, Malespera would be able to adapt faster, and it was impossible to keep an eye on such a big house alone.


    Evan paid 10,000 gold coins for the month. Even for a central area, this was quite a lot of money. There was another reason Evan had chosen this particr mansion - it was near the Paper Hydrangea base.


    There was no way the members of the "Hell Bulls" would dare to do anything unruly in this area. Some assassins might be sent to Evan, but they would not be very powerful. Otherwise, they would be noticed, and the Hell Bulls would be in trouble.


    Moreover, the "Hell Bulls" could not operate openly in "Paper Hydrangea" territory. They were warring organizations, and killing their enemy was no problem for them. In Is, murders happened every day. If some skirmish urred, no one would even pay attention to it.


    Evan and Malespera walked into their new house, and the girl asked, "This house...it''s so big, there must be a lot of people living here."


    "HAH, no, it''s just going to be just the two of us, well, and a few other servants." Evan calmly replied as he headed into the hall.


    The mansion had three floors and two more underground. Plus, there were hot springs and a small tea house on the grounds of the mansion. The ce looked something like the Zak estate.


    "But, this ce is ten, no, twenty timesrger than my former home...and who are these servants?" The girl asked, puzzled.


    "Now you''ll see everything, you could say that they''ll just help us with the daily chores. You won''t have to cook and clean and so on anymore."


    Click.


    Evan opened the door with both hands, and they entered the main hall. There were servants already waiting for them, most of them women, except for the butler and some other people.


    When they saw Evan, they bowed and said loudly, "Wee home, master!"


    Malespera was shocked, she had never seen anything like it. There was an elder in her vige whom everyone respected, but no one worshipped him so low.


    Evan nodded quietly and walked over to the butler, he said something to him and moved on.


    The maids looked at Evan with glowing eyes, but when their gaze fell on Malespera, contempt appeared on their faces.


    They thought she was from the slums, and they had a real disgust for such people. Naturally, Evan noticed this.


    <Well, I guess it''s worth solving all the problems right here and now.>


    Evan walked up to one of the maids and suddenly grabbed her by the neck. He squeezed her hard enough that the girl could barely breathe.


    But, no one moved. Evan was thew in this house, this was Is, and such things were not umon here.


    "I address all of you, this girl is my sister, her name is Malespera Lynch, and you must treat her with even more respect than you treat me. If I see that anyone has not been courteous and amodating enough, I will rip his head off and feed his body to the hell dogs. Is that clear!?"


    "Yes, Mr. Evan!"


    Evan released his grip and tossed the girl aside. He turned to Malespera, "Would you be so kind as to cast Magic Missile, aim for the ceiling?"


    "Right there?" The girl asked, puzzled. She knew that this spell would easily destroy part of the building.


    Evan just nodded.


    A couple of secondster, a white beam of mana reached the ceiling, but there was no explosion. The magical barrier absorbed all of the Magic Missile''s power. It was strong enough to withstand a hundred such attacks.


    Then all those who looked at Malespera with disdain realized how wrong they had been. It wasn''t just fear of Evan''s power in their eyes now, but of Malespera''s power as well. Even if she had only recently be a mage, she was already iparably highpared to mere humans.


    In their minds, Evan had even done them favors. If they had acted carelessly and angered Malespera, the girl would simply have killed them. Malespera would not have been punished, at most, she would have had to pay a fine, and that would be it.


    "Hey, Malespera, what would you like for lunch?" Evan asked calmly, as if nothing had just happened.


    "Hmm, probably some potatoes..."


    <Yeah, found someone to ask, okay that''s fixable too.> Evan thought and looked at the butler and said:


    "Prepare the best meat and desserts you can for dinner, don''t worry about the money, I''ll pay for everything."

 Chapter 215 - Incredible Success

    For the next week, Evan and Malespera settled into their new home. Evan forbade Malespera to leave Sector Three, but otherwise, he gave the girlplete freedom of action. She knew nothing of this world, and that was a big problem.


    Thanks to Evan''s recent actions, all the servants tried to address Malespera as respectfully as possible.


    He tried to tell Malespera as much as possible about this world and what she needed to do to be stronger. Because she was a true genius, Evan didn''t have to spend much time exining. Malespera was a fast learner and often amazed Evan with her speed of progress.


    During this time, Evan learned a lot about crimson "Warp" and about magic in this world in general. When he first "Creation" at the Zak Mansion, he condensed 25 drops of Void Liquid in four days. Barring a couple of extra hours, his speed was 6 drops per day.


    For example, the average speed of people with Purple Warp was 2 drops per day. But, the situation with Malespera was slightly different. Evan had her "Creation" three days in a row, under exactly the same conditions as himself, but the results were mixed.


    On different days, she condensed different amounts of "Void Liquid" drops. She condensed - 8 drops on the first day, on the second day 4, and the third day 6. The average number was 6, just like Evan''s, but it was too early to draw any conclusions. It had only been three days, and it wasn''t enough to get urate results.


    Evan sat in his room and thought about it, <Hmm, if I can determine the reason why the speed was different every time, I can find a way to increase it. If Malespera can condense 8 or even 9 drops each day, that would be an unrealistic sess. Moreover, if I solve this riddle, I might be able to get faster myself.>


    <She was able to enter "Gust" as a mere human, does that mean her power depends on her emotions more than other mages? We''ll have to ask the servants about the mood Malespera was in when she started "Creation." There''s a chance that her speed is directly rted to her mood and emotions. Okay, I''ll think about thatter, I have more important things to do.>


    Evan thought and headed for the underground floor. As he expected, it only took him one week for the chain to start shaking. Today he would break through his first "Barrier" stage, the "One-Pointed Star."


    Evan wasn''t about to leave home. During that week, he''d set up one room so he could break through safely in it. He bought special spell scrolls and set up some formations. All of this was to contain the energy he would emit during the "Ssh."


    Many mages did this because otherwise, they would destroy everything around them during the "Ssh." For example, if Draven were to make a breakthrough in this city, his "Ssh" would definitely destroy a third of the central area.


    "All right, let''s get to it."


    Thought Evan walking into the room. No one would disturb him, since no one was allowed in here, not even Malespera. He could concentrate entirely on the process.


    Evan already had experience at this, so half of the links were destroyed after half an hour. A few more minutes, and he''d hit the first "Barrier."


    <I wonder how strong the Ssh will be? I''ve prepared thoroughly, but the stronger the mage, the more extensive his "Ssh." I hope nothing happens to the house, I still have no idea what kind of power lurks within me.>


    Evan thought as he watched the next link break. Strange things happened all around him each time he "Ssh." The characteristics of the materials changed, like a stone turning into sand or a transparent crystal.


    <Once a living creature appeared next to me, the very first time an ordinary butterfly underwent an amazing metamorphosis. Moreover, grass and other vegetation increased its rate of growth, but so did its aging. I had a theory that I had some power to control or influence life and death, but that option doesn''t fit. I need more data>.


    Evan decided against this option because neither the power of death nor the power of life can turn a stone into a crystal. If it didn''t, Evan would consider this option as the main one.


    Crackle.


    "Great, a little more." Mumbled Evan watching then as only three links were left of the chain.


    Crackle.


    A minuteter, the chain was destroyed, and then there was a powerful "Ssh." Gray energy with a slight violet hue began to emanate from Evan. He had no control over the process, now he was focused on the resulting power from the "Barrier''s" piercing.


    As Evan expected, the scrolls and formations worked. They were keeping that energy from escaping the room, but Evan realized that something had gone wrong after a few seconds.


    <What the hell?! Why my breathing is so hard?> Evan thought as he looked at the gray energy. He quickly realized what was going on.


    <So it''s even affecting the air? Damn, I thought I could save it to do some experiments. It looks like I''ll have to cancel the formation.>


    Evan was about to do so when suddenly, a solution to the problem found itself.


    Caw!


    Sensing the energy, Reykar decided to get out of Nirvana, Evan. He was going to use it to elerate his own progress.


    Evan wanted to stop him but then realized that this was the best possible oue. His original n had failed, and if he released that energy outward, his house would simply change beyond recognition at best.


    <If Reykar absorbs this energy, he will be much stronger. He might even be able to evolve again, hopefully, it will work out.>


    Evan thought as he watched Reykar greedily absorb this energy. Evan could feel the raven''s aura increasing with every second. Yet Reykar couldn''t evolve or break through the "Barrier," that energy wasn''t enough.


    <Darn it, was it all for nothing?>


    Evan was about to tell Reykar to go back to "Nirvana," but suddenly, the phrases he already knew appeared in his head. Then the giant rat''s eyes shone brightly.


    [The level of trust between you and Reykar increased significantly. Soul Level - 2. Received Spell - "Death Feathers Fan." "Awareness" spell - "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" increased to the first stage. Spell - "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam," became a first level spell]


    At that exact moment, Evan felt an incredible surge of strength. Reykar had a slight change with his wings, they got a little bigger, and a few feathers turned white.


    <What a wonderful feeling... and this amount of information is truly astounding. Reykar couldn''t evolve, but because he absorbed energy, I got a new spell and greatly enhanced the previous one. It''s a real jackpot.>


    Evan immediately moved to the "Library," a space that held all of his possessions. This space held all of his spells. He looked at "Death Feathers Fan" and smirked and muttered:


    "Great, it''s a first-level spell. I couldn''t ask for a better one. What''s more, the improvement to "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" looks really interesting."


    Evan already knew how much this spell had strengthened since his "Awareness" had reached the first stage. The beam itself hadn''t undergone any changes, but the spell had an additional effect. Now, three sharp feathers would fly toward the target along with the beam. They were strong enough to kill a monster of rank zero.


    <Unbelievable results...>.


    He was about to leave when suddenly...


    Crackling.


    <What is that?> Evan heard another chain ringing, but it wasn''t the Barrier.. Thest of the 101 chains around the ck Pir was crackling.

 Chapter 216 - The Last Chain

    After "Ssh" was over and Evan got a new spell, he heard the loud ringing of the chain. Evan had been wondering for a long time what he needed to do to unlock thest chain, and that moment had arrived.


    <I''ve spent a huge amount of time and mana to unlock 100 chains. Only onest chain is left. Alright, no need to hesitate.>


    Evan thought and immediately started "Creation." His Warp quickly absorbed mana from the environment, and Evan redirected it to the ck Pir.


    <Now there''s another Pir next to the giant rat. I wonder what kind of spell it''s hiding behind it. When I have some free time, I''ll have to look into it.>


    When Evan broke through to the stage - "One-Pointed Star" - his Creation speed increased significantly, but he still couldn''t unlock thest chain even after a full day.


    <I need just an incredible amount of mana, I guess I''ll have to continue at this pace for a few more days.>


    Reykar was taking a small amount of mana as always, but Evan didn''t mind. He was interested in making Reykar stronger. It didn''t slow the whole process down much.


    After a couple of days, Evan finally poured in the right amount of mana.


    <It took quite a while, but I hope it was worth it. I can''t wait to see what kind of spell is depicted on these chains.>


    Evan thought as he watched thest chain fly off into the "Library." Evan followed it. He wanted to see and learn the new spell as soon as possible.


    "This is it..." Mumbled Evan looking at the 101 chains in front of him. They were stacked together to form arge magical circle.


    "Hmm, this is an unusual magical circle, I''ve never seen anything like it before. What''s more, it''s very different from the sigils of demons. Is it something else entirely?" Evan was puzzled.


    He was finally able to unlock all the circuits, but he didn''t even know how to begin learning this spell.


    "Okay, we should start by examining these chains again, maybe I can find some clue."


    Evan leisurely walked over to the magic circle, and as soon as he touched the chains, they all glowed brightly.


    At the exact moment, dark energy began to emanate from the Pir next to the lion. It headed toward Evan, and the chains started to copse gradually.


    Evan didn''t understand what was happening, but he could do nothing to stop the process. When almost all of the chains were destroyed, the dark energy prated Evan''s be.


    But, this was not the end. Dozens of different symbols and runes were left floating in the air and quickly transformed into a strange magical circle. Scarlet-colored energy began to emanate from it, which also prated Evan''s be.


    At the same moment, a phrase sounded in Evan''s head:


    [The first Pir of the Lion''s Sigil has been activated. Your Pride has increased.]


    [Lucifer''s Shackles Spell Received]


    [Second Pir of the Lion''s Sigil has been received.]


    Shuh.


    A crimson Magic Circle appeared in the dark space, and a Pir ck as the abyss emerged. It was shrouded in a multitude of chains, and it came crashing down next to the lion. Evan felt an incredible rush of strength.


    Suddenly Evan felt very strange. He felt as if the whole world was in the palm of his hand. He had only experienced something like this once before when he had killed the warden in prison.


    <What a wonderful feeling... but it''s pretty dangerous. Right now, I feel like I''m the strongest in the world, that I can destroy an entire mountain with one touch, but it''s just a deception. It seems to be that fine line between hubris and overconfidence. Perhaps the stronger I get, the stronger this feeling will be. I need to control myself and my emotions properly.>


    Concluded Evan gradually calming down.


    <If I can manage this feeling and control it, it will give me strength. But, if I give in to my emotions, I might make a fatal mistake. It''s quite dangerous, but the benefits are enormous.>


    Evan left Nirvana and began to study the spell he had received.


    The magic circle for this spell was in the "Library", but Evan didn''t need to study it. All the information he needed was already in his head, all he had to do was cast the spell.


    <Hmm, what an unusual name, Lucifer''s Shackles... I wonder if this Lucifer invented it all, or if he is some powerful being? Maybe the title was just made up.>


    Evan was a powerful dark mage and demonologist in his past life, but there was no mention of a demon as powerful as Lucifer in his world. He knew the sigils of 72 demons from a grimoire as old as the world itself. But, Evan knew nothing about the Seven Princes of Hell, one of whom was Lucifer.


    It was another kind of demon that didn''t exist in his world, or at least Evan had no way of knowing about them.


    <I wonder...I''ve read several thousand books in the library, absorbed the memories of a man who knew hundreds of people, but...I''ve never heard of Lucifer before.>


    He was trying to figure out if this spell was created specifically for him or if some people in this world knew simr spells. Evan didn''t think Demon Tree might have any information because Evan didn''t know that Lucifer was the name of a powerful demon.


    "Well, hopefully, someday I''ll know the answers to my questions. I need to try this spell, I hope it''s mighty."


    Mumbled Evan, and his "Warp" spun. Thanks to the energy that permeated his be, he could cast the spell right now.


    Whooosh.


    Suddenly ck streaks began to appear on Evan''s arms, from palm to shoulder. They looked like shackles capable of restraining anything. Then Evan felt every muscle grow tighter, his physical strength increasing by the second.


    His body underwent slight changes. Evan became a little thinner, but it didn''t have any negative effects. The spell had destroyed most of the excess in his body.


    Evan''s body now looked as if he had trained for decades on end. His muscles were not bloated, they looked organic and natural.


    Evan slowly stood up and clenched his hands into a fist.


    "Incredible power, from what I''ve managed to understand, "Lucifer''s Shackles" is an Amplification Magic spell, if it can even be defined in any category. When this ck lion first appeared, my physical strength increased. The same thing happened when the first and second Pirs appeared. When I unlocked all the chains on the first Pir, not only did I get a special spell, but the second Pir also appeared. Every time I step forward, something new opens up for me. It''s amazing."


    Evan was about to head to the training ground and see how strong this spell was, but suddenly he felt very strange.


    <Wait...what is that...?


    A couple of seconds after the ck streaks appeared, unusual energy appeared in Evan''s body.


    "I can clearly feel demonic energy flowing through me... is Lucifer some demon I don''t know? I''ll have to find out more about it when I join the Demon Tree. But, why do I feel something else...?"


    Evan''s eyes widened a secondter, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. His whole body was covered in goosebumps, Evan felt what that second energy was.


    "It''s divine energy!? No, no, no! Fuck!!!!".


    Since Evan had used demonic power many times before, his body was saturated with demonic energy. But, demonic energy was never supposed toe into contact with divine energy, this rule worked both ways.


    The two energies could not exist in the same body. They would fight each other, thereby destroying the host body.


    Evan urgently needed to do something, but no sooner had he taken a step than he vomited a mouthful of blood.


    "Fuck, how did that happen!" Evan roared, and the next moment his body overloaded, and his heart burst.

 Chapter 217 - Life Or Death

    Demonic and divine energy could not exist with each other. Evan knew this well and never allowed them to meet each other in the same body. In his past world, most light mages used spells based on divine energy. In contrast, there were demonologists and dark mages.


    There was no way Evan would expect this spell to contain both demonic and divine power. Only demon spells and forbidden dark magic spells contained demonic energy. Evan was sure he could easily sense its presence in another spell, but he didn''t notice anything. At thest second of his life, he realized why this had happened.


    The demonic and divine energies suppressed each other, causing Evan not to notice their presence in the spell. Moreover, the spell itself was not ordinary at all. Evan assumed that only spells used by members of light organizations would have divine energy. They must have had their own secret techniques and unique spells.


    Evan died within seconds. His body couldn''t take it, and it was his heart that took the brunt of it. It just burst because of the overload. Evan''s blood slowly spilled over the stone floor. From the outside, it might have looked as if someone had killed Evan.


    A crackle.


    A crackling sound was heard. It came from Evan''s Warp. When the mage died, "Nirvana" did not disappear immediately. It gradually disintegrated, just as the Warp did.


    With each passing second, the cracks in the crimson sphere grewrger andrger, and very soon, it would copsepletely.


    Crack.


    When "Warp" should have broken into small pieces, the scythe inside the sphere suddenly came into motion. It had only activated once during the entire time, during a test at the academy, the rest of the time, it just hovered inside Evan''s Warp.


    He knew nothing of the power or nature of this scythe. Last time it had somehow strangely altered the purple spirit, causing it to transmit the wrong information.


    Whoosh.


    A dark energy began to emanate from the scythe. More and more of it came out with each passing second. As cracks formed in the Warp, this darkness was able to escape its limits. It simultaneously held "Warp" back from destruction and slowly consumed the entire space.


    "Nirvana" was an infinite space, but the darkness emitted by the sh could spread over very far distances.


    ...


    Since Nirvana and Warp were still intact, Evan''s consciousness still existed in this world. If not for the strange scythe, he would have died long ago.


    "§¡? Where am I?" Evan muttered, puzzled. He was sure that the contact of the two energies had caused him to be killed, but now he was in some strange ce.


    <Hmm, it''s only my consciousness. My real body is already dead. But, why do I still exist and can even think? It looks like I have a chance to get out of this mess.>


    Evan thought, looking at the two doors in front of him. They stood in the middle of space. One of them was white and crystal clear. There was a pleasant and soothing aura about it, like a gateway to heaven.


    The second door was very different. It was not a gate to hell. It didn''t burn brightly, and there was nova spreading out beside it. It would be more urate to say that the second door was like a gate to the abyss.


    It was as ck as pitch-ck. It gave off a calm but oppressive and deste aura. If heaven was like good and hell like evil, then the abyss was the third side. There was nothing but emptiness and the lost souls of the long dead.


    Evan had to decide which door to walk through, and he immediately decided on his choice.


    Click.


    Evan opened the dark door, and as he walked on, there was a long path of stone bs in front of him. He walked leisurely forward. Evan didn''t know if his choice was right, but he wouldn''t even consider the white door an option. The very thought of touching something so light, bright, and supposedly beautiful disgusted him.


    Step. Step. Step.


    He walked slowly forward. There was nothing around him, only stone bs appearing in front of him, keeping him from falling into this imprable emptiness.


    <It looks like I''m here. Evan thought, looking at the shards that appeared in the distance.>


    As he got closer, Evan realized what it was.


    <My memories from a past life? Why are they here, and it doesn''t seem to be all of them, just certain ones...>.


    With each passing second, more and more shards of his memories appeared next to Evan. They all referred to only one subject: the murders.


    These were all murders and atrocities Evan hadmitted in a past life. Millions of people were killed by him, hundreds of thousands of viges and cities were destroyed. Hundreds of counties and dozens of kingdoms were destroyed at his whim.


    Many great mages and organizations fell at his hands. During some battles, Evan identally destroyed entire settlements, those memories were here as well.


    Evan was not surprised, and he did not feel any emotion. After he was reborn, these memories left him only for a short period of time. During the fight with Abigail, he remembered everything. He did not regret the killing and destruction. That was not his concern, he was only moving toward his goal. The lives of strangers and their fates were of no importance to him.


    After an unknown amount of time, an exceptionally bright shard appeared on the horizon. It was the greatest murder Evan had evermitted.


    "Emperor..." Evan muttered slowly.


    When Evan fought the emperor, their attacks destroyed the throne room and half the entire empire. It was a battle that changed Evan''s former world forever. On that day, he killed the one whom many believed to be a god.


    Evan headed onward with a calm face. He felt like he had been walking for a very long time, and he had already seen all his memories associated with killing anyone but one.


    <This must be the key to getting out of here. Evan thought as he watched a small splinter appear on thest stone b.>


    Unlike all the others, it was dark and frightening. It looked like a shard from a cursed mirror.


    The emperor''s murder was Evan''sst and greatest murder, but the most important murder was another. It changed his whole life and led to the path he''s been on ever since.


    "My very first murder...the first person I killed was my father," Evan muttered coldly as he looked at the small shard.


    He remembered that picture clearly. Evan regretted, he regretted that he was too weak and didn''t kill this man much sooner. His father was far from a good man, and at one point, Evan decided he couldn''t take it anymore. One night he stuck a knife through his father''s heart and went his own way.


    "Eh, too bad I was a kid then, and it took me quite a while to figure out how to act to survive in this world."


    Whooosh.


    Suddenly an enormous amount of memories headed toward that ck shard. Evan didn''t understand what was happening, in an instant, all these memories began to merge into one.


    After a while, it wasplete.


    <What is this...?>


    Evan thought to himself, looking at the result of this procedure. All his memories had turned into a gray blob.. Millions of lives and an infinite amount of agony and suffering were inserted into that blob.

 Chapter 218 - Death

    Thousands of memories turned into a single drop. It was a concentration of the millions of lives Evan had cut short. It was a concentration of death''s power, its purest expression.


    Evan touched the gray drop, and at that moment, space began to copse. The darkness was turning into emptiness. In a few seconds, there should have been nothing left of Evan''s consciousness.


    <This drop... strange, but why don''t I feel any fear of death? I don''t feel anything at all... is it possible because death is emptiness? Death is nothing...>.


    Evan thought, and suddenly the gray drop was gone. It carried death behind it and was aimed at the only thing still alive in Evan''s mind.


    Whooosh.


    The gray drop appeared in Evan''s Nirvana and rushed toward the crimson sphere. "Warp" was thest barrier separating the mage from ultimate death. In all other cases, any other mage would have died, but Evan was still alive because his Nirvana and Warp were still intact.


    They were not yet destroyed, thanks to the immense darkness emitted by the sh inside the Warp. That was where the gray drop was headed. It had to destroy that scythe so that Evan could go to the realm of the dead.


    This gray drop represented a part of death. If it touched anything, the target would immediately die.


    Whooosh.


    Through the cracks, the gray drop prated the inside of the Warp. Its purpose was to touch the scythe and destroy the space, but the scythe took effect as soon as the drop was inside.


    The limitless amount of darkness spread across Nirvana instantly returned to the scythe. Space was white again, but Evan''s Warp was filled with darkness.


    The gray drop headed toward the scythe. It felt no threat from this darkness. All she had to do was destroy the scythe. However, when the drop touched the scythe, nothing happened. Moreover, after an unsessful attempt, the drop tried to get out of the Warp, but theyer of darkness prevented it from doing so.


    The scythe locked the gray drop inside Evan''s Warp and wouldn''t let it go anywhere. The drop could do nothing to the scythe, and there was only one exnation: the scythe was above it in the hierarchicaldder of this world. But, only death itself could be higher than death.


    The drop could not kill the darkness, for the darkness was nothing. The scythe did nothing, it seemed to be waiting for something. It only locked the gray drop inside the Warp.


    Whoosh.


    When the space Evan was in practically copsed, another door appeared before him.


    "So, is it good''s turn now?" Evan smirked and opened the white door.


    It was the opposite of the dark door and represented Evan''s deeds that saved someone''s life. To Evan''s surprise, there were a lot of shards, almost as many as there were memories of the murders.


    But, that didn''t mean that Evan did good deeds as much as he did evil ones. He did save some people, but only those who were dear or useful to him.


    The whole point was that these "good" memories were not from the man''s moral point of view.


    For example: in one "evil" memory, Evan destroyed a criminal organization, he killed hundreds of people in just a few minutes, but that same memory was a "good" memory. By destroying those people, he saved the lives of those who those criminals would have killed.


    Most of the memories were just that.


    <"By killing some, I gave life to others... but that''s not a good thing, that''s the rule of this world. Evan thought as he walked down the stone bs.>


    Even though the white door was supposed to contain memories of saving the lives of others, Evan found himself once again surrounded by memories of killing.


    After a while, Evan reached the most vivid and first memory of saving anyone.


    It was the memory of his father''s murder. On that day, Evan not onlymitted his first murder, but he saved someone for the first time. Then he saved himself.


    Just like thest time, all the shards headed toward the first memory. After a while, they turned into a white drop. Its purpose was different from the gray drop, but it was also to interrupt Evan''s life because he was already dead. Unlike the gray drop, it didn''t want to destroy Evan''s consciousness until he decided to leave this world on his own.


    She rushed to Evan''s Warp to stop the gray drop. The scythe inside the sphere let the white drop through the darkness, but it still went on idly.


    "I see, so these two drops represent demonic and divine energy. Their struggle is what killed me. Both angels and demons kill their enemies, but they also save others. But I don''t like that. The memories in the door were mine, but the view of this world in them was different."


    "Where is my door, then?"


    Worth Evan''s utterance as a third door appeared before him. It was different from the dark and white door, it was Evan''s private world. Its color kept changing. All the colors of the rainbow shimmered in it at one time, and then it changed to a particr one. It was not divided into good and evil. This door represented Evan''s feelings for this world.


    As Evan got closer, the door stopped changing its color. It turned gray, and its surface was like a mirror in which Evan could see his reflection perfectly.


    Click.


    Evan opened the door and entered his world. Here were all the memories he had. They were not divided into good and evil, all the actions and feelings Evan had ever experienced were here. Trevor''s memories and the ones he took from the informant were here, too.


    When Evan took a few steps forward, all the memories turned into a violet drop. It also headed toward Evan''s Warp.


    That''s when strange changes began to happen to Evan''s corpse. Evan didn''te back to life, but gray energy began to emanate from his body as if "Ssh" were now happening.


    The purple drop quickly reached Evan''s Warp, a denseyer of darkness letting it through. There were now three drops inside the Warp, and each had a different target. But, of all the drops, only the purple drop didn''t want Evan to die, and neither did the scythe. Only thanks to the ck scythe, Evan''s Nirvana and Warp had not yet been destroyed.


    In an instant, the three drops headed toward each other. As they struggled, they transformed into one. Therge dropbining all three drops began to grow in size. At the same time, the scythe removed its darkness, it didn''t want to interfere with what would happen next.


    The drop turned into a bubble that was almost as big as the crimson "Warp."


    Blug.


    Suddenly the bubble burst, and the liquid spread across the entire surface of the Warp. It was enough to cover the outer and inner shell of the Warp.


    After a while, the liquid evaporated, and all the cracks on Warp disappeared. Moreover, "Nirvana" fully recovered, and Evan''s wound began to heal slowly.


    Every second, Evan''s body emitted more and more strange energy. Reykar tried to absorb it as much as possible. Otherwise, the barriers would have failed, and the entire mansion would have been altered.


    While Evan''s wound was healing, his consciousness returned to Nirvana. He was connected to this ce, so he roughly understood what had happened here. Evan was puzzled, but not because his mortal wound had begun to heal, he looked at his crimson Warp with iprehension.


    "Is it just me, or has the color changed a little....?"

 Chapter 219 - Anticipated Trouble

    While Evan''s body slowly healed and Reykar tried to absorb as much of the strange energy as possible, Evan looked at his "Warp," puzzled.


    "Hmm, it''s still crimson, but something has definitely changed. The color itself is clearer. It''s as if all the dirt and impurities have disappeared from the Warp, like some precious metal. It''s affected the speed of "Creation," I can feel it."


    Evan decided that he would get right down to "Creation" as soon as he was healed. But, besides the color of his "Warp," there was something else Evan didn''t understand. He couldn''t pinpoint the exact cause of his healing.


    <I died because I cast a spell that amazinglybined demonic and divine energies. My body couldn''t take the strain, and my heart burst. But, it''s different now, I don''t feel any struggle between the two energies. They coexist peacefully, but this is simply impossible.>


    <Moreover, I think I was able to heal because certain conditions were fulfilled. The healing process began only after the three drops became one andpletely covered the "Warp." The cleansing cured me of my "Warp," but that is only the result, not the cause.>


    <My "Warp" was cleansed, and I wasn''t able toe back to life because I died, that''s for sure. Otherwise, mages would be immortal, or some of them would be resurrected time after time. The reason is different, but what is it...?>


    As Evan''s body healed, he tried to figure out what caused the drops to appear and the subsequent healing of his body.


    <Maybe I should start over. The cause of my death was divine and demonic energy, and two of the three drops were the embodiment of those energies. If I''m right, that was one of the conditions for cleansing the Warp and healing the mortal wound.>


    <Then, a purple drop joined the gray and white drop. It represented me, and only then could the Warp be cleansed. Hmmm... does that mean I had to die by the two ipatible energies to purify "Warp"? After I died, Ibined them with my own, which led to the cleansing of "Warp" and the subsequent healing... howplicated is that?>


    Evan decided that his theory was very simr to the truth. If he was right, and Evan was sure he was, he wouldn''t be able to resurrect himself that way again. It was an isted incident that would never happen again.


    But, there was one point Evan wasn''t sure about. He didn''t know if it was necessary to die to clear "Warp."


    <There were two possibilities, either in my case, death was one of the conditions for starting and sessfullypleting the whole process, or all mages needed to die, but that was unlikely.>


    Evan had already concluded thatbining demonic, divine, and his own energies was the main condition for clearing Warp. But, it was only possible because Evan died under certain conditions.


    Moreover, in favor of his theory was the release of energy from his body, as if a "Ssh" was now taking ce. It was a clear indication that his strange energy influenced the Creation of the purple drop. She was the third variable in this confrontation that changed everything.


    Evan thought so seriously about this topic because he was curious to know how it all worked. He wanted to try a simr thing with Malespera, but it was impossible. Evan believed that each mage had his own conditions for clearing "Warp." If he didn''t know them, he couldn''t do anything.


    Evan was just lucky that "Lucifer''s Shackles" turned out to be such a strange spell.


    <If every mage has a different set of conditions, mine were clearly one of the toughest. Heck, I really needed to die, too, under such unusual conditions. I would have noticed the presence of divine or demonic energy in any other spell, but not in this one. In other words, there was no other way for me to clear my "Warp".>


    For the next few hours, Evan continued to think about what had just happened. Regeneration was very long, as the wound was severe. Evan was left without a heart, and creating a heart from nothing was not easy and not a quick task.


    Evan hadn''te to any new conclusions. He had already decided that both his death and the different kinds of energy were among his conditions. He also didn''t overthink about the benefits of a purified "Warp." Evan understood that this was a very good thing, and he had moved on to a new stage. Now he would be able to umte mana even faster.


    Maybe the purified "Warp" had some other advantages, but Evan could only find out about them during "Creation."


    Evan thought about the spell that made all this happen.


    <This spell has both demonic and divine energy. I want to know who created it, or who Lucifer is. If he has two of these energies at once, he must be both a demon and an angel at the same time... I hope "Demonic Tree" knows something about that.>


    Evan didn''t know of any other organization that had any information about demons in this world. He had already learned that the "Demonic Tree" didn''t use 72 Demons spells, but that only meant they knew of any other demons. Naturally, Evan was extremely interested in learning more about it.


    "Yeah, I just wanted to unlock thest chain and get a powerful spell, and it ended up turning out like this. Although, I have to admit that I got something incredible, even though I didn''t expect it myself."


    At that moment, Evan remembered that a second Pir had appeared next to the ck lion. He wondered how many chains were on it.


    Evan moved into the dark space and quickly counted the total number of chains.


    "Still the same, 101 chains, but something tells me it''s going to be a lot harder to unlock them. There''s a very oppressive and threatening auraing from this Pir, and there''s more power behind it."


    Evan hadn''t forgotten about the golden Pir next to the huge rat. The number of chains was the same on all the Pirs.


    "Okay, I have to get out of here. This has been an unforgettable adventure." Evan muttered and returned to the real world.


    By that time, his wound hadpletely healed. His new heart was no different from his old one.


    Crunch.


    Evan got up and stretched. It didn''t feel enjoyable, but it was much better than dying.


    <Reykar absorbed all the energying from me, and it looks like he made a breakthrough. He was now equal in power to a "One-Pointed Star" mage with one me. Not bad, not bad at all.>


    Evan wanted to do "Creation," but he lost the urge. He wanted to get some rest ande to his senses. Somehow he did die today, but there was something he wanted to check out.


    Evan''s Warp spun, and he cast "Lucifer''s Shackles." Evan was not afraid that he would die again. The two energies had already been in his body for a long time and, in some unknown way, had learned to coexist with each other.


    Stripe tattoos spread across his arms, and then Evan felt one of the benefits of the purified "Warp."


    "Understandably, the quality of mana in my Warp has increased markedly. Now all my spells are a little stronger, I suppose the effect will only increase in the future."


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed, and a scythe appeared in his hands.. He wanted to test how "Lucifer''s Shackles" would work with weapons.

 Chapter 220 - Guests

    Evan used the spatial ring, and a scythe appeared in his hand. He wanted to see how "Lucifer''s Shackles" would interact with weapons.


    In essence, "Lucifer''s Shackles" was very simr to the Amplification Magic spell, but Evan had to see for himself. This spell had many mysteries in it.


    <Okay, let''s get started. Evan thought, and the tattoos began to appear on the scythe as well.>


    "It was fine, no different than using "Ice Veil" or Touch of the Abyss," he said. But when the stripes covered half of the weapon, suddenly there were a lot of cracks along the scythe. Evan tried to reverse the spell quickly, but it was toote.


    The scythe had shattered into tiny shards, and there was no way to repair it. Evan frowned he didn''t expect the scythe to be unable to withstand the force of this spell.


    "Hmm, I need a new weapon, I need something strong and sturdy. Otherwise, I won''t be able to test the work of this spell properly."


    Mumbled Evan and left the room. He didn''t cancel the spell, he headed to the training area. There were many dummies on it, some were very strong, and others had resistance to some element. Each dummy was protected from some kind of exposure. They cost a lot of money, and to even scratch them was quite a challenge.


    Evan had not yet experienced Lucifer''s Shackles, but he was sure that the power of his blows had multiplied. Among the dozens of dummies were three particrly tough ones. They were made of a very rare kind of obsidian. Wounding a monster with two mes on its tform was easier than destroying them.


    When Evan reached the training tform, he stood in front of the dummy, took a deep breath, and prepared to strike. The muscles in his arms tensed, and he struck the center of the dummy with all his might.


    "Lucifer''s Shackles" increased not only the force of the blow but also the speed of the attack. Evan attacked so fast that there were streams of wind around his arm.


    Crackle.


    His fist mmed into the sturdy dummy, and a multitude of cracks rippled across the surface. Secondster, debris began to fall away from the dummy, and then it shattered into many pieces.


    "That punch could seriously hurt a monster of the first rank with two mes, but I have a lot of training to do." Mumbled Evan with difficulty clenching his right hand into a fist.


    Evan wasn''t hurt, but he wouldn''t be able to strike a second blow right away without severe consequences to himself. He had to wait a while before the recoil of the blow passed.


    p. p. p.


    Suddenly there was a p behind Evan.


    He turned around and saw Malespera standing in the middle of the aisle. She was clearly thrilled by what she saw.


    "Wow, Evan, that was amazing! I used all my spells, but I couldn''t even scratch that dummy. You''re going to teach me that spell, aren''t you?"


    Malespera''s eyes sparkled with interest. She had been a real headache for Evan over the past week. Domestic chores such as food, clothing, entertainment, and so on were taken care of by a maid. But most of all, Malespera was interested in magic. She pestered Evan with perpetual requests for new spells, some Evan did and some he didn''t.


    She, like him, was the owner of the crimson "Warp," and so was she. Malespera was an unseen genius, and Evan had a n matured for how he could use it to solve one of his problems.


    In addition to "Doomsday me" and "Magic Missile," he taught her one spell: Amplification Magic and Summoning Magic. Evan thought that, given her talent, she would quickly increase her "Awareness" to the second stage. In other words, using Malespera as an example, Evan wanted to understand what kind of ss he had and if he had one at all.


    Evan supposed that he probably didn''t have a predisposition to any particr type of Magic. He was either a generalist or, conversely, had no perks. He could have found that out for himself, but he needed to reach the second stage of Awareness in each of his first-level spells. In his mind, Malespera could do it faster than he could her spells were quite easy to use.


    "I''m afraid that''s a spell I can''t teach you. Your body can''t handle it, and honestly, even if I wanted to, I just don''t know how to do it."


    In Evan''s "Library," there was a Magic Circle, "Lucifer''s Shackles," but it wasn''t like any other spell. Evan wasn''t sure if Malespera could understand anything, but he wouldn''t teach her this spell.


    As Evan said, Malespera''s body couldn''t handle it. She was a quick learner and a genius, but she was still at the beginning. Malespera hadn''t even broken through her first "Barrier" yet, which meant her body was only slightly stronger than a mere human.


    "What?! Why?" She was clearly unhappy with that answer. She was struck by Evan''s power and wanted to be just as strong.


    Evan smirked and said, "Let''s do this when you raise "Awareness," three spells to stage two, and if I think you''re ready, I''ll teach you that spell."


    "Some exchange is not equal, well I have no other choice anyway." Said Malespera.


    She had changed a little during this week. Her coldness was gone, she was a little softer and kinder, but her icy calm and cruelty returned to her when she began to fight.


    "I see you''ve been out shopping recently, ruining me again?" With a slight smile on his face, Evan muttered.


    Malespera walked into this mansion in tattered clothes, she was covered in dirt and soot. Malespera looked like a poor man or a ve. But, things were different now.


    Evan ordered the butler to teach Malespera the basics. He had to tell her everything she needed to live in such a big city. Unlike spells, the rules of the criminal city and the world, in general, were hard for Malespera to understand.


    Her vige was quite small, and she knew nothing of stores, restaurants, buying and selling things, and so on. Malespera knew even less about this world than Evan did after his rebirth. But, that could be easily remedied. All it took was a little time, persistence, and patience.


    Malespera was wearing a beautiful ck dress and low-heeled shoes.


    "Well, you said I could buy anything I wanted, I liked this dress, so Lora bought it for me."


    Lora was the maid that Evan made responsible for Malespera. She spent a lot of time with her and also helped her get into this world.


    "Okay, did you want something?" Calmly Evan said, canceling the spell. The ck streaks slowly disappeared from his hands, and his aura diminished considerably.


    "Yes, you have a visitor. I don''t know who it is. This man said he was your friend and enemy."


    "What? I know practically no one in this town, who can be called my friend and enemy here at the same time?" Evan was a little puzzled. He figured Malespera had misunderstood something but decided to check anyway.


    "Let''s go."


    Evan headed for the guest room. He was curious to see who hade to see him. There was no shortage of interesting and strange personalities in Is.


    "What the...hell?"


    When Evan saw the guest, he was stunned.


    Sitting at the table was a tall blond man with azure eyes. He was calmly drinking the tea he had just brewed.


    "Rnd?"

 Chapter 221 - Entertainment

    Evan wasn''t expecting guests today, and he was extremely surprised to find Rnd waiting for him in the living room. Thest time Evan had seen this man was quite some time ago. It had been over two years since then, and they had only met once - when they fought in the arena.


    "Oh, Evan, hi," Rnd said calmly when he saw Evan. As always, nothing embarrassed him, and he acted the way he wanted to.


    "What are you doing here...?" Evan asked, puzzled. He didn''t understand how Rnd had found him. Moreover, Evan had no idea how Rnd had ended up in Is.


    "Well, I was bored, so I decided toe here." Calmly Rnd replied as he continued to drink his tea.


    Evan wasn''t surprised by Rnd''s answer. They had only talked to each other at the tournament before, but they had gotten to know each other pretty well during their battle. Evan sat across from Rnd and said.


    "What are you doing at Is? And how did you even find me?"


    "Oh, you mean, well, my father sent me to some elite Mage Academy, but after a year and a half, I left there. I was tired of the routine, and there was no one powerful and unusual there. I decided to go somewhere where I could do what I wanted, and Is was a great option. You weren''t hard to find. I live in the neighborhood."


    Evan didn''t know what to say. That was the answer he hadn''t expected to hear. However, Rnd wouldn''t be Rnd if the answer was different.


    "Evan, who is this?" Malespera asked, taking a seat next to Evan.


    "That, the one whose arrogance knows no barriers, by the way..."


    At that moment, Evan had an excellent idea. Malespera was a true genius, and Evan had seen that many times before, but Rnd was also far from an ordinary man. If Evan didn''t have the Sigil of the Lion, he probably would have lost. Evan wanted to make these two fight. Of course, Rnd had to hold back.


    Evan had already used the Eye of Truth and looked at his longtime opponent''s Pir of Soul. Rnd was at the same stage as Evan.


    "Why does everyone say I''m arrogant? People are just too offended by the truth." With a wave of his hand, Rnd parried. He had be famous as the most arrogant freshman in the academy.


    "So, what do you do?"


    Rnd put his cup of tea aside and uttered: "Hm¡­ I work with Paper Hydrangea and often run their errands."


    "You joined Paper Hydrangea?" Evan was surprised. He thought Rnd was a loner.


    "No, that''s not entirely true. I have a friendly rtionship with them. They give me assignments to kill someone, and if I want to, I take the job. I just have to go to that person and kill them, and Paper Hydrangea does the rest. It''s a lot more fun here than at the academy. I can fight whoever I want."


    Rnd always wanted to fight with interesting opponents, and there were plenty of people like that in Is. Some even managed to injure him, but Paper Hydrangea also provided medical services. They were methodically destroying people they didn''t need, gradually increasing their power.


    Evan nodded.


    "I see, Rnd. Would you like to fight?" With a slight smile on his face, Evan said.


    Rnd smirked and quickly replied, "I can fight you any time of day. We can right here and now!"


    He expected Evan to either attack or take him somece appropriate, but instead, Evan shook his head.


    "No, you''re not fighting with me. You''re fighting with her." Said Evan pointing at Malespera.


    Both the girl and Rnd were surprised.


    "What? She hasn''t even hit her first Barrier yet. If we fight, I''ll turn her into a pancake with the first punch." Rnd wasn''t going to waste his time on such a weak opponent.


    "Why, you! I''ll beat you easy!" Malespera said loudly. She really believed her words, as she didn''t yet know how important the stages were.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Evan, who is this girl? That''s the more cocky person I''ve never seen before, except for you, of course." The situation amused Rnd, and he found the girl''s anger rather amusing.


    "She''s my sister," Evan answered briefly. To the servants in the house, Malespera was his sister, which meant he had to say the same to everyone else.


    Upon hearing Evan''s answer, Rnd''s face immediately changed. Now the fight with Malespera was of some interest to him.


    "Okay, I''ll fight her, but if I''m disappointed, you''ll be next."


    "Okay, there is no arena in this manor, but there is a spacious training area. But, there is one condition, you will fight without the use of artifacts and Catalysts." Said Evan.


    Rnd and Malespera nodded. The girl wanted to fight Rnd as soon as possible. She wanted to see how much stronger she had be. She hadn''t fought anyone up to this point unless you counted a few sparring sessions with Evan.


    Naturally, Rnd would hold back. He would deliberately lower his level to keep up with Malespera.


    The servants were also interested in seeing this fight, so they followed Evan. Ordinary people didn''t often get the chance to watch two mages fight. Moreover, they were curious to see how strong Malespera was.


    "Evan, if I defeat him, will you teach me that spell?" Asked Malespera as she approached the training area.


    "Well, if you really beat him, fine."


    "Great!" Said Malespera and stood in front of Rnd, who was already waiting for her.


    Evan agreed. To get Malespera in the mood, he wanted to see what she was capable of in a real fight. But, he knew that even if Rnd held back, Malespera had no chance of winning. She had no experience or knowledge, just talent and animal instincts.


    "Ready?" Rnd said calmly.


    Malespera nodded.


    "Attack first. At least I''ll see what you''re capable of." Said Rnd with a gesture of his hand urging Malespera to attack.


    Whooosh.


    Crimson "Warp" Malespera spun, and her mood instantly changed. Her gaze was icy, and she waspletely focused on the fight.. For starters, she decided to cast "Doomsday me".

 Chapter 222 - Unconditional Victory

    Malespera attacked first. She immediately cast the Doomsday me. Malespera wanted to wound Rnd quickly, seriously.


    The purple me appeared next to Rnd and turned into a sphere, but Rnd quickly bounced aside. Malespera didn''t expect Rnd to be able to get away from her attack so easily. Rnd didn''t use any spells. He jerked to the girl and struck her.


    Malespera managed to react and blocked the blow at thest moment. She tried to retreat, but Rnd wouldn''t let her. He threw fast and urate punches, and Malespera barely had time to defend herself.


    Whooosh.


    Malespera''s "Warp" swirled, and gradually vibrations appeared around her palms. She was using an Amplification Magic spell, "Sonic Edge." This spell was difficult to learn, but its power was also outstanding.


    Malespera''s palms were now like two sharp des. If it hit Rnd, it would definitely leave a deep cut on his body.


    Bam.


    She blocked another blow and quickly counterattacked, but Rnd didn''t even dodge. He grabbed the girl by the wrist and dropped her to the ground in one motion.


    Crackling.


    Malespera quickly got to her feet, but Rnd had already cast one of his spells. He hadn''t used it in a long time since it was a zero-level spell. Rnd would not cast a first-level spell in this battle. That would not be fair.


    Blue lightning struck Malespera. The girl bounced aside, but she was wounded. There was a terrible burn on her left leg, and she needed immediate medical attention.


    "You know Evan. I''m a little disappointed. Your sister is nowhere near as strong as you are." Calmly Rnd said and cast another zero level spell.


    Droplets of water appeared around Malespera, which quickly turned into a giant bubble. It engulfed Malespera there was no way the girl could get out of her confinement.


    Evan grinned, "Wait, this isn''t over."


    Immediately after his words, Malespera cast two spells in a row. The first was Magic Missile, which got her out of the trap. The second was a Magic Invocation spell. Several iron chains appeared from the ground and immobilized Rnd.


    Malespera rushed to Rnd and hit him with all her might, but the young man just crouched down, and the girl''s blow passed him by.


    Snap.


    Rnd snapped his finger, and several deadly drops flew toward Malespera. Two of them pierced through the girl. The girl spat out a mouthful of blood and held her side, ring furiously at Rnd. There was nothing she could do against him, and after all, Rnd wasn''t even trying. He was just ying with Malespera, and it really pissed her off.


    "That''s it. I''m fed up. She''s too weak, and she needs still growing and growing." Calmly said Rnd freeing himself from his chains.


    Malespera was enraged, but she could not attack Rnd. If she held on to her wounds, she would bleed out very quickly.


    "Hell, if I hadn''t fallen for yourst attack, I could have easily overpowered you!" Malespera shouted. She definitely didn''t want to give up so easily.


    "Malespera, you''re a genius, but ce as the most arrogant person on the is already taken. You''re still lucky that Rnd shot in a way that didn''t hit your internal organs."


    "But, if he hadn''t hit, I would have been in one piece! And then I would have dealt him many blows at once!" Malespera said loudly.


    "Ah, never mind. Anyway, you didn''t even have a chance to win. Remember this fight and strive to get even better. There are always stronger than you." Calmly Evan said.


    Evan looked at Rnd and said: "By the way, you never said why you came to see me? Was it just to say hello?"


    Naturally, Evan didn''t believe that Rnd hade for no reason.


    Rnd smiled and calmly replied, "Not here. I don''t want anyone else to hear our conversation."


    Evan nodded, and his spatial ring glowed. A green potion appeared in his hands, which he tossed to Malespera.


    "Drink it. Your wounds will heal in about an hour."


    Evan then headed to his office. There he would be able to talk to Rnd face to face.


    ...


    "Talk," Evan said slowly.


    Rnd smirked and said calmly: "I was nning a robbery. Originally I wanted to do it alone. But, when I found out that you were also in Is, I decided to suggest that you join. I think it would be really exciting."


    Evan hadn''t expected Rnd to suggest something like that. But, he already wanted to support the idea. This kind of thing was Evan''s business.


    "I''m extremely interested in your proposal, but I have a question. Why would you want it?"


    Rnd was the son of one of the strongest mages in Mossy Vulture. His father was obviously rich and very influential moreover, Rnd himself could achieve much if he wanted to. Evan knew better than most that robbery was a significant risk.


    "Well, I''m bored, and so I decided to rob someone. That way, I''ll entertain myself and get a huge amount of money and resources. That sounds like a great option to me." Rnd calmly replied.


    <Hmm, given that it''s Rnd, his words could very well be true, but maybe he''s hiding something. Okay, I want in on this anyway>.


    "Okay, who are we robbing, and when do we start?" Evan asked.


    Rnd smiled and calmly replied, "Paper Hydrangea and if there''s still time, let''s rob someone else. I have a n to do it all."


    Evan was wary. He hadn''t expected that Rnd would want to act so boldly. "Paper Hydrangea was one of the five strongest organizations in all of Is. The head of this organization was at the stage - "Two-Pointed Star" with three mes. Such a magician could kill them with one finger if he wished.


    "Are you sure? You and I will be killed as soon as they figure out what we''re up to." Evan muttered cautiously. He was all for the idea, but he wasn''t suicidal.


    "Well, since I often do assignments from Paper Hydrangea, I know where their warehouse is and how to get there. All that''s left to do is to make sure there are either no or very few guards."


    Evan grinned. A very daring and excellent idea he thought came to him, and he knew how they could rob Paper Hydrangea.


    "Rnd, we need to make war, and I know how to do it."

 Chapter 223 - The Beginning Of The Plan

    "War? I thought we''d just wait for a good moment, break into the vault, kill the guards, take the loot, and get out of there fast." Said Rnd.


    "That''s not a bad option, but I''m afraid we''ll have to wait a very long time for the right moment. I suggest we create that moment ourselves. I think you know that Paper Hydrangea has a conflict with the Hell Bulls?" Proimed Evan.


    Rnd nodded and said: "Yes, but I doubt this conflict will turn into a real war. The other three organizations have no interest in letting Is wallow in the mes of war."


    "I understand this as much as you do, but I have an idea. "The Hell Bulls are after me, which is why I decided to settle on Paper Hydrangea territory."


    "What are you implying?" Rnd asked.


    Evan smirked and said: "I''ll provoke the Hell Bulls and get to a certain ce where you bring at least someone from Paper Hydrangea. We only need to create one small spark for the mes to take over the whole town."


    "And then?"


    "Then, when the massive scuffle starts, we put on masks and infiltrate the Paper Hydrangea vaults. We can go to other organizations'' vaults, too, but it''s too dangerous." Evan calmly exined.


    Paper Hydrangea was the most interested party in destroying the Hell Bulls. Therefore, they would send thergest number of people to the battle against the Hell Bulls. Other organizations would most likely try to stop the carnage first, and only then would they fight in full force.


    Rnd smiled quite a bit: "Great n, I think I can talk them into it if you can provoke the Hell Bulls. Assuming we seeded, what are our escape routes?"


    "I''m going with my sister to the big city up north. If you want, you cane with us or not, it''s not that important to me." Proimed Evan.


    "Okay." Rnd nodded and said, "Then I think we should discuss the whole n again and in more detail."


    ...


    For the next few hours, Evan and Rnd thought about the n in detail. They discussed the time, the ce, what needed to be prepared. How they would act and what they would do in certain situations. Unlike Evan, this was the first time Rnd hadmitted a heist with the cover of a real war in the middle of a crime-ridden city. He was more of a listener than a proposer, but Rnd had information Evan didn''t have.


    Without it, Evan would not have been able to proceed with the n. Rnd''s good rtionship with Paper Hortense was their biggest bargaining chip.


    The most dangerous part of the n was the Hell Bulls'' provocation. If Evan was unlucky, he could easily be killed. But if they wouldn''t get the two organizations to fight among themselves, they certainly would fail.


    Evan hardly knew Rnd, but he could trust him on this one. First of all, Evan felt no threat from Rnd, and his instincts rarely failed him. Secondly, it made no sense for Rnd toe to Evan''s house and offer to rob Paper Hydrangea if he didn''t want to do it himself.


    In the end, they decided that they would make a move as early as tomorrow. Rnd needed to buy a disguise and check again to see if they could get to the vault easily. Evan decided to talk it over with Malespera. He couldn''t let her die.


    It didn''t take Evan long to exin, Malespera quickly understood. Of course, she had asked Evan many times to let her fight, but he was against it. Malespera still had too little understanding of how strong people could be in this world. She hadn''t even broken through her first Barrier yet. She was weaker than almost all the mages in this world, except for some neers with no talent.


    ...


    A dayter, at the specified time, Evan set out for Hell Bulls territory. By this time, Rnd had also sprung into action.


    <Well, I hope it works out. I''m going straight into the clutches of my enemy, the main thing is not to meet their leader.>


    Evan wasn''t going toe to the Hell Bulls base or surrender. He had another way to make himself known. He was sure that most members of Hell Bulls knew what he looked like, and if they saw him, they would attack immediately, but that wasn''t enough. If Evan decided to retreat in such a situation, they wouldn''t chase him for long.


    So Evan decided to destroy something. He put on his ck and white mask and chose a simple tavern as his target. There were quite a few members of the Hell Bulls there, but most of them hadn''t even reached the ''One-Pointed Star'' stage.


    No one noticed Evan as he walked through the dark alleys where no one was present. Moreover, there were only two guards near the tavern, and they were a little drunk. There was no way they could see that they were about to be attacked.


    After talking to Rnd, Evan went to the nearest store and sold all the Monster Cores. He used the money to buy some medium quality spatial rings and a special box to store them in. He had to take as many items as he could out of the Paper Hydrangea vault.


    Besides the spatial rings, Evan also bought a rather powerful bomb. All he had to do was pour some mana into it, and five secondster, it would explode.


    By destroying an entire tavern, Evan would draw enough attention to himself that the members of the Hell Bulls would chase him even if he escaped to the territory of another organization. After the skirmish urs, the stronger members of the organizations would be sent to the battle scene, and the minor scuffle would escte into a real war.


    "Well, let''s get started." Mumbled Evan and poured some mana into the bomb. The bomb was quite small, the size of a fist, but it had enormous destructive power. Such a thing cost Evan 20,000 gold coins, which was a lot of money. Even Marcel would think twice before spending that much gold coin on one bomb.


    The bomb glowed yellow, and many runes lit upon it. This was no ordinary bomb, the moment it detonated, it would produce an electric field that would destroy most of the buildings nearby.


    Evan threw the bomb through the window and used ''Ghost Step.'' He quickly stepped back to a safe distance and watched the massive explosion with a calm face.

 Chapter 224 - War

    Throwing a bomb into the Hell Bulls'' Tavern, Evan quickly retreated. With the help of Ghost Step, Evan promptly withdrew to a safe distance. He easily climbed up one of the buildings and watched as the tavern went up in mes.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion, and the tavern was destroyed. Dozens of yellow lightning bolts spread around, destroying the buildings next to the tavern. Many people died, the kind of explosion only a mage could withstand at the ''One-Pointed Star'' stage. But, even such a person would be very seriously injured.


    Evan didn''t run away, he waited a few minutes for the Hell Bulls members to arrive on the scene. He had created an uproar now, he needed to take all the attention. The Hell Bulls could track Evan down, but that would take some time, which Evan didn''t have.


    "Great, they''re already here." Mumbled Evan looking at the approaching squad of ten men. They weren''t very strong, only one of them was in the One-Pointed Star stage. He was the leader of the group.


    The explosion created a lot ofmotion and panic for the ordinary residents, so the members of the Hell Bulls arrived here very quickly.


    Evan decided not to wait and jumped off the building and appeared right in front of them. He was wearing a mask, so they still didn''t realize who was standing in front of them.


    "Who are you?" The team leader said harshly.


    Crackling.


    Lightning shed in Evan''s right hand. He slowly removed his mask and said: "Say hello to your boss. I''m sorry I had to destroy such a cute tavern."


    Evan threw Ball Lighting at the squad, and there was another explosion. A third of the squad was instantly killed, and the remaining members were wounded. Only the squad leader was unharmed, and he managed to cast some protection spell.


    After Evan struck the first blow, he decided to retreat. The squad leader already knows who did all this.


    "Report this to the boss and all squad leaders! I went after him." The man said loudly and ran after Evan.


    Evan could immediately get away from him since Ghost Step was active. But, he decided to keep a certain distance between him. That way, he wouldn''t get lost from sight, and themander wouldn''t be able to attack him.


    <It only remains to lead them to the specified location. I hope I don''t encounter anyone powerful on the way.> Evan acted defiantly, but he knew that Is was full of people stronger than him.


    If he hadn''t encountered members of the Demonic Tree at The Hills of Bloody Falls, the group sent after him would probably have killed him. They were an elite Hell Bulls squad, but there were quite a few other strong men in that organization besides them. Especially theirmander. He had onest step to take before he made his breakthrough and reached the ''Three-Pointed Star.''


    Whooosh.


    Evan ran into another alleyway and unexpectedly encountered members of the Hell Bulls. They were hitting on some woman, nothing out of the ordinary. Evan thought it was a pretty good encounter, so he killed one on the move and kept running. He was going to get as much attention as he could. Within reason, of course. There was definitely a bounty on his head in this territory.


    Realizing what had happened, the members of the Hell Bulls ran after him. In a short time, Evan would be at the designated location. Evan and Rnd arranged to meet at a special ce. There was the border between Hell Bulls and Dark Dogs territory.


    The Dark Dogs were simr to the Hell Bulls in character and purpose and didn''t get along with Paper Hydrangea either. But, the Dark Dogs were not friends of the Hell Bulls. Their rtionship was neutral.


    They decided to go there because when Rnd leaded Paper Hydrangea there, the full-scale battle would begin. Paper Hydrangea would attack both the Hell Bulls and the Dark Dogs.


    Of course, if the Hell Bulls and Dark Dogs unite against theirmon enemy, they could defeat Paper Hydrangea. But, the Dark Dogs wouldn''t expect the battle to start in their territory. It would take them some time to mobilize their men. There would be no war if the Hell Bulls and the Dark Dogs defeat Paper Hydrangea, but Evan and Rnd have also thought this through.


    Dark Dogs bordered on Amethyst Angel. It was an organization friendly to Paper Hydrangea. When the Hell Bulls and Dark Dogs began to win, Amethyst Angel would enter the battle. In the end, the four organizations would fight against each other. Thus four of the five strongest Is organizations would fight in one ce. Even if the fifth organization didn''t want to take part, it wouldn''t change anything.


    Whoosh.


    Evan ran out of another dark alleyway and climbed to the roof of a building. From there, he could already see the border between the Hell Bulls and the Dark Dogs.


    <Maybe this war won''tst long, but there''s definitely enough time for us. I can already see Rnd and the members of Paper Hydrangea, no problems so far.>


    Evan thought as he approached the border. There were Hell Bulls and Dark Dogs men on it.


    "Stop! Where are you running to! You can''t go through!" Seeing Evan, one of the guards tried to stop him, but he didn''t even know what purpose Evan hade here for.


    Whoosh.


    Evan''s ''Warp'' spun, and a purple beam flew toward the guards a secondter. "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" quickly reached its target, as well as three sharp feathers. After the "Awareness" of that spell went to the first stage, three sharp feathers appeared along the beam.


    They were very simr to Reykar feathers, purple and deadly. They were sharp enough to kill most rank zero monsters. Moreover, as ofte, One-Eyed Raven''s Beam had be a level one spell, its power had increased significantly.


    Boom.


    The purple st killed several people, and three more were pierced through with sharp feathers. At that moment, Evan made sure that the purified Warp slightly increased the power of his spells.


    <The explosion was more powerful than I expected, though, it was for the best. The more noise, the more people will be here. The feathers are pretty powerful, but not too urate, I was just lucky I hit. There are too many people here. "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" is the perfect spell against big enemies. The st from the beam will cause a severe wound to the monster, and then three sharp feathers will stick into it.>


    Evan thought, jumping over the corpses of the bandits who had just died. Those who survived chased after him and told theirmanders. Paper Hydrangea would be arriving soon, and Evan had something to do before then.


    He put the mask back on and pulled another bomb out of the spatial ring. It cost a little less than thest one, but it had just as much destructive power. It was fiery, and Evan wanted to use it to burn down some houses.


    Evan poured in some mana, and the red runes on the bomb lit up.


    "Stop it now! Who the hell are you!?" A member of the Dark Dogs yelled in a fury. He understood what Evan was about to do, but there was no way he could stop him.


    Evan smiled, a great idea popped into his head. He figured out how to make the impending conflict even more serious.


    "Dark Dogs! "Paper Hydrangea deres war on you. It''s high time you vile bastards got out of this world, and let us rule this ce."


    Evan turned his back on the man and threw a bomb at some wooden houses.

 Chapter 225 - Cloaking

    Evan threw a firebomb toward the wooden houses. There was a deafening explosion, and the mes engulfed a huge area. This way, Evan could definitely unleash the conflict between the organizations, but this action had another purpose. He needed cover, and a few burning houses were a great option.


    Whooosh.


    Evan didn''t have to fight anyone because Paper Hydrangea''s men were already here. There were quite a number of people running behind Evan, so the Paper Hydrangea immediately began to attack. They couldn''t pass up such a chance to destroy the Hell Bulls. What''s more, the Dark Dogs squads were also on their way.


    <Great, while they''re fighting each other, we can get out of here and clean out their vault.> Evan and Rnd needed a way to retreat, and they had a clear n of action..


    Evan ran toward the burning houses and headed into the very furnace. He barely made it past the tongues of me, but if he kept going, he would get burned. Evan wasn''t worried about that, though, for Rnd was already there waiting for him.


    Rnd cast one of his spells and protected himself on both sides with water bubbles. As he stood between them, there was no way the mes could reach him.


    Seeing Evan, Rnd waved at him and said, "Long time no see, I see you did well."


    "So did you." Evan smirked and said, "All set? Can we get out of here?"


    Rnd nodded, and his spatial ring glowed. Four sets of clothes appeared in his hands, two of which he tossed to Evan. Rnd had prepared for them simple clothes worn by poor people so they could leave the battlefield unnoticed. Moreover, thanks to his connections, he was able to buy two more suits, these were the uniforms of the members of the Paper Hydrangea.


    "Yeah, go ahead," Evan answered briefly.


    The next moment a white Magic Circle appeared beneath them, and suddenly their clothes were reced with in clothes.


    "Handy spell, isn''t it?" Rnd said with a smirk and leaned over and smeared part of his face with ash. Evan did the same. They figured it wouldplete their disguise as fleeingmoners from the battlefield.


    Of course, if someone looked at their Pirs of Soul, it would reveal them, but it was unlikely that would happen.


    "Let''s go." Calmly Evan said and ran toward the Paper Hortensia base. Rnd immediately followed him.


    In a few minutes, members of the Dark Dogs were to arrive here, after which this battle would affect practically the entire Is. When the members of the Paper Hydrangea realized that they could not cope alone, they would ask for help from the Amethyst Angel. At that point, Evan and Rnd would already be at the Paper Hydrangea base.


    At this point, Evan and Rnd were in Dark Dogs territory. From there, they would quickly make their way to Paper Hydrangea territory.


    "Rnd, do you know how many guards are left at the base?" Asked Evan was running into another alleyway.


    "No." Rnd shook his head and said, "I don''t have such a good rtionship with Paper Hortensia that I have to be notified of such things. But I''m sure there aren''t any mages left at the ''Two-Pointed Star'' stage there. You and I can easily get along with a few mages at the ''One-Pointed Star'' stage. Consider their treasure already in our pocket."


    "Good, I hope it all works out. When we get close to the base, we''ll have to change our outfit."


    Rnd and Evan were wearing a mask, but when they arrived at the Paper Hydrangea base, they would need to change into their uniforms. They were lucky because the uniforms were hooded, that way, they would be harder to uncover.


    ...


    About five minutes after the battle began in Dark Dogs territory, news reached the heads of the organizations.


    "Boss! Members of the Paper Hydrangea have attacked our boys! From what I hear, they''ve dered war on us! Boss, we have to go and kill every one of them!" A tall man said loudly. He was a close subordinate of the Hell Bulls boss.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAH, well okay, round everybody up, we''ll go and kick their asses. Contact the boss of the Dark Dogs, I think they can help us win this war." Said the muscr man and extinguished his cigarette, and left his office. He was one of the strongest mages in all Is and possessed the most destructive power.


    ...


    At the exact moment, the news reached the head of the Paper Hydrangea. With Rnd went only a squad to ry the information.


    "Miss, the Hell Bulls, and Dark Dogs are attacking us, apparently they have finally decided to act. I await your orders." Said the blonde girl and bowed respectfully.


    "So Rnd was right, I always knew this guy was special. We''ll have to recruit him at all costs." Mumbled a tall girl with short, white hair.


    "We have to destroy them, they''re too much trouble, maybe it''s for the best that the war starts today. Mobilize all units, let only the wounded and a few guards remain at the base. Report everything to the head of the Amethyst Angel." The girl said sternly.


    ...


    At the base of the Dark Dogs.


    "Boss, what are we going to do?" The muscr girl said with a frown. She was furious that the battle was taking ce in their territory.


    "Hmm." A man with long ck hair was holding a ss of bourbon and thinking about something. His body was trough with numerous tattoos.


    Staring at the amber liquid, he calmly said: "We need to help the Hells Bulls, but I''ve got a better idea. We''ll split into two squads. The first will go to the battlefield, I will lead it, our best fighters, and most of our men will go with me. The second will go to the Paper Hortense base. You will be itsmander."


    "Boss?" The girl didn''t understand what he meant.


    "While everyone is fighting, we''ll rob the Paper Hydrangea. They''re the furthest away from the skirmish, so they''ll realizeter than everyone else that outsiders have broken into their vault. That''s it, do it." Calmly the man said, he drank the contents of his ss and left the room.


    ...


    By the time the four organizations headed to the battlefield, Evan and Rnd were already there. Rnd had used the same spell again, and they were now dressed as the rank and file members of the Paper Hydrangea.


    "Where is the vault?" Asked Evan, covering his face with his hood.


    "This way, we''ll go in through the back entrance, not many people know about it, even if someone meets us, they''re not likely to suspect anything," Rnd said quietly and went forward.


    <Hmm, it looks like it went just fine. Even from here, you can hear the sounds of battle and numerous explosions. It seems like today is going to change this town forever, but that''s not my concern. I won''t be here by tomorrow morning.>


    As Rnd said, they easily made their way into the Paper Hydrangea base. A few men were guarding the entrance, but no one was watching the other ces.


    "By the way, Rnd, do you even know roughly what''s in the vault?" Asked Evan, cautiously walking down the corridors. At this point, they were descending to the lower floor, where the vault was located.


    "Well, I think a huge amount of money, armor, weapons, artifacts, and so on. I hope something is interesting in there, otherwise, I''ll be a little disappointed." Rnd said quietly.


    After three turns, he gestured for Evan to stop and whispered, "We''re here, honestly I was hoping the security would be weaker."

 Chapter 226 - The Robbery

    Evan and Rnd got to the vault without any problems. Thanks to Rnd, no one even noticed them. They acted quietly and carefully, but there were guards in front of the vault. There were five in all. Four of them were in the - ''One-Pointed Star'' stage, while theirmander was in the - ''Two-Pointed Star'' stage.


    <Shit, there''s no way we could beat them. If there hadn''t been a fifth guardian, we might have been able to deal with the rest. But, the mage at the stage - Two-Pointed Star is too strong an opponent, he''ll kill us with one spell. Was it really all for nothing?> Evan thought.


    He tried to think of a n of action. He didn''t want to leave here with anything. But no matter how much Evan thought, he didn''t see any winning options. Even if he used the power of demons, it was unlikely he could kill a mage at the stage - ''Two-Pointed Star..''


    <I can use the power of the 68th demon, but that''s just crazy. The cost would be exorbitant, no treasure is worth that. What''s more, if I use its power, there won''t be a stone left unturned. There''s got to be another way.>


    "Rnd, do you have any ideas? Is it possible to get into the vault by stealth?" Evan whispered.


    "No." Rnd shook his head and said, "A barrier on all sides protects the vault. The only way out is to disable it and enter through the main entrance. It''s unlikely we can break through the barrier, and even if we can, the guards will kill us quickly. I suggest we wait five minutes and get out of here. If we''re spotted, we''ll die for nothing."


    Evan frowned and said nothing. He wasn''t happy with that option, but he knew that Rnd was right. It would help if you didn''t give in to emotion in situations like this. If they attacked the guards now, they would probably die. It was better to go home with nothing but life than to try to take the treasure at the cost of their lives.


    Crackling.


    Suddenly the whole building shook, and there were many cracks in the ceiling. The guards didn''t understand what was going on, but Evan quickly caught on.


    "Rnd, it looks like we got lucky today. Fortunately, there are plenty of murderers, bandits, and other criminals in Is. You and I aren''t the only ones who want to rip off Paper Hydrangea." Evan said with a smirk.


    "§¡? What do you mean?" Rnd was puzzled, he thought there had been an explosion nearby, and that''s why the building shook.


    Crackle.


    At the same moment, the ceiling copsed and a group of people attacked the guards in ck robes. They were members of the Dark Dogs, and their leader was a muscr girl with blond hair and tanned skin. She was Berta Charpantier. She was also the deputy head of the Dark Dogs and the second strongest in the organization.


    She was in the Two-Pointed Star stage with one me on her tform. She was the strongest in this room. Even the guardmander was weaker than her.


    "Kill them, we don''t have much time. Hurry up!" Berta said loudly and attacked the guardmander. Despite her appearance, she was no ''Amplifier.''


    She cast a spell, and two skeletons in ck armor appeared beside her. One was armed with a sword and the other with an axe. They were equal in strength to the mage on the stage - ''One-Pointed Star,'' which broke through three Barriers.


    Next, she cast another spell, and a huge two-handed sword appeared out of a purple magic circle. It was just over two meters tall. To fight with such a weapon, you had to have tremendous strength. Berta was a Summoner, but she didn''t like to sit on the sidelines. She liked to fight alongside herrades and summoned creatures.


    The group of Dark Dogs consisted of seven men. They outnumbered the vault guards, and Berta was a very formidable opponent. She alone could defeat anyone here.


    "Wow, that''s really lucky, but I don''t think anything will change. The members of the Dark Dogs will kill the guards, and we still won''t be able to get into the vault. I doubt they''ll kill each other." Said Rnd.


    He realized that the Dark Dogs would simply kill everyone in the room. He and Evan couldn''t fight the guards or the Dark Dogs. Their powers were too different.


    "By the way, Rnd, what''s your ss?" Evan suddenly inquired, even though many mages were fighting within a couple of meters of him.


    "Why do you decide to ask that now? I don''t know." Rnd replied.


    "What?" Evan was surprised by this answer, "You don''t know what your ss is? That''s impossible."


    Evan thought Rnd''s test results were unusual or unique. Evan was curious to know what the reason was, but the answer shocked him.


    "Well...anyway...I didn''t actually get into the academy... Dad wanted me to, but I wouldn''t say I liked the idea of being an apprentice. Of course, I went to the entrance exam, but I got into a fight with an annoying guy right there and left. I didn''t really want to stay in a ce with so many arrogant people. Instead, I stayed in the town where the academy was located and fought with the students. Eventually, I got bored and went traveling. Who cares what my ss is anyway? Whichever spell I learn, I''m still the best."


    <This guy... this is just fucked up... and he says something about other people''s arrogance, noments. Thought Evan looking at Rnd''s indifferent face. In his mind, everything was fine, and it was the academy''s fault, not his.


    "Okay, it''s not a big deal, just wanted to tweak the n of action a bit, but there''s nothing to be done about that. Rnd, don''t worry, only we, with our pockets full of treasure, will walk out of here." Evan said calmly as he watched the mages fight.


    "What? What makes you think that? No matter which one of them wins, we always lose. We need to get out of here and as soon as possible." Rnd didn''t want to fight a mage at the stage- ''Two Pointed Star''. He was the epitome of arrogance, but not an idiot.


    "Rnd, don''t be stupid. This vault contains all the treasures of Paper Hydrangea, and it must be protected to the highest standard. You probably know that yourself. Just keep looking and get ready for a fight. We''re the only ones who''ll stay alive out here, I promise you that." Proimed Evan.


    Rnd only nodded. He understood that Evan was deadly serious.


    Before their eyes, the Dark Dogs were overwhelming the guards. There were more of them, and they were stronger, especially Berta, she had single-handedly wounded several already.


    "That''s it, you''ve gone too far. The boss said to do this only as ast resort, but I don''t have any other option." Said themander of the guards and put his palm on the floor.


    A huge number of formations were set up in the room in front of the vault, and themander activated them.


    Many magical circles appeared on the walls. They ovepped each other, and all activated at once. They were prepared in advance and filled with mana, so themander wasted almost no mana.


    Berta expected it to be difficult, but she didn''t think there would be many formations. As dozens of lightning bolts, wind des, chains, and fireballs rushed toward the Dark Dogs, she shouted loudly, "Everyone to me, now!"

 Chapter 227 - The Vault

    As the guardianmander activated the formations, a multitude of spells attacked members of the Dark Dogs. Berta reacted faster than the others. She was going to protect herrades.


    Before the spells reached their target, two skeletons in ck armor stood beside Berta, as did all herrades. They were ready for such a situation. At the same second, Berta cast her most potent protective spell.


    A white Magic Circle appeared beneath her feet, from which a ss barrier appeared. Berta and herpanions were protected by a dome of particrly strong crystalline ss. Such a barrier could withstand several blows from a second-rank monster. Level one spells could do almost no damage to it.


    Nevertheless, there were several second-level formations in this room. With every second level spell hit, many cracks appeared in the barrier and eventually, it began to copse..


    Whoosh.


    The bracelet on Berta''s hand glowed brightly and she cast another spell. Arge Golem with a broad iron shield emerged from beneath the ground. It covered the group of Dark Dogs from those attacks that came through the barrier.


    "Evan, maybe we should join the fight. The guards are wounded, and the Dark Dogs look like they''re about to die." Said Rnd.


    "No, not yet. Unfortunately, we are the weakest here, we need to wait until they kill each other or are seriously wounded. If the mage on the stage is ''Two-Pointed Star'' wounded, the two of us should handle him. There''s no need to rush, we''re lucky, and we should take this opportunity." Evan said calmly as he watched dozens of spells rain down on the Dark Dogs.


    Lots of people were lucky, but they didn''t always know how to take advantage of that luck in the right way. Evan wasn''t going to make such silly mistakes, all he had to do was wait a little while, and he would get a huge amount of different treasures.


    Crack.


    The barrier finally broke, and the huge Golem was destroyed, but all formations were already over. Now the guards could only rely on their strength, the formations helped them immensely, for five of the seven ''Dark Dogs'' members were seriously wounded. They would not be able to fight any further, and they urgently needed potions or pills.


    In the end, the battle turned into a two-on-five, but the guards were just as wounded. What''s more, Berta was practically unharmed. She had very little mana left, but she still had a huge sword in her hands and two deadly skeletons.


    "Damn, I knew there were a lot of formations set up here, but I didn''t expect that I wouldn''t be able to block them all. A little more, and we could have all died, but now it''s over!" Brutally Berta said and rushed into battle.


    She attacked themander while her skeletons attacked the other guards. The remaining uninjured member of the Dark Dogs tried to help hismander with all his might. He fought two guards at once and even gained the upper hand. He was a ''Creator'' and specialized in ice spells. Dozens of ice spikes and crystals rained down on the guards inflicting numerous wounds.


    Bam.


    Berta swung her sword and cut off the guards''mander''s arm. He was seriously wounded, she just crushed him by force. The next moment she grabbed themander by the neck and pierced his body on her sword. That was the end of their fight.


    When the other guards saw how easily Berta handled theirmander, their morale dropped. They lost the would to win and were soon killed. All members of the Dark Dogs were wounded, even Berta, but none of them died. It was a crushing victory, and now they could take anything from the Paper Hydrangea''s vault.


    "Rnd, do you know of any ''Summoning'' spells to immobilize them?" Evan asked in a whisper.


    "Yes, I can immobilize everyone except her," Rnd replied, pointing at Berta.


    "That will be enough, don''t attack, it''s time to negotiate." Said Evan, and at the same time, Rnd cast his spell.


    Many blue magical circles appeared on the ground, and big hands came out of the water. They grabbed the wounded members of the Dark Dogs, but they didn''t twist them, just immobilized them.


    Berta looked at herrades in surprise and said stiffly, "Who is here? Come out, and I''ll have you in an instant!"


    Immediately after her words, Evan came out of hiding, along with Rnd. They stepped forward quietly. Berta prepared for the fight, for they were dressed in the uniforms of the members of the Paper Hydrangea.


    "Rnd, will you kindly cast that spell, we don''t need those clothes anymore," Evan said calmly.


    His partner nodded, and a secondter, the uniform was reced by their usual clothes.


    "We don''t want to fight, how about negotiating?" Evan said with a slight smile on his face. He was sincere and tried to look as friendly as possible. He didn''t want to fight Berta, she would probably kill him.


    Berta frowned, she didn''t like this situation.


    <Hmm, it looks like he''s telling the truth, but he took my men hostage anyway. And most importantly... they don''t seem to belong to any organization.> Berta thought, looking at the water hands that Rnd had summoned. If he decided to act, Berta''s men would die in terrible agony. They would be crushed.


    "What do you want? I hope you realize that I could cut your heads off at any moment." Berta threatened, pointing her massive sword in Evan''s direction.


    "I suggest we split the loot, we wanted to steal the Paper Hydrangea just as much as you did. We didn''t expect you to interfere, but we''re willing to share." Said Evan.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHA." Berta suddenlyughed out loud.


    "Are you out of your mind? Do you really think I''m an idiot? You''re both at the stage - ''One-Point Star'' and you only have one me burning. There''s no way you''d ever, ever beat themander of the guards. You want to negotiate, fine. How about this: you let myrades go and get out of here. In return, I will let you live."


    Berta didn''t expect anyone other than them to want to robber the ''Paper Hydrangea,'' but when she saw Evan and Rnd''s ''Pirs of Soul,'' she knew she had nothing to fear. Naturally, she wouldn''t even consider Evan''s proposed deal; in her opinion, it was the ravings of a madman. She had no intention of sharing such treasures with anyone.


    Berta was second inmand of the Dark Dogs and had been to their vault often. She knew how much treasure was in such ces. Moreover, the Paper Hydrangea was known as the richest organization in all of Is.


    "Not the kind of response I expected, well we''re leaving. When we get a safe distance away, my partner will reverse the spell. All the best, we won''t bother you again." Evan said quickly and gestured for Rnd to leave.


    "Evan, what are you doing?" Rnd asked, puzzled, but Evan didn''t stop.


    <This guy is pretty clever. If they leave first and only then reverse the spell, I can''t kill them. Whatever, it doesn''t matter if they live or not.> Berta thought as she watched the young men go.


    As Evan rounded the corner, he stopped Rnd and said stiffly: "Crush those bastards. I''m going to tear that whore to pieces right now."


    The next moment Evan''s spatial ring glowed, and he had two bombs in his hands.

 Chapter 228 - The Treasure

    Evan was furious. He realized that Berta was much stronger than he was, but he wasn''t going to leave. He still had the two bombs he had bought for today''s n. Moreover, with Rnd''s spell, they would be able to get rid of most of the Dark Dogs members.


    "Rnd, we''ll kill them all and take all the treasure for ourselves." Toughly, Evan said.


    "Got it." Rnd nodded, and the next moment the water hands clenched and crushed the seized members of the Dark Dogs.


    Berta hadn''t expected something like this to happen. Right in front of her, herrades were killed.


    "You bitches!" Berta shouted..


    Boom.


    Immediately after her words, two bombs flew into the room. They instantly exploded, and the whole building shook. The remaining member of the Dark Dogs died instantly, and Berta was wounded. She was on stage - ''Two Pointed Star,'' but those bombs might have given her a couple of burns.


    Evan and Rnd entered the room and prepared to fight.


    Berta looked at them with fury and shouted, "Do you really think you can get out of here in one piece after that?"


    The next moment she lunged in their direction and swung her massive sword with all her might. Evan and Rnd reacted instantly and dodged with difficulty. Evan wasn''t suicidal, he was sure they would win.


    <She outnumbered us by a whole level, but she doesn''t seem to have any mana left for any spell. The bombs weakened her a bit, as well as destroying the skeletons. Rnd and I still have a lot of mana, we have to win.> Evan thought.


    Bam.


    Evan dodged another blow and ran up to Rnd, quickly said: "Distract her for a minute, I have an idea."


    Rnd nodded, and the next moment a long katana appeared in his hands. It was covered in ayer of water, and many deadly drops flew toward Berta. But, she didn''t duck. She had no mana left, but she was far superior to Rnd and Evan in strength. The drops couldn''t even leave a scratch on her body. They were no different to her than ordinary water drops.


    "Are you crazy? Using a level zero spell against me? It looks like I made a mistake, and I should have killed you right away," Proimed Berta and attacked Rnd again.


    The sword''s point passed in front of Rnd''s eyes and deeply embedded itself in the wall behind him. Rnd continued to attack, dozens of drops hitting Berta, but she didn''t care about them.


    Bam.


    Berta brought the sword down on Rnd. He didn''t have time to dodge, so he decided to defend himself with his weapon.


    Crackle.


    There were many cracks in the de of the katana, and a secondter, it snapped. Berta''s two-handed sword was a rank two sword, while Rnd''s katana was only rank zero.


    Whooosh.


    Rnd''s spatial ring glowed, and two bracelets appeared on his arms. They shed, and electrical discharges began to umte in his palms.


    "You''re too stupid, did you really think any of my actions didn''t make sense? What a disappointment." Rnd said contemptuously, and the next moment he pped his palms together.


    The next moment a mighty bolt of lightning struck Berta. Rnd spent most of his mana on this spell. At this point, it was the strongest move in his arsenal. Moreover, he used two magical artifacts at once, which greatly increased the power of the spell.


    There was no way Berta could dodge this attack. The speed of this lightning was much faster than the speed of sound. Only a couple of secondster, thunder rumbled throughout the building.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Berta screamed in pain. Rnd had used one of the most powerful first-level spells. Even a mage at the stage - "Two-pointed Star" could not endure such an attack without taking serious damage.


    Her skin was charred and bleeding from many ces, but she could keep fighting.


    <Darn it, if that guy had been on the same level as me, I''d be dead by now. Where did hee from?"> Berta was looking at Rnd''s burned palms.


    He too took damage, but he drank a potion the next moment, and his wounds began to heal slowly.


    "So you mostly use lightning bolts? All right!" Berta said loudly and quickly drank two potions. One increased her regeneration, and the other covered her body with a transparent, blue shell. It greatly increased her resistance to lightning.


    "You decided to protect yourself from me? Clever, but you made another mistake. I''m not the biggest threat here, turn around, there''s a psycho behind you who wants to tear you to pieces." Calmly Rnd said and quickly ran out of the room. Even he didn''t expect Evan to decide to do something like that.


    When Berta turned around, her eyes filled with fear. Evan was out of bombs, but there was another powerful explosive in this room.


    While Rnd fought Berta, Evan quickly collected the spatial rings from the corpses of the Dark Dogs. He put them in a special box so they wouldn''t explode. But when he was ready, he opened the box and threw it toward Berta.


    Upon close contact and contact, many spatial rings exploded. This explosion depended on the rank of the ring. In this case, it could bepared to a powerful second-level spell.


    Boom.


    Evan bounced to the side, and there was a terrifying explosion. The entire building shook, and Berta lost an arm. Blood flowed nonstop from her mouth. She wanted to drink some potions, or she would die. But Evan wasn''t going to let her do that.


    He cast ''Lucifer''s Shackles'' and walked over to Berta. She looked at him and spat out blood, and said: "You want to wrestle? Come on!"


    Berta attacked Evan with thest of her strength, but he just stopped her fist.


    "Maybe if you hadn''t been hurt, I wouldn''t have been able to stop your punch, but you''re no stronger than an ant now. You should have epted my offer, now I can only offer you death." Calmly Evan said, and the next moment he ripped Berta''s arm off.


    Whooosh.


    Evan folded his palms together and thrust them into Berta''s chest. She vomited blood, and a secondter, Evan ripped her body in two.


    "Wow, that''s a lot of cleaning up to do." Said Rnd stepping over Berta''s corpse.


    Evan canceled the spell and headed for the vault entrance. With difficulty, but they got rid of all the obstacles, now it was time to get the reward they deserved.


    "Rnd, do you know how to open this door?" Asked Evan, pointing to arge, metal door with runes engraved on it.


    "Sure, leave it to me. You need to pour in some mana, and the door will open, and oh yeah, I''ll need something for that." Proimed Evan and headed for the corpse of the guardmander.


    He cut off his arm with a piece of his katana and put his palm to a special spot on the door. Then Rnd poured mana into the severed hand and passed it through the door.


    Crackle.


    The runes on the door glowed, and some mechanism activated. It was the only way to get into the vault. Of course, one could break in from the outside, but that would require enough strength to break through the protective barrier.


    After a while, the mechanism stopped moving, and the door opened.


    "I hope it was worth it. I didn''t expect a simple robbery to turn into such trouble." Mumbled Evan and headed inside.


    "Don''t worry, I don''t think we''ll be disappointed." Rnd said calmly.

 Chapter 229 - Dark Reaper

    While Evan and Rnd were looting the vault of the Paper Hydrangea, four of the five strongest organizations were fighting in Is. War engulfed the entire city, and it even affected the fifth organization. No one could disturb Evan and Rnd, all the contents of the Paper Hydrangea''s vault now belonged to them.


    Evan and Rnd slowly went inside. They had never seen a vault filled with so much wealth before. This vault was not like a mountain of gold with various weapons, but it was a little different.


    The vault was vast, with numerous weapon stands in the center. These were all Catalysts. Most of the weapons were first rank, but there were a few of the second rank. There was everything from shields to chains and from clubs to sharp swords.


    Everything else: armor, artifacts, coins, treasure, jewels, medicine, and so on were in spatial rings..


    They were in special boxes on shelves. There was an enormous amount of them, and Evan was going to take exactly half of them. Of course, Evan was tempted by the idea of taking all of them, but he didn''t see much point in doing so. Half of all the treasures were more than enough. He didn''t want to betray Rnd and fight him. Rnd was a man who showed himself to be a strong and honestpanion. Such men were worth far more than the most valuable treasure.


    Evan and Rnd examined the various Catalysts and the contents of the sparial rings. They were arranged inpartments, so it was easy to see which ring had which things in it.


    "Evan, I have a favor to ask of you." Suddenly Rnd said.


    "What do you want?" Asked Evan.


    "I want all the katanas that are here."


    "Well, I''m not going to fight with a katana anyway, at least not anytime soon." Evan simply replied.


    He knew that Rnd''s favorite weapon was katanas, and what''s more, there weren''t many here. Only three. Two first-ranked katanas and one second-ranked.


    Evan was picking up his own weapons as well. His scythe was broken, and he wanted to see how Lucifer''s Shackles would interact with the weapons. Evan''s favorite weapon was the scythe. Unfortunately, it was an extremely umon weapon. There was only one scythe in the vault, of the first rank.


    "Dark Reaper..." Mumbled Evan looking at the name of the scythe. The weapon looked very simple but deadly and elegant.


    The scythe was entirely forged from a rare and durable dark metal. There were no patterns, drawings, or engravings on it, only the hilt and the incredibly sharp de.


    "It''s worth trying this weapon out," Evan muttered and took the Dark Reaper in his hands. The scythe was quite heavy, but Evan was strong enough to swing it without a problem.


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s "Warp" swirled, and the next moment there were many stripes on his arms. The tattoos slowly transitioned to a scythe, and to Evan''s surprise, the weapon was fine.


    <Great, my past weapons weren''t strong enough, but this scythe can handle that kind of pressure.> Evan thought as he watched the tattoos cover the weapon entirely.


    Evan felt the change immediately. The scythe became a little heavier but also much more powerful. He wanted to test the effect, and so he made a simple swing.


    Whooosh.


    The de mmed into the floor and mmed easily into the dense stone. What''s more, there were many cracks from the ce of the cut, spreading all over the vault. This showed that the scythe was not only sharp but also mighty.


    "Huh, awesome. Okay, I''ll practiceter, we need to get everything we''ve got out of here and get out of here." Mumbled Evan and began to move the Catalysts into their spatial ring.


    Rnd also didn''t hesitate and took his part of the weapon. He didn''t care much about his choice, he had his katanas, and he wasn''t going to use any other weapons.


    They divided the rest of the resources equally. If there were only 10 rings of medicine, they each got 5 rings, the same went for the rings of other things.


    Since they were in special boxes, Evan and Rnd didn''t have to fear that the rings would suddenly explode.


    <Eh, if I had known that all the resources were allocated to the spatial rings, I wouldn''t have spent the money to buy them. Alright, I''ll resell them, I''ll have to give one of them to Malespera.> Evan thought as he picked up another box.


    After about ten minutes, they left the Paper Hydrangea base. They had seeded, all the witnesses had been killed, and Is was mired in war. Even from here, the sounds of fighting and explosions could be heard, but that wasn''t Evan and Rnd''s problem.


    They simply headed for Evan''s house. No one should have suspected them because they were simple mages who did not belong to any organization on the surface. Moreover, it was almost impossible to know that they were the ones who had taken all the stuff from the Paper Hydrangea vault. It was necessary to get into their spatial rings to do so. Evan and Rnd had nothing to worry about.


    "Evan, where are you going?" Rnd asked with a smile on his face. He was in high spirits. He didn''t expect that they could get so much treasure so easily. Sure, they had some problems, but they solved them quickly.


    "Up north, in Vextin, it''s a big town where you can progress fast. You can find anything there, I think I can do a lot with treasure like that." Evan calmly replied as he watched the ordinary people flee from the battle in the distance. Against this chaos, Evan and Rnd looked too calm.


    "Hmm, Vextin, I know the ce, but the weather there is not good. I''ll probably head south, closer to the ocean." Pronounced Rnd.


    "I''m not surprised. Your elements are lightning and water, the ocean is the perfect ce for you." Said Evan.


    He had only watched Rnd fight a few times, but Evan could say with certainty that Rnd liked using those two elements as much as he liked using katanas.


    Rnd smiled and asked: "By the way, Evan, which element do you prefer to use?"


    "I don''t know." Evan shook his head, "I have nothing against fire, wind, or stone, but that''s not it. I need to learn more spells so I can make up my mind about my choices."


    Evan actually wanted to use spells based on blood magic, dark magic, and soul magic. But he didn''t tell Rnd that. He didn''t need to know that. What''s more, Evan hadn''t found any such spells yet, so he didn''t know what to expect.


    "Okay, Evan, it''s been nice working. I''m off." Rnd said goodbye and went back to his house.


    A few minutester, Evan was already back at his mansion. Malespera was waiting for him where he told her, so, under cover of night, they headed for the exit of the burning city.


    Many lives were lost, hundreds of Is residents were killed, and dozens of mages were burned. The bnce of power was broken, and the strongest organizations continued to fight. All of this was perpetrated by two mages on the stage - the ''One-Pointed Star.''


    "Evan, where are we going?" Malespera asked.


    She didn''t understand what was going on and why there were constant explosions and screams. Moreover, she was startled by the faces of the residents distorted with fear and despair.


    "Malespera, have you ever seen snow?"

 Chapter 230 - Vextin

    "Snow?" Malespera asked, puzzled. It never snowed in her vige. The Hills of Bloody Falls was warm all year round because of the special nts growing there. The influence of the local flora significantly altered the area.


    "So you don''t know what it is...how can I exin it to you. The snow is made up of millions of snowkes, they are tiny beautiful crystals. You can''t see them without the right tools. They are cold but beautiful. When many snowkes fall to the ground, they turn into snow. We''re going to a ce where snow is everywhere." Said Evan..


    "Wow...how far is this ce? How far do we have to go?" Malespera asked.


    "If we walk, about a month, but I have a better option." Proimed Evan.


    He went into a dark alleyway and went to the door, and said the password. Malespera did not know where they were going. For her, it was all very strange and confusing.


    Evan had decided that he was going to Vextin yesterday and, at the same time, began to think about how to get to that town. Even if he rode a horse, the way would take about a week. It was too long, Evan wanted to get there as quickly as possible.


    Evan didn''t have to think long. Thanks to the memories of the informant, he knew that in the ck market, a man was selling a very rare beast.


    "Malespera, would you like to fly?" Asked Evan as he descended the stairs.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well, feel the wind currents, see the world from above, get close to the sky."


    Click.


    Evan opened the door and faced the merchant. He was a middle-aged man with a big cigar in his mouth, and he was the only one peddling rare animals in Is.


    Evan and Malespera were now in the slums. This part of the city had not yet been affected by the war in the central zone. Moreover, even though the strongest organizations were now fighting each other, the slums were not affected in any way. It was the same here as it had always been.


    "Oh, Mr. Evan, have youe for your goods?" Said the man taking a drag on his cigarette.


    "Yes, show me what I gave an incredible amount of money for." Calmly said, Evan.


    But, the man was in no hurry to do anything. He extinguished the cigarette against the ashtray and said: "Money first, you only paid for me not to sell this stuff to anyone today. A beast like that, it can''t cost that little."


    The trader was not trying to deceive Evan, this beast was indeed an incredible rarity even for Is. Finding it and capturing it alive was almost unrealistic.


    "How much?" Evan asked.


    "Five million." Calmly the merchant replied. He quoted an insanely high price, but Evan could pay it. A few hours ago, such a sum was exorbitant to him, but now it was different.


    "Okay, here you go." Said Evan and pulled a dimensional ring out of his pocket. It contained exclusively tinum coins.


    One tinum coin was equal to a thousand gold coins. They were pretty rare, butrge organizations often used them forrge transactions.


    The merchant was a mage, so he had no problem using the spatial ring. He checked the contents and smiled contentedly. Evan could have killed him and not paid, but he didn''t want to waste his time and put himself in unnecessary danger. There were many formations set up in this room, and the merchant had many subordinates. The easiest thing to do was to pay. At this point, five million gold coins were not a veryrge sum for Evan. He could afford to pay that kind of money to get out of town quickly.


    "Pleasure doing business with you, follow me." Said the merchant contentedly.


    The man led them to arge underground room, where Evan had that beast waiting for him that he had paid so much for.


    The merchant opened the door and introduced his merchandise, "This is a basilisk. A beast of the first rank, tame and with one evolution."


    Evan looked at the creature, which was about seven meters long and two meters tall. The basilisk''s body was covered in green scales. The feathers on its wings were yellow, and its eyes were amber. It had a long tongue like a snake and two long, swirling horns on its head.


    This beast was worth so much money for several reasons. First, basilisks were quite difficult to find, being rather secretive creatures. Second, flying beasts and monsters wereplicated to catch, much less tame. This basilisk was a rare specimen. Moreover, it had one evolution, which increased its price.


    Evan nodded and approached the basilisk. The beast was not frightened of Evan. It was already used to humans. Evan gently petted it.


    "Hey, what do basilisks eat?" Asked Evan without taking his eyes off the beautiful beast.


    "Anything, meat, fruit, vegetables." Quickly the merchant replied.


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed, and arge variety of food appeared in his hands. He wanted to feed the basilisk, to get the beast used to it a little.


    The basilisk didn''t refuse the treats and happily ate everything. After a while, Evan carefully climbed on top of the beast and called Malespera to him. The girl hesitantly approached the basilisk and slowly climbed on it. She was a little afraid of the basilisk, it reminded her in some way of the monster that had killed her brother.


    "Okay, open up," Evan said calmly, looking at the merchant.


    The man nodded and walked over to the lever hanging on the wall. He pulled it, and the next moment the ceiling shook. The mechanism came into motion and a passage opened above Evan.


    "See youter." Proimed Evan, and the basilisk slowly took off. Its wings were massive, each sweep creating streams of wind.


    Whooosh.


    Not a secondter, the basilisk was already over the city, and Evan was watching the central burning area from above.


    <Ah, it''s beautiful, it''s been a long time since I''ve felt that feeling. It''s like the whole world is in the palm of my hand.> Evan thought, looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance.


    In his past life, he had been able to fly on his own, he didn''t need any beasts for that. But, he was d to feel that already forgotten feeling again. Flying was not only pleasant and rxing. It was a symbol of freedom. For freedom, Evan was willing to do anything, even destroy the whole world.


    "Malespera, how does it feel?" Evan asked.


    "It''s amazing...I''ve never felt better." Malespera was ecstatic. Unlike Evan, she had never experienced anything like this.


    "Evan, what happened in this town? Why were people running away and their faces the way they were in the vige..." The fear and terror on people''s faces reminded Malespera of her vige.


    "This is war. Remember that word, thousands of people die in war, and it doesn''t matter if they are guilty or not." Evan replied coldly.


    "But...why start a war? Those people...they''re going to die..."


    "Yes, most of them will die. There''s nothing good about war, but that''s not entirely true. In war, the loser loses everything, and the winner, on the contrary, gains everything. But, wars are often so brutal that even the victor has lost more than he has gained. However, there are those to whom even war benefits. Some people manage to use the situation to their advantage."


    "These people, they''re viins, right? If they weren''t, there wouldn''t be any wars?" Malespera asked uncertainly.


    "That''s aplicated question. I can''t give you an answer. But, one thing I''m a hundred percent sure of, there will always be wars. As long as people are alive, they will fight."

 Chapter 231 - Snow

    Basilisk was pretty fast, so in half an hour Evan and Malespera were already quite far from Is. One of the most criminal cities was mired in the mes of war, and no one knew what would eventually happen. But, Evan was sure that Is to change a lot. Some organizations would be weaker and lose everything, while others, on the contrary, would be much more powerful and influential. Of course, because of Evan and Rnd''s actions, Paper Hydrangea was significantly weakened.


    Evan decided to go to Vextin for two reasons. First, it was a big city with tremendous opportunities. Second, the location of the town was perfect for Evan.


    Vextin was very close to one of the Demon Tree bases. Evan had recently broken through his first "Barrier" stage, the ''One-Pointed Star.'' He was now qualified enough to join the Demon Tree.


    However, Evan decided to take his time..


    <Hmm, Avice said they haven''t yet epted anyone who hasn''t broken through the first "Barrier" stage, the ''One-Pointed Star.''> Evan thought, looking at the hills ahead.


    He wanted to be properly prepared before joining the Demon Tree. He needed Malespera as a potentially powerful ally and a valuable specimen to experiment with. She was the only one besides Evan with a crimson "Warp" at the moment.


    Vextin was located in the north of ''The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.'' Among several mountains that were so high and massive that clouds hid their summit. The temperature there was shallow, but even so, thend was very fertile. The inhabitants of Vextin survived and developed thanks to unique nts that adapted to the low temperatures. But, they also caused the cold to get colder every year.


    These nts have adapted to survive in such conditions and even, on the contrary, try to improve them. The lower the temperature, the higher they grew and therger their fruit was. In ten years, the average temperature in Vextin could drop from -10 to -15 degrees. It wasn''t too much of a change, but the situation would be many times worse in a hundred years.


    But, the inhabitants of Vextin were lucky. There were huge deposits of "me Crystals" under the mountains. They were filled with mana and were very expensive. They were used to create "Catalysts," armor and artifacts, but also had other uses. Thanks to unique mechanisms, "me Crystals" simultaneously raised the temperature and infused frost nts with mana. Thus, the average temperature in Vextin practically did not change.


    At any moment, city dwellers could use more me Crystals and adjust the temperature. The average temperature in Vextin was -10, sometimes it would go down to -15 and rise to a maximum of -5.


    The inhabitants of Vextin couldn''t destroy the frost nts, and they were the most important part of their economy. The fruits were extremely useful in alchemy and were worth quite a lot, moreover they could be nourished for a long time. They were delicious and nutritious.


    After a few hours of flight, Evan had already reached the northern part of the kingdom. A cold wind was blowing, and the snowy mountains could be seen in the distance.


    "It''s very cold..." Malespera muttered, trying to warm herself somehow.


    <I''ll have to buy a spell to resist the cold.> Evan thought, and his spatial ring glowed.


    He tossed Malespera a set of winter clothes. He knew where he was going, so he had everything he needed ready yesterday.


    "Malespera, what weapon would you like to fight with?" Evan asked.


    There was still about half a day before they arrived at Vextin. During that time, Evan wanted to go through the contents of the spatial rings and pick out the most valuable items for himself and Malespera. He would sell the rest at Vextin.


    "What kind of weapons...? Hmm, maybe a sword or a staff? I don''t know." Malespera replied.


    "A sword or staff, simple but effective, good." Proimed Evan and began to pick up a suitable weapon for Malespera.


    Paper Hydrangea''s vault had many weapons of rank zero, but they were not on the stands. Weapons of that rank were in spatial rings, and it was more like a huge mountain of different des, swords, axes, and staffs.


    <Hmm, Malespera hasn''t chosen her element yet. She''s learning all the spells I give her. She needs a weapon that doesn''t depend on any element. Something neutral but still powerful and not tooplicated.>


    <I think this will do and this and this...>. Evan had nothing to do, so he decided to move all Malespera needed into one spatial ring.


    Evan''s spatial ring was 100 cubic meters in volume, but the Paper Hydrangea''s vault had 6 rings of 300 cubic meters in volume. That was a huge amount of space, and such spatial rings were costly.


    Three of the rings were taken by Rnd, and Evan took three. Initially, Evan thought he wouldn''t be able to use them since some were the second rank, but he saw all the contents when he poured in the mana.


    Evan was a little surprised, but he quickly realized that each spatial ring had a special spell ced on it. This was so that every member of Paper Hydrangea could use a spatial ring from the vault if needed.


    It was a very fortunate coincidence. Evan decided, to keep two 300 cubic meter spatial rings for himself and give one to Malespera. It wouldst her a long time. Evan would sell the rest of the spatial rings just like everything else.


    After about two hours, Evan handed Malespera the spatial ring.


    "Here, take it, put some mana into it, and you''ll see a huge variety of things. There''s armor, weapons, medicine, money, and a few other things in there just in case." Said Evan.


    Evan moved everything he needed from the other rings into his two spatial rings. One he would wear and use at all times, and the other he left in a box inside this ring. He would sell the empty rings, as well as anything he didn''t need.


    ...


    "Evan, what is it?" Malespera pronounced, looking at the white kes falling on her hands.


    "It''s snow," Evan answered calmly.


    Today was the first time Malespera had seen snow, and she was amazed. She had never seen anything like it in her vige. It was something new and unusual.


    "We''re almost there." Mumbled Evan looking at the huge city in the distance.


    Vextin was so much bigger than Mossy Vulture or Is. Anything could be found in this city. Lots of cksmiths, alchemists, and mages lived in Vextin and were constantly creating something. They were the driving force that developed this city.


    Every town had stables, but Vextin had special ces where people could rent or leave their flying beast. Evan saw this ce in the distance and headed there.


    The Basilisk obeyed all of Evan''smands, so they were already on the ground a minuteter.


    A man ran up to Evan and respectfully said: "Good afternoon, are you staying long? We can watch your beast if you like."


    "How much?"


    "Just a ce one gold coin a day. But, if you want us to feed him and keep an eye on him, the price goes up to five gold coins a day." The worker quickly replied.


    Evan nodded and tossed one tinum coin in his direction.


    "Take good care of him." Said Evan and, calling Malespera, left the building.

 Chapter 232 - Gold

    Upon reaching Vextin, Evan immediately bought a huge mansion. With his money, an entire estate didn''t cost that much.


    Evan decided to get into training and ''Creation.'' He had already broken through the first "Barrier" stage, the ''One-Pointed Star,'' but he still hadn''t condensed a single drop of ''Void Liquid.'' Moreover, he needed to raise the Awareness of his new spells to at least the first stage, and he had another important task. Evan wanted to continue creating his own spell.


    He had made good progressst time. He had easily learned how to change the color of the simplest spell. But, that wasn''t enough. Evan wanted to create his own spell as quickly as possible. Sure, someone could say that ''Foundation'' was the first spell Evan had created, but it wasn''t. He separated apart from the Magic of Invocation spells and began to use it for the ''One-Eyed Raven Beam'' and other spells. .


    It couldn''t be called a full-fledged spell creation. Evan was only able to do it because, due to coincidences, he got the monster skill. Had it not been for that situation, there was no way he would have been able to create ''Foundation.''


    Evan wanted to learn a recently acquired spell, namely the ''Death Feathers Fan.'' Because of Rnd''s sudden arrival and subsequent robbery of the Paper Hydrangea''s vault, Evan did not have time to begin training.


    ...


    There was arge room in the mansion for "Creation" where Evan was now.


    <Lately, my "Warp" cleared, this event increased the power of my spells a bit, but how much did my mana umtion rate increase?"> Evan was sitting among the crystals filled with mana.


    Evan''s original Creation rate was six drops of Void Liquid a day. After he reached the ''One-Pointed Star'' stage, his speed doubled. Evan was not special in this respect, the mana umtion rate increased in all mages and by about the same value. But, Evan''s ''Warp'' was cleared, and he couldn''t wait to see how much faster he had be.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan''s ''Warp'' spun and massive streams of mana headed toward the crimson sphere. Reykar also absorbed some of the mana. Reykar did not participate in thest battle, as Evan did not want Rnd to know about it.


    In order to reach the ''Two-Pointed Star stage,'' Evan needed to condense 5,000 drops of ''Void Liquid.'' It was a huge amount, but the biggest problem was the Barriers. They could not be breached at would or by saving up enough money to buy many mana crystals. Everything depended only on the mage himself and the talent and decisions he made.


    Evan had already condensed 1.333 drops of "Void Liquid," which was the maximum for those who only broke through one "Barrier." Evan could now condense a total of 3,000 drops, after which he would have to wait until he broke his third Barrier.


    ...


    Three dayster, Evan opened his eyes. He had been "Creating" nonstop the whole time. Evan was amazed at the results.


    <My speed has increased by one and a half times... That means that my mana umtion rate is 18 drops per day in a normal situation without external factors. That''s an incredible rate...>


    Evan was well aware that even mages with purple ''Warp'' only condensed 2 drops of Void Liquid per day. Of course, if she was in the One Pointed Star stage, the speed was doubled.


    In other words, while mages with white Warp condensed one drop a day, Evan condensed 18. He was much faster than even geniuses.


    <Darn, it''s such a disappointment that there are these damn "Barriers." If it weren''t for them, I could get powerful a lot faster. Eh, okay, maybe I want too much. If the information I have is to be believed, even my Barriers breakthroughs are much faster than most mages. But, if I stop fighting and risking my life, I''ll slow down a lot. It''s really a dilemma, but I guess you have to do things in order.> Evan thought to himself and continued to ''Create.''


    The room he was in was filled with mana. In this ce, any mage would "Create" five times faster than usual. That meant it would only take Evan two and a half weeks to condense 1.667 drops of ''Void Liquid'' and hit the Barrier.


    But Evan wasn''t going to stop there. He wanted to unlock all the circuits on the golden Pir next to the giant rat. Evan had already tried pouring some mana into the chains on the second "Pir" next to the lion, but it didn''t work. He wasn''t strong enough to do it yet. But, the gold chains had no problem absorbing mana.


    Evan supposed that if he could unlock all the chains on the first Pir next to the ck lion, he could do the same with the first gold Pir.


    Two and a half weekster, Evan stumbled into the next "Barrier." His ''Warp'' contained 3,000 drops of Void Liquid, and so far, he could make no further progress.


    Then Evan began to unlock the chains on the golden "Pir." Given his current mana umtion rate, it would take him one day to unlock three chains. Thus, after a little over a month, Evan came close to unlocking all the chains.


    Crackle.


    The hundredth chain shuddered violently and flew off into the ''Library.'' There was onest chain left on the golden Pir. Last time, Evan couldn''t immediately unlock the 101st chain on the ck Pir. He had to wait until he was stronger. But Evan was sure he wouldn''t have to wait now.


    "Here we go." Mumbled Evan and channeled a huge amount of mana into thest chain.


    Unlocking thest chain was the hardest part, it required a lot more mana. But, Evan was in no hurry, he had plenty of time.


    Crackle.


    After three whole days, thest chain began to crackle. Evan smiled, he was already looking forward to it. Last time he''d gotten ''Lucifer''s Shackles.'' This spell greatly increased his physical strength, which matched the effect of the ck lion.


    When the huge rat appeared, Evan''s vision got much better. So he thought the spell he received would have something to do with his eyes.


    Evan wasn''t worried that the spell he received would cause him to die again or put him in a deadly situation. Then it was because ''Lucifer''s Shackles'' contained both demonic and divine energy. But, even if it happened again, nothing would happen to Evan. His body could contain the two discordant energies, and his Warp was even cleared because of it.


    Crackle.


    After two more days, the chain gradually began to separate from the golden Pir. It quickly transferred to Evan''s "Library."


    When all the chains joined together, they shed brightly and began to disintegrate. The symbols on the chains turned into a massive, golden Magical Circle. Evan''s consciousness was transported to the "Library." All these symbols headed toward his be.


    Evan was already used to such procedures, so he felt no difort at all. He felt only satisfaction in the knowledge and power he had gained.


    Whooosh.


    The next moment Evan opened his eyes, and they glowed brightly with golden light. Gradually the color grew deeper. Evan''s golden eyes were like an abyss that could consume everything in the world.


    [The first Pir of the Rat''s Sigil has been activated.]


    [Mammon''s Gaze has been received.]


    [The second Pir of the Rat''s Sigil has been obtained.]

 Chapter 233 - The Case

    Immediately after the messages appeared, the second golden Pir fell next to a huge rat. Evan felt a strong desire to get everything in this world. He wanted to take everything from everyone. After a while, Evan curbed this strange feeling, and his eyes stopped shining and became amethyst as before.


    "Mammon''s Gaze... there''s someone else''s name in the name of the spell again. I hope I can find out who or what it is..." Mumbled Evan.


    As he had expected, after unlocking all the circuits, his vision was even better.. But, what interested him most was the spell he had received. Evan couldn''t wait to try it out and put it to the test.


    "This should be something interesting." Pronounced Evan, and the next moment his Warp spun.


    Suddenly his left eye turned to gold, and the world looked different. Evan''s gaze fell on one of the mana crystals, and suddenly he saw strange messages in front of him.


    [Mana Crystal.


    Mana reserve equal to - 80%.


    Rank - 1


    Rarity -mon]


    <What the fuck?!> thought Evan, trying to figure out what was going on.


    He immediately canceled the spell, and the color of his eye returned to normal. Evan was confused, at first he thought it was a hallucination, but after a minute, he realized it was a strange effect.


    "Okay, we''ll have to try again." Mumbled Evan and his Warp spun.


    He cast Mammon''s Gaze once more, and his left eye changed its color to gold. Evan directed his gaze to the other mana crystal, but nothing happened.


    <I can''t be imagining it,> Evan thought and decided to concentrate.


    [Mana Crystal.


    Mana reserve equal to - 60%.


    Rank - 1


    Rarity -mon]


    "Hmm, this spell gives me information about various things, it''s very strange, but I think it will be extremely useful. We need to test it on humans and weapons right away."


    Evan was still surprised, but now he was sure it was the effect of the spell. "Lucifer''s Shackles" and "Mammon''s Gaze" were very unusual spells, but Evan knew they were also very useful and powerful.


    <Mammon''s Gaze also contains divine and demonic energy. Luckily my body had adapted to the changes, and those two energies no longer threatened me. On the one hand, it''s good that I''ve already experienced this horrible feeling. There were no surprises this time.>


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed, and a scythe as dark as the abyss appeared in his hands. Evan looked at his new weapon, and several messages immediately appeared in front of him.


    [Dark Reaper.]


    Rank - 1


    Rarity - Rare]


    <Rank? Rarity? Hmm, with this spell, I can find out the name of the item and its power. I think I know what Rank means. It''s a rank one weapon, and it says the same thing. But, the Rarity parameter is a bit unclear to me. But, I have an idea, and I know how to check it.>


    Evan thought and left the room for ''Creation.'' Evan had been in this room for over a month, and no one had rmed him at his behest.


    "I wonder what Malespera has aplished in this month? I hope she''s already broken through her first Barrier. I could call that pretty high speed." Mumbled Evan and headed for the main hall.


    He wanted to go to the estimator, but first, he decided to check on Malespera. He was curious to see how fast this girl was progressing.


    "Mr. Evan! Good afternoon!" Bowing, the maid said.


    Evan just nodded and walked on, but suddenly an interesting idea came to him. He turned around and concentrated his gaze on the girl.


    [Aina Tufte


    Race - Human


    Rank - 0]


    <Hmm, she''s human, and her Rank is 0. That''s probably because she''s a mere mortal. I need to test this look on Malespera and other mages, it gets more and more interesting>.


    Evan thought and went on his way. He didn''t see Malespera on his way to the main hall, but he wasn''t going there because of the girl. Evan was going to ask his butler about Malespera''s whereabouts. He needed to be aware of all the events that were going on at the manor.


    ...


    "Oh, sir, good afternoon." The butler said respectfully when he saw Evan walking in his direction.


    Evan nodded and looked intently at the man. It was worth noting that Mammon''s Gaze was an unusual spell in terms of wasting mana. Unless Evan canceled this spell, it was constantly active. Evan wasted only a little mana when he concentrated his gaze on a target, but that amount could bepared to a drop in the whole ocean. In other words, Evan could keep Mammon''s Gaze activated all the time.


    [Sebastian Torson


    [Race - Human


    Rank - 0.2]


    <Rank - 0.2? It''s weird, Sebastian is not a mage, I thought allmon people have a Rank of 0, but I guess I was wrong. As far as I know Sebastian was a skilled swordsman in the past, he is much stronger than mostmoners. Maybe that''s why his Rank is a little higher.>


    "Evan-san, what happened to your left eye?" Sebastian asked.


    After Evan cast the Mammon''s Gaze, he looked like a man with heterochromia. His right eye was amethyst, and his left was gold.


    "It''s okay, just the effects of using one spell. Sebastian, where is my sister now?" Evan asked calmly.


    "Mistress Malespera is at the training ground right now. She has been there for a long time and won''t even break for a little snack. At this rate, she will be exhausted."


    Evan nodded and said: "Have someone bring food to the practice area in about ten minutes."


    "Got it," Sebastian replied.


    The next moment he pulled a silver case from his inside pocket and opened it. The case contained a small magic orb, and next to it were three crystals filled with mana.


    The manor Evan bought was worth several million gold coins. It was one of the best in all of Vextin. It had everything and was top-notch. From the hot springs to the training grounds.


    The servants at this estate were also professionals. Even though they were ordinary people and servants, they got quite a lot of money, even by Vextin''s standards. For example, a novice mage living in some distant city could be a less wealthy man than Sebastian. Of course, it was strongly influenced by the fact that everything in Vextin was costly and luxurious in this case.


    It wasn''t just the fruit of the frost nts and the sale of the ming Crystals that made this town so big and rich. Talented entrepreneurs and powerful mages have greatly influenced this city. Thanks to them and their leadership, this city is constantly evolving and getting better.


    With the case that Sebastian pulled out, he was able tomunicate with other servants at a distance. Sebastian was not a mage, but since the magic orb was fueled by mana from the mana crystals, this was not a problem.


    All Sebastian had to do was put his hand on the magic ball and press the button next to it.


    When Sebastian did this, the magic ball lit up, and he calmly said: "Listen to themand..."


    He instructed the cooks and servants to have the food on the training ground in ten minutes.


    Each servant had an earring with a small stone set into it. This stone was connected to the magic ball in Sebastian''s case. Thus Sebastian did not need to go anywhere to give such instructions. He could be heard anywhere in the manor.

 Chapter 234 - The Look

    When Evan first saw Sebastian using the case and givingmands to the other servants, he was extremely surprised. But, Evan quickly realized that it was a special artifact formunication. Moreover, the servants'' earrings'' stones were also artifacts. It was a clear example of the tremendous usefulness and functionality of the Summoning Magic spells.


    Special magical circles were ced on the magic ball and the stones. Thanks to them, it was possible tomunicate at a distance. The case itself was not an artifact, it would be more correct to call it a simple mechanism. Thanks to it, the whole system could work.


    On his way to the training ground, Evan checked the status of everyone who passed him. He wanted to understand how Mammon''s Gaze worked and how much information he could get. Unlike Lucifer''s Shackles, this spell didn''t make Evan stronger directly, but Evan could get a lot of information about various objects and people. Information was a powerful force for which some people were willing to sacrifice their lives..


    After a while, Evan made his way to the training ground. Just as Sebastian had said, Malespera trained nonstop.


    She took turns using the sword, and staff Evan had given her. Malespera tried to find her fighting style bybining different weapons with her spells.


    Next to Malespera were several maids. They watched her and asionally asked her to stop and take a break.


    Evan nced at Malespera and saw her status.


    [Malespera ???


    Race - Mage


    Stage - One-pointed Star, two mes.


    Warp - Crimson]


    <Hmm, Malespera doesn''t have a Rank, butmon people do. I wonder if this has something to do with Malespera being a mage or if I''m just not good at Mammon''s Gaze yet. I''m sure this spell will get a lot stronger in the future, and then I''ll be able to get more information about my targets>.


    Evan was surprised that the Race parameter said Mage. He knew that mages and ordinary people were very different in power, but he didn''t think mages could be considered a separate race.


    <So my race is a Mage too, but that''s not important. All Mages were once humans, and other than our ability to use mana, we are no different. We''re practically identical. More importantly, I can see what color "Warp" Malespera is, but is it?>


    Evan wasn''t sure if he could see the color of the other mages'' Warp. He needed to check it out. And without the spell, he knew what Malespera''s "Warp" was.


    As he pondered, Evan failed to notice the most important thing of all. He paid attention to Malespera''s stage at thest moment.


    <Wait a minute...has she broken through two "Barriers yet?" This girl is some monster. It took her about a month and a half to reach this level, and that''s even though she was just training and not getting into deadly situations. If you think about it that way, though, my speed isn''t much different. I spent a lot of time exploring this world, gathering information, and so on. If I only trained, I''d probably be even faster than Malespera>.


    The training was an important aspect on the path to strength, but the higher a mage went, the more he had to train to reach the next level. Compared to mages at the ''One-Pointed Star'' stage, it was fairly easy for beginner mages to break through their Barriers.


    At such a low level, training was not much worse than battles and deadly situations. A mage learned more about himself, mana, and magic. Thanks to this knowledge gained during training, a mage could break through Barriers if he was talented enough. But, with time, training became less effective, fighting or research was the best option.


    Of course, training was important even for the strongest mages. They had to practice using their spells to be more proficient. However, regr training was not the best way to break through their "Barriers."


    "Mr. Evan!" One of the maids spotted Evan and bowed to him.


    Just then, Malespera stopped working out. She was lightly dressed since it wasn''t really cold in Vextin. The temperature in the city was kept around +15 degrees thanks to a special barrier. Otherwise, there would have been piles of snow several meters high on the streets and rooftops.


    "Evan!" The girl said loudly and ran up to her fake older brother.


    "Hey, I see you''ve made some good progress while I''ve been busy. You broke through two Barriers in such a short period. Those are great results." Evan said, smiling.


    "Barrier? What do you mean?" Malespera asked, puzzled.


    "That''s what the chains around your Warp are called. Every time you break through the Barrier, a Ssh happens, and some energy bursts out of your body. Something like that has probably happened to you before."


    Malespera nodded and said, "Yes, there was dark energying out of me and it caused part of the garden to die... twice..."


    She was upset that nts died because of her. She thought there was something wrong with her Ssh.


    "Don''t worry, some people have caused entire forests to burn. It''s just that you have to go to a special room during ''Ssh.'' I''ll tell Sebastian to get everything ready so that next time it goes off without a loss."


    "Okay, Sebastian has already got the garden in order. He bought some stuff, and the destroyed parts quickly overgrown."


    "Great." Evan nodded and said, "If you need anything, you tell me, I''m going into town on some important business, stay here."


    "Got it, by the way, Evan, what happens when I break through all three Barriers?" Malespera asked curiously.


    "Then you''ll be several times stronger, okay, I''m off." Evan quickly replied and headed for the exit of the manor.


    He went to the nearest appraiser to test his theory. Moreover, as he walked, he stared intently at every passerby. Evan tried to gather as much information as he could. He had to know how much Mammon''s Gaze was showing.


    ...


    <Hmm, I''ve checked about 10 mages already, and I''ve seen the Warp color of every one of them. That''s really impressive. Usually, only in Mage Academies and unique ces can you find out the color of another mage''s "Warp." But, I don''t see what their ss is. Perhaps this feature will be revealed to me in the future.> Evan thought.


    He also checked a vast number of ordinary people and concluded that Sebastian was a powerful person. Most people didn''t have a Rank greater than 0.1. Out of hundreds of people, only a few had 0.2 like Sebastian.


    Ordinary people were incredibly weakpared to mages, but there were thousands of times more of them. Moreover, if you put a soldier behind a magic gun, he could kill a mage or a monster. It all depended on his uracy and the power of his weapon.


    Click.


    Evan walked into the nearest appraisal store and showed the appraiser his scythe. He examined it carefully and calmly said, "You are a very lucky young man, this is an excellent weapon made by a true master. But, it should be noted that there is nothing unusual or unique about it. It is a simple but deadly weapon."


    "What rank would you assign to this weapon?" Evan asked.


    "I can state with certainty that it is a rank one weapon with three stars. Would you like to sell it?"


    "No, thank you." Said Evan, tossing the appraiser a few gold coins.

 Chapter 235 - The Diamond Eye

    cksmiths and alchemists were divided into ranks depending on what stage they were at. But, cksmiths and alchemists were also given stars, up to a maximum of 5. Weapons and some medicines were also given stars in addition to rank.


    The appraiser said the ''Dark Reaper'' was a three-star weapon of rank one. This was an excellent result, as four-star weapons were almost impossible to find. There were very few such high-end craftsmen, and many of them onlypleted a few orders a year.


    Afterward, Evan gave the appraiser a few more items to check. Some were one-star, and others were two-star. Evan applied Mammon''s Gaze to these and roughly understood how the grading system worked.


    Evan was pleasantly surprised because now he could rate things himself and know how rare and valuable they were. He supposed that he might not rate some things, but that wasn''t a problem..


    <Hmm, so if it says Rarity is mon,'' it can bepared to one star, if Rarity is ''umon,'' it''s a two-star weapon. That really makes sense. A one-star weapon is unremarkable, but a two-star weapon already has some uniqueness. Maybe it''s the sharpening, special materials, and so on>.


    Evan thought and walked out of the appraisal store. He was going to sell all the unnecessary items he''d taken from the Paper Hydrangea''s vault, but not here.


    Evan headed toward thergest and most upscale appraisal center. Many wealthy people lived in Vextin, and they often used an appraiser. Over time, there were more appraisers, and thepetition between them increased. Eventually, the main appraisal center in Vextin became - Diamond Eye.


    It was a real guild of only appraisers. The services of the highest-ranking appraiser cost one tinum coin. It was an incredible sum, but Vextin''s elite could afford it. At this point, for Evan, such a sum was practically nothing.


    After a while, Evan made his way to the Diamond Eye. It was a massive building that looked more like a pce.


    Evan walked up to the entrance and was immediately stopped. Even to enter the Diamond Eye, one had to give ten gold coins.


    In small towns where people had almost no money, everyone just passed the coins from hand to hand. Larger towns used special cards and the banking system. But, in towns like Vextin, no one would leave their money and things in the bank. It was too unsafe.


    The mage always had all of his belongings with him in his spatial ring. So Vextin had its own different system from the bank.


    To pay the entrance fee, Evan had to touch a special seal with his spatial ring. At that moment, he had to move the right amount mentally, and that was it.


    After Evan paid his entrance fee, he went inside. "Diamond Eye was one of the wealthiest organizations in Vextin, yet the interior was not shy. The architects and designers cleverly used precious metals and rare materials to create a great atmosphere in the main hall.


    Evan headed for the head appraiser at the guild. Evan was going to sell a huge amount of items for an incredible amount of money. Evan would have to pay the appraiser quite a bit, but he would get many times that amount.


    Click.


    Evan walked into a spacious room, a middle-aged man with a long beard was sitting at a table. He was quietly drinking green tea and gazing intently at some crystal. A few meters away from him was arge tform, and next to it were tables with all the necessary tools.


    Tools were an important part of an appraiser''s job, but not the main one. The best appraisers rely mostly on their knowledge, experience, and, most importantly, their eyes. Almost all appraisers, by nature, had incredible eyesight. Even in their old age, they could see better than teenagers.


    The main evaluator''s name was Svein Stavig. When Evan walked in, and he slowly rose from his chair and calmly said, "Good afternoon, young man, it''s not often you meet such wealthy young men. Where are you from?"


    <He knew right away that I wasn''t from around here, not bad.> Thought Evan, and the next moment, his spatial ring glowed.


    He tossed Svein one tinum coin and said briefly: "I''m from Is."


    Even though Is was one of the most criminal cities in The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes, Svein was not surprised. People from all over the kingdom came to him, many nobles and powerful mages. He even had a ''Merciful Death'' officer visit him once. Svein has seen people of all kinds.


    "All right, I see you know how to behave. Put everything on the tform, and I''ll tell you the price in a little while."


    Evan nodded and pulled out a set of caskets from the ring. Each box contained ten spatial rings. Even Svein was a little surprised by this many things.


    "Not bad young man, not bad," Svein said, looking at the boxes.


    Evan alternately began to put on the ring and put all the contents on the tform. In time a whole mountain of various Catalysts, materials, armor, and artifacts formed on the tform.


    The mountain was growing, and it seemed as if Evan had an infinite amount of things. Ring after ring emptied out until finally, thest things fell onto the mountain. Then Evan threw about a hundred spatial rings into that mountain, which he no longer needed.


    He turned to Svein and said, "Everyone, how long will the assessmentst?"


    Evan realized that there were a lot of things, and it would take Svein a long time to check and evaluate each one. But, to his surprise, the appraiser shook his head.


    "Not very long. It''ll all be ready in five minutes." Svein said calmly.


    Evan was surprised by this answer. He didn''t believe it was possible. There were several thousand different things on the tform. Svein had to estimate a hundred things a second if he wanted to make it in five minutes.


    However, Svein was extremely serious. He was not going to evaluate each thing separately, he had a way to do it all at once.


    Whooosh.


    "Warp," Svein spun, and he began casting the spell. He was a mage at the stage - the ''One-Pointed Star.''


    Suddenly two blue magic circles appeared before his eyes. Thousands of blue threads emerged from them and headed toward the objects on the tform. One of the threads touched Svein.


    <I see, that''s how he checks several hundred items in a couple of seconds. This spell is handy for the evaluator, but it''s just a colossal strain on the brain.>


    When Evan absorbed knowledge from 20,000 books, he had a terrible headache. Now Svein was experiencing something simr, though if he weren''t capable of it, he wouldn''t be the best appraiser at Vextin.


    After a while, the spell stopped working, and with a sigh, Svein said, "Four minutes and fifty seconds. It could have been faster."


    "What''s the price?" Evan asked.


    Svein smiled and said, "I have to say, I''ve only seen this much stuff a couple of times. I''ll have a headache for a few more days for sure. I''ll give you 50 million gold coins or 500,000 tinum coins for all of this."


    <For that money I could buy a few small towns. I didn''t expect organizations in Is to have that much money>.


    "Fine, I want tinum coins, all 500,000 of them.

 Chapter 236 - Invitation

    "Good." Nodded Svein and said, "Even at Diamond Eye, transactions of such a huge amount are infrequent. It was a pleasure doing business with you."


    Svein went to the table, opened the box, and took the spatial ring. It contained only tinum coins in huge quantities. The appraiser walked over to Evan, put his ring to the young man''s ring, and transferred the correct amount.


    "See youter." Calmly Evan said and left Diamond Eye.


    Just now, he earned 500,000 tinum coins or 50 million gold coins, but he kept the most valuable items. Rare and quality medicines and potions Evan did not sell, nor did some items like bombs and unusual materials, of which there were only a few pieces. Evan was sure that he would have made twice as much if he had sold those as well, and Evan only had half of it..


    <There was an enormous amount of stuff in the Paper Hortense vault, but all the most valuable stuff is probably at their head. However, you could buy several viges in their entirety, or even towns, with that money. Even in Vextin I can afford anything.> Evan thought to himself on his way back home.


    He wanted to finally learn the ''Death Feathers Fan'' and raise the ''Awareness'' of his spells to the next stage.


    <By the way, we need to find out what progress Malespera has made with her spells. When she reaches stage two with "Awareness" in her three spells, it shouldn''t be a problem to determine her ss. Maybe with her help, I can figure it out, too.>


    After a while, Evan returned to his manor. He wanted to go to the training ground, but suddenly Sebastian ran up to him.


    "Sir!"


    "What is it?"


    "You have a letter from Viscount Pol Hartman," Sebastian replied.


    "A letter from Viscount Pol? What does he want?"


    Unlike Mossy Vulture and Is, where there were no nobles in Vextin, the situation was different. Evan wasn''t interested in the subject, but he knew several Viscounts and Barons in Vextin. They partly ruled the city, they had most of the trade in the city in their power. Each of them was a mage, for the King of Vexacion despisedmoners and would never allow them a title of nobility.


    No one in Is had a title of nobility for obvious reasons, but the situation in Mossy Vulture was different. Draven, Fane, and Marcel were influential and powerful enough to get the title of Marquis or even Duke, but they were not interested in it. Draven and Fane were only interested in promoting their family, while Marcel always pursued his personal goals.


    "Sir, he invites you to a banquet a week from now," Sebastian replied.


    <Hmm, I haven''t been at Vextin that long, but Viscount Pol has already learned about me. No surprise, though, I bought one of the most expensive mansions in all of Vextin. I should go to that banquet.>


    "Sebastian, am I the only one invited, or can I bring someone else?"


    "You can bring one more person with you." Butler quickly replied.


    "Good, let Malespera know and get her ready." Calmly Evan said and went to the training area.


    ...


    "Not long ago my confidence, level with Reykar increased significantly, and I gained a new skill and improved the old one. I had already seen the enhanced ''One-Eyed Raven Beam'' in action, but I had not yet learned the new skill. It''s time to correct that oversight." Evan muttered, and his mind drifted to the Library.


    He stared at the purple Magic Circle, a spell called the ''Death Feathers Fan.'' Evan didn''t know what to expect from this spell, but he was anxious to get started. Last time he couldn''t figure out how the ''One-Eyed Raven Beam'' worked until he identally created Foundation.


    Evan concentrated and tried to understand this spell. Since it was originally a monster skill, this magic circle was not like the others. So it would take Evan quite a while to figure it all out.


    "The Death Feather Fan" was a first-level spell, so it had quite a few stages of mana conversion.


    About half a dayter, Evan began his first attempts. All the while, he was figuring out the spell and deciding how he should proceed to make it work.


    "Well, let''s get started." Mumbled Evan, and the next moment his Warp spun.


    First, he decided to try to cast the spell without using Foundation. He was curious to see if he could do it.


    Gradually the mana was converting into purple energy. Evan was doing everything right, without a single mistake, but the whole structure copsed at one point. Evan tried a few more times, then concluded that he couldn''t do it without Foundation.


    Whooosh.


    Evan rolled Foundation, and a magic circle appeared in front of him. Then he slowly began to transform the mana into the desired form. Evan didn''t encounter any obstacles. Everything went smoothly and measuredly.


    "Great, now I can do it." Mumbled Evan and moved on to the final phase.


    The purple energy turned into an enormous fan of many feathers. It wasn''t material. It was just a form of energy.


    "Alright, now it''s time to test it." Since the fan wasn''t material, Evan couldn''t take it in his hands and wave it, but he didn''t need to. Evan could make the fan move with his mind.


    When Evan wished, the fan moved. It jerked sharply to one side, and in the next moment, several feathers flew out of it. The feathers headed toward the dummies and easily destroyed them. The feathers did not pierce the target through but exploded on contact.


    "Not bad, if I make several of these attacks in a row, I can quickly kill a monster of the first rank. It will be torn apart. But, this spell requires quite a lot of mana. Each swing of the fan isparable to using a single spell, but so is the power." Said Evan and swung the fan again.


    Several purple feathers of energy flew toward the mannequins, and a secondter, there was a deafening explosion.


    <By the way, the ability Reykar got after the second evolution is different from this spell. Feathers fly out of his wings, Reykar doesn''t create any fans. This means that the spell adjusts to me to make it morefortable for me to use. "The Death Feathers Fan and the One-Eyed Raven Beam are both Creation Magic spells. I wonder if it''s a coincidence or if the following spells will be the same.>


    Evan thought and continued practicing. He wanted to master this spell better. In Evan''s opinion, the Death Feathers Fan had less destructive power than the Ball Lightning, but he could hit many enemies at once with this spell. The Death Feathers Fan would be better than the Ball Lightning if several monsters attacked him at once, even though it was slightly weaker.


    For the next few days, Evan continued to practice using his spells. He felt that very soon, he would reach the first stage of Awareness in many of them. Then new possibilities would open up for him. The more skilled the mage was in using his spells, the stronger he was.


    ...


    On the seventh day, Evan and Malespera prepared to go to the banquet. On Evan''s orders, Sebastian prepared everything, Malespera looked like a real noblewoman.

 Chapter 237 - Banquet

    The banquet would be held at Viscount Pol''s estate. He invited arge number of people, each of them an important person. Each guest was an influential person, a powerful magician, or a skilled craftsman. The reason for the banquet was quite simple, it was the Viscount''s daughter''s birthday today.


    "Sir!" Said Sebastian on seeing Evan.


    "Is everything ready?" Asked Evan.


    Sebastian nodded and calmly said, "Come with me."


    The butler led Evan to Malespera. The girl was dressed in a long ck dress with a white frame and low-heeled shoes. Sebastian sent Malespera to the best hairdresser and makeup artist in town. Now Malespera looked like a blue-blooded individual..


    "Sir, I have also prepared some costumes for you." Said Sebastian and presented Evan with an array of costumes.


    "No need." Evan shook his head and said, "I will go in my cape, I have no desire to wear anything but it."


    "But, sir, you''re going to a banquet that Viscount Pol is throwing, shouldn''t you be dressed formally?" Sebastian asked, puzzled.


    "It doesn''t matter. Is the carriage ready yet?" Evan said coldly.


    Sebastian only nodded.


    "Okay, Malespera, let''s go." Said Evan and headed for the exit of the manor.


    Viscount''s house was quite far away, even by carriage the journey would take about an hour. All the while, Malespera was asking questions about the uing banquet. Sebastian had already told her in detail where she was going tonight, but Malespera wanted to hear the answers to her questions in person from Evan.


    "Evan, what usually happens at a banquet?"


    "Nothing out of the ordinary. Everybody just drinks and eats and dances and so on. Simply put, it''s a simple dinner that a huge number of peoplee to. Of course, a lot of people consider a banquet to be an event too, so it''s a higher level than a simple dinner, but the point is the same."


    "I see, why did we go there?"


    "There''s no purpose, I just thought you and I should get some rest. You''ve been working out a lottely, so you should have some fun and rx."


    Evan''s words were only partially true. He wanted Malespera to stop overtraining since it might not have the best consequences. Evan wanted to know the answer to his question as soon as possible, and for that, Malespera had to progress without any problems.


    But, with his resources and money, he could easily arrange a banquet at his mansion as well.


    Evan decided to go to the banquet because he wanted to see this city''s most powerful and influential people. Moreover, he was curious to know why the Viscount had invited him. Evan usually did not like to attend such events, but good introductions could help him achieve his goals. Evan wanted to learn more about spell-creators and determine if he could experiment on people in this city.


    Svein just as strongly influenced his decision. Evan was surprised by such an unusual spell. Svein was at the stage - One-Pointed Star, which meant the spell he was using was level one or zero. But despite his extensive knowledge, Evan didn''t know any such spells.


    This meant that the people at Vextin had resources and information that Evan did not have ess to. Vextin was the next stage, after which Evan would travel to the base of the Demon Tree.


    Evan also thought that some kind of spell maker might have created the Svein spell. Evan didn''t know much about Vextin, but he supposed that spell-creators might be in that town. Of course, that was unlikely. There were even fewer spell-creators than master smiths and master alchemists.


    More likely was that it was a rare spell that Evan knew nothing about. But it was good for Evan. It meant he could learn a lot of new and useful things at Vextin.


    After about an hour, the carriage stopped at the entrance to Viscount Pol''s estate.


    "Let''s go," Evan said calmly and stepped out of the carriage. He was not amazed by Viscount''s estate, for his mansion was in no way inferior.


    Malespera nodded and followed Evan.


    There were many luxurious carriages outside the manor. Dozens of people in expensive suits walked leisurely toward the banquet hall. Most of them were mages, but there were a few merchants, too. They were powerful enough to be here.


    When Evan and Malespera reached the banquet hall, their names were called loudly.


    "Evan Lynch and Malespera Lynch!"


    Malespera was thrilled by what she saw. She had never seen so many beautiful girls in beautiful dresses before. The various hors d''oeuvres, wines, and desserts also caught her attention. There was nothing like it in her vige. But, most of all, she loved the festive atmosphere of this banquet.


    Lots of people with smiles on their faces were talking to each other and discussing something. Some danced, drank expensive wine, and stood on the balcony and admired the beautiful night sky.


    A waiter immediately approached Evan and Malespera with a tray. He offered them some champagne, and Evan did not say no. Malespera also wanted a taste.


    She took a small sip and frowned. She found the taste very unpleasant.


    "Ew, what is that?" Malespera muttered, looking at the amber liquid in her ss.


    Evan tasted the champagne and, with a smile on his face, said, "It''s alcohol. Your reaction is normal for someone who has never tasted alcohol before."


    In the vige where Malespera lived, there was nothing to make alcohol from. Sebastian also didn''t offer her alcohol because he thought it might negatively affect her training. For most people in the world, alcohol seemed unpleasant and even disgusting to the taste for the first time. But, this type of drink had its own unique and distinctive charm.


    "How can you even drink this? It''s a nightmare!" Said Malespera.


    "AHAHAHAHAHA, don''t worry, you''ll get used to it in time. I have to admit. It''s pretty good champagne. Viscount Pol decided not to be petty and serve the best he has today." Evan muttered and headed for the balcony.


    He didn''t like being in arge crowd, and he wasn''t going to dance either. Malespera went off to sample the various appetizers, she was used to Evan being on his own.


    There were rather few people on the balcony. Here were mostly those who liked peace and quiet, and many were just smoking or drinking and looking at the beautiful blue moon.


    Evan decided to join this small alienated ind near the fun and dancing.


    After a while, a pretty girl came to Evan''s house. She was dressed in a long red dress.


    "Mr. Evan, nice to meet you, I''ve heard a lot about you. My name is Aimee Rogers."


    Evan simply nodded and immediately used Mammon''s Gaze on the girl.


    [Aimee Rogers


    Race - Mage


    Stage - One-Pointed Star, two mes


    Warp - Purple]


    <She''s pretty strong, I wonder what she wanted from me?"> Evan didn''t understand why Aimee was talking to him. Moreover, in Vextin he had not yet had time to do anything. Aimee was not supposed to know anything about him.


    "Did you want something?" Evan asked calmly.


    "No, I just wanted to talk to you. You know, it''s not every day that a young manes to Vextin riding a basilisk and a couple of hourster buys a house for a few million gold coins." Aimee said slowly.


    "Are you following me?" Evan asked coldly.


    "Well, it''s not my fault. It''s my job. On the other hand, that''s why you have the honor of attending this banquet."

 Chapter 238 - The Attack

    Evan was a little surprised that he was being followed. He didn''t like it when outsiders got into his business.


    <This girl has been following me since I arrived in Vextin. I have no problem killing her, but who else besides her was following me?"> Evan thought, staring intently at Aimee.


    Now he didn''t need to use the Eye of Truth to see the mage''s stage. "Mammon''s Gaze" gave him much more information about any target than the Eye of Truth.


    "I won''t distract you any further, I have to go.." Aimee said with a slight smile on her face and quickly made her way to Viscount Pol.


    Viscount Pol was an obese man with short blond hair. He was dressed in a blue suit with a white shirt and azure pants. In his hands, he held a crystal ss filled with one of the most expensive wines in all of Vextin.


    This banquet was in honor of the birthday of the Viscount''s daughter, and it was time to introduce the birthday girl.


    Viscount Pol said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen! It is a pleasure to introduce you to my lovely daughter, she is the most precious thing I have in this world."


    Immediately after his words, everyone saw La Hartman. She was a tall girl with long, ck curly hair and amethyst eyes. She was dressed in a puffy evening gown and high, ck heels.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze and looked intently at this girl.


    [La Hartman


    Race - Mage


    Stage - One-Pointed Star


    Warp - Purple]


    <Nothing out of the ordinary, looks like she''s just a talented girl. Honestly, this banquet is too boring, there isn''t a single person here who is at the stage - Two-Pointed Star. Everyone else is just useless. It looks like it''s time to get out of here.> Evan thought and headed towards Malespera.


    Unlike Evan, the girl wasn''t bored the whole time. She tried almost all the snacks and alcohol. At first, she did not like the unfamiliar and even unpleasant taste of the alcoholic beverage, but she quickly changed her mind.


    When La appeared in the hall, many people came up to her to greet her and chat. Viscount Pol had a lot of influence, and many people wanted to establish a good rtionship with him. He controlled a quarter of the trade-in all of Vextin and had many powerful mages under hismand.


    La was not Viscount Pol''s native daughter, but that wasmon. Mages rarely had children, for it was a significant risk. If a child had no talent for magic, he would be a lifelong burden.


    Moreover, ordinary people lived only a hundred years, which was too short even for a mage at the One-Pointed Star stage. No one wanted such a fate for their children, and no one wanted to wait until the child grew up, and it was clear whether he had a talent for magic or not.


    Even the highest-ranking nobles could not awaken the talent for magic in another person. There were no spells or special methods by which talent for magic could be awakened. But, one person could, and he was now in the banquet hall.


    "Malespera, let''s go, it''s too boring here." Said Evan.


    The girl frowned and said, "Do we really have to leave here this early? There''s so much delicious food!"


    Malespera didn''t want to leave here.


    At that moment, Evan thought to himself, <You can ask Sebastian to make you the most exquisite meals, but instead you''re happy with simple snacks? How hard it is to understand her sometimes...>


    Evan wanted to say something, but suddenly there was amotion in the hall. A girl was screaming, and everyone turned their attention to what was happening.


    <What?>


    Suddenly the Viscount Pol and his daughter were attacked by several people. But, they didn''t use any spells. Two men tried to protect La, but they were instantly killed.


    "It''s the vampires! What are they doing here?! Kill them!" One man said loudly and began casting a spell.


    But, before he could finish, he was pierced by the sharp palm of a man with long, ck hair. His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins at his eyes were bulging and tense. His sharp fangs were visible. After he killed the man, he sliced into his neck and ripped off arge chunk.


    "Evan, what''s going on?" Malespera asked calmly. She hadn''t realized yet, the full danger of the situation, it was nothing more than a mere performance to her.


    Evan smiled and said, "Something interesting, looks like we didn''te to this banquet for nothing. Malespera, be careful. If someone attacks you, try to kill them, no matter what it costs you. I need you alive."


    "Okay." Malespera simply replied, and ignoring what was going on, she continued sampling a variety of snacks.


    Most of the vampires attacked Viscount Pol and his daughter. Many mages tried to protect them, including Aimee, she was one of Viscount''s guards.


    But, apart from them, battles were fought all over the banquet hall. The vampires took advantage of the element of surprise and stealthily killed many of the mages. Moreover, they were agile and fast enough to dodge all attacks and kill their enemies quickly.


    Evan hadn''t taken any action yet, he was assessing the situation.


    <Hmm, vampires aren''t powerful either, I haven''t noticed any so far that are at the Two-Pointed Star stage. What do vampires want with Viscount? Maybe I should help him to strengthen my rtionship with him. Then, I should wait a little longer and enter the fray at the veryst moment.>


    Evan didn''t know much about vampires. All he knew was that they were considered a race and were a hybrid between human and monster. Because of theirrge poption, ancient history, and simr appearance to humans, it was decided to call them a separate race rather than just monsters. But, Evan had no more information about vampires.


    <Maybe I should help the vampires? No, that wouldn''t make any sense. In that case, I would have to flee from Vextin and not know if I can trust these creatures, then it''s decided>.


    Only half a minute had passed since the vampires had appeared, but they had already killed half of the banquet attendees. Sure, a few vampires had been killed, but they were still in the majority. There were two vampires per person, a rather unfortunate situation.


    "Hurry up and kill everyone here! We don''t have much time! Soon the guards wille here, and then we won''t get out of here alive!" A tall woman with long red hair said loudly. She was the leader of these vampires.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze and looked at her intently.


    [Nessa Emerton


    Race - Vampire


    Rank - One-Pointed Star, Three mes


    Warp - Puprle]


    <She''s pretty strong, she might be trouble. But Viscount''s guards aren''t weak either. They should at least seriously wound Nessa and the other vampires.>


    Evan thought as he watched the fierce battle in the center of the banquet hall.


    Step.


    Suddenly Evan heard someone sneaking upon him. He turned around and saw a tall man with blood-stained hands. The vampire wanted to attack Evan, but suddenly he stopped.


    Evan turned and released his aura. He looked coldly at the vampire and said, "If you take another step, I''ll rip your arms off and shove them up to your ass. Go help yourmander."


    Evan and the vampire were on the same page, but Evan''s icy stare sent shivers down the man''s spine. He swallowed and decided to avoid Evan. He was horrified by Evan''s aura.


    <What was that all about?! He''s psycho!"> the vampire thought to himself and sprinted toward the Viscount. Their main goal was to kill the Viscount and his daughter, the rest wasn''t that important.


    <Huh, and he''s pretty skittish, by the way, where''s Malespera?>


    Evan thought and looked around. He quickly found her. Malespera was fighting a vampire on stage - One-Pointed Star with no mes.


    Malespera was losing. There were many scratches on her body, and trickles of blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. But, the vampire was wounded, too, even though he was two stages taller.


    "Now she''s unlikely to enter the Gust, she''s not feeling desperate. She''s mad at this vampire and wants to kill him. Too bad, there''s nothing to be done about it." Evan muttered, and his spatial ring glowed.


    The Dark Reaper appeared in his hands, and Evan cast Lucifer''s Shackles on top of it. The weapon became covered in tattooed stripes, and Evan flung the scythe as hard as he could at the monster.


    The scythe de flew over Malespera''s head and sliced the vampire in two.

 Chapter 239 - Blood Drinkers

    Vampires, by nature, had a reasonably strong bodies and tough skin. Most weapons of the same rank as vampires could not leave even a scratch on them. Evan''s ck scythe, however, sliced the vampire in two like a piece of paper.


    The Dark Reaper flew on, sinking deep into the wall. Only part of the hilt remained on the outside.


    Whoosh


    A green magic circle appeared next to the scythe, and the ivy vine pulled the weapon out in one motion. A secondter, the scythe was already in Evan''s hands. He looked at the wall into which his weapon had plunged and muttered,


    "Looks like Viscount Pol will have to do some repairs. Lucifer''s Shackles gives incredible power."


    Lots of thick cracks went through most of the wall.. If Evan struck a few more, the entire wall would copse.


    Evan walked over to Malespera and said, "Go back home, or you will die. I won''t protect you anymore, I have other worries."


    He didn''t wait for the girl to answer and headed for the Viscount. Enough time had passed, and Evan felt that the moment hade to save Viscount Pol heroically.


    There were already three times as many vampires as humans, and before help arrived, they would kill everyone here.


    <The strongest is their leader, Nessa, she is in the One-Pointed Star stage with three mes. The others are weaker, but every one of them is in the One-Pointed Star stage.>


    Thought Evan, and at that moment, one of the vampires attacked him. Not counting Viscount''s group, there was practically no one left alive in the room. Other than Evan, only a couple of people continued to fight back against the vampires.


    The vampire who attacked Evan was a tall girl wearing a ck dress and long purple hair. She opened her mouth wide and was about to bite Evan, but she made a big mistake, thinking she could overpower Evan.


    Whoosh.


    Evan quickly turned around and sliced it in two with one swipe of his scythe. The Dark Reaper wasn''t sharp and powerful enough to cut through a vampire''s skin so easily, but Lucifer''s Shackles significantly increased the power of this weapon.


    <By the way, I''ve wanted to try something for a long time.> Evan thought, and his Warp spun.


    The next moment the darkness enveloped his arms and slowly moved to the scythe. Evan used two Amplification Magic spells at the same time. There was no difficulty in this, but there were a few nuances to consider. Mages very rarely used two spells on the same weapon at once for several reasons.


    First,patibility of the spells was important. It made no sense to put an ice spell and a fire spell on a weapon simultaneously. They conflicted with each other, and instead of strengthening, they would be weakened.


    Second, the mage needed a strong enough weapon and the right situation. Evan''s previous scythe had broken because Lucifer''s Shackles was too strong a spell. "Dark Reaper" could only withstand it because it was a 3-star weapon. If its quality had been a little lower, it would have been broken as well.


    "Now my attacks have a corrosive effect, I wonder how effective that will be?" Mumbled Evan and attacked the vampire to the side.


    The vampire reacted quickly and tried to dodge the blow, but Evan wouldn''t let him. He gave him a deep cut on his chest. The vampire vomited blood, and his flesh began to splinter as if under acid.


    "AH, you bastard!" The vampire growled but did not attack Evan. He had to heal. Otherwise, he would be dead in ten seconds.


    The darkness from ''Touch of the Abyss'' didn''tst long, but it was enough time to corrode the steel te.


    The vampire jumped aside and pounced on some woman. He killed her in one blow and began devouring her flesh. Vampires, by nature, had excellent regeneration, but it was greatly increased by drinking blood or devouring flesh. The stronger the creature was, the greater the effect.


    <Astonishingly, his flesh regenerates before my eyes. That''s a really impressive feature of vampires. What''s more, this vampire is very weak. I''m sure the stronger vampires are on a very different level.>


    Evan thought and dashed toward the vampire. Evan cast Ghost Step and was instantly behind the vampire''s back. A secondter, the man''s head fell to the ground.


    Evan looked at the battle of Viscount Pol''s group and thought, <I hope I''m not saving Viscount Pol for anything. Considering the number of vampires, this could be problematic>.


    Evan had one way to get rid of a lot of enemies at once. His Warp spun, and then purple energy gathered at his hands. It slowly transformed into arge fan consisting of many feathers.


    Evan swung his arm, and the fan moved with it. Several of the energy feathers flew toward the group of vampires, and there was a deafening explosion.


    Booom.


    Several vampires were killed instantly, and a couple suffered severe burns. Evan looked coldly at Viscount Pol and swung his arm once more.


    Once again, many explosions rang out, and more than ten vampires were killed. Evan''s actions made a difference. No one expected a mage with such a powerful spell to suddenly appear.


    Viscount Pol said loudly, "Everyone attack! Everyone who kills at least one vampire will receive a valuable reward from me!"


    He understood the situation and decided to use all means avable to him to survive. Viscount Pol also fought, but he focused not on attacking but on protecting La. She was the most precious thing to him, and there was no way he could let the vampires kill her.


    After Viscount Pol''s words, the remaining mages became enthusiastic and began to attack with renewed vigor. They were surprised by Evan''s unusual and powerful spell, and Viscount Pol''s words raised their morale.


    They did not have to win this fight. In about ten minutes, the backup that Viscount Pol had already summoned would arrive here. In that case, the vampires were unlikely to get out of here alive.


    Nessa frowned and looked at Evan and said, "Kill him!"


    She realized that they would not be able to continue defeating Viscount''s men because of Evan''s massive attacks. After her words, many vampires changed their target to Evan.


    Evan swung his arm once more with a calm face.


    The feathers came down on the vampires again, killing some of them.


    <Hmm, they are very human-like but incapable of using magic. If they are also monsters, then they can probably use skills.>


    Evan thought and prepared for battle. He hadn''t seen any of the vampires cast a spell or a skill yet. Vampires fought with their bare hands and tore their victims apart with their long ws and sharp fangs.


    Whooosh.


    Two vampires pounced on Evan at the same time. He didn''t duck. Evan gripped his weapon more tightly and swung it with unbelievable speed. The two vampires were killed in the blink of an eye, their blood scattered across the room.


    At this point, Evan could kill an average mage at the stage - One-Pointed Star with one mes in just one blow.


    Some vampires were frightened by Evan''s power. He seemed to be some kind of demon to them, but Evan himself was not tense at all. He reflected on the vampires.


    <Hmm, after the attack started, I realized that I knew too little about vampires. Given their numbers and the fact that they dared to attack Viscount Pol, they are far from thest position in this world. I''ll have to find out more about them, there are still a lot of blind spots in my knowledge.> Evan thought and waved his fan once more.


    In time, Evan became the main threat to the vampires and was attacked by six opponents at once. Evan blocked their attacks and counterattacked himself, but the vampires dodged masterfully.


    <Shit, well, fine, suit yourself. Evan thought, and with all his might, struck the floor with the back of his scythe.>


    He was using an extremely sharp weapon like a simple hammer. But, that was Evan''s intention.


    Evan was powerful, and his blow started to shatter the floor. This prevented the vampires from attacking. They lost their bnce for a split second. Evan was about to counterattack, but suddenly he saw lightning bolts strike the vampires. Their sender was, oddly enough, Viscount Pol.


    He smiled and said, "Mr. Evan, it looks like I didn''t invite you to this banquet for nothing."


    "Where the fuck did that guye from," Nessa said furiously.


    Suddenly she bled herself, and the next moment everyone in the room felt goosebumps run down their skin.

 Chapter 240 - Blood Spikes

    After Evan entered the fray, the position of power began to change rapidly. Each fan swing killed several vampires, and the survivors gave the vampires a severe fight back.


    Nessa decided it was time to act. She bled herself, but as soon as the scarlet drops fell to the floor, the blood began to spread throughout the room. After a couple of seconds, the entire area was covered in blood. Evan frowned. He didn''t know what Nessa was nning to do.


    <Is this a spell? No, it''s more like a skill, so vampires can evolve too?"> Evan thought as he watched the blood transform into sharp spikes.


    Dozens of spikes and a single moment came down on Viscount Pol''s men and Evan. Nessa saw Evan as the biggest threat, so most of the spikes flew in his direction.


    Evan didn''t know any protective spells, but he was fast and strong enough to dodge and fight off each of the bloody spikes.. Thanks to his eyesight, he could see each spikeing in his direction. He gripped the scythe tighter and quickly destroyed the spikes.


    For a time, everyone in the banquet hall was forced to defend themselves. The spikes weren''t sharp enough to pierce a high-grade weapon or a magical shield, but there were plenty of them. Everyone had to block the spikes to stay alive.


    That''s what Nessa and the remaining vampires decided to take advantage of. Their main goal was not to kill Viscount Pol, that was only a side mission. The vampires came here for La. They wanted to capture her for their purposes.


    No one knew this, so when a multitude of vampires suddenly attacked the Viscount, the mages tried to protect him. Nevertheless, Nessa attacked La. She struck her sharply in the stomach, grabbed her by the neck, and fled the banquet hall.


    "Freeze! Kill her! Now!" The Viscount shouted in a fury in the wake of the departing Nessa.


    The rest of the vampires ran after Nessa, and a few secondster, they were gone. Viscount Pol''s mansion was a vast expanse ofnd. His garden was like a small nature preserve, so the agile vampires quickly disappeared under the veil of darkness.


    "Damn! Damn! Where did they evene from!" Rumbled the voice of Viscount Pol. With anger, he began to smash everything around him until he finally calmed down.


    <They didn''t kill her, they just stole her. Moreover, once the situation became moreplicated, Nessa decided not to attack Viscount Pol anymore and concentrate her forces on his daughter. Why did they need her?"> Evan thought.


    He was not going to participate further in this farce. La''s fate did not interest him, Evan had other concerns.


    Evan headed for the exit, but suddenly he heard Viscount Pol''s voice.


    "Mr. Evan, don''t rush to leave. I will not allow these filthy creatures to touch my daughter. In an hour, we will go after them, I will assemble a team and invite everyone here into it. Of course, I will properly reward anyone who helps me save my daughter." Viscount Pol said loudly.


    Evan stopped. This was indeed a lucrative offer. There was no hidden agenda here, Evan was simply interested in a generous reward from Viscount Pol.


    "All who are interested, pleasee to my office. The backup will be here any minute. We''ll quickly form a posse and go in pursuit." Viscount Pol said gravely and went to his office without waiting for a response from the others.


    Viscount Pol gained his status, not through luck. At the right moment, he was capable of making the right decisions.


    King Vexacion despised the ordinary people, but in some ways, he was fair in his judgments. He regarded ordinary people as inferior beings and mages as superior, but mages had to justify their status in his opinion. King Vexacion was cruel and unprincipled. For him, an unworthy mage, without willpower, weak and unsure of himself, was even worse than amoner.


    For the same reason, in the "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," all nobles who were appointed personally by King Vexacion deserved their status. There were many powerful mages in the "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," but not every one of them was worthy of the noble rank.


    After Viscount Pol left, several people went after him. Evan did not think long and decided to ept Viscount Pol''s offer. Evan understood that he had shown himself to be a powerful mage in this battle, possessing rare and unique spells. If he helped Viscount get his daughter back, he would surely be rewarded with something rare and valuable.


    Evan didn''t need money, he had plenty of it. Various magical artifacts and "Catalysts" didn''t interest Evan much either. For the moment, the Dark Reaper was excellent for him. Sure, Evan wouldn''t mind a 4-star weapon, but he wanted something else as a reward.


    He wanted information on spell making and the Gust. Evan didn''t know where to find such information, but he believed that Viscount Pol might well have such knowledge. Even if Viscount Pol knew nothing, he could tell Evan where or from whom to look.


    "I didn''t expect you to be not only wealthy but also extremely strong," Aimee said, running up to Evan.


    He looked at her indifferently and said, "You''re not a bad scout, but you''re not much of a protector. Shouldn''t you have kept Miss La safe from an unexpected attack?"


    Evan didn''t like Aimee from the first seconds. He wasn''t going to be nice to her.


    The girl frowned and replied, "My main purpose was to protect Viscount Pol. He loves his daughter very much, but I have no obligation to her. I will do any order of Viscount Pol, but my main purpose will always be to protect him. Anything else is less important than preserving his life."


    "I don''t think Viscount Pol would like your position," Evan replied coldly.


    Aimee said nothing. She decided to remain silent and not continue this pointless conversation. Right now, they needed to get together and save La, not bicker with each other.


    Besides Evan and Aimee, three other people responded to Viscount Pol''s offer. Many more people could survive today''s battle, but not all had the courage to pursue the vampire. Many survived only by hiding behind the backs of these three.


    These three mages were close friends of Viscount Pol and rather strong mages. Each of them was at the stage - One-Pointed Star with two mes.


    ...


    After everyone gathered in Viscount Pol''s office, they waited for help, which did not arrive in time.


    Click.


    About three minutester, a tall man with short ck hair and blue eyes entered the room. He was dressed in a long, gray cloak.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Bas Rosman


    Race - Mage


    Stage - One-Pointed Star, Three mes


    Warp - White]


    Two more people came in with him, a woman and a man. They were at the same stage as Bas, only with two mes.


    It was these people that Viscount Pol was waiting for. As soon as the vampires attacked, he immediately used the artifact and called for backup. If Nessa hadn''t decided to change her n and act faster, when Bas and his men arrived, it would have been over for them.


    "Bas! Those damned things attacked us and took my daughter! We must get them back right away." Viscount Pol said quickly as Bas entered the room.


    Bas nodded and calmly said, "Of course, I have already informed Count Rosl. He will help you get your daughter back. I will lead a detachment, with about ten other men with me. My assistants know spells capable of tracking anyone. Don''t worry."


    "Great, then we''re leaving in an hour! It''s been a long time since I''ve fought anyone!" Pol said excitedly.


    However, Bas shook his head and said, "Sorry, Viscount Pol, but you can''t go with us. We will take your men in a group, alone you must stay here. It''s just necessary."


    "What?! Those bastards kidnapped my daughter! How can I stay here and wait for her to be killed? I want to crush their skulls to dust!"


    "I understand, and I assure you we will save your daughter. But, you cannote with us, this is a personal request of Count Rosl. Viscount Pol, you are too important to the city, we cannot lose you."

 Chapter 241 - Chasing Vampires

    Bas was a trusted man of Count Rosl. He was calm, judicious, and, most importantly, a strong mage. Bas was an excellentmander and was capable of making good decisions. He had long lived in Vextin and was well acquainted with everyone who had at least some influence. Naturally, he knew Viscount Pol very well.


    "Damn! All right, I have faith in you, Mr. Bas. Please go as soon as possible, they may want to kill my daughter in their hideout. I don''t know their aims, but it''s quite possible." Said Viscount Pol.


    He wanted to join the rescue operation, but he could not ignore Count Rosl''s request. Moreover, he trusted Bas and believed that the people here were strong enough to save his daughter..


    There were several nobles in Vextin, but one of the most important was Count Rosl. He ruled most of the town and most of the nobles here respected him. He was a close friend of Viscount Pol, so he immediately sent one of his best men to help him.


    Bas nodded and, looking at Evan, and the others calmly said, "The operation will be effortless. My assistants will track down the vampires. We will sneak into theirir and rescue Miss La. After rescuing Viscount Pol''s daughter, we will decide to destroy theirir. If there are not too many vampires, then we will attack immediately. If not, then we return to Vextin, and this case falls under the jurisdiction of Count Rosl. We leave in 30 minutes, my men will be here shortly. Everyone who contributes to the rescue of Miss La will receive a thank you and a reward from Count Rosl. Is that clear to you?"


    The mages nodded. At this point, the squad consisted of eight people. Evan, Aimee, Bas, and his two assistants, and three other people decided to help Viscount Pol. Such a group was enough to destroy the den of monsters of the first rank easily. But they shouldn''t have been rash. The vampires were strong, and there could be about a hundred opponents in their hideout.


    Bas said goodbye to Viscount Pol and went to the banquet hall. This was where the vampires had attacked, so this was where they would begin their pursuit.


    ...


    As Bas said, thirty minutester, everything was ready. They were joined by a squad of eight mages, each of them on stage - One-Pointed Star with one me.


    Bas was the strongest in this squad, and he was the only one in the One-Pointed Star stage with three mes.


    When everyone was assembled, Bas nodded to his assistants, and they quickly cast two special spells. The man''s eyes glowed with a faint golden light, the girl stood quietly in ce with her eyes closed.


    Their searching methods differed. The man used a spell to see the slightest trace left by vampires. Moreover, he could easily see the mana particles the vampires had left behind.


    The girl used a spell that greatly enhanced her sense of smell. At this point, she could plot the entire route the vampires had taken by smell alone.


    After about a minute, Bas signaled, and the entire squad followed the vampires'' trail. Evan was at the end of the group.


    <These spells are pretty useful, but I can spot small trails without using special spells. I wonder which is better: his spell or my eyes?>


    At the exact moment, Evan used Mammon''s Gaze. He wanted to check the status of everyone who was here. Moreover, while using Mammon''s Gaze, Evan''s vision got even better. Even considering it was now dark, he could see every trace, every broken branch.


    <Hmm, judging by the stage, I''m one of the weakest in this group. I wonder how strong Bas is? Count Rosl personally sent him and apparently, Viscount Pol trusts him. Hopefully, we''ll get this sorted out quickly, and I can go home.>


    Evan didn''t think a simple banquet could turn into a vampire chase, yet it did. Viscount Pol, offered a good reward for his help, and Evan couldn''t refuse such a lucrative offer.


    ...


    After about an hour, Bas stopped the group. They had already left Vextin and were outside of it. There was nothing around them butyers of snow and massive mountains.


    The girl turned and said, "It''s here, all the tracks lead there."


    "I think so too." Calmly said the man with the shining eyes.


    Bas nodded and said quietly, "We''re out of luck. Their base turned out to be a cave, but an unusual one. This cave is the entrance to the abandoned mines where the me Crystals were mined fifty years ago. Most likely, they will be waiting for us and may have even prepared traps. There is no other entrance to this cave, but we will have some advantages."


    He nodded to the girl, and she immediately cast some kind of spell. Arge, white magic circle appeared above the group. It slowly descended through each member of the group.


    The vampires couldn''t see them, as they were behind arge boulder far away from the cave. Moreover, the weather was not clear. The snowstorm gradually intensified, such a phenomenon was not umon for Vextin.


    When the magic circle disappeared, everyone noticed a thin shell on themselves. It had a simr effect to Avice''s spell in the battle in The Hills of Bloody Falls.


    Their footsteps were barely audible now. What''s more, as long as the shell was still there, their footsteps would be silent.


    <It''s not invisible, but it''s not bad either. With this spell, we''ll be able to get close to the entrance without being seen. What''s more, this shell is only 10% transparent. Considering how much snow there is, if we duck, it''s impossible to see us. Now we look like small, piles of snow.>


    The silent effect wasn''t the only advantage of this spell. The white, mostly non-transparent shell worked like camouge.


    Bas dal knew, and the group slowly headed toward the cave entrance. Even if a few vampires were guarding the entrance, Bas could easily kill them quickly and silently. Bas was the Creator, and his assistants were the Summoners. Bas was the core of their small team, while hisrades made him several times more potent.


    It was in such situations that the Summoners were the most wee allies. Without this spell, the group might have been spotted by now.


    As expected, two vampires were patrolling outside the entrance. Bas gave themand for everyone to stay where they were and approached them alone. When he was close enough, he cast a spell.


    Two sharp, icy spikes appeared beside him and flew toward the vampires with a bullet. The spikes pierced the vampires'' heads quickly. Momentster, the spikes turned into multiple needles that tore the vampires'' heads apart.


    The games themselves were not powerful, no human or monster would die from such a wound if you didn''t hit the critical points. However, such a tearing of flesh was like a silent explosion. Such an attack was truly formidable.


    Bas signaled, and the group moved on. The cave itself was quite small, but the abandoned mines were a whole system of different tunnels.


    <These vampires were quite strong. But, Bas was able to kill them in just a few seconds. However, he had the effect of surprise on his side.> Thought Evan and headed after the group.


    Bas said quietly, "First, we have to find Miss La. Her safety is our most important concern. Once we find her location, we will save her quickly. Regardless of how many vampires are guarding her, we must kill them all. With all the vampires we meet on the way, they will be dealt with without too much noise. Use only silent spells."


    Bas was an experiencedmander. Time was not on their side, so Bas acted on the situation. He gavemands and acted immediately.


    <They stole this girl and didn''t even go on to attack Viscount Pol. She is definitely important to them, but why? Isn''t she just a regr mage with a purple Warp?>


    Evan didn''t like this situation. If possible, he wouldn''t want to fight all the vampires in these abandoned mines. Evan was sure that only a fraction of the vampires came to the banquet.


    <If she''s that important, she''ll probably be protected by all the vampires that are here.>

 Chapter 242 - The Benefit

    Evan and the others moved carefully through the tunnels. To their surprise, they didn''t encounter a single vampire. What''s more, every room they entered waspletely empty. It wasn''t at all like arge base with a lot of vampires living in it.


    <Hmm, these rooms used to be the resting ce for miners, and it''s not like they''ve been abandoned for 50 years. The vampires have definitely used them for a while, but they''re empty now. They cleared the ce out for some reason. There isn''t even any dust here.>


    Evan thought as they entered another empty room.


    Suddenly Bas stopped them and said quietly, "I have a theory. I believe that the vampires have all gathered together in the same room and are watching Miss La. Maybe they''ve already left here, but that''s unlikely.. Then there would be no guards at the entrance. If I''m right, there will be a major battle. I have to warn you about something."


    <So he''s decided that the vampires are in the same ce, too? Maybe they''re waiting for something?> Evan thought.


    "First, prioritize using fire spells and light magic spells. Vampires have little resistance to these elements. Secondly, be vignt, there may well be other vampires capable of using blood magic besides that woman."


    <Blood magic!? Evan thought to himself. He was extremely interested in blood magic spells. They could help him in his experiments.>


    <I thought she was using a skill then. I had never seen a spell like that, but it was quite possible that it was a blood magic spell. I don''t know anything about that kind of spell.>


    Evan decided that Nessa was using a skill in the banquet hall, not a spell. When Nessa bled herself and turned it into sharp stakes, it reminded Evan of Reykar''s second skill. He used his feathers as weapons, they were sharp enough to pierce steel. Evan decided that Nessa''s blood was a prerequisite for using the skill.


    "Commander, aren''t only some vampires allowed to use spells?" Quietly one man in the group said.


    Bas nodded, "Only some, I don''t know why, but it''s kind of like evolved monsters. Only monsters like that can have skills, it''s a simr situation, but I''ve never seen an evolved vampire before. That''s it, let''s move on."


    The others nodded and followed him.


    ...


    In the next few minutes, they explored several rooms and a couple of forks in this system of abandoned mines. Everywhere was empty, not a hint that anyone lived here.


    But, eventually, they came across vampires. Just as Evan thought, all the vampires ended up in the same ce.


    It was arge room the size of half a ser field. About forty vampires stood waiting for something. Every one of them was ready for a fight.


    Evan, Bas, and the others didn''t know it, but the vampires were very sensitive to the smell of blood. When Bas killed two vampires, the vampires smelled that faint smell of blood. But, Nessa ordered them to stay where they were. They had to protect La at all costs.


    At the end of the room was La. She was under a protective barrier. Moreover, she was put to sleep. The vampires had done everything in their power not to lose her.


    Evan, as well as everyone else, was puzzled. They didn''t understand why the vampires needed to kidnap the noblewoman and now protect her.


    <This is very strange. Judging by La''s appearance, the vampires didn''t even touch her. They didn''t drink her blood or torture her. What the hell is going on here?">thought Evan.


    "Commander, what are we going to do?" Asked the girl.


    Bas hesitated and, after a while, answered, "Originally I wanted to attack the vampires and rescue Miss La stealthily, but given the situation, we won''t be able to do that. I have only two options: the first is to try to negotiate, and the second is to attack head-on."


    He wanted to avoid a head-on collision with so many vampires, but it was impossible. All the vampires were in one ce and watched all the entrances to this room.


    Only four tunnels were leading into thisrge room, and at least five vampires were watching each of them. There was no way a team of mages could have gotten close by stealthily.


    "Commander, are you sure? I don''t think we have any chance of negotiating with them." One of Bas''s men said worriedly.


    "Don''t worry about me, as soon as I give the signal, then attack with all your might. Don''t be afraid to hurt Miss La with your attacks, I''m sure this barrier is pretty solid since it''s a formation and not a simple spell."


    At the edge of the barrier inside which La was, there were several stakes and pierced scrolls. This was clear evidence that it was a formation.


    The group members nodded, and Bas stepped forward. He wanted to negotiate. Bas understood that if they fought, even if they won, most of their group would die. There were about forty vampires and only sixteen mages. There were two and a half times as many opponents. It was a significant advantage.


    Of course, Bas alone could easily kill five vampires or seven vampires. Besides Bas, some pretty strong men were in the squad. They could kill about three vampires. But, the enemies also had strong opponents like Nessa.


    When Bas came out of the tunnel, all the vampires turned their attention to him. They immediately prepared for battle. Their eyes filled with blood and sharp fangs appeared from their mouths.


    "I''vee to make a deal," Bas said coldly.


    Nessa stepped forward and said rudely, "What? You want a deal? You killed ourrades, and you dare show your face to us? We''ll tear you to pieces like a filthy pig!"


    Bas frowned, "I''m dead serious, if you give us Miss La, we won''t fight you, and we won''t harass you anymore. We just want to bring Miss La home."


    Nessa made a thoughtful expression on her face. She stared at Bas and said with a smile, "Kill him!"


    At the exact moment, dozens of vampires attacked Bas. Bas''srades backed him up and attacked him back. The spatial ring on Nessa''s finger glowed, and a scarlet spear appeared in her hands. Nessa gripped her weapon tighter and threw the spear toward Bas from behind all her strength.


    Bas reacted quickly and summoned his weapon. It was a long, wooden, white staff with an iid azure crystal. He quickly cast a spell, and a wall of ice appeared before him.


    To his surprise, Nessa''s spear easily shattered the wall and continued to fly on, but the weapon''s trajectory was slightly altered. Bas could dodge, but Nessa wasn''t about to allow him to attack again.


    She lunged toward him, intent on sinking her long ws into his flesh. The crystal on Bas''s staff glowed, and mana began to umte at his hands.


    In a second, their attacks should have reached each other, but suddenly there was a blur of speed between Bas and Nessa.


    Bam.


    Evan punched Nessa in the side. His blow was so hard that one of her ribs cracked, and she went flying. Nessa mmed into the wall with a rumble. Bas was surprised at speed Evan had reached. He was able to achieve this thanks to using Ghost Step and Lucifer''s Shackles simultaneously.


    All Amplification Magic spells could only be used on a certain body part. Evan couldn''t cast Ghost Step on his arms, for example. However, Lucifer''s Shackles were different. They were simr to Amplification Magic spells but slightly different.


    Eventually, in one leap, Evan could cross the ten meter mark and bring his blow down on Nessa. A small crater formed under his feet at the moment of the spurt, and cracks appeared on the ground.


    Evan didn''t stop there. He turned back into a blur and, a secondter, hit Nessa with his fist. His punch was powerful enough to send Nessa flying aside and smashing through several walls in the tunnels.


    For the next few seconds, the entire ground shook. Every vampire and mage could feel the shudder beneath their feet and the muffled echoes of the blows.


    But if anyone had been watching Evan attack Nessa, they would have noticed that half of the blows Evan was deliberately sending past the target. He wasn''t going to kill Nessa now, he was taking her off the battlefield with his actions.

 Chapter 243 - The Proposal

    Evan led Nessa away from the battlefield. Now the vampires had lost their strongest fighter, but now Evan could not take part in the battle either. Considering the power of his blows, he was no weaker than Nessa, even though she had two mes on her tform.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    A few blows sounded in the distance, and only after a while made the noise dies down. But, by then, no one was paying attention to Evan and Nessa''s battle. Bas thought it was a good moment to attack. The vampire leader was gone, and even though the vampires outnumbered them, the mages had to cope.


    "Kill them all and save Miss La. Use your strongest spells!" Bas said loudly and swung his staff and sent a wave of ice toward the vampires..


    The vampires under attack were frozen to the ground. They weren''t dead, but they needed time to get out of the trap, but no one was going to give them that opportunity. A tall man walked over and chopped the two vampires to pieces with his fire axe. He was one of the men who had decided to help Viscount Pol during the banquet.


    In just a minute, the unsessful and very short negotiations turned into a full-blown battle. But, two men were busy doing something else at that moment.


    ...


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Evan unleashed another blow on Nessa. The girl flew aside and crashed her back into the wall. She quickly got up and was about to strike, but Evan ducked quickly and, hitting Nessa in the stomach, said, "No need to attack. You have a chance to convince me not to kill you. I have a proposition for you."


    Nessa spat a clot of blood and said stiffly, "What?! What are you talking about, you fucking psycho! I''m going to tear you to pieces right now!"


    She wasn''t going to listen to Evan. He humiliated her and broke a few bones with a few punches. For thest minute, she felt like a punching bag. As a strong vampire, Nessa wasn''t used to putting up with something like that.


    Evan didn''t say anything back. His spatial ring glowed, and a simple, wooden chair appeared beside him. Evan sat down on it as if nothing had happened, and with his hands folded together, he stared intently at Nessa.


    He pulled another chair out of the ring and said, "Sit down."


    Nessa didn''t understand what was going on. To her, it all seemed like some kind of joke or insanity. Evan decided to hurry Nessa up and coldly said, "If you don''t sit down now, I''m going to chop your legs off. I think they''ll grow back pretty quickly."


    <What''s going on here? It''s very strange, but he seems to be serious... If he wanted to kill me, he wouldn''t have offered any negotiations. Moreover, he purposely took me away from the battle. I don''t understand...">.


    Doubts tormented Nessa, but in the end, she decided to sit in her chair. Evan could safely continue to attack her with crushing blows. She could only fight back with bloody stakes.


    Evan nodded and calmly said, "Let''s cut to the chase. I think you noticed that some of the blows looked very strange. I didn''t mean to kill you, I still need you alive, and you do have a chance to save not only your life, but the lives of yourrades."


    "What? Do you really think you could kill me?" Nessa said with a sneer. She didn''t want to believe that a mage who was two mes weaker than her could kill her.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Suddenly Evan''s aura significantly increased, and Nessa felt incredible pressure. Evan''s left eye turned to gold, and he looked at her coldly. It was a silent, final warning. Evan gave Nessa onest chance to make things right.


    Nessa gulped and said, "What do you mean? Why are you even doing this?"


    She realized that Evan really could have killed her, and so she decided to move to negotiate. Nessa instinctively felt that if Evan needed it, he would kill her, even if he had to pay a high price for it.


    "As I said, you have a chance to survive and save yourrades. In order to do that, you must convince me of it. Otherwise, I will rip your head off and kill yourrades. I will ask simple questions, and you answer yes or no."


    Nessa nodded silently, and Evan said, "Those bloody spikes you called for in the banquet hall. Was that a skill?"


    "No," Nessa answered quickly.


    Evan smiled and asked, "Was that a blood magic spell?"


    "Yes," Nessa answered quickly.


    That was the answer Evan wanted to hear. He had brought Nessa here to question her about a few things, but it was the blood stakes that interested him most. Evan wanted to study blood magic spells, about which there was no information in the mage academy or in the informant''s memories.


    "Good, now you can answer freely. First of all, why are you the only one who can use spells?"


    Evan didn''t understand why the other vampires didn''t cast spells. They fought like monsters, relying on the strength of their bodies and the sharpness of their ws and fangs.


    "Not all vampires can use spells. Only a select few are capable of it, such vampires are known as nobles. It''s something like how ordinary people are different from mages." Nessa said calmly.


    She decided to answer Evan''s questions quickly and honestly. She noticed that when she mentioned the blood magic spell, his eyes sparkled.


    "Vampires are like both humans and monsters. Can you have skills?"


    "Yes, but there are very few vampires who have evolved. There are far fewer of them than nobles. Such vampires gain a very powerful ability and be much stronger themselves." Nessa replied.


    "Okay, then I have a proposition for you. I will help you kill people and protect yourrades and this girl. But, I have a condition. You must provide me with as many blood magic spells as you can."


    At the exact moment, Nessa saw a ray of hope. She believed that Evan was deadly serious. If that wasn''t true, then his previous actions made no sense.


    "I only know one spell of blood magic, I only recently became a nobleman...but there is another spell of blood magic in my spatial ring."


    "That''s not enough," Evan said quickly.


    Just two spells weren''t enough. Evan decided to take that risk because he was interested in learning blood magic spells. He was surprised by the power of that spell Nessa had cast in the banquet hall, but that wasn''t the main reason why he wanted to learn more blood magic spells.


    One of Evan''s goals was to create his own spell, namely the Blood Brush. Because of recent events, Evan put his experiments on hold. But, he understood that it was impossible to create a blood magic spell if he didn''t have any examples. Otherwise, he would have to spend several thousand years. Evan didn''t want to wait that long.


    The more blood magic spells he had, the more information he would have. This way, he would greatly speed up the creation of his own spell.


    The two spells Nessa spoke of were not enough, but it was better than nothing. However, Evan didn''t need to fight on the side of the vampires to get those spells. He could simply get this information out of Nessa''s head. She had to offer Evan something more to get his help.


    "I really don''t have any more spells, but my brother does. He surely knows at least ten spells of blood magic. Moreover, he is the one we are waiting for. We kidnapped this girl at his behest. For the same reason, I decided to gather all the vampires in one ce. We''re waiting for him, we have about fifteen more minutes to hold out."


    "How strong is your brother? Can he alone save you all?" Evan asked.


    "He''s a nobleman like me, but he''s different. Unlike my older brother, I don''t have any title yet. I have to reach the stage - Two-Pointed Star - to get the Baron title." Said Nessa.


    "I take it your brother is the Baron?" Asked Evan.


    "Yes, and not only that, he''s also one of the few evolved vampires."

 Chapter 244 - Fire And Wings

    "He has the title of Baron, and he also evolved once? How strong is he?" Asked Evan.


    "My brother is in the - Two-Pointed Star stage without mes, but he can easily fight three mages who have one me each and defeat each of them. None of you are his adversary, when my brother gets here, it will be, of course." Proimed Nessa.


    "That does sound formidable, however, apparently, your brother won''t make it in time. I doubt the vampires willst long without your support, but even if you were with them, it wouldn''t make a difference. You need help, and I will give it to you. My condition will be that your brother provides me with as many blood magic spells as possible. I don''t need anything else." Evan said calmly.


    "Okay, if you help us, I''m sure your brother will provide you with enough blood magic spells." Said Nessa..


    "The only question left to decide is, how can I trust you? If you betray me, I could easily kill you, however your brother will not let me do that. What do you say? Should I kill you right here and now?"


    Evan understood that Nessa had no reason to keep her word. She could have taken advantage of Evan and just betrayed him, nothing was stopping her from doing that.


    Nessa understood that as well. Her spatial ring glowed, and a parchment scroll appeared in her hands.


    "This is the scroll of the spell, the Bloody Agreement. We can use it to make sure we each keep our part of the bargain." Nessa said calmly.


    "How does it work?"


    "We leave drops of our blood on this spell, then activate the scroll. Then, we each say our terms, after which the agreement is made. If one of us doesn''t fulfill the oath, he or she will die instantly."


    "Hmm, how much does your brother care about you?" Evan said coldly.


    Evan will get his reward not from Nessa but her brother. That means that if Nessa''s brother doesn''t care about her, he''ll just let her die and kill Evan in addition to it.


    Nessa frowned and said grudgingly, "All vampires hold their bonds very dear, especially family bonds, trust me. If that''s what it takes, my brother will destroy an entire town for me."


    Evan stared at Nessa intently. He was trying to figure out if the girl was lying or not.


    Evan nodded and said, "Okay, I agree."


    The next moment Evan bit his finger, and his drop of blood fell on the scroll. Nessa did the same, then activated the spell scroll.


    A magical red circle appeared above the scroll, from which a scarlet thread flew out. It prated Nessa''s heart and Evan''s heart. They were joined, and now it was time to make their vows.


    Nessa began first, "I am Nessa Emerton, I swear that if this man helps me protect myrades and kill my enemies, he will receive many spells of blood magic from my brother and be our friend."


    She decided to do just that so that Evan would have no doubts about the purity of her intentions. Now, if Nessa chooses to betray Evan, she will receive a death sentence. In that case, once the pact is fulfilled, neither Nessa nor her brother will be able to attack Evan.


    Evan nodded, "I am Evan Lynch, I swear that I will destroy all of Nessa Emerton''s enemies in these mines."


    After they said their vows, the scarlet thread split in two and wrapped tightly around their hearts. If either of them broke their vows, the thread would constrict and instantly crush their hearts.


    "Great, now it''s time to go back. You must attack the group of mages from behind, they must not escape me. Moreover, you must warn yourrades not to attack me ore close to me. Otherwise, they will all be burned to the ground." Said Evan.


    Nessa nodded and ran forward. She didn''t know what Evan was going to do, but he sounded extremely convincing. Moreover, after Evan had made his oath, Nessa became fully convinced that Evan had a way to kill all the mages in those caves.


    He frowned and mmed his fist into the wall with all his might.


    "Damn! I didn''t want to do that. It gave me goosebumps. How long has it been since Ist did this?" Mumbled Evan slowly heading toward the main room.


    Nessa had already told all of herrades not to touch Evan and to run away from him. She cast her spell, and while herrades ran away and took La to safety, she restrained Bas and the others.


    "Shit! We need to get through these stakes! Did that guy really lose?"


    Bas knew that Evan was two mes weaker than Nessa, but he didn''t think the girl could beat him without getting seriously hurt. The others frowned and tried to make their way through the hail of bloody stakes. They thought the vampires had decided to run away, and so all but Nessa retreated.


    By then, Evan had reached the battlefield. He was standing in one of the tunnels and was barely visible in that area.


    He bled himself slowly and began to draw the demon''s sigil on the ground. Evan had used the power of demons in this world many times before, but now he was really disturbed.


    Evan wasn''t afraid of the price the demon would demand. He was mentally prepared for what would happen after that. Evan was willing to pay even 200 years if it demanded it. Not only did he want to get blood magic spells, but he also wanted to learn about the power of vampires.


    From Nessa''s words, Evan understood that a vampire noble who had survived evolution was stronger than most mages of the same rank. Such power couldn''t help but appeal to him.


    He looked at Nessa and, realizing that he couldn''t wait any longer, decided to activate the sigil.


    Evan said quietly, "Sigil of the 68th demon - King Belial, activation."


    The next moment Evan''s consciousness was transported to Nirvana, where the demon he had summoned was already waiting for him. It was a tall man with waist-length hair. His red hair burned with a bright me that could burn anything. His skin was pale, and his eyes were cold. His face looked as if he wanted to enter eternal sleep.


    The most notable detail of his appearance was the four angelic wings. Two of them were snow-white, and the other two were dark as the abyss. All four wings burned with a crimson me.


    Evan said, "Give me the power to incinerate everyone here. Not even ashes should be left of them!"


    The demon noddedzily and said, "You''re pretty interesting. I''m curious to see what happens next, you must offer me a sacrifice equal to 100 years of your life."


    Evan nodded confidently, and mes from the demon''s wings headed towards Evan. This me did Evan no harm, but it burned away his life force. At the moment, Evan''s life span was 422 years. After a couple of seconds, it would be reduced to 322 years.


    Evan knew the sigils of 72 demons, and the higher the demon''s position, the stronger it was. This rule worked without exception, but between some positions, there was an incredible difference in strength.


    The destructive power of the 69 demon Marquis Decarabia and the 70th demon Prince Seere differed from each other, but not fundamentally. Moreover, Prince Seere''s spear could be even more useful than a single destructive st in some situations.


    However, the demons with King status were somewhat special. The power gap between the 68th demon King Belial and the 69 demon Marquis Decarabia was unimaginable. For the same reason, the price was much higher. What''s more, Evan was only using the first level of the sigil. The higher the sigil level, the more significant the difference between the Kings and the rest of the demons.


    When the procedure was over, and Evan sacrificed 100 years of his life, he gained the power of a demon. Before he disappeared from Evan''s Nirvana, King Belial gathered all his mes into a small blob and directed it toward Evan.


    The blob of me slowly flew toward Evan and prated his chest. The next moment Evan''s appearance began to change rapidly.

 Chapter 245 - SixtyEight

    As the mes prated Evan''s chest, his appearance began to change rapidly. It was the memory of that moment that sent shivers down his spine. Now Evan would be in unbelievable pain to gain fantastic power.


    "Shit!" Evan gasped, feeling the skin on his back gradually burn away.


    Four mes appeared in four ces on his back. They gradually burned through Evan''s flesh so that after a couple of seconds, four wings of fire appeared in those ces. Each wing was as big as Evan himself. The blood dripping from his wounds instantly evaporated. The four wings opened, spreading mes around Evan.


    But, this was not the end. The mes moved to his wrists, forming fiery hoops.. Thest detail of Evan''s changed appearance was his hair. It was blond and lit up in a bright me. Evan became like an angel of fire, one who cursed the heavens and conquered hell.


    "Burning alive is far from a pleasant feeling, but that''s over now. It''s time to move on to the most important thing," muttered Evan and headed for the tunnel exit.


    Every step he took a left a trail of fire on the ground that was hot enough to melt most existing metals.


    Even when Evan was just breathing, a small blob of me woulde out of his mouth and instantly dissipate.


    As Evan approached the tunnel exit, everyone turned their attention to him. They thought they saw an angel, but a secondter, they all realized it was Evan. The magicians were stunned, they didn''t understand what was going on.


    Evan looked at Nessa and just nodded. She swallowed in fear and tried to move behind the group of mages. However, Bas''s sudden attack prevented her from doing so. He pierced the vampire with an ice crystal and Nessa flew off in the opposite direction from him.


    Evan didn''t care, it didn''t matter as the oue was already decided.


    Whoosh.


    His upper two wings came into motion, and Evan flew slowly upward. The mes from the wings didn''t spread far from Evan, it was as if they were protecting their owner. Evan had no problem flying, even faster than his basilisk thanks to the power he gained, but to pay such a price for such a flight was very foolish.


    Evan looked coldly at the group of mages as they took off.


    Bas and Aimee were the first to realize what was going on. They didn''t know why, but Evan was definitely against them. Moreover, theck of vampires and Nessa''s actions were also confirmed that their assumption was correct.


    Bas said loudly, "Defend yourselves! He is our enemy!"


    Then he cast his most powerful protection spell, using two magical artifacts in the process. The others followed his example and did the same.


    In just a second, many barriers appeared in front of them. Some were icy, others stone or energy. "The Summoners summonedrge, strong creatures to help them, and the Amplifiers pulled shields from the spatial rings and covered them with ayer of metal or ice.


    Evan let them do this because of his special mood. He received not only the power of the demon but also a portion of his emotions. It was the serenity of boundless power and an endless sense ofziness.


    In the next moment, all four of Evan''s wings came into motion. They leaned back and glowed brightly. The infernal mes red even stronger, and Evan swiftly pped his wings toward the group of mages.


    A terrifying wave of fire rained down on them. The protective barriers the mages had put up were strong enough to withstand several attacks from a monster of the first rank with three mes. Combined, these barriers could easily protect against dozens of attacks from a second-rank monster.


    However, as soon as the mes touched them, they were destroyed. The barriers shattered into tiny pieces, and a split secondter, they burned and turned into nothing. When the mages realized what force they were facing, they tried to run away, but it was toote.


    The first few people who encountered the me wave were incinerated. Not even ash was left of them. Aimee stood at the very end, she quickly cast every fire protection spell she knew. Aimee thought that the fire would protect her from the other fire, but she was too stupid.


    Evan''s infernal mes were far more powerful than the pitiful fire Aimee was trying to protect herself with. A secondter, the wave of fire turned all the mages into nothing. There wasn''t even ash left of them, but the fire wave wasn''t going to stop.


    The mines they were in now were very close to the surface, so there was much more earth than stone. But, this was no barrier to the mes.


    The stone melted instantly, and so did the ground. Eventually, the me burst to the surface, it made arge hole that could be seen from several kilometers without any problem.


    The fire went up, melting the blocks of ice and snow around it. Only a few minutester, the mes calmed and slowly dissipated. The consequences of one single attack were monstrous.


    Evan''s original goal was to kill the mages, but he could not control the flow of mes. After his attack, an area the size of a hectare turned into a molten clot of earth and stone. Moreover, ice blocks and snow melted, letting the ground soak up the sun for the first time in decades.


    After a wave of fire was released, Evan sank to the ground, and his wings slowly began to disintegrate. The ck and white feathers fell leisurely and gradually burned away. Eventually, Evan''s appearance returned to normal, and the wounds on his shoulders instantly healed.


    Evan took a deep breath and, looking through the scorched hole at the blue moon in the sky, muttered, "mes always mark theing of something great and terrible, like Judgment Day."


    He turned and saw a frightened Nessa. She understood that Evan had a way of killing these people, but she hadn''t expected to see something like that.


    <What was that...? That power, that... that... nightmare was real.>


    Nessa''s heart was consumed by fear, and she wasn''t the only one in that state. The rest of the vampires looked at Evan with faces as white as a sheet of paper.


    Evan stepped toward Nessa with an unemotional expression and calmly said, "When will your brother arrive?"


    Nessa came to her senses and replied, "In about 10 or 15 minutes, he''ll be here."


    Evan nodded, "Then, tell me, why do you want this girl? I''m just curious. So far, I''m on your side."


    "I think it would be best if my brother exined it all to you. I don''t fully know the whole situation myself, he said it was an urgent matter. If he weren''t busy, it wouldn''t be me, but him, who would take care of the girl''s kidnapping. In that case, Viscount Pol''s mansion would have been destroyed long ago."


    "I see," Evan answered briefly and waited for Nessa''s older brother to arrive.


    <Hopefully, her brother wille sooner than the Vextin guards realize what happened here. If Count Rosl finds out I killed everyone here, I''ll be in big trouble. Such a powerful me could not go unnoticed. Scouts will be sent here in a little while, but then we won''t be here anymore. At the very least, Nessa''s older brother will have to deal with everything. ording to her, he is monstrously strong.>


    Viscount Pol did not yet know that his daughter had not been rescued and the entire rescue party had been killed. Naturally, no one would think it could have been Evan. To everyone in this world, he was a mere mage on the stage - a "One-Pointed Star" with one me on the tform. They wouldn''t even consider the option that he killed his ownrades when there were vampires.


    Viscount Pol and the rest of the people interested in the incident would assume that the vampires killed everyone. This was the most logical and likely scenario.


    While waiting for Nessa''s brother, Evan pondered what had happened. He was trying to figure out why they needed Viscount Pol''s daughter and what was so special about her. Evan was also thinking about the uing blood magic spells. He had only seen two such spells up to this point, and each one impressed him.


    <Bloody Nessa''s spikes and this scarlet thread. When I incinerated the rescue squad, it was gone, and I''m safe now. But, that thread is still wrapped tightly around Nessa''s heart.>

 Chapter 246 - Gryphon And Wyvern

    When Evan harnessed the power of the 68th demon, King Belial, demonic energy came out of his body. But Evan noticed something strange. He clearly felt that not only demonic energy was emanating from his body but also divine energy.


    <This is very strange. In my past life, I had used the power of the 68th demon, King Belial, many times, but I had never once felt the presence of divine energy, so what is it...?>


    Evan tried to understand the reason for this strange urrence. In his past life, using this demon''s power did not emit divine energy from his body. Otherwise, he would have died a long time ago. The divine and demonic energy would have torn his body to pieces, but now he couldbine the two types of energies in his body.


    <Hmm, is it possible that demon power works differently in this world? Or was it because I recently had two kinds of energy in my body at once? Because I somehow managed tobine them, now when I use the power of some demons, will divine energy being emitted from my body? This is all very confusing..> Evan thought.


    Evan understood that this was most likely due to Lucifer''s Shackles. Then because of the conflict of the two types of energies, he died, and it seems that now these changes began to affect the energy emitted by the demons.


    <Lucifer...I urgently need to learn more about this name. Hopefully, Demonic Tree will have some information about him.>


    ...


    The moment Evan harnessed the power of a demon, and a huge amount of demonic and divine energy came out of his body, it caught some people''s attention.


    Somewhere to the north, a few dozen kilometers from Vextin, in the depths of an abandoned castle.


    "That energy...I felt that pulse again, and it''s that energy..." Mumbled a tall man with sses. He had blond hair and green eyes. He wore a long red robe with a picture of ebony on it.


    He had just finished another experiment and suddenly felt a pulse of strange energy.


    "Last time, this pulse was very far away and quite weak, but now it is different. I can feel the direction in which the energy was released. I need to see what happened there."


    He immediately headed toward the exit of the castle. The pulse happened quite a few kilometers away, so he decided to use his tame beast to get there quickly.


    It was arge, icy wyvern. It was about twelve meters long and three meters tall. It looked elegant and majestic. Her wingspan was thirty meters. Her entire body was covered with many blue scales, glistening in the sunlight. Her blue eyes were deep and exuded an ancient aura. With a sharp crystal on end, the wyvern''s long tail could cut through even the strongest metals and minerals without trouble. Each of its breaths emitted a small frost wave that could quickly turn water into ice.


    The man approached the wyvern and quickly climbed on top of it. The beast rose quickly and flew like lightning into the distance. In the sky, it was like a blue sh heading toward its target.


    At this speed, it would reach where the fire wave had passed in only ten minutes.


    ...


    Somewhere in the west of "The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes," in arge pce built of white marble and gold.


    A girl with short hair looked out through a panoramic window at the beautiful scenery of beautiful gardens and high, green hills. She had purple eyes and a tear-shaped tattoo under her left eye. She wore a long gold robe with a picture of three white drops.


    Click.


    A girl came into the room and said, "Mistress, we have detected a strange discharge of divine energy. ording to our calctions, this ce is very close to Vextin, should I send someone to check it out?"


    "No, I''ll do it myself." The girl said coldly and headed for her riding animal. This burst of energy seemed strange to her, she wanted to check it out for herself.


    Her tame beast was a griffin. A proud creature with an ancient and antique aura. He was as fast as the wind. This griffin was unusual, with asional discharges of lightning between its wings, indicating its elemental affinity with lightning.


    She sat on the griffin, and it turned into a yellow sh of lightning. She would be there in just fifteen minutes.


    ...


    That''s when Evan felt a strange sense of unease. He felt as if some danger was looming over him that he would never be able to handle.


    <It''s been five minutes, I hope her brotheres soon.> Evan thought to himself. He didn''t like that unpleasant feeling at all.


    Nessa came up to him and said, "I don''t know what that power was, but it was like heaven''s punishment. Every one of mypanions fears you as death itself?"


    "Why is that?"


    "Are you kidding? You''ve killed more than ten mages at the stage-one-Pointed Star with one spell. What''s more, all vampires are afraid of fire magic and light magic spells. They think you can incinerate them with one look."


    "They''re partly right. I really was capable of that a few minutes ago, and I can do it again." Evan said calmly.


    Hearing Evan''sst words, Nessa''s face contorted. She thought it was some extremely difficult spell, and Evan wouldn''t be able to use it a second time, at least not for an extended period of time.


    Evan could indeed use the demon power again, but he wasn''t going to lose 100 years of his life for nothing.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not going to attack you. It''s trivial to me. I don''t care if you live or not, all I need now is blood magic spells." Evan said calmly.


    "I understand, my brother should be here any minute." The moment she said that a tall man in a red cloak emerged from the tunnel.


    "There he is." Mumbled Evan.

 Chapter 247 - Those Monsters Run From

    After Evan destroyed the group of mages, not ten minutester, Nessa''s brother arrived. He arrived ahead of the estimated time.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Virion Emerton


    Race - Vampire


    Stage - Two-Pointed Star, Three mes


    Warp - Purple]


    <As Nessa said, her brother is powerful. He really could kill everyone here with one single attack. It''s a good thing I went for this deal.>


    Evan questioned whether it was worth sacrificing many years of his life there for blood magic spells and rapprochement with the vampire race. Against his life expectancy, 100 years was not a critical number, but it was still quite a lot.. Nessa''s words about her brother''s strength added to Evan''s confidence in his decision.


    Virion really loved his sister very much and was worried about her. That''s why he came here so quickly. He assumed his sister might be in trouble.


    In the end, if Evan had chosen to fight on the side of the humans and not agree to Nessa''s terms, he would most likely have died. Using the power of a demon, Evan destroyed all the mages in less than five seconds. But, if they were fighting against vampires, their fight would definitely take longer than ten minutes. That meant that before the battle was over, Nessa''s brother would have arrived here and killed everyone.


    Most likely, even Evan would have died. He might be able to survive if he summoned a stronger demon, but then the sacrifice would be two or three times that, and he would walk away with nothing. Strength has always been the deciding factor that could make any situation change at any moment.


    Virion looked like a very handsome middle-aged man. He had smooth, snow-white skin, long, blond hair, and eyes as green as emeralds. He was dressed in a long, red coat and tall boots.


    He walked over to Nessa with a slight smile, looked at Evan, and said coldly, "Who is this?"


    Virion didn''t understand why Evan was alive and likewise why all the vampires were not injured. From the state of the mines, he guessed that there had been a brutal battle here. He could not believe that no vampire had been harmed. It was impossible.


    "His name is Evan, and he''s some madman. He sided with us and killed all our enemies with one attack." Nessa answered honestly.


    "Hmm, what did he ask for in return?" Virion didn''t like this situation. He considered Evan an extremely suspicious individual.


    "He demanded that you give him every blood magic spell you know," Nessa said shyly.


    Virion answered nothing, instead, his ''Warp'' swirled. Mana gathered at his hands, and he was about to kill Evan, but Nessa''s sudden voice stopped him.


    "I used the ''Bloody Agreement,'' and he''s already held up his end of the bargain."


    Virion''s hand instantly stopped. He looked at Nessa and saw her serious face, then he removed his hand.


    "Okay, on the other hand, thanks to him, you and the others were able to survive and were not injured in any way. What''s more, the operation was sessful. I will honor mymitment."


    "I also said he would be our friend," Nessa added.


    Virion frowned. He realized that now he could not attack and kill Evan. Otherwise the scarlet thread would crush Nessa''s heart.


    "All right, I''ll give you the spell books of blood magic." Said Virion looking at Evan.


    Tremble.


    He was about to use the spatial ring and hand Evan all the spell books he had, but suddenly goosebumps went all over his body. Virion felt a primal fear of something terrifying and unstoppable.


    "Let''s get out of here, quick! You too!" Virion shouted and, taking Nessa by the hand, ran toward the tunnels.


    Beasts and monsters had more heightened senses than humans. The same was true of vampires, but an evolved vampire was a whole other level. Virion instinctively sensed that danger wasing. He was well aware that there weren''t many people in this kingdom stronger than him, but he was no more than an insectpared to some people.


    When they heard Virion''s voice, all the vampires reacted instantly. They had never seen the fear on Virion''s face before. They knew something terrible was happening.


    Virion personally picked up La and threw her on his back, and ran forward. A few kilometers away, there was a vampire base. It was home to Virion, Nessa, and the rest of the vampires.


    Evan frowned but decided to run after them anyway. He had no other choice, he had to get the spells, or it was all for nothing.


    <It seems my instincts have not failed me. But, what ising this way? And why now? What''s going on?>


    Evan was puzzled. He was surprised that such a powerful creature as Virion would be afraid of something. Evan was sure that Virion could fight back against anyone who had not yet reached the stage - the Three-Pointed Star.


    <I''ve never met anyone at the Triple-Pointed Star stage besides Draven and the teachers at the Academy. How strong are mages at that level?>


    Evan thought to himself as he ran out of the tunnel. They came out the other side and found themselves in the middle of a forest with huge trees. Virion and the vampires didn''t stop for a second. It would take them another three minutes to enter the tunnel system that would lead them to the shelter.


    ...


    Four minutes after the vampires escaped, an ice wyvern flew up to Evan''s scorched ground. Itnded slowly, and a tall man with sses jumped down from it. He looked around and began to calcte the reason why even the ground was molten in arge radius. He was trying to find the source that emitted so much demonic energy.


    <Hmm, that''s just the aftermath of the shockwave, I need to get down the tunnel. Thought the man and jumped down.>


    After a while, he reached the tunnel where Evan used the sigil 68th demon, King Belial.


    After activation, the sigil was destroyed, and it was impossible to establish that a sigil had been drawn in any ce. Moreover, there was also no smell of blood. Even the smallest particles were destroyed. Nevertheless, it would take some time for the demonic energy to dissipate. No more than half an hour. The same was true of divine energy.


    The man felt the presence of two types of very different energies.


    "It''s strange, one mage can''t use spells that contain two different kinds of energy. I mean, that''s just impossible... but it seems this man has done the impossible. That''s impressive." The man muttered.


    There was little in this world that could surprise him. He had seen many different events in his long life, but this situation was truly a curiosity to him. After all, he could not exin it logically, and he did not even have any guesses.


    He was about to go back when suddenly he heard a peal of thunder above him. The man turned around and saw a lightning griffin, on which a girl with short blue hair was sitting.


    She was wearing a golden robe. When she saw the man in the red robe with the image of ebony on it, she frowned.


    Suddenly she just jumped off the griffin andnded next to the man. The height from the ground to the griffin was about 200 meters. Most mages would have fallen from such a height and been turned into a pancake. However, the girl was perfectly fine, unlike the ground beneath her feet, which had turned into a small crater.


    "What are you doing here?" The man asked coldly, adjusting his sses.


    "I have the same question for you." The girl answered quickly and prepared to fight.


    "Do you want to fight? I don''t mind, but did your boss permit you?" The man said with a smirk.


    The girl frowned and said, "If I bring him your head, I doubt I will be scolded, on the contrary, my elders will be very proud of me."


    "AHAHAHA, you''re just a dog on a leash, you''ll never know what freedom is and therefore what strength is."


    The girl''s face contorted. She was furious at the man''s words. What she disliked most was that he was right. She had no right to conduct a battle of this level without permission from the head of the Tears of Light himself.

 Chapter 248 - The Battle Of The Titans

    The blond-haired man with sses was called Rave nk. He was one of the strongest members - the Demonic Tree. His identity was not known to ordinary mages. However, the mention of his name shuddered the bosses of small dark and light organizations. Moreover, even in the Tears of Light, many people were afraid of him.


    Rave has only appeared in public a couple of times in thest hundred years, but it was a real disaster each time. The Light organizations were lucky that, more than anything, Rave valued his interests and experiments. Otherwise, the position of power might have changed dramatically.


    He wasn''t the only powerful dark mage who acted extremely rarely. Unlike light mages, dark mages were, for the most part, secretive and withdrawn individuals. They were not interested in the outside world, they only cared about their goals.


    The girl''s name was Isa Gallowhell.. Her status was also quite impressive. She was the head of one of the units, the Tears of Light. Still, she was slightly inferior to Rave''s terrifying reputation.


    But, Isa thought she was talented and strong enough to overpower the invincible Rave. In all of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes, there were very few people who had reached the Triple Bone Star stage as fast as she had.


    She was considered a true genius, and many prophesied that she would rank second or even possibly first in Tears of Light in the future. Even the Vexacion King himself appreciated her talent.


    Isa could not begin the battle with Rave without permission, she did not expect to meet the man here. Therefore, she wanted to retreat and report everything to her superiors, but Rave had a different opinion.


    "You know, I came here because I felt a surge of demonic energy, but to my shock, there is also divine energy here. And something tells me that one single person did it all." Calmly Rave said.


    "What''s your point? At this point, our battle makes absolutely no sense." Isa muttered cautiously.


    Rave smiled and slowly pulled ck leather gloves out of his pocket and put them on.


    "I mean, now I urgently need someone whose body is imbued with divine energy. I just want topare samples."


    "What are you..." Isa was beginning to realize that Rave wasn''t going to let her go despite herck of apparent aggression.


    "I warn you that when I fight, I can be unnecessarily rude. It''s not good to stay calm and serene all the time, you have to let your emotions spill out, and fighting is the best way to do that."


    Rave touched his sses, and they moved into a spatial ring.


    "Stop!" Isa tried to stop him, but it was toote. She prepared to fight, but the next moment she felt indescribable fear.


    Rave closed his eyes and said quietly, "The Art of the Seven Princes of Hell, Chronicle of Satan, third level - Oblivion of Satan.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Rave''s powerful aura burst out of his body at once and multiplied several times over. Even the ground around him shook. His body began to emit red energy and dark energy umted around his left arm.


    The dark energy transformed in an instant into a long, ck spear with oddly shaped tips. This spear looked very ancient and powerful, with many patterns and engravings on it. The tip of the spear had the image of an apple with a serpent reaching for it.


    At the exact moment Rave opened his eyes, they were now bright red, and his expression changed to one of extreme ferocity.


    He looked at Isa and said in a loud voice, "GO TO ME, YOU STUPID BITCH! I''LL GUT YOU LIKE A PIG AND MAKE YOU EAT YOUR OWN GUTS!"


    As Rave said, his behavior changed considerably. Part of it was his desire not to be held back during the fight, but the spell itself was also affecting his mood a bit. There was indescribable angering from Rave, anyone who hadn''t yet reached the One-Pointed Star stage would have been so terrified that they couldn''t even utter a word.


    Isa was terrified. Her elders had told her a lot about one of the most powerful dark mages in all of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes, but the reality was even worse.


    <When I see that energy and the spear, my legs start to shake. He looks more like a monster than a man.> Isa thought.


    Rave attacked her instantly. In one leap, he covered a distance of over twenty meters and swung his spear with lightning speed.


    Isa drew her sword from the spatial ring and tried to dodge the blow. She swiftly jumped aside, but a momentter, she saw that her arm was missing. She didn''t move back in time, and Rave severed her left arm in one motion.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Raveughed out loud and crushed Isa''s severed arm.


    She hadn''t expected her opponent to be so wild. She felt as if she were fighting against an enraged beast.


    "Hey, you''re kind of boring. SATISFY ME, OR I''LL FINISH YOU OFF RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" Shouted Rave.


    Rave gripped the spear tighter and swung it quickly. A shockwave was sent toward Isa, sting everything in its path.


    Isa''s sword glowed, and she sent an energy de toward the shockwave. It was a third-level spell - ''Heavenly Vengeance''. This de could cut through most third-rank monsters.


    However, when the shockwave reached the de, the de was destroyed. Isa did not expect this turn of events and tried to defend with her sword, but it did not save her.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Isa cried out in pain.


    A simple shockwave sliced her sword in two and left a deep cut on her body. She instantly drank some potion, and the wounds began to heal rapidly.


    Isa was horrified. She looked at the wreckage of her sword and muttered, "But, it''s a 4-star weapon of the third rank, like..."


    "Pff, and this is one of the most promising mages of the Tears of Light? What a disappointment. I think it would be better if your grave was right here."


    The red energy emitted by Rave''s body headed toward the ck spear. Rave slowly staggered toward Isa, preparing to deliver a deadly blow.


    Whooosh.


    When the spear was filled with enough red energy, it began to spin. It was so powerful that it even distorted the space around the weapon.


    He was about to strike, but suddenly Isa spoke loudly,


    "Art of the Archangels, Metatron Chronicle, third level - Impregnable Wings of Light!"


    In the next moment, Isa''s aura increased several times. Two snow-white wings ripped from her back, which was partially sprinkled with the girl''s blood. Each wing wasrge enough to cover the girlpletely. They looked majestic as if they had been summoned from heaven itself. Isa looked like a real angel.


    Whooosh.


    Rave swung his spear, and a scarlet wave came crashing down on Isa. The girl reacted quickly and tried to block his attack with her wings. That was their main purpose, they were phenomenally strong.


    Isa hoped to survive Rave''s attack this way, but when the wave reached the girl in that area, there was a cry of terrible pain.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"


    The shockwave easily sliced off part of her left wing and inflicted another deep wound on Isa. Rave walked over to the girl and kicked her in the stomach with all his might. Then he grabbed for her wings and ripped them from the girl''s body in one motion, along with flesh and blood.


    It was an indescribable pain, it was as if a man had had a thousand nerves ripped out in one fell swoop, and yet he remained conscious. Isa didn''t even have the strength to scream in pain, she just gasped.


    Rave''s attack not only grazed the girl''s wing but also destroyed the hill behind her. It was cut exactly in half. If Rave had applied more force, he might well have destroyed the huge rock.


    "I guess I didn''t stay in myb for nothing. Nothing has changed in this world, there are still some weaklings on the ''good'' side." Rave muttered contemptuously.


    Rave was about to strike onest blow, but suddenly Isa''s spatial ring glowed, and there was a mystical amulet in her hand. It was round and had iprehensible geometric shapes painted on it.


    Isa poured some mana into this amulet, after which it was destroyed, and the girl teleported herself.


    "This is some nonsense, they gave this trash a Relic?!".


    Rave didn''t understand how anyone could give such a weak person such a powerful thing. In his opinion, Isa wasn''t special. She was no different than a small bug.


    "All right, I''d better get back. Hopefully, the next such impulse wille soon, I must be ready for it."

 Chapter 249 - Vampire City

    Not long after the vampires and Evan escaped from the mines, they reached a tunnel deep underground. It was then that Evan stopped feeling the pressure that rmed him.


    <What happened down there?> Evan thought, following Virion and Nessa.


    "You wille with us, at our base, I will give you as many spells as you want. After that, our paths will part." Virion said coldly as he looked at Evan.


    He didn''t want to help Evan, but he had no other option. Moreover, to ensure that the scarlet thread would disappear from his sister''s heart, he had to act like a friend to Evan. For the same reason, he decided to take Evan back to the base rather than hand over some spellbooks right now. Virion wanted to make sure that the agreement his sister had made would be honored.


    He wasn''t happy with Nessa''s decision, but Virion understood that most of the vampires would have been killed if it wasn''t for Evan''s power.. Virion would not have been able to join this battle in time.


    Evan didn''t answer anything, he just nodded. He wanted to know one thing that interested him.


    "Why do you want this girl?" Evan asked calmly.


    Virion frowned but decided to answer, "From the outside, it looks like Viscount Pol''s daughter is the most ordinary mage. She is no different from anyone else except that she is more talented than most. However, she is extremely valuable to vampires, and more specifically her blood."


    "Blood?"


    "La has a special body constitution. The stronger a person is, the stronger their blood is, which means a vampire who drinks it gets more power. But, a temporary increase in strength is not the same as healing. My father, a vampire nobleman with the title Viscount, is sick. Only special blood, crystal clear, without any impurities, can improve his condition. There are very few people with such blood purity, but we are fortunate that this girl has that type of blood." Said Virion.


    "I see, what will you do with her?" Asked Evan.


    "We''ll put her in a cage and use her as a living blood vessel, it''s too unprofitable to kill her."


    Evan didn''t answer anything and just shrugged his shoulders. It was none of his business.


    ...


    A few hourster, Evan and the vampires reached the underground city. One of the vampire bases consisted of several small cities, each with many structures resembling castles and fortresses.


    Vampire nobles inhabited these ces. They ruled this city called - Darkfil.


    Virion gave instructions to the rest of the vampires and went with his sister to one mansion. Evan followed them.


    It was very dark in Darkfil. The vampires saw perfectly well in the dark and could not tolerate light. There were only a few faintnterns burning in the streets, but not yellow, but green or blue. To human perception, the atmosphere here was extremely eerie.


    Some of the vampires were surprised to see Evan in town, but they didn''t say anything. If Virion decided it was okay for Evan to be here, then that was what was needed.


    Vampires had a strict hierarchy based on their title and power. What''s more, an evolved vampire could hand out orders to other vampire nobles.


    No one was against this system because, unlike humans, vampires greatly valued their bonds. They often had conflicts, but they were all quickly resolved. Regardless of their status, vampires treated each other with respect, not forgetting, of course, the chain ofmand.


    Virion and Nessa went inside and headed for their father''s chambers.


    "Wait for us in the living room." Said Virion turning to Evan.


    However, Evan wasn''t going to stay in this ce alone, he wanted to know Virion and Nessa''s every move. At this point, he was making the rules, he had to use the power of the agreement to the fullest.


    "No, I''ll go with you," Evan said coldly.


    Virion frowned but didn''t stop Evan, he had no other option. At the moment, his sister was in captivity.


    A few minutester, they found themselves in the chambers of Virion and Nessa''s father, Zate Emerton.


    He was a middle-aged man with long ck hair and pale, wrinkled skin. Though vampires were known for their beauty and smooth skin, Zate looked like a in old human.


    He was wounded and poisoned. No medicine or blood could help him. His family and friends tried many different options. Fortunately, word reached them that there was one man with a unique body constitution in Vextin.


    Evan stood aside; he wanted to watch the vampire''s healing process. He also used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Zate Emetron


    Race - Vampire


    Stage - Triple Kone Star, 0 mes


    Warp - White]


    <He has a white Warp?"> Evan was surprised that Zate was able to reach this level with a white Warp.


    It took a huge amount of time, but Evan had forgotten that vampires were more monsters than humans. They gained power by devouring others, especially mages. Moreover, they lived for a very long time.


    A mage on the One-Pointed Stage lived an average of 500 years, but a vampire on the same stage lived at least a thousand years.


    Evan also learned about another function, "Mammon''s Gaze." With this spell, he could see what stage a creature was at, even if it was much stronger than Evan.


    If Evan used the Eye of Truth, he could not see Zate''s Pir of Soul without his permission.


    "Father..." Nessa muttered, looking at her gravely ill father. It hurt her to see him in such a state.


    "Don''t worry, he''ll be fine soon, get the instruments." Said Virion to one of the vampires in the room. They monitored Zate''s condition around the clock. If not for them, the great vampire would probably be dead by now.


    But, they only postponed his fate, they could not cure him. Nevertheless, their efforts bore fruit.


    The vampire had brought the necessary tools andid them out on the medical table in a minute. They also brought a bed, especially for La.


    They weren''t going to reinvent the wheel, everything was elementary. La''s blood would be transfused to Zate, but before that, Virion had to do something.


    He lifted La''s arm above his father''s head and cut her veins with a light movement of his hand. For starters, he needed warm blood fresh from her body. Nessa opened Zate''s mouth, and scarlet blood poured into his mouth.


    <Hmm, this girl''s blood is indeed different from ordinary blood. It''s lighter and more intense, even from the looks of it, you can tell it''s pretty rare blood. Given Virion''s words, the effect of this blood should be amazing.>


    Evan was right. It was only a few scarlet drops falling on Zate''s tongue that made his skin look better. All vampires by nature had fairly pale blood, but now it was beginning to redden, and the wrinkles were slowly disappearing.


    "Fine, bring the shackles and the Blood Fruits. You must also keep an eye on this girl''s health and the amount of her blood. My father''s recovery depends on her." Virion said loudly, and several vampires immediately went to get everything they needed.


    After a while, La was bedridden, and her blood was overflowing with Viscount Zate. This girl was a real treasure to the vampires and now being expendable was her fate.


    Viscount Pol was unlikely to be able to track down the vampires, almost no one knew about this base. Those who did know about it were friends of the vampire nobles, mostly powerful mages or merchants. They benefited from this cooperation.


    But even if Viscount Pol tracked down where his daughter had been taken, it would not help him. Even with the help of Count Rosl, there was no way he could defeat so many vampire nobles and vampires in principle.


    To attack vampires in their territory was true suicide.


    Suddenly La woke up, at first she didn''t know where she was, but when she saw the vampires and that she was chained to the bed her face contorted with fear.


    "What''s going on here? Let me go now! My father will kill you!" La shouted loudly.


    She was frightened and tried to get out of this deplorable situation that way. La tried to spell, but the mana flows were destroyed at the first stage.


    "Apparently, we''ll have to shut her up." Virion said coldly and approached the girl.

 Chapter 250 - The Accord

    Virion approached a screaming and frightened La. She did not know what he was going to do, she thought she would be gagged with some gag, but she was cruelly mistaken.


    Crackle.


    Virion grabbed the base of La''s tongue with two fingers in one swift movement and pulled it out sharply. La''s mouth spurted an abundance of blood, but Virion didn''t worry about that. He forcibly poured some potion into La''s mouth, and the bleeding stopped, but the tongue was not restored.


    All La was capable of now was simply mooing and giving her precious blood to the vampire to heal.


    "All right, keep an eye on her and my father. I hope he recovers soon." Said Virion, he turned to Evan and said, "Follow me, I need to talk to you.".


    Evan nodded and followed Virion.


    Virion led him to his office and took out two crystal sses and poured expensive bourbon into them. Virion had no intention of making nice with Evan, it was amon courtesy inherent in all vampires raised in noble houses. Nothing prevented Virion from first treating his guest and then, if necessary, killing him.


    "I''ll get right to the point." Virion said coldly, "I want to kill you, and it''s not that you''re human. I just don''t know you, and you strike me as a very suspicious type. However, I can admit that thanks to you, my sister and myrades were not harmed."


    "What''s your point?" Evan asked calmly, taking a sip of the amber drink.


    "I mean that many powerful vampires have a good rtionship with unbiased mages." Virion said slowly.


    Many people treated vampires as monsters, and no one couldn''t me them for that. Nine out of ten vampires would attack a mage without a second thought. They would kill and devour him, but a lot was riding on the man himself. It made no sense for vampires to try to establish a rtionship with a useless and weak human, he would be much more valuable as food.


    "I must admit that for your stage, you are incredibly strong. I don''t know what you did, and Nessa doesn''t want to tell me about it, but somehow you destroyed a whole group of mages, all of whom were stronger than you, judging by the stages. Anyway, I don''t mind you being an ally of our family. What do you say, are you interested in my offer?"


    "Hmm, being friends with vampires is better than being enemies, but what exactly do I get out of it and what is required of me in return?"


    "As you know, vampires are afraid of light and fire, but that doesn''t mean our skin burns in the sunlight, that''s fairy tales. We just get a little weaker if we are in the sunlight, but our flesh will start to burn if we are wounded. This means that vampires are not only in Darkfil, but in all the other cities as well."


    Virion took a sip and continued, "We have extensive connections throughout The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. There are ces where only those with good rtionships with vampires are allowed. They will recognize you by a special sign. Also, you won''t be attacked by vampires, which is already an obvious plus. What''s more, if you need shelter, you can always take refuge at our base."


    Evan nodded silently. Virion had talked about the advantages that vampires provide to their friends, now it was Evan''s turn to learn what he would be obligated to do to maintain this alliance.


    "In turn, you will be obligated in the same way not to attack vampires and help us in resolving military conflicts if necessary. You won''t have toe to our aid at first call, but if you happen to be near us, you''ll have to take our side. But, there is another significant advantage. Most of our friends from the human world are members of various dark organizations. If you''re interested in being part of the dark side of this world, that would be a good decision." Virion exined in detail.


    <If I be their ally, in one decision, I''ll get rid of a huge number of enemies and gain a lot of friends. Also, it''s a really nice bonus that vampires are allied with dark organizations>. Evan thought to himself as he pondered Virion''s suggestion.


    Usually, members of dark organizations didn''t look at the other creatures'' race, titles, blood color, origins, etc. For them, the most important thing was achieving their goals and advancing their organization''s ideology, which often coincided with their ambitions and desires.


    In contrast, light organizations despised other races. They believed that mages were supreme beings and all others were superfluous in this world. Of course, this was the case because of King Vexacion''s great influence over the light organizations. They all received some support from him, but they also had to follow the King''s ideology.


    "Suppose I''m attracted to such terms, but how can I trust you, and how can you be sure that I won''t stab you in the back?" Are we going to make the same agreement as I did with Nessa?" Evan asked.


    Virion shook his head, "No, simple terms can be problematic, we need a more flexible option. Neither of us can start trusting the other partypletely right away, but the trust can build like an unbreakable bridge over time. If you agree, then on behalf of the Emerton Family, I will dere you our friend and hand over a special amulet."


    "A simple amulet will immediately make me a friend to all vampires?" Evan asked, puzzled. He didn''t understand how it could work.


    "This is no ordinary amulet, it has a Bloody Agreement-like spell on it. It will have your blood and my blood on it. For your information, only evolved vampire nobles have the right to dispense such amulets. We have a responsibility to those we let into our world. Other vampires have no problem recognizing the scent of blood on this amulet."


    "I see, I agree to your offer, and I also want ess to the blood magic spells you have."


    Virion was supposed to provide Evan with blood magic spells, but the terms specified only the spells Virion had. Evan decided that if he became a friend of the vampires, he was entitled to ess more spells.


    "Okay, I agree to that condition, but I have my own. Tell me what happened in those mines. How did you destroy arge group of mages while being times weaker than them?" Virion didn''t really care much about the reason. He wanted more to amuse his curiosity.


    "I used the power of demons." Abruptly Evan said without hiding anything.


    Virion''s eyes widened in surprise, but he said nothing. Virion brought the ss to his mouth and took a sip. His throat burned the alcoholic drink and he said with a smile on his face, "So you''re a member of the Demon Tree, I see, I didn''t make you that offer for nothing."


    Virion didn''t ask any more questions about what happened in the abandoned mines and what kind of spell Evan was using. He knew that such information was one of the Demon Tree''s top secrets. If Evan told outsiders about their spell, the Demonic Tree woulde to Darkfil and destroy an entire town.


    Some members of the Demonic Tree were capable of such a thing, and nothing could stop them.


    "Then, let''s get on with the ceremony." Said Virion, and his spatial ring glowed.


    The next moment, a ck ring made of incredibly strong, crystal appeared in his hands. There was a red, gemstone encrusted in the ring, but it was not real. It was a mere cover, hiding the true purpose of this ring.


    Click.


    Virion lifted the lid, and Evan saw a small, crimson, round-shaped amulet. The amulet had many different symbols and signs painted on it and two ces for two drops of blood.


    He cut his finger with a slight movement of his hand, and a scarlet drop fell on the seal. The magical circles on the seal glowed, but only half of them, Evan had to activate the rest.


    It wasn''t a spell, it was more like a mechanism, so they didn''t need to make any oaths to each other.


    Evan nodded and did the same. This amulet changed their blood scent to a more intense and special one, but it also hid it from anyone who wasn''t a vampire.


    Then Evan put the ring on the ring finger on his left hand.

 Chapter 251 - Blood Magic Spells

    "Now that we''re done with everything, can I ess blood magic spells?" Asked Evan looking at the ck ring.


    Virion nodded, "Sure, but you''re only allowed to take first-level spells. It''s trivial security considerations, in case you''re going to pass them on to someone else. What''s more, you haven''t even reached the Two-Pointed Star stage yet. You don''t need spells above level one."


    Evan decided to go for it. Of all the options and conditions, these were the best. Not only would he not have to worry about his safety, but he would get the spells and support of a race like the vampires. Evan was even more pleased with himself now that he had decided to spend 100 years of his life, to destroy a group of mages. It was a lot, but it had already paid off handsomely.


    If Evan hadn''t been strong enough to help Nessa, Virion wouldn''t have even considered the option of offering Evan to be their friend..


    "Agreed." Briefly, Evan replied.


    ...


    Virion took Evan to one of Darfil''s main libraries. Each family had its own small library, but one shared library contained most of the known spells of blood magic.


    However, there were not many spells. There were dozens of times fewer than the spells in the mage academy. This was because there were many times fewer vampire nobles than mages. What''s more, there were fewer vampires than humans, so there weren''t as many who could use spells.


    Virion walked Evan to the library and went about his business. Evan now had a seal that Virion Emerton had given him personally. No vampire would attack him. Virion was not the strongest vampire in Darkfil, but his father was one of the strongest. Moreover, Virion himself was a nobleman and an evolved vampire. There weren''t many of them.


    But as Virion had said, Evan was not allowed ess to spells above the first level. He didn''t argue and headed for the spells. He had waited a long time for this moment, Evan hoped that increasing his knowledge of blood magic would help him create his own.


    Evan picked up the first spellbook and read its title, "Sacrificial Spear."


    This spell created several simple blood spears. It took very little mana to create them, and their destructive power was great enough to kill arge enemy gradually. It was a simple, effective, but not unique spell. It was fairly easy to defend against, you had to be quick and nimble enough.


    At that moment, Evan got the idea in his head to use "Mammon''s Gaze" on the spellbook.


    <When I used Mammon''s Gaze on magic crystals, I saw quite a bit of information about them. Thought Evan and his left eye turned to gold.>


    [Spellbook - Sacrificial Spear


    Rank - 1


    Rarity - Common]


    In that same second, a fire of interest lit up in Evan''s eyes. From the example of his weapon, the Dark Reaper, Evan realized that the Rarity parameter could bepared to the star rating system.


    But Evan wasn''t aware of anyone grading spells by stars. Weapons, artifacts, medicines, smiths, and alchemists were subject to such grading, but not spells.


    <So that means I can determine which spells are rarer and therefore more powerful, right?>


    Evan though this was an incredible opportunity. He understood that there was no point in taking all the spells, he would only read the books, but he would not train. Evan wanted to choose one or two spells for training, but he didn''t know how to decide on a choice.


    The spellbook detailed the spell itself and its magic circle, but it didn''t show the spell''s power. Only by using the spell could the magician be sure of that. That''s why, in the libraries at the mage academies, every spellbook is tested. There was no point in keeping a tantly weak spell with many disadvantages in the library.


    Evan decided to take his time and act wisely. First, he selected all the books with a minimal rarity - Common. There were quite a few, but the spells in these books were simple, and the information was not difficult to grasp. Given Evan''s reading speed, he quickly read all the books in two weeks.


    The vampires didn''t bother him, he could stay there as long as he wanted. Once he was done with the spells of a rarity - Common, Evan began reading the spells of a rarity - Umon. There were far fewer of these books, and it only took Evan a day to finish them all.


    The information in these books was more in-depth and detailed. These spells required more skill, care, and craftsmanship.


    One such spell was the Blood Bomb. This spell umted blood at one point, after which the mage had to interact properly with the mana to create wave pulses. In this way, the blood sphere gradually became more powerful but also less stable.


    If the magician were not skilled enough, the sphere would explode in his hands. However, if sessful, the magician would throw a bomb at his enemy at the peak of his power. There would be a deafening explosion, and the magic-filled blood would destroy the enemy.


    After reading these books, Evan learned more about blood magic. It turned out to be moreplicated than he had imagined. For one thing, some spells did not create blood from mana but required the blood of the mage himself. Evan didn''t mind bleeding himself, he''d done it many times before. However, if the fight was long and the mage was careless, he might find himself in a situation where he would die from the bleeding he had caused himself.


    Secondly, there were far fewer blood magic spells than there were fire spells, for example. This was the first time Evan had encountered anything like this, and so he reread some points several times to see what needed to be done.


    "Okay, it''s time to get to the fun part." Mumbled Evan and looked at the seven books spread out on the table.


    Six of them had Rarity - Rare, which could bepared to 3-star weapons. There were very few of them in the library, which spoke to their rarity.


    Thest spellbook Evan decided to keep forst had Rarity - Epic. It was the equivalent of a 4-star weapon. Evan was sure that finding a spell of such rarity was a daunting task.

 Chapter 252 - The Power Of Blood

    There were only six Rare books in the library in Vampire City and one unique Rare spellbook, Epic. Evan had never before encountered a weapon or spellbook of this level. This was new to him, and he wanted to see how useful this spell was.


    But, first, Evan decided to read all the Rare spellbooks, and choose one spell for his own use. He wanted to understand better how blood magic worked, and for that, he needed practice. Moreover, even among the Rarity - Umon spells, there were many exciting specimens. Evan was sure that higher rarity spells would only get better.


    One of the Rare spells was a Creation Magic spell called - "Bloody Wall of Wounds."


    This spell was a high wall of blood, on the back of which there were many bloody spikes. This spell was very useful if a mage was facing a lot of not, particrly strong opponents. They would die being put on the spikes. But, this spell worked pretty well againstrger and stronger opponents as well..


    The wall was strong enough to withstand several blows from a monster of the first rank with two mes. What''s more, the bloody spikes didn''t shatter but got stuck in the enemy''s skin, causing him a lot of trouble.


    Evan was curious about such a spell, but he had no intention of learning it. Something like that wasn''t his style, he wanted something more challenging and more daring. He wanted to get from blood magic, powerful spells with unusual effects.


    The next spell on the line was the Crimson Wolf w. It was an Amplification Magic spell. When it was used, three ws of blood appeared on the mage''s hands. This spell was helpful for those who mostly fought with their bare hands. Such ws, could significantly increase theirbat potential. Evan put this spell aside as well, it was quite curious, but Evan wanted something more spectacr.


    "Sacrificial Chains..." muttered Evan as he read the names of another Amplification Magic spell.


    When this spell was used, several tattoos appeared on the mage''s chest in the form of bloody, prickly chains. Every minute these chains absorbed the mage''s blood, but in return, increased his physical power by about 10%.


    It was a powerful spell, but Evan knew plenty of other ways to sacrifice his life force effectively.


    After a while, Evan looked through all the Rare spellbooks, and finally decided on a choice. One spell became his undisputed favorite.


    It was a spell called - Ruthless Piranha Jaws.


    It was a Creation Magic spell, but somewhat simr to Summoning Magic spells. The essence of this spell was that the mage created a toothy jaw from blood, and it was powerful enough to bite off arge chunk of flesh from a first-rank monster with three mes. But, that was not the most interesting detail of this spell.


    The more the bloody jaw absorbed blood from other creatures, the stronger it became. The jaw could not grow stronger indefinitely, there was a certain limit, which was equal to twice its power. Moreover, the next time Evan used this spell, the jaw would revert back to its previous state.


    Evan decided to choose this spell because it was powerful and incredibly effective in a long battle.


    But, this spell had one serious disadvantage, it was extremely difficult to master. "Ruthless Piranha Jaws" was not a Summoning Magic spell, which meant it was pretty hard to control the jaws.


    Evan had to be very focused and attentive. He had to watch his actions and his bloody jaw. But, Evan was not afraid of such difficulties, on the contrary, they only added to his interest in learning this spell.


    "Alright, it''s time to move on to the best part, the main course of the day." Mumbled Evan and picked up the only spellbook of rarity, Epic, in this library.


    The spellbook was called Hell Vampire Wings. As the name implied, you could use this spell to create wings and even fly. However, it wasn''t as simple as it might seem at first nce, this spell had a lot of mysteries behind it.


    <Hmm, I hadn''t seen Nessa or Virion fly, but they couldn''t have been unaware of the existence of this spell. What''s more, I didn''t notice any vampires in the whole town using this spell. Why didn''t anyone study it? What''s the problem?"> Evan thought and continued reading.


    After a while, Evan put the book aside and thought about it. He found out the reason why any vampire had not used this spell. It was simple-it required a special body constitution to use this spell.


    But, after a second, Evan smiled. After all, such a condition wasn''t a problem for him. He thought his body constitution was appropriate.


    <The book says that in order to use this spell, a vampire must have demonic energy in his body. I''m not a vampire, but I have plenty of demonic energy in my body.>


    Evan thought and went to the training ground. Evan wasn''t sure if he could do it, but he felt that the most important condition had demonic energy.


    ...


    For the next few weeks, Evan practiced using these two spells. It took him an enormous amount of time to learn how to control Ruthless Piranha Jaws at the entry level. But now he had no problem ripping some monster apart without even going near it. He was pleased with the power of the spell as he watched the bloody jaws destroy a very sturdy dummy.


    Using these jaws, Evan would be able to defend and attack, depending on his opponent. This spell had many functions.


    Luckily Evan was able to use Hell Vampire Wings. He turned out to be right. Because of the amount of demonic energy in his body, he was able to use this spell. Initially, Evan wasn''t able to cast this spell. He thought he couldn''t learn it because he wasn''t a vampire. However, heter realized that it was because of the extreme difficulty of this spell.

 Chapter 253 - Hell Vampire Wings

    It took Evan over a week to sessfully cast Hell Vampire Wings for the first time. But, in the end, he seeded.


    "Okay, it''s time to experience that unforgettable feeling." Said Evan and began to cast Hell Vampire Wings.


    His crimson Warp spun at breakneck speed, and streams of mana headed toward his back. Knowing the right spell and a certain method, the mage could create almost anything from mana. However, most of the effects were temporary, and once used, they disappeared. Of course, there were exceptions.


    Gradually, the mana began to turn into drops of blood, which slowly transformed into massive wings. They were connected to Evan''s body and his circtory system. This could be considered a disadvantage of this spell because it meant that Evan would lose some blood if wounded in the wings area..


    Once the wings were created, Evan spread them out to the sides. The wings reached a span of three and a half meters. Evan pped the wings several times and nodded in satisfaction.


    The wings looked like the wings of a bat. They were the exact opposite of the feathered wings of birds or angels. Moreover, the dark, blood red color gave these wings a menacing and oppressive appearance.


    The next moment Evan took off slowly. He flew into the air five meters off the ground, then circled the training ground and slowlynded. Evan was thrilled, but there were some things he didn''t like.


    <It hasn''t been more than thirty seconds since I took off. My speed is average, but it''s enough for now. However, the amount of mana spent is very high indeed. The maximum I''m capable of is a five minute flight. I expected more, but then again I should have expected that this spell is too good not to be priced ordingly.> Thought Evan and took off again.


    On the training ground, he could quickly restore his mana reserves in less than ten minutes. His mana umtion rate was at an incredible level. So, Evan wanted to practice using his wings for a while. He wasn''t used to flying yet, it was new to him in this world.


    Unfortunately, these wings could not be used to attack or defend. They allowed the mage to fly, and that was the end of their functionality. Nevertheless, Evan was extremely pleased with such an oue.


    Crackle.


    "What?" Suddenly Evan heard a crackling sound, he quickly realized what was happening.


    "So I''m close to breaking through my second Barrier on the stage - One-Pointed Star. Great, just perfect."


    The recent battle helped Evan progress and got him a little closer to breaking the next Barrier. But, he hadn''t risked his life then, he''d made a great sacrifice, but he understood that no one but him and the vampires would survive in that mine.


    But, deadly battles were not the only thing that helped the mage progress at great speed. Learningplex and rare spells, how to use them, and a better understanding of how to use the magic of one type could also help a mage break through his next Barrier.


    The better a mage understood how magic worked, the more he deepened his understanding of the rules of the world. This greatly facilitated his further advancement.


    Evan went straight to Virion. He asked the vampire for a suitable ce to make a breakthrough. Virion graciously agreed, and within a couple of minutes, Evan was doing Creation.


    In just a few days, he came close to breaking through his next Barrier. The second chain on his "Warp" crackled furiously, and the links gradually fell to the ground.


    When thest link fell to the ground, Evan finally made his breakthrough. In the exact second, there was a powerful "Ssh." Evan had long been trying to figure out what this energy was emanating from his body, and now he decided to look at it up close.


    He asked Reykar not to absorb mana and energy this time, moreover, the room Evan was in was designed to allow vampires in the Three-Pointed Star stage to break through.


    In this room, even the strange energy emanating from Evan wasn''t supposed to destroy anything, at least not for a while.


    Evan opened his eyes and saw arge amount of gray energy with a slight violet hue all around him. He touched it, but to his disappointment, nothing happened. The energy was floating in the air, and nothing happened, unlike thest time.


    <Maybe these barriers are too strong and this energy is not yet strong enough to be able to change anything in this room.> Evan thought to himself.


    He continued to watch the energy, he watched as it slowly moved towards the barriers, but there was nothing he could do. The protective barriers resisted any change.


    Whoooosh.


    Suddenly, all the energy gathered around Evan. He was the only target in the room that could be subject to change. Evan didn''t know what was about to happen, but he decided not to resist. He figured his own energy couldn''t hurt him.


    "What''s going on?"


    Suddenly grass began to grow on the stone floor around Evan, but the next moment it caught fire in bright mes and then was transformed into ice cubes. It was like some strange geothermal process, but the next changes shocked Evan.


    The walls around him began to crumble into pieces. They shattered into small fragments that froze in ce for a while. They hovered serenely in space, after which each of the shards turned into a sword. Hundreds of swords pierced Evan''s body at lightning speed. He didn''t even have time to react or do anything.


    He threw up a mouthful of blood, but suddenly he saw his arms begin to split into many pieces. In an instant, Evan''s whole body turned into hundreds of blue butterflies, from the outside, it looked as if a very borate trick had just been performed.


    "What the hell was that?" Mumbled Evan, breathing heavily.


    He realized that this one was some kind of illusion, but he needed toe to his senses. Evan assumed that the energy was the cause of these strange illusions, but he didn''t understand why the pain was real then.

 Chapter 254 - Reinforcing Spells

    For some time after this strange urrence, Evan tried to understand what had happened to him. All the strange energy had already disappeared, but Evan remembered every moment clearly.


    <I can''t think of anything, I can''t think of any reasonable exnation this is some kind of nonsense. There aren''t even spells that could pull something like this off. That energy turned pieces of stone into swords and my flesh and blood into butterflies. I don''t understand it.> Evan thought and left the room.


    He decided to take up training. Evan got stronger, but his spells stood still. Even though he had long since learned and used Level 1 spells, he had yet to increase Awareness in any of them. Evan was curious to see how to improve "Ball Lighting," "Ghost Step," and "Touch of the Abyss."


    Evan decided that he had to fix this disappointing situation.. While he had no ns to return to Vextin, he was fine with Darkfil. Evan wasn''t worried that anything could happen to Malespera, he had warned her long ago that he could disappear at any time for his own reasons.


    This girl was not yet strong enough to be useful to Evan as a living weapon. Moreover, Evan had no idea how to make Malespera feel truly desperate again. Attacking or killing her would not have had the same effect. First, there would be misunderstanding, then resentment, and then death.


    But, Malespera was only a unique specimen, Evan wasn''t going to build experiments using her as a core. He wanted to gather many ordinary people in one ce and make them experience different emotions, but mostly negative ones. It was much easier to evoke pain, anger, or apathy than joy or happiness. For the same reason, Evan decided not to leave Darkfil for at least a while. He was confident that Virion could help him with the fulfillment of that goal.


    "When mage raises Awareness, the spell bes stronger and gets a special effect. I hope I won''t be disappointed." Mumbled Evan and began training.


    He could have used the power of the 71st demon, Duke Dantalion, and forcibly increased the "Awareness" of his spells, but it would have cost him at least twenty years. He had already broken through the second "Barrier" and was much stronger, so the cost would have been much less.


    But, Evan didn''t want to spend that much life force on raising Awareness by just one stage, it was too wasteful. Also, just recently, Evan had sacrificed a hundred years of his life, it was necessary, or Virion would have killed him, and he wouldn''t have gotten the blood magic spell. But still, a hundred years was a huge amount. That''s about how long the average person lived. He also wanted to figure out what his ss was and if he had one at all.


    ...


    Evan spent the next three months training. It took him about a month per spell, but he increased Awareness in each of the three spells to the first stage.


    Touch of the Abyss became significantly stronger. The corrosive effect of the darkness became longersting and more severe. The darkness would easily corrode a metal dummy or a thick tree trunk in a couple of attacks. Evan was sure that flesh and blood of his enemies would be destroyed in just a few seconds. But, Touch of the Abyss received no external or unique changes, all parameters of this spell went to the next level.


    Next in line was Ghost Step. When Evan cast this spell, he could travel three meters in one step, but now that value had increased to five meters. What''s more, Evan''s speed had increased, and the spell cost a little less mana. But Ghost Step had one major improvement. The gray haze around his feet now had a special effect that made Evan no longer leave traces.


    Evan would now be nearly impossible to track down with unique spells relying on the target''s left traces. Unfortunately, this only applies to Evan''s footprints, if he breaks a branch or destroys something, he would quickly be found.


    Evan was pleased with this kind of enhancement, he increased his speed and stealth, but the most interesting change came with Ball Lighting. It was the most powerful spell in Evan''s arsenal if the fight was one-on-one. Last time Evan spent a lot of time learning how to use this formidable but dangerous spell.


    Ball Lighting had not be more powerful, on the contrary, Evan was surprised that the spell was now less steely and even somewhat weaker. At first, he didn''t understand why this happened and why such a powerful spell suddenly became weaker. But when he realized what the change in the spell was, he was truly thrilled.


    When he cast Ball Lighting, Evan noticed that he saw several red lightning bolts in the center of the blue electrical discharges. It looked like a small sphere the size of a fingernail. It took Evan a long time to figure out what the purpose of these red lightning bolts was. At one point, he lost his temper and used more mana than was necessary.


    Usually, in such cases, the spell would destabilize and explode or dissipate. A certain amount of mana had to be used for each spell, the mage couldn''t use more mana to increase the spell''s power. In that case, the whole system would copse.


    But, in Evan''s case, the spell did not copse, on the contrary, he saw the amount of red electrical discharges begin to increase rapidly. But, and the mana was rapidly leaving Evan''s body, he decided to see what would happen next.


    After a couple of seconds, Ball Lightingpletely changed its color to red, Evan spent five times more mana, but he felt that this spell had be several times more powerful. Every crackle of lightning sounded like Evan was in the middle of a night storm.


    When Evan threw the red Ball Lighting at the dummy, a deafening explosion destroyed half of the room where Evan was training. From the middle of an explosion, a few red lightning bolts flew out, one hitting Evan. He managed to react and defend himself with his arm, but the lightning still burned through his flesh to the bone.

 Chapter 255 - The Beginning Of The Plan

    Evan was seriously wounded by the red lightning that hit him, but he was highly pleased with his progress despite the pain. Each of his three spells became significantly stronger, but Evan wasn''t going to stop there. He had several spells in which he wanted to increase his Awareness.


    First, he wanted to try to increase Awareness in his two new blood magic spells. He was sure that Ruthless Piranha Jaws and Hell Vampire Wings would be much stronger. Something told Evan that the higher the Rarity of a spell was, the stronger it would be as it improved.


    Secondly, Evan wanted to see if he could increase Awareness in Death Feathers Fan and One-Eyed Raven''s Beam on his own. Last time, One-Eyed Raven''s Beam had increased its Awareness and even level because of the increased trust between them. But, Evan had never yet tried to be better at using this spell himself.


    Finally, he wanted to try increasing Awareness in Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze. Evan highly doubted that he would do it as he did with the spells he got from Reykar. But he wanted to try anyway..


    Evan spent the next month training, but he achieved little to no results. So he continued to train further. Evan hadn''t spent the proper amount of time training in a long time, so he decided now to devote his full attention to this activity.


    After another three months, Evan stopped training. He had made some progress, but overall he was disappointed.


    <In four months of training, I had increased Awareness in Ruthless Piranha Jaws and Death Feathers Fan, but I hadn''t made any progress other than that. I haven''t even progressed a single step, it seems that the Epic spell and the spells I got from the Pirs are extremely difficult.>


    Evan thought, looking at thepletely destroyed training ground. This was the third room he had destroyed during his training. When Virion first saw how Evan treated the training rooms he was given, he got furious. But, Evan simply paid the necessary amount and more to continue training.


    Darkfil was one of the vampire bases, home to many powerful and influential members of the race. But, many vampires lived in other cities and created real mini-worlds there just for vampires and their friends. Therefore, vampires used the same money as humans, which meant Evan''s untold wealth was useful to him even here.


    "All right, it''s time to get to the bottom line," Evan muttered and cast Ruthless Piranha Jaws.


    His Warp spun, and the mana quickly turned into blood, which slowly transformed into a terrifying, bloody maw. The differences were quite significant, but not as much as Ball Lighting.


    The jaw got bigger, and the teeth sharper. But, most importantly, the second row of teeth appeared, and they were more significant and more deadly.


    Evan also learned how to manipte this spell much better. It was now as easy as making tea. It took a little attention, but overall it was easy.


    Next, Evan cast Death Feathers Fan. Evan didn''t know if he could increase the Awareness of spell he got from the monster. But, he was pleasantly surprised by the result.


    The mana transformed into a purple energy fan. The change was quite simple but effective. About one and a half times as many feathers flew out of the fan with each sweep. This spell was even more beneficial when fighting against numerous but not particrly strong opponents.


    Evan was able to increase the Awareness of the two spells, but his sesses ended there.


    <Hmm, honestly, I didn''t expect that I wouldn''t be able to make progress in Hell Vampire Wings. I knew I probably wouldn''t be able to increase Awareness in the two spells from the Pirs, it''s a Rare spell, but not out of the ordinary.>


    What bothered him was that he didn''t even know what to do to increase Awareness in Hell Vampire Wings. He just flew around and tried to do something with the blood, but it was all to no avail. Usually, if the pure practice didn''t work, Evan would somehow try to change the spell''s cast. Sometimes it worked, but more often than not, it was a failure.


    "Okay, I''ve be much stronger in all aspects. Anyway, I can fly, and that''s the most important thing. What''s more, I''ve practiced and gotten used to that wonderful feeling again, too bad this spell requires such a catastrophic amount of mana." Evan muttered and headed towards Virion.


    During the time he had spent training, Evan had a n for his next steps. He definitely had to join the Demonic Tree. Their base was not too far away, Evan would have no problem getting there in just a couple of days, but first, he wanted to experiment on humans.


    Evan decided to postpone joining Demonic Tree because a small vige near Darkfil had a couple of thousand people. For The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes, such settlements were tiny.


    Evan''s n was simple, with the help of vampires, he would kidnap about twenty young people and drive them like cattle into an abandoned fortress a couple of kilometers away from the vige.


    Of course, the fortress had to be put in proper shape before that, but Evan had already asked the vampires to do that. He paid them generously, and a few days ago, Evan''s request had already been fulfilled. The vampires hadn''t returned the fortress to its original appearance, it was tooplicated, and there was no need to do that. At Evan''s request, they closed all exits and entrances except the one under control.


    They increased the number of rooms, equipped everything with bars, and created several enclosures for the monsters. Evan didn''t know yet if he would need outsiders for his experiments, but he was going to use the monsters. They still needed to be captured, but that wouldn''t be a problem for Evan.


    Evan headed toward the Emerton Family''s estate, but suddenly the man he was going to meet came out to meet him.


    Virion approached Evan with a frown on his face and said, "I know you need that vige for some purpose, you paid my men well, so I want to warn you. I have information that an attack is nned on that vige."

 Chapter 256 - Azure Bridge

    "What? Does someone want to attack the vige? Who would even want a vige among the snowy hills?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    He liked the area. It was cold in the north, and everything was covered in snow and even ice blocks. It was calm and quiet here, no one wanted to hold any events in ces like this, at least not out in the open. He didn''t expect anyone to want to attack a vige somewhere on the outskirts of the kingdom.


    Virion shook his head, "The thing is, this vige is not far from Darkfil. Many light organizations assume that one of our bases is here. But, they don''t dare to attack, they know they will die. Even if they use enough power to destroy us, we will be helped by our friendly dark organizations, one of which is the Demonic Tree. They don''t want to take that risk. A simple battle will escte into a war in which they will lose."


    "They want to use this vige to set up some base here and prepare for battle?" Evan asked..


    Virion only shrugged, "I''m not exactly sure, but your theory seems to be true. Maybe they want to make war, but they''re trying to strengthen their position as much as possible."


    "I take it you''re going to attack and kill them?" Asked Evan the obvious question.


    "Well...no. In any other situation, we would, but we don''t want to reveal our presence. It''s unnecessary trouble. Besides the light organizations, a lot of neutral organizations don''t like us as much. And they don''t even realize that our base is under the mountain."


    "Which organization will attack the vige?" Evan asked.


    "Azure Bridge." Briefly replied Virion, "Evan, I''ll be blunt, don''t you want to defend the vige and kill every member of Azure Bridge who gets there?"


    Evan frowned, "Can I do it alone? No argument, I need that vige, and I have a vested interest in ensuring that no one''s hands but mine touch the people of that vige. I understand that you don''t want to reveal your identities, but you have plenty of mage friends."


    "You''re right, we do have many friends, and we wanted to send them a request for help, but I asked the elders to take their time to decide. I told them that there is one person in Darkfil who is capable of destroying the Azure Bridge group." Calmly Virion said.


    In particr, the Emerton family and Virion himself had a lot of influence in Darkfil and the vampire world in general. Virion, a member of the Emerton Family and a vampire noble, had the right to give Evan the special amulet that made Evan a friend of the Emerton Family and all vampires. But, he still had to prove his position and justify Virion''s actions.


    To some extent, the Emerton Family''s reputation depends on Evan''s next actions.


    "I don''t know what kind of game you''re up to, but I don''t like it. Do you even know when the Azure Bridge detachment will arrive, what its numbers and strength are?" Evan asked.


    He didn''t really mind warming up and testing his enhanced spells in practice. But, he wouldn''t be able to deal with opponents who were at the - Two-Pointed Star stage, especially if there were more than one such mage.


    "Not much, it will be a small scouting group. That''s why I decided to ask for your help, we don''t want the scouts to know anything about this ce and tell the whole kingdom about it. They must continue to only guess at what''s going on here."


    Virion sighed and continued, "ording to our information, there will be ten people in total. All of them are in the - One-Pointed Star stage. Five of them have one me each, three have two mes, and two have three mes. They will arrive in about fifteen hours. You''ll have time to get ready."


    "That''s pretty problematic. How well prepared and equipped are they?" Evan asked.


    He had heard of an organization like Azure Bridge, but he didn''t have much information about their members or their skills.


    "Above average, but they still have a long way to go before monsters like Tears of Light or Merciful Death, let alone Demonic Tree." Virion said slowly.


    "They can''t beat opponents who have more mes on their tform than they do, but with equal opponents, they certainly won''t lose, no big deal. We don''t know what their sses are, but I think most of them will be Amplifiers."


    "So you think I''m a mage at the - One-Pointed Star stage with two mes can beat ten opponents at about the same level?" Evan asked.


    He thought he was strong, but there was a limit to everything. He wasn''t going to waste a hundred years using the power of a demon again. It was too wasteful.


    "HAH, I''m more than sure you can handle it. I don''t know what happened in those mines, but you definitely have a lot of hidden trumps. However, you won''t need to use them, we''ll help you." Smiling, Virion said.


    "And how will you help me if while I''m killing these bastards, you sit here and hide?"


    Evan understood why the vampires didn''t want to reveal their location to the world, but he wasn''t going to die and suffer for them.


    "Well, well, you''ll really be fighting alone, we won''t help you during the fight, but we can outfit you well enough that they can''t even scratch you."


    Evan looked at Virion questioningly.


    "For the duration of this fight, we''ll lend you 4-star rank one armor, moreover you''ll also receive a 3-star potion and three scrolls of various blood magic spells. Considering your strength, you could tear them to shreds in a heartbeat with an outfit like that. What''s more, if you can learn something useful from the Azure Bridge scouts, you can keep that armor."


    Evan smiled, and a me shed in his eyes, "That sounds really tempting, you know how to tempt people like the devil. I agree. Show me the armor."


    Virion nodded and calmly said, "These things are in Darkfil''s general storage. Follow me."

 Chapter 257 - Scarlet Sacrifice

    Virion took Evan to the main vault in Darkfil. Since he was a member of the Emerton Family, a nobleman, and an evolved vampire, he had the right to use this vault. Within reason, of course, but he could give Evan a few things. Moreover, in this situation, Evan was acting as a mercenary.


    His goals and those of the vampires were the same, and so they decided to help him deal with the Azure Bridge scouts. There were several 4-star armors in their vault, and Evan was about to get one of them. He wanted to see what kind of armor Virion had prepared for him. Evan had never seen 4-star armor before, this would be new to him.


    Many vampires guarded the vault, but when they saw Virion, they immediately let them in. Virion took Evan to one of the lower floors of the vault and first gave him a potion and three spell scrolls.


    "This potion covers your body with a blue shell with rather pleasant effects. The potionsts ten minutes, I''m sure that''s enough time for you to deal with them.. This shell will passively absorb mana from the outside environment and fill your Warp with it. Considering that you are in the "One-Pointed Star" stage, this shell will absorb enough mana to restore your reserves in ten minutes fully. You can count that you''ll have twice as much mana during the battle." Virion exined in detail and handed Evan a blue potion in a small vial.


    Virion added, "What''s more, this potion speeds up your regeneration. You don''t have to worry about bleeding and minor scratches. But, if you get a serious or deep wound, this potion can''t help you. I hope you understand me."


    Evan nodded and immediately used it on Mammon''s Gaze potion.


    [Potion of the Uncorrupted Knight]


    [Rank - 1]


    [Rarity - Rare]


    [This potion was created by an alchemist when he saw a righteous knight fighting from thest strength. Despite the many wounds and muttions sustained in battle, he did not fall until the very end. Even at the moment of his death, he stood proudly on his feet]


    <Wow, there''s a description here. I wonder why the other items didn''t have one? Maybe it''s all about rarity? But, my scythe and those spell books were also the same level of rarity. Maybe Mammon''s Gaze got a little better during my training? But, I definitely hadn''t raised his Awareness, or did that concept not apply to those spells?"> Thought Evan was looking at the blue potion in his hands.


    Next, Virion handed Evan three scrolls of spells. Evan examined them, and he was satisfied. They weren''t anything special, but Evan would be able to wound or even kill several people with these spells. When Evan''s Warp cleared, all of his spells became a little stronger, so he would be a little stronger even using the same spells with his opponent.


    "Now, let''s get to the most important and interesting part." Said Virion and took Evan to a special room where the armor was located.


    Virion went to the wall and cut his finger. A Crimson drop of blood fell on the seal, and many symbols appeared on the wall in front of him. The next moment, part of the wall went down, and Evan saw his future armor behind the ss barrier.


    "It''s yours now, at least for a while." Said Virion contentedly, pointing to the armor on the stand.


    This armor was called - Scarlet Sacrifice. It was a lightweight type of armor, but it was incredibly strong. On the outside, it looked like a scarlet, straight armor somewhat resembling a cloak. The entire armor was covered with many scales, and there were several ck chains on the arms designed for increased protection.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Scarlet Sacrifice]


    [Rank - 1]


    [Rarity - Epic]


    [This armor was created by a skilled 4-star smith. He used the skin of four times evolved monster of the first Rank with three mes called - "Chain Blood Wolf." This monster was known for its strong skin and natural chains covering its body. They appeared after his fourth evolution.


    This armor will easily protect the mage from any 3-star weapon and most first-level spells. What''s more, these chains have a special purpose. Thanks to them this monster was almost impossible to defeat. If you sprinkle these chains with your own blood and mana, the armor goes into berserk mode.


    In this mode, Scarlet Sacrifice begins to absorb the blood of its host at an insane rate. At this rate, the host''s body will be drained in five minutes]


    <This is unbelievable...I got so much information just by looking at the item. Otherwise, I would have had to seek out this cksmith and ask him personally about everything. Moreover, I got so much information because this armor is unbelievable. The 4-star items are really in apletely different league.> Evan thought to himself, admiring the armor.


    He usually didn''t like using any armor, and there were several reasons. Evan didn''t like the way most types of armor looked, it wasn''t just a matter of beauty but also mobility. Bulky armor had more minuses than pluses. Evan had to find something exciting to rece his cloak, and Scarlet Sacrifice was an excellent option.


    <I will have to try this armor inbat, I''m sure it won''t disappoint me, I should try to get it permanently, not just for one fight.>


    Virion spoke at length about the armor, but Evan knew it all already.


    Evan moved his cloak to the ring and quickly put on Scarlet Sacrifice. The scarlet armor looked great on Evan. It looked like a blood reaper who hade into this world to chain up all the undeserving and cast them into hell.


    <This is a light type of armor, but it weighs quite a lot, but that won''t be a problem I''m strong enough to move freely in this type of armor. Evan thought, looking at the ck chains on his arms. They were the most important and spectacr part of this armor.>


    Evan had not yet heard of any hidden effect or skill in the armor.

 Chapter 258 - Ambush

    Evan was fully equipped and ready for battle. He had first ss weapons and incredible quality armor. Potions and spells would help him fight a long battle and deal with unexpected situations. But, given the special skill of the armor, Evan decided he would need something else.


    "Virion, I need something that can restore my blood quickly. Do you have anything in mind?" Asked Evan.


    Virion nodded, "Sure, there are plenty of potions here that drinking them will restore your blood supply. But, I need to know what type of blood you have, otherwise, it won''t work."


    "And how will you know that?" Evan asked.


    Virion smiled as he walked over to Evan and made a cut on his arm with a slight movement of his hand. Virion caught the falling drop of blood with his finger and tasted it, "Good, your blood isn''t particrly rare.. We have plenty of suitable potions."


    They headed into the room, where many different potions were designed to restore blood supplies in emergencies. Virion walked over to the counter and threw three small potions in Evan''s direction.


    "That''s enough for you for a long time. That''s it, that''s the end of the preparation. I can''t give you anything else. I''m sure this will be more than enough." Said Virion.


    Evan nodded.


    ...


    The Azure Bridge reconnaissance team should arrive at the vige in about fifteen hours. Evan decided not to dy and headed straight to the vige. Evan didn''t want the Azure Bridge group to arrive before the appointed time suddenly, and he would be at a disadvantage.


    The vige was called - Arker. It was located a few kilometers from Darkfil. The most ordinary people inhabited it. Those mages who appeared among the people of that vige had long ago left it for the big cities to conquer new heights.


    Arker was a stagnant but peaceful and serene ce. No one touched this vige as it was mostly useless.


    ...


    When Evan reached Arker, he headed for the nearest inn. Several thousand people were living in this vige, so there were even several restaurants and one inn.


    Evan didn''t want to draw attention to himself poetically. He dressed in simple, slightly shabby clothes. If he was seen in Scarlet Sacrifice, most of the vigers would know he was a mage.


    Evan wanted to bide his time and attack the Azure Bridge group unexpectedly. He was going to kill three out of ten people using spell scrolls instantly.


    Evan only paid a few copper coins for a mug of ale.


    <How long has it been since I used copper coins. There really is an incredible gulf between wizards and ordinary people.> Evan thought, taking a sip of the bitter but generally pleasant-tasting ale.


    Then Evan realized that he used tinum coins, one of the most precious, more often than the mostmon copper coins. Evan loved strength and power, but he hated the realization that much in this world depended on luck.


    <Eh, these people are only here because none of them are lucky enough to have a talent for magic. It''s too unfair.> Thought Evan.


    He attached importance to this because he might have been in a simr situation himself. If he had been a demonologist in a past life, at most, he would have been promoted to the swordsman. Evan knew that without a modicum of luck, in the beginning, even he wouldn''t be where he was now. Of course, luck wasn''t everything. Own mage''s stupidity could kill him even he had superior talent. Everything in this world depended on too many factors.


    After a few hours of reflection, Evan left the tavern and walked to the tallest building in the vige. Oddly enough, it was the only inn in this town and was mostly used by travelers. The building was only four stories high, but there was nothing higher.


    With a Ghost Step, Evan climbed silently to the roof in one leap. He''d been in the inn for a long time, so he estimated that the Azure Bridge group would arrive at Arker in about ten hours.


    Evan could not be seen from below, so he put on Scarlet Sacrifice and waited for his opponents.


    Evan decided to brighten his wait by exploring the local people. It was from this vige he would kidnap people and conduct experiments on them. He wanted one of them to enter "Gust." Evan wanted to understand better how this power worked. If possible, he wanted to learn how to enter this state forcibly. Evan understood that this was unlikely.


    ...


    About nine hourster, Evan saw a group of ten men in blue robes approach the vige. Five of them wore bulky armor, and the rest wore light leather armor or robes.


    Evan knew at once that they were members of the Azure Bridge. They mainly dressed in blue robes.


    One of the main men in this vige approached them, bowed respectfully, and began to say something.


    The leader of this group was a tall girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She was "Creator" with a purple "Warp." Her name was Nuria Ayerbe. She was on stage - One-Pointed Star with three mes.


    <Virion has great informants. They arrived right on time, and all the information about their stages was urate. What''s more, most of the group are indeed Amplifiers,> Evan thought.


    The girl looked at the man who came out to greet them and said stiffly, "This vige now belongs to Azure Bridge. If youply with our demands, we will not interfere with your life here. Understood?"


    The man did not expect to hear such a thing. He frowned and immediately received a stiff p from Nuria. She restrained her strength, but still, the man''s mouth bled.


    She looked at him disdainfully and said, "We came here to im this territory now belongs to us, which means you get our protection. But, instead of gratitude, I see resentment?!"


    The man immediately dropped to his knees and began to apologize, "I beg your pardon. Of course, I am very pleased to wee you, pleasee into our best chambers."


    <Hah, and this is a "light" organization? She''s no different than a thug. Okay, regardless of whether she''s good or bad, today, she''s only going to perish.>

 Chapter 259 - Blood Feast

    Nuria and her men followed the man to the main building in the entire vige. The vigers realized that there was no good to expect from theing mages, so they hid in their homes and waited for the mages to leave.


    Evan decided not to attack immediately, if they fight in the vige, they would most likely destroy half of the vige with their attacks. Evan was afraid that a special person who could, in theory, enter the Gust would get hit and die. Such a risk made no sense.


    <They came here to scout the area, which meant they would head straight for the presumed location of Darkfil. They should make sure that the vampire base is under that mountain and report back to their superiors.>


    There was a small grove in front of the mountain below which Darkfil was located. It was the perfect ce for the confrontation with the members of Azure Bridge.


    Evan wasn''t worried that Azure Bridge''s superiors would suspect anything. The most important thing was not to give away the exact location of the vampire base..


    Evan didn''t have to wait long. After about an hour, the Nuria group left the building and headed into the woods. Everything went just as Evan had envisioned. First, the reconnaissance team would explore the area, and then they would begin to rebuild the vige as they saw fit.


    Evan smiled and cast Ghost Step and jumped off the building, and stealthily followed them. The vigers were frightened by the presence of so many mages in their town, but they had nothing to worry about, very soon, the number of mages in Arker would be significantly reduced.


    ...


    "Miss Nuria, there are only rank zero monsters in this forest. Are you sure the vampire base could be somewhere around here?" Asked the man in the group.


    "Shut your mouth, this is an order from your superiors. We were told to check all the woods in this area as well as the caves. These filthy things like to hide like rats in burrows." Rude replied Nuria.


    At this moment, Evan was standing on a tree branch, looking down on them. Scarlet Sacrifice was on him, holding three scrolls in his left hand and a blue potion in his right.


    <Well, let''s not hesitate.> Evan thought and quickly drank the potion and then poured mana into all three scrolls.


    His body was covered in a transparent, faintly blue shell, and the spells on the scrolls activated.


    Suddenly a hail of deadly drops of blood rained down on Nuria''s group, each one capable of piercing a monster of the first rank through its body. Then three scarlet spears appeared behind Evan, piercing the chests of the group''s three members like lightning bolts. Finally, a wave of blood fell upon them, knocking down tree trunks in their path.


    Naturally, Nuria and her subordinates had not expected this turn of events. As Evan had anticipated, he managed to seriously wound three people and inflict few wounds on the others. Only Nuria and the two Amplifiers remained unharmed.


    "Who the hell are you! Kill him!" Shouted Nuria, and several men ran toward Evan.


    He pulled the Dark Reaper out of the spatial ring and used Lucifer''s Shackles and Touch of the Abyss. The scythe was instantly covered in tattoos and dark energy.


    Evan jumped from the tree and turned into a deadly vortex. He swung the scythe with incredible speed and moved as fast as the wind. Two Amplifiers attacked him, and Evan had to give them a decent fight.


    Whoosh.


    Three secondster, he turned the two of them into a bloody mess. Their limbs were lying all over the ce, and their bodies were cut into several pieces. If it hadn''t been for the precise cuts, it would have seemed like some enraged monster had killed these two.


    "That''s it? I should have attacked at the entrance to the forest, you are no stronger than themon people, what a shame." Evan said calmly, shaking the clinging blood off his scythe.


    "Boy, you are overconfident, these two were at the stage - One-Pointed Star with one me on the tform. You shouldn''t be so arrogant." Nuria said coldly.


    The next moment a staff of blue metal with a bright white stone and unique carvings all over the base appeared in her hands. Several symbols were engraved on the top of the staff, which glowed a pleasant blue color.


    Nuria swung the staff, and a massive arrow of mana flew toward Evan, it was like the tip of a drill that could pierce anything. This spell was designed to destroy monsters of the first rank with a single attack.


    Evan grinned and didn''t even duck. When that arrow was close enough, he grabbed it with his hand. The arrow stopped just a millimeter from Evan''s face.


    Crackle.


    He clenched his hand into a fist with force and broke such a powerful first level spell. Nuria was surprised but came to her senses abruptly and gave themand to attack.


    Several spells flew toward Evan at once. At the exact moment, the remaining Amplifiers attacked him. Two of them had two mes on the tform, and one had three mes.


    Normally Evan should have been dead by now, but he wasn''t even worried. He overestimated the strength of his opponents.


    Evan dodged all the spells with ease. Thanks to Ghost Step, he could easily reach speeds that made him look like a blur to the others.


    His silhouette moved from ce to ce, bypassing all spells. The members of Azure Bridge were using targeted spells, not mass spells, they wanted to kill Evan, and such a decision proved to be wrong. If they had used mass spells, he wouldn''t have been able to evade them so quickly.


    Bam.


    Three Amplifiers struck, but Evan easily blocked each of them. In an instant he moved behind one mage and plunged the Dark Reaper into his back. The scythe went through the bulky armor like a red-hot knife through butter. The scythe was sharp enough to cut the mage''s flesh and spine in two equal parts.


    "He''s monster! Why is a mage with two mes so strong?" A frightened one of the Creators muttered.


    "Shut up, he just knows some pretty good spells, and he has some pretty good equipment. We''re certainly not worse." Said Nuria, and the three rings on her arms glowed brightly, and a huge amount of mana gathered around her staff.

 Chapter 260 - Excellence

    Seeing Evan take down her subordinates with ease, Nuria realized he was far from an ordinary mage. She assumed he was a member of some ''dark'' organization or worked for vampires at all and prevented anyone from knowing their location.


    She decided to use three magical artifacts at once and cast one of her most powerful spells.


    "Get out of there!" Shouted Nuria and swung her staff.


    A huge wave, more like a tsunami, struck Evan. It easily tore down dozens of trees in its path and would just as quickly engulf Evan. He could not run away from a wave of this size, so his only option was to defend himself. The best defense was the offense.


    He put his arms out in front and cast Magic Missile and One-Eyed Raven''s Beam. He decided to use Magic Missile even though it was a zero-level spell because it had excellent punching power..


    He wanted to make a hole in that tsunami, but if he just cast One-Eyed Raven''s Beam, most of the hit would go to piercing the shell of that tsunami. What''s more, Evan was going to use three whole spells, not two.


    "Reykar!" Evan said loudly, and a purple raven appeared on his shoulder. Since their first meeting, Reykar had grown many times stronger, thanks inrge part to Evan. What''s more, his intelligence has increased significantly, so he understood what Evan wanted from him without exnation.


    His beak glowed, and a secondter, three powerful beams of energy were directed at one point. Evan cast Magic Missile a little earlier, so the white beam reached the wave faster. It couldn''t do much damage to the wave, but it broke through the outer shell.


    Momentster, two purple beams of enormous power exploded and rumbled throughout the forest. The explosion sent a shockwave that caused the crowns of trees to bend almost to the ground. The powerful explosion destroyed part of the wave and split it in two. The two pieces passed Evan, demolishing everything behind him.


    "What?! Why is the monster helping him?" Nuria eximed, puzzled. With each passing second, she became less and less aware of what was happening. Whatever she was doing, Evan was finding a countermeasure.


    Crackle.


    Suddenly three orc-like creatures crawled out of the ground. They wore steel armor and were armed with massive axes. Behind them, a sh of me could be seen, which quickly turned into a five meter high fire elemental.


    The Summoners entered the fray. Before that, they buffed Amplifiers but now decided to summon their most powerful creatures and kill the monster.


    The two orcs and the elemental had no intelligence of their own. They were like puppets, but they had basic instincts. The summoner did not need to control his summoned creature''s every move.


    <These orcs are equal in strength to a mage at the One-Pointed Star stage, I think Reykar should have no problem dealing with them. I need to destroy this elemental quickly. It''s much stronger>. Thought Evan and gave Reykar amand.


    Raven headed towards the two orcs. Evan started casting "Ball Lighting." It was his most powerful spell. He thought that it would produce an incredible size explosion when such powerful lightning and fire came together.


    Evan was attacked, but he ducked and headed toward the elemental. He turned into crimson lightning and got to the fire elemental in the blink of an eye. By that moment, Ball Lighting was alreadyposed entirely of red lightning and was ready to explode at any second.


    The fire elemental attacked him, but it was toote. Evan threw Ball Lighting in the elemental and covered himself by arms. The ensuing explosion would hurt even him.


    Boom.


    The bolts of lightning destroyed the fire elemental, and the mes significantly amplified the explosion. Dozens of red lightning bolts flew in different directions and hit some members of the reconnaissance team.


    In just one spell, Evan killed three people and took out a powerful summoned creature. Reykar also did his part work. The orcs were pierced by his enhanced beam and fell dead before him.


    In the end, only three people remained against Evan, one of whom was Nuria. She was unlucky enough to be hit by a single red lightning bolt, but she could defend by sacrificing her arm. Her left limb was now more like arge lump of coal. She needed to heal immediately.


    Her spatial ring glowed, but instead of a potion, an amulet appeared in her hand. She held it to her mouth and whispered something. Evan knew at once that Nuria was calling for help.


    In one leap, he reached Nuria and brought the ck scythe down on her. She tried to defend herself with the staff, but the scythe de quickly cut through the staff, and the tip of the Dark Reaper mmed into Nuria''s chest.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She squealed in pain.


    Evan didn''t stop, he pressed the weapon even harder, and the scythe pierced Nuria''s heart. Blood trickled from the girl''s mouth, and with hate-filled eyes, she fell to the ground.


    The amulet fell to the ground, and Evan instantly crushed it. Evan didn''t know who Nuria had called for help, but he didn''t want to know. Evan looked at the two remaining mages and looked at them coldly. They were Creators at the stage-the One-Pointed Star with one me. Such opponents could do nothing to Evan.


    Suddenly the girl fell to her knees and began begging Evan for mercy, "Please don''t kill me! I''ll do anything."


    She knew that the two of them could not do it against the man who had so easily killed theirrades andmander.


    Evan wanted to kill this girl, but suddenly he remembered that Virion had asked him to get some information from the members of Azure Bridge.


    "Okay." Calmly Evan said and looked at the second surviving mage. He was very frightened and couldn''t even utter a word.


    Evan swung his hand, and a secondter, the guy''s body was pierced by a dozen razor-sharp feathers. Reykar lowered himself to him and began devouring his body inrge chunks.


    "Now tell me everything you know, or I''ll hang you upside down and slowly cut your flesh off."


    The girl shuddered with fear and slowly mumbled, "We..."


    But, no sooner had she said two words than a dagger was thrown through her head.

 Chapter 261 - Only The Devil Is Scarier Than The Demon

    Evan was surprised by this sudden attack, which was aimed not at him but the only surviving girl. He quickly jumped aside and looked at the ce the dagger came out of.


    Among the trees stood a tall girl with long blue hair and bright amber eyes. She was dressed in a noble vest of rare beast skin and a silk shirt. The girl walked in low-heeled shoes and had a short dagger in her hand. She looked graceful and incredibly seductive. She had an ample bosom and correct curves in all eye-catching ces. This was Cloena Carnicero, and she was also a member of Azure Bridge.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze and frowned, this girl''s appearance was clearly not part of his n.


    [Cloena Carnicero


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Two-Pointed Star, zero mes on the tform.


    Warp - Purple]


    Evan was strong, but he wasn''t sure he could handle such an opponent without getting seriously wounded. The mages in the - Two-Pointed Star stage were much stronger than the mages in the - One-Pointed Star stage. The gap between them was incredible. It was a whole different level.


    "Why did you kill her? Aren''t yourades?" Evan asked coldly.


    "I don''t know what she was going to tell you, but that means she''s a traitor. I just took pity on her and gave her a quick and painless death. Now it''s your turn!" Cloena said loudly, and suddenly there were many magical circles in the air.


    <She''s a Summoner?> He didn''t expect to be fighting one-on-one with a Summoner.


    Whooosh.


    Out of the magical circles flew many of the identical daggers she had killed the girl with. She could easily control them and summon them several times more. She was about to turn Evan''s body into ader.


    Evan''s "Warp" swirled, and arge bloody jaw appeared beside it. But, it did not pounce on the daggers flying at Evan, the jaw began to devour the bodies lying beside him.


    He wanted to strengthen the jaws first before he used them against Cloena.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    Evan fought off several daggers, but two daggers stabbed into his chest and leg. They weren''t fatal wounds, but they were bleeding fast enough that Evan urgently needed to fix them.


    He pulled the daggers out sharply and drank one of the three blood recovery potions Virion had given him. Next, Evan coated his fingers with his blood, touched the ck chains, and poured mana into them. This activated the Scarlet Sacrifice''s unique ability, and the armor went into berserk mode.


    Evan felt sharp needles sticking out of his armor in some ces, piercing his skin. They sucked his blood like a vampire. Excluding the effects of the blood recovery potion, Evan had about five minutes to deal with Cloena.


    "Wow, your armor is really nice, I want to get it for myself." Said Cloena and cast a few more spells.


    Many daggers flew toward Evan, but now he was fast enough to dodge every one of them. As his armor went into berserk mode, scarlet energy began to emanate from Evan''s body, and his attack power and speed increased significantly.


    A magic circle appeared next to Cloena from which a three meter tall skeleton emerged. He was dressed in ck armor and had a ming sword in his hands. Despite its appearance and heavy armor, it was quite fast. The skeleton lunged toward Evan and swiftly struck him.


    Evan blocked this attack, and Reykar quickly shot a beam at the skeleton, but the monster took no damage at all.


    <Damn, its strength isparable to a rank two monster, if not for Lucifer''s Shackles, my scythe would have broken long ago.> Evan thought, and with difficulty, stepped aside.


    But, about ten daggers immediately flew at him. Evan put the scythe in front of him and started spinning it with great speed, thus creating something like a shield. In this way, he was able to fend off each dagger.


    The skeleton pounced on Evan again, but a huge, bloody jaw blocked his path. It violently began to bite the skeleton, destroying parts of its armor.


    <Good, that''ll buy me some time.>


    Evan looked at Cloena coldly. He wasn''t going to run away, he wanted to kill her right here and now.


    Before leaving, Evan decided to prepare for a situation like this, so he had several demon sigils drawn on his back.


    Evan quietly said, "Sigil 72nd Demon - Count Andromalius, third level, activation!"


    He decided that such power would be enough. To get help from this demon by using a third level sigil, Evan would only have to spend three years of his life. That was a pretty small price to pay.


    The next moment, more demonic energy began to emanate from Evan''s body, and a curved dagger with a golden snake shaped guard appeared in his hands.


    Evan lunged toward Cloena and instantly attacked her. She was ready for Evan''s blow and tried to block his attack, but Evan suddenly turned and lightly grazed her with the tip of the dagger.


    "Boy, maybe you should wear sses. You barely hit me." Cloena grinned, looking at the small scratch on her arm.


    The next moment, however, she saw a multitude of blisters appear on her skin. Blood trickled from her mouth, Cloena realized that Evan had poisoned her.


    "You bitch!" Shouted Cloena and used the spatial ring. She wanted to drink the potion and neutralize the poison, but Evan wasn''t going to let her do that.


    He sprinkled the dagger with his blood, and the de of the weapon glowed purple. Evan looked at Cloena with icy eyes and swung the dagger vertically without emotion.


    The poisonous wave fell upon Cloena, and her entire body was covered in a hazardous poison. Only a Summoner who knew very rare healing spells could save her in such a situation.


    She fell to the ground and didn''t even have time to utter a word.


    "Shit! Why the fuck did she show up here. Now I won''t be able to get any information from the members of Azure Bridge, I''m out of luck once again." Mumbled Evan looking at the corpses beside him.


    Reykar returned to Evan''s Nirvana. He was about to walk, but suddenly Evan realized something.


    <She used that amulet to call for help. But, that girl showed up about a minuteter, which means she was following them. Perhaps she was checking to see how they would do their job, but in that case, the one Nuria called for help woulde soon.>


    Tremble.


    At the exact moment, Evan felt a terrible pressuree over him. He looked up and saw a girl riding some kind of lizard flying toward him.


    She looked coldly at the corpses beside Evan, then her icy gaze went to Evan. She was one of Azure Bridge''smanders, and she quickly realized that Evan had done it all.


    Evan cast Ghost Step and, at top speed, tried to run as far away as he could. But he couldn''t escape the sight of this girl.


    Her Warp spun, and a spear of light appeared in her hands. It was so bright it seemed capable of banishing all darkness from the world.


    The girl threw the spear toward Evan. Its speed was nearly the speed of sound, and it approached Evan in a fraction of a second.


    But, there was no explosion.


    Evan turned around and saw a tall man in a red robe with an ebony design standing with his back to him. He stopped the spear of light simply by grabbing it with his hand.


    "I finally found you, so you were the source of that energy." Smirking, Rave said.


    Upon seeing Rave, the girl''s face turned pale. Fear appeared in her eyes, and already she tried to run away from the battlefield as quickly as possible, but Rave had a different opinion on the matter.


    He destroyed the spear of light and quickly cast a spell. Giant streams of mana rushed toward his Warp. It was like an entire bottomless ocean. This alone made Evan feel an indescribable pressure.


    Dark energy appeared in Rave''s left hand, which quickly transformed into a dark spear. Rave threw the dark spear toward the girl, the speed of the spear instantly exceeding the speed of sound.


    Booom.


    In less than a tenth of a second, the spear reached the girl like ck lightning, and there was a terrifying explosion. It was like an atomic bomb, easily capable of destroying an entire vige.


    Fixing his sses, Rave turned to Evan and said, "Well, hello, Evan Lynch.

 Chapter 262 - Demonic Tree Reaper

    <Who is that?"> Evan thought as he looked at Rave.


    Evan was rmed, he realized that the man in front of him was on a very different level, one that was beyond Evan''s reach at the moment. This man''s aura and strength were several times stronger than the Lightning Wolf in The Hills of Bloody Falls. That monster was rank three.


    Evan''s eye glowed gold, and he looked at Rave''s status and was horrified.


    [Rave nk


    Race - Mage


    Rank - Three-Pointed Star, with three mes


    Warp - Purple(???)]


    This was the first time Evan had encountered a man at such a high stage.


    "§°? That eye, it''s giving off demonic energy, so that''s one of your unique spells, right?" Rave asked curiously..


    Evan became wary and asked, "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"


    <He realized that I used Mammon''s Gaze and that he didn''t know that spell. Did hee here because he felt the demonic energy emanating from my body? That sounds about right. It''s more likely that the pressure I felt in the mines wasing from him. He killed a mage at the Three-Pointed Star stage with a single spell.>


    "Don''t worry. I''m not going to hurt you. Honestly, I wasn''t expecting it to be you, Evan Lynch. I thought you''d joined us a long time ago. You''d already broken through your second Barrier." Said Rave.


    Despite his power and formidable aura, he looked calm and friendly.


    "I came here because I smelled your demonic energy. It is very simr to what the bodies of Demonic Tree members emit when they use the power of the Seven Princes of Hell. Others wouldn''t have noticed that slight difference, but it wasn''t hard for me. Tell me what it was and why you still haven''t joined our organization?"


    Evan frowned but decided to answer Rave''s question partially, "I haven''t joined Demonic Tree because I have to do one experiment before that. After that, I will go straight to the ce indicated to me. I found these spells in an ancient book and am trying to use them to survive."


    <Hmm, he said about the power of the Seven Princes of Hell, when the members of the Demonic Tree fought against the Lightning Wolf in The Hills of Bloody Falls, one of them used a simr spell. Could it be that the power of the Seven Princes of Hell is a secret spell that only Demonic Tree members can use?"> Evan thought.


    "An experiment? Did you find these spells in an ancient book? Hmm, it doesn''t sound like you''re lying, but it doesn''t matter either way. You asked who I am, and I''ll tell you. My name is Rave nk, and in this kingdom, I am known as the reaper of the Demonic Tree. I am one of the strongest members of this organization."


    "I see you are also a rather humble man," Evan said with a smirk.


    "Hah. And you''re pretty brave. The other mages tremble with fear just seeing me and feeling the pressure of my aura on them. Evan, you must understand that I came here to see your spells, otherwise I will kill you. I''m sure you understand that you won''t be able to escape." Rave gave Evan an ultimatum, but his voice was still as calm as ever, even though he was directly threatening Evan.


    "Okay, but what are you going to do when you see my spells? Will you tell all the Demonic Tree members about them?"


    "I don''t know, maybe do my own experiments, or maybe tell the head of the Demonic Tree about it. For starters, I''d like to see the spells you know in action."


    Evan nodded and said, "I don''t really know many spells. This eye effect is from one of them. Aside from this spell, I know only one - that spell greatly increases my physical strength."


    He wasn''t going to tell Rave about the 72 demon spells, that would have been his biggest mistake. Evan wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible. Other mages were not to find out about it under any circumstances. But, Evan could show him the spells he got by unlocking all the chains on the Pirs.


    Evan thought that the Demonic Tree might have known something about these spells or the names that appeared in the names of the spells.


    "All right, show me." Calmly Rave said and adjusted his sses. He watched Evan''s every move carefully.


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s Warp spun, and streams of mana headed for his hands. After a few seconds, tattoos in the shape of ck stripes appeared on his arms. Evan was using Lucifer''s Shackles.


    At that moment, Rave thought, <This spell gives off demonic and divine energy, the guy''s not fooling me, that''s the spell he used in those mines. But, why do I feel like this spell is very familiar to me?>


    Rave was in those mines and saw that the ground was scorched there. But, he thought it was from fighting, and someone was using a particrly powerful spell of fire magic. Maybe even Evan, it wasn''t that important. The most important thing for Rave was to see that spell that contained demonic and divine energy.


    "Hit me," Rave said calmly.


    "What?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    "Just hit me, I want to see how much your power has increased, hit me with all your might," Rave repeated and put his arm out in front of him.


    Evan nodded and struck at lightning speed. He put all the power he had into this attack.


    Bam.


    His fist mmed into Rave''s palm. With this attack, Evan could kill most first rank monsters, but Rave''s hand didn''t even move. To him, that blow was no stronger than a whiff of wind.


    Rave nodded, "Not bad, this spell is even better than I imagined. Tell me, what does your golden eye do?"


    "It greatly improves my vision. I can see all the smallest details," Evan said calmly.


    "I see, tell me, what are these spells called?" Rave seemed to feel something familiar from the spell Evan had just used.


    Evan nodded and said slowly, "Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze."

 Chapter 263 - Taming The Beast

    "Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze?" Rave asked Rave puzzledly.


    He hadn''t expected to hear those exact titles. Rave was surprised, this situation seemed very strange to him.


    Evan nodded.


    "You say you got these spells from an ancient book, right?"


    "Yes," Evan answered quickly.


    <I see, so their idea wasn''t so bad. There really are various demon spells hidden in this world that we don''t know yet. This guy was lucky to find two spells, but there are some things I still don''t understand.>


    "Evan, I''m not going to kill you, torture you, etc.. You''ll be joining us soon and as far as I''m concerned you''re a very promising neer. You''re lucky you found that grimoire, don''t tell anyone but me about it, at least not until you join the Demonic Tree. I know you want to do some kind of experiment, but first, I want to know more about you and where you found that spell. We''ll go to my castle, after which I''ll bring you back."


    The next moment Rave whistled, and a couple of secondster, a massive wyvernnded beside him. Its aura was as strong as Lightning Wolf''s when he opened his third eye.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Ice Wyvern


    Race the Beast


    Rank - 3, two mes on the tform


    Warp - Purple]


    Beasts and monsters also had Warp because otherwise, they could not absorb mana from the environment. Beasts absorbed it from nature, and monsters gained it by devouring others, all of which required Warp. Normally, finding out what Warp a monster or beast had was extremely difficult. For Evan, it was no problem, all he had to do was look at his target.


    Rave climbed the wyvern, and Evan did the same. He had no other options, he had to follow Evan''s instructions, but Evan was actually pleased with the situation.


    For one thing, if Rave didn''t show up, Evan would surely die. He wouldn''t have had time to draw a sigil strong enough for a demon to escape from a mage in the - Three-Pointed Star stage. Even if he could, he would have to sacrifice 300 to 400 years of his life. It was practically the same as dying.


    Second, Evan was able to trick Rave partially. He didn''t tell him about the 72 Demon spells and how he got Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze. Rave thinks Evan found these spells in an ancient grimoire.


    Third, Evan would soon learn more about the Demonic Tree and its spells from one of the most influential people in the organization. Evan hadn''t expected a meeting like this to happen today, but he had to take advantage of such a fortunate situation.


    Evan and Rave remained silent. The journey should have taken very little time, for the Ice Wyvern was an extremely fast beast. Rave forced the Ice Wyvern to use one of his abilities to get to the battlefield in time.


    When this ability was used, the wyvern''s wings were covered in various blue runes, and a blue plume began to emanate from its wings. The lower the temperature was in the area, the faster the wyvern became, looking like an iceet.


    "Rave, how did you tame this beast?" Evan asked.


    He, too, had a riding beast, the basilisk was in Vextin, and Evan could use it at any time. But, he bought it, not tamed it. Evan also had Reykar, but it was a unique situation, and it was more like mutually beneficial cooperation than the subjugation of a monster to a man. Moreover, the giant rat had a great influence in this case, and it was because of it, Evan was able to make an unusual contract with Reykar.


    "It''s simple, you have to find the right beast for you and then get into a fight with it, but there are some very important points here," Rave said calmly.


    He didn''t mind having a conversation with Evan and answering a few of his questions. Rave didn''t see anything wrong with that, moreover, Evan could practically be considered a member of the Demonic Tree by now.


    "If you want to tame a beast, you have to have apletely fair fight with it and be a worthy opponent yourself. Even if the beast loses to you, he will not want to obey. He would rather die than go after someone he doesn''t consider worthy. During the fight you must not use any tricks, outside help, and so on. Only your own strength, in which case when the beast loses, he will ept you as his master." Rave exined in detail.


    Evan nodded. He hadn''t expected it to be so easy and so difficult at the same time. For those who had always relied on themselves and their powers, such a condition was no problem. But, for those who used others or overly resorted to artifacts, it would be difficult to tame the beast.


    "But, what about the beasts you can buy in a simple store. They cost quite a bit, but you said the beast would recognize the man it defeated as its master." Evan didn''t understand this illogic.


    "Well, you can brainwash beasts with some spells, but that only works on rather weak and therefore stupid beasts. You can''t do something like that with a second-ranked beast or higher, they''re too smart to sumb to such spells."


    "Can''t you just use a stronger spell?" Asked Evan looking at the snow-capped mountains around him.


    They were flying at about 3,000 meters, and the peaks of some of the mountains were below them. At that altitude, the temperature was very low, and a normal person would probably freeze in a couple of minutes.


    "No, many tried to do what you suggested but then gave up on the idea. If the beast is smart enough, its brain overloads and fails. In that case, the beast would just die, which means it''s impossible to tame the beast forcibly except in a fair fight. Of course, strong Summoners could summon a flying beast, but that was a temporary solution."

 Chapter 264 - Friendship With The Monster

    "Rave, what do you think about man''s friendship with a monster? Is something like that possible?" Asked Evan. He was curious to know if there were people in this world who had fought alongside monsters.


    "Hmm, friendship with monsters? You ask some pretty controversial questions. Most people are disgusted to even think about it, but that''s a lot of those who belong to light organizations. In fact, it is possible to be friends with monsters. I know a few of those people myself, but it isn''t easy."


    Evan didn''t interrupt, he was curious to know more about it. Perhaps this way, he would learn more about his alliance with Reykar.


    "There are exactly the same rules at work here as in taming monsters, but the chances of sess are much less. For one thing, monsters, unlike beasts, won''t want to do this kind of duel, they value strength, but you have to prove it in some other way. But, even then, most monsters will fight until they die, they won''t obey you. You have to get into a special situation in which you each prove yourselves worthy of each othe.. Only then can you have an alliance. I tried, but it didn''t work. Luck is very important in this matter". Rave exined in detail and adjusted his sses.


    "I see." Mumbled Evan.


    They spent the rest of the journey in silence. Evan admired the scenery, and Rave pondered what experiment he would do next. He had also prepared a lot of questions for Evan.


    ...


    After a while, Evan saw an abandoned castle in the distance. It was prettyrge and very old. Most of it was dpidated, there were a lot of cobwebs on the walls, and some parts of the castle were sprouting strange vines. This castle looked very gloomy and creepy. It seemed as if ghosts and ancient monsters lived in this castle.


    This castle was one of the bases of the Demonic Tree. Very few people know about this ce because it was located among snow-covered mountains and outwardly no different from the forgotten building. No one would have thought that people could live here.


    There weren''t many people in this ce. Only those who were allowed by Rave or the head of Demonic Tree himself were in this Demonic Tree base. Rave practically personally owned this castle. It was the ce where he conducted his experiments, as well as his people.


    "Rave, what kind of experiments do you do?" Asked Evan looking at the snow-covered castle.


    "At the moment, I''m trying to force monsters to evolve. There''s hardly any sess so far, but it''s aplicated and time-consuming process. It takes ingredients and much time, just like all experiments." Rave said calmly.


    <Rave is trying to make monsters evolve artificially? When Reykar absorbs my mana, he gradually gets a little stronger, but it doesn''t help him evolve. But, when he absorbed arge amount of my weird energy, he was able to do it. I wonder if I can do the same with the beast?> Evan thought.


    "Rave, do you experiment only with monsters or with beasts too?" Asked Evan.


    "Beasts are different, their evolutions happen naturally, it''s not interesting. The reason I can''t make monsters evolve is that their evolution is like some chaos. It''s impossible to control, and monsters, unlike beasts, can evolve into somethingpletely new and different. I think monsters are more interesting and promising creatures in this respect. Okay, the lecture''s over, we''re here." Rave replied.


    The Ice Wyvernnded in the castle grounds. It was a special ce designed specifically for this beast. It was a massive ice chamber filled with various crystals. Rave spent a lot of money and effort to make this cefortable for Ice Wyvern. But, these conditions helped the Ice Wyvern progress faster.


    "Follow me." Said Rave and headed inside the castle.


    As soon as they walked a few yards, a man with short ck hair and gray eyes came out to meet them. He was dressed in a long ck robe, it almostpletely covered his body, leaving only his face visible. Under his eyes were big bags, he had clearly not slept in days.


    "Oh, Rave, hello." The man said quietly and headed toward one of the towers in the castle.


    Rave only nodded and moved on.


    [Joan Peris


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Three-Pointed Star, with two mes


    Warp - White]


    <In this castle, is everyone so strong?!> Thought Evan.


    He did not expect that a man who looked like an ordinary worker could be as strong as the head of the Academy of Mages. What''s more, Joan wasn''t even surprised by Evan''s presence, it was a little strange.


    "I thought only members of Demonic Tree were in this castle." Said Evan.


    "They are, Joan doesn''t always wear the red robe with the ck tree on it. I think he''s been experimenting with his nts these past few days and drank ten liters of coffee. He''s one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree." Said Rave.


    On their way to Rave''s office, they met several other members of the Demonic Tree. Each of them was something significantly different from the other. Some were cheerful, some were quiet, some were sad. One of them was even running away from a nt that had suddenly grown legs.


    This castle was like some kind of madness, and yet the chaos here was quite controble. The mainboratories and most of the base were underground; there was nothing of interest upstairs.


    ...


    Rave''s office was just one of the rooms in hisb. There were many different documents, potions, nts, monster parts, and so on. These were the items Rave needed right now. Rave''sb was huge, with over ten rooms, each very spacious.


    Walking past one room, Evan saw a rank two chained monster. Moreover, several human remains were lying next to this monster. Rave and the other members of the Demonic Tree could go to any lengths to conduct their experiments.


    Rave sat down in a leather chair and said, "Evan, your situation is really unique. I believe that the grimoire you found may be one of the things our organization is looking for."

 Chapter 265 - The Quest

    "Is Demonic Tree looking for something?" Asked Evan.


    Evan knew from rumors that the Demonic Tree was searching ancient ruins, caves, abandoned fortresses, and so on for some purpose. But, he had no information about what Demonic Tree was looking for.


    "Yes, I should not tell this information to anyone who is not already a member of Demonic Tree, but an exception can be made in this situation. I can''t give you a mantle and hold a ceremony for you to join our organization officially. For that, you would have to be sent to one of our bases. I hope you understand that." Rave said calmly.


    Evan nodded.


    "Good, then listen very carefully. I''m sure you know that the Demonic Tree uses demon spells, we are best known for that particr feature.. However, not all Demonic Tree members use demon spells, because those spells are our trump card."


    "Trump card?" Evan interrogated.


    "Yes, learning how to use demon spells is very difficult. Moreover we don''t have as many as everyone thinks. This type of spell is very rare but also incredibly powerful because it is the legacy of powerful beings that existed before the universe began. Mostly the members of the Demonic Tree use dark and forbidden magic. Of course, we also know arge number of rare and powerful spells of other types." Said Rave.


    "Are there any conditions to use demon spells?" Asked Evan.


    Rave nodded, "Yes, the most important condition is the concentration of mana in the mage. In order to cast a demon spell, you have to be at least at the - Two-Pointed Star stage. I know you''ve met members of our organization at The Hills of Bloody Falls. I think you noticed what stage they were at."


    Evan nodded. He remembered the spell that one of the Demonic Tree members had cast. At that moment, the mage''s shield was covered in the scales of some creature. These scales were strong enough to defend against a Lightning Wolf strike.


    "We call these spells the Art of the Seven Princes of Hell. That''s a name you''ve also heard before, and I''m sure you want to know more about it." Smiling, Rave said.


    "Of course, I''m listening to you carefully," Evan said seriously.


    After all this time, he finally came close to finding out the main secret of the Demonic Tree. The demon spells that this organization used were absolutely not the same power that Evan was using. It was the power of demons that did not exist in his world.


    "First, let''s start with who the Seven Princes of Hell are. They are the most powerful demons in all of Hell. There aren''t actually seven, as the name says, but several more. But, certain seven demons are the most important in this group and all Hell. I won''t tell you about those who aren''t in the main seven. You''ll learn about the other demons in the Seven Princes of Hellter."


    Rave adjusted his sses and continued.


    "The first major demon of the Seven Princes of Hell I''m going to tell you about is Satan. He is one of the strongest demons even among the Seven Princes of Hell."


    <Satan? I''ve never heard that name. It''s amazing that such a powerful demon exists, and I didn''t even know about it. I definitely didn''te here for anything.> Evan thought.


    "I should say that each of the Seven Princes of Hell corresponds to some sin of the Seven Deadly Sins. In the case of Satan, it is Wrath. When a magician uses the spells from the Chronicles of Satan, he gains tremendous power. Every aspect of it is multiplied, but there is one big disadvantage. The mage must control the growing anger and gradually build it up. Only then will the mage be able to unleash the incredible power of this demon."


    "In case you''re wondering, I mostly use spells from the Satanic Chronicle. You can''t tell by me, but in battle, I stop being so calm. On the one hand, it''s my desire, on the other hand, it''s a side effect of this type of spells. I hope you understand all."


    Evan nodded. He hadn''t seen Satan''s Chronicles spells in action, but he was sure it was immense power.


    "The next demon from the Seven Princes of Hell I''m going to tell you about is Asmodeus, and he corresponds to the mortal sin, Lust. You might think it''s impossible to give yourself over to Lust during battle, and you''d be right. It''s all about excitement and general enthusiasm for the uing battle. The more a man wants to fight, shed blood, and kill, the more he gives himself over to this hazy feeling."


    "As we learned while using a spell from the Asmodeus Chronicle, the mage''s mana supply and fire magic spells are greatly increased. The more aroused a person is, the more powerful these spells be. I think it has something to do with the hellfire that''s always burning with terrible mes." Rave said quietly.


    <A demon again I''ve never heard of. Even by the description, the abilities and effects these demons give are fantastic. I need to get stronger as soon as possible, this is a tremendous power that no one else can match>. Evan thought.


    He had always been attracted to the limitless power of demons, and now, for the first time in a long time, he was learning about new powers and demons unknown to him. Evan couldn''t wait to start studying them and start practicing them.


    Rave wanted to continue, but he was suddenly interrupted by Evan.


    "I have a question." Abruptly Evan said.


    "I''m listening to you," Rave replied calmly.


    "You said that you are using spells from the Chronicles of Satan. Does that mean a mage can only use the spells of one particr demon from the Seven Princes of Hell or is that your personal preference?"


    "There is no limit in this regard, you can use the spells of all the Seven Princes of Hell, it''s entirely up to you. Moreover, besides the spells of the Satanic Chronicles, I use the power of some other demons. Not to worry, but talent also has an effect here. Not all members of the Demonic Tree can master the Seven Princes of Hell spells equally."


    <Good, I''ll definitely need to learn every possible spell I can get ess to. This is too valuable information to pass up.> Thought Evan.


    "Good, then let''s move on to the next demon."

 Chapter 266 - The Seven Princes Of Hell

    "The next demon of the Seven Princes of Hell is - Leviathan, the sin that corresponds to this demon is - Envy. The power of this demon increases the mage''s defense by several times, moreover, water magic spells be several times stronger. As far as I know, you''ve already seen one of the Leviathan Chronicle''s spells in action." Rave said calmly.


    "Yes, then the mage was able to defend against an attack by a monster of the third rank. That was incredible. Is that the power of demons?" Asked Evan.


    Rave nodded and calmly said, "That''s only a tiny part of all the power. Depending on the mage, his senses and talent can change a lot. The demon itself is also very important. Using spells from the Leviathan Chronicle''s, you can''t destroy mountains with a single blow, but you can defend against attacks that can turn rocks into dust. Every demon has its own peculiarity.".


    Rave then proceeded to the next demon, "The fourth demon of the Seven Princes of Hell is Belphegor, and the corresponding sin is Sloth. When the mage uses the Belphegor Chronicle''s spell, all of his spells be much stronger. This is a single but extremely powerful effect. While using these spells, the mage may feel discouraged, apathetic, and of course,zy. It''s a dangerous power. If the mage can''t control it, he can fall asleep right on the battlefield."


    <Hmm, besides the power of the spells themselves, each demon of the Seven Princes of Hell gives a special effect, but there are also significant disadvantages. That''s not surprising, though, demons never give something away for anything. Nothing''s free in this world.> Evan thought.


    "The fifth demon in the Seven Princes of Hell is Beelzebub, and his corresponding sin is Gluttony. In my personal opinion, it is one of the strongest demons in all of Hell. His power is truly incredible but also extraordinarily dangerous. When the mage uses the Beelzebub Chronicle''s spell, he gains the power to absorb the attacks and spells of his opponents. Moreover, the mage can use the power of absorbed spells to enhance his own." Rave said calmly.


    "Doesn''t that mean total invulnerability?" Evan asked. He was puzzled, the power to absorb attacks seemed absurd to him.


    "Of course, but that power has limitations. First of all, how many attacks a mage can absorb depends purely on his strength. Otherwise, his body will be overloaded, and he will be torn apart. Secondly, you need to use the absorbed energy quickly, otherwise, this force will destroy the mage. Even the most skilled users of Beelzebub Chronicles spells cannot hold the umted power for long periods."


    "Clearly, if these restrictions were not in ce, this power would be unfair." Said Evan.


    "Yes, that''s exactly what it is. Before I tell you about thest two demons of the Seven Princes of Hell, I have to warn you about something." Rave said calmly.


    Evan looked at him, puzzled.


    "I wouldn''t be telling you this if it weren''t for those spells you found. As I said earlier, this is a unique situation. Usually, Demonic Tree members learn about the power of the Seven Princes of Hell after they break through the third Barrier in the stage - One-Pointed Star."


    Rave adjusted his sses and continued, "Thest two demons of the Seven Princes of Hell are Mammon and Lucifer." Rave said coldly.


    Evan guessed that Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze had something to do with demons. But, he didn''t think Lucifer and Mammon were some of the strongest demons in all Hell and were part of the Seven Princes of Hell.


    "And here''s the interesting thing, I don''t know the spells you use. That shouldn''t surprise me, though. We look for these spells all over The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. You just found an ancient grimoire, a scroll, a manuscript, and so on. But, there''s something I can''t figure out."


    "And what is that?" Evan asked calmly.


    "There is both demonic and divine energying from these two spells. It''s extraordinary, it''s the first time I''ve encountered such spells. Moreover, at first, I couldn''t understand why your body wasn''t torn apart. These two energies can''t coexist in the same body. But, I figured it was because of your unique body constitution. I think there are only a few people in this world capable of using these spells."


    <He thinks I have a unique body constitution? Hmm, maybe he''s right. The moment my Warp cleared, my body also underwent some changes. Perhaps my peculiarity ofbining demonic and divine energy in my body can bepared to a unique body constitution.> Evan thought.


    "Evan, usually if someone finds the spells of the Seven Princes of Hell, he is obliged to give them personally to the head of the organization or one of the trustees. In this way, all members of the organization be stronger. The spells are in the main vault of the Demonic Tree. This ce is impossible to find even if the head of the Tears of Light and the Vexacion King want to do it. But, your case is special."


    "We haven''t collected all the Seven Princes of Hell spells yet, so we don''t know all the specifics for sure. Maybe those two spells you found are part of some collection or something. I don''t know. But, the fact is, you need a special body constitution to use those spells. That means you have to keep the spells."


    Evan smiled, "Isn''t that against the rules?"


    Rave shook his head, "I don''t think so. I don''t know a single person besides you who canbine demonic and divine energies in his body. Please keep those spells to yourself. I''m afraid that if these spells be known to all the members of the Demonic Tree, some foolish people will try to use them. They will sumb to greed and die, it would be a great blow to the entire organization. Perhaps it is fate that you were the one who found these spells."


    <Hmm, his words do make sense. What''s more, I will be part of Demonic Tree, and I like their ideology. I want to learn more about demons as much as they do. The situation has worked out very well for me>. Thought Evan.


    "Good, then I''ll tell you about the power of thest two demons of the Seven Princes of Hell and ask you to do me one favor." Said Rave.

 Chapter 267 - Compatibility Check

    "Evan, the sixth demon of the Seven Princes of Hell, is Mammon, and he is matched with the sin that is Greed. Though unusual, you have one spell from the Mammon Chronicle. What''s more, you can use your spells even though you haven''t reached the Two-Pointed Star stage. That''s further proof that it''s more important to have a special body constitution than anything else to use these spells.


    <He''s right, I didn''t even notice that I could cast Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze when I was One-Pointed Star. Hmm, but I didn''t find any grimoire. At one point, a strange space with Pirs and strange creatures appeared in my mind. They were the ones who gave me these spells.> Evan thought.


    "When you use the Chronicle of Mammon, you feel a strong sense of Greed. If you sumb to it, you can miss a deadly attack or fall into a trap. But, in return, you get improved vision and reflexes. What''s more, some spells elevate your vision to a whole other level.. Given your golden eye, your spell is exactly that." Rave said calmly.


    Evan nodded. He had already gotten an increase in his physical strength, vision, and reflexes when he received the Pir. But, when he used the spells, these effects were amplified.


    "Thest, seventh demon of the Seven Princes of Hell is, you guessed it, Lucifer, and he corresponds to Sin - Pride. It''s a dangerous power that can turn you into an overconfident fool who dies because of some stupidity. When you use the Lucifer Chronicles, your physical characteristics increase several times. But, you already figured that out."


    "Yes, I have a question. Do you know which of these demons is the strongest? Is there a clear hierarchy among the Seven Princes of Hell?"


    Rave pondered, "There is no clear definition, but from the information we have, some demons do stand above others. The strongest is Lucifer, then Satan, followed by Beelzebub, but there''s no hierarchy beyond that. Moreover, each of these demons is incredibly strong. It all depends on the magician and his talent. Also, do not forget that there are also many other demons besides the main ''seven'' in Seven Princes of Hell, and I can not say that they are weaker. They all have their differences." Rave exined in detail.


    <Hmm, each demon represents a sin. The ck lion and the giant rat with the golden eyes represent the sin of Pride and the sin of Greed. Maybe they have something to do with the Seven Princes of Hell.> Evan thought.


    He thought he had somehow gained the ability to acquire the unique spells of the Seven Princes of Hell. But, he had to go his way to discover them, because originally there was no rat in dark space, it cameter under certain conditions.


    <When I had both demonic and divine energy in my body at the same time, my body overloaded, and I died. But when my Warp cleared up, everything came back to normal. Is it possible that I got a special body constitution, or did I have it originally, and that''s why I was able to survive?>


    "Rave, you said that you don''t know of anyone who could endure having demonic and divine energy in their body. But, how can you be so sure?"


    Evan didn''t understand how it was possible to verify the existence of such a body constitution. After all, if one did not have the right body constitution, one would die.


    "It''s simple. We stole a few spells from light organizations that have divine energy in them. Then we turned those spells into spell scrolls so that they could be used without even studying them. Of course, this only worked with the weakest spells, and the process is quite long, but the most important thing was to get the divine energy."


    "And then what?"


    "We cut off the arm and put the scroll in the palm of our hand, then we destroy the mana crystal, and thus the severed arm uses the spell with divine energy. Sure, it hurts, but it can take a few days at most to restore the hand. If the hand explodes, it means that the person can''t handle the presence of the two energies in their body. More than 80 percent of Demonic Tree members have done it, but no one''s arm is intact. That''s all." Rave said calmly.


    "Not the easiest system. Have you tried doing the same thing with ordinary people?" Evan asked. He was curious about the results of such an unusual experiment.


    "With ordinary people? Of course not, they can''t use spells, even if you forcibly activate a spell scroll, their body would burst from demonic or divine energy. You have to be a mage to withstand the presence of one type of energy in your body. There''s no point in even trying to turn something like that. Well, we decided that after more than ten thousand people died during this experiment." Rave said slowly.


    "Then, you tested it on other mages, am I right?"


    "Yes, but it''s quite a time-consuming process. You have to add a demonic energy spell to the form, and that''s unnecessary waste. Nevertheless, we have tested about a thousand mages forpatibility with demonic and divine energy. You must realize that no one but you can use demon spells without reaching the Two-Pointed Star stage. That means that we''ve killed over a thousand mages at this stage for this experiment. We decided there was no point in going any further. It was too costly andplicated a process for an experiment without results."


    "I see, Rave, you wanted to ask me something," Evan said calmly.


    "Yes, but before I do, I should warn you. I brought you here and told you about the Seven Princes of Hell because you are a unique case and soon to be part of our organization. You can already do that if you go where you are told. I know about all the promising neers, and considering that you found Demonic Tree members yourself, you are very interested in joining us. But, you must understand one thing. If you betray us, your life will not be long." Rave said coldly.


    Evan nodded. He understood that Rave was right and absolutely serious.

 Chapter 268 - How Strong Is The Ordinary Human?

    "Evan, when are you going to join the Demonic Tree?" Rave said calmly.


    "As I said before, I want to do one experiment first. After that, I will go straight to where I was told. As I understand it, there will be a formal joining ceremony." Evan quickly replied.


    "I see. Then I must make one more condition for you, don''t get me wrong, I''m doing this for security purposes. You may be a valuable ally, but you may also be a dangerous enemy, so if you don''t join us in a year, I will personally kill you." Rave said coldly.


    He wasn''t going to force Evan to join their organization right now, but he couldn''t let Evan procrastinate on this event.


    "Okay, I agree," Evan replied.


    He was going to join Demonic Tree anyway. Moreover, he was grateful that Rave had told him so much about the Seven Princes of Hell. Otherwise, Evan would have had to wait until he reached the stage - Two-Pointed Star. Also, Evan thought that one year would be enough time for him to do his experiment and get some results, so he decided to agree to such terms.


    "Fine, then follow me, it has to do with my request, after that, I will return you to that vige. For now, you are not allowed to be here." Calmly Rave said and left the room.


    Evan followed him.


    ...


    Rave led Evan to one room in his vastboratory. Unlike the abandoned castle, which seemed like it could copse with a mere whiff of wind, this room was furnished to a high standard.


    On the tables were a multitude of expensive instruments. On the shelves were neatly arranged various potions, rare nts, and strange scrolls of spells. Evan also noticed many unknown monster specimens. This one room contained a huge amount of rare items. But, it was only a hallway, the most interesting thing was behind the door in this room.


    Click.


    Rave opened the door, and Evan saw an incredible scene. They entered a hallway that led to the next room, but you could see what was going on there through the expansive ss.


    Lots of people were sitting in small chambers getting blood transfusions. There was nothing unusual about this, but if you looked a little more closely, you could see the corpses of monsters in the corner of the room.


    "Evan, monsters get stronger by devouring people, especially mages. But what would happen if ordinary people ate the flesh and drank the blood of powerful monsters? This idea urred to me recently, and I decided to make it a reality." Calmly Rave said.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze, and looking at the remains of the monsters, he was surprised. Most of these monsters were rank two, but some were rank three. Moreover, Rave was also feeding these people the flesh of the monsters, he was trying to change the structure of their bodies.


    "Any luck?" Evan asked.


    "See for yourself," Rave said calmly.


    The next moment, two magical circles appeared in the center of the room, from which skeletons in scarlet armor emerged. One of them headed toward the left side of the room and the other toward one of the chambers.


    The skeleton brought out a tall man with ck hair and a strong build. He looked very strong, even though he was a simple man.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Giel Steen


    Race - Human


    Rank - 0.8]


    Evan was surprised. Even Sebastian, the man who was a swordsman, Rank was 0.2. Giel''s Human Rank was 0.8, which was unbelievably high for an ordinary person. In all the time, Evan hadn''t found anyone whose Rank was higher than 0.5. Evan thought it was impossible, but Giel shattered his theory.


    Next, the skeleton walked over to the wall and put his palm to a certain spot infusing some mana. Part of the wall was a retractable wall that came into motion after the seal was activated.


    Behind the wall was a great variety of weapons. There was everything from simple daggers to huge clubs. There were even unusual shields with sharp edges, the kind you could kill someone with without a problem.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze. He felt it was far from an ordinary weapon.


    [Meteorite Iron Sword]


    [Dagger with Jade Tip]


    [Morgenstern with Poison Ivy Needles]


    [Fallen diator''s Amethyst Shield]


    All of these items had zero rank weapons, but their Rarity was unusually high. All weapons were either Rare or Epic. There were no weapons below that quality on the booths.


    Giel took arge two-handed Epic quality sword from the booth. This sword was made of rare metal, scarlet in color, and hardened with the venom of a rare monster. This gave this sword incredible sharpness and strength. Giel also took a small, triangr shield that looked more like a huge shuriken. The shield, as well as the sword, was of Epic quality.


    There was no armor on the stands, only weapons. This meant that Giel could only rely on his own reflexes and skills.


    After he had chosen his weapons, a second skeleton activated another retractable wall. Behind it were many small cages with various monsters. ording to Evan''s preliminary calctions, there were at least a hundred of them.


    The skeleton opened one of them and squeezed the monster by the neck, and brought it forward. To Evan''s surprise, the monster did not try to break free or attack the skeleton.


    [Ice Mutant


    Race - Monster


    Rank - 0, no mes on the tform


    Warp - White]


    The monster was two and a half meters tall, with a powerful build, and was an anthropomorphic creature. Its skin was blue, and a chill emanated from it. His body temperature was critically low. It had bloodshot eyes and sharp ws covered in a thinyer of ice. If those ws plunged into flesh, they would freeze it in one second.


    Unlike Giel, the monster wasn''t given a weapon. His body was like all monsters and was his weapon.


    <Hmm, he looks formidable, but he''s afortable opponent to fight. Moreover, he''s a rank zero monster, I can kill one of those with a single blow.> Evan thought.


    Then the skeletons stepped aside, and the incredible fight between the ordinary human and the monster began.

 Chapter 269 - The Power Of Experimentation

    The weapons that Giel chose and that were in the stands could be considered "Catalysts." Rare metals, minerals, and monster parts were used to create these weapons. They could conduct mana through them, but that did not negate their strength and sharpness.


    If someone gives an ordinary human and a mage each a weapon of rank zero, of course, the mage was much stronger. He would cast a spell along with the Catalyst and overpower the ordinary human. However, if you arm one person with a simple steel sword and the other with a sword made of parts of a monster of rank zero, the result would be obvious. The second man''s weapon would easily destroy the first man''s sword.


    Evan didn''t ask any questions. He did not believe that an ordinary man could even wound a monster, it was something unreal to him.


    The Ice Mutant attacked. First, he ran toward Giel and swung his wed paws at him, but Giel was utterly calm.


    He gripped the shield tighter and waited for the right moment to throw it in the monster''s direction. The shield was a strange, triangr shape with deep gouges. It was simr to a shuriken, which only made it more deadly in flight. Giel wasn''t going to use the shield for protection, he was going to inflict a serious wound on the monster with it.


    Whoooosh.


    The shield instantly reached the monster and easily severed its arm. Giel aimed for the shoulder and hit exactly where he wanted. The monster had not expected such a turn of events, it thought it was a harmless victim, but suddenly it was he who received the first wound.


    Crimson blood gushed from the wide wound, but the Ice Mutant stepped aside and froze the bleeding wound with his icy breath.


    "He was able to throw a shield at that speed, I''m sure that shield weighs a lot, that power is abnormal for a mere human." Commented Evan on what happened.


    "Yes, but it''s too early to conclude. Giel hasn''t won yet, the Ice Mutant could well crush him to pieces, just a few hits with those ice ws will suffice." Rave muttered.


    He watched their battle closely. This experiment was one of the most interesting he''d done so far. Rave was delighted with the results obtained in such a short time.


    The fight continued with Giel tearing toward the monster. There was no fear in his eyes, only confidence, and strength. He knew that his weapons could kill this monster, and his speed was enough to dodge all attacks.


    The Ice Mutant ran at Giel in response. When the monster got close enough to Giel, it swung its ws horizontally.


    Giel reacted quickly and made a roll, and slid right under the monster''s ws. The next moment he quickly got to his feet and swung his sword to cut the Ice Mutant''s left leg off at the knee.


    The monster didn''t understand what was happening. He went into a fit of rage and tried to grab Giel, this was hisst chance to win. But Giel wasn''t going to give the monster that chance, he had one option to win with a hundred percent probability.


    He bounced to the side a second before the icy ws were to sink into his flesh. Giel wasn''t going to risk getting close to the monster, his life was at stake in this battle. There was no point in showing off.


    Giel walked over to the monster''s severed arm and cut three sharp, icy ws from it. He took the ws in his hands and threw them toward the monster like spears.


    The three icy ws plunged into the monster''s chest. Blood gushed, and the monster didn''t even have the strength to stop the bleeding. Then Giel clenched his sword tighter and threw it at the monster. He didn''t take any chances, he knew he would hit the exact target.


    Bam.


    The sword de pierced the monster''s head and stayed in it. The Ice Mutant fell dead to the ground, and Giel was the victor. The prize for victory was life.


    p. p. p.


    Evan slowly began to p his hands. He was delighted not only with the battle, but also with the results of the experiment. He pped to praise Giel for the incredible fight and Rave for the extraordinary experiments.


    "Are all men as strong as Giel?" Evan asked.


    "Unfortunately not, so far, he''s my best creation. This experiment has great potential, but I''m trying to solve a lot of problems. It takes a lot of time and resources." Calmly said Rave.


    "The blood and flesh of monsters are not digestible?" Evan asked.


    "Yes." Rave nodded and calmly said, "In the beginning of the experiment, about 95 percent of the people died. Some began to have cell mutations and overloaded their nervous systems. Some went crazy, and after a couple of days, their brain died, some had their heart explode. I''m trying to fix that. I created potions, matched monsters with blood types, used spells, and I managed to achieve something. Now only 70% of ordinary people die. Maybe someday I can get that number down to 0%."


    <95%, and now 70% is still a lot. But, the experiment is only in its initial phase. It''s really intriguing. Perhaps an ordinary person will be able topare to a mage of the first rank or even higher. It will be something that will turn the whole world upside down. I''ll definitely have to join this experimentter.>


    "What do you n to do with these people? I''m sure a few people like Giel will have no problem handling a couple of rank zero monsters, even without such high-end equipment." Asked the question Evan.


    There were quite a few people, some were even as strong as Giel. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to fight here. Rave was using them as guinea rats, and he would have no qualms about disposing of the unfortunate specimens. However, Giel and his kind were hardly in any danger.


    If they continue to fight, get stronger and win, they would not only stay alive, but they would start a new life for themselves. They would be something new, something in between human, magician, and monster. Such people would resemble vampires in some way, but they would be a very different race.


    Rave adjusted his sses and said with a sigh, "I have many ns for these people.. Their existence will change the whole world."

 Chapter 270 - Light Afraid Of People

    "Evan, what do you think these people would do if you let them loose. Let''s imagine that I''m satisfied with the experiment results and let more than a thousand people go free who would be even stronger than Giel. What would happen in that case?" Rave asked.


    "I don''t know, if I were them, I''d try to climb even higher." Evan quickly replied.


    "You may be right, but the moment the experiment is over and I release them into the wild, they''ll be exterminated. When the light organizations learn of their existence, they will try to kill them no matter what it takes." Rave said calmly.


    "What? Why would they do that?" Evan was puzzled by such an assumption.


    "It''s simple. The Light organizations are afraid of any change, they''re afraid they might lose their power and mightiness because of that change. This is the most important reason why they seek to destroy vampires and dark organizations. The light organizations want to rule alone in this kingdom."


    Rave sighed and continued, "They fear the chaos that can result from vampires, monsters, and dark organizations. It''s worth admitting that it''s the dark organizations that create most of the chaos. The ''Merciful Death'' alone is constantly fighting and destroying things. The light organizations are trying to destroy the chaos and create an orderpletely under their control."


    "But we-the dark organizations-are able to exist alongside and develop chaos. In a way, we are chaos, and these people in front of you are a clear confirmation of my words. They are a unique impulse for this world, and their creator is the Demonic Tree." Rave finished his long speech.


    "Hmm, but what are they to do then? There''s no way they can stand up to the light organizations. After all, they''ll still be mere humans, albeit incredibly strong." Pronounced his thoughts Evan.


    "It''s obvious, they''ll either die or join the dark organizations. We''re not afraid of change, we create it and discover new and uncharted things. For the same reason, dark organizations have a good rtionship with vampires. It will be the same situation here." Rave said calmly.


    "Won''t they want revenge on you? After all, you literally torture them and make them fight to the death. They live every day with the idea that this could be theirst day because some monster is going to eat them." Asked Evan.


    "I don''t think so. There are tens of thousands of times more ordinary people than there are mages, monsters, and beasts. Humans multiply quite rapidly. Moral principles aside, all you have to do is have sex. It''s a lot easier than awakening a talent for magic. That''s why I was able to do some selection rather than kidnap every person I met." Rave said calmly.


    "You mean they''re here of their own volition?" Evan was puzzled.


    "Not all of them, but many, yes. Some came here because they realized they could get power. The reasons for getting stronger are myriad. They knew all the risks, but they understood that it could work even though it seemed crazy. Giel was one of those people. A couple of people were desperate, they didn''t want to live anymore, and this experiment was the only ray of hope in their lives. Some of them I brought here by force. In other words, it''s mostly people who chose this fate for themselves." Pronounced Rave.


    "Clearly, these people are sure to join the dark organizations. Especially after the light organizations start going after them. What''s more, even those who want revenge on you will still end up taking your side. They will have two choices, either die from the light organizations or join the one who gave them this power."


    "Exactly." Said Rave and waved his hand.


    At that moment, one skeleton took Giel back to the cells and led the other fighter out. The second skeleton headed after the other monster.


    This time the fighter would be a tall girl named Lilia. She had a muscr body, dark skin, and short blond hair.


    [Lilia Crunke


    Race - Human


    Rank - 0.6]


    <This girl is slightly weaker than Giel. Her score is 0.2 points less than his, but it all depends on her opponent.> Evan thought.


    The monster to fight was a lizard-like creature. It was a rank zero monster, so it had no unique features or skills. All the lizard had was its tough chitin, sharp ws, and quick reflexes.


    "That girl chose a rather unusual weapon, by the looks of it she''s confident in her powers." Proimed Evan.


    Lilia chose a short dagger and a long chain with a sharp tip as her weapons. Fighting with such a set of weapons would be quite difficult.


    "Lilia likes to experiment. Evan, during these experiments, I havee to realize even more that, in fact, ordinary people are practically no different from us. What separates us is our ability to use magic. Like humans, there are geniuses and misfits among us. They only need to be empowered, they are just as talented as we are." Rave said calmly.


    "Hmm? Wasn''t that clear from the beginning? After all, I still consider myself human. We were all born on equal terms, everything else is just a game of fate. But, we can change that fate, that''s how I see it." Evan said calmly.


    He knew better than anyone what it meant to try to change the whole world. He knew that fate could not only be fought, it could be controlled andmanded. Everything depended on the situation. After all, to some extent, a magician could control the fate of an ordinary man. Of course, Evan was talking about fate making the rules of this world.


    "Hah, of course, you''re right. Evan, while Lilia is fighting this lizard, I would like to tell you about my request." Proimed Rave watching the battle.


    Lilia skillfully used the chain and knocked the lizard to the ground. She was strong enough to do it. The monster tried to reach and attack her, but it failed. Lilia spun around it like a sh and delivered dozens of blows with her sharp dagger.. The ground beneath the monster''s feet was already drenched in blood.

 Chapter 271 - Blood Drops

    "What is your request?" Asked Evan, watching Lilia fight.


    "Very simple, I want to receive a liter of your blood every month for this year until you join the Demonic Tree." Calmly said Rave.


    "Okay." Evan quickly agreed; he saw nothing wrong with that. Rave helped him, he gave him a great deal of information. Now it was Evan''s turn to bring something from his side. Moreover, Evan had no choice anyway, Rave could kill him at any second.


    Rave nodded and pulled out a small case-sized device from his inside pocket. He activated it and whispered something.


    Evan asked, "Why do you want my blood? Are you going to use it for experiments?"


    "Yes, I''m trying to make them stronger using monster blood, various nts, and even spells. The same ways I use to raise their survival rate by consuming monster blood. I''ve recently concluded that I should try using human blood as well, but special ones."


    Rave sighed and continued, "Perhaps if Ibine monster blood and mage blood with a special body constitution in the body of an ordinary human, I will get incredible results. You are a person who canbine demonic and divine energy in your body, your blood is special. Of course, maybe your blood will only make things worse, but I owe it to myself to try."


    "I see," Evan said calmly.


    By then, the fight was over. Lilia had received a few scratches, but overall she waspletely in one piece. She stabbed the lizard dozens of times with her sharp dagger, causing it to bleed out. She defeated it gently, precisely, and gradually.


    Click.


    Suddenly the door to theb opened, and Evan saw a tall girl walking toward them. She had dark skin and long red hair. She was wearing a Demonic Tree robe and tall, metallic boots.


    When she saw Rave she bowed low and respectfully said, "I''m here, Mr. Rave, waiting for your instructions."


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Kilia Rokst


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Three-Pointed Star, with one me.


    Warp - Purple]


    She was significantly weaker than Rave and Joan, whom Evan had recently met in this castle, but still incredibly strongpared to most mages.


    "Kilia, this is Evan Lynch, he will be joining our organization soon. He is a very promising young man and definitely interested in acting with us. He also has a special body constitution, your job will be to take a liter of blood from him every month for a year and bring it to me. Is that clear?" Rave said calmly.


    "Yes," Kilia answered quickly.


    "Good, you''ll also need to take him back to the vige I took him from. By the way, Evan, I wanted to ask you something. When you fought the members of Azure Bridge, did youply with the Darkfil vampires'' request?"


    Evan nodded. He wasn''t surprised that Rave knew about the vampires being in Darkfil. Moreover, Evan was sure that Rave had a friendly rtionship with the vampires.


    "Great. I heard that they recently kidnapped a girl with a unique body constitution. They''re using her as a living blood bag, I also need a liter of her blood, that should be enough. Kilia, if the vampires ask for something in return, then honor their request." Rave said calmly.


    "Whatever you say." The girl replied.


    "Okay, Evan, before you go, I want to take a liter of blood from you right here and now. You can stay and watch what happens if these people drink your blood." Said Rave as he watched Lilia return to the cell.


    Evan nodded, and they headed to one of the rooms in theb. Rave decided not to be too harsh and simply cut Evan''s veins and drained him of a liter of blood. It was a great loss to any man, but not fatal. Evan was much stronger than ordinary people, so he felt only a little difort.


    Rave poured Evan''s blood into 100-milliliter sks. He then took the two sks and headed into the room where Lilia and Giel had just fought. Evan and Kilia followed him.


    When people saw Rave they had almost no reaction. He came in here often, making some changes, bringing medicine, and so on. It was the usual routine during an experiment like this.


    He called three people over to him. Rave wasn''t going to risk such promising specimens as Giel, Lilia, and a few other people. First, he would give Evan''s blood to people of less value but who also had potential.


    <Hmm, the Rank of these people is - 0.4. They are much weaker than Giel and Lilia, but even Sebastian is far behind them. This experiment really has the potential to change a lot of things in this world. But, it will take an enormous amount of time.> Evan thought.


    Rave pointed at the girl and said, "Rita, you will be the first, just drink this blood, nothing else needs to be done."


    The girl nodded and walked over to Raven and took the sk of crimson blood. Rita was a short girl with a pretty face and short ck hair. But despite her harmless appearance, there was self-confidence in her eyes. She wasn''t afraid of Rave or Evan and Kilia, who was watching her intently.


    She quickly drained the sk of blood. Rave wanted to pass the second sk to the next person, but suddenly he noticed something strange.


    <Isn''t that...?> thought Evan looking at Rita.


    "Rita, follow me, quickly, the rest of youe back." Everyone was puzzled by Rave''s actions, even Kilia.


    The girl was confused, but she nodded and followed Rave. After a while, they came to one of theb rooms. It resembled an operating room. There were all the instruments needed to perform operations.


    "Rita, get undressed and lie down." Said Rave pointing to the operating table in the middle of the room.


    The girl flinched but did what Rave said anyway. She undressedpletely andy down on the operating table. She didn''t know what was going on and so she was a little worried.. Moreover, this was the first time she had had to undress in front of someone, this situation disturbed her.

 Chapter 272 - Change

    As Ritay on the operating table, Rave took a syringe filled with some kind of white solution from the drawer. He squirted out some of the liquid to test it and then walked over to Rita. The needle on the syringe was quite thick and long. So when Rave pushed the entire needle into Rita''s neck, her face contorted in pain.


    However, after about thirty seconds, she didn''t feel anything anymore. Rave injected her with a powerful anesthetic, but Rita remained conscious.


    "Has she always had such an athletic body?" Asked Evan looking at Rita.


    Even though Rita waspletely naked, Evan wasn''t looking at her breasts or other ces. He was assessing her muscles and muscles, they were like those of a first-rate athlete.


    "No, not that much. You seem to have noticed that too, as soon as she drank blood from the sk, her body underwent little change. But, it''s not the external indicators that interest me." Rave muttered and took a scalpel from the table.


    <Hmm, her muscles and muscles have be more harmonious. These changes have happened too quickly. Could it all be the effect of my blood? Or would the blood of anyone with a unique body constitution has a simr impact? Maybe it''s the mixing of several blood types from different creatures... Too many questions and so few answers...">. Evan thought, watching Rave.


    Rave swung his scalpel and plunged the de deep into Rita''s flesh. She felt nothing, but saw Rave unceremoniously cut out part of her flesh.


    "Kilia." Calmly Rave said, taking a small piece of flesh out of the girl.


    Kilia nodded and walked over to Rita. Kilia''s Warp swirled, and a secondter, a warm, pleasant glow appeared in the palm of her hand. She put her palm to the wound, and the bleeding stopped instantly. Moreover, the severed flesh regenerated just as quickly. It was a Creation Magic healing spell.


    Rave put this piece of flesh under the microscope. He wanted to see what had happened to Rita''s tissues and cells.


    He looked at Rita''s flesh under the microscope for a while beforeing to some incredible conclusions.


    "I did a huge number of experiments trying to force the monsters to evolve artificially. I didn''t seed, but I learned a lot about monsters during those experiments. In particr, I know roughly how the flesh of an evolved monster differs from a normal monster if they are of the same species." Calmly Rave said.


    "What do you mean?" Asked Evan.


    "I mean, judging by this girl''s flesh and her cells, she''s practically evolved," Rave replied coldly.


    This was a shock to everyone in the room. Everyone knew that only monsters and beasts could evolve. But, unlike beasts, monsters evolved more chaotically. Most of the beasts strengthened their lineage and approached the lineage of the ancient creature whose children they were.


    Monster evolutions could also strengthen their lineage, but many monster evolutions created an entirely new kind of creature. Their flesh and blood were more situated to evolve and devour other creatures.


    Humans couldn''t evolve it was impossible, but now Rave said that Rita had almost evolved.


    Evan decided to use Mammon''s Gaze again and look at the girl''s stats.


    [Rita Luik


    Race - Human


    Rank - 0.5]


    <Hmm, she''s still human, but her strength has increased simply because she drank my blood. But given what Rave said, it wasn''t just my blood that affected it. Most likely, it was the mixture of the blood of a monster, a human, and someone who has a special body constitution. This mixture gave Rita a chance to turn into a new creature.> Thought Evan was looking at the girl.


    "Rave, this girl got a little stronger, I can see that." Said Evan looking intently at Rita.


    Rave turned around and saw Evan''s golden eye and realized it was one of the effects of his spell. However, Rave himself was well aware that Rita had grown stronger.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, great, just great. Evan, your blood works wonders, but it''s too early to rejoice. Her flesh and cells are practically evolved because she has a huge amount of monster blood in her. She''s been absorbing it into her body for a long time, but she still hasn''t evolved. Something''s missing, some kind of extra momentum." Rave muttered.


    He was thrilled with the results. It was a real scientific breakthrough. One of the people in his experiment had practically evolved. It sounded like some nonsense, but that was what really happened.


    Rave didn''t know what he had to do to make true evolution happen. He decided to try increasing the dose of Evan''s blood. Rave opened Rita''s mouth and poured two more vials of blood. Altogether, Rita received 300 milliliters of blood from a person with a special body constitution.


    Some change was supposed to happen to her. But, even after an hour, Rave didn''t notice anything, and neither did Evan. Despite the doubled dose of blood, Rita''s body did not change at all. Moreover, Rave cut a piece of flesh out of her several times and scrutinized it intently under a microscope.


    "Eh, this doesn''t look like it''s going to work. But, what''s missing?" Rave muttered.


    "Maybe 100 milliliters of the blood of one type was enough. I think we should try adding the blood of another person with a special body constitution to this form." Evan suggested, looking at Rita.


    "Hmm, maybe you''re right. I don''t see any change, but otherwise, it would be too easy. We need to test your idea. Kilia, take Evan back to Darkfil and buy a liter of blood from that girl with the special body constitution." Calmly said Rave.


    "Got it." Said Kilia.


    Rave then returned Rita to her cell, and Kilia went upstairs with Evan. Of course, Rave would test how Evan''s blood worked on other people, but he thought the result would be the same. Rave thought Evan was right, he needed to add more variables to this form. This was the only way he could create a new race of ordinary people.


    Like Rave, Kilia had her own riding animal.. It was already ready to fly and was waiting for them in the abandoned castle grounds.

 Chapter 273 - The Idea

    Kilia''s riding animal was a creature simr to a bat. It was three meters tall and had a wingspan of over six meters. The remarkable part of this creature was the presence of four wings, two of which werebat wings. They were covered in dense chitin and ded on the edges.


    "Let''s go." Calmly Kilia said and climbed onto her tame beast. Evan followed her.


    All the way, they were silent. Kilia didn''t ask any questions, Rave had given her a brief description of Evan, which meant she didn''t need to know more. Evan wasn''t particrly interested in Kilia either, in his eyes she was nothing more than Rave''s assistant. As he flew, he reflected on Rave''s power and his experiments.


    <He is experimenting on humans and trying to make their blood synergize with the blood of other creatures such as monsters and humans with special body constitutions. I''m going to do experiments on humans too but in a very different direction. Thanks to what I saw in this abandoned castle, I finally understand exactly what I want to get and how I will act.> Evan thought as he flew among the peaks of the snow-capped mountains.


    Evan was going to experiment on people by making them enter the Gust. Malespera had seeded, so someone else would. But, Evan had what he thought was an interesting idea.


    He didn''t think that Rita had practically evolved just because she''d drunk a lot of monster blood before. In Evan''s opinion, the mere human body harbored many mysteries, again Malespera was clear proof of that.


    <If a person has goodpatibility, their cells will take advantage of the power of other variables like monster blood or perhaps some kind of energy. The body of a mere human is like soil. If it is fertile, the sprouts that are nted can turn into beautiful nts. That means that one canbine and experiment until one gets an absolute>. Evan pondered.


    He wasn''t going to use the blood of monsters or people with special body constitutions like Rave in his experiments. He had another n. But, first, Evan needed to equip theb,pared to Rave''sb fully, hecked a lot.


    As they practically flew up to the vige, Kilia spoke for the first time, "Are youing with me to Darkfil, or are you staying here?"


    Evan smiled and said, "I need to talk to the vampires too. Speaking of which, that girl with the special blood is in the Emerton Family mansion, at least she was until Imitted myself to training."


    Kilia would quickly find out who had that girl anyway, so Evan decided to say so. He also needed to talk to Virion, Evan wanted to keep Scarlet Sacrifice for himself. He couldn''t start a feud with vampires for the sake of armor, so he hoped to talk Virion into it.


    Moreover, Evan believed that his association with Kilia, especially Rave, might have influenced Virion''s decision.


    The batnded not far from the entrance to the cave leading to Darkfil. Kilia had been here several times before and knew all the entrances and exits very well. Like Rave, she was a friend of the vampires, and they had made such an agreement a long time ago.


    Moreover, all the members of the Demonic Tree were friendly to the vampires. This was one of the factors that caused the vampires to be still not exterminated. The light organizations couldn''t afford to attack vampires and openly dere war on the many dark organizations.


    Many heads of mid-level light organizations feared the Rave like the devil in the flesh. But, don''t forget that Rave was not the head of the Demonic Tree, moreover there were many powerful mages in Merciful Death.


    ...


    Evan and Kilia made their way to the Emerton Family Manor. They were lucky, Virion was in the living room, drinking hot coffee and thinking about something. Evan and Kilia were allowed inside without checks because they had rings with a special amulet from vampire nobles.


    Kilia had an amulet from another family, but that still meant she was a friend to the vampires. Moreover, Virion personally gave the amulet to Evan and made some agreement with him.


    When Virion saw Kilia and Evan, he was surprised. He had asked Evan to deal with the Azure Bridge scout group and thought Evan''s battle had just been dyed. He had no idea that Rave himself had shown up at just the right moment and saved Evan. He knew who Kilia was and who she reported to.


    "Good day or good night? Who knows..." Murmured Virion as if to greet them.


    "Virion, I came here by order of Rave. We know you have a girl with a unique body constitution. We want to receive a liter of her blood every month. Of course, we will pay the necessary amount for that." Proimed Kilia.


    She was stronger than Virion, but she dared not act arrogant. She was in the middle of the vampire city, talking to one of its representatives.


    "Okay, that''s not a problem, she already cured my father, so we use her to strengthen the bodies of the younger generation. Her blood is very valuable indeed. I want one tinum coin for every milliliter of her blood, nothing more." Virion said calmly.


    One might think that a thousand tinum coins for a liter of blood were too steep a price, but in fact, Virion was giving that blood practically for nothing. For people of their level, the price was more nominal than real. With this, Virion showed that he wanted to continue to maintain a good rtionship with the Demonic Tree and to improve it.


    He would use the money to train young vampires in their Family''s territory, which was an exorbitant amount of money for them. In this way, Virion would make the vampires a little stronger and improve their rtionship with the Demonic Tree. This girl was one of the best things vampires ever had.


    Kilia nodded and said, "Thank you, I''m sure this will help Rave greatly. Where is this girl located?"


    "On one of the underground floors, I''ll take you there now.." Said Virion and put his cup of coffee aside. He looked at Evan and asked, "Are they members of Azure Bridge dead?"

 Chapter 274 - Shopping

    "Yes, they are all dead, moreover, there was another mage following this reconnaissance group. I also killed him. Unfortunately, I could not get any information. Their elder attacked me, but suddenly I was saved by Rave." Evan answered.


    He deliberately gave Virion such a detailed answer. It was to show Virion the seriousness of the situation and that battle.


    "I see, now it will be obvious to all heads of Families that I did not give you my Emerton Family amulet for nothing." Virion said calmly and took Kilia to La.


    Not long ago, this girl had been Viscount Pol''s famous daughter, but now she was nothing but a living sack of blood. It was indeed a terrible fate, but no one in Darkfil cared about that.


    Evan smiled and left the Emerton Family estate in high spirits. Virion saw that Evan was wearing Scarlet Sacrifice, but he didn''t say anything about the armor. That meant that Evan could keep it. It went even better than Evan had imagined.


    <Good, now it''s time to equip theb and make the breakthrough.> Evan thought and headed for the main store in this town.


    During the battle, Evan had made no progress towards breaking through his final Barrier. But when he learned about the Seven Princes of Hell and the experiments, he heard thest chain ringing around his Warp. It increased his understanding of magic and the world, which meant he was much stronger. All he had to do was take the next step forward.


    But Evan wasn''t going to rush into this event. He wanted to get stronger and go to the next level, but he had to take advantage of the situation. Evan didn''t yet know exactly what kind of power he possessed. But, he knew that the energy his body emitted was capable of turning some things into other things and even helping monsters evolve.


    When Reykar absorbed arge amount of the strange energy emanating from Evan, he could evolve and be much stronger. Evan was about to do something really crazy.


    Rave used the blood of monsters to make people stronger, Evan would take a different path. He''s going to try to force ordinary people into Gust and make them stronger with his blood and strange energy. He would have very different variables than Rave, and Evan was sure that sooner orter, he would achieve superior results.


    But, first, Evan had to prepare himself. He was going to set up some formations so his energy wouldn''t dissipate. Moreover, he wanted to put this energy into a sk and then use it at the right moment. Evan was sure he could do it because his energy could not change particrly strong materials. Of course, Evan would have to pay a huge sum to get something like this, but he was ready for it.


    Vampires had extensive connections throughout The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. So Evan figured he could get anything he wanted at Darkfil.


    The store was called - ''Bloody Pearls.'' It was a massive, multi-story building with all sorts of sections. Everything from nts and ores to weapons and various mechanisms was sold here. What''s more, it wasn''t even a problem to buy ves here. A wealthy vampire coulde to Bloody Pearls and buy a human to drink his blood for a long time. This was a vampire town, and that sort of thing was the absolute norm here.


    Evan was going to spend quite a bit of money, so he headed for one of the main vampires in the ce. It was Dorlus Bexley. Unlike most vampires, he had dark, short hair and green eyes. That kind of look was pretty rare among vampires, but it wasn''t out of the ordinary.


    Evan said what he wanted, and when Dorlus realized that Evan''s order would be very extensive, he decided to invite him into his office and discuss everything. Evan agreed, he had a lot to rify, everything had to be perfect.


    ...


    "Mr. Evan, have a seat," Dorlus said calmly, pointing to a leather chair. Dorlus was dressed in ample robes of ck and purple. He looked like a merchant from the wilderness.


    Dorlus then asked Evan an unexpected question, "Evan, would you like to taste what human blood tastes like? I''d be a little ufortable drinking it alone."


    Evan was puzzled but decided to decline, "No thanks simply, I don''t think human blood would taste good to me."


    "Suit yourself, I won''t force it, then I apologize in advance." Said Dorlus and snapped his fingers.


    The next moment a short girl with blond, long hair entered the office. She sat down next to Dorlus and bared her neck. Dorlus did not hesitate to sink his fangs into her smooth skin and slowly began to drink her blood. There was no emotion on the girl''s face. She was already used to this kind of procedure, and the slight tingle from the bite even seemed pleasant to her.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze and looked at the girl. He wanted to make sure she was human, and she was. Moreover, like all humans, she was very weak, her Rank was 0.1.


    When Dorlus was full, he let the girl go and said, "Sorry, I always want something refreshing to drink before an important deal."


    "Never mind, let''s get down to business. First, I need formations capable of containing my Ssh while breaking through the Barrier. Then I need tools for experimentation. Various kinds of weapons. Poisons, some simple spell scrolls, various nts, a couple of potions, cages, and cells, furniture..."


    Evan continued his list for a while longer. Even a few sheets of paper wouldn''t be enough for Evan to write down everything he needed. But, Dorlus was not surprised. He listened intently to Evan while at the same time thinking about what goods and materials would best fit Evan''s request.


    He was an experienced merchant and knew how to get something very rare and unique. Dorlus had an excellent memory and easily remembered even thergest orders.. He was one of those who controlled the trade throughout Darkfil, he was a master at his craft.

 Chapter 275 - Meteor Glass

    After about ten minutes, Evan finished talking through the list of items he needed. Dorlus nodded and calmly said,


    "Okay, I hear you. Tools, gadgets, cages, decorations, poisons, potions, and so on won''t be hard to get. It''s all in our warehouse, you''ll just have to pay. But, there is one problem."


    "Something wrong?" Evan asked. He understood that his order was extensive, and the items on his list were very hard to get in ces. But he figured he could buy anything at Bloody Pearls.


    "You said you wanted sks made of material that could withstand the presence of rank three fluids, right?" Said Dorlus.


    Evan didn''t go into detail and tell Dorlus why he needed these sks and that he would store his energy from Ssh in them. Dorlus didn''t need to know that, so Evan said that he needed the sks to store the special liquid. Dorlus shouldn''t have suspected anything. It was quite an ordinary order.


    "Yes, don''t you have any such sks?" Asked Evan.


    "There are, but they are extremely few, and all of them have already been pre-ordered, in a month, Bloody Pearls will have no more sks like that. I can''t sell them to you, you know. There are very few vampires in Darkfil experimenting with such dangerous and rare liquids. Creating such sks is a rather time consuming and very expensive process, so we only create these sks in small quantities or to order." Dorlus pronounced.


    Evan frowned. He hadn''t expected the problem to be this particr issue.


    <Hmm, actually, it was to be expected. Certain people would only need sks like this at certain times. Getting third rank materials is not an easy task. But, I have to get those sks>. Evan thought.


    Very soon, Evan would break through his third Barrier and then move on to the stage - Two-Pointed Star. At that point, two very powerful Sshes would happen, and a huge amount of energy woulde out of his body. He had to take advantage of this moment and not miss it by any means.


    "Aren''t there any options? Perhaps I could borrow these sks until the new ones arrive? Or should I order them from you?" Asked Evan several questions at once.


    Dorlus thought about it. He knew there would be problems with this thing, so he thought of several options beforehand. But, he was worried that Evan might not be able to handle it.


    "Sure, you can order these sks, but you''ll have to wait a few months," replied Dorlus.


    "What''s taking so long?" Evan frowned. He didn''t have much time to do this experiment. Rave had only given him one year, after which Evan would need to join the Demonic Tree and interrupt the experiment for a while. He could not and, most importantly, did not want to wait that long.


    "Third rank materials suitable for creating sks are quite difficult to obtain. Usually, mages create a special group that goes for this material. In most cases, it''s some crystals, special parts of monsters like transparent chitin, and others. Moreover, the group must consist of mages at the stage - Two-Pointed Star and that''s as a minimum."


    Dorlus sighed and continued, "In addition to the above, even if there is a suitable material to create such sks, you need a three-star three-ranked smith. There is only one such smith in Darkfil. I can negotiate with him, but he needs time to get the job done, and we don''t have the right materials. If you make an order, in which case we''ll find out where we can get the right material, assemble a group, and send them out for that material."


    "Do I just have to wait, or is there some option?" Evan asked.


    "There is one option, but I don''t think you''re strong enough. Don''t get me wrong, there''s no point in sending you to your doom. Anyone who has been honored with an amulet from a noble family is considered a friend of ours, and vampires don''t have many friends."


    "How strong do I have to be?" Evan said calmly.


    "Considering your strength, if you''re at the Two-Pointed Star stage, there shouldn''t be any problem. But, the operation will be in two weeks. I don''t think you''ll make it." Pronounced Dorlus.


    "I''ll make it. My third chain around Warp is already ringing, in ten days, I''ll have reached the stage - Two-Pointed Stage." Said Evan.


    "Hmm, are you sure?" Dorlus did not doubt Evan''s abilities. Virion would not give a mere human a special amulet. But, Evan might have overestimated his abilities.


    "Yes," Evan replied confidently.


    Dorlus thought for a while then nodded and said, "Alright, if you''re sure you''ll make it, then I''ll tell you a way to get the right material."


    Evan nodded, he listened intently to Dorlus.


    "A few dozen kilometers from Darkfil, there are caves called - Stone Seeds. These caves are home to many different monsters and contain special stone nts. I think that''s because of them and called so these caves. But, the most important thing is the Golems that live there. They are not attacked by the monsters there, and these Golems are now in hibernation." Said Dorlus.


    <Hmm, I have to go to the caves again, but what kind of material will I have to get there?>


    "Several times a year, for several months, these Golems enter a symbiosis with a nt called - Stone Lily, at the same time the Golems go into anabiosis. At this time, the Golems pose no threat, but the Stone Lily protects them. Moreover, there is no point in attacking these Golems. They are a living pile of stone that is very difficult to kill, it is too unprofitable."


    "I take it these Golems are of some value after their symbiosis with the Stone Lily is over?" Evan asked.


    Dorlus nodded, "Yes, that''s exactly right. During the symbiosis, Golem, and Stone Lily exchange energy with each other. That way, they be a little stronger and purify their own bodies. If I can call it that, I''m not sure.. But, the fact is that at the end of the symbiosis, a very rare material, Meteor ss, appears in Golem''s body."

 Chapter 276 - Four Star

    "Meteor ss?" Asked Evan.


    "Yes, after the symbiosis ends, Golemes out of anabiosis, and at that moment, you can get the very rare material Meteor ss. But, it''s not as simple as it may seem at first nce."


    Dorlus sighed and continued, "First of all, these Golems are at the - Two-Pointed Star stage. That''s why I told you that you''re not strong enough yet. Given your current stage. But, that''s not all. After the symbiosis ends, the Golem is covered in transparent, brown crystalline armor. In this state, whichsts for three days, his strength is equal to a mage on the stage - Two-Pointed Star with two mes. Such an opponent would be tough to deal with."


    "I see, I need to kill such a Golem to get Meteorite ss, right?" Asked Evan.


    "Yes, but this armor is not Meteorite ss. It''s just normal material from monsters. Meteorite ss looks like a sphere, and that sphere is near the Monster Core of this Golem, okay?" Said Dorlus.


    Evan nodded and immediately asked, "Will one sphere be enough? I mean, how many sks can a small sphere make?"


    Dorlus was a little puzzled, "What makes you think one sphere won''t be enough? The Golem is at least ten meters tall. The diameter of this sphere, ording to my data, is one meter. That would be more than enough for dozens of sks. Moreover, if you want to make some money, you can kill a few more Golems. We''ll buy all the Meteorite ss you offer us from you."


    "I have a question." Said Evan.


    "I''m listening to you."


    "You say that Meteorite ss, this is rank three material, but these Golems are in the - Two-Pointed Star stage, how is that possible?"


    Evan didn''t understand how that was possible. He thought it was some kind of mistake that a mage at the - Two-Pointed Star stage could get third-rank material on his own.


    "That''s a good question, unfortunately, I can''t give you a detailed answer. I can tell you that these Golems are unique to such a phenomenon, but don''t be deceived. As I said, you can only get Meteorite ss within three days of the end of the symbiosis. Furthermore, even though Meteorite ss is a third-rank material, most smiths do not consider it." Said Dorlus.


    "§¡? Why?" Evan was puzzled.


    "Meteorite ss is a very fragile material. You can''t make armor or weapons out of it, but Meteorite ss is suitable for making sks or mirrors, for example. In general, you can''t use this material to be stronger. It''s more for doing experiments of some kind." Dorlus exined.


    Evan nodded. Now everything was falling into ce.


    "Evan, there''s one problem I have to warn you about." Said Dorlus.


    "What do you mean?" Asked Evan.


    "There''s another reason I wasn''t sure if you were strong enough to go after Meteorite ss. As I''m sure you''ve guessed by now, the end of the Golems symbiosis in those caves will ur in exactly two weeks. By then, you should preferably already be there. Of course, you don''t have to be in such a hurry, you''ll have three whole days. But, there is someone else who is interested in Meteorite ss." Dorlus said quietly.


    "Hmm? And who''s that?" Asked Evan.


    "It''s a small group of the most powerful light organization, the Tears of Light," Dorlus said coldly.


    The Tears of Light were the greatest adversary of all vampires. They hated these creatures and wanted to exterminate thempletely.


    Evan was surprised, and Dorlus noticed that.


    "You shouldn''t be so surprised. We have an extensive informationwork throughout the kingdom. This sort of, not particrly ssified sortie is easy for us to find out about. Since I brought it up, I want to make a deal with you." Said Dorlus.


    "A deal? What kind of deal, exactly? What will I have to do?" Asked Evan.


    "It''s no secret that vampires dislike members of light organizations, to say the least. Especially the Tears of Light, we hate them. My suggestion is very simple. I want their heads on my desk when youe back. Literally, I''ll make ashtrays out of those bastards'' skulls." Dorlus said harshly.


    "What do I get in return?" Asked Evan.


    "As I understand it, you need those sks right now, so as an exception, I will lend them to you, for one month, after which I will be obliged to take them from you and give them to the customer. Furthermore, I will pay a million gold coins for every head you bring me. But that''s not all. If you kill all the members of the Tears of Light, I will give you the choice of any second rank 4-star weapon you desire." Said Dorlus.


    He was offering Evan a very lucrative offer. But, such great rewards were reserved for great aplishments.


    "How strong will the members of the Tear of Light be, and how many will there be?" Evan asked. Finding out this data was the most important thing. He had to understand if he could pull it off.


    Before Dorlus answered, Evan quickly cast Mammon''s Gaze. He watched every muscle on Dorlus'' face. Evan had to be sure that the vampire was telling him the absolute truth.


    Evan was literally drilling Dorlus with his gaze. His golden eye stared intently at the vampire. Dorlus realized what was going on but decided not to react to it. In his mind, Evan had no reason to trust him.


    "There will be fifteen people in all. I understand it''s a pretty big group. They want to get as much Meteorite ss together as possible. All of them are at the stage - Two-Pointed Star. Five of them have broken through one Barrier." Said Dorlus.


    "Serious opponents, but if you provide me with a 4-star weapon of rank two right now, I agree to your terms. If I can''t kill them all, then I''ll give you the weapon back. Agreed?" Evan said with a smirk.


    "Hmmm, okay, I won''t have another chance to kill them anyway. What''s more, I''ll be able to get some Meteorite ss. I see no reason to refuse."


    Dorlus couldn''t gather a group of vampires and send them to fight against the Tear of Light and risk their lives because Dorlus wants to kill the light mages.. But since his and Evan''s goals were the same, he decided to take advantage of it.

 Chapter 277 - New Weapons

    "Evan, follow me, the special sks and 4-star weapons of the second rank are in the Bloody Pearls vault." Pronounced Dorlus and headed to the indicated location.


    Evan nodded and followed him. Evan was once again to meet with members of some light organization. At that moment, Evan thought,


    <First Virion, now Dorlus. Vampires have quite a few problems because of light organizations. Moreover, judging by Dorlus'' voice and facial expression, he has an incredible hatred for the Tears of Light. I''m curious to see what the members of the Tear of Light are capable of, but fighting 15 mages at once can be a bit problematic.>


    He was confident in himself and his powers and abilities, but Evan was also aware that he was not all-powerful. Rave level people were invincible opponents to him. Evan was curious to see what the head of the Demonic Tree looked like and how strong this man was.


    ...


    When Evan and Dorlus arrived at the Bloody Pearls vault, Dorlus immediately gave Evan special sks. They were made of rare, crystalline material and could withstand most outside influences. These sks could be filled with very hot and cold liquids and various poisons, acids, reagents, and so on. All known third-rank liquids could be ced in these sks.


    Dorlus gave Evan a total of thirty such sks. They were quiterge, each one having a volume of one liter. Evan was pleased, he decided that thirty liters would definitely be enough to hold all the energy.


    Moreover, these sks also had special plugs made of the same material. They would not allow the liquid to spill or evaporate; any scientist would want something like this for his own experiments.


    Dorlus then took Evan to the room where the weapons of the second rank were kept. To Evan''s surprise, there was an enormous number of weapons. Of course, most of them were 1-star or 2-star, but there were plenty of 3-star examples. Anyone could find any weapon you wanted in this vault and for any taste.


    Naturally, Evan was looking for a scythe, but to his disappointment, there was not a single scythe even of 3-star quality in the vault. Evan was frustrated, sure he could try fighting with an axe or hammer, but that wasn''t part of his fighting style. With such a weapon in his hands, he would be considerably weaker.


    He didn''t know how and didn''t want to fight with those kinds of weapons. Evan began to think about getting something like knuckles orbat gloves, but that wasn''t what he really wanted.


    Dorlus noticed the disappointed look on Evan''s face and asked what was wrong, "Evan, are you not happy with the weapons offered?"


    Evan shook his head, "No, only the finest specimens are here. I can even call a few of them true masterpieces. But I fight mostly with scythes. I have my own unique fighting style. It does make me a little sad."


    After listening to Evan, Dorlus reflected.


    "Evan, there''s actually one weapon you could call a scythe here. But, I don''t know if it would work for you." Proimed Dorlus.


    "What? I''m not blind. There''s definitely no scythe." Evan was puzzled, he didn''t understand what Dorlus was talking about.


    "This one." Said Dorlus pointing at one 4-star weapon of the second rank.


    Evan looked at the weapon, but he only frowned. Evan saw a quality forged sword in front of him, but not a scythe.


    "Dorlus, are you mocking me? Or don''t you see the difference between a sword and a scythe?" Asked Evan.


    Dorlus answered nothing. Instead, he took the weapon from the stand and handed it to Evan.


    The sword looked intimidating and elegant at the same time. This sword was slightly different from the others. It had a ck hilt but no guard. What''s more, the hilt didn''t end at the de of the sword. It continued on.


    So the scarlet sword de was split in two by the hilt, all the way to the end. It was a duo-edge sword. The two des were tapered at the top and widened at the guard.


    The sword was quite long, just under two meters. One had to have great strength to fight with such a weapon without problems.


    "Click here and see for yourself what happens," Dorlus said, pointing to one spot on the hilt of the sword.


    Evan raised one eyebrow and pressed the button.


    Whooosh.


    The next moment the two scarlet des came into motion. They rose to the end of the hilt and joined together as one. Then the scarlet de turned to the left and lowered slightly. Now Evan no longer had a sword in his hands but a scythe.


    "So, impressed?" Dorlus asked.


    "Not bad. I already had a weapon like that once. I didn''t expect to encounter a scythe with a simr mechanism again. This weapon is both a scythe and a sword at the same time, just great." Mumbled Evan.


    At that moment, Evan remembered his first weapon in this world, the Reverse Death. Sitreg created this scythe from an idea Evan had given him. It was a bespoke weapon created by a true craftsman and a very meticulous man. Sitreg has always been known for his attention to even the smallest details.


    In order to create a weapon with an integrated mechanism, everything had to be calcted down to the millimeter. If the mechanism were not made correctly, at worst, the weapon would not work, and at best, the mechanism would make the weapon less durable.


    "Then I think that''s settled. Go to Stone Seeds in two weeks. By then, the symbiosis between the Golems and the Stone Lilies wille to an end. I hope you''lle back with more Meteorite ss and fifteen heads of light mages." Said Dorlus.


    Evan didn''t answer anything and just nodded back.


    He said goodbye to Dorlus and headed to an abandoned tower near Darkfil. Dorlus said his men would bring everything he needed to Evan within three days. Evan had a huge order, so it was pretty quick.


    Evan was going to do the same thing as Rave. From above, he would leave the tower in its half-destroyed state.. But on the lower floors, he would create an entireboratoryplex.

 Chapter 278 - Two-Pointed Star Stage

    The first thing Evan looked at back in the tower was his new weapon, Mammon''s Gaze. This scythe sword was a 4-star weapon as well as his armor. Evan was counting on this weapon to have some unique feature as well.


    [Righteous Punisher


    Rank - 2


    Rating - Epic]


    [This weapon is a hybrid of a scythe and a sword. The owner of this weapon can change his fighting style depending on the situation and ce, which gives him more flexibility. The handle of this weapon was forged from rare obsidian, which is mined only in the depths of the hottest volcanoes. The des of this weapon are made from the ws of a second-ranked wyvern that has evolved three times. This beast lives in ever-burning forests, among bloody geysers.


    This weapon is capable of cutting through most second-rank armor. What''s more, many defensive spells can do nothing against the sharpness of this weapon. The des of this weapon are capable of turning the blood that sprinkles them into bloody mes. This me will cover the des of the weapon and incinerate its enemies. When the bloody me is enough, it is possible to use the unique feature of this weapon - the Bloody Cara.


    The effect of Bloody Cara depends on the weapon mode. If the Righteous Punisher is in sword mode, then all the mes will turn into a fiery sphere at the end of the sword. In this case, the wielder only needs to pour some mana, and the sphere will turn into a ming beam.


    If Righteous Punisher is in scythe mode, all the umted mes can be released in a single swing. In this case, a terrible, fiery wave will be created, capable of roasting a monster of the second rank alive]


    Evan was thrilled by the description as he had expected Righteous Punisher, as well as Scarlet Sacrifice, had a special ability. But he hadn''t expected it to vary by scythe mode, which pleased him greatly.


    "Okay, now it''s time to get to the fun part." Mumbled Evan and his spatial ring glowed.


    Several dozen scrolls and various stakes appeared in his hands.


    Dorlus wouldplete Evan''s order within three days, but he could provide the necessary formations on the spot.


    Evan spent the next few hours setting up these formations and restoring mana. Given the total number of formations, it was aborious and exhausting process.


    But once the work was done, Evan could begin Creation. He was confident that this number of formations would be able to contain the strange energy that would emanate from his body.


    Evan also set up thirty sks, which Dorlus had kindly provided him, against the room''s walls.


    "Reykar," Evan said quietly, and the one-eyed raven appeared on his shoulder.


    This time Evan wanted Reykar to absorb as much of the strange energy emanating from his body as possible during the Ssh. Evan would break through the third Barrier, condense the right amount of Void Liquid drops, immediately make a breakthrough, and move to the stage - Two-Pointed Star.


    Evan had ten days to do all that, and he was sure he could do it. He also bought a lot of mana crystals from Dorlus. They would help him quickly condense the necessary amount of Void Liquid drops.


    Whoooosh.


    His spatial ring glowed, and hundreds of bright crystals appeared around him. Evan was about to dry each crystal.


    "Okay, let''s get started," Evan muttered, and his Warp spun.


    Huge streams of mana headed for his Nirvana. Reykar didn''t hesitate to absorb as much mana as he could. Evan wanted Reykar to be stronger with him. He would need Reykar''s strength in the battle against the Tears of Light group.


    After only a few hours, the first few links in the chain began to copse. This time the process took much less time. This meant that Evan''s understanding of how magic worked in this world far exceeded the necessary level in breaking through the third Barrier.


    After about a day, thest link was broken, and then the powerful Ssh that Evan had been preparing for happened. A huge amount of gray energy was released from his body. But, unlike thest time, this energy could not change anything. The formations that Evan had set uppletely blocked that energy.


    It was just floating in the air for a while, but suddenly it began to be absorbed by Reykar. At the exact moment, some of the strange energy went to the sks. Evan positioned the sks so that they did not fall within the radius of the formations. That way, the energy could go to them without any problems.


    When the first sk was full Evan, cast a spell, and an ivy vine appeared next to that sk. The vine wrapped around the cork and plugged the full sk. Evan was skilled enough to stay focused on Creation and control the ivy vine.


    Reykar greedily absorbed the strange energy and gradually grew stronger. A little more, and he would go to the next level.


    Evan continued to absorb mana greedily. He had to use the full power of his purified Crimson Warp.


    ...


    After only nine days, Evan had condensed 4,999 drops of Void Liquid. All he had to do was to condense thest drop, make his breakthrough, and be a Mage on the stage - Two-Pointed Star.


    Drip.


    When thest drop fell, Evan sighed and muttered, "Great, now it''s time to get to the fun part. I''ll finally get to the next stage and get a lot stronger."


    Unlike Barriers, a mage could move to the next stage at any moment. But, he had to bepletely focused on his goal. He had to be very attentive, and nothing should interfere with the mage.


    Otherwise, if the mage made a mistake, he might even die. At the moment of breakthrough, the mage increases the concentration of mana in his Warp. Thanks to this, he could use armor, weapons, and spells of the second rank.


    Moreover, the mage''s body was impregnated with this mana, and he bes several times stronger. Quite a skilled mage at the stage - Two-Pointed Star could easily kill most mages at the One-Pointed Star stage in a few hits.


    Along with Evan, Reykar was also getting stronger. He had already absorbed a gigantic amount of mana and was now equal in strength to a mage at the stage - One-Pointed Star with three mes on the tform.


    What''s more, his cells have gone into motion.. If he absorbs arge amount of energy from Evan again during Ssh, he''ll most likely be able to evolve a third time.

 Chapter 279 - Incredible Power

    During the breakthrough to the next stage, the mage suffers a powerful Ssh. Most mages do the same as Evan and protect the outside world from themselves with formations and barriers. Otherwise, every mage''s breakthrough would be apanied by numerous destructions.


    Evan had to be more careful than the others. His energy could not just destroy everything around him but turn it into the unknown. But, this time, he was ready for any change. Moreover, he would gather his energy and use it for experiments. Evan didn''t know what that power was yet, but when he saw that Reykar had evolved, absorbing a lot of that energy, Evan understood how it could be used.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan concentrated, and his Warp spun with renewed force. This was an important moment in his life, and he wasn''t going to make any mistakes. The five thousand drops began to transform into the second end slowly. At the same time, strange energy slowly began to emanate from Evan again.


    More and more of it wasing out with each passing second, and Evan was getting closer to making the breakthrough. Nothing could stop him anymore. He knew exactly what he had to do.


    Reykar tried like a madman to absorb every drop of energy, his cells were bubbling and showing that they were ready to move to the next stage.


    After a couple of hours, Void Liquid turned into the second End, and Evan finally became a mage at the Two-Pointed Star stage. At the same moment, energy burst out of his body in huge streams.


    It filled the room, and the sks could no longer hold it. They were instantly full. The only one who could still absorb this energy was Reykar.


    But he, too, had stopped doing so in time. After Evan made his breakthrough, Reykar just as gradually moved on to the next stage. He was now a monster of the second rank, but that was not the most important thing.


    To Evan''s surprise, Reykar began to change. Evan immediately realized what was happening.


    "Reykar is evolving, but it''s not an ordinary evolution. It''s a special evolution!" Evan eximed.


    He didn''t expect such a rare event as a special evolution to happen to Reykar. This kind of evolution urs in less than one in a thousand monsters. It was incredible.


    Evan had seen a special evolution once before, but then his enemy, not his ally, had evolved.


    Gradually Reykar grew taller, he became muchrger than the average raven. His height was more than one meter. His feathers became thicker and sharper, but that was only a detail.


    Evan''s main focus was on Reykar''s wings. The symbols on the wings glowed and slowly disappeared, and the wings began to grow in size. But suddenly, Evan saw two more wings begin to grow on Reykar''s back.


    Then the ws on Reykar''s paws became longer and sharper, and every part of his body became a deadly weapon. With these ws, he could easily cut most second-ranked monsters into small pieces. And with its wings, it could create a real tornado.


    However, this was not the end of evolution. Strange changes began to happen to his eye. Reykar''s head began to change, and gradually, instead of one eye, he had three. This was a shock to Evan. He had not expected something like this to be possible.


    Suddenly Reykar looked at Evan, and in the next moment, several messages sounded in his head.


    [The level of trust between you and Reykar has increased significantly. Soul Level - 3. Gained Spell - "Raven''s Gaze." "Awareness" spell - "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" increased to Stage 2. Spell - "One-Eyed Raven''s Beam" became a second level spell. "Awareness" spell - "Death Feathers Fan," increased to the second level. Death Feathers Fan - became a second level spell].


    The stronger Reykar became, the more advantages and various bonuses Evan received. He had already learned this simple truth. But, he hadn''t expected to get so many boosts in one moment. He had just be a mage at the - Two-Pointed Star stage and had already gained two second level spells. What''s more, the Awareness of those spells was already at the second stage. It was fantastic.


    Evan was really excited, but something confused him.


    "The sks arepletely full, Reykar has absorbed arge amount of energy and has even undergone a special evolution. He can no longer absorb it, but there is still plenty of energy. What happens next?" Mumbled Evan.


    Reykar returned to Evan''s Nirvana. But, the energy was floating in the air. It could not go anywhere because formations and barriers prevented it from doing so. The energy was still not strong enough to destroy formations of this level.


    But, there was one thing in this room this energy could go to, and it wasn''t Evan. Beside himy his new weapon among the emptied mana crystals.


    Whooosh.


    Suddenly the gray energy swirled toward the Righteous Punisher. Itpletely engulfed the weapon and the mana crystals beside it.


    Evan didn''t know what was happening. He didn''t think this energy would be able to change the weapon. What''s more, all the energy that was left was headed for the Righteous Punisher. That meant that the changes would most likely be very global.


    <Hmm, would this energy make my weapon stronger? Or maybe Righteous Punisher will have some kind of additional effect. That''s really intriguing>. Evan thought as he watched the gray swirl of energy.


    While he was waiting to see what changes would happen to Righteous Punisher, he suddenly heard a loud ng of chains. The crackling of the chains came from the dark space where the dark lion and the huge rat were.


    Evan concentrated and entered that space. He saw chains ringing on the second Pirs, Evan knew immediately what that meant.


    <Sounds like I should get busy unlocking the chains on the second Pirs in the near future. I wonder what''s next for me? What spells will I get this time?"> Evan thought.


    Lucifer''s Shackles and Mammon''s Gaze were unique and powerful spells. Evan expected the spells from the second Pir to be even more powerful and interesting.


    As Evan pondered, the strange energy around the Righteous Punisher slowly began to dissipate. When itpletely dried up, Evan was shocked. All the mana crystals were gone, and the Righteous Punisher was transformed.. Moreover, the weapon had increased its rarity to 5-star.

 Chapter 280 - Legendary

    When the energy dissipated, Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze to look at the changes that had happened to the Righteous Punisher. His eye changed its color to gold, and a wealth of information about the altered weapon appeared in front of him. Evan was shocked to see it.


    [Magma Blood


    Rank - 2


    Rarity - Legendary]


    [This weapon was created due to a strange mixture of devastated mana crystals, Righteous Punisher and arge amount of unknown energy. Magma Blood is a weapon that only the most skilled smith of the second rank could create. The de of this scythe is capable of slicing apart any second-ranked monster, with few exceptions.


    The more blood that falls on the de, the hotter it will be. Over time it will glow to unbelievable temperatures, and with a mere swing, it can melt arge boulder. Thanks to a special property derived from mana crystals, this weapon can umte mana and release it at once. The more mana will be umted, the stronger will be - Magma Wave. This skill can only be used when the de is red-hot]


    It was the first 5-star quality item Evan had seen in his life. Moreover, Magma Blood was no longer a sword and scythe but just a scythe. The reason was that the Righteous Punisher was in scythe form during the transformation.


    The mechanism haspletely changed, and the two des have merged together and changed their structure. The de became longer and more pointed. A true master could burn down an entire forest with just a few swings of such a weapon. Now, inbat, Evan has turned into a demon from hell, hungry for as much blood as his enemies as possible.


    Evan took the weapon in his hands and felt a great rush of strength. It was the first time he had ever used such concentrated mana to use a second-ranked item.


    "Not bad, not bad, this is very different from the One-Pointed Star stage. With a weapon like this and no problem, I can handle the members of the Tear of Light. It won''t be a battle, but a warm-up for me and a nightmare for them. Good thing the battle will take ce in the caves. I wouldn''t want to burn the whole forest and draw attention." Proimed Evan looking at Magma Blood.


    Reykar was also a very formidable creature. He was a triple evolved monster of the second rank. In power, Reykar was equal to several mages at the Two-Pointed Star stage.


    <By the way, I got a new skill, but I feel like I can use it right here and now. It''s a little weird. Last times I had to train for a long time>. Thought Evan and his Warp spun.


    He cast Raven''s Gaze, and the next moment he saw himself.


    "What?" Evan didn''t understand what was happening, but then he realized that Reykar was standing against him.


    By casting this spell, Evan could see through Reykar''s eyes. It was a strange and unique spell. Evan had never heard of anything like it before.


    Raven''s Gaze was not abat spell, but that didn''t mean it was useless. With this spell, Evan could scout areas safely.


    Not every mage or creature would want to attack a triple-evolved, second-ranked monster flying past.


    <Hmm, I wonder if Reykar got the same ability? Or is his abilitypletely different?>


    The first ability Evan got from his alliance with Reykar was almost the same as Reykar''s. The second ability was slightly different but somewhat simr. For some reason, Evan thought the third ability would bepletely different.


    "Okay, time to go. Stone Seeds is pretty far away. ording to Dorlus, the symbiosis between the Stone Lily and the Golems will soone to an end. I have to leave now."


    Unfortunately, Evan could not use Reykar as a sledding animal. Reykar became much bigger, he was just over one meter tall, but it wasn''t enough to get around on him. Evan would have to wait until Reykar became even stronger and evolved once more.


    Reykar returned to Evan''s Nirvana. Evan headed to Darkfil and went to the store, and rented a riding beast. There was no other way he would get to Stone Seeds quickly.


    Evan didn''t pay as much as he did for the Basilisk, as this was a beast he only rented for a week. It was a big bird, a fairlymon but reliable riding beast. But Evan wouldn''t fly it out of Darkfil. It would be too suspicious.


    He headed for the abandoned tower and, from there, flew toward Stone Seeds. Evan had to get the Meteor ss to pay Dorlus for his service. But, he also had to kill all the members of the Tear of Light who would be there. Evan couldn''t show Dorlus what the Righteous Punisher had be, but he didn''t have to. If he brought Dorlus fifteen heads to the mage of the Tear of Light, he would just silently keep the weapon.


    Evan had a lot to look forward to in the uing battle. He had already seen members of the Demonic Tree and even one of its powerful mages. The Tears of Light were the strongest light organization, and Evan expected a lot from them. Moreover, he remembered Rave''s words that the Tears of Light had spells with divine energy. Evan was curious to see the weapons that the Tears of Light use to counter the Seven Princes of Hell that use Demonic Tree.


    As Evan flew to his destination, he reflected on the fact that he was unable to choose second-level spells due to time constraints.


    <I barely made the breakthrough in time for the right day, but it could take weeks to pick and learn a few second level spells. I''ll have to fight with the old spells. However, thanks to my alliance with Reykar, I have two second level spells. Moreover, I am many times stronger than I was a few days ago. Perhaps I should use a powerful demon sigil and finish everything in a few attacks.>


    ...


    A few dayster, Evan arrived in the right ce. Stone Seeds, like most caves, was under a mountain, but the entrance was in a very different ce.


    Evan looked at the ice-coveredke and muttered to himself, "Why is the entrance underwater? It''s incredibly cold in here."


    Shaking his head and realizing he had no other options, Evan kicked the thickyer of ice with force.

 Chapter 281 - Light And Darkness

    The entrance to Stone Seeds was under the frozenke. Of course, there were other entrances to these caves, but Evan didn''t want to waste another day on a path when he could get into the caves right here and now.


    Without using any spells, Evan shattered a meter-thickyer of ice with a single blow. He dove into the icy water but didn''t swim straight to the underwater cave.


    He had to cover his tracks. Evan was going to fight arge group of Tears of Light, and he wanted to take advantage of the element of surprise. The Light Mages were not supposed to know that someone else was interested in the Meteor ss.


    Evan took his hands out of the water and cast Ice Veil. He quickly recovered the destroyed portion of the ice and canceled the spell.


    When Evan was a rookie mage, he couldn''t create a meter of ice in a few touches. Such a thing was impossible to do with a spell of rank zero. But, now it was possible. The increased concentration of mana in Evan''s Warp made any of his spells much stronger. What''s more, the purified Warp also made spells slightly stronger.


    But, that didn''t mean that Ice Veil, a level zero spell, was equal to a level one spell in Evan''s hands. Ice Veil became more useful but not as powerful.


    After Evan covered his tracks, he swam to the entrance of the cave. There was no need to look for the entrance. Bright nts were growing around it, which as if an indicator showed that the entrance was exactly here.


    After a while, Evan surfaced and found himself in one of the caves. He waspletely soaked in the icy water. It wasn''t the most pleasant feeling, considering he was in the kingdom''s north, and there were snow and freezing blizzards everywhere.


    "Damn, why haven''t I learned any fire spells yet? I''m about to turn into an icicle." Evan muttered and headed deeper into the cave.


    He didn''t know where the Golems and the Stone Lilies were. He needed to explore the area and think of a n of action.


    <Dorlus said that these caves also possess other monsters, but I don''t think they will pose the slightest danger to me.> Evan thought to himself as he entered one of the tunnels at another fork.


    Unfortunately, he had no map of these caves, so he had to rely on his gut and luck.


    The caves were huge. They were not small narrow tunnels where one person could hardly fit. They were home to giant creatures like Golems.


    So each tunnel was at least fifteen meters high and sometimes even more wide.


    This was a big plus for Evan, fighting in a confined space against many opponents was ufortable.


    Whoooosh.


    Suddenly a monster ran out from around the corner and pounced on Evan. This monster''s body was covered in stone-like chitin. This monster had two crystal-like horns, which it tried to ram into Evan.


    But, it failed. Evan reacted quickly and bounced to the side. He immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Cave Hunter


    Race - Monster


    Rank - 2, with one me on the tform


    Warp - White]


    <Hmm, he''s pretty strong. Moreover, his horns areparable to 3-star weapons of the second rank. He would be perfect for warming up>. Evan thought and dashed towards the monster.


    His spatial ring glowed, and Magma Blood appeared in his hands. The Cave Hunter was not afraid of Evan, he was just as determined to attack.


    When they reached each other and shed in the duel, the monster''s severed horns fell instantly to the ground. They were sturdy but not strong enough to withstand the power of 5-star weapons.


    Evan turned and swung the scythe, plunging it deep into the monster''s flesh. The Cave Hunter roared in pain and fury, but there was nothing he could do.


    Evan dodged another blow and cut off the monster''s head with a sharp swing of the scythe. The scythe de was sprinkled with blood, and Evan felt it gradually heat up. This heat could bepared to a smoldering bonfire.


    "I need to kill a few more monsters, so I''ll warm up quickly," Evan muttered and cut a blue crystal from the Cave Hunter''s body.


    Each Monster Core monster of the second rank was worth quite a bit. Of course, Evan didn''t need money right now, but some unexpected situation could always happen. Moreover, money was never superfluous.


    While Evan was looking for Golems and the Stone Lily, he killed a few more monsters. All of these monsters were different and unlike each other. There were stone monsters as well as fire monsters.


    Evan''s scythe had already heated up quite a bit, but it was not yet the maximum. It could fry an opponent''s flesh with its attack, but Evan could not yet take advantage of the weapon''s skill.


    After about an hour of wandering through the cave system, Evan finally found what he had been looking for. Many Golems were in a single, vast room. This cave was asrge as an entire field.


    The tunnel from which Evan came was at the top, so he looked up at several sleeping Golems. They and the other monsters running nearby couldn''t see Evan.


    Evan used Mammon''s Gaze and looked at the sleeping Golems.


    [Meteorite Golems


    Race - Monster


    Rank - 2, with one me on the tform.


    Warp - White]


    There were at least ten Meteor Golems in this cave. But, Evan was sure that it was only a tiny fraction of their total number. Many tunnels and passageways were leading into this cave, all the Meteorite Golems couldn''t be in one ce.


    Around each Meteorite Golem was a multitude of stone vines growing from the beautiful flowers beside them. These were the Stone Lilies. They looked a lot like the usual ones, but they were mostly made of stone, and a faint blue light burned in the center of the bud.


    It created quite a soothing atmosphere, and Evan himself even wanted to fall asleep right on the cold, stone floor.


    <Sounds like these flowers have a tonic property, not bad. An ordinary person would probably be sleeping like a corpse by now. But judging from the fact that the Meteor Golems are still in anabiosis, I came a little early.. Well, I''ll just have to wait a little longer, then.>

 Chapter 282 - The Battle

    For the next few hours, Evan waited for some changes to begin. The blue fire in the stone lily bud made Evan want to sleep sometimes, but it wasn''t much of a problem. The Stone Lily was not strong enough to put Evan to sleep with a simple fire.


    Evan arrived at Stone Seeds about the appointed time, so he didn''t have to wait long. Suddenly, the stone lily vines glowed, and the Meteorite Golems'' bodies began to be covered in a thin, crystalline armor. That''s exactly what Dorlus was talking about.


    <Hmm, this armor would make them much stronger, but now Meteorite ss was supposed to be next to their Monster Core.> Evan thought.


    Before his eyes, the huge creatures over ten meters tall began to wake up. At that moment, the vines returned to the lilies, and the blue-me bud closed. The next time the lily would open in a few weeks, after which the process would begin again.


    When the Meteorite Golems awoke, they headed for the ores in the cave walls and began to devour them slowly. Meteorite Golems needed to recover the resources they had lost during their anabiosis. This process wouldn''t take long. They only needed some ore to regain their strength.


    Evan did not attack the Meteorite Golems. In his opinion, there was no point in doing so now. He would wait until the members of Tears of Light got here and let them do all the dirty work. Evan needed to kill some Meteorite Golems and all the members of Tears of Light anyway, so waiting was the best option.


    <Every time their symbiosis stops, they devour part of this cave. Now I see why this room is so vast.> Evan thought, and suddenly he heard the sounds of fighting in the distance.


    They were not sustained. It was over in a few beats. But it was enough to know that the members of Tears of Light were already here.


    Evan smiled and, after a while, saw fifteen men enter the room with the Meteorite Golems. Each of them wore a gold robe with a picture of three white drops.


    Evan''s left eye turned to gold, and he looked at each of them.


    <Good, no one among them is stronger than a mage at the -Two-Pointed Star stage with a single me. I can handle such opponents. Moreover, Reykar will easily kill several of them.>


    Evan thought they were about to attack Meteorite Golems, but the light mages didn''t move for some unknown reason. It looked as if they were waiting for something.


    After a moment, Evan got the answer to his question. He saw another mage, this mage wore not gold but a white robe with a sun on it. Evan knew what kind of organization it was. This magician was a member of a light organization called Golden Glow.


    [Sara Sletten


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Two-Pointed Star, Three mes on a tform


    Warp - Purple]


    Evan hadn''t expected to encounter such a strong opponent here. Moreover, he didn''t understand why a member of Golden Glow appeared to be inmand of the Tears of Light group.


    <Why are they acting together now? Moreover, why is this girl theirmander? What is the point of this operation>. Evan thought.


    Golden Glow was a pretty strong light organization, but they weren''t as powerful as the Tears of Light.


    <Hmm, maybe it''s some training? Well, it''s not that important anyway. Pretty soon, they''ll all be dead.> Evan thought.


    Sara was a very formidable opponent, but Evan had his own ways of dealing with such enemies. Initially, Evan didn''t want to use the power of demons, but with Sara''s arrival, he changed his mind. If he couldn''t make it on his own, he would have to sacrifice several years of his life.


    So before the battle began, Evan decided to draw some Sigils on his body quickly.


    While Evan was thinking about the uing battle, a man came up to Sara and said, "We came just in time, in a few minutes, when the Meteorite Golems calm down, we can start mining Meteorite ss."


    Sara nodded and said coldly, "Of course we''ll get Meteorite ss, but don''t rush to attack Meteorite Golems. We need to deal with the rat hiding here first."


    The next moment her spatial ring glowed, and a massive hammer appeared in her hands, which she threw into that tunnel where Evan was.


    This hammer was powerful enough to destroy the rock and cut through part of the cave. Evan hadn''t expected such an attack, but he was able to react and dodge. Evan ended up jumping off the ledge and finding himself in the middle of the room not far from the light mage.


    "I have to admit, that was really unexpected. How did you spot me?" Evan said with a slight smile on his face.


    Sara frowned and said, "I can easily smell anyone who has dealt with vampires and Demonic Tree. People like you are the most disgusting people in the world."


    "What are you, a dog? Or maybe your nose works like a pig''s? §¡?" Evan asked mockingly.


    Sara, like many light mages, despised vampires and dark mages. One seemed to her to be filthy creatures unworthy of living, and the other was infernal brats.


    "You''re too self-righteous for your power. I think I''ve seen you somewhere before..." Gritting her teeth, Sara said.


    "Miss Sara, I know this man. It''s Evan Lynch, we thought that after he left The Last Moon Academy, he would want to join some light organization, but apparently, he chose the other side." Said the man in the gold robe.


    Unlike the dark organizations, most of which themselves invited prospective mages to join them, the light organizations mostly did not. Their doors were always open to talented mages.


    In order to join Tears of Light, Golden Glow, and any other light organization, it was necessary to go to one of their residences. The mage would then take an exam and be given a verdict. Of course, they and the dark organizations knew which of the young mages were of value.


    So it was no surprise that a light mage at the stage - Two-Pointed Star - knew what Evan looked like and even what academy he had studied at.

 Chapter 283 - The Man And The Monster

    "Is that Evan Lynch?" Sara was surprised. But, what shocked her wasn''t that Evan was up against them, but how strong he had be.


    "Wasn''t this boy just recently a rookie mage? How did he reach - Two-Pointed Star stage? That''s crazy!" Gritting her teeth, Sara said.


    She was the most experienced here and had already fought Evan''s kind several times in her life. Such mages who could progress at an insane rate were not even geniuses. There was no word to describe their talent. Compared to them, geniuses were mere humans. Sara knew this better than anyone, as she herself was a genius who had once been humiliated by a simr magician.


    "You said I was alone, but I have to say you''re a little wrong." Said Evan, and the next moment arge, three-eyed purple raven appeared beside him.


    Evan''s spatial ring glowed, and Magma Blood appeared in his hand. Evan''s eye turned to gold, and several streaks appeared on his scythe as the darkness slowly covered his weapon. Next, Evan cast "Ghost Step" and sprinkled his blood on the ck chains of his armor, activating Berserk Mode.


    Evan used all the power he could muster and attacked a group of light mages. Evan moved with incredible speed, like a bolt of scarlet lightning. He cut through his opponents'' armor with ease, and his Magma Blood de gradually heated up. The members of Tears of Light tried to attack Evan with their spells, but he easily dodged them.


    Moreover, he was backed up by Reykar, who fought three mages simultaneously and even won. He was a very dangerous opponent for any second rank creature.


    "Shit! Why the fuck is he so strong?" muttered one of the members of the Tear of Light and cast several spells in a row.


    Many magical circles appeared on the ground from which a variety of creatures emerged. Some of them were weak, and some of them could fight some of the mages on the stage - Two-Pointed Star - on an equal footing.


    Evan smirked, and his Warp spun. The next moment a fan of energy appeared in the sky. Evan swung his hand, and dozens of explosive feathers rained down on the summoned creatures. After the Awareness of Death Feathers Fan rose to the second stage, there were many more feathers and a more massive explosion.


    In just a few swings, Evan destroyed most of the summoned creatures, he thought he had already dealt with them, but there were other Summoners among this group of mages.


    They all started summoningrge numbers of creatures at the same time. Evan tried to fight back, but at one point, too many attacks came at him.


    He had to go on the defensive for a while, all he could do was wave his scythe and defend himself. At that moment, he felt as if he was fighting alone against an entire army.


    <In those situations, Summoners are truly formidable opponents. They don''t even try to save mana. They use every spell they know.> Evan thought.


    Among the sixteen light mages, there were about 7 Summoners, which was quite a lot. Normally, Summoners should be about a third of the total number of mages in a group.


    Moreover, Evan had to fend off several Amplifiers who attacked him furiously. Evan even missed a few blows. But fortunately for him, he was not fighting alone now.


    At Sara''smand, only one mage was left to restrain Reykar. When Raven realized that Evan was gradually being pinned against the wall, he decided to activate his ability, which he had gained after a special evolution.


    Crackle.


    He pressed his wings against it, and a loud crackling of bones echoed throughout the room. Gradually the wings began to increase in size, and the outside part glowed brightly.


    As Reykar spread his wings apart, several people felt fear stiffen their hearts.


    Whoooosh.


    Reykar began to sharply p his wings, thus creating a terrifying purple tornado. This wind could cut into pieces even the strongest creatures of the second rank, this tornado would destroy everything here.


    In one second, all the summoned creatures were swallowed up and destroyed by the fierce wind. This tornado was more like a million des than a sucking stream of wind. It sliced through the summoned creatures and destroyed them instantly.


    The light mages didn''t know what to do, Creators tried to stop the tornado with their spells, but they failed.


    At that moment, Sara''s loud voice was heard, "Everyone to me! Now!"


    The ring on her hand glowed with a bright, yellow light, and arge amount of golden energy appeared in front of her.


    As all the light mages ran up to Sara, the golden energy quickly transformed into arge, round shield with the sun''s image on it. It was a protective spell of Amplification Magic - "Shield of the Sun."


    Furthermore, everyone behind this shield felt themselves getting better, and the many wounds they had received in the battle with Evan began to heal quickly.


    Bam.


    The Reykar tornado was not capable of destroying this shield. Itcked power. The tornado continued spinning furiously, but not even a few cracks appeared on the golden shield.


    "Hey, Reykar, use your most powerful attack. We''re going to burn the hell out of them." Said Evan.


    He quickly drank two potions, one of which restored his blood supply and the other restored his wounds.


    During the battle, Magma Blood had already heated to a fever pitch. The entire de was covered in crimson blood, and the high temperature made the blood boil. The de was so hot that the air burned, and space was distorted.


    Now Evan was using the 5-star weapon skill for the first time. He was finally able to heat the de to the right temperature.


    Evan poured in some mana, and the Magma Blood de ignited. But, with each second, the bright me grew darker and denser. In time, the scythe de began to look like it was covered by a thickyer of magma bubbling in the bowels of the.


    At this time, Reykar had already finished his preparations. A huge amount of energy gathered at its beak and turned into a purple sphere the size of arge boulder.


    Evan gave the signal, after which he swung the scythe twice, forming one X-shaped magma de in the air.


    Then Reykar shot a deadly beam toward the golden shield as well.

 Chapter 284 - The Prince, Second Version

    X-shaped magma de and a Reykar beam copsed on the golden shield in an instant along with the vortex. Moreover, the purple vortex absorbed some of the magma des and lit up in bright mes.


    Crackling.


    The golden shield could not withstand such an onught, and a few secondster, there were many cracks in it.


    Sara frowned and shouted loudly, "Defend yourselves!"


    The next moment, the light mages cast a multitude of protective spells. Several stone, ice, and even iron walls and barriers appeared in front of them. But, there was nothing else they could do.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion that shook the entire cave system. The tornado was destroyed, but the ming des of wind flew in all directions. They pierced several people and severely wounded them.


    The protective walls were destroyed and the magma des easily burned through the stone words of the cave.


    However, although most of the mages were wounded, no one died. Evan''s attack was incredibly powerful for a man who had just reached - Two-Pointed Star stage. But, his opponents were far from weak.


    Each of them was a member of a very powerful light organization. Most of the light mages there were stronger than Evan, judging by their stages. Moreover, they had survived many dangerous battles and had greatbat experience. Their equipment was also among the best. Many of them wore 3-star quality armor.


    Sara put her palm to the floor and cast another spell. She understood that they could not fight Evan with such wounds. Potions could not heal such burns and cuts quickly enough. Sara had to deal with the problem herself.


    Whooosh.


    Suddenly a massive magical circle with a sun sign in the center appeared on the ground. It glowed brightly, and the wounds of the light mages began to heal gradually. But, two casts of such powerful spells in a row put a tremendous strain on Sara''s body.


    When the magic circle was gone, she was breathing heavily, and everything in front of her eyes was blurry. Healing a single scratch on a mage''s body at the Two-Pointed Star stage was far more difficult than regrowing a limb for a mere human. The higher the strength of the creature, the more serious its wounds werepared to others.


    It took Sara some time to recover, but she had aplished her mission. To heal so many mages at the stage - Two-Pointed Star in just a couple of seconds - was quite an aplishment.


    "Attack!" A member of the Tear of Light said loudly, and a host of mages attacked Evan.


    <Damn. At this rate, we''re not getting anywhere. Reykar even used his special skill, but this girl was able to make things right. There''s a reason she''s a mage on the Two-Pointed Star stage with three mes. If she were weaker, it would not be normal. Okay, it''s time to fight in earnest.> Evan thought and decided to activate one of the Sigils.


    Before several spells were about to descend upon him, he muttered quietly, "Sigil 70 Demon - Prince Seere, level two, activation."


    In an instant, Evan was in Nirvana, where the demon he had summoned was already waiting for him.


    Prince Seere was still as incredibly handsome as ever. His snow-white skin, ck hair, and green eyes gave him a noble aura. This time his horse was not with him. He floated serenely through space, and his hair fluttered to the sides.


    "I need speed and strength. I must be as fast as lightning to kill them." Evan said calmly.


    For most of the battle, Evan only dodged and couldn''t attack properly because there were too many opponents. They wouldn''t let Evan do anything. Only thanks to Reykar and his tornado was Evan able to make a powerful attack.


    Whooosh.


    Suddenly Prince Seere turned upside down and said, "Okay, show them how far the light is from noble. Five years."


    Evan smiled, he hadn''t expected the price to be so low.


    <Mage on Stage - Two-Pointed Star is really on a whole other level. I thought I''d have to give at least ten years of my life.>


    Even for an ordinary human, five years of my life was not a critical loss. It was quite a lot and tangible, but it was a triflepared to twenty or thirty years. But, mages lived many times longer than humans.


    After Evan broke through his third Barrier at the One-Pointed Star stage, his life expectancy increased to 650 years, not counting the sacrificed years of life. But, after he broke through the - Two-Pointed Star stage, his life expectancy increased significantly. It was now 900 years.


    Given that sacrifice of five years, Evan had already sacrificed a total of 236 years of life. That was a lot, it could bepared to more than two ordinary human lives. But,pared to 900 years, it wasn''t much. Even with that sacrifice, Evan still had 664 years of life left. With that much, he could, for now, not worry about dying because of therge number of victims.


    "Good." Evan calmly replied, and the demon nodded.


    The life force was sucked out of Evan, and the same hairpin appeared on his head as Prince Seere.


    The hairpin looked like two raised wings, but they didn''t signify angelic strength or a desire to approach the light. Those wings meant glory and nobility.


    The next moment Evan emerged from Nirvana, and abundant demonic energy began to emanate from his body. Certain changes began to happen to Evan.


    He became a little taller, and his hair became long enough to reach his waist. Moreover, his ck hair turned white, and his amethyst eyes became lighter and brighter.


    Hairpin glowed brightly, and to everyone present, Evan became a blurry blur. A white plume emanated from his hair, and Evan looked like a white lightning bolt.


    He instantly dodged dozens of spells and blocked several attacks. It wasn''t just the speed at which Evan could move from point to the point that increased. His reactions and reflexes also went to another level.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan turned into a blur once more, and a momentter, the heads of the three mages fell to the ground.

 Chapter 285 - Speed

    Considering Evan''s physical stats and Ghost Step. His speed was already incredible, but after receiving the power from Prince Seere, this parameter went to a new level.


    Some members of the Tear of Light didn''t even see Evan''s movements, all they could do was somehow try to defend themselves. Moreover, Evan would wave his hand every few seconds, and Death Feathers Fan would unleash dozens of explosive feathers on the light mages.


    The members of the Tears of Light didn''t know what to do. In less than fifteen seconds, Evan had already killed three mages and seriously wounded several.


    At that moment, Sara said loudly, "Hey, have you called for backup yet? This guy needs to be killed here and now."


    Sara still couldn''t fight. She needed some time to recover. Moreover, she could no longer heal or protect anyone. She just didn''t have the mana. She barely had time to notice Evan''s movements, lest she put her neck under his scythe.


    One of the Tears of Light members quickly replied, "No, but you don''t have to. As far as I know, there''s someone else toe here. This mage has never let us down."


    "What? Who else needs toe here? Aren''t sixteen people enough to handle the Meteorite Golems and take the Meteorite ss?" Sara didn''t understand the reason someone else from the Tear of Light had toe here.


    "Without this persona, we will spend too much time killing these Meteorite Golems. It would take incredible power to break through their protective covering. If Evan Lynch hadn''t shown up, we would have had to prepare for the attack and wait for that person. But given how much time has passed, our ally should being soon." The man replied.


    "How strong is this mage?" Sara asked.


    "Enough, you should only know that this mage has never failed a task given to him and has never broken any rules. As you know, there are so many strict rules in the Tears of Light, this mage is a true role model." With a little pride in his voice, the man said.


    Sara asked no more questions and focused on Evan. Even if the backup was on the way, they were not to rx.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan plunged a red-hot de into one of the mages and burned him alive. Evan already had four kills to his credit.


    <This power is really amazing, but I get tired very quickly. I need to kill as many people as possible, then put Reykar in the front line. That way, I get some rest.>


    The demon took five years of Evan''s life and gave him power, and that was the end of their deal. But, moving so fast, even for a short time, was too detrimental to Evan''s stamina. It seemed to him that every step he took could bepared to a jerk of a hundred meters. He could feel his legs gradually beginning to ache.


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s Crimson Warp spun, and a purple magic circle appeared in front of his palm. The next moment a purple sphere formed in the center of the magic circle, and a massive beam shot toward the light mages. Evan cast - One-Eyed Raven''s Beam.


    After this spell became the second level, it became much stronger. The beam got a little bigger, and the energy in it became denser. But, the most interesting thing happened after increasing Awareness to level two.


    Before, several sharp feathers appeared around the beam, piercing its victim through and through. But Evan couldn''t control them. Now the situation was slightly different.


    There were fewer feathers, and now only three feathers appeared around the beam. But, they elerated so fast that they turned into a semnce of a beam after a second. What''s more, Evan could control them to some extent, notpletely, but he could change direction by a few degrees.


    So the massive beam flew toward one Amplifier and three sharp feathers at the three Summoners behind him.


    Booom.


    Reykar also decided to help Evan and additionally shot his beam at these Summoners. Amplifier in front of Evan was armed with a shield and a sword. He tried to defend against the beam flying in his direction.


    His shield was 3-star quality and could withstand most second level spells without any damage. But when One-Eyed Raven''s Beam reached the shield, there were many cracks in it.


    "What the!" Shouted the man looking at the crumbling shield.


    The next moment he saw a white sh, and then the magma-covered de of the scythe cut through his shield like a sheet of paper.


    Evan twisted the scythe in his hand so that the de was at the bottom. Then, with one sharp up-and-down stroke, he sliced through the man''s armor and belly. The red-hot magma roasted him alive.


    <Great, that''s the fifth one. There''s not much left. Evan thought and dashed toward the three Summoners Reykar was fighting.>


    The raven was wounded, but it wasn''t critical. One of his four wings was bleeding, but Reykar would survive even if all his wings and paws were torn off. He was a thrice-evolved monster, and his survivability was beyond human and mageprehension.


    Evan turned into a white sh again, dodging the spells flying at him at the same time. He cast Ball Lighting and quickly turned the blue bolts of lightning into the red.


    Boom.


    The red charge flew toward the Summoners, and there was a deafening explosion. One of them died instantly, and two were seriously injured. Evan wasn''t going to give them a chance to survive, so he quickly cut their heads off.


    Evan had already killed eight light mages, and there were just as many more to go. But, suddenly, his hair began to shorten and gradually turn ck.


    This meant that he still had about thirty seconds left before the power of 70 Demon - Prince Seerepletely dried up.


    <Okay, that should be enough.> Evan thought.


    The de on his scythe burst into bright mes, and Evan created a huge magma de with one swing. It quickly reached several mages and sliced them in two.


    Magma Blood was a 5-star weapon, so it was no surprise that 3-star armor was next to nothing for a weapon of this level.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    By the time his hair and eyes were back to normal, Evan had killed most of the light mages.. There were only three left against him, one of whom was Sara.

 Chapter 286 - Rage

    Evan was tired, but he still had the strength to fight.


    <So it''s one against three? Well, at least it''s a lot better than one against sixteen.> Evan pondered to himself as he looked at his opponents.


    Besides Sara, one Creator and Amplifier was left on the stage, a Two-Pointed Star with one me.


    They suffered less in this battle than the others, for they were stronger and more skilled than the others. Moreover, by coincidence, they were not hit by Evan''s and Reykar''s massive attacks.


    Evan prepared for the fight, but suddenly one man said, "Evan, do you have any idea what kind of situation you''re in and what you''re doing?"


    "§¡? What do you mean what kind of situation I was in? I just decided to finish off a couple of light mages. The rest isn''t that important." Evan replied gruffly. He wasn''t in the mood to talk to any of them.


    "Pfft, you''re a real fool. You killed thirteen members of the Tear of Light. You can''t live the past life anymore. Even if you escape from here by some miracle, our people will be looking all over The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes for you. Your days are numbered." The man said harshly.


    "Escape? Are you a fool? I''ll just kill you all and be done with it." Proimed Evan and was about to attack them, but suddenly the ground trembled.


    Their battle didn''tst long, but it was enough to make the Meteorite Golems lose their patience. Usually, these monsters behaved very passively and only attacked if someone attacked them.


    But they could no longer tolerate outsiders in their home.


    One of the Meteorite Golems decided to attack the members of the Tear of Light. The monster decided to attack them for a very simple reason-they were in the majority, and therefore more trouble was to be expected from them. The Meteorite Golems thought rather primitively, which suited their appearance and character.


    No one had expected such a turn of events. One of the Tears of Light members prepared to defend himself, and Evan wanted to take advantage of the situation and attack one of them. But, suddenly, he saw a blurry silhouette appear in the air in front of the Meteorite Golem.


    Sara blinked and saw an incredible sight. Half of Meteorite Golem''s body was gone.


    Unlike Sara and Evan, the two remaining members of the Tears of Light understood what had just happened.


    Bam.


    Half of the Meteorite Golems body fell to the ground with a crash.


    Before him, Evan saw a short, frail-looking girl with blond, short hair and green eyes. Strands of hair barely reached her chin. On her forehead was a tattoo in the shape of three blobs.


    She was dressed in a tight white shirt with long sleeves and tight pants. She wore ck gloves with loose fingers on her hands.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze. He sensed that this girl was incredibly dangerous.


    [Ein Crypt


    Race - Mage


    Rank - Two-Pointed Star, with three mes on the tform


    Warp - Purple]


    <She is at the same stage as Sara, but obviously, she is much stronger. There''s no way Sara could have killed Meteorite Golem in one hit, considering the monster just came out of anabiosis.> Evan thought.


    Ein looked at Evan with a cold face, then at the corpses of the members of the Tear of Light beside him, and then at the surviving mages.


    She walked over to one of the surviving members of the Tear of Light and...


    p.


    Gave one of them a powerful p. It was so strong that the man instantly lost a couple of teeth. However, he didn''t dare say a word.


    Ein calmly said, "You were ordered to wait for me toe and not to engage in any fighting. You disobeyed the rules and now look what happened. We lost more than ten of our men. When we get back, you will be punished severely and by the rules."


    They could only nod. Ein was much stronger than they were, not even Sara was her equal. Even though they were at the same stage, Ein was an unreachable level for her. She was one of the geniuses recently nurtured by the leadership of the Tears of Light.


    Then Ein turned around, looked intently at Evan, and with a little regret in her voice, said, "Eh, you''re pretty cute. If you had joined the Tears of Light instead of going to the dark side of this world, you and I would have had a pretty good romance."


    Sara and the members of the Tear of Light were surprised by such words. Evan, on the other hand, didn''t even hear them. At that moment, his whole mind was focused on Ein''s words.


    <Rules... all ording to the rules. Evan thought to himself.


    He was in some strange trance into which he had put himself because of his subconscious. That one word had haunted him all his past life.


    Realizing that Evan had no intention of talking, Ein decided to act. Regardless of her words or actions, her facial expression remained unemotional. None of the members of the Tear of Light had ever seen her smile or frown.


    She began to do a little bounce. Then she turned into a blur and reached Evan in less than a split second.


    Only then did hee to his senses and try to dodge the blow, but he didn''t have time for that. In that situation, it was impossible to dodge the fist of Ein.


    Bam.


    Ein punched Evan in the chest with all her might. The incredible force of the blow sent Evan flying sideways and into the stone wall. He threw up a mouthful of blood, and Scarlet Sacrifice was half destroyed. That armor was no longer of any value.


    A single blow destroyed the armor and broke several of Evan''s ribs, and many cracks went through Evan''s chest.


    Ein slowly walked over to Evan and said, "Get up. I don''t believe this is all you can do."


    Evan only calmly replied, "Tell me, what do the rules mean to you?"


    Ein wasn''t confused by the question, and she quickly replied, "All rules are absolute. They create order, without them, we are no better than monsters."


    "Even if most rules are stupid, unfair, unnecessarily cruel, and irrational?"


    "Yes," Ein replied coldly.


    "I see," Evan replied calmly.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    The next moment Ein felt an incredible pressure on her, and Evan''s eyes filled with blood.


    "Then, know my WRATH!" Ewan''s voice rumbled.


    [Sin - Wrath opened]


    [Dragon Sigil Received]

 Chapter 287 - Red

    After the messages appeared, Evan''s aura increased several times. Changes began to ur in the dark space. Opposite the ck lion and the giant rat, a colossal-sized creature appeared. It was a sleeping, red dragon.


    A few seconds after it appeared, its eyes opened, and a terrifying aura began to emanate from it. At the same moment, a red Pir wrapped in crimson chains fell from above. Everything was happening exactly as it had on previous asions, but now Evan was in the heat of battle. His wrath was only gathering momentum.


    Anger was one of the most vivid emotions. In a fit of anger, most people did or said things they wouldn''t do in other situations. Of course, anger had many disadvantages, a person who sumbed to rage could make critical and irreparable mistakes. Such a powerful force could not have only positive effects. But, if one''s goals coincided with his goals during anger, he gained incredible power. It was not anger that had to control a person and make him act, but the person had to be at the helm.


    When Evan received the Dragon Sigil, he felt the power overwhelm him. Every aspect of him was enhanced, from physical strength and reflexes to spell power and intelligence. The stronger Evan''s anger was, the stronger he became. This was the passive effect of the Dragon Sigil.


    Crackle.


    Evan stood up abruptly and punched Ein in the stomach with his fist. The girl barely had time to react and block that powerful blow. She flew back a few meters but managed to lose her bnce.


    Ein looked at the bruise on her arm and thought to herself, <I doubt he was that strong a few minutes ago. Otherwise, he would have killed everyone in a few blows. What''s more, now he looks more like a monster than a man. Those eyes can really inspire fear.>


    Crackle.


    Evan walked slowly toward Ein. Every step he took a left a deep dent in the ground, and you could hear the hard rock crack and turn into tiny shards.


    Ein''sst attack had destroyed half of Scarlet Sacrifice. So Evan decided to get rid of this useless armor. In one motion, he crumpled the 4-star armor like a piece of paper and tossed it aside. Then his spatial ring glowed, and his past ck cloak appeared on it. It couldn''t protect him from any attacks, but Evan didn''t need protection at that moment.


    His anger gradually increased with each step, but Evan wasn''t going to resist or control it. That anger was what he wanted at that moment.


    Whooosh.


    Warp Ein spun, and electrical discharges appeared around her palms. She had not used any spells before and had fought, relying only on her own power.


    "You know, I like sensible and calm guys, just because of a couple of words, you went off like a little girl," Ein said calmly.


    Evan smirked and answered her, "Just words? No, they''re not just words. They''re a whole ideology of one of the worlds. And I am the chief hater of that ideology."


    Whooosh.


    The next moment Evan turned into a blur and attacked Ein. The girl did the same, and a split secondter, their fists reached each other.


    A shockwave spread out from their impact, and many cracks went through the walls of the cave. If anyone had been within a few centimeters of that impact, they would have been turned into a pancake.


    Ein had abnormal physical strength, as did Evan. But, now it was all about desire and emotion.


    Whooosh.


    A red aura appeared around Ewan''s fist, and at that moment, Ein felt her attack suppressed by the momentum emitted by Ewan''s punch.


    Ein flew sideways with a bullet, and half of her body was buried in the walls of the cave. Ein''s right arm was broken. The bone was partially shattered and dislocated.


    Realizing that even Ein could not cope because of Evan''s suddenly increased strength, Sara decided to help Ein.


    She had regained some strength and had time to use a couple of mana crystals by this point. She had enough mana to cast a healing spell to help Ein.


    Whoooosh.


    Her Warp spun, and a golden magic circle appeared beneath Ein. It was slowly but surely healing her arm. However, it would take about a minute to heal fully, and Evan wouldn''t give her that time.


    "Hey, is it polite to interfere in our battle?" Evan said in an eerie voice, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Sara.


    Sara put her arms out in front of her trying to block Evan''s attacks, but...


    <What? Why can''t I block his blow? > Sara thought, only beginning to realize that her arms were already severed and her wounds charred.


    "How?" muttered Sara in fear the moment Evan''s palm mmed into her chest.


    "You''re just pathetic trash. Stay out of my way." Evan said coldly and ripped Sara''s heart out and crushed it.


    Sara was strong by the standards of mages at the stage - a Two-Pointed Star with three mes on her tform, but the concepts of strength and firepower should not have been confused. Sara acted as a support and did her job perfectly. It was tough to find a healer as skilled as she is.


    But, the moment she ran out of mana and her powers were running out, she simply didn''t stand a chance against Evan. If Sara was the epitome of support, Evan was the most powerful attacker here.


    The two remaining members of the Tears of Light were horrified by the scene they saw. They stepped aside in fear and hoped that Evan would ignore them.


    Crackling.


    Ein broke through part of the cave with a blow to the forehead and thus freed herself. After Sara''s death, her healing spell was undone, so Ein''s arm did not have time to recover fully. However, the shattered parts had time to heal.


    She looked at her dangling arm and muttered, "What is that strange feeling? Is it pain?"


    Ein was puzzled. She quickly set her arm back and clenched her palm into a fist, and said, "How unusual, nothing has ever made me feel pain before. It is interesting."


    "Stop muttering to yourself." Said Evan, slowly pacing toward Ein.


    "How stern you are," Ein said calmly. "But, I agree that it''s time to take it to a higher level."


    "Art of Archangels, Barachiel Chronicle, first level - Gloves of Thunder!"

 Chapter 288 - Pain And Pleasure

    When Ein cast the spell, a huge amount of divine energy began to emanate from her body. The spell she cast could only be learned by certain members of the Tears of Light.


    They had to pass a test and prove their loyalty to the organization. After that, they were allowed to choose the secret spells that suited them. But, that was only the beginning. The biggest challenge was learning the spells that were part of the Art of the Archangels.


    It took many mages at least several months to learn their chosen spell. But, Ein did it in a few days. In that respect, she was special, magic was no more difficult for her than homework at school.


    Crackle.


    Arge number of blue lightning bolts appeared on Ein''s hands, which quickly transformed into gloves. It wasn''t a gear, it was a spell that caused electrical charges topress and interact with each other.


    "That looks menacing." Said Evan eager for a fight.


    Ein answered nothing and folded her palms together, then poured in some mana. A huge electric sphere began to appear in front of her hands. She was serious. She was going to kill Evan with this attack.


    Evan smirked and said, "Well, okay, let''s have some fun!"


    The next moment, one of the sigils on his body lit up. This time he used the power of a 69 demon, Marquis Decarabia.


    A yellow magical circle with the image of a star appeared in front of Evan. With each passing second, the energy increased, and the magic circle was ready to fire at any moment.


    Evan had grown considerably stronger sincest time, so now he paid only two years of his life for the power. Considering Evan''s overall lifespan, that was a trifle.


    Whooosh.


    Evan and Ein attacked, and the golden and electric rays instantly reached each other. This attack could injure even a creature of the third rank, so the cave they were in began to copse gradually.


    An enormous crater formed in the center of the explosion, and dozens of wide cracks went through the entire room.


    However, Evan and Ein werepletely unharmed. The st wave did not cause any damage to them.


    <What was that spell? How could he suppress it?> Ein thought, looking at Evan. She couldn''t believe that some mage on the Two-Pointed Star stage with no mes on his tform could have such power.


    Evan''s strength, though, was a surprise to himself.


    <I didn''t expect the beam to be so powerful. It''s definitely because of the effect of the Dragon Sigil. I''m so pissed at this girl, I want to crush her like the light mages in my past world>. Evan thought to himself and dashed off toward Ein.


    The girl elerated as well, and a secondter, they both turned into shes of light: ck and blue.


    Evan and Ein exchanged dozens of blows in just a few seconds. And their attacks had already destroyed several rooms and killed a couple of Meteorite Golems.


    Bam.


    Ein pped Evan with all her might and tossed him aside calmly, saying, "I wonder why you got so angry after I told you that rules are everything to me, regardless of their purpose, justice, and so on."


    Whooosh.


    As soon as she had finished speaking, several rays flew toward her, which Ein easily repulsed with a simple wave of her hands.


    Evan looked at her fiercely and said, "You''re stupid. Rules like that take away all freedom from human action. Without freedom, there is no point in living. Without freedom, people be puppets, and the world begins to stagnate."


    Whooosh.


    He swung the scythe, and the magma de flew toward Ein.


    "How could you even know that?" Said Ein and cast another spell. Electric charges built up in her hands, and she threw a bolt of lightning toward the magma de.


    There was a deafening explosion, and part of the cave was destroyed.


    "Believe me, I know this better than anyone. I''ve seen empires obey idiotic rules and people be more like gutless puppets. But that''s not what makes me angry. Somehow, over time, these people begin to think that if they choose to obey the rules, so should the rest of us. They try to encroach on the freedom of others and take it away. But, even the gods have no right to set rules for me. I do what I want!"


    "So the rules are an obstacle for you? Frankly, I don''t understand you. When there are clear rules, all you have to do is follow them. Then there won''t be any surprises and surprises. Everyone will know exactly what they have to do and what can happen in this or that case. If one obeys the rules, life is simple and painless." Ein said, puzzled.


    "You''re right. If one obeys the rules, one will definitely live out the rest of one''s life. But, that means that you will spend your life following the will of others. And most importantly, a foregone life and understandable oues are too boring. That kind of life is even worse than death!" Evan''s voice rumbled, and it reached Ein in a sh.


    She attacked Ewan, but he blocked her punch and punched her in the stomach. Ein didn''t even flinch and tried to counterattack, but by then Evan had already dropped her to the floor.


    He grabbed her by the neck and began choking her, "Before you die in agony, I''ll tell you one more thing about the rules. There is no pleasure in obeying the rules. What''s the point of living if nothing can make your blood boil and keep you ecstatic? The rules don''t even allow you to step outside the box and find that feeling."


    Evan squeezed his hands harder, and Ein''s neck was about ready to break as suddenly the lightning gloves exploded and tossed Evan aside.


    Ein quickly ran to the side, grabbed the two remaining members of the Tears of Light, and ran off. She knew that if they continued to fight, she would surely die.


    "Ran away. Well, it''s harvest time." Said an already calmer Evan looking at the many brown spheres lying on the ground. This was Meteorite ss.


    ...


    "Miss Ein, thank you so much for saving us!" Said one of the surviving members of the Tear of Light.


    He dreaded imagining what Evan would have done to him if Ein hadn''t led them away from the cave.


    "Miss Ein? Are you all right?" The light mage asked. It seemed to him that there was something wrong with Ein. She was trembling and muttering something to herself.


    The next moment Ein turned around. The man was shocked. It was the first time he had ever seen Ein smile. Moreover, her smile was somehow unnatural and even creepy.


    "AHAHAHAH looks like he was right. Now I understand what pleases me, I can feel my blood drilling. This pain, ah, it''s a true pleasure." Said Ein holding her hands to her neck. Her neck was all bruised from Evan''s tight grip.


    "What''s happening to you?"


    Ein licked her lips and said, "More, I want more, it''s not enough, I''ve never felt better, pleasurees first."


    Whooosh.


    The next moment she turned into a blur and grabbed her two subordinates by the heads.


    Bam.


    She mmed them against each other with all her might, causing the heads to explode.


    "What? That''s not it...why don''t I feel anything?" Ein was puzzled. Killing these two and hurting them did not give her any pleasure.


    Ein tried to find a reason for this. She didn''t want to part with the feeling.


    Suddenly the scene of Evan strangling her appeared in her mind, and there was not an ounce of pity in his eyes.. At that moment, many goosebumps went all over Ein''s body.

 Chapter 289 - Preparation

    When Ein escaped, Evan decided to collect Meteorite ss and the heads of the dead members of the Tear of Light. During their battle, Eva and Ein had destroyed arge number of Meteorite Golems, so Evan didn''t need to hunt. Dozens of round spheres were lying on the floor, waiting for someone to pick them up.


    <Hmm, Dorlus asked me to bring him the heads of all the members of the Tear of Light, but two of them escaped. Dorlus didn''t know that with the Tears of Light would Sara and Ein. Hopefully, Sara''s head will rece the two heads of the Tear of Light shuttles.>


    Evan could not show Magma Blood to Dorlus. After all, this weapon was transformed because of Evan''s strange energy. It was a secret Evan wasn''t going to tell anyone. At least not until he himself understood exactly what his energy did and how to control it.


    Moving his heads and Meteorite ss into his spatial ring, Evan reflected on the fight that had urred. It was the first time he had encountered members of the strongest light organization in this kingdom, and he had seen many interesting things.


    <To be honest, this group wasn''t that strong. However, I''m incredibly strong for my stage. Probably the reason for that, moreover I was helped by Reykar and had 5-star weapons. It''s not unusual for me to be able to deal with them under those conditions. But, I still had to sacrifice a few years of my life to the demons. If they had been a little stronger, I would have died>.


    Equipment was an important part of any battle. If the strength of the two mages were roughly equal, the oue of their battle would be decided by many factors. But, it would mostly depend on luck, terrain, and equipment. A mage with 5-star quality armor and weapons would easily deal with another mage with worse equipment.


    <But it''s the girl, Ein. She''s insanely strong. Perhaps she has some special body constitution. Her physical strength is abnormal. Even having cast Lucifer Shackles, I could barely match her. She has three mes on her tform, though, and I have zero. Maybe I was overconfident.>


    Whooosh.


    Evan chopped off Sara''s head and moved it into his ring.


    <But what''s more, she used a spell that gave off a great deal of divine energy. She called it the Art of the Archangels. I think this is the power with which they fight against the Demonic Tree. The Art of the Archangels serves to counter the Art of the Seven Princes of Hell.> Evan thought.


    When Ein cast one of the Art of the Archangels spells, her power increased several times. Only thanks to the Dragon Sigil and his anger could Evan fight Ein on an equal footing. Moreover, he had to use the power of the 69th demon, Marquis Decarabia. The power of Ein''s spell stunned him. He had expected the Art of the Seven Princes of Hell that the members of the Demonic Tree were used to give him even more power.


    <I got another Sin and Sigil again. Is it possible that I somehow got a secret power that even Demonic Tree hasn''t found yet?> thought Evan.


    He wasn''t stupid, and given Rave''s story about the basic Seven Princes of Hell, Evan understood that Sin was Wrath matched a demon - Satan.


    <Hmm, it turns out that the ck lion represents Lucifer, the giant rat with the golden eyes represents Mammon, and the red dragon with the terrifying aura is Satan>. Evan thought.


    He knew that Rave mostly used spells from the Chronicles of Satan, and he wondered which spell he would get. Moreover, Evan was aware that this spell would not be like the Rave and the other members of the Demonic Tree use.


    When Evan collected fourteen heads: 13 members of the Tear of Light and 1 member of Golden Glow, he headed toward Darkfil. Evan collected a total of eleven Meteorite ss spheres and the same number of rank two Monster Core.


    Furthermore, he took all of the light members'' spherical rings for himself. Evan also took some Stone Lilies. He didn''t know how much they were worth, but he saw no reason to keep them here. There was plenty of room in his ring.


    Evan quickly returned to his riding beast. Evan had to swim in the icy water again and break the thickyer of ice. As Evan flew back to Darkfil he realized that he had too little time. He had many things to do, and he only had a year to do them all. It clearly wasn''t enough.


    <Darn it, I need to pick and learn second level spells. I need to get busy experimenting, and I also need to start creating my spell. What''s more, I need to start Creation and unlocking the chains on all the pirs avable to me. All of this is impossible to aplish in the one year that Rave gave me.> Evan thought.


    Evan didn''t like this situation, but he quickly found a solution. After he gives Meteorite ss and the heads of the light mages to Dorlus, Evan sets up ab and goes to one of the Demonic Tree bases.


    Evan knows where that ce is because Avice told him about it. The base Evan has to go to is near Vextin and Darkfil.


    But, first, he would wait for Kilia toe to him. He had to let her know and learn about what the newbies do in the Demonic Tree. Evan wanted to visit the Demonic Tree library, choose second level spells, and do some progression and experimentation.


    Once he was done with his business, he would take an active part in Demonic Tree activities. His own goals were and would always be paramount. Everything else faded into the background.


    ...


    A few dayster, Evan returned to Darkfil. Dorlus was waiting for him and when he saw him, he invited him into his office.


    Evan dumped out a few spatial rings, fourteen heads of light mages, and all the Meteorite ss, as well as the Stone Lilies he had collected.


    On his return, Evan checked what was in the spatial rings but found nothing of value or uniqueness there.. He decided that the best thing he could do was to sell it all.

 Chapter 290 - The Towers Furnishings

    "Hmm, someone managed to escape?" Said Dorlus. ording to his figures, the members of the Tear of Light should be fifteen, but there were fourteen heads on the table. To some extent, he was right, for three members of the Tears of Light, given Ein had managed to escape. True, none of them knew that only Ein remained alive.


    "No one escaped. You were wrong." Evan said coldly. He wasn''t going to talk about what really happened in those caves. Dorlus had given Evan unreliable information, and he was going to take advantage of it.


    "What do you mean?" Dorlus asked.


    Evan pointed at Sara''s head and said, "First of all, there were not fifteen, but fourteen. But, there were only thirteen members of the Tear of Light, and they also had this girl with them. She''s a member of Gold Glow and was at the stage - Two-Pointed Star with three mes."


    Dorlus wondered. He hadn''t expected that more than just the members of the Tear of Light would go after Meteorite ss.


    "I owe you an apology. It seems my informants were mistaken, I must say that this is extremely rare. I got you into a deadly situation because of me." Said Dorlus.


    He could know nothing of what happened at Stone Seeds. Moreover, even though the information was wrong, Evanplied with his request and was even able to kill such a powerful mage.


    "Okay, let''s drop that point. I came here to sell all these items and give you the Meteorite ss. I''ll keep the sks as well as the weapons you lent me. I hope there''s no problem with that?" Said Evan.


    Dorlus nodded and said, "Sure, I''ll quickly assess all the items now."


    Evan nodded.


    After a couple of minutes, Dorlus handed Evan five million gold coins. That was the exact amount the items in the spatial rings, and Meteorite ss were worth. Evan was pleased, 5 million gold coins was a lot of money.


    "Dorlus, I have a favor to ask of you. I want to buy something unusual. I need it brought to my tower in three days. I''ll have all the rooms set up by then." Evan said calmly.


    "Have you decided to add something else to your enormous list? Sure, go ahead. I can get all kinds of tools and gadgets." Dorlus replied quickly.


    "I need ..."


    "Oh, interesting order you have, I''ll do everything, no problem."


    ...


    For the next three days, Evan set up the tower and theb. Dorlus delivered everything he needed before Evan even went to get Meteorite ss.


    Evan furnished the rooms with various furniture, tools, decorations, and so on. All of the things were in the same rings. So even though Evan ordered so much stuff that it would be impossible to fit it into a four story house. Everything fit into a couple of rings. This way, it was very convenient to deliver and sell anything.


    Evan had a lot of money, so he ordered the best and highest quality stuff. If nothing happened, he would stay in that tower for several years at least. The experiment would take a very long time, and it wasn''t easy to create his own spell. So he paid ten million gold coins for all the materials. It was an incredible sum for which he could easily buy an entire vige.


    There were a total of two underground floors in the abandoned tower, not counting the top floor. Fortunately, they wererge enough and ambitious enough. Several rooms Evan had set up for himself. There he would sleep, eat, and also train. Moreover, Evan ordered a huge amount of mana crystals and equipped several rooms for Creation.


    Arge number of rooms Evan set up for experiments. He even created a couple of operating rooms like Rave''s and several rooms for people and cages for monsters.


    In general, some of the underground floors Evan had set aside for his needs, and some for theb and test subjects.


    But, that was only part of it. Evan had to protect this tower from unexpected visitors. He didn''t know how long he would have to stay at the Demonic Tree base.


    Evan paid ten million gold coins for materials, tools, and furniture, but he gave twenty million for formations and spell scrolls. Evan decided to spare no expense and protect his main base as well as he could.


    He bought hundreds of formations and was going to install them around his tower. It took quite a bit of time, but it wasn''t difficult. They were ordinary but quality protective formations. Evan bought more than ten thousand stakes and gradually ced them around his perimeter, creating one formation after another.


    There was practically no limit to the number of formations one could install. But, many mages didn''t set the same formations because the efficiency dropped. But, Evan decided to ignore these rules. In his opinion, even if the efficiency decreased, it was not zero.


    So even though he set up about three hundred formations, there were only fifty types of formations.


    "Phew, that was hard, but even a mage at the - Three-Pointed Star stage will be hard to get in here now." Proimed Evan looking at the hundreds of barriers around his tower.


    Whoooosh.


    Suddenly Reykar appeared on Evan''s shoulder and flew up. He sat on top of the tower and looked around.


    "Looks like Reykar wanted to admire the view. By the way, I can do that too." Evan thought and cast Hell Vampire Wings.


    Wings of blood appeared on his back, and Evan soared upward. He couldn''t call the view beautiful and incredible. But, there was a charm to blizzards and snowy mountains.


    "§°? Looks like the Dorlus people are already here." Mumbled Evan as he looked at several vampires heading toward his tower.


    The vampires were on horseback and dragging a wagon covered in ck cloth behind them. A massive cage could be seen under the cloth.


    Evannded and greeted the vampires.


    "Mr. Evan, Dorlus told us to deliver this to you." Said one of the vampires.


    "Sure, thanks for the job." Said Evan and paid a million gold coins.


    Whereupon, the other vampires, detached the cage from the wagon and carried it into Evan''s tower.. He said goodbye to the vampires and closed the main gate, and headed for the cage.

 Chapter 291 - The Trial

    Evan walked over to the cage and removed the ck cloth covering it.


    "Well, hello there." Said Evan looking at those who were in that cage.


    Underneath it was ten young and beautiful girls. Some of them were trembling with fear, while others were surprisingly calm. Each of them had a different appearance, all of them somewhat unique. Some were small and cute, and some were tall and strong-looking. Evan picked out different variations for a more significant effect.


    He wasn''t going to use them for experiments, at least not yet. He wanted to use them to test one of his hypotheses. Evan would try to use them to awaken one of the Seven Deadly Sins - Lust.


    When he awakened Sin - Wrath in a recent battle and opened the Dragon Sigil, Evan realized that it had something to do with his emotions and desires. Sins didn''t just awaken because of coincidence. The catalyst for this event was Evan himself.


    Evan understood that it wasn''t that simple. After all, he had not awakened Sin - Greed when he made his first money. What''s more, he had awakened that Sin in a situation where the money had nothing to do with it. Of course, this was because one could be greedy not only for money and material goods.


    The same was true of Sin - Wrath. During the battle with Ein, Evan was furious, but it wasn''t the first time he was angry during a battle. When Evan fought in Half-Dead Forest against Reinier and used the power of the demon Prince Seere 70, Evan was also enraged. But, he didn''t get Sin - Wrath. The situation with getting Sin was only partially understandable.


    <If the Seven Deadly Sins correspond to the Seven Princes of Hell, then I didn''t get four other sins: Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. Of these sins, Envy and Sloth are the most problematic. I have no idea what I could envy enough to get Sin - Envy, and Sin - Sloth, I don''t understand what I have to do to get it. Perhaps nothing? In any case, it''s too obscure andplicated at the moment>. Evan thought.


    Unlike Envy and Sloth, Evan roughly understood how to awaken Gluttony and Lust. Evan decided to start with Lust since he thought it was the easiest Sin to awaken. Evan was sure that in order to discover Sin, Gluttony, just eating a hard breakfast would not be enough. He would have to eat and eat, even forcefully, and there was no guarantee that it would do him any good.


    The girls looked at Evan in silence and waited for his words.


    "There is no need to be afraid. I think many of you can guess what you''re here for. Think of it as me just wanting to take a break. Simply put, I will fuck you and enjoy your bodies. I won''t torture you, it''s too long." Evan said calmly.


    Some of the girls flinched, and some breathed a sigh of relief. They understood that this situation was much better than if they had fallen in with some maniac. They were all ves, so sex wasmonce for them.


    "Reykar," Evan said quietly, and a few secondster, a huge raven flew into the hall. The simple pping of its wings made the girls tremble.


    "Don''t try to escape. I don''t want to wait a few more days for someone to be brought to me instead of you. You were prepared for that anyway." Said Evan and walked over to the cage.


    This cage had no lock, this was done to eliminate any possibility of the girls escaping. If there was no door, it was impossible to get out.


    Whooosh.


    Evan''s Spatial ring glowed, and Magma Blood appeared in his hands. Evan swung and instantly sliced through the iron bars. The girls couldn''t even see anything.


    "My room, now," Evan said calmly and led the girls after him.


    "How should we address you?" Asked the tall, dark-skinned girl with long red hair.


    "Any way you want, you can call me by my name, my name is Evan, it''s not that important. Come in and take your clothes off." Said Evan opening the door to the room.


    This was the ce he had specially prepared for today. This room was every lover''s and pervert''s dream. It had everything they needed to fully enjoy each other. The most notable detail of this room was the massive bed. More than ten people could easily fit on it.


    The girls nodded and did as Evan ordered. He was right, they had been prepared for this long ago.


    Dorlus wasn''t just selling human girls to vampires to drink their blood. Many vampires wanted to know how good human girls were in bed. Moreover, such ve girls were often bought by vampire allies. Such trade was doomed to seed.


    But, unlike in most situations, girls were not the most marketablemodity. The main buyers were vampires, which was quite logical since Bloody Pearls was at the center of Darkfil.


    Female vampires had many times more libido than male vampires. They were true subi who could not quench their thirst. Therefore, Dorlus sold two or even three times as many male ves as females, and it was not umon for ves not to survive the first night. They were not eaten or killed, a mere human could not handle the stamina of a vampire.


    When everything was ready, Evan undressed and walked over to the girl who had asked the question before.


    Evan grabbed her by the neck and calmly asked, "What''s your name?"


    "Zaira..." Barely answered the girl.


    Evan controlled his strength, otherwise, he would have broken her neck. But, his grip was still strong enough that Zaira could hardly breathe.


    "Good, you''ll be the warm-up and dessert. Unlike the others, you have some fire and character in you." Said Evan and tossed Zaira on the bed.


    Evan grabbed Zaira by the hair and started using her however he wanted. He looked at the others and said, "Don''t you dare touch yourself. Just watch."


    Evan needed these girls as horny as possible.

 Chapter 292 - Trial Number Two

    Evan spent the next few days having fun with the girls. The girls, however, also enjoyed the process. They all had libidos, especially in an atmosphere like this, and it was hard to restrain them.


    These girls had been prepared for this from the beginning, so even the timidest girls were very excited after a few hours of listening to the moans of pleasure.


    Evan''s stamina as a mage at the Two-Pointed Star stage was many times greater than that of an ordinary human. So even ten girls could hardly quench his appetite.


    Evan did it to try to open Sin - Lust, but he also enjoyed it immensely. When the girls were exhausted, he used potions to bring them back.


    ...


    Evan sat on the edge of the bed with ten naked girls lying around him. Most of them were asleep, they were exhausted. Evan was smoking a cigar and with a disgruntled face.


    <It didn''t work out. As I thought, it wasn''t easy, but what''s the problem? These girls are wonderful. I was really turned on and really enjoying it. What''s more, I have noints about their skills either. Each of them is an excellent lover. But, even three days of uninterrupted sex did not bring any results.> Thought Evan was exhaling a puff of smoke.


    He didn''t usually smoke, but in this situation, he needed toe to his senses and calm down because of the failure.


    Suddenly Zaira wrapped her arms around his chest. She whispered sweetly in Evan''s ear, "Can we do it again?"


    To Evan''s surprise, she was much more resilient than the others. Even now, she was the only one who still had strength left.


    "I''m not in the mood to do you. Go downstairs and do it quietly." Evan said coldly. Zaira obediently nodded and did as he said.


    <Okay, I was ready for this anyway. I wouldn''t have time to experiment or make my own spell before Kilia arrived. So I can try something else. In the time remaining, I should try to open Sin - Gluttony>.


    ording to Evan''s calctions, Kilia should arrive in about a week. By then, it would be a month since herst visit.


    <I need food, lots of food, this is going to be very hard...>. Evan thought.


    When Zaira finished with her work, Evan got up, got dressed, and said, "Zaira, you are in charge now. If you want, you can leave, but if you decide to stay, you have to take care of this ce."


    Zaira wanted to say something, but Evan had already left. He went to Darkil, Evan was going to order all the food in all the restaurants in this big city. He would move the food into a spatial ring and then try to eat it all.


    ...


    To Evan''s surprise, the restaurants had food for every taste. Vampires were most fond of meat, blood, and of course, wine. So, he thought, the other type of food would be either none or very little.


    But, each ce had meat and fish dishes, as well as rare fruits and vegetables. Particrly popr with vampires was a fruit called Bloody Fruit. In its consistency, the juice of this fruit was 90% simr to blood. Taste and smell were also almost identical. Moreover, the juice of this fruit was alcoholic.


    Besides fruits and vegetables, vampires also liked berries, and the most favorite berry was grape. Evan found a lot of varieties of this berry in the ces he visited.


    When Evan went around more than thirty establishments, he looked at the food in his ring and thought to himself, <That much food even an entire army couldn''t eat and I have to devour it alone...it won''t be easy>.


    Evan spent over 200,000 gold coins in total on all these meals. He ordered only the tastiest and most unusual so that he could enjoy his meal as long as possible before he had to eat through effort.


    When Evan returned to the tower, he was surprised that none of the girls had left.


    <Hmm, well, there are constant blizzards in this area, and here they are warm and safe. Moreover, if they returned to Darkfil, they would suffer the same fate at best. Going to the nearest vige doesn''t make much sense. On some level, they made the best decision>. Evan thought.


    The only thing the girls could worry about was how Evan would treat them. He could very well kill them, and no one would do anything to him for it. He was the main and sole owner of everything in this tower.


    Evan paid no attention to the girls dusting the main hall and headed for the spacious room where he took all the food out of the spatial ring.


    "Alright, let''s get started." Mumbled Evan and proceeded to the first course.


    ...


    For the first time, Evan ate one dish after another with gusto and thoroughly enjoyed the process. But, after a couple of hours, Evan began to vomit. He held back and continued to eat despite all the difort. He was like a ck hole that greedily devoured anything that hit it.


    After about half a day, Evan took a bite of meat and broke the table apart with one blow.


    "Shit! I''ve eaten less in a lifetime. No, I''ve eaten less in two lifetimes than I have today, and still no results. Bitch." Yelled Evan.


    He wasn''t happy with the results he got, Evan thought opening Lust and Gluttony would be the easiest. But, he wouldn''t get any of it. Evan knew this was likely to happen, but he still couldn''t contain his anger.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and one of the girls entered the room. She bowed and said, "Mr. Evan, can I help you?"


    Saying this, she unbuttoned one button, partially exposing her breasts.


    Whoooosh.


    A green magic circle appeared beside her the next moment, and an ivy vine clutched the girl''s neck.


    "Listen to me carefully, I did not gather you for a harem but for an experiment. You are expendable material. If I want to take advantage of you, I will. But, you have no right to open your mouth. Do your job, and you''ll stay alive." Evan said harshly.


    He reversed the spell, and the girl fell to her knees, trembling.


    "I''m sorry." The girl whispered.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    Suddenly someone knocked on the door again. It was Zaira, and she stepped inside and said, "Mr. Evan, there''s someone to see you."


    The next moment Kilia came into the room and calmly said, "I didn''t think that the first thing you would decide to do would be to gather a harem. That''s none of my business, though. It''s time to hold up your end of the bargain."


    <One more... I''m certainly not going to exin it a second time.> Evan thought and headed silently to theb.


    On the way, he walked over to Zaira and said, "Clean this ce up." Evan pointed to the mountain of tes and various utensils that were left over from his snack.


    "I obey."


    When Evan and Kilia were in one of theb rooms, the girl said, "I see you''ve settled in quite nicely. Recruited some servants, bought some tools with protective formations, not bad."


    "That was kind of a pain in the ass." Said Evan and made a deep cut to himself with the scythe de.


    His blood quickly filled one of the liter sks. Then he handed the blood to Kilia.


    She was about to leave, but Evan suddenly stopped her, "Wait, I want to ask you something.

 Chapter 293 - Trust

    "What is it?" Asked Kilia.


    "Right after you leave, I''m going to go to the ce indicated to me to join the Demonic Tree. I want to ask you some questions." Calmly said Evan.


    "Mr. Rave told me you were busy with an experiment, did you decide to put it off forter?" Kilia asked.


    Evan nodded, "Yes, the one year that Rave gave me is not enough for me. I have other things to do, just like all of us."


    "I understand what you want to know?" Said Kilia. She didn''t mind answering Evan''s questions, but only because Rave was interested in Evan.


    A mere mage on the - Two-Pointed Star stage couldn''t get her attention. She was many times stronger.


    <Hmm, this guy has already reached that stage. It''s unbelievable. However, if by the time he was in our castle, he was already close to breaking his third Barrier, it''s not surprising>. Kilia thought.


    There weren''t many mages at the Two-Pointed Star stage in every organization. On the other hand, there were a huge number of thempared to the mages in the - Three-Pointed Star stage.


    "When I join the Demonic Tree, will I have to obey the orders of my elders? And if I have to, for how long?" Evan asked.


    He wanted to join the Demonic Tree, but he wanted to get resources from this organization and be stronger with it. He was particrly interested in forbidden spells and the Seven Princes of Hell spell quest.


    "I see. You want to finish your business first and then be active within the organization. But, it''s not that simple. Even though you''re already in the - Two-Pointed Star stage, you''ll still be a novice for at least one year when you join the organization." Kilia quickly replied.


    "I take it pledges aren''t allowed to act on their own?" Evan was cautious.


    "Not exactly, but the gist is simr. Regardless of your strength, you''ll be a newbie pledge because we have to see if you''re loyal to us first. We are the most dangerous and powerful dark organization in The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. We have to trust the person and know that their goals are the same as ours before we can call them a full member." Pronounced Kilia.


    Evan thought to himself, <Hmm, that makes perfect sense. They are entitled to assume that another such neer or I might be a traitor. If I were them, I would do the same.>


    He sighed and asked, "What does a newbie have to do to earn trust?"


    Kilia replied, "It''s simple, this year, you, like the other newbies, will do the errands given to you. They will be different so that we can test how you will act in different situations. If there are noints or suspicions about you during the year, you be a full member of the Demonic Tree."


    "Huh, isn''t it dangerous to tell me that? I can pretend to be your ally, but I''ll actually stab you in the back." Evan said with a smirk.


    Kilia didn''t react in any way and calmly said, "Don''t overestimate yourself. You can''t pretend in tasks like this, and we can easily tell if your intentions are sincere or not."


    <And they are sure of themselves, there must have been several people trying to trick them in that amount of time. I''m sure they''ve suffered a fate far worse than mere death.> Evan thought.


    "Okay, so in order to stop being a newbie and gain credibility, I have to fulfill the goals set before me perfectly. That''s pretty fair and smart, but what are the limitations of being a rookie? What will I be allowed to do, and what won''t I be allowed to do?" Evan asked.


    "I''ll exin now, but before I do, I''ll tell you that even if you fail some tasks, it''s no big deal. Not all of our members are equally strong, and we understand that. The most important thing is your goals, desires, and ambitions. With that, anyone can be strong enough."


    Kilia sighed and continued, "As a newbie, you will be allowed to use the arsenal, the spell archive, thebs, and so on. But, you won''t be allowed ess to the kind of information or items avable to full members of our organization. That information must not get to an unverified person. You also won''t have ess to operations that only full members of the Demonic Tree can participate in."


    "I take it that the search for lost spells, the archive of forbidden spells, and the spells of the Seven Princes of Hell will not be avable to me?" Asked Evan. It was this knowledge and quests that interested him the most.


    "Of course. You asked if you would have to obey your elders, and my answer is yes. While you are a novice, you will have to do the tasks assigned to you, but otherwise, you will bepletely free. Moreover, you can refuse some tasks, but only some of them. Otherwise, we won''t be able to trust you, or it will have to be a lot longer than one year." Said Kilia.


    "When I be a full member, I can do whatever I want? Am I right?" Asked Evan. Freedom has always been and would always be his first priority.


    In Evan''s opinion, if the Demonic Tree would restrict his freedom or force him to do something without good reason, this organization was no different from the Tear of Light with its rules.


    "Of course, total freedom, but you can''t attack your own, steal secret materials, and so on down the list. We don''t spare traitors, but I think you know that yourself. Once you''ve proven that we can trust you, you can do whatever you want. Of course, you can also take part in the operations and missions of our organization. There is a reward for everyone who participates in a mission. But I didn''t have to exin that to you. Said Kilia.


    <Good, to be honest, I was a little worried that Demonic Tree might be hypocrites. But I think I got the right impression of them.> Evan thought.


    Evan would be greatly disappointed if the Demonic Tree turned out to be like the Tears of Light. This world would have reminded him of his past.


    "A year..." Mumbled Evan.. "Kilia, is there any way we can get your trust sooner? A year is quite a long time."

 Chapter 294 - How Many Lives Is Trust Worth?

    Kilia thought for a while but eventually shook her head and said, "I don''t think that''s possible. Not even six months is enough time for us to be sure."


    Evan frowned. He didn''t want to wait a whole year and do some boring, rank-and-file assignment. It wasn''t something he wanted to do at all.


    "I understand, but maybe there is some option? Couldn''t you ask Rave about it right now?" Evan said calmly.


    He figured that one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree had the power to make Evan a full member in a lot faster than one year. Of course, Rave had no reason to trust Evan. He still had to prove that he was on board with them.


    Kilia frowned but agreed toply with Evan''s request anyway. She didn''t think Rave would go for that.


    "Okay, I''m going to find out now, but you have almost no chance."


    Kilia''s Spatial ring glowed, and a small case appeared in her hands. She poured mana into it, and a few secondster, Rave answered her. She ryed Evan''s words exactly and then heard Rave''s response.


    Kilia moved the case to the spatial ring and said, "Rave told me to tell you that for someone who hasn''t even joined the Demonic Tree yet, you''re too cocky and daring."


    Kilia sighed and continued, "But, he''ll give you a chance to gain our trust much faster than one year."


    Evan smiled. He wasn''t sure that Rave would agree to make such concessions. It would save him an enormous amount of time. Moreover, if Rave personally vouched for him, the other members of the Demonic Tree would certainly not have any distrust of him. That would pretty well solidify his status in the organization, which was a pretty good start.


    "What do I need to do?" Evan asked. He realized that if he was given an opportunity like this, he would have to do something outstanding. He would have to prove in a short period of time that he was on their side.


    Kilia''s spatial ring lit up, and a detailed map of the northern and western parts of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes appeared in her hands.


    She pointed to one point to the northwest and said, "Here, near the ravine, is a temporary camp of a light organization called - Emerald Hand. There are about 100 mages there, a third of whom are in the - Two-Pointed Star stage."


    Kilia sighed and continued, "In two weeks, this is where you have to meet the five members of the Demonic Tree. Rave said he''ll make all the arrangements, and you''ll be epted as one of them. You all have to destroy this little camp together. If you want to gain our trust, you must kill at least 25 members of the Emerald Hand and be recognized by every member of this small group. Is that clear?" Kilia said seriously.


    Because of Rave''s orders, she had to fill Evan in on the details of such an operation. This mission was not the most secret and important thing the Demonic Tree was doing, but their men would die if Evan turned out to be a traitor.


    "I got it. I''ll be at the designated location in two weeks." Evan quickly replied.


    Kilia nodded and headed for the exit. She boarded her riding beast and took off into the air. Flying into the abandoned castle, she used the case again and contacted Rave.


    "Are you sure it was worth putting our people in danger?" Kilia asked cautiously.


    She respected Rave for his strength and the decisions he made, but this time she felt that Rave had behaved recklessly.


    "Just wait, and you''ll see. I have to tell you that I didn''t give you the same information as you did to Evan. If he''s so unwilling to wait, he''ll have to surprise us." Said Rave and closed the case.


    Kilia didn''t understand what was going on and what exactly Rave wasn''t telling her.


    "Eh, okay, that''s none of my business. Mr. Rave has never been wrong yet. Otherwise, he would have been dead a long time ago."


    ...


    "Hmm, I''ve got two weeks, and I''ll be involved in anotherrge-scale battle." Mumbled Evan looking at the map on the table.


    Evan could go to one of the Demonic Tree bases and join that organization. He had plenty of time. He could also try to learn some second level spell, but Evan had already decided what he would do.


    He went to Darkfil, rented a riding beast, and flew northwest. Evan wasn''t going to wait and act in concert with anyone else. He didn''t need the eptance of others to show his strength and purpose.


    Evan was going alone to deal with the Emerald Hand''s temporary camp.


    ...


    Darkfil was quite far from Emerald Hand''s temporary camp. It would take Evan about ten hours to get there.


    Evan wasn''t worried that he might fail or that members of the Emerald Hand would kill him. He had heard of the organization, and in his opinion,pared to the Tears of Light, the Emerald Hand were mediocre.


    They had capable mages, unusual spells, and so on. But, every organization that had some sort of power in The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes had a simr set.


    Emerald Hand members wore green robes with the image of a white palm. They were known that almost every one of their members was skilled in closebat, regardless of ss. Even Summoners could pose a great threat in closebat under certain conditions.


    That meant that a single attack on arge group of Emerald Hand was definitely not a good idea. But, Evan wasn''t going to back down. He had a n to defeat more than a hundred mages single-handedly.


    <Kilia said that only a third of them are at the stage - Two-Pointed Star, that''s very good. Even I couldn''t, under the circumstances, kill a hundred mages at that stage. In a way, I was even lucky>.


    Evan thought as he flew toward his destination. In the distance, he could see a ravine not far from where there was a camp with a few houses.


    "Eh, I act too careless sometimes. I might just wait, but that''s nonsense. I''ll have to sacrifice quite a few years of my life now, though.." Mumbled Evan.

 Chapter 295 - Music

    Evan headed toward the ravine andnded not far from the Emerald Hand temporary camp. He acted so that no one would notice him. Only then would he be able to execute his n.


    <They shouldn''t have noticed me, moreover a rock partially hides their camp. If I go this way, I can get into their base unnoticed.> Evan pondered.


    As he walked, one of his eyes lit up, and he saw a very different picture. He was looking at the Emerald Hand camp from a bird''s eye view.


    Before hended, he let Reykar out of Nirvana and asked him to patrol the area.


    Evan cast Raven''s Gaze and had a perfect view of every member of the Emerald Hand. Evan had all the information about their movements.


    Some of the light mages noticed a monster flying near them, but they didn''t see anything unusual about it, so they decided not to pay attention to Reykar. There were many monsters in this area, and the best solution was to ignore them. Otherwise, a major battle might break out, which Emerald Hand didn''t need right now.


    After about ten minutes, Evan was already approaching the cliff. He had to go around it and enter the temporary camp at the side where there weren''t many guards. He should not be prevented from doing what he intended.


    Evan also considered the option of jumping off the cliff onto the temporary camp from above, but he knew that was a stupid idea. The camp was one hundred percent protected by several barriers, so doing such a thing would be no different than a fly flying into a spider''s web.


    <At this point, my lifespan is 662 years, which is really a lot with all the casualties. I''m lucky that mages in this world live so long. Otherwise, I might not have made it out of some situations. It''s a shame that I can''t live forever. That would be true bliss, or maybe even a curse. Evan thought as he walked around the rock.>


    After a couple of minutes, he saw the wooden walls of Emerald Hand''s makeshift camp, and at the same moment, he was spotted by one of the mages on the watchtower.


    But he didn''t attack Evan. First, he had to figure out who was heading their way and that little lull in time Evan was going to take advantage of.


    He had no more than thirty seconds, during which time the members of the Emerald Hand would know he was Evan Lynch.


    Evan assumed that because of the recent battle at Stone Seeds and because Ein had managed to escape, he was already an enemy of every light organization.


    Emerald Hand did know what Evan looked like, but they did not yet know that he had gone to the dark side of this world, for that day, Ein had not returned to the base of the Tears of Light and was missing. There was no one to tell the light organizations about Evan''s notoriety.


    Evan cast Ghost Step and ran as fast as he could toward the camp.


    Bam.


    At the same moment, a purple beam and many sharp feathers flew into the barrier of the camp. Evan told Reykar to act as soon as Emerald Hand members spotted him. Evan wanted to use Reykar''s attack as a distraction and buy himself some time, and Evan seeded.


    "What? Why the hell did that bird decide to attack us? Kill it or chase it away, now!" Said a muscr man in a green robe.


    He was one of themanders in this temporary camp and was on stage - Two-Pointed Star.


    "Roger that!" Several men responded and cast their spells.


    Two swords created from fire flew toward Reykar. They passed through the barrier with no problem since it was one-way.


    Reykar nced at Evan and, realizing that his mission was already aplished, abruptly pped his wings and flew away. The force of his p was great enough to push the ming swords aside.


    Emerald Hand thought the monster had retreated and it was just a surprise attack, and that was the end of it. But, they didn''t know that Evan was already close to the barrier around the camp.


    Evan said quietly, "Sigil 67 Demon - Duke Amdusias, activation.


    The next moment Evan''s consciousness was transported to Nirvana, where the demon he had summoned was already waiting for him.


    Duke Amduasias strongly resembled a human, but with a few differences. He was tall, with long ck hair and white eyes. On his hands and feet, he had long ws covered in ayer of darkness. The most notable detail of his appearance was the long horn in the center of his forehead, like a unicorn.


    In his hands was a long, white flute on which he yed a quiet melody.


    Evan said, "I want my new friends to hear the most beautiful music ying in the bowels of hell. The price for this concert will be their lives!"


    Duke Amduasias paid no attention to Evan for a while. He continued to y his flute and fill Evan''s Nirvana with a pleasant melody.


    When Duke Amduasias finished ying the tune, he let go of the flute, and it slowly made its way toward Evan. Then the demon said, "I''m ttered you want to share my music with others. Fifteen Years."


    Evan immediately agreed. Compared to some of his victims, it wasn''t much at all. Last time for the power of King Belial, Evan had had to pay for a hundred years. But, he was still in the One-Pointed Star stage then, and the services of kings couldn''t cost little.


    Duke Amduasias nodded, and the life force began to leave Evan.


    The demon disappeared from Nirvana when it was over, and in Evan''s hands was a white flute. Evan didn''t know how to y a musical instrument, but he didn''t need to have such skills. This flute was born in hell and could produce melodies from hell itself with a simple blow of the wind.


    By then, the members of Emerald Hand had spotted Evan and realized that he had note with good intentions. But it was already toote.


    Evan brought the flute to his lips and calmly began to y it.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    At the same moment, the ground around the Emerald Hand''s temporary base trembled.

 Chapter 296 - Cemetery Under The Dome

    When Evan began to y the flute, the members of the Emerald Hand who were in the watchtowers could hear the pleasant sound. This melody was sweeter than the sirens'' singing a dozen times over, but this flute brought destruction and death besides great music.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    The members of the Emerald Hand were about to attack Evan, but they could not do so because the ground began to shake violently. It wasn''t an earthquake. It could be called a sound call to nature.


    Suddenly a huge number of rectangr, wooden bars appeared from under the ground. They were thick and sturdy. The Emerald Hand''s temporary base was covered with a wooden barrier in just a couple of seconds.


    These wooden bars quickly destroyed several barriers above Emerald Hand''s camp, and Evan could now attack without fear.


    But, the wooden dome that prevented anyone from escaping was only a prelude before the main act. Evan continued to y the flute, and visible notes began to fly out of it. These notes flew in different directions and entered the minds of the members of the Emerald Hand.


    This melody clouded their minds, and suddenly, instead of attacking Evan, they attacked their allies. Evan ignored them, he knew exactly what was about to happen.


    Evan continued to y the flute while the hypnotized light mages cast spells and fought at Evan''s side.


    Melodies kepting out of the flute and into the minds of the Emerald Hand members. In less than a minute, Evan had already brainwashed more than ten Emerald Hand members.


    "Stop! Why are you attacking your own? What''s going on?!" Shouted one of the light mages.


    Nothing foretold trouble as suddenly his friend, whom he had known for over the years, attacked him using his most powerful spells.


    Several notes headed towards one of themanders and tried to prate his mind, but suddenly the notes were destroyed by the man''s aura.


    <I see, I won''t be able to brainwash the mages in the -Two-Pointed Star stage, that''s disappointing, but it''s not a big problem, though. There are a lot more mages at the One-Pointed Star stage.> Evan thought as he continued to y his flute.


    One of the mages at the Two-Pointed Star stage began to understand what was going on. Notes flew up to him as well, but there was nothing they could do to him.


    "We are under attack. Don''t you dare kill your own! They''ve been brainwashed! We must find the puppeteer and kill him quickly."


    The next moment he turned into a blur and, with a swift blow to the neck, stunned one light mage who was mesmerized by the melody of a flute.


    Finding Evan in such chaos was quite difficult. By this point, twenty light mages were already attacking theirrades. The members of the Emerald Hand had to defend themselves and look for Evan at the same time.


    Moreover, Evan was at the wall around the temporary camp. Since the mages on the watchtowers were hypnotized first, no one reported Evan''s exact whereabouts.


    <Hmm, given their strength ratio, the mages at the -One-Pointed Star stage won''t be able to handle thirty mages at the -Two-Pointed Star stage. Their powers are at apletely different level. I need to help them a little bit.> Thought Evan and started ying a slightly different tune.


    The wooden bars came into motion, and part of the dome was opened. Some members of Emerald Hand thought they could escape this way, but that was a grave mistake.


    Evan opened part of the dome so that Reykar could attack. Raven instantly rained several beams down on the Emerald Hand members, then activated his special skill.


    He spread his wings wide apart, and a few secondster, a violet vortex descended upon the light mages. It was for the vortex that Evan created some space.


    The furious vortex destroyed the mages who tried to escape from the dome, and their bodies were torn apart.


    But the vortex didn''tst long. A man with arge, turreted shield in his hand approached the vortex and cast a spell. He attacked as hard as he could. His fist covered a thickyer of stone, and his blow created a small earthquake.


    Several more spells flew into the vortex, and it was destroyed, but Reykar did a fine job. Evan immediately closed the passage from the dome and continued ying the flute.


    In a couple of minutes, already all the mages on the stage - One-Pointed Star were mesmerized by the flute''s melody. They seriously injured many mages on stage - Two-Pointed Star, some of them even died.


    Crackle.


    Suddenly the wooden wall next to Evan was destroyed.


    "Here I found you." Said a tall man in a green robe. He was one of themanders in this temporary camp.


    He attacked Evan instantly, causing him to stop ying, but the hypnosis effect would persist for a few more minutes even if Evan didn''t y.


    The man instantly attacked Evan with his two-handed sword. Evan didn''t dodge. He just parried by his flute.


    "What the?" The bright mage was puzzled. He hadn''t expected Evan to fight with a musical instrument.


    Whooooooosh.


    Evan swung the sharp part of the flute and inflicted a deep wound on the light mage''s chest. He wanted to continue his attack, but he saw more than ten mages on the stage - Two-Pointed Star, heading his way.


    Evan was ready for this, so he started ying the flute again and opened part of the wooden barrier. The wooden bars came into motion, and a passage opened up behind Evan. Into which he quickly ran.


    All the man who attacked Evan had time to see was a bright, red sign on the back of Evan''s palm.


    "Destroy that barrier! We have to kill it!" He shouted, unwilling to let Evan go.


    But Evan wasn''t going to run away. Moving a few meters away from the barrier, he muttered quietly, "Sigil 69 Demon - Marquis Decarabia, second level, activation."


    A demon appeared in Evan''s Nirvana that looked like a five-pointed star with several eyes in the center.


    Evan quickly said his wish and learned the price for the demon''s power, "Ten Years."


    Evan nodded, and the life force drained from him. Ten years was a small price to pay for the power Evan asked for.


    When the price was paid, Evan''s consciousness returned to the real world. His palms glowed brightly.


    He put them together, and the next moment a giant magical circle appeared over the camp.. Evan was about to wound and finish off the surviving mages in the Two-Pointed Star stage.

 Chapter 297 - The Price Of Trust

    The members of Emerald Hand at Stage Two-Pointed Star tried to destroy the tree dome, but they couldn''t. It was no ordinary tree. Otherwise, they would have shattered it in a single blow. The flute''s melody could control and summon the tree, and it was powerful and malleable.


    The light mages thought Evan was trying to escape, but in fact, Evan was preparing a deadly attack that would end their confrontation. He decided to enlist the help of the 69th demon, Marquis Decarabia, only now for several reasons.


    First, without the help of the 67th demon, Duke Amdusias, he wouldn''t be able to create a tree dome, and the mages would be able to escape from his attack. Secondly, the surviving mages were now severely wounded by their allies. Evan thought that a hundred mages would be able to block this attack, but right now, they didn''t stand a chance.


    An amber magic circle appeared above the tree dome, and spheres appeared across the area of the magic circle. With each passing second, they umted mana and grewrger. Such an attack cost Evan a great deal of energy. In his current state, he could hardly control such aplex and powerful structure.


    "Great, it''s ready." Mumbled Evan looking at the vast, golden spheres.


    He spread his arms out to his sides. The spheres clenched and turned into deadly beams. They had no problem destroying the tree dome and everything beneath it.


    Boom.


    There was a deafening explosion. The ground and the bodies of the light mages were torn to shreds. Instead of the Emerald Hand''s camp, there was now a huge crater. The rays burned through and destroyed everything there was.


    The power of the 68th demon Marquis Decarabia had incredible, destructive power. This demon was the best option if everything had to be solved in a single, powerful attack.


    Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.


    Evan breathed heavily. This attack had taken almost all of his strength. The demon provided Evan with destructive power, but he had to use the spell himself.


    "What? Someone survived?" Puzzled, Evan muttered, looking at the center of the crater.


    There he saw a light mage, who had covered himself with a huge, turreted shield. Such shields weighed a lot, and a normal person or even a novice mage couldn''t lift them.


    Half of his body was burned and bleeding, the man was very badly wounded, but he was still alive. If some experienced Summoner came here, he would be able to heal him, albeit with difficulty.


    The light mage saw Evan and looked at him with terror in his eyes. He was afraid of Evan and wanted to run away, but he didn''t have the strength.


    Evan just looked at him, turned around, and headed for his riding beast. The man smiled, he thought Evan had spared him. It was his only hope.


    Crackling.


    Suddenly a sharp beak stabbed into his chest. The purple raven began to devour the man''s body while he was still alive and in agony. Reykar spent a lot of energy, as did Evan. He needed something to eat and refresh himself. Toasted skin until crispy and thick meat was the best thing for him right now.


    That was the fate that befell thousands of people in this world. Any encounter with a monster could end this way. Humans, however, were far scarier than monsters. Humans could do things so terrifying that even monsters would flee in fear.


    The reason for this was that, for the most part, monsters, much fewer beasts, did not act if they did not need to. An example was that a beast, a monster, or a simple pet would not eat more than they need. They would eat as much as they needed to get full and regain their strength. However, a person may continue to eat until they be nauseous.


    So it is unlikely that a monster would torture a human or any other creature, but humans have been known to be masters at this.


    "Hopefully, that will be enough. The sooner I can ess the Demonic Tree spells, the better." Mumbled Evan.


    He could have gone to Vextin or The Last Moon to pick out his second-level spells, but he didn''t see much point in doing so. He was sure that no Mage Academy had strong, rare, and unique spells as the most dangerous and powerful dark organization.


    Evan wanted to get on with the experiment and unlock all the chains on the pirs. He was sure that the spells he received would make him much stronger.


    When Reykar finished eating the light mage, he quickly caught up with Evan.


    Evan decided to head straight to Rave rather than his tower. He had to get his full Demonic Tree status from him. Of course, Rave had said that he was not authorized to hold a formal enrollment ceremony.


    But, he certainly had enough influence to make Evan a full member of the Demonic Tree once he joined the organization. That was exactly what Evan needed.


    The Emerald Hand''s camp was quite far from the abandoned Rave Castle. So it was not until fifteen hourster that Evan saw the castle''s outline in the distance.


    He was sure he had already been spotted, and if no one stopped him, that meant he was allowed tond in the castle grounds.


    After a couple of minutes, Evan jumped off his mount and headed into the depths of the castle. As before, he encountered several very strong members of the Demonic Tree along the way.


    They didn''t pay any attention to Evan, even considering they were seeing him for the first time in their lives and Evan wasn''t wearing the red robe.


    It showed how confident these men were in themselves and the protective formations around the castle. Not even an insect could enter this castle without permission, let alone a mage.


    As Evan approached the front door to Rave''s office, he met Kilia. Like the other mages, she walked silently past him, but it was obvious that she was surprised. Even though Evan was much weaker than her, his actions were beyond herprehension.


    Click.


    Evan opened the door and walked into Rave''s office.

 Chapter 298 - Mission Accomplished

    "Hello," Rave said quietly, standing with his back to Evan. He wasying out some sks on the table and scrutinizing each one.


    Evan sat down in the leather chair and waited for Rave to finish.


    "I have to say I''m surprised. I was sure you wouldn''t wait two weeks, but I didn''t expect you to set out to destroy the Emerald Hand temporary camp right away. I thought you''d prepare or research the area first, maybe buy some gear. But no, you went in there, turning every one of them to dust. I show you my respect, even among the Merciful Death, there are seldom people who would go to such insanity." Rave said calmly.


    As Evan supposed, Rave already knew all about it. He had been flying to the castle for over ten hours, during which time the news should have reached every powerful organization by now. Of course, the light organizations and especially the Emerald Hand were furious. Their allies had been killed, and their reputations degraded. It was a great blow to them.


    The dark organizations cheered. Especially Merciful Death. They were major fans of such antics andrge-scale destruction and murder. Of course, the Demonic Tree was just as pleased. Each destroyed enemy camp gave them more opportunities to explore the ancient ruins.


    The Demonic Tree sometimes conducted simr operations if some light organization upied important territory for the Demonic Tree. It was like a strategic battle, only not for resources but for the opportunity to find something ancient and forgotten.


    "Is it crazy to destroy opponents weaker than you? Would any mage be proud to kill a hundredmoners or wild boars in the woods?" Asked Evan.


    Rave smiled, "Of course not, but you didn''t kill boars. You killed a hundred mages. Many of them were weaker than you, judging by their stage, but some were equal to you. Of course, your skills and prowess were atpletely different levels. Otherwise, you would have been dead."


    "Evan, I know why you came, but I want to tell you something first. I think you should know this. It''s pretty funny." Said Rave.


    Evan looked at him, puzzled.


    "The thing is, I lied to Kilia about this mission, which means you hadpletely inurate information too. Kilia is often involved in some missions and even organizes them, but not all of them. That''s why she didn''t suspect anything when I told her I was organizing a small mission and a detachment to destroy the Emerald Hand base." Calmly Rave said.


    Rave continued his story, "If you had waited two weeks like most people ande to the ce you were told, you wouldn''t have found anyone there. And I wouldn''t me you. It would be perfectly logical and even correct. But, such an action cannot fully show your strength, desire, and willingness to join us as a full member."


    "So this was all a test." Mumbled Evan.


    "Yes, you can say I made up this operation to test you. And frankly, you exceeded my expectations. You acted faster and more aggressively, at least, it seemed that way from the outside. If you were confident in your abilities, it wasn''t a very difficult test for you."


    Evan nodded and said, "I take it Emerald Hand was just unlucky that you decided to target their base for this made-up operation?"


    "Yes, when Kilia contacted me, I started improvising. Of all the bases and temporary camps of the light organizations, Emerald Hand was the closest. I had recently been given a report stating that they had upied one of the viges and turned it into their camp. So I made them the target of this mission. A dead light mage is a good light mage, though."


    "I get it. I take it I passed the best grade test?" Evan asked. A lot depended on Rave''s answer. Evan set out to fight against so many mages so he wouldn''t waste his time doing uninteresting missions.


    "Yes, the news has already reached all the light and powerful organizations and consequently their influential members. Of course, no one but me and some members of the Demonic Tree knows that it was you who destroyed the Emerald Hand temporary camp. I am influential enough to make you a full member of the Demonic Tree once you officially join us. And I will, I have good instincts, and I doubt that you will betray us and switch sides at some point. I think that''s impossible." Said Rave.


    Evan smiled rather contentedly. Killing a hundred members of the Emerald Hand was no easy feat. Only a few could do such a thing at the Two-Pointed Star stage. It was a real achievement, and Evan received an incredible reward for it.


    "Evan, are you going to go to one of our bases now? Am I right?" Asked Rave.


    "Yes." Nodded Evan and said, "I want to join the Demonic Tree, explore the ancient ruins with you, and fight against the light organizations. But, I want to finish some of my business first, otherwise I will slow down my progress greatly."


    "I see, then I''ll look forward to hearing the news. By the way, can I take a liter of blood from you now? It turned out to be quite useful." Pronounced Rave.


    "Of course, won''t you share the results? This experiment is extremely interesting." Said Evan.


    Rave nodded, and together they headed to theb. Evan quickly filled a sk with his blood and handed it to Rave. Then they headed to the room where the others were.


    "I created a potion with very simple proportions - a third of your blood, a third of the blood of the girl the vampires use as a blood bag, and a third of the blood of the monster. The monster had to be evolved. I''ve been pouring this potion on a few people for weeks now, and look what I''ve aplished. Said Rave and pped his hands.


    Just like thest time, two skeletons appeared in the center of the room, one going after the monster and the other going after the man.

 Chapter 299 - Humanity Can Be Strong

    This time Giel was again on the human side, but his appearance had changed markedly. He was a little taller, more muscr, but notrge. His muscles looked harmonious and strong. But, most of all, his eyes changed.


    Last time there was no fear in them like most other people, but now there was unwavering confidence in his own abilities. After Rave began to use a potion mixture of three types of blood, Giel grew stronger every day. The same was true for the others, Lilia and Rita also became stronger, but Giel was far ahead.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze and looked at Giel''s status. Those numbers shocked him, something like that was crazy. Giel was slowly bing a creature that didn''t exist and shouldn''t exist.


    [Giel Steen


    Race: Human(???)


    Rank: 1.1]


    <His Rank is 1.1... does that mean that his physical strength and reflexes are equal to a mage at the One-Pointed Star stage?!> Eximed Evan to himself.


    Moreover, Mammon''s Gaze was not sure of Giel''s race. The strange question marks showed that Giel was no longer quite an ordinary human on a gic level. Outwardly, however, he had not changed in any way. He hadn''t grown extra arms, poisonous fangs, or a third eye. Giel looked like a simple man living in the countryside and plowing the fields.


    Rave noticed that Evan''s left eye had turned gold and smiled. He didn''t know exactly what this spell did. But he assumed that Evan could use this spell to get information about who he was looking at.


    "Surprised?" Smiling, Rave asked.


    Evan nodded and said, "He''s gotten so much stronger. It''s something incredible. Do the other test subjects have the same amplification, or is Giel the exception?"


    "Other people have gotten stronger too, but not that much. I don''t know exactly what the reason is, but I have a theory. Initially, I thought Giel was just lucky to have highpatibility with monster blood. Because when I only fed them monster blood, he had the best results, too."


    Evan didn''t interrupt Rave and listened intently. The experiment Rave was conducting could help Evan in his own experiment. Evan didn''t mind sharing data with Rave from time to time for more progress.


    <Every time Ie here, I regret more and more that I still haven''t started my own experiment. I''ve had too much to dotely, but it looks like I''ll be free soon.>


    Evan has only to join the Demonic Tree, and then he could devote all his free time to himself. Destroying light organization camps was interesting, but it caused Evan''s progress to slow down a bit.


    "But it seems that it wasn''t just a matter of goodpatibility. After all, I give them a potion of three different kinds of blood. By the theory of probability, someone else should have had morepatibility with your blood than Giel. But, no one has ever been able to surpass it. Of course, you can say that it''s just a coincidence that Giel is a good match for the three blood types, but I don''t believe in such coincidences.> Rave exined.


    He corrected his sses and continued, "Then I started looking for the reason for this phenomenal progress. Eventually, I concluded that it was all about Giel''s desire to be stronger and to be able to decide his own destiny."


    "Desire?" Evan asked, puzzled.


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m not saying that Giel became so strong just because he wanted to. I believe there are many factors interconnected here. Otherwise, there would be a lot of people in the world strong enough to fight monsters. Because Giel isn''t the only one who wants to be strong." Pronounced Rave.


    "And what are these factors?" Asked Evan.


    "I think it''s all about his cells and desire. When he drank the monster''s blood, his cells began to change like those of other people. His cells began to look like monster cells. It''s because of their unique cells that monsters can have the most unusual and crazy evolutions."


    "Do you think his cells are progressing faster than others because he wants them to?" Asked Evan.


    "Exactly. It''s something like the cebo effect. Because of his great desire to be stronger, his changed cells respond to his call. In this way, he progresses faster than others. I don''t think Giel is alone. There are millions and even billions of people living in this world. Among them, you can find people with a desire as strong as Giel''s. But, because their cells are incapable of bing powerful, they remain weak for the rest of their lives."


    <Hmm, this is an interesting hypothesis. Moreover, it is most likely correct. Malespera was able to enter Gust even though she was an ordinary human. Maybe humans have a lot of potentials, but they can''t unlock it because they don''t have some catalyst. Mages, monsters, and beasts have mana and cells, abilities, and spells. Humans have none of these things. But once Giel got the blood of monsters and humans with a special body constitution, his potential began to reveal itself.> Evan thought.


    "How strong do you think Giel can get?" Asked Evan.


    "Unfortunately, his progress has slowed in recent days. I don''t think it''s because he''s fighting spirit is gone. On the contrary, I see his thirst for strength only getting stronger every day. He trains hard and fights hard. Giel asks me about experiments and even gives me some ideas, but his progress slows rather than elerates." With dissatisfaction in his voice, Rave said.


    "Do you know what the reason is?" Evan asked.


    Rave nodded, "Yes, I figured it out quickly. Giel has be incredibly strong by the standards of an ordinary human, and his desire to get stronger is helping him to progress quickly. But despite all that, he is still an ordinary human like the others.. In order for him not to have any limits, he must finally be a creature of the new race."

 Chapter 300 - Missing Details

    "A new race..." Mumbled Evan and said. "Even though Giel has be much stronger, I think the way forward is incredibly difficult. The closer his strength gets to his limit, the closer he will be the first member of a new race. But, I can''t even begin to put into words how difficult it is to create a new race. It''s something beyondprehension."


    Rave nodded, "Yes, I will be trying to modify the potion and add new blood types to it. Right now, my subordinates are looking for people with special body constitutions. Speaking of which, if you meet someone like that, I''ll pay you handsomely if you provide me with that person or their blood."


    "Understood, but I don''t think I could get something like that. There are very few people with a unique body constitution. Moreover, something tells me that if another type of blood is added to the potion, the effect won''t be as amazing as it is now." Proimed Evan looking at Giel.


    "Yes, the closer to the limit, the more imperceptible the effect will be, but it''s there. Okay, I didn''t expect this experiment to go this far anyway, and it''s not over yet. Initially, I thought that they would die because of the monsters'' blood, but no. It turned out much better than I thought it would. I want you to see how strong Giel has be." Said Rave and pped his hands.


    At the exact moment, the second skeleton brought out a monster of rank zero. Giel didn''t choose any weapon. He stared unemotionally at the fierce monster in front of him.


    Rave gave the sign, and the skeleton let the monster go. It immediately attacked Giel, trying to tear him apart with its sharp ws. Giel continued to stand in ce. At thest moment, Giel took a step to the side and the monster''s ws passed within centimeters of his face.


    In the next moment, Giel turned around and punched the monster with all his might. Giel''s fist copsed on the monster''s head, and its head instantly exploded like a meatball.


    Giel shook his hand, shaking off the clinging blood, and looked calmly at Rave.


    Evan was shocked. Giel had also managed to defeat the monster thest time, but then he had acted gradually and cautiously. Moreover,st time Giel was armed with a 4-star shield and sword. But now, he just decided everything by brute force. He didn''t use any strategies or tactics but smeared the monster on the ground with one single blow.


    "Surprised?" Asked Rave.


    "Of course, I didn''t expect his strength to be at that level. I think he could even fight first rank monsters for a while." Said Evan.


    "You''re right, but you underestimate Giel. Yesterday he fought a pretty weak but still first rank monster. Giel took advantage of the equipment and got a lot of wounds. He even lost an arm. But, he managed to win." Rave said with pride in his voice.


    "That''s impressive. I didn''t expect something like that to be possible. Giel has really be times stronger than all the other people."


    At that moment, Evan thought, <Hmm, he was able to defeat a Rank One monster. That means that the Rank = 1.1 parameter is enough for a human to fight a first rank monster. Of course, Giel used a weapon and was wounded, but what matters is the result>.


    From Giel''s example, Evan began to understand how Mammon''s Gaze determines a target''s strength. It was useful information that would help him in his own experiment.


    "Evan, I know you want to go to the Demonic Tree base to join us as soon as possible. But, I want to show you something else." Said Rave and went to the room where Giel was.


    Rave said, "Giel, don''t go away. I want to check something else."


    Giel nodded, and Rave snapped his finger. One of the skeletons removed the monster''s corpse. Rave then led Evan into the room where all the monsters were. There were more than a thousand of them there. Normally, these fierce monsters would growl and try to get out of their cages. But when they saw Rave, they immediately went silent.


    His aura alone was enough to make the monsters'' instincts tell them not to make too much noise. Otherwise, they could have been killed in the blink of an eye.


    Rave took Evan to the back of the room, where there was arge cage. But, in it were not monsters, but humans, or rather light mages from weak light organizations.


    There were five girls and five men in the cage, each of them a novice mage. Compared to Rave and Evan, they were no stronger than insects.


    Rave opened the cage, grabbed one girl by the hair, and dragged her back into the main hall.


    "Why do you need these mages?" Asked Evan.


    "I use them as living weapons. These idiots thought they were all-powerful and decided to attack the one vige I sometimes take people from for experiments. Initially, I wanted just to kill them, but then I realized I could use them." Said Rave.


    He threw the girl on the floor in front of Giel and said stiffly, "Cast some spell and attack it."


    The girl nodded, and the next moment her Warp spun. A few secondster, her hands glowed. She put them together and directed a beam of light into Giel''s chest.


    She was a novice mage, and her attack could have wounded a monster of rank zero. But, Giel was still human, though very strong. Moreover, he didn''t defend himself at all and calmly looked at the beam flying in his direction.


    Bam.


    The spell mmed into Giel''s chest, but he took no damage. All the girl''s spell was able to do was cut the hair off his chest.


    "Understandably, his body has be much stronger. His strength, speed, defense, and reflexes have already surpassed those of rank zero monsters. It''s incredible." Concluded Evan.


    "Exactly, okay, Evan, you should go. I won''t keep you any longer." Said Rave.


    Evan nodded and headed for the exit.


    Rave had to use weaker mages because if he attacked Giel with even a zero level spell, he would tear Giel''s body apart. His mana concentration was at an enormous level.. Giel could fight monsters of the first rank, but Rave was a level beyond his reach.

 Chapter 301 - The Devils Horn

    After Evan left Rave''sb, he got on his riding beast and took off. Evan decided not to go back to his tower, as it just didn''t make any sense. He had waited a long time for this moment, and it would finally happen. After all this time, he would join the Demonic Tree.


    Of course, Evan could have done it before, but urgent or more promising things kepting up. But, right now, the best option was to join the Demonic Tree. What''s more, by the time Evan flew to the Demonic Tree base, Rave would have already informed the organization''s top about him.


    Evan decided to join the Demonic Tree now because he needed second level spells. Also, if Evan doesn''t join the Demonic Tree, Rave woulde after him in a year and kill him. Of course, Evan had already proven his loyalty by his actions, but he doubted it would interest Rave.


    The Demonic Tree base Evan was headed to was called - Devil''s Horn. It was several dozen kilometers from Vextin and Darkfil.


    Devil''s Horn was a semi-secret Demonic Tree base. This meant that all members of Demonic Tree knew about its location, as well as some allies. Therefore, this base was located in a ce where it would be difficult to find. The Devil''s Horn was located in one of thergest mountains north of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.


    If a mage didn''t know that the Demonic Tree base was there, it was impossible to know something was hiding in the mountain. What''s more, it wasn''t just the geographical location of the ce that gave the concealment. It was the numerous formations.


    Demonic Tree members were constantly flying out of Devil''s Horn on their riding beasts, and it would have been very noticeable if not for the special formations. Its were set up by the strongest members of the Demonic Tree. Therefore, most mages could not realize that there was an illusion in front of them when they looked at the mountain where the Devil''s Horn was located.


    The Demonic Tree had quite a few spells aimed at stealth, illusion, and so on. This was because the Demonic Tree usually operated stealthily. They weren''t afraid of anyone, but they didn''t want unnecessary noise that never did any good.


    Unlike the Demonic Tree, the Merciful Death were constantly creating and engaging in some conflict. But even if they eventually emerged victorious from these conflicts, this did not mean that their actions were justified.


    The Demonic Tree preferred to mind their own business and only destroy those who got in their way.


    The Demonic Tree had quite a few people like Rave, who devoted all their free time to experiments. There was no point in them wasting their time on pointless battles. Rave had only left hisb a few times recently, one of which was when he saved Evan from a mage''s attack on a stage - Three-Pointed Star.


    ...


    A few hourster, Evan was already approaching the said mountain. Avice gave Evan a special stone, and he knew exactly where the entrance was and which mountain he should fly into.


    <This mountain is enormous, though it looks most ordinary. The formations that the members of the Demonic Tree set up conceal everything perfectly.> Evan thought and headed towards the peak of the mountain.


    That was where the main entrance was located. As Evan flew close enough to the mountain, he felt his movements gradually be slower. He realized it was the effect of the formations, which soon disappeared.


    <As Avice said, they know my face and let me through. However, it''s likely that every light and dark organization already knows what I look like.>


    At that moment, Evan wondered why he hadn''t been contacted by any dark organization other than the Demonic Tree. It seemed a little strange to him, but it was also possible that the Demonic Tree had already shown long ago that they were interested in Evan in the dark world. In that case, there was no point in the other dark organizations trying to recruit him. This boded big problems for them. No one wanted to quarrel with Demonic Tree, not even Merciful Death.


    When Evan got past all theyers of barriers and formations, he saw the true sight of the Devil''s Horn. The mountain had many entrances and exits from which mages were constantly flying in and out.


    The Devil''s Horn was as big as an entire city. It was a ce with its own infrastructure. There were houses, restaurants, the armory, the library, and so on.


    At the top of the mountain was the most significant number of mages in red robes. They were all members of the Demonic Tree and were preparing to depart. Some were talking, some were checking something on the map, and some were getting their gear ready.


    When Evannded at the top of the mountain, many mages turned their attention to him. He wasn''t wearing a red robe. That meant he was either a member of another dark organization who hade here to make some treaty. Or he was a neer.


    Either way, he was drawing attention to himself since there weren''t many neers. The Demonic Tree leadership carefully selected potential applicants, so only the most deserving in their opinion could join them.


    Of course, there were fewer neers than there could have been because of such strict selection rules, but the Demonic Tree worked for quality, not quantity. All dark organizations operated in the same way. The fewer members there were, the less likely it was that any of them would cause much trouble.


    The light organizations operated very differently. Anyone could join them if he passed the exam. So the light organizations had many more members than the dark organizations, but most of them were a little weaker.


    But, the core members of the light organizations constituting the core were not inferior to the core of the dark organizations. Of course, there were exceptions such as Rave, which could bepared with only a few people in the whole of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.


    <It looks like they''re already waiting for me.> Evan thought, looking at the girl at the entrance to the Devil''s Horn.. She gestured for him to follow her.

 Chapter 302 - Red Gate

    Evan headed toward the girl. He wouldn''t use Mammon''s Gaze now because it might draw unnecessary attention to him. Of course, most people would think Evan just knew a very rare spell. But, in such a crowd of people, there would probably be someone overly curious.


    When Evan approached the girl, she turned around and calmly said, "Follow me, Evan Lynch.


    Evan nodded, and they headed down the circr staircase together.


    <She didn''t even tell me her name, but she knows mine. I''ll find out for myself, though.> Evan thought to himself and cast Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Victoria Deslys


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Two-Pointed Star, with one me on the tform.


    Warp - Purple]


    "You know, it''s not very polite to stare so intently at others," Victoria said with a frown. She sensed that Evan was using some spell. Of course, she assumed it was the Eye of Truth and Evan nced at her Pir of Soul. She did not turn around and could not see that Evan''s left eye turned gold during the cast of the spell.


    "I can say the same about you. It''s not nice not to say your name, don''t you think?" Evan said with a smirk. He didn''t like this girl''s arrogance.


    Tremble.


    The next moment the girl released her aura. It was mighty, many monsters would have been frightened by it. Victoria hoped it would tame Evan, but she was wrong.


    Evan also smiled and released his aura, and it was even scarier and more terrifying than Victoria''s aura. Evan found this situation amusing. He liked watching the confused faces of overconfident people.


    Victoria didn''t react in any way and just stopped emitting her aura. She hadn''t expected Evan to possess such power, even though he hadn''t yet broken through any Barrier at his stage.


    <It looks like the elders are paying this guy so much attention for a reason. Even one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree has taken credit for his actions. That''s pretty interesting>. Victoria thought.


    Victoria had to take Evan to one room to join the Demonic Tree and get his mantle officially.


    They didn''t go into the city part of the Devil''s Horn. Evan would go there himself once the ceremony was over.


    Victoria led Evan to arge gate forged of red iron. They looked majestic and intimidating.


    "You take it from here," Victoria said coldly and headed into town.


    Evan smiled and, with some effort, slowly opened the gates. They weighed over ten tons, but Evan was strong enough to move them off the meta and open them like a normal door.


    The room wasn''t huge. Demonic Tree didn''t hold pompous and shy admission ceremonies. Instead, they held one test. It was impossible not to pass, so even if a mage did poorly on this test, he still became a member of the Demonic Tree.


    There was only one person in the room. He was one of the strongest members of the Demonic Tree and one of the chief members of the Devil''s Horn. He was the one who was to conduct the entrance ceremony and the test today.


    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze.


    [Hugo Sveen


    Race - Mage


    Stage - Three-Pointed Star, with two mes


    Warp - White]


    <A man this strong has a white Warp. It seems that when ites to true strength, Warp color, while important, is not the main factor.> Evan thought and headed toward Hugo.


    Hugo, like all the members of the Demonic Tree, wore a red robe with the image of an ebony tree on it. Hugo had thick ck hair slicked back, amber eyes, and pale skin. He had a ck earring in his right ear and a simple, metal chain around his neck. Hugo was reading some book, and at first, he didn''t even pay Evan his attention.


    When Evan came closer, Hugo put the book aside and looked at Evan, and said, "Hello, Evan Lynch. I have to admit that no one had procrastinated as long as you to join us when you were ready to do so. You could have joined us when you were still at the One-Pointed Star stage, but you''ve onlye now."


    Evan shrugged and said, "I''ve just been a little busy. Sometimes a lot of things happen in one moment, and you don''t have time to do anything else."


    "I see." Hugo replied briefly and said, "I''m surprised that Rave asked me to make you a full member right away, bypassing the rookie period. I didn''t agree at first, but when he told me what you did, I changed my mind."


    Hugo sighed and continued, "As you may have realized by now, I''m not going to hold any pompous opening ceremony. Light organizations conduct such ceremonies, and frankly, it seems pathetic and inappropriate. You will now have to pass a test, after which I will write down your name and identify you as a full member of the Demonic Tree."


    "A test? What happens if you fail it?" Evan asked.


    Hugo shook his head, "It''s not a test you can fail. Regardless of the results, you won''t get any rewards or penalties. The point of this test is to see how strong your spirit and, to some extent, your potential is so that the other leaders and I can see how strong you are. You''ll get your grade. As I said earlier, it wouldn''t affect anything. But, it will help us understand how safe a particr assignment will be for you."


    "What do you mean?" Evan asked.


    "It''s simple. Suppose you got the lowest grade on the test. That means it would be hazardous to send you to the most difficult assignments. In that case, we''d have to keep you out of some missions for your safety. I''m not going to talk nonsense like we''re family, we should appreciate each other, and so on. It''s simple, every member counts, and we can''t throw such talents away. Every member of Demonic Tree is our strength. If someone dies because they''re overconfident, it''s not just their problem.. It''s organization''s problem too."

 Chapter 303 - The Test

    Evan nodded and asked, "Does the assessment of the test show how strong the mage is at his stage?"


    Hugo shook his head, "No, it''s hard to exin, and you''ll figure it out yourself during the test. Of course, some are stronger, and some are weaker. But, I''m sure you know that two people can be at the same stage and their strengths can be different. After all, you are much stronger than most mages at your stage. However, the two mages may have different fortitude, stress tolerance, ambition, and so on. Basically, I''m talking about those factors that also affect strength and potential but are not power in its purest form."


    "Hmm, that sounds interesting. I see your point. Even among the weak, some brave men do not fear death and, because of that, go forward and rise to the top of the world. Just as there are cowards among mighty men who are afraid to face their difficulties and enemies face to face. In such a case, the first man is weaker, but it is only for a while. If he keeps going forward, he will surpass the second man, even though he was much weaker." Calmly Evan said.


    "That''s right, okay, enough talk. You''re the only rookie today, so get through the test quickly, and I''ll go mind my own business." Calmly said Hugo.


    He didn''t mind exining the test to Evan. It might have saved him future questions and conflicts. But Hugo wasn''t going to talk, as he said he had other things to do. Moreover, he only came to this room when Evan approached the Devil''s Horn.


    Evan nodded and said, "Okay, what kind of test am I going to go through? Am I going to have to fight someone?"


    Hugo shook his head, "No, simple sparring can''t show what we want to learn. For the most part, sparring is no different than training. It''s too inefficient."


    "Then, what am I supposed to do?" Evan asked.


    Hugo stood up and headed to the other end of the room, gesturing for Evan to follow him.


    "Right here." Said Hugo standing a few feet away from the in wall.


    Evan looked at him puzzled, but the next moment he realized what was happening.


    Hugo leaned over and put his palm to the floor, and then arge number of different symbols and runes appeared on onerge b. The b came into motion, and Evan saw what was behind it.


    It was a pool, but not a simple one. First of all, the water in this pool was more like ink. It was just as dark. Secondly, there was an eerie auraing from this water, and what''s more, dark hands came out of the pool from time to time.


    "All you have to do is take a dip in the pool, and then you have to show all the strength of your spirit," Hugo said calmly.


    This all seemed very strange to Evan, but he knew that from Demonic Tree should have expected this. As Hugo spoke, Evan observed him, and he could tell with certainty that Hugo wasn''t lying or trying to trick him in any way. This creepy pool was an ordeal that every member of the Demonic Tree had to pass.


    "The steps extend to the bottom of the pool. You''ll have to go down deep enough that the waterpletely covers your bodies." Said Hugo.


    Evan sighed and slowly headed into the pool. The water looked pretty scary, but Evan wasn''t going to be afraid of the water. Step by step, his body plunged into the dark water.


    To his surprise, Evan felt nothing, nothing at all. He felt as if he were not in water but in the vast sky with only air and emptiness. His clothes did not get wet, and neither did he himself. It was a strange sensation.


    Eventually, everything but Evan''s head sank into the pool, only thest part was left, and the ordeal would begin.


    "Well, let''s see what the Demonic Tree has in store for me." Mumbled Evan and plunged entirely into the water.


    Hugo looked at the dark water and muttered to himself, "Eh, Evan, I hope you don''t disappoint me. I''ve never seen Rave take as much interest in someone as he does in you. What secret are you hiding?"


    The next moment he put his palm to the floor and poured some mana into the seal.


    Whooooooooosh.


    More than a hundred magical circles appeared on the pool and ovepped to form one powerful formation.


    ...


    "§¡? Where am I?" muttered Evan.


    He found himself in a strange space, there was nothing around, but when he turned aroundpletely, he saw three doors in front of him. But, they were unusual doors. Someone was standing next to each door.


    On the left was a dark door with a burning outline, and standing next to it was a creature very reminiscent of a canon demon. It had red skin and two long horns on its head.


    "Come on,e here." Said the demon, gesturing for Evan toe to him.


    Evan looked at him, puzzled.


    "You want to learn more about the dark side of this world, don''t you? For that, you must see the real darkness. All you have to do is open this door."


    "No! Don''t you dare listen to him!" A voice came from the right.


    There was a white door with a glowing outline. Next to the door stood a creature resembling an angel. It was a beautiful girl with long blond hair and white wings.


    She looked at Evan and said, "There''s no point in you going to that wretched demon. The light is still in your soul."


    This ordeal was tailored to Evan himself. This meant that not everyone who passed the test had to choose between supposed good and evil. This variation of the test was explicitly created for Evan, which is why this test could not be failed. But, at the same time, the test could put a person in a difficult situation for him. Moreover, these doors were only the beginning.


    "You think you can show me what true darkness looks like? Don''t make meugh. You''re just a pathetic semnce of the horror and despair that exists in this world." Said Evan looking at the demon and then turning his gaze to the angel, "You''re even worse, people like you always talk about light, but in reality, you''re pathetic hypocrites.. It''s many times worse than the darkness."

 Chapter 304 - The Third Door

    Angel and demon did not expect this kind of reaction. They should have bent Evan to one side, light or darkness. Each person should have chosen one of these. But Evan didn''t see it that way.


    He was the strongest dark mage, not because he wanted to be a viin since childhood, but because the path he chose often intersected with the path of darkness and evil. Evan didn''t follow the dark path but rather zed his trail. He always acted only as he wanted to.


    For the same reason, Evan wasn''t going to choose left or right. Angel and demon didn''t interest him. In his mind, they weren''t worth his attention.


    Besides the light and dark door, there was another door in front of Evan. It was between the light and dark door. It was a gray door with a purple outline. Next to this door stood a silhouette with a long cane in a gray cloak. It was not clear whether it was a human angel or a demon. Nothing was visible under the gray cloak.


    There was no creepy aura from this door like the dark one or a pleasant aura like the light one. But, Evan felt that this door was his choice.


    "It reminds me of something..." Mumbled Evan and headed for the gray door.


    At that moment, he remembered a situation in which his Warp cleared. Back then, he died because demonic and divine energies had entered his body.


    Then the three drops turned into a strange liquid and purified his Warp. Thanks to this, Evan was able toe back to life and be stronger. Last time he had chosen his way, now he was going to do the same.


    Click.


    Evan opened the gray door and stepped inside.


    ...


    "Rid! Wake up." A woman''s voice was heard.


    "Now..." Mumbled a thirteen-year-old boy with short, red hair.


    <I had such a strange dream... why were a demon and an angel standing at the door? Eh, no need to think about it. It was just a dream.> Rid pondered and headed for the kitchen.


    His whole family was in the kitchen: his father, his mother, and his older sister. They were eating and talking merrily. Rid joined them with a smile on his face. But, something seemed strange to him. He couldn''t make out his family''s faces, even after rubbing his eyes very hard.


    Rid decided to ignore it. He sat down at the table and began to eat. Today''s meal was a well-cooked steak. Rid cut off a piece and ate it happily. The others had steak on their te as well, but Rid felt strange when he saw something.


    He watched a piece of meat on his mother''s fork turn into a cabbage leaf. It wasn''t an illusion. He heard a distinct crunch.


    "What''s Rid?" His mother asked him.


    "No, nothing, I just thought a piece of meat turned into cabbage..." Mumbled Rid.


    His older sister joined in the conversation, "Ahaha, Rid, didn''t you get enough sleep? That''s normal!"


    She cut off a piece of meat, and suddenly it turned into a fried piece of fish.


    The same thing happened with his father''s food. What''s more, when Rid looked at his steak, he saw pancakes drizzled with honey instead.


    <What''s going on here...?> thought Rid.


    He shook his head and decided to put the bad thoughts out of his head. Rid continued to eat along with his family, enjoying apletely different dish with each bite.


    After they finished everything, Rid''s father got up from the table and said, "Rid, let''s go."


    "Where to?"


    "What? Do you forget? You''ve been asking me to take you fishing for so long. Come on, get ready." Said the man and headed for the door. Rid quickly followed him.


    However, when they got to the door, it suddenly disappeared and moved to another part of the house. Rid''s father did not react in any way and walked to the door again. This kind of thing was quite normal.


    When they came out of the house, Rid saw a fantastic picture. The grass, nts, and flowers all around were constantly growing and fading. Roses were growing in one ce, and a secondter, they were dead. Momentster, daisies with rainbow petals grew in the same spot.


    Father Rid walked past the tree and picked an apple from it. But when he brought the fruit to his mouth, the apple turned into a pear, and again it did not confuse him in any way.


    There were no other people in that area.


    Rid touched a massive oak tree, but suddenly it turned into thousands of blue butterflies. These butterflies disappeared into the air, and then to Rid''s left, a birch tree grew right on the road.


    Rid felt strange. Deep down, he felt that it shouldn''t be like this, but it surprised him alone.


    <Damn it, what the hell am I even thinking about? I''ve waited so long to go fishing with my dad.> Rid thought and quickly caught up with his father.


    Rid''s father led him to the pond. Like everything else in this world, the pond was constantly changing. At one time, the water was ordinary, and then a few secondster, it would turn intova. Moreover, even the craziest variations were possible such as burning ice, waterposed of lightning, light ink, and so on.


    Rid''s father taught his son to fish and told him a variety of stories. In all the time, they managed to catch three fish. They also changed from time to time. Some got fatter and bigger, and others the other way around. One fish caught fire, and the other, on the contrary, was covered with a thickyer of ice.


    By then, Rid was used to this world. Everything seemed familiar to him. He enjoyed the walk home with his father.


    The sky was not unlike the rest of the things in this world in terms of stability. No sooner had Rid walked a hundred yards than the clear, blue sky changed to a night sky with a million bright stars. Then the fog appeared around him but then quickly disappeared.


    There were a huge variety of phenomena and anomalies going on in this world in a minute.


    "What''s going on? Rid run!" The man said loudly and sprinted toward the house.


    Rid was frightened, he saw some dark monster approaching their house, and unlike anything else in this world, it would not change.

 Chapter 305 - Perception

    Rid ran after his father. He couldn''t let the monster get close to their house and hurt his family. But, they were too far away.


    The monster shattered the floor of the house in one blow and quickly ran after Rid''s fleeing mother.


    "No!" Rid''s father shouted, but that didn''t stop the monster.


    It tore the woman''s flesh apart and, a few secondster, did the same to Rid''s older sister. His father was desperate but still tried to fight and get revenge.


    They had a sword in their house with which he armed himself and sharply plunged the de of the de deep into the monster''s flesh.


    "Father!" Shouted Rid as he watched the monster break the sword with its mouth and then kill Rid''s father.


    It was an absolute nightmare that happened for real. No one expected something like this to happen.


    Rid didn''t know what to do. The monster was strolling toward him and had no intention of stopping. Rid''s gaze fell upon the remains of his family, and all his strength was gone in an instant. He had no more reason to fight and live in this world. He couldn''t imagine himself without his family. They were the only thing in this world that was precious to him.


    Whoooosh.


    When the monster reached Rid, he swung his paw and cut off Rid''s arm with his sharp ws. He tried to run away, but the monster wasn''t about to let him go. It dug its ws into his leg and dragged him back. The monster decided to y with itsst victim.


    When Rid''s body was scarred, and he was near death, he muttered quietly, "Damn, if only I could change things..."


    The monster swung his paw and was about to kill Rid, but suddenly a creepy voice sent shivers down the monster''s body and caused him to experience true terror.


    "You, no, I can." Smirking, Rid said, gradually transforming into Evan.


    "This body is no stronger than that of a mere human, but this world belongs to me," Evan said coldly, and in the blink of an eye, his wounds and limbs healed.


    His cloak appeared on him, and his aura became so intimidating that the monster couldn''t even move. But Evan wasn''t going to deal with the monster himself. Considering he wasparable to a god in this world, there were more interesting ways.


    Evan extended his arm toward it and then lowered it as if giving a signal for the archers. The monster didn''t realize what was happening, but then a massive shadow fell over it. The monster shot up into the sky and saw a meteorite hurtling towards him. It was big enough to destroy an entire mountain with its fall.


    The meteorite came crashing down on the monster, destroying most of the space. The house, the trees, the garden, and theke were all destroyed. Such a meteorite fall could have caused a real cataclysm or even an apocalypse. It was an iparable power that was almost impossible to achieve.


    Evan was in charge in this world, so an entire fell on the monster after the meteorite. He watched this destruction being protected by a simple barrier that he himself created with the power of his mind.


    Snap.


    Evan snapped his fingers, and everything was back to normal. The day began again, but Rid was gone. Evan headed for theke.


    He took a long look at the changing water and the fruit on the trees before muttering, "This world is crazy..."


    Evan picked an apple from the tree, but then it changed to a watermelon. Evan shook his head and turned the big berry into a fruit again.


    "No, it''s not madness. It''s chaos, ever-changing, uncontroble, and unpredictable chaos. That''s what''s hidden inside of me." Proimed Evan and took a bite of the green, sour apple.


    Evan had been wondering what kind of energy he was emitting during Ssh for a long time, and now he figured it out. But, it didn''t make the situation any easier.


    "Through this ordeal, I realized that my power, or element as it ismonly called, is chaos. But, chaos is uncontroble and unpredictable. This power can create, destroy and change. Chaos stands far above the abilities of the gods, but to subdue chaos sounds like madness. I don''t have the faintest idea how to learn how to use this power." Mumbled Evan exchanging an apple for a bar of chocte.


    In this world he could do whatever he wanted, but it was a big illusion, one powerful spell chaining him in a special space. It wasn''t the real world, where he couldn''t create an entire with a simple wave of his hand.


    "Okay, time to get out of here." Mumbled Evan, and the world began to copse.


    He came into this space through a door, so Evan was going to get out of here in the same way. Gradually there was nothing left of the world but a vast emptiness. Evan was about to create a door, but suddenly ck and white mes appeared before him.


    These mes turned into the demon and angel he had met before. But, this time, they were in no mood to talk. They stared fiercely at Evan and were about to attack him.


    "You dare disregard our kindness and refuse our offers like an ungrateful dog. You are nothing but a wretched man and must die." They said at the same time.


    Evan snorted and stretched his arms forward with his palms open.


    "You''re nothing but a bunch of clowns. Don''t you dare get on my nerves, get lost." Evan said coldly and clenched his hands into a fist.


    The next moment the demon and angel were trapped in a spatial cube. That cube gradually shrunk until it just crushed them and turned them into a cube of meat. The demon and angel tried to resist, but it was impossible.


    <Okay, I need to create a door and get out of here.> Evan thought, but suddenly dozens of the same angels and demons appeared around him. All at once, they attacked Evan.


    ...


    As Evan passed his test, Hugo read a book. Each contestant went through the trial for a different amount of time, so he didn''t know how long it wouldst. But, most of the time, the participant needed at least an hour.


    But, just ten minutes after Evan lowered himself into the dark pool, Hugo saw dozens of magic circles over the water begin to copse.


    "That fast? What kind of power lurks in it....".

 Chapter 306 - The Mantle

    After an unknown amount of time, Evan had finally dealt with all the demons and angels. This battle seemed endless to him. He killed demons and angels time after time, after which they revived and increased in number. They were like immortal hydra. But, even such a creature had its limit.


    In total, Evan killed over a million angels and demons. He used a wide variety of techniques to exterminate them. Over time, he even began to run out of imagination. After all, this fight was not difficult. His opponents didn''t stand a chance of even hurting Evan.


    The biggest problem with this fight was that it was drawn out and boring. Evan froze them, burned them, tore them apart, crushed them. It was impossible to list all the ways he killed them.


    "Eh, it''s finally over. I hope I didn''t go through the ordeal too long." Mumbled Evan.


    It seemed to him that at least ten hours had passed. But, in the real world, no more than ten seconds had passed. That was the difference between the two worlds. However, this kind of thing only happened when Evan was going through this ordeal. It was one of the effects of his power that changed the rules of space.


    Evan waved his hand, and the same gray door with purple edges appeared in front of him. When Evan saw it again, he realized that it was very simr in color to the chaos energy his body was emitting. In a mighty Ssh, his energy was not only gray but also purple.


    He opened the door and walked through it. Simultaneously, all the magic circles over the pool were destroyed, and Evan slowly emerged from the dark water. He was a mage and was at the stage - Three-Pointed Star, so he had no problem holding his breath for more than an hour. This was no problem for him.


    "So, how did I do?" Evan realized that Hugo couldn''t see what happened in that space. But, he was sure Hugo had his own ways of knowing how well Evan had performed.


    "Top notch." Hugo calmly replied and wrote something down in his notebook.


    Evan didn''t see it, but Hugo, next to Evan''s name, wrote just one letter, "S." It was the highest score a contestant could get at all. This meant that no matter how difficult or important the mission, Evan could take part in it. There were no barriers for him, and his potential was challenging to determine.


    Hugo had once been rated the same way. Moreover, most of the members of the Demonic Tree in Castle Rave had a grade - "S."


    Evan smiled, he liked that Demonic Tree didn''t restrict the actions of its full members in any way, except for one exception. If he got a low grade, he would be denied some assignments for safety reasons. In some ways, this restricted his actions, but it was logical and fair in other ways. But, Evan wasn''t willing to ept even thatpromise. So when he learned that he had received the top score, he was pleased.


    "Now I''m a full member of Demonic Tree. Right?" Evan asked. It was actually a rhetorical question.


    Hugo smiled, and his spatial ring glowed. A red robe of ebony appeared in his hands, which he handed to Evan.


    "Evan, we have no rules requiring our members to walk in a red robe in our territories, but to avoid any problems, I suggest you walk in a robe," Hugo said calmly.


    Evan nodded. He saw nothing wrong with walking around in their robes at the Demonic Tree base. What''s more, Evan was now officially a member of the organization.


    As Evan caught the mantle, he felt a strange aura begin to emanate from Hugo. It wasn''t hostile or friendly. It was like a lighthouse sensor.


    "Surprised?" Asked Hugo and said, "The robes of Demonic Tree members are not ordinary. I knew you wereing a long time ago, so I prepared some robes for you. I didn''t think you''d get this particr one."


    Evan was puzzled. He didn''t understand what Hugo meant.


    "Evan, how do you think members of dark organizations know that they are allies and not enemies? Sure, you could say that by their robes or because they know each other by sight. But, it''s not safe to wear the robes of dark organizations everywhere, and you can''t know what all the members of the Demonic Tree look like." Hugo said calmly.


    "I see. When I touched this robe, a special spell was activated. Now I can feel the special aura that emanates from all members of the Demonic Tree and me. But is it safe? Anyone else can touch the mantle and activate the spell." Asked Evan.


    Hugo shook his head, "It''s not that simple. This spell, on this particr mantle, only you could activate it. I needed a piece of you to set up the spell like that, but Rave kindly presented me with your hair. That was enough. He''s pretty greedy and didn''t want to give up a drop of your blood."


    <I didn''t even notice when he did it...> thought Evan.


    "Also, look at the ebony image on your robe. Demonic Tree members have slightly different robes. Look at the roots of the tree. There are seven roots on your mantle. That''s the maximum. The minimum is one. It all depends on your grade during this ordeal." Hugo exined.


    Evan nodded. This kind of system was quite handy. The mage could tell at a nce how safe a particr task would be for a mage, within his stage, of course.


    "I have one more question. Does this spell work as long as the mantle is on me, or is that optional?" Evan asked.


    "It doesn''t matter. The spell is already activated, and it will be very difficult to remove it. Even if you lose the mantle, an aura will continue to emanate from you that only members of the Demonic Tree can feel. This spell was created personally by the head of the Demonic Tree, so even the strongest light mages cannot recognize this aura.." Pronounced Hugo.

 Chapter 307 - Demonic Tree Library

    <So the head of the Demonic Tree created this spell? That''s impressive. How many other spells he created, or was this the exception?"> Thought Evan.


    "Hugo, where the Devil''s Horn''s library is? I want to choose my spells." Asked Evan.


    "Just go down into town and look at the map. It''s simple. There''s no point in making it difficult to find such important buildings." Pronounced Hugo.


    "I want to ask you something. Can I get ess to the vault where the strongest and most forbidden spells are?"


    Hugo shook his head, "Not at the moment. You need permission from one of the high ranking members of the Demonic Tree. After all, these spells are in a ce that even the King of Vexacion and the head of the Tear of Light cannot find."


    <Hmm, I thought that there would be no restrictions when I became a full member of the Demonic Tree, but I guess I was a little wrong.> Evan thought.


    "Don''t get me wrong, you''ve proven that you have the right to be called a full member of the Demonic Tree. But you can''t get into that vault when you want to. You and any other Demonic Tree member must first apply. Then one of the high ranking members of the Demonic Tree will escort you there." Hugo exined.


    "I understand if I apply now, how long do I have to wait?" Asked Evan.


    "It depends on many factors, but generally not much, just one week. But, I wouldn''t rush it if I were you. As far as I know, you only recently broke through to the stage - Two-Pointed Star. I rmend you pick the second level spells from the Devil''s Horn first.


    Hugo sighed and continued, "There are just as many strong and forbidden spells in the library here. Sure, there are no Seven Princes of Hell spells here, but I don''t see the point in learning suchplex spells when you don''t have a single second level spell in your arsenal yet."


    <That sounds logical. Rave said that learning even one Seven Princes of Hell spell is an incredibly difficult and time-consuming task. Moreover, not even all Demonic Tree members can master these spells. Right now, I should really concentrate on the other second level spells.> Evan thought.


    "Okay, I see your point. I''m not going to apply just yet." Said Evan and headed into town.


    He already had so many ns that he wanted to aplish. Moreover, he had his own Seven Princes of Hell spells so that he could put it off forter. First and foremost, he had to learn the new spells and get busy with the experiment.


    ...


    Evan finally wore the red robe of ebony. He was now a full member of the Demonic Tree. Moreover, his tree had seven roots. But, he still had a lot to learn about this organization and how it was run.


    When Evan went downstairs, he saw before him a massive, multi-leveled city. The Devil''s Horn upied almost all the space inside the mountain. It was hard to call it a mountain, though, because it was very different on the inside.


    The city wasrge enough for the members of the Demonic Tree to fly their riding beasts here. Many mages were in a hurry to go somewhere, buy something, or make arrangements for something.


    Evan headed towards the library, which was a tall building that resembled a tower.


    <What? Are there people here? > Evan thought to himself, watching how the members of the Demonic Tree were being served in a restaurant.


    Evan didn''t believe it at first, but after using Mammon''s Gaze, he was certain it wasn''t a mage and certainly not a member of the Demonic Tree.


    <They let ordinary humans in here? That''s odd. Sure, someone has to do the cleaning and maintenance, but wouldn''t it be easier to summon a few creatures?"> Evan pondered and moved on.


    He was surprised to find a skeleton serving Demonic Tree members in the next restaurant and a golem as a waiter in another.


    The Devil''s Horn was not apletely secret Demonic Tree base, as all members of the Demonic Tree coulde here. Moreover, important allies and high-ranking members of other powerful dark organizations were allowed toe here.


    But Evan didn''t understand how any human coulde here. It was very simple. The people here didn''t even know they were in a ce called the Devil''s Horn. They also knew nothing of the outside world and that they were cooking for the most dangerous dark mages in The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.


    After all, these people were born and raised here. The Devil''s Horn was big enough that ordinary humans could live here all their lives without needing anything.


    There were many reasons why ordinary humans ended up here, but the fact remained. Moreover, the members of the Demonic Tree saw nothing wrong with it. These people acted as helpers, and they didn''t need to know that they were in the grief of how big this world was.


    <Hmm, I only walked a few streets, but I saw a huge number of summoned creatures. They use them as workers. I wonder if Summoners summon them? Or are there special formations activated in the Devil''s Horn?> Thought Evan as he passed a skeleton who was dragging a load along with an ordinary human.


    It looked as if the human and the monster were working together. That was not far from the truth.


    After a while, Evan reached the library. Like Kilia had said, the full members of the Demonic Tree had no limits. Evan had no problem going where he wanted and staying as long as he wanted. But, that didn''t mean that all services were free.


    He had to pay ten tinum coins to enter the library. For Evan and the members of the Demonic Tree, it wasn''t much money, but even for many mages, it was a decent amount of money.


    The library wasrge, containing a huge variety of spells.. But, Evan realized, it was only a drop in the ocean.

 Chapter 308 - Second Level Spells

    Evan took quite a while to find the right spells for himself. Even though this library was at the base of the Demonic Tree and had many forbidden spells, there were few Epic Rarity spells even here. Evan did, however, pick out some exciting spells.


    But, there was one thing he hadn''t expected. Evan had never seen a mixed elemental spell before this moment. All the spells he had used were of one element: darkness, blood, ice, or lightning.


    He had wondered about this once before and didn''t understand why he hadn''t seen such spells in The Last Moon library. Moreover, there was no mention of them in the books, but now he understood the reason.


    <It seems impossible to create a mixed elemental spell if it''s below the second level. It''s most likely a matter of not having enough mana to use level zero and level one spells.> Evan thought, looking at the spell book.


    This time he decided to choose more spells than usual, namely two Amplification Magic spells, two Creation Magic spells, and one Summoning Magic spell.


    Evan''s left eye turned to gold, and he looked at the first of the five spells he had chosen.


    [Spellbook - Vortex Boots of Thunder


    Rank - 2


    Rarity - Rare]


    It was an Amplification Magic spell, and as the name implies, itbined two elements: lightning and wind.


    Evan decided to choose this spell because of its interesting and suggestive description -


    <When the mage casts this spell, mana is transformed into wind and lightning, which envelops the mage''s legs into a kind of boots. This spell gives the mage incredible speed due to the element of wind and increases the strength of his leg strokes due to electrical discharges. But, this spell has one big disadvantage, wind and lightning are not bad in sync, but it takes a lot of mana and energy to hold that kind of power for a long time.>


    This spell gave the mage both speed and increased attack, of course only from kicks. Evan decided that such a spell would be an excellent substitute for Ghost Step. Moreover, if necessary, Ghost Step would still be a useful spell because of its silent effect.


    "Myst spell made me silent, and this is the opposite. From the description, when I cast this spell, there will be the sound of thunder all the time." Mumbled Evan.


    Vortex Boots of Thunder was a Rare Rarity, but Evan decided that this spell would suit him perfectly.


    The next Amplification Magic spell Evan chose was Epic Rarity. It was called - Explosive Order.


    This spell was unusual and unique. While using Explosive Order, the mage''s hands or weapons were covered in red energy. But, it was not fire. It was difficult to determine the element of this spell. The most urate answer would be an explosion.


    The essence of this spell was that when a mage hit your opponent, a particle of this red energy was left on him. However, that energy dissipated naturally in ten seconds.


    If the mage struck twice more at roughly the same spot, the red energy would be enough to cause an explosion. This spell was suitable for those who preferred to strike many blows instead of one very powerful one.


    Evan either fought with his bare hands or with a scythe, and those were some of the fastest fighting styles. So this spell suited him perfectly.


    So Evan would not only chop the flesh of his opponents but also blow them up. This spell was also great for fighting against armored and well-defended opponents. If its weapons couldn''t prate the armor of a monster or a mage, a few sts should undoubtedly do the trick.


    Evan didn''t choose any more Amplification Magic spells. It was more than enough, in his opinion. Also, he had to get a few more spells from the Pirs in Dark Space. So Evan decided to limit himself to just two spells of the same Type of Magic.


    Next, Evan moved on to select Creation Magic spells, one of which was.


    [Spellbook - Lightning Arrow of Darkness


    Rank - 2


    Rarity - Rare]


    Like Vortex Boots of Thunder, this was a spell of mixed elements: darkness and lightning.


    The spell was straightforward to use but highly effective and deadly. But, using this spell was done in two stages.


    First, the mage had to create a bow from the darkness and convert the mana into a lightning arrow. Thus the lightning arrow absorbed the power of darkness andbined the two elements.


    Because of the element of lightning, the speed and destructive power of the arrow were at an enormous level. The darkness gave this spell the stability that lightningcked, as well as the corrosive effect.


    This spell suited every mage, but especially one who knew some vision-enhancing spell. The passive effect of the Sigil of the Rat significantly improved Evan''s vision, so this spell was especially powerful in his hands.


    "I''ll save that forter..." Mumbled Evan looking at the second Creation Magic spell.


    He moved on to the Summoning Magic spell. He decided to take one such spell, not forbat but experimentation. He needed helpers, about the same as Rave''s.


    Sure, Evan could kidnap people or even mages and make them work for him, and he''d probably do that. But, one Summoning Magic spell wouldn''t be out of ce.


    [Spellbook - Summoning Blood Skeletons.


    Rank - 2


    Rarity - Rare]


    There were no tricks to this spell. It was simple. A mage could summon several Blood Skeletons. But, they were poorly suited forbat, which is why Evan chose this spell.


    The skeletons'' bodies were covered in a thinyer of blood, and they could transform that blood into the form they needed. Evan decided that such creatures would be useful in experiments or when urgently required an unusually shaped tool.


    Moreover, these skeletons were capable of healing but slowly and not particrly effective. However, this is provided that the target was a mage at the stage - Two-Pointed Star. The skeletons'' blood would quickly heal wounds in the shortest possible time.


    In the end, Evan decided to reread again thest spell he had chosen. It was a Creation Magic spell, Epic Rarity.. It was called Waterfall of Souls.

 Chapter 309 - Waterfall Of Souls

    Evan looked at the ck, battered book. It was thest and strongest spell he thought he had chosen to study.


    [Spellbook - Waterfall of Souls


    Rank - 2


    Rarity - Epic]


    This was not only a forbidden spell but also a spell of soul magic. The element of this spell was hard to determine, but the most urate would be darkness.


    When the mage cast this spell, a dark matter was created behind him that looked like dozens of evil spirits eager to kill all life. The number of spirits created depends on the amount of mana used, but at this point could not be more than seven or less than three.


    This spell was tough to control because Waterfall of Souls was somewhat simr to Summoning Magic, but it was not. These spirits were pure energy of darkness and echoes of the souls of long-dead beings.


    Evan had to control them and guide them to their target. When the spirits reached their target, they exploded and did massive damage.


    Evan decided to choose another Creation Magic spell because he needed something powerful and significant. He had used Ball Lightning as his most powerful weapon before, but that spell wasn''t as useful against second rank monsters.


    Lightning Arrow of Darkness was a pretty powerful spell, but not as powerful as Waterfall of Souls. If the former was like a powerful arrow or even a missile. Waterfall of Souls could bepared to a wholeunch of rockets, ready to destroy its target.


    Finished with his choice of spells, Evan headed for the exit of the Devil''s Horn. But, before he did, he decided to stop by one of the stores.


    The Devil''s Horn wasn''t the only Demonic Tree base, and Evan wanted to find out where the others were. To do that, he needed the mostmon informant.


    Of course, Evan could have tried to find out this information from a mere member of the Demonic Tree, but it was much quicker and easier to pay. Moreover, he hoped the informant would tell him something interesting about each of the bases.


    A few minutester, Evan was already sitting at the same table with the informant and getting all the information he needed. Evan had to pay 5,000 tinum coins. It was quite a sum, but Evan thought the price would be much higher.


    It made sense, though, because he could learn it all for free. But, he would have to spend a satisfying amount of his time.


    "Are you new?" Asked the informant. His name was Franz Crane. He had short brown hair and a big, vertical scar on his left eye.


    Evan nodded, "I joined just recently and want to know all about the known bases of Demonic Tree."


    Franz smiled and said, "Okay, you''vee to the right ce. But, you have to understand something."


    "What is it?" Evan asked.


    "I''ll tell you everything I know, but Demonic Tree has ces that only the very top knows about. Moreover, many powerful members of the Demonic Tree have their own small bases. Only those who have been told about these ces know about them." Franz warned.


    "I understand. Just tell me about those ces that every Demonic Tree member knows about." Evan said calmly.


    "Well, a promising newbie like you doesn''t like to waste time asking around, do you?" Said Franz and proceeded to exin.


    As one of Demonic Tree''s informants, he had known about Evan for a long time. Franz wasn''t surprised that the moment hade when Evan joined the Demonic Tree, but he hadn''t expected Evan to get the mantle with seven roots. Franz knew better than most how few people received such capes.


    "Demonic Tree doesn''t have many bases that any member of the organization can get into without a problem. There are only four. Each one corresponds to a side of the world. Devil''s Horn is to the north, Demonic Flower is to the east, Blood Pond is to the west, and Scarlet Beach is to the south." Said Franz, and his spatial ring lit up.


    A very urate map of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes appeared in his hands. He showed Evan where each of the four bases was and exined in detail how to get there. Each base had its own way of defending against unwanted guests. They had attacking formations and hiding formations.


    A mage who didn''t know the exact location of the Demonic Tree base wouldn''t see it even if he walked a few meters away. Moreover, each of the four bases was in geographically hidden locations.


    "I''ll show you the exact entrances now. Watch carefully." Said Franz and put his palm to the map. He poured in some mana, and the next moment a three-dimensional image of bases, passageways, paths, and so on appeared above the map.


    This map was a magical artifact created explicitly for high-level informants. Evan was surprised. Previously he could only guess where the entrance was from Franz''s words, but now he had the impression that he had already been to the other bases.


    After a few minutes of exnation, Evan nodded and said, "Okay. These are the main bases of the Demonic Tree, and besides them, there are ces even you don''t know about. But, where is the main base?"


    Devil''s Horn, Demonic Flower, Blood Pond, and Scarlet Beach were important points, but none of them was the main base.


    Franz smiled and asked, "Look at the map and tell me where you think Demonic Tree''s main base is? I''m just curious to hear your opinion."


    Evan thought about it and said, "Hmm, it''s probably an extremely mysterious and dangerous ce that would be hard for even a king to get into. Perhaps the Demonic Tree''s main base is right here."


    Evan pointed to a remote spot to the east of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. This ce was very close to the border with the other kingdom. What''s more, there were mountain ranges and dense forests all around.


    "It''s not a bad ce, but you were wrong. This is where Demonic Tree''s base is." Said Franz and pointed the finger at the ceiling.


    Evan looked at him, puzzled.


    Franz smirked and said, "Demonic Tree''s main base is high in the sky, on a huge, soaring ind."

 Chapter 310 - The Dark Gate

    "What? Demonic Tree''s main base is on a hovering ind? Are you serious?" Evan asked in disbelief. Even in this world based on magic, soaring inds seemed like something unbelievable.


    Evan immediately assumed that this ind floated in the sky, thanks to thousands of formations and special spells. But, he was terrified to imagine the amount of mana spent per second to keep an entire ind in the air.


    "I mean it. Wouldn''t it be frustrating if it were different? Don''t you think so?" Franz asked with a smirk.


    Evan nodded, "I agree, if the main base ended up in some hidden location, it would make sense, but not impressive. But, knowing that the strongest dark mages of this Kingdom are lurking high in the sky gives me the creeps. It''s incredibly brazen, audacious, and majestic."


    "Exactly. Demonic Tree''s main base is called the Dark Gate. It is a massive soaring ind that is hidden by hundreds of formations. Moreover, the Dark Gate sits above the clouds and mountain peaks. Neither King Vexacion, nor the heads of the most powerful Dark Organizations have been able to find this ce, as well as other numerous Demonic Tree bases." With pride in his head, Franz said.


    <There''s a reason the Demonic Tree is as well known as one of the most secretive organizations. The spells that the strongest members of the Demonic Tree know are incredible. They can hide entire mountains and even soaring inds. I wonder if they created these spells themselves or found them in ancient ruins?> Evan thought.


    Franz went on to exin, "The Dark Gate is located right here. He pointed to a point on the map north of the center of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.


    <Hmm, the Dark Gate isn''t very far from the center of the Kingdom. The Devil''s Horn is far to the north but shifted slightly to the east. On the other hand, the Dark Gate is slightly disced to the west, and there are still hundreds of kilometers to the farthest reaches of the north.> Evan thought.


    He was amazed that the Dark Gate was in quite a prominent position on one side. After all, the capital of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes wasn''t that far away, judging by the map. The distance between them was in the hundreds of kilometers.


    "Franz, tell me more about the capital of the Kingdom and the King''s subordinates. I know quite a bit about the light and dark organizations, but I know almost nothing about the capital." Said Evan.


    Like most other mages, Evan knew where the main bases of the Light Organizations were located. This information was not secret, and any mage coulde to the base of a light organization and try to pass the exam.


    Evan knew a lot about dark organizations since he was interested in the topic and was already a member of the most powerful dark organization.


    Evan knew that King Vexacion ruled the Kingdom of Fallen Hopes, but that was where his knowledge ended.


    "Got it, for starters, the capital is arge city called - Fallen Destiny, it is a little south of the center of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes." Said Franz.


    Evan nodded. He looked at the map and looked at the location of Fallen Destiny. There was quite a variety of terrain around the capital. There were hills, mountains,kes, forests, des, and even one volcano.


    "You asked me about the King''s subordinates, so I''ll tell you what kind of power the Vexacion King has. First, King Vexacion is an incredibly powerful mage. ording to what I know, his power isparable to the head of Demonic Tree, Merciful Death and Tears of Light." Said Franz.


    He continued, "Secondly, King Vexacion is capable of exerting quite a bit of influence on light organizations. Only the Tears of Light are strong enough sometimes not to follow King Vexacion''s instructions and stay alive. The rest of the light organizations must obey the will of the Vexacion King to one degree or another. Of course, King Vexacion has no control over the activities of the light organizations, but sometimes he may require them to do some task." Said Franz.


    "I see, but he doesn''t have that kind of power just because he''s strong, does he? He must have a lot of powerful helpers." Asked Evan.


    "Yes, King Vexacion rules the capital, and he has an organization that reports only to him. This organization is called the Ashen Order. It is a ratherrge organization with several powerful mages. Each of them believes that King Vexacion''s ideology is true and his power and authority are unshakable. Of course, they report directly to the Vexacion King and do all his bidding." Pronounced Franz.


    "Ashen Order...how strong is this organization?" Asked Evan.


    "Very strong. The Ashen Order controls several towns near the capital. I can tell this is their territory where they are the sole owners. Ashen Order isparable in strength to the strongest dark and light organizations. In my opinion, Ashen Orden is not inferior to Tears of Light or Merciful Death." Exined Franz.


    "That''s impressive..." Mumbled Evan.


    He knew that King Vexacion had his own subordinates, but he hadn''t expected it to be such arge and powerful organization.


    "Franz, which side does the Ashen Order take? The dark side of the light side?" Evan asked.


    "I''d say the most urate definition would be half-light. Ashen Order is somewhat allied with the light organizations and feuds with the dark organizations. But, there is one big difference between them."


    He sighed and continued, "Unlike the light organizations, the Vexacion King and, therefore, the Ashen Order do not want to destroy the dark organizations, but only under certain conditions. If the dark organizations ept the King''s ideology and stop doing business with ordinary people and vampires, then he will treat them the same as the light organizations. Of course, in that case, the dark organizations would also have to obey the King''s orders."


    "I see, that option is ruled out. Dark organizations will never obey anyone and will act only in their interests." Proimed Evan.


    "That''s right, our feud is inevitable. Evan, is that all you wanted to know?" Franz asked.


    Evan nodded and calmly said, "Yes, goodbye."


    He headed for the exit of the Devil''s Horn. Evan went to his tower and studied his chosen second level spells.. He also wanted to unlock the chains on the Pirs.

 Chapter 311 - The Glass Forest

    Evan headed to the top of the mountain and sat on his riding beast. He had no more business in the Devil''s Horn. He picked out the spells and learned the information he needed. Sure, Evan could have participated in some missions, but he wasn''t going to take an active role in the Demonic Tree just yet.


    He needed to get stronger and sort out his affairs before he had the desire and time to seek out the ancient ruins and fight the light organizations.


    As Evan flew, he pondered Franz''s words.


    <When he talked about the Ashen Order and their power, he often mentioned Merciful Death. I know they are a very powerful dark organization, but I have yet to meet any of them. It would be interesting to see how they fight against Tears of Light or some other light organization.> Evan thought.


    Thirty minutes had passed since he left the Devil''s Horn by then. Evan was approaching an area called - The ss Forest.


    The trees in this ce were practically ss, or so it seemed outside. The trees and their crowns consisted of transparent crystals with special properties. These crystals could absorb mana and thus nourish the nts. Moreover, when the weather was clear, and the sun''s rays descended into this forest, one could see hundreds of rainbows.


    It covered the entire forest, and the area looked like part of some fairy tale. But despite its beauty, this ce was very dangerous. Many mages tried to get here to collect Rainbow Crystals and admire the splendor of the rainbows up close, but they failed.


    Even on the borders of the ss forest, there were dangerous monsters, most of which were found on the stage - Two-Pointed Star.


    Suddenly, Evan saw a bright glint in the distance, but he realized it was an enemy attack a secondter. His ring glowed, and Magma Blood appeared in his hands.


    Evan swung his scythe, trying to cut the beam flying in his direction, but suddenly the beam''s trajectory changed, and Evan''s riding beast was torn apart.


    "Fuck!" Cursed Evan as he watched more beams fly in his direction.


    But that wasn''t his main problem. He was over five kilometers high, and even though he was on stage - Two-Pointed Star, Evan was incapable of squeezing out after such a fall. His body would be ttened into a pancake, and his bones would be crushed into dust.


    Evan continued to fend off attacks and fall. Luckily he quickly found a way out of this challenging situation.


    <Eh, I didn''t learn this spell for anything.> Evan thought, and his crimson warp spun. The next moment two bloody, demonic wings appeared on his back.


    Last time, he had used this spell for no more than five minutes, but that was different now. Evan had enough mana to fly for more than thirty minutes without a problem.


    He dodged the beams and headed toward whoever was sending them. It was a creature that looked like a bird with four ss wings.


    Evan immediately used Mammon'' Gaze.


    [Crystal Eagle


    Race - Monster


    Stage - 2, with one me on the tform.


    Warp - Purple]


    <Hmm, he''s not very strong judging by his stage, but if even one of those rays hits me, I''ll get serious wounds. We need to destroy it as quickly as possible.> Thought Evan and said loudly, "Reykar!"


    Caw!


    A purple raven appeared on his shoulder, and its beak immediately lit up. In the same way, Evan began to attack. He cast One-Eyed Raven''s Beam, and a secondter, two purple beams flew toward Crystal Eagle.


    However, the monster''s wings glowed, and he summoned more than ten white spheres, which exploded like bombs on the purple beams and destroyed them.


    For the next few minutes, they exchanged long-range attacks. Evan and Reykar, even together, could hardly suppress and repel all the attacks Crystal Eagle sent at them.


    <This monster is behaving very strangely. He keeps trying to keep a very far distance and won''t let me get close. Does that mean it''s very weak in closebat?> Evan thought and gave Reykar a sign.


    He decided they needed to take a chance and take advantage of Crystal Eagle''s perceived weakness. Evan himself couldn''t catch up to the Crystal Eagle. His speed wasn''t enough to catch up to such a fast monster.


    Reykar flew toward the Crystal Eagle at top speed, seeing Evan''s gesture. Reykar was slightly weaker than Crystal Eagle, for he had no single me. But on the other hand, unlike Crystal Eagle, which evolved only once, Reykar survived three evolutions.


    He also had four wings and could catch up with Crystal Eagle. Moreover, Evan constantly cast One-Eyed Raven''s Beam and prevented his opponent from doing so.


    Eventually, Reykar got to Crystal Eagle and began tore his body apart with his sharp beak.


    <Okay, just like I thought he was pretty weak in closebat. His armor is suitable for storing mana and releasing it as a beam of energy, but it''s not suitable for defense.> Evan thought and headed to Reykar''s aid.


    A few secondster, Evan furiously swung his scythe, inflicting multiple wounds on the Crystal Eagle. The ss armor gradually shattered into small pieces, and Evan saw the eagle''s flesh. It was hidden under a thickyer of armor.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan plunged the red-hot scythe de into the monster''s flesh, and the eagle roared in pain. Evan was about to deliver onest blow, but suddenly Crystal Eagle was entirely covered by his enormous wings. Evan thought the monster was trying to defend itself that way. But, it turned out to be much more dangerous than he had anticipated.


    The monster''s entire body began to glow brightly as if it was ready to explode at any second. Evan quickly realized what was happening and shouted loudly, "Reykar!"


    The raven instantly returned to Evan''s Nirvana, and he tried to defend against the impending explosion by covering himself with his arms and a scythe.


    The next moment there was a deafening explosion that looked like a bursting star.

 Chapter 312 - Salvation

    When Crystal Eagle exploded, he killed himself, but he also wounded Evan badly. His postmortem st was powerful enough to destroy a small rock and leave a deep crater in the ground.


    Evan tried to defend himself, but his skin burned, and he suffered many serious wounds. Moreover, his bloody wings were partially destroyed, and from the force of the st, he flew like a projectile into the ground. He thought this would be his end, but when he was less than a hundred meters from the ground, Reykar emerged from his Nirvana.


    The raven was not big enough for Evan to fly it as a riding beast, but Reykar could slow Evan''s fall. He spread his wings, and Evan fell on them as if on a tension.


    In a way, it helped because Evan fell to the ground and stayed alive, though he had a few broken bones, as did Reykar''s two wings.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck, I was supposed to be looking at beautiful rainbows from afar, but I ended up getting shot at by some crazy bird. Bitch, that hurts." Evan said grudgingly.


    He quickly pulled out two potions from his ring, one of which he tossed to Reykar. Evan had only a few such potions, which could cure fractures in a couple of minutes. After all, both he and Reykar were at the - Two-Pointed Star stage. It was harder to mend their bones than it was to restore a rookie mage''s arm.


    "Bottom line, I''m in this fairy forest now. It''s certainly beautiful here, but I don''t want my grave buried under these rainbows. We need to get out of here now." Evan muttered and looked at the map.


    Evan didn''t know what point in the forest he was in. It was very difficult to figure out. After all, there was nothing but ss trees shining brightly in the sunlight. If a vampire had been here, he would have been blinded by such bright light, and his eyes would have been burned out.


    Next to him, Evan saw no caves, no des, nokes or rocks of any kind. Only shining trees surrounded him. But Evan could see the other side of this forest.


    "Reykar!" Evan said loudly, and the purple raven flew upward, but not enough to be seen by the monsters here.


    Evan used Raven''s Gaze, looked at the ss Forest from above, andpared what he saw to the image on the map.


    "Damn, it looks like we''re in the middle of nowhere. The fastest way out of the ss Forest is to the west, but there''s one problem..."


    Evan could run at full speed and get out of the ss Forest in about half an hour if he took the shortest route, but he would only solve one problem that way.


    He needed to get back to his tower somehow, but it was very far away. It took Evan more than ten hours to get to Devil''s Horn from Rave Castle.


    <If I walked, it would take me at least a couple of weeks before I could get home. What''s more, it''s not certain that I''ll be able to survive at all. Besides the ss Forest, I''d have to go into more dangerous ces. Walking back on foot is not an option. I need to find a riding beast here.> Evan pondered and signaled Reykar to go back.


    Evan remembered Rave''s words about how to tame the beast, <If I fight the beast in a fair fight and show it my intentions and defeat it, it will obey me. That shouldn''t be a problem, but I need to find someone suitable and reliable. Moreover, he must not attack me first>.


    Roooooooar!


    Suddenly Evan heard the roar of a beasting from the east side of the ss Forest. Evan didn''t know what was going on there, but he decided to go and scout out the situation. But, before he did, he decided to draw the Demon''s Sigil on his hand. This forest was dangerous, and he had to be ready for anything.


    Evan ran towards the sound and, a minuteter, reached the scene. He saw an amazing scene, several bug-like monsters with rainbow chitin attacking a serpent with thick crystal armor.


    <Hmm, the ss Forest also affects the monsters and beasts that inhabit it. Those beetles and the snake, and that eagle all have crystal armor.> Evan thought.


    The bugs attacked the kite, but their opponent was not easy. Even though the snake was outnumbered, it had no problem fighting off the monsters. Moreover, in front of Evan, the snake opened its mouth wide and swallowed three bugs at once. Its muscles began to contract, and there was a loud cracking and popping sound.


    Evan thought that that would be the end of it, and the bugs would run away in fear, or the snake would eat them too. But, suddenly, he heard a loud buzzing of insects. Evan turned toward the sound and saw hundreds of iridescent dots flying toward him.


    <Do they have a whole swarm here?!> Eximed Evan to himself.


    He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, but suddenly dozens of bugs attacked him as well. The Rainbow Bugs was going to kill the snake and Evan.


    Evan didn''t expect something like this, but he knew he had no choice but to fight. He armed himself with Magma Blood, and the de of the weapon was instantly covered in ayer of darkness.


    Bam. Bam. Bam.


    He fought off several bugs at once, but he kept missing blows. The beetles'' chitin was very strong and thick. Even considering Magma Blood was a 5-star weapon, Evan took several hits to kill one bug.


    Evan had only recently entered the stage - Two-Pointed Star and had yet to learn any level 2 spells. So, it was incredible that he could kill defensive type monsters so easily, but that didn''t make the situation any better.


    In a few seconds, Evan had already received many small wounds. At that moment, he thought, <Damn, if this keeps up, I might as well die. I prepared Sigil too weak a demon. I need to use the strength of someone stronger.. But, these bugs don''t give me a second''s respite.>

 Chapter 313 - Sixty Six

    Evan had prepared a sigil of the 70th demon - Prince Seere, but there was no point in him even using that sigil and wasting his energy. Evan realized that he wouldn''t be able to handle that many Rainbow Beetles using this demon''s sigil, at least level one.


    "Reykar!" Evan said loudly, and a purple raven appeared beside him.


    Evan gave the sign, and Reykar began furiously pping his wings, creating a massive vortex. Evan didn''t know if this attack could kill or hurt the Rainbow Bugs, but the monsters had to be distracted from fighting him.


    Evan needed no more than five seconds to draw the right sigil.


    As Evan expected, the Rainbow Bugs were distracted and began to attack Reykar. Raven had to fly aside to avoid being attacked by dozens of bugs. Reykar won for Evan only a few seconds, but more than enough.


    When the Rainbow Beetles turned their attention to Evan, he grinned at them, holding his palm over the sign drawn in his blood.


    The monsters came at him sharply, but Evan only muttered quietly, "Sigil 66th Demon, Marquis Kimaris, activation."


    The next moment Evan found himself in Nirvana, where a demon was already waiting for him.


    Kimaris looked human. He had long ck hair and snow-white skin. His face was half covered by a helmet as ck as the abyss, leaving only his mouth open. He wore ck armor that gave off a ck aura.


    In his left hand was a dark bow, and around it hovered a multitude of dark arrows. Each one looked menacing and deadly. But, that wasn''t all; Kimaris, like some people, had a faithful partner: his horse.


    Evan heard the tter of hooves and saw a ck horse galloping toward him. The horse galloped through the air defying all thews of gravity.


    "Give me the power to destroy every one of these vile insects!" Evan said loudly.


    Kimaris smiled and said, "You don''t like the light that much? Isn''t a rainbow one of nature''s most beautiful phenomena?"


    Evan didn''t answer anything. He looked at the demon with a cold stare.


    "I agree with you, though. Light is necessary to keep the darkness from consuming itself. However, when there is too much light, the darkness only gains its power. I will grant your wish. Twenty years." Said the demon.


    Evan nodded. A price like that suited him. He thought Kimaris would ask for at least thirty years, so in some ways, he even thought it wasn''t enough.


    Kimaris smiled and reached forward. The next moment, many arrows flew toward Evan and instantly pierced his body.


    They took Evan''s life force and returned to the demon with a snap of their fingers. Evan held out his hand, and the demon''s bow headed towards him, then Kimaris disappeared.


    Evan exited Nirvana and returned to reality. The bugs almost got to Evan, but suddenly a dark wave of energy emitted from his body.


    The monsters had to retreat to the side. Moreover, they sensed a great danger from Evan and signaled theirrades to attack him. More than a hundred Rainbow Beetles headed towards him, but Evan wasn''t worried.


    He gripped his ck bow tightly and pointed it skyward. A dark arrow appeared in his hands, and Evan slowly drew the bowstring.


    The arrow flew upward. It was so fast that it instantly pierced the clouds and disappeared behind them.


    The monsters didn''t understand what was going on but decided to take advantage of the situation. In their minds, Evan was defenseless now. But he had already done everything. This one arrow was all the power the demon gave him. After the shot, the bow disappeared, and Evan''s aura returned to normal.


    Evan watched the monsters moving toward him with a calm face. He knew that in a second, they would all die.


    Whooooooosh.


    Suddenly there were many ck dots in the sky. The dots were dark arrows, just like the ones Evan hadunched into the sky.


    Like an avnche, they rained down on the monsters. Each arrow had no problem prating the beetles'' iridescent chitin. Moreover, even if the beetle survived the hit, it fell into madness. The monsters in such a state began to attack their counterparts or themselves.


    It destroyed more than a hundred monsters of the second rank in just one attack. It was unheard of power for a mage who had only recently entered the Two-Pointed Star stage.


    Evan calmly looked at the dozens of corpses around him and muttered, "I''ve already wasted a third of my life on demon power. It''s a little depressing. I need to increase my lifespan urgently. I can already summon the right demon, though, but that not bodes well for me..."


    Evan''s life was, in some ways, his weapon. He could summon incredibly powerful demons if his lifespan were ten thousand years. He could spend thousands of years on a single attack and destroy entire mountains.


    Of course, the stronger Evan was, the lower the price was, as his power and energy increased. Moreover, when Evan broke through another Barrier or moved to the next stage, he increased his lifespan. But, this was very different from if Evan could regenerate sacrificed years of life.


    After the attack was over, Reykar flew up to Evan and returned to his Nirvana. Evan was not happy with the situation. He did not expect to summon such a powerful demon now and spend twenty years of his life doing so.


    Besides, he still needed to find a beast he could fight and tame. Evan had to get out of the ss Forest somehow.


    Some monsters continued to fight the Rainbow Bugs, who were far away and out of the hail of arrows.


    Evan paid no attention to this and went on his way. But, suddenly, he felt the ground shake. Evan didn''t understand what was happening, but he saw a huge, white snakee out of the ground the next moment.. It was big enough to curl around the tall tower.

 Chapter 314 - Trouble And Pleasant Surprises

    Evan immediately used Mammon''s Gaze. A menacing aura emanated from this snake. Evan felt that he was weaker, despite all his enhancements. This snake looked like an ancient creature. Its mere sight put a tremendous amount of pressure on Evan.


    [Jade Serpent


    Race - Beast


    Rank - 2, three mes on the tform


    Warp - White]


    The Jade Serpent was at the same stage as Ein, but this beast was much stronger. Even its size would terrify anyone who encountered it. He was one of the strongest creatures in the ss Forest.


    The Rainbow Bugs came to the aid of their fellows, but the Jade Serpent came because he smelled death and the sounds of battle.


    The serpent''s amber eyes looked at Evan, and then the serpent shifted its gaze to the hundreds of corpses of bugs beside him. A gleam shed in the serpent''s eyes, and his gaze changed.


    Before that, the serpent had thought Evan was a simple, weak mage caught in this forest. He wanted to snack on him and find a suitable opponent. But when he saw what Evan had done to such powerful monsters as the Rainbow Bugs, he changed his mind.


    Now he wanted to fight Evan as a serious opponent, not eat him.


    <Hmm? This snake is acting kind of weird. It won''t attack and seems to be waiting for something>. Evan thought, looking at the beast.


    After a couple of seconds, the Jade Serpent started hissing at Evan, but for some reason, he felt like the serpent was hissing at someone else. Evan didn''t sense that the serpent felt any aggression toward him.


    But, it didn''t take long for the answer. Suddenly Reykar got out of Evan''s Nirvana and flew aside. He was not afraid of the serpent and did not leave Evan. He sat on a branch of one crystal tree and calmly watched them as if he were a spectator.


    <Wait a minute, is this serpent challenging me, hmmm... what am I supposed to do?>


    He was looking for a riding, flying beast to get out of the ss Forest and back to the tower. But, such a huge and strong serpent was also not a bad option, at least for now. Evan, however, was not happy that the serpent had challenged him.


    <Fuck, it''s not the ss Forest. It''s the Damned Forest. This is the third time I''ve been in a dangerous battle in less than an hour. If I hadn''te here when I heard the sounds of fighting, though, probably nothing would have happened. But now I''m not so sure that I would have won, but I don''t seem to have any other choice.> Evan thought.


    He couldn''t fight the Jade Serpent. It was impossible and unprofitable for several reasons. If Evan tried to run away, the serpent would catch up with him, and they would still have to fight. But in that case, the Jade Serpent would disobey Evan even if he lost. After all, Evan would show by his actions that he was a coward, and the beast would not obey such a man.


    But Evan wasn''t sure of his victory because it would be a duel, not a fight to the death. The serpent probably wouldn''t kill him. But, before that, he would inflict ipatible wounds, and the other monsters would finish him off. What''s more, there was no guarantee that the serpent would let Evan live.


    <It turns out my only option is to fight him, defeat him, and get out of this damn ce. That''s too bad...>


    Evan was relieved to think that such a powerful beast would obey him if he won. But, Evan understood that in the worst case scenario, he would have to spend more than 200 or even more than 300 years to win.


    "Eh, sometimes failure costs too much, though perhaps I was lucky. It''s hard to understand in this situation." Evan muttered and looked thoughtfully at the serpent.


    "I ept your challenge, but before I do, I want to know something. I can use my weapons and any spell I know, right?"


    The Jade Serpent only hissed briefly.


    Evan could only use his strength. If he fought the beast relying on spell scrolls or magical artifacts, there was no way the beast would obey him, even if he lost. Moreover, no one was to interfere in their battle. Even Reykar had to leave them one-on-one. Otherwise, the Jade Serpent would have be enraged and attacked them both.


    But, Evan could use his weapons and spells, for to a mage, it was the same as strong scales and sharp fangs to a serpent.


    The Spatial ring glowed, and Magma Blood appeared in his hands. The serpent prepared to attack, but Evan stopped it with a gesture of his hand. Evan needed to prepare first, and the beast could give Evan time to do so.


    Evan bled himself and drew a sigil on his hand. This sigil would be his trump card, costing him several hundred years. He wouldn''t use it until thest moment, but if his life were on the line, he would have no other option.


    Evan swung his scythe, and the weapon was instantly covered in dark energy. Evan released his entire aura, showing that he was ready for battle.


    The Jade Serpent did the same, and the next moment the huge beast turned into a blur.


    It attacked Evan with incredible force. Evan barely blocked this attack with the hilt of his scythe, but the serpent had no intention of stopping.


    The beast continued to ram Evan until he rammed him into the nearest rock. This attack did little or no damage to Evan, but he was now in a bad position. Immediately after the previous attack, the serpent attacked again.


    It swung its tail and shattered the rock into small pebbles. It was destroyed. The serpent''s attack should have hit Evan as well, but he managed to dodge at thest moment.


    Evan tried to attack, but no sooner had he taken a step than the snake''s tail struck him in the stomach with lightning speed. Evan was thrown aside like a ball and broke several trees in flight.


    "Damn, that was harder than I thought.. Defeating that snake would be an excellent result."

 Chapter 315 - Reinforcement In Combat

    Evan expected the Jade Serpent to be a serious opponent, but he didn''t even have a chance to win so far. Moreover, Evan had no right to use potions. Otherwise, their duel would turn into a battle to the death.


    The Jade Serpent continued to attack Evan. The beast turned into a blur and unleashed several tail blows on Evan.


    Evan didn''t have time to dodge, all he could do was try to block these deadly blows. He was lucky to have a 5-star weapon that could withstand almost any attack.


    Even with his superior vision, Evan could barely see every flick of the beast''s tail. The Jade Serpent dominated this battle from the start.


    At one point, Evan began to worry that he wouldn''t handle such an opponent, but that didn''t make his desire to win any less. On the contrary, he wanted to defeat this serpent, which increased by the second.


    Suddenly Evan''s aura grew stronger, his eyes became deeper, and he seemed to fall into a kind of trance.


    Evan sharply twisted the scythe in his hand and fended another strike from the Jade Serpent. Then he bounced to the side and cast several spells. The serpent easily repelled the purple beams with a flick of its tail. But, the beast was wary. Evan was much more dangerous now that he had entered the Gust.


    Thest time Evan entered this unique state was quite some time ago. It happened during a special test for Inner Disciples at The Last Moon Academy. Evan had wanted to kill the Bloody Berserker back then and tear his flesh apart.


    But, the situation was different now. He felt no malice or hatred toward the Jade Serpent. He wanted to win and prove that he was the strongest, no matter what.


    The desire to win in a fair fight was one of the noblest feelings one could feel at all.


    The Jade Serpent prepared to attack, and Evan stood in a stance. He was ready to take any attack.


    The beast sped up and unleashed a crushing blow on Evan, but Evan had no problem dodging this time. Moreover, he swung his scythe sharply and plunged the de into the serpent''s flesh. Magma Blood was a mighty weapon. So Evan was able to cut through the snake''s tough scales, but suddenly something happened that Evan could never have expected.


    The serpent''s muscles began to contract, and eventually, the scythe got stuck in the monster''s flesh so hard that Evan didn''t have time to pull his weapon out. Next, the serpent attacked Evan with its mouth wide open trying to swallow him.


    Evan suddenly jumped aside, bypassing the snake''s mouth. In front of Evan''s eyes, the serpent swallowed several crystal trees and massive boulders. Its mouth was like a ck hole into which anything could fit.


    <Damnit, I know my opponent too poorly, but I reallycked strength, I couldn''t get Magma Blood out, and now I''m left unarmed.> Evan thought as he looked at the scythe embedded in the serpent''s tail.


    Evan wanted to try to get closer and get his weapon, but the serpent knew Evan''s n perfectly well. So, it ripped the weapon from its tail and tried to break the scythe. But, the Jade Serpent failed, so the serpent swung its tail and threw the scythe into the depths of the ss Forest.


    The beast did so that Evan could no longer use his weapon. He would have to spend quite a bit of time to find his scythe. It was impossible to do that during such a dangerous battle.


    <It''s weird. I get the impression that my Sin spells aren''t working at full capacity.> Evan thought, looking at the ck streaks on his hands.


    During Gust, all of the mage''s parameters increased, whether it was speed, power, or the power of his spells.


    Before another serpent attack, Evan cast Lucifer''s Shackles again and saw something unusual.


    The stripes became bigger and a little thinner. At the same time, Evan felt his body overflowing with power. It seemed to him that his physical strength had increased several times. Of course, it was a temporary effect, but it was incredible.


    Bam.


    The snake''s tail came down on Evan, but he didn''t duck this time. Evan clenched his hand into a fist and retaliated with all his might. This attack was so powerful that a shockwave dispersed a distance of several meters.


    The Jade Serpent was surprised. Evan wasn''t just able to block his attack. Evan was able to repel it and even began to attack himself.


    Evan''s figure blurred, and he began to strike at the serpent with many blows. Before, his melee attacks would not have been able to prate the snake''s tough scales, but now it was different. Cracks appeared in more and more of the scales with each blow. Evan, however, needed to attack several more times to pierce the serpent''s armor and get to its flesh.


    The Jade Serpent hissed furiously and opened its mouth wide. It wasn''t going to let Evan do whatever he wanted.


    Evan wanted to dodge the attack, but suddenly the serpent sped up, and in an instant, Evan was swallowed. But, even in such a situation, he was not confused. Once inside the snake''s mouth, Evan dodged the deadly fangs and moved forward.


    It was insane, but Evan intended to attack from within. His Warp spun, and he cast Death Feathers Fan. Next, Evan swung his arm, and many energy feathers copsed into the serpent''s flesh.


    The Jade Serpent was a huge creature, so there was enough room for a small creature like a human.


    The beast thought Evan was finished, but suddenly it felt a terrible pain from inside. The Jade Serpent began to lunge in different directions because of the agony he felt at that moment. His flesh was tearing from the inside out. This pain was hard to describe in words.


    Roooooooaaar!


    There was a furious roar from the serpent throughout the ss Forest, and its muscles began to contract. It tried to crush Evan like a pathetic insect. But Evan wasn''t going to give up. He had enough strength to prevent himself from being crushed.


    Moreover, Evan continued to attack and cast spells, gradually approaching the coveted victory.

 Chapter 316 - Sixty-Four

    Evan furiously attacked the serpent, turning its insides into a bloody mess. The Jade Serpent tried to kill Evan by shrinking and releasing gastric juices, but none of this could stop Evan. So the beast took the only possible option that would allow it to survive.


    The serpent spit out Evan like a bone stuck in his throat. Evan flew at tremendous speed like a projectile into the rock and was buried deep in it. He tried to get out, but the Jade Serpent attacked with all his might.


    He was angry that Evan would use his technique against himself. At that moment, the serpent wanted to kill Evan and tear him apart. They had a duel, but nobody canceled out emotion. Like the man, the beast was very fierce in its rage.


    Evan missed one blow after another, blood flowing from the corners of his mouth, and the serpent''s attacks were too fast to be seen. Moreover, the Jade Serpent tried to pierce Evan with its sharp fangs, but Evan instinctively dodged the deadly attacks.


    "You damned reptile, I''ll cut you into pieces and roast you on a spit!" Evan shouted furiously.


    The Jade Serpent was furious, but Evan wasn''t thrilled with the situation either. His helplessness began to infuriate him, and Wrath began to build up in him. A red aura began to emanate from his body at the exact moment, and the Dragon Sigil''s passive effect was activated. Evan grew stronger by the second.


    Wrath was not always caused by hatred or a desire for revenge. It could have been some non-negative feeling. During fights orpetitions, many people could feel aggression or hostility towards their opponent, but only for the duration of the fight. In that case, the people fighting would give their all to the fight, but they wouldn''t forget that it was a duel.


    Evan gradually began to fend off attacks, but Evan lost their battle. Unlike him, Jade Serpent hadn''t used any techniques yet. He only fought with his body.


    The Jade Serpent evolved only once, but this evolution was special. This kind of thing happened quite rarely. Usually, a monster evolved at least once before getting lucky and having a special evolution.


    Realizing that this was his chance to win, the Jade Serpent used his special skill. Many of his scales glowed brightly, and some of them began to shimmer in rainbow colors.


    This skill was elementary and gave the Jade Beast one single effect - insane speed.


    The serpent had been fast before, but now it had moved to the next level. Evan blocked one punch, but at the exact moment, he missed two punches. By the second, he was getting more wounds, and the Jade Serpent was only gaining speed. As the serpent continued to move, more scales became iridescent, increasing his speed.


    Evan realized that the serpent would tear him to pieces if he didn''t do something now. So Evan coldly said, "Sigil 64 demon Duke uros, activation."


    At the same moment, Evan''s consciousness was transported to Nirvana.


    Last time, Evan used Sigil 66 of the demon Marquis Kimaris, but now he was using Sigil 64 of the demon Duke uros. Evan had to do this for several reasons.


    First of all, if he had used Sigil 66 of the demon Marquis Kimaris, he would only have wasted his life force and energy. The Jade Serpent was many times stronger than the Rainbow Beetles. But that wasn''t the main reason he drew the Sigil of the 64th Duke uros demon.


    The 65th demon was unique. It was different from the others. Someone could use this demon to fight in special situations, but it didn''t make sense. Not all demons were suitable forbat. For example - 71st demon - Duke Dantalion, in some variations of Sigil, it could be used for battles, but it was pretty stupid.


    This demon was something of an informer from the demon world, a simr situation was with the 65th demon. The most urate definition for him was a merchant.


    Moreover, Evan needed enormous power to defeat the Jade Serpent, but it was also a problem. For the power of the 66th demon, Marquis Kimaris, Evan had to pay twenty years of his life, which wasn''t much. But, a 65th demon''s power would cost many times as much, and the same was true for a 64th demon. That''s why Evan didn''t want to use the power of the 64th demon until the veryst moment.


    When Evan found himself in Nirvana, he encountered the demon he had summoned.


    Duke uros looked like a big, fiery leopard. But, most demons could take on human form, which was what Duke uros did when he saw Evan.


    He turned into a tall, thin man with yellow hair. There were leopard-spot tattoos all over his body, and his eyes burned with a bright me.


    "You''re pretty desperate becausee to me. Rest assured you''ll get all the power you want for an uneptable price, ahahahaha." The demon said loudly.


    Evan smirked and said, "Compared to your true form right now, you''re nothing more than a fire cat. But, you''re right. Your power is going to cost me a lot right now."


    No matter how Evan interacted with the demon or what mood the demon was in, the price wouldn''t change. First of all, demons were known for never cheating and always offering a fair deal. It was up to the one who decided to use their power to agree or not.


    "You''re too cocky, okay, it doesn''t matter. Speak your wish already, and I will kindly grant it." Smirking, Duke uros said.


    Evan looked coldly at the demon and said, "Give me the power to create such powerful mes to burn this crystal forest. I will turn this ce into a ming hell on earth!"


    Bright mes began to emanate from Duke uros'' body at the exact moment.. It engulfed the entire space. The demon smiled and said, "Right now, your life span is 617 years, then I want 300!"

 Chapter 317 - Robbery

    "Three hundred years? You''re fucked! Are you sure you''re a demon and not a robber?" Evan said with a frown.


    "AHAHAHA, you have no other option anyway, and I''m sure you know better than anyone else that my offer is fair. There can''t be any other way. Your body is still too weak to withstand that kind of power, so you''ll have to make some sacrifices." Duke uros said with a smirk.


    <Damn, if I hadn''t known demons always offered only fair deals, I would have thought I was some chatan in front of me. I was prepared for that, though, but losing three hundred years... it''s a nightmare. It''s a good thing I''m strong enough to summon the 65th demon already.> Evan thought.


    "Alright, I agree," Proimed Evan with a shrug. He had no other option anyway.


    Duke uros smiled, and his me headed towards Evan. He felt as if he was burning alive. His body could hardly stand the fire. But, in time, the pain was reced by a pleasant, warm sensation. Then Duke uros took years of Evan''s life.


    When Evan lost about half of his remaining life, he felt as if he were almost dead. He felt as if he had lost his heart, and his blood had stopped flowing through his veins.


    "See youter." Duke uros said, smiling wryly, and disappeared. He had made a great deal today.


    Evan''s consciousness returned to reality, and changes began to happen to his body at the exact moment. His eyes began to burn brightly, and the silhouette of a massive, ming leopard appeared behind Evan. It was as big as the Jade Serpent.


    The beast sensed an incredible threat from Evan and tried to move away to a safe distance, but Evan wasn''t about to let it do that.


    Evan swung his arm, and with it, the fire leopard struck the ground with his paw. At the same moment, a wave of fire spread out for several kilometers around. The temperature of the mes was so high that even the crystal trees began to melt and turn into sparkling puddles.


    As Evan had said, he had made the ss Forest a living hell. Hundreds of monsters and beasts were turned to charcoal, their bodies burned to the ground, and some were left without even ash.


    Nevertheless, the Jade Serpent was able to withstand this wave of mes. Its scales were robust and resistant to any elemental attacks. The Jade Serpent was about to attack again, but then fear appeared in his eyes.


    This attack, with which Evan destroyed half of the ss Forest, was only a prelude. It was just a tiny spark before the mes ignited in a massive fire.


    Evan stared at the serpent and then folded his hands together into one big fist. He struck sharply from above, and the fire leopard did the same. A massive fire wall appeared in front of Evan and headed toward the Jade Serpent. The ground that the wave of fire passed over was melted and partially turned into burning shards.


    The Jade Serpent could not avoid the wall of me. It was too huge. However, the beast quickly figured out what it needed to do.


    It quickly burst into the ground, thereby bypassing the wave of fire. Jade Serpent thought that Evan could not attack it underground and that mes could not burn in such a ce, but the serpent was wrong.


    Evan swung his arm, and the leopard''s tail turned into a long, fiery whip that plunged deep into the ground. The next moment, a wave of me through the tail traveled into the bowels of the earth, and the entire ss Forest trembled.


    Dozens of pirs of me erupted from beneath the ground as if marking the beginning of the apocalypse. Even thend could not hide from Evan''s mes.


    The Jade Serpent struggled to dodge the pirs of fire appearing in its path, but it could not continue indefinitely. At one point, the beast failed to react, and the mes engulfed it.


    The serpent''s scales charred, and it had to get out. The serpent was severely wounded, but it could keep fighting, and so could Evan.


    Evan mercilessly unleashed mes on the Jade Serpent for the next few minutes. Half of the ss Forest was transformed into burnt wastnd and magma fields during that time. The area would never be the same again.


    The Jade Serpent came to his limit, as did Evan. He attacked the serpent dozens of times, but the beast deftly dodged its attacks, and when it failed, it took the blow on itself. The serpent was wounded but still alive.


    Evan only had strength left for onest attack, which he brought down sharply on the Jade Serpent. The des of fire flew towards the serpent.


    The Jade Serpent reacted quickly and curled up into a ball. He knew that victory would be his if he could withstand this attack.


    Crackle.


    The des reached the serpent, and the rainbow scales copsed one by one. Gradually the mes reached the beast''s flesh, and it began to burn alive. But, the next moment, the serpent''s body turned the other way, exposing the still rtively intact scales to the blow.


    Eventually, the serpent''s entire body was charred when the fire leopard disappeared, and Evan could hardly breathe. However, just when Evan thought he was done with it, he heard a loud cracking sound.


    Many cracks went through the charred scales of the snake. All the scales were destroyed in a few seconds, but the Jade Serpent was excellent. The snow-white scales on its body sparkled again. The beast looked as if it hadn''t been in the midst of a fiery inferno a few minutes ago.


    <He shed his skin!?> Evan shouted to himself.


    It was exactly like that. Evan was out of luck, for the Jade Serpent was supposed to have shed its skin around this time. But, the serpent also put a lot of effort into getting him to shed his hide. He tried to dodge and expose the parts of his body that was not badly damaged. Otherwise, his new hide would have been burned as well.


    Moreover, some of Evan''s attacks prated two skins and even burned some of the flesh. But, in this situation, those wounds were almost nothing.


    Evan was not wounded, but he had no strength, unlike the serpent.


    The Jade Serpent opened its mouth wide and pounced on Evan, but Evan heard a loud crack at that moment.. Then he broke through his first Stage Barrier in a second - Two-Pointed Star.

 Chapter 318 - Chaos

    Usually, a mage has to train for a long time, learn spells, or better understand this world and magic toe close to breaking the Barrier. But, deadly situations have always been one of the best ways to be stronger, no matter the time or even the world.


    One could gain strength and reach heights one never dreamed of before by oveing oneself. When a mage approached the breakthrough of his Barrier, he had to spend quite a lot of time breaking every link in the chain around his Warp.


    However, when the Jade Serpent made his final attack, which was to kill Evan, he broke through his first Barrier. Evan had never heard of such a thing before, no mage should have broken through the Barrier so abruptly without prior preparation. But Evan didn''t have time to think about it.


    As he broke through the Barrier, a Ssh urred. Arge amount of gray energy with a purple hue came out of his body. Thanks to the ordeal he had passed in the Devil''s Horn, Evan now knew that this energy represented his power - chaos.


    Whooosh.


    Evan bounced sharply to the side, past the Jade Serpent''s jaws. Even though he had just broken through his first Barrier, it did not add to Evan''s strength. He could fight for no more than a couple more minutes and only make a few more attacks.


    <My power is chaos, but... I don''t know how to control it, but I have to try.> Evan thought and waved his hand toward the Jade Serpent.


    That energy was the only weapon Evan had left. He had mana, but he didn''t have enough power to focus on casting any spell. Moreover, he doubted that the spells he could use now would do any harm to the Jade Serpent.


    Evan tried to control the energy, but he failed. It just kept spreading out from his body.


    While Evan was trying to figure out what he needed to do to control that energy, the Jade Serpent attacked again. His tail transformed into a whish-like motion and struck Evan with all its might. He flew back a few meters, tearing out a mouthful of blood.


    "Damn, my power is unbelievably strong, but it''s just impossible to control it," Evan muttered, looking at the gray energy emanating from his body.


    The Jade Serpent slowly approached him with a menacing hiss.


    <Wait a minute. Chaos cannot be controlled or is incredibly difficult. However, I don''t have to own it, for I am its source. I need to give it more power. Chaos needs to be given freedom.> Evan thought to himself.


    He remembered himself during the ordeal. He had been in Rid''s character then and hadn''t realized it was him. But, the most important thing was not who he had turned into, but how the world had changed.


    <That world most likely consisted entirely of chaos energy, and though it was constantly changing, it was one unified whole. To control chaos, I must not have dominion over it. I must be a cog in this crazy world on which the course of events will depend.>


    Evan realized that there was no point in controlling this power by force. Moreover, there was no point at all. This power belonged to him as it was. He just had to understand his role. Evan decided that the only true option would be to be part of this power, just like in the fictional world.


    The Jade Serpent attacked again, but Evan had no intention of dodging. He stood still and seemed very focused on some process. The next moment Evan rxed, and ten times more chaos energy came out of his body than before. It wasn''t like a wave but like a real tsunami that swallowed up everything around him.


    The serpent was frightened and retreated abruptly. Evan did things time after time that Jade Serpent couldn''t understand or predict.


    With each passing second, the energy grewrger andrger, slowly spreading through the ss Forest, or rather, through the destroyed mes of the area.


    Evan looked at the Jade Beast and smilingly said, "Looks like I won. You were a great opponent."


    Evan waved his hand, and a sea of chaos energy headed toward the Jade Serpent. Evan didn''t know what would happen to the beast, but that''s what he was going to find out.


    The Jade Serpent tried to run away from this energy, but it was impossible. It engulfed him, giving him no chance to escape.


    Gradually the chaotic energy turned into a massive tornado. It was so big that the colossal size of the rock next to it seemed like a small pebble.


    Evan was surprised when his body got so much energy, but it only pleased him. This power was something even he did not understand.


    Gradually the vortex increased in size and gained speed. Then the gray began to change to purple.


    "Now," Evan muttered and clenched his palm into a fist.


    The vortex narrowed and swooped down on the Jade Serpent like a fallinget. The chaos energy engulfed the serpent and spread throughout the entire ss Forest. The area then began to change beyond recognition.


    The whole area trembled, and many crystals of different colors appeared from under the ground. Then the embers turned into horrible dark arms as if they were alive. Theva puddles left behind by the waves of fire turned into small geysers exploding withva.


    Numerous ashes turned into massive, forty meter tall trees with glowing blue leaves and gray bark. There was a roar of thunder in the sky, and columns of lightning fell to the ground, making the crystals glow brightly.


    On that day, the area of the ss Forest was halved. The destroyed part was transformed into a new area that would soon be inscribed on all kingdom maps.


    But, the most significant change happened to the Jade Serpent. It didn''t die but instead became much stronger. Evan could feel the creature''s aura be many times powerful.


    Its white scales had changed their color to ck. The serpent''s gaze became more dangerous and majestic. Its eyes became as blue as the ocean. The head of the Jade Serpent had several growths on it, which made its head look like a dragon''s head.


    The Jade Serpent headed towards Evan, but it did not attack him.. The beast epted its defeat in this fight.

 Chapter 319 - The Dark Serpent

    Evan''s duel with the Jade Serpent ended in a real cataclysm that changed half of the ss Forest beyond recognition. These changes and massive energy fluctuations didn''t go unnoticed.


    The mages who were near the ss Forest at the time headed into the area to find out what had happened there.


    The ck, massive serpent headed towards Evan and weakly bowed, epting his defeat. Evan had not defeated the serpent by inflicting mortal wounds on it, but he was able to change an entire area and make the Jade Serpent stronger. This spoke volumes about his true strength and hidden potential.


    Moreover, in Jade Serpent''s opinion, Evan''s spirit suited the serpent to submit to him. It was a fair fight, with unique events and a fair ending.


    Evan put his hand on the serpent''s head and calmly said, "Your name is now Zith. Our fight was one of the best of my life. I can state that with certainty."


    Zith just hissed back, and Evan jumped on his head and said, "Reykar!"


    Simultaneously, a purple raven flew in and sat on Evan''s shoulder. All the while, Reykar was watching their fight closely. Moreover, at some points, he was almost seriously wounded.


    Evan''s fire and the storm of chaos were truly formidable and unpredictable attacks. However, Reykar was far from an ordinary monster, albeit with difficulty, remained unharmed.


    <I ended up with my riding beast. Like Rave said, if I defeat them in a fair fight, they will ept defeat and acknowledge me as master. That''s good, but I''ve given up too much for this. I need to get ready to summon the 65th demon.> Thought Evan was looking at the altered ss forest.


    During this battle, he had better learn how to control the chaos energy. But, there was one big problem, he didn''t know how to emit it at would.


    Evan was sure that if he practiced a little, he would create simr whirlwinds in the future. Moreover, now he could partially control the chaos energy. But, it only appeared during Ssh.


    <Hmm, I need to learn more about the mage''s hidden power that manifests itself during Ssh. I need to learn how to create chaos energy at will, not just when Ssh happens.>


    Evan has learned and gained a lot during this battle. But, he also lost a lot, and Evan was also overwhelmed by the power of the Jade Serpent.


    <I had to use every spell I knew, sacrifice 300 years of life to the demon, enter Gust, and even create a storm of chaos. Only after all that was I able to win. Moreover, I received a huge number of wounds. Most likely, the blood of some mighty being flows in Zith''s body. I have no other exnation for its abnormal strength.> Evan thought.


    They both have to use only their power during a fight between a beast and a mage. Some might say that Evan won unfairly because he used the demon''s power, but that was not the case.


    Many spells in this world hurt the mage for their power. Demon spells were somewhat simr. Only the stakes were hundreds of times greater.


    Evan looked around and saw his scythe sticking out of the ground in the distance. He said quietly, "Zith, over there."


    Whoooosh.


    At the same instant, the ck serpent came into motion, and Evan moved Magma Blood into its spatial ring a secondter. Fortunately, nothing happened to the weapon. It was intact, without a scratch.


    Evan was about to leave, he needed to get back to the tower, but suddenly he saw several mages heading for the border of the altered part of the ss Forest.


    <They are dressed in white robes, but they don''t look like members of Golden Glow. It''s probably some weak light organization. But it doesn''t matter. They made a big mistakeing here.> Evan thought.


    He looked coldly at the mages walking in his direction and said, "Zith, after our fight, you are wounded and must be very tired and hungry. Would you like a bite to eat before we hit the road?"


    It was a rhetorical question. The serpent hissed and the next moment turned into ck lightning.


    The mages in white robes had no time to understand anything. They did not know why the serpent suddenly attacked them or how it had even noticed them at such a great distance. Some of them tried to defend themselves, but Zith swallowed them.


    A loud crackling and muffled screams were heard next. Evan did not look at these mages using Mammon''s Gaze. But judging by their auras, Evan assumed they were at the One-Pointed Star stage.


    "Alright, now it''s time to go home. I have a lot of work to do." Said Evan pointing in the direction of his tower.


    Evan thought that Zith was about to start crawling, heading at breakneck speed toward the tower, but instead, the kite stopped in ce. Evan didn''t understand the reason for this strange action, but then he felt Zith''s aura increase rapidly.


    Zith decided to use his special ability, which had undergone significant changes after his body changed. The chaos energy changed not only his appearance but also his characteristics.


    Some of the scales opened up, and mana emanated from beneath them. Evan began to guess what the serpent was about to do.


    "Huh, this is incredible. It looks like we won''t have to go through dangerous terrain. That''s real luck." Mumbled Evan.


    The next moment the amount of mana emanating from the scales increased, and Zith abruptly soared into the air and flew. A plume of ck as the abyss was left behind him, and the dark scales with the outgoing mana looked like ck, tongues of me.


    The kite''s speed was tremendous. In just a few hours, Evan would already be at his tower.


    ...


    As Evan flew home on top of Zith, many mages showed their interest in the changes of the ss Forest. Informants sent their subordinates to gather information, and heads of all organizations tried to find out what happened there.


    This situation was unique, not because of the amount of destruction but because of the transformation of an entire area.

 Chapter 320 - Lingering Training

    In a colossally sized castle, somewhere in the east of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. The ck castle was among thends where the living died, and the dead returned.


    In a spacious room, on a huge throne forged of ck iron, sat an enchanting girl. She was very tall, had silver hair and eyes as ck as the abyss. She wore a ck robe with a picture of a white braid.


    She smiled smirkily as she looked toward the ss Forest. Despite the vast distance, she could easily feel those giant energy fluctuations.


    The girl bit her lip and said, "Looks like something interesting is starting. We need to fight someone. No, better to destroy some light organization and start a local war!"


    ...


    At the same time, on an ind above the clouds. A man in a red robe stood in front of a canvas in a high tower. His robe had a picture of an ebony tree on it, but it was different from all the others.


    The tree on his mantle had no roots, and in the center of the trunk of the tree was painted - "0."


    He had thick ck hair with bright red tips. He had a serene look and azure eyes.


    He held a brush and slowly applied strokes to the canvas. All around him were various paintings, some of which were unfinished.


    The man dipped his brush into the gray paint and muttered, "Not bad."


    ...


    In Fallen Destiny, on the shore of a small, crystal-clearke surrounded by dense forest. A tall man sat reading an old, worn-out book in a wooden house.


    He turned a page and muttered, "Looks like something unusual happened. I wonder if it will be a problem or a blessing."


    ...


    After a few hours of unusual flight, Evan saw his tower in the distance. It was the same as before. While Evan was away, no one was trying to break into it. It was obvious, though. Moreover, the vampires would not allow suspicious personalities to approach Darkfil, thus Evan''s tower.


    Evan jumped off and entered the tower. He did not give Zith any instructions. Evan decided it would be better if Zith did what he wanted in his spare time. But, the serpent decided to stay by Evan''s side anyway.


    Zith had also grown much stronger and had learned a lot since their battle. He needed to understand himself and his new powers better. Moreover, he had no desire to leave Evan alone, at least not yet.


    When Evan entered the tower, he was greeted by Zaira and the other girls. But, Evan was in no mood for conversation or other more interesting activities.


    He headed silently to the training room, sending Reykar to patrol the area.


    Evan was about to get busy training, but suddenly everything blurred in front of his eyes. He tried toe to his senses and stay on his feet, but he copsed to the ground, exhausted after a couple of seconds.


    Two weekster, Evan woke up in bed. His head was pounding, and he felt terrible. He felt as if he didn''t even have the strength to walk a few meters.


    "It couldn''t get any worse. My body has overstretched itself too much during the battle with Zith. I need to get back to normal first before I can train." Mumbled Evan.


    He tried to get out of bed, but Zaira walked into the room at that moment. She looked at Evan in surprise. For more than ten days, he hadn''t woken up, but now he was suddenly awake.


    Evan looked at her and said, "You''re just in time. Get me some food."


    Zaira nodded, and a minuteter, Evan was happily eating, anything at all in storage. He ate without stopping, trying to satiate his hunger and regain his strength gradually.


    "Not bad." Mumbled Evan and his Spatial Ring glowed.


    Evan had a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment paper in his hands. He wrote something on it and then pulled out a pouch filled with gold coins from the ring.


    Evan put the first one aside and said loudly, "Reykar!"


    A purple raven flew into the room and sat on Evan''s shoulder the next moment.


    "Reykar, take this letter and the pouch to Dorlus. He''ll make it quick, I''m sure."


    Caw!


    Reykar took the letter and the pouch and quickly flew out of the tower toward Darkfil. Evan left his drop of blood on the letter, which the vampires at the entrance to the city would easily sense. They would let Reykar through and deliver the letter to Dorlus.


    Mages with beasts in their charge often took this opportunity when they didn''t have much time. It was much faster to send a beast with a letter than to carry the letter yourself.


    Evan didn''t send a beast, but a monster, but that wasn''t the problem. Unlike humans and light mages, vampires wouldn''t attack friendly monsters.


    After Evan had had enough and sent Reykar to Darkfil he drank some potions. He regained his energy reserves, but he was still wounded. Outwardly it wasn''t visible, as the upper tissues were already regenerating.


    "Zaira, how long have I been unconscious?" Asked Evan looking at the girl.


    "About two weeks," Zaira answered quickly.


    When she saw Evan lying on the floor, she was frightened. After all, if Evan died, they would have to go back to Darkfil for the ve market in the very best case scenario. Zaira and the other girls were fine with the role of maids, and they didn''t want to feel the shackles on their bodies again.


    "I see, all right, I''ll go practice. The vampires wille here with food, clothes, and other necessities in a little while. I''ve already paid for everything. You''ll have to deal with the supplies. Can you handle it?" Said Evan.


    Zaira nodded and said confidently, "Sure, you can count on me."


    "Great." Quietly Evan said and headed for the training room.


    After he''d had enough to eat and drank a few potions that boosted his regeneration, he felt much better. But, it was still worse than usual.


    "Yeah, I should have expected there to be such serious recoil after a battle like that. What''s more, the loss of three hundred years of life is probably affecting. To lose so much life force so abruptly is detrimental to my well-being.." Evan muttered.

 Chapter 321 - Complexity Of Level Two Spells

    The first spell Evan decided to learn was Summoning Bloody Skeletons. In his opinion, it was one of the easiest spells to learn. Moreover, it was a Summoning Magic spell.


    It would be an interesting experience for Evan. After all, the only Summoning Magic spell he knew was Summoning Thorny Ivy. It was a simple zero-level spell, and it summoned a nt, not a living creature.


    Evan opened the spell book and began to read it. Evan was always very careful and meticulous. He didn''t want to miss any detail. When using Summoning Magic spells, the mage had to be focused on the process.


    If the magician made a mistake, the creature wasn''t even summoned. The magic circle would copse, and the mana would dissipate. Moreover, Summoning Bloody Skeletons was a very variable spell. Bloody Skeletons were not good forbat, but they were excellent helpers.


    Evan had to control the skeletons and the bloody shell that covered them. The great functionality of this blood sheath was the main reason why Evan decided to choose this spell.


    A few hourster, Evan closed the spell book. The spell turned out to be moreplicated than he thought. He had to reread the book several times to understand all the details. Moreover, Summoning Bloody Skeletons was the first, second level spell Evan would learn.


    <Hmm, the magic circle got a lot moreplicated. The number of runes has increased several times. The same goes for seals and structure in general. I will need to use a lot more mana. Moreover, unlike zero level spells, I need to fill all seals and runes with mana first, gradually, and then I can activate the spell. I can''t do everything at once.> Evan thought, looking at the magic circle.


    In his opinion, because of the increasedplexity and structure of magic circles, it could take quite a long time to cast a second level spell. However, Evan knew that any process could be elerated if he tried and practiced.


    "Okay, let''s get to practice," Evan muttered, and his Warp spun.


    A Red Magic Circle appeared on the ground a few feet away, but it immediately copsed. Evan had created one of the chains of runes incorrectly, causing the magic circle to overload.


    After several attempts, Evan had already made more than ten different mistakes. Sometimes he could not fill so many runes and seals with mana at once. Sometimes he made the mistake of confusing one rune with another. Sometimes he poured too much or too little mana.


    <Damn, some seals and rune chains required less mana, while others required more because of their structure. On average, mana is always the same, but while I''m making a magic circle, I have to keep track of the mana levels in one part of the magic circle or another.> Evan thought.


    Thus more than a month passed. Compared to when he had learned Magic Missile in less than half a day, that amount of time seemed too long. But, it was even fast.


    On average, it took a mage at least three months to learn a second level spell, and that was just to cast the spell sessfully. That calction did not include training. Of course, it all depended on the situation, the mage''s talent, and the spell itself.


    Evan thought that of all the spells he had chosen Summoning Bloody Skeletons was the easiest, and he was right. But it was not easy if hepared Summoning Bloody Skeletons to the other second-level spells. After all, it was a Rare Rarity spell.


    If Evan decided to learn the second level Common Rarity spell, he could do it in about a week. For most mages, that was an unreachable level. However, Evan had a lot of experience learning spells, so the process took him less time than most other mages. Moreover, Evan enjoyed figuring out what he did wrong. It was like solving a puzzle, and Evan lovedplex puzzles with interesting solutions.


    Evan''s Warp spun, and a red magic circle appeared before him. One rune after another slowly created and turned into solid chains. Seals and other small magical circles appeared around the runes to support the structure.


    Two skeletons slowly began to emerge from the red magic circle. First, Evan saw the bony legs being created from the mana, then the torso, the arms, and then the head. In appearance, they looked like the most ordinary and weak skeletons, which any mage could summon at the stage - One-Pointed Star.


    But then blood began to appear on the bones of the skeletons. There was more and more blood every second until itpletely covered the skeletons. Outwardly, it looked like a thin, finger-thick red sheath.


    Evan smiled. After so much trial and error, he finally got it right.


    "This is the first time I''ve summoned living creatures. I wonder if you understand me." Asked Evan looking at the Blood Skeletons.


    To his surprise, the skeletons nodded. They could not speak, of course, but they understood the words and the wishes of the one who had summoned them.


    Evan nodded contentedly and said, "You, turn your blood into a sword, and you, turn your blood into a big hammer."


    The Blood Skeletons obeyed and did as Evan said. Their red shell began to move and change. Gradually the blood turned into the semnce of a simple sword and hammer.


    Outwardly this weapon could not be called impressive, but Evan was amazed. For despite its simplicity, the sword and hammer were very precisely crafted. This was good news to him, for he might need tools where precision in every detail was very important.


    "Okay, now hit me," Evan said calmly.


    The Blood Skeletons did not question Evan''s orders and immediately swung their weapons at him. Evan took the hammer and sword blow with his bare hands.


    "Hmm, your attacks can hurt first-rank monsters, but not second-rank monsters." Mumbled Evan looking at his palms. He wasn''t injured, just a few minor scratches.


    Evan knew that these skeletons were not made for fighting, but he had to check it out for himself.

 Chapter 322 - Second Level Spell Power

    After Evan tested the Blood Skeletons'' powers, he decided to learn more about another of their abilities, but he needed someone from outside the room to do so.


    He went upstairs and called one of the girls over to him. Her name was Tia, and she had short ck hair and blue eyes. Tia didn''t know why Evan needed her, so she was a little worried.


    "What are you going to do to me?" Tia asked.


    "Nothing of the sort." Evan simply answered and summoned the two Blood Skeletons.


    Tia flinched. She thought Evan would torture her or even kill her. For ves, the fate of being killed by their master was not umon, cruelty notwithstanding.


    "Don''t be so afraid, just not a big test. I still need you alive." Evan said calmly, and his spatial ring lit up.


    A simple dagger appeared in Evan''s hands, a weapon that couldn''t even be called a zero-grade weapon. At best, it was a very sharp kitchen knife.


    Evan grabbed Tia''s hand and inflicted a deep wound on her palm. Tia wrinkled in pain but didn''t scream. She didn''t want to anger Evan by being in a situation like that.


    Then Evan put the dagger away and looked at the Blood Skeletons, and said, "Heal her."


    The Blood Skeletons nodded, and one of them walked over to the girl. He grabbed her arm, and the bloody sheath headed toward the wound. When the skeleton''s blood made contact with the girl''s blood, it glowed brightly, and the deep cut began to heal before her eyes. In just a few seconds, the girl was healed.


    <Hmm, as I supposed, wounds like these Blood Skeletons would heal easily, but what about fractures and other injuries?"> Evan thought and grabbed Tia by the little finger.


    Crack.


    Without any warning, he broke her finger, but Tia didn''t even feel a thing. She only realized what Evan had done when she saw the sagging finger and that she couldn''t move it.


    Evan gave themand to the skeletons, and again the same thing happened, but with some differences. The skeleton''s bloody shell prated the flesh to heal the fracture. But, the skeleton was able to aplish this task, albeit in a slightly longer period of time than before.


    "Great." Mumbled Evan, looked at Tia, and said, "You''re free."


    The girl nodded and quickly ran upstairs. Even though she waspletely in one piece, in the end, she didn''t want to participate in any more such experiments.


    After doing a few more small experiments, Evan learned the next second level spell. He decided to study Vortex Boots of Thunder. Evan was curious to see how mixed elemental spells differed.


    <Hmm, it took me a month to learn thest spell plus some practice. Vortex Boots of Thunder is definitely the more difficult spell. Yeah, it does take more and more time each time. It''s frustrating>. Evan thought and opened the spell book.


    To his surprise, he got it right the first time. Mixing the elements in a spell didn''t seem like such aplicated process, but Evan knew it was only a theory. The hardest part would be turning the mana into two different elements and working together.


    "Okay, let''s get started." Mumbled Evan and his Warp spun.


    Mana was sent to his feet, and wind swirls appeared, as well as lightning discharges. But, in an instant, the spell was broken. Evan sighed and tried again, and then again and again.


    Over time, he began to get better at it, but two months had passed by then. It wasn''t until the third month that he cast the spell for the first time sessfully.


    Evan made many mistakes, but he had the most trouble making wind and lightning be one.


    He didn''t understand why, but the lightning and wind were created separately at first. Evan tried to connect them, but it didn''t work. But then Evan realized his mistake. He had to think of lightning and wind not as two different elements but as one whole. Only then could he give the spell the shape he wanted.


    "Let''s see what this spell can do," Evan muttered and cast Vortex Boots of Thunder.


    Wind and lightning appeared at his feet and then turned into one. The two verses looked like boots around Evan''s feet.


    He concentrated and took a step.


    At the same moment, Evan''s silhouette blurred, and a momentter, he was on the other side of the practice area. In just one second, he had covered a distance of more than ten meters. What''s more, this spell also increased Evan''s fighting power.


    He turned around and saw a ck trail of lightning behind him, as if after a lightning strike.


    Evan took another step and turned into a bolt of lightning, then another and another. In this way, he moved at breakneck speed around the training ground for about ten minutes. There were cracks in the sturdy, stone floor in some ces.


    But then Evan suddenly fell. He looked at his legs and realized he could barely move them. He felt as if he had been running continuously for over a week.


    "Shit, that''s my maximum of ten minutes, and that''s considering my abnormal physical strength. At this rate, though, one minute would be enough to get me around the mountain. In most situations, three minutes would be enough for me, and I''d only get a little tired in that time." Evan thought and swallowed the pill.


    Then he got to his feet, rested a bit, and cast Vortex Boots of Thunder once more. This spell could be used not only to increase speed but also to attack.


    Vortex Boots of Thunder could not increase the attack of Evan''s weapons or arms, but now the leg kicks were many times more powerful.


    "I don''t usually use my legs very often inbat. Leg kicks are powerful but not as fast as my arms. But it looks like I''m going to have to change my fighting style a bit." Mumbled Evan and walked over to the dummy.


    Evan had spent a lot of money on this mannequin.. It was made up of a fairly strong materialpared to the flesh of second rank monsters.

 Chapter 323 - Lightning And Darkness

    Evan approached one of the sturdiest dummies, then prepared to attack. He rarely fought predominantly using his legs, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t do it.


    Evan sighed, and the next moment his right leg was a blur. His blow hit exactly the neck area and blew the dummy''s head into many shards. Evan then took a step back, did a 180-degree turn, and took a straight, horizontal kick to the chest.


    There was a small electrical explosion, and the dummy was shattered.


    "Vortex Boots of Thunderpletely lives up to its name. Not only did I get tremendous speed, but also incredible strength." Mumbled Evan and walked over to the almost destroyed dummy.


    He put his hand to the surviving parts and infused some mana. Then, miraculously, the dummy came back again, and the cracks and missing parts were fused and repaired. This dummy was worth more than one million gold coins, and the price was justified not only by its durability but also by this miraculous property.


    Then Evan canceled the spell and kicked the dummy again. This time the speed of the blow was noticeably slower. Moreover, now he could not break the head apart with a single blow. There were many cracks in the neck, but the dummy remained intact.


    Evan did a few more tests before moving on to learn the next spell, which was Lightning Arrow of Darkness. Like thest one, this spell was also a spell of mixed elements: lightning and darkness.


    <I already have some experience learning such spells, so the process should go a lot faster this time.> Evan thought and opened the spell book.


    The biggest difficulty in using Lightning Arrow of Darkness was that this spell had to be cast in two stages. Moreover, after the first stage, the mage had to make the two elements be one whole without destroying the structure he had created during the first stage.


    Evan read the spell book in just a few hours. He had to stop at some points and reread it, but it made sense to him for the most part.


    "Okay, I hope this works out," Evan muttered, and his Warp spun.


    The energy of darkness appeared in his hands. First, he had to create a bow of darkness. That was the first stage of the cast of this spell. Unfortunately, even that Evan couldn''t do it the first time. The darkness fell apart and dissipated.


    Moreover, even a weekter, he could not create a bow. There was no secret hidden in this process. Evan was doing everything right, but he needed more practice. He had too little control over the darkness, which made him unable to give that energy the shape he wanted.


    After another week, Evan finally created a bow, but the first stage was much easier than the second. Now Evan had to create a lightning arrow andbine it with the dark energy. The second stage was far more difficult than the first.


    "Phew, I spent so much effort and time creating the bow. Okay, half the work is done." Evan muttered and tried to create an arrow.


    The mana transformed into lightning energy and slowly turned into an arrow, but at one point, there was a glitch, and the arrow exploded, destroying the dark bow in the process. Moreover, the explosion was powerful enough to toss Evan aside.


    He wasn''t hurt, but if he had used more mana and the st had been more powerful, Evan might have suffered some bruises and burns.


    "Damn, this spell is pretty dangerous. It only gets harder each time, but also stronger." Mumbled Evan and cast the Lightning Arrow of Darkness once more.


    After weeks of trial and error, Evan finally cast this spell.


    His Warp spun, and the darkness quickly turned into a bow. Then a lightning arrow appeared in his hands, which slowly began to absorb the energy of the darkness from the bow.


    Evan fullypleted the cast of the spell, all that was left was to draw the bowstring and fire the shot.


    Whoooosh.


    Evan aimed and released the arrow. It turned into ck and blue lightning and instantly reached the dummy. After that, there was a loud explosion. The explosion was powerful enough to shake the tower and crack the training room.


    Dust and small particles of broken stone sprinkled on Evan from above. Evan hadn''t calcted the power of second-level spells. He hadn''t expected that even his training room couldn''t withstand a non-direct hit from one of the spells.


    <Damn, it was just a shockwave, but the whole tower shook. If I''d shot an arrow at the wall instead of the dummy, I''d have blown part of the tower and theb apart. I can''t take any more chances like that.> Evan thought and headed upstairs.


    He hadn''t originally wanted to reinforce the tower''s frame, but now he thought differently. If he was attacked by a genius mage on the stage - Two-Pointed Star, hundreds of formations would not protect the tower.


    His enemy would prate allyers of barriers and destroy his tower in just a couple of attacks. Evan couldn''t let that happen.


    Second-level spells were indeed an order of magnitude stronger than first-level spells. But, Evan''s situation was unique. First, thanks to Mammon''s Gaze, he could choose spells of the immense potential that he knew originally.


    If a mage didn''t have a tutor, he couldn''t know how powerful a particr spell was in the long run. Information has always been one of the greatest powers in this world, as has luck. These two concepts did not give a human power directly, but sometimes information and luck were more important than anything else.


    Evan also had a purified Warp that increased the power of his spells. He was far superior to most mages on the stage - Two-Pointed Star. Only genius mages with the best equipment and the strongest mentors couldpete with him.


    But, right now, Evan wasn''t interested in how strong he waspared to the other mages on his stage. He had more important things to do.. And for starters, he was going to fortify his tower and find a suitable ce for field trials.

 Chapter 324 - The Purchase And The Mountains

    Evan went upstairs, and a frightened Zaira immediately ran up to him.


    "Master, what happened?" Zaira said anxiously. She was already used to seeing a three-eyed raven flying around the tower and a forty-foot-tall, ck serpent sleeping next to the tower. But, she was not prepared for an attack from the outside. She thought someone had attacked them and was trying to destroy the tower.


    "Nothing terrible happened. Just a little problem during training." Calmly Evan replied and walked out of the tower.


    He walked over to Zith. At this time, the ck serpent was sleeping, but it immediately woke up when it sensed Evan''s aura. The serpent''s blue eyes looked intently at Evan.


    "Zith, throw me over there. I need to talk to the vampires about something." Said Evan pointing to a mountain in the distance.


    The serpent nodded, and after a second, it wrapped its tail around Evan''s body. Then he flung Evan toward the mountain like a projectile with all his might.


    Evan was flying at tremendous speed, and when he reached the mountain, he would crash deep into it. But Evan knew how to prevent that.


    His Warp spun, and two bloody, demonic wings emerged from his back. He pped them several times, thennded in front of Darkfil.


    A minuteter, Evan was already sitting at the same table as Dorlus.


    "Evan, you''ve already be a regr customer of mine, but where have you been for so long?" Dorlus asked.


    For Evan, the past few months had gone by unnoticed. He had been training and learning his new spells. It didn''t seem like more than a week to him, but the world didn''t standstill. Everyone who cared had learned about the ss Forest during that time, or rather what had happened there.


    "I''ve been busy. Can you tell me what interesting happened at that time?" Evan asked. He was curious to know how the world reacted to the changes in the ss Forest.


    Naturally, no one knew that it was all Evan''s fault, but because of the very fact of what had happened, many different things began to happen.


    "A lot of things, but all that pales inparison to what happened to half of the ss Forest. You must have heard something about it, even if you were busy. Haven''t you?" Smiling Dorlus said.


    Evan nodded weakly and said, "Yes, but I haven''t had time to look into it."


    "We don''t know exactly what happened there, but there are two possibilities. Either a natural cataclysm of unprecedented power urred in the ss Forest. Or it was caused by a battle between two powerful creatures of some kind. Mages, perhaps, monsters, perhaps. But regardless of the cause, half of the ss Forest was changed forever."


    "Half of a vast area has changed?" Evan asked with genuine disbelief.


    "Yes, instead of crystal trees and rainbows, there is now a mixture of hell and apocalypse. There are crystals, dark hands, geysers, massive trees with glowing blue leaves, and lightning poles. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the kingdom. What''s more, this new territory has been named - the Abode of Chaos." Dorlus said with eyes burning with interest.


    "Abode of Chaos... not a bad name." Mumbled Evan, gradually realizing how much his actions had affected the entire kingdom. These thoughts made his blood begin to boil.


    "What''s more, right after that, the head of Merciful Death decided to attack one medium-caliber light organization. As a result, overnight, hundreds of light mages were brutally murdered, and their heads are now nted on branches of ash trees in the Abode of Chaos. She seems most pleased with such a change." Said Dorlus.


    "Merciful Death live up to their reputation, but didn''t anyone want to get back at them?" Asked Evan.


    "Of course they did, but attacking Merciful Death is one of the greatest mistakes a light mage can ever make. This time, however, the patience of the light mages hade to an end. They gathered their strength and set out in pursuit of the head of Merciful Death. At that moment, she had not yet left the Abode of Chaos. However, when the light mages approached her, they felt a monstrous pressure. Their hearts nearly burst, but suddenly, one of the heads of the light organizations saved them."


    "Yeah, I''ve been away for a while now, and so many exciting things have happened in the world. Okay, thanks for the story, but it''s time to get down to business." Evan said calmly.


    "Sure." Proimed Dorlus.


    "I need materials to reinforce my tower, as well as manpower." Said Evan.


    "This time, you chose to say the order in person rather than send your raven. How sturdy do you need materials? Your tower is pretty big. You''re going to need quite a lot of material if you want to change the framepletely." Said Dorlus.


    "Strong enough not to break from the shockwave of second level spells. I also need twice as much. I have a lot of rooms under the tower that need reinforcement as well." Evan answered quickly.


    "I see. Three Summoners will have no problem handling your order in less than three days. But you''ll have to shell out quite a bit of money for it. Eleven million gold coins, and we''re even."


    Evan nodded and extended his hand with the Spatial Ring forward. After Evan handed over the required amount, he headed back to the tower.


    Dorlus, on the other hand, gave instructions to his subordinates and went to the main warehouse for supplies.


    When Evan returned to the tower, he said, "Reykar!"


    A purple raven instantly flew up to him. Evan said something to him, after which the raven flew up.


    Evan used the Raven''s Gaze and looked at the area around his tower from above. He could continue to learn spells in the training room or attack the dummy in melee. But, to use a long-range spell, he needed to find a new location.


    <Hmm, Lightning Arrow of Darkness is a very powerful spell, but I''m about to learn another spell that will be even stronger. I need to pick a ce that I don''t mind destroying. Or I can make something useful out of some ce with my attacks.> Evan thought, looking through Reykar''s eyes at the bare mountains.


    They were covered with ayer of snow, but there were no forests, des, hills, orkes around them. They were bare mountains that Evan could use for training.. Moreover, the holes and craters he would create he could use in the future.

 Chapter 325 - Explosions

    Evan did not use Lightning Arrow of Darkness now, as he wanted to study the other spells before destroying mountains for the sake of testing. The next spell Evan was going to learn was Explosive Order.


    It was an Amplification Magic spell, but a unique effect allowed the mage to create many explosions by attacking with standard weapons.


    Evan returned home and began to learn Explosive Order. He had a lot of experience with Amplification Magic spells, so he read through the entire book fairly quickly. Moreover, it only took him one month to learn to use this spell.


    "Okay, let''s get started." Mumbled Evan and his Warp spun.


    The mana transformed into red energy thatpletely covered his scythe. This spell was no different from any other Amplification Magic spell on the surface. But, the effect of this spell would only be seen inbat.


    Evan walked over to the dummy and gave it two swift blows. He made shallow cuts to keep the dummy intact. Evan hit the same spot, so there was more red energy there. Evan had one more strike to make the explosion happen.


    Whooosh.


    Evan swung the sh and hit the same spot a third time. That''s when the concentration of energy becamerge enough for it to explode. The explosion was powerful enough to destroy half of the dummy. Evan then struck three more sts in the same spot, and a second explosion destroyed the rest of the dummy.


    <Fine, as I thought this spell would be perfect for me since my fighting style is pretty fast. But, each st takes quite a lot of mana. I''ll be exhausted after creating more than thirty sts. However, even the strongest monster of the second rank would have a hard time withstanding that much damage.> Evan thought.


    For the next few hours, Evan practiced using all the spells he had learned except Lightning Arrow of Darkness. That spell had too much destructive power, but it wasn''t the strongest.


    "Now it''s your turn," Evan muttered, looking at the book with the ck cover.


    It was Waterfall of Souls. It was the most powerful spell he had chosen, in Evan''s opinion. It didn''t have as much destructive power as Lightning Arrow of Darkness, but it was almost impossible to defend against.


    It was also Epic Rarity, so Evan thought Waterfall of Souls had great potential. Not all fights and locations were suitable for spells like Lightning Arrow of Darkness. Sometimes a mage needed a spell to reach his opponent and kill them.


    Evan started reading the spell book, but even after reading the first three pages, he had a lot of questions. Waterfall of Souls was a spell of soul magic. Evan had never studied such spells before, so he didn''t know many important details.


    It took Evan over a week to read the spell book entirely and understand everything. It was a very long time, and it was scary for Evan to imagine how much time he would have to practice. However, he had no other choice anyway. He had to learn this spell to be much stronger.


    Evan didn''t leave the training room for the next three months. He meticulously re-read the spell book and tried to find the mistakes he had made. Gradually there were fewer and fewer problems, but Evan still found it difficult to cast Waterfall of Souls.


    "Okay, let''s try again. I should be able to do it now." Evan muttered, and his Warp spun.


    The mana gradually transformed into dark energy, which turned into the semnce of eerie spirits. There were more and more of them with each passing second. At this point, Evan could only create seven spirits, which was the maximum of this spell until his Awareness increased.


    So when Evan managed to create seven dark spirits for the first time in a long time, he smiled contentedly. Only now could he dere with confidence that he had cast the spellpletely correctly.


    "Even though it''s my mana and I created these spirits, they still look really creepy," Evan muttered as he looked at the dark spirits flying around him.


    An unpleasant, cold aura emanated from them as if death itself. The next moment Evan waved his hand and one of the dark spirits flew toward the dummy. Its speed wasn''t as great as that of a lightning arrow, but it was still pretty fast.


    When the spirit reached the dummy, there was no explosion, but gradually dark energy began to emanate from the dummy, and it began to disintegrate. Outwardly it was very simr to the process of dposition or dissolution. But, nothing was left of the dummy, not even a particle. The spiritpletely destroyed it.


    Waterfall of Souls was very powerful, but it was not an all-powerful spell. It was also possible to defend against it with some potions or healing spells. However, this required high quality potions and spells, and these spirits also hurt the target''s psyche.


    If the monster, mage, or beast weren''t strong enough, they would stop controlling themselves and go into a frenzy. In a minute, their flesh would dpose and turn into nothingness, after which there was no saving them.


    "This spell is very powerful, but I''m can''t use it more than once per fight," Evan muttered, staring at his bloody palm. Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, and he coughed up blood several times.


    Waterfall of Souls not only required a great deal of mana to use but also put a great deal of strain on his body.


    "I learned all the spells I wanted to, but I need to rest both physically and emotionally. My head is splitting from so much information."


    For the next week, Evan did not train but rested and thought about his ns for the future. He ate and slept a lot and drank a variety of expensive potions. Evan was resting, and his body was gaining strength.


    When he felt fine, Evan took a month to learn to use his spells properly.. The training process was much faster than the process of learning spells.

 Chapter 326 - Mana Crystals

    Evan continued training and was about to move on to the next phase of his n, but suddenly Zaira came into the training room. Evan was surprised because he had told her to go only in the most extreme cases.


    What''s more, if she came at a bad time for her, she could have been hit by a stray attack during Evan''s training sessions.


    "What happened?" Asked Evan looking at the girl.


    "A vampire came to the tower and told me to call you." Said Zaira.


    Evan nodded and headed upstairs. He didn''t know what the vampires might need, but at the very least, he had to find out what it was all about.


    The vampire couldn''t get through hundreds ofyers of barriers, so he had to wait outside and wait for Evan to approach him.


    During the training period, the vampires hired by Dorlus had alsopletely reced the tower frame and all the rooms, including the training room. Evan had been training the whole time, so the vampires didn''t bother him, and when they had to reinforce the training room, Evan flew to the mountains. There he practiced using the Lightning Arrow of Darkness.


    The tower and all the underground rooms were now made of solid, dark stone. Dorlus hadn''t fooled Evan, and this material could indeed withstand some level two spells. Of course, it all depended on the strength of the mage and the power of the spells themselves, as well as their number.


    When Evan reached the top, he saw a vampire with long blond hair and red eyes at the entrance. That''s what most vampires looked like, though.


    "I''m listening," Evan said calmly as he let the vampire inside, disabling all barriers for the time being.


    "Hello, Mr. Evan. I must admit that when I saw this huge snake, I shuddered with fear. How did you manage to tame such a powerful creature?" Asked the vampire.


    "I was just stronger, isn''t it obvious?" Evan replied calmly.


    The vampire realized he had asked a stupid question, so he decided to get right to the point, "Mr. Evan, I was sent to you by Dorlus. He wanted to offer you a job."


    "Not interested." Evan quickly replied and was about to leave, but the vampire wasn''t about to give up.


    "Wait, I''m sure you as a mage will need high quality Mana Crystals." The vampire said confidently.


    Evan turned around and asked, "How many Mana Crystals can I get if I agree to do this mission?"


    The vampire smiled and said, "As many as you can carry."


    Evan nodded and looked at Zaira and said, "Make our guest a cup of tea."


    "Coffee, I prefer coffee with lots of sugar." Added the vampire.


    Evan shrugged, and Zaira headed into the kitchen.


    A couple of minutester, Evan and the vampire were sitting at the table drinking hot coffee. The vampire was telling Evan in detail about the mission.


    "Dorlus is very busy right now, so he sent me. But, the mission is pretty simple in terms of structure. You have toe to one ce and get one thing, fighting monsters in the process." Calmly the vampire replied.


    "Sounds too easy. What''s the catch?" Evan asked.


    The vampire smirked and took a sip of hot coffee, and said, "As usual, there are light organizations involved in this case. But, this time, not only them but one neutral organization as well. You must understand that everyone wants the Mana Crystals, and they are very expensive."


    Evan nodded and continued to listen intently to the vampire.


    "But, no need to worry, this is an ordinary mission, of ordinary difficulty. Dorlus is one of the most powerful merchants in Darkfil, and he has a huge turnover of goods. If you want, you can go alone, or we will provide you with assistants." Said the vampire.


    "No need, judging by what you say, it will be an easy case. I was just about to stretch out, but I want to know more about where I''m going to go, what I''m going to get, and what I''m going to get out of it." Said Evan.


    Evan didn''t like to submit to anyone, but he was never against mutually beneficial cooperation. Dorlus proved himself as an honest merchant who is always ready for any proposals. Evan wouldplete the mission and get the mana crystals he needed, and Dorlus would get the goods and the money. Everything was perfectly fair.


    "You will need to go to the Crystal Pond. It is located in the caves to the north. These caves are known for the enormous amount of Mana Crystals that grow there every month. Naturally, at this time, Crystal Pond attracts a great deal of attention."


    "Go on," Evan replied calmly.


    "But, the Mana Crystals will be a side goal of your mission. The main target will be the pearl at the bottom of Crystal Pond. To the best of my knowledge, it only appears once a year, and that moment is almost upon us."


    "I see. What are the terms?"


    "Five million gold pieces for the pearl, and also Dorlus will buy exactly half of the Mana Crystals you can collect."


    "Good, I agree." Said Evan.


    In his mind, it was a good deal for a multitude of reasons. He wanted to test the power of his new spells inbat, and he also really needed Mana Crystals for Creation. Moreover, he had been spending moneytely buying some equipment, tools, formations, materials, and so on.


    The vampire nodded, and his spatial ring lit up. A map of the marked ce appeared in his hands, and he handed it to Evan.


    "When should I go?" Evan asked, finishing his coffee.


    "In an hour." The vampire said with a slight smile on his face.


    "I see you were sure I would agree." Said Evan.


    The vampire smirked, "Ny percent, but if you did say no, we''d have to organize a task force quickly. It''s a good thing you said yes. You''ve never once let us down before. Virion knew exactly who he was giving their family''s amulet to."


    Evan didn''t respond in any way. He just nodded. He said goodbye to the vampire and then looked carefully at the location of Crystal Pond.


    "This ce is only a couple of dozen miles from my tower. On the Zith, I will get there very quickly. The vampire said members of the light and neutral organizations would be there. It would be a good warm-up." Mumbled Evan and headed for the ck serpent.


    <I need to unlock all the circuits on my Pirs. I''m going to need a lot of mana to do that.. Not only will I be able to stretch, but I''ll be able to get a lot of Mana Crystals for free great.>


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!