《The way of the Battle Mage》


 Chapter One

    ¡°Why are you here? And how did you get in?¡±


    Sui pulled away from me and tried to look into my eyes.


    ¡°Ha! And why wouldn¡¯t a student of the Magic Academy be on the grounds of the Magic Academy?¡±


    With a dignified air, I pulled out the badge given to me by the rector and twirled it between my fingers.


    ¡°So it was you! You¡¯re the one who caused today¡¯s commotion and nearly killed the teacher?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t listen to those rumors, I barely scratched her¡­¡±


    ¡°They said she had a charred hole this big in her stomach!¡±


    Sui spread her arms as wide as she could. I laughed and clasped her hands together.


    ¡°If there really was such a hole, Madam Andu would already be in a grave. But if I¡¯m not mistaken, her aura is heading our way right now and will be here soon. Shall we get out of here?¡±


    ¡°Where to?¡±


    ¡°To Tot. He really misses his sister.¡±


    Sui pulled her hands away from mine.


    ¡°Aney, I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t know if my brother told you, but¡­¡±


    ¡°He did. And I¡¯ve already taken care of everything. You have nothing to fear anymore. Neither Burgun nor his family can harm you now.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, now let¡¯s go!¡±


    We quickly made our way toward the academy gates.


    ¡°Brat! Stop right there!¡±


    I turned around. A still-pale Teacher Andu was chasing after us.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk later, Auntie! I¡¯m busy right now!¡±


    I laughed and swept Sui into my arms.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    Of course, no mage could match a warrior in physical strength and endurance, so Andu could only hurl curses at our backs. She wisely chose not to use magic to stop me.


    Once we passed through the academy gates, I leaped into the sky, stepping onto condensed aura discs high above the ground.


    Sui wrapped her arms around my neck and clung tightly to me.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re already a Battle Ancestor?¡±


    ¡°Yep. And a third-circle mage, thanks to your notes.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I practically memorized them all.¡±


    The girl in my arms smiled, though she still glanced nervously at the ground, which stretched far below us.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± I said, setting her down on the grounds of their family estate.


    Tot and Mia weren¡¯t here at the moment.


    ¡°As far as I can tell, your brother is at the workshop. Do you want to see him?¡±


    ¡°Give me half an hour, please.¡±


    Sui ran off to her room, while I jumped onto the stone cube that had crushed my teacher¡¯s courtyard.


    Dark gray in color, incredibly dense, with unfamiliar runes etched into its surface¡­ What did it mean? Revenge? Or some kind of warning?


    This boulder unsettled me. It carried a faint trace of the War God¡¯s aura¡ªthe one who had left it here¡ªand something else. Something very bad that I couldn¡¯t quite discern.


    After walking around its surface and finding no cracks, I focused my vision and tried to peer inside.


    A uniform structure, no cavities. It seemed to be a solid piece of rock. But suddenly, I sensed something foreign within¡ªthe very thing I couldn¡¯t distinguish before. I sharpened my focus and saw, at the very center of the boulder, a hand.


    A human left hand.


    The yellowed bones were perfectly intact, covered in green patterns, like molten lava flowing from a volcano. But how? How could bones have gotten inside?


    I was sure the rock was solid¡­ Had it formed around the hand? Then just how old was it?


    ¡°Aney!¡±


    I turned my head toward Sui, not managing to suppress my enhanced vision in time.


    Damn, it was rude to stare at her like this.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± I blinked a few times, returning my sight to normal, and jumped down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk. I haven¡¯t strolled through the city in ages.¡± She took my arm.


    We found Tot at the workshop, overseeing the dismantling of old equipment. After a warm reunion, he immediately turned to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve started the process! Soon, equipment for the foundry, forge, and metalworking will arrive. But we need blueprints and other project documentation to create at least some prototypes¡­¡±


    I pulled out several sheets of paper with designs I had drawn overnight. Tot examined them, nodding approvingly.


    ¡°Good. But we also need an algorithm for how the puppets will use martial techniques.¡±


    I had an idea to program them with my own spear and step techniques, but I didn¡¯t want that knowledge to become widely available. Tot seemed to understand my hesitation.


    ¡°If you want to use secret techniques, I can engrave them myself to keep them confidential. But the output will be extremely slow¡ªno more than three or four puppets per day. That is, if you trust me, of course.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I trust you. We¡¯ll make some with my techniques for our own use, and the rest will be for sale. Do you think it¡¯ll be profitable?¡±


    ¡°You even have to ask? Battle puppets of the sixth and seventh class cost a fortune. Of course, setting up entire factories and training craftsmen for just a few hundred wouldn¡¯t be worthwhile, but if we produce thousands¡­¡±


    ¡°Sounds perfect. In a few days, I¡¯ll prepare a manuscript explaining my techniques, but engraving them is your job¡ªI don¡¯t understand that part.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go check on Mia and the estate renovations. Sui, I¡¯ll need your help tomorrow¡ªit¡¯s my first day of classes. I¡¯ll come for you in the morning. See you!¡±


    ¡°Classes?¡± Tot looked confused.


    ¡°Sis will explain everything!¡±


    I jumped up and strode across the sky toward home.


    Mia, dressed in a work jumpsuit like a true foreman, was loudly giving orders to dozens of workers repairing the estate.


    In the middle of the courtyard stood our wagon, with a hungry livzi still harnessed to it.


    I pulled a few food bricks from my storage and fed it. The poor beast nearly cried with joy that someone had finally remembered it.


    ¡°Alright, guys, that¡¯s enough for today. Thanks for your hard work! See you tomorrow morning!¡± Mia clapped her hands loudly, then ran up to me.


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    ¡°Good evening, sir! The restoration is going smoothly! There¡¯s still a lot to fix, but our bedroom is ready, so we can stay here tonight.¡±


    ¡°Our bedroom?¡±


    ¡°Sirrrr! We¡¯ve only finished one bedroom. Would you really make poor Mia sleep outside under the open skyyy?¡±


    ¡°You little trickster! Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her inside.


    Incidentally, the bed in our newly renovated bedroom didn¡¯t survive the night¡¯s¡­ activities.


    In the morning, as promised, I picked up Sui, and we headed to the academy.


    ¡°Please show me where the library is,¡± I asked, eager to see what interested me the most.


    We stopped in front of a small building. Once we showed our badges, they let us inside.


    I was disappointed¡ªthere was no way such a tiny place could hold many books. But the moment I stepped in, my mood changed.


    Spatial magic must have been at work here because the library¡¯s interior was likely larger than the arena where I took my entrance exam.


    Thanking Sui, who ran off to her classes, I started browsing the shelves, examining the tens of thousands of tomes on magic.


    After wasting a few hours searching, I found books on the basic magic of wood, metal, light, darkness, space, and time¡ªthe elements not covered in Sui¡¯s notes, which I had been studying from.


    Gathering a hefty stack of books, I found a quiet spot with a table and a comfortable chair and sat down to work.


    After quickly and carefully reading the basics of wood magic, I pulled out paper and a stylus, then began modifying spell seals using my familiar method.


    An hour later, I finished wood magic and moved on to the next.


    During my work, I noticed an unfamiliar student approaching me. Not wanting to waste time, I set up an aura barrier to ensure no one would disturb me.


    Well, only the rector could break it. At first, I thought all elements up to the third circle were just as easy, but it wasn¡¯t that simple. I stumbled badly on space and time. The theory behind these elements was difficult to grasp, and they were interconnected, constantly referencing each other.


    Because of that, the work I thought I¡¯d finish in a day took me five. But the result was worth it¡ªI reviewed fifteen sheets, each containing a magical seal reworked specifically for me, complete with descriptions and instructions on how best to carve it into bone. This must not fall into the wrong hands!


    I stashed the papers away, then gathered the hundreds of drafts I had scattered around. Even scraps weren¡¯t safe for prying eyes. Just as I was about to leave, I remembered that I had promised Tot my techniques for creating puppets. I had to sit back down and work for a few more hours. Once I finally finished, I gathered my books and went to return them to the shelves.


    Between the cabinets, a petite blonde with long, pointed ears stopped me. An elf? I tried to walk past her, but she was persistent and simply blocked my way, spreading her arms.


    ¡°Can you spare a minute?¡±


    Honestly, I was utterly exhausted after the past few days of work, and I had no patience for idle chatter. So my response wasn¡¯t exactly friendly.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t stop someone three times your size like that. Do you have no sense of self-preservation?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but this can¡¯t wait. My name is Irgen. I¡¯m the captain of the academy¡¯s student team. The rector informed me that you¡¯re our new member.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°The rector also said you¡¯re a third-circle mage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct too. Let¡¯s cut to the chase¡ªwhat do you want?¡±


    ¡°You need to leave the team. We don¡¯t need dead weight dragging us down! Our team consists of fifth- and sixth-circle mages!¡±


    ¡°Take it up with the rector.¡±


    I turned and walked the other way, unwilling to argue. That didn¡¯t work. I sensed her drawing a short staff and aiming it at my back. Damn it! I didn¡¯t wait for the attack¡ªI immediately lunged at her, grabbed her thin neck, and slammed her to the ground, knocking the breath out of her so she couldn¡¯t cast a spell.


    ¡°Listen to me, and listen very carefully!¡± I pressed my foot against her chest, keeping her from moving or breathing. Her weak ribs cracked under the pressure. ¡°Normally, I just kill those who strike at me from behind. But since you¡¯re also an academy student, today you get to live. Tomorrow morning, in the arena, I expect you and your entire damn team. I¡¯ll take you all down by myself! And don¡¯t even think about not showing up¡ªif you don¡¯t, you won¡¯t have a place in this academy anymore! Do you understand?¡±


    For good measure, I broke her nose and left her unconscious on the floor. Some captain.


    I found Tot in the workshop, where the craftsmen were already conducting the trial runs of the new equipment.


    ¡°Here.¡± I handed him a stack of papers.


    He examined each one carefully.


    ¡°Got it. There won¡¯t be any problems. And about the cores¡­¡±


    At that, I took out the storage left behind by the head of the alchemy guild. I transferred all the pills, alchemical ingredients, tools, and literature into my primary storage, then poured in ten thousand sixth-class and ten thousand seventh-class cores instead.


    ¡°Here, twenty thousand.¡±


    Leaving Tot stunned, I went home. It was time for serious business¡ªI had to carve fifteen new spells into my bones.


    At home, there was order and silence. The renovations were complete, and the estate gleamed with fresh finishes.


    ¡°Tomorrow, we resume your training!¡± I startled Mia and locked myself in the bathroom.


    Lying in the water, I first conjured magic and rune circles, replenishing my mana to the maximum by absorbing a few sixth-class cores. I couldn¡¯t take in any more, no matter how hard I tried. The level of a War God wasn¡¯t something one could reach through sheer power infusion.


    For now, I had no idea how to achieve it. My only hope lay with the Raven when he returned. With a sigh, I started carving magical seals. I managed to fit seven of the fifteen onto my left wrist; the remaining eight I engraved onto the phalanges of my right-hand fingers.


    By morning, my arsenal contained twenty-seven spells, evenly spread across the first, second, and third circles.


    After kissing the still-sleeping Mia on the cheek, I headed to Sui¡¯s house.


    ¡°Where have you been all these days? And what¡¯s this scandal with the academy team?!¡± she attacked me the moment I stepped inside.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine!¡± I scooped her up in my arms and leapt into the sky.


    ¡°They say you have a match against the entire team today. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± She wouldn¡¯t calm down. ¡°There are ten of them, and you¡¯re alone!¡±


    ¡°Sui, listen to me. How many sixth-circle mages does it take to quickly kill a High-Tier Battle Ancestor?¡±


    She fell silent.


    ¡°Hundreds.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. If I¡¯m not mistaken, a sixth-circle mage is roughly equivalent in strength to a seventh-class monster. I¡¯ve fought thousands of those at once, and as you can see, I¡¯m alive, while they are not.¡±


    ¡°I understand, but here, you have to fight using only magic!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But they won¡¯t even be able to scratch my skin with their magic.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t lying. My aura armor could withstand any sixth-circle magical attack.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Have I ever lied to you?¡±


    We landed near the academy gates and walked to the arena. Without even trying, I could sense from here that the place was packed. If hundreds of people had watched my exam, then today, the entire academy must have gathered.


    Stepping onto the arena, I confirmed it¡ªthe stands were full. Roman paced the field alone. My opponents had yet to arrive.


    ¡°Apologies, Headmaster.¡±


    ¡°For what? On the contrary, I haven¡¯t seen a good show in a long time! Give them a spectacle!¡±


    Who the hell was he rooting for?! Laughing, the headmaster flew up to his seat in the stands.


    Ten young mages entered the field. Eight of the sixth circle and two of the fifth. Leading them was Irgen, her nose swollen and bruised. The sight was so ridiculous that I laughed. Couldn¡¯t find a healing pill?


    ¡°Headmaster, please announce the rules!¡± I called out as the mages lined up against me.


    ¡°Fight with everything you¡¯ve got. The only rule¡ªno killing. Anen, please, don¡¯t turn this into a massacre like at the royal tournaments. Show some mercy to these children!¡±


    ¡°Children?¡± I pointed at the mages. ¡°They¡¯re only a year or two younger than me! But you¡¯re right about one thing¡­¡±


    I unleashed my Battle Ancestor¡¯s aura, triggering all the arena¡¯s protective barriers, which immediately began to crack. The ten mages, despite raising mana shields, were simply blown back to the barrier and pinned against it.


    ¡°¡­I can¡¯t fight at full strength, or I might accidentally kill one of them.¡± I withdrew my aura. ¡°Headmaster, please impose a restriction on me!¡±


    I was outright mocking my opponents.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Roman was clearly amused. ¡°You may only use magic!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Any limit on the number of attacks?¡±


    ¡°None.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    I turned to Irgen and her team, who were just beginning to pick themselves up from the ground.


    ¡°Hey, captain of failures, yesterday you said I was too weak. Is that just your opinion, or does the whole team think so?¡±


    The team shifted uncomfortably. It seemed they were starting to realize they were in deep trouble.


    ¡°Anyone who doesn¡¯t want to fight can surrender now and leave,¡± I continued, ¡°but those who stay¡ªI¡¯ll pummel you slowly and enjoy every moment!¡±


    I grinned wickedly. Psychological pressure on a weaker opponent could save their life¡ªI wasn¡¯t a monster.


    Two fifth-circle members ran for the exit.


    ¡°We surrender!¡±


    ¡°Wow, Irgen, what an inspiring fighting spirit your team has!¡±


    I clapped my hands.


    ¡°Anyone else?¡±


    ¡°Just start already!¡± she growled through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Alright. Yesterday, you complained that I was just a third-circle mage and too weak. Well then, I¡¯ll take you all down using only a single basic first-circle spell¡ªfireball! Attack!¡±


    I activated my magic, and after a large, bright red magic circle descended, the first fireball struck the nearest mage like a cannon shot. The impact sent him flying several meters back, where he began rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames. Idiots¡ªthey only now thought to raise their mana shields. Too slow, far too slow!


    ¡°Seven!¡± I started counting those still standing.


    These fools stood in a single line, probably planning to strike me all at once as if I were a stationary target. Holy hedgehogs, how stupid could they be? The moment the first fireball flew, I moved to flank them, immediately cutting off six of them from attacking me. They reacted by trying to turn, but it was too late.


    ¡°Six!¡±


    My fireball took out another one, tearing a chunk of flesh from his shoulder¡ªdown to the bone¡ªwhere his mana shield hadn¡¯t covered him. The others tried to protect him with their shields, momentarily disrupting their formation. Another fireball shot straight into the gap, scorching the calves of two more mages.


    ¡°Four!¡±


    The four who remained on their feet had already recovered. Three of them braced for full defense, completely ignoring their comrades writhing and screaming in pain on the ground before them, while one attempted an overhead attack.


    ¡°Ice Coffin!¡± he shouted, finally forming an entire series of magic seals that merged into a three-dimensional sigil.


    Oh, nice. Fifth-circle magic? Ice began creeping up around me, trying to trap me. Good luck with that¡­ Maybe this spell could hold down a lower-rank Battle Ancestor, but me?


    I moved again, shattering the ice coffin into shards and firing fireball after fireball at one of the mana shields. Targeted. At a single point. Instead of rotating their shields in sync to spread out the impact, they kept pouring their mana into the shield under attack, hoping to win through sheer mana exhaustion. What idiots¡­


    I waited until they had funneled all their mana into the shield I was bombarding¡ªthen shifted my attack to the neighboring one. The mage standing behind them tried to attack me again, this time using a sixth-circle spell¡ªice spikes sprouting from every direction. Well, let¡¯s just say it had some effect¡ªit made running across the arena trickier since I had to watch out for slipping. But go on, kid, don¡¯t stop now.


    The mana shield I had focused on finally shattered, and I immediately launched several fireballs into the opening.


    ¡°Zero!¡±

 Chapter Two

    Yes, it was truly over. The fireballs exploded in the cramped space between the remaining shields and the people, causing them serious barothermal injuries. I approached Irgen, who lay in the dust. The smell of burnt chicken coming from her was simply overwhelming.


    ¡°Do you surrender?¡±


    I conjured another fireball to speed up her decision-making process.


    ¡°Yes! We lost!¡±


    I looked at the stands, which were roaring with excitement.


    ¡°Forty seconds!¡± The rector¡¯s voice echoed through the arena, silencing everyone. ¡°Forty seconds and only first-circle spells! This is a complete rout!¡±


    The rector descended into the arena, watching as the healers carried away eight mages.


    ¡°Are there still people here who think Aney is unworthy to represent our academy at the Imperial Tournament?¡±


    ¡°Nooooooo!¡± The stands roared.


    Today, they had witnessed something incredible¡ªa third-circle mage had taken down eight sixth-circle mages in a single round using basic beginner-level spells.


    ¡°Thank you for not injuring them too badly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Rector, I have some doubts. How should I put this¡­ but they seem too weak for sixth-circle mages.¡±


    ¡°Aney, that¡¯s not the case. You simply acted very quickly and decisively. Normally, magic requires more time to prepare, which is why, in large battles, mages stand behind warriors who take the first blow. And these kids have almost no combat experience. The fact that one of them managed to cast two high-level spells in forty seconds is already a miracle¡ªespecially under the pressure you put on them!¡±


    I scratched my head. Pressure? If they were in a dungeon¡­


    ¡°Still,¡± Raman continued, ¡°comparing a High-Rank Battle Ancestor to these kids isn¡¯t exactly fair. But someone had to teach them a lesson.¡±


    He patted my shoulder and left the arena. That cunning old fox¡ªhe had just used me to discipline his arrogant team?! Infuriating!


    ¡°Rector!¡± I called after him. ¡°Where in the academy can I train the magic I¡¯m studying?¡±


    He gestured around.


    ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with this arena?¡±


    Damn it. He knew exactly that I was asking for a place without prying eyes. Or maybe his plan was for me to find opponents here and train with them, giving them experience in the process?


    But he was right. I needed to train against opponents, even if they were weaker than me. But how to motivate the students to spar with me? After today¡¯s display, I doubted anyone would volunteer¡­


    ¡°That was incredible!¡±


    Sui ran up to me and hugged me around the neck. But realizing the thousand eyes watching, she quickly let go.


    ¡°Thank you, Sui. I told you¡­ Eh, come on, help me in the library instead. I need to study fourth-circle magic.¡±


    The next few days passed quietly and peacefully. Every morning, I posted an open invitation to fight in the arena, but no one ever accepted. So, I went to the library and stayed there until evening, then returned home, where I trained Mia for an hour or two. Trouble, of course, came from where I least expected.


    ¡°Master!¡± Mia met me at the door just as I arrived home in the evening. ¡°Today, a bishop from the Church of the White Twins came looking for you. He wanted to meet you. He left you a letter.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Mia. He actually didn¡¯t want to meet me. With his level, he could easily determine whether I was home or not. This is a trap.¡±


    I took the letter from her hands and, without opening it, reduced it to dust with my aura.


    ¡°A trap? It¡¯s good that you realized it, Master! Now you won¡¯t go there!¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t go? Why not? On the contrary, I will definitely go.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s a trap!¡±


    ¡°So what? Let the church be sure of that. They still don¡¯t know that they are the ones who have already fallen into a trap.¡±


    Mia frowned.


    ¡°They fell into a trap? Master, I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t trouble your head with useless worries. Let¡¯s go eat.¡±


    Yes, I had been expecting a letter like this from the clergy, and I would go to them¡ªbut on my own terms, at a time of my choosing. Now, I just needed to play my hand correctly, using the artifact I found in Aman¡¯s vault¡ªthe previous bishop of the church in Matan. I urgently needed puppets, at least a dozen, but Tot was still silent.


    The next morning, as always, I was in the academy library, trying to understand the differences between the higher magic circles and the first three. If we considered only the visual structure of magical sigils, it was simple¡ªfirst, second, and third-circle sigils were two-dimensional, while fourth, fifth, and sixth-circle sigils were three-dimensional.


    My problem was that I could modify a flat sigil for engraving onto bones. But a three-dimensional sigil, which had height, width, and depth¡ªengraving that flat was impossible. This frustrated me greatly, so I was searching for ways to simplify those sigils. Or rather, right now, I was just trying to understand where that third dimension even came from.


    ¡°Ahhhgrrrr!¡± I rubbed my temples.


    ¡°Master Aney, may I trouble you?¡±


    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Irgen approached me. Was she looking for trouble again? I covered my papers with a book.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Master Aney, please accept this!¡±


    The long-eared blonde bowed and extended some kind of badge to me.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the captain¡¯s badge for our academy¡¯s team!¡±


    ¡°Not interested.¡±


    ¡°Master Aney, please reconsider and accept it!¡±


    What the hell was wrong with her?


    ¡°I thought about it. Still not interested. Put it away.¡±


    Irgen remained bowed, holding out the badge.


    ¡°Did the rector put you up to this?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. This is entirely my and my team¡¯s decision!¡±


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    ¡°Hooooo, unexpected. But I still don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t have time for your team of incompetents.¡±


    ¡°Master Aney, please, just give me a few more minutes to explain.¡±


    Damn it!


    ¡°Fine,¡± I pointed to a chair behind her and put my papers away. ¡°You have five minutes.¡±


    Irgen pulled a heavy chair closer and sat down across from me.


    ¡°Master Aney, first of all, I want to apologize for my past behavior. It won¡¯t happen again!¡±


    It better not! If it does, not even the head of the Healers¡¯ Guild will be able to put you back together.


    ¡°Master Aney, after seeing your strength, my entire team and I request that you become our captain! This isn¡¯t just our selfish wish¡ªwe firmly believe that with you as captain, our academy can achieve a much higher ranking in the tournament. Maybe we could even reach the Northern Empire Tournament quarterfinals! So please, be our captain!¡±


    Hmm. Becoming the captain of this kindergarten didn¡¯t interest me at all¡ªit would just add more hassle. But¡­ I had an idea.


    ¡°Alright, I might agree to this, but under one condition.¡±


    ¡°I accept!¡±


    ¡°Wait, I haven¡¯t even said what the condition is yet¡­¡±


    She straightened like a string, waiting for my words.


    ¡°Every morning, every day, for two hours, I will train you. Because I have no interest in being in a team of weaklings. As you understand, I can easily compete in the solo bracket. So, from today onward, I am your captain¡ªbut only for the time you spend training. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain! Understood, Captain! The whole team will be waiting for you at the arena tomorrow morning!¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I took the badge. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    Irgen bowed and ran off. Hehe, now I have targets to train my new spells on! I turned back to my books.


    Having achieved nothing today, I decided to finish early and pay a visit to Tot. I found him in his personal workshop, where he was just finishing engraving one of the seventh-class marionettes.


    ¡°One minute!¡±


    Tot traced the final lines with his chisel and inserted a seventh-class core into the marionette. The puppet¡¯s eyes flickered rapidly before finally igniting with a dark violet flame. That fire spread through the thin grooves etched across its entire body in a strange pattern. The puppet rose from the table where Tot had worked on it, picked up a spear lying nearby, and stood in line with the other marionettes.


    ¡°Wow, that looks impressive.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t just saying that. The marionette resembled a tall but lean person wearing a mask over its face. Its steel body was covered in thin grooves glowing with the dark violet flame of the seventh class.


    ¡°Will they have clothes?¡± I was curious.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re already preparing fourth-class magical armor.¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother asking why they were dressing them in such garbage, especially for money. That wasn¡¯t my concern. What mattered to me was their combat potential.


    ¡°So when do we test them?¡±


    ¡°Even now,¡± Tot gathered five sixth-class and five seventh-class marionettes in the storage. ¡°But we need to find a quiet place.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem,¡± I said as we stepped outside. ¡°I know one.¡±


    I grabbed Tot by the waist and leaped into the air. The place I had in mind was truly deserted because it was far away¡ªthe valley of jagged cliffs where Kruk had trained me in aura strikes.


    Tot got sick the moment we landed. He shot me an annoyed look for such a surprise. I jumped onto the nearest rock and drew my spear.


    ¡°Attack!¡± I told Tot, slicing the air in front of me with the tip.


    Tot released all ten marionettes and ten small round tokens, filling them with his aura. The marionettes all turned to him at once.


    ¡°Attack him!¡± Tot pointed at me.


    The marionettes turned their heads in sync. Ten pairs of violet eyes stared me down before they charged.


    Ten figures turned into silver shadows, and ten spear tips were instantly at my throat.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    They were actually using my techniques! And there were ten of them! I shot into the air and landed atop a peak adjacent to the one I had been on just a second ago. But in an instant, the rock exploded from the spear strikes, forcing me to defend myself at the very edge of my abilities.


    The space around me filled with the roar of torn air and the clash of metal against metal. Fast, strong, powerful strikes¡­ Perfect killing machines!


    ¡°Enough, Tot!¡±


    ¡°Return to me!¡± He recalled the marionettes.


    ¡°This far exceeded my wildest expectations! Tot, you¡¯re a genius!¡±


    I approached the marionettes. Overall, they were intact¡ªonly a few had deep scratches that were already sealing themselves with fresh metal.


    ¡°They can regenerate?¡± I was surprised.


    ¡°Yes, but unfortunately, this ability is quite limited. I did what I could.¡±


    Tot handed me the ten tokens.


    ¡°Here. To give a command, just fill the token with your aura. I¡¯ll deliver two dozen of these to you every week.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Tot!¡±


    What amazing toys!


    ¡°In about a month, there will be a presentation and an auction for selling the first hundred units of our sixth-class product. Will you come?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Just tell me when and where.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know closer to the date. The auction house of Matan.¡±


    Tot was clearly both happy and excited, which made him much less talkative than usual.


    ¡°Tot,¡± I asked, ¡°can these marionettes be used with eighth- or ninth-class cores?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, no. They¡¯re too weak for that level of energy. An eighth-class core would last about five minutes, but a ninth-class one would melt instantly. Besides, such classes are forbidden in the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Alright, forget it. Heading back?¡±


    I grabbed him and soared into the sky.


    Five minutes with an eighth-class core, huh? With that, a marionette would be roughly on par with me in strength. And in five minutes, I could get up to all sorts of trouble.


    Late that evening, after finishing training with Mia, I asked her if she wanted to participate in the royal tournament, which was set to start in a few weeks.


    ¡°Mmm. And why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°You can compare your strength to other people in the kingdom. I think you¡¯ll easily make the top ten.¡±


    ¡°And you, sir? Will you participate?¡±


    ¡°They probably won¡¯t let me. I earned a bad reputation there once. And I¡¯m too strong for them now¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be interesting.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s not interesting for me either.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong to think that.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is sir trying to bribe me?¡±


    ¡°Sir just desires!¡±


    I threw the cat-girl over my shoulder and headed for the bath.


    ¡°Alright! Alright! Enough!¡± Mia surrendered after half an hour. ¡°I agree, I¡¯ll participate!¡±


    ¡°Oh no, too late. Let¡¯s go to the bedroom and continue this discussion!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sir, you certainly know how to persuade a woman when she¡¯s wrong.¡±


    The next morning, in a good mood, I stepped onto the arena, where my ten team members were already waiting. They looked¡­ terrified, I would say. The only one who seemed relatively confident was Irgen.


    ¡°Good morning!¡± she waved at me.


    I approached them.


    ¡°Good morning, everyone. I won¡¯t talk much, just this: if you want to become stronger and gain real combat experience, you¡¯re welcome. If not, now is the time to leave so neither my time nor yours is wasted.¡±


    I fell silent, looking at each of them in turn. No one left. I smiled.


    ¡°Good! Well then, let¡¯s start with introductions. You¡¯ll briefly tell me about yourselves and the magic you wield. As you already know, my name is Aney, I¡¯m from the Principality of Atun. I am a High-Rank Battle Ancestor and a third-circle mage. I wield all nine elements.¡±


    A murmur spread among them, as expected. Normally, mages mastered only one or two elements and sometimes a personal magic type, like Sui, for example.


    They introduced themselves one by one, describing their abilities. Overall, not bad. Among them were offensive and defensive mages, as well as light magic and control magic support. Then I took the floor again.


    ¡°Alright. Now I know your strengths. Let me tell you about the weaknesses I saw in my fight with you. Weakness number one¡ªyou are slow. Not just in activating your spells but in decision-making. In a real fight, split seconds decide whether you live or die. Weakness number two¡ªyou are physically weak. Yes, I know everyone says mages don¡¯t need physical strength or endurance. But tell me, which target is easier for you to hit: a stationary one or one that moves? And weakness number three¡ªI don¡¯t know how you fought before, but when you¡¯re pressured, you completely lack coordination. That¡¯s a fact. So, our training will consist of three parts daily. Part one¡ªphysical conditioning. Part two¡ªdeveloping reactions to any changes on the battlefield. And part three,¡± I grinned predatorily, ¡°real combat with me.¡±


    I took out ten bottles, each containing three fifth-class recovery pills. It was good to be generous when you had looted almost all of the alchemist guild¡¯s supplies.


    ¡°There are three recovery pills in each bottle for each of you. I¡¯ll distribute these before training every day. So if you get hit more than three times per session, that¡¯s on you. And every month, the number of pills will decrease¡ªconsider it extra motivation. Understood? Any questions?¡±


    One of them raised a hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening, Mara.¡±


    ¡°Could you hit us¡­ less painfully than last time?¡±


    Everyone laughed¡ªgood, the fear was gone.


    ¡°That depends on you. Don¡¯t get hit, and it won¡¯t hurt. Alright!¡± I raised my voice. ¡°Fifteen minutes of running around the perimeter of the arena, then I¡¯ll show you shuttle runs, which you¡¯ll do for another fifteen minutes. Go!¡±


    They ran, and I stayed behind to watch them. How weak they were. I wondered how many seconds they would last against a pack of first-level monsters. Fifteen minutes passed, and I stopped them¡ªred-faced and sweaty. I gave them a ten-minute rest, then used my aura to carve two parallel lines into the stone floor, ten meters apart.


    ¡°Listen up. This exercise goes like this: you start from one line and run to the opposite one. Touch it with your hand, then sprint back to the starting point and touch the line again¡­ Who understands what this exercise is for?¡±


    Everyone remained silent.


    ¡°Acceleration training. Remember how, in our fight, I started moving after the battle began and threw off your plan? You need to be able to do the same. So, let¡¯s start with the basics. Go!¡±


    By the end of this exercise, they could barely stand. Oh no, I wasn¡¯t going to go easy on them.


    ¡°Boys and girls, we¡¯re moving on to the next part of our training. Tell me, what do you think is the most important thing in battle?¡±


    They were silent. I patiently waited for their answers.


    ¡°Strength?¡±


    ¡°Speed?¡±


    ¡°Weapons?¡±


    ¡°¡­.¡±


    The answers came one after another, growing more ridiculous as they went.


    ¡°The most important thing,¡± I interrupted them, ¡°is to see your opponent.¡±


    Everyone fell silent.


    ¡°That simple?¡± Irgen asked.


    ¡°Simple?¡± I smiled.

 Chapter Three

    Activating first-circle magic and using a first-circle spell of the light element¡ªa light sphere¡ªI detonated it in front of the girl¡¯s eyes, blinding her. Then, slowly, so that everyone could see, I raised my hand to her face and flicked her nose. I did it so slowly that even a paralyzed person would have had time to dodge.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± she yelped.


    Everyone around burst into laughter.


    ¡°If it¡¯s so simple, then why, as a sixth-circle mage, did you fail to see the finger that poked your nose?¡±


    That question made everyone fall silent again.


    ¡°Have you ever thought that, in fact, any person can be made helpless just by blinding them? And it doesn¡¯t matter whether they¡¯re a warrior or a mage. Yes, I know that mages can easily see the mana circles of others. But that doesn¡¯t always work. Look carefully and tell me¡ªdo you see my mana circles?¡±


    I fell silent and gave them time.


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    Murmurs and confusion began to grow.


    ¡°Once,¡± I interrupted them, ¡°I was captured by an eighth-circle mage. Hanging in chains in a dark cave, I couldn¡¯t determine how many circles he had or even who he was. But tell me, how do you think I always knew where he was, what he was doing, or where he was going?¡±


    ¡°Aura?¡± asked Gras, an ice mage who had performed quite well in our last battle.


    ¡°Correct! Aura! It will never let you down because everyone has one. Whether you¡¯re a mage or a warrior, you can never completely hide your aura. So, for the next hour, we will have this exercise: I will plunge the entire arena into darkness. You will see nothing, hear nothing. I will suppress my aura to the first level¡ªthe same as any mage¡¯s. I will slowly walk among you and flick your noses. Your task is simple: see my aura and dodge. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin!¡±


    I activated third-circle magic and chose the darkness element. A third-circle spell¡ªGrave Silence. It was as if all colors had been turned off for me. For the team, complete darkness fell, and all sounds disappeared.


    Heh-heh, this is going to be fun!


    For the first half-hour, they were truly like blind puppies, left with no choice but to endure and yelp. But eventually, they figured out how to see auras and started dodging with some degree of success.


    ¡°Alright!¡± I dispelled the magic. ¡°Not bad for a first attempt! And now, onto the fun part¡ªa fight with me! All of you against just me! Hold out for half an hour, and your nightmare for today will be over!¡±


    ¡°Master Aney!¡± Mara interrupted me. ¡°May I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°How did you escape from that mage¡¯s captivity?¡±


    ¡°I crushed his head so hard his brains splattered several meters away!¡± I grinned, remembering that pleasant moment.


    The faces of my team paled.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    I activated magic from three circles at once. They hadn¡¯t seen this before, as I had only ever used magic from one circle at a time.


    ¡°Vines!¡± I cast second-circle wood-element magic, and countless thin vines began rapidly growing from the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let yourselves get caught!¡± I shouted. ¡°Anyone who gets caught¡ªit¡¯s going to hurt!¡±


    I won¡¯t say they were completely helpless¡ªafter all, fire, ice, and metal-element spells quickly started flying at me.


    Useless. With their power, they could barely scratch me.


    Fools, you should be defending, not attacking!


    The vines began wrapping around some of them, pinning them to the ground and preventing them from fully utilizing their magic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time, don¡¯t attack Aney¡ªdestroy the vines!¡± someone among them shouted.


    Well, well, someone smart has emerged.


    First-circle magic¡ªIce Blades!


    Dozens of sharp ice shards flew toward them. They weren¡¯t strong enough to cause serious injuries, but they threw their already unstable ranks into complete disarray and chaos.


    ¡°Careful! He can cast multiple spells at once!¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    ¡°Open your eyes! Or do you think someone among us is just playing around with a first-circle spell?!¡±


    ¡°Ouch! That¡¯s sharp!¡±


    ¡°Someone burn these damn vines already!¡±


    ¡°Mana Shield!¡±


    ¡°Are you insane? You almost burned me!¡±


    ¡°Gras, freeze everything, or we¡¯ll be crushed!¡±


    Third-circle magic¡ªGrave Silence!


    That was the last straw. Their already poor coordination disappeared entirely at that moment.


    I saw some of them stop struggling altogether, resigning themselves to the vines that continued to entangle them. Some enclosed themselves within mana shields, hoping to wait it out, while others, like Irgen, started smashing everything around them, damaging both the vines and their own allies.


    I closely observed each of them, ready to save anyone if the situation became critical.


    Ten minutes later, all movement in the arena ceased.


    I dispelled all my spells and deactivated the magic.


    Ten bodies lay on the ground, groaning quietly.


    ¡°No, guys, this is pathetic! Take a healing pill and go again!¡±


    In the end, we went through three rounds with the same result.


    ¡°This is a disaster, guys! I am extremely disappointed with your performance today!¡±


    Mistake after mistake¡ªwhere was the collective defense? The coordination? Do you even have any crisis battle strategies at all?


    Today, I didn¡¯t see a team¡ªjust a bunch of confused mages who crumbled after a few slaps.


    Everyone sat on the floor, looking sullen.


    To some extent, I understood them.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll wrap up for today. I¡¯ll analyze your actions and try to prepare some recommendations for the next training session. Good job, everyone¡ªsee you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I waited for them to leave, but they remained sitting on the ground.


    ¡°Guys, I wanted to train¡­ I need the arena¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, Master Aney, sorry! We¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    ¡°Can we watch from the stands?¡±


    I was a little confused.


    ¡°Well, watch if you want, it¡¯s not my arena. Besides, you probably won¡¯t see much¡ªI won¡¯t be training magic.¡±


    That didn¡¯t stop them¡ªwithin a moment, they were already sitting in the front row. Fine, let them be. I pulled out my spear and ten puppets. Protective barriers immediately rose around the perimeter of the arena, reacting to the sheer power raging around me and the dolls. I infused the ten tokens with aura.


    ¡°Attack!¡± I pointed my spear toward the puppets.


    A gray typhoon erupted in the arena. Now and then, barriers around the perimeter shattered from the sheer force. The puppets¡¯ bodies flew in all directions from my blows. I stood in the middle of the field, trying to deflect the attacks aimed at me. Some still landed, so my clothes were slowly turning to rags.


    But my skin remained intact, thanks to my aura chainmail. Three minutes. Five minutes¡­ My muscles, rebuilt anew from mana, finally reached their peak in speed and strength. My blows became more powerful, causing the puppets to smash through the protective barriers, breaking the stands in the process.


    ¡°Enough, back!¡± I commanded.


    The slightly battered puppets returned to their storage. I¡¯d have to let them out at home to recover since time was static for them in the storage. I looked around at the mess. Yeah, I could definitely get an earful from the rector for this.


    ¡°Hey, guys,¡± I called out to my spectators. ¡°Any of you wield earth magic of the fifth or sixth circle? The arena could use some patching up¡­¡±


    My team spilled onto the arena. Two of them began restoring the stone flooring, while the others clustered around me, examining the sheer destruction my training had left behind.


    ¡°So this is what a real battle of the Battle Ancestors looks like?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. I didn¡¯t use my aura¡ªI didn¡¯t want to destroy my puppets. Only my body¡¯s raw physical abilities.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Gras was impressed. ¡°Mages can¡¯t do that.¡±


    There was disappointment in his voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Mages of the eighth and ninth circles are far stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°Sir Aney, do you think mages like that grow on trees? There are only three seventh-circle mages in the entire kingdom¡ªour rector is one of them. Reaching the eighth or ninth circle is only possible in the Empire, and even then, only if you¡¯re lucky.¡±


    ¡°And do you think Battle Ancestors like me are common? I don¡¯t like boasting, but I doubt there¡¯s anyone in the kingdom who could face me in battle.¡±


    That definitely made an impression. Maybe now they finally realized how lucky they were to have me as their captain.


    ¡°Sir Aney,¡± Irgen suddenly jumped up, ¡°how did you get so strong if you¡¯re from the Atun principality?¡±


    ¡°I fought monsters. A lot of monsters.¡±


    Well, I was almost telling the truth. The long-eared one was getting weird ideas.


    ¡°Commander, maybe we should¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. You¡¯re not ready. Even in the Misty Forest, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll be torn to shreds despite your level. You might be stronger than those monsters, but your skills¡­¡±


    They fell silent at my words.


    ¡°But after a month of training, I think I can prepare you for a hunt there, if you¡¯re up for it.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re ready!¡±


    ¡°Alright, but not now. See you tomorrow morning!¡±


    I quickly left the arena before they could talk me into anything else. As I walked toward the library, I kept thinking¡ªwhy were fourth-circle mages from the Vangan Adventurers¡¯ Guild stronger and more skilled than academy students of the fifth or sixth circle? Was it really just experience? Even Lady Andu, a fifth-circle mage, could easily hold her own against my entire team for a few minutes.


    I sat down with books on magic theory again. Over time, I started to understand why there was such a huge difference between lower and higher magic seals. All that three-dimensional structure¡ªit was, simply put, a compensatory mechanism that reduced the backlash on the mage casting the spell. After all, as a mage influenced reality with their spell, reality tried to influence the mage in return. A closed system where the scales had to be balanced.


    But for me, that was unnecessary. Unlike them, I didn¡¯t operate with external mana¡ªI used my own internal mana. My scales only had one side.


    Reaching this conclusion, I opened a textbook on fourth-circle fire magic. There were about a dozen spells inside, so I started choosing the one that suited me best. I immediately dismissed all defensive spells¡ªmy aura chainmail was far superior to any fourth-circle spell. Something overly powerful for a single target? No need, I had my spear for that. What I needed was something with area-of-effect properties.


    My eyes landed on the spell Flaming Tornado. Interesting. According to the description, it was a spiraling pillar of fire with its own rotation speed. When cast by a fourth-circle mage, its diameter was about ten meters, its height thirty meters, its rotation speed around five revolutions per minute, and its flame temperature reached up to a thousand degrees. The average duration a fourth-circle mage could maintain the spell? Thirty minutes before completely draining their mana.


    That was precisely why few people used Flaming Tornado.


    Bingo! I didn¡¯t care about external mana. I had an almost limitless supply within me. And the amount I could release per unit of time was at least an order of magnitude higher.


    I spent several hours converting the complex three-dimensional magical seal, which consisted of four tiers, into four separate two-dimensional seals. Then, I embedded one within another. Then, I added reinforcement and release runes. Finally, I unrolled the whole structure into a strip and connected its ends to form a ring.


    Done! I had something to work on tonight.


    I quickly returned the books to the shelves and rushed home¡ªI had to train Mia for the tournament.


    At the library exit, Lady Andu was standing there.


    Waiting?


    ¡°Stop right there, you little¡ª¡±


    I was suddenly right in front of her, which made her abruptly fall silent and recoil.


    ¡°Auntie, were you waiting for me?¡± I asked sweetly. ¡°Sorry, but this isn¡¯t going to work out. I respect older women, but I prefer young girls!¡±


    Andu¡¯s eyes narrowed with fury.


    ¡°What the hell are you babbling about?!¡±


    She slapped me. Instead of dodging easily, I created many sharp aura needles on my cheek, right where her palm landed.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Andu yanked her hand back sharply and clenched her blood-speckled palm between her thighs. ¡°That hurt!¡±


    Well, of course, it hurt. And slapping me wasn¡¯t supposed to?


    ¡°Auntie, so what did you want?¡±


    ¡°Screw you!¡±


    For a moment, before she ran off, I saw tears in her eyes. What an idiot. Whatever, I was in a hurry to get home.


    Mia was already waiting for me in the training yard. I summoned the marionettes and lined them up so they could recover from the morning battle.


    ¡°Whoa! What are those?¡± the girl asked.


    I pulled out three tokens and handed them to her.


    ¡°Here, take these. They¡¯re battle marionettes. Keep them with you¡ªthey can guard the estate and protect you if needed. Their strength is about that of a mid-stage Battle Ancestor.¡±


    I explained how to use them, and then we began training. Mia was steadily approaching the level of a mid-stage Battle Master.


    At dawn, I left home and headed for the valley of the jagged cliffs. I needed to see the results of my night¡¯s work¡ªto witness my strength as a Fourth-Circle Mage!


    My right palm was still burning from engraving the magic seal. The sun had barely peeked over the horizon when I arrived. I activated all four circles of magic. It was satisfying to watch as, after the usual three bright-red circles above my head, a fourth one flared to life, expanded, and settled into place.


    I activated my Fourth-Circle spell¡ªFire Tornado.


    A miniature sun ignited beside me and immediately leaped forward several hundred meters, where it exploded and transformed into a gigantic column of nearly white flames, twisting into a spiral.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± I exclaimed in awe.


    The fire stretched hundreds of meters high and at least a hundred meters in diameter. The heat was so intense that even from this distance, my clothes began to smolder. I jumped back another two hundred meters.


    All the rocks within the Fire Tornado turned molten, melting like red puddles in an instant. The stone simply liquefied in seconds. Incredible efficiency¡ªsuch flames could easily obliterate a dozen low-stage Battle Ancestors if they were trapped inside for a few minutes.


    At the same time, I felt myself starting to expend mana. It was unusual¡ªFirst to Third-Circle spells never gave me this sensation. I estimated the mana drain¡ªabout a single drop of my blood every fifteen minutes. Trivial.


    God¡¯s Mana, as that lunatic Rom called it, really did have astonishing energy density.


    I deactivated the spell and approached the area where the flames had raged just moments before. A vast lake of molten lava still steamed, forming a thin black crust on top.


    Yes, I was very pleased.


    Returning to Matan, I, as usual, picked up Sui, and we headed to the academy.


    ¡°I¡¯ve reached the Fourth Circle,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but brag.


    ¡°Congratulations! What element?¡±


    ¡°Fire. I tested Fire Tornado this morning.¡±


    ¡°And how was it?¡±


    ¡°Unparalleled! Magic is stronger than martial arts, I think.¡±


    ¡°Not always. In battle, speed often plays a decisive role, and a weaker warrior can defeat a stronger mage.¡±


    ¡°True, but I have no such weaknesses.¡±


    We laughed.


    On the training ground, my team was already waiting for me.


    Just like yesterday, we started with a run, followed by an aura detection and recognition exercise, where my subordinates showed much better results. The final part of the session¡ªcombat.


    This time, I arranged them in a three-three-four formation: the first three mages focused on defense, the next three launched rapid bombardments at the enemy with the fastest spells possible¡ªregardless of circle, just as many and as fast as they could manage. The last four were meant to be the real heavy-hitting force, tasked with breaking the enemy¡¯s battle lines and then picking them off one by one.


    I insisted they maintain formation for as long as possible, even when my spells started knocking them out.


    The first round, they lasted five minutes.


    The second¡ªseven.


    By the third round, they were holding out for ten minutes.


    I was only using First to Third-Circle magic, but nearly my entire arsenal of twenty-seven spells¡ªexcept for fire and ice spears.


    ¡°So, did you notice your progress?¡± I asked at the end.


    ¡°Yes, Commander! Everything went great!¡±


    ¡°Great?¡± I looked down at my tattered clothes. ¡°At this rate, you lot are gonna make me a beggar!¡±


    Everyone burst into laughter, as if I was joking.

 Chapter Four

    As I was changing, a translucent magical bird flew up to me and dropped a note from the rector, asking me to see him. So instead of going to the library, I had to head to the main academy building.


    ¡°Sit down,¡± Ramaan said, pointing to a chair. ¡°Have they already told you that in two months, the qualifiers for the Northern Empire¡¯s academy tournament will begin?¡±


    He must have read everything on my face. I had no clue.


    ¡°There are three magical academies in our kingdom. The qualifiers will determine the winner, who will represent our kingdom in the empire¡¯s tournament. What do you think our chances are?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That depends on the level of the opponents.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the same as ours¡ªfifth and sixth circle.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine. My team will crush them even without me.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I wouldn¡¯t want to take any chances.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. I¡¯ll be our trump card in the imperial tournament, where the strongest teams gather. No need to reveal me too soon. I¡¯m sure others will do the same.¡±


    The rector sat with his chin resting on his interlaced fingers, thinking.


    ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s your decision, so be it.¡±


    ¡°I suggest you watch our training before the qualifiers begin. That way, you can share my confidence.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± he laughed.


    ¡°Is that all? Then I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    ¡°Wait. I¡¯ve heard rumors that you¡¯ve been disrespecting the professors¡­ Don¡¯t do that, please. This is an academy; there must be proper hierarchy between teachers and students.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, that was unintentional. I¡¯ll find Lady Anda and apologize¡­¡±


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s all I wanted to say.¡±


    ¡°Rector, I have a question as well.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°The imperial teams are stronger than the kingdom teams, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Some of them even have seventh-circle mages.¡±


    ¡°In that case, Rector, I request a sparring match in a month. Magic only¡ªI won¡¯t use my Battle Ancestor abilities. I want to assess our team¡¯s real chances.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve reached the fourth circle, but mine is much stronger than other mages¡¯.¡±


    Ramaan grinned.


    ¡°Alright! It¡¯s been a long time since anyone challenged me!¡±


    Oh, he¡¯s just as crazy. Holy hedgehogs, why do I keep running into lunatics? Who did I offend?!


    I headed to the library. Two months. Not much time left.


    Water Element¡ªEternal Crypt¡ªa fourth-circle spell capable of freezing even mana waves over an area of about two thousand square meters. Any living beings caught inside perished instantly, turning to ice.


    Wind Element¡ªWhite Rust¡ªa fourth-circle spell that used tiny, compressed air particles like a rasp to strip the skin from living creatures.


    Earth Element¡ªDevil¡¯s Swamp¡ªa fourth-circle spell. If you couldn¡¯t fly, you¡¯d sink into a poisonous bog.


    ¡­


    Over the next two weeks, I mastered eight more fourth-circle spells, fully completing that level. Throughout this time, I didn¡¯t ease up on the team¡¯s training one bit, and it paid off¡ªthey could now hold their ground against me for thirty minutes, even when I used fire and ice spear spells.


    They groaned, but they held on.


    Meanwhile, Mia had reached the rank of a mid-tier Battle Master. It was time to register her for the kingdom tournament qualifiers.


    We walked through the noisy city streets toward the central arena. Three years ago, Tot, Sui, and I had done the same for our own registration. Not that much time had passed, yet our lives had changed so much.


    I glanced at Mia, who cheerfully walked ahead, her orange tail swishing. Ah, youth¡­ This time, I¡¯d personally make sure the tournament was fair. I think I have enough strength for that.


    We entered the arena grounds and headed to the registration tables.


    ¡°Mia. Mid-tier Battle Master. Beastkin. Twenty years old,¡± she said, handing her plaque to the registrar.


    He sent her for a strength evaluation, then entered her details into the record book and gave her a participant badge.


    Heh heh heh, maybe I should have some fun?


    ¡°Aney. High-tier Battle Ancestor. Atun Principality. Twenty-three years old.¡±


    I showed my golden adventurer¡¯s guild plaque and waited for an invitation to the strength test.


    The registrar paled. He was afraid to refuse me, yet it was clear that standing before him was the tournament¡¯s winner, making the whole event pointless.


    ¡°Is something wrong? You¡¯re wasting my time, sir. That¡¯s rude!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡­ One moment, please, sir! I can¡¯t make such decisions on my own!¡±


    The poor man scurried away, leaving me standing alone at the registration table, confused. Should I just enter myself into the list?


    A familiar aura was approaching.


    ¡°Lord Aney! It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again at our competition!¡±


    Ah, Willis. Of course.


    ¡°Good day, Chamberlain! Have you come to greet me personally? To what do I owe this honor?¡±


    Willis grimaced as if he had swallowed something sour.


    ¡°Lord Aney, may I have a word with you?¡±


    He cast an aura dome around us to keep the conversation private.


    ¡°Lord Aney, don¡¯t you think this is inappropriate?¡±


    ¡°What exactly?¡± I played dumb.


    ¡°Your participation in the tournament!¡±


    ¡°But I meet the requirements, don¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but in terms of strength¡­ And besides, you already won the tournament three years ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Really? Then why don¡¯t I remember any award ceremony crowning me as the winner?¡±


    The chamberlain fell silent, searching for another way to persuade me.


    It was so funny that I couldn¡¯t hold back.


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    ¡°Ahaha! Relax, Lord Willis. Forgive me for the prank. But!¡±¡ªI shifted to a serious tone¡ª¡°My friend is competing in this tournament, so I will be watching very closely. There will be no cheating this time, like three years ago. Do you understand, Lord Willis? Not even a hint of foul play. Otherwise¡­¡± I leaned in slightly. ¡°Unlike my kind teacher, I won¡¯t be so forgiving. The consequences will be far more serious than last time. I believe we have an understanding, Lord Chamberlain?¡±


    I shattered his aura dome with a swipe of my hand and walked over to Mia, who was waiting on the side.


    ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just ran into an old acquaintance. So, what¡¯s your number?¡±


    ¡°Two hundred thirty. Are we heading home?¡±


    ¡°Oh no. Since we¡¯re already out in the city, there are some places we need to stop by. Besides, I¡¯ve been invited.¡±


    We made our way through the streets toward the Church of the White Twins. I carefully scanned the auras inside. Many Battle Masters and five Battle Ancestors.


    As we neared the building, I released two dozen puppets and ordered them to surround the church. The people inside had sensed me as well and were clearly on edge.


    I rose several dozen meters into the air, hovering above the gates.


    ¡°Come out!¡± I commanded, amplifying my voice with aura so the entire city could hear.


    Passersby began to gather nearby, intrigued by what was happening.


    ¡°Honorable citizens and guests of the city! Not long ago, I discovered that the clergy of this church have been sacrificing innocent townspeople to increase their own power. And I have undeniable proof!¡±


    For a moment, this shocking truth plunged the city into silence. Everyone understood that Battle Ancestors did not throw around such accusations lightly. But to accuse the Church of the White Twins? For the townspeople, this was a shock.


    ¡°Bishop!¡± I barked even louder. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for an explanation! Otherwise, I will turn your church to dust!¡±


    ¡°Very well!¡± A voice from within the church, also amplified by the aura of a high-rank Battle Ancestor, called back. ¡°Let¡¯s resolve this without violence.¡±


    The doors opened, and a dozen and a half people dressed in black emerged from the church. One of them rose up to meet me. I ordered my puppets to surround the rest.


    ¡°Arriving like this is quite rude, don¡¯t you think, Lord Aney? I am Bruno, the new bishop of the Church of the White Twins in Matan.¡±


    ¡°Rude? And what about sacrificing people¡ªdoes that count as polite? And that trap you prepared for me, is that your version of hospitality? You should be grateful I¡¯m even speaking to you and not burning this den of murderers to ash!¡±


    ¡°You throw around grand accusations, but without proof, all you are doing is bringing your own death closer!¡±


    ¡°Without proof?¡± I laughed and pulled out Amon¡¯s storage ring¡ªthe former bishop of Matan. ¡°Do you recognize this?¡±


    Of course, he did. I could see the vague foreboding of doom in his eyes, even though he had no idea what was coming.


    I activated second-circle magic. Bruno flinched back in surprise. Using a second-circle light-element spell, I projected a massive image into the sky so that every citizen in the city could see the ring in my fingers.


    ¡°Yes, this is the storage ring of the former bishop of the Church of the White Twins, Amon. Do you recognize it?¡±


    Bruno shrugged.


    ¡°Even if I do, what of it?¡±


    Oh, bad move, old man. I reached into the storage ring and pulled out a large glass container¡ªinside was a human head. The image reflected in the projection above the city. A gasp swept through the crowd. Bruno paled.


    Oh, don¡¯t get quiet now, this is just the beginning.


    Using my aura, I lifted the jar to the side and pulled out another one¡ªalso containing a human head. I turned it to show the projection every angle.


    ¡°That¡¯s Malt! He disappeared years ago!¡± someone shouted from below.


    Ignoring the voices, I pulled out another jar. Then another. And another. And another. By the third dozen, the crowd below was roaring with fury, demanding the priests be lynched on the spot.


    But I wasn¡¯t done. I kept extracting more and more remains of the victims. Many were recognized immediately, their names and stories of their disappearances cried out by the people.


    This was a reckoning.


    I could feel it¡ªone word from me, and the church¡¯s clergy would be torn to bloody shreds. The entire two-million-strong city was watching my every move.


    ¡°Exactly three hundred and sixteen victims!¡± I shouted, holding up the last head. ¡°Do you have anything to say, Bishop?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ this means nothing!¡±


    ¡°Nothing? Have you lost your mind?! Three hundred and sixteen innocent citizens of Matan, murdered by a bishop of the Church of the White Twins, and you call that insignificant?!¡±


    Bruno¡¯s frantic eyes darted over the crowd of tens of thousands below. Everyone was waiting for his answer. And his answer would decide his fate¡ªand the fate of his church in this city.


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know where these heads came from in Amon¡¯s storage! Someone could have framed both him and the church!¡±


    People in the crowd started exchanging glances. The authority of the church was, after all, the highest on the continent.


    ¡°Oh, of course! You were framed!¡± I saw the relief flicker across his face. ¡°Although, wait a moment¡­ There¡¯s something else in this storage¡­ What could it be? Oh my, it¡¯s Bishop Amon¡¯s personal journal!¡±


    I pulled out a thick book bound in red leather.


    ¡°Give that to me!¡± Bruno lunged for the journal, but four of my puppets simultaneously drove their spears into his ribs. Not to kill¡ªjust to restrain.


    Bruno realized the end was near and fell silent.


    I opened the journal in the middle and began to read aloud. The crowd went dead silent, hanging onto every word.


    I had to give Amon credit¡ªhe was meticulous. He had recorded every victim, every ritual, in painful detail.


    I read of how they laid people on a stone altar and flayed the skin from their backs, how they used a sacrificial knife to sever ribs from the spine and pull out still-breathing lungs¡­


    So many details. Too many. After a few pages, I closed the journal. The crowd was silent. The crowd was seething. The crowd was out for blood.


    ¡°So, what do you say now, Bishop?¡±


    Bruno lifted his bowed head to look at me.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ Perhaps Amon did those things. I admit that. But what does this have to do with the church?¡±


    Oh, you sly bastard. Hanging meekly on those spears, pretending to be a victim.


    I grinned.


    Time to bluff.


    ¡°Bishop, do you really think there are no names of Amon¡¯s accomplices in the diary?¡±


    In reality, there were no names. But he couldn¡¯t have known that.


    ¡°If you kill us, the church will burn you along with this city!¡±


    ¡°Hoooooo?! People,¡± I turned to the crowd, ¡°did you hear that? The church is already threatening genocide if we punish these bastards. So what do you think of such gods and their servants?¡±


    The crowd was silent for a moment.


    ¡°They¡¯ll kill us?¡±


    ¡°Ancestor, kill these monsters!¡±


    ¡°Avenge us!¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t they killed enough of us, those scum?!¡±


    ¡°Let them burn in hell!¡±


    ¡°Ancestor, punish them, we beg you!¡±


    I raised my hand, trying to calm the crowd.


    ¡°So, Bishop, you¡¯ve heard the voice of the people. Do you have anything to say?¡±


    ¡°You will all die!¡± Bruno¡¯s voice echoed through the city. ¡°You filthy cattle! You belong to us! Who are you to judge the gods, you wretches?! One look from the God is enough to trample you into the dirt¡ªyes, right into the filth where you belong!¡±


    I slapped him hard, forcing him to shut up.


    ¡°Citizens of the city, unfortunately, this bastard speaks the truth. If we kill them, the church will destroy the city along with all its inhabitants.¡± I spread my hands helplessly. ¡°But we can banish them and burn down this torture chamber!¡±


    I pointed at the church building.


    ¡°Yesssss!¡± the crowd roared. ¡°The Ancestor speaks the truth! Burn the church!¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it. Please move to a safe distance from the church.¡±


    I waited for the people to disperse and ordered my puppets to take the prisoners away, then activated fourth-circle magic. After making sure no one was inside the church or its basement, I cast a fire tornado spell. A small sun shot from me into the building, transforming into a towering pillar of fire. It began spinning, sucking in the church¡¯s roof, then its stone walls. It was as if it was devouring the building from the inside.


    ¡°Noooooo!¡± Bruno howled, stretching his hands toward the fire. ¡°The altar! The Gods¡¯ altar is in there!¡±


    A loud explosion cut off his scream, and from the fire tornado, a thin white beam shot into the sky, vanishing almost instantly.


    What the hell was that?


    I turned to the bishop to ask, but then I saw his young body aging rapidly, shriveling.


    What kind of madness is this?!


    The other prisoners also began to change, quickly turning into hunched old men. And everyone around saw it. The red glow from the burning church transformed the entire scene into some kind of hellish phantasmagoria.


    I deactivated the magic.


    On the ground before me sat an old man, his lower jaw trembling. No trace remained of his former High-Tier Battle Ancestor aura. Just an ordinary old man who would be in a coffin within a month or two.


    I glanced at the other prisoners¡ªthey had all aged. Some older, some slightly younger, but they had lost all their power.


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡± I burst into laughter. ¡°So you¡¯re nothing! Just a fake wrapped in shiny packaging! All your strength doesn¡¯t even belong to you! My God, this is the best joke I¡¯ve seen in years! Hooooooo¡­¡±


    I wiped away tears of laughter. It really was hilarious.


    I stepped up to Bruno and poked him with a finger to make sure my eyes weren¡¯t deceiving me. But no, it seemed real.


    I rose into the air once more.


    ¡°Citizens of the city! Fate has punished this scum even better than we could have imagined! Now, the only thing left for them is to drag out a miserable existence for a few months and then die as beggars in some ditch! I propose we simply banish them from the city so that their stench doesn¡¯t pollute this place! All in favor?¡±


    As the crowd cheered in agreement, I ordered my puppets to push the churchmen beyond the city¡¯s borders.


    In the crowd, Mia found me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away.


    ¡°Master! What have you done, Master?!¡±


    ¡°What have I done? Punished the bastards who cruelly murdered innocent townsfolk?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯ve angered the church!¡± She looked into my eyes. ¡°Master, you don¡¯t understand!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Mia! Even if it were three churches¡ªthere¡¯s no way I could walk past such filth and leave it as if it didn¡¯t concern me. Evil must be punished. Any neutrality toward evil only plays into its hands, strengthening it and making you a silent accomplice. Just imagine they had taken you for a sacrifice. Should I have just turned away and walked off?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different, Master!¡±


    ¡°Different?¡± I stopped, forcing her to halt as well and look at me. ¡°How exactly is it different?¡±


    ¡°Because!¡±


    Mia yanked her hand away and ran ahead.


    What was wrong with her?


    I walked slowly through the city streets toward my home, thinking about the consequences.


    The church was unlikely to send the God of War here to deal with me, but they certainly wouldn¡¯t let this go.


    Besides, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I had accidentally uncovered a very important secret about the church.


    The altar.


    What exactly was it?


    I only understood that it granted power to the churchmen. But I didn¡¯t know if this applied to all of them. Or if it had other functions.


    Though, I did have one cleric acquaintance¡­


    Maybe I should press him and find out everything I wanted to know?


    I shook my head.


    No rush¡ªeverything would become clear in time.

 Chapter Five

    The next morning, I arrived at the academy with Sui. By now, everyone had already heard about my little stunt, and it would have been strange if they hadn¡¯t. It seemed that people¡¯s attitudes toward me had shifted dramatically. Some tried to keep their distance, making it painfully obvious that they wanted nothing to do with me, while others, on the contrary, practically forced themselves into my circle of friends. As always, I ignored most of it. As they say¡ªfools never get bored on their own. In short, everything suited me just fine.


    After training the team, I hurried to the library¡ªit was time to tackle fifth-circle magic. Overall, I didn¡¯t expect any difficulties, as the theory of spell construction from the fourth to the sixth circle was similar, so I hoped to master this level quickly. At the library doors, Andu was waiting for me.


    ¡°You, Lady Andu?¡±


    ¡°Lady? Why not Auntie?¡±


    I was taken aback. Andu clicked her tongue.


    ¡°I came to say thank you. Thank you. Goodbye.¡±


    With those words, she turned to leave.


    ¡°I also wanted to apologize.¡±


    ¡°Apologize? For what?¡±


    ¡°Well, for that incident¡­ with the slap¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have¡ª¡±


    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s in the past.¡±


    She walked away.


    ¡°Lady Andu, but what were you thanking me for?¡±


    I was genuinely curious. But she just waved her hand above her head without turning around and continued on her way. Women are strange creatures. I smiled and entered the library.


    Time flew by like mad. The theory of fifth-circle magic had its nuances, which slowed me down for almost a week before I could attempt spell formation. Finally, I picked up the fifth-circle fire element textbook. As expected, dozens of different spells. I chose one¡ªInferno. The spell of fiery hell.


    According to the description, the spell created a zone of fire around the caster, which could only be extinguished by the mage¡¯s death or by the complete depletion of mana within the mage¡¯s area of effect. A terrifying thing. A fifth-circle mage¡¯s range was enormous, so the only way to stop them was to kill them.


    And to do that, one had to either reach the mage with a powerful long-range spell or get through the inferno and survive. I deconstructed the spell¡¯s three-dimensional schematics into its components, immediately discarding parts involving compensatory mechanisms and simplifying others into five two-dimensional magical seals. Well, the work was nearly done. Connecting five circles and filling them with runes for enhancement and release was something I was already accustomed to.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be any training today,¡± I told Mia. ¡°The selection trials are tomorrow.¡±


    I took out two third-class daggers and handed them to her.


    ¡°Thank you, Master! Will you come to watch Mia¡¯s performance?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world!¡±


    ¡°I love you, Master!¡±


    Mia kissed my cheek and ran off to her room. I immediately sat down in the garden¡¯s gazebo and began carving the magical seal. Finishing deep into the night, I didn¡¯t wait any longer and set off for the valley of jagged cliffs, which had already become my traditional testing ground for new spells.


    I ascended into the air and activated magic from all five circles, taking a moment to admire the bright-red seals spinning around me. Then I cast Inferno. A wave of unbearable heat spread outward, stopping half a kilometer away.


    Now that was a decent-sized zone. Rocks, stones, and sand within the area began melting, forming wide streams of lava. Strangely, I didn¡¯t feel the heat at all. All I saw were shimmering currents of air devoid of oxygen, which had burned out completely during the first wave¡¯s expansion.


    I pulled one of the marionette spears from my storage and threw it parallel to the ground. Despite its speed, only a molten, unrecognizable lump reached the end of the zone. Wow! I tried moving forward¡ªthe zone moved with me.


    Perfect! I could now say I had a control zone that would filter out weak opponents in battle, saving me from wasting time on them. However, it also meant I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight alongside allies. The mana consumption suited me as well¡ªone drop per ten minutes. It was, of course, higher than Fire Tornado, but the two spells weren¡¯t even comparable in power.


    By morning, I returned home and slipped under the covers beside a warm Mia. She sniffed a couple of times, catching the scent.


    ¡°Did Master eat roasted meat?¡±


    ¡°Just sleep already, meat¡­¡±


    On the way to the arena, I gave Mia final instructions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush in first. Let them take their places in the rings and wait until most of them are eliminated. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried! Then find some low-tier Battle Master and just take him out. After that, just wait for the selection trials to end. If you don¡¯t have enough fights, the system will automatically assign you the missing ones. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master, I got it. You¡¯ve already told me this more than once!¡±


    ¡°Mia! I care about you! I¡¯ll make sure the fights are fair, but you also have to stay alert!¡±


    Mia stopped and took my hand.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯m grateful to you, truly. But let me show everything you¡¯ve taught me in the ring, okay?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I stroked her head, ruffling her fluffy ears. She twitched them, smiled, and we continued on. The arena was already buzzing when we arrived. Mia, showing her participant token, went to the corner where the contenders were gathering, while I climbed into the stands, where Tot and Sui were already waving at me.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I sat down between them, getting comfortable.


    ¡°How¡¯s Mia¡¯s mood? Is she ready for battle?¡± Tot was more nervous than when he had participated in the tournament himself.


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s ready. She¡¯ll tear them apart!¡±


    I looked at the part of the arena where the tournament participants were waiting. A dozen Battle Masters and four hundred warriors. This year¡¯s tournament was weaker than the one I had competed in. Was it losing popularity, or were there other factors at play? However, the participants themselves were determined to win¡ªI could feel it even from this distance.


    Another notable difference was the near-total absence of beastfolk among the competitors. Aside from Mia, I spotted only one¡ªsome low-tier Battle Master werewolf. I laughed. I¡¯d bet a ninth-class core that Mia would pick him as her opponent in the ring. It was probably instinctual for her.


    Willis flew above the arena and began his speech. Boring. That idiot was practically repeating word for word what he had said three years ago.


    ¡°Aney,¡± Tot tugged at my sleeve, ¡°the auction is tonight. Don¡¯t forget.¡±


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    ¡°Got it.¡±


    From the arena field, three dozen rings began to rise, and the participants stirred, trying to reach them first. Mia, as I had advised her, waited, observing the battles that had just begun. Most of them were short and, from my experienced perspective, resembled some kind of children¡¯s games, despite the fact that real blood was being spilled.


    I wonder if Kruk had similar thoughts when he watched me? How did he even see his disciple in me? He once said that the Gods of War had a hard time finding talented students. How do they even search for them? I looked closely at the participants in the rings.


    Fairly simple strikes, basic techniques for warriors¡­ Everyone seemed like gray mediocrity to me. Or is the problem with me, and I just can¡¯t see the potential in fighters yet? Have I not matured enough for this? Is it truly only the Gods of War who can recognize a warrior with the potential to become a legend in the future?


    Mia dashed forward and pressed the red challenge button. Well, theoretically, I had just won a ninth-class monster core¡ªshe really did choose the werewolf.


    The barrier rose, and after listening to the judge¡¯s words, Mia swiftly attacked, using a sequence step technique. She struck the opponent with her dagger under the armpit just as he was swinging his battle axe. It seemed that neither the werewolf nor the judge expected the girl to be so fast.


    A victory in a single strike! The werewolf fell to his knees, clutching his wound. As soon as the barrier disappeared, I picked out his pitiful whimper from the general hum of the arena. Two healers rushed to him¡ªone treated the wound externally with a potion, while the other poured a vial into the werewolf¡¯s maw. The judge announced Mia¡¯s victory.


    ¡°Yeeeeeah!¡± Tot jumped to his feet, raising his fist above his head.


    Then he immediately grew embarrassed and sat back down. I felt a little sorry for him¡ªlosing a limb had put an end to his dream of becoming a Battle Master. He tried not to show it, but moments like this revealed it on their own. Sigh, Tot, it¡¯s time for you to find a new dream¡ªno one can help you but yourself.


    Mia remained standing alone in the ring. Until the end of the qualifiers, no one dared to challenge her. We left the arena after the announcement of the top hundred; the competition for the top places was set to begin the next morning.


    That evening, as Mia and I approached Matan¡¯s auction house, a powerful aura suddenly spread across nearly the entire city.


    It oppressed the city¡¯s residents and guests, stirring fear and anxiety deep within their very souls. Mia groaned. I immediately shielded us with my own aura, trying to lessen the pressure on her. Damn, who could this be?


    It wasn¡¯t a resident of the kingdom¡ªthe aura definitely belonged to a God of War. Had the church sent someone for my head? People nearby began collapsing onto the cobblestone street, but then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the pressure vanished. I raised my eyes to the sky in the direction where the aura had come from.


    A massive wooden ship floated across the sky, its sides extending several pairs of long, translucent wings reinforced by a dense network of veins that formed their structure.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I muttered to myself.


    ¡°An imperial ship!¡± someone in the crowd shouted.


    ¡°An imperial representative has arrived for the auction!¡±


    ¡°Who could it be?¡±


    The people in front of the auction house recovered and immediately began gossiping, developing conspiracy theories on the spot about who it might be and why they had appeared. Meanwhile, the ship hovered over the roof of the auction house, allowing a closer look at its immense size.


    No less than one hundred and fifty meters in length and thirty in width, with a height of at least ten meters from the keel to the deck, yet its proportions, shape, and the meticulous craftsmanship with which it was built made it seem like a true masterpiece¡ªsomething that belonged in a museum.


    I¡¯ll admit it, I almost dropped my jaw staring at the ship¡ªI hadn¡¯t even imagined such a thing could exist in this world.


    From the side of the vessel, a ramp of aura extended downward, materializing in midair. That was definitely a God of War¡ªno Battle Ancestor was capable of such a feat!


    Four figures descended the ramp: a young man in a white suit embroidered with silver, nestled between two scantily clad beast-women, and a stocky, broad-shouldered man with a battle hammer strapped to his back. Casting a haughty glance at the crowd, they headed for the auction house doors, where they were immediately greeted and swiftly escorted inside.


    Well, at least they weren¡¯t zealots in black robes¡ªI could relax.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I took Mia by the hand and led her forward.


    At the entrance, we were stopped, but I showed the golden plaque, and after checking the guest list, the guard let us through. I located Tot and Sui¡¯s auras, and we went up to the second floor, where they were waiting in a private room. Inside, besides the brother and sister, there was also an auction house attendant assigned to serve us for the evening.


    I pulled back the curtains that blocked the view of the hall and dragged a chair closer to the railing. The auction was about to start, and the guests hurried to take their seats. The hum of conversation gradually subsided.


    Bright lights illuminated the circular stage, and the auctioneer stepped forward.


    ¡°Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Esteemed guests and residents of the city! Tonight, at our auction, I am honored to welcome our distinguished guests from the Northern Empire!¡±


    He bowed toward the balcony on the third floor and held the pose for about ten seconds before continuing:


    ¡°And so, I remind you to adhere to the auction house rules, which you can find on the leaflets at your seats, and we begin!¡±


    The auctioneer raised his hand, and the staff rolled out something covered with a cloth onto the stage.


    ¡°Our first lot of the evening¡ªa sixth-class monster carcass! Starting price: three hundred gold coins! Minimum bid increment: ten gold coins!¡±


    The auction kicked off energetically, with the cheaper lots selling like hotcakes in a busy marketplace.


    The most interesting items were saved for the end of the evening, and finally, the time arrived.


    ¡°Honored participants!¡± The auctioneer¡¯s tone became excited. ¡°It is time for the final three lots! And we begin with this!¡±


    A high-grade spear, made from the bone of a monster no lower than the ninth class, was brought onto the stage. It had a rather rough design, yet an aura of high-level slaughter seemed to radiate from it.


    ¡°The Spear of White Sky¡ªdiscovered by a high-ranking adventurer in a world rift at the edge of our continent! Starting price: eight thousand gold coins! Minimum bid increment: one hundred gold coins!¡±


    I was intrigued.


    ¡°Eight thousand one hundred!¡± I raised the numbered plaque.


    ¡°Nine thousand!¡± a young voice rang out from the room where the imperial guests were.


    ¡°Nine thousand one hundred!¡± I lifted my plaque again.


    ¡°An ant challenging a mountain?¡± The voice of the God of War made the curtains in our room sway.


    ¡°Honorable God of War, at an auction, the deciding factor is the bid you can afford, not physical strength. Please do not break the auction rules,¡± I said.


    ¡°A pathetic Ancestor has no right to lecture the Imperial Court!¡±


    A powerful strike of aura hit me, shattering the balcony and hurling me, chair and all, into the wall. Strong! I managed to slow myself down only by crashing through several walls in the neighboring rooms, causing a commotion among the auction attendees.


    ¡°Ohhhh, so that¡¯s how strong beggars behave¡ªthey take by force where it¡¯s customary to pay!¡± I was damn furious at my own weakness.


    ¡°Honored guests, please follow the rules!¡± the auctioneer attempted to calm the situation.


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha, Grom, he¡¯s right, we¡¯re here to bid, not fight.¡± The young man¡¯s voice rang with laughter. ¡°Young man, forgive my companion, he¡¯s been rather irritable lately¡­ Twenty thousand gold!¡±


    I clicked my tongue. Let him take it¡ªI was no longer interested in that spear.


    ¡°Twenty thousand once, twenty thousand twice, twenty thousand three times¡­ Sold!¡±


    The auctioneer struck his gavel, and the spear slowly floated toward the imperial guests¡¯ room, while a pouch with gold flew back in exchange.


    ¡°The next lot¡ªa grimoire of the space element, seventh circle, from an unknown mage! While the mage¡¯s name remains a mystery, our experts have confirmed its level. The starting price is ten thousand gold. Minimum bid increment¡ªfive hundred gold!¡±


    Whoa! Now that was something that really interested me.


    ¡°Ten thousand five hundred!¡±


    Standing by the broken railing, I raised my plaque.


    ¡°An Ancestor buying a grimoire?! Whelp, are you mocking us?¡± Grom, the God of War, lost his temper again.


    ¡°Grom, it doesn¡¯t matter¡­ Fifteen thousand!¡±


    ¡°Fifteen thousand five hundred!¡±


    ¡°Twenty thousand!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have much cash on hand. I glanced at Tot and continued when he nodded.


    ¡°Twenty thousand five hundred!¡±


    ¡°Twenty-five thousand!¡± The imperial youth was trying to push me into debt by raising the stakes like that?


    Fine, I¡¯ll make one more bid. If he raises it again, he can have the damn grimoire.


    ¡°Twenty-five thousand five hundred!¡± I lifted my plaque one last time.


    The young man leaned over the railing to get a better look at me.


    ¡°Alright, the grimoire is yours!¡±


    ¡°Twenty-five thousand five hundred gold!¡± The auctioneer struck the gavel. ¡°Sold!¡±


    The grimoire floated toward me, and I sent a pouch of gold to the seller.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The final lot of the evening¡ªan army of one hundred sixth-class puppets! An incredible item, equivalent in power to a squad of one hundred lower-tier Martial Ancestors! The starting price¡ªfive hundred thousand gold! Minimum bid increment¡ªfifty thousand! Let the bidding begin!¡±


    The audience let out a collective breath. It seemed many had come specifically for this lot.


    ¡°Five hundred fifty thousand!¡±


    ¡°Six hundred thousand!¡±


    ¡°Six hundred fifty thousand!¡±


    Bids were flying one after another until the God of War¡¯s voice rang out:


    ¡°Seven hundred thousand! The lot is mine!¡±


    Ah, you son of a bitch! Of course, no one would dare outbid you.


    ¡°Seven hundred fifty thousand!¡± I raised my plaque.


    My companions stared at me.


    ¡°Aney¡­¡±


    ¡°Tot, it¡¯ll be fine. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Whelp!¡± Grom barked.


    ¡°One million!¡± The young imperial immediately raised the price.


    No way, bastard¡ªI already overpaid for the grimoire because of you.


    ¡°One million fifty thousand gold!¡±


    The young man fell silent and looked at me again.


    ¡°Auctioneer! Can you confirm that my opponent is financially capable?¡±


    The auctioneer now looked at me as well. I poured five hundred seventh-class monster cores into a storage pouch and handed it to him. There was at least two and a half million in gold¡¯s worth inside. The auctioneer peeked inside.


    ¡°Yes, esteemed guest, I can confirm that the young man is indeed financially capable!¡±


    He returned the pouch to me.


    The imperial youth scowled.


    ¡°One and a half million!¡± He looked at me. ¡°Well? Can you handle that?¡±


    ¡°Is everyone in the Empire this arrogant? One and a half million fifty thousand gold!¡±


    ¡°Insolent brat!¡± Grom shouted, but the young man stopped him again.


    ¡°Two million!¡±


    I was certain that this was his final bid¡ªhe couldn¡¯t go any higher.

 Chapter Six

    ¡°This is too much for me, sorry!¡± I spread my hands and stepped back into the depths of the room.


    The young man understood everything but tried not to show it.


    ¡°Two million gold! Sold!¡±


    The auctioneer struck the gavel, sending the ring of the puppet vault to the buyer¡¯s room. After a while, a pouch of money flew out from there. A joyful Tot hugged me.


    ¡°You¡¯re incredible! I couldn¡¯t even hope for such a price!¡±


    ¡°Shhh! Keep it down, Tot!¡±


    The God of War could hear us, but it was already an open secret¡ªwho cares.


    ¡°And now, I invite you to dinner!¡± the young man addressed Mia and me.


    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s already late. Mia has the finals tomorrow¡­ How about tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal!¡± A happy Tot ran to the administration to collect his money, while the three of us headed outside.


    The imperial guests were already aboard their ship. I could feel their eyes on me as I stepped out of the auction house with Mia and Sui in my arms. I looked up and waved at them with a smile. The ship suddenly shot upward.


    Alright, alright, you¡¯ll pay for today, Grim. I¡¯ll repay you twice over. Shining no less than a newly minted gold coin, Tot caught up with us.


    ¡°Aney, as agreed, the profit is fifty-fifty!¡± He handed me a pouch of money. ¡°Here¡¯s eight hundred thousand, everything after deducting the cost of puppet production, the auction house¡¯s commission, and the ten thousand I put in for the grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Let¡¯s celebrate! Thanks to our imperial guests!¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, our workshop starts retail sales.¡±


    ¡°Good luck to us!¡± I proclaimed loudly.


    Late at night, I opened the grimoire to examine it. An incredible thing. It described ways to create teleportation spells over great distances. Right now, with my fourth-circle spatial magic, I could only slightly compress space, which increased my movement speed by ten percent.


    But this¡ªthis was real teleportation over hundreds of kilometers. I closed the grimoire and put it away. The level of spells was too high for me. Unfortunately, it would have to wait for the right time.


    Besides this spatial grimoire, my library also held works on high-level time magic by the madman Rom. But could they be trusted? What if Rom wrote them after he¡¯d already lost his mind? Using high-level spells from a deranged mage¡­ not the best idea.


    I recalled Rom¡¯s continuous defensive spell¡ªa thin film covering his body that instantly aged anything it touched by thousands of years. Only a completely insane person would do that to themselves. Alright, I¡¯ll have time to think about it later. I climbed into bed with Mia, who was already softly snoring.


    In the morning, I followed my training schedule with my team and then rushed to Matanu¡¯s central arena, where the battles were about to begin. First, warriors of the third class, upper tier, fought for their positions, leaving the top ten Battle Masters untouched.


    But their time came as well. The judge announced that the tenth place could challenge anyone above them in the rankings. The tenth declined, keeping their position. The ninth refused as well. The eighth, too. Seventh place belonged to Mia.


    When the judge asked, she simply approached the ring of the sixth-place holder and pressed the challenge button. The sixth-place fighter was a lower-tier Battle Master, so he immediately surrendered, giving his spot to Mia.


    For the sake of protocol, the judge asked if he wanted to challenge anyone above him, but after his refusal, he turned to Mia again, asking if she wished to challenge the fifth place. The girl eagerly agreed. She didn¡¯t care that her opponent was also a mid-tier Battle Master. She pressed the red button.


    On that ring stood a female swordsman, swift and fierce like a wild beast. In an instant, their flashing blades became a shimmering blur that swallowed the space beyond the barrier. I watched closely for any rule violations. Mia had a tough time, but she forced her opponent into a full defensive stance.


    And she hadn¡¯t even transformed yet, choosing to save that trump card for a fight she considered her final challenge. Suddenly, two of Mia¡¯s strikes landed¡ªone to the stomach, one to the thigh. Her opponent surrendered. The judge asked again if she wished to challenge the fourth place. After a ten-second rest, she agreed and pressed the next ring¡¯s button.


    This time, her opponent was another swordsman, but with a massive two-handed sword¡ªmore of a shield with a handle than a blade. A strong guy, but his size made him an easy target for Mia. As I expected, he couldn¡¯t last long against such speed¡ªMia won within a minute, cutting him dozens of times.


    None were deep, but the total blood loss left him no chance of victory, so he surrendered. The judge turned to Mia once more, asking if she wanted to continue. Who would doubt it? She wouldn¡¯t be herself otherwise. She pressed the challenge button for the third place.


    I tensed up. This opponent was tough¡ªa mid-tier Battle Master with a short one-handed sword and a small shield in his left hand. Mia¡­ now¡¯s the time to transform. But no, she didn¡¯t think so. She started the fight in her usual beastkin form.


    For the first minute, her opponent adapted to her speed, staying in total defense. During that time, Mia couldn¡¯t land a single hit.


    Not good.


    Her opponent began short counterattacks, breaking her rhythm. It wasn¡¯t critical yet¡ªshe dodged, but she was losing the initiative. She lacked speed. But transforming mid-fight was impossible. She realized her mistake. I saw her pull back and hiss like a wildcat.


    They circled each other along the ring¡¯s perimeter, looking for weaknesses. No matter how you looked at it, Mia¡¯s lack of armor and insufficient speed put her in a tough spot.


    ¡°The legs!¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Come on, Mia, the legs!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t hear me, but I hoped she would figure it out¡ªher opponent¡¯s only weak spot was his feet, left exposed by his small shield. The advantage of a light shield turned into a flaw against a nimble and flexible enemy.


    Would she see it? The fighters lunged at each other like lightning. I watched as Mia blocked his overhead strike with crossed daggers and grinned viciously. Bending impossibly backward, she kicked the top of his shield over her own head, pushing it downward.


    It wasn¡¯t a strong hit, but he panicked and instinctively tried to lift the shield back up¡ªexposing his left foot even more.


    You clever girl!


    Of course, Mia wouldn¡¯t miss such an opportunity¡ªher lightning-fast strike nearly severed his foot at the joint. The guy yelped and began falling forward.


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    He was a good warrior.


    Even in that moment, before surrendering, he managed to land a strike¡ªcutting Mia¡¯s thigh. The barrier dropped. Mia quickly bandaged her leg before the healers arrived. By the rules, receiving their aid would disqualify her. I stood up abruptly.


    That fool¡­


    ¡°Judge! I want to continue!¡±


    Before he could ask, Mia shouted. Damn it, what are you doing, girl?! Maybe I could have stopped her. But knowing her, would she ever forgive me for that?This was her moment.


    Her entire life¡ªsometimes a simple hunter among beastkin, sometimes a servant in a merchant guild leader¡¯s household¡ª But now! Now, she was fighting for the top places in the kingdom¡¯s grand tournament! I sat back down.


    ¡°Good luck, girl!¡± I shouted so she would definitely hear me.


    Mia turned to face me, her expression already distorted by the transformation. Perhaps she tried to smile, but it didn¡¯t work¡ªshe only managed to scare the spectators in the stands. On her way to the red button of the ring, she tore off her boots and extended her claws, sharp enough to cut through stone. Her thighs, swelling in size, tightened the bandage on her leg, completely stopping the bleeding.


    Mia, you have five minutes. After that, the muscles in your injured leg will begin to suffer from oxygen deprivation.


    The girl struck the button, leaving four deep scratches on it, and jumped into the ring. Her eyes burned with a green fire. The barrier rose.


    Her opponent, a High-Rank Battle Master, was armed with a rapier in his left hand and a dagger in his right. Strong! And in a mirrored stance, too¡ªhe was left-handed¡­ Even considering that after the transformation, Mia had become nearly ten times stronger and faster, her chances were slim. And time was not on her side either, something her opponent clearly understood.


    Precisely calculating her trajectory, Mia lunged forward. After the transformation, her technique of sequential steps had truly blossomed¡ªeven I had trouble following her movements. A long cut appeared on her opponent¡¯s left arm, running from wrist to elbow. The young man grimaced, instantly switching his weapons¡ªthe dagger to his left hand, the rapier to his right.


    Damn it! He¡¯s ambidextrous!


    If he holds out for five minutes¡ªMia will lose. No, four minutes now.


    The ring ignited with the gleam of steel, turning into a true whirlwind, almost concealing the two fighters from view. In two minutes, they exchanged a thousand blows on both sides, but in the end, the opponents were thrown apart.


    The skin on the young man¡¯s chest was shredded, his right arm punctured in two places, and a deep wound on his abdomen was barely held together by his aura. Mia, though looking better, had also suffered. I noticed a wound on her knee, a long cut on her neck, a hole in her left bicep, and broken bones in her left wrist.


    Completing this grim picture was her nearly severed ear, its blood trickling down her temple and into her eye. I jumped to my feet.


    The young man threw aside his rapier, his unresponsive hand failing him. He laughed, relishing the fight against such a strong opponent!


    Mia let go of the dagger in her left hand, no longer able to hold it properly. And they rushed at each other again.


    This was no longer a battle for ranking¡ªit had become a battle of their wills!


    Once again, their blows turned into a whirlwind, no weaker than before, despite the fact that both had half as many weapons in their hands!


    At the climax of the fight, this time, they did not get thrown apart; they froze in place, almost embracing each other.


    Mia was now unarmed.


    Her right wrist, pierced through by her opponent¡¯s dagger, firmly clenched his fist¡ªthe one holding the dagger. Her claws had sliced through his arm just behind the wrist, nearly severing it.


    Mia¡¯s left hand was buried deep in her opponent¡¯s stomach, her claws impaling him straight through. He was falling onto her, unable to stand any longer.


    ¡°I lost,¡± he whispered, blood dripping from his lips.


    The barrier fell.


    ¡°Claws are weapons too!¡± Her cry echoed across the arena.


    Was she saying that for me?


    I was beside her before the healers could even reach her and shoved a restoration pill into her mouth. Then, without hesitation, I did the same for her opponent.


    It had been an honorable fight and an honorable defeat.


    Mia had won thanks only to a miracle and her sheer stubbornness.


    ¡°Judge, you may announce the winner,¡± I said and left the ring so as not to interfere.


    The judge declared Mia the victor.


    The tournament was over. The awards ceremony began, where the girl received her prize for second place¡ªa pair of fifth-class daggers imbued with the element of fire.


    I watched Mia as her platform was raised higher than almost all the others, and I rejoiced no less than she did.


    ¡°Well, Master, did you see that?! Did you see how I took him down?!¡±


    She gleefully jumped up to me. I pulled her tightly into an embrace.


    ¡°If you ever pull something like that again¡ªI¡¯ll deprive you of all treats!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    She laughed happily in my arms. Tot and Sui approached us, and the four of us headed to their home to celebrate Mia¡¯s second place and yesterday¡¯s auction.


    But before we could reach their estate, a magical bird landed on my shoulder with a note in its beak. ¡°A month has passed, I¡¯m waiting!¡± Had he been counting the hours? I burst into laughter, imagining the rector hovering over a clock like a ghost.


    ¡°You guys go ahead, I¡¯ll join you soon.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± everyone asked me worriedly.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just time for some fun.¡±


    I leaped into the sky and looked around. The rector¡¯s aura flickered halfway between the city and the academy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I said as I approached him.


    We headed to the valley of fanged rocks. I moved at almost my maximum speed, but Raman kept up.


    ¡°Is this where you¡¯ve been having fun?¡± he asked when we arrived at the devastated valley.


    ¡°Yeah, just training.¡±


    ¡°Impressive!¡±


    ¡°So, shall we not waste time?¡±


    I activated five magic circles at once after he nodded. The rector¡¯s face turned serious. Against an opponent like him, there was no point in holding back, so I immediately used Inferno.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    A slightly scorched Raman instantly moved out of the spell¡¯s range.


    ¡°Nice one! I didn¡¯t expect that, but at long range, you won¡¯t beat me!¡±


    Too much talking! Silently, I hurled a third-circle spell at him¡ªa fire spear, immediately followed by an ice spear, also third-circle. I knew that even with my magic power, these spells wouldn¡¯t harm him, but I had a different plan.


    As soon as the fire spear struck his defense, the ice spear hit the same spot, causing an incredible explosion that engulfed the entire area where the rector stood in burning steam.


    A string of quiet curses came from the mist, but I didn¡¯t stop. I rushed toward him, conjuring a fourth-circle spell¡ªa fire tornado¡ªthat hurtled toward the rector. The mist glowed white-pink from within, and the curses grew louder and more elaborate. Did I hit him?


    Suddenly, from inside, a boulder the size of an asteroid shot out at insane speed and slammed into me. The difference in mass and velocity was not in my favor, and my trajectory abruptly reversed. In short, the asteroid continued in the direction Raman had set, while I, like an insect, was plastered against its surface. The Inferno field was still active, and the asteroid slowly melted, spilling rivers of magma along its path. I managed to stop about twenty kilometers away.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    I cursed and rushed back toward Raman. The distances at which we could reach each other were significantly different, again not in my favor. Another asteroid came flying at me. I used a fourth-circle space-element spell, creating a wall of warped space between me and the asteroid to deflect it slightly.


    It worked pretty well, and the rock almost missed me, only grazing me with its sharp edges. I dispelled the space spell and used a time spell on myself, accelerating by ten percent to dodge the next asteroid.


    How vast was his mana pool?! I hurled another fire and ice spear at the rector, then canceled the time spell to free up my fourth circle and conjured white rust in the area where Raman stood. Another asteroid was flying at me¡­


    Half an hour later, we sat side by side on one of the few remaining intact rocks amid a sea of cooling lava.


    ¡°I lost,¡± I admitted to myself.


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t win either,¡± the rector shook his head. ¡°Did you use time and space magic in the fight?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Fourth circle.¡±


    ¡°Well done! Those elements never came easily to me. How much time did you invest in them?¡±


    ¡°Quite a bit. These elements aren¡¯t simple.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. In the Empire, mages who wield them above the fifth circle can be counted on one hand. And even higher¡­ There was one lunatic who mastered time up to the eighth circle. Took countless good mages to their graves, that bastard¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean old Rom, do you?¡±


    ¡°How do you know about him?¡± Raman flinched. ¡°Did you run into him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Killed one like that.¡±


    The rector froze.


    ¡°Hahaha! If it was really him, you did the continent a great favor! Several Imperial courts even put a bounty on his head. Not interested?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to draw attention. Besides, I crushed that head so thoroughly no coroner could piece it back together.¡±


    ¡°A true student of the Raven. If there¡¯s trouble, just crush the head.¡±


    I smiled and pulled out a vial of restoration pills, handing it to Raman.


    ¡°Ehh, no. It¡¯s been a while since I walked around bruised¡ªlet me at least show off a bit.¡±


    ¡°Haha, fair enough, I like that.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± the rector stood up, ¡°shall we do this again in a few days? A few more sessions like this, and I guarantee you¡¯ll beat any seventh-circle mage in a tournament.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all for it, Rector.¡±


    We took to the air.


    ¡°Rector, do you have the rest of the evening free?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. That depends on why you¡¯re asking.¡±


    The old fox!


    ¡°Come along¡ªyou won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    We went together to Tot and Sui¡¯s estate.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Sui clapped her hands as soon as we walked through the door. ¡°Rector?! Aney? What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°These gentlemen had a good time, dear!¡± Raman lifted his nose proudly.


    Everyone laughed.

 Chapter Seven

    Time rushed forward like a madman. After the retail sales of marionettes began, Tot spent his days and nights in the workshops. However, as he had promised, he reliably sent the seventh-class marionettes engraved with my techniques. So I placed ten of them to guard my estate and Mia, while another ten protected Sui and her home.


    Over the next two weeks, I mastered fifth-circle water magic and earth magic of the same level. During this time, I also constantly trained the academy team, Mia, and myself with the rector. It was tough, time was catastrophically short, and I was already starting to consider what I could cut out.


    ¡°Students! Attention, I have something to say!¡±


    The rector gathered us after the team¡¯s training.


    ¡°In two weeks, the qualifiers for the Empire¡¯s tournament will begin. So tomorrow, we¡¯re heading to the capital of the Lyghote Kingdom! Please gather at the academy gates in the morning, where transportation will be waiting for us. Also, I¡¯ve been closely monitoring your training this past week, and I am confident that it is our team that will go to the Empire. Thank you all for your hard work!¡±


    Everyone slowly dispersed, each lost in their own thoughts. A heavy, tense atmosphere hung over the arena. Well, let me add to it. I soared into the air and bellowed:


    ¡°Anyone who slacks off in battle will spend a month sparring with me one-on-one every single day! I haven¡¯t trained you lazy lot for six weeks for nothing. And if it turns out I have, I¡¯ll personally smear you across the arena!¡±


    Ten auras scattered into the bushes. I didn¡¯t feel like going to the library today, so I headed to the main building to wait for Sui. I had to tell her I was leaving tomorrow.


    ¡°Already tomorrow?¡± she asked again.


    Even without sharp eyesight, I could tell she was upset.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Aney, why¡­ Why do you always leave?¡±


    ¡°Hey, kiddo, it¡¯s not forever. Besides, participating in the tournament was a condition for my studying here. So you could say it¡¯s time for me to repay my debts.¡±


    I picked her up and jumped into the air. The girl¡¯s heart thumped unevenly.


    ¡°Mia!¡± I called to the cat-girl from the doorstep. ¡°Come here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here, sir! What do you need, sir?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving for the tournament tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir! I¡¯ll pack our things, sir!¡±


    The redhead dashed off.


    ¡°Stop right there! With ears like those, are you deaf? I didn¡¯t say we were leaving. You¡¯re staying home.¡±


    ¡°What? Sir, are you abandoning this Mia alone at home?¡±


    It was painful to look into those eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not abandoning you; I¡¯m appointing you as the head of the Matana estate in my absence! You¡¯ll also be watching over Tot and Sui while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°Watching over Suichka, huh¡­¡±


    Her eyes narrowed slyly. She sauntered up to me, swaying her hips, and wrapped an arm around my neck.


    ¡°Sir,¡± she whispered breathily into my ear, ¡°have you and she already¡­ you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ mated?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?!¡± I flicked her forehead. ¡°We¡¯re not in that kind of relationship!¡±


    ¡°Aaaah, so you¡¯re not in that kind of¡­ Mia understands, sir! Don¡¯t worry, sir, Mia will make sure that no mutt gets near your Sui while you¡¯re gone. I guarantee she¡¯ll be ready for your return!¡±


    Mia vanished through the door, leaving me standing there with my mouth open. What the hell was she thinking?!


    The next morning, I was one of the first at the academy gates. Irgen had beaten me there.


    ¡°Captain!¡±


    ¡°Morning, Vice-Captain.¡±


    I glanced at the enormous bag she was sitting on. Didn¡¯t she have a storage pouch? And how, in the abyss, had she even dragged it here? It looked heavy just at a glance. I pulled out the storage sack that Hek had once given me.


    ¡°Here, take this.¡±


    ¡°Captain, I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Her long elven ears immediately turned red.


    ¡°Take it, I said. Someone once gave it to me, too. Seems like that¡¯s its fate.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± She took it with both hands and bowed.


    Quickly activating it, she stored her bag inside and fastened the little pouch to her belt. Then she just stood there, kicking at the gravel path with her heel.


    ¡°Irgen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve wanted to ask you for six weeks. It¡¯s personal¡ªdo you mind?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Your ears¡­ Are you an elf?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Irgen hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m a half-elf. Does that bother you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Quite the opposite!¡± I was caught off guard by the question. ¡°I like your ears! My friend has ears too¡ªfluffy ones! And a fluffy tail!¡±


    Holy hedgehogs, what the hell am I saying? Irgen laughed.


    ¡°I know, Captain, that you treat other races well, even if they¡¯re half-bloods. That hasn¡¯t been a secret in the academy or in Matana for a long time.¡±


    Oh, wow¡­ Am I that well-known?


    ¡°My mother was an elf, and my father was human,¡± she continued without me even asking. ¡°She was a slave. Though she loved my father. But after my parents died, there was no place left for me in the family¡ªthe other heirs forced me out, practically naked¡­¡±


    Well, I was born into this world naked too, so¡­


    ¡°Does slavery exist in the Empire?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. It¡¯s called a lifetime service contract under the Judge¡¯s Eye. Supposedly, it can only be entered voluntarily, but I don¡¯t know why my mother agreed to it.¡±


    Right, that nine-tailed Louie had tried to offer me something like that to bargain for his life.


    ¡°What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°They died in a dungeon breach three years ago.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Yeah, dungeon breaches happened sometimes. I had already heard of cases where tens or even hundreds of thousands of monsters broke out and devastated entire regions.


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    We both fell silent as other team members approached.


    I heard a strange rustling from the direction of the academy, so I glanced toward the gates.


    Something¡­ odd was coming toward us, with the rector sitting at the front, driving it. It looked like a train of three covered wagons, but it moved on its own, without any animals pulling it. Instead of wheels, it had dozens of spider-like legs. What the hell was that?


    ¡°It¡¯s a fifth-class magical vehicle owned by the academy. It¡¯s called a Gah,¡± Irgen was the first to respond to my puzzled expression.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I, like a fool, kept staring at the Gah. When the rector stopped it, I was the first to peek inside. It was surprisingly spacious, especially for our team. Plush benches lined the sides with foldable tables in the aisle. At the back of the last section was something resembling a field kitchen.


    Well, my cart with Livzi was no worse, even if it was just a simple wagon. If only I could get myself a ship like the one I saw at the auction¡­ Sigh, Aney, roll up that wishful thinking¡­


    ¡°Hop in!¡± Raman commanded.


    We quickly climbed aboard, and the Gah set off. Now I understood how it differed from my wagon. I didn¡¯t feel any bumps on the road at all. The ride was so smooth it felt like we weren¡¯t moving at all.


    I pulled out the enchanted leather map Hek had given me and found the capital, Lyghote. Quite far. Vangan was much closer, for example. Irgen and the guys sitting nearby peeked at the map.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nice map you¡¯ve got¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks. It¡¯s a gift from an old friend. Why are you looking at me like that? He really is old. That¡¯s a fact, not just a figure of speech.¡±


    Everyone burst into laughter.


    After a while, the chatter died down, and people split into smaller groups. Mara sat down next to me.


    ¡°Captain, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, how do you use magic as a Battle Ancestor?¡±


    I could almost hear Raman and Irgen pricking up their ears.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a secret. But the truth is, I don¡¯t really know myself.¡±


    I could practically hear the unspoken ¡°Liar!¡± hanging in the air, so after a brief pause, I continued:


    ¡°This has been my dream ever since I learned about the existence of magic. But everyone, even in the Mage Guild, said it was impossible for me. Yet I didn¡¯t give up, and thanks to my friend Sui, whom you also know, I figured out the theory of magic and adapted it for myself. I don¡¯t know if my method will work for other warriors, to be honest. Most likely not, since people are all very different. Take Sui, for example. She¡¯s definitely not the best at elemental magic, but would any of you dare face her in battle? Exactly. She has her own unique magic, which is why she¡¯s called the Butterfly Queen. Or take my friend Mia¡ªshe¡¯s a catfolk. Right now, her strength is equal to that of a mid-tier Battle Master, but two weeks ago, she took first place in the royal tournament, defeating a very strong high-tier Battle Master. Impossible, you say? Yes, under normal circumstances, it would be. But as a catfolk, she has an innate ability for bodily transformation, which makes her almost exponentially faster and stronger. So, I believe that every person has something¡­ special. But not everyone can discover it within themselves, even in a lifetime.¡±


    I fell silent. It seemed they believed me. Even Raman. Phew, I don¡¯t like these kinds of conversations¡ªhaving to be honest while keeping my secrets.


    ¡°Captain, what is your full strength right now?¡± Irgen couldn¡¯t hold back.


    I was just about to crack a joke when the rector answered for me.


    ¡°Your captain is very strong. If we compare only magic, he¡¯s roughly at my level. But if we consider his full strength, he surpasses me. I believe he can fight a lower-tier God of War or an eighth-circle mage on equal footing.¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± a collective exclamation swept through the unit.


    ¡°Rector, you¡¯re exaggerating. I recently got slapped by a God of War and went flying headfirst through walls¡­¡±


    ¡°You took a hit from a God of War and are still here talking with us? And I¡¯m the one exaggerating?¡±


    Laughter erupted around us again.


    ¡°Captain,¡± Mara asked, ¡°how can a mage defend themselves in close combat? We¡¯re physically weak¡ªcan this be fixed somehow?¡±


    A difficult question. And yet a simple one. No matter what a mage does, they won¡¯t have a warrior¡¯s strength.


    ¡°Yes, there is one way,¡± I said.


    ¡°What is it?!¡±


    ¡°Buy yourself a couple of battle puppets!¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on, Captain! They cost a fortune!¡±


    ¡°Gold can always be earned, as long as you¡¯re alive!¡±


    My answer disappointed everyone. Well, oh well¡­


    ¡°Alright, everyone! I promise, if we win the imperial tournament, each of you will get a sixth-class battle puppet as a gift! Except for the rector, of course¡ªhe doesn¡¯t need such junk. Besides, he¡¯s not personally competing.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I need one? I organize everything!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, Mr. Rector. You¡¯ll get a puppet too.¡±


    A satisfied Raman turned back to the road. Everyone was laughing.


    ¡°Captain¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough, Mara! A couple more of your questions, and I¡¯ll go bankrupt!¡±


    ¡°Ughhh¡­¡±


    What a cunning little fox!


    We rode forward, leaving Matan further behind. The next day, I started noticing an unpleasant smell in the air. With every passing hour, it became more distinct and stronger.


    ¡°Do you smell that too?¡± I asked Raman.


    ¡°Yeah, for about two hours now.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what it is?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the rector shook his head from side to side. ¡°But it¡¯s something bad.¡±


    ¡°Smells like poison¡­¡±


    I glanced at my team members, who were unusually sluggish that morning.


    ¡°Guys, I see you¡¯re feeling unwell. Describe your symptoms¡ªwhat are you experiencing?¡±


    ¡°Headache¡­¡± Mara was the first to speak.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Grass confirmed, ¡°a headache above the eye sockets, an itch in the nose, and a bit of nausea¡­¡±


    ¡°I have the same¡­¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­¡±


    ¡°My eyes are burning as well.¡±


    I exchanged glances with Raman.


    ¡°This is definitely poison, but I don¡¯t know which kind.¡±


    I took out restoration pills and handed them to everyone in the unit. I took one myself, just in case. The pills didn¡¯t have detoxifying properties, but they could suppress symptoms and slow the poison¡¯s spread for a while.


    After that, I pulled out my teacher¡¯s alchemy works and found the volume titled Poisons, Symptoms, Countermeasures, Treatment, then started flipping through it quickly. I had read it before, but I wanted to be sure. In the end, I found that nearly a dozen poisons matched these symptoms. Damn, that meant I couldn¡¯t choose the right antidote with certainty.


    ¡°Who¡¯s feeling the worst right now?¡± I asked the team.


    They all raised their hands at once. Of course¡­


    I checked their auras to determine the most unstable one.


    ¡°Zimer,¡± I turned to the fifth-circle mage, probably the quietest in the team, ¡°I need your blood.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    The boy was seriously frightened.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I don¡¯t need much.¡±


    I grabbed his hand and made a shallow prick on his finger with a dagger. Squeezing out a few drops of blood, I caught them with my aura and held them up to the sun. Nothing visible. I crushed the bloody droplet into a thin sheet and strained my vision to the maximum.


    There! Tiny green worms wriggled around the red blood cells, destroying the hemoglobin proteins. What even is this?! Is it alive?! I isolated one of the green abominations with my aura to examine it more closely. It didn¡¯t resemble a living creature¡­ but it also had its own faint aura¡ªstrangely familiar. Where have I seen something like this before?


    I burned the blood and that filth, then thought hard. Where, damn it, where?! The Misty Forest? The Dungeon? Matan? I rummaged through my memory like a madman. Of course! Matan! The stone slab at my teacher¡¯s estate and the human hand inside it¡ªthat¡¯s exactly it. Or rather, those green patterns on the bones¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before. But I have no idea how to cure it,¡± I told the rector. ¡°I can only brew medicine to slow its effects, and hopefully, for a long time.¡±


    I took out my alchemical cauldron and suspended it outside the gah with my aura. Activating first- and second-circle magic, I filled the cauldron with water and brought it to a boil with a fire wall spell. Consulting my teacher¡¯s notes, I began adding ingredients to the cauldron.


    The medicine I was preparing was meant to quickly and sustainably boost hemoglobin levels¡ªit¡¯s the only thing I could do for now. An hour later, it was ready. I poured the medicine into bottles, distributed some to everyone present, and started preparing another batch.


    ¡°Captain, why are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Think for yourself,¡±¡ªwhy is Mara cunning yet still such a fool?¡ª¡°this filth has spread over a large area. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll encounter more victims along the way. What, should we just leave them to die?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s what you meant¡­¡±


    By the time we reached a large village with several hundred households, I had prepared nearly a thousand bottles of medicine. I couldn¡¯t sense a single aura. Was the village empty? I flew up into the sky to take a look from above.


    A horrifying sight. Men, women, the elderly, the young, children¡­ All dead.


    These people suffocated, breathing in full lungs of¡ª


    I flew even higher to try and locate the source of this filth. Now that I knew its aura, the place with the highest concentration should be¡­ Found it! About thirty kilometers away, a green vortex seemed to be raging in the air.


    ¡°Wait for me here!¡±


    I rushed forward, preparing a drop of my own blood on the way. A God¡¯s mana should be able to burn this filth¡ªat least, I hoped so. I reached the source and threw a drop of my blood into it. A fiery bloom ignited and spread, revealing a stone slab identical to the one at Kruk¡¯s estate. But this one was cracked.


    Wasting no time, I stored the slab in my vault¡ªfor now, it was the only thing I could do. Time inside the vault would remain static for the slab. Who could have done this? I couldn¡¯t sense even a trace of aura on this slab, unlike the one in Matan. Matan. I needed to remove that stone immediately¡ªif it cracked, the whole city would perish. I couldn¡¯t take that risk.


    With a loud clap, I appeared above the city and stored the slab in my vault, where the cracked one was already kept. From a house across the street, Su¨ª peeked out, half-dressed and startled by the loud noise overhead. I waved at the surprised girl and vanished from her sight.


    About an hour later, I caught up with the rector and the team.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve stopped the spread of the threat, but the consequences¡­¡±


    ¡°The Kingdom¡¯s Healer Guild exists for that, Aney. Don¡¯t try to do everything yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this isn¡¯t something they can handle.¡±


    I checked the surrounding area as far as I could for any survivors. Not a single aura. Considering that I could easily detect a first-class aura even fifty kilometers away, the scale of this tragedy was enormous. I was sure this wasn¡¯t an accident. What kind of inhuman monster could have done such a thing? The God of War, whose aura I had detected on the Matan slab? But there was no trace of his aura on the cracked stone. Besides, it was unlikely to be him¡ªeveryone in the city saw him with a similar slab. Then who would do this?


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Raman interrupted my thoughts.


    ¡°There¡¯s not a single living soul for dozens of kilometers, Rector. What kind of monster did this?¡±


    ¡°So this wasn¡¯t a natural phenomenon?¡±


    ¡°No. That poison was man-made, I¡¯m sure of it,¡± I said, half-truthfully.


    Whether the poison itself was of human origin, I couldn¡¯t say for sure. But the fact that the stone appeared and cracked¡ªthat was definitely done by someone¡¯s hand.

 Chapter Eight

    ¡°I suppose the royal court will find the culprit, Aney. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡±


    ¡°Find? There were no traces of aura near the spring, or else I would have already found that bastard myself. So how is the royal court supposed to do it?¡±


    ¡°Then what do you propose?¡±


    I simply spread my hands. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could even suggest¡­ We moved swiftly forward, passing villages with dead inhabitants.


    ¡°I sense auras!¡± I said after a few hours. ¡°Many first-level auras, but there are a few quite strong ones.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell exactly who they are?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, no, we¡¯re still too far. But they¡¯re right in our path¡ªwe¡¯ll be there in about half an hour at our speed.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t mistaken. Half an hour later, we were stopped by a checkpoint set up on the road by the Healers¡¯ Guild.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    A mid-level Battle Ancestor halted the gah.


    ¡°Who are you, and where are you coming from?¡±


    ¡°I am the rector of the magic academy. This is the academy¡¯s team, and we are heading to Lhote to participate in the tournament. And yes, if you were about to ask¡ªwe have seen it all. Countless dead people!¡±


    The Ancestor hesitated slightly and waved his hand.


    ¡°Proceed to the healers¡¯ tents for examination. That¡¯s the protocol.¡±


    Raman silently turned onto the roadside and slowly headed toward the healers. Around the white tents, there were hundreds of stretchers with dying people gasping for air like fish on dry land. It was unbearable to look at. I jumped to the ground and approached one of the patients¡ªa boy about ten years old. Pulling out a vial of medicine, I poured it into his mouth.


    ¡°Hey, young man! What are you doing there? Step away immediately!¡±


    I looked at the elderly healer approaching me.


    ¡°I¡¯m helping the sick before they die! You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡±


    The boy began to breathe easier just as the healer reached us.


    ¡°What did you give him?¡±


    The old man watched the patient intently as life quickly returned to him.


    ¡°Medicine I made myself,¡± I gestured toward my team. ¡°Or do you think my group miraculously passed through the infected area and survived?¡±


    The healer now looked at me with goodwill.


    ¡°You have a point. Do you have more of that medicine?¡±


    I pulled out all the supplies I had previously prepared from my storage.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s enough, but I can prepare another batch in an hour. However, I¡¯ll say this upfront¡ªthese medicines won¡¯t cure them completely. They will only suppress the symptoms for a few days. I still haven¡¯t found a way to eliminate this poison entirely.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s poison? Isn¡¯t it a lung disease?¡±


    Damn! And you call yourself a healer?! I shook my head from side to side.


    ¡°This is not a disease. It¡¯s a toxic substance in the air that blocks the blood¡¯s ability to carry oxygen to the organs. Otherwise, how did not only people die but also all the animals? Back there,¡± I pointed in the direction we had come from, ¡°there¡¯s nothing left alive¡ªat all!¡±


    ¡°Young man! Please refrain from making such bold claims. Unless, of course, you are a high-ranking healer! Our guild has its official position on this matter. We appreciate the medicine, of course, but spare us your attempts to impose your views on us.¡±


    He ordered the lower-ranking healers to distribute the medicine to the patients and walked away from me. I approached the rector and the team, who were being examined by a middle-aged female healer.


    ¡°Everyone is healthy!¡± she concluded.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± the rector tried to argue, ¡°we are definitely still poisoned!¡±


    ¡°Poisoned? You must be mistaken. We only check for cases of lung disease here. If you are suffering from poisoning, you should seek help from the alchemists instead. Sorry. You are free to go¡ªthe Healers¡¯ Guild has no reason to detain you. Farewell.¡±


    Raman tried to argue with her, but I stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s pointless, Rector. Something weird is going on here¡ªno one will listen to you.¡±


    ¡°So what are we supposed to do?¡± The team members were confused. ¡°How can we find an antidote if even the Healers¡¯ Guild doesn¡¯t believe us?¡±


    Neither the rector nor I had an answer for them. Helplessness¡ªthat¡¯s what I felt at that moment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. There¡¯s no point in standing around,¡± Raman urged us toward the gah.


    ¡°Listen,¡± he continued as we moved, ¡°let¡¯s ride a little further and discuss our next steps there, okay? Because, to me, this all seems like some serious nonsense.¡±


    We agreed¡ªthere was nothing else we could do.


    ¡°Maybe we really should turn to the Alchemists¡¯ Guild?¡± Irgen was the first to suggest when we stopped several dozen kilometers away.


    Everyone looked at me. What did I have to do with it?


    ¡°Rector Raman, do you know what level of alchemist Kruk is?¡±


    ¡°I assume, as a God of War and a member of the celestial race, he must be at least seventh class.¡±


    ¡°In that case, the Alchemists¡¯ Guild won¡¯t be able to help us¡ªat least not the guild within this kingdom. Maybe in the Empire¡­¡±


    My words, of course, didn¡¯t boost anyone¡¯s optimism.


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll prepare as much medicine as I have ingredients for and distribute it among you. Each vial should last three or four days. Then I¡¯ll try to find a more effective antidote, okay?¡±


    Without waiting for their response, I climbed out of the gah and settled under a tall, sprawling tree with my alchemical cauldron. Irgen approached me as I was preparing the third or fourth batch.


    ¡°Forgive us, Captain. We¡­ we¡¯re just scared, even the rector.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Captain, it¡¯s not nothing. We¡¯re all adults, quite strong mages for this kingdom, yet right now, we¡¯re acting like frightened children. And that¡¯s normal¡ªeach of us saw how those people died. No one wants that fate for themselves.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want that either¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, Captain, I¡¯m not done. We haven¡¯t known you for long, of course, but we all understand what kind of person you are. For instance, even in this situation, you were the first to sense that something was wrong with the air. You prepared,¡± she nodded at the cauldron, ¡°and are still preparing, even if temporary, medicine that¡¯s keeping us alive. Could any of us do the same? Even the rector? No, unfortunately. So now everyone realizes that their lives depend on someone they can¡¯t even call a friend¡ªyou don¡¯t become friends in such a short time¡­ And that knowledge both frustrates and terrifies them. So forgive us if we¡¯ve done something wrong, Captain.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I looked up at the sky, where the sun¡¯s rays occasionally pierced holes in the dense canopy of leaves.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid too.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, sir?¡±


    ¡°Not of death. Everyone dies¡ªthe only difference is how. I¡¯m afraid of failing at what I¡¯ve taken on. Like right now¡ªI have no idea where to even start with the antidote¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±


    I poured the finished batch of medicine into vials and started a new one.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡­ Give me a few drops of blood? I want to check something again.¡±


    Irgen silently extended her hand. I pricked her finger with aura and extracted a few drops. Spreading them into a large transparent pink smear, I began my analysis. The fire beneath the cauldron burned brightly, a crimson magic circle slowly rotated around me, and I calculated the number of green contaminants per unit of blood, comparing them with the sample I had examined earlier from Zimer.


    Practically the same count as many hours ago. That meant they weren¡¯t multiplying¡ªat least in the body, which was already good news.


    I had one option, but I wanted to save it as a last resort. I could try filtering their bloodstream with my God¡¯s Mana. But that was, first, dangerous¡ªI had no idea what consequences it might lead to¡ªand second, I didn¡¯t trust them enough to reveal my biggest secret. As for other methods, I had no ideas.


    I isolated a single green contaminant with aura and sliced it into several pieces. They twitched for a while in convulsions, then blackened and crumbled into gray dust. Well, mechanical destruction was possible. But given that there were thousands of them in a single drop of blood, this method was unlikely to be viable for even one person. And there were eleven of them.


    I poured another batch of medicine and returned to studying the poison. This time, I took alchemy ingredients one by one, extracted their active substance, and treated the green pests with it. Thousands of samples, and not a single positive result. I was losing hope.


    The production of medicine stretched far past midnight, but in the end, I had thirteen hundred vials, which I distributed among the team members and the rector. None of the alchemical ingredients from the storage had any effect. At the very least, this meant that a simple component wouldn¡¯t destroy the poison. I needed to experiment with complex ones, which required a lot of time due to the sheer number of possibilities.


    ¡°This should last each of you about a year,¡± I said. ¡°I have no doubt that in that time, I will find an antidote that will fully cure you.¡±


    ¡°And what about you?¡± Raman noticed that I hadn¡¯t kept a single vial for myself.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t affect me,¡± I shook my head. ¡°It seems the poison is too weak for Battle Ancestors.¡±


    I lied in my last assumption, but no one noticed. They were just happy that, at the very least, they would survive with the medicine.


    ¡°Shall we go?¡± I asked Raman.


    The rector took the reins, and we continued into the night. I lay down on the bench to rest and simply closed my eyes so no one would bother me.


    What could destroy proteins in the human body? Temperature¡­ no, this filth had the same temperature as the victims¡¯ blood. Acids, alkalis, salts¡­ no, those are inorganic compounds, and this filth moved and had something resembling an aura. Radiation? No, that¡¯s an absurd theory¡­ Damn it, what is this thing?


    I turned my consciousness toward the storage, where two stone slabs lay, and approached the cracked one. I was curious about what was inside. Inside was a human foot. The same yellowed bones with a pattern of green veins. Were these parts of the same person?


    If so, how many of these slabs existed on the continent? Or even in the empire? Ten? Twenty? And how did these bones end up inside the stone?


    I really wanted to break the slab to examine the bones up close, but I couldn¡¯t do that inside the storage. Bringing this thing to the surface would mean unleashing another catastrophe. I couldn¡¯t do that just out of curiosity, even if it might provide a clue to creating an antidote.


    I sat up sharply on the bench.


    I know another person with patterns on their bones. Myself!


    And though my patterns had structure and were geometrically precise, that was merely a result of the rules by which I used my mana.


    Mana, damn it!


    Monster mana, for example, is deadly to humans. It destroys protein molecules by heating up inside a person¡¯s body to several hundred degrees. So maybe these green patterns were some kind of rule of an unknown type of mana?


    What even is mana? Does it have a physical form before interacting with a mage¡¯s mana circles? My God¡¯s Mana and monster mana definitely do. But human mana? I couldn¡¯t sense it, that was the problem¡ªso I couldn¡¯t study it.


    But if I assume that this green filth is some kind of mana, can it be destroyed?


    ¡°Raman! I have a dumb question.¡±


    The rector flinched on the driver¡¯s seat from the suddenness.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Can mana, as a physical object, be destroyed?¡±


    ¡°Magic theory says no¡ªonly transformed¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ Everyone!¡± I shouted loudly, enough to wake those who were sleeping. ¡°I have good news for you. You won¡¯t die. According to my preliminary findings, you¡¯ve been poisoned by foreign mana¡ªsimilar to monster mana. So, there¡¯s even a way to get rid of it: by becoming an Archmage!¡±


    ¡°What?! Captain, do you even understand what it takes to become an Archmage?! Maybe one in a million mages can achieve that!¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on, already crying about it! Fine, then¡ªI¡¯ll give you a recipe for medicine. It¡¯s simple enough that any second-class alchemist can brew it for you, and you can live with it for the rest of your lives! Cowards!¡±


    I angrily sat back down on the bench.


    What is wrong with these people? Giving up without even trying. As if it was an impossible task.


    An Archmage was as powerful as a War God of the highest rank. I planned to conquer both of those paths in the future.


    Although¡­ could my rune circles help? They easily converted monster mana into my own¡­


    No, I wouldn¡¯t tell them anything for now. Let them suffer!


    I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.


    A few days into our journey, we had covered half the distance to Lygote and stopped to rest for a day in a small roadside town.


    Well, ¡°rest¡± wasn¡¯t exactly the right word.


    There was a weak dungeon nearby, and I had an idea, so everything worked out perfectly.


    ¡°Captain! Do you really want to send us into a dungeon right before the tournament?¡±


    The team¡¯s outrage seemed endless.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have enough recovery pills for all of you!¡±


    ¡°Rector, please, at least you say something to him.¡±


    Raman shrugged indifferently.


    ¡°He¡¯s training you, not me. So why are you complaining to me?¡±


    ¡°Everyone!¡± I commanded firmly. ¡°Two months ago, I promised you a monster hunt. So, choose¡ªeither we go into the dungeon now, or you fight me. And this time, I won¡¯t be gentle!¡±


    The team very reasonably decided that the first option was much preferable, so they quickly set off toward the dungeon.


    At the entrance, I showed my gold adventurer guild plaque, so we were let in without any trouble.


    None of the mages had ever been inside a dungeon before, so they all looked around warily, even on the first level.


    No, this wasn¡¯t interesting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, nothing to do here,¡± I said, using my aura to scatter the first-class monsters and leading everyone toward the passage to the lower levels.


    The dungeon was almost identical to the one in Vangan, even the types of monsters were the same. Eventually, we stopped on the sixth level, where the primary opponents were packs of Gato. Not bad¡ªstrong and fast opponents, just right for the team. I led them a few kilometers away from the passage and commanded:


    ¡°Attention, form a circular defense!¡±


    After that, I burned several thousand insects in the sky.


    ¡°Folks, the most fun part of our walk begins! Shields up!¡±


    Billions of insects fell to the ground, and I soared into the air above my team. Within seconds, the first swarms attacked our formation.


    ¡°Wood mages¡ªthorny bushes around the perimeter, slow them down!¡±


    ¡°Gras! Ice blades across the area! Triple the perimeter, there are plenty of monsters!¡±


    ¡°Irgen, aim further, you¡¯re burning down all the defensive barriers!¡±


    I shouted commands from above. But to their credit, they fought desperately and wisely. Not a single creature managed to get close enough to jump at them. The battle lasted several hours, during which all the monsters on the level¡ªmore than three hundred thousand¡ªwere destroyed! I handed them daggers.


    ¡°And now for the most pleasant part¡ªcollecting trophies!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Captain?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t slack off, start gathering the cores.¡±


    I approached a monster carcass and pulled out an orange core with my hand. Everyone grimaced and hesitated.


    ¡°Captain, maybe we don¡¯t have to? We already fought¡­¡±


    ¡°As you wish, but know this,¡± I waved my bloodied hand around, ¡°there are about one hundred and fifty thousand gold worth of cores here. If we divide it among the team¡­¡±


    ¡°How much?!¡± Irgen was the first to grasp it and rushed to the nearest carcass. ¡°You¡¯re mine! Hahaha!¡±


    Oh, my girl, I used to do this with the same enthusiasm, though for a different purpose. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t have enough experience or strength to collect the cores efficiently. At this rate, they¡¯d be here for a week¡­


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you. Otherwise, I¡¯ll fall asleep waiting.¡±


    An hour later, everyone stood before a massive orange mountain.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, that¡¯s three hundred thirty-four thousand six hundred and forty cores. So, each of you gets thirty-three thousand four hundred sixty-four cores.¡±


    I used my aura to split the pile into ten equal shares and handed each their portion.


    ¡°And now, let¡¯s head back up.¡±


    ¡°Captain!¡± Irgen¡¯s eyes burned with excitement. ¡°Can we stay just a little longer?¡±


    It seemed she wasn¡¯t the only one with that desire.


    ¡°Enough for today. Ramen will kill us¡ªwe¡¯ve been in the dungeon for more than a day already, and we still have to climb back up. I¡¯ll take you again after the qualifiers.¡±


    So we set off on the return journey.


    ¡°Sell the cores in Lygote. The prices here will be about twenty percent lower. Almost half the city¡¯s population are adventurers who practically live in the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Captain,¡± Irgen beamed, ¡°you know so much about dungeons and adventurers¡­¡±


    ¡°You saw the plaque, didn¡¯t you?¡± I pulled out my golden adventurer guild plaque and showed it to her.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Gras joined the conversation. ¡°Have you spent a lot of time in dungeons? How deep have you gone?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have some experience. My longest solo raid was in the Vangan dungeon. I spent two and a half years there.¡±


    ¡°How long?!¡±


    ¡°Two. And. A half. Years.¡±


    Everyone stared at me in shock. It seemed my authority among them had just skyrocketed.


    ¡°How deep did you go?¡±


    ¡°To the thirtieth levels.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! Are the monsters there strong? What¡¯s the strongest monster you¡¯ve ever defeated?¡±


    ¡°Well, I fought the strongest ones when I was at the mid-level of a Battle Ancestor. I haven¡¯t tested my current strength yet.¡±


    I tried to dodge the question.


    ¡°Captain,¡± Irgen didn¡¯t let me, ¡°so what¡¯s the strongest monster you¡¯ve defeated?¡±


    Silently, I pulled out an eighth-class monster core. Everyone stared at the transparent, rainbow-colored stone the size of a human head.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°A monster core of the eighth class.¡±


    ¡°What?! There are eighth-class monsters?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I only found out about them in the dungeon. And even more¡ªthere are ninth-class monsters, but with my current strength level, it¡¯s too early to go that deep.¡±


    The rest of the way to the city, where the rector awaited us, we walked mostly in silence. Everyone was lost in thought. Only Irgen gleamed like a freshly minted gold coin, refusing to share the group¡¯s contemplative mood.

 Chapter Nine.

    ¡°Finally! Where the hell have you been?¡±


    Raman was furious about our delay.


    ¡°Rector, forgive us, but it¡¯s my fault the training ran late. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    He looked at us suspiciously, from head to toe, covered in monster blood.


    ¡°Ugh, deep cleanse!¡±


    With a snap of his fingers, a blue magical seal flared beneath us, rising upward and stripping away all the dirt and blood from our skin and clothes.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I was amazed by such a useful spell. ¡°Rector, teach me!¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on, it¡¯s just a basic second-circle household spell. You shouldn¡¯t have slept through school¡­ Though, knowing you¡­¡±


    ¡°Rector!¡± Mara suddenly gasped. ¡°You didn¡¯t just clean off the dirt!¡±


    I looked at her clutching her arms over her chest as if trying to hug herself. Irgen, her ears burning red, was the first to dive into the carriage.


    ¡°Really?¡± Raman feigned ignorance. ¡°Strange, it¡¯s always worked fine before. Maybe a mana fluctuation.¡±


    ¡°Rector, don¡¯t take us for fools!¡± Irgen¡¯s voice rang with fury. ¡°You deliberately wove a thief¡¯s spell into it, or did you think I wouldn¡¯t notice?¡±


    ¡°Well, consider it your punishment for being late.¡±


    ¡°Fine, if it¡¯s a punishment. But why only the girls? We were all late!¡±


    ¡°Pfft, silly girl, why would I want to strip the guys? But you¡¯re right, there should be fairness.¡±


    He snapped his fingers.


    ¡°Deep cleanse!¡±


    The familiar blue magical seal rose from the ground.


    You old bastard! My underwear was gone!


    For a while, everyone busied themselves fixing their attire behind an improvised curtain at the back of the carriage.


    ¡°Rector,¡± I sat beside him on the coachman¡¯s seat, ¡°teach me the cleansing spell.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s composed of three elements¡ªwater, wind, and light, and it¡¯s fairly simple. Do you want the basic version or the enhanced one?¡±


    I had a feeling I knew what he meant by ¡°enhanced.¡±


    ¡°The basic one is enough for me, thanks.¡±


    Raman sat silently, making no move to teach me anything. I waited patiently.


    ¡°Listen,¡± he finally said, ¡°there¡¯s someone traveling with us who understands these things better than I do. I think she might surprise you with her knowledge. Irgen! Help Aney with household magic!¡±


    Irgen? I was surprised. But now it made sense how she always managed to look like she was freshly dressed for a celebration. I turned to where she was sitting.


    ¡°Alright! But not for free!¡±


    I walked over and sat next to her.


    ¡°What¡¯s your condition?¡±


    ¡°You teach me how to properly and quickly extract monster cores!¡±


    She seemed embarrassed by her own boldness.


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    I pulled the first volume of the monster encyclopedia from my storage and took her handwritten grimoire of a hundred pages. For a brief moment, a look of greed flashed across her face. Could she be¡­ a miser? I¡¯d seen that same expression on Hek¡¯s face when he held monster cores in his hands.


    ¡°Study the first volume, and then I¡¯ll give you the next one.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± She clutched the book cover like a predator with its prey.


    I sat at the table, took out a stylus and paper, and quickly began copying the grimoire.


    ¡°Wow, Captain!¡± Zimer sat down beside me. ¡°You draw magical circles better than most mages.¡±


    ¡°And what, did you think warriors could only swing axes? Just so you know, a warrior¡¯s fine motor skills are far better developed than a mage¡¯s. For us, it¡¯s a matter of life and death. For a mage, it¡¯s just about the time they spend drawing their magical seal on paper.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but mages, in turn, have faster thought processes and process more information per unit of time¡­¡±


    An interesting claim. I set the stylus down.


    ¡°You really think so? Then why are warriors always at the vanguard while mages stay behind? Both receive the same amount of information about threats per unit of time, which they must process and respond to.¡±


    ¡°But everyone knows that warriors train their combat techniques to a reflex level, making them faster in action. Mages, on the other hand, have to visualize the magic circle in their minds, double-check it, and only then bring it into reality!¡±


    Our conversation began attracting the team¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Are you saying warriors are born with combat reflexes? That¡¯s not true. They spend thousands of hours perfecting their techniques. And I honestly don¡¯t understand why mages don¡¯t do the same with their magic seals.¡±


    ¡°Aney,¡± Raman interjected, ¡°Zimer has a point. It¡¯s impossible to create a magic seal reflexively in one¡¯s mind.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I flipped through Irgen¡¯s grimoire and picked a third-circle magic seal containing four elements, studying it for a few minutes. Then I set the grimoire aside, took the stylus and a blank sheet of paper, and closed my eyes. In just a few seconds, I drew an exact copy of the magical seal, down to the smallest details.


    Some of the team members stood up in surprise to get a better look.


    ¡°There. This is what I call harmony between thought and movement. What do you think¡ªdid I accurately reproduce the seal in my mind?¡±


    A brief silence followed.


    ¡°That¡¯s truly impressive, Aney,¡± Raman finally spoke, ¡°but that¡¯s just a third-circle seal, which won¡¯t be very useful in battle. Fourth-circle seals and above, with their three-dimensional complexity, are on a whole different level.¡±


    ¡°Rector, not long ago, you used my third-circle spell to save one of the academy¡¯s professors. So is low-level magic really that useless in battle?¡±


    Everyone turned to him, waiting for his response. But Raman just shrugged and sat facing the road, his back to us.


    Zimer sighed and went off to ponder something. I returned to copying the grimoire. Irgen, too, was making sketches and notes on paper, occasionally glancing at the encyclopedia.


    ¡°Next volume?¡± she asked, handing the book back to me.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    She peered at my papers, where I was adapting her magical seals to suit my needs.


    ¡°Ah, nothing special. I can¡¯t use magic like others. So, let¡¯s say these are my crutches¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, what a pity.¡±


    She took the book and returned to her seat. Well, let it be a pity, if that¡¯s how it is¡­


    The next few days of our journey passed in the same measured rhythm, until I sensed millions of auras gathered in one place.


    ¡°Lygote! We¡¯re almost there!¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As I had felt, the city turned out to be absolutely enormous. It didn¡¯t even have a continuous fortress wall like Matan, which, by the way, was also a city of a million. Lygote, however, was at least five times larger.


    Right on the road stood a massive gate with guards, and on either side of it, the city walls ended just a few dozen meters away, beyond which began the regular residential quarters.


    Raman showed the guards his golden badge, explained the purpose of our arrival, and we were let through after being recorded in the registry. From there, our movement became significantly more difficult and slowed due to the terrifying traffic and congestion on the city¡¯s roads.


    Our destination, the capital¡¯s Academy of Magic, was located not outside the city like in Matan, but almost at the very center of Lygote. So, we had little choice but to crawl through the last dozen kilometers in this crush at barely the speed of an ordinary pedestrian.


    All around, the cries of coachmen and the roar of animals harnessed to carts echoed. In this chaos and disorder, right among the carriages, cleaners scurried about, gathering tons of dung left behind by the beasts. And in the midday sun, the stench was something else. I looked with envy at the people walking behind a magical barrier that separated the road from the city itself.


    ¡°Rector, you¡¯ve tortured us enough. Maybe we should walk the rest of the way?¡±


    Someone from the team couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°Alright, everyone dismount and make your way to the sidewalk. The barrier will let you through if you touch it with your palm!¡±


    We took turns dismounting onto the road. I didn¡¯t want to risk myself in the crush, so I simply walked through the air above the road to the barrier. The entire team looked at me with envy. What? You want me to carry you?


    Beyond the barrier, there was silence and pleasant aromas¡ªthe scents of greenery, flowers, and delicious food wafting from the open doors of numerous restaurants. In the sky above the houses, couriers flew on winged monsters, which, by the way, I was seeing for the first time.


    Within a few minutes, the whole team had gathered near me, with Raman being the last to arrive.


    ¡°Rector!¡± Grass addressed him, his gaze fixed on a restaurant. ¡°Maybe we should stop in?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary, Grass. I¡¯ve already informed the academy that we¡¯re arriving soon. They should be expecting us, ready to accommodate us and hold a small banquet. It would be impolite to arrive there already full, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    Everyone followed the rector, who set off at a brisk pace toward the city center.


    The academy itself was visible from afar¡ªits vast grounds were enclosed by a high wall of white polished stone. The same stone was used to construct dozens of multi-story buildings adorned with intricate black stone ornamentation.


    The steeply pitched roofs were covered with copper shingles, now greenish-gray from patina. Numerous tall windows made the buildings look slender and almost weightless. I mentally applauded the architects of this city.


    At the gates, we were met by an academy representative.


    ¡°Welcome, ladies and gentlemen from Matan! Allow me to introduce myself¡ªI am Samruk, secretary to the rectorate of Lygote Academy! Please, let me escort you to the accommodations we¡¯ve prepared for you, where you can rest after your journey and stay for the three days leading up to the competition!¡±


    Raman turned pale with anger¡ªsending a secretary to greet a rector was not just a breach of etiquette; it was a direct insult. I sensed something was off.


    The team, however, was too busy admiring the surroundings. I couldn¡¯t blame them¡ªI was practically holding my own jaw in place.


    This place was truly awe-inspiring, not only with its architecture but also with its landscaping, featuring countless miniature gardens of ornamental plants and strange sculptures lining our path.


    Along the way, we also saw many magical mechanisms, whose purposes we could only guess. The academy certainly spared no expense on its appearance¡ªthat was clear.


    We turned onto a narrow path from the main road, now walking in the shade of towering trees. After a while, the sounds of animal cries and snorting from stables and pens reached us. My suspicions deepened.


    The secretary turned again, and we stopped near a low building with dirty windows and doors that weren¡¯t even properly closed, resting one edge against the trampled earth beneath them.


    Was this¡­ a barn?


    The secretary turned to us.


    ¡°We sincerely apologize, ladies and gentlemen, but this is the only available lodging for tonight. We¡¯ve done our best to tidy it up, and I¡¯m glad we managed to finish on time! Please, make yourselves comfortable, and at seven, join us for the banquet.¡±


    I grabbed the rector, who had already begun casting a seventh-circle spell, preventing him from moving a muscle. The last thing we needed was an unscheduled fight¡­


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll check what can be done¡­¡±


    Irgen headed toward the barn doors.


    ¡°Stop, Irgen!¡± I commanded. ¡°And you, Rector, calm down! It seems that Mr. Secretary is about to realize that a mistake has been made, one that he will quickly correct using his official position, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, sir¡­ Aney, if I¡¯m not mistaken, but no mistake has been made. This is truly the only available roof within the academy grounds¡­¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, so you even know me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, everyone in the kingdom has already heard of Master Kruk¡¯s student.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then perhaps you¡¯ve also heard that I¡¯m not as kind as my teacher, whose very name made your entire capital soil itself before it could even pull its pants down. And that I often, let¡¯s say¡ªresort to violent methods of resolving disputes?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve heard, Sir Aney, but you are not your teacher¡­¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m weaker than Kruk?¡±


    I struck the academy grounds with my bloodlust, forcing students and professors to either faint or scream in terror within their own minds. The secretary was screaming too, rolling on the ground, clawing at his temples. I withdrew my aura and stepped closer to him.


    ¡°A pathetic sixth-circle mage dares tell me who I am?¡± I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re immortal? Where is your master, the Rector, you wretch?¡±


    ¡°Y-ho¡­ y-ho¡­¡±


    I loosened my grip slightly so he wouldn¡¯t choke to death before he could answer.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here! He¡¯s not here right now!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I threw the secretary to the ground. ¡°Today, I won¡¯t kill anyone here for this insult. Not even you. Was this the Rector¡¯s order?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, Sir Aney, it was all his order!¡±


    ¡°What a worthless coward, betraying his master so quickly. I haven¡¯t even started beating you yet¡­¡±


    The secretary curled up on the ground, expecting a blow.


    ¡°Consider yourself incredibly lucky today. I don¡¯t want to spoil my team¡¯s day with the sight of your entrails scattered through the bushes. But this is the last time, remember that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir Aney! I appreciate your kindness!¡±


    ¡°And now, with respect and honor, you will escort us to the academy gates and deliver a message to the Rector: we have plans now, so we will return on the day of the tournament. Do you understand, wretch?¡±


    The secretary scrambled to his feet.


    ¡°Yes, yes, Sir Aney!¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? I ordered you to do it with respect and honor!¡±


    I seized his throat with my aura, bending his back into a ninety-degree bow and forcing him to walk backward, extending his hands toward us in a polite gesture.


    ¡°The gates are three kilometers away¡­¡± the Rector whispered in my ear.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. This creature is tough, he won¡¯t die.¡±


    We walked slowly along the pathways back toward the academy¡¯s exit under the astonished gazes of its students.


    ¡°Team Matan!¡± I amplified my voice with my aura so that as many people in the academy as possible could hear me. ¡°I want you to crush Team Lygote so deep into the arena that this pathetic academy will piss itself at the mere mention of Matan for the next hundred years. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± they roared.


    Our ridiculous procession took almost an hour to reach the gates. I kept expecting the Rector to show up, but he must have decided to hide in some corner. A shame. I was in the mood for some fun, and facing a seventh-circle mage could have been entertaining.


    ¡°So where to now?¡± Raman looked a little lost.


    ¡°Rector, since I didn¡¯t let us sleep in a barn, it¡¯s on me to fix that. Is there a good hotel nearby? A truly good one, where even the God of War wouldn¡¯t disdain to stay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is one. It¡¯s among the top three in the capital¡­¡±


    ¡°Lead the way. I¡¯m paying this time.¡±


    The hotel was surprisingly magnificent, better than anything I had seen before. I rented the entire top floor for five days so we could settle in comfortably.


    ¡°Everyone, in thirty minutes, we meet downstairs in the restaurant for dinner!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡±


    Raman and I were the last to head up.


    ¡°Rector, is there a reason for this attitude toward our academy here?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no direct reason as such. There are many factors, the main one being that they consider us a province of rebels.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­ Well then, it¡¯s time to show the kingdom who¡¯s who. You said their team fights just like ours did before my training?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, it¡¯s a standard battle strategy refined over centuries. I never even thought it could be disrupted and yield such an effect.¡±


    ¡°¡®A strategy refined over centuries!¡¯¡± I mocked him. ¡°Where¡¯s the strategy in standing like a target in front of each other and hurling spells? Nonsense!¡±


    ¡°Aney, you¡¯ve never been in a war, have you? A real war, where tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of mages fight? You haven¡¯t seen thousands of sixth- and seventh-circle mages following this very strategy, wiping out half a kingdom in a single strike¡­¡±


    ¡°So yes, this strategy is the most effective we have right now.¡±


    ¡°In war.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°From behind the backs of soldiers who protect the mages with their lives from enemy spells. That¡¯s a completely different concept. That¡¯s not a tournament, where the mage¡¯s primary goal is to avoid getting hit. But for us, that¡¯s a good thing. We¡¯ll crush the kingdom¡¯s academies completely, just like I once crushed our own team!¡±


    ¡°Are you absolutely sure?¡±


    In response, I laughed happily and walked ahead.


    After dinner, I gathered everyone for a small meeting.


    ¡°Alright, everyone, it¡¯s time to strategize for our first match. Here¡¯s the plan. Mink, you¡¯ll start with a third-circle Grave Silence. It takes you a second to activate, so you¡¯ll have about ten minutes while they can¡¯t see you to take them out this way¡­¡±


    I went on for a long time, detailing exactly what each of them had to do, breaking down every second of the battle plan. The element of surprise would ensure its success.


    ¡°Our first match isn¡¯t against Lygote¡¯s team, but there¡¯s no need to hold back, I think.¡±


    ¡°This will definitely work!¡± The Rector was thrilled. ¡°I¡¯m sure we could even use this strategy against Lygote!¡±


    ¡°No, we won¡¯t repeat it. I¡¯m certain Lygote will closely study both our teams¡¯ actions and will find a way to counter our tactics. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll use the three-three-four formation against them. We¡¯ve trained it so thoroughly that none of you will make a mistake. And most importantly, Lygote will be preparing for our previous strategy!¡±


    ¡°But that way, we¡¯ll drag out the fight, and our victory might not be as decisive¡­¡±


    Raman and the team looked at me, confused.


    ¡°Exactly, and that¡¯s part of the plan. Don¡¯t forget that this tournament is only a qualifier. How many eyes from the Empire do you think will be watching us? Or do you think my boastful speech about ¡®crushing them into the arena¡¯ was about our actual strength? No! We need to make it seem like victory was hard-won and that our first battle was just a lucky fluke. That way, everyone will think we¡¯re just average contenders¡­ And when we reach the Empire, we¡¯ll have two trump cards instead of one. Now do you understand why I want to handle the fights this way?¡±


    ¡°You should be an advisor in the royal court¡­¡± the Rector remarked.


    Everyone laughed.


    ¡°Now, onto something pleasant. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯re exchanging your trophies for shiny gold coins!¡±


    ¡°Trophies?¡± Raman was surprised.


    ¡°Gooold¡­¡± Irgen purred dreamily.


    ¡°Yay!¡± the others cheered.

 Chapter Ten

    The next morning, I went down to the lobby, where I found Raman sprawled in a chair with his eyes closed, sipping a drink through a straw from a floating glass near his chin.


    ¡°No, Aney, I have two quiet days left before the competition starts. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Uhh, Rector, that¡¯s not why I¡¯m here¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Can a flying boat be purchased at the capital¡¯s Craftsmen¡¯s Guild?¡±


    At these words, Raman sputtered so hard that his drink sprayed everywhere, forcing him to use a cleansing spell.


    ¡°Did you rob the royal treasury last night?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly¡­¡±


    The rector got up from his chair and began circling me, examining me carefully from all angles.


    ¡°Strange. You¡¯re dressed rather poorly. But you live lavishly in Matana¡­ Promising everyone a sixth-class marionette¡­ Renting elite housing for us here¡­ By the way,¡± he waved his half-empty glass, ¡°I charged this drink to your tab too. And now you want to buy a flying boat¡­ What is wrong with you? Do you have a wealthy family? Or maybe a rich patron?¡±


    ¡°Nothing like that, Rector. I just had a good raid in the Vangan dungeon once.¡±


    Raman immediately lost interest in me.


    ¡°You¡¯re boring. Go away.¡±


    He returned to his chair.


    ¡°Rector, about the boat¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course. There¡¯s one, seventh-class, but unarmed¡ªweaponry is prohibited on boats in the kingdom. And the price¡­ You could buy a small city for that. Along with its inhabitants.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Now go, don¡¯t disturb my rest.¡±


    He took the straw back into his mouth and closed his eyes. What a man¡ªhe could relax anytime, anywhere.


    I waited for my team and, after grabbing a city map from the counter, we headed to the central branch of the Craftsmen¡¯s Guild, which was just around the corner.


    Inside the guild, it was crowded and noisy, so when I finally caught one of the managers, I didn¡¯t dare let go of his hand.


    ¡°Could you help us? It won¡¯t take long¡ªwe just need to sell some cores.¡±


    ¡°Ah, fine. Class of the cores?¡±


    ¡°Second.¡±


    He wrinkled his nose and looked at us with pity.


    ¡°Seven silver per core. Quantity?¡±


    ¡°A little over three hundred thirty thousand in total.¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, sir, excuse me¡­?¡±


    I confirmed the amount again.


    ¡°Dear guests, why didn¡¯t you say so sooner? Come, come with me to a private room¡ªsuch matters shouldn¡¯t be discussed in a crowd!¡±


    He led us to a room, where I waited while he finalized deals with all my subordinates. By the end, everyone was glowing with satisfaction¡ªeven the manager.


    ¡°Sir, I have one more question.¡±


    ¡°Ask away, dear guest!¡±


    ¡°I want to buy a flying boat, but this is my first time doing so. Could you show me what you have and explain all their advantages and disadvantages?¡±


    His expression became even more pleased.


    ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right person, sir! Follow me!¡±


    We walked into a large hangar inside the guild, where about a dozen flying boats stood with their wings folded. One immediately caught my eye¡ªa medium-sized vessel made of dark cherry-colored wood, coated in several layers of transparent matte lacquer.


    ¡°Excellent choice, sir! This is one of our fastest models! A comfortable fifty kilometers per hour with magical shields off, and up to three hundred kilometers per hour with shields! The only downside is rapid core consumption when flying with shields. If in comfort mode a sixth-class core lasts for fifteen thousand kilometers of flight, then with shields¡ªonly two thousand. The boat is powered by two sixth-class cores, but you can use a seventh-class core if you have one. The hull is made of sturdy Eastern Empire wood¡­ A retractable cockpit roof¡­ Deck finishing¡­ Four double cabins¡­ A spacious common room¡­¡±


    He went on for quite a while, but it was pointless. Even if he had stayed silent, I would have bought this boat.


    ¡°Is there a warranty?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course! Ten years or a million kilometers of flight. Plus, the package includes four pairs of spare wings and two thousand liters of anti-icing fluid for the wings, in case you travel to the northern regions or enjoy high-altitude flights. The practical flight ceiling is ten thousand meters.¡±


    ¡°Alright. What¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be pleasantly surprised! Only four hundred ninety-nine thousand gold, sir! A very fair price!¡±


    I coughed a couple of times. This was outright robbery! For that amount, you really could buy a small city¡ªalong with its residents.


    ¡°Four hundred fifty thousand, and I buy it right now!¡±


    ¡°Sir, please, that¡¯s too big of a discount! My superiors would never approve! Let¡¯s say, four hundred ninety-five, and we seal the deal!¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a king to you? Four hundred sixty!¡±


    ¡°Four hundred ninety¡ªfinal offer!¡±


    ¡°A measly two percent discount? Four hundred sixty-five!¡±


    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re tearing my heart apart! I¡¯ll give you a whole three percent! Four hundred eighty-five!¡±


    ¡°No, I want five percent!¡±


    ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t! Alright, let¡¯s make it four percent! Four hundred eighty, and it¡¯s yours!¡±


    ¡°Five! I want five! So, four hundred seventy-five thousand, or I walk away!¡±


    ¡°Sir, I would love to, but I just can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Alright, what¡¯s your name? Mini? Fine, let¡¯s make a deal, Mini. Four hundred seventy-five thousand¡ªand a dagger as a gift from a High-Grade Battle Ancestor, personally for you, Mini.¡±


    I released my aura just enough so he wouldn¡¯t think I was bluffing, then quickly withdrew it so as not to scare him.


    ¡°Think about it, Mini. I¡¯ll engrave your name on the blade and leave a trace of my aura on it. It won¡¯t just be a formidable weapon for you, but a story to tell your great-grandchildren!¡±


    I saw him hesitate¡ªjust a little more¡­


    ¡°So, Mini? How many of your acquaintances own a dagger gifted by a Battle Ancestor?¡±


    ¡°Alright, sir Ancestor, I agree!¡±


    He looked relieved and even happy with his decision. I pulled out a fine third-class dagger, removed the sheath, and used my aura to inscribe: ¡°To Mini, with gratitude from Aney.¡± Then, I infused the blade with a portion of my aura, which would linger for decades. After finishing the engraving, I sheathed the dagger and handed it to Mini. He took it with trembling hands.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! A weapon with a Battle Ancestor¡¯s aura!¡±


    ¡°Just be careful, Mini¡ªpeople tend to be envious¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir, I understand. Don¡¯t worry, if I ever get into trouble, it won¡¯t be because of this¡­ Now, let¡¯s finalize the deal!¡±


    We quickly filled out the paperwork, I paid the money, and stored the boat in my vault. Mini also gave me a thick user manual for the vessel, after which we left the hangar.


    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re a maestro!¡± Irgen clenched her fists and raised them triumphantly. ¡°You¡¯re my new idol! I¡¯ve never seen anyone squeeze a five percent discount out of the Craftsmen¡¯s Guild!¡±


    ¡°Well, learn from the best!¡±


    ¡°Captain, from this day forward¡ªI¡¯m your loyal shadow! You can count on me!¡±


    For some reason, I took her words as a joke. But I really shouldn¡¯t have been so careless.


    ¡°Alright, everyone!¡± I changed the topic. ¡°Let¡¯s go eat somewhere. We should enjoy the moment while we can!¡±


    ¡°I saw a nice place nearby.¡±


    ¡°Then lead the way! What are you waiting for?¡±


    Lanko, a lean mage of the sixth circle specializing in metal and earth elements, walked ahead, and we followed.


    ¡°So, show me how mages know how to party!¡±


    ¡°Oh, captain, just wait! It¡¯ll be a feast!¡±


    Half an hour later, our table was nearly buckling under the weight of the food they had ordered. There was plenty of alcohol too. I even started wondering how physically weak people could eat so much. Sure, the brain consumes about twenty percent of a person¡¯s calories¡­ Could it be that mages really think a lot? Eh, nonsense! I broke off a huge claw from some crustacean and joined in the celebration.


    ¡°Aaaaaa, it¡¯s the team of losers from Matan! Get back to your kennel, you mangy dogs! You¡¯re polluting our air!¡±


    I turned toward the voice and saw a group of about twenty young mages dressed in identical blue uniforms.


    ¡°What kind of riffraff is this?¡± I quietly asked Irgen, who was sitting next to me.


    ¡°Not sure, maybe it¡¯s the team from Laska Academy. They have blue uniforms too.¡±


    I shielded our table with an aura and we continued celebrating, ignoring the monkeys jumping around us.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll teach these bastards some manners the day after tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Consider it done!¡±


    We laughed for a while at the twisted faces beyond the aura barrier until they moved to another table.


    ¡°Irgen, I have an idea. Can you draw the rector¡¯s magical seal, the one he used to steal our laundry?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, I think so. But you¡¯ll have to specify the destination yourself since it¡¯s not just dirt that gets destroyed by a spell.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    She quickly sketched the seal on a napkin, leaving one area blank for the destination. Of course, I chose my stash¡ªwhere else?¡ªto avoid getting caught. I modified the seal and engraved it onto my bone. It was only second-circle magic, so it didn¡¯t take long.


    I activated second-circle magic and then cast a deep cleansing spell directly under Laska¡¯s team¡¯s table. A large blue magical seal erupted from beneath their feet and rose into the air, leaving the people completely naked. Seems like something went wrong¡­ I deactivated the magic and looked at Irgen.


    ¡°Pfffff¡­ Pff-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh!¡±


    ¡°Having fun?¡±


    ¡°Captain, I think you made a mistake somewhere!¡±


    My entire team was already laughing. I lowered the aura barrier, and suddenly, we heard their screams. The naked boys and girls knocked food off the table, trying to cover themselves with dirty plates. The commotion grew louder¡­


    ¡°You! It was you!¡±


    One of them shouted, pointing at us. I smacked him in the face with an aura slap.


    ¡°Are you out of your mind, accusing the Battle Ancestor of something like this? Do you have proof?¡±


    Their eyes darted around.


    ¡°We saw a strange red magical seal burning around you! And then our clothes and all our belongings were stolen by magic!¡± a young mage girl screeched, pointing her finger at me.


    ¡°Cover yourself, disgraceful. There¡¯s nothing to brag about anyway.¡±


    The mage girl yelped and lowered her hand.


    ¡°Oh, you mean this strange red magical seal?¡± I activated the magic, and a second-circle seal started rotating around me. I waited a few seconds. ¡°See? Nothing happens. This is a sobering spell¡ªI had a little too much in good company.¡±


    They fell silent, exchanging glances.


    ¡°And yet, you immediately accused me instead of checking for mana traces¡­ Is Laska¡¯s team really so pathetic that they can¡¯t even do that?¡±


    My words prompted one of them to check the restaurant for mana traces. Nothing. Not a single trace near their table.


    ¡°Strange,¡± I continued, ¡°but that means one of you did it. Is this whole show just a setup to frame me?¡±


    I pressed them down with my aura, forcing them to their knees.


    ¡°Lord Ancestor! This is a misunderstanding! Please, have mercy, forgive us!¡±


    ¡°A misunderstanding?¡± I took a step toward them, making the floor tremble. ¡°Forgive you? Just like that?¡±


    I added a bit of bloodlust to my words for effect. I wonder what people see under its influence? I should ask sometime.


    ¡°Do you really think you can joke like this with a higher-tier Battle Ancestor?!¡± I roared so loudly that the windows shook. ¡°Have mages in your city forgotten how easily their guts can be scattered all over the place?! Should I remind you?!¡±


    I took another step forward, and the wooden floor creaked under my feet. Suddenly, a seventh-circle mana shield flared up between me and the naked students. Oh? Does someone really think this will stop me? Interesting! I crushed rock with my hands in dungeons¡­ I touched the shield with my five fingers and pressed. A web of cracks spread across it, and it shattered to the floor at my feet.


    ¡°Come out, since you¡¯ve decided to interfere!¡±


    I waited, but no one moved.


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll just kill them!¡±


    I had no real intention of doing so. I just wanted to draw out the seventh-circle mage and have some fun. So I took another step forward.


    ¡°Wait, Lord Ancestor!¡± A voice came from the entrance. ¡°Please, wait! I can explain everything!¡±


    ¡°Hooo¡­ And who the hell are you to explain anything to me? Do you think your qualifications are sufficient?!¡±


    Finally! Now it should get interesting!


    ¡°Lord Ancestor, allow me to introduce myself. I am Vonz, the first deputy rector of Laska Academy¡­¡±


    Oh, they live well there. Raman had no deputies¡­


    ¡°So what does the first deputy want to tell me?¡±


    ¡°Lord Ancestor, this is all a tragic mistake! My students didn¡¯t know, but everything that happened was the fault of an experimental magical device!¡±


    What nonsense is this fat guy spouting? What device?! But fine, I¡¯ll listen to his fairy tale.


    ¡°First deputy¡­¡± One of the students tried to voice his confusion, but I pressed him down so hard he couldn¡¯t even squeak.


    ¡°Shut your mouth when your elders are speaking. You¡¯ve already talked enough with your filthy tongues!¡±


    I was genuinely curious to hear what kind of story they had prepared.


    ¡°Guys, head back to the hotel. I have an interesting conversation here¡­¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± They quickly agreed and left.


    ¡°Well then,¡± I put an arm around the deputy rector¡¯s shoulders, ¡°you¡¯ve chained my attention to yourself. So what kind of device is this? I¡¯ve always been interested in magical instruments!¡±


    ¡°Lord Ancestor, if you would allow me¡­¡± He gestured toward his students.


    ¡°Oh, fine.¡±


    I withdrew my aura and waited while he handed out some clothes to his students.


    ¡°So, what kind of device was it?¡±


    ¡°Lord Ancestor, you see, our academy is currently testing a new automatic wardrobe system¡­¡±


    I returned to the hotel in the evening after spending several hours tormenting the deputy rector and even making him pay our team¡¯s bill as a goodwill gesture. My mood was excellent!


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked Irgen, who was sitting on my bed in complete darkness.


    ¡°Captain! It¡¯s time to divide the spoils!¡±


    ¡°You pointy-eared bastard! I suspected you did it on purpose, and now I have proof!¡±


    ¡°Only a little, but everything worked out!¡±


    ¡°You damn thief! You made me an accomplice to robbery! Do you even realize that?!¡±


    We were already whispering so no one would overhear us.


    ¡°How is this even a robbery, Captain? This is nothing but a proper mage battle! It¡¯s not our fault those clumsy fools couldn¡¯t defend against such a simple spell!¡±


    I had no words. I exhaled and waved my hand, dumping the loot onto the floor by the bed. Irgen nudged the pile of clothes with her foot, lifting a pair of girls¡¯ underwear with the tip of her shoe.


    ¡°Not a bad design. Like it?¡±


    She lifted them toward me with her foot, earning a flick on the forehead in return.


    ¡°Ow! What was that for?¡±


    ¡°Keep it down! See anything valuable?¡±


    Irgen cast a deep cleansing spell and then began sorting through the pile of clothes. After about half an hour, we had gathered around two dozen storage rings, several pouches, four magical staves, and some other trinkets on the blanket.


    ¡°Too bad we can¡¯t unlock the storages while their owners are still alive,¡± I said, disappointed. It was all just junk.


    ¡°Who told you that, Captain? Unlocking them, maybe not, but breaking them? With your power, that¡¯s a piece of cake.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Just destroy the stone, and everything inside will spill out.¡±


    ¡°Better not do it here, in case there¡¯s something dangerous inside.¡±


    Irgen hesitated, her caution battling with greed.


    ¡°Fine, take all this,¡± I said, gathering up the rings and gesturing at the other items.


    ¡°Where?!¡± she hissed.


    Damn it! I had completely forgotten that I had only recently given her a storage bag, and there was no way all this junk would fit in there. I stored the pile in my own ring, grabbed Irgen in my arms, and jumped out of the open window.


    ¡°Captain!¡± she yelped in surprise. ¡°What are you doing?!¡±


    I barely managed to shield us with my aura so she wouldn¡¯t wake up half the city with her scream.


    ¡°Be quiet!¡± I snapped. ¡°Breaking the rings, where else?¡±


    The girl calmed down, only trembling slightly¡ªprobably from fear. Well, I had been scared too when Kruk first dragged me through the sky. Leaving the city limits, I found a quiet clearing within minutes and set Irgen down.


    ¡°Hoo¡­ That was¡­ unexpected.¡±


    ¡°Alright, tell me how to break them.¡±


    ¡°Just crush them with your aura, what¡¯s so complicated about that?¡±


    Listening to her, you¡¯d think nothing in this world was difficult. But what if the stone exploded or something? I picked up the first ring and concentrated my aura on its stone. Tough little thing! But then it emitted a faint squeak, and the stone crumbled into dust. Instantly, the storage contents spilled out onto the ground.


    By the time I broke the last one, we stood beside a mountain of items spanning several dozen cubic meters. I tossed the rest of the loot from the hotel onto the pile.


    ¡°Done.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    Irgen cast some kind of spell, and a brown magical seal appeared parallel to the ground beside her.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°A disposal spell. Turns anything man-made into dust.¡±


    Hmm. Useful. But I didn¡¯t remember her having such a spell in her grimoire. Irgen quickly began throwing all sorts of junk and personal belongings of the mages into the disposal.


    ¡°Captain, maybe help me out here?¡±


    ¡°Damn it! What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡±


    A few hours later, the pile had shrunk to a fifth of its original size. But Irgen refused to throw away anything else.


    ¡°Take whatever you like, Captain!¡±


    Oh! Was this some kind of grand gesture from the half-elf? I pulled out one of the rings that Tot had used to send me his puppets.


    ¡°Here, activate it and take everything except magic literature and magic scrolls.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡±


    The sky was already starting to lighten by the time I finally stored a few dozen books and a hundred scrolls in my storage. Irgen watched me with an excited gleam in her eyes.


    ¡°What a fantastic night!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I agreed, scooping her up and leaping into the air.


    When we returned to the hotel room the same way¡ªthrough the window¡ªIrgen landed on the bed, wrapped her arms around my neck, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.


    ¡°You¡¯re my lucky charm, Captain!¡± she declared, then thumped a fist against her chest. ¡°I am your loyal shadow!¡±


    Then she darted out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.


    Damn long-eared trickster! You totally used me!

 Chapter Eleven

    Finally, the day of the competition arrived. Even from the window of our room, it was clear that the capital was livelier and noisier than usual this morning. We left the hotel and headed to the Magic Academy, surrounded by a colorful crowd.


    Above the academy, Light Mages had already set up four massive projections on all sides, displaying the arena itself, along with images and information about today¡¯s participants. The ¡°most honest¡± royal jury conducted the draw, selecting two teams for battle¡ªthe team from Laska Academy against the team from Matan Academy.


    Pushing through the crowd in the square, we approached the gates, where we were greeted with a low bow by the secretary we had already met. Well, look at that¡ªhow polite he¡¯s become. Inside the academy, it was quiet and peaceful¡ªspectators weren¡¯t allowed in due to the limited space in the arena. The townspeople could only watch the projections in the square.


    ¡°Crush them!¡±


    I ordered as my team turned toward the participants¡¯ entrance. Meanwhile, Raman and I went up to the stands, where students from this academy and a few dozen invited guests were already seated.


    A tall, broad-shouldered man in his middle years flew into the air as soon as we sat down.


    ¡°Honored guests, esteemed students, for those who don¡¯t know me, I am Piran, the rector of the Capital Magic Academy! Today, I welcome you to the start of the Northern Empire¡¯s Magic Selection Tournament! I hope the battles will be fair and that the best will win! The duel will be judged by an invited referee from the Empire, a Seventh Circle Mage, Master Kustis! Welcome him!¡±


    A loud round of applause erupted in the stands, and another man appeared in the air next to the rector. He looked about the same age and was dressed in a ceremonial gray magical robe.


    ¡°I won¡¯t bore you with long speeches,¡± he said. ¡°Teams, step out and line up in the arena!¡±


    At his words, doors opened on opposite sides, and twenty mages stepped onto the battlefield. I checked the auras of my mages¡ªall were calm and composed. It seemed they understood that today¡¯s fight was nothing compared to my training. Meanwhile, their opponents¡¯ auras wavered with strong emotions, which I recognized as anger. Heh, yesterday¡¯s humiliation must have hit them hard.


    ¡°Competitors, take your positions and greet each other!¡±


    The teams separated from the center, lined up opposite each other, and bowed.


    ¡°I ask all participants to conduct this battle fairly, without breaking the rules! Barrier!¡±


    That was the command to start the fight. Less than a second after the barrier appeared, Mink cast the Grave Silence spell, and now no one could see the participants or what was happening in the arena.


    The referee frowned but did not stop the fight. People in the stands jumped to their feet, trying to understand what had happened. I smiled inwardly and observed the auras. As soon as darkness filled the space under the barrier, my team scattered, leaving the danger zone.


    Their opponents, however¡ªlikely out of confusion¡ªremained standing in place, possibly shielding themselves with barriers.


    Second second¡ªjust as planned. Though I couldn¡¯t see it myself, Gras began bombarding them from above with ice blades, a Third Circle spell. Judging by the fact that none of the opponents fell, they had indeed surrounded themselves with magical shields.


    Third second¡ªall team members, except Gras and Mink, who maintained their spells, cast their Wood-element spells, overgrowing the entire area where their opponents stood. At the same time, the plants pressed against the shields to prevent them from being deactivated.


    The decisive moment was near.


    Fourth minute¡ªall team members, except Mink, used Water and Air magic to dry out the trunks of the vines, bushes, and trees, which now formed a solid wall, trapping the opposing team. Occasionally, my teammates struck their shields with Third Circle wind blades.


    Fifth minute¡ªthe main act of this performance. Five mages cast Fire magic, while four others fanned the flames with Air magic. Mink continued holding Grave Silence over the arena. Now, all that was left was to wait¡ªhad my plan worked?


    Seventh minute¡ªtheir auras started fluctuating, in my opinion¡ªfrom fear. It worked! Victory! Because while mana shields could offer some protection against fire and high temperatures, they had no defense against carbon monoxide!


    Ninth minute¡ªtwo auras collapsed to the ground simultaneously. Most likely, the mages had lost consciousness. One by one, the rest followed. Once the last opponent fell, my team returned to their starting positions, and Mink dispelled the Grave Silence spell.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡±


    The referee and the first vice-rector of Laska Academy shouted in unison.


    The arena was still ablaze, with the bodies of ten Laska team members burning within it. Some were still conscious, screaming in agony, their ruptured eyeballs staring skyward. Their charred skin split apart, revealing bloodied muscles and blackened bones beneath the soot.


    Three of them no longer moved, though a faint aura still flickered within their bodies.


    Students in the stands began to vomit. Hah, so delicate¡­


    The referee cast a wind spell, instantly blowing away all the heat and ashes from the arena. Immediately, dozens of healers rushed in to begin resuscitation efforts. By the time the ¡°barbecue team¡± was carried off the field, their lives were sustained only through high-level magic.


    My team still awaited the announcement of the winners. I, on the other hand, prepared to protect them in case someone in the arena lost their composure. It seemed this spectacle would be remembered in Lygot for a long time.


    ¡°Team Matan!¡±


    The referee finally addressed them.


    ¡°I cannot punish you for the atrocity you committed here¡ªthat will be up to Lygot¡¯s royal court¡ªbut I am disqualifying you from further participation in the tournament!¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    I stepped into the air as well, my aura shaking the space around me.


    ¡°And for breaking which rule are you disqualifying my team?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    The referee shouted, raising a Seventh Circle mana shield between us.


    ¡°I am Aney, the captain of this team! And I repeat my question¡ªwhat rule did my team break to warrant disqualification?¡±


    I took a step forward and shattered his mana shield so it wouldn¡¯t get in my way.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The referee took several steps back and looked around.


    ¡°I already said¡ªexcessive cruelty!¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, is that an actual rule? Then name the clause number so I can be sure that the esteemed judge isn¡¯t lying like a dog behind a fence! Otherwise, I¡¯ll give a live demonstration of what excessive cruelty really is¡ªby crushing your stupid skull!¡±


    Silence fell.


    A second later, the referee was joined by a Battle Ancestor I didn¡¯t recognize. Then another. And another. Within a minute, eight of them had gathered.


    Feeling safe, the referee laughed.


    ¡°So, what will you do now? You¡¯re all alone! And you¡¯ll answer for your disrespect toward me!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you sure about that?¡±


    The Battle Ancestors slowly drew their weapons and began circling me.


    ¡°Everyone in the arena¡ªget out of here if you don¡¯t want to die,¡± I shouted at the people on the ground.


    I pulled out my spear and waited for the spectators and my team to leave the arena. The entire capital was watching us through the four projections above. I was surrounded.


    ¡°Do you really want this?¡± I asked the Ancestors.


    Eight against one. It would have been difficult if I had been alone.


    ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t resist, Aney. We are the Royal Court¡¯s guardians. The Royal Court does not wish to have problems with your teacher, but we must detain you for further investigation regarding your public disturbance and the insult you inflicted upon the invited judge from the Empire!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I still don¡¯t understand why everyone fears my teacher but doesn¡¯t consider me at all. Do you think I¡¯m weaker than Kruk?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re strong, but you¡¯re alone!¡±


    ¡°Hoooo¡­ Are you sure?¡±


    I retrieved fifty seventh-class puppets from my storage.


    ¡°Surround them, and don¡¯t let them interfere with me. But don¡¯t kill them¡­ for now,¡± I commanded.


    We all understood that if a battle broke out against this many Battle Ancestors, nearly the entire capital would be destroyed. Perhaps that was what kept them from making rash decisions. I turned back to the judge.


    ¡°So, what exactly am I supposed to answer for?¡±


    The judge was terrified. Pale, trembling, he seemed convinced his death was imminent. I slowly approached him.


    ¡°Why do Imperial mages think they¡¯re untouchable?¡±


    ¡°Master Aney! Forgive me, I made a mistake!¡±


    ¡°A mistake in what?¡±


    ¡°I disqualified your team unfairly. I beg you to forgive me for this disgraceful act!¡±


    ¡°You want to say that¡¯s all?¡±


    I took another step closer, now within arm¡¯s reach.


    ¡°Master Aney, I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand? You scum, you lied to me about a rule that allows a team to be disqualified for brutality.¡±


    ¡°Master Aney, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tell me, how should you answer for your lie?¡±


    ¡°Master Aney, what¡ª¡±


    ¡°In the eye or the jaw?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Choose. Should I hit you in the eye or the jaw?¡±


    ¡°In the ja¡ª¡±


    I lightly tapped his lower jaw, shattering it into pieces, splattering me with blood and teeth.


    ¡°Tomorrow, before the fight against Lygote¡¯s team, you will apologize to my team and emphasize that because of your mistake, they did not receive today¡¯s cheers and congratulations for their victory. Do you understand?¡±


    The judge frantically nodded, clutching his ruined face with both hands.


    ¡°Now get out of here!¡±


    Watching his hunched figure retreat, I turned back to the Battle Ancestors, still surrounded by my puppets.


    ¡°Aney, now that the problem is solved, we will return to the Royal Court as well.¡±


    I shook my head from side to side.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. You drew your weapons against me¡­ Besides, I want a fight, and the eight of you are just right for that.¡±


    They glanced at each other.


    ¡°You have two choices. Either you come with me, and I fight you alone, or my puppets will start killing you right here and now, destroying the entire capital in the process.¡±


    I withdrew my puppets into storage and flew out of the city without waiting for their answer. A few seconds later, I sensed eight auras following me.


    For the battle, I chose a mountainous area far from the capital, where no human presence could be felt. I didn¡¯t want unnecessary casualties just for my entertainment. The eight Ancestors stopped in front of me.


    ¡°Two of the highest rank, two of the middle, and four of the lower¡­ Did I get that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± one of the high-rank Battle Ancestors replied. ¡°Tell me, why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tired of everyone talking about Kruk while disregarding me. I think it¡¯s time to explain a few things to the kingdom of Lygote.¡±


    ¡°How do you want to fight? With restoration pills or without?¡±


    They began to discuss among themselves.


    ¡°Without. With pills, this would drag on for days. If you take a pill, you¡¯re out.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Any other rules?¡±


    ¡°Yes, without deaths.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re restricting me, but fine, I agree. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be everything.¡±


    ¡°Good. My teacher once said that even two dozen of the kingdom¡¯s Battle Ancestors wouldn¡¯t be able to hold him back for long. Today, I¡¯ll see how long eight Battle Ancestors can last against me! This will be a good fight!¡±


    The eight Ancestors began to flank me, closing in from the sides. Since this was a non-lethal fight, I couldn¡¯t use an aura strike. Well then¡­


    I activated all five magic circles, drew my spear, and slashed through the space beneath me. In the air, along the spear¡¯s trajectory, black cracks of the void flickered. Surprised by the appearance of magic seals and the power behind my strike, the Ancestors instantly broke formation and distanced themselves.


    I activated fourth-circle time magic, boosting my speed by ten percent, and third-circle magic, summoning a flaming spear in my left hand.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    The Battle Ancestors hesitated, unsettled by my magic. Annoying!


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s how it is, I¡¯ll start myself!¡±


    I hurled the flaming spear at a lower-rank Ancestor. He didn¡¯t even have time to react before he became a ball of fire, crashing into the ground and taking out nearly half a mountain peak. Everyone froze at the unexpected attack.


    ¡°Alive,¡± I confirmed after checking his aura. ¡°So, who¡¯s next?¡±


    I conjured another flaming spear, but before I could use it, two Ancestors attacked me at once¡ªone of mid-rank and one of high-rank. Fast! But manageable for me.


    I parried the sword of one with my spear and dodged the other, bending at an impossible angle. My turn! In a counterattack, I struck the high-rank Ancestor¡¯s back with the shaft of my spear, shattering his aura armor and breaking his spine. At the same moment, I impaled the mid-rank Ancestor with the flaming spear and detonated it.


    Two bodies fell like sacks to the ground. The remaining five Ancestors formed a defensive line, clearly intending to wear me down while staying on defense.


    ¡°Boring!¡±


    I lunged at their formation and delivered a horizontal slash, putting my full strength into it. Their aura-enhanced shields shattered like wood. Three lower-rank Battle Ancestors were sent flying downwards, their limbs crushed from holding the shields.


    ¡°Is that all?! This is boring!¡±


    The two remaining Ancestors stood shoulder to shoulder. I had broken their shields, and they didn¡¯t bother summoning new ones, realizing their futility.


    ¡°Come on already!¡± the older one shouted.


    I could hear and see the helplessness in him. It felt like kicking a dying dog¡­ Not fun at all.


    I lowered my spear.


    ¡°You¡¯re boring.¡±


    ¡°We concede.¡±


    I stowed my spear and descended to the ground. The six Ancestors had already regrouped, nearly fully recovered thanks to their pills. The two who had surrendered joined them.


    ¡°Thank you, Aney, for keeping your word and following the rules!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I never break my word.¡±


    An awkward silence followed.


    ¡°So, should we head back, or do you want another round?¡±


    ¡°No, one was more than enough!¡± they answered a little too quickly.


    ¡°Aney!¡± one of them called as we approached the capital. ¡°You¡¯re definitely not weaker than Kruk¡ªnow I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    I just waved my hand and sped up.


    I was disappointed. Maybe I had too high expectations for this fight, which left me in a bad mood. Honestly, those Ancestors held out much better than my puppets but far worse than I had hoped.


    Shaking my head, I returned to the hotel.


    The team greeted me noisily in the lobby.


    ¡°Guys! I settled everything¡ªthe disqualification is canceled. Tomorrow, we fight against Lygote! Rector? Guys, where the hell is the rector?¡±


    Everyone looked around. Indeed, Raman was nowhere to be seen. I was just about to search for his aura when he walked through the door.


    ¡°Rector, where were you? You know we have a fight tomorrow, right?¡±


    ¡°Heh-heh-heh,¡± Raman ignored my words. ¡°My dear students, do you know what I have here?¡±


    What was this old fox up to?


    ¡°In my hands,¡± he raised a glass orb, ¡°I have a recording of your captain¡¯s fight against eight Battle Ancestors!¡±


    ¡°Rector!¡± I groaned.


    ¡°Whaaaaaat? Let¡¯s watch it!¡± everyone shouted.


    ¡°Just like that? Oh no, my dears¡­ Ten gold coins per head. One showing only!¡±


    Damn old money-grubber!


    The team surrounded the rector and followed him upstairs. Naturally, I went after them.


    In the room, the rector carefully collected money from everyone before placing the orb in the center and casting an unfamiliar spell. A bright point of light appeared in the air, instantly transforming into a three-dimensional battle scene, complete with sound.


    ¡°Rector,¡± Irgen stated, ¡°this recording is less than a minute long, and you charged us ten gold each for it?¡±


    ¡°This is the full battle recording. If you think it¡¯s too short, take your complaints to your captain. He could have dragged it out longer¡­ But I¡¯m not giving any refunds!¡±


    Screw all of you. I left for my room.


    Late at night, Irgen came in. I was lying on the bed with my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. I didn¡¯t feel like talking. Besides, I had my suspicions¡ªthis long-eared schemer had probably come up with some mischief again and wanted to involve me in her plan.


    She lay down beside me and, after a while, began running her hand over my chest and stomach.


    Ah, so that was her plan.


    Fine, whatever¡­


    I pulled her close and kissed her.


    ¡°I am your shadow, Captain!¡±

 Chapter Twelve

    The next morning, everyone slowly gathered in the foyer. The decisive day had arrived; today, it would become clear which academy was the best in the kingdom of Lygote. Everyone understood that because of my plan, this battle would be difficult, but no one was afraid.


    We left the hotel and headed to the academy. The crowd around us recognized us and parted to make way. We had suddenly become famous. At the academy gates, the rector¡¯s secretary met us again and led us to the arena. I sat in the stands with the rector.


    I carefully examined everyone present. The atmosphere above the arena was oppressive. Were they expecting a repeat of yesterday? That made sense, considering that the majority of the spectators were students of this academy.


    The judge appeared above the arena. He had been patched up quite well over the past day; the consequences of yesterday¡¯s beating were barely noticeable.


    ¡°Dear guests and tournament participants! First of all, I want to apologize for my mistake in attempting to disqualify the Matan Academy team! I have spent some time reviewing the tournament rules and have concluded that they were not violated in any way!¡±


    Oh, really? Yesterday, the whole city saw you reviewing them with your teeth, you bastard.


    ¡°Therefore, I would now like to invite the Matan team to this arena and congratulate them on their victory in yesterday¡¯s match! Please!¡±


    He gestured toward the doors, which immediately swung open, and my team appeared in the arena.


    ¡°Applause, please, for our winners!¡±


    Sparse applause came from the stands. Damn, that was so humiliating that I clenched my fists in powerless rage. I couldn¡¯t even imagine what my teammates were feeling at that moment. I looked at their faces. Anger and confusion.


    ¡°And now, I invite your opponents for today, the Lygote Academy team!¡±


    The doors opened, but no one rushed out. The pause dragged on, and some spectators began turning their heads, trying to understand what was happening. Finally, a student ran out and, stopping at the center of the arena, loudly declared:


    ¡°The Lygote Magical Academy team concedes defeat!¡±


    Then he quickly ran back.


    I jumped to my feet. I had not expected such a blatant slap in the face.


    ¡°Youuu!¡­¡± I had no words.


    Raman grabbed my arm and surrounded me with a magical barrier, wisely deciding that I was about to start smashing everything around me. And that almost happened.


    This was the height of humiliation. They didn¡¯t even step onto the arena to properly refuse the fight¡ªthey sent some¡­ brat instead! And what about my plan? I hadn¡¯t slept at night, analyzing all possible details and consequences! And where was all that now? Damn it! I needed a new strategy for the battles in the Empire! Under pressure from the rector, I sat back down.


    ¡°Well then, in that case, I declare the Matan Academy team the winners of the Northern Empire¡¯s magical tournament qualifiers in the kingdom of Lygote! We look forward to seeing you in the Imperial capital in two months! Dear spectators and guests, give a round of applause for the winners!¡±


    Once again, sparse applause echoed from the stands. Damn, I almost burned this place to the ground!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Raman patted me on the shoulder.


    I silently got up and followed him out. To hell with all of it.


    We returned to the hotel in a less-than-good mood.


    ¡°So, what do we do next?¡± Raman asked as we occupied the foyer.


    ¡°There are different options. We can leave for the Empire right now or return to Matan for a week or two and then travel from there,¡± someone added.


    ¡°Or we can just forget about these competitions and let them all go to hell,¡± I finished.


    ¡°Captain?!¡±


    The team didn¡¯t understand me. I silently went to my room. Everything had fallen apart, and I didn¡¯t know what to do about it.


    ¡°Captain,¡± Irgen scratched at my door. ¡°We¡¯re going to dinner together. Are you coming?¡±


    I gathered the magic books that I had surrounded myself with in bed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    We entered the restaurant where, not so long ago, we had cleaned out another team down to their last coin. At least one pleasant memory from this trip.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to make a decision,¡± Raman raised the topic again as dinner neared its end. ¡°I¡¯ll hear all proposals and make a decision.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go to the Empire. I¡¯ve never been there before¡­¡± Irgen spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯m for that too,¡± Gras supported her.


    ¡°And I agree,¡± Mara added.


    Almost all the team members voted for a direct journey to the Empire. No one was interested in returning home for a week just to extend the trip by a few more weeks. Besides, we didn¡¯t know if the road back was safe¡ªno one wanted another dose of poison. And as for dropping out of the tournament, as I had suggested, no one wanted that at all. My proposal turned out to be almost marginal.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I summed up. ¡°The Empire it is. But on two conditions: first, we take an airship because it¡¯s faster¡ªno slow land travel. And second, we clear dungeons along the way! Only on these conditions do I remain the team captain.¡±


    A brief silence followed.


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± Irgen shouted.


    ¡°The conditions are better than I expected,¡± the rector said.


    Everyone nodded in agreement. It seemed the team had regained its unity and excitement.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, tomorrow is a day for preparation and supplies. We depart the day after¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t finish because I suddenly sensed the hidden aura of a High-Rank Battle Ancestor near the door. Raman and I turned toward it at the same time.


    An old man with a long white beard dressed in black.


    I frowned. He reeked of the church.


    ¡°¡­morning,¡± I finished my interrupted thought.


    My instincts didn¡¯t deceive me¡ªthe old man was heading straight for me.


    ¡°Aney, can we speak in private? If you don¡¯t know, I am Lyric, a bishop of the Church of the White Twins in the kingdom of Lygote.¡±


    Alright, I¡¯d hear what the head priest of the kingdom wanted. I stood up and moved to a nearby table, gesturing for him to sit. Lyric covered us with an aura.


    ¡°So, to what do I owe the honor?¡±


    ¡°Aney, I have not come as an enemy.¡±


    ¡°And what, am I supposed to shed tears of gratitude?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that¡­¡±


    ¡°Lyric, let¡¯s be honest¡ªevery time churchmen in Lygote approach me, they try to kill me, even though there is no conflict between us. So tell me, why should I believe your words?¡±


    ¡°I admit, you have a conflict with the church, but you must understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Understand who?¡± I interrupted the bishop. ¡°Murderers and torturers who don¡¯t hesitate to sacrifice innocent citizens for their own power? You should be grateful I haven¡¯t wiped out your dens in every city, town, or even abandoned village in this kingdom¡ªor anywhere else I can reach!¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Lyric tapped his fingers on the table. The conversation was clearly not going as he had planned.


    ¡°Aney, believe me, not all of us are like that. The Church of the White Twins does a lot of good for the continent!¡±


    I leaned toward him, looking into his gray, time-faded eyes.


    ¡°When someone shoves a barrel of filth under my nose and claims there are a few diamonds inside, does that mean I should roll up my sleeves and start digging through it?¡±


    ¡°Aney!¡±


    ¡°Besides, I suspect the church is behind the mass murder of people on the road between Matan and Lygote! But I have no proof yet.¡±


    Lyric stood up.


    ¡°Aney, you are clearly crossing the line right now!¡±


    ¡°Sit down, Lirik, while I¡¯m still patient. Don¡¯t give me any of your old-man antics here.¡±


    The old man sat down.


    ¡°Aney, the church is not to blame for the tragedy on the road, I give you my word, as I personally conducted the investigation. I must thank you for burning the source of the poison¡¯s spread, though you also destroyed all traces of the culprits.¡±


    ¡°There were no traces.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There were no traces at all. Do you take me for a fool, incapable of sensing an aura?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it could only be¡­¡±


    ¡°An Archmage or a God of War of the highest rank, or someone even stronger. The list of candidates isn¡¯t that big, is it?¡±


    ¡°Tell me, how did you and your people neutralize the poison?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m just temporarily suppressing the effects with medicine. The Healers¡¯ Guild has a sample, it won¡¯t be hard for you to reproduce the formula. Is that all?¡±


    Lirik shook his head thoughtfully.


    ¡°Aney, about the reason I came here.¡±


    ¡°Just say it already.¡±


    ¡°The church has legitimate concerns that you have become too much for the kingdom. It¡¯s time for you to leave and go to the Empire. We¡¯re not forcing you to pick a specific one¡ªNorth, South, East, West, or even the Central Empire¡ªgo wherever you please. But the path to the principalities and kingdoms of the continent is closed to you, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Cleric, it¡¯s neither you nor your church who decides that.¡±


    ¡°Aney, the church insists on this. Think about whether you and your friends can withstand the consequences of refusing to comply.¡±


    I leaned toward Lirik and hissed in his face.


    ¡°If a single hair falls from the heads of my acquaintances or friends, I will personally gut every holy man in this kingdom like a fish. And no God of War  will stop me. So think about whether the church can handle the consequences of threatening me.¡±


    ¡°If I were you, Aney, I wouldn¡¯t make such threats so carelessly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in my place, old man. And you never will be. Now that¡¯s it, the conversation is over, it¡¯s time for you to leave.¡±


    The old man left in silence. Let him roll away, damned zealot. I turned back to my team at the table.


    ¡°Everything alright, Captain?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, our plans remain unchanged. Prepare for departure the morning after tomorrow!¡±


    The entire next day, I wandered through restaurants, buying an absurd amount of ready-made meals along with tableware, sending everything straight into storage. The lesson I had learned from the Vangan dungeon, where I had lived on little more than mana for over two years, was clear¡ªdelicious food is the key to a good mood, even for a Battle Ancestor.


    The next day, since flying ships were prohibited from taking off over the city, we had to travel by gah for nearly two hours to reach the outskirts. Finally, after passing the gates, we found a suitable clearing for takeoff. Everyone disembarked and grabbed their belongings, after which Raman stored the transport in the vault. I pulled out the flying ship. My team had seen it before, but for the rector, it was a first.


    ¡°Wow!¡± He stepped up and patted the wooden hull. ¡°She¡¯s a beauty!¡±


    ¡°I agree with you, Rector!¡±


    I jumped onto the stern and lowered the gangway so everyone could board.


    ¡°Get settled while I prepare the ship for flight.¡±


    Descending into the cabin, I removed the casing from the power device near the stairs and pulled out two sixth-class cores, replacing them with seventh-class ones. After completing this simple task, I returned to the cockpit, placed my hand on the artificial horizon device, and activated the ship¡¯s navigation system with my aura.


    Nearby, numerous instrument indicators lit up in the air. Well, I practically knew the manual by heart by now, so I shifted the wing deployment slider into the green zone. With a quiet hiss, four pairs of semi-transparent mesh wings, previously folded along the sides, extended perpendicularly to the ship¡¯s axis and assumed a takeoff position. I moved the lift-off slider, and the wings began to oscillate vertically with a low amplitude. The ship slowly lifted off the ground by about ten meters.


    ¡°Yahoo!¡± I shouted.


    This was fun! A map of the continent lit up above the artificial horizon device. I selected a point on the border between the Kingdom of Lygote and the Empire, then placed my hand back on the artificial horizon device and set a positive pitch angle.


    The ship¡¯s nose tilted upward slightly, and I moved the speed slider to the fifty-kilometer-per-hour mark. The ship surged forward and upward, slowly gaining altitude. At seven hundred meters, after checking the map to ensure there were no high obstacles in our path, I adjusted the pitch angle back to neutral, bringing the nose level with the horizon.


    The airflow at this speed felt uncomfortable, so I reduced it to thirty-five kilometers per hour. That was just right! Now, all that remained was to turn the key to automatic flight mode, and the ship would take us to the destination I had set on the map.


    I seemed to have done everything according to the manual. Or had I? Something was nagging at me, making me feel like I had forgotten something. I peeked out from the cockpit toward the stern. No, the gangway was retracted¡­ Damn it, the cabins! I had forgotten to claim a cabin! There were only four double cabins, and there were twelve of us on board!


    I rushed down to the main cabin, where narrow doors led to the fore and aft sleeping quarters. Quickly glancing around, I tried to determine if any beds were still unoccupied.


    ¡°Captain!¡± Irgen waved at me. ¡°I picked out a cabin for us!¡±


    Us?! She pointed at the door to the left at the stern.


    ¡°Are we going to sleep together now?¡± I stepped in close to her.


    ¡°And what, are you against it?¡±


    Her long ears turned red.


    ¡°Did I say that?¡±


    The people around pretended not to hear us.


    An hour later, everyone had found a place to settle in for the long journey. Four of us, those who were left without cabins, set up folding beds in the common room next to the galley. They joked that at night they loved snacking anyway. I agreed¡ªonly Raman among them wasn¡¯t overweight. The other three could use some slimming down.


    We finally gathered on the cockpit for a meeting.


    ¡°Rector, what do you think? Should we head to the nearest dungeon in the Empire, or do you know which one is best?¡±


    Raman approached the map.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard much about them, but with your gold badge, we won¡¯t be able to take everyone into a dungeon in the Empire. Each person needs to obtain an adventurer¡¯s mark from the guild¡ªthat¡¯s the rule. So we need to go here!¡±


    He pointed at a spot on the map. The city of Zrakal. I adjusted the course. The automatic navigation system indicated that it would take us nearly two days to get there. Fine, we didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Folks, none of you are against registering as adventurers, right?¡± I asked loudly.


    ¡°No, captain!¡±


    ¡°Golllld¡­¡± Irgen licked her lips.


    Holy hedgehogs, she really was obsessed with money¡­


    ¡°Alright! Then now you split into groups and study your future opponents!¡±


    I pulled out the first four volumes of the Monster Encyclopedia and handed them over. The rector flipped through one with interest, then persistently searched for the author¡¯s name. A wasted effort¡ªI had already read them all, and there was nothing there.


    ¡°What an interesting edition, Aney. Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°A friend, an adventurer, gave it to me a long time ago. Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very valuable thing. Some of the monsters in this book¡ªI¡¯ve never even heard of them. May I make copies?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. As long as it¡¯s for a good cause.¡±


    Raman gathered everyone, and they went down to the common room, leaving me alone with Irgen, who had already studied everything earlier. She quickly sat on my lap and hugged me around the neck.


    ¡°This is nice¡­ Flying like this forever¡­ through the sky¡­¡±


    I brushed her white hair away from my face.


    ¡°Forever won¡¯t work, but we¡¯ll be flying a lot, I promise.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on¡­ Captain! You ruined such a moment!¡±


    She stood up and walked to the railing, gazing at the endless fields below.


    ¡°I¡¯m a pragmatist. Nothing can be done about that.¡±


    I walked up behind her and leaned in, pressing her against the railing.


    ¡°Ghkh! Idiot, you¡¯re heavy!¡±


    Irgen broke free, laughing.


    ¡°You¡¯ll press me at night!¡±


    With those words, she ran down to the team.


    I took a deep breath and spread my search sense over hundreds of kilometers around. Hundreds of thousands of auras. Mostly ordinary people, with occasional first- to third-class monsters or weak warriors¡­ One might think we were flying over the Atun Principality, but with every hour, we were getting closer to the borders of the Northern Empire¡ªone of the five formidable powers of the continent.


    An hour later, Raman came up to me.


    ¡°This time, I¡¯m going into the dungeon with you. Don¡¯t you dare leave me behind like last time! Or do you think a rector of a provincial magic academy doesn¡¯t need money?¡±


    The old fox, but you refused to come with us for training last time yourself¡­


    ¡°Alright, Rector, we won¡¯t turn down your help. Though, honestly, why does a rector need money?¡±


    ¡°Are you mocking me? Ugh¡­¡± He sat on the bench, resting his hand on the ship¡¯s railing. ¡°Do you think, after all the expenses, the rector has a lot of money left? Do you even know how much it costs to maintain the academy for a year?! And you can¡¯t raise tuition in Matana¡ªit¡¯s not a rich capital city¡­ I need at least two or three hundred thousand just to renovate old buildings and buy new magical devices for the learning process¡­ With that, the quality of our academy¡¯s graduates would skyrocket!¡±


    ¡°Well, if everything goes according to my plan, two to three hundred thousand gold per team member is just one or two dungeon raids.¡±


    ¡°Really? What class of monsters are you planning to hunt?¡±


    ¡°Third and fourth.¡±


    The rector nodded quietly to himself.


    ¡°A class of monsters not too difficult for our team, but for such earnings, it would take months or even years of hunting¡­¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I have a great way to make all the monsters of the level attack us at once.¡±


    Raman looked at me intently.


    ¡°You never stop surprising me, Aney!¡±


    ¡°But, Rector, this won¡¯t be for free.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡°You will explain to me the theory of sixth and especially seventh-circle magic. In a way that I understand. No matter how long it takes.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    We shook hands.


    Yes! Seventh-circle magic¡ªthat which scared me. I remembered the barrier between the third and fourth circles and how hard it had been for me. So I strongly doubted I could overcome the barrier between the sixth and seventh circle on my own. But with Raman¡¯s help, it was more than possible!


    I was lying in bed after a delicious dinner, thinking about my study plan with the rector when Irgen straddled me and pulled off her shirt.


    ¡°And you were so persistent a few hours ago in the cockpit, pressing the poor half-elf so passionately¡­ And where is all that now? Chickened out?¡±


    I wrapped us in an aura cocoon and threw her onto the bed, pinning her down.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll press you so hard now, you¡¯ll only be able to squeak!¡±


    By the afternoon of the next day, we were approaching the border of the Northern Empire.


    ¡°Has any of you been to the Empire before?¡± I asked the team.


    ¡°I studied the highest magic in the Tower for ten years,¡± Raman replied. ¡°But I don¡¯t know much about the Empire itself. Mage Towers, how should I put it¡­ they live their own lives, separate from the affairs of the Empire. So you could say this is my first time here too.¡±


    Several auras of mid- and high-level Battle Masters were approaching us.


    ¡°That¡¯s the border patrol,¡± Raman said.

 Chapter Thirteen

    Battle Masters on fourth-class flying monsters approached the boat and asked where we were headed. After listening to Raman¡¯s response, they took imprints of our auras and flew away. The path was clear, so we continued our flight.


    Late at night, we saw the lights of the city of Zrakal on the horizon. Flying over any city of the Empire was prohibited, so we landed a few kilometers from the city walls and decided to spend the night on the boat rather than look for an inn for just one night.


    In the morning, we switched to a gah and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    Zrakal was significantly larger than Matan, though still smaller than the kingdom¡¯s capital. Here, too, many magical machines and devices were used in the city¡¯s infrastructure, such as street lighting, traffic regulation, and even public transportation. Bright advertising and informational projections flickered everywhere on the streets, inviting citizens to work or spend their leisure time at local entertainment establishments.


    It all seemed strange to us, as we had seen nothing like this in Matan. Indeed, the Empire even differed in its pace of life, being far ahead of the kingdom. At the entrance to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I checked the auras of those present and the building itself.


    There were many powerful warriors and mages, among them several high-degree Battle Ancestors. We stepped inside.


    The main difference from the Vangan Guild was the large number of beastkin adventurers, and not only among warriors¡ªI also noticed several beastkin mages.


    Interesting. Until now, I had thought such did not exist.


    We quickly approached the information counter and asked to register as adventurers. The guild officer handed out forms. I refused mine, simply showing my golden plaque.


    After reviewing the collected forms, the officer asked the team members to confirm the number of their magic circles.


    The first was the Rector. He cupped his palms, and within them, seven interwoven magic circles ignited. The officer stamped a confirmation on the paper card and inserted it into a device, which, after a few seconds, produced a silver adventurer plaque.


    Strange. Given the Rector¡¯s strength, I had thought it would be gold. Are the requirements higher in the Empire?


    The process continued in a similar manner¡ªthe team members took turns displaying their circles and receiving their certificates.


    Overall, it began to feel like a conveyor belt¡ªI saw visitors at nearby counters also receiving new silver and bronze plaques.


    How many people register here per day? A hundred? More? For a multimillion-person city, this is a massive number. Where do all these adventurers go?


    For example, the entire guild of the Principality of Atun, which was wiped out, had only a little over forty members at full strength. Could there really be thousands or even tens of thousands here?


    Damn, with such numbers, the dungeons here should be empty.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I asked the officer, ¡°can you tell me if there are any rules for entering the dungeon? Or, for example, a limit on hunting monsters in it?¡±


    He looked at me like I was an idiot. A provincial¡­ all these newcomers¡­


    ¡°No, nothing like that. Whatever you kill is yours.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    We stepped outside.


    ¡°Something bothering you?¡± the Rector asked me.


    ¡°Yes, a little. To me, there are too many adventurers here. The dungeons can¡¯t generate enough monsters for everyone. Maybe they¡¯re hunting something else in the dungeon, so please, be careful.¡±


    Everyone turned serious.


    ¡°Captain, are you saying that conflicts between teams over loot are possible in the dungeon?¡± Gras asked me.


    Look at that, how perceptive.


    ¡°I have reason to suspect so.¡±


    We boarded the gah and set off toward the dungeon, which was located not far from the city.


    On the way, we encountered both lone adventurers and entire groups, though their numbers were not as high as I had expected.


    At the entrance, the guards checked our plaques and let us in. Unlike the dungeons I had been to before, this one had a forested area right from the first level. Strange, since in Vangan, adventurers had told me that all dungeons on the continent had a similar structure.


    Another difference was that the distances between transitions were significantly shorter¡ªnot more than a kilometer.


    I spread my senses to determine the number and strength of the monsters around us. Only first-class, and in vast numbers. Along with the monsters¡¯ auras on this level, I sensed the auras of several dozen people.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s just first-class here.¡±


    We kept descending¡ªI wanted to find a level where there were roughly equal numbers of third- and fourth-class monsters.


    We stopped on the twelfth level, where I sensed over a million monster auras matching my criteria.


    ¡°Alright, folks, let¡¯s move a few kilometers to the side and begin. I assume you¡¯ve all studied the weak points of monsters of this class, so there shouldn¡¯t be any issues with eliminating them.


    Don¡¯t just fire indiscriminately¡ªtry to aim so that each strike kills at least one monster.


    You¡¯re all fifth, sixth, and even seventh-circle mages, meaning you¡¯re at least two classes above these creatures.¡±


    I could see they were ready.


    Finally, I stopped and looked around.


    We stood on a rocky hill overlooking a vast, forested plain.


    A perfect spot.


    I checked the surrounding auras again.


    There were a few human ones, but they were dozens of kilometers away, so I wasn¡¯t worried about affecting them.


    ¡°Tell me when you¡¯re ready, and I¡¯ll summon a wave of monsters on us.¡±


    ¡°Aney,¡± the Rector smiled, ¡°watch closely¡ªnow you¡¯ll see what a seventh-circle mage is truly capable of!


    Dear students, please give me five minutes to prepare, after which you need only observe.¡±


    Wow, bold statement.


    ¡°Rector, just not your asteroids, please! We won¡¯t find a single core left!¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aney, asteroids are sixth-circle spells. Now, with so many enemies, I¡¯ll have to use seventh-circle spells!¡±


    So, when I sparred with him, he wasn¡¯t fighting at full strength?


    ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡± Irgen gave the command.


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    I flew into the air above them and sent a few drops of my blood into the sky. When they disappeared into the swarm of insects, I removed the aura shell from them, causing a massive sphere of fire to bloom above our heads. Within a second, all the insects in the sky fell down, revealing our location to the monsters. They all immediately turned their heads in our direction. There were three types of monsters on this level.


    Ummus ¨C a large, shaggy beast covered in gray fur, which also served as protection. Somewhat clumsy in everyday behavior, it was a strong opponent in battle due to its brute strength and sharp, hook-like claws on long limbs. This creature was of the fourth class and could even stand against a third-class warrior of medium rank.


    Tamar ¨C a nimble, small fourth-class monster that preferred to live in trees and hunt prey from above. Physically not very strong, but incredibly fast.


    Musi ¨C similar to Tamar but much smaller in size. Some believed that Tamar was an evolved form of Musi, but that was a false assumption; they were completely different species.


    And so, the entire horde simultaneously launched an attack on us from all corners of the level, even the most distant ones. My team created several rings of obstacles around our hill using spells of wood, earth, and metal elements. The first wave of monsters, numbering several tens of thousands, mostly perished upon them, but a second, even larger wave was approaching from behind.


    Meanwhile, the Rector also rose into the air, closing his eyes and spreading his arms. White sparks began flying in various trajectories around him, leaving a luminous trail in the air. It looked as if he was painting¡­ a sketch?


    Meanwhile, the battle below raged on¡ªdozens of wind, ice, fire, and steel blades sliced through the monster hordes like a hot knife through butter, killing hundreds of creatures every second as they relentlessly tried to reach the top of the hill and tear us apart.


    The slopes around us became shrouded in a bloody mist, drowning in the constant roar of dying creatures. A fragile moment of equilibrium arrived¡ªwhile the mages couldn¡¯t completely clear the hill of the constantly arriving monsters, the creatures themselves also couldn¡¯t reach the peak where we stood. Just in case, I prepared to release my puppets if the team couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure of the beasts.


    Suddenly, the space around the Rector began to change. The glowing trails of sparks around him grew denser, forming the outlines of a giant flower with seven petals, with Raman himself at its center. The denser the patterns on the petals became, the more the flower opened, lifting the Rector upwards with its central part.


    As the pattern neared completion, the sparks dimmed and returned to the Rector. When the dense, three-dimensional ornament was finally finished, the petals unfolded parallel to the ground, and above each of them appeared large, seven-layered magical seals of steel-gray color.


    It looked so fantastically beautiful that I completely stopped paying attention to the monsters. The flower slowly began to rotate in the air, and between the seven groups of magical seals hovering above its petals, lightning discharges appeared. Within seconds, these thin streams grew into full-fledged rivers of thick electric arcs.


    Raman opened his eyes, which shone with lightning, possibly even brighter than his magical seal, and scanned the battlefield. He turned his palm toward the advancing monsters, and from his magical seal, with incredible speed and the thunderous sound of space being torn apart, thousands of small, sharp steel cones shot out, each finding its target. The moment one of these cones pierced a monster¡¯s body, an explosion followed, reducing the creature to dust.


    What power! Within a minute, tens of thousands of monsters had been turned into a bloody mist hanging in the air, but the Rector didn¡¯t stop. Pointing his palms around him, he continued directing his attacks farther and farther away, expanding the area of destruction for kilometers!


    Damn! I was amazed¡ªseventh-circle mages were far beyond what I had imagined. My fifth-circle Inferno was nothing but child¡¯s play. Within ten minutes, I could no longer sense a single monster aura on the entire level.


    Weapons of mass destruction. Seventh-circle mages were damn weapons of mass destruction. No ordinary human army, which usually consisted of warriors and Battle Masters, could withstand such firepower.


    The flower beneath Raman began to slow its rotation and eventually stopped, then disintegrated into thousands of bright sparks that slowly faded as they fell to the ground. After the last one disappeared, the Rector descended to the earth. Firefly-like insects leisurely rose toward the black sky.


    ¡°That was incredible, Rector!¡± I was the first to exclaim.


    ¡°Huuuu,¡± he exhaled. ¡°Now you¡¯ve seen what the highest-circle mages are capable of, and why they are considered the decisive factor in wars.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand much better now¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste time,¡± Raman said with a wide grin. ¡°Time to collect the cores!¡±


    This time, I released all my puppets to help, so within an hour, all the cores were piled up high in the center of our team.


    ¡°Whoa! These are seventh-class puppets!¡±


    ¡°Captain, where did you get such luxury? They¡¯re not even sold in the kingdom!¡±


    ¡°Aney, I don¡¯t want a sixth-class puppet; I want a seventh-class one!¡±


    Ignore them, just ignore them¡­


    ¡°One million one hundred sixty thousand and eight cores.¡±


    With my aura, I divided the pile into eleven equal parts, considering the class of the cores as well, and handed each person their share, keeping only two third-class cores and one fourth-class core for myself.


    ¡°In the end, that¡¯s one hundred five thousand four hundred fifty-five cores per person.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re mistaken. There are twelve of us,¡± the Rector said.


    ¡°No matter. Better give me a day¡¯s time and wait for me here.¡±


    ¡°You want to go down?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t shake the feeling that something is off about this dungeon. I hope I can find an answer below.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but let¡¯s get out of this bloody swamp first.¡±


    We moved a good ten kilometers away from the battlefield and set up camp. Once again, I released fifty puppets with orders to guard. No one but the God of War would dare to attack such a force.


    ¡°One day!¡± I said again and rushed toward the passage leading down.


    I couldn¡¯t clearly say what was bothering me. The absence of plains on the first floors? The abundance of monsters despite the number of adventurers in the dungeon? Maybe yes, maybe no.


    I covered the distances between transitions in just a few seconds. On some levels, I stopped briefly to assess the strength of the monsters there.


    Fifteenth level ¨C the main mass of monsters were fifth class.


    Eighteenth level ¨C sixth class.


    Twenty-first level ¨C seventh class.


    Twenty-fourth level ¨C eighth class.


    From the twenty-fifth level onward, I moved between transitions more cautiously, as there was a high probability of encountering a ninth-class monster, and I didn¡¯t really want to fight one right now. I first sensed such a monster on the twenty-sixth level, but it was far away, so I easily moved to the level below.


    As I continued descending, I approached the transition exit cautiously, carefully scanning the area around me. I was lucky and reached the transition from the thirty-first level¡ªwhere I couldn¡¯t even roughly measure the monsters¡¯ auras¡ªto the thirty-second level without any incidents.


    I carefully approached the exit. On this level, the sky no longer shone with yellow-orange light but merely glowed dimly. And there was no aura of any monsters¡ªthe level was completely empty. I stepped outside. As far as the eye could see, there was a vast, smooth, black stone surface.


    I crouched down and ran my hand over it¡ªstone, polished as if it had been sanded, without a single bump or crack. I hadn¡¯t expected this. I looked toward where the transition to the lower level should have been, but it wasn¡¯t there. I walked in that direction and soon noticed a low hill covered in a web of fine cracks. How strange¡ªright here, in this very spot, the transition was supposed to be.


    I sharpened my senses and tried to peer into the depths of the stone. Darkness¡­ darkness¡­ and then suddenly, the stone shifted, and I saw something familiar several meters deep. I covered my fist with aura and struck the hill with all my strength. The black stone shattered like a husk, and beneath it, I saw a familiar gray surface covered in strange runes.


    There was no mistake¡ªtwo identical gray cubes were already lying in my storage! I quickly broke the surrounding black rock, clearing the cube on all sides. Sitting on the edge of the pit I had made, I stared at my discovery for a long time. Damn, this thing looked like a sapling or¡­ a seed?


    A seed from which a dungeon grows? I laughed aloud at the thought. But¡­ it seemed very, very logical! And it could very well be the only correct answer. I approached the gray block and placed my hand on it. Solid gray stone¡ªexcept for the bones in my right hand, which were covered in a web of green veins.


    So, here was the pair to the one lying in my storage. For a moment, I froze. If my guess was correct, and these stones were dungeon seeds, then someone had tried to destroy Matan by creating a dungeon full of monsters in its place? Meaning my previous conclusion¡ªthat the God of War had placed the stone on my teacher¡¯s house out of personal revenge¡ªwas wrong? And he had actually intended to destroy the entire city where my teacher had lived for so many years?


    Well, bastard, I¡¯ve memorized your aura well.


    I tried to store the stone in my storage, but it only trembled slightly and wouldn¡¯t move. Hm. I pressed both hands against it and attempted to shift it. Slowly, it began to move, but something seemed to be holding it back, pulling it back into place¡ªlike¡­ roots?


    I pressed with all my strength until the black rock beneath my feet began to crack and crumble. I reinforced it with my aura and increased the pressure. Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched sound echoed across the level, like a thin string snapping, and in the same instant, the gray cube flew to the side.


    And in the place where it had stood, a hole appeared¡ªbeneath it flowed a river of liquid mana, a perfect twin of the one beneath the Vangan dungeon.


    Oh ho ho! What a discovery!


    I quickly stored the stone and, forming mana circles with absorption runes around me, jumped into the river of mana. Oh, my dear, how I had longed to swim in you again!


    Enjoying the absorption of such pure mana, I closed my eyes¡­ The best sensation of my life. I observed as my internal organs slowly changed, replacing their native cells with new ones, built entirely from pure mana!


    After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and realized that the hole above me¡ªthe one I had jumped into just moments ago¡ªwas shrinking.


    Damn!


    Like a scalded cat, I shot upward, barely managing to pull my legs out of the hole before it rapidly shrank and disappeared within seconds without a trace.


    That was close!


    I doubted I could have broken through several meters of solid rock while floating in liquid mana.


    I listened to my body.


    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t even a hint of reaching the God of War level, but I had definitely become stronger than I was thirty minutes ago. Much stronger.


    Well, that was still a result.


    I wandered around the thirty-second level for about an hour, watching the hole I had made gradually vanish, then headed for the transition back up.

 Chapter Fourteen.

    I had hoped that the way back would be as simple as the way down, but trouble awaited at the exit to the twenty-ninth level. I praised myself three times for my vigilance because a Hrum¡ªa ninth-class monster¡ªwas positioned right in the middle of the path between the transitions.


    It was a creature the size of a two-story house, resembling a black mass of flesh that maintained a dome-like shape with numerous sharp, vine-like appendages. It had no legs or any other means of movement because it possessed space magic at a very high level.


    The monster encyclopedia stated that killing such a creature was extremely difficult due to its abilities. Typically, raids against them consisted of dozens of high-ranking adventurers, and success depended entirely on whether the hunting party could land a fatal first strike.


    Damn it! The monster was positioned next to a wide fissure from which thick yellow mana mist was rising, and it was slowly devouring it.


    I quietly took two steps back behind the magical protective barrier of the transition. What should I do? I definitely couldn¡¯t pass through to the transition¡ªI¡¯d be skewered the moment I stepped outside. Attacking it wasn¡¯t an option either; I¡¯d likely need several people like me for that.


    I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, hoping that the Hrum would leave on its own once it had absorbed enough mana from the fissure. I began counting the slowly passing minutes, which turned into hours, but the creature showed no intention of leaving.


    The worst part was that the day I had promised the rector was almost over, and knowing their temperament, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if they had already formed a team to search for me in the lower levels.


    Straight to their deaths. No seventh-class puppets, not even if I had left them five hundred of them, would have been able to withstand the monsters of the lower levels.


    Wait a minute¡ªpuppets¡­ It seemed a plan was forming in my mind. A risky one, but still a plan.


    I pulled three puppets from my storage. What had Tot said? They could withstand an eighth-class core for about five minutes before breaking down? Fine, so be it. I just hoped that with the core¡¯s explosion¡­ heh-heh, yes, that was precisely my plan¡ªto blow that bastard to hell.


    I extracted the cores from the puppets¡¯ chests, causing the violet flames in their eyes to extinguish, and quickly installed new ones¡ªeighth-class cores. A rainbow glow ran through the fine grooves of their bodies, their pupils flared to life once more, and the puppets awaited my command. Their steel bodies were compressed with a force that these dolls could barely contain.


    ¡°Kill it!¡± I pointed at the Hrum.


    Three gray shadows spread through the air, shooting toward the creature. Unfortunately, not even my puppets, using my sequential step technique, managed to land a surprise attack. I watched as the monster instantly pierced their bodies through with its sharp, spear-like appendages, several meters long.


    And I had been worrying that the creature might teleport away from my attack, giving me the chance to slip past it to the transition¡­ But it hadn¡¯t even stopped devouring the mana mist.


    However, my puppets weren¡¯t living beings. Feeling no pain from their injuries, they began pulling themselves along the appendages that had skewered them, inching closer to the monster¡¯s body.


    Trying to stop them, the Hrum struck again and again, gradually tearing the metal into shreds. Damn it, at this rate, it would destroy them before the explosion even occurred!


    There was no other choice.


    I activated fourth-circle magic and cast a time-element spell on myself, accelerating by ten percent. Then, I pulled out my old spear, the one Crow had given me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fail me, little one,¡± I whispered to it.


    I began preparing an aura strike, compressing a large amount of energy into the spear¡¯s tip. A tiny black-and-white sun flared up at its point, sending small gray lightning bolts crackling through the air.


    I attacked.


    I was certain that I would take a hit from the Hrum in return. I just hoped it wouldn¡¯t be fatal.


    Still, I had some advantages¡ªmany of its appendages were currently occupied holding back my puppets, who were still slowly crawling toward its body.


    My attack definitely exceeded the speed of sound several times over, but even that wasn¡¯t enough.


    Two of the Hrum¡¯s appendages pierced through me at once¡ªone in the lower abdomen, the other in the thigh.


    I grabbed the appendage sticking out of my stomach with my left hand and, with all my strength, pulled myself closer to the monster.


    Damn, it hurt!


    The appendage was hard and cold, like a two-inch steel pipe, but far stronger than any steel I could crush with my bare hands.


    Holy hedgehogs, give me a little more strength, just half a meter more.


    I gripped the appendage again, pulling myself forward until I reached striking distance.


    ¡°You slept through it all, bastard!¡±


    I drove my spear into its hard body and felt my aura strike penetrate deep inside, flooding nearly a quarter of its mass.


    The moment I detonated it, another appendage pierced me from behind, stabbing through my right lung and exiting through my chest.


    A loud explosion echoed across the twenty-ninth level.


    I was thrown several dozen meters back toward the passage where I had started my attack, along with the monster¡¯s severed appendages still lodged in my body.


    Landing on my back against the hard rock, I watched as a massive, multi-layered magical seal of violet color ignited in the sky above the monster. Like a lilac flower, it bloomed, releasing hundreds of intricate smaller seals along its perimeter.


    It was a breathtaking sight!


    A thin white beam shot from the monster¡¯s body straight into the sky, piercing through the seal. Its mangled mass vanished, taking my shredded puppets with it.


    I quickly swallowed several recovery pills, then sat up and began pulling the multi-meter-long appendages out of my body.


    The only way to remove them was to yank them through my wounds since I couldn¡¯t even cut off a piece¡ªthey were parts of a ninth-class monster, and I simply didn¡¯t have the strength for that.


    My wounds healed instantly under the effects of the pills.


    Twenty minutes. That¡¯s how long I had to process them before they solidified into an unusable form for weapon crafting.


    I drove the spears into the black rocky ground and strung the appendages between them like taut strings.


    Seemed like I made it in time.


    A powerful explosion boomed somewhere in the distance¡ªit had been just over five minutes since my fight with the monster had begun.


    ¡°Hope you¡¯re dead, you bastard!¡± I laughed darkly.


    I took out a sheet of paper and a stylus, then closed my eyes and visualized the magical seal I had just seen, sketching it as precisely as possible.


    This might have been the most valuable thing I had gained from that beast.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Now, all that was left was to clean up¡ªI had spilled quite a bit of my blood on the ground and on the Hrum¡¯s appendages.


    And I had no desire to burn this entire level to the ground.


    I used deep purification magic several times.


    In the end, I managed to collect about three hundred grams of my own blood.


    It might come in handy somewhere, I thought as I carefully sealed the bottle and sent it to my storage.


    That should be everything.


    I flicked one of the taut appendages, enjoying its high-pitched sound, then packed everything away into my ring.


    Time to go back.


    Moving cautiously and watching for any danger, I slowly made my way up to the twenty-fifth level, where I no longer sensed the auras of ninth-class monsters.


    I grinned wickedly¡ªit was time for the dungeon creatures to pay for what had happened below.


    Finding a large pack of eighth-class Gossipers nearby, I attacked them instantly, slaughtering over a hundred in just a minute.


    I remembered how hard it had been to hunt them with the Nine-Tails.


    Now, this hundred cores had come to me almost too easily.


    Feeling satisfied, I resumed my climb.


    I found my team right where I had left them¡ªnone of the monsters that had repopulated the level dared to approach their camp. Even people kept their distance.


    ¡°What?!¡± I reacted to their stares. ¡°Yes, the monsters kicked my ass!¡±


    Some of the team stifled laughter.


    Irgen stepped closer and began poking her hands through the holes in my clothes.


    ¡°That¡¯s not just getting your ass kicked. That¡¯s getting beaten half to death, in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°So who did this to you?¡± the rector asked with interest.


    ¡°A Hrum. Ninth-class monster.¡±


    Roman shook his head.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard of them? Did you find what you were looking for?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, I just have more questions. So, shall we go up?¡±


    I entered one of the tents and changed into fresh clothes. After that, we packed up the camp and began our ascent from the dungeon. We moved swiftly forward until, upon reaching the exit of the fifth level, I sensed more than a hundred auras blocking our path.


    ¡°Rector, please prepare your glass orb for recording and keep it running as long as possible.¡±


    Roman gave a short nod and took out the glass orb. No one blocked the paths between dungeon levels just for fun¡ªthat was something even a child should understand. I stepped forward, leaving the group at the entrance of the passage, and quickly assessed the number and strength of our opponents.


    Sixty mages, fifty Battle Masters, and Battle Ancestors. Quite a decent squad. But I had been in a foul mood ever since that damn chrum beat me up. I rose into the air to get a good view of them and shouted:


    ¡°You have one minute to get out of my way.¡±


    A thunderous laughter erupted from the other side.


    ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t figured out the situation you¡¯re in, boy.¡±


    A bald giant with a red face was approaching me. A high-ranked Battle Ancestor¡ªseemed to be the leader of this gang. Odd¡­ his aura was human, but his appearance was hardly so.


    ¡°I heard your group cleared an entire level. Congratulations, of course, but rules are rules, and taxes must be paid! So, you leave half of your loot here, and you can go freely. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild will even be grateful and offer you its protection.¡±


    ¡°Taxes? The Guild¡¯s protection? So this wasn¡¯t just your dumb idea, but something cooked up by the Guild¡¯s upper ranks¡­ Thirty seconds.¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? If you won¡¯t cooperate, so be it.¡± The red-faced man turned to his squad. ¡°Kill him!¡±


    They shouldn¡¯t have done that.


    I activated magic of all five circles. Noticing this, my team retreated behind the protective barrier of the passage.


    Inferno.


    No need to be gentle¡ªlet them all burn to hell. A dense wave of fire spread out from me in all directions, covering the area far beyond the level transition points.


    The defenseless mages burned so fast they might not have even realized they were dead, their bodies reduced to ash in an instant. The Battle Masters managed to resist the flames for a few seconds, but they too ended up as nothing more than ashes.


    The Battle Ancestors could have escaped the fiery trap¡ªnot unscathed, but they could have. If not for the pressure of my aura, which slowed them down for just a few crucial seconds. I watched as their armor ignited with bright flames, as their eyes burst like soap bubbles, as the charred phalanges of their fingers fell to the ground, and as their final screams of pain tore from their lungs.


    Here¡¯s your tax, scum. Enjoy it.


    My conscience remained silent, for I could only imagine how many people they had robbed and killed in the dungeon. What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon. No one would investigate whether an adventurer died at the claws of a monster or by human hands. And lowlifes like these exploited that fact to the fullest. Well, not anymore.


    I dispelled the magic and returned behind the barrier where my team was waiting. Behind me, the inferno still blazed, turning the stone a glowing red.


    ¡°Grass, please cool the ground, and let¡¯s move on.¡±


    Grass approached the exit and activated sixth-circle water magic¡ªWhite Desert. Frost clashed with the heat, causing the ground to crack and explode, sending tons of black stone flying into the air. When things finally settled and the temperature outside became bearable, we stepped out of the barrier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I was the first to move forward.


    ¡°Captain!¡± I heard Irgen¡¯s voice behind me. ¡°What about the loot?¡±


    I glanced at the charred, jagged landscape around us.


    ¡°Is there anything left to find?¡±


    ¡°Heh-heh, Captain, storage rings are magical items, and those are easy to locate with a simple magic detection spell!¡±


    How could she be this greedy? I looked at the others¡¯ faces. They seemed to support the long-ear¡¯s idea.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I agreed. ¡°But be quick about it!¡±


    ¡°What do you plan to do next?¡± Roman approached me.


    I scratched the back of my head, still unsure myself.


    ¡°You know, I really want to march straight into the Guild and wipe out its entire upper echelon for covering up crimes like this. But I¡¯m already exhausted from this dungeon, so we¡¯ll probably just get as far away from here as possible.¡±


    ¡°Killing that many adventurers will trigger an investigation. They¡¯ll quickly trace it back to you.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll definitely want revenge.¡±


    ¡°Haaaaa¡­ Let them come.¡±


    I watched as my team rummaged through the area, collecting storage rings.


    ¡°Is there a way to spread the recording you made? But cut out the part where I kill them all?¡±


    ¡°That would be pointless. Everyone will say it¡¯s an internal matter of the Guild.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Spineless pieces of crap¡­ Whatever, let it be.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s head straight to another dungeon on the way to the capital, or somewhere nearby.¡±


    ¡°Alright. We have plenty of time before the tournament.¡±


    Meanwhile, the team had gathered nearby. Looking pleased, they dumped all the storage rings into a single bag and handed it to me.


    ¡°Captain¡­¡±


    I shook my head from side to side, refusing.


    ¡°Keep it.¡±


    I was sure it was all just junk. The real loot, the best of it, had already been handed over to their bosses.


    ¡°Give that here, I¡¯ll distribute it myself.¡±


    Roman snatched the bag from their hands.


    ¡°Rector!!!¡±


    We moved forward.


    At the dungeon exit, we showed our plaques to the guards once again. I expected them to be alarmed, but I noticed no signs of it. Were they uninvolved in the robberies, or did they assume we had simply paid our way out? It didn¡¯t matter¡ªlet them stew in their own pot.


    I pulled out the flying boat, and within minutes, our team was high in the sky. I called Ramaan over to the navigation map.


    ¡°Rector, there are two dungeons near our route. One is two and a half thousand kilometers away, the other three. Which one should we choose?¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s stopping us from choosing both?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, Rector, I like your appetite!¡± With these words, I tapped my finger on the nearest dungeon on the map.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go distribute the trophies among the students before they tear me into ten pieces.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t forget our magic lessons either.¡±


    Ramaan went to the common room, while I sank into my thoughts, accompanied by the quiet hum of the wings.


    Gray stone cubes with incomprehensible human remains inside them¡­ Are they truly the seeds from which dungeons sprout? I definitely need to study several of them to be sure.


    And if that¡¯s the case, then what? Just collect them in my storage? I don¡¯t need them, they¡¯re of no use to me¡­ But leaving them as they are¡­ I remembered all too well what these cubes were capable of. No guarantees that lunatic wouldn¡¯t try another genocide.


    So the more I collect, the lower the risk of an entire region being poisoned again. Damn it, but combing through the entire continent for dungeons would take years¡­ Or should I just investigate and collect cubes from the dungeons near Lygote Kingdom and let the rest be someone else¡¯s problem? I grimaced.


    Selfish bastard. It¡¯s not that you care about people¡ªit¡¯s just that you want comfort and peace in the place where you¡¯ve settled your ass. And if millions die somewhere far away, it won¡¯t concern you.


    Ah, Aney, Aney¡­ Don¡¯t pretend to be someone you¡¯re not.


    Irgen came up to the deck.


    She silently moved around, looking down from the right side of the ship, then the left. I gently wrapped my aura around her and sat her down on the bench next to me. That seemed to help¡ªshe no longer ran around the cockpit. I watched her from the corner of my eye, noting the expression on her face and the small movements of her long ears.


    ¡°Why did you decide to stay with me?¡± I suddenly asked, even surprising myself.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve already divided everything down below, so¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I mean in general.¡±


    Irgen lifted her eyes to the sky.


    ¡°Do you want the truth from my heart or the answer people usually want to hear?¡±


    ¡°I like honest people.¡±


    ¡°Because with you, I¡¯ll gain far more than I ever could on my own.¡±


    I remained silent.


    ¡°Disgusting?¡± She tried to catch my gaze.


    ¡°Why would it be? On the contrary¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to understand, but until recently, I was a broke student. The money I could earn wasn¡¯t always enough to even pay for my studies. That¡¯s why I pushed myself to be the first¡­ the best. First in my course, then in the academy. I even became the team captain for that reason. Or did you think I learned household spells just for fun? Not at all¡­ I simply couldn¡¯t afford to shop around with a fat purse like the others¡­¡±


    ¡°Irgen¡­¡±


    ¡°Be quiet!¡±


    ¡°And then you showed up¡­ That¡¯s why I lost my mind when the Rector said you were joining the team. I didn¡¯t want a stranger ruining everything I had worked so hard to build. But your power¡­¡± She smiled. ¡°Power and charisma, that¡¯s what I wanted to see beside me. What gave me the ability to stop worrying about tomorrow, or the day after. I forgave even my broken nose for that¡­ That¡¯s why I¡¯m with you.¡±


    She stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s the whole reason.¡±


    ¡°Irgen¡­¡±


    ¡°No, not now. Think about it, Captain. And I¡­ I am your shadow, remember that.¡±


    The girl left, heading below deck.


    Well, I asked for honesty, and I got it. Is she using me? Without a doubt. But am I against it? It seems that as long as she doesn¡¯t go against my moral principles, then no¡ªI¡¯m not. Everyone uses someone. I, for example, use my teacher¡¯s reputation and people¡¯s fear of him¡ªso who am I to judge others?


    And those words she keeps repeating, ¡°I am your shadow¡±¡­ Maybe they mean something entirely different from what I understand?

 Chapter Fifteen

    She had barely left when Raman climbed into the cockpit.


    ¡°Ready to gnaw at this rock we call magic?¡±


    The mood wasn¡¯t right for this, but I had insisted myself¡­ I shook my head.


    ¡°Always with you, Rector!¡±


    ¡°So, let¡¯s begin with the sixth mana circle. The basic principle of this circle is based on the rules already described in the fourth and fifth circles¡ªprotecting the mage¡¯s body from the backlash of mana from the surrounding reality. However, there is a slight difference due to the more turbulent flows compared to the lower circles, which arise from the low bandwidth capacity of the circle and the high specific energy of sixth-circle spells. That is precisely why mages created a system of equations capable of converting turbulent mana flows into laminar ones, which are easier for the mage¡¯s body to handle and do not cause catastrophic consequences. So, let¡¯s break down the first equation of the system¡­¡±


    We spent the next few hours talking about magic, and by the end of it, I had perfectly understood all the theory behind the sixth circle. Damn, I should have found the opportunity to study with him earlier¡ªon my own, I would have taken weeks to figure this out.


    After he left, I reviewed the books on practical elemental magic that I had. Before engraving sixth-circle spells, I wanted to complete all the elements of the fifth circle, of which I currently had four out of nine. However, I had no books on the magic of time, space, light, darkness, or metal of the fifth circle. Well, in that case, I¡¯d ask the rector and the team tomorrow¡ªmaybe I could gather something¡­


    I climbed out of the cockpit onto the deck and walked to the bow of the ship. It was already night, the sky as black as the earth below us. And just like the stars shone here and there in the sky, so too did the windows of the houses on the ground, where people lived.


    The stars of the earth.


    Sighing, I made a mental note to ask Irgen about the magic search spell. With my magic power and the altitude of our flight, I could find many interesting things¡­ That girl was an encyclopedia of weak but useful spells. I turned and went to my cabin.


    Irgen was already lying in bed, pretending to be asleep. Holy hedgehogs, who was she trying to fool? Besides her rapid heartbeat, I could see her aura flickering like a mad thing. I lay down next to her, and after a while, when I could no longer bear listening to her pounding heart, I turned and lightly bit her ear.


    ¡°So, have you decided?¡± she asked softly.


    ¡°You idiot, what is there to decide?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡­ you¡­ are we together?¡±


    ¡°Do you want it to be otherwise?¡±


    I pulled her closer.


    ¡°Do you really think anyone could be near me against my will?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm! I mean, no, I don¡¯t think so!¡±


    ¡°By the way, Irgen, teach me that magic search spell.¡±


    She abruptly sat up in bed.


    ¡°You! You¡¯re using me too!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± I grabbed her slender waist. ¡°And in different positions, too!¡±


    In the morning, it turned out our mages were starting to starve. I watched for a while as they divided some hardtack among themselves, but then I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°Gentlemen! You are absolute fools, every single one of you!¡±


    ¡°Captain?¡­¡±


    ¡°Who did I give an entire day in the capital to prepare for the journey?¡±


    ¡°But Captain¡­¡±


    ¡°Look, as much as I enjoy watching you suck on your magic staves out of hunger¡ªor each other, if that¡¯s your thing¡ªI can¡¯t allow my squad to lose combat capability due to a forced calorie deficit!¡±


    I began laying out dishes from the restaurants of Lgothe onto the table in the mess hall.


    ¡°Remember this, adventurers: you must always have at least a three-month supply of food in your stores! No one can predict whether a raid or adventure will go as planned. You¡¯re not in the academy anymore! Got it?¡±


    But who was I preaching to here¡­ By the time I finished, their shameless faces were already buried in their bowls.


    ¡°So, do you really think,¡± I hissed, ¡°that all this food is just for you, for free?¡±


    ¡°Then just tell us what you need, Captain!¡± Mara said without looking up from her plate. ¡°We¡¯ll agree to anything!¡±


    ¡°Books! I need books on fifth-circle spells of time, space, light, darkness, and metal. Give me everything you have¡ªI¡¯ll return them later.¡±


    Everyone started rummaging through their storage, and in the end, they handed me two books on light magic and one on metal. That¡¯s it?!


    ¡°Wait, does no one have anything on space or time?¡±


    I looked at Raman.


    ¡°What? I haven¡¯t needed books of that level for several hundred years¡ªwhy would I carry them around?¡±


    Well, fair enough. I took what they gave me and headed to the cockpit.


    ¡°You¡¯ll wash the dishes and return them¡­¡±


    From the books of light magic, I chose the spell of extended vision, which allowed me to see far beyond the horizon, and from the magic of the metal element, I took the spell of metallic dust. By itself, it did not have great destructive power, but when combined with the same fire tornado¡­


    The effect was bound to be spectacular, in both senses of the word. Working on them took me almost a day and a half, which was not that much for two fifth-circle spells.


    Of course, I was a little disappointed that I hadn¡¯t found anything on the elements of space, time, or darkness, but I clearly remembered the rector¡¯s words that the first two elements were not popular at all due to their complexity. Maybe I could find something in the capital of the Empire. They said you could find anything there.


    We were gradually approaching the Kr¨¹ung dungeon. Its peculiarity was that there were no large cities nearby, only a small settlement with a few hotels where adventurers stayed and a dozen small workshops where one could repair armor or weapons.


    ¡°What class of monsters are we hunting this time?¡± I asked the team when we gathered together.


    ¡°Captain, why do we always clear only one level?¡±


    Gras¡¯s question made me think. Really, why? But no, he was picking the wrong fight.


    ¡°Because we are training, not earning money. That¡¯s why I always choose the highest possible level for the team and ignore the easier ones. Does this answer satisfy you?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°But Captain, we wouldn¡¯t mind training on weaker monsters either.¡±


    Laughter rang out from all sides. I looked at the rector, hoping for his support.


    ¡°Aney, really, let the people earn some money. Who knows if they¡¯ll have such an opportunity after the tournament¡­¡±


    Oh, you old fox, you just want to make a profit yourself. Just admit that no one else here knows how to summon a monster wave. Well, my vote was one against eleven, so this wasn¡¯t the time to insist.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just about money, then it¡¯s still much smarter to clear the highest possible level in terms of time-to-core-price ratio. You can calculate it yourselves.¡±


    I tried to appeal to their logic. In the end, my words made sense¡ªbut would they listen?


    ¡°Listen up!¡± Irgen¡¯s voice rang with fury. ¡°The Captain does what¡¯s best for the team! Period! Without him, we wouldn¡¯t even be here, so stop whining and do what the Captain says! Understood?¡±


    No one dared to argue with her. Hmm, effective. Everyone scattered, not really deciding the question I had originally asked. Well, if that¡¯s how it is, then this time it¡¯ll be a pure fourth-class hunt.


    I climbed up to the cockpit, where the rector joined me later.


    ¡°Have you realized your mistake?¡±


    ¡°Mistake?¡± I had no idea what he was talking about.


    ¡°You try to consult with them. That¡¯s not how it works. If you¡¯re the leader, then give orders according to your plans, instead of organizing debates about what strategy the team needs.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstood, Raman. I wasn¡¯t consulting, just wanted to hear their opinions.¡±


    ¡°So, did you hear them? Did it help?¡± He chuckled softly.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°Oh, everything¡¯s wrong. I don¡¯t think you understand how this world works.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. Something¡¯s wrong near the dungeon. There¡¯s not a single living soul around.¡±


    We were almost at the site, and I slowly began lowering the ship.


    ¡°A breakout, maybe that¡¯s it.¡± The rector squinted. ¡°Looks like we shouldn¡¯t land.¡±


    I spread my senses for many kilometers around.


    ¡°No, there are no monsters anywhere. But I also don¡¯t sense any human auras within a ten-kilometer radius.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s just as I said. The breakout is about to happen, so people are fleeing. In an hour, maybe two at most, monsters will emerge from the dungeon. Let¡¯s get out of here¡ªthere¡¯s nothing for us to do.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s unclear? The hunt is canceled.¡±


    ¡°Raman, do I understand correctly that you want to let the monsters break free and start a massacre?¡±


    ¡°Aney, the monsters will break free whether I want it or not. And our team doesn¡¯t have the power to stop them.¡±


    I felt Irgen¡¯s furious aura behind me.


    ¡°Rector, I think we should at least try¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Aney, I will not risk my students, sorry. Very soon, the Gods of War and higher-circle mages will arrive. They¡¯ll take care of everything.¡±


    ¡°Soon? Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°Aney, listen, even with my seventh circle, I can maintain my spell for at most an hour and a half, while a breakout lasts continuously for an entire day. A full day, Aney!¡±


    Damn, he was right. I probably wouldn¡¯t last a day either¡­ Let alone the other team members. I checked for human auras again. Tens of thousands, moving way too slowly. By the time the Empire¡¯s suppression forces arrived, it would be a slaughter. And to just leave it like this¡­


    ¡°Rector, let¡¯s do this. You and the team stay on the ship while I go down. I¡¯ll leave puppets near the entrance to kill any monsters that slip past me. You¡¯ll have to clean up whatever small ones they miss. Agreed? If it gets too hot, leave. Don¡¯t wait for me.¡±


    The ship had already stopped near the entrance, which no one was guarding, and hovered about ten meters in the air.


    ¡°This is the dumbest idea I¡¯ve ever heard in my life, Aney. Even a God of War or an Archmage couldn¡¯t stop such a horde alone.¡±


    ¡°Rector, I¡¯ll hold out as long as I can and then retreat¡ªI¡¯m not planning to throw my life away. But if I last even a few hours, it¡¯ll give thousands of people a chance to escape!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going with you, Captain!¡± Of course, it was Irgen.


    ¡°Shut up, you fool! You¡¯re staying here.¡±


    ¡°But Captain, I¡¯m your¡ª¡±


    I flicked her forehead to make her shut up and stop talking nonsense.


    ¡°Aney! You¡ª!¡± I saw her reddened eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ll only get in my way, understand?¡±


    That look of helplessness. I knew it¡ªI had felt it myself more than once¡­ Irgen ran back to the common room. At this point, she could only be angry at herself and her own weakness.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off?¡± I half-said, half-asked the rector.


    ¡°Good luck to you!¡±


    ¡°Ha! No monster has been born yet that can devour me!¡±


    I jumped down. The visitor log still lay abandoned on the table by the entrance, with a few chairs scattered around. The guards definitely hadn¡¯t wasted time gathering their things. I pulled out almost seventy marionettes¡ªall I had¡ªand ordered them to guard the narrow passage. Here, they had the advantage, as the monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to flank them.


    I went further in. The magical transition barrier was no longer solid; it flickered, gaining and losing power intermittently. I wasn¡¯t a specialist, but even a fool could see that this barrier was about to disappear. Behind it, thousands of fangs and claws were waiting for the moment they could pour out in an unstoppable flood, hungry for fresh meat and blood.


    ¡°Do you bastards really think of yourselves as hunters right now? Well then, let¡¯s play that game together!¡±


    I drew my spear and unleashed my bloodlust to clear the passage beyond the barrier. Those of the third class and below died instantly. The stronger ones scrambled to escape the pile of bodies, trying to crawl as far from me as possible. The passage filled with yelps, growls, and the whistle of my spear¡¯s tip echoing against the bare stone walls, amplifying the cacophony.


    I stepped out of the corridor. The entire plain, as far as the eye could see, was packed with monsters ranging from the first to the sixth class. That was good¡ªit meant the monsters from the lower levels hadn¡¯t made it up yet. I activated all five of my magical circles. Inferno¡­


    A dense wave of fire spread out from me in all directions, scorching everything to ashes within nearly a kilometer. A pity the spell¡¯s radius was so small¡­ I tried to expand its reach, but I hit some kind of limit that wouldn¡¯t allow it. The plain stretched for dozens of kilometers, completely filled with monsters.


    Damn it! My actions were almost meaningless. As soon as eighth- and ninth-class monsters appeared to distract me, all these smaller ones would immediately rush for the passage. And no marionettes would last long against them. I tried using sequential steps, but I was moving so fast that my Inferno spell couldn¡¯t keep up, failing to burn the creatures before they left its radius.


    I turned back and took a position between the transitions. I had no more plans left. Should I try to burn them with my own blood? But no amount of droplets would be enough to cover such a vast area and so many monsters. Or maybe I could try blocking the incoming monsters from below? I pulled out a bottle of my own blood, collected after my fight with the Khrum. If I damaged the passage to the second level¡­ I was sure these transitions were nearly indestructible, but three hundred grams of God¡¯s Mana would explode with enough force to cause serious damage¡­ Should I try?


    ¡°Shit! I love experimenting!¡±


    I deactivated my magic and hurled the bottle into the dark maw of the passage, momentarily wrapping it in my aura. It streaked across the scorched ground like a golden flash and disappeared into the darkness of the cave. I dropped to the ground and dispelled my aura from the bottle. One second, two, three¡­


    Nothing happened. Strange, but the monsters kept emerging from the passage. I got up and cast Inferno again.


    Why the hell was nothing happening?!


    As soon as I had that thought, the dungeon convulsed violently, a deep humming sound rolling through the air. Something was happening behind me.


    I turned and saw the dark cave of the transition instantly turn gray¡ªthen crumble into dust.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes, so I jumped toward it. It was true. My legs sank knee-deep into the gray powder. There was no exit anymore.


    I processed this for a few seconds, then burst into laughter.


    ¡°Holy hedgehogs, what an idiot I was! This world might have never seen such a fool before! What had stopped me from leaving the dungeon first and destroying the exit behind me? Damn it! Son of a bitch! Why am I such a moron?!¡±


    I grabbed a handful of gray dust and tossed it into the air above me.


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha-ha! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Aha-ha-ha-ha¡­¡±


    I laughed uncontrollably, like a madman, watching the gray dust ignite and vanish into nothingness within the Inferno spell.


    I had sealed myself in with my own hands.


    Are there any other fools in this world as big as me?!


    Inferno¡­ Hellfire¡­


    ¡°You bastards, I¡¯ll give you a real taste of hell!¡±


    Rage and despair began eating away at me from the inside.


    ¡°This is your fault! You damn vermin! You¡¯re the reason I¡¯m trapped here with you forever!¡±


    Maybe, in that moment of despair, I truly lost my mind¡­ After all, blaming monsters for my own stupidity wasn¡¯t exactly a display of critical thinking.


    I looked around.


    Hundreds of thousands of cores lay scattered amidst the dust left from the monsters, covering the glowing red-hot rocky ground.


    Well then¡­


    I created yellow magical circles and absorption runes around me, expanding them as far as I could. Mana from tens of thousands of cores flowed toward me, wrapping me in a soft veil, and I forcefully absorbed it, breaking my own limits.


    ¡°More!!!¡±


    The yellow circles expanded further, reaching into a zone where monsters were still alive. All of them began to wither and crumble into dust simultaneously, their cracked bodies releasing thick, yellowish mana in huge plumes.


    ¡°Not enough! More!¡±


    My magical circles began expanding at incredible speed, devouring the entire first level within minutes. Under their effect, everything alive¡ªmonsters, plants, even the insects buzzing beneath the black sky¡ªturned to dust.


    Millions upon millions of living beings vanished from this world without a trace.


    ¡°Not enough!¡±


    I screamed, not even knowing what I wanted more of¡ªthe mana I was consuming or the blood of the monsters I wanted to annihilate for trapping me here with them.


    My gaze fell on the transition to the second level.


    ¡°Griiiiii¡­¡±


    A black-and-yellow mist exhaled from my lungs

 Chapter Sixteen

    Second floor¡­ Third floor¡­ Fourth floor¡­ Fifth¡­ I kept descending, leaving nothing alive behind me, only utter darkness¡ªand even that died the moment I stepped lower. The transition zones crumbled into gray dust behind my back as soon as I passed through them.


    Twelfth floor¡­ Thirteenth¡­ Fourteenth¡­ I continued my descent, with a thirst to destroy everything around me, a thirst that only grew stronger. From the fifteenth floor, monsters of the eighth and ninth classes started to appear, climbing up to meet me, but under the influence of the devouring magic, they perished and turned to dust just as swiftly as all the worthless ones before them.


    There was, however, something else. Along with their mana, they gave me a part of their instincts and memories. I didn¡¯t care. I didn¡¯t just want to destroy them¡ªI had to. These abominations had no right to exist in this world!


    I kept descending without stopping. From the twenty-second floor, there were no more monsters. Most likely, they had already climbed up earlier¡ªwhere I had absorbed them. It didn¡¯t matter. I went down, consuming the sparse vegetation and the yellow mana mist seeping from cracks in the rock.


    The dungeon. It was, in itself, the one true monster that had devoured me within it. So I had to consume all of it to win. And to escape. There was no other way, and there couldn¡¯t be. Down, to where it grows from. Closing, destroying all the floors on my path.


    Thirtieth floor¡­ Thirty-first¡­ Thirty-second¡­ From the thirty-third floor, there was no path forward. A rock jutted out from the flat, table-like floor¡ªbut the passage through it had not yet formed.


    ¡°Guhiihiiiii¡­ Are you hiding?!¡±


    I struck the rock with all my strength, causing it to explode and crumble into sand. Below, a familiar massive gray stone cube protruded, covered in strange runes.


    ¡°Come here!¡±


    I ordered it, dragging it up with nothing but the force of my aura. Into storage¡ªthat¡¯s where you belong now!


    ¡°Found you!¡±


    I said to the wide yellow river flowing below.


    ¡°And was it really worth hiding from me like that?¡±


    I stomped the floor, shattering it for hundreds of meters around.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re mine! All of you!¡±


    I shrank the devouring circles to the size of the hole I had made in the floor and plunged them down, into the mana river flowing beneath me. The mana began to tremble slightly.


    ¡°Hoooooo,¡± I said to it as if to something alive, tilting my head to the side. ¡°You¡¯re afraaaaid! Don¡¯t be, I¡¯ll be geeeentleee¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a high-level violet spell began to bloom above my head. One, two, three¡­ Nine tiers. A ninth-circle spell! I had seen one just like that above the Chrum!


    In panic, I dispersed my devouring circles with runes and leapt to the side, hoping to escape the spell¡¯s area of effect¡ªbut it was already too late. The light suddenly vanished.


    It vanished for a moment, then reappeared.


    But now I was no longer in the dungeon¡ªI stood where its entrance had once been. My legs sank ankle-deep in gray sand. A table stood nearby, with a ledger left open on it, and several chairs.


    I looked around.


    My team was running toward me, along with five people I didn¡¯t recognize¡ªthree men and two women. Powerful! The auras of three were at the level Gods of War. The other two¡ªa mage and a sorceress¡ªwere of unknown circles.


    Damn! I had to avoid talking to them until I came up with a proper story.


    Suddenly, my head spun, and I vomited at my feet. Mana poisoning from teleportation?


    ¡°Aneeeeeey!¡±


    Irgen was the first to reach me, grabbed my arm, and began dragging me somewhere.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    shouted a God of War, pressing his aura upon us.


    Well, well, wasn¡¯t that the beggar Grim? Damn him.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    a female God of War snapped at him. ¡°Back off now!¡±


    ¡°Where¡­ where are my puppets?¡±


    I asked the rector in a weak voice when my team approached.


    Raman shrugged.


    ¡°Gone. Vanished along with the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no!¡±


    I dropped to my knees, clawing through the gray muck.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be! My little puppets!¡±


    I vomited again.


    ¡°Gods, what¡¯s wrong with him?!¡±


    Irgen screamed.


    ¡°Quickly, get him into the shade! He¡¯s suffering from monster mana poisoning!¡±


    the sorceress began barking commands. ¡°And give him this to drink!¡±


    She handed Irgen two blue bottles.


    Shade? We were frying like on a skillet here¡ªwhere was any shade supposed to be?


    Raman and Grass picked me up and dragged me to the boat.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡±


    I told them once we were in the cabin and I could surround us with my aura¡ªso intense I almost gasped at it myself.


    ¡°But we¡¯ll keep up the act. Who the hell are they?¡±


    ¡°An imperial court team sent to eliminate the monster outbreak. The Gods of War are Munk, Grim, and Vasa¡ªthe woman. With them are Pasque, a ninth-circle mage, and Vist, a sorceress of the same rank. Aney, don¡¯t mess with them¡ªthey¡¯re furious about the dungeon¡¯s disappearance!¡±


    The rector was clearly worried.


    ¡°Got it. For now, just tell them I¡¯m still too weak to talk.¡±


    I let my aura waver, so the War Gods would think I was unwell.


    Damn it, this was the last thing I needed.


    I had to start believing the story myself: that I fought, fought, fought and¡ªbam! I was already outside. And nothing else. So if they asked me anything, my aura wouldn¡¯t even twitch.


    But there were three of them.


    Damn it! Three Gods of War , and definitely not of the lower tier. It wouldn¡¯t be easy. I had to disrupt the balance of their teamwork¡ªand I already had a candidate in mind for that role.


    ¡°No, Lord God of War, he¡¯s still too sick, he can¡¯t even stand!¡±


    Irgen lied to them with charming confidence.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Sorceress, he drank your potion and is deeply grateful for your kindness!¡±


    I heard her spouting the nonsense with pride.


    Huuuuu.


    All right, time for the performance.


    I climbed up to the cockpit. Opposite me, five figures floated in the air.


    ¡°Apologies, ladies and gentlemen. I assume you have a few questions for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    One of the Gods of War, Munk, jumped straight to the point.


    ¡°Tell us what happened down there, and why the dungeon is destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Honorable God of War, I honestly don¡¯t understand it myself. I descended to the first floor, and there were millions of them¡ªmonsters from the first to sixth classes. So I fought them, fought and fought, and then¡ªbam! Suddenly I¡¯m on the surface!¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Honorable God of War.¡±


    ¡°What did you fight them with?¡±


    asked Pasque, the mage.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I lost my weapon down there¡ªbut it was a spear, much like this one.¡±


    I pulled out the spear my mentor had given me.


    A cunning mage¡ªtrying to catch me in a lie. After all, I hadn¡¯t appeared with any weapon in hand.


    The sorceress nodded thoughtfully.


    ¡°Are you certain there were no monsters above class six on that floor?¡±


    Vasa asked.


    ¡°Honored Lady God of War, I can¡¯t claim that for sure¡ªbut in my field of vision, there weren¡¯t any.


    Besides, I was standing by the exit to the second floor, and during all that time, no one stronger than a class six came through. That¡¯s why I drew that conclusion.


    Forgive me, ma¡¯am, if I misled you by presenting my assumption as fact. That was my mistake.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°How long were you fighting them in there?¡±


    Munk asked another question.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say exactly, but by my senses¡ªseveral hours. Maybe seven, maybe eight¡­¡±


    They exchanged glances.


    ¡°He¡¯s lying! Or he¡¯s hiding something from us!¡±


    Grim shouted.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re that God of War¡ªthe beggar who takes by force what he can¡¯t afford!


    Grim, was it?¡±


    ¡°You little wretch, what nonsense are you spouting?!¡±


    ¡°Ah, dear God of War, have you truly forgotten how you stole that spear from me at the auction in the city of Matan?¡± I said, smiling coldly. ¡°The one you liked so much but couldn¡¯t afford? A bone spear with a dark red aura¡­ And now you¡¯ve come here to take revenge for your humiliation?¡±


    The two Gods of War and the two mages looked at Grim. It seemed they even recognized which spear I was talking about¡ªperhaps they¡¯d seen it in his hands.


    ¡°Oh gods, Grim, did you really beat up someone weaker than you just to steal that spear?¡± Vasa wrinkled her nose. ¡°You¡¯re such a piece of trash!¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that at all!¡± Grim turned his flushed face toward me. ¡°Hey, kid! Apologize right now and tell them what really happened! You stopped bidding first!¡±


    ¡°Of course I did!¡± I spread my arms wide. ¡°Right after the God of War struck me so hard I crashed through three rooms and nearly maimed several auction guests¡­ Only an idiot would keep bidding after that. Isn¡¯t that how it went, Lord Grim? There were hundreds of witnesses. Or are you going to deny it?¡±


    Grim¡¯s face turned even redder as he looked at Vasa. Damn it¡ªhe had feelings for her! But had I gone too far? Publicly humiliating a God of War in front of the one he liked¡­


    ¡°You really are scum! And to think you bragged about that spear¡­¡± Vasa turned away dramatically.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead, you little punk!¡± Grim snapped, completely losing it.


    Without picking a specific target, he lashed out with his aura at our small airboat, where my entire crew was. I barely had time to throw up a shield of my own aura. A thunderous crack echoed as our auras clashed. The air between them compressed and then exploded outward, slicing a deep trench into the earth between the boat and the five opponents.


    ¡°Grim!¡± Munk barked. ¡°What the hell are you doing? Get out of here, idiot!¡±


    Grim snarled through his teeth and stormed off.


    ¡°We¡¯re not finished, you bastard!¡± he growled as he left.


    ¡°Always a pleasure, Lord Grim!¡± I called after him.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll end it here,¡± Munk said, summarizing the situation. ¡°But we¡¯ll be escorting you to the capital¡ªthe investigation is not yet concluded. Is that clear?¡±


    We all nodded in unison. What wasn¡¯t clear about that?


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Pasc murmured, nodding toward the deep trench that the clash had left. ¡°A Battleborn with that kind of aura strength¡­¡±


    He walked off, shaking his head in disbelief. Well, round one went to me. Though, as Munk had said, this wasn¡¯t over yet. The Empire would still be looking for someone to blame for the loss of the dungeon cores, and I might be a convenient target. Something to ponder on the road to the capital.


    I turned back to the artificial horizon device and lifted the boat into the air.


    ¡°Alright then, the capital it is!¡± I tapped the point on the map and switched the boat to autopilot.


    ¡°Captain! We were so scared for you!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Aney¡¯s right. What happened down there?¡±


    ¡°Guys, I honestly don¡¯t even know myself¡­¡±


    ¡°You were gone for three days!¡± Irgen pushed through the group to get closer. ¡°We thought it was over¡ªwe thought we¡¯d never see you again!¡±


    ¡°Three days, huh¡­¡±


    Strange. From my scattered memories of the dungeon, it felt like only a few hours had passed. Irgen finally made it to me and sat down at my side, wrapping her arms around mine.


    ¡°Sorry for scaring you,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect things to go like that. But it¡¯s alright now. And even though we won¡¯t be diving into any dungeons for a while, you should still read up.¡±


    I pulled out volumes five and six of the Monster Encyclopedia and handed them to Raman.


    ¡°What, trying to get rid of us?¡± he smirked. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll give you a little peace.¡±


    I nodded toward the stern. A few kilometers behind us, the two mages and three Gods of War were still following.


    ¡°No. But we¡¯ll keep quiet about what must stay unspoken.¡±


    Everyone immediately understood.


    ¡°Aye, captain.¡±


    ¡°Aye, captain.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Aney¡±


    In truth, no one knew whether they could hear us or not. But better safe than sorry. Were they really going to follow us all the way to the capital? Didn¡¯t they have better things to do, or was this mission truly that important to the Northern Empire?


    Well, the journey wouldn¡¯t be boring. I could still feel the wrath of one God of War trailing behind us like a thundercloud. Damn him¡ªlet him die of an ulcer for all I care. I needed to focus on myself.


    I¡¯d absorbed a tremendous amount of mana in the dungeon, yet I hadn¡¯t noticed any major changes in my body. Where had it all gone?


    I closed my eyes and began to examine myself. Bones, muscles, internal organs¡­ It seemed only the organs had changed slightly¡ªmost of them were already partially composed of mana cells. But it didn¡¯t seem to match the sheer volume I¡¯d taken in.


    Suddenly, I saw it. A black steel droplet, no larger than a fingernail, just below my heart. From it stretched thin metallic strands, like threads, connecting to every one of my muscles and bones. What was that?


    I could see it, observe it¡­ but I had no understanding of what it was.


    A new organ? Some kind of function? Or was it a disease¡ªor worse, a parasite from the dungeon? It didn¡¯t react to my probing at all. Completely neutral. Still, its presence deeply unsettled me. I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of side effects. Damn it, some dungeon dive this turned out to be.


    I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sudden presence of a God of War¡¯s aura nearby.


    ¡°Sit down. No need to stand,¡± Munk said, stopping me.


    He hovered above the cockpit, studying me. Great. Just what I needed. What did he want now? The silence dragged on, until Munk sighed, descended, and sat beside me.


    ¡°You¡¯re a capable young man.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lord Munk.¡±


    ¡°You know, I like brave young people like you.¡±


    ¡°You have excellent taste, Lord Munk.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, no need for flattery, Aney. I come to you with an offer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening closely, Lord Munk, and I¡¯ll try not to disappoint you with my answer.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to become my apprentice?¡±


    Most people would be falling at the feet of a God of War after an offer like that.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lord Munk. I¡¯m truly honored by such high praise from a God of War, but I must decline your offer¡ªI already have a teacher.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Munk raised a brow. ¡°And who might that be? I¡¯ll tell you now, Aney, not every teacher can compare himself to a God of War! If it¡¯s just some Ancestor, he wouldn¡¯t dare speak against me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Crow.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°My teacher is the Crow, Lord Munk.¡±


    He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.


    ¡°Haha! Well, I¡¯ll be damned. That old devil finally got lucky in this life! Still, Aney, you know as well as I do that Crow is no longer a God of War. And yet you have the gall to refuse me?¡±


    I narrowed my eyes.


    ¡°So what, Lord Munk? That means he can no longer be my teacher?¡±


    We sat in silence for a moment.


    ¡°Very well, then!¡± Munk stood and rose into the air. ¡°I respect your decision.¡±


    And just like that, he vanished.


    Damn, that was nerve-racking! I exhaled slowly. Gods of War really didn¡¯t like being turned down. I remembered how furious Crow had been when I first rejected him. Well, to hell with it¡ªI had more pressing matters. Like the new gray cube in my storage. I needed to see what was inside.


    Unfortunately, disappointment awaited me. The cube contained a yellow human rib with green veins running through it. For some reason, I¡¯d been hoping for a foot. I already had both hands and one foot, after all¡­


    My brooding was cut short by the sudden approach of another God of War¡¯s aura¡ªcharging straight for the boat. What was this, open house day? Vasa was sprawled lazily beside me on the bench, draping her arm over my shoulders like we were best friends.


    ¡°Relax, kid. I already know you turned down Munk because your teacher is the Crow.¡±


    My eyes drifted toward her¡­ impressive bust, which looked like it might burst right out of her too-tight armor at any moment.


    ¡°So what does the esteemed Goddess of War Vasa desire?¡±


    ¡°Kid, I¡¯m not a fool like Munk. I don¡¯t need to hoard everything for myself. How about this¡ªI¡¯ll be your second teacher? Even that old crow won¡¯t mind. We¡¯ve been friends for ages. What do you say?¡±


    Her arm pressed harder against my shoulder. So much for feminine gentleness¡­ She could probably crush me like a bug right now!


    ¡°Lady Vasa, I cannot make decisions on behalf of my teacher.¡± At that, the pressure on my shoulder increased to the point my bones started creaking. ¡°But¡­ I could offer you something else!¡±


    I blurted it out before she crippled me on the spot.


    ¡°Well? Let¡¯s hear it, then! What¡¯ve you got?¡±


    She leaned in even closer¡ªthough, honestly, there wasn¡¯t much room left unless she climbed into my lap.


    ¡°Lady Vasa, you could be my trainer while I¡¯m in the Empire!¡±


    ¡°Trainer?¡± She made a face. ¡°What am I supposed to do with that? Pffft¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t diminish the work of a trainer, Lady Vasa. It¡¯s no less important than that of a teacher!¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    Oh gods¡­ what a blockhead.


    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s thanks to trainers that students acquire practical combat skills. Think about it¡ªpractice without theory is blind, and theory without practice is dead! In fact, the role of a trainer in shaping a warrior can even surpass that of a teacher. It all depends on who the trainer is. Just imagine, Lady Vasa!¡±


    Her face shifted rapidly as she processed my words¡ªflashes of anger, pride, and satisfaction flickering in quick succession.


    ¡°Fine! Deal! I¡¯ll be your trainer now!¡±


    She leapt into the air from a sitting position, nearly flipping the whole boat, and flew off.


    I grinned with satisfaction. I now had my own personal punching bag. Gods of War were sturdy and tough to injure permanently.


    Then, suddenly, I felt another surge of divine aura¡ªGrim was approaching fast.


    Now what did he want?


    ¡°Kid!¡± he bellowed, hovering above the boat. ¡°I¡¯ll forgive your arrogance and big mouth if you agree to become my apprentice right now! But if you refuse, I¡¯ll rip your stupid head off!¡±


    To hell with him. I shot into the air and leveled with him, spear in hand.


    ¡°Go ahead and try, you  bastard!¡±

 Chapter Seventeen

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡±


    Grim drew his war hammer and lunged at me. Too fast! I tried to block the blow with my spear¡¯s shaft, but it snapped instantly¡ªand the hammer kept flying toward my chest.


    ¡°Grim, damn it! What are you doing?!¡±


    Munk blocked the hammer with his sword mere inches from me. I stood holding the two broken halves of my spear. The one my teacher had given me. That moron broke my teacher¡¯s gift¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you bastard¡­¡±


    A black-and-white sun ignited at the tip of one broken half, casting gray lightning wildly around me.


    ¡°No!¡­ Grim, get out of there!¡±


    Vasa shouted, trying to outrun me and pull Grim out of danger. The technique of sequential steps¡­ Grim realized he was in serious trouble. He recognized my teacher¡¯s technique¡ªit was written all over his terrified face.


    That bastard clearly didn¡¯t want to die here. As a last desperate move, he raised his hammer to shield himself. The moment the black-and-white sun touched it, Munk grabbed my left arm and hurled me to the ground. My aura exploded, shredding the hammer and Grim¡¯s fingers to dust. The field Munk threw me onto cracked open from the impact.


    ¡°You bastards¡­ Today I¡¯ll crush him, no matter what it takes!¡±


    I had no weapon left, but thousands of gray lightning bolts danced on my outstretched fingers. Beneath each one, black-and-white pellets began to form¡ªeach powerful enough to maim a God of War, if not kill one outright.


    ¡°Grim! I said run!¡± Munk shouted. ¡°We¡¯ll hold him off!¡±


    ¡°Hold him off? You think you can?!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Aney, let¡¯s talk about¡ª¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about. That piece of trash attacked me and broke my teacher¡¯s gift! He¡¯s going to die for that!¡±


    I rose into the sky again, preparing for the strike¡ªand this time, I wouldn¡¯t let either Vasa or Munk stop me.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Munk was frantically trying to de-escalate the situation. He clearly had no wish to risk his life for Grim¡¯s sake. ¡°He¡¯ll compensate you a hundredfold¡ªI swear it! Grim! Give me your best spear and something else¡ªsomething valuable!¡±


    Grim, now slowly backing away from me, pulled out the spear I recognized from the auction and a small round shield. With his aura, he passed them to Munk.


    ¡°He can shove that junk up his ass!¡±


    I activated five magic circles at once. Bright, crimson seals began to rotate slowly around me. Time-element magic to boost my speed further, and inferno to keep the two Gods of War off my back while I charged at my target.


    The air within five hundred meters burst into flame and vanished, replaced by pillars of plasma that tore the fabric of reality, opening rifts into black nothingness. The armor on Vasa and Munk caught fire, forcing them to retreat outside the spell¡¯s radius.


    Grim was a little over a kilometer away. One point two seconds in my current state, my brain calculated. This time, I wouldn¡¯t miss!


    The Gods of War were afraid¡ªall three of them. They knew either they let me kill Grim, or everyone would suffer, and no one could predict how badly. Munk looked atGrim as if saying goodbye. It seemed he¡¯d made his choice¡ªand wouldn¡¯t stand in my way. I looked at Vasa. She hesitated. Come on, just this once¡ªdon¡¯t be a fool, get out of the way!


    ¡°Aney!¡± a voice called behind me. ¡°Let Grim go, and your friends won¡¯t be harmed!¡±


    Damn! I hadn¡¯t expected the mages to interfere. Pask and Vist had my ship locked down with spells, while my team and the Rector desperately tried to hold them off with a barrier. This was bad¡ªobviously a one-sided fight. They wouldn¡¯t last long.


    ¡°You¡¯re threatening hostages now? You¡¯re bold bastards. Not afraid to die alongside Grim?¡±


    ¡°Whether we die or not is still uncertain,¡± Pask replied. ¡°But your friends? They¡¯ll definitely die. That¡¯s a fact.¡±


    He was right. Damn it! I didn¡¯t really have a choice. I deactivated the magic¡ªbut kept the aura on my fingers just in case.


    ¡°Let my friends go. And that idiot¡±¡ªI pointed at Grim¡ª¡°better vanish so thoroughly I can¡¯t even sense his shadow. Because next time, I won¡¯t give you this chance!¡±


    ¡°Grim, get out of here!¡± Munk barked again.


    This time, Grim obeyed. He disappeared beyond the horizon. The mages released the ship, which dropped briefly before stabilizing and hovering in place. I dismissed the aura from my fingers and landed on the field, where I picked up the broken pieces of the spear, trying to fit them back together. Was it salvageable at all? Or was it just scrap now? That bastard. If I ever see him again¡ªI won¡¯t let him walk away.


    ¡°Forget it, kid,¡± Vasa said, slapping me so hard on the back it knocked the wind out of me. ¡°When we get to the capital, I¡¯ll introduce you to a good smith. He¡¯ll fix it good as new.¡±


    ¡°Having fun?¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Hahaha, I haven¡¯t felt that kind of adrenaline in ages! So yes, I am having fun!¡±


    Vist and Pask approached.


    ¡°Aney, how are you using magic?!¡±


    ¡°Are you even serious right now? You were holding my friends hostage a minute ago¡ªand now you think we¡¯re buddies?!¡±


    I jumped into the air and headed for the ship. They could all go rot. I descended into the cockpit where my team was recovering from the intense magical clash.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to put you in danger.¡±


    Raman gave a weak wave of his hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re alright.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even have the words.


    I sat down at the artificial horizon control and guided the ship toward a large lake visible a few kilometers ahead. Screw the capital¡ªwe needed rest. Two mages and two Gods of War were tailing us.


    ¡°I knew you were reckless,¡± Irgen said, settling beside me. ¡°But this reckless?¡±


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    ¡°I can¡¯t tell¡ªis that judgment or admiration?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Can I choose both?¡±


    I laughed and pulled her close.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m not one to limit human will or choice.¡±


    ¡°Aney¡­ seriously, though, that¡¯s more than enough adventure for the past few days. The dungeon¡ªfine, no one could¡¯ve predicted that. But fighting three Gods of War at once?! I thought you had more common sense than that.¡±


    ¡°Well, technically, I only fought one¡ªand only because he attacked me. The other two were trying to stop the fight. So your criticism is misplaced.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­ don¡¯t ever do that again.¡±


    ¡°Alright, next time I¡¯ll just let some little godling beat me to a pulp¡­¡±


    Irgen jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow. I started bringing the ship down, and the crew stumbled out of the common room, looking confused and trying to figure out what was happening and why we were landing.


    ¡°How about we relax by the water for a bit?¡± I asked them.


    They all exchanged uncertain glances, like I was up to something sneaky.


    ¡°Captain,¡± Mara finally spoke up, ¡°you did get your ass kicked, didn¡¯t you? You¡¯ve never suggested something like this before¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna rip your head off for that lie!¡± I hissed. ¡°Who took you all to the restaurant in Lhote after you sold the cores?¡±


    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re really gonna keep bringing up that one time until we graduate?¡±


    That was Grass. Yep, discipline on this crew is absolutely nonexistent.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll bring it up after graduation too¡­ Or do you think you¡¯ll somehow hide from me then?¡±


    They all laughed weakly. I landed the ship on a clearing near the lake.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s it gonna be¡ªmeat or fish?¡±


    ¡°Meat!¡± some shouted.


    ¡°Fish!¡± others yelled just as loudly.


    ¡°To avoid arguments,¡± the Rector said diplomatically, ¡°those of you who want meat¡ªgo hunt it. Those who want fish¡ªgo fish.¡±


    I shook Ramen¡¯s hand. What a guy. Then I looked up at the mages and Gods of War hovering a hundred meters above us.


    ¡°Gentlemen, you¡¯re welcome to just hover up there and wait, but we¡¯re not going anywhere today. So you can either join us or head on to the capital.¡±


    Eventually, they chose the first option and came down a while later.


    It was evening when I lay not far from the fire, watching my crew gather around the Ninth Circle mages, listening to them like they were divine oracles. Damn¡­ Just half a day ago they had those same mages held hostage, and now this? This damned world really has no principles¡­


    ¡°Can we talk?¡±


    Munk approached me, Vasya standing behind him.


    ¡°Alright, Mr. Munk.¡±


    They sat on either side of me. Mistrust? Or just years of battle-honed caution?


    ¡°So, the Kruk passed his technique on to you. That¡¯s why you refused to become a student¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I looked him in the eye, then glanced at Vasa. ¡°With your type of aura, it¡¯s not compatible. Don¡¯t even try it¡ªunless you¡¯ve got a death wish. I can¡¯t help you with that.¡±


    They exchanged a glance, trying to figure out if I was bluffing. Well¡­ maybe a little.


    ¡°Your aura¡¯s too long for it.¡±


    I pulled out a knife and handed it to Munk.


    ¡°Try cutting my arm. You can even use your aura if you want.¡±


    I was fully confident in my aura chainmail. That knife would turn to dust before it left a scratch. Munk hesitated, then slashed at my wrist, putting nearly a third of his strength into it. My arm sank halfway into the ground.


    ¡°Easy, Mr. Munk! I asked you to cut it, not rip it off!¡±


    I pulled my hand out, completely unscathed. They exchanged another look.


    ¡°So, is your aura capable of that? And just so you know¡ªI wasn¡¯t even using mine. So take my word for it: that technique¡¯s not for you.¡±


    They fell silent. I watched the fire.


    ¡°Why are you telling us all this?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Munk, do you think I¡¯m stupid? You really think I didn¡¯t understand why you came to talk to me now? I¡¯m just defusing the inevitable conflict ahead of time. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You know your teacher was forbidden from passing on that technique?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And I also know a lot of fools chased it until they died.¡±


    ¡°The Church still watches to make sure no disciples are¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the Church. Unless you¡¯re planning to play the role of their little enforcers? You can try, of course¡­ but you¡¯ve already seen what I can do. Are you sure I¡¯ve shown all my cards?¡±


    Silence. That last part was pure bluff¡ªbut I stayed completely relaxed, which definitely didn¡¯t help them feel brave enough to make a move.


    ¡°Whew¡­ Aney, we don¡¯t care. Let the Church deal with that. But¡ªwhat do you mean ¡®aura too long¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡ª¡± I twirled my hand in the air, ¡°¡ªjust means it¡¯s not compatible¡­¡±


    Yeah, like I was really going to explain it. You can smash your head against the wall for all I care, trying to figure out what I meant.


    ¡°So, does that mean I can¡¯t be your trainer anymore?¡±


    Dear gods, is she actually that dense?


    ¡°Lady Vasa, I stand by my word. It¡¯s your choice.¡±


    Holy hedgehogs¡­ How can someone be this powerful, this cy¡­ have that kind of bust¡ªand still be this dumb? How did she even survive at the imperial court with a brain like that?


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Come again?¡±


    ¡°Get up¡ªwe¡¯re training!¡±


    ¡°Lady Vasa, my weapon¡­¡±


    ¡°No need¡ªwe¡¯ll spar hand-to-hand!¡±


    ¡°Well, if the trainer insists, I can¡¯t say no.¡±


    We soared high into the air, away from the others.


    ¡°Rules?¡± I asked when we stopped.


    ¡°Oh, look at the little Ancestor, worried about rules! Use everything you¡¯ve got! Well, except the Kruk¡¯s technique, of course. And that fire magic of yours!¡± she quickly added more conditions.


    I waited to see if she was going to throw in anything else.


    ¡°What are you standing there for? Are we training or not?¡±


    Fine! I activated five-circle magic. Bright red light shattered the surrounding darkness. She¡¯d forbidden me to use fire element¡ªthe one I¡¯m best with¡­ So what then? Time?


    No, she¡¯d still outmatch me in speed¡­ I scrambled to think through fifty different spells, searching for the right combo.


    Space. I needed to distort space around me so she couldn¡¯t pinpoint where I actually was. After all, what¡¯s the point of all that strength if you can¡¯t even land a hit?


    This might actually work¡ªeven against a Goddess of War. Fourth-circle space magic¡ªDistorted Field. Third-circle dark magic¡ªGrave Silence. Fifth-circle wind magic¡ªAirburst¡­ first Sequential Step¡ªI struck.


    Looked like Vasa really couldn¡¯t see me through the distortion and silencing fields. She could barely sense my aura, and with the space warped, she blocked from the wrong side entirely. My fist ripped through her aura armor and smashed into her ribs¡ªleft side, near the spleen. The impact threw her back a good hundred meters.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got tricks, I¡¯ll give you that!¡± she shouted, rubbing her ribs. ¡°But that¡¯s not gonna cut it!¡±


    Strong! I attacked again. Vasa tried to adapt, trying to figure out where I actually was, but her fists kept missing me, while my blows always landed, even if they didn¡¯t seem to cause any visible damage to the body of the Goddess of War.


    I was too weak. Then suddenly, she made an unconventional move¡ªshe simply kicked the ground in a circle around herself. I couldn¡¯t possibly stop that. Though I managed to block with my arms, the blow still hit hard. I felt my bones creak and bend.


    ¡°Lady Vasa! You said fists only!¡± I shouted when I managed to stop myself.


    ¡°Ha! Only a fool trusts an opponent in battle!¡±


    Oh, so that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be? Alright then! I charged again. This time, as I got close, I unleashed my bloodlust, which, after the recent slaughter in the dungeon, had taken on a physical crimson-black hue, laced with despair from the moment of death of high-class monsters. I hadn¡¯t only absorbed their cores back then¡ªI had devoured their very lives, and that couldn¡¯t help but leave a mark.


    ¡°Ughhhh¡­¡± Vasa groaned, raising her palms in front of her.


    I appeared behind her and, grabbing a fistful of hair from the crown of her head with my right hand, drove my knee with full force into the base of her skull. The Goddess of War was thrown back, leaving a generous tuft of hair in my hand.


    ¡°Got you!¡±


    Suddenly, she was in front of me again, arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a crushing hold. Damn! What strength! I felt my spine and ribs crack, about to give way. The last thing I remembered was her white forehead crashing into the bridge of my nose.


    I came to with cold water pouring over me. It streamed in a thick flow from a spell cast by Gras, right above me. My team stood around me, along with Vasa, who was smiling with satisfaction. I sat up, feeling nauseated and dizzy. She¡¯d hit me good. Real good. I pulled out a recovery pill and swallowed it. That seemed to help a little.


    ¡°You did well, holding out against me for so long!¡±


    Oh, shut up. You tied my hands behind my back with all those conditions!


    ¡°So, shall we continue?¡± Vasa asked.


    I waved her off.


    ¡°Sorry, coach, but excessive training can be harmful to a student¡¯s health, so¡­ not today. Come back tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so¡­ Alright then, we¡¯ll continue tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Lady Vasa, how did you figure out where I was?¡±


    I didn¡¯t really expect an answer¡­


    ¡°Ha! Simple. Gods of War feel every part of their body, no matter where it is. You¡¯re just a Battle Ancestor¡ªyou don¡¯t know that yet.¡±


    She turned and walked away, clearly pleased with herself. What an idiot¡ªwho just tells their enemy everything like that?


    So, my failure happened simply because I was stupid. Never grab a woman by the hair! Especially not to rip it out¡­


    ¡°How are you?¡± Irgen sat down beside me.


    ¡°I think¡­ I¡¯ll live¡­¡±


    ¡°You have a¡­ pfffff, you still have a huge bump on your forehead¡ªha-ha-ha, sorry, I just can¡¯t¡­ it¡¯s hilarious¡­¡±


    Irgen pulled out a mirror and handed it to me. Right between my eyebrows was a massive yellow lump¡­ Damn it. I swallowed another pill and headed for the boat. I just wanted to crawl into bed and not see anyone for a few hours.